He's going to space. Out towards the purple and blue galaxies that were only defined by speckles in the night sky out in the countryside, out towards the burning stars that are nothing short of akin to the sparkles that fill his eyes as he looks up to them, out towards where the Amanto that started this damn war flew in from.

And he asks Gintoki to join him.

Gintoki declines of course, but not before encouraging him and his journey. Tells him that Earth is where he belongs, that his being here will give him the freedom he needs in space, that the real reason is that he needs to do this for Shouyou, and that he doesn't know if he can turn his back on anyone again.

Sakamoto is fine with this. Fine like how a young adult feels when leaving home, fine like how a parent feels as they watch the retreating back of their precious child go on to make a life for themselves, that empty kind of 'fine'.

So, on that fateful day that his ship is set to venture towards the stars, he runs back to the town bordering the war front, to where a helpful former-subordinate hinted at them staying, to where a silver tuft of hair peeked out from the sliding doors where a group of twenty played UNO with a scant deck.

He catches a running soldier by the neck of his haori and tells him to go fetch the Shiroyasha. The soldier, a notably feisty one, asks who he is and why he should be bothered to. He laughs that absurdly annoying trademark laugh of his, and it shuts the kid up right quick. And with a hurried and scared, 'Of course, Sakamoto-san!' he was off.

A few minutes later, the sliding door scooches open, obviously a bit sticky, and Gintoki steps out, the mid-afternoon sun shining in his eyes.

Sakamoto's glad he's wearing sunglasses. They're both too bright for him.

After blinking and scrunching up his face for a while, trying to adjust to the sunlight, Gintoki sets his sights on the gates, and at the familiar brunet mess of hair that awaited.

He waves.

Sakamoto grins and waves back.

Gintoki took his time in making his way over to where Sakamoto stood, scuffing his sandals into the grass and dirt on the way. "Nice sunglasses," he says upon reaching him. "Finally decided to hide that ugly mug of yours before you start scaring children?"

Sakamoto laughs, "Hey! That's no way to welcome me back! I thought these made me look cool! Ahahaha! I think I might cry!"

They had both settled down on the stone steps in front of them, one hunched over with his arms crossed on his legs in front of him, the other, still laughing mind you, polishing his sunglasses with his own tears.

"So," Gintoki says, wasting no time getting to the point, "what're you doing back here in the countryside? Shouldn't you be in space by now?"

He laughs again. "Ahahaha, no worries, Kintoki! The ship doesn't leave until late this afternoon, I got time."

Gintoki looks up at him, suspicious. "Time to do what?"

"Oh, you know, to say goodbye to the rest of the crew, to get some more hugs from Zura, apologize to Takasugi for puking on him again-"

"And to change my mind?"

"...Maybe."

"Tatsuma, come on," Gintoki groans. "I said no. I thought you'd respect that. I'm not going to space."

Sakamoto gives him a quick glance from behind his glasses, his ever-so-big smile wavering a bit, before it straightens again for him to let out a chuckle. "Heh, of course you would say that." He looks to the stone step under his feet. "But you know, they say the third time's the charm."

"It may be the charm, but it's not very charming." Gintoki huffs. "Besides, if you could have everything handed to you just by asking three times for it, then I surely would've been Prince Parfait by now."

"Well, I, for one, think it's worth the effort." Sakamoto says, tilting back his shades to look up towards the sky, "But, if you still say no, who am I to stop you."

"Thanks, Tatsum-"

"But," Sakamoto interrupts. "Let me tell you this- The offer still stands firm. If you ever want to join me, I'll come straight from the ends of any galaxy to pick you up."

Gintoki chuckles. "Seriously? From any galaxy? Even if it's full of hot alien babes and all the beer you can drink?"

"Gintoki, I'm not kidding." He said with a sternness unlike him. "I'll do it. Whether it be two days or ten years from now, I will come back if you want me to. It's a promis-"

Gintoki's hands fly to cover the other's mouth.

His eyes are wide, Sakamoto notices, and his pupils small. He may even feel a slight tremor wracking that strong body of his.

After a moment of silence and heavy breathing, his hands move from the other's mouth back to resting on bouncing knees, and Gintoki mutters with a low voice. "No… No promises, please."

Sakamoto understands completely.

The two sat there a while after that, chatting about meaningless things, saying hello to passing privates, nibbling on cookies from Gintoki's secret stash, just enjoying the comfort and company of each other, until the sun fell so much that the sky turned a burning amber, and Sakamoto knew he had to leave.

The two stood up from the steps, Gintoki one higher so he could match the taller's height, and waited a moment more in silence.

Gintoki clears his throat, "Um," His words were ever so slightly shaky, "You better get going, you wouldn't want to be late for your big getaway."

"Yeah…" Sakamoto awkwardly replies. "I've got a whole crew waiting for me. They're pretty rowdy too, heh."

They both look to the sunset.

"Sounds perfect for you." Gintoki says, a quiet fondness lacing his words.

Sakamoto grins. "Of course they are! I chose them all myself!"

"...You didn't choose all idiots, did you? Your idiocy does seem to attract other idiots, you know."

"Hahaha! Well, that explains why I'm friends with you, dumbass! Ahahahah!"

"Who you callin' dumbass, dumbass?"

"You, dumbass!"

"Says the dumbass!"

"Ahahaha! The one saying dumbass is the dumbass!"

"That's you too, dumbass!" Gintoki says, punctuated with a punch to the other's shoulder.

Sakamoto hisses. "Jeez, Kintoki! No need for violence! Did you forget the reason I'm leaving already?"

An incoming punch stops in its tracks and slowly falls back to hang limply at the side of a white haori.

The mood changes.

"No, I haven't, Tatsuma." He says, silver hair falling to cover his eyes.

Sakamoto immediately regrets his joke. "Aw, shit. No, Gintoki, I was jokin-"

Gintoki cuts him off.

Gintoki's going to tell him that he's a piece of shit for joking about that and that he hates him and that he'll never lo-

His thoughts were interrupted by a clearing of the throat. He immediately looked to the other.

"Tatsuma, I know this might sound hypocritical, but…" He draws in a breath. "...I'm going to make a promise to you."

Sakamoto waits, listening.

"I…" He swallows. "...I promise, that I will defend and protect everyone here, everyone that you and I care about, so that when you come back from space,"

He pauses. Tilts his head up towards the other's.

Sakamoto notices the beads of tears forming in his eyes. He says nothing, and lets Gintoki continue.

"...That when you come back, you won't have to go through losing another friend. Okay?"

He's crying behind his sunglasses. Gintoki really is too good for this little planet. He wants nothing more than to just shove him in a sack and take him away. Away from the fighting, away from the death, away from anyone else who could steal him away. But he knows that he can't. Not after a promise like that.

So Sakamoto says with great effort and a choked up voice, "Yeah, yeah. Okay."

They throw themselves into a mess of a hug, the two men sniffling and letting out shuttered breaths, until Gintoki pulls away.

"You're gonna be late."

Sakamoto chuckles. "Kintoki, I'm already late. The ship was supposed to set off two hours ago."

The man in white jostles, taken aback. "Then what the fuck are you standing around for! Get going! You've obviously kept your crew waiting long enough!" He pushes the other down a step. "Don't blame me if they abandon you for being a shit captain."

"Hey, hey! I'm gonna be a great captain, just you wait and see!"

Gintoki pushes him down another step. "You can't be a captain if you never make it to your ship!"

"Aw, Kintoki-"

"Go!"

With a grumble, Sakamoto flies down the stone steps, taking two at a time and stumbling over the uneven ones, and reaching the bottom with breath to spare. All of a sudden, from high above, hears a shout.

"Oi! Tatsuma!"

He turns and looks to the top of the stairs.

There, standing, illuminated and tinted orange by the falling sun, but pure white nonetheless, Gintoki yells, "Send souvenirs! Don't forget to write!" and loudest of all, "I'm gonna miss you, buddy!"

His cheeks feel like splitting from the sheer force of his smile. And with his hand raised in acknowledgement, he runs backwards down the dirt path and screams a "me too!"

Whether or not Gintoki caught the mouthed 'I love you' at the end didn't matter to him.

He had some stars to catch.