Would You Like A Side Of Love At First Sight With That Coffee To Go?
Pairings: Gintoki Sakata/Hijikata Toshiro and Takasugi Shinsuke/Katsura Kotaro
This story feautures: Alternate Universe- Coffe Shops & Cafès, Love at first sight, What Is Flirting? Awkwardness, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Boys In Love, Friendship, Bros, Broship Taken Seriously
Author's Note:
I just wanted to write something different and I had this idea for quite some time. Oh and also, these five (Gin, Toshi, Zura, Suki, Tatsuma (I'm sorry I couldn't find a short nickname that I like for him)) are all the same height. I don't actually think it's really important for you to know, I mean it's not a life changing decision or a dramatic plot twist… it's just there. In my mind when I was writing the story they were all the same height, just that… so… yeah.
Warning: This story contains some cheesy and very fluffy parts, be careful with your intake of sugar because some lines might give you a sugar rush…
. . .
Chapter 1
The day had begun bright early with the birds chirping and the people milling about in the streets. The morning air was fresh and crispy, the chatter filled the town all around and-
And no one is interested in that. The only thing that matters is what is happening inside a certain Cafè.
The Cafè in question is the so called 'Justaway'.
Although if one pays a fair amount of attention they might notice that under the eye-catching sign with the name written in bold, red letters there is a little 'Elizabeth's Jouishishi' scribbled, faded and crossed in pencil, as if it should not have been there in the first place.
And if one squints their eyes and looks even closer they might notice that under the crossed name there is another one, even smaller, that reads 'Kihetai rules'. This one also crossed out.
And if one gets even more close and squints their eyes until they are practically slits they can see that under the other two there is a third name that reads 'Hot TatsuMoto'. For some reason this is crossed over a hundred times.
And if one has a vision comparable to x-rays they would read the smudged letters under all the previous names that simply spell 'Sugar.' This one is crossed too but beside it there is also a small 'No. Just no.'
From the outside the coffee shop gives off a warm vibe with a touch of modern style, from the washed white walls and the few pink roses hanging in decorated vases, to the menu of the day written on a black board with a small doodle of what looks like a suspicious animal that is accompanied by the name 'Lizzy' written on top.
Inside you can find hardwood, shiny floorboards that accentuate further the white furniture and creamy walls littered with shelves, pictures and a varying quantity of defined and undefined colourful objects filling the empty spaces and giving the entire Cafè a feeling of home. On every table instead of a centerpiece there is what seems to be a toy at the very first sight, similar to the sketch on the menu outside and this is also accompanied with a 'Lizzy'-
But enough of this before it becomes a description that sounds more like a commercial or a strange deal from some real estate agent. Now we can get to the crucial part of the story, and that revolves around one person only. Although there are some other people too this one is definitely the most important, if he says so himself.
And that is the one and only Gintoki Sakata, since this is the story of how he discovered a part of himself he had not know he possessed until then…
Until the day love entered through that door on a wonderful spring day.
Or, well, until the day a certain customer entered through the door and he fell in love, and it's still winter, but we all have to agree that the previous line was more impactful.
Before that however we have to make an(other) introduction.
Gintoki Sakata has always had a certain… talent for sweets in general.
The first time he attempted to make one Gintoki had only been seven. And mind you, that had not been an innocent try in the marvellous world of the Sweet Sugary Heaven, no, and he knew that, he knew that well.
Instead it was more of an experiment about testing his unrefined skills on his other fellow humans. And who else would he have chosen to be the guinea pig on his experiment than one of his best friends and partners in crime (the title had stuck with them when one time they had accidentally broken a window and since that day they thought of themselves as dangerous and astute criminals for some reason?), and that was none other than Takasugi Shinsuke.
Let's be clear, if Shinsuke had not been available that day he would have chosen his other two best friends, but thankfully his partner in crime was free. Now, Gintoki had no idea how smart a seven year old could be, even if he himself was extremely brilliant for that age- in his most humble opinion might he add- but from the slight frown and lightly furrowed eyebrows of his little comrade when he had been offered the cake that day Gintoki thought Shinsuke might have gotten the impression, if not figured out, that his cake was not exactly an innocent gift.
Little Gintoki of course did not care, he went along with his plan anyway.
When Shinsuke took the first bite of the cake Gintoki had created with his own hands he… turned a little red. And a few shades of other colours. And spit it out. Gintoki had almost been offended.
The day after Shinsuke did not come to school due to being sick. And that had been the first time Gintoki thought that being an emperor and opening an evil agency did not sound so bad.
But do not worry, he has not gone down the vile path, he just enjoys messing around with people, especially with Shinsuke, and probably more than he should but hey, every one of us has their pet peeve so, people, let him live. When the time came for Gintoki to decide what to become in the future he chose to follow his dream of opening his own bakery and he is still working towards achieving that, so the world will be safe. At least for now.
And do not fret about little Shinsuke, little Gintoki for a consecutive week after the 'incident' spent his afternoons with him to keep him company. But since that day he has not been allowed to cook something in at least three feet of distance from Shinsuke ever again, which is a shame really, because at only thirteen he managed to perfect one of his recipes so well it makes people faint on the spot, and he would have liked for his best friend to try it. Don't get him wrong, he loves his best friends, he just wants them to be the first to test his 'culinary skills', that's not a wrong thing. And this is it.
Was this introduction really necessary to what is about to happen in this story?
Not really.
Does Gintoki care about that?
Absolutely not.
And now that you had this amazing, brilliant, extraordinary minute of a not very detailed summary of Gintoki's intricate, spectacular, marvellous life (not really, his life can get a little boring sometimes but eh, everyone's life is boring at times, so that's fine) we can finally descend into the heart of the matter, the star of the show, the center of the world, the moving force behind the universe, the everything. Or…
The Stranger, as Gintoki likes to call him.
Mind you, not just any stranger, but…
The Stranger. With two capitals.
And that is the boy who stole Gintoki's heart with only a glance.
And Gintoki's heart is certainly not a jewel featured in some grand boutique standing underneath a glass case and waiting to be stolen by a thief dressed in black disappearing in the dark shadows of the night with the prized possession clutched in his hands. Well, it would be more accurate to say it had not been, until that moment. Gintoki is willing to give this thief as many precious heart-shaped jewels as he can if it means he will see him again.
The encounter happens in the morning, when the rush hour has already come to an end and only a handful of clients are waiting in line. Gintoki has just been left alone behind the counter, getting on the last orders in an almost robotic sort of way because who even likes working in the mornings? No one, that's who. Although he has to admit that sometimes he will stay up all night to bake new recipes and that is fun, especially if he has to try new 'ingredients'.
When the last customer in line is ready to order Gintoki lifts his head from the register to ask his usual and pre-prepared question as he does everytime and-
Stops.
There is a second in which Gintoki's brain short-circuits and he stops working from the inside and outside too.
Gintoki is starstruck.
It feels like the God of Thunder has rained all his thunders straight through him, making a small concert out of his heartbeats and synchronizing them with the flutter of the stranger's dark and thick eyelashes.
But his long eyelashes are actually the second thing he notices because the first is…
Blue.
He is drowning in blue.
…Oh wow.
The third thing he notices are his straight hair, jet black and contrasting perfectly with the blue of his eyes. Gintoki has seen a fair amount of beautiful people in his life, be from his real-life experiences or through the screen of his television, but this… this is different.
He is a different kind of beautiful that makes Gintoki's breath get stuck in his throat and-
"Hi."
And what has he just done!? He said hi? He said hi?! No, no, no! Gintoki does not say hi to greet customers! He doesn't even like people most of the time so why would he even greet them in the first place?! But he is taken off guard when the other actually answers.
"…Hi."
Oh.
In that moment he his hit by that voice like… like...
...like that time a few years ago when they were playing and Zura- another one of his best friends- had to kick the ball but he ended up kicking his face by mistake. Gintoki had found himself in the hospital with a missing tooth. He does not know why that example just flew over in his mind but an impact is an impact nonetheless. And he has never felt so impacted before in his life.
Okay, so, Gintoki would very much like to know….
Who has given beautiful people the right to have a beautiful voice too?!
Hello, his heart is suffering over here!
He has no idea what is even happening but he feels as if he has just been taken off by a storm and for some reason he cannot look away from that blue that is taking up his vision and making everything seem brighter, and better, and sweeter, and-
"Uh, I would like to order…" The stranger, no, no-The Stranger, yes, this sounds, better- begins almost unsure and Gintoki waits impatiently for him to continue. "… some coffee?"
"Sure, we might have a little left here." Gintoki tries to joke whilst he is literally trying to stand upright because his knees are shaking so bad, and is it just him or did that sound adorable, and what's wrong with his heart because it's not stopping!
"Oh… yeah."
The Stranger's lips tilt up in a small smile and Gintoki has to physically hold himself up because it feels like the world is spinning out of his feet.
He tries to appear confident and nonchalant as he asks when in truth he is anything but. "What type of coffee would you like?"
"I… don't know." The Stranger's face falls into a little frown and Gintoki kind of feels himself crumbling down from the inside. "It's the first time I enter in a place like this. Sorry." He continues slightly uncertain and apologetic.
Gintoki has never associated the term adorable with a person in his life before.
But today is the first time he does.
"Oh no, if anything I should thank you." He quickly reassures. Only a second later to realize just how weird that sounds. Before he can be judged for all the mistakes he has committed in his foolish existence by The beautiful Stranger he tries to save the situation. "…By, you know, increasing the economy around the coffee shops' business, since you're trying it for the first time and all that."
Mission failed! Situation not saved at all!
'Increasing the economy?! What is this?! Have you gone mad, son?! Have you finally lost the last tidbits of brains inside that thing you call a head?!'
He doesn't know which is worse, what just came out of his own mouth or the fact that he calls himself 'son' inside his head. But Gintoki has no time to dwell on that because The Stranger is already talking.
"Yeah, of course." He replies with the hint of a smile on his lips, almost as if he found the horrible mistake that just came out of Gintoki's mouth funny.
And Gintoki doesn't really know why his heart is beating so fast inside of his chest it feels like it's going to break out.
Like a flash across his eyes he has seen only people in movies experience he suddenly envisions a cup of coffee in his mind. And not just any, mind you, but one in particular.
He had come up with this himself, a few years ago.
"I could choose for you…" The words are out in the blink of an eye, his voice lower than before and more than just slightly unsure. "I-I mean, if you'd like me to?" He adds quickly, the possible and until then very unfamiliar thought- that had not ever occurred with another person before- of having offended The Stranger in some way is weighing down on his soul and- what is even happening here?
But The Stranger's shoulders sag slightly and his features seem to soften, causing rapid heartbeats to the barista. "Yes. Thanks." He sounds sincerely grateful, as if somehow a heavy weight is being taken off his shoulders.
And Gintoki is trying to discreetly bite his lower lip because his cheeks feels warm, the kind of warm he usually experiences when he has to make a new batch of roasted coffee beans and the vapor gets all up in his face and for some reason the simple motion of breathing in and out is not as easy as it has always been. But he pretends he is completely fine and not just a minute away from a heart attack as he carries on with the now life-threatening task of serving the most important person he will ever probably get to make coffee for in his entire life.
Speaking of coffee, there is something a little particular about this one, and that is… Gintoki dislikes it with a certain passion.
This one has been the first try he has ever had at coffee. It has always been too bitter for him, and even after a dozen tries of attempting to sweeten it, the coffee it still is not up to his taste.
He had wanted to throw it away but for some reason his colleagues and dear friends had insisted on including it on the menu. And although he had been reluctant in the end he gave in, not expecting the discrete success it has gained. But after years he still hates it, so…
So why is he serving it now to The Stranger?!
Gintoki has no real idea why he has chosen to go with this option that has a high risk of messing everything up. And worst case scenario he would end up with the coffee spat in his face, the Justaway burnt to the ground, jobless and in prison (he has a fervid imagination most of the time). However he has this feeling in his gut that is telling him to do so and after his twenty-two years alive of following along his instincts he is not going to reject them now.
He goes through the motions quickly but absently, not even looking at what he is doing (in his defence he is not a bad worker, it's just that by now he could do his job with his eyes closed) because he is slightly terrified that if he sees what he is making he might just throw everything in the trash and ignore his gut feeling and he definitely cannot do that, especially when he can feel those blues almost carving a hole into his back even when he is turned away.
He has heard about magnetic looks but never about eyes being able to melt you like marshmallows dissolving into the fire.
Wow, he's got it bad.
Gintoki is almost surprised when his concoction that everyone else calls coffee is finally ready and he is maybe too quick to turn around and almost slam in onto the counter. Thankfully not spilling anything out or he might have just waited for a black hole to engulf him from the embarrassment if that had been the case.
"Here." He says with a strained smile, as if that is enough to cover up whatever has been going on since he first saw those blue, ocean deep, mesmerizing eyes.
The Stranger blinks, maybe in surprise, maybe he is mocking him inside his head, Gintoki has no idea, and takes hold of the cup. Everything is going so slow and Gintoki is dying to know what he thinks of it but at the same time he never wants to know because if it's bad he won't forget this bitter defeat for the rest of his life and-
"This is…" The Stranger begins lowly, stopping Gintoki's internal turmoil and starting it again, and he is ready to tear his hair out, change name, find a new life somewhere far away because just what exactly is going to come out of his mouth next and is he really going to end up on fire or in prison or with his curls sogging from the coffee or is it going to be-
"…good." The Stranger finishes with a wide-eyed gaze and a smile that makes the sun shy in comparison.
Gintoki is hit with that word going straight through his heart and out of his body and he has a nanosecond to wonder if this is what people mean when they talk about an out of body experience and-
And he feels like he might melt in a puddle of caramelized relief.
Out of everything that he was expecting that is definitely not even near on the list of what is imagination has been able to come up with in just under the few minutes since he met him. So he does the only thing he feels he can manage in this moment without stammering, laughing hysterically, or even crying hysterically, or any other thing that would make him pass as a complete fool.
Gintoki smiles.
For some reason The Stranger stops sipping at the coffee, as if he had not foreseen the possibility of Gintoki showing genuine happiness at his reaction.
There is a moment in which they look at each other, simply observe, as if somehow the secret of the universe is hidden somewhere behind lashes and contrasting colours and Gintoki thinks he feels something- something new, like a stab at the height of his chest. And he thinks that it happens in this moment, that this is when he can give a name to this new emotion. And it's-
Their moment is apparently over when The Stranger remembers he has somewhere to be instead of standing in front of the barista like an inanimate statue, much like the barista is also doing, and reaches inside his coat.
"It's on the house." Gintoki suddenly blurts out, but without any stammering he observes so that is definitely a point in his favor.
The Stranger tries to object, which makes him seem even more of the good person he already is in his mind, but apparently Gintoki's eyes must show the determination he feels because in the end he relents with a grateful mumble.
There is no way Gintoki is going to make him pay after- after this, after the moment they shared. No. Someone with those eyes, and that smile, and that face, and that voice, and well, someone with everything The Stranger is should definitely not pay for a coffee Gintoki ended up creating back then when he had not known what coffee really was and he is still now in denial about someone, let alone him, liking it. Maybe it's a lie and The Stranger hates it but he is trying to be polite. Even so, if it ends up being a lie it still sounds sweet to Gintoki's ears.
"I…have to go." The Stranger finally murmurs with something in his voice that is not clear enough to decipher. "Thanks." He adds quieter and that does sound real.
Being thanked by him is something… else, Gintoki thinks. He should write it on the calendar, even though it's difficult to even think he will ever be able to forget this moment. And the fact that The Stranger sounds so sincere is enough to blow him away. His heart is contracting in weird ways and he wonders if hearts can actually perform cartwheels or sports in general because it feels exactly like that is happening inside his chest right now.
"Oh, uh… you're welcome." Gintoki replies with only a little difficulty because he is losing himself in those eyes and in those words and well, just in everything.
Somehow Gintoki feels like he did something good, even if he has no idea why, or how, or who, or what, or- he stops before he starts questioning the meaning of life too. He has time to do that later.
It takes way too little for The Stranger to walk the distance from where Gintoki is to the door and he feels relieved in some kind of weird way, and sad in some kind of other weird way. As soon as he is out of sight, and that means ten feet out of the door- Gintoki knows because he counted- the young baker finally lets himself crumble into the counter in a helpless mess of sugar-coated feelings and honey-tasting thoughts.
His heart is racing as fast as the first time he had tried to bake the perfect pavlovian cake for one of the chefs their professor had invited at the end of their course, and even then he had not been as excited as he was only a few seconds ago!
This encounter has taken him off guard, something that rarely happens in his life if it doesn't involve food.
After an indiscernible amount of time, in which Gintoki pretends he is not drawing shapes on the counter with his fingers and thinking about a potential wedding by a beautiful beach during the sunset, he remembers he is not alone inside the Cafè.
And no, he is not talking about the clients. Those losers could wait all day for all he cares about, his heart has just been taken hostage by…
…Dum dum dum…
Love!
Yes! This is it! This is the emotion that has pierced through him since… five minutes ago!
This feeling…
Ah, first love.
He had thought it was a myth, something the girls in his class talked about to keep themselves occupied until the next drama sparked.
Something Kotaro and Shinsuke only could get to feel, since it was so obvious the two had been in love with each other their whole life, and it had taken Tatsuma and his minions- Kagura and Shinpachi- holding him back from strangling the two stupid pre-teens back then and yell at them just how perfect they are for each other and not to waste any more time lingering around their feelings.
And something out of a perfectly cheesy and comedy movie with a sprinkle of sweet romance Gintoki would deny with every fiber of his being he actually enjoys watching as he keeps pretending to put up an annoyed front every time Tatsuma drags him to the screening of a new rom-com, where his pride- yes, he still has one in fact- loses itself a little more with every beat of his heart that speeds up because of a romantic sentence or a kiss under the rain.
He thought he was immune to the feeling. But no, it has finally happened to him too. And here he thought there would be only one thing in his life he would love.
Sugar.
His first love.
His love at first bite.
Gintoki will never forget its sweetness or the way it makes him get a euphoric rush every single time it comes in contact with his taste buds, or how when everyone around him is whining about their partners and how much effort it is to be with them he is leading a happy life with the delicious sugar. One of the only things in the world he knows will always be there for him with no discussions, no fighting, no yelling, no negative emotions, but only to bring pure, simple happiness that fills his belly and his heart.
However, today things are bound to change. And maybe…maybe now it is time to make room in his heart for something, or rather, someone else.
A human being.
Wow, it sounds scary.
With his soul aching he wonders if he has to file the papers for a divorce since he cannot continue his happy relationship with Sugar anymore.
To reconnect once again with what he was saying before losing himself in his thoughts, as usual, what he is actually talking about is: what do you do as soon as you discover you are capable of having feelings for other human beings?
You gossip with your best friends, of course!
As if on cue the first person that enters his vision is Shinsuke. He thinks that since he has the occasion he will immediately make his newly found feelings be known to one of the ten most important people in his life- well, technically eleven since The Stranger has made his appearance now.
He already feels like he has a possessive sense of attachment towards him that he has only heard in the books Otae likes to read even if he denies enjoying them because they are too 'girly' for his tastes, but that Tatsuma on the other hand lives for. Sometimes, only sometimes, Gintoki wishes he would be so confident as Tatsuma is to say everything on his mind instead of seeing it as a hit to his masculinity. But no matter, right now he has to give Shinsuke the shock of his life.
"Su-gi~ !" Gintoki sings the syllables just to annoy him even more.
"Shut up." Shinsuke's predictable response comes not even a second after.
Gintoki snickers to himself as right now he is practically laying across the counter (thankfully no more clients have come in than the few already sat and minding their own business, but even if they had Gintoki would not care or spare them a glance) and tilts his head towards his best friend.
"I'm in love." He whispers light-heartedly but with a clear finalty in the words.
"Yeah. You say that everytime." Shinsuke mutters as he wipes one of the tables with a little more vigor than a table should be wiped with, probably caused by the irritation of thinking about how does it always manage to get so dirty after he just finishes cleaning it up.
"No, it's not a sweet."
To Shinsuke's defense everytime Gintoki has ever said he was in love in his lifetime he has always referred to sweets and never, ever, ever to a person. Everyone who knows him also knows his love for patisserie exceeds by long any kind of love he might ever have for a person. Or at least, he had been convinced of this before today happened.
"I'm in love…" Gintoki sighs dreamily. "With a human being this time."
Gintoki has done it. He has dropped the bomb. And now what is left to see are the consequences he caused.
For the first three seconds Shinsuke continues his not very soft approach to the still dirty surface. But then, as if his hand is being electrocuted by an invisible force, he drops the cloth in his grasp and with a whirl of his head so sudden Gintoki almost worries for his neck, Shinsuke faces him with an expression so shocked a soap opera where the wife discovers that her husband is not in fact sick but he has been cheating on her with her sister for the whole time would be put to shame.
"…Oh." Is everything Shinsuke is able to come up with in the end.
Gintoki bursts out laughing so hard he falls to the floor.
"Assemble!"
And now it's time to properly introduce the other two employees that make up Gintoki's circle of best friends.
Kotaro Katsura and Sakamoto Tatsuma.
The four of them met when they had been little and had grown close together through various adventures that frankly had gained an inkling of possible criminal activities throughout the years but that neither of them had really paid mind to. They lived fairly close to one another too and attended the same school growing up, that is until university started and their desires to study for different careers came into play.
And since none of them wanted to be separated, what other decision could have been better than living together in the same apartment complex? Needless to say their neighbours are not exactly thrilled at the prospect.
Gintoki is on the first floor, Tatsuma on the third and Shinsuke and Kotaro live together on the second. It had taken some time to find the place, but Gintoki insisted on it, especially on their balconies being aligned. The other three had not really understood why until one day Gintoki had used a rope to climb over to Tatsuma's balcony all covered in sugar and with two pristine packs of it still intact, and the sirens of the police in the distance. But that is another story altogether.
Now Shinsuke, Kotaro and Tatsuma are sat at one of the tables near the back in the empty Cafè, with Gintoki pacing in front of them and balking orders.
Shinsuke is the first to speak after Gintoki, seemingly over his initial shock, with an eye-roll to accompany him. "What are we, the Avengers?"
"If we were I would like very much to be Vision." Tatsuma chirps in happily. "I have thought about it, a lot, and I think his role would be fitting for me."
Kotaro puts a hand over his shoulder and shakes his head sadly. "I am so sorry Tatsuma, with your brain that is just… not possible."
"Ahah, what's that sad look Zura? It almost feels like you're a doctor delivering bad news to his patient. Are you insulting me? Ahah, is that one of your ways to call me stupid?" Tatsuma questions worriedly even if he keeps on laughing.
"I am so sorry, it could never, ever happen." Kotaro continues with a somber voice.
"Okay, okay. Can we talk about your stupid fantasies later? We have to talk about my amazing ones first." Gintoki interrupts their definitely useless daydreams in comparison to his own. "Today I brought you all here because-"
"You didn't bring us anywhere. We work here. And you said that you couldn't wait telling us your 'life-changing' event until we got home so you decided to close ten minutes earlier and yelled at us to stay put and with our mouths shut." Shinsuke interrupts too, explaining exactly what has happened in the last ten minutes and kind of shattering Gintoki's fantasy of being in an alternate reality where he is the leader and he has to tell his soldiers of a new secret weapon.
"…Yeah, it seems like you can't even do that." He sighs in disappointment.
In all answer Shinsuke crosses his arms and raises a brow at him in a show of carelessness. Gintoki decides to ignore him and go back to his fantasy anyway.
"Fearsome Foursome, we are here reunited today to-"
"Who decided that name?" Shinsuke interrupts, again, this time with an almost disgusted expression at the nickname that Gintoki just uttered.
"I did. It was either this or Hello Kitty's Paladins."
"I chose that one!" Tatsuma waves his hands in the air excitedly, proud of himself for coming up with such an adorable and inspirational name, in his opinion.
"Petition to throw him out of the group." Shinsuke whispers in a way that is both begging and threatening.
Gintoki nods seriously. "I'm already taking it in consideration."
"Ahah guys, you're so funny when you joke!"
A heavy twin sigh escapes the two while Kotaro simply observes the scene, used to it by now since they have to deal with each other everyday.
Getting into character again Gintoki plants his palms firmly on the table in a show of seriousness and narrows his eyes to slits, making him seem more like an old man who has difficulty in reading rather than the fearsome leader he is trying to appear as. "I have news."
The other three exchange a look between themselves, two of them trying to guess what could it possibly be that he is so adamant about letting them know instead of just blurting things out as he does per usual.
"I have some news… that might be terribly shocking for you." Gintoki continues cautiously, as if he is talking to a scared animal or being Kotaro's doctor colleague in delivering the bad news. "That's why I brought hot chocolate for all of you, and for myself, obviously. So stay seated and don't faint because I have no idea how CPR works."
Kotaro raises his hand like he is in school and waiting for his turn to speak. "CPR is not usually performed if someone loses conciousness, except if complications arise and-"
"Yeah, yeah, which proves exactly my point of not really knowing how it works." Gintoki shrugs pointedly.
His best friend shakes his head at him.
"Anyway! Ready, steady…" His voice fades off into a mumble because he thinks it will increase the tension.
Shinsuke and Kotaro blink innocuously, waiting as normally as one could wait.
"Please tell me Kintoki! This tension is driving me crazy!" Tatsuma instead wails and lunges across the table at him from not being able to bear the nerves because of the 'news'.
Between all of them Tatsuma is definitely more prone to experience nerves.
One time in kindergarten they had to make a small project that involved something with painting their favourite animal. Of course not much was expected from a bunch of kids, but Tatsuma had not known that.
So while his little friends were creating all sorts of messy shapes and forms, and Gintoki had to redo his twice because apparently sugar does not belong in the family of reptiles, little Tatsuma was being eaten inside from the nerves since he loved all the animals in the entire world equally and how could he even begin to choose!?
And as he discovered at a fairly early age, nerves pull out strange reactions out of him.
When he asked the teacher permission to skip the first half hour of nap time to finish his painting, little Tastuma had not known that the butterflies in his tummy would have 'helped' him in completing his task.
To spare you of the gruesome details let's just say that when the other kids woke up from their nap they found pieces of the lunch they had had, mixed with other… things, all across Tatsuma's painting and their own. It had been a dark day.
But back to the present Gintoki puts his hands on Tatsuma's shoulders and gets so close any form of personal space is erased since they are pressed nose to nose, 'not like the idiots even know what privacy is in the first place' in Shinsuke's words, and he finally lets out his great, terrible secret in a low and dangerous whisper. That he had only discovered a few hours ago, but it still counts as a secret alright?
"I'm in love…"
Tatsuma and even Kotaro's expressions get crossed with slight confusion because they have been used to hear this countless times already.
"…With a real person."
This time their mouths fall open in shock and even if Shinsuke has heard the news already he cannot help but imitate the two because it still is such an unexpected turn of events.
Tatsuma is the first to break the silence with a sigh of relief. "Oh, oh, so it was this. Ahah, congratulations Kintoki!"
Kotaro instead is still as unmoving as a person pretending to be a statue and crying internally from all the little kids trying to make him lose his balance and fall could be.
A minute passes, that's right, sixty seconds of absolute silence. Broken only by the clock ticking, a dog barking and an infant that starts crying out of the coffee shop.
"Oh." Is what he manages to say in the end.
"Ahah, Zura are you okay? Why aren't you blinking anymore?"
Kotaro ignores Tatsuma and stares at Gintoki with something between stupor and disbelief. In all his years alive never would he have thought that his best friend would declare to have feelings for… another human being. Simply because Gintoki has made sure to remind them every single day of their lives from the second they had met that the only one to own his heart would be sugar until the end of times.
"That is… impressive." Kotaro also adds, because the fact that someone has managed to beat their best friend's first love for sugar is really so.
Gintoki smirks, all proud and self-satisfied. "I know, that's what I told myself. And that's what I also tell myself every time I see my reflection in the mirror."
Only Tatsuma laughs at his joke. He either has to come up with new jokes or new best friends, he will decide along the way. However, right now important matters have to be attended, and that would involve…
"How do you find a stranger's name?" He finally asks the question that has been running through his mind for the last four hours, he counted them.
Another moment of silence passes before Kotaro gets to his feet and slams his hands on the table in a horrified sort of way. "Gintoki…when did you become a stalker?!"
"What?! Wait- I'm not! This is about what I just told you!" Gintoki tries to explain immediately, not wanting to pass for such things. He is a sweet guy in love, not some stupid weirdo. Although one time he has been mistaken for one, in his defense he had not been following the girl but the ice cream she had in her hand.
Shinsuke suddenly leans back in his chair, arms crossed and one leg on top of the other, he nods in that sort of way that when the actors in an action movie do you know some 'business' is about to go down.
Before he even utters the first word Kotaro has already figured out what he wants to say and sighs at his boyfriend's uncommon methods of dealing with… well, almost with everything.
"I have something."
"Shinsuke, no. We won't kill him."
"…Nevermind. I have nothing."
Kotaro sighs again, Tatsuma is laughing and Gintoki is staring at him with a look that could be described as partly horrific partly confused and there is definitely a 0.2% of admiration thrown in the mix there.
"Why would you even think about that?" Gintoki asks with the conflicting 50/50/0.2 look.
"The real question is: why would you not?" Shinsuke asks back convincingly.
Gintoki does honestly not know how to answer that.
So he ignores it.
"What do I do now?" He questions instead because he needs to know just what he should do in this unfamiliar situation. "How-"
"Wait." Katsura is the one to interrupt this time. "How did this even happen?"
Gintoki frowns a little because he does not have the exact answer to that question. How did this happen? It's not so easy to put into words, but what he really is certain of is…
"I don't know. But when I looked at him I just… I felt like my heart would break out of my chest." He murmurs quietly, unconsciously lowering his gaze and fiddling with his fingers. His heart has still not shown any sign of slowing down.
"Awww, so it's a guy!" Tatsuma's loud voice brings him back to the discussion at hand. "And you just fell in love at first sight! Ahah, I can't believe it, I always thought that only happened in movies."
"I don't care if it happens in movies or not, I care that it happened to me!" Gintoki returns back to his usual self and gestures at the three to give him the answers he needs. "Give me the answers I need!"
"Hmmm…. Have you ever seen him around before today?" Tatsuma asks curiously as he sits on his chair again and leans back on two of its feet in a show of contemplation.
"No, today was the first time. Believe me I would remember those eyes." Gintoki mutters the last part to himself, even if the others hear it loud and clear. "Anyway, what do I do now?!"
"I think there is really only one option to follow." Kotaro begins with an air of resolution.
"What is it?" Gintoki asks urgently, wanting to know how to meet the beautiful young man once again.
"Simple." Tatsuma is the one to continue with a grin and his arms crossed behind his head. "You just wait for this guy to return."
Gintoki deflates a little and falls in a chair too. Somehow that doesn't sound as simple as they are making it out to be.
When would that even happen? Tomorrow, after a week- oh no, can he even wait a whole week? Does The Stranger even live around here? Maybe he has just moved? Or maybe he is about to move? Does that mean Gintoki won't see him again?! Or maybe he has lived here all along and just discovered the 'Justaway?' Or maybe he already knew the Cafè has been here all along but never wanted to come in because he finds it disgusting!? Or maybe-
"Gintoki."
He jolts slightly in place and lifts his head when he hears his name from Shinsuke. He finds his best friends' happy faces (minus Shinsuke who looks as indifferent as ever and Kotaro's smile is still a little shocked) and exhales out his worries.
"Relax, you're going to see him again! After all your coffee always leaves an impression on everyone, this guy will be no different." Tatsuma exclaims positive and Kotaro nods in reassurance.
Gintoki shakes his head to get rid of the anxious thoughts. Stressing about things is not his forte, but Tatsuma's, and frankly he doesn't want to see his nerves spilled all over the floor just like him, so for now he guesses he just has to follow the advice and relax instead of thinking about what might happen.
He takes his warm mug in both hands and sips at the heavenly liquid, the chocolate already doing its job in making him feel like a boneless goo made of delicious sugar. The chatter resumes and he takes part in it just like he always does, pushing the thoughts of the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen to the back of his mind.
Even so Gintoki is already anticipating the next time he will get to see The Stranger again.
. . .
Author's Note:This was actually supposed to be a one-shot, but the story kept getting longer and I absolutely wanted to post it today, so expect a couple of chapters in the next few days.