Ever since leaving the Shinsengumi with Itou faction, Saito found himself visiting Shimabara more and more often. Especially one particular ochaya, where he rented a room for a couple hours to drink sake with his new comrades. He has already become a respectable patron there, always welcome, because he always left a large sum of money. Nobody, aside from Hijikata, knew about his mission, so he had to maintain his cover. Besides, the nights he spent there were not entirely unenjoyable. Occasionally he went there to drink alone. Just like this time. It was the sixteenth night of the month, and the moon was beautiful.
He followed a maiko to the room prepared for him where he planned to spend some time drinking. On the way he noted a few familiar patrons and gave them a polite nod. He silently watched the dance of the three maiko. The girls were clearly doing their best to impress the important guest. A geisha, dressed in stunning red and gold kimono, placed herself beside him and poured sake every time she saw an empty cup. She tried to start a conversation at first, but Saito made it clear he didn't wish to talk for the moment, and the girl gave up on that. She still looked a bit disappointed.
When the dance ended, the maiko bowed and left the room quietly, the girl who was serving sake closed the door behind them and gracefully turned to face Saito.
"Shall I dance for you now?" she asked, bowing her head, but the gaze of her shiny green eyes never left the face of the samurai.
"You can drop this little act now, Souji."
The 'girl' smiled widely and flopped on the floor beside Saito, all that feminine grace she has just demonstrated was gone in a flash.
"Why, Hajime-kun? You're no fun at all!" The voice of this 'girl' sounded deeper and more familiar now. "Am I not beautiful?"
"How did you manage to pull this off?" Saito looked slightly amused, completely ignoring the question.
"Ah, I have my own ways of doing things." Okita winked and grabbed the sake bottle he was just pouring from and drank it in one go. "Not bad!"
It was hard to tell if Saito was drunk, because he always looked and behaved the same. But Okita noticed that his posture seemed a bit more relaxed. Maybe due to the alcohol, or maybe to Okita's presence. Either was fine.
"So, how is stuff going?" he asked nonchalantly. But there was genuine concern in his look. When Saito left the Shinsengumi it caused an uproar, even though most people didn't believe he was a traitor to their cause, but there were still suspicions raised, while Hijikata didn't confirm or deny anything, and they haven't had much contact ever since.
"I'm doing what I have to do, that's all."
"I see…"
Okita moved closer to Saito and stretched on the floor, placing his head on his lap. Should someone enter the room he would see an intimate scene between a samurai and a geisha, nothing more.
"Did you miss me?" He placed his finger on Saito's cheek and slowly traced his jawline.
Saito frowned but didn't stop him. "Maybe."
"You're mean, Hajime-kun." The finger moved lower, wrapped the tip of indigo ponytail around it and pulled down, causing some discomfort to the owner of the hair.
"Seriously, Souji…" Saito gave a deep sigh, and tried to move his hair away from the playful finger that was still tangled in it. Their hands touched for a moment. And that moment lasted longer than any of them anticipated.
Suddenly Okita raised his head, almost bumping into the other man's chin, and pushed him down, pinning him to the floor. Most likely, he wouldn't manage to do that under normal conditions, because Saito would not allow such display, but he felt like it was fine, just this once.
"Do you have enough money to rent this room for the whole night?" Okita asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He knew that Saito only had the room for a couple hours, and the time was running out. Someone could disturb them anytime now.
"I do." Sapphire blue met emerald green, a look shared between them needed no more words.
"Gyaah, this handsome samurai wants to take advantage of the innocent little girl!" Okita imitated a terrified girl's voice, and let Saito go so that he could make arrangements.
The look Saito gave him was priceless. He should do this more often.
"Bring more sake! And food too!" he demanded with high-pitched voice again.
"Isn't that supposed to be your job, innocent little girl?" Saito replied quietly, and left the room, while Okita kept laughing.
Souji wanted to get some more drink, but there was nothing left. He sighed with disappointment. Well, Hajime shouldn't take long. And then there would be the whole night ahead. Who knows when they meet again, so he wanted to prolong this time as much as possible.
Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his chest. He grasped for air and started coughing violently. His eyes darted to the door, but no one seemed to be approaching. When the coughing fit finally subsided he wiped off blood from his mouth with the sleeve of his red kimono. He was glad he picked a red one tonight. If stars align, Saito would not notice anything.
A lone figure in black was leaning on the wall next to the room and stayed there, silent and motionless, for a while. The window was open and the moonlight gently lit the hall, making it look almost ephemeral. It was the sixteenth night of the month, but the moon was still bright and clear. If one didn't know it was waning, might as well think it was full.
When no more sound came from the room, Saito allowed himself to enter.
Notes:
Sixteenth night of the month is the first night after full moon, when the moon is starting to wane. It's mostly referring to the ending of this fic.