A/N: Set a month after "The Sweet Aroma of Love", on the White Day (March, 14th) of that universe.
prompt: "how [Shimon] interacts with Sayo when they're alone with each other other than the angsty background she has" by TailGatomonX3 (fanfiction.net)

"How long is it going to take?"

Ikaruga Shimon, Heavenly Commander since almost five years, didn't fear much. There were only a few times, he remembered, having ever been scared. Being a level-headed person he was proud to be unshaken by most things. But now...

Now, he was scared and anxious about failing.

Thinking about it, the first time Shimon had ever been scared to death, had been, when he was actually facing his own, believing, he would never return to reality and see his foster-family again. He had been saved by Amawaka Seigen back then, who from this day onward became his idol.

The second time he was scared to his bones, had been when he nearly lost his little sister, Ikaruga Sayo. He had shook in fear for her life as he'd tried to heal the deep wound Hijimaru had caused on her. Never before and never after had he been so close to loose his reason, his faith and will with the threat of his sister's life. He could have lost everything back then. But thanks to Enmadou Rokuro his sister was saved and so was his reason to go on.

Then there had been the time he nearly lost her. Fear had clutched him in a lethal grip as he came closer and closer to the idea of loosing her forever, of not being able to tell her, what she meant to him, not being able to tell her, he was sorry for ignoring her. Not being able to see her awe-inspiring smile again.

The moment Mayura was saved, had been his salvation. And now that he thought about it, it had led up to today. Not only had he admitted his feelings in their full range to himself. The day she smiled again at him had be the start of something new. And he had never turned back. He had stopped denying his feelings for her and instead had waited for the day to tell her about them. Back then he hadn't known it was coming sooner than he would have hoped for.

And it was fine now. Shimon had managed to go through all these events without a crack. He had regained his composure like he did every time. He had focused on being an exorcist, a brother, a son and a friend.

But as he faced now an unknown challenge, he started to see, that not only life threatening situations can make you scared.

"Relax, Ni ni-sama. It has to cool down now," Chiiko told him as they both watched over the result of their day's hard work.

For hours Shimon had tried to make an enjoyable sample of white chocolate pralines with her help. Never would he have imagined, that melting chocolate could be such a difficult task. And he now wished, he had chosen another plan for a nice gift on White Day.

The first patch had been ruined, when they had directly burned the chocolate, not stirring the chocolate enough.

After throwing away the stinking mass and clearing up the bowl, they had again tried to melt white chocolate. Luckily they had bought more than two kilograms of white chocolate bars because they were newbies on the melting chocolate issue.

The second time they had stirred the bowl too much. The boiling water had swept over the rim of the pot swimming in the water, as Shimon swung the whisk in quick waves.

Unsure of what to do, they had looked at each other in surprise for a moment. Chiiko then had told him to stir the chocolate again and that the water may dissolve in steam.

Unfortunately, it didn't. Instead, as he'd continued to stir, the chocolate had formed itself into a hard clump. When he lifted the whisk a much more darkened, yellowish and sticky lump stuck to it.

Chiiko had stared looked at him accusingly, as if he had anything to do with it, standing next to him like a commander of a mission squad with her hands stemmed into her hips.

How did the chocolate end up like this anyway?

On third try, everything had looked well. They had complimented themselves for not screwing up again. There hadn't been much chocolate left to melt anyway.

Content with their work, they'd filled the chocolate into small heart shaped hollows of a pink silicon form – something Chiiko had insisted on since Mayura had given him a large heart as well. He would have preferred the normal round ones but Chiiko had been obstinate about it.

After waiting for the chocolate to turn cold and taking it out of their form, Shimon had appreciated their work with satisfaction. He had thought, she was going to like it and that he had nothing to worry about. But he had been wrong.

Clueless of his looming doom, he had looked forward to today's date with Mayura. He had replaced the hideous, dotted apron – he should not do everything Chiiko forced him to – and the comfortable clothes beneath with something more suitable for a date.

Just when he had put his glasses back on after he had slipped a black pullover over his head, Chiiko's sudden scream had made him flinch with fear.

Running towards the direction from where the scream was emitted, he had run into the kitchen of the Ikaruga main estate. He hadn't been the only person who came running to save her.

Standing in the kitchen servants and family members all must have wondered about her looking with a slightly depressed gaze at a pile of small chocolate hearts. Small white chocolate hearts that had a white, frizzy coating around them, almost looking like mold.

Shocked he had shifted his gaze onto her again, after he detected the reason for her sudden outburst. "Why do they look like this?"

She had looked up at him with tears in her eyes, looking so small in front of the kitchen isle standing on a stool to watch over the chocolate, dressed in a blue yukata (1). "I don't know."

"Shimon-sama, Sayo-sama, may I give you an advice on the chocolate?" Kaede, an old, nice lady and loyal servant, had asked. (2)

Shimon had looked at Chiiko again. Their gazes had met over the shameful result of their work. They both had believed they could manage something as easy as melting chocolate alone. But in that moment they had to admit, they had failed.

"You may," Shimon had nodded at the good old Kaede.

"Don't heat the chocolate too much. It will look like it does now, if you do."

"Oh. I didn't know that," a small blush rose to his cheeks, as he had been forced to accept his failure in preparing himself for the task. He should have known better and should have informed himself not only about melting chocolate beforehand but on possible negative results, too. "Thank you."

After everyone left the room, Chiiko and him had continued to work on a forth patch. Slowly melting the chocolate with less heat this time, it had taken a large a long while until it was ready to be poured into the form.

In comparison to the three earlier patches, this one was rather small because they hadn't had much chocolate left to melt.

And it just wouldn't cool down while he ran out of time now.

With his hands buried in the pockets of his trousers, Shimon looked at the clock on the kitchen's wall. It was almost 4 pm. She was coming soon. And he would surely disappoint her.

Now he wondered, if it haven't his best of ideas to return the favor she did him on Valentine's Day. Maybe he should have stuck to his first idea of giving her one of his bonsai plants. But that had seemed too easy since they were already there.

Or perhaps he should have just bought something again like he did for her birthday. But when she had handed him the big chocolate heart, he had felt deeply moved because she had gone through the trouble of making it herself.

He had wanted to repay her for her kind and considerate gift.

A gift that not only was heart-felt but also had tasted like heaven.

Now that he thought of it: Was it lame he was going to give her self-made chocolate as a present? But it was traditional to give chocolate back, right? And she wouldn't break up with him because he couldn't give her a proper present, would she? She wasn't that shallow.

In annoyance he clicked his tongue. These thoughts wouldn't get him anywhere. He should have just bought something instead of making himself feel anxious about something simple like this.

"Can't it cool down faster?" He looked at the liquid chocolate in the form reflecting the light from the lamp over the stove with a solid gaze.

"It won't, even if you stare at it," Chiiko watched him with a small smirk, while she knelt on the wooden stool being almost eye to eye with him.

He sighed still feeling anxious about giving Mayura a form full of white chocolate hearts. Fifteen chocolate heart that currently refused to cool down.

"Stop looking so serious, Ni ni-sama. I'm sure, she'll like it." Chiiko looked at him with a sweet smile, that automatically pulled at the corners of his lips. His sweet, little sister was always full of hope.

"You two have been here all day," a third voice joined the conversation. Keiji, wearing a white, spotless shirt, walked into the kitchen and looked at Chiiko and him; and at the chocolate sitting on top of the kitchen isle between them. He then cheerfully blinked an eye at Shimon. "You really want to impress her, don't you?"

"Probably not with this." Shimon bestowed another gaze at the product of their hard work all day and was bitterly disappointment. Mayura and him were celebrating their first White Day as a couple and he was ruining it by handing her over next to nothing, a handful of white chocolate hearts that hopefully weren't ruined this time.

Keiji followed his gaze and lifted his eyebrow, smiling nicely. "I am sure she will appreciate it, after I tell her you fussed about it all day."

Hell no. Of course Keiji wouldn't shy away from the option of teasing him. With a low voice Shimon tried to take some damage control. "Could you just not tell her?"

Chiiko giggled, leaning over the kitchen isle with her face leaned on her hands. A smile bloomed on her face as she watched over the chocolate. "I am glad Ni ni-sama found someone he would something like this for. That's why I kept a careful eye on him making the chocolate."

Again Shimon looked at the result of their attempts to make chocolate hearts but restrained himself on making a comment on it. Her words weren't the best solution to stop Keiji's teasing but he was still thankful Chiiko seemed to be on his side and wouldn't join her eldest brother's teasing. Also he knew, that Chiiko was truly glad he and Mayura had found each other. In the morning hours of the day he fully embraced his feelings for the first time, she had told him, what it truly meant for her. It had been a confession, that had choked him with tears."Thank you Chiiko."

"I can't wait for the day, they'll marry," she exclaimed with a dreamy smile.

Wait. What now?

Marry? His face felt like burning up while he tried not to imagine, how it would be to marry Mayura. They have been dating for only half a year now. "Oi! Don't say things like that."

Obviously ignoring him, Chiiko continued her wishful thinking with that bright smile still being eminent on her face. "But you would have to marry on the Ikaruga estate so Chiiko (3) can be there. Okay Ni ni-sama?"

Keiji laughed at Chiiko and sat down on a stool opposite of her. "Considering how Shimon works, it might take a long while for him to propose."

Why did he have to suffer through this? When he had started dating Mayura, he had believed his siblings would stop teasing him since he openly admitted his feelings for Mayura. Now they have seemed to find a new reason to tease him. With his cheeks feeling like they were on fire, he tried to stay focused and calm – at least on the outside. He retrieved his hands from the pockets of his trousers as he rose them in defeat. "Please stop."

Chiiko looked at Keiji with a warm smile. "I pray every day for Aizen Myoo (4) to make it quick."

"You do what?" Shocked Shimon stared at her. She had told him once she would pray to Aizen Myoo when Shimon had left to meet Mayura, before they were actually dating. But that had been months ago. He wondered how long she prayed for them to get married.

Keiji's face broke into a bright smile while he looked at Chiiko and pointedly ignored Shimon's shocked state. "Maybe I should start praying, too. Who knows? Maybe we'll get to attend their wedding in the course of this year."

Seriously what was wrong with having normal siblings that didn't love to poke at his vulnerable spots and embarrassing him? "Are you two ignoring me on purpose?"

Chiiko rose her head and leaned towards Keiji. "That would be so great! I can imagine Mayu would be looking so beautiful on their wedding day."

It didn't help, that Shimon had an easy time imagining it, too. A satin kimono in soft colors embracing her form prettily and her eyes shining with happiness like a sea reflecting the sun.

His heart fluttered at picturing her like that and he had to suppress the goofy smile that wanted to form itself on his face.

With a gaze at the clock he wondered, if he had time to retrieve his headphones to listen to something, that would clear his head again, while his siblings discussed his hypothetical wedding day. But there wasn't.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice suddenly reached his eyes from somewhere behind him.

His anxiety about handing her the gift was totally gone, when the reason for it was standing behind him. But the anxiety didn't just disappear but left fear as its substitute. While he was afraid before, he was now fighting the panic rising within him thanks to the knowledge that the present was still unfinished.

Oddly he remembered now the fourth time he had been utterly scared. It had been when Mayura decided to tell her father about their relationship and insisted on him being there, too. Well, it had been rather Mayura telling – mumbling – the news to Seigen-san than him. Being frightened – terrified – about his former teachers reaction, he had been frozen to the spot. He hadn't moved a muscle trying to endure Seigen-san glaring daggers at him.

Now he felt very similar to that day.

He knew it was silly and foolish to feel like this but he couldn't help himself.

What was it with the Amawakas wielding so much power over him?

Shimon looked at his siblings in a silent plea with his back still facing Mayura.

Keiji directly jumped to his rescue, rising from the stool and walking towards her. "Mayura-chan, good to see you. You look pretty, a true compliment to the eye. No wonder, my little brother couldn't wait to see you all day as he fussed over his White Day's gift for you." Or not.

Slowly Shimon turned around. There she stood in front of his brother. Keiji's compliment had been insufficient in capturing her whole beauty. She looked soft and fresh, dressed in a white pullover over a light yellow skirt and matching stockings. Her soft blonde hair reflected the sunlight coming through the window. The blue sea eyes of her eyes shined. She reminded him of a sunny morning in spring.

When her eyes skipped away from his brother over to him, her eyes brightened bathing him in happiness. A radiant smile appeared on her lips and her cheeks grew a small tint of red intensifying the lovely picture from before. "Hi."

Even after all these months they had been dating, he couldn't believe this was a gaze, she only held for him.

Dumbfounded he looked at the beauty in front of him. How could he even think about handing her something simple as chocolate?

"Hello Mayu." Chiiko said from behind him in a loud voice. "Ni ni-sama, won't you say something?"

His little sister was right. He should say something and stop staring at her. This turned out to become a serious problem of his. "Ah. Yes, hi. Who let you in?"

Mayura looked taken aback, the very moment he realized, how it must have sounded. With a knitted eyebrow she mustered him. "A servant. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He looked at her for a while, ashamed of having sounded rude. He grabbed onto the little composure he had left in him putting on a solid face.

Nobody talked for a few seconds. The mood was started to grow thick, when Keiji cleared his throat to get some attention. "I think Sayo and me shall better leave you two alone now." Shimon looked over his shoulder and watched him walk to Chiiko and holding a hand out to her. "Come on Sayo. Let's go."

"But I wanna see, what happens," Chiiko complained sulking.

Keiji bowed to her and said with a smile. "If you don't leave them for themselves, your wish might never come true."

Realization crossed her face. "You're right." Taking Keiji's hand she jumped of the stool with a smile. She turned around towards Mayura and him and winked at them. "Later Mayu! Later Ni ni-sama!"

Both his siblings went off quickly and it was only him and Mayura now standing in front of each other in the kitchen of the Ikaruga main house.

Shimon sighed. The noises had exponentially lessened with his nosy siblings being gone. Now he was left alone with Mayura and the silence.

Looking at her, he saw her smiling again. "What's Sayo-chan's wish?"

"Uh. Never mind." His face started to feel warm again as he pushed against the rising picture of her in a wedding kimono in his head. It was way too soon to think about things like that.

Her face turned bore a suspicious look now as she slightly frowned at him. "Okay then." Having said that her former expression changed again. A lovely smile formed onto her face. "I wish you a happy White Day, Shimon."

"Happy White Day. I actually have something for-" He turned around and looked at the form resting on top of the kitchen isle. The chocolate still looked to soft. This was embarrassing. "Actually, I'm not sure."

"About what?" She blinked her eyes at him.

He felt like fidgeting. But he wouldn't let it overcome him. Burying his hands into the pockets of his trousers, he skipped his gaze away from her. "It's stupid."

"Tell me about it?" Mayura leaned her head to the side to get his attention and looked at him from under her eyelashes.

For a moment he wondered, if she knew, it was a gaze that would disarm him in a split of a second. He sighed and grabbed the silicone form. It budged in his hands, a obvious proof, the chocolate was still soft and elastic. "I wanted to make white chocolate for you. But this is the result-"

She softly looked at the pink silicon form with shining white chocolate in his hands. "It looks nice."

Of course she was being polite and kind because it was in her nature but Shimon knew this unfinished gift wasn't a proper one for their first White Day. "Don't say things like that. I know, this isn't the present you hoped for."

Her soft gaze grew hard as she looked at him like a parent would scolding her child and waved a finger in front of him. "First of all, I didn't come here to get a present but to be with you," Her eyes turned kind and lovely again, "and secondly I love it."

"You do?"

She softly giggled. "I do. I know you cannot cook, Shimon. And if you actually managed to make this, it is proof enough you worked hard on it."

Shimon smiled at her in gratitude. Every inch of anxiety and fear that had filled him moments before was now gone. He was truly grateful, she liked it.

With a voice filled with tenderness she added, "Thank you, Shimon for going through the trouble."

"Thank you, too, for accepting this as a present at all," he replied.

A soft laugh left her. "Wanna share?"

His gaze skipped down onto the not even half solid mass in the form. "It's gonna take a while until it's finished."

"I don't mind it not being hard. How about we use spoons?"

Nodding in agreement, he handed her the form with the fifteen chocolate hearts to get two spoons.

When he turned around to her again, his heart literally stopped beating for a second. He watched her dipping a finger into the melted chocolate and rising it to her lips to suck on it.

Clenched his fingers into fists, he tried to control the sudden storm of raging emotions within him. Most of them were inappropriate and making him feel very uncomfortable right now.

Never before had a girl evoked such feelings inside of him. Until Mayura stumbled into his life, these kind of feelings, which were eating away his composure, had been unknown to him.

"Mmmhh... I like it when it's melted," she lightly murmured.

Was she trying to kill him?

Probably it was just Mayura being Mayura. His beautiful and innocent Mayura, that had no idea about her effect on the male part of humanity.

Yet, that knowledge didn't help him from barely escaping an heart-attack. Neither did it help him chasing away the emotions, she had awoken in him.

"Do you want to eat it here or shall we go somewhere else?"

She seemed to be oblivious to his inner struggles. Another thing he was grateful for.

Regaining some of his self-control, he recalled a part of the plan he had originally devised for this day. "I thought about going outside. The weather's nice today."

Sitting down on the veranda surrounding the main house, they watched over the gardens of the Ikaruga estate. The beginning of spring painted the growing grass in a light green, flowers rose again in the wake of a new life and the trees were decorated with young leaves starting their journey.

The soothing scent of flowers and grass surrounded them. In comfortable silence they shared the sweet white chocolate, that had now turned into a creamy texture.

It wasn't bad at all. The white chocolate tasted nicely. But in his head Shimon already devised a plan on what he would give her as a gift next time that wouldn't end into a catastrophe.

"You know, this would be a nice tradition," Mayura said gently, pulling him out of his planning.

"Hm?"

"For White Day. Sitting on the veranda, eating white melted chocolate." A small smile grazed her face as she looked over the gardens.

He returned her soft smile. "At least I know how to melt it without burning now."

She laughed, warmly and honestly.

Stupefied he looked at her in awe. His heart beat fast in his chest as he watched her laughing. She was so beautiful. When she laughed her whole face lit up.

With a short nod he leaned towards her. His hand rose to trace her chin to tilt her head.

His lips begged to kiss her and he followed their command when she leaned into him.

She tasted like white chocolate. Making kissing her even more sweetly.

Slowly he brushed his lips against her's. A soft sigh left her, opening up for him.

Tracing her lips with his tongue, his heart started to race.

Slowly exploring her mouth, he scooted closer. She welcomed him by deepening the kiss accompanied with a sigh.

His nerves started to tingle. Warmth spread through him as he was lost to her kiss.

When he felt her fingers gripping hard into his shoulder, he carefully started to back away. They were both new on this field, handling these unfamiliar sensations for the first time. He didn't want them to take it to far too fast, too soon.

A low mumble escaped her, when he shifted away to make room between them again.

With his heart still thundering in his chest, he readjusted his glasses which had slipped down his nose a little bit.

He looked at her just in time to see her fluttering her eyes open and watched the beautiful sea of her eyes being flooded by a storm of emotion, pulling at his heart strings.

Would he ever stop falling for her?

He already missed the feeling of her lips moving against his.

Being in love made him feel like a fool, but at least he was a happy one. "Sounds like a nice tradition."

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(1) Yukata - a simple form of a kimono worn by women

(2) Kaede - my first OC because I needed one for this scene. I am sorry!^^

(3) Chiiko sometimes calls herself by her own name. It's a childish form to speak about oneself in the Japanese language (at least it is used by childish characters as far as I know!^^)

(4) Aizen Myoo - a Wisdom king (third kind of deity in Buddhism) known to transform earthly desires, love and lust, into spiritual awakening. Sayo prayed for Aizen Myoo, when Shimon and Mayura went on their not-a-date in Chapter 10 of "The Purity of White Seems To Be Red"