A/N: I decided to stop being lazy and actually cross-post from AO3 to FF for once. There's a couple other stories I have yet to do that for. I just hate messing with both websites that love to make posting a misery. Anyway, hope you guys like it. I've said this before but the name is terrible. I just couldn't come up with any good name. Bleh.

How did people in those videos manage to vault so far? Hide groaned as pain radiated through his lower back; there would definitely be a nasty bruise in a day or so. The concrete scorched his back through the hoodie—which Hide began reconsidering the merits of on a hot day—and he simply wanted to lie on the ground a mope for the few seconds needed to recover his shattered ego. A large jump, he could handle the ego blow, but for a jump hardly even a foot? The hit smacked him in the face and left him sprawling on the ground in pain with strangers giving him the most awkward of looks.

Sighing, Hide pulled out his cellphone and texted one of the few people who would listen to his woes of a bruised ego: Kaneki. No sense holding back his enthusiasm! Always start the message with a big, fat "KANEKI!" Enthusiasm never failed to catch that guy's attention. Resending the same text several times, Hide felt good about his friend actually answering his text for once. Ever since the accident…no, he shouldn't go there. His phone buzzed and Hide unlocked the front screen.

What is it Hide?

With fingers typing rapidly, Are you busy~?

A brief pause and then, No.

Dude, come meet me at the park then! You need to get out and have some fun and we haven't hung out since you got out of the hospital!

I don't know… Ah and there it is! All Kaneki needed now was a little push and Hide could convince him to show up for once.

Dude, I'm going to die of loneliness here! Come ooooooon~! Or, don't tell me you're secretly dating someone! I'm being left behind in this cruel world! D:

HIDE! I'll come okay? Which park are you at?

Hide couldn't stop the Cheshire grin from taking over his face. Victory was his! Do you remember the park with the whale?

That one? Fine. I'll be there in about twenty minutes.

YAAAY~! Hide tossed his arms in the air with a yell, startling passerby without a care. Finally, he could see Kaneki after weeks! He knew there was no way that guy could push him off forever.

…Right?

But, with everything that happened recently, it seemed so hard to believe at the moment.

Kaneki arrived at the park at a quart past three to find Hide eating an ice cream cone from a nearby vendor while he relaxed on a nearby bench. Birds chirped lazily around his feet, unconcerned for their safety as any domesticated park bird should be. The smile on his face as he happily devoured the ice cream cone in the gentle sunlight reminded Kaneki what he missed most during the past few weeks. Hide had been such a constant in his life until the accident. But now, they were going to hang out together again, right? If only it was that easy for Kaneki to convince himself that everything could be the same. Kaneki was a ghoul, a monster, and Hide a human. No way…

"Ah!" Hide spotted Kaneki staring dejected and somber from across the park pathway. "Over here! Do you want some ice cream to? I'll treat ya!"

"Um…no, thanks Hide. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Well, alright then." Hide tossed his half eaten cone in the park trash, losing interested in the frozen cone of cream delight now that his best friend showed up.

He tried not to eat treats in front of the ex-human for Kaneki's sake and sanity.

Not that Kaneki knew.

"So!" Hide clapped his hands, "Do you know what parkour is?"

"Isn't that where people jump all over buildings?"

"Sort of! Basically, it's the idea that you are trying to move through an ordinary environment in a way you never thought possible! And I was wondering, 'do ghouls do this kind of stuff all the time?' So, I decided to try it for myself!" Hide's grin dimmed, "I'm not very good it seems."

"Hide, I'm no good at athletic stuff! There's no way I could possibly do parkour with you!"

Hide slid behind Kaneki and threw an arm around his shoulder, "Come on! Don't tell me you haven't been working out! You try to keep it hidden but I've noticed you've been building some muscle!'

Hide got him there. Kaneki knew he should admit the truth or Hide wouldn't let it go until he spilled. "Well, um," Kaneki scratched his cheek. A slight blush colored his face—which always endeared Hide to his friend even more. "You see…I asked Touka to teach me how to fight. She's really strong and I thought it would be a good idea. But she's a really hard teacher so I haven't had much time…!" Kaneki's palms came up to rub his chin.

So he lied about the last part. Touka wasn't the reason for Kaneki avoiding him. Hide knew the reason but he wouldn't push. "If you say so! Let's put all that training to the test! This park's perfect for parkour! We'll start with jumping between those two walls over there!" Hide pointed to a pathway that gradually widened into a five foot pathway. On either side there is ample running room to launch off the ledges and reach the other side—in theory. Hide's earlier spectacular fall only proved the point that failure could happen on any jump. "Let's see who can jump the farthest!"

Tugging his reluctant best friend onto the ledge, Hide prepared to jump a wider gap this time. If he could jump this one, he could forget the horrendous first jump before he invited Kaneki to the park. "Watch the future zombie apocalypse survivor do an amazing back flip onto the other side!"

"Ah Hide I don't think that's such a good id-!"

Too late.

Hide groaned in pain. Being sprawled on the ground seemed to be the norm today. "I'm fine! I'll have a bruise but not broken bones or neck!" Kaneki frowned at the thumbs up Hide casually tossed his way.

"You should've practiced the jump first, geez. What if you had broken your neck?"

"I'm fine! Now," Hide said, "It's your turn! Go for it!"

"Fine…" Kaneki sighed as he took the proper running distance. He could probably pull of the flip and if he hurt himself he could regenerate. Hide needed to see someone properly perform a free-run trick before he became paralyzed. "Watch how I do it okay?" Taking a few steps back, Kaneki willed all his strength to his legs and focused on finding his center of balance. He thrust his body into the air, twisting his upper torso into just the right angle to allow the momentum to finish his flip. He landed onto the soft grass on the other side the ledge in a full-body roll. He quickly stood up and brushed the grass off his jacket, vaguely surprised he actually pulled off such an intricate stunt.

Pulling maneuvers like that was becoming second-nature after everything happening lately though.

Hide didn't think so.

"That was amazing man! Touka must seriously be an awesome teacher for you to learn how to do things like that so easily! Man, I would totally be relying on you during a zombie apocalypse." Hide paused for a second. "I bet you would be great at out running a ghoul with skills like that!"

Kaneki laughed in nervousness, his posture stiff, "Y-yeah. Are you learning parkour to out run ghouls, Hide?"

"Hmm, I wonder…" Hide replied, "Whatever happens, happens so it doesn't hurt to be prepared." Hide winced and rubbed the forming bump on his forehead. Let's go back to your place and get some ice for my head. It's starting to swell." Kaneki would tell him when he was ready. "Oh, right, I probably have a concussion so you'll stay up with me tonight right? Right?"

"Yes…I wouldn't want you falling asleep with that inju—awah!" Kaneki stumbled with Hide's sudden crushing weight around his midsection.

"I better get some of that coffee of yours! Let's do this again sometime okay?"

Kaneki smiled, a soft smile without burden, "Of course."