Ginpachi and Tsukuyo froze on the spot for a moment, having recognised the distinct voice after failing to notice the door being opened. The former peeked behind the latter's shoulder to see none other than Sakamoto standing at the door with a rather confused and shocked expression on his face. They instinctively pulled away from each other and Ginpachi shot up off the table, awkwardly clearing his throat and looking away from Tsukuyo. The blushes on their faces was most apparent, and in front of Sakamoto no less, the man who was hounding them about their potential relationship persistently. It took quite a few minutes for anyone to cut through the heavy silence that rolled in. Pulling the hem of her skirt and folding her arms nor straightening out his shirt did anything to alleviate the sexual tension.

"So...-ahem -I wanted to apologise for pissing ya off like that. And sorry for interrupting your uh..."

Ginpachi put a hand up and waved him off like nothing happened. "No no it's fine, it's all water under the bridge. You probably had an idea from the start anyway, I don't even know why we tried hiding it, hehe...hehe...he..." His already shaky voice trailed off. He knew it was just hopeless to keep up the act. Sakamoto already had a strong inkling about them, now he'd seen it.

"Who am I kidding, you knew the whole time didn't you?" He sighed hopelessly, reaching a hand behind his neck to massage it.

"Actually I only really found out when you were in the storage room." Sakamoto pointed out bluntly. He could see their red faces blooming even brighter. "And when you both left late-"

"Don't. Say. Anything...we get it. Ya spied on us..." Tsukuyo interrupted, still feeling her cheeks burn. She couldn't believe the audacity of it all. To think he went that far as to spy on them to find out about their relationship. Her blood ran from cold to hot, feeling herself burning up in a combination of embarrassment and irritation. Sakamoto got glimpses of her rising anger based on her hands being scrunched up slightly, tightening their hold on her sleeves as she resisted the temptation to give him a clean slap to his face.

Ginpachi was similarly unhappy, but much less inclined to throw a hand at his friend. He was too tired to start getting physical. Instead he threw him a dirty gaze, clearly not taking into account his previous sentence about water under the bridge. He gave a quick glance at Tsukuyo, who was more or less at her boiling point as her hand had come away from its folded position, clenched and almost ready to strike.

Naturally he reached out a hand to her and locked his fingers in, not even caring that he was showing his affection for her right in front of him.

It was a statement. A statement that showed he loved her.

"Not a smart move to spy on us Tatsuma. It got pretty annoying after a while." Ginpachi said with his deadpan expression, watching his friend's face turn back into the same guilty look he had after he stormed out of the staff room.

"Which is why I came in here to apologise...It didn't occur to me how important it was to you." He mumbled regretfully. "I was just-"

"Curious?" Tsukuyo finished in a harsh tone.

"...pretty much." Sakamoto confirmed, his head hung low in shame. Ginpachi simply sighed in fatigue as he stared at his friend.

"I don't have the energy to chew you out, I really don't. But we kept it a secret because we weren't ready to tell you all. It's like poking a turtle to come out of its shell. You only make them go inwards even more." Ginpachi plainly told him, shuffling closer to Tsukuyo who was beginning to simmer down.

"I get that it was probably a joke at first, but ya acted like ya were desperate to find out. Ya like paparazzi." Tsukuyo chimed in. "We woulda let ya know in our own time. We didn't need all this gossip and rumours."

"I get it..." Sakamoto said solemnly.

"Well, there's no use crying over spilt milk now. The word's out. Just don't be an ass about it next time. Besides, we already feel a bit more relaxed now that we don't have to hide it anymore." Ginpachi waved it off with his hand. Sakamoto finally had the courage to raise his head to look at the couple in the eyes.

"So it's water under the bridge?"

"It's water under the bridge."

Sakamoto breathed out a sigh of relief, happy that the relationship between them all had not soured to the point of being irreparable. He just had to be a little more careful in the future.

"So...what were you doing in here?" He innocently asked.

"Oh nothing much, she just came in to see me. Had to tell her that those brats found out our secret already." Ginpachi casually answered, inching a bit closer to loosely put his hand around her waist now that they were more comfortable with their colleague.

"Duh, of course they would've found out at some point. They'd have to be blind to not see the sexual tension whenever they see you two around, or whenever you're in the staff faculty." Sakamoto remarked, much to the embarrassment of the couple.

"Oi don't be stupid, that's just how we are, that's how it's always been! You know that Tatsuma, you've always known that since high school!" Ginpachi yelled.

The glasses-wearing brown perm head scoffed at his silver permed friend. "You know, I'm surprised that you haven't given each other nicknames even though you've been together for so long. Hell Kinpachi, I bet you like being called 'Sensei' in your free time now that you're a teacher! Ahahaha, ahahahaha!" Sakamoto cackled, amused by his own joke. Oddly enough he didn't hear any other voice join in with him. Instead he saw them looking away from one another blushing furiously.

"Why are you two so quiet? Was it not funny? I mean, Sensei is a pretty fitting-"

They blushed even harder. Something he must've said got them quiet all of a sudden. It took a few moments to register before it dawned on him why they went so quiet, leaving him with nothing but a dirty grin.

"Ah. Now I get it."

The gossip around the teacher couple gradually died down over the coming days, much to their relief. Aside from a few light hearted ribs at their relationship, things looked much more relaxed for Ginpachi and Tsukuyo. They were able to at least teach their classes without much interruption to talk about their personal life, although it occasionally happened in the former's classes no thanks to Takasugi.

Even when the students stumbled upon the pair sometimes giving their customary kisses outside each other's classrooms before lessons started, it felt to them more endearing than mocking. Some even talked amongst themselves that it was amazing how they were not even wed yet. To the students, they were essentially a happily married couple.

The colleagues reacted similarly. Zenzou was for the most part relatively indifferent to their behaviour, still glued to his most recent issue of JUMP. Sakamoto continued to act as the resident jester of the staff room, but dialled it back heavily with the ribs towards Ginpachi and Tsukuyo, being more polite to them both. Kankou simply sat back and observed with a faint smile, happy to see that there was no bad blood between them and Sakamoto. At the very least, the atmosphere was nowhere near as awkward or heavy as it had been over the last few days.

Even in their time away from work Tsukuyo managed to coax Ginpachi out for outdoor socialising, much to his chagrin. The snow hadn't let up one bit, and he still wasn't keen on freezing himself.

More often than not their trips to Edo Park ended up going from idle chatter and banter to impromptu snowball fights and laughter to being covered in snow as they rolled around in it and made snow angels, the latter of which made Ginpachi feel humorously uncomfortable doing, thinking it made him feel idiotic and unbefitting of his character. An ironic remark considering that anything that tasted remotely sweet was amongst his favourite things in the world, only second to Tsukuyo.

By evening his character softened up to being the sweet, honest gentlemanly persona that Tsukuyo fell for back then. A personality that only she could get to see. They took turns visiting each other's houses and spent a great deal of time cuddling each other whilst they watched TV. When they weren't glued to the TV, they even began the unusual step of exchanging different book genres between each other, from Ginpachi's JUMP issues to Tsukuyo's surprising amount of Shoujo manga and reading them together. Ginpachi even saw her take out reading glasses that he had never seen before. Purple-coloured glasses. If her image of sexy sophistication wasn't firmly implanted in his head, it certainly was now. Though he still bickered with her over which genre and books were better. Naturally he believed in Shounen superiority. To top it off, he even bagged a date at a restaurant in the city centre. And it was something he could not afford to be sloppy over.

When it came time to say their farewells for the evening, it oddly became more and more difficult to say it. They saw each other everyday, hung out every day at work and after work. Pounded each other in bed frequently, yet they still found it tough to stay away from each other even for only a day.

Today was no exception.

After another day of relaxation and exchanging books with each other on Tsukuyo's couch (with the odd hungry glance over each other's bodies here and there, which Hinowa picked up on much to her amusement), they had to part ways again for the time being.

"Well...see you soon Ginpachi." She said as Ginpachi stood between her door and his motorcycle.

"Soon? I'll be seeing you tomorrow." He replied with a smile, which made Tsukuyo rather puzzled.

"Huh? Wha-oh...right...for that. Hehe, I got it. I'll see ya tomorrow then." She tittered, remembering that they had a date the next day. She gave him a quick peck before he turned around. For some reason, he wasn't stepping forward. Perhaps it was because her hand seemed to be glued to his..

"Is there something you wanna talk about before I go or...?" Ginpachi asked, unsure as to why she still hadn't let go. He turned his head back towards her to see that a heavy blush formed around her cheeks.

That's...pretty unusual. He thought. He thought that she would've been used to him by now, unless she needed to discuss something in private.

The question that Ginpachi brought up about moving in with him slowly cast a shadow over Tsukuyo once more. She'd given him half-hearted answers in the past, but the prospect of it began to gnaw away at her more and more as of late, almost testing her conscience, where her heart truly lay.

Few more seconds went by without a word. "Tsukuyo? You ok?"

It was now or never. Her heart was beating erratically from nervousness as the question loomed over her. Her chest was rising and falling quicker without much control over it. She gathered herself to put up a smile.

"...I love you."

Ginpachi raised a brow, surprised by the sudden display of affection. It seemed a little strange and out of character for her to say that out of the blue. Especially when they were already so intertwined with each other in almost every way.

"I love you too." He replied with a smile of his own, playing along with her answer and giving her a peck on her forehead before she let go and watched him walk to his bike and drive away.

Once she closed the door she let out a deep sigh of frustration and grasped her face with her hands. She completely bottled it. All she needed to ask was a question. A simple one at that. And she choked on it.

"Goddamn it...!" She hissed, kicking her toe against a wall and taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

Hinowa wheeled herself out from the living room with a curious look, having heard the light thump nearby.

"You wanted to ask him something didn't you?" She inquisitively asked with her soft tone, very much concerned about her close friend.

Tsukuyo couldn't hide it. There was no point keeping secrets from Hinowa's near omniscient instincts.

"I...want to move in with him. To stay with him."

She paused, hesitant to express the reservations that now began to well up in her as she looked at Hinowa with solemn eyes. "But if I do that...where would that leave ya?" She hesitantly answered.

Hinowa took a deep breath along with her signature warm smile, understanding the rock and a hard place situation she was in.

"It's ok. It's definitely a tough spot to be in. But your happiness is more important than-"

"What? Are ya crazy?!" Tsukuyo blurted out. Was she really hearing this? "I can't leave ya alone! I'm can't let ya be alone by ya self."

"Tsukuyo please. I'll be fine. As long as you can be happy to stay with Ginpachi, it's enough to make me happy. I can handle myself." Hinowa politely insisted.

Tsukuyo sighed in frustration, not used to her acting in a selfless but reckless manner. "I don't want my happiness to come at the price of yours. I want a good outcome for all of us. Please. It isn't fair for ya."

Hinowa's serene smile eventually turned into a rare frown, one that Tsukuyo did not see much. "Please...I don't want you to fret over me constantly. "lf it helps you, I can arrange for one of my friends to come over and help for a little bit."

Tsukuyo looked at her with concern. "Can ya really do that?"

"Of course I can, I'm not entirely helpless you know. It's not written into this story but I do get out of the house with them sometimes whilst you're at work, so I'm not always cooped up at home." She reminded her as her smile quickly returned, but it was almost with a hint of indignation.

Tsukuyo lowered her eyes with a sheepish smile, almost kicking herself on the inside for (understandably) being so worried about her friend's wellbeing only to realise that the solution was quite simple. And yet something was gnawing away at her. It seemed like a solid plan on paper.

"Right...sorry Hinowa. I'm just-"

"Worried, yes. It's perfectly ok to be worried. But I can look after myself. If I managed to look after you when you were young, I am more than capable of taking care of myself." She said calmly, with a little more optimism in her voice. "Besides, Gin-san doesn't live very far, just a short drive away right?"

"Mmhm..." Tsukuyo responded quietly, her mind slowly accepting that she would have to leave Hinowa's side. In good hands, but she would have to leave nonetheless.

"Then there should be no problem! You can come and visit me anytime, or call me." Hinowa merrily said, waving her smartphone momentarily before putting it away. "So...when do you want to move out?"

Tsukuyo let out a contemplative sigh. Come to think of it, she hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Umm...soon I guess. I haven't decided yet, I'll need a bit more time to think it through." She said shyly. It seemed that she would need to iron out the details, but that could wait for a little while longer.

"Hm...alright. Wouldn't it be better to discuss it with Gin-san? I'm sure he can help you out." Hinowa suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea actually. I'll do that with him soon." Tsukuyo replied conclusively, making her way past Hinowa to the stairs before something stopped her in her tracks, like she had forgotten something. "Oh, Hinowa..."

The raven haired lady looked up at her with curiosity. "Hm? What is it?"

"...I'm going on a date tomorrow night with Ginpachi. It's a pretty classy one this time so...can ya help with picking something out to wear? Ya pretty good with fashion sense and all seeing as ya used to work in fashion..."

"A high end restaurant hmm...he must be looking to impress quite a bit, I think we can handle that!" Hinowa excitedly said, putting her hands together enthusiastically.

"I know what we can get you! Why don't we go out tomorrow and have a look around?"