I wasn't able to sleep last night because of the shitty weather here. It's the end of May and usually it's already between 20-30 degrees celsius at this point of the year, but it's only storming and raining at around 10 degrees for weeks with no end in sight. So.. I wrote this short story in one go and added some passages after I finally got some good hours of sleep.
Enjoy reading!
10 years had passed.
10 years since he thought he lost everything again.
10 years since Takasugi died in his arms.
10 years since another important part of his life had died.
Every time he thought he found happiness, it just slipped through his fingers like fine sand.
I didn't reach anything. I couldn't protect anyone
The long day had made his head dizzy and his thoughts were weighing heavy on him on his dark way home. Once those thoughts started, he couldn't stop them from overwhelming him and spiraling down into more depressing ones.
Coming home to the house, that his unrelated family left, still felt weird on those evenings. Kagura and Shinpachi were living their own lives now. They still worked together almost every day, but the kids left the nest and became adults. He couldn't chain them down to him eternally and it was also never what he intended to do.
Searching for the keys in his pockets, he heard the faint sounds of glasses clanking, cheering and laughter from the bar below. At least some things didn't change over the years, but was it really a good idea to keep living above a busy establishment? He couldn't just leave the memories he made here behind. The importance of those were undescribable and the future can only bring more. Sometimes the noises kept him up at night.
According to his circumstances, he became a very light sleeper in the last years, constantly in a worry that something might happen, always prepared to jump to action. Gladly, it was getting better again and he caught himself sleeping like a stone again more often, with no one disturbing him. That was a lie. Ah how much he wished it was true that no one would disturb his precious sleep. But he wasn't complaining either, the cause of the disturbances were way too precious to him.
He pushed the keys in, but the door opened without him unlocking it. Why wasn't it locked. It's already late and with the recent growth of the city, you never knew what could happen if someone noticed an unlocked home. Especially with that shitty police force, that was entrusted with the 'safety' of the citizens. Gintoki grumbled. He couldn't withstand the thought that some thug could break in and steal his most priced possessions. He slid it open fully and entered the house, locking the door safely behind him.
"Tadaima" he mumbled into the empty building, while shaking off his boots, placing them next to four different sets of shoes.
One pair of high black stilettos,
two pairs of zoris in the exact same size, only colored differently,
and one pair of black boots, similar to his own ones, but in a size that was way too small for Gintoki.
He slowly shuffled to the main room, whose Shoji door was closed, so the small entrance area was quite dark, only allowing a little bit of dim light shining through the thin paper door. It was later than he intended to come home and no one was waiting for him anyways. Before he could reach for the door, the sound of small footsteps startled him.
"haaah" A small figure leaped from the shadows of the small room and tackled him unexpectedly, making him stumble backwards, away from the door.
"oooofff" With no possibility to catch himself, he fell to the ground with an uncomfortable sound and the figure sat down on his legs, fidgeting happily at the successful assault.
The house wasn't so empty after all.
He would have come home to an empty building if it wasn't for her.
Two more shadows joined the figure, one jumped on his chest, while the other tugged on his white sleeve. Gintoki sighed angrily, but couldn't suppress a smile.
"Why are you still up? It's already long past your bedtime. Where is your mother?" He asked the shadows.
"She slept in waiting for you" The almost 9 year old boy on his legs replied.
"Mommy is sleeping, she couldn't stop us!" The 6 year old girl on his chest chirped.
"...sleeping!" The other 6 year old boy tugged on the fabric harshly.
Three.. why three? One was already enough. No wonder she was so tired after all. He cursed his own inability to hold back whenever he saw her walking around a little bit different than usual, she was just too damn beautiful. But how would he have know that they would offspring a pair of twins. How did I even end up in this, I of all people. The one who belongs to no one, the one who doesn't deserve anything. Who was foolish enough to be with me. I really don't deserve this after all that happened, after all those time he hurt her. Even though she was never hurt by his cowardliness.
And yet, the proof of their love was right in front of him.
Having a different family of his own, related by blood.
Love is weird. It hit him when he was at his lowest, time and time again. And after everything had finally come to an end, their time just started. I'm really an idiot for thinking so negative about that. He was blessed with the most adorable kids and a loving wife. He couldn't ask for more. He already had everything he ever wanted.
Lost in his thoughts, the kids stopped to jump on him.
"Papi, where are ya looking?" big bright amethyst eyes shined through silky silver bangs and stared directly into his.
Ah.. she's so beautiful, just like her mother. At least, she didnt inherit his permed hair. But he couldn't say the same about the two boys. Both of them had the same unruly hair, but only their oldest also inherited his eyes. He looked exactly like Gintoki did at that age and he was now in a phase, where he mirrored his parents behavior, requesting a pair of boots that looked like his fathers and proudly stomped around in them. Earlier that week, Shinpachi gave him one his white haori with the distinctive blue swirl patterns and he wore it like it was made out of gold.
He became a mirror of his father with every passing day, except that he inherited none of Gintokis bad features. Except his hair maybe. One day Gintoki would need to tell him, that he can't land a woman with that perm. He would reply that his father landed a woman with that hair, but that was a totally different story.
She always said it was unfair that all three of them looked like him. That wasn't true, they smiled exactly like she did and sometimes they imitated her way of speaking. His hand reached up to ruffle through her hair and she closed her eyes in comfort. Gintoki carefully stood up, keeping her in his arm.
"I wanna be carried too"
"Me too, me too!"
Gintoki felt the weight of the older boy pushing down on his back, while his younger son stretched out his arms in joyful expectation, smiling happily. Their smiles always hit a soft spot in his heart and saying no to these smiles was like saying no to a truckload of strawberry parfaits.
Pure Hell.
He picked up the smiling boy with his free arm, placing him on his hip and kissing his wavy hair. It was freshly washed and smelled like vanilla and strawberries. The scent had become his favorite after some scammy fortune teller on the street told him 10 years ago, that his future smelled like a mix of those treats. He never told anyone why he insisted on buying those specific scents and also no one asked. And even if, he wouldn't admit his reason.
"I want a kiss, I want a kiss"
"You're too old for that"
"Mommy says you're never too old for kisses. She gives you long kisses everywhere, I've seen it. And you're already ancient!" The boy on his back said innocently.
"Fine, you will get one when you're in bed." Gintoki shuddered thinking about the things he meant with 'long kisses everywhere' and decided he would need to start being more careful with what he did around them. They were getting older at a fast rate. It wasn't long until they moved out and he will end up in a wheelchair, crippled of old age.
Fully packed, with a child in each arm and one on his back, he made his way to the shoji door, quietly sliding it open with one of his feet.
Please don't wake up he thought. She would only accuse herself of being a bad mother if she knew that their kids werent in bed and he didnt want that to happen. She was a good mother, the best mother.
Tsukuyo was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a thin blanket, her head slightly tilted, breathing calmly. She must have had an exhausting day at work, if she was able to sleep in a position like that. The room was lit by two candles on the table next to her. Gintoki stopped in his tracks. He was stunned to see her like this, smiling lightly in her sleep. Her beauty always knocked him out at the most unexpected moments.
"Hey why did you stop" His daughter whispered.
"Don't look at mommy like that, it's creepy." The boy in his arm continued her thoughts.
"Shhh, quiet" His cheeks flushed, caught staring at his wife by his own damn kids. He continued his way to the stairs and started to climb them, groaning under the extra weight on his back. The new part of their home was added right after the twins came. Gintoki refused to move out, saying he didn't want to give up the free of charge babysitter that was living downstairs. He couldn't admit that he just wanted to stay here close to her and continue protecting her. That old woman was more important in his life than he wanted to concede.
With the countless connections he had, he was able to get a good offer for the extension of the house, adding two stories in total, making it big enough for his growing family. That way, it was also possible to use the ground floor for office purposes only, but they still used it as a private space from time to time, away from the kids. The kids bedrooms were on the upper floor, so he had to climb another set of stairs, leaving him panting. They were getting too heavy to be carried and the hard work from the last days had already strained him enough.
"Papi, you're weak" The kid on his back snickered while Gintoki got down to let him jump from his back. The twins on his hips were already sleeping.
"Yes, maybe. Your mom is a lot stronger than I am" He replied, a little bit hurt.
The boy slid from his back, now standing in front of him, picking his nose.
"I told you numerous times already, stop doing that. If you continue this, you will pick your brain out" Gintoki scolded him.
"Is that why mom always says you're an utter idiot?" He replied.
Gintoki blinked, stunned
"She says that?.. to whom?" Was that really something new though?
"Everyone"
Gintoki pouted. "I'm not an idiot.." He mumbled.
"I know, she loves you"
The boys crimson eyes stared directly into his, lazily, while he continued to pick his nose, uninterested in the conversation. Gintoki felt like looking into a mirror. Dazed, he tried to process how intelligent that child could be sometimes. Kids are weird.
"Go to bed, I'm coming in a minute."
He stood up and carried the twins to their rooms. Looking at the justaway clock, he wasn't surprised they were sleeping in his arms. He sighed. I really need to stop coming home so late. It didn't happen that often, but he always felt guilty when if occurred. Carefully, he placed them in their beds and tugged them in, planting a kiss on their foreheads. The moon was shining through the window on the small silhouettes. Gintoki kneeled beside them, observed their hair shining silver in the faint light. How could someone like him spawn something to beautiful. But his own moons beauty was mainly involved in that as well, so it wasn't really a surprise.
"Good night" He whispered to them and left them room. The twins were sleeping in the same bed since they have been born. They refused to split up as they grew older. But the day will come sooner or later.
Gintoki sneaked into the older boys room. He hoped that he had already fallen asleep as well, but his eyes were shining at him, as he entered through the open door. He kneeled down next to him and patted his perm.
"Close your eyes or a ghost will steal them." Gintoki teased him.
"Ghosts don't exist" He simply replied.
"How do you know that?"
"I'm not stupid"
Gintokis eyebrow twitched and he patted the boys head a little harder.
"Please treat mommy right, she always misses you when you come home late" The boy whispered.
"I will" Gintoki replied after a long pause.
He was about to stand up, but remembered his promise. Bending down, he placed a light kiss on the kids forehead and the boy closed his eyes, smiling Tsukuyos smile. Gintoki stood up and left the room and climbed down the stairs to the office.
She was still sleeping, peacefully, looking incredibly pretty while doing so. He sat down next to her, carefully sliding his arms around her. He planned to pick her up and carry her to bed as well. As soon as he touched her, she fidgeted and slightly opened her eyes.
"huh..? Gintoki -"
He hushed her with a kiss and she closed her eyes again, answering his kiss with a light smile. Gintoki deepened the kiss, nibbled on her lower lip until she let out a silent moan.
"I'm home" he whispered when they parted and smiled. Her tired eyes fell on the clock and she cursed herself.
"Ah shit I slept in, I waited for ya, I wanted t' show ya something." She said sleepily.
"It's fine, I'm sure you had a lot of work today. Did they behave in grannys care?" He asked while stroking her hair.
"I don't know, I wasn't really able t' ask about that. I had a lot of paperwork t'day and she was also busy when I came to pick them up.."
"You should really stop working that much, you don't even have time for yourself anymore. That's not healthy" Gintoki played with one of her loose strands of hair.
"And you're t' lazy, we couldn't even pay the rent if I would rely on ya working ambitions" She pulled the hair out of his hand.
"You don't need money to be happy" He looked her straight into her eyes, his fingers still moving as if the hair was still there.
"You need money to feed your kids." She retorted. True.
"You don't even need to work that much, you have enough money." He sighed.
"I don't do it for the money" Tsukuyo whispered.
".. I know" Lazily, he ran his hand across her back, resting his head on her shoulder. She hummed satisfied.
"What did you wanted to show me anyways?" He asked after a few minutes, sitting up straight.
"oh.. nothing special. I bought something." She replied sleepily, shifting the blanked, revealing a lacy nightgown and a set of new lingerie he hadn't seen before. Critical Hit.
They didn't really had the opportunities anymore for some sexy time alone, so sometimes he felt like a little cherry boy, when she flashed him in the most unexpected places. His head turned bright red and strained, he looked in another direction, avoiding to meet her seducing gaze.
"We.. uh.. we can do that on the weekend. How - how does that sound?" Gintoki stuttered and she lifted a hand to run it across his neck. She's tired, she needs to sleep and not some endless hours filled with pleasure given to her by the best lover in the whole town. But if she didn't stop now, he would end up making her another child.
"No, I want.. now.." She yawned again and closed her tired eyes, while she guided one of his hands to her chest. He still had his head turned away from her, but his eyes peeked at her. It took all his willpower to withdraw his hand from her chest and place it on her back.
"Let's get you to bed as well" He picked her up, carefully covering up the corrupting clothes with the blanket and carried her into their bedroom. When he placed her on the futon, she already snored lightly. Gintoki undressed himself and laid down next to her, pulling her into his arms. Her sweet scent clouded his nose and she hummed slightly. Not long after, he drifted into a deep sleep.
I think I reached a lot.
If you don't have a past, you can't have a future.
Some parts may seem like Gintoki still feels alone and such, but I wanted to make a short story that feels like "haha loser, he's still alone" and then BOOM kids lol. Hope it worked. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think :) Thank you for reading!