Snowed In
Rating: K+
Pairing: Gintoki x Kagura
Simple enough explanation for this one. Gintoki and Kagura get snowed in to their little office, and have to pass the time. Romantic happenings develop. Came up with this one after I noticed the heavy rain when I woke up this morning. Thought it would be fun to write, so here it is for your consideration. Reviews always appreciated, to let me know what you all thought. Enjoy the fluff.
Blinking a few times in disbelief, Gintoki attempted to shake off the remnants of sleep to get a hold of the situation at hand. Looking out the rectangular window, the young samurai could see nothing but white. Bringing his hands up to his face, he attempted to rub out the sleep, assuming it was simply a dream. Yet as he continued to gaze at the window he could still see nothing but the same all encompassing whiteness.
"Ara? What the hell is this?" he asked to no one in particular, his sense of dread kicking in as he approached the front door. Giving it a good look, he could see a bulge pushing against it, some force from outside lazily pushing on the material. "There's no way that's possible, right?" Gin asked again, his sense of panic increasing.
Gathering up his courage, he hesitantly reached out for the edge of the door, intent on proving this illusion as being false. As he pulled on the door, the man tried his best to edge his body slowly away from what he suspected to be coming. Once the door simply peeked open, he slid it immediately back in place, seeing the small traces of white material spilled upon the floor.
"What the hell is this?!" he yelled, frustrated at his entrapment in his own home. Wrapping his arms around himself, Gin realized again that it was very close to freezing even inside the home, and he looked around for something to keep warm.
"How come you're yelling so early in the morning, Gin-chan?" The leader of the Yorozuya looked to the source of the voice, watching as the short red-headed girl rubbed her sweet blue eyes after being awoken by his outburst.
"Well, it looks like we're trapped here for now." he answered simply, hiking a thumb towards the front of the shop as he made his way deeper into the abode, looking for their kotatsu for warmth. As he walked the man heard a second set of footsteps, heading in the opposite direction. Stopping with a horrid realization, he turned his attention back towards the front. Sure enough, Kagura had made her way to the front door, her hand resting firmly on the edge to open it.
"Wait, don't do-" but before he could warn the girl, she had slid it open only slightly more than he had before snapping it back in place, the small pile of snow from his own experiment having grown slightly. The girl turned her head slowly to Gintoki, an oddly calm look on her face. Her eyes had narrowed heavily, falling into a rather humorous half circle look.
"Gin-chan?" she asked softly, a look of confusion on her face.
"W-what is it, Kagura-chan?" Somehow he got the impression that something bad was about to happen, and he attempted to brace himself for the possibility.
"It's c-c-cold." The girl's words brought a sweat drop to Gin's forehead, watching as she hurried over towards him, her arms wrapped tightly around her body.
"I know, that's why I'm looking for the kotatsu, so we can keep warm." he sighed heavily, rubbing his temples as the girl bounded over to him. Having closed his eyes for an instant, he failed to notice the girl jump onto him, sending him falling to the ground.
"Ow." he said simply, feeling an odd pressure on his chest to join the throbbing in the back of his head. Rubbing the latter injury, the man blinked a few times, a near disbelief showing in his crimson eyes. "Kagura-chan, what are you doing?" he asked simply, feeling the girl's arms tightly clasped around him, nearly preventing his necessary breathing.
"Geez, don't you know anything? When it is cold, the best cure is body heat. I guess you never paid attention in school, Gin-chan." The girl's answer held a sort of high and mighty, mocking kind of tone, one which normally would have sent Gin into a sort of rage. Yet, as she spoke, he noticed that he did feel a good bit warmer. He looked at her somewhat curiously, before a smile crept across his face.
"Ah, I guess that works." Gintoki muttered, finding his bearings as he stood, intent on finding the small square shaped table despite the sudden burst of warmth. He barely stifled a chuckle as the girl hung tightly to his torso, legs wrapped tightly around his waist. As he caught sight of her face, he could swear that she was smiling quite mischievously, but he dismissed it as he made his way towards the small closet where he remembered storing the heating device.
Rummaging through the messy closet, he felt the young girl reposition herself on his back, her arms meeting on his strong chest. Silently thanking her for the repositioning, Gin finally found the device, shouting loudly in happiness. Yet, as he held the device in front of him, the young samurai felt the girl on his back squeeze just a bit tighter. Barely noticeable, but still there. It almost seemed that she was… disappointed. 'Nah, that can't be. She must have just slipped a bit.' he excused the action, smiling contently as he made his way back towards the living room.
As he entered the small room, he expected Kagura to jump off of his back, to give him space to work or at least to find something to eat. But to his surprise, the girl simply latched onto him, keeping her hold tight around his chest. He briefly thought about asking her if something was wrong, but decided it must just be her sensitivity to cold. Setting about setting up the small device, he silently hoped to whatever Gods might be listening that it would at least work.
"Kagura-chan, it's set up. I just gotta go plug it in." Letting his words sink in, he felt the girl almost hesitantly leap off of his back, slowly making her way to the kotatsu. Something about her seemed almost melancholy, but he still chalked it up to the cold weather. Once the heater was plugged in, Gintoki quickly made his way over to the table, shuffling lightly as he positioned himself for maximum warmth.
"That's better." he sighed deeply, content as he felt the blanket droop around his legs, the warmth soaking deeply into the cold muscles of his legs and feet. The young samurai felt his body loosen, slouching a bit as he rested his head lazily against the table's top. Casting his gaze curiously at the young Yato girl in front of him, Gintoki felt his eyes narrow a bit in confusion.
The girl wore an almost depressed mask on her face, her body sluggishly shifting to gain comfort and heat. What could have happened in such a short time to make her so depressed all of a sudden?
"Neh, Kagura-chan?" Gin asked gently, tilting his head so that his chin was resting squarely on the table, his crimson eyes focused intently on his young partner.
"What is it, Gin-chan?" she responded, most of her body having disappeared under the thick blanket. The girl looked a bit more comfortable, but still something in her face seemed not the usual cheerful Kagura-chan.
"Is something wrong with you?" Blunt, as was Gin's usual style. He noticed the girl seem to tense for only an instant before becoming relaxed once more. She seemed almost lost in thought, as though looking for some explanation to her demeanor.
"I'm just bored." she answered, shifting her blue eyes away from Gintoki, darting about the room as though making an attempt to look for something to do. The answer did not completely satisfy the young man, but decided not to push the matter further. Muttering a quick excuse, Gin made his way towards his desk, his feet only lightly touching the cold wood floors. He seemed to be hurrying as much as he could, tearing through the contents of one of the drawers of the piece of furniture.
Kagura couldn't help but smile at Gintoki's discomfort, his feet very carefully dancing upon the floor. She knew he was feeling quite cold, but it made her smile that he was taking her into consideration, wondering what he had come up with for something to do. His face suddenly lit up in satisfaction, a small rectangular mass in his hand as he quickly rushed back to the small table. Once he was comfortable once more, he produced a deck of cards, a triumphant look on his face.
"How about we play some cards?" Gintoki's face showed more delight than it probably should, and Kagura suddenly felt herself get a bit nervous. She knew that despite his poor luck in gambling, her friend was quite experienced at cards.
"Ugh, you don't get enough of losing at the casino, you have to bring it home with you?" she muttered, trying to mask her intrigue at his suggestion. A teasing click of his tongue gave her pause, as though he had an interesting plan.
"Well, no game is quite as much fun unless there's something at stake." he started, watching the girl's eyes shift back to focus on him. "So, what would you take as the stakes, Kagura-chan?" The way he asked the question gave her little doubt that he assumed her to be bad at cards, and so she pretended to think intently, though she knew what she wanted already.
"Alright, loser does whatever the winner wants." A nice, simple stake, one that most people might think of as being somewhat immature. Gintoki seemed to think about it for a minute, clearly wondering what he would ask of the girl when he won. Slamming his fist down on the table, he agreed.
"Okay, Kagura-chan. Slavery as the wager is accepted." The smugness of his voice made the young girl chuckle just a bit, only briefly putting the young man on edge.
"So, don't we need chips or something?" she asked innocently, feeding his perception that she didn't know what she was doing. Kagura watched as the samurai slapped his palm to his forehead, turning his gaze back towards his desk. The girl could tell that Gintoki didn't want to get up, and so let the hand slip down his face before resting on his chin. After thinking for a brief moment, he seemed to come up with an idea.
"I know. We'll just use clothing as the chips." he muttered, only a faint trace of a blush creeping on his face. The girl nearly mirrored the action, feeling her face flush a bit at the thought of essentially playing strip poker.
"Sounds fine to me." Despite her nerves at the situation, there was no way she would let Gintoki see it. Casting a quick glance around the room, the girl looked for some items that might be used as substitutes, figuring that Gintoki would be doing the same. She brought her focus back to the young man, watching intently as he began to shuffle the cards. A smirk couldn't help but force its way onto her face. The so-called 'White Demon' was going to get a big shock this day.
A little more than an hour later, Kagura sat rather smugly, secure in her winning. They had played a few games, and the crafty alien girl had managed to win nearly every game, tossing the older man a bone every so often. She leaned back, his large white kimono draping loosely over her shoulders, adding to her warmth. It felt rather comfortable on her, the warmth a different one than she felt under the kotatsu. Looking at her winnings, she smirked, nearly every article of clothing having been taken from Gintoki already.
She for her part was still fully dressed, and she knew that Gintoki was regretting his choice to accept the wager. He had been stripped of all but his black shirt and his boxers, a thought that made Kagura blush just a bit darker. Her small frame completely wrapped in his trademark kimono, the girl watched as Gintoki seemed to debate something intently, likely whether or not he should just cut his losses and quit or keep going.
"Well, I'm going to win it all back with this one!" he said in an undeservedly confident tone, reaching down to pull the shirt up over his head. As the black material slid up his strong torso, Kagura could not help but feel a twinge of pain at the sight of him. His body scarred from the many battles he had been in, the wounds of injuries old and new. Each one hurt her deeply, realizing that some had been obtained in defense of her, or anyone else that Gintoki had helped.
She sat speechless for a moment, the sight of his scarred body giving her pause. It always hurt her anytime she saw the red blood trickle from a fresh wound, and in some way it always felt as though she were the one injured just as badly. Gin had come to mean more to her than he probably realized, and she always worried whenever he went recklessly into battle, knowing he would come out of it with some sort of injury. Kagura knew that whatever would happen, Gintoki would be the first to be injured if it would protect his friends.
"Kagura-chan?" his voice barely registered, shaking her from her short lived flashback. Trying not to look at the white marks of his scars, the girl thought for a second about what she would do. Gintoki sat on the opposite side of the kotatsu, his arms clutching tightly at his own body in a vain attempt to cool off. The girl couldn't help but smile, as she reached into the kimono she wore. No way she was going to give it back to him just yet, but wanted to make it interesting to the young man before she took the last piece from him.
"Alright, last game it will be." she answered, reaching along her back, looking for the right clasp to undo. Gintoki's confusion was as amusing as ever, and Kagura knew that would be nothing compared to the look once she produced the desired item. With a flash of her eyes, she snapped open the garment she had been looking for. Leaving her movements open to his view, the girl slowly slid her arms out of the thin straps, before pulling it slowly through the sleeve of the kimono.
As she expected, his face was alight with somewhat annoyed confusion, his mind likely racing to try and figure out what she was playing at. Twirling the item around her finger a couple of times, Kagura then let it fall onto the table, coming to rest on top of his black shirt. "So, the wager is set. Now deal, Gin-chan." her overly smug attitude pulled him from his delirium, quickly shuffling the cards.
Alternating one to her then one to him, he finally dealt 5 cards. His face showed no expression, and she could tell it was taking a great effort not to show himself. Taking a peek at her own cards, Kagura felt a sense of triumph, hoping that luck would see clear to deliver her a final card. Reorganizing the 5 cards in her hand, she looked at the 4 hearts, 10, Jack, King and Ace. It took all her self control not to smirk as she took the 3 of clubs from the group, setting it face down on the table.
"I'll take one." she answered straight, watching as Gintoki reluctantly reached out for the deck, slipping one from the top towards the young girl. Taking the card in hand, her heart nearly stopped, the card she was looking for having made its appearance.
"Dealer takes two." Gintoki spoke, placing a pair of cards on the table before slipping two from the top into his own hand. His face left no sign as to his thoughts, his eyes focused intently on the girl in front of him. Kagura felt herself smirk a bit as his gaze shifted to the white bra on the table, Gin's face turning a light shade of pink.
"Call." he said, placing his cards down on the table. "Four-of-a-kind, 9's and 2 of hearts." he spoke triumphantly, reaching out to the shirt before Kagura could place her own cards.
"Royal straight, Ace's high." she said, watching his face fall as the cards laid out on the table. A slide of her hand left the Ace on the left, followed by the King, Queen, Jack and 10 of hearts. She thought for a minute that Gin's heart would stop as the girl reached out for the small pile of clothes, pulling the shirt towards her.
"Damnit, I've been swindled." he muttered under his breath, thinking back on how he could have lost so easily to the younger girl.
"Well, time to pay up, Gin-chan." Kagura felt very pleased, at not only beating Gintoki into the ground, but getting her own wish as a result.
"Ah, so what will you be requesting of me, Queen Kagura?" he responded in a very sarcastic tone, one which she knew still held his good humor in it. Stroking her chin as though in thought, Kagura let Gin stew for a moment before letting her wish be known. Standing from her seat underneath the kotatsu, she made her way towards the young samurai, her light footsteps barely registering in the comfortable room.
Her heart was beating rather quickly as she looked down at her friend, Kagura slipped the kimono off of her lithe frame, taking her seat on Gin's lap as she draped the worn garment over his shoulders. With a nudge of her head, the girl motioned for him to pull it over his arms. With a hint of confusion, he did as instructed, letting the article of clothing fall over his body, the girl snuggling up close to him.
"Hey, what's the idea?" he asked, mock annoyance on his voice as he felt the girl turn in her "seat", wrapping her arms tightly around the samurai. Looking down at the tuft of red hair, he felt himself smile a bit, letting his right arm drape itself carelessly around the young girl.
"Gin-chan is really the best. So warm." she spoke so sweetly and innocently that Gintoki felt as though his heart would stop. Tightening his grip on the girl a slight bit, he leaned his head back, gazing lazily at the reddish ceiling.
"Well, looks like we won't be going anywhere anytime soon, so might as well get comfortable." His words rang in her ears, his breathing even as her cheek pressed against his strong, muscular chest. Opening her eyes slightly, she let her hands run slowly along his chest, her heart slowing a bit each time her slender fingers passed over a scar.
"Gin-chan?" she asked, turning her head to look up intently at the older man. His crimson eyes seemed to show his affection for the young girl, and she felt herself smile.
"What is it, Kagura?" he asked simply, idly feeling her silky hair rubbing against his bare skin. She really did look so cute, something he was surprised he hadn't noticed earlier.
"You have to be more careful from now on." He realized that she had been touching his scars, and it looked as though she would break into tears at the feel of them. Memories of harsh battles coursed through his mind, making the wounds ache fresh once more. But the warm, soothing touch of her soft hands pushed the pain away, and he felt himself smile warmly as he pulled her closer.
"Baka. If I take it easy, who's going to protect you, idiot?" his voice sounded with his usual mirth, and his words made her heart flutter a bit. She felt her chest heaving against his own, taking pleasure in his basic promise that he would protect her.
"But, I want to protect you too, Gin-chan." The thought of someday losing Gin to his recklessness was too much, and Kagura clutched tightly onto his frame, burying her face in his chest.
"Hey, who do you think you're talking to?" he spoke, running his fingers idly through her shoulder length red hair, chuckling a bit at her contented sighs. "If I die, who's gonna take care of you? Face it, you're stuck with me forever." At this, both began to laugh warmly, taking solace in each other's company.
Feeling a bit of his trademark laziness, Gintoki let his body fall back, his hands folded behind his head as the girl kept her position atop him, resting comfortably against him. Pulling the edges of his kimono up around her body, he found himself glad that the garment was as big as it was, able to encompass both due to her small size. As the warmth passed through him, he felt the girl shift again against him, her gaze falling on him once more.
"Gin-chan?" she asked again, her voice as sweet as his favorite chocolate parfaits. Taking a hand from behind his head, he brushed a few strands of her strawberry toned hair behind her ears, smiling warmly down at her.
"What is it Kagura?" she wouldn't say it to him just then, but to have him refer to her without the honorific made her so happy that she wished he would use it forever. But her curiosity had gotten the better of her, delighting in his soft touches as she asked her question.
"What were you going to ask for if you won?" As soon as she had asked, Gintoki let his palm rest lightly against her cheek, feeling her lightly push back against his touch.
"Just this." he said simply, leaning forward a bit so that their lips touched. It was a soft, gentle kiss, and Kagura felt herself sigh at the feel of it. His lips were sweet, just like she knew they would with all the sweets he ate. But they were soft, full of all his innocence and uniqueness. Too soon for her taste, Gintoki had leaned back, resting his head on his hands as she rested hers on his chest.
"No fair. I won and you still got what you wanted." she teased, feeling her blue eyes hood closed with comfort, wishing the moment would go on forever.
"So did you." he teased right back, letting his hand rest comfortably on the small of her back. She giggled a bit at that, nuzzling closer to him as she settled in for a nap. 'Seems he knows me after all.' she thought to herself as a pleasant darkness came over her. Things had changed between them, and Kagura would have to remember to thank the Gods for such heavy snow.
So they are both up to something? A pair of schemers. So, what did you all think of this one? Thought of putting this one in the Jack of All Trades grouping, but ultimately thought it should be one by itself. Comments always welcome. More GinKagu fluff to come.