Work Text:
Just because you're a dog person, doesn't mean you can't love a cat
Here's a reward for your kindness, nya!
"Told you to stop that meowing bullshit, Zura," Gintoki mumbles, leaning into the warmth that's petting his head.
The hand pauses, causing him to snuffle in protest.
"Oi." A finger pokes his nose and Gintoki drowsily looks up to see warm blue eyes. "You awake?"
Odd. Those blue eyes are a bit too familiar...especially with those dilated pupils half hidden by stupid v-shaped bangs. And then there's the smell of mayonnaise.
...wait, mayonnaise?
"Geh!" Jumping off of the other's lap, Gintoki gapes at the amused demon vice-commander of the Shinsengumi. "Hijikata!?"
Hijikata chuckles, chin resting on a palm. The relaxed air to the usually temperamental man has him eyeing the officer warily.
"The hell are you making that face for, ah?" Brow raised, Hijikata stubs his cigarette on an ashtray beside him. "And even after I went out of my way to treat your wounds too."
Wounds?
Gintoki looks down and sees that he's all bandaged up, and it takes him a moment to remember how he got the wounds in the first place.
Right, right. The last thing he remembers before he suddenly blacked out was protecting Houichi from that chimera monster and giving the Gin-san special lecture of the day to the ex-yakuza turned cat.
But then, how did he end up here of all places?
As if sensing his confusion, Gintoki jumps, tensing when those long fingers begin scratching behind his ears. Without his permission, his body grudgingly relaxes at the surprising gentle ministration from the officer.
"Found you on my porch," Hijikata explains after a quiet moment, tone softer than what he usually hears yet has that same gruff quality. Rougher too for some reason. "Honestly didn't expect to see you again after giving you my mayonnaise."
'As if that dog food could be considered edible for me, asshole,' he grumbles inwardly even as he leans into Hijikata's touch, letting out a content purr.
He stiffens.
Did he just purr!?
'Nononono. Gin-san's human and humans don't purr.' His ears flatten as his throat let's out another purr, eyes drooping when the fingers scratch around the scruff of his neck before he subconsciously bumps his head to Hijikata's palm until the officer obligingly rubs the top of his fur. 'Yup. That hits the spo-'
His eye twitches.
Oiiiii~! Gin-san's been a cat for too long if he's being turned into a pile of goo because of his mayora of a rival!
"Didja get into a fight with another stray?" Hijikata asks, stroking his head and rubbing his temples.
Ah, fuck it. This feels too good to pass up.
"More like a monster." The hand pauses before fingers scratch under his chin. Because this is Gintama, he surrenders to his current fate and just lets himself be the cat that he is. "Ooooh, hey, that feels nice. To left there, Oogushi-kun."
...But just for a little while, okay?!
It's humiliating. He's a human and he's getting his ears scratched by another human. But it feels so fucking good that another loud purr starts rumbling in his throat, startling him a little. It tickles.
Above him, Hijikata breathes out a laugh and the surprising sound causes Gintoki to blink up at the vice-commander.
"It's scary how much you resemble that dumbass; dead fish eyes and all— hell, even your fur's curly!" Hijikata picks him up and peers at him with a boyish grin that he's never seen before, bopping Gintoki gently on his pink nose. "Seriously, what's up with that?"
His miraculously reattached tail flicks behind him as Gintoki smacks a paw against Hijikata's nose, causing the bastard to sputter out a laugh.
"Huh." His mouth twitches into a smirk as Hijikata puts him back down onto his comfortable lap. "And here I thought you only know how to scowl."
For a long while, Hijikata continues to stroke his head and back, and Gintoki goes limp with pleasure as he purrs in content.
"Vice-commander!"
They both jump, turning as the door to Hijikata's room slides opened to reveal Yamazaki kneeling by the entryway.
"Don't shout, Yamazaki," Hijikata snaps out before grimacing and muttering under his breath. "Ugh, my head."
Gintoki frowns, ear twitching at that as his tail flicks behind him.
"My apologies, sir!" Yamazaki bows before straightening up, lowering his voice into a normal decibel. "Here to report that we still haven't found the Commander yet, sir."
Shit. He forgot about Kondou and Zura! Were they alright? Did they get out of the embassy safely? What about Houichi?
...actually, do they still have their balls intact?
Shifting, he subtly glances down to check and sighs in relief when he finds that he still has his precious balls safely attached to him. Good, good. Gin-san was worried there for a second.
Hijikata lets out a careful breath and Gintoki glances up to see the vice-commander's mouth is pressed into a thin line. "Inform me when you've got something and no more than that."
"Understood." Yamazaki shifts to slide a tray in full of dinner leftovers until it's within reaching distance and Gintoki's mouth waters at the sight. "Here's what you've requested, sir."
Hijikata nods with a grunt. "Thanks."
When the bastard is about to turn back to the mountain of reports on the table (seriously, paperwork should not look that intimidating), Yamazaki clears his throat. "...sir?"
"What?" Hijikata mumbles out, picking up his writing brush.
Yamazaki hesitantly gestures to a covered tray that was placed almost at the corner of the room that's half hidden behind more piles of reports. "Your dinner."
"Once I'm done with this." Hijikata waves a hand out as he settles back to the table with Gintoki still on his lap, likely picking up where he left off before Gintoki woke up. Without moving his head, Hijikata slides a warning glare to Yamazaki. "Return to your post, and make sure you stay there or it's seppuku for you."
Sufficiently cowed, Yamazaki pales before he quickly bows. "Yessir!"
When the sound of footsteps fade away, Hijikata drags the tray closer to them before placing Gintoki down on the tatami. "Eat. That way, you can get better faster."
"Don't mind if I do~!" Gintoki whoops out with a grin, pouncing down onto the delicious and more importantly, free food with relish.
In no time at all, Gintoki finishes his dinner and licks up the last remnants of food from the plate. Burping, he plops down on his ass and happily pats his full stomach. Licking his mouth, he blinks sleepily at the hunched figure of the vice-commander before glancing up at the clock hanging by the wall.
Wow, it's that late already?
Yawning, he slinks towards Hijikata and bumps his head against the man's thigh. "Oi, your dinner's probably gone ice cold by now."
When he gets no response, Gintoki scowls. Oi, oi. Don't go ignoring Gin-san now!
He hops onto the table.
"Oogushi—"
Up close and at eye level, the soft lantern light throws Hijikata's features into sharp relief. When he's not losing his hair-trigger temper, Hijikata has always been either cold or aloof. Except for his eyes. No matter how composed the officer is, his eyes will always give him away. It's why it's so hilariously easy to trip the bastard up and tease him to the high heavens. There aren't any dark bags hang beneath his eyes yet but one look at fiery blue eyes alone will tell him everything he wants to know about what Hijikata's feeling.
The dumbass is fucking exhausted.
He's reminded that Kondou's been missing for the past few days and it explains why Hijikata's room is filled to the brim with reports.
Something twinges in his chest.
"C'mon, ya workaholic." Gintoki bites down on a shirt sleeve and gives a hard tug. "Oni-fukuchou or not, you need to eat too, dumbass."
Hijikata startles a bit as Gintoki continues to tug, turning to blink down at him with blue eyes dulled with fatigue that the other man doesn't bother hiding. Might be because Gintoki's a cat right now, but meh, who cares. Attention caught, he jerks his head towards the forgotten tray with a yowl.
Following his line of sight, Hijikata shakes his head with a small smile. "Later."
Aw, hell no.
When the idiot's about to turn back to his report, Gintoki hops in the way.
"Nope!" With no shame whatsoever, he lays on top of the report and bats his paws up. "C'mon, Hijikata-kuuuun~!"
"Hey!" When Hijikata tries to grab him, Gintoki snaps his jaw around a finger and smirks at the pained yelp. "You little shit!"
Cackling, he sits up and imitates the secret move of all cats and even perfected by the legendary Puss in Boots himself— the big kitty eyes. "Don't you know that all work and no play makes you a dull boy, Oogushi-kun?"
Helpless, the bastard slumps with a flush.
"Ugh, fine!" Hijikata looks away and gets up to retrieve the poor lonely tray. "Just stop looking at me like that already."
Gintoki drops the look with a huff, smug. "Score."
He tries to ignore the pang in his chest (he thinks that he might need to get that checked) as he sees the slowness of Hijikata's movements, how he has to deliberately calculate each step. Still, Hijikata only stumbles once before he settles back into his seat. Satisfied, but not trusting the vice-commander to not go back to work, Gintoki takes a moment to stretch with a jaw-breaking yawn and makes himself comfortable on the table of reports.
Across from him, Hijikata makes an irritated sound but doesn't protest and continues to eat his mayonnaise infested dinner in silence. Huh, maybe there's an upside to being a cat if he can win against Hijikata more often. They sit in silence and occasionally, the officer grimaces as he chews his food...probably because it's gone cold now.
Well, serves the bastard right for not listening to good old Gin-san!
After finishing his meal, Gintoki stays where he is and makes a show to claw the reports into pieces if Hijikata even thinks about going back to work. Seriously. Are all officers workaholic or something? Gin-san can't understand the inner workings of a mayora at all. This one in particular needs to kick back and unwind a bit— he'd recommend to read some JUMP. Maybe then the bastard's eyes won't dilate so much all the time, and that's a big maybe.
The light goes out.
Startling at the sudden darkness, Gintoki blinks to adjust his vision and finds that Hijikata has already laid out his futon and getting ready for bed.
Free food and a warm bed? Now that's more like it!
Hijikata grunts when Gintoki hops off the table and onto the bastard's chest. The officer makes a move to grab the scruff of his neck, before settling the hand on Gintoki's back with a resigned sigh.
"You really do things at your pace," Hijikata grumbles out as he peers down at him with a scowl. "Shitty-perm cat."
Gintoki meows, cheshire grin playing on his mouth before yelping when Hijikata presses him close and turning them over until they're lying on their sides.
He bats Hijikata's face in retaliation with his claw, causing the bastard to sputter and Gintoki to yowl when the idiot pinches and stretches his face. Before long, they trade blows and it's stupidly familiar of how no matter what form he's in, they're sure to lose their cool and clash. It's such a fucking pain in the ass.
And...grudgingly, stupidly fun.
...Just a bit though!
When they've exhausted themselves, they lie on their sides again on top of the messy futon and settle on a staring contest.
Which of course, he wins because he's a fucking cat right now and everyone knows that cats are the champions in staring contests— hell yeah!
Gintoki cackles as Hijikata rubs his bloodshot eyes with a huff, crossing his arms and...is that a pout?
The hell? Is the infamous Demon Vice-commander pouting because he lost in a staring contest against a cat?
His cackling is cut short when Hijikata almost smothers him against his chest.
"Oi, bastard! Let—"
"Do you have a home?" Gintoki stops struggling at the tone of voice lacing the question; low and concerned. He looks up and finds Hijikata pinning him with that blue gaze; the usual fire banked in the silence of the night. "Or at least, others who're waiting for you?"
Unbidden, Gintoki thinks about the kids and dog that are no doubt waiting for him. Thinks about the old hag that never fails to smack him back to his senses whenever he needs it. Thinks about the place where he can rest his weary head without worry.
He thinks...that he'd like to go home soon.
"I do," he whispers, nodding his head.
As if he understood him, Hijikata hums in approval. "Good because even if you're a stray, it's better to have something important. Or you're gonna end up wandering around like a hungry ghost."
The way Hijikata rasps out the words with a haunted flicker in his eyes clues him in that it's words spoken from experience. It makes him pause, awashed with a sense of deja vu. Of course, this isn't the first time that he felt this confusing sense of familiarity between himself and Hijikata Toushirou. They've been told about how similar they are, and in moments when they're not busy denying the frankly, insulting accusation (Gin-san is obviously one of a kind after all), Gintoki thinks that there might be some sliver of truth to it.
And in the silence of the night as well as hidden behind the visage of a cat, Gintoki feels that maybe it's alright for him to let his guard down too.
"Yeah," he whispers after a beat, forehead against a thumping chest. "I know the feeling."
Hijikata scratches him behind the ears, a faraway tone in his voice. "I used to be a ronin. But I was the worst sort of stray, y'know? Sought out others just to pick a fight and get stronger— strong enough so that no one else would have to suffer because I was too weak."
The words are pained and weighted down with grief and hurt, and dammit all, it's frustrating how much it mirrors his own.
"You're far from weak, bastard," he retorts with a snort as Hijikata cradles him close to his chest, and despite how awkward it is to be held this way by his rival of all people, Hijikata's so warm and comfortable that Gintoki can't help but snuggle closer. "It takes a shit load of strength to inhale that much mayo in a day, y'know?"
Hijakata strokes his head and back; slow and gentle. "Rest."
"Only if you will," he mumbles, tail curling around a wrist as he lies in the dark.
His wounds are treated and he's going to bed with a full stomach in days. His eyes droop, the easy rise and fall almost lulls him to unconsciousness even though it usually takes him ages to fall asleep more often than not. Sometimes it's because he's too wired while in others, he's trying to keep the shadows at bay so it won't follow him into his dreams.
But as he lies here; feeling safe enough that he's only a hair's breath away from slumber for the first time in years, Gintoki finds that maybe...just maybe, having a kindred spirit might not be so bad.
Maybe.
"I was like that too," he confesses, looking up to find an unjudgemental gaze already staring right at him. Buoyed by that, Gintoki allows the shadows of the past to snap at him with a lack of apprehension for once even as his throat starts to close up. "I fought and fought and fought— and I still lost. Wandered for years with no place to just rest, y'know? It was tiring."
The memories of the war and all the broken promises (Shouyou-sensei; the only parent he's ever known— dead and gone by his own bloodstained hand), slowly crumble and dissipate as Hijikata threads long fingers into Gintoki's messy fur. Somehow, it makes it easier to let the familiar flare of pain pass by him— easier to experience it, and then release it.
Not purged, but set free instead.
...It feels a little like healing.
Gintoki tries not to think too deeply on why it's with Hijikata that he feels that it's okay to want. To wish.
To cease being empty.
"Guess we both got lucky, huh?" Gintoki whispers, on the edge of sleep as the sound of Hijikata's heartbeat follows him into his dreams.
I guess we did, Yorozuya.
The next time Gintoki wakes up, it's almost noon and he discovers that he's human again which is awesome because Gin-san doesn't know what he's gonna do if he ends up stuck as a cat like Houichi. Last time he checked, chocolate isn't good for cats which is absolute bullshit so kudos to the fact that he's back as a human again.
Bad news? He's buried up to his neck in that cat grave he pissed on with Zura pressed at his back. Great. Just fucking great.
So for the rest of the day, he and Zura bicker back and forth as they struggle to dig their way out, which Zura eventually succeeds by sunset when the Shinsengumi come chasing after him (why the hell is Kondou still a gorilla?) and leaving him still stuck with Zura's literal shit inches away from his face.
He's gonna kill that fucking wig the next time he sees him, he swears.
"This seriously stinks," Gintoki mutters as he tries to carefully dislodge his shoulders from the grave.
"That's an understatement."
Pausing, he stares up at the scowling face of the demon vice-commander as the man stabs the ground beside his head with a dead tree branch and starts to dig.
"Oogushi-kun?"
Predictably, the officer flares up with a snarl. "Who the hell is Oogushi-kun!?"
"Don't you have a wig to catch?" he questions, jerking his head to where Zura disappeared to.
"Kondou-san and Sougo can handle it," Hijikata mutters with a shrug, cigarette in his mouth. When the hole widens sufficiently enough, Hijikata tosses the branch away and offers him a hand. "Gimme your hand."
If it were the Hijikata of two days ago, he would've refused because of his pride alone and not to mentioned that he's not keen in being in Hijikata's debt. But that was two days ago and Gintoki thinks that something has shifted between then and now with him and Hijikata so he takes the hand without a fuss.
"Thanks," he mumbles after he's a safe distance away from the grave, dusting off the dirt from his yukata with a scowl.
That's gonna be a pain to wash, dammit.
Beside him, Hijikata takes a drag from his cigarette before blowing out a thin stream of smoke. "Least I could do for listening to my grumblings last night."
That makes him pause, staring incredulously at the officer.
"You knew it was me?" Shaking his head, he points accusingly at Hijikata as heat creeps up his neck. "Wait. You understood what I was saying!?"
If Hijikata knew it was him, why did the bastard let himself be vulnerable? Wasn't he the least bit embarrassed!?
"There's no one in Edo; human or otherwise with those dead-fish eyes of yours," Hijikata snaps out his explanation, the sunset doing nothing to hide the blush on the idiot's face as Hijikata shrugs. "And yeah, more or less. Thought I was going crazy when I heard your annoying voice from a cat of all things."
Gintoki gasps, offended because he has a wonderful voice, thank you very much! "That's rich coming from someone with a voice like yours, bastard!"
"The hell is that supposed to mean, dumbass!?" Hijikata spits out, reaching over to pinch his face with both hands.
Gintoki returns the favor threefold with a snarl. "You heard me! Or did the sound of your own voice rendered you deaf!?"
And it's funny how comforting their familiar bickering is as they exchange blows, now both human. He thinks he might be grinning from how much his cheeks hurt, or it could be because of the scratch on his face when he failed to avoid that glancing punch. Meh, at least he leaves a matching mark on Hijikata's maybe-grinning face before they quickly scowl at each other.
After a moment, they sigh.
"Still, you let your guard down," he points out, ruffling his curls as he cuts a glance to his silent rival. "Why?"
Hijikata looks away. "Back at ya."
Annoying bastard.
"I asked first!" he retorts, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently on the ground.
Hijikata whips around with a glare. "What are you, five!?"
They glower at the other; both too stubborn and competitive to back down.
"Well?" he demands, refusing to budge on the topic.
Because last night was a Naruto-level talk-no-jutsu and he wants to know why Hijikata allowed himself to be vulnerable like that...or that he was affectionate with Gintoki even after knowing that the cat was actually him.
Hijikata falters and in that brief second, Gintoki sees the lost, confused look in Hijikata's eyes before the bastard irritably ruffles those stupid v-shaped bangs of his then promptly shoves his hands into the pockets of his pants.
"Dunno," Hijikata admits and from the weariness in his voice, Gintoki knows that the bastard's telling the truth. "Guess there's something about you."
That leaves him up short and at any other time, he'd teased Hijikata to hell and back but one look at the bastard's defiant face and all desire to bluster on through leaves him in one big sigh.
Gintoki hates that he can recognise the look— the resigned acceptance that maybe they were both tired and just wanted a moment to rest; that finding a kindred spirit with each other might not be such a bad thing after all.
Hates it even more that he doesn't actually hate it as much as he thought he would.
Taking his silence as the acceptance that it is, Hijikata nods and turns to walk away.
Which leaves him alone with his thoughts and a grave full of dead cats covered in dried piss, shit and who knows what else.
"Reward, my ass," Gintoki grumbles to the grave, clicking his tongue as he too walks away. "Seriously, how was spending time with that Mayora a reward!?"
But even as he says that, Gintoki's willing to admit even if it's only to himself that he feels a great deal lighter than he has in years. So...maybe.
Maybe.