A/N: It's been a long time since I have written a fic. This is my entry for GinTae Week 2018 Day 1 and 2 for the prompts Firsts (Day 1) and Family (2). I hope you enjoy reading it. For those interested to join the celebration, you can visit the gintaeoctoberweek Tumblr account.
It was just half-past ten in the morning, but Gintoki Sakata could already feel droplets of sweat trickling down from his damp silver hair to the sides of his face. Earlier, repairing a garden fence in one fine mid-spring morning seemed to be a great idea, but it turned out to be wrong since he was short of helping hands and the weather was not as cool as he expected it to be. Shinpachi begged to take the day off to attend an Otsuu concert later in the afternoon while Kagura had an early morning errand for another client. The Yorozuya had to take every job they could lay their hands on, especially now that there is an anticipated increase in their household expenses.
Just as he was about to start painting the picket fences he had just erected, he was distracted by a commotion at the front gate. He did not bother to check what was happening because he wanted to get his job done and go home as soon as possible.
"Yorozuya Danna! Yorozuya Danna! S-somebody… is looking f-for… y-you…" a panting Mr. Yamashita, his employer for the day, shouted as he was running towards Gintoki.
"Huh?! Who could –"
Gintoki dropped the brush he was holding after seeing the bespectacled young man trailing behind Mr. Yamashita.
"Gin-san! Gin-san!"
"Pattsuan!" The silver-permed samurai's heart began to race after seeing the distraught expression on Shinpachi's face.
"Gin-san! Ane-ue… she is…"
"What about Otae?!"
"Ane-ue is… she is…"
"What?!" Gintoki screamed as he violently shook the seemingly startled Shinpachi.
"Ane-ue… she's in the hospi-"
Gintoki wasted no time as soon as he was able to deduce what happened and immediately grabbed his bag and bokuto as he started to rush towards the gate and ride his scooter.
"Pattsuan! What are you standing there for?!" bellowed Gintoki while he was starting to rev up the engine of his ride.
"Oh… s-sorry! Gin-san, I'm coming!"
"I am sorry Mr. Yamashita, but my wife needs me…"
"It's okay, Yorozuya Danna… but please come back when everything is okay!" the old man said whie goodbye to the riders of the speeding scooter.
# # #
"Damn! Of all times to be stuck in traffic!" the silver-perm samurai cursed as his impatience kept on growing every second.
As soon as the traffic light turned green, Gintoki sped through the highway, prompting Shinpachi to tighten his grip on his brother-in-law's waist. He knew that they were racing against time, but he would also want to reach their destination with all their body parts intact. Suddenly, a police car with bellowing siren was racing with them.
"Oi, Yorozuya! You are overspeeding! You are under arrest!" the Demon Vice Captain of Shinsengumi, Toshiro Hijikata, hollered through a megaphone.
"Oi, mayonnaise addict, I have no time for your nonsense! My wife is in the hospital."
"Otae-saaaaaan! What happened to Otae-saaaaan?!" cried Isao Kondo, the Shinsengumi Chief and certified Otae stalker.
Gintoki grabbed something from his pocket and threw it on Hijikata's direction. "You can have my license if you want. Arrest me later. Bye!"
"Oi, Yorozuyaaaa!" Hijikata could only shout in his frustration as the two-thirds of Yorozuya sped past through them.
"Tch! Troublesome tax thieves!"
# # #
After 15 minutes which seemed like an eternity, the two reached their destination. Otose, Kagura, and Sadaharu were already outside Otae's hospital room when they arrived.
"What took you so long?" Otose hissed once she saw the brothers-in-law running towards their direction, gasping for breath.
"How is she and - " Gintoki asked in between deep breaths.
"They are both fine. You can go see her inside… "
Gintoki gently pushed the door and saw Otae lying on the hospital bed, looking very tired but still beautiful. The moment he reached his side, Otae flung her arms around him and started to weep.
"What took you so long? I wanted you to be by my side…"
"Shhh… don't cry... I am already here. I'm sorry. The traffic was really bad, and Mr. Yamashita's house was very far. Good thing I evaded an arrest for overspeeding."
They remained in that position for a few minutes until a knock on the door forced them to part.
"Here he is…" Otose proudly announced as a Shinpachi, Kagura, and Sadaharu made way for the nurse and the doctor.
"Mr. and Mrs. Sakata, congratulations! Here is your baby boy!" the doctor gleefully declared as the nurse laid the child in Otae's arms.
"Anego, he's so cute, like me, uh-huh!" Kagura gushed while ogling at the cute little bundle of fat.
"Oi, Kagura, don't you dare pinch his cheeks!" Gintoki warned as he swatted the Yato girl's hand off the baby's face.
"He's got your eyes, Otae! Too bad, he looks very much like his father with his silver perm!" Otose quipped.
"He's so cute! He's so cute!" was the only thing a weeping Shinpachi could say while looking at his nephew.
"Arf! Arf!" Sadaharu barked, expressing his agreement with what everyone said.
Gintoki looked at his wife and newborn son, and tears started to stream down his face. Everyone in the room started to cry, too. Otae wiped the tears off her husband's face with her free hand.
"You told me not to cry, but you're the one weeping right now. What's wrong, dear?"
"I j-just… I-I am just s-so happy… I…I never had a family. I never knew my parents… but now… you…" Gintoki said in between sobs.
He has always considered Otose, the Yorozuya, and even Shoyo and Joui 4 as his family, but the feeling of having his own child was just different. It somehow made him complete, like how a void in his life has been finally filled.
"Thank you, Otae… You have given me a gift more precious than anything!" Gintoki wept even more as he hugged his family.
"Thank you, too, Gin-san, for fulfilling my dream to become a mother."
Not a dry eye could be seen in the room for having witnessed such a tender moment. After a few minutes, everybody burst into laughter seeing how emotional they had become. Truly, the birth of Gintoki and Otae's first child was a joyous occasion for everyone.
"So, what shall you name him?" Otose asked.
"No, Gin-san! We are not naming him Naruto!" Otae said as she glared at Gintoki as he was about to open his mouth.
"W-well, I am not…" Hesitating, Gintoki asked, "Can we name him… Shoyo? I just want to honor my master."
"Hmmm… Shoyo… That's a very nice name. He'll be our wings and our sunshine."
"Yeah, Shoyo. Let's call him that."
Mr. and Mrs. Sakata beamed at each other and looked at Baby Shoyo who was sleeping peacefully in his mother's arms and under the loving gaze of his father.