a/n: This chapter is dedicated to Serena who, in her words, wanted some "detailed hot lovin'". Your review made me very happy, though I don't know if you'll get any of that here. I'll write a porn-happy fic sometime soon so that the G-rated folks can still read this one without blushing 8)

Regarding Tsukuyo saying the line, "He'll never belong to anyone - " which broke my heart, thanks Sorachi - I'm going to acknowledge that GinTsu will never happen in the manga, but at least I have the grim satisfaction of knowing that at least Tsukuyo has had the privilege of Gintoki admitting that he wouldn't mind being her lover. ;P

(cue me kicking all the other Gin/someone ships to the curb, maniacal laughing, waving middle fingers willy nilly and thrusting my crotch at the general public)

(gets shot)

-x-

"In all these years, I've never tried to lay a hand on you," he said, absentmindedly fiddling with the sash on her kimono. "Did you, you know - ever get laid?"

She blushed. "No."

"I've never seen you with anybody else," he murmured, leaning over to kiss her neck. It was a few seconds before she returned to reality.

"But what about you?" she finally breathed. He had carried her all the way to his futon after she had admitted that she had loved him.

"Curse of the Shonen Jump hero, our strength lies in our purity, so says the magazine and whatnot. My dalliances are discreet, I'm afraid," he explained, though his eyes were mischievous. "Who were you waiting for?"

"You."

She met his eyes and hoped he wouldn't run away. It wasn't that she hadn't had the chance to sleep with other men. When she was much younger, keeping her virginity had been a way of rebelling against the status quo, and to dedicate herself to her duty of protecting the women of Yoshiwara. In her later years, however, it was because she didn't think she could have slept with someone she didn't love.

The silence had created a tension so thick that Gintoki rolled himself off of her. She sat up, wondering if she had ruined the mood between them.

She looked away from him. "I'm sorry - I didn't mean for that to sound desperate. But whenever I met someone and tried to like them, and I did try, you know - they just weren't... you."

Underneath his dirty jokes and lewd banter, there was a soul made of shining silver. She had respected him too much to ever whisper the slightest hint of her attraction, and still she was afraid that she had overstepped her boundaries.

"You're not desperate," he said. "I just keep thinking about all the time we could have had."

"So you're saying..."

"... I'm saying that I should have done this - " he pulled her into a long, lazy kiss, and naturally she melted into his body, closing her eyes once more - " - a long time ago," Gintoki finished.

Her pale eyelashes fluttered. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

-x-

The sun had woken her up and she had rested in bed for a while, expecting everything to be a dream.

There was a rustle and suddenly she had found that her clothes had been strewn across the floor. Lifting the covers, she realized belatedly that everything that she had wished for had been granted last night.

She had no inclination to trust it, however. Slipping on her undergarments, she slid the door open, finding Gintoki tapping a hard boiled egg with a spoon in the kitchen. He pushed one towards her.

"Want one?"

"Sure," she said, though it was a bit uneasy. He was treating this as if this was normal. She supposed that a man of his personality was used to the affair of waking up to someone after a night of passion. For her, it was unusual to say the least.

"So - about us," he said straightforwardly. "I think it's safe to say that we have a mutual interest in each other."

"That's a bit of an understatement," she said.

He grinned. "Well, anyways, it all works out. I get laid, you get laid - "

At her cheeks turning red, his eyes twinkled. "Juuuuuuust kidding." Stirring his coffee, he took a sip, and added about ten sugar cubes to his mug before she turned away in disgust.

"Admittedly, I don't like this whole 'girlfriend' or 'boyfriend' title, you know? It makes me sound like I'm trying too hard. Like the time where I tried to pretend I wasn't stabbed by that kunai of yours - "

"You were the one who's trying too hard!"

He coughed indelicately. "Anyways, I'm just saying that I don't like pet names. Don't call me Gin, or Gin-san, or - "

"Gintoki?"

He looked at her and pointed his spoon. "I demand you to only refer to me as your Lord and Savior."

"And my name is your Highness," she retorted sarcastically.

"Request denied."

Rolling her eyes, she tapped her egg and began to peel off the eggshell. "Gintoki, don't you think we might have... moved too fast?"

Sleeping with a man on the very first night they had kissed seemed a bit too much like a typical Yoshiwaran woman. Which didn't bother her inherently - she didn't care what everyone else thought of her - but she was concerned because this was with regard to the love of her life.

He was in the middle of chewing his egg. After swallowing, he shrugged. "We've known each other for years, right? You've seen the worst of me, and I've seen the best of you. I don't see the problem."

"... I agree that I've seen the worst of you, but... most men would look down on a girl for ... " She looked away, too embarrassed to vocalize what was bothering her. "Never mind."

"Most men would look down on a woman just because they don't respect them as a whole," he said mildly. He took her hand, gently thumbing her palm. "Look, I don't really care about things like that."

"Sorry. I suppose I've been around too many men," she said, smiling.

"You should take care of that."

"Can't. They're Yoshiwara's steady form of income. Take away men and you'll have a barren city."

"I'd come and visit you if that happened."

"You couldn't visit every girl."

"I'd try."

"I wouldn't want you to."

He laughed.

-x-

"She's a lot more relaxed, don't you think?"

"You think so?"

"Yeah. She didn't chew me out when I accidentally threw that kunai at an innocent bystander. Thankfully it missed, but still."

"Really? Man, do you think something happened to her?"

Asahi sauntered over, smug as hell. "Get a load of this. Our boss is attached."

The other two Hyakka guards looked at her, unimpressed. "She's been unattached for years, dude. Trust me, if she ever got laid, we would know."

"Pfft, you guys are just being naive," Asahi said. "I saw hickeys on her neck, aight? Which means - "

She keeled over a second later, a kunai stuck to her back.

"I wasn't aware my sex life was a conversational topic," Tsukuyo interjected darkly, to which her subordinates quivered slightly in their boots.

"W-We weren't insinuating a-anything l-like that, Boss! And a-anyways, h-how was Kagura-san's w-w-wedding?"

"Fun. Depressing. But fun." Tsukuyo stooped to remove the kunai from Asahi's back. "By the way, would any of you ladies like to go on a date with Hijikata Toushirou? He's pretty good lookin', single, has a good job, and sexually frustrated."

There was an awkward silence between all four of them before Asahi finally rolled over and said, "Boss, he sounds like your perfect match."

Tsukuyo snorted. "I'm already taken, thank you very much."

The two other guards paused, before one of the women picked up Tsukuyo by the collar.

"HOLY SHIT, BOSS! IS THIS FOR REAL? LIKE FOR REAL REAL? I THOUGHT YOU WERE A LESBIAN FROM ALL THOSE YEARS - "

"H-hey! Watch yer hands!" Tsukuyo's cheeks had bloomed pink. "And it's none of yer business!"

The other woman began to sniff. "I'm so happy for you, Boss." Grasping Tsukuyo's hands, she wailed, "Please get married to this man have have plenty of children!"

"OIIIII! WHO MENTIONED CHILDREN? BECAUSE I CERTAINLY DIDN'T, THAT'S FER SURE - "

-x-

"You've never ridden a bike."

"Never."

"God that's sad," Gintoki said.

"You're not teachin' me how to ride a bike."

"It's fun, okay. Look, this thing has training wheels. You can't screw up. Grandma used to tell me that you can't ever forget how to ride a bike. It's like riding a woman - "

"NO ONE ASKED FOR THAT COMPARISON, YOU ROTTEN PERMHEAD - "

" - and so, I thought I'd take the time to teach the love of my life how to ride a bike." He grinned. "You never know, it could be useful, right?"

She glared at him. "So that's the reason why you told me to wear a shorter kimono."

"Well, there might have been some other motivation too," he said, shrugging it off. "Like for instance the fact that you have great legs and that I was getting sick of you wearing the one that covers your entire body, or, you know, the fact that you'd probably trip if you tried riding this little guy in a longer kimono."

"Okay," she said, deciding to ignore his comment about her legs. "You're supposed to pedal it and it moves, right?"

"Yeah," he said. "Go on."

She swung her legs over and pushed her foot on the right pedal before her heel got stuck in the pedal. "Fuck, what the hell - "

"Just pedal!" Gintoki said, pushing her.

"WAIT A MINUTE - " She was about to curse him out before she finally pushed on the damn thing, and things clicked together for a few seconds.

"Heh, knew you could do it," Gintoki remarked, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. Tsukuyo was circling around the district, weaving around the trees and the sidewalk before she made her way back to him -

"HEY! YOU NEVER TOLD ME HOW TA BRAKE THIS DAMN THING!"

"Oh shit," he muttered. "This is bad. Very bad." Outwardly he yelled, "Just press on those handlebar things!"

"You mean these?" she yelled back, lifting her hand to point at them, which was a crucial mistake.

"Yes!"

She pressed hard on them, and while it had the desired outcome of stopping the wheel, it unfortunately came too abruptly. The bicycle overturned after skidding on the curb of the sidewalk, flipping Tsukuyo over -

"OI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING - "

- and in a fit of hilarious chaos that could not have been planned, the bike smashed into a bench, breaking the poor structure into three pieces, rendering it useless.

"Tsukuyo!" Gintoki ran over, worried for a moment before he found her face down on the grass. "You okay?"

She coughed, wiping the dirt off her face. "... Yeah, more or less." A shadow flitted across both of them before her expression darkened.

"What - Oh shit."

Hijikata Toushirou stood above the two of them, cigarette in mouth with a distinctively unhappy frown.

-x-

"Look, Oogushi-kun, I was teaching her how to ride a bike. I mean, that bench was already messed up in the first place."

"YOU TWO DESTROYED PUBLIC PROPERTY!" Hijikata yelled. "AND WE JUST REPLACED THAT BENCH ONLY A FEW MONTHS AGO! YOUR ADOPTED DAUGHTER WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT, GODDAMMIT - "

"C-calm d-down, H-Hijikata-kun. I-it was probably Sougo's fault for egging her on, a-anyway - "

"Who are you trying to lay the blame on, huh?!"

"Gintoki, it's no use. We might as well face the consequences of our actions."

"We?" Gintoki retorted. "Excuse me, but I didn't wreck that bench."

"How was I s'posed ta know that it was gonna end up like that? You didn't tell me how to brake in the first place!"

"Everybody knows how to brake! It's a fundamental rule of riding a bike!"

"You were teachin' me! That shoulda been YOUR responsibility."

Hijikata slammed both his hands on his desk. "Enough. You two are spending a night in the clinker."

Tsukuyo sighed, rubbing a hand across her face. "Alright."

"Oiiiiii, this is a travesty of justice!" Gintoki protested. "I should call my lawyer! This is police brutality! Innocent before proven guilty, officer!"

"WHAT LAWYER? YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY THE RENT!"

-x-

In the end, it was Hinowa who bailed them out after a hurried phone call. To Tsukuyo's relief, she was looking more amused than angry. She didn't think she could have walked out if Hinowa was angry.

After Hijikata had told her the story, she nodded and paid the amount that would have been needed for repairs, and then walked over to their cell, smiling brightly.

"I'm assuming Gintoki can pay off his debt to me, yes?" Hinowa asked sweetly. "Tsukuyo might need a man to patrol with once in a while. The streets are getting a bit dangerous."

"Hinowa! What are you doing?" Tsukuyo asked, horrified. "He's gonna sleep somewhere and doze off!"

"Um, you two, I'm right here."

"Then I'll expect you to keep him on his toes, yes?" To Gintoki, Hinowa turned to him and advised, "Take care of Tsukki. She's probably just nervous about introducing you to the rest of her subordinates - "

"THE HELL I AM!"

"See what I mean?" Hinowa said, eyes the picture of innocence.

Finally, Gintoki grinned in anticipation. "Can't wait to meet your gal pals, honey."

-x-

"Man, so that's the guy she's with," Asahi said, peering through binoculars from the Yoshiwara rooftops. "He looks kinda lame. Is that really who they're calling the Savior of Yoshiwara?"

"Don't underestimate him," her partner warned. "I heard he took down Hosen without breaking a sweat."

"Hinata, those are just rumors. There's no way he could have done that by himself. And wait, is that a wooden sword he's carrying?"

"Gimme that," Hinata said, shoving Asahi to the side. "Damn, he's kinda cute! Dunno whatcha talking about, Asahi. He looks buff from this angle."

"Pfft, with that mop of curly silver hair? Please. I like my men with straightened hair."

"Well, Boss doesn't seem to think so - oh shit!" Hinata ducked as a kunai made her way. "I think she saw us."

"YOU TWO BETTER BE PATROLLING THE NEXT TIME I SEE YA!" Tsukuyo screamed at the duo.

"Yes ma'am!"

-x-

"It's actually a wonder how you haven't died from a heart attack by now," Gintoki commented as they walked throughout Yoshiwara. "You know, the stress is gonna kill you someday."

"How else am I s'posed to run Hyakka?" Tsukuyo asked, breathing out smoke. "There are thousands of people relyin' on us to make sure that they're safe everyday."

She raised a shoulder, stretching out the kinks in her muscles before they started to ache. "And anyways, if I don't do it, no one else will."

"That's what I used to say a long time ago."

"Yeah? What happened then?"

"I quit being making sure everyone depended on me," Gintoki said, arm slipping into his loose yukata. "I'm not a leader like you or Hijikata. I'm just another guy."

She chuckled. "You underestimate yourself."

"More like been there, done that," he said, shrugging. "I mean, I like being a free agent most of the time. That's why I guess I stayed single all my life before I met you."

"... Really?"

"Really really," he said. "You're worth the risk."

She turned away, her face growing progressively hotter. "... You suck," she muttered. He just smiled, continuing to walk next to her.

-x-

"I knew you guys hooked up," Seita finally accused them, looking up from his Shonen Jump. "Finally. Took you way too long, I was even taking bets with Kagura-nee-chan when it was gonna happen - "

Tsukuyo smacked him on the head. "OW! That hurt!"

Rubbing his head, Seita grinned sheepishly. "So, what brings you here to Yoshiwara, Gin-san?"

"... It's complicated."

"Riiiiiiiight," the teen said sarcastically. "You sure you're not here for anything else?"

"He owes Hinowa a debt," Tsukuyo explained. "He's gonna stay in the spare room until it's paid off."

Seita took this in stride. "You sure he'd rather do that than stay in your room?"

Tsukuyo smacked his head again. "Hey! Your job right now is to make him feel like a guest, alright?" She looked at her cell phone. "I gotta attend a few other things, but for now, just get him settled."

"Fine."

Seita looked at Gintoki after she disappeared into the streets. "So, I'm confused. Are you sure you're with her... or am I just imagining things again?"

-x-

She didn't come back until two in the morning. He had kept the oil lantern at bay shortly after he'd been served dinner, keeping himself company with a few volumes of Shonen Jump, yawning a bit before reaching for coffee.

A slight wind rustled as he took a sip, and then two quiet footsteps shuffled shortly afterwards. He rolled to his feet.

Her room, thankfully, was unlocked. She was in the middle of undressing as he slid it open.

"HEY! Knock, you asshole!" she whispered as she reached out quickly for her bathrobe.

"Tsukki, I've already seen you naked. It's kinda pointless to pretend otherwise," he said casually. "Nice thong, by the way."

"Tha - that's not the point!"

"Well, I'm not gonna spend my night away from you, so I mean." He shrugged. "You're kind of cruel, you know that? I mean, we're kind of going out and it's like you're trying to keep us on the down low. I can understand why, but still."

She undid her hair, sighing. "I'm just - okay, I'm just not used to doing this."

"Neither am I. But at least I'm fine with letting people know."

"It's different for you than it is for me, alright? Just give me some time to get used to it. One day I might be fine with holding hands with you in public, but for now..." She sighed. "This is all new to me."

"Okay. I can get that," he agreed good-naturedly. "You tired?"

She nodded.

"Cool, I am too."

With a permission granted with words unspoken, he slipped into bed with her, his arm loosely surrounding her waist.

"You didn't have to wait up for me," she mumbled.

"Yeah, but I wanted to."

-x-

a/n: So concludes Chapter 2... still to be continued because I had waaaaay too much fun writing this ehehe.

Read and review please! :3 Same disclaimer as always - more reviews, more motivation to update, blahblahblah, you know the whole story by now. XD