Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul :re or any of the characters in this story.
Maybe they won't get happy endings, or normal lives, or happily ever afters tied up with a ribbon and surrounded by balloons. Maybe this was as good as they were gonna get, maybe this was really it and they just had to accept it. That was okay for Kaneki, though. For now, at least.
Mornings like these, waking up to a tuft of dark blue hair, sounds of relaxed breathing and sunlight seeping through the curtains, these couldn't have been scenes from his life. It was terribly, terribly out of character for his life to let him enjoy himself. Let alone wake him up to a beautiful morning, the woman he loved snuggling into him. He wondered how long it would take for their little bubble of bliss to pop.
Kaneki couldn't help but smile as he remembered Touka's embarrassed face from last night's happenings. It was certainly the best night to date. It was their first night together, after all. He leaned in closer to breathe in her scent, coffee, milk, and something sweet. He ran his fingers through her soft locks and traced the features of her delicate face. Gods, she was gorgeous. He was one lucky bastard.
He worries that he's woken her up when she suddenly snuggled deeper into him, if that was at all possible. Clingy when asleep, noted. This side of Touka was quite fascinating. She looked like an ordinary human being. This life doesn't deserve her, he thought. He probably doesn't either, but here she was falling in love with the pieces of him that were left. That couldn't have been easy. After all, consciously or not, those pieces could end up hurting her in the end. Some king he was if he wouldn't even be able to protect his queen.
King Kaneki and Queen Touka of the kingdom of :re. The thought made him smile sadly. Maybe they were normal in some other life. Maybe they didn't end up hurting each other in another life. Maybe they had a family in their last life. They were nice thoughts, and yet none of those maybes mattered when Touka's still sleepy eyes wandered into his.
"Good morning, Touka-chan. You slept like a rock. I wonder why?" He asked her with a knowing smile.
"Big talk for someone who fell asleep first." Touka countered as she rubbed her eyes.
"So you were watching me sleep last night? And you say I'm the pervert." He teased, and leaned on his side to look at her better.
"No more than you, pervert!" Touka blushed as she tried to hit him with a pillow while holding up the blanket covering her chest. "How long were you watching me sleep, huh?"
Her flustered reaction elicited a short laugh from Kaneki. That sound, that very rare sound, made Touka's heart skip a beat and drop her guard as she stared at him. A small smile formed on her face, it felt good to be the reason for someone's laughter. It really was.
Kaneki saw how she stared at him, it was a bit like how Ayato looked at Hinami but fused with something Touka-ish. Why anyone would look at him that way, he didn't know. He was just happy that someone did. Happy. He hadn't used that word in a while.
"What's wrong, Touka-chan? Are scenes of last night flooding your mind?" He teased her again, determined to keep up the playful banter.
"Baka-Kaneki!" Her cheeksd burned up again as she now used both of her hands to whack him with the pillow. Any thought of covering herself flying out the window. Kaneki let her hit him a few times before he grabbed her arms and pinned her back down on the bed. She's gotten stronger, as if he didn't already know that from last night.
"I really want to kiss you right now, is that okay?" He leaned in and asked her softly.
"It's too early in the morning to be horny, Baka-Kaneki." She smirked at him.
"I'm not horny, I just want to kiss the woman I love," he told her, not missing a beat.
Touka's eyes widened in disbelief. Her breath caught in her throat at the words he said. "Say that again." She looked into his eyes and asked him softly.
"I just want to kiss the woman I love. I was referring to you, if that wa-" Kaneki never got to finish what he was saying.
Instead, her lips were on his and he got the answer to his question. The one eyed ghoul gladly reciprocated. Touka's hands were tangled in his hair and Kaneki's hands were caressing her face and hips. She tasted like coffee and home. He tasted like Kaneki, and that was more than enough for Touka. It was a wonderful morning to be alive. Kaneki Ken and Touka Kirishima were glad that they lived long enough to feel this.
He loved her. He allowed himself to do at least that, partly because it made Touka happy and partly because he wanted to be happy himself.
A/N: Hi there! This is set sometime after chapter 122 of the manga. Hopefully Kaneki keeps Mutsuki away from Touka enough to at least get to this point. You see, I really wanted to read something like this right after 122 of :re, but after a while I realized that no one was going to so I decided to write it myself. (Even thought I'm swamped with school work). Anyway, this is my first time writing for this fandom and this pairing, although I've been a fan for a long time. It's just really hard to keep these two in character, for me at least. I hope I did them justice. Any comments and critics would be really helpful. Corrections would be great too. Thank you for reading! God speed!
p.s. I think it was much more heartfelt that Kaneki only said he loved her during the morning after instead of while doing the do, right?