What makes history (Hijikata x OC)

Trust

There's the moment you've all been waiting for !

Silence filled the room once more, disrupted by the sloshing of the liquor that I poured into two ceramic recipients. I loved those cups; they looked so beautiful, with their dark interior and deep blue colours seeping on the outside. Shyly, I dragged myself just a tad closer to the commander, and I clinked my glass to his.

"Kanpai, Kitsu", he whispered.

"Kanpai, Toshi", I responded, diving my lips into the liquor to take a taste. It wasn't as strong as I feared, perhaps a little heady, but the acidity of Yuzu complimented the alcohol rather nicely. I owed my thanks to Chizuru for a good choice.

"So what if I asked questions about cosmology? Would you bounce up and down as you do when Sanan asks?"

His low voice was like a wave; it rumbled out of his chest, crossing the little distance between us, to caress my ears. I smiled, looking into my cup; did I really seem that excited whenever we talked science? Perhaps, yes.

"I'd tell you everything I know, just to see if your eyes sparkle when I talk of distant planets."

His dark eyes flickered in amusement as I went on.

"You are a poet, Toshi. Your mind can escape to greatness as much as ours, only you use words and us equations."

Despite the low lights, I couldn't miss the mightly flush that marred his cheeks.

Straight to the heart then.

And so, Hijikata lowered his head with a growl.

"Shut up and drink."

"Hai, Fukuchō", I retorted playfully.

Two glasses, and I was already giggling in the night. Hijikata's cheeks were red, but he remained silent to hide the fact that the was drunk. Fed up with the distance, I eventually reclined against his arm, relishing in the fragrance of his hakamashita. After yet another silence, I tugged upon his sleeve and set my glass upon the tray.

"Come on, loosen up, old man", I shook him. "You're cute when you're drunk."

Toshizō's strange expletive reminded me of Chizuru's squeaks, and my smile broadened at his puzzled expression. The men teased him for not holding his liquor; he was so cute !

"I know that men are supposed to drink and such, but I find adorable the fact that you don't hold your liquor."

Oops. Albeit my mind used that word often, I'd never said so to his face. His eyes softened when he looked down upon me, shifting slightly to take a look at my own blushed cheeks.

"Adorable, uh?"

"You're allowed to be. There's no one to order around tonight."

I half expected him to fight this statement; he could have argued that I was still a subordinate. Or that the Fukuchō could, at any moment, need to take a crucial decision. Instead, his hand grabbed a piece of my unbound hair, and smoothed it down gently. Soothed by his touch, I dared asking a question I'd been wondering for a while.

"What does my accent sound like?"

Hijikata's lips lifted, the shadows of the night revealing just the corner of his jaw, and the edge of his straight nose. His eyes, though, conveyed a thousand emotions.

"You sound like ... a spirit of the forest."

This startled me; Tristan always called me his little fairy, a forest spirit. But Toshi wasn't done, and his smile grew.

"Except when you're drunk, then you sound like a..."

I suddenly pushed myself up, surprising him as I broke the respectable distance and grabbed his nape. "Don't finish that sentence", I whispered right before diving for his sweet flavoured lips. It was a short kiss, but one that effectively shut his teasing down. His arms captured me before I could pull away, strong fingers sliding up my spine until they found purchase at my nape. I was balanced precariously, but the feeling of his lips coated in Yuzu liquor held me prisoner.