Chapter Text
It was after his third bowl of Uji-Gintoki-Don-Supreme that Gintoki decided to go back. Suffice to say, Hijikata was now capable of differentiating authentic azuki beans. He's done well, and Gintoki can't deny he was pleased.
Gintoki was halfway from returning to his room, but after five seconds of enacting a boke-Gintoki and tsukkomi-Gintoki segment in his head, had an abrupt change of plans. He tsked and grunted as he turned back. So it's only after washing the dishes, taking out the trash, locking the front door, and relishing a long bathroom break that Gintoki decided to return to his room.
"Hijikata-kun," Gintoki knocked on his door, "I'm coming in."
Asking permission to enter his own room. It was ridiculous.
Slowly, Gintoki turned the doorknob, and he stepped inside with the cautiousness of infiltrating an okama bar with his balls untouched. Hijikata has an emotion control system that gets pissy at the most inconvenient of times, and Gintoki doesn't want to deal with that tonight.
Reckoned that the moonlight was enough, Gintoki squinted his eyes, the body on his futon was softly snoring, Hijikata looked... intriguing, but it doesn't excuse the bastard of stealing his pillow and hogging his bedsheet. The bastard even took the best spot of his new bed. And was that drool?!
Well, now that was punishable by seppuku. Gintoki grinned.
Gintoki approached the sleeping mayora, head buried against Gintoki's esteemed limited edition Ketsuno Ana pillow. Gintoki snorted, the pillow was a gift from the mayo freak himself, it wasn't the dakimakura kind he asked for, but Gintoki deemed any Ketsuno Ana merchandise as deluxe goods so he'll take anything.
Even if he received the said gift with the force of a speeding truck to his face.
Ketsuno Ana's face was nicely framed on the pillow, and if Gintoki was sufficiently drunk, he would've mistaken Hijikata smooching his celebrity crush. He recalled Hijikata's irritation when he joked about wanting a Ketsuno Ana dakimakura, Gintoki snickered, the situation now was indeed ironic.
But with Hijikata's lips close to hers, if Gintoki was overdosed with the right drugs he would've imagined an NTR scenario in front of him. However, Gintoki was no Katsura. Thank god. For a moment Gintoki felt silly for the jealousy squirming in his chest. Jealous of his pillow or Hijikata? With a flustered smile he shook his head, hoping it was enough to quell such maiden thoughts.
With controlled carelessness, Gintoki slumped against him, and with Hijikata's back against his chest he made a lazy attempt to get his pillow back, and because he felt a bit greedy he forced his head to lay on Hijikata's pillow and have his cake too. He didn't intend to hug Hijikata while he was at it but he carried on.
Hijikata stirred, he mumbled an irritated 'Stupid perm' and hugged the pillow tighter, as if that would stop Gintoki, moron, then after a minute of half-hearted struggles between the two parties, Hijikata whined a soft:'Stooop iiiiit!'
It sounded so strange in Hijikata's smoky voice that Gintoki faltered, his brain wasn't fast enough to deflect the internal scream of:"Cute!"
Dammit. He was losing this fight, it felt like a fight, why was this stupid idiot making it so hard for him? He's gone soft.
He huffed, and with renewed, unnecessary vigor he made a move to clutch Hijikata's fingers to pry his pillow—
"Cold...!" Gintoki whispered, baffled, the cold outside didn't justify the living icicles in his hands, but noted that Hijikata gets cold easily, then with a tiny insignificant amount of guilt remembered his little prank earlier. Gintoki clasped Hijikata's hands in his own, belatedly he realized how caring his actions looked, but he felt too comfortable to move away.
The hands under his clutched the pillow tighter, then Gintoki's own nestled in the spaces between Hijikata's fingers.
"Fine," Gintoki shrugged and pulled Hijikata closer, "You're no Ketsuno Ana dakimakura but you hogged all the amenities of my bed," and just because he can, Gintoki wrapped his legs around Hijikata's, "so behave and be a good pillow."
Hijikata grunted, he pushed back, hurts a bit; it was a very tsundere way of showing his appreciation, that's what Gintoki assumed it was — but the mayo freak made no effort to leave this impromptu hug.
It was a moment of calm, truly Hijikata was docile tonight and Gintoki wanted to savor it, such a rare thing, he wished he had a camera, maybe Hijikata could... never mind, Gintoki closed his eyes, might as well make themselves comfortable since the rotten vice chief has to leave work early tomorrow—
"Did you wash the dishes?" Hijikata whispered, Gintoki frowned at that, would it kill the bastard to say 'Good night' like a normal person?
"Yeah. Yeah." Gintoki snorted. "And before you ask, I took the trash out too okay?"
A pause. "My haori?"
"Already left it on a hanger," Gintoki whined, he pointed somewhere on the wall adjacent to the window, "as if I want to hear you nag at me again, idiot. You turned me into a maid of my own house."
"Dumbass." Hijikata yawned and gave a weak kick backwards towards Gintoki's calves, Gintoki didn't bother dodging it. "Being self-dependent isn't a bad thing, I heard enough complaints from Megane that you're making him do all the chores."
That traitor. Shinpachi always respected the bastard and Gintoki found it unfair sometimes. Gintoki grunted: "Not my fault he's a clean freak. Can't believe he snitched."
Hijikata tsked, it wasn't the snarky kind that Gintoki was used to, it was a recent kind that left him all warm and tingly in his chest. "A certain yato girl told me her boss was slacking off too. Had to pay her with sukonbu so she can stop sulking about her salary for a while."
What a pushover... Did Hijikata become attached to them? Gintoki fervently ignored the smile forming on his lips, he buried his face against Hijikata's back to hide it, and what's with this warmth spreading in his chest? It's killing him. it's so warm he'll die of a heat stroke. He felt his body sagging into this warm goo of happiness. He's a goner. These three were killing him. He should sue. He'll be his own lawyer.
"G-go to sleep already idiot." Gintoki glanced at the justaway clock at the head of the bed. 11:00 PM. It's alarm was set at 5:30 AM during weekdays at Hijikata's behest. It took awhile for him and Kagura to grow accustomed to waking at an ungodly hour. "My biological clock is broken because of your unhealthy work schedule. I miss waking up late."
It was silent for a few seconds, Gintoki almost assumed Hijikata fell asleep and had an internal debate of retrieving the pillow or joining him —
"Nah," Hijikata hummed, Gintoki heard no hesitation in that, "I'll go to work late tomorrow."
"Really? At what time?" Gintoki raised a brow. Skeptical. The disciplined demon vice chief coming to work late. On purpose? Who was this? Did the apocalypse happen when he was slacking off earlier?
"Whenever I wake up." Hijikata replied, he paused, "and when I feel like it."
"Oi! What about your stupid Shinsengumi code?" Not like Gintoki cared, Hijikata had a reputation to uphold didn't he?
"I'm the Shinsengumi vice chief," Hijikata shrugged, he turned his head to stare at him, the stare that Hijikata does when he blames Gintoki for everything. A stare that Gintoki saw too often nowadays. "I'll do what I want."
Gintoki gaped, in turn, Hijikata turned his head towards the innocent Justaway alarm and sent it flying to the wall.
"I'm fixing your biological clock moron, be grateful." Hijikata yawned and buried his face against the Ketsuno Ana pillow. Hijikata rarely showed behavior like this. The mayora must be really tired then...
Gintoki didn't fight his smile this time, he felt a little guilty, and decided then and there to save money to give Hijikata a kewpie mayonnaise shaped pillow of his own.
"I restacked your mayoboro stash, and it's not menthol." Gintoki uttered, and for once, let himself indulge and nuzzled between Hijikata's shoulder blades. "It's in the drawer."
"Thanks." Hijikata sighed, and not so subtly buried himself in Gintoki's embrace.