welcome to the cornfarm

his eyes refocus at the clock. the time reads 1:04am.

i mean, if you were to tell him what was bothering you he wouldn't be displeased. maybe his ego would be stroked a little. people pay him for favors, and worse, his friends demand favors for nothing in return. but if you were to sit on his couch and let your worries out on him, he wouldn't mind not being repayed.

his heart jumps when he hears footsteps slowly coming up the steps leading up to his front door. he nearly pulls his leg jumping up. his heart pounds. did he summon you? wait- it could be just a random loser drunk off his ass. no, the footsteps aren't sporadic.

maybe on another night he would just ignore the knock and pretend nobody's home, but he's up anyways, and probably not going to fall asleep anytime soon.

he a few feet away from the front door as he waits for the knock to come. after a moment, three gentle knocks echo through the walls.

"gintoki? it's me," you call out, knocking again a little louder, "are you there?"

he approaches the door, fiddles with the lock and carefully slides it open.

alas, there you stand, every single foot of you. you haven't taken your uniform off yet, despite that you're already done for the day. you're still carrying the bag you bring to work.

"were you working this late? why?" he asks.

you look up at him, a little surprised, "hm? no, ah- i was too nervous at home i didn't change."

the corners of your lips pull as you grimmace. if you weren't so dreary then it would have been a smile.

"can i please come in?"

"yeah, of course."

you step inside, standing at the landing. he watches you inspect your shoes, and slowly, with trembling hands, untie the bows and loosen the laces until you can wiggle your feet free.

he reaches out and grabs your arm as you stumble to the side. he smiles, "are you drunk or something?"

gintoki feels quite displeased when you ignore him. he watches your chest heave as your shoulders begin to shake. you step up onto the wood before kneeling down onto the floor, wrapping your arms around your shins as sobs escape your lips.

"hey? uh-" he takes a step back, "what's wrong? what happened?"

you continue to ignore him- or perhaps the sobs escaping your lips are too heavy to form words. gintoki pulls the hem of his pants up as he kneels down, knees schooching forward so his hands can ghost over your shoulders.

"are you hurt?"

you fall forward onto him, face pressing onto his breast. he wastes no second wrapping firm arms around you, a hand reaching around your waist, the other around your upper back.

"please-" you finally choke out, "please let me stay here."

gintoki's imagination begins to race as he wonders what happened. did somebody attack you? did they hurt you? are you afraid? why are you here so late at night? did something happen at work?

he can't seem to find the words. he tries to pull you onto him more so your legs aren't bent so awkwardly. he can't say anything to make you feel better, so he tightens his grip around you.

after a moment, you begin patting his arm, your body trying to wiggle away from him. "gnngkk-" your voice is muffled. "i can't breathe-" gasping as you finally escape his grip.

he smiles at your wide grin. he laughs while his hands come up to cup your cheeks, the tears beginning to roll down your face as you return to sobbing. his thumbs gently press under your eyes as he catches the tears.

"what happened?" he speaks with a soft cadence, you can almost feel how much he likes you just by how he asks the question. his voice is serious though. if you were to ask him to perform a hit for you he probably would.

with your breathing finally slowing, you shake your head, "i can't tell you. i got mixed up with some bad people. i'm fine but i-" your voice quivers at the end.

"i feel so bad, i feel so ashamed of myself. when i got home i just stood at my shoes for hours. i couldn't move."

his hand comes up to push your hair aside, brushing it together like he was forming a ponytail.

"i just needed to be with someone. i need the company. i don't feel very safe right now."

gintoki pushes himself up from his heels, ushering you up with him. your legs tremble, causing you to fall forward, but he catches you. of course he does.

"you can stay here as long as you like, you know? as long as you're here you're safe. i-" he stops himself. this would be a weird time to say something too emotional on his end. he meets your eyes as you look up at him. you look like you're waiting for something.

he hopes a moment of silence wouldn't be weird. his eyes graze over your features. the flush of your cheeks, how your pupils are totally blown out from the darkness of the room. he feels how you place your hands in his, and how they're shaking like a leaf.

"you what?" your voice is so meek he almost wants to cry too.

"i'll take care of you. i won't let anything bad happen to you. you're safe with me."

you shuffle closer to him, pressing your chest agaisnt his but not quite embracing.

"thank you, gintoki," you smile, "i'm so grateful i won't even tease you about how you're blushing."

"oh shut up,"

you giggle at his annoyance, and gintoki can't help but let out a sigh of relief. he paces to the lamp sitting in the living room, "brace your eyes."

you squint as your eyes readjust to the light, "i'll make you some tea."

"thank you, gin."

he fetches the kettle sitting on the stove and empties out the leftover water. after he refils it, he turns on the stove, twisting the ignition to the right until the flame is barely licking the sides of the red kettle.

"do you need anything else?" he asks, brows knit as he leans against the stove.

you look up the ceiling as you think, "could i borrow something to wear? i didn't change or bring anything and these are my outdoor clothes."

"yeah, wait there."

he paces into his bedroom and rummages through his closet.

"these are pajamas," he says, holding up a shirt and shorts, these ones are pink, compared to the green ones he's wearing. he holds up the other hand, ushering to the fabric, "and this is one of my clean yukatas. you can pick."

you reach out and touch the fabric with your fingertips, inspecting it. the pajamas feel very thin, the cotton weave presenting no stretch. the yukata on the other hand, is much softer and stretchy, although it's much thicker.

"i'll change into this one," you say, taking the yukata from his hands, "i don''t like the texture of the other ones. thank you. can i change in your bedroom?"

"go ahead."

he turns back around to stare at the kettle. the low hiss of steam beginning to be audble from the pot.

he's a little nervous to turn around and look at you, and he doesn't like the confrontation as he hears the bedroom door slide open. he stares at the flames.

you gently lean on his side, the weight of your head against the top of his arm.

"it's rare i ever see you so serious."

"huh? how could i not be serious when you come in here crying? do you even know how late it is?" he asks, voice raising a little bit.

"see, now you're back to normal."

he swings an arm around you, finally turning to look down at your figure. "i'm only acting normal because you stopped crying. i already feel embarrassed about what i said."

you chuckle, reaching over to turn off the kettle as the loud whine begins to echo through the confined kitchenette.

while your body is twisted towards him, you reach your arms around his waist. and again, his arms intinctually wrap around you, holding you firm in his grasp.

"you're so clingy tonight," he scoffs.

"i would be more clingy with you if i could. i wish i could jump on you everytime i see you, but you would get angry at me."

his eyes open wide, "you do?"

"yeah..."

he pauses, "i wouldn't get angry at you. i could show off to all those cops that i'm actually a well adjusted guy."

he pulls away and reaches up in the cabinet above the stove, grabbing two cups. he places them on a wooden tray and pours loose tea into the bottom of the cups. carefully, he pours the hot water into each cup.

he leans over to the pantry and grabs two paper wrapped azuki buns he had bought after work.

"did you get one for me?"

"no, they were both for me but i'll give you one."

you gape at him, "i've never seen you so generous before."

"will you just take the damn bun or not?"

"of course, thank you, gintoki."

he follows behind you as you sit on the couch. he places the tray down in front of you, and takes a seat next to you. he sits with a gap between your bodies, but after a moment he moves a little closer, his hips touching yours.

now with the lights turned on, he can see how red you are. he almost feels proud of himself, but not even 20 minutes ago you were nearly dry heaving on his floor.

quietly sipping on tea and snacking on the azuki buns, you break the silence first: "i'll tell you about it later. right now i just need to be with someone."

"i know. i'm here. i have work in the morning though. i'll tell shinpachi to stay home and take care of you while i'm gone."

"no, you don't have to, i'll need to return back to work anyways."

he frowns. "i told you, shinpachi will stay home and you can stay here all day tomorrow. kagura and i will be back around evening. shinpachi will stay home."

"okay, i'll stay."

he takes the next moment of silence to finish the bun.

"but you'll pay him still, right?"

"yeah, i'll give him a cut."

"good. he's a really good kid."

"that's why i trust him with you.

you flush, kicking your foot against his, "you know, you're quite protective when you want to be."

he turns away from you as he feels his whol face, down to his neck heat up, "i just don't want you sobbing and miserable."

you gently knock the side of your head against his shoulder, "you're so sweet." you giggle.

"i should be saying that to you. you've stuck with me this far. you trust me enough in moments like these. i-" he looks at you, meeting your eyes. the familiar ferocity in his gaze is back, "i don't really think i deserve all the kindness you've given me. this is only a small token of my gratitude."

you reach a hand out and place it on his arm. he frowns as he watches tears begin to collect in the inner corners of your eyes.

"i- i can back off if you need me too."

you shake your head. looking down at your hands as you take his in yours.

you're trembling. he can feel the soft skin of your palms trembling.

"tonight, can i sleep next to you?" he nods. "and will you, uhm," he's quiet as he waits for you to finish. "will you kiss me?"

he feels weightless, heart pounding in his chest. he almost begins to shake as he feels dizzy. god he feels so dizzy.

but as your protector, it's his job to make you feel better. he can't let his own desire run wild. he has to protect you,

"of course," he starts, a hand detaching from yours. his thumb brushes against your cheek.

"i want you to want to too."

"yeah... trust me, i do." he squeezes your hand with the hand thats still holding it. his thumb runs down to your lower lip, pressing down a little so your lips part.