[A/N: I just uploaded part two of this fic as a separate story, as it's rating M and I don't want to change the rating for this one. Go check it out if you'd like!]

Welcome to my short little one-shot. I'll leave an A/N at the bottom for you.

Disclaimer: disclaimed.

She had fallen in love. Not with one person, but three. Three people, three personalities, in the form of a single person.

:::

Grey clouds hung low in the sky. A flat, dense grey that spat cold streams of rain down Anteiku's windows. The coffee shop was closed for the evening, and Touka was enjoying the quiet, empty atmosphere as she cleaned up the store. Having wiped down the last table, she was just about to head home to her apartment when her phone vibrated demandingly in her pocket. She looked at the screen to see a new text message from Kaneki Ken.

Annoyed, she unlocked her phone and read the message:

"Touka-chan, please help me."

She groaned in irritation and dialed his number, wanting to avoid the back and forth texting required to figure out what kind of help he needed.

"Touka-chan?" His voice was gruff, and she could hear him breathing loudly into the phone, which frayed her nerves.

"What do you need, idiot?"

"I..." he paused to take a wheezy breath, accompanied by a strained whimper. "I'm so hungry."

"Jesus, Kaneki," she sighed with frustration. "I'll be there soon. Don't leave your house." She hung up before he could reply. She made a trip to the freezer downstairs, put on her coat and stepped out into the cold night drizzle. Just what she needed to end her day: a freezing walk in the rain and a needy Kaneki, she thought sarcastically.

When she arrived at his apartment, she knocked lightly and was greeted with silence. "Kaneki?" She knocked a little louder. Silence. She twisted the handle and the door opened, and for some reason she wasn't surprised that Kaneki didn't lock his front door.

She walked into his small living space. The room was dark and she saw no signs of life, but the metallic tang of blood was heavy in the air. Not just any blood. It was the undeniably delicious scent of his blood. She looked at the floor and saw a spattered trail of it leading from the door, across the room and to his bed.

"Touka-chan?" came a weak voice from a pile of blankets on the bed.

Touka kicked off her shoes and walked towards him, hand reaching into her bag to grab the soft package inside. "I brought you your-" Before she could finish he growled viciously and tore out of his blanket cocoon.

Kakugan shining brightly in the dusky light, he snatched the package out of her hand and tore it apart. She stood, appalled, listening to him devour the flesh like some sort of beast. This behavior was so unlike him. Touka felt somber to see such a gentle and kind boy distorted by the monstrous hunger of ghouls.

He was kneeling on his bed with his head thrown back, hands covering his face as his chest heaved with heavy breaths. On his stomach she noticed a deep and ragged slash that was now in the process of closing up. "Still not strong enough to defend yourself, weakling?"

"I was..." He put his hands down and gazed up at her, and by the look on his face, Touka guessed he had just realized what he had eaten. "A-attacked by a stray ghoul. And," he looked like he was about to gag. "I was already weak from hung-" he retched but Touka quickly clamped her hand over his mouth.

He clawed at her fingers but her grip was iron. His body convulsed and tears began to leak from his eyes but she held strong. He eventually scrunched his eyes shut, swallowed, and accepted defeat. She removed her hand and he sobbed. Oh god here we go.

"I can't do this. I can't eat people I just-" he gave up speaking to cry. He collapsed back onto his bed and curled into the fetal position.

Touka stood over him awkwardly for a few moments, listening to him cry. She had no idea what words to use to comfort him, and her body didn't know how to react. She was about to step away and leave when his tear soaked hand reached out and weakly grabbed her wrist. She looked down at his blubbery face. Tears streaming from his grey eyes and down his cheek and dangling off his nose.

"Touka-chan," he begged. "Please don't leave me."

As she stared at the poor pathetic ghoul before her, all vulnerable and pleading, her heart of stone softened a tiny bit. "I'll stay until you fall asleep," she said sternly as she blushed and looked away from him. He mewled in what she thought might be gratitude, if that were even possible, and she stiffly sat on the edge of his bed.

He curled into a tight ball and in this moment, she only saw a lost and devastatingly lonely boy. He was just a child, deprived and desperate for a consoling touch. An alien desire took over her body. She pulled his bloodstained blanket up to his shoulders and Touka shocked herself when she let her hand rest on his head. She stared in horror as her body went into autopilot. Her hand began to stroke his hair, and she was amazed to discover how nice it felt to run her fingers through it.

His sobs had been reduced to quick, shuddering breaths. "Touka-chan?" His voice cracked

"Yes?" She asked softly.

He spoke so quietly and hesitantly, she had to lean in closer to hear him, "can I... Can I lay my head on your chest...?"

Her faced burned furiously, "um,"

"Sometimes... I'd listen to my mom's heartbeat, and it would help me fall asleep," he murmured.

"Fine. If it will make you fall asleep faster," she huffed.

She laid back against his pillows and he scooted up beside her. Her arms hovered over him rigidly as he gently lay his head on her chest, just under her neck. He sighed contently and she swallowed uncomfortably. After only a few moments, his breathing steadied, he'd already fallen asleep. He unconsciously snuggled closer to her and his arm lazily moved to drape over her stomach.

For a long time she lay there, blushing madly, but after a while her arms grew tired and she had to set them down. One found itself in his hair, and the other found relief resting upon his back. He was now snoring softly and she could leave, but she found herself not wanting to.

She slowly stroked up and down his back, revelling in the comfort it brought her. She took a moment to appreciate his scent. Behind its delicious allure, it was mouthwatering for a whole other reason that she didn't quite understand. He was warm and soft, and soothing him felt so god-damn good. His arm tightened around her and she secretly loved it, she never wanted it to end. But she couldn't stay. She had to leave. She wanted to avoid the awkward situation of waking up in each others arms. She didn't want to let him see through her tough exterior.

She savoured a few too short minutes of this apparent guilty pleasure before removing Kaneki's arm and gingerly placing his head on a pillow. She quietly crawled out of the bed and looked at him one last time before leaving. His once distraught face was now placid and calm, and she let a slight smile grace her face,

"Goodnight, you moron," she whispered before tiptoeing out of his apartment and back into the rain.

A/N:

I hope that wasn't too terribly boring. It's been a long time since I've written anything, but the idea for this fic popped into my head and I had to get it out.
I want to add two more parts (one of which I am already half finished), but their ratings will be closer to T, or maybe even M, so I would like to upload those separately.

Anyways, it would mean a lot to me if you'd tell me what you think of this in a review :)

-DeerBones