Archive of Our Own ^beta

Everything started late at night, at Sakamoto’s party. Now, don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t like partying or anything like that, it’s just that everyone was coming to that party, and Sakamoto insisted…a lot. He left the house to have a smoke outside, right before Matako tried to make conversation with him. My timing is getting better, he thought.

He tried to light up a cigarette and that’s when everything went straight to hell.

“Need a lighter, shorty?” A soft voice reached his ear, making chills rise up on his spine.

He got annoyed pretty quickly, mainly for two reasons: 1) He hated when people called him shorty 2) There was only one stupid, fucking idiot who used to call him like that: a silver haired dumbass with a nose-picking habit.

“What’s this all about, Gintoki? Trying to sound cool and mysterious?”, he turned his head around, just above his shoulder with an annoyed twitch in his left eyebrow.

Gintoki chuckled. “That’s your job, man. You’re the one with an eye-patch.”

Thing was, it had been so long since the two of them had a normal conversation, yet it felt so natural: from his annoyance to the way that asshat was staring at him oh so very teasingly.

“…Hey” he heard Gintoki’s voice breaking the silence.

He stopped and looked at him; he really hadn’t changed a bit. He still had that muscular figure he’d always been jealous of, that stupid perm that oddly fit him and…that sad, sad look on his face that kind of reminded him of his own.

They stared at each other through the cold, dark night surrounding them.

“…Don’t be so dramatic, okay? Jeez, it’s just two guys sharing a smoke…yet you’re staring at me like we belong in a dorama.”

He threw him a black lighter and Takasugi dared to smile just a little.

“I thought you didn’t smoke.”

“I don’t.” Gintoki replied.

Now…this, this really looked like a dorama scene. Takasugi was wondering where the hell was the cheesy OST to be the cherry on top.

He lit up his cigarette, closing his eyes in the proccess. “It sure has been a while, Gintoki.”

Then, Gintoki bursted out laughing, throwing himself into the wet grass outside Sakamoto’s house.

“What the hell is so funny, you asshole?!”

Gintoki coughed. “Oh…oh man- you thought ‘oh yeah, this…is gonna make me look so cool and dark’ like…you really thought you looked like the bishi with a dark past didn’t you?!”

Gintoki rolled on the grass like an idiot, his laughter like echoes, barely audible thanks to the stereo playing inside the house.

He just really wanted to kick him. But he didn’t, he just sighed and stood up, “I’m not here to tolerate your bullshit, I’m leaving.”

“Hah- wait, what?” Gintoki’s voice had a sudden change and Takasugi heard him standing up as well. “…Oi…Sugi-”

That made him stop, the damn bastard. He turned around and looked at him with murderous eyes.

“Heh- I knew that’d catch your attention.” Gintoki raised his eyebrows. “Now don’t go all tsundere on me, yeah? I was just fucking around, the usual.”

He sighed once again at the sight of Gintoki shrugging. He sat on the grass and turned his attention back to his cigar.

“This party sucks,” He says.

Gintoki sat next to him, though he barely seemed to have invaded his personal space. The silver-haired guy sighed too and his vividly maroon eyes decided to stare at the night sky. “Tell me about it.”

Takasugi gave him a strange look. “Why did you come then?”

Gintoki involuntarily picked his nose, or so it seemed, “Sakamoto bought all these kinds of sweet stuff to blackmail me into coming here, I think Zura and Kagura had something to do with it.”

Takasugi chuckled and then caught Gintoki looking at him with his dead-fish eyes. “What about you? You don’t seem like the kind of guy who likes parties. I always imagined you listening to Linkin Park or some shit, and then playing with your banjo thingy.”

“It's not a banjo-”

“I know that! Jeez…”

“Also, Linkin Park is outdated, idiot.” He said, blowing a smoke.

Gintoki didn’t laugh or make some stupid remark about how emo he was. He just grasped the grass and smiled softly. “Sugi, ya got me there.”

“Don’t call me like that.”

“Ah, come on man, don’t be a Zura.”

Then he heard an echo, it was definitely Katsura’s voice. “It’s not Zura, It’s Katsura.”

“How the hell did he manage to hear me?! That dork…”

“Gintoki...”

“Hmm?”

“You smell like Hasegawa.”

“Heh, yeah…I guess I’m a little drunk.” He put a hand through his messy hair. “Anyway, why did you come?”

“I don’t know, really.”

Gintoki laughed and maybe, just maybe, Takasugi did as well.

“…Hey, Sugi?”

“What?”

“Let’s go take a walk or something, my ass is falling asleep.”

“That’s because it’s scared that I’m going to kick it.”

“That didn’t sound cool at all, just an FYI.”

“Fuck you.”

Gintoki smirked at him, looking quite please with himself, “Come on, I’ll walk you home so you can confess to me in front of your house, Sugi-chan.”

He rolled his eyes. “This is so cringe-worthy, I’d rather throw myself into a river than do that.”

◇◇◇

They walked mostly in silence, except for the part when Gintoki kept screwing around with him, asking him to “teach him the ways to become a shota-badass”. Needless to say, Gintoki did in fact get his ass kicked. But, this wasn’t half bad, it had been so long since he felt so many emotions all at once. He didn’t want to go home. He didn’t want to see his parents’ face tonight. He preferred to spend his night with this silver-haired idiot, and that really said something.

but not a pleading word came out, because he wasn’t that kind of guy and Gintoki knew it very well.

He stepped on what was left of his second cigarette of the night. “Well, see you around, Gintoki.”

“W-wait. Oi, hang on.” He grabbed him by the wrist. “Isn’t your house like two blocks away?”

“…”

“Your dad was the asshole who did that to you, wasn’t he?”

His entire world stopped all at once. Damn Gintoki to hell for being able to read him as if they didn’t have a falling out all those years ago, as if his father didn’t obligate him to stop being friends with Gintoki because his family had a criminal record.

As if he didn’t doubt for a second to cut him out of his life.

“I don’t give a shit about your old geezer, really. But if that guy is that much of an asshole to do that to his own son, I know the bastard is no good.”

“…What the hell is your deal, Gintoki?! We haven’t talked to each other in years and now you think everything’s good between us?!” He grabbed Gintoki by the collar of his school uniform. He felt the need to punch him and ask him why did he think it was a good idea to come chasing for a worthless piece of shit like himself.

He hated him. So fucking much.

Gintoki stared at him with a deadpanned expression. “I totally saw this coming.”

Takasugi let go after those words came out of his mouth. Relax, he thought, don’t let him see you like this.

“I can be your biggest enemy for all I know. But I’ve always thought of you as a friend. And what friends do in these kind of situations is helping another friend out. Come on, let’s get going.”

“What? Where are we going?”

“My place. Dad’s out of town, and I have yakult on my fridge. How about it?” Gintoki casually put both of his hands on his pockets and stared at him.

I really hate this guy, he thought. But he couldn’t lie to himself like that, not when his face was suddenly warm and his muscles hurt from smiling too much.

He caught up to Gintoki quickly and kicked him once again when he said: “I really thought you were going to kiss me, ya know?”

◇◇◇

"Hey, are you sure about this?”

"Yeah, why not?”

“What if your dad comes in and sees us like this?”

“Are you kidding? My dad loves this shit, he’d probably join us in a split of a second.”

“That’s weird.”

“Let loose a little bit, I’m gonna put it in, yeah?”

Takasugi sighed and Gintoki proceeded to put the bluray edition of Revolutionary Girl Utena on the dvd compact that was set on the living room.

“Such high definition.” He commented.

“Damn right it is. Greatest investment ever.”

And then they sang the opening together, dropping half of their beers while at it.

By the time they were finishing half of the first season, both of them were sobbing messes curled up on the floor.

“…So young” Gintoki sobbed.

“…So brave.” He added as the credit song echoed through the house.

Gintoki stopped his ugly crying and he stared at his cell. “Dude, it’s 4 AM, we should-”

“…Watch the rest of the season” said Takasugi with his eyes closed and a bit of a smile creeping on his lips.

“…Yeah.”

It was at the middle of the opening of the next to last episode where things got weird.

“Hey, Sugi?”

“Yeah I know, Utena’s love is pure and genuine-”

“Not that…I mean, yes…but that’s not what I wanted to say”

“What is it then?”

“Do…do you–” Gintoki stuttered, mainly because of the fact that he was incredibly drunk, Takasugi deduced. “Are we okay now…I know it’s stupid to ask, but– I need this, I need to–”

“Gintoki…it was all my fault, I’m the one who flushed our friendship down the toilet.”

“Nah, it was your old man. He always stared at me like he was going to berserk the shit out of me at any moment.” Gintoki sighed. “I’m glad, as out of character as that sounds.”

“That does sound out of character.”

“For fic purposes, I’m glad. I really missed messing around with you and all of that.”

And then, he saw Gintoki blushing.

“Hey, why are you blushing? Are you picturing Ketsuno Ana?…gross”

Gintoki stared at him and reached for his patched eye with his fingers, which felt weirdly tender against his cheek. “I’m gonna go full shoujo on you, Sugi. I’m sorry for not being there in your emo days.”

“I just told you, you fucking nutjob, it was-”

Out of the blue, Gintoki closed their distance with a kiss. He didn’t, for one second, feel the need to kick him right in the balls; it felt nice, Gintoki’s lips moved softly against his, and his hands were warm as he grabbed his face with soothing intensity.

He slowly kissed him back, both of them falling on the carpeted floor.

Honestly, he didn’t know what was going on, he felt like he was being controlled by a crazy yaoi fangirl. But he didn’t stop kissing him, instead he grabbed him by the hair and started yanking it softly.

“What the fuck are we doing?” He chuckled and hugged him, his nails scratching Gintoki’s covered back.

“I don’t know, ask the author.” Gintoki laughed against his skin, then started to unbutton Takasugi’s shirt and kissed his neck.

He moaned softly. He didn’t want to know. For the first time in a very long time he felt nothing but relief, and he wanted it to stay that way.

Just when the kisses started to get more passionate, he heard a car pulling over.

Gintoki jumped and put his shirt back on. “Dad Ex Machina!”

He then aimed for the living room closet. “T-time machine…we have a–”

“Gintoki,” Takasugi put his shoulders against the nearest wall and looked at him. “You’re not making any sense.”

But seriously, when has Gintoki ever made sense?

“M-my dad… My dad’s gonna see me and then…then he’s going to make me audition for roles in shonen ai doramas, I'm not ready for that, man! For realsies! What if I end up in the live action of Boku no Pico?!”

He jumped onto the couch and seconds later, he was on fetal position, singing Doraemon’s theme song.

Takasugi gave up and sat next to him, rewinding the Utena episode they had missed because they were being horny teenagers. When Shouyo-san stepped inside the house, he looked like he didn’t see anything out of place.

Takasugi got up and bowed. “It’s been a while, Shouyo-san. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“My, my, Takasugi-kun, how much you’ve grown!" Shouyo-san dropped the keys on the counter and gave him a smile. “It’s good to see you around again, thank you for taking care of Gintoki.”

They both turned around to see Gintoki, who now seemed to be playing Magical Banana all by himself.

“He’s…a very special snowflake.” His father commented. “Gintoki, what were you guys doing?”

The boy slowly turned his head around, he looked scared as shit. “Hi…dad…me and Sugi…we were just–”

“Watching Revolutionary Girl Utena” finished Takasugi.

Shouyo-san’s eyes sparkled. “Utena? Such a strong, brave woman.”

He forgot how amazing Gintoki’s dad was. His admiration from so long ago came crashing down like waves, practically everything was.

“Indeed.”

Few seconds after the last episode started, he sat between Gintoki who was calming himself down just now and Shouyo-san, who seemed inspired enough to hum the opening song. He smiled a bit, wishing for all the fridays to come to be just like this one.