❀˖˚ ༘𐙚 Confections & Confessions

❀˖˚ ༘𐙚 Confections & Confessions

Shinji Hirako x gn!reader

Synopsis: You are the third seat of Squad 3, who just so happens to have a little crush on a certain blond captain from Squad 5. When you are reminded that his birthday is coming up, you decide—with a little push from your captain—to gift Shinji a handmade treat…

CW: sfw, set during TBTP, confessions, reader is a bit nervous and unsure of themself, Rose being #1 wingman, Shinji being Shinji at the end

WC: 4k

Notes: Happy Birthday, Shinji! 💞 I wanted to try something a little different here, and I got a little carried away with the plot. So, this came out longer than I had initially intended it to be.

Also, as an extra note! Correct me if I’m wrong, but I know birthdays weren’t really celebrated individually in Japan until after WWII—it was more of a New Year’s thing, I believe? I still tried to keep it accurate to the time, but since this is meant for Shinji’s birthday, we’ll have to suspend our disbelief a little here.

The rhythmic melody of your captain’s violin performance reaches your ears as you come up to his office to deliver a report. Just as you were about to open the door, you heard Lieutenant Iba’s yelling, cutting the music off. Chikane Iba was known for her stern demeanor and never hesitated in criticizing your captain, Rojuro ‘Rose’ Otoribashi.

Rose’s daily musical performance followed by Chikane’s verbal assault was a daily occurrence, one you had gotten used to as a member of the Third Division.

With a sigh, you prepare yourself mentally to face your lieutenant’s strict glare as you interrupt them. “I apologize for the interruption, Captain, Lieutenant. I have a report for you, sir.” You direct your attention to Rose.

“Good grief, perfect timing. Get this man to finally work on something.” The elder woman sighs sharply, pinching the bridge of her nose. With a stabbing glare, she looks over at the blond pointedly. “I expect these to be completed when I return, and so help me, if I find you wasting away with these instruments instead, I’ll have more than just a few choice words for you.”

Even though her words aren’t directed at you, you can’t help but feel a foreboding sense of dread settle deep in your gut at her threatening tone. You nod timidly as she moves past you, exiting the office and leaving a thick silence in her wake that you could cut with your zanpakutō. You much prefer the sound of your captain’s music.

“I don’t know how you can keep testing her patience like that.” You comment offhandedly as you walk further into the office, coming up to Rose’s desk as he rises from his slumped position.

“As long as she doesn’t take my precious Candice away…” He sighs with a pained shudder, moving to pick up a stack of files on top of his desk. “And, I’m still captain at the end of the day.” He starts to rifle through the pages quickly, but not quick enough for your eyes to miss the words on the front page:

Joint Training Session: Squads 3 and 5.

You ignore the way your heart skips a beat, clearing your throat to direct his attention back to you, gesturing to the report in your hand in question.

“Ah, just set it there,” he points off to the side of his cluttered desk to another stack of papers. “This takes precedence.”

“Is that so?” You question casually, trying not to show how interested you really are. 

“Yes, well, considering we have this training session tomorrow…” he trails off, signing off on something.

“Oh, right. That’s tomorrow, huh.” There’s a feigned disinterest in your tone that causes Rose to glance at you with a knowing smile.

“You’re supposed to be there too, you know.”

“Of course.”

A brief moment of silence passes after your quick response as you stare at each other, Rose’s smile growing more as you start to waver.

“Ahh! Please stop staring at me like that!” You yell at him, irritated by his expression. You know what that look means, but you don’t want to admit it.

“Come now, there’s no need to be shy about having a crush. Shinji is-“

“I don’t have a crush on him!” You snap, cutting him off with a huff and feeling your face flush with warmth. This was not a conversation you were expecting to have so early in the morning.

“Ahh, a first love. You should be embracing it! In fact, a blossoming romance is-“

“Ok, I’ll be heading out now! I’ve done my job and delivered my report, captain. I suggest you finish your work before Lieutenant Iba comes back.” You interrupt once more, not wanting to hear his whole spiel that he was going to go on about.

You hear him call out your name as you head toward the door. “Don’t be late tomorrow.”

“Right.” You sigh quietly, nervous about the day ahead and hoping that your captain wouldn’t say anything to embarrass you.

The following afternoon, you find yourself at the training grounds in the Fifth Division’s barracks, overseeing a small group of soul reapers from both Squad 3 and 5 as they train together. A few paces away, you can hear Chikane strictly direct the group in front of her, and you can’t help but feel sympathetic at the fearful looks on their faces.

To the other side, you spot Lieutenant Aizen as he politely instructs his group as they look to him in awe, blushes on their cheeks. Gin stands with him to help, the young prodigy making comments every now and then.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Rose sitting with Shinji, the two of them chatting as they sip on tea. Your group was closest to where they were, so you could faintly make out what they were saying as you stepped back to watch the soul reapers train in front of you.

“I’m tellin’ ya Rose, ya gotta be more sneaky with lazin’ around.” You hear Shinji express, your heart fluttering at the sound of his drawling voice. It had been a few days since you last saw him, and just the sound of him talking is enough to make you giddy with excitement.

“And how many times must I say that I’m not lazing around like you?”

“Sure, sure.” Shinji’s honey eyes meet yours, causing your gaze to flick away out of habit. 

Since when had you been staring at him? You hadn’t even noticed. The anxiety at having been caught staring has your heart racing, but you have to admit to yourself that it wasn’t just being noticed that had you feeling that way. The image of Shinji lounging in his seat stays in your mind; his long and glossy hair shimmering in the sunlight as it sways in the gentle spring breeze, an easy-going expression gracing his handsome features. You feel your cheeks warming, mentally kicking yourself to pull it together—you’re working, after all!

“That reminds me, though,” Rose’s gentle voice rings, his next few words catching your attention. “Your birthday is coming up next week, right?”

That's right! Shinji’s birthday was in just a few days. It had slipped your mind, what with work and all. You had wanted to do something for him, but you weren't quite sure what to do.

“Hm? Yeah, it is.”

“Do you have any plans?” Rose asks curiously, taking a sip from his steaming cup.

“Not really… Maybe I’ll just go out after work for some drinks. Like last year.” Shinji responds in a contemplative manner, tilting his head over at the other blond and reminding him of a shared memory they had.

“Hm, yeah, that was nice. That sake the bar owner offered you was delicious, wasn’t it?”

“It was, now I can’t wait…” Shinji sighs, clearly wanting another taste of the drink.

“So you’re not doing anything during the day, then?” Rose asks after a short pause, quite suspiciously, in your opinion.

“No? As if Sōsuke’ll let me!” Shinji says with a scowl, shooting a glare over at said lieutenant.

“When has that ever stopped you?” Rose deadpans.

Shinji ignores him, continuing on. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason.” Rose glances in your direction, that knowing smile back on his lips. You pretend to ignore him, but he knows you heard. Shinji's perceptive eyes follow his line of sight to you, but before he can question Rose again, clearly not buying what he said, Rose changes the subject.

You can feel Shinji's lingering gaze on your back as you try your hardest to ignore it. You let out the breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding when you heard him get drawn into the conversation with Rose.

You get lost in your thoughts again. You wished to go out with them to the bar, but you know better. It’s not like you could just show up uninvited, and even if you could, you’d feel way too awkward trying to join in. Maybe you could just slip a gift onto his desk at some point during the day? Yeah, you think that sounds like a good idea. But now you’re not sure what you should get him.

As you ponder and try to brainstorm, you hear someone politely call your name. When you glance up, you find one of the soul reapers in your training group looking at you with a concerned expression on his face.

“Oh! Sorry about that, I got lost in thought,” you laugh sheepishly, “Nice work, everyone! Let’s move on to the next exercise.”

Any remaining thoughts of gifts get pushed to the back of your head as you focus back on the training session in front of you. You can think about all that later tonight.

After spending the whole night agonizing over it, you find yourself in front of Rose in his office, desperate for help. You never thought you’d be asking him something like this, as your nerves eat away at your insides.

“What do you need?” He questions, saying your name, a curious look in his eyes as he watches you nervously fiddle with your fingers.

Fidgeting in your spot, you mumble out a reply, “I don’t know what to get him.”

“Get what for whom?” Your sharp eyes glare at him while he laughs heartily.

“I’m just kidding. I, for one, am proud that you are working up the courage to confess your feelings.”

“Woah! I never said anything about confessing!” You blush, trying to push the nerve-wracking thought away. That’s an entire hurdle you are not ready for—even if the idea is sort of exhilarating. “I just want to get him something nice, at the very least.”

Rose thinks it over for a second before offering, “How about you make him some namagashi like nerikiri? I know he enjoys having them on special occasions, especially when Ukitake invites us all over to that specialty tea shop he frequents.”

You consider it, but you’ve never made the traditional dessert before, let alone watched someone make it. So you find yourself a bit hesitant at the idea.

“Plus, if it came from you, I’m sure Shinji would be over the moon.”

You squint at him, trying to read his expression, but you can’t really tell what he meant by that. Or, it's more like you refuse to indulge in the idea that Shinji might like you like that. You don’t want to get your hopes up over nothing. So, you cast his latter statement aside as just flattery before focusing on the idea he brought up.

“I don’t know… I’ve never made anything like that before. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“I have a friend who owns a confectionery shop over in the food district. I can introduce you if you’d like.” He offers nicely with a patient smile.

You chew over his offer; if this friend of his could help you out, you think it’s not such a bad idea after all. At the end of the day, you trust Rose’s opinion, not only as your captain but as a friend.

“Ok. If you could, that would be great.”

“Perfect! We can swing by after work. I don’t want Chikane admonishing either of us for skipping the day.” He sighs heavily, and you nod in agreement.

After Rose had introduced you to his friend, you would stop by the confectionery shop every day after work to practice making the namagashi. You spent many hours agonizing away to create a perfectly designed and tasty sweet. The shopkeeper, a kind elderly gentleman, had even given you a premium tea blend to pair with the dessert after seeing how hard you had worked on it.

Today was the 10th of May, Shinji’s birthday, and you had just finished making the delicate sweet mere moments ago as you rushed to the Squad 5 barracks. The shopkeeper had drilled into you the fact that the soft dessert should ideally be eaten immediately, so you had practiced for this by estimating the shortest time it would take to get from one place to another. You had timed it perfectly so that you could place the gift on Shinji’s desk right before he came back with Aizen after a meeting that Rose had told you about. Your captain had kindly turned a blind eye and let you skip out on work to get his done.

Having made it to your destination in under five minutes, you do your best to sneak into the fifth’s barracks, moving quickly to the captain’s office and making sure not to jostle the neatly wrapped gift in your hands. You come face to face with the doors leading to said office and wait a moment, making sure no one is inside before inching your way into the quaint room.

Your nerves are getting to you, but before you can change your mind, you muster all of your courage and quickly move to Shinji’s desk to gently place the present down.

It’s like a weight has lifted off your shoulders when you release the bundle from your hands, all the tension from the past week washing away. You find yourself relieved to finally have achieved what you had practiced so hard on and planned to do.

Now that you’ve accomplished what you came to do, you take a moment to look around the room. While you had been there plenty of times before for work and the times Shinji had drawn you into conversation, you had never taken a moment to have a close look at the place before.

You know you shouldn’t, but something pulls at you to take a look at the shelves in the room. You find a simple comb next to a few bottles that look like they are filled with creams and oils for hair. You can’t help but smile softly and chuckle a bit at that; no wonder Shinji’s hair looks so luscious all the time. He's definitely the type to pay special attention and take care of it so well.

Suddenly, a deep voice breaks your quiet musing. “It looks like you have a visitor, Captain Hirako.”

With a start, you look behind you in alarm, spotting Aizen by the door. The color drains from your face and with dread you realize that you’ve been caught and have no escape out of this, knowing Shinji isn’t far behind.

“Huh? Who is it?” Shinji comes around the corner, his long hair and captain’s haori swaying behind him. His eyes land on your frozen form as the curiosity in them turns to surprise. It quickly shifts, though, to an amused expression as he stares at you. You look like a mouse caught between a cat and a wall.

“Oh? What do we have here? Rose sent ya for somethin’?” Comes Shinji’s immediate response, a playful tone slinking into his voice.

“Um, no, not quite.” You stammer out, mind trying to keep up with everything happening.

“It appears the third seat has brought a gift for you,” Aizen interjects, drawing attention over to Shinji’s desk, where the delicately wrapped nerikiri lay.

You can’t help but cast a quick glare Aizen’s way. Now you really don’t have an out for this.

“Oh? Ya got somethin’ for little ol’ me? How sweet of ya!” Shinji drawls as he saunters over to his desk to pick up the bundle. You feel your face heat up, embarrassed and flustered from the situation and his teasing tone. 

A beat of silence passes as you rack your brain, trying to come up with something to say. However, before you can decide on what, Shinji speaks once more.

“Hey Sōsuke. Didn’t ya mention you have to go pick up some stuff from Squad 1?”

“It was paperwork, not just ‘some stuff’, captain. But yes, I did.”

“Why don’tcha go along and do that now, then?”

“Captain, I think-“

“Go on now,” Shinji shoos him away. You stand awkwardly off to the side during the whole interaction, unsure of what to do.

Aizen sighs deeply before replying with a brief, “Yes, captain,” and with a nod of his head, the lieutenant leaves the room.

Now you’re left with Shinji. Alone. Having to explain your way out of this, casually, so that you don’t make a fool of yourself. Ugh, what are you going to do? This was not part of the plan! Why would Aizen draw attention to the gift, and why would you let yourself get distracted when you knew you hadn’t had much time?

Shinji breaks your thoughts as you chastise yourself. “So yer my secret admirer.”

“Huh?”

“I’m just messin’ with ya.” He assures with a chuckle, the teasing lilt in his voice never leaving as he takes hold of the wrapped gift sitting neatly on his desk.

You can hear your heart beating in your ears as he starts to unwrap the artfully tied cloth. “Let's see, what did ya get me?”

When he finally unravels the wrapping to reveal your handmade nerikiri, the wide grin he wears falters, morphing into a pleasant surprise. He stares at it for a few more seconds, noticing the rough edges on the soft treat before asking you, “Did ya make these yerself?”

“I did,” you answer nervously. “I made them in the shape of a daffodil,” you pause, hesitating before saying, “they remind me of you.”

You look away, feeling shy, but you end up missing the blush creeping up his neck and to his cheeks as he looks away as well, his hair hiding his face from you.

“That so…?” 

An awkward few seconds pass by before he straightens up, a wide and charming grin tugging on his lips as he glances back at you. “Well then, sweet pea, I’ll savor every last bite!”

Warmth rushes to your already flushed face at his use of the pet name as you try to respond. The butterflies fluttering away in your stomach don’t let up even as you watch him go to brew the tea that you had included with the treat. “Uh, I hope it’s to your liking.” 

“These’re great! So I’m sure I will, especially if they’re made by yer sweet hands, darlin'.” He flashes an attractive smirk your way.

He makes his way back over, two cups in his hand as he passes one over to you, gesturing for you to sit with him. He picks up the colorful sweet and takes a bite, letting out a delighted, “mmm,” before taking a sip of tea.

“It’s really good. Thanks, doll.”

“I’m glad you like it! Happy Birthday, Shinji.”

“Thanks,” he smiles brightly. However, you notice it drops slightly as it looks like he mulls something over. “Y’know? Wasn’t expectin’ fer ya to do somethin’ for me.” He gazes into your eyes, a perceptive look in his warm browns. “Why?”

“Well, I guess I got the little push that I needed, and I… guess I also wanted to…” You trail off, getting lost in his eyes as a sudden urge to tell him how you truly feel overwhelms you.

“You wanted to…?” He coaxes in a low tone, voice dropping to a hush.

“I wanted to tell you…”

Should you say it now? Should you tell him your feelings for him? That your eyes look for him in crowded rooms, that you look forward to the days when you get to work with his squad, in the chance that you can get a glimpse of? That you long to be near him, that you long to be with him at the end of the day.

You draw a deep breath, steeling yourself.

“I wanted to say that I like you. More than you could ever know.”

There’s a pause, the air thick with anticipation as you hold your breath, waiting to hear his response.

“Really? Say it again,” he whispers quietly.

“Wha-,” you stammer, but the genuine expression he wears has you repeating yourself, more confidently this time. “I said I like you.”

“Again.”

“I like you.”

“Again.” Ok, now he was just teasing you, a mischievous, cunning grin tugging on his features as he asks you again and again.

“Come on, that’s enough, don’t you think?” You pout, feeling all too flustered. Was he making fun of you? No, he wasn’t, you know better than that. Sure, he loved to make fun of Hiyori and tease those around him, but it was always in good fun, even if it didn’t always look that way with the freckled lieutenant. He would never want to intentionally hurt anyone he cared about; you knew that much from watching him for so long. It was one of his qualities that attracted you in the first place.

“You could say it a million times, and I don’t think I’d ever have enough. I wanna hear ya say it every damn day.”

Your heart flutters at his honest admission. “Don’t you think you’d get tired of hearing it that often?”

“I’d never get tired of hearin’ ya say that you like me! Would ya get tired of hearin’ me say it?” He retorts, questioning you in return.

You tilt your head curiously. Hold on, did you miss something? “I don’t recall hearing you say that you like me, though.”

A beat passes as he stares back at you before sheepishly scratching the back of his head. “Oh, that’s my bad, darlin’. I got all caught up in the moment that I forgot to say my piece.”

Shinji’s goofy grin drops as a more serious air surfaces around him. He faces you in earnest, placing a lithe hand on yours. 

“I like you too, y’know. Have for a while now,” he leans in closer to you, the crisp scent of his cologne invading your senses and drawing you closer to him. “Ya just made me the happiest man in the world right now.” He grins again, but it’s softer now, more tender as he confesses his feelings for you.

Your chest swells with a pleasant warmth, a sense of relief washing over you. The butterflies fluttering about inside you, not dancing out of nervousness now but from true joy.

“Really?” You ask quietly.

“Mhm,” he’s just a hairsbreadth away from you as he leans in closer, eyes flicking to your lips.

“Then say it again,” you whisper, his eyes flashing back to yours, a mirth glimmering in them before he chuckles lightly. 

“I like ya,” and just when his lips were about to press to yours, nearby chatter from outside his office causes you to pull back.

You clear your throat, “I should be heading back now.” You stand, dusting off your shihakushō. Shinji follows you, doing the same, albeit with a disgruntled look, clearly upset at having missed the chance to kiss you. 

“Headin’ back so soon?” He sighs, missing the way you chuckle quietly to yourself at his irritated grumbling.

“Yeah, well, lunch is already almost over, and it would be kind of awkward to have to explain everything to Lieutenant Aizen when he comes back. So...”

At the mention of his good-natured lieutenant, Shinji groans, tossing his head to the side. “Ugh, yer right.” He stares off into the distance for a second but before you can question him on it he’s speaking again.

“Thanks for all this.” He gestures to the empty box you had used for the nerikiri. “This is the best birthday present I could ever ask for.”

“I’m glad,” you smile sweetly. “Well, I hope you have fun with the others later tonight.”

“What’re ya sayin’?” He gives you a confused look, “Yer comin’ too!”

“Are you sure?”

”'Course I am, silly, otherwise I wouldn’t have said it!” He exclaims, making it clear that he wanted you there with him.

"Well then, I look forward to it!"

“Yer gonna make my birthday night even more special,” he voices suggestively, a teasing smirk quirking on his lips. "Plus, I want the other part of my gift." His eyes flicker down to your lips.

You’re so glad you ended up confessing, you think as you blush at his insinuation. You just know you aren’t going to hear the end of it when Rose finds out, telling you he was right.

Tagging @darthwhorecrux, Shinji wants you to make his night 😉