Archive of Our Own

It was funny, how quickly things could change. Sometimes, by the time you’d even noticed something was not the same as it was before, you were faced with the realization that once again, it was time to adapt to yet another new reality.

This is what went through Gintoki’s mind, when he took a moment to observe the vice-chief of the Shinsengumi smoking next to him. They were under the awning near a vending machine, Hijikata’s ass against the wall, talking about god knows what while snow slowly fell around them. His fingers were loosely holding his cigarette, silky raven hair falling on his forehead in a deep V, and chin lightly burrowed in his scarf. And he was smiling. Faintly, sure, but his lips were actually pulled in a pleased curve.

When did they start chatting like that together, like friends? When did Hijikata start stopping by the agency, just to hear about how things were going, and to catch up on the latest news? When did they start hovering around each other without it ending in another punching match? When did Hijikata start looking at him like that — like the very sight of Gintoki brought ease to his heart, and illuminated his days?

He really had no idea why this realization had chosen to hit him at this precise moment. In a universe in which he was luckier, this would’ve at least happened while the other was away — or at a respectable distance, so that Gintoki could freak out in peace. But here, there was no way someone as observant as Hijikata couldn’t notice the sudden tense in his shoulders, or his suspicious silence. He brought his cigarette back to his lips, raising an eyebrow, and asked : “What’s wrong? Is there a ghost behind me? I don’t believe in them, anyway, so don’t try to scare me with that.”

“Huh? Wrong?” he tried to quickly reply, eager to look perfectly natural and not at all spooked — which failed tremendously when his brain stumbled and made him say : “A-Am I not allowed to look at you?”

Hijikata immediately frowned, but his glare was tampered by the redness of his cheeks. “I didn’t say that…” Then, clearly somewhat uncomfortable, he stubbed out his cigarette and mumbled while straightening his jacket and scarf : “I should go back to work. See ya.”

But then, unconsciously, Hijikata reached out and also decided to straighten Gintoki's scarf, fingers trailing down and tensing when he realized what he was doing. His blue eyes jerked upwards, ears suddenly burning from something other than the cold, and Gintoki just… stared. At the hand. Then at his face.

Heart slamming against his chest, he blinked. A few minutes ago, he didn’t even realize he’d become close with Hijikata. And at this moment, when his guts told him to lean down and kiss him, he just did it.

He felt a tug on his scarf, Hijikata’s hand clenching on it, and he barely had time to revel in the feelings of warm, chapped lips beneath his own that Gintoki stepped back, forced a smile, and then muttered in a hoarse, almost trembling voice : “See you.”

He walked back to his apartment at a fiery pace, hands turned into fists along his sides, brain still trying to process what had just happened. He hadn’t looked back, and had no idea how Hijikata had reacted to it. He only had that light little tug. Nothing else. Once he finally reached his house, he figured he’d just see how their next meeting would go. Either Hijikata would be pissed off and tell him to never do that again, or he’d spill his innards on the floor, or… well. Or he had a whole lot of other mindblowing moments waiting for him.

They met again by chance a few days later, at their usual izakaya. Gintoki heard someone pull the stool next to his own, and audibly gulped when he heard the deep bass, complaining about how cold it was. He didn’t move from his seat, frozen in place, chopsticks hovering above his bowl, wondering if Hijikata was ignoring him. Then he felt a nudge on his arm, and saw his sake bottle getting grabbed and taken away. That helped him snap out of it, and he immediately started complaining about the tax thief also stealing his booze. Soon enough, granny behind the counter was chuckling, amused by their antics and always ridiculous banter.

An hour or so later, they treaded back outside, and the sun had already gone down. Hijikata lit up a smoke, the flame briefly illuminating his face in pale yellow. The sky was clear that night, and the moon was shining pretty brightly on the river nearby. Gintoki thought about asking Hijikata if he wanted to go tour some bars. If he was feeling a little walk along the water. Heck, if he was bolder, he could’ve straight up asked him if he wanted to come home with him.

Instead, he chose to be a coward — because it was easier when they could argue and hear the owner laugh at their typical selves, but now, blanketed by silence, he couldn’t help but wonder if Hijikata actually felt the same pull as he did. He broke the peace, scratching the back of his head, and after a sigh that created a little condensation cloud, he said : “I guess I’ll go home and hit the hay. Take care.”

Hijikata blinked, his eyebrows high, like he wasn’t expecting that. He cleared his throat and gave him a little nod — and Gintoki waited. Just for a few seconds. At least to hear what he’d say. He’d run away once, he couldn’t exactly do it twice — he’d been tortured by enough what ifs as it was, he was kinda hoping for an answer now.

And as if Hijikata could read his mind, he pulled his cigarette away from his lips, which he licked, and after a quick glance around to make sure that they were indeed alone — he stepped closer, breath hot and unsteady. He brought his free hand to lightly cup Gintoki’s face, fingers curling behind his ear, and finally pressed his mouth against his.

Relief made Gintoki close his eyes, and immediately forget that he’d just said he was going to leave. All he could think about was how thrilling it was to feel Hijikata’s lips, molding against his, wet and hot and firm and perfect strips of skin he never wanted to release. He turned his head slightly, pushing further, swallowing the soft sound Hijikata made when he sucked a little bit, and the sound echoed between them.

Something was churning in his stomach — something light and airborne, which was begging for release, but he didn’t know how. He just knew it kept growing and making his fingers tingle, eager to reach out, grab this stupid cravat, pull on this infuriating straight hair — yet also made him want to keep this slow and tender rhythm, tangle their fingers together, forehead to forehead.

Sadly, Hijikata finally pulled away, fingertips leaving burning trails on his skin. This kiss mustn’t have lasted more than, what, fifteen, twenty seconds? Yet Gintoki felt like he’d been kissed for a whole five minutes, with how breathless he was. And then, his heart slamming in his ears, he saw Hijikata holding back a smirk, bringing his cigarette back to his lips and finally mumble : “Take care, Yorozuya. Have a good night.”

He left Gintoki alone, to gawk like an idiot on the riverbank — clearly getting paid back for leaving like an asshole last time. But he also started grinning, sheepish, embarrassingly looking around, like he was scared anyone could see him like this — alone, blushing, and silently cheering.

Kagura and Shinpachi absolutely hated how stupidly cheerful he got, especially the latter once he let it slip that Gin-san might want the house to himself more often than before, so could he please let Kagura sleep at the Shimura estate? The sole idea that his boss slash friend slash older brother figure was in a relationship was enough to make a virgin like him absolutely explode in embarrassment, screaming at him to never do anything within Kagura’s proximity — which was hilarious because hah! at the speed they were going, Hijikata and him would only see each other’s dick by the time rainy season was over.

That was, however, underestimating his own self-control and especially Hijikata’s. Because one day, as he was just back from patrol, passing by the yorozuya’s office for his lunch break — they barely lasted ten minutes before Hijikata crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, put his sword on the side of the desk, and climbed onto Gintoki’s lap, right on his office chair, to devour his mouth with burning heat.

He really had no idea what made them act like bubbling high schoolers around each other — what with the stolen kisses and now making out in broad daylight — but he liked it too much to complain. Honestly, he’d never really experienced anything like that before. All of his relationships were rushed, carnal, desperate — short-lived. He enjoyed this slower pace they were taking, barely a single word exchanged to acknowledge this was even happening. Just desire and heat, tension that had been building for — now he realized — a pretty damn long while, and that needed to finally be released.

He gasped when Hijikata straightened up, his leather outfit creaking with the movement, warm under Gintoki’s hands. His arms had naturally gone up to curl around the vice-chief’s waist, and he could feel his stomach burn as he realized how narrow it actually was. Hijikata was all muscles, there was no doubt about it — but he was lithe, larger around the shoulders but almost thin from his middle, to his forearms, to his thighs. Still had a good ass though — again, that guy trained every day and probably did cardio for fun. He’d be the peak of health if he wasn’t also a chain-smoking mayonnaise addict.

And Gintoki also didn’t care one bit — because he’d learned to appreciate the taste of tobacco in his lovers’ mouth. Now that he thought about it, most of his relationships — if you could call them that — had been with smokers. Damn, Hijikata was the fourth one already. Maybe he had a kink.

“What are you looking at?” Hiikata asked, an eyebrow raised defiantly. Gintoki knew better than to fail to take the bait — and turn it around.

“What, I can’t look at the hot guy who just climbed on my lap?”

He clicked his tongue, but at least, he didn’t look as wary anymore. “You know what I goddamn look like.”

“Mmh, I dunno, Toshi, I think I need to take a closer look—”

He couldn’t finish his sentence, because suddenly, Hijikata was out of his lap, grabbing him by the lapels and dragging him to his feet. Gintoki let himself be moved around like a doll, mostly impressed just seeing how easily he could drag him like he weighted nothing — which was really not the case — and then aroused when he ended up pushed to sit on his desk, a few pens and JUMPs falling down. Before he even had time to squeal, Hijikata was back against him, hands sliding down to grab him by the waist and coerce him to open his mouth again, so their tongues could go back to what they were doing before.

“Hey, not that I’m complaining, but be careful there,” he managed to gasp between two kisses, before adding with a smarmy grin. “I might get a little bit worked up.”

Hijikata actually stopped in his tracks, eyebrows knitting hard on his forehead. “Huh? Yeah? That’s the point?”

“Oh,” he mumbled, his eyes getting rounder. “Sorry, I just thought that we were kinda… taking it slow, and everything.”

The other man still looked pretty puzzled by his words, but he shrugged lightly. “I mean, we can if you want. I just…”

Then he coughed, like he was suddenly feeling embarrassed by what he was going to say, eyes looking everywhere but at Gintoki, and one finger fretting with his cravat. “You just…?”

He bit his lip, then finally glared at the yorozuya, stealing another kiss before burrowing his face against his neck, nosing at the wide open collar before leaving a trail of bites there. And as if he’d been waiting for Gintoki to melt in his arms, he finally brought his lips against his ear, and whispered : “I kinda liked the idea of sucking you dry before going back to work.”

A shiver followed the heavy moan he let out, and he felt Hijikata’s satisfied smirk on his burning skin. His head jerked back, unable to escape the mouth that was terrorizing his ear, licking the shell so slowly, sucking on the lobe, and even teasing the insides — before he finally gasped : “I-I can get behind that too, yeah.”

The vice-chief didn’t waste any time, dropping to his knees and pushing his yukata away to open his belt. Gintoki helped him by lowering his zipper as well as pants and underwear, heart slamming against his rib cage, and he almost yelped when Hijikata directly swallowed him to the hilt, despite him barely being hard yet.

He almost saw sparks in his vision when he felt him start sucking, bobbing his head with the sounds of someone whose hunger is finally being satisfied. Fuck, no one had ever sucked him to hardness like that — especially not this deep. Yet Hijikata seemed very well dedicated to feel every inch of him swell on his tongue, growing until it pushed against his throat. God that was hot, but also very dangerous — because at the rate things were going, it might be over before they even started having fun.

Hijikata didn’t sound like he even minded, though — his pace almost frantic, spit rolling down his jaw, eyes wet and his moans vibrating against his dick. Another day, Gintoki would’ve made fun of him a little bit, wondering how long he’d dreamed of this to be this eager just sucking his cock. But he really didn’t feel like it right now — not when it felt so good growing hard in this burning wet cavern, his dick worshiped like Hijikata liked blowing him as much as he liked being blown.

Gintoki was at full mast when Hijikata decided to drop his head down again, and this time to stay, blue eyes looking right at him between long and wet eyelashes, while he simply worked his throat around the shaft. He even started moaning, the vibrations adding another layer of stimulation that had him biting on a cry, hands clenched on his desk. He stayed there for a while, eyelids eventually fluttering close, and from the corner of his vision, Gintoki saw him opening his own pants, and slide a hand inside them.

The realization that he was touching himself while blowing him made him tremble, and then straight up buck inside Hijikata’s mouth when he started moving again, even faster than before — desperate and clearly trying to also reach his own climax. He started letting out fucked-out sounds, lips in a tight ring around him, tongue curling against his underside, and Gintoki warned him that he was getting close, seconds away from coming down his throat.

That’s when the sound of Hijikata’s phone started blaring in the room. At first, they tried to ignore it, and eventually it stopped, but as soon as the angry wrinkle on the vice-chief forehead started to fade, and they could both feel like they would soon go back to the correct mood, it started ringing again. He actually groaned — this time clearly not of pleasure — and was forced to rip himself away from Gintoki’s cock. Centimeter by centimeter sadly left his throat, feeling every ridge and moist patches of skin, before standing proudly, bright pink and dripping with both precum and saliva.

Hijikata coughed an apology, also trying to make sure his voice wasn’t too broken, then finally took out the phone and turned away, as if he didn’t want the sight of Gintoki — legs open, face flushed, and pulsing cock — to distract him.

“The fuck do you want, Zaki?!” he roared, his voice definitely fucked up, but that was pretty hidden by the anger in his tone. “I’m on my break, couldn’t that wait for me to fucking come back?!”

“B-But vice-chief, according to the schedule, your break should be over already…?”

Hijikata frowned, then took a look at his phone, and saw that his subordinate was right — he didn’t realize how much time had passed. Still, he refused to admit he was wrong, so he grunted : “Of course I know, I’m on my goddamn way! Now, it better be important if you’re interrupting me while I’m driving!”

Gintoki felt his heart sink. Welp. That was his cue. He sighed softly, and started scratching at his neck, wondering what he should do with his boner now. Honestly, the kids were probably gonna come back from grocery shopping soon anyway — they both got carried away, going at it in the middle of the day like that. His cock soon started dropping, all excitement gone, as Hijikata stood up and went further into the office to continue his work conversation with more privacy. By the time he was done, Gintoki was pushing his half-hard cock back in his underwear, hoping it wouldn’t be too obvious — and he felt a hand sliding up his thigh.

“Sorry for that,” Hijikata mumbled, head low, clearly feeling ashamed of being the reason why they had to be interrupted so abruptly even though things were going so well — especially for what was their first step beyond first base. “I didn’t realize it was so late already.”

Gintoki almost wanted to coo, too easily swayed by the genuine disappointment in Hijikata’s voice. He jumped off the table, and sent him a little smile. “Hey, c’mon, it’s fine, I’ll live. It was still awesome — you’ll suck me dry another time.”

He shot his eyes back to him, a little bit of surprise making him blink. He still looked conflicted, though. “As if it’s just ‘fine’, I just edged the shit out of you.”

“Well, can’t say it’s not disappointing but…” He pursued his lips a little bit, and slid his arms up, to curl them around the vice-chief’s shoulders. “If you’re free tonight, my door’s open. I’ll tell Kagura to go to Shinpachi’s, and we can pick up where we left off. With plenty of time to burn.” Then he grinned, showing off the white of his teeth. “I’m pretty into edging myself, so…”

For a second there he thought he saw hearts in Hijikata’s eyes, but he was soon pushed back against the desk, mouth devoured by a hungry, lusty samurai who moaned right against his lips. He even added a little grind of his hips, right against Gintoki’s still hardened cock, just to make him whine. Then Hijikata turned his head back against his throat, sucking and kissing the thin skin there, and he grunted : “I’ll be there at 7. And I’ll bring food.”

“Good,” he mumbled, feeling a zap of electricity running through him because Hijikata was definitely leaving marks on his skin which would be hard to hide later. “Bring something we can microwave, because we’re fucking the moment you cross this goddamn threshold again.”

He felt him nod frantically in his shoulder, and then suddenly, Hijikata released him, stepping back, putting his katana back at his hip, and walking towards the exit. Gintoki was catching his breath, lightly shivering as he brushed his fingers against the bruises he could feel blooming on his neck, when he realized Hijikata was still standing there, hands clenched. Oh. He chuckled. “You can use the sink in the kitchen. We’ve only got cold water there.”

He mumbled some thanks, and then immediately turned right, to splash his face, and maybe even force a cold wet hand in his pants, judging from the hissing sounds he heard from where he was standing. Soon after that, he finally left with just a little grumbled goodbye, and Gintoki ended up alone, to slowly curl on himself and willing his own dick to calm down — because he really didn’t want to give himself blue balls either. And he had to very quickly, considering he could hear Sadaharu’s barks in the distance.

It took about five minutes before Shinpachi noticed the bruises on his neck, face immediately bursting into flames as he yelled at him for doing nasty things while they were away, to do his groceries. He simply shrugged while helping them to put it all in the fridge and cupboards, until Kagura finally dared asking what he was scared to hear the most : “Who are you sticking your mini Gin-chan into, exactly? Do we know them?”

“I’m not telling you,” he grumbled. “It’s still too early, I know you guys would act like freaks with them.”

“What does that even mean?! Do they at least know you’re a single dad? You can’t date someone without telling them about the buns in the oven, you know!”

“Of course they fucking know! And that’s not what this expression means!”

It lasted about a good half of the afternoon, until they arrived at their job of the day to do some cleaning in one of the few normal, business hotels they had in town. Gintoki still took care of the sheets on his own — you never know.

Once they were done, he walked them back to the Shimura house, scowling when he saw that snow was starting to fall again. Damn, this winter really was snowy, huh. He only hoped it wouldn’t pile up too much, and prevent Hijikata from coming to his house. Or the opposite — he crossed fingers it snowed so much they’d get snowed-in and Hijikata wouldn’t be able to go to work the next day. Kabuki-cho didn’t really have any council, and that meant shoveling was up to each and every one’s own capacities — so the streets tended to become ice rinks very quickly. Also, tomorrow was Saturday. For anyone else, that would be weekend, but of course he had to go and date the only guy who had pretty much no days off.

“Hey, Shinpachi, can Kagura spend the night at your place this weekend?" he still asked, because who knows, maybe he'd manage to convince Hijikata to warm his bed the next day too. “She’s got some stuff there already, right?”

“Hm? Did the heater break again, Gin-san? You know there’s also room for you if necessary.”

He knew he should just keep his mouth shut. But as the hours went by, and there were only a few left to 7, his giddiness made him answer : “Oh trust me, even if it was, I’m getting my very own personal heater tonight.”

The teenager turned red, and slapped him hard on the arm, to which he yelped, pretending to be hurt. Meanwhile, Kagura stopped, made a face, and started to very loudly pretend she was barfing. “You’re such an indecent man!” Shinpachi screeched. “Twice in one day?! Really?”

“Wow, if you think a few marks mean intercourse then you really are a goddamn virgin, holy shit Pattsuan.”

Meanwhile, Kagura was still doing retching sounds. “Euuugh. I’m living with an actual dog in heat, this is disgusting. Bleh, I’m gonna get you neutered, how expensive can that be anyway? 1000 yens?”

“If it truly was, Sadaharu would’ve been snip-snipped a while ago. Also, please leave my balls alone, I really like them.”

“Bleuuuuuugh.”

She kept doing this all up until they reached the Shimura house, which obviously caught Otae’s attention, as she was on her way to work. She asked what was wrong, and before Gintoki had enough time to slip away — Shinpachi, the traitor, dropped the news. He saw her blink, looking genuinely confused, then narrowing her gaze while looking at him up and down.

“I guess this was bound to happen someday. I’ll pray for the pure, immature soul who decided this was what they wanted to associate themselves with.”

“Oh my god, all of you are terrible friends. And I don’t even care!” he snapped petulantly. “Because I’ve got a hottie in my bed, while you’re all here, sad, pitiful, and single! Cry more about it!”

“Excuse me? Who’s sad, pitiful, and single?” Otae said, in her overly pleasant — which meant pissed off — voice.

“I am! I’m so sad, pitiful, and single, Otae-san!”

Gintoki finally managed to take his leave, while the Shimura sister was busy pummeling a stray gorilla to the ground. He took a quick glance at the watch he didn’t have, and gasped when he realized he didn’t actually have much time left before Hijikata was done with work — and he had so much stuff to do before he arrived! Like, take a long shower, take care of his feet, clean and trim his nails, wash his ass, make sure his nose hair were under control, throw away all the used tissues that filled up his room’s wastebasket since he kissed Hijikata that first time, change the bedding, clean the tatami, turn on the heater, make sure Sacchan wasn’t hidden in the closet, check if he had condoms, and lube, and, fuck, did he actually use up all of his tissues—

He had just barely finished doing all of this when he finally heard some soft knocking at his door, and he almost ran to open it, before stopping in his tracks, to take one last glance in the mirror, and try for a more relaxed, unbothered look. He didn’t feel like that at all, if anything he was very much hot and bothered right now, but Hijikata didn’t need to know that.

So he slid the door open, and kinda magically felt all of his anxiety melt away. Hijikata had clearly been pacing in front of his door, his footsteps all very visible on the fresh snow that was still falling — although he didn’t know if that was before he knocked, or after, while waiting for Gintoki to open. He froze in place, throwing his cigarette away, and, hand clenched on a plastic bag, he muttered : “H-Hi. Sorry I’m late.”

Fuck, Gintoki felt so smitten this was unfair. Yet, he didn’t really know how else he was supposed to feel with such a man in front of him — eyebrows so low his forehead wrinkled, wary, shoulders and hair dusted with snow, his dark blue scarf loosely wrapped around his neck. He hardly believed there was a time when his first instinct, when seeing this face, was to punch it. Now he very much wanted to punch it, and then kiss it better, just because, ah, he was so weak.

“Don’t worry, I got so busy I didn’t even see the time. C’mon, get inside, don’t go catching a cold.”

Hijikata quickly entered, as if he was afraid Gintoki would close the door to his face. Huh, silly man. His gaze fell on the other bag he was subtly holding, probably full of clothes and other things he needed for the night, while the vice-chief was removing his shoes — and the warmth in his chest just grew in size. “So what did you get us?”

“Hm? Oh, I went by the oden stand and got us a little bit of everything. And, um, some dango too. You know, some sugar for you and all.”

He tried to mutter the last part under his voice, but Gintoki heard it loud and clear. And he reacted the only way he knew how after those last few days — by grabbing Hijikata by the shoulders and kiss him deeply. He also took that opportunity to comb his hands through his hair, mostly because he still had some snow in there, but also because he’d not been able to do it yet. He really didn’t know how he could think for one second that this could actually wait. He wanted this man so bad it was not even funny.

Which was when he heard growling — and it wasn’t actually Hijikata doing that, at least not consciously. He blushed furiously, and when Gintoki started snorting, he covered his eyes. “Aww, are you hungry, Toshi?”

“I… kinda had to skip lunch today. Wonder why.”

“Uh-huh, a true mystery.”

“We can still eat later, though, really. I’ll live.”

That made him roll his eyes. “Don’t be stupid. I said that earlier because I was still thinking with my dick, but we can eat first, it’s fine. Also, you might wanna take a shower, it’s freezing out there and it’s been snowing for a while. Go ahead, I took mine already. Gimme the food, I’ll put it in the nabe pot.”

Hijikata didn’t look fully convinced, but Gintoki simply went to his kitchen to do as such, leaving him with nothing else to do but go to the bathroom and clean up. He was in the middle of pulling out the clay pot from under the sink when he heard the door close, quickly followed by some shuffling in the bathroom.

His wild imagination made him picture a lot of things — what it would be like if he said fuck it, two showers never hurt anyone, and joined the vice-chief under the spray, for example. But then again, Hijikata was starving, and if they started then, they wouldn’t stop before a while. Gintoki certainly wouldn’t. He was so wound up, he wouldn't be surprised if it took more than two rounds for his body to tell him to stop. So he decided to be an obedient boy, and left him to his own devices.

By the time Hijikata was done, he’d finished setting up dinner on the kotatsu in his bedroom. He’d mournfully had to roll up his futon to get some space — but that was that, or eating in the cold of his kitchen. The other man followed the sound of cutlery and slid the door open, quickly getting inside before the cold air had time to enter.

“I didn’t think we’d eat in here,” he mumbled, leaving his bag and katana near the shelves in the back before sitting down on a cushion to Gintoki’s left, in one of his day off’s yukatas. 

“Ah, yeah, it’s not the best, if anything it just makes my room stink — but the heater’s right there.”

“And I imagine you’ve only got one.”

“Yup. That’s why Kagura usually sleeps here during winter. But she likes falling asleep under the kotatsu, so that’s fine.”

Hijikata mumbled a vaguely surprised sound, his eyes stuck in a side glance towards Gintoki, and his eyebrows a little bit furrowed. He raised his head once he finished pouring the broth in his bowl, handing the ladle to Hijikata. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said, finally turning his eyes away. He grabbed the utensil to get some soup while Gintoki was looking at the content of the pot, chopsticks hovering as he tried to choose what he wanted to go for first. Once he was done, he finally said : “I didn’t really imagine it would go like that, that’s all.”

“How do you mean?”

“You and I. I, uh…” He shrugged, probably to hide his embarrassment and look more casual than what he truly felt. “Kinda always imagined you wouldn’t be interested in anything other than sex, I guess.”

Gintoki furrowed his brows, having settled on a kinchaku, an egg and a few pieces of daikon. “Are you saying you thought I was a slut, Hijikata-kun?”

“Fuck you, you know what I mean!” he roared back, clearly uncomfortable talking about this out loud. “I’ve just never seen you date anyone, and we’ve known each other for a while, so…”

The word actually made his chest flutter a little bit. They hadn’t had any discussion on that matter, they’d barely even talked since this all started. Yet, they kept on having lunch together, hanging out, and now sharing dinner under his kotatsu, dressed like they were ready for bed and definitely not to bang all night. This was almost domestic, and all they’d done was kiss a few times and share one unfinished blowjob.

And he enjoyed that. The fact that they didn’t just fuck and then take forever just to admit they might want more out of it. That’s how it went with him before. And he was glad he didn’t go down this path with Hijikata — that they could both acknowledge that what they were doing was not a one-night stand or some friends with benefits bullshit.

“Yeah, I get you,” he finally admitted under his voice, slowly feeling himself getting embarrassed too. Fuck, he didn’t know how to do that — and he hoped Hijikata could be patient with him, because he wouldn’t get better overnight. “But I didn’t really want to overthink it. I just did what felt right. So, yeah. I’m fine with you.”

He immediately dove his head back in his bowl, avoiding the look of utter disbelief on the vice-chief’s face. “Is that your fucking way of saying ‘I like you’, Sakata? Seriously?”

“You just called me a slut. Leave me alone.”

“Good grief, alright…” he mumbled, taking a bite of a piece of meat he’d thoroughly dipped in mayonnaise, and after swallowing, he added : “And, if that wasn’t obvious, I do like you, dumbass. So, yeah. Glad we’re on the same page.”

Gintoki finally felt a grin pull on his lips, and he slurped his soup with a delighted groan, before replying : “By the way, you were right. I’m a huge slut. And unashamed.”

Hijikata barked a laugh, cheeks tinged with pink. “Duly noted.”

They quickly immersed themselves in their meal, lightly bantering while filling their stomach with some good hot pot. Hijikata asked him about his day, and albeit reluctantly, he admitted : “Yeah, about that — if you don’t want all of Kabuki-cho to immediately know about the two of us, you might wanna be more careful from now on. Shinpachi and Kagura pretty quickly noticed the kiss marks, y’know, and they’re kids, sure, but they’re not that young or dumb.”

“Ah, um, yeah. Might be for the best to lie low for a while, true.” Then a more somber look crossed his face. “Honestly, I can’t help but think, deep down, that it’s a bad idea. You know I’ve got enemies. Fuck, if some of my higher-ups heard about your resume, I’d immediately be branded as a traitor — and it doesn’t help that we’re both men.”

Gintoki slowly nodded. He didn’t exactly like hearing that, but it wasn’t like he didn’t already know all that stuff — especially the first part. He’d been there, when Okita’s sister died, after all. He didn’t hear the whole story, but he knew and understood just enough.

“But,” Hijikata breathed out, like a mix of a groan and a sigh. “Honestly, you probably have just as many enemies as I do. And I know I can trust you to look after your own ass — which is a comfort not a lot of people can bring me. So, yeah. It’s fine. We’ll just stay under the radar for a while, and see if this even goes anywhere.”

“Wow, this close to being complimented by the demon vice-chief of the Shinsengumi. What an honor.”

“Yeah, don’t get too used to it — it’s not gonna happen often.”

Gintoki scoffed, bringing the two cups that he’d left on the side of the table closer, and pulling the bottle of warm sake he’d been keeping near the heater under the table. He poured them two glasses, holding out one for Hijikata, who took it with a little nod. Then he raised the cup. “Cheers?”

They knocked their cups together, and downed the alcohol in one go, breathing out while feeling it burn down their throat. He quickly poured some more in his — now official — boyfriend’s cup, and asked : “Am I allowed to call you Toshi, by the way? Not that I don’t like calling you Hijikata-kun and all, just wondering.”

“Only Kondo-san calls me Toshi, and you or Sougo when you’re being asses,” he grumbled. “Hijikata is fine.”

“Aw. I wouldn’t mind if you called me Gintoki, though. Or Gin-san,” he added with a wink.

“Yeah, as if,” he huffed back. “I’ll go with your normal name, thanks.”

He couldn’t help but pout a little, because he would’ve wanted to hear it on his lips, right now. But that asshole looked very smug, like he was happy to marinate him a little bit longer. He still had a wrinkle right in the middle of his face, even when he smiled, though, so Gintoki decided to tease him, and brought his finger to his forehead, pushing the skin as if it would make the eternal frown disappear.

Hijikata caught his wrist before he had time to reach his destination, however, and his scowl only deepened. “What’re you trying to pull, here?”

“Hm? Nothing at all, Toshi.”

He narrowed his eyes, but didn’t release him. Instead, he glanced at it once, and then lowered his hold until both of their forearms were against the table. He loosened his grip, and Gintoki had to fight the stupid smile that pulled at his lips when he saw Hijikata navigate his hand until he could tangle their fingers together. Adorable. That look and scowl on his face still screamed first degree murder — but he couldn’t lie and say that the blush that accompanied it wasn’t worth it.

He finally caved in and leaned over the table, raised a little bit on his knees to kiss Hijikata. He faintly gasped at first, but immediately melted, his frown disappearing as he closed his eyes and let the feeling wash over him one more time. Gintoki really had no idea when it’d stop being so thrilling, when he’d stop hearing his heart stumble just by feeling Hijikata’s hot breath brushing against his lips — and he almost wondered if he could ever get tired of that.

Hijikata turned towards him and Gintoki followed the movement, letting himself be pulled out of his seat to crawl closer, and follow the other man when he leaned back until he was laying on the tatami. If anything, this only fueled the fire inside him even further — hungry to feel him entirely, under him, their hard bodies molded together to feel every intake of air and every twitch of muscles.

Their hands had miraculously stayed linked the entire time, and Gintoki pinned them next to Hijikata’s face, his free hand left to wander off. He first went to cup his jaw, then to grip his biceps when Hijikata burrowed his fingers in his hair. He softly gasped when Hijikata pulled on his unruly locks, and the spark he saw in the blue eyes told him he’d keep this information in a mental folder for later.

He turned his head and burrowed his nose in the vice-chief’s collar — eager to inhale his smell, and delighted when he recognized the citrus of his soap. He also smelled like tobacco, obviously, a hint of sweat, and the slightly earthy scent of his aftershave. That got him curious — he’d never seen Hijikata as anything but closely shaved. Gintoki himself barely needed to, he could grow a soft stubble after a few weeks of neglect, but that was pretty much it.

A little tug, and Hijikata brought him back to his mouth, teasing the seam of his lips, asking for entrance. Gintoki eagerly complied, the hair at the back of his neck raising a little bit when he traced along his tongue, and he felt the tremors of Hijikata’s throat when he groaned. Hearing this husky voice right against him and his ears did more to him than he was willing to admit.

They lost themselves in the kiss, lazily making out with half of their legs under the kotatsu, and hands very well-behaved. That wasn’t the main reason why they’d decided to spend that evening together, however, so Gintoki took it upon himself to finally break off the embrace, raising himself with one arm. He even released Hijikata’s hand at last, and licked his lips while looking down, predatory, before trailing his palm to the center of the other man’s chest, right where the yukata had opened itself.

“If I remember correctly, you kinda owe me a blowjob, Hijikata…” he said softly, enjoying the way he could feel his boyfriend’s heart, softly thrumming against his fingers. “And I wouldn’t mind using your mouth to get hard, just like earlier.”

Hijikata let out a hearty groan, enthusiastically nodding. Gintoki grinned, sitting back on his haunches, and looked around, thinking about how they could go about it. Thankfully, his boyfriend was full of good ideas : “Get your ass on the kotatsu. Naked.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He got up and, without losing his snark, made a little show out of it. When he lowered his hand towards his belt, he lingered on his crotch just a little too long — when he pushed his pants and underwear down, he turned a little so Hijikata could also see the swell of his butt springing out of the tight fabric. At last, he pushed away their dinner and sat on the table, crossing fingers they wouldn’t break it (or else an angry Yato would have his head), and finally got his yukata off his shoulders.

He let the garment pool around his back and arms, and spread his legs, hoping he didn’t look too ridiculous. Then, he sent a lidded gaze towards Hijikata, who was on his elbows to lecherously stare, one lip between his teeth — so he was probably doing the right thing. A few beats later, Gintoki raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re just gonna stare, or…?”

Hijikata scrambled upwards, also pulling at his belt but keeping his yukata on, open like a bathrobe. Gintoki noticed that his underwear was already starting to bulge, but he kept it to himself, especially when the vice-chief came to kneel between his legs, lips brushing against the bruises he’d left earlier. He nosed against his pelvis, the bush of hair there, and let his tongue trail down his length, leaving shivers in its wake. Gintoki gasped when Hijikata grabbed him, thumb faintly playing with the foreskin covering his hardening cock before swallowing it down as hungrily as earlier that day.

Gintoki’s toes clenched on the tatami, head falling backwards from the sudden heat encompassing him. Hijikata softly moaned, throat working around the shaft, swallowing and sucking slightly. He softly bobbed his head, as if he didn’t want to be empty — to feel the blood slowly filling it up, every inch hardening and stuffing his mouth. He gagged slightly when Gintoki instinctively thrust up, whining as his hands closed on the fabric of his yukata.

“Fuck, Hijikata, I’m a slut, but you’re just as bad…” He snickered, Hijikata barely reacting, eyelashes fluttering as he closed his eyes. “Look at you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as happy as you look when you’re sucking dick…”

Hijikata raised his head, pushing it down briefly, just to feel his dick knock at the back of his throat — and finally pulled off with a gasp, trying to glare at Gintoki despite his disheveled and hazy look. “Shut up. I just like how it feels, alright?”

He raised his hands innocently. “Hey, I’m certainly not complaining, especially if you don’t have any gag reflex…”

Hijikata grunted, but even his temper couldn’t prevent him from pressing his head down, hand tightening around the base as his lips reached the ring of his fingers again and again. He swallowed and sucked eagerly, his tongue absolute velvet on the underside of his cock, and lips snug around the now fully hard shaft. 

Gintoki growled, his hand finally reaching out to sink his fingers in the dark mess of hair. He pressed down lightly, and the sound that followed — something eager and hungry — encouraged him to actually grab his locks and accompany the movements of his head. His other hand, falling to the side, grabbed the edge of the table. He whined : “God, you feel so, so good, Hijikata, it’s criminal… Wanna keep you there to warm me up — make you sit right under my desk, and use your mouth whenever I want.”

He didn’t have much room for it, but Hijikata definitely nodded eagerly, the noises coming out from him confirming it. He sucked all the way up, until the tip was pressed against his bruised lips, foreskin now neatly pushed back — to pant softly, eyes glazed over. “Yes, please…”

He pushed him back down with a snarl, head thrown back. He wasn’t going to last long — not with the pace Hijikata was keeping. His hips started jerking, and Hijikata lost himself to his fever even more, arms curling under Gintoki’s thighs to push him further on the table, spread his legs wider. None of them cared when the cups got toppled, one plate falling on the tatami. He felt a thumb brushing against his hole, soft and open from his earlier preparation in the shower, and almost cried out.

“Fuck…” he whined, hips now directly rolling in the eager mouth of his boyfriend. “Want you so bad…”

The words had barely left his mouth that Hijikata’s hand shot up, pressing two fingers against Gintoki’s open lips. He didn’t even think, tongue out to lick the appendages, drooling on them, twirling around the bony fingers until they were dripping — anything to help when the other man brought them back down and started pushing inside him, despite his head still bobbing up and down hungrily.

The assault from both sides left Gintoki absolutely shaking, his climax approaching rapidly now that Hijikata had access to his prostate. His fingers curled pointedly, and his throat kept working his dick, like he was desperate to feel him come in his mouth. He still had to warn him : “H-Hijikata, I’m close…”

He pulled out, a string of spit falling across his lips, and raised an eyebrow, still intense despite his roughened up voice, asking while his fingers pressed deep inside : “Is that a problem?”

He shook his head, cock throbbing against Hijikata’s cheek. “I’m not going to sleep after one round, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Good. Because I wasn’t going to stop, anyway.”

Gintoki felt his eyes roll to the back of his head when Hijikata went to town again, the spongy back of his throat so devilishly good against his tip, cheeks slightly hollowed with each hard suck, and his eyebrows slightly knitted. He blew him like it was his job — absolutely focused and earnest. Gintoki, between two waves of crushing pleasure, started wondering if he was always like that, or if his workaholic tendencies simply left him so frustrated he became desperate. Whatever that was, he was more than fine with it — and willing to be used to help him satisfy his urges.

At last, Gintoki reached his breaking point — his voice cracking and echoing in the small, rapidly getting too warm room. His entire body shook, and his leg ended over Hijikata’s shoulder when he came. His hand tightened hard on the soft raven locks, and his hole clenched on the still working fingers, each press against his prostate sending a spark through his spine, up to the back of his neck. He felt like he came way more than he usually did, Hijikata dutifully swallowing it all, his breath coming out fast through his nostrils as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. His free hand shakily came up, to stroke the half of the shaft that wasn’t in his mouth, and Gintoki lost control over his voice again, truly milked up to the point of oversensitivity.

He had to literally wrench Hijikata’s mouth away from him, sweat now rolling on his chest and along his thighs as he rode the afterglow. The other didn’t stop rubbing against his spot however, extending the length of his orgasmic rush, and confirming that, yes, it wouldn’t take much for him to get ready for another round.

Still, he finally felt the endorphins settling in and breathed out, releasing Hijikata’s hair to push his own out of his face. The vice-chief opened his eyes again — and their haziness turned his mouth dry. He was about to say something, ask how he wanted to come, but the other man simply pushed his forehead against his thigh, his fingers finally leaving his hole to drop directly into his underwear. He panted harshly, bit the hard muscle before licking the sweat that had accumulated in the softer part of his inner thighs, right where his pelvis met the leg, and he choked on a moan, nose right against his now soft cock — as he came into his own hand, soiling his boxers.

He didn’t think the sight of the vice-chief of the Shinsengumi — desperately tugging on himself and reaching climax from kneeling in front of him and breathing his smell — would be something he’d ever get the occasion to witness, but boy he was glad that he did. He was pretty sure this would feed his masturbatory sessions for the next six months, at least.

Gintoki wanted to make a comment, say something, but the bliss on Hijikata’s face took his breath away. He removed his leg from his shoulder, and let himself slide down the table, until he was straddling his boyfriend, and finally got access to his lips again. He even got rid of the annoying yukata — too hot and sweaty already — content to just snuggle close to Hijikata and kiss until his tongue hurt.

Despite his best efforts, however, the vice-chief had already reached that point. Unsurprising, considering the head he’d just given him — so Gintoki relented and satisfied himself with a chaster embrace. Hijikata’s mouth was lax under his, easily opening but barely moving, like he was numb after working it so hard — but he certainly didn’t look like he minded. At least, the way his hands started moving once he finally climbed down from his high was telling him that he very much enjoyed it, especially once he got one around his ass cheek.

This made Gintoki chuckle, and, cheek pressed against Hijikata’s while he mouthed at his jaw, he said : “Jeez, I’m gonna start thinking you’re just repressed as fuck and looking for an outlet, Toshi.”

This earned him a grunt, and after trying and failing once to answer — throat clearly in need of some heavy clearing — Hijikata replied with a croak : “Sounds like a you problem.”

“Oh, believe me, it’s not,” he grinned. “Especially when that means I get to fuck the demon vice-chief’s throat.” This time, Hijikata didn’t reply, so he continued : “Where the hell did you even learn to give head like that, anyway? I’m kinda jealous at whoever got to experience it first, not gonna lie.”

For a moment, he thought Hijikata would stay silent one more time. But he coughed once, tightened his grip around Gintoki, and finally muttered : “Nobody, really. I’ve never been with anyone I felt comfortable enough going all out like that. So, no reason to be jealous, dumbass.”

The way his heart clenched with joy from hearing this and the pleased sound he almost let out would’ve been shameful for a man his age — so he settled on hugging him even closer, head pushed in his shoulder to hide his giddy smile. He really must’ve squeezed hard, however, because he felt Hijikata sputter, air leaving his lungs, crushed between two strong arms that wouldn’t release him.

At last, Gintoki loosened his hold, leaning back to look at him in the eyes, and delighted to see the faint pink scattered around the other man’s cheeks. He pressed down another kiss, for good measure, and finally deemed it time to get up and clean a little bit. He put his yukata back on, and started gathering the scattered remains of their dinner — thankful they hadn’t made too much of a mess. He was about to bring everything back to the kitchen, when he heard : “Um, can I borrow some of your underwear…?”

Gintoki raised an eyebrow. Lowered his gaze, towards Hijikata’s lap and the wet spots on it. And replied with a wolfish grin : “Later, sure. But you can do without right now.”

He really couldn’t believe that was what made Hijikata’s ears turn bright red, especially after what he’d done earlier — but he was glad he could still tease him successfully. He was quick — because it was fucking cold — and dumped everything in the sink, caught a rag to wipe the table, and then hurried to leave. He only turned on his heels to grab a water bottle from the fridge, the dangos still waiting for them on the counter, and finally went back to the bedroom.

Hijikata, who had finally broken out of his spell, accepted the water and helped him clear the space once he was done refreshing his throat. They folded the kotatsu and pushed it back in the closet, and then rolled out the futon before dimming the light. He threw lube and a few condoms on the tatami next to the bed, and dropped his yukata on the floor, especially when he saw that Hijikata had gotten a hint and was finally nude as well, snug under the covers, waiting for him while munching on the mochi.

Gintoki slid next to him with a little pleased shiver, and stole one of the colored balls from Hijikata’s stick, with only his teeth. He grumbled a little bit, telling him to just eat his own, but didn’t actually look like he really minded. They shared the other one too, and once the plate and sticks were finally pushed away, Gintoki smiled when he tasted the sweetness in his boyfriend’s mouth.

They both rolled around a little, eager to press the other down, and just to feel skin without anything separating them. They ended up rutting against each other, uncoordinated, slow, even — free to explore their bodies and all that was previously hidden to them. Gintoki was not surprised to find a bullet wound on the vice-chief’s shoulder, but he was overall pretty free of scars, except for a few around his hands, and one near his hip. So that’s what it looked like, when a fighter like him had access to actual doctors and hospitals.

Hijikata, on the other hand, looked mesmerized by the array of scars around his body, especially the ones not many could see, like those on his back. He tenderly kissed one that traversed his left shoulder — and while Gintoki had honestly a hard time recalling how he got them all, he definitely remembered that one.

“Like the idea of leaving your mark on me?” he asked with a little wiggle of his eyebrows, before receiving a palm in the middle of his face, to make him shut up.

“It’s not a goddamn medal, idiot. I could’ve severed a nerve or something, and you wouldn’t be able to use your arm anymore.”

He lightly rolled his eyes, and maneuvered his head until his mouth was freed from the sticky palm. “You say that like you were the first guy to ever slice my skin open. It’s not that much of a big deal — I’ve had worse.”

“Yeah, no shit, I can see that. And you better be fucking careful — because you’re not allowed to die before me.”

This earned him a little scoff. Gintoki didn’t make that kind of promises though — he couldn’t — so he settled on : “Aye aye sir, I’ll do my best. Speaking of sticking swords through each other — how do you wanna do it?”

Hijikata blinked, and it took him a few seconds to understand the innuendo. He ended up cringing, despite the light blush on his cheeks. “Why are you so goddamn crass?”

“I don’t know — why do you like me, if it bothers you?”

“I’m not bothered, just appalled. You’re a real moron, when you want to.”

“And how is that new?”

“It’s not. I guess I just try to forget, sometimes.”

“Well, Toshi, that’s nice and all, but I’m still waiting for you to answer the question.”

The corner of his mouth ticked, a little bit annoyed, but he still let his hands run downwards, towards the yorozuya’s enticing ass — which he squeezed before saying : “Can I do it? I already started earlier, anyway.”

“Sure,” Gintoki replied quietly. He rolled a little bit until he was on his back, and spread his legs open to let Hijikata settle in between. “I’m in your hands, vice-chief, sir. Do your worst.”

He nodded, and caught the lube with one hand, covering his fingers, and directly bringing them towards his hole. Gintoki was still a little bit open from the play from earlier, but he gasped when he felt the cold contact. He eventually hummed from feeling the rough appendages back inside him. Hijikata easily opened him up, and even added a third finger, which he eagerly swallowed.

“Can… Can I ask with how many people you’ve been?” Hijikata asked softly, eyes directed downwards, to what he was doing. He was just avoiding Gintoki’s gaze, though, that was pretty obvious. He was kinda scared to hear the answer — but he still wanted to know.

“For sex? Or in a relationship?”

“...both.”

This made him snort. “Fuck, what a question to ask while you’re fingering someone.” A little silence followed, only filled with the squelching sounds of the fingers still lazily going inside and out of him. “I couldn’t tell you about sex. My memories of the war are pretty hazy, and I did a lot of stupid things back then. And as for people with whom I had sex more than once, you’re only the fourth one. And the previous two were more like friends with benefits.”

He didn’t add anything, despite the curious spark that appeared in Hijikata’s eyes. But he wouldn’t tell him about it — there was no point. The wound had closed a while back, but sometimes, what ifs reached his stupid head, and left him full of regrets. He didn’t want to think about them right now.

If anything, this seemed to spur Hijikata to get to work — he stopped just stretching him, and started reaching deeper, curling his fingers just like earlier, right where he’d start moaning. His rhythm quickened too, and soon, he was quietly panting, cock hardening against his thigh. Gintoki decided to do his part as well, and caught Hijikata’s in his palm — despite it being already pretty hard and raring to go.

“Hey, if I answered, then you’ve gotta tell me too…” he huffed between two very good strikes against his prostate. “How many people can brag about sleeping with the demon vice-chief?”

Hijikata rolled his eyes and finally pulled his fingers out, visibly ready to move on with the main event. He caught a condom and rolled one on himself, also adding lubricant. “Clearly not as many as you, since I can actually count them. And no relationship,” he added with a little pointed stare. “But I’m pretty sure you already knew that.”

He had a feeling, yeah, but he didn’t say it. He simply stayed on his back, licking his lips and eagerly watching Hijikata position himself against his hole, and start pushing inside. He closed his eyes, breath escaping his lungs as he felt the little sting he liked so much with anal — followed by the pressure of being progressively filled up, until his heart felt like it was thrumming in his throat.

Gintoki hadn’t done it in a while, to be completely honest, but he still played with himself from time to time. He sadly didn’t have toys — although that was one thing he didn’t have to hide from Kagura’s innocent eyes, at least — but he had long fingers. Still, while Hasegawa could help him blow off some steam and Tsukuyo knew her way around strap-ons, it didn’t beat the feeling of doing it with someone he actually cared about — romantically.

Hijikata towered over him, hands rough and possessive on him as he arranged their position until they were both satisfied. He breathed out loudly, rumbles escaping his chest with every thrust inside Gintoki. The dark blue of his eyes reminded him of the ocean depths — heavy and all encompassing — and he certainly fucked like he was going to drown him.

He straightened up and caught Gintoki from under his knee, slightly pushing it up to change the angle of his thrusts. The effect was immediate — Gintoki cried out when he felt the friction right on his prostate, his cock dripping on his lower abdomen. “Ah! Fuck, right there, yes.”

Hijikata lazily blinked, his eyes absolutely blown out, blue getting swallowed by the darkness of his pupils. “Yeah? You like that? Better than your mysterious first love?”

“Huh? Myste— hah!”

Hijikata didn’t let him answer, each following thrust so deep, grinding in the most perfect way, that he could only cry of pleasure and forget to be angry about what he’d just heard. Fuck, if this was how he fucked when he was jealous, then Gintoki was ready to pretend he actually had a mysterious first love anytime of the week.

That wasn’t enough for Hijikata, however, who abandoned his current position to lower himself until his forearms were bracketing Gintoki’s head, their breaths tangling, warm and wet. He grunted with exertion, each thrust slamming deep enough to make his lover yelp and send him scrambling on the futon. “What is it? Cat got your tongue?”

“Y-You’re a goddamn psycho…”

He scoffed, pushing his head down until his lips were brushing against the side of his neck. “Maybe. Too bad for you.”

Gintoki jumped when he felt the teeth sinking in his skin, adding a ring of punctured skin around his previous bruises. His breathing stuttered and he actually threw his arms around Hijikata, to bring him closer, encourage him to keep going. They were talking about being more stealthy about thirty minutes ago, and it was all gone already. If he wanted to brand him — then by all means, the yorozuya didn’t mind. Right, now, folded in two and delightfully pummeled into the mattress, he thoroughly enjoyed the idea of being stripped out of his freedom and used for the other man’s pleasure and convenience.

Hijikata was not satisfied yet — like a vampire who was finally given sustenance. He littered Gintoki’s upper body with teeth and kiss marks, especially around his chest. He quickly found out that if aroused enough, Gintoki’s nipples tended to harden and became so sensitive, playing with them could make his dick drip. He made sure to give them plenty of attention — teeth and tongue and fingers barely leaving them, while he ground hard inside, hips barely thrusting anymore. Just a little break, to reduce Gintoki to a whimpering mess, his face red with how overwhelmed he was, and his mouth open, gasping with every beat of his heart.

A tweak of his nipple, accompanied by a deep graze against his prostate, actually got a small tear to escape him. Hijikata saw it, and his eyes widened, nostrils flaring. He dove to lick the trail before the drop could fall, and let out a loud gulping sound. He swallowed his own aroused moan, and whispered against his face : “Shit, Gintoki, you’re beautiful…”

The few words were enough to tie his stomach into a thousand knots, heart fluttering so hard he worried it was going to stop. He blinked, trying to see better through his slightly blurry vision, and whimpered : “N-No need to woo me anymore, I’m already sitting on your dick.”

“I’m not!” he roared back, embarrassment turning his ears pink again. He licked his lips, as his eyes danced around Gintoki — his decorated skin, his sweaty hair, his bruised lips, his shiny red eyes — and he followed more quietly, with the face of an enamored man : “It’s just the truth, so I wanted to say it. Shit, I’m really the luckiest and happiest guy in Edo, right now.”

Gintoki had to close his eyes, unable to take in the sight of Hijikata saying those kinds of things right to his face, without even being ashamed. He also unconsciously clenched on the slowly moving cock deep inside him — and eventually managed to answer : “That’s just untrue. Because I’m all that, and having the best lay of my goddamn life.”

He clicked his tongue, scowling, but without any heart to it. “You’re really bad at handling compliments, huh?”

“Yeah, I am,” he tersely said. “Now, go back to fucking me.”

Clearly, Hijikata didn’t know how to listen, because he started kissing him instead. He caught his face between his hands, and pressed their lips hard together, sucking lightly once, twice — stealing his breath and his words. Gintoki fully submitted to it, hands finding their way to the dark locks and clenching on them when Hijikata started deepening the kiss. He softly sucked on his tongue, then curled it back inside, moaning with each stroke — wondering if he’d ever be able to win an argument against Hijikata again. With every tingle-inducing kiss, he could feel his brain turn into mush, and he easily let himself be carried away — uncaring about anything other than the softness of his lips and the burning wetness of his tongue.

Hijikata finally started working his hips again, but he didn’t move his face. He kept on kissing him, his lips, his eyelids, his jaw — while his hands grabbed onto his waist and thighs again, to fuck him as deeply as possible. Each stroke started to feel like a burst of heat inside him — like a hammer slamming against molten iron again and again, to mold it as he wished.

He felt overwhelmed by the sounds of their lovemaking — sheets rustling under them, sweaty skin slapping together, lube squelching with every thrust, tongues and lips sucking and kissing amorously. They barely controlled their voices anymore, Gintoki’s stuck on a higher note, soft cries with a hint of wetness repeatedly echoing in the room, with every deep roll of hip. Hijikata was quieter — because he busied his mouth with every part of skin he could find — but he still let out the occasional deep, shaky moan and ragged breath. He fucked with clenched teeth, like he was painfully trying to keep himself from releasing more, or holding his breath.

He suddenly leaned back, shoulders heaving, and grabbed Gintoki by the sticky curve of his waist, pulling him until his ass was raised in the air. With this new position, he could feel the hard curve of the cock drilling into him even harder — his rim tugging on the length deliciously, the head grazing against his prostate with every thrust, the deepest parts of his guts rearranged.

Gintoki felt his eyes slightly roll back, and his hands fell on Hijikata’s shoulders, gripping for dear life while he intensified his speed. Curse words started escaping him, especially when one hand trailed down to finally grab his cock, and started stroking to the same punishing rhythm. He choked on a moan, and, with a breathless voice, begged Hijikata to make him come like that, on his dick. This earned him a gruff laugh.

“Yeah, I know you’re close. Ngh, this thing,” he grunted, accompanied by the vicious squeeze of the hand. “It’s weeping, I can feel it. You want it so fucking bad, huh?”

Gintoki could only dumbly nod, legs trying to keep traction on the futon, or pressing around the vice-chief’s waist. He barely realized it before Hijikata started touching him, but he was desperate to come. He’d felt it buzzing under his skin, and now, with each back and forth on his cock, it was like all the energy had finally found a breach and was rushing forth, pressing on his walls until they burst open.

“Yes, yes, fuck, Hijikata… Give it to me, please…”

“Yeah? You like being full of me and my dick?”

He choked on a groan, head jerking to the left as he felt the hair on his forearms raising, bright, blinding pleasure coursing through him with every slam against his deeper spot. “Yes! It’s so good, yeah, want you inside… Fucking ruin me!”

Hijikata positively growled, his abs clenched with every thrust, well decided to make Gintoki come before him. His fingers had already left purple marks on his waist with how hard he gripped it, and his ass was probably red too. His hand lost all rhythm, flying on his dripping length, glistening and throbbing with its close release, and he used his commanding tone, all bass and menace : “Show me. Show me how you come, Gintoki.”

The use of his name made him wail, another tear rolling down his temple when he finally broke — balls tightened and dick furiously shooting all over his belly, each spurt made thicker by the mean thrusts against his prostate. He came for what felt like forever, legs clenched around Hijikata’s butt, ears ringing and mouth lax as it let his voice fully escape him — from meaningless pleading to simple gratified whimpers, all the built-up heat and tension finally escaping, leaving him sweaty and boneless.

That seemed to do it for Hijikata too, who clenched his teeth and curled over him, rutting his hips with desperation as he chased his own climax. He took advantage of Gintoki turning much more malleable to press against the back of his knees until they were against his chest, and he finally came with his teeth sunk in the meat of his pectoral. This made him tighten again, so hard he felt Hijikata tense inside, and throb as he emptied himself in the warm vice of his body.

He finally pulled out, legs trembling slightly, and the condom almost stayed inside with how hard Gintoki’s hole kept spasming around him. He pulled it out with a little tug, and seemed taken aback by how much was in there — especially considering he’d already come earlier. Still, he quickly shook his head to get back on track, and untangled himself from the clutch of Gintoki’s thick legs, grabbing his white yukata to venture outside and bring back the necessary aftercare stuff.

He silently appreciated the sight of Hijikata strolling around his house, naked except for the garment on his shoulders, and thanked him with a tight little smile when he started wiping his skin with a slightly wet towel. Gintoki grabbed the water bottle from earlier and realized he was parched, almost emptying it before giving it back to Hijikata. This made him want to immediately start snuggling against him again, clearly still not tired of just making out — and maybe even going on a third round — but he realized he needed to give in to nature’s calling first. Since Hijikata had decided to just keep his yukata on — and that he looked too good like this to ask him to remove it — he settled on just putting some underwear back as well as his winter vest, shivering when his toes touched the cold wooden floors as he almost ran to the toilets.

He really, really wanted to finish as soon as possible and go back to Hijikata’s arms — but a thought crossed his mind, and made him curious. That’s why he decided to wash his hands in the bathroom instead of the kitchen, taking advantage of the mirror to look at the state of his body — and what he saw made him openly gasp, and even blush.

God, he’d been absolutely ravaged. His nipples were cherry red, almost the color of his eyes, and just brushing his fingers against them made him wince. Then there were the bite marks — not as deep as he’d feared, sure, but still littered around his chest and especially the curve of his shoulders. And then there were the other marks. Around his ass, around his hips, and especially on the side of his neck. Red and purple absolutely covered his skin, and he was glad they were in December because there was no way he’d be able to hide some of them, especially the ones on his chest, in his usual attire. God, that was hot, but this was almost scary — he’d really need to remind Hijikata that he actually lived with teenagers and they really didn’t need to see that extent of his sexual life.

Gintoki finally walked back to the bedroom, and as soon as he was done closing the doors behind him, he grumbled : “Hey, it’s not that I don’t like it or anything, but jeez I look like I was mauled by a goddamn bear. I know I’m a snack, but that doesn’t mean—”

His words died on his tongue, when he saw that Hijikata wasn’t listening — already lost to the world, chest rising and falling peacefully as he slept. Gintoki had half a mind to wake him up, because god, it wasn’t even that late yet, maybe around 10PM — but he didn’t feel like being cruel right now. And he actually looked cute, like that, finally rid of his trademark frown.

So he simply turned off the lights, folded his jacket in two and used it as a pillow when he slid under the covers, shivering with delight from how warm it was under there. The duvet was a little bit small, made for one person and definitely not two muscled men — so he decided they’d have to cuddle to take up less room.

Hijikata vaguely grunted, and when Gintoki finished curling his arms around his middle, he mumbled, voice already thick with sleep : “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“Ssshh,” Gintoki whispered against his ear. “It’s fine. Go back to sleep.”

He didn’t need much else to nod off again, his breathing deep and even. This pulled an infatuated smile out of Gintoki, who kissed his nape before also closing his eyes and letting himself be lulled by all the warm feelings — against his skin, and deep in his chest. He briefly thought once again about what Hijikata had said, about how lucky he was, and even if he had a hard time believing him, he fell asleep with the thought that it didn’t hurt being delusional once in a while.

When he opened his eyes again, it was still dark outside, but the bed was cold. He immediately frowned, and sat up, sleep forgotten — and took a peek at his alarm clock. It was around 1AM, so Hijikata had no reason to have left yet. Was he just taking a leak? But the bed wouldn’t have grown so cold if he’d only been gone for such a little while.

The sound of his front door brought him out of the spiral of his thoughts, and he jumped to his feet, not even bothering to dress up and immediately going to check. His wildly beating heart eased when he heard the soft grunts, Hijikata trying to silently knock snow off his shoes without making a mess. He jumped when he heard the steps, turning around and whispering — as if there was anyone sleeping in the apartment : “Fuck, sorry, did I wake you?”

He shook his head, crossing his arms to shield himself from the cold. “I realized you were gone, and I got worried.” His eyes fell on the little plastic bag Hijikata had dropped on the genkan. “You got some little night craving?”

He finally gave up on his shoes — even if he probably knew snow would stain the leather if not quickly removed — and caught the bag again before getting back inside, brushing off flecks of snow that were still in his hair and shoulders. “I was just gonna go smoke on the balcony at first, but then I started getting kinda hungry, yeah.”

He shouldered past Gintoki, who followed him back to the warmth of the bedroom. Again, Hijikata acted like he’d been living there his whole life, and the sight made him all woozy inside. “You don’t have to go outside to smoke, you know,” he muttered while covering himself with his yukata again, turning on the little light on the tokonoma — an intimate dim yellow that barely illuminated the room, but immediately gave it a warmer atmosphere. Hijikata shrugged.

“I figured I should ask first, but you were sleeping. It’s not a big deal. Helped me clear my head a little bit, too,” he said after folding his damp overcoat, finally settling on the tatami near the bed and ruffling through the plastic bag.

“Why? Having any regrets?” Gintoki asked with a raised eyebrow, mostly teasing.

“Of course not. More like I feel like a mutt in heat when I’m alone with you, and it’s really fucking embarrassing. I’ve never been like that before.”

“Huh-uh. And? Did that help?”

Hijikata tore open his yakisoba sandwich, heavily covered it in mayonnaise, and sent him a half-hearted glare before taking his first bite. “Not exactly, no.”

“Hey, don’t look at me like that, how is it my fault? And did you get me anything at the konbini?”

“It’s your own apartment, don’t you already have food somewhere?”

Gintoki was about to start pouting, but then Hijikata relented and pulled out a little pudding cup and a plastic spoon, which earned him a radiant smile instead. He eagerly dug in his little sweet, and couldn’t help but ask : “Are you gonna become my sugar daddy, Toshi?”

He almost choked on his sandwich, and this time, his scowl was genuine. “You wish! I’m fine bringing you dinner once in a while, but you’re paying your own goddamn rent! And your employees!”

“Tsk, I tried.”

“You don’t try enough, that’s precisely why you’re so poor. I swear, if I ever catch you at the pachinko parlor instead of working like a functional adult, I’m kicking your ass.”

“Wow, first night we spend together, and you’re already threatening my well-being. And right after turning me into a goddamn checkers board, too. Might wanna be careful about the abusive boyfriend allegations, mister vice-chief.”

“Better than being an actual disaster of a boss and human being.”

“Okay, that’s it, you are not getting a blowjob for the pudding.”

Hijikata’s only reaction to that was to roll his eyes, and sure enough, as soon as they were done eating, it was like they couldn’t get enough of each other — no matter if they bantered at the same time. Gintoki hummed comfortably, his hands full of a vice-chief firmly sitting on his lap, legs folded around his sides. He licked a small smear of mayonnaise off the corner of his lips, before getting invited inside, to lazily exchange kisses again. He wondered if he’d ever be able to spend more than half an hour with Hijikata without being tantalized into making out with him again. It was that bad.

Even worse, the tingle still running over his skin, the little ache in his nipples, and the feeling of the plush ass currently right in his hands made him needy again. As if they didn’t have enough earlier. He broke the kiss with a soft whine, cock pulsing when he saw the string of spit breaking between them, and he let out a dying groan : “Do… Do you wanna do it again?”

Hijikata’s eyes widened a little bit, but he nodded. He even brought his thumb against Gintoki’s lower lip, brushing against it as arousal climbed and deepened their breathing. “How do you want it?”

God, Gintoki had about a dozen of ideas right now. But at that moment, one was more attractive than the others : “Take me from behind. And be mean about it.”

He saw the way Hijikata’s pupils blew out, and in less than five minutes, of more desperate kisses and feverishly removing clothes, Gintoki ended up on all fours, panting as Hijikata roughly opened him again, and easily pushed inside.

Gintoki swore his ears were ringing, from the roughness with which Hijikata fucked him. He definitely did as he was told — he used Gintoki like a doll, pressing his head against the mattress, slapping his ass until it was red, and edging him out of any relief with a hand tight around his cock. The only way to make this even better would have been if Hijikata also choked him — but no way he could ask him stuff like that already. It was fine. They’d just do it later. And for now, the feeling of being used and forced to submit was enough to turn his mind blank, empty of anything that wasn’t the cock drilling his insides and the hands teasing the rest of his body.

He loved feeling like this so much. He loved completely giving up control, and getting pushed around, forced to take and endure until his partner felt like offering him release. He liked being a good boy, a perfect hole — and he also liked playing bad, and being punished for disobeying. Hijikata didn’t even have to get into a certain mindset to act like that — it was in his goddamn blood. And knowing that he could be ruthless and demanding, while also so eager and desperate to suck his cock, or sweet and intense when he brought him to his climax — it really made Gintoki feel like he needed to be real careful, because if he lost that guy, then he’d probably never find anyone better.

“Fuck, look at you. You’re dripping on the goddamn futon, we’re gonna need to change the sheets once we’re done.” He grunted, adding a punishing thrust which made Gintoki cry out, forehead against his arms, and after a resonating slap on his cheek for good measure, he said : “You ever came without being touched, Gintoki? Hope you can, because that’s all you’re getting. Make this bed real dirty, will you?”

Oh he could, but he decided to keep his mouth shut and keep on moaning, pleasure hot and fiery in his guts, his cock throbbing with the need to release. His ass tingled, just like his chest, and he even started pulling at it, sobbing when his length twitched, begging for any kind of stimulation. The feeling was absolutely glorious, and the way Hijikata grabbed his hair to pull his head back and immediately started pummeling his prostate had him howling.

“Who said you could touch your tits, huh? I never specified which part — no touching at all. You either come from my dick, or not at all. Y’hear me?”

He shakily nodded, hips working to meet back Hijikata’s thrusts, especially when he started slowing down, fine with grinding deeply, and feeling Gintoki twitch around him. Once he felt him come to a full stop, he realized he wouldn’t give him what he wanted until he had an actual verbal answer from him, and he hurriedly did so : “Yes! I won’t touch myself again. I’ll be good. C-Can you please, just… Just do something for me?”

Hijikata frowned, not expecting that. He took a shaky breath, and said : “Depends. What is it?”

“Come inside me, with no condom. Please. I promise I’m clean. I’ll get tested as soon as I can, but just this one time — please.”

Maybe later in their relationship, Hijikata would be more prepared to resist to his pleading tone — but at that point, it was a miracle the begging wasn’t enough to make him come on the spot. He ground his teeth together, and despite knowing what a bad idea it was, he pulled out. Then, he ripped the condom off his cock, and spread Gintoki’s ass and legs wider to better thrust back inside.

The yorozuya let his head fall forward, and made his delight very clear — yeses and other words of encouragement falling from his lips as his hole was ravaged, mounted like a beast, without any protection, and cock now continuously dribbling on the mattress. He choked on his moans, on his sobs, when he heard the trembling warning : “I-I’m doing it. I’m coming inside you, Gintoki. You wanted it, so fucking take it.”

He felt Hijikata pulse deep in his guts, his thrusts getting shorter and desperate, hands clawing at his ass, as he filled him up. Gintoki’s voice broke on a whimper, and once he started feeling it drip out of his hole, tickling his balls, he was gone. He painfully came, his own dick throbbing with each wave of pleasure that overwhelmed him. He shook hard, legs barely holding him anymore, and he started seeing actual sparks in his vision when he felt Hijikata roll to a stop inside him, grinding a few more times against his prostate before pulling out.

He was gasping when he felt his boyfriend’s arm curl around his middle, turn them until they were lying on their sides, Hijikata spooning him from the back. However, he started sliding his hand towards Gintoki’s cock, and he shook his head, pleading him to stop, because it was too much. Hijikata shushed him softly, mouth against his ear. “It’s okay. I’m taking care of you now. Let me.”

“B-But I can’t,” he actually started sobbing, while the hand started stroking up and down, unhurried but firm. “I can’t come again, it's too much, Hijikata. Please, I’ve been good…”

“You’ve been so good,” he confirmed, voice now warm honey, compared to the biting ice from before. “And good boys get rewarded. Just one more, okay?”

He was shaking his head, almost hyperventilating, while Hijikata tenderly kissed his neck and his cheeks, lips brushing away the salt that had started covering his face. His body was burning against his, cock soft against his ass, dirtying his backside. His free hand was stroking the skin of his belly, while the other continued working his cock, thumb pressing against the frenulum, squeezing to cover his fingers with more fluids before rolling back down, quick twists of the wrist making Gintoki whimper louder.

His free arm ended up pressing down after all, and he cupped his balls delicately. Gintoki almost thrashed, oversensitive, but he still felt his arousal rise, despite the ache from coming so hard, and untouched. Hijikata massaged them softly, stroking the sensitive skin, and at last, Gintoki’s breath caught in his chest. His entire body clenched, and he came again, with small, almost translucent spurts, his voice so high and broken it barely left his throat.

He was barely conscious after that, simply aware of Hijikata leaving the room, and then the sound of the bath’s faucet being turned on echoing through the apartment. He quickly came back, and pulled on his arms, groaning at him for being uncooperative, and then from being heavy — but he still managed to lift Gintoki in a hug carry, and brought him to the bathroom.

He didn’t bother filling the bath to the top, turning off the water after depositing his boyfriend on the edge. He let Gintoki lower himself inside, a hand around his back in case he slipped, and then he stayed there, probably bruising his knees, but holding the shower head over him and taking care of adjusting the temperature until Gintoki told him it was okay.

Gintoki was starting to fully get back to his senses, despite being still deep in the afterglow of his subdrop, and they needed to change the sheets on the bed, so after grabbing his cheek to press a kiss on the opposite one, Hijikata left for a little while. This moment by himself was not that bad, though, as Gintoki just stared at his bathroom walls, listening to the thrum of his own heart, and feeling the endorphins take over his brain.

He genuinely didn’t know when was the last time he ever felt so… peaceful. Like nothing mattered, like he was perfectly fine, cared for, safe, sated. Maybe when he met Shouyou? He remembered a somewhat similar scene — obviously safe from all the crude content — of the first time he went to the bathhouse with the stranger who’d decided to bring him into his life. He’d washed his hair. He’d helped him climb into the bath. He’d watched over him, to make sure he didn’t fall asleep inside. That was a nice memory.

Hijikata came back, shoulders shivering slightly after running around his apartment in his birthday suit. He asked him how he was doing, and Gintoki answered with a lazy smile : “Like a guy who came four times in one night.”

“Damn, you must have an awesome lover,” he replied without looking at him, settling on the stool and grabbing the shower head, ready to wash himself.

“Hmm. I don’t know. He’s pretty dumb, taking a shower while his very handsome boyfriend is right next to him, in the bathtub.”

His stomach clenched pleasantly just from pronouncing the word out loud, and then from seeing Hijikata lightly startle. He even sputtered : “Don’t be stupid, ain’t no way we can both fit in there.”

“We’ll make it fit. Get your ass over here.”

He didn’t look convinced, but maybe the post-sex hormones were also getting to his head, because he actually climbed inside, and after a few tries and some very painful contortion, they finally ended up sitting together, Hijikata’s back against Gintoki’s torso. They remained silent for a moment, until the yorozuya broke it : “I’m assuming you don’t actually get the weekend off even if it’s Saturday?”

“Hmm,” Hijikata mumbled. He sounded like he easily got sleepy when he was fully relaxed and comfortable. “Morning assembly’s at 8. Would be best if I left at 7:30. They’ll definitely notice I wasn’t there for breakfast, or that I didn’t come from my own quarters, though.”

“And that’s a problem?”

“No. They’ll talk behind my back, but they do it regardless. Sougo, however, that’s another story. It’s good that he at least likes you, so he won’t be too cruel to you when he inevitably finds out.”

“Oh, he’s gonna have a field day with that, I can see it already. That’ll be funny.”

“For you, sure. For me, it’s gonna suck.”

“Well, I’ll have my own crazies to deal with. Sacchan is gonna be a pain in the ass to deal with.”

Hijikata didn’t look like he knew who she was — god bless his soul, he’d become acquainted with her sight and modus operandi soon enough. If they were lucky, she’d accept the loss, and would simply take her distances. In a more believable scenario, however, she was going to whine and scream like a petulant child, and also probably elaborate plans to get rid of Hijikata. He’d probably survive, though. That was the benefit of a boyfriend who could use a sword.

Still, Gintoki groaned just thinking about Hijikata eventually leaving. This whole night had been so nice. He felt so good. He didn’t want to be clingy, he knew what to expect when he kissed the vice-chief of the Shinsengumi — but he allowed himself to be immature, at least for the first few weeks of their relationship. With time, the honeymoon phase would fade away. They’d settle into a routine, and it wouldn’t be as hard saying goodbye. But at that moment, even though they still had hours left before them, he already wanted to ditch everything and just spend the entire day in bed with him, responsibilities be damned.

“What if you told them you were stuck because of the snow?” he mumbled against his shoulder, deciding to be childish. “You must’ve seen it when you went out, right? It’s a goddamn ice rink out there.”

“Yeah, you gotta salt your fucking staircase, by the way. And no. I’ve got tons of things to do tomorrow. We gotta train the newbies. Then, I gotta check on how our new stakeout is doing. Then, I’ve got lunch with pops. Then, patrol. Then—”

“That’s all stuff you can delegate to someone else!” he groaned, despite knowing that cutting Hijikata off would more likely lead to his head being torn off than him being endeared by his whining. “C’mon, it’s Saturday, and Jimmy or Okita can do all that! What about your gorilla commander, huh? Why isn’t he eating with the old man?”

“Shut up, it’s all very important!”

“Nuh-huh, I’ll tell you what’s important : getting woken up with your cock deep in your boyfriend’s throat, get breakfast in bed, and then calling in sick to spend the rest of the day screwing over every surface of the apartment.”

“How much stamina do you think I even have?! And don’t you have anything planned for tomorrow?”

“I do, weren’t you listening? Sucking you off, cooking you my special Sakata eggs, and then papapa— ”

“Ugh, you’re so fucking annoying!”

They finally got out of the bathtub, still lightly arguing while drying themselves off, and also once they were finally snug under the futon cover, Hijikata sitting between Gintoki legs while smoking in front of the slightly open window. At one point, they stopped bantering about his potential day off, and simply went back to chatting about anything. The minutes flew by, and despite Hijikata always keeping an eye on the time, he didn’t say anything about having to go to sleep.

They still had to eventually drag themselves back to the futon, and Gintoki was the first to feel his eyelids getting too heavy to stay open. He managed to steal one last little kiss, and despite knowing how petulant he sounded, he still said : “Don’t leave like a stranger anymore. Even if I’m asleep, wake me up before you go.” And then, because sleep was making him forget his usual filter, he mumbled : “I don’t like waking up alone.”

He couldn’t see the way Hijikata’s eyes shone when he heard that. He only heard the small hitch in his voice, and then felt the warmth of his breath when he replied, before the world went dark : “You won’t.”

And sure enough, he woke up to the feeling of a warm chest under his cheek, slowly rising with soft snores. Outside, the light was starting to break through the pale yellow paper of his window. He broke into a grin, both from the absolute delight it was to wake up like this, cuddling with someone dear to his heart — and also because at the rate things were going, Hijikata would be late for work, and he took it as a win.

The moment he felt the other man starting to stir, he decided he might as well do what he’d promised — and maybe manipulate fate a little bit. So he reached out to grab the vice-chief’s phone, turned off the alarm, found Kondo’s number and simply sent ‘Can’t come today. Snow.’, and then turned around to slid down his boyfriend’s body, delighted to find that he had a slight morning wood. He nuzzled against the bulge, enjoying the warmth of it behind the underwear, as well as the small twitches that followed — like it was trying to answer despite his owner still being asleep.

Hijikata finally awoke with a yawn, which broke into a grunt when he looked down and saw Gintoki in the middle of lowering his boxers, mouthing at the thin skin of his lower belly. “Fuck, you were serious…”

One hand softly stroking him to hardness, Gintoki sent him a little grin. “Good morning. You’re not the only one who likes to suck dick, Toshi. It’s my turn.”

“Wait, what time is it— Aaanh, fuck yes… ”

Gintoki didn’t have his boyfriend’s lack of gag reflex, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t blow his mind. He didn’t lie — he genuinely loved giving head, especially if his partner wasn’t afraid to pull on his hair and use him a little bit. He ran his tongue along the length, enjoying the speed with which Hijikata could grow to hardness — and soon started twirling around the tip, breathing on it and playing with the foreskin, just to hear his boyfriend gasp, and feel his thighs clench around him.

He finally swallowed down, choking a little bit, but still enjoying the twinge in his jaw when he had to lower it wider. This only made it more impressive that Hijikata was able to handle him without even struggling, because Gintoki was clearly bigger, but he could handle this size just right. He squeezed his lips around the shaft when he started sucking, stopping just when he reached the tip, before swallowing it all up again, throat working and huffs escaping his nose. He got lost in the rhythm, the feeling of his mouth being full, the weight on his tongue.

Under him, Hijikata was breathing fast and moaning openly, probably still not awake enough to be self-conscious about it. He rasped his name, head thrown back and hand stroking his hair, not even guiding it — just to feel it bob under his palm and follow its movements. He was so far gone he didn’t even warn him when he started coming, hips twitching and almost raising away from the mattress, while Gintoki pulled out with a surprised gasp, and let him cover his face instead. He stroked him to completion, and was rewarded with a warm, pleased smile which sent actual to god butterflies to his stomach — until Hijikata realized what he'd just done.

“Oh, fuck, sorry, I-I, lemme get the tissues—”

“Why are you apologizing?” he snickered, before licking a trail that started dropping to his lips. Then, he used his thumb to bring some more to his tongue, making a show out of spreading the whiteness all over it. “I got exactly what I wanted.”

What he refrained from saying — despite enjoying getting a facial once in a while — was that what he truly wanted was the heated look in Hijikata’s face, who couldn’t stop himself from grabbing Gintoki by the neck and bring him to his mouth, and kiss him hard. And it got even better when Hijikata started dropping down, to trail kisses down the middle of his chest, down his abdomen, until he finally reached his destination — pushing Gintoki on his back and opening his legs to settle between them, and thank him for the pleasant wake-up call. 

They were both sated and relaxed, lazily exchanging kisses while halfway out of the futon and hands travelling around every line and curve of their bodies — when the phone sitting not too far away from the bed started ringing wildly. Hijikata let out a curse, and softly apologized — because it was Kondo’s special ringtone — rolling away to catch his phone and mutter : “Hello, Kondo-san? Is there an emergency?”

“Uhhh, Toshi, are you okay? I just saw your text, and really, it’s fine if you’re snowed-in today, but I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“Huh, what are you— It’s this late already?!” Then, without thinking, he turned around on his elbow, and roared : “You fucking asshole, did you turn off my alarm?!”

Gintoki blinked, looking around, and then turned a questioning finger towards his nose, the epitome of innocence. The Kondo's voice elevated once again between them : “What? Wait, are you with someone? Oh my god, Toshi, are you getting laid?!”

“It’s none of your goddamn business!” he roared back, hand so tight on the phone it might break in a second.

“But I’m so happy for you! You didn’t need to lie to me, you know! I’ll tell the guys you couldn't make it today, we’ll keep it as a little secret between commanders, this time, hehe. Have fun!!” And then he hung up.

Gintoki was smiling like the cat that got the cream and a whole bowl of tuna when Hijikata lowered his phone, his glare punching several holes through his silver head. “Good guy, that Kondo,” he still added, because he truly had no survival instinct, sometimes. “See? He said it. It’s all good.”

The world changed its axis when he received a pillow right in the face, sent with strength and speed which would probably put a few baseball players to shame. By the time Gintoki had recovered from almost getting a concussion, he saw Hijikata stomping out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He winced a little bit, and then even got to hear Otose knocking on the ceiling with a broom, yelling at him to be careful with her doors. He stayed there for a moment, staring at his walls, and silently weighing the pros and the cons of following Hijikata into the shower. It only took him a few seconds to make his choice.

It was with a whole new fresh bite on his shoulder that they settled in the living room to have some breakfast, bringing the heater in there while they ventilated the bedroom. Hijikata was still kinda pissed at him for sending a text to Kondo while he was sleeping — and immediately ruining the secret aspect part of their relationship — but thankfully, Gintoki did know how to cook some nice eggs and even allowed him to add mayonnaise on it, so he dropped the subject.

Gintoki did the dishes, and came back to find Hijikata in the middle of texting someone, foot nervously tapping the floor. He turned around and opened a cupboard, pulling an ashtray out of it, which he then placed on the table. His boyfriend didn’t say anything, simply grabbing the hem of Gintoki’s yukata to bring him down, and steal a kiss — his own way to say thank you.

He ended sitting on his lap, legs hanging through the backrest of his couch, and chin on the vice-chief shoulder as he watched Ketsuno Ana’s weather forecast — waiting for Hijikata to finish both his cigarette and his work related texts. He mumbled : “It’s gonna snow all today and tomorrow, too. Jeez, are we in Sapporo or Edo?”

“You don’t like snow? I thought you’d like it. Especially if that means you get to laze around.”

He clicked his tongue, and playfully knocked the side of his head against Hijikata’s temple. “Snow’s fine. But I’ve been stuck outside in the snow before. It sucks. Spring’s better.”

“You’re the type to complain about every season, as long as it’s not the one we’re currently in. Spring’s got pollen everywhere, it’s a pain in the ass.”

“Yeah, but they make sakura mochi. So that’s worth it.”

“You’ll be just as happy when New Year comes around and you get to eat kagami mochi.”

A small silence answered him. And, after a little while, he finally asked : “Do you wanna do anything for Christmas?”

He felt Hijikata’s arms tightening around his waist, and yeah, he got it. Sure, it was right around the corner, and sure, they’d just talked about how they better stay under the radar for a while. “It doesn’t have to be anything big,” he continued, feeling the quickening pulse of his boyfriend against his skin, right on the bruises littered around his neck. “I don’t need a present. Shit, I definitely don’t have any money to buy you anything in such a short notice. But we could just do the same thing as last night, again, and I’d be happy.”

He felt Hijikata’s nose brushing against his cheek, when he turned his head to look at him. Gintoki, however, kept looking towards the TV. He didn’t really want to hear Hijikata telling him that he’d be busy with work. Their relationship had just started, he wasn’t allowed to be upset about it. He wasn’t a clingy guy. He understood.

“The fuck does that mean, ‘it doesn’t have to be big’? You may be poor, but I’m not. It’s fucking Christmas, one of the rare times of the year just for couples — going big is the point.”

“What I meant was that we just started dating, so—”

“So what? We’ve known each other for years, I’ve wanted your stupid ass for years. If we do Christmas together, then I’m doing it to fucking blow you away, you hear me? I don’t half-ass things like you do, thank god.”

“Hey!! Are you trying to woo me, or insult me?!”

Hijikata pulled on his shoulder until they were finally face to face, his scowl deepening the wrinkle on his forehead, but the pink of his cheeks charming enough he immediately forgot to be mad. “You and I, we’re doing this properly, is what I’m saying. I like you. You like me. Sex is fantastic. And if we plan to go on dates, it’s fine to spend it just fucking like rabbits — but we can also go out like normal fucking people. Even if we’re not in the open yet — shit, as long as we go out of Shinjuku, hell, if we go to Kamakura or Yokohama, we’ll be fine. No one knows us there. So it’s fine, okay?” He swallowed, and added between clenched teeth : “You can ask stuff from me. I’m not the guy with the most open schedule, but I’m planning to make it work. And especially with stuff like goddamn Christmas. We clear?”

Gintoki blinked. He really wasn’t expecting that kind of speech — not right now, not with something as simple as him asking to meet up on a holiday. He saw in Hijikata’s eyes that he wanted a verbal confirmation, so he quickly nodded before he got pissed off again : “Yup. Very clear. Ten out of ten. Sorry, just had to take a moment, there, Toshi, because wow, you gotta warn a guy. I might fall in love if you’re not careful.”

He rolled his eyes, despite the deepening blush on his face. The clenching of his fingers told him he desperately wanted a cigarette right now — even if he’d just smoked one — but Gintoki decided it was his turn in his mouth. He tilted his head a little bit, eyes closed as he sighed against Hijikata’s lips, everything from the taste to the sounds to the warmth immediately turning him to jello.

He should’ve known something was bound to go wrong. Things were too perfect. Too peaceful. So he got too invested on how good Hijikata felt against him, especially when he decided to kiss his neck again, he completely missed the sounds of steps going up his stairway, and could only freeze in place when he heard the entrance door slide open, followed by the familiar voices of teenagers chatting about something, and the heavy steps of an oversized dog.

He slowly turned his head towards Kagura and Shinpachi’s absolutely bemused looks, who clearly weren’t expecting to stumble on their boss/friend/father figure astride their local cop’s lap, making out in the middle of the day, barely dressed with anything other than their underwear and yukatas, and covered in very incriminating marks. It took about three seconds for the Yato to turn on her heels, and leave the apartment again with disgust written all over her face. Shinpachi took a touch longer, no expression behind his glasses, which he pushed on his nose, before saying with the coldest voice he could muster : “Gin-san. Hijikata-san. I guess we’ll wait outside for another minute. Please use that time to dress decently. Then, we’ll address the topic of appropriate boundaries.”

He immediately left after that, leaving them in nothing but their heavy, ashamed silence. Or so he thought, because after a few seconds, he realized Hijikata’s silence was just silent seething. “You sent a text to my commander, but you didn’t even tell them to stay away from the house?”

Gintoki blinked, but immediately roared back : “It’s Saturday, moron! I told Kagura she should spend the weekend at Shinpachi’s! How’s it my fault?!”

“Whose fault is it, then?! ‘Cause I’m pretty sure you just spent the last ten hours thinking with your dick, and now we’ve got to deal with the consequences!”

“My dick which you fucking sucked like it was a chuubert, on this desk right here, and led us to this very situation!”

In the end, they didn’t get dressed at all, too busy yelling at each other, to a point that when the kids came back they found them still at it, still indecent, Shinpachi yelling even louder, Kagura with her forehead against the wall, eyes rolled back in absolute despair, and Sadaharu barking because he didn’t like the new smell that had invaded his home. Eventually, even Otose, followed closely by Tama and Catherine intruded, which only served to make everything even shittier — as everyone just screamed to make themselves heard.

It took about an hour for things to finally settle, the old ladies back downstairs, Sadaharu rolled in a ball against the wall, and the other four finally calmed down, and sharing what remained of last night’s oden. Kagura stopped complaining the moment Hijikata mentioned buying her fried chicken for Christmas, and while Shinpachi still didn’t look thrilled by the entire situation, he was fine as long as Gintoki was more careful and simply stopped trying to hide anything to them. He didn’t even try to ask them how they had gone from being like cats and dogs to this — and Gintoki was thankful for it, because he didn’t even really know himself.

A week ago, he was single, pretty sexually frustrated, and only thought of the vice-chief as ‘the mayonnaise bastard’, and here they were now. He genuinely couldn’t say how it all happened. He didn’t know if it was just always kinda there, and he just didn’t realize it — or if it was progressive, and this conclusion was bound to happen.

At least, he knew where he was now. Surrounded by the people he loved, under a kotatsu, in his house, planning to have a date on Christmas, and holding his boyfriend’s hand under the table. It was messy. And it would get messier. But as with everything in his life, he figured he wouldn’t have it any other way.