Okay... So, I read Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" yesterday and got inspired to write this story... Well, indirectly, because it has nothing to do with Kafka's story.

Well, it's a Human AU, so you'll find no ghouls or doves here. Honestly, I'm still not sure, where to go with this story, for now I present this first chapter.
Despite it being a Human AU, be aware of spoilers up to recent chapters of TG:re.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.

The first thing that came to Touka Kirishima's mind, when she thought about Ken Kaneki, was that he was a spineless coward. Always soft-spoken, kind to the fault, never quite looking into people' eyes, always sticking to main streets, never the one to choose a back alley as a shortcut. And one couldn't forget, how he flinched every single time someone raised their voice. It was fucking annoying, really, she couldn't stand it!

…Well, okay, maybe, just maybe, he did have some good points. For example, how Hinami's eyes lit up every time he taught her a new kanji. Or how he would try to smile widely at café's customer despite being an awkward idiot and utterly fail at it. Or how he honed in on doing every single coffee even after working for almost a year at Anteiku. Or how he would give Touka his umbrella during a sudden downpour and then end up with a cold and high fever. Or…

Okay, so maybe, just maybe, Touka did have crush on that awkward idiot. Which brought us back to the problem at hand – he was a spineless coward. She might not be the brightest person around, as her entrance exams seemed to imply, but hell, his last two attempts at asking her out were WAY too oblivious. But here lay a problem – he was always backing off at the last minute. And it was driving her crazy.

At the moment she was glaring intently at his back, as he was serving customers. Kaneki was very conscious of her glare, fidgeting nervously. Every few minutes he would glance at her and quickly turn around to escape her displeased stare from behind the counter. He wouldn't ever utter a word, when he passed down the orders of beverages for her to make.

After the whole day of this "game", Touka snapped. Okay, so maybe she was handling it a bit childishly, but there was a limit to her patience.

"Kaneki…", she growled and grabbed him by his wrist before he could leave the café. He looked at her scared and winced, as her grab of him was quite strong.

"Y-Yes, Touka-chan…?", he asked anxiously, his voice even smaller than normal. It didn't help, that Touka's behavior had really freaked him out today.

Spineless bastard, scoffed Touka internally. Well, somehow it was kind of cute.

"Meet me at 1 p.m. at the station tomorrow. And don't be late!" she blurted out harshly. Shit, she screwed up.

"Y-Yes!", squeaked out Kaneki startled. Then, as her word sank in, his eyes widened in surprise and his mouth opened unconsciously.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed Touka let go of his wrist and abruptly left Anteiku, before Kaneki could notice her red cheeks.

And that's how Touka asked Kaneki out.

Their first date was awkward. Kaneki was silent, looking everywhere but at her, nervous as hell, even Touka realized that. Touka refused to let that bookworm take her to the bookstore, so she took up the reins and dragged him to the cinema. Well, not really a creative idea, but hundred times better than being surrounded by piles of books.

And maybe she was a bit mean by choosing a horror movie only to enjoy his screaming. And maybe she wasn't as disappointed as she expected, when he was in fact watching it with fascination. But her initial plan failed seeing, as she had drawn out from him nothing more but "Hello" and "Yes".

Kaneki hadn't said anything apart from "Bye", when they were parting their ways. Touka couldn't help, but feel a bit guilty for dragging him out of his comfort zone. And maybe she felt a bit anxious. Had she misread his intensions?

And really, she couldn't have expected Kaneki to man up and ask her out roughly a week later. In her surprise she accepted immediately(not that she'd ever refuse). It wasn't a date, that'd shook your entire world. No, they only went for a coffee and then walked around the city. Nothing fancy. No goodbye kiss, not even a hug. But Touka wouldn't have it any other way.

Then came third date, forth, fifth… and before she realized they'd been together for half a year. With time Kaneki grew more confident and easy-going with her. He talked with her about pretty much everything – what an annoying professor he had at the university, what his best friend was up to, about his father's collection of books, about his kind mother… And in turn she did the same – how annoying was studying for entrance exams, what an amazing cook Yoriko is, about her rebelling brother, about her lost father… Before she realized it wasn't a simple crush, she had fallen pretty bad. And she wasn't even embarrassed to admit it.

After she graduated from the high school and started studying at the university, moving in together felt like something completely natural. Many of their friends did say they behave like a married couple. Somehow it was embarrassing, but in the good way.

Kaneki proposed to her when he was in his last year. She would've told her younger self that she didn't jump into his arms in sheer delight, that she didn't accept it right away and smiled widely looking at engagement ring on her finger. No, she declined but after few hours she had enough of Kaneki's moping and reluctantly accepted his proposal. Yep, that sounded much better. And she surely, no, definitely didn't squeal!

They had a small wedding not long after, only their close friends and family were invited. Yoriko was her maid of honor and Hide was Kane… Ken's best man. Even Ayato came, although if it wasn't for Hinami, he would have been complaining the whole wedding. They were congratulating them vigorously, aside from Ayato, but… there was something in Hide's eyes that bugged her. She couldn't tell if it was concern or pity…

She didn't get to finish her studies, because she got pregnant. She remembered telling Ken the news. He got that strange look in his eyes, before smiling joyfully and hugging her tightly. And if his hands shook at bit, she didn't comment.

Arata Kaneki was born on the hot afternoon in July. Their little bubble of joy. Touka truly believed nothing ever would ever destroy their happiness.

Touka was going back home in a good mood. Not only :re, her café, was gaining more customers every day, today her old manager from Anteiku, Yukimura, came for a visit. He complimented her coffee, which filled her chest with unrestrained feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction. She believed she could fly in this moment. She was over the moon.

Humming happily to herself she went up the stairs to their cozy apartment, where her beautiful son and loving husband awaited her. She couldn't wait to share her happiness with them.

When she turned the key in the lock and opened the front door, she got that strange feeling in her gut. Like something was wrong. But she shook it off and went inside. Surely, it's just her imagination.

"Hey, Papa, play with me", she heard their son whining from the living room. She could help but smile.

"Please, Arata, give me a moment", murmured Ken, his voice even more exhausted than in the morning.

Touka signed. Ken had a bad habit of overworking himself. And she didn't have a clue, how to talk with him about it.

"You said it ages ago", complained Arata. "Please, Papa, I'm booored!"

"Arata, stop", Ken's voice was unfamiliarly cold. It froze Touka to the core. Was it really Ken's…

"Paaapa, please!", whined the five years old boy.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP!", Ken's shout was abrupt, brutally breaking the relaxed atmosphere.
Fear gripped Touka's heart. She rushed off to the living room. What she saw made her freeze in the doorway, her knees shaking in disbelief.

Her Ken, her loving, kind Ken was glaring with fury at their frightened son, his hand raised in the air ready to strike. His caring, grey eyes were possessed, filled with hate, anger and madness. Arata was almost lying on the floor trembling in fear, tears leaking out from his eyes.

"KEN! What are you doing?!", screamed Touka mortified beyond belief. Why… did… he…

Ken's eyes went completely blank. Then he blinked and looked at Touka, like he couldn't believe she was there. He glanced at Arata and seeing tears streaming down his cheeks and eyes full of dread… something broke inside him. He slowly lowered his hand and looked at it in fright, like he saw it for the first time.

"So in the end… I'm exactly like her", he murmured, his voice full of self-loathing. Touka's heart broke just from hearing it.

Then he got up and went to their bedroom without the word and locked the door after him. Arata started weeping loudly. Touka hurried to him and hugged him tightly, whispering "It's going to be okay" into his ear. If only she could believe it…

Behind the closed door Ken Kaneki was crying over the broken fragments of his sanity.