EosoftheDawn: Hello, everyone and thank you for coming to read. This is a brand new fic. It's a yuri, obviously, so if you don't like that sort of thing I really wonder how you got here in the first place. The pairing is Soi Fon/Yoruichi. See previous statement if you don't like the pairing. I have my beta reader here, say hello.

CabooseBlue: Hello... Did I do a good job? Anyway, I don't see why anyone would dislike this. The pairing, yuri, and your writing are all fantastic, so no one has any excuse not to enjoy this. Although, I'll give a fair warning that this chapter is sweet compared to Eos' other work. I'm sure she'll have them down and dirty in a later chapter, but still well worth the read. Made me 'aw' at least.

EotD: Yes, things indeed will get "down and dirty" in the future. Warning though: this chapter might give you diabeetus.

It was an average chilly February afternoon in the Soul Society, but something was definitely amiss today. In the Second Division barracks a great amount of clattering was emanating from the kitchen. A few members of the division were surreptitiously peering into the kitchen to see the source of all the commotion.

It was a rare sight indeed. Captain Soi Fon was currently cooking something. That was a shock in and of itself, but what she was cooking stunned the shinigami even further. The irritable, steely eyed, heart of stone Captain was baking chocolate.

Suffice it to say, news of this amazing phenomenon spread fast through the barracks. Soon a small crowd had gathered outside the doorway, all had eyes on the Captain's activities. They all whispered amongst one another. What in the world was the Captain doing?

This was the last straw for Soi Fon. She set down the bowl and whisk she'd been holding, grabbed a chef's knife and chucked it at the unwanted onlookers. The knife lodged itself in the wall of the hallway, sending a clear message.

The shinigami quickly scurried away, allowing Soi Fon to return to her current project. Some time ago, she had heard of a certain custom practiced in the human world. On February 14th, one would give chocolate and gifts to the one they love. Although she didn't quite understand the reasons behind such a tradition, she was loath to pass up an opportunity to get closer to Yoruichi.

Yes, that was the motivation for all her hard work here today. Secretly, she'd been sneaking into the kitchen at night to practice making chocolate. She'd finally gotten the hang of it. Just in time, too. Today was the 13th, making tomorrow the day of this "St. Valentine's Day" that people in the human world made such a big deal about.

Soi Fon resumed whisking the chocolate. When it reached the right consistency, she would pour it into the molds that she'd made. The molds were in the shape of little cat faces. Making the molds right had been a whole other challenge for her. But, these looked alright. Soi Fon was actually pretty proud of herself for even getting this far. She'd never been one for cooking, but her stubborn nature wouldn't allow for failure of any sort.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door jam. This gave her a jolt; she didn't want any more intruders.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" came a voice from the doorway.

Soi Fon sighed exasperatedly, silently cursing. "What do you want, Matsumoto?"

She turned around to level a death glare at Rangiku. The woman was always so nosy, always getting into other people's business. If she found out these chocolates were for Yoruichi, the entire Soul Society would know about it. That was the last thing she needed.

Rangiku smiled wryly. "Oh my, that's a vicious glare. Someone obviously doesn't want me to find out who their special Valentine is."

This had caught Soi Fon completely off-guard. She stammered, "W-what! I–that's not–"

"I hit the nail on the head there, didn't I?" Rangiku taunted, giggling.

Heat rose to Soi Fon's face. She did her best to try and divert the conversation.

"How do you know about Valentine's Day anyway?"

Rangiku shrugged. "Nanao. She was complaining to me how Shunsui was always trying to get her to make chocolates for him for Valentine's Day. I swear that man is so desperate."

Soi Fon turned around and picked the bowl back up and continued whisking. Maybe if she ignored her, she'd go away. The chocolate was almost ready to pour anyway.

Rangiku leaned in over her shoulder. "So…"

Soi Fon took a step away. "So?"

"Who's it for?"

"It's not your business who I'm making this for."

Rangiku pouted. "Hmph. You're no fun." She thought a minute. "Hmm… is it for your Vice Captain?"

Soi Fon scoffed at that. "God no."

There were a few seconds of silence. Then, Rangiku spoke again.

"Those molds look like cat faces."

"They are," Soi Fon answered curtly.

"They're cute."

This line of questioning was getting dangerously close to blowing her secret. She tried to keep her nervous hands from shaking as she poured the heated chocolate into the molds. A slight blush colored her cheeks, which she prayed Rangiku couldn't see.

"Oh, I know! They're for that Yoruichi woman, aren't they?"

Soi Fon damn near dropped the bowl. Thank goodness she'd just finished pouring the chocolate. Wheeling around, she made a lot of sounds of protest, but couldn't form them into coherent words. Her face was bright red, betraying the truth.

Rangiku smiled wide. "I thought so. I'd had my suspicions about you two, but this confirms it."

"It's not–I mean, we're not…" Soi Fon trailed off, her gray eyes staring at the floor.

"Oh." Rangiku frowned. "Guess this some sort of confession then, huh?"

Continuing to avoid eye contact, Soi Fon twiddled her thumbs. "Something like that." She lifted her gaze. "Please don't say anything about this, okay? I don't want this getting out."

Rangiku patted her shoulder. "Don't you worry one bit. Even I know it's not right to out someone before they're ready. Your secret's safe with me."

Soi Fon was skeptical. "I'd like to believe you, Matsumoto, but past precedent demonstrates otherwise."

Rangiku placed a hand over her enormous breast. "I swear that I won't say a word about this. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Good. Because if I find out you told anyone, I'll kill you myself."

"Hmph, geez. You don't have to go all homicidal on me." Rangiku huffed dramatically, hands on her hips. "So, what're your plans for tomorrow then?"

Soi Fon pondered the security of letting Rangiku in on her plans, but she decided it was all right.

"We'll meet up in our usual sparring area. I told her I wanted to have another match. I'll give them to her then."

Rangiku stared blankly.

"What?" Soi Fon asked incredulously.

"That's seriously what you're going for?"

"Yes it is. Do you have a problem with that?"

Rangiku thought for a minute. "Well, I guess it might work. You two seem to bond over fighting and all."

She patted Soi Fon on the head. "Good luck with that. Maybe once you get laid you'll be less cranky all the time."

At that, Soi Fon swatted her away, a blush returning to cheeks. With Rangiku's exit, she could return her attention to the chocolate. She took the molds and covered them with plastic wrap. Then, she placed them in the fridge to cool overnight. To make sure they were still there in the morning, she stuck a note on them that read:

"Property of Captain Soi Fon. If you eat it I will track you down and run you through with my blade."

Soi Fon smiled. That should keep them safe, she thought. She exited the building and used shunpo to get back to her room. There was a mountain of paperwork waiting for her to dutifully trudge through.

The day had finally arrived. It was February 14th and Soi Fon was carefully placing the chocolates she'd worked so hard to make in a red box. She wrapped it with a pink bow, going along with the color scheme associated with the holiday.

Luckily, she had been able to get this day off. Considering she hadn't taken a vacation day in almost a century, it was easy to secure. There were some raised eyebrows at the day chosen, but Soi Fon just gave them an icy glare and they kept their mouths shut.

Tucking the box safely away in her haori, Soi Fon headed for her and Yoruichi's favorite sparring grounds. It was a clearing surrounded by sakura trees. In a month or two, the trees would be in bloom and the scent of cherry blossoms would fill the air. She had many fond memories of training with her former master, petals gently falling around them.

Currently the air was cold and the trees were bare. There was a possibility of snow later, but for now the skies were clear.

She arrived to find Yoruichi waiting for her. This was unexpected since Soi Fon was ten minutes early. Even more unexpected was the fact that Yoruichi was carrying a picnic basket with her.

Yoruichi spotted her and smiled a wide Cheshire grin. "Hey there, Little Bee."

Soi Fon blushed a little at the nickname. "Please don't call me that, Yoruichi."

"I'll call you what I want to, Little Bee. You used to like when I called you that," Yoruichi said, pouting.

"I was much younger then." Soi Fon motioned to the basket. "What's with this, anyway?"

Yoruichi shrugged. "I was hungry and figured we'd eat lunch out here before our match."

She pulled out a blanket and spread it out on the ground. Plopping down, she patted a spot next to her.

"Well? Come on."

Soi Fon sat down where Yoruichi had indicated. She was secretly overjoyed that she could sit so close to her goddess. There was a tiny bit of suspicion nagging at her, though.

Does she know why we're really here? Does she know how I feel? No, it can't be. Soi Fon shook the thoughts away and took the bento box Yoruichi offered her. She opened it and saw that it contained a few rice balls and some sushi.

"Did you make this?" Soi fon asked, curious.

She looked over her shoulder to see Yoruichi lying down, propped up on her elbow and eating one of the rice balls.

"Just the rice balls. I bought the sushi. It's delicious, but damn hard to make," Yoruichi commented, taking another bite of the rice ball.

Soi Fon turned back to her own food. She picked up a rice ball and took a bite.

"It's delicious!"

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. "What's with the tone of surprise?

Soi Fon stumbled a bit on her words. "I mean–it's just–I didn't think you knew how to cook."

Yoruichi chuckled. "Don't worry yourself into a fit, Little Bee. Anyway, I kinda had to learn. I mean, I had to learn how to fend for myself, y'know? Urahara sure can't cook. That man could burn water if you let him try to make food."

At that, Soi Fon grumbled and ate more of her rice ball. She'd never liked Urahara, even more so after Yoruichi left the Soul Society with him. He got to spend so much time with her. She was also unsure of their relationship. She'd tried asking Yoruichi about what Urahara was to her, but she had just brushed the question off and insinuated that Soi Fon had a crush on him.

They continued eating with Yoruichi filling the silence with horror stories of Urahara's attempts at cooking. The chill air was beginning to seep through Soi Fon's clothes. A small shiver shook her thin frame.

Moments later, a blanket was placed over her shoulders. Yoruichi wrapped the blanket around the both of them. Soi Fon's temperature spiked at the close proximity to her beloved.

"There. I thought you might get cold. This should keep you warm," Yoruichi said softly, her breath warm against Soi Fon's cheek.

Soi Fon's heart was thundering in her chest. She could barely think. Gently, she lowered her head onto Yoruichi's shoulder and closed her eyes.

I wish we could stay like this forever. Just us, together…

A thought occurred to her. This was a great opportunity to give Yoruichi her gift. She reached into her robes and retrieved the small box.

"I, uh, made this for you," she said, presenting the box.

Yoruichi smiled and took the box, carefully unwrapping it.

"Ooh, chocolate. Aww, it's shaped like little cats, too." Yoruichi turned to Soi Fon. "This must have been difficult to make."

Soi Fon tried to play it cool. "It was no big deal. Once I understood the basics, it was easy," she said, shrugging.

"Well, at least I'm not the only one who brought a gift," Yoruichi stated as she reached into the basket she'd brought. She removed a bag and handed it to Soi Fon.

She sat there for a minute holding the bag, dumbstruck. She didn't know what to make of Yoruichi bringing a gift for her. Was it a Valentine's gift? Or was it just a coincidence? Was it possible that Yoruichi had some sort of romantic feelings for her as well?

"Well? Are you going to open it or what?"

Soi Fon snapped back to her senses. She removed the tissue paper and pulled out a yellow cashmere scarf with a bee embroidered on the bottom corner.

"I saw it in a store window back in the human world and immediately thought of you."

"It's beautiful," Soi Fon murmured as she ran her hands over the incredibly soft fabric. She turned to Yoruichi. "This must have been expensive. You really didn't have to—"

"I wanted to," Yoruichi interrupted. She took the scarf and wrapped it around Soi Fon's neck. "Perfect," she whispered.

Her hands remained holding the fabric. She stared into Soi Fon's eyes. Neither of them moved. Soi Fon felt herself getting lost in those beautiful golden orbs. Her pulse roared in her ears like so much thunder.

"It's snowing," Yoruichi whispered, not breaking eye contact for a moment.

"Uh-huh," Soi Fon murmured, leaning closer.

She felt her lips part slightly. Yoruichi still didn't move away. Both their breath made steam in the small space between them.

The trance was suddenly broken by a ringing sound. Yoruichi groaned and rolled her eyes as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a cell phone.

"What is it?" she demanded grumpily.

Soi Fon took this chance to catch her breath. The intense moment they just shared had taken its toll. She looked up to the snow falling slowly from the sky.

Yoruichi sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye."

"What was that all about?"

"The boys are having a crisis. They need my help to fix all the shit they fucked up," Yoruichi complained, biting off a piece of chocolate. "I swear they can't do anything right without me."

"Oh. I guess you have to go back then."

"Yeah, looks like it." Yoruichi sighed. "Here, open wide," she offered, holding out the piece to Soi Fon.

She blushed a bit, but complied. Yoruichi placed the chocolate in her mouth and Soi Fon bit down on it. She turned away as she chewed, trying to hide the bright red blush spreading across her face.

"We should do this more often. Most of the time we're sparring, but I like hanging out with you and just talking," Yoruichi commented.

"Yeah, I'd like that, too."

"Oh, by the way Soi Fon…"

"Yes?" she said, turning.

Yoruichi placed a light, quick kiss on her lips. "Happy Valentine's Day, my Little Bee," she said with a mile-wide grin.

With that, Yoruichi shupo-ed away, leaving Soi Fon in stunned silence. She touched her lips, unsure if the quick kiss even happened. A smile made its way onto her face. She was confused and questions were racing around her head, but one thing was clear. She'd never felt happier in her entire life.

EotD: Well then, that's the end of that chapter. Is Yoruichi really in love with Soi Fon? Or is it just a booty call? Is Soi Fon being toyed with? I have no idea, but tune in next week (or next year because really my update schedules are terrible) to find out!

CabooseBlue: Yoruichi would know about toys, wouldn't she? I'm waiting for you to drag those in. And I'm surprised you pulled the stuff from the bad batman shows... I mean classic. Yeah, those. (Oh god the ice puns!) I didn't have a seizure watching those reruns on New Years, I promise. And I definitely didn't beat my brains in when Mike picked up the puns... for weeks. -_- Anyway, I'm going to reread the sweetness to erase the bad puns from my memory now. Take it away!

EotD: Yeah, have fun with that. Now, I'm off to do research...yes, research.