Clementine Kiss

--

"Hey."

"..."

"HEY!! WAKE UP!!" Hiyori prodded the mound of sleeping flesh with her foot, and a voice began to rise from the mass of blankets and pillows.

"Mmm... Awright, I'm awake..." An arm pushed out of the pile of bedding, and Shinji pulled himself out. "It's cold, Hiyori. You should have gotten me up later."

"I don't care!! You wake up on my terms, capice?! Here, I got you your damn oranges!" She handed the half asleep Shinji a paper bag full of small, orange like pieces of fruit. He smiled and took it graciously.

"Thank you. But they're clementines, not oranges." he corrected.

"Tch. Whatever." Hiroyi sat down beside her cohort and glared at their surroundings. The two vizards were currently stuck in a run down motel, disguised as humans as not bring attention to themselves as they tracked several renegade arrancar. She glanced at Shinji as he produced a clementine out of the bag.

Digging his fingernails into the peel, he separated the skin from the flesh of the tiny orange, strip by strip. She covered her nose as small amounts of citrus scented perfume were sent into the air. "How can you eat that? It smells so weird!" Shinji didn't seem to mind as he pulled apart the segments and popped them into his mouth.

"But they taste so good," he mumbled thru a mouthful. Consuming one clementine, he reached over and was about to grab another but his hand brushed against Hiyori's as it hovered over the paper bag. He couldn't help but blink as his partner began to blush.

"I... I bought these, I have the right to eat them! Even if they do smell funny..." Before Shinji could object, she dug into the bag and pulled out a clementine, rigorously peeling it and shoving it into her mouth in record time. Chewing thoughtfully, Hiyori gave her partner a look that seemed to say, Ok. They're good, so sue me! Shinji laughed and began to peel another.

Thru out the day Shinji and Hiyori continued to eat clementines, sending the other vizards reports on their progress and keeping an eye out for the arrancar. It wasn't until the end of the day that the clementine level became dangerously low. Gazing out of the window, Shinji absentmindedly reached for the bag. His finger brushed the edge, causing it to tip over. A single clementine rolled out and bumped Hiyori's hand. She glanced at the tiny piece of fruit and wondered how it came to rest at her hand, but not caring enough to think that hard. She began to peel it, and the familiar scent caught Shinji's attention.

"Heeey, that's mine!" He complained halfheartedly.

"Oh yeah? I don't see your name on it," Hiyori declared, pulling off part of the peel and turning away. "Besides, you had more than I did."

"What?! That's not true!! You had more than I did!!"

"Suck it up and be a man, Hirako! I swear, sometimes you're just as girly as Mashiro!"

That did it. All of Shinji's built up anger became un-bottled and he pounced on Hiyori, not caring what would happen in the not-so distant future.

"THAT'S IT, MS. SARUGAKI!! TIME FOR SOME WELL DESERVED PAYBACK!!"

"What the- GET OFFA' ME, HIRAKO!! I'LL KICK YOUR SCRAWNY ASS!!"

"OH YEAH?! I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!!"

In the impending chaos, Shinji had managed to get on top on Hiyori, but the latter boxed him square in the ribs as he reached for her hair. Pausing to catch his breath, he was caught off guard as the smaller vizard slipped one of her feet behind his leg, flipping him over and reversing their positions. It was only Shinji's difference in arm length that gave him the upper hand. Gripping Hiyori's fists in his hands, he once again flipped positions with her. Only this time he had her feet pinned under his knees so she wouldn't be able to kick him you know where.

"...Damn," she cursed, squirming under her partners grip. She stopped moving when she noticed Shinji staring at her intently, like he had seen something paranormal. "What? What is it?" she asked, her eyes darting around as if to find something stuck to her head.

"...Your hair. It's... out," he murmured. That last word clicked in Hiyori's mind, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see a rubber band abandoned on the floor, a mess of blonde hair reaching out for it. One of her pigtails had come loose, and now her feminine side was exposed to the world. Or at least to Shinji. He mouthed a silent 'wow,' and before Hiyori had time to say anything, their lips were pressed together in an awkward, one sided kiss.

What the fuck?! Why the hell is Hirako kissing me?!, her conscious screamed. She tensed and was about to give Shinji the worst beating known to mankind, but paused as one of his hands loosened it's grip from around her fist. Slowly his fingertips began to trace the outline of her jaw, and she could feel the broken ends of his hair brush her cheek. Almost without meaning to, Hiyori felt herself slowly beginning to relax, melting under his soft touch. His other hand left her side and ran over the nape of her neck, pausing to gently caress her scalp. Having both of her hands free, she took this opportunity and wrapped her strong arms around her partners shoulders, pulling him further down than he already was, so their torsos were rubbing against each other. She did her best to kiss Shinji as passionately as he was kissing her. That seemed to work for him. Pulling away after several minutes, his head sunk to the floor beside Hiyori's, who was panting hard, still gripping his shoulders.

"Sorry," he gasped. "You just look so beautiful with your hair like that..." She said nothing, but nuzzled her face against his neck in response, allowing a soft labored sigh to escape her throat. They remained like that for a few more minutes, relishing the others company and warmth. Then out of the blue, Hiyori reached up and removed the other rubber band from her hair and glanced at Shinji, who lay beside her.

"Do you like my hair like this?" she asked. He nodded and began to separate the strands of his partners hair with his fingers.

"Mm-hm. It's very 'you'," he said, scowling as tried to pull apart a knot.

"I'll keep it like this if you want." Shinji blinked as Hiyori's gaze met his. "I want you to like me," she murmured, her face moving close enough to feel the other vizards breath on her face. A trademark grin stretched across the others face, and he whispered, soft enough for Hiyori to barely hear-

"I've liked you for a long time." Once again their lips touched, and Hiyori could now taste the faint flavor of clementines on his mouth.

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