Hey everyone!
First of all, I'm a non-native English speaker, so I'm sorry if there's any mistake.
This fic was inspired by Morcheeba's song "Sounds Of Blue" so I encourage you to listen to it while reading this fic! The title is actually a quote from it!
See you at the end!
Hijikata was used to fighting at night, having probably done it more in pitch darkness than in broad daylight. He was in his element, his instinct taking over. It was effortless for him to hear the swinging of swords in the silence of the night. It was easy for him to catch the moon's reflection on the blades of his opponent's. And he had no trouble cutting his enemies down without even seeing them.
What he was less used to, was, however, fighting on a boat. It was kind of new to him, without totally being unprecedented. He had less room to manoeuvrer between the corpses and the fighters on the deck than in a classic battlefield, and he hadn't mastered the thing yet, but he was quickly growing used to it. Gintoki, as usual, seemed to be in his element.
When they shared a fight, side by side, Hijikata always had trouble looking away. It was distracting, to see the Shiroyasha in action. It was in his blood, in the innate way he swung his swords in the night, slicing enemies after enemies, never looking back, knowing assuredly that he hadn't missed his target.
The Shinsengumi's Vice Commander had long since stopped wondering what was the warmth spreading in his chest each time he watched the other man fight.
Be it in the middle of the sea, or in a packed crowd, every fight Gintoki took part in seemed to fit him perfectly, the man conquering each battle with an outrageous ease.
Tonight was no exception, and Hijikata occasionally turned around to watch the silvery-haired man through the thinning crowd. The Shinsengumi and the Yorozuyas were fighting against second-rate mobs, the Agency once again getting dragged into something that was none of their business. The gang they fought was dealing drugs, which explained why they were fighting on a boat right now, the ship still being moored to the harbour.
Sometimes, Hijikata felt the ship pitch under the soft movement of the swell hitting the hull. It was sort of distracting, unsettling, but Hijikata kept going. They were winning already, the numbers of opponents having already drastically reduced since the beginning of the fight earlier. It probably was the reason why he let his guard down.
Walking next to bodies on the ground, he didn't notice the rope lying there until it tightened around one of his ankles. He heard a low chuckle under him before he was pushed overboard, only able to say "fuck" before he fell and hit the water. It was colder than he had expected. He quickly understood why the rope had been tied around his leg when something suddenly weighed him, pulling him down the water, making him flat out sink under the surface.
Had he not swore, he might have been able to take a bigger gulp of air, but the surprise had taken over him, and now he cursed himself again, but for a different reason.
Surely, the end of the battle had been close, and someone had probably already noticed that he wasn't aboard anymore, but probably not to the extent of making the connection between him and the splashing sound he'd made when he'd hit the water. He hadn't even had the presence of mind to scream louder to be heard.
Hijikata was a defeatist man, he knew it. He had already tried to change his mindset on multiple occasions, to no avail. Yet, here, right now, even with the best will in the world, he clearly couldn't see how he could find optimism in his situation.
He tried to move his strapped leg, but the rope formed a slipknot around his leg tightly and it didn't even seem to bulge when he tried to shake it. Whatever weight was at the end of the cord, it didn't seem to be ready to let him go anytime soon. To cap it all, he had dropped his sword in the fall, clearly hearing the blade clatter as it hit the deck. The Demonic Vice-Commander didn't doubt his strength, but breaking a hemp rope barehanded under water as he was starting to lack air was a bit too hard to do, even for him.
The night didn't do anything to make things better. It was pitch black outside, and his equally black clothes didn't help either. It was funny how he could almost come to understand Isaburo's choice of colour for the Mimawarigumi's uniforms now. The clothes were still hideous in his opinion, but right now he could see the appeal to it.
Had he not been on the verge of drowning, he would have sighed. There was no need to panic, Hijikata had faced death enough time to be familiar with the surge of dread flooding his heart already. Drowning wasn't how he'd imagined himself die, but so be it. He probably would have been panicking anyway, if suffocating didn't take up so much of his thoughts.
Swords wounds hurt, but at least he could still communicate, same for bullet wounds. He hadn't expected that drowning would feel so… absorbing. Then again, he hadn't really thought about what drowning would feel like at all. It was just that, it felt never-ending, as if his lungs were impossibly wide, the water taking a dreadful time to fill them entirely, as if his body refused to let go. It felt like hours since he'd sunk, but also that only microseconds had passed. His instinct was kicking in and refusing to let go that easily, his body struggling while his mind had already come to terms with his now inevitable death.
He felt himself go, his already blurred sight turning into complete darkness, the remnants of the lamp street's reflection dancing on the surface vanishing as if it'd been extinguished.
He wasn't lucid enough to note it, but suddenly the water around him started to move oddly. Though he realised that the weight on his leg had stopped pulling him down, his legs now free from any rope.
Almost carefully, arms reached to him, grabbing him by the waist and arms. He was pulled towards the surface, excruciatingly slowly. His eyes were closed, and he was about to pass out, but Hijikata registered that maybe his end wouldn't come tonight.
Surfacing was both a relief and a torture. The blast of air rushing to his desperate lungs was welcomed, but his stomach clenching and spasming as it was trying to expel the foreign liquid into his lungs was a less enjoyable reaction. His throat burned, just like his eyes, and he was disoriented. The pouring rain didn't help, and to top it all, the strong pair of arms holding him upright was unfamiliar.
He was pushed laying on his back on a rough surface and a voice cut through the buzz in his ears to reach him, Kondou's voice acting like an anchor in all the chaos. 'Hey Toshi, hold on, hang in there!'.
The feeling of lips against his was unpleasant, especially when he realised that it belonged to the voice's owner. Had his head not been spinning that much, he would have probably cringed at the idea of kissing Kondou, but somehow, thankfully, he was too dazed to realise it.
The minutes passed, and, slowly, after having spewed most of the water out of his lungs, Hijikata came back to his senses. Kondou had stopped assaulting his mouth, staying crouched at his side and holding the back of his neck as he helped him sit up.
The Vice-Commander grunted as he blinked a few times, taking in his surroundings. A few of his men were scattered around them, and Hijikata recognised the place as one of the harbour's docks. Next to Kondou was the Yato girl, biting her nails anxiously as she was watching him. Ah, Hijikata thought. It explained how he'd been dragged from the waters. She probably had been the only one able to reach him in time. She also was the only one able to break a hemp rope that easily, and to drag his motionless body to the bank without that much trouble.
When the girl seemed to notice that he had come back to his senses, she flung at his neck, screaming 'TOSHI' in his ear as she held him tight. She shook her head against his neck and he was pretty sure that he felt her whipping her snot on his jacket. He didn't even have the time to protest because already she was moving back and was starting to talk again.
'You scared me! You're okay, right? Gintoki was so scared he almost jumped himself to get you! Fortunately I was faster than him, otherwise I would have had to fish out two dumbasses instead of just one!', she said, rambling, a pout forming on her face at the end of her sentence.
Hijikata felt his lips curl into the beginning of a smile as he watched her, grateful that she had saved him. He was about to thank her, but a voice stopped him, just as footsteps echoed through the docks.
'Tch, Kagura, shut your mouth, I wouldn't have jumped!'
Gintoki looked as drenched as him, his perm having lost its density with the downpour they were under. Shinpachi was following closely, beaming as he approached them, already starting to talk.
'Hijikata-san! Are you feeling okay? It was scary to see you fall like that! Do we need to get you to the hospital?' he asked, concern barely concealed.
Hijikata huffed as he slowly got up, shaking his head. 'I'm fine kid, don't worry about that', he answered, as Shinpachi sort of hugged him carefully.
His drenched clothes felt heavy, and he was probably fooling no one with his wobbly legs, but still, he insisted on getting up. Gintoki's eyes were glued on him, and yet the silver-haired man stopped at a considerable distance, not daring to step closer.
It was stupid of him, really, to stay this far. Hijikata could easily understand why, though. There were so many people around, all eyes riveted on them, the intimacy of the instant being automatically broken by the numerous spectators. It was very Gintoki-like, this gesture. The silver-haired man always gave Hijikata space, maybe too much sometimes, to the point where the Vice-Commander himself had to tell him to stop being so distant sometimes. It had taken them time to adjust to this relationship, but it seemed to work smoothly now, after a few years already.
Hijikata smirked as he crossed the few steps separating them, flinging himself into Gintoki's arms, the man catching him deftly. His breathing was still a little bit irregular but he didn't care anymore. He didn't care that his men were probably watching the scene, or that Sougo would certainly tease him in the next coming days, because he wanted Gintoki closer to him right now, so he kissed him.
The kiss was exhilarating. It was intoxicating, really, to hold each other so tight, even though they were both soaked wet, their clothes sticking unpleasantly to their skins as damp strands of hair stuck to their foreheads. Gintoki was hesitant at first, but as the seconds passed, worries eased out. They were both too busy biting each other's lips to care, closed eyes indifferent to the raindrops rolling down their skins.
Usually, Hijikata hated standing under the rain, not liking the way his vision blurred with the occasional drops sticking to his eyelashes. But tonight he didn't care. He didn't care about the fact that if he opened his eyes right now, he probably wouldn't be able to see Gintoki, with the rain threatening to fall in his eyes, the poor lighting coming from the rare street lamps, and the pitch black and starless sky over them. But he didn't need to see him, not when he felt the man's body pressed to his. He didn't need to see him when he felt Gintoki's heart beating against his chest, as if he tried to connect with Hijikata's erratic one as well.
The Vice-Commander's hands were buried in Gintoki's perm, holding his head impossibly close, and yet, he wanted more. He craved more. He couldn't get enough, and it seemed that Gintoki was pretty much feeling the same way, judging by how strong his grip was on Hijikata's raven strands at the back of his head.
The Vice-Commander's other hand was at the nape of Gintoki's neck, occasionally sliding to one shoulder, feeling the damp muscles move underneath his fingertips as Gintoki's other hand held him by the waist. His grip was almost bruising, and Hijikata could have protested about it, but his mouth was too busy, and he didn't quite mind enough to stop him.
He was out of breath, but refused to break away. It honestly felt too good for Hijikata to let go on his own. He wasn't sure whether his lack of air was caused by the kiss in itself, or if it was because his lungs were still partially filled with water. It was probably both, but he didn't want to address the issue. He was still breathing, so why bother? It was a problem future Hijikata would have to deal with later, and he was sure that no matter the damage, his future self wouldn't regret it at the expense of the hungry kiss he was experiencing right now.
Yet, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end, and this kiss was no exception. Gintoki decided to finally pull back, and though Hijikata tried to follow after him, the silver-haired man softly kept him at bay, his flushed cheeks making the other pause on his own.
Gintoki's eyes were shining, still filled with concern. Hijikata could feel the admonition coming, and for once was glad to run out of adrenaline. His shoulders sagged as his body finally seemed to run out of energy.
Gintoki easily grabbed him, preventing him from falling. He squatted and swooped Hijikata off his feet, carrying him bridal style. The Vice-Commander should have protested, but he didn't feel like it, his body too tired and mind too fuzzy to really say something.
Instead, he buried his face closer to Gintoki's chest, and though his clothes were still drenched, his body was warm and it was all Hijikata sought.
In this position, he didn't see Sougo scatter the Shinsengumi's men away. He also didn't see how Kagura and Shinpachi immediately ran to Gintoki, following closely as they barely whispered between each other, not wanting to disturb the couple.
He registered the sound of an engine coming close, and felt himself being laid down on a soft surface, quickly followed by the sound of a closing door. Gintoki seemed to sit next to him, and Hijikata shuffled closer to lay his head on Gintoki's chest. The latter didn't say a word as he put his right arm around his shoulder, holding Hijikata tight.
With a contented sigh, Hijikata let himself fall asleep to the slow motion of the car, and Gintoki's steady breathing, sinking this time into the warmth of a peaceful darkness.
Hey, so I hope that you all liked it!
This is just a silly story without much plot because I got the sudden urge, when hearing Morcheeba's song, to write the scene of Hijiikata and Gintoki kissing under the rain in a spurt of inspiration. So I just wrote something to give a little more of context to the scene, but really, I just wanted to write about them kissing haha!
Once again, many thanks to the wonderful Rai who beta read this fic, she really was of great help!
Please leave some comments, it always makes me so happy to read them! :D