Have some Shinji x Hiyori fluff. And nvm the fact that it's several years old -.-;;

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters.

Heart-Shaped

Hiyori insisted it was only because she was already throughly preoccupied that it surprised her when she found herself suddenly pinned against the wall of her vice-captain's quarters. She suppressed a scream and her heart leapt for another reason entirely when she saw that it was Shinji with that stupid-looking sly grin spread all across his face. The bastard. She hated him even more because he was most of the reason she was so preoccupied.

Although Shinji could never be quite sure of what reaction to expect from Hiyori, the forceful slap to his face took him aback. He recoiled immediately, discouraged but not about to give up. That was simply her way of telling him she was not in a mood to be messed with.

"Idiot!" she shouted, not realizing (or maybe realizing a little too well) that his ears were only inches away from her face. "Where were you all day? I snuck away from that bonehead Kurosaki twice to come see you, and you weren't in your office either time!"

"Not so loud, Hiyori," the newly-reinstated fifth division captain requested.

Hiyori, as usual, paid no heed and shouted quite possibly more loudly, "You didn't answer my question!"

Shinji rolled his eyes and backed away a little from the smaller shinigami. Clearly she was not in a cuddling mood. "Maybe if you'd paid attention to me for once, you'd have known where I was," he said irritably, though his voice still retained a fair amount of calmness. "I told you yesterday that I was going to the real world today."

Hiyori frowned. "When'd you tell me that?" she asked, her nose scrunched in thought.

"When we were doing this," Shinji replied, once again closing the distance between them and this time attempting to place a kiss on her lips. It didn't quite work out as planned. Hiyori slapped him once again, with much more force than was necessary.

"'The hell was that for?" Shinji whined, obviously offended. "Normally you get all mushy and can't even form words when I try to kiss you."

"Like you don't do that too," she snorted accusatorially. "But you shouldn't tell me important shit when we're making out. I won't remember it later." Hiyori looked away and sniffed, and Shinji was surprised to see a little blush cross her face.

"Well, when was I supposed to-"

"I had a surprise for you, jerk!" Hiyori spat out of nowhere.

Shinji raised an eyebrow at her, utterly confused. "What?" he asked, though he had heard her perfectly fine.

Hiyori sighed and pushed him roughly out of the way. For a moment Shinji wondered if she was going to lock herself in her room - she'd done that a couple times, once even with an accompanying kidou spell - but she stopped right at the front door, where she had dropped her messenger bag when she came in.

She looked through it for a moment, finally dumping its contents out on the floor. She rifled through the messy pile for a moment before picking up a rock and throwing it at Shinji. It hit him squarely in the forehead before falling to the floor.

Shinji stared at the rock for a moment, finally trusting himself enough to say, "Why'd you just throw a rock at me?"

"You were supposed to catch it, dummy," she stated with finality, as if he should have expected her to throw a rock all along. "Pick it up."

It was surprisingly poetic, Shinji mused. Well, for Hiyori, that is. On the back - front? - of the rock she had carved a tiny inscription: "Shinji & Hiyori."

"It's shaped like a heart," she explained. Shinji held it far away from his face. He supposed that if he squinted at it, maybe with one eye shut, he would see what she was talking about. He made a mental note to try that later, deciding for now that performing such an obvious act right in front of Hiyori was a bad idea. If she said it looked like a heart, it looked like a heart, period, no questions asked.

"Well?" Hiyori asked expectantly after a moment. Shinji opened his mouth to thank her, but he was met with his third slap that day. "Does that ring a bell, bastard? Don't tell me you've forgotten."

"Of course I haven't," Shinji said, rubbing his face from the impact. He was sure there was a mark there, from the rock if not from the slap. Ah well - at least she hadn't kicked him yet. "It's our five-year anniversary."

"Damn right it is!" Hiyori shouted, once again much louder than necessary. "And I haven't seen you all day. What the hell do you think I-"

"Hold on!" Shinji shouted, halting Hiyori in mid-sentence. He figured he had about four seconds at best until she'd start screaming again, so he quickly continued, "Did you ever stop to wonder exactly what I was doing in the real world all day?"

"I was about to get to that," she snapped irritably, her tone a warning one that clearly said, This had better be worth my while.

Shinji took a deep breath. It was difficult for him to swallow his pride, but he certainly was in for a beating if he didn't get it over with soon, and now was as good a time as any to ask her. He'd already been slapped three times and hit with a rock; what more did he have to lose? With that thought in mind, he got down on one knee, pulling a silk box out of his back pocket. "I spent a damn fortune on this thing," he said, opening the lid of the box, "so you'd better marry me."

Hiyori actually looked taken aback. Shinji was a little surprised that she was so surprised - surely she'd known it was coming eventually. But this was Hiyori, after all, so maybe she hadn't.

"Oh my God," she said, snatching the ring out of Shinji's hands. She stared at it for a long time, speechless, examining it from different angles and gripping it tightly as if she expected it to disappear at any moment.

Shinji didn't want to rush things, but his knee was starting to hurt. "Uhh... Hiyori. I just asked you to marry me. Aren't you going to say something?"

Hiyori looked up from the diamond and her expression immediately changed. "You didn't ask me," she argued. "You practically demanded that I marry you. You should know by now that you don't get to make the demands, Shin-"

"HIYORI! It's a yes or no question!" Shinji shouted, ditching the romantic gesture and jumping to his feet. He tried to grab the ring out of Hiyori's hands, but she shunpoed to the other side of the room a split second before he could grasp the box.

"Why should I marry you?" she asked from across the room, the beginnings of a lopsided smirk forming on her face. She was taunting him, damn her.

"Uhh, I don't know," Shinji shot back. He was starting to get irritated. "Maybe because you love me, you want to spend the rest of your life with me, you think we're soulmates and were made for each other, something along those lines? That's generally why people get married."

"Hmmm? When did I say any of that crap?"

Shinji took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. This was not going the way that he had planned. He knew Hiyori wasn't much of a romantic; neither was he, for that matter. Still, though, for some irrational, nonsensical, godforsaken reason, he loved her, and he wanted her to know it.

"Look," Shinji said. "All I want is an answer."

Hiyori tried on the ring. It fit beautifully. She held it up to the light and it sparkled, creating little rainbow prisms on the ceiling. Shinji folded his arms impatiently.

"Took you long enough," Hiyori muttered, rolling her eyes at him.

"Huh?"

"Whaddya mean, 'huh'?" Hiyori asked, shunpoing back to a very confused-looking Shinji. "We've loved each other for ages, and it wasn't until five years ago that you finally worked up the courage to ask me out. I was starting to think I'd have to wait another century before you asked me to marry you."

Shinji felt Hiyori's fingers lace around his as her words sunk in. Conscious of the new sensation of metal brushing against his ring finger, he asked tentatively, "So, uh... is that a yes?"

"Duh, moron."

Shinji was too ecstatic to acknowledge the insult. He kissed her deeply, and this time she didn't resist.

Corny, I know, but what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic. Comments, critiques, etc. welcome!