Kaneki tumbled through the window and landed on something unexpectedly soft that was unexpectedly not the floor. The bed happened to be right next to the window. Blood was still oozing out of his back where he'd been badly injured, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was it should have healed, or at least started healing, by now, but it wasn't.
Kaneki also knew it was a bad idea to be there. He knew he shouldn't have gone to Hide's place, shouldn't have put Hide in that kind of danger. But...
Hide's place was where he always felt safe. Although he hadn't seen his childhood friend much since he'd been turned into a ghoul, he didn't want him to disappear from his life, not completely. But he also didn't want Hide to hate him if he figured out what he was. Or worse, Kaneki didn't want Hide to get hurt because of him.
Even though it was still dangerous, Kaneki had made extra sure that no one had followed him, there. Besides, Hide didn't know he was there, and even if he found out, Kaneki doubted he'd recognize him. If anyone else were to locate him, they'd have no idea he was associated with Hide.
Kaneki noticed one of his kagune was still out, but it had taken some damage and about midway through, it was cut almost in half, just barely hanging on. Kaneki grunted a bit when he moved it slightly.
He ended up plopping face down into Hide's pillow, closing his eyes. He'd have to wait for his wounds to heal slowly. The only problem Kaneki could think of as to why he wasn't healing was because he needed to eat. But in his current condition, eating was out of the question. At the same time, his hunger was slowing the healing process immensely. Oh well, he'd just have to stay here and wait it out, at least until he could walk properly.
After a good 10 minutes, Kaneki had to shake himself to make sure he didn't fall asleep. But when he shook, he instantly regretted it because of the sharp pain that ran up his back. God, that thing really was taking forever to heal. Kaneki just lay out on Hide's bed. He was pretty sure he'd bled on the sheets, but it couldn't be helped at the moment. He mentally told himself he'd pay Hide back somehow, even if his friend would never know he was the one who'd done it.
The best thing about laying in Hide's bed was the smell. It smelled of Hide, and Kaneki knew his smell anywhere from being around the other boy so much when they were younger. Memories of the silly things they used to do flooded back into his head and Kaneki smiled. These were the things that kept what was left of himself sane.
Kaneki must have eventually fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes again, he found that his back hurt much less than before. Sleep usually helped ghouls heal too, although Kaneki hadn't meant to fall asleep at Hide's place. He was about to leave when Kaneki sat up and realized the blanket that slid off of his shoulder. That was odd. Kaneki didn't remember covering himself before falling asleep, but he could have done it in a half sleep state.
Kaneki wanted to tell himself that that was the case; that he'd just grabbed the blanket in his sleep because he'd gotten cold. But he realized that this blanket hadn't been on the bed when he'd arrived. It was green and warm and Hide's scent was even stronger on it. And then Kaneki realized the other telltale signs that Hide had found him. Like his missing shirt and the bandage that wound it's way around Kaneki's middle, covering the wound on his back. Another bandage was wrapped around the tender area on Kaneki's kagune that had been torn. The bandage held it together as it continued to slowly heal.
But why? Why would Hide help a ghoul? And where was Hide at right this moment? It was very late, and Kaneki knew Hide worked the next day, meaning he should have been in bed hours ago. Cautiously, Kaneki got out of bed, wobbling on his feet for a moment before regaining his balance. He wandered out of Hide's bedroom and out into what looked like the living room. It was dark, but Kaneki was suprised when he saw a light click on.
"Kaneki? That you?" Hide sat up on the couch, yawning. Kaneki froze in place, suprised Hide had heard him come in. "Those wounds were pretty bad and they didn't seem like they were healing very well, especially the one on your, um.." Hide searched for a term.
"Kagune?" Kaneki offered.
"Yeah! So I patched both of your injuries up. You were sleeping like a rock, so I had no trouble doing it with the worry of waking you. Hope you don't mind," Hide smiled that wonderful smile of his. He'd grown his hair out a bit and the roots of his naturally brown hair were beginning to poke out from the top of his head.
Kaneki couldn't believe he was smiling after knowing what he was; what he did. He was terrified to be around Hide; terrified of hurting him or involving him in anything dangerous. Terrified of losing him. Kaneki frowned at these thoughts.
"Hey, Kaneki? Is something the matter?" Hide asked.
"How.. long have you known about.. you know," Kaneki asked, glancing at his injured kagune.
"You being a ghoul? Kaneki, I knew the whole time. Ever since Nishiki threw me into the alley that day. I wasn't actually knocked out cold, you know," Hide offered a smile.
"And you don't hate me?" Kaneki blurted out the words before he could rethink them.
"How could I ever hate the person that's been my best friend for years? Kaneki, you're still the same guy I've hung out with since we were kids. I mean, sure, you're different than me in some ways now, but you're still Ken Kaneki. You eat differently than me. So what? Some fish eat other types of fish and no one gets their panties in a knot when that happens. So no," Hide suddenly leaned forward and kissed Kaneki gently on the lips. "I don't hate you."
Kaneki's eyes had grown wide and he covered his mouth with his hand. Hide's lips had been on his. Hide didn't hate him. Hide actually still wanted to be his friend. Or, maybe more than his friend since he'd just... Kaneki's pale skin flushed a light shade of pink at the thought of being Hide's boyfriend. He felt like an ecstatic teenage girl who'd just gotten their first kiss from their dream crush. It felt a little ridiculous, but he couldn't help it. He'd always admired Hide and his personality. He always had a feeling he'd had feelings for Hide, but they'd never emerged to the surface; he never allowed them to.
But even now, if they were to be together, it would still put Hide in danger. He couldn't risk any doves finding out about them and firing Hide from his job. Actually, they'd probably do worse than fire him. Kaneki didn't even want to think about it. They'd think Hide was a spy or something, actually working for ghouls.
"No one will find out," Hide pressed a hand to Kaneki's cheek as if he'd read his mind.
"I still can't take the chance, Hide," Kaneki said with a bit of hesitation.
"Kaneki, I.." Hide paused. He was at a loss for words.
Instead, he hesitantly moved forward and pressed his lips against Kaneki's again, hoping to get his point across. He wanted his friend to realize he wouldn't reject him and he wanted him to be more than a friend. He wanted Kaneki to realize he was willing to take any risks that came with it. Hide was a bit suprised when Kaneki responded by moving his lips against the other boy's.
Very soon, Hide had managed to persuade Kaneki over to the couch where Hide pulled Kaneki onto his lap. Their lips never left each other's once. Eventually, their position switched so Kaneki's legs straddled Hide as his tongue traveled along his neck, pulling a shaky gasp from the ghoul.
Right when Hide's tongue hit the base of Kaneki's neck, a quiet chuckle came from the doorway. Hide and Kaneki whipped around to see who their intruder was. Both faces turned bright red when Nishiki stepped into the dim lighting of the living room. He smiled at them both, arms folding against his chest.
"H-Hey, this is considered breaking and entering!" Hide accused the older man.
"Haha, hardly. Consider it payback," Nishiki smirked. Hide knew exactly what he was talking about. He'd walked in on a similiar situation years back when Nishiki had his girlfriend over.
"Oops?" Hide said. Kaneki had buried his face in Hide's shoulder, embarrassed.
"Anyways, I thought you should know that I could smell you all the way from three blocks down, Kaneki. You must have been bleeding pretty badly because there's a trail of blood leading up here," Nishiki warned, adjusting his glasses.
"Oh, shit. I didn't even think of that! I'm such an idiot," Kaneki groaned to himself.
"Don't worry. Luckily, I covered up the scent. I set it off track. It'd be hard for another ghoul to trace if they stumbled upon it. And also, I thought you might be hungry," Nishiki tossed a black trash bag at the other ghoul, who clumsily caught it.
He looked inside and found a human leg inside. It wasn't much, but it would definitely satisfy his hunger until he could find something else on his own time. He nodded Nishiki his thanks before folding up the bag. Kaneki was about to excuse himself so he could find some place to eat in peace, but Hide grabbed his hand before he could go anywhere.
"You can eat here. Kaneki, I'm not scared of you. I know what you do, what you eat, etcetera," Hide told him. "You don't have to be embarrassed to eat in front of me. Only think I ask is try not to get anything on any white furniture. It'll be harder to get out," Hide cracked a smile. He was really serious about this.
Kaneki saw Nishiki give a small wave goodbye before he quietly exited the house. Kaneki swallowed nervously, but opened up the bag again and pulled out the limb. He glanced at Hide, making sure he was still okay with this. Hide gave him a smile and an encouraging nod to continue. The white haired ghoul opened his mouth slowly, and then closed it. He repeated the action a few times, unsure of how to eat in the least grotesque way possible.
"Just eat, Kaneki. I really don't mind it," Hide encouraged.
Finally, Kaneki took a breath and bit into the flesh, tearing off a piece. He mostly kept his head bent down while he ate. He'd never eaten in front of a human before; not one he was close to, at least. But even while he ate, Hide just looked at him thoughtfully. He didn't seem bothered by it in the least, not even when a bit of blood spilled on the floor.
"Just make sure you get rid of whatever is left. It would be pretty hard to explain why the remains of a human leg are in my trash can if anyone ever comes to interrogate me," Hide laughed. Kaneki nodded, feeling better after eating and being reassured Hide knew what he was getting himself into.
When Kaneki pulled off the bandages, he was happy to see that the wounds had healed. He allowed himself to gingerly fold his kagune back into himself. He found that he was extremely exhausted after the events of the evening. Hide must have noticed because he stood from his place on the couch and held out a hand to Kaneki, who gladly took it. Hide urged him along toward his bedroom, closing the door quietly. That night, Kaneki slept better than he had in a long time.