Summary: When she wakes up before him, she always decides to stay, watching - GINTSUKU
Watching
Sometimes she wakes up before him in the morning, and watches him silently. Maybe stroking his silver hair gently for a while, yearning for his sigh of content in her ears.
When she stirred awake, the first thing she sees with her blurry eyes is his face. When she finally regains her focus, she called his name in a whisper. Her response is a soft breathing; indication that he's still inside the dreamland.
Tsukuyo is not an appreciator of art, but Gintoki, when he's asleep, is a piece of art. When he's awake, he's a huge ass, and there are so many things he does that urge her to throw a hundredkunai at him (although she has to admit that sometimes Gintoki has his share of cool moments). But when he's asleep, it is a different story altogether. There's no sign of cheeky, stupid grin; only a mouth that opens slightly and let out a snore. Usually it opens larger and there is a drool trickling on its side, but still a piece of art. She chuckled silently; funny how she finds something like drooling picturesque.
She continues her admiring. There's a silver stubble on his chin, and she remembered how it tickles her when he kisses her cheek or her neck. She moves her left hand to gently caress his chin, making a mental note to remind him to shave. Despite regularly telling him to shave, Tsukuyo secretly likes the ticklish feeling of his stubble. A bit. But considering his wild mane, having a moustache and a beard will cause him to look like a caveman, although she is sure she will still appreciate his looks and manage to find something of him that's attractive.
Tsukuyo groans in her head, realising how deep she has fallen for this crass brute. And—she didn't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing—there is no end of this pitfall, it seems.
Gintoki scrunches his eyebrows and lets out a groan, a sign of him waking up. Tsukuyo stops her caress, waiting for him to open his eyes, but that moment doesn't come. His features soften again; looks like he's back to his slumber. Which is good, she sighs in relief. He looks exhausted lately—even when he's asleep he looks tired—and there's nothing more she wants for him than having a good night rest. Besides, she gets to look for some more, to study him and to fall in love all over again.
This time she caresses his perm hair which he hates so much. Some of it falls in front of his closed eyes, and she wonders why he despises it when it is such a perfection. Then again, maybe she is being bias, but if she's ever asked if she wants Gintoki to have straight hair, her answer is definitely a no.
Her hand still strokes his silver strands, but her gaze shifts to examine his face; her favorite part in her study. She loves everything—his angular jaw; square chin; nude, sometimes parched lips; even his lazy, dead-fish crimson eyes, but all of those can be studied when he's awake. When he's asleep, she gets to see his vulnerability; something he never usually shows in front of other people. He is a strong man with so many things to carry on his broad shoulders, but his eyes never waver. She admires him for his strength and his soul, but sometimes it pains her and she wishes for him to be looser, to be weak, to come undone and cry in her arms like a child.
His eyebrows furrow once again, and this time he opens his eyes slowly, like a curtain opens before a theater show. She gives him her warmest smile, greeting him with a soft "Good morning." She removes her hand from his hair, watching him rub his eye to get rid of sleepiness.
"… Yo," comes his delayed reply. "How long have you been awake?"
"Not long," she says, personally not knowing if it's true of false, because watching him is an activity she honestly can do all day and she doesn't feel like she wasting her time.
He cradles her face in his hand and leans in to kiss her forehead, specifically on her scar. The brush of his stubble makes her giggle; it feels ticklish as ever. "Shave later, alright?" she says in the midst of giggle, while he continues to kiss her eyelid.
"You know you love my stubble," he replies with an amused voice. "Weren't you stroking my chin earlier?"
"You're awake?"
He brushed his lips across hers. "A while, and then go back to sleep because it feels good," he admits, stealing another kiss from her lips. Tsukuyo settles her arms on his neck, locking him in place as he lovingly ravishes her. She hums into the kiss, relishing at the feeling of his dry, yet addicting lips.
"You still need to shave," she determines after they part. He doesn't answer her. "… Gintoki?"
It doesn't surprise her when the samurai hugs her and buries his face into her neck. What surprises her is the next moment when he mutters, "… I love you," under his breath, voice soft but feels so vulnerable. "Don't go anywhere," he continues, almost pleading.
She smiles and hugs him back. "I won't. I love you too," she confesses, rubbing his back. He hums in approval, tightening his hold on her.
He doesn't come undone before her, but he shows his weak side to her, and she feels that's plenty.
END.
A/N
I'm not dead. Just busy (and lazy).