Hey everyone!
First of all, I'm a non-native English speaker, so I'm sorry if there's any mistake.
I just wanted to write something where Hijikata stood up for Gintoki, and then I just couldn't not write the equivalent.
I hope you'll enjoy it, see you at the end!
There hadn't been many instances in which Hijikata Toshirou had lost his temper in public over someone that was not one of his men. If you asked Gintoki about it, he would probably tell you that, even though the Vice-Commander often screamed at people for no reason – those were the Yorozuya's words, once again, one is not to take his every word as pure truth – the man was an example of calmness, compared to the rest of his men and the Yorozuya family.
Even if he was a seemingly aloof man, a strong fighter, and a demonic Vice-Commander, Hijikata was also a shy man. A shy and silent man who preferred discretion most of the time when he was not in service.
That was part of the reason why he and Gintoki could take a stroll into town together without being noticed by Hijikata's usual fangirls whenever they wanted. His uniform was part of the charm, which was why people tended to not recognise him when he didn't wear it.
It didn't mean that people stopped gawking at him in the streets, but the plain yukata helped. He was still hot like this, though. As much as it pained him to admit it, Gintoki could attest. He loved the uniform on him, but seeing him in traditional attire definitely was a treat he appreciated.
Basically, Hijikata was a discreet man once he dropped the uniform. But it didn't mean that he laid low for all that, as Gintoki realised one evening.
It was the end of the day, a calm one. It was one of Hijikata's rare days off, and one of the many where Gintoki didn't get any call. Or that was what he claimed. Weirdly enough, no one ever seemed to call the Yorozuya Agency when Hijikata had a free day.
Anyway, Gintoki had realised, quite late in the day, that they didn't have any rice anymore in the house, and that they'd have to go to the store quickly if they wanted to avoid one of Kagura's famous food tantrums. These crisis, though rare because Gintoki was a good dad able enough to take care of his kid, turned her into a mini – but still awfully terrifying – Big Mom.
Thankfully, mini Big Mom wasn't home and had not realised yet that they were out of rice. Which gave enough room for manoeuvre to Gintoki to actually go buy some before she got back.
Gintoki sighed as he closed his cupboard, straightening up with a grunt. 'I have to go to the store, you're coming?'
Hijikata wanted to retort that he was on his day off, that he had better things to do than go to the store with Gintoki like an old-married couple to buy some rice, so he answered 'Okay, but quickly then'.
Gintoki raised an eyebrow. 'As if you had anything better to do'.
He walked away from the kitchen, heading straight to the genkan to put his boots on, leaving Hijikata flustered, pissed that Gintoki had answered so easily, as if he'd been reading his mind.
The Shinsengumi's Vice-Commander sighed before following after Gintoki, putting his shoes on as well and joining him down the outside stairs.
They walked in silence, Hijikata eyeing the streets for any disturbances, mechanically. Even when he was not wearing his uniform, the raven-haired man stayed alert, never fully resting. Gintoki was less attentive, picking at his nose, but he kept his eyes straight on.
The streets were noticeably emptier than usual, but it was obvious that most people around them didn't react because they didn't recognise Hijikata without his uniform. Gintoki felt the difference, how people didn't look at them when he was in his yukata.
It wasn't really bothersome usually, but sometimes Gintoki felt uneasy under the gaze of those that tried to understand why they were so often walking side to side. It was just as if his own mind was getting dissected by total strangers, these people analysing all his comings and goings, trying to determine the very nature of his and Hijikata's relationship.
They never really formalised it, never really feeling the need to since all of their closest friends and acquaintances knew about it already. They didn't hide it, but didn't bother to expose it either, playing with the ambiguity in the public eye.
The air was cool that night, colder than the usual temperatures in June. From the corner of his eyes, Hijikata saw Gintoki shiver slightly.
Soon enough, the supermarket came into view, and Hijikata slowed down as he fished his cigarette packet from the inside of his haori. Hijikata wasn't going to get inside. It was one of the rare things they had actually discussed in their relationship.
Hijikata had a comfortable salary, enough to actually support himself and the Yorozuya's, but he was not allowed to actually provide for them. Gintoki had always managed to do without him, and refused to rely on him now that they were dating. Hijikata thought it fair enough, though he had actually managed to negotiate with Gintoki and been allowed to buy gifts for the kids and bring them all to the restaurant whenever he felt like it. The latter was more of a matter of when his schedule allowed it. It was not frequent, and Hijikata suspected Gintoki had agreed to it solely because of that.
Anyway, without talking, Hijikata stopped in front of the shop's front door, as Gintoki walked inside. He probably wouldn't take too much time since he only needed rice.
Hijikata stretched his arms with a grunt, then scratched his abdomen with his left hand through his clothes. Maybe they could make a detour while walking back to the agency, just to go for a stroll and stay alone together just a bit longer. Hijikata liked that, being together, though he never explicitly expressed it.
Slowly getting out of his thoughts, he remembered the cigarette packet in his hand, and the lack of nicotine in his system. He tsked, and got one cigarette out, placing it between his lips. He looked for his lighter inside his haori, but realised that he didn't have it on himself.
He frowned. Looking around, he realised that the few people present in the streets were seemingly not smoking, and he doubted asking them for a lighter would be very successful. Maybe Gintoki had filched it, again. It wouldn't be the first time.
With a sigh, Hijikata put the cigarette back into place, and pushed the packet into his haori. He walked the few steps that separated him from the automatic doors, and entered the supermarket in search of a perm head.
He expected the shop to be just like outside, slow and silent, but he was surprised to be welcomed by a commotion at the end of the place. Well, as far as he was concerned, he was not on duty right now, so it was none of his business.
He went to look for Gintoki instead, heading straight to the rice aisle. Once in the department, he noted that Gintoki was already not here anymore.
Cursing under his breath, he went to look for Gintoki further inside the shop. A silvery perm shouldn't be that hard to find, right? There weren't many around.
Hijikata turned at the next aisle, towards the school supplies, doubting that he would find the man here. Indeed, there was no one here, and especially not the man he was looking for.
At the other end of the supermarket, the voices he'd heard when entering were significantly getting louder, and now that he was forced to turn into the shop to find Gintoki, he resigned himself to walk towards the heart of the ruckus.
He wasn't here for that, dammit. It wasn't even his job, in normal time, to break up fist fights. The Shinsengumi was an antiterrorist force, for fuck's sake, not the municipal police. He was definitely going to tell them, even if it meant that he'd have to give away his –totally not secret– identity.
He sighed as he finally reached the front of the store where a group of onlookers had already started gathering around the pair of screaming people. Great, even more people to calm down, then.
Hijikata was about to step in, when the sight of a familiar haircut stopped him in his tracks. Frowning, he waited, listening carefully to understand the situation without actually intervening.
'But I'm telling you it's true!' The familiar voice seemed to be claiming.
'Yeah sure, like I'm going to believe someone like you. Don't think I'm too stupid to not know who you are' A man in front of Gintoki answered. He was wearing a jacket with the name of the shop plastered in big red letters on his back.
Gintoki sighed, rolling his eyes as he shook his head in a disbelieving gesture. Surprisingly enough, he didn't say anything.
'Alright slacker, if you think I'm going to let you steal our products without batting an eye, you're barking up the wrong tree'.
The silver-haired man sighed at that, again, letting his head drop backwards as he grunted and sighed with his mouth open.
'I'm telling you I have enough to pay, I'm not stealing shit here'. – Gintoki paused, seemingly thinking about something, before adding – 'Actually, I don't think I've ever stolen anything here anyway'.
That got the employee's attention who raised an eyebrow before shouting victoriously 'AH! So you admit you're a thief, then!'
Gintoki's shoulders sagged as he realised that, no matter what he'd try, the man in front of him would probably not listen to him. He was too blinkered, too confident that he was right to actually understand the situation and realise that he was not.
Resigned, Gintoki put the rice bag he was holding on the desk, giving up the "fight" as it seemed that it was a lost cause to begin with.
It was weird to see Gintoki giving up that soon. Usually he would have scoffed at the smaller man and leant towards him to properly read the tag on the left of his jacket to read his name out loud and make some kind of disagreeable remark.
Right now, he just seemed too tired to get into a stupid fight because of a rice bag. He was tired, it was obvious, Hijikata could see it clear as day. It was in the bags under his eyes that seemed purpler than usual. It was in the way his shoulders were hanging lower than usual. It was how even his silver hair, usually constantly shining, seemed dull and drooping right now. It was in his eyes, too.
Hijikata didn't even need these evidence to know. He just knew, that was Gintoki, after all. He knew him, without need of explanation, he could read him, just like Gintoki could read him too.
Empty-handed, Gintoki turned towards the exit, visibly determined to leave without the thing he'd just made the trip for.
However, it didn't seem to be what the employee – At this point Hijikata assumed that it was more of a manager, with how annoying and conceited the man was – was thinking about.
The manager grabbed Gintoki by the wrist, pulling him towards him. Gintoki, surprised by the sudden move, lost his balance, and stumbled backwards. Taking advantage of his instability, the employee pushed Gintoki's front towards his desk.
In a final motion, he handcuffed Gintoki with a pair of bracelets he got out of nowhere.
Hijikata lost it here. He screamed 'HEY' the moment the man grabbed Gintoki's wrist, and crossed the room in fast strides.
The man turned in his direction, surprised that someone was disturbing the scene. Without thinking, Hijikata punched him in the face, making him fall right to the ground. Not bothering to look at him, the Shinsengumi's Vice-Commander made a beeline to Gintoki, aware that having both of his hands tied behind his back was not a position the man enjoyed that much.
Judging by his already uneven breathing and the sheen of sweat covering his face, Hijikata was right.
'It's me, I'm getting you out, don't move an inch', he said as he grabbed both of his hands in his left one, firmly. He unsheathed his word with the other, and in a smooth motion, sliced the metal around Gintoki's wrists deftly.
The handcuffs fell to the ground in a clatter that seemed to knock the manager out of his daze, rising to his feet again.
'HEY! You have no right to free him! This man is a criminal, and he should be treated as such, I'm going to call the police!' The man shouted indignantly.
Simmering, Hijikata turned to face him, blade dangerously close to the man's throat as he walked closer to him.
'I am the police, and you, son of a bitch, have no right to arrest people like that'. Hijikata retorted. His voice was low, forcing himself to actually keep it down to not make the situation even worse than it already was.
'Who the fuck do you think you are? He was not going to pay! I know him!'
'Who am I?' Hijikata murmured as he walked closer, stepping on the man's toes', hard. He forced the man to look him in the eyes, and noted the face of horror he made as he realised who he was screaming at.
One of the upsides of being known as the Demonic Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi was obviously that people, normal, non-criminal people, did not try to look for trouble with him. When they recognised him, their courage suddenly vanished.
'See? Now you're going to shut your mouth and clear off. Consider yourself lucky that I'm not calling a patrol on you for illegal possession of police equipment and disturbance of public order, my men have better things to do than take care of pathetic scums like you' – It was a lie, they would have probably been happy to arrest the man, but Hijikata knew Gintoki would want minimum attention, and that this was already too much. The faster they left, the better it was for the silver-haired man –.
Already, the man was cowering, apologising profusely. It was too late, the harm had been done, but it was somehow satisfying to see his face covered in tears and snot, blood pouring from his nose because of Hijikata's previous punch, and fear in his eyes.
Unbothered by the people around them, Hijikata sheathed his sword back in his scabbard, and grabbed the rice bag on the desk, with a last step on the manager's feet. With his other one, he gently took Gintoki's closest hand, leading him towards the exit.
Gintoki was silent, not shocked anymore, just somehow awkward at his side. Hijikata was not used to that. Gintoki was often tired, but never that much. He was the kind of person who always favoured conflict to peaceful resolutions. This probably was why Hijikata's anger had taken over his usually cool behaviour.
Hijikata refused to dwell on the scene he'd just made, and sped up, when Gintoki's hand de-tangled itself with his. The Vice-Commander turned his head in the silver-haired man's direction.
Gintoki had a smug smile on his face as he passed him, but the glint in his eyes was lighter than it had been in the shop.
'Well, Vice-Commander, I guess you're a thief just like me, now' Gintoki teased.
Hijikata held back a snort as he purposefully ignored him, the small smile forming on his lips betraying him.
Hijikata and Gintoki's respective works often overlapped, Hijikata often stumbling on scenes where Gintoki had already done the job meant for him. Nights often ended with each other sitting on dirty grounds, bandaging each other's arms, brushing each other's foreheads with bloodied hands and broken nails.
However, it was rarer for Gintoki to end up in Hijikata's territory. He was used to battlefields and warehouses, offices and manors? Not so much.
But it happened, like this night. He hadn't been dragged here, he'd been the one to insist on coming with Hijikata instead. Saying something about how he wanted to be sure that the Shinsengumi actually reported to someone and not just acted on impulse and at will.
In reality, it had more to do with Hijikata in itself. The Shinsengumi had battled hard this evening against amantos traffickers, the Yorozuyas showing up at the very end when the conflict was reaching the end. Hijikata was wounded on the side. Not really deep, but enough for it to require some time off. Something the man had explicitly declined, arguing that he didn't need it.
But he had accepted Gintoki's presence with him, something he would have never done in normal times. Gintoki was a menace when it came to keeping calm and competent in professional meetings.
Gintoki thought it was kind of dumb of Hijikata to accept it right now while he was feeble and unable to fully reign Gintoki like he was usually capable of, but he welcomed it gladly. It was an opportunity he would not miss out.
So they walked to the police department's headquarters, Hijikata having to meet with multiple supervisors, including Matsudaira. Kondo had actually insisted upon being the one going there, especially because he knew better how to handle Matsudaira, but Hijikata had really insisted on going since it had been his turn to go.
Gintoki knew that Kondo had only agreed to it because of his presence. Hijikata couldn't have gone there alone, he needed company. These meetings were draining, especially for someone asocial like Hijikata. Maybe Kondo hoped Gintoki would make the meetings go smoother, Gintoki wasn't sure, but he sure knew it was a bad idea.
Hijikata had visibly not been the only one to get shaken up in the battle. Sougo had been the only one to actually form a coherent reaction to it, frowning and objecting to it.
No one had heard him, and Gintoki had smugly winked at him before leaving, making Sougo shrug and mutter 'Don't say I didn't warn you'.
Now Gintoki wouldn't say that he regretted it, because Hijikata genuinely needed his presence, that much was obvious, but he wasn't exactly having the best time of his life right now. Hijikata was presently in Matsudaira's office, the reporting taking visibly more time than usual, and Gintoki was bored out of his mind.
He was sitting in the waiting room, eyeing the people in uniform walking past him hurriedly. There were also people in civilian outfits, and Gintoki easily guessed that they were Bakufu's officials. These were walking slowly, with the assurance of the men who believed themselves to be untouchable.
Gintoki had met too many of them in his life, and he had a bitter taste in his mouth at seeing how, no matter the state of the country, these rats still ran around like they were important.
He got pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a door opening and two familiar voices rising in the silence. Looking up, he saw Hijikata bow at Matsudaira and walk away from the office. Gintoki's eyes met Matsudaira's who waved at him in a form of goodbye as well, and closed the door behind him.
Hijikata sighed as he reached Gintoki's seat, rubbing his forehead. Gintoki said nothing, didn't feel the need to, but he got up, looking around.
'Can we get out of here?' Gintoki asked.
Hijikata shook his head, visibly irritated. 'Can't, gotta escort the Shogun back to the palace before dawn'.
Gintoki shot him a surprised look. Was Matsudaira out of his mind? It was painfully obvious that Hijikata was in no way capable of properly ensuring the protection of the Shogun right now.
Hijikata must have noticed his surprise, because he answered quickly 'Kondo and Sougo are on their way'.
Clear and straight to the point, Hijikata had reached his level of tolerance for small talk. Gintoki bit his lower lip as he stopped himself from adding something. Better not push the man over, he had already accepted his presence here, even though he'd done nothing wrong, Gintoki was walking on thin ice right now.
The silence between them stretched, not really uncomfortable, but tension was obvious in the air. Hijikata was on edge, tired from a long night and a rough fight, pissed at having to make his report so suddenly, and then being given a new mission even though he hadn't gotten the time to recover from the previous one.
But Hijikata was stubborn, loyal, and loved to work himself to death. Sometimes Gintoki suspected that it was some sort of punishment he loved to inflict himself, but the yorozuya had never really been able to understand for what reason he would do that, so he'd just dropped his hypothesis.
Tired of standing here, he asked 'Is there a bar here?'
'A bar? You mean, in the Police Department's headquarters?' Hijikata answered, deadpan.
Gintoki shrugged as he answered, struggling to keep his pinky finger outside of his closest nostril, 'Yeah'.
Hijikata paused, before answering. 'Fifth floor by elevator, last door of the corridor on the left'.
Gintoki snorted and walked in the direction of the said elevator, stretching his arms and making his back crack.
Hijikata followed slowly, clicking on the button of the floor himself. He started to fidget, looking for his cigarette packet inside his jacket.
Gintoki could see that fatigue was starting to wear him down, and suddenly doubted his idea of getting them both coffee. Still, the elevator came to a stop, followed by a soft "ding", and, already, Hijikata was getting out.
Hijikata was visibly familiar with the place, judging by how he crossed the room in long strides to reach the other end, where he slid a patio door open and stepped on a balcony.
At least he could smoke. Gintoki made a beeline for the counter, ordering a black coffee for the Vice-Commander, and a hot chocolate for himself. The barman eyed him suspiciously, but still served him.
Taking the drinks himself, Gintoki walked to the balcony, sliding the door softly open, careful to not spill anything.
He was surprised to see that Hijikata was not alone. A man wearing a deep blue kimono was leaning against the railing, smoking what looked like an expensive cigar.
Hijikata's shoulders were obviously tense, eyes looking everywhere but at the man across from him.
It made a small alarm bell ring inside Gintoki's head. Hijikata always looked people in the eyes when he talked to them.
Ignoring the other man, Gintoki gave Hijikata his coffee, before finally taking a sip of his drink. The sugar was enough to recharge his batteries for the morning.
The man purposefully ignored Gintoki, resuming his conversation as if he was never here to begin with. It irked the silver-haired man.
'The Bakufu has eyes everywhere, Hijikata-san, do remember that'.
At his side, Hijikata refused to answer, taking a sip of his coffee instead.
'The dispersal of the Shinsengumi is always up for discussion. Matsudaira picked dogs like you out of the streets, he may as well push you back down the second we order him to'.
Hijikata refused to react to this, but it was obvious in his demeanour that he was simmering.
He wasn't the only one, actually. Gintoki felt the cup crack in his hands as his grip tightened on it. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn't like it, and he was sure not going to let it happen before him without reacting.
He took a last sip of his drink, savouring the sweetness one last time before walking to the stranger's side. Slowly, and looking him in the eyes, he spilled his drink on the expensive fabric of his kimono.
The look of stupor on the man's face was satisfying enough to compensate for the unfortunate loss of his drink.
Behind him, Hijikata made a strangled noise, wanting to come closer, but Gintoki put his hand behind to stop him.
'Why the fuck did you do that you, asshole?', the man asked, the fake honeyed tone being replaced by an outrageous voice.
Behind him, the growled 'Gintoki' was hard to ignore, as he set the empty cup on the broad top of the railing.
'My gesture was as respectful as the way you were talking to Hijikata-san just seconds before'. He paused, watching with satisfaction the way the chocolate formed a dirty stain on the pretty cloth.
'See, you should revise a few basics before actually partaking in business-related discussions at such late hours of the night. Not everyone is as courteous as Hijikata-san in this building'.
The man straightened up, anger clear in his eyes, ready to confront him. He quickly deflated, though, because when it came to intimidation, Gintoki was competent enough to make rats scurry off with their tails between their legs.
The man pointed his fingers at Gintoki and Hijikata, furiously proclaiming that they would hear from him shortly.
However, he didn't get really far, the door to the balcony sliding open before he could get his hand on the handle.
The lively exclamation of 'Toshi!' was enough to announce the identity of the newcomers.
However, the cheerful look on the Commander's face vanished in an instant as he caught sight of Hijikata's.
'Ah Shogun-sama! I am so glad to see you! I have been assaulted by these two men who threatened my safety! I demand reclamation to your highness!' The man hastened to proclaim loud and clear.
Silence settled on the small balcony as Gintoki walked to Hijikata's side, instinctively placing himself in front of the Vice-Commander in a defensive stance.
The shogun eyed them curiously, no trace of animosity in his eyes.
'This man just threatened the Shinsengumi's Vice-Commander with the possibility of the dissolution of the entire squad out of nowhere, Shogun-sama. The same Vice-Commander who fought this very night for the Bakufu and even got wounded during the battle'.
He paused, gauging everyone's reaction. The man was babbling stupidities in the Shogun's ears, but the latter stayed imperturbable. The look on Kondo and Sougo's faces were quite the sight in contrast. If looks could kill, there were no doubts that the man would have been six feet under already.
Even Matsudaira was here, and Gintoki knew very well how the man had a soft spot for Hijikata. Everyone on this balcony had a soft spot for the Vice-Commander, actually. – Sougo would have begged to differ, but this wasn't about him –.
'I have indeed, maybe childishly' – Gintoki admitted with a shrug – 'spilled my hot chocolate on this man's clothes. But understand, Shogun-sama, that I will not let a random man use his status to intimidate a man who spilled his very blood for you tonight'.
Okay maybe this was a bit too much and he was getting ahead of himself, but he knew that in any case, Shige Shige would be clever enough to only blame him and not Hijikata.
The shogun looked at the man, asking 'Is that true, Hideaki-san?'.
The man looked down, visibly shameful, as he answered 'I was not trying to intimidate Hijikata-san, just trying to guarantee that he was taking his job seriously…'.
'But that is not your role to do so, Hideaki-san. Hijikata-san is competent enough alone and does not need these sorts of… reminders. You will have to issue an apology to these two men. For now, though, you may leave'.
Without a word, the man bowed and left the room, Gintoki burying the satisfaction inside his chest as the Shogun turned towards him.
'Please accept my apologies on his behalf for the time being, I do have full awareness of your loyalty and diligence, Hijikata-san, I appreciate it'.
Hijikata bowed silently as an acknowledgement, both the relief and fatigue evident in his posture.
Gintoki's eyes found Kondo's, and for the first time in his entire life, Gintoki thought the man was not such a stupid Gorilla when he seemed to understand the look he sent him.
'Toshi, we're taking over from here, you can go back to the barrack to make sure everything is back to normal there', Kondo said, knowing full well that they didn't need anyone there, but that it was the only way to make Hijikata accept to not take part into the mission Matsudaira had assigned him minutes earlier.
Unsurprisingly, Hijikata accepted it easily, politely taking his leave to his superiors and finally stepping outside of the balcony.
They walked back to the barracks, to Gintoki's dismay, but at least Hijikata was calmer at his side. The silence between them finally fully comfortable.
Though Hijikata quickly broke it as he said 'I'm not buying you another hot chocolate'.
'Oh come on, Hijikata-kuuun', whined Gintoki.
'You're barking up the wrong tree, asshole', the Vice-Commander answered, but the way he leaned against Gintoki as he walked was enough to give his real thoughts away.
He was still tired, but at least he didn't have to protect the Shogun anymore. Kondo and Sougo could do the job well enough without him, for once. Now, the Vice-Commander could just go to sleep and finally rest.
Hey!
Okay so this doesn't really look like what I had planned initially, but, well, I guess that's good enough this way. I actually wanted homophobia to be the argument's reason in Hijikata's part, but it just didn't fit into the situation I had already written, and it's not really something enjoyable to read anyway so, I preferred to forget it and keep it this way. Though I'd love to explore the topic of homophobia/discrimination in Hijikata's hierarchy some day, but I don't know if that'd be interesting? Please tell me.
I love to imagine these two in random situations and I just can't help but make fics out of it, I hope it's interesting to you at least! Also, it's possible that they were out of character tho.
Anyway, don't hesitate to leave kudos, and to comment, it always makes me so happy to read them!