(Original Sunday Prompt: Work/Leisure)

Sunrise (ft. Shinpachi x Sanosuke x Heisuke)

He lost Heisuke first.

They had spent that night huddled together, crying and hugging as they made up for the time lost ever since Heisuke left the Shinsengumi; joking and laughing to make up for the time they will no longer have once the sun came up.

Shinpachi didn't know what else he could have done, or who he could have blamed for Heisuke's he have blamed Ito for daring to present Heisuke with the option to leave the Shinsengumi? Or should he have blamed Miura, whose only thought was to protect his captains when he cut Heisuke down?

Or should he have blamed himself for not doing enough to stop Heisuke from leaving?

But who, really, could he blame, when his friend had such a peaceful smile on his face even as the gaping wound in his body took away his life?

When the sun rose that day, his tears had dried, but Shinpachi was never quite the same again.

And then, Sanosuke left him.

Despite his gruff looks and gigantic build, Sanosuke was a big baby. And like the big baby he was, he had clung tightly onto Shinpachi, bawling unabashedly into the night as he tried, in his own clumsy way, to express his desire to go to his former comrades' aid.

The tears that soaked Shinpachi's jet black coat weighed uncomfortably on his shoulders; he had a hunch that he will never see Sanosuke again.

Morning dawned, and the once-empty street began to fill with people as its townsfolk went about their daily lives. Shinpachi, however, stood rooted to the spot for a long time, staring in the direction that Sanosuke had disappeared.

Some time passed after that, and Shinpachi, who felt as though he had been living his life on auto-pilot, woke up one morning to the mild, sweet scent of irises. The dream he had still vivid in his mind, he rolled lazily over, kicked his covers aside, and stared dully out of the window he had left open for ventilation.

It was still dark outside.

In his dream, they had snuck up onto the rooftop back in Nishi Honganji, and were getting ready to enjoy the sunrise together. He could still hear Heisuke sniggering at their little mischief, still see Sanosuke sprawled next to him, snoozing peacefully as he waited for dawn to break.

Just like it did in his dream, the first rays of sunlight gradually peeked through the clouds, and bathed his surrounding in its warmth.

His vision blurred, and a tear rolled down his freckled cheek.

The sun will continue to rise, day, after day, after day, just like this, but Shinpachi will no longer have his friends by his side to greet the mornings to come.

END

A/N: Originally written for PMK week on Tumblr. I'm still writing some of the chapters now, but will be consistently updating every few days! I didn't follow some of the prompts (like in this one), and also, I'm not publishing the chapters according to the prompts for each day, but according to which one I finish first. Hope you guys will enjoy it!