Hide gazed through the shop windows as he moved through the corridor of the mall,his search seemed to be going nowhere. He wanted something special for Kaneki, something that would make their first Christmas together memorable.
He paused in front of the jewelry store, scanning what he could see of the cases. He pulled the door open and stepped inside.
"Welcome, how can I help you today?" A young woman asked from behind the counter.
"I'm looking for something... Special." He said. The woman smiled.
"I see, you're welcome to look around, I can help you with any questions you have or if you'd like to see anything."
"Thanks." He replied,turning his attention to the rings. He searched the display carefully, but frowned.
not one of these is right. He thought, though the gold and silver bands were beautiful, Hide couldn't help but feel that he needed something more.
He turned to the woman, but before he could speak, the door opened and he was met with a familiar sight.
The tall,dark haired man stepped in, giving a nod of acknowledgment to the employee and walking toward Hide.
"Hey,Amon." The young man greeted.
"Didn't expect to see you here." Amon said,Hide sighed.
"I could say the same about you. Especially here in the ring section."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The older man asked,Hide shrugged.
"You just don't seem like the type. I thought you were married to your job."
"If we were on the clock-"
"We'd both be in trouble, wouldn't' we?" Amon simply shook his head.
"Didn't bring eyepatch?"
"Kaneki. No I didn't, I'm trying to find his gift."
"Here?"
"It's time. He was willing to die for me. Thinking back...it was always me and him, he's the one person I can't live without. I don't know how to describe the way it feels, he's a treasure worth more to me than anything and I came too close to losing him too many times, I can't let the chance slip away from me, he's too precious to me." Amon nodded.
"I get that."He said. Thoughts of Akira filling his head.
"So...you're getting one for-"
"Yeah." He said shortly.
"Good. Good for you."
"I just need to find the right one."
"They've got some nice ones here. I haven't come across the perfect one either." Silence past between them.
"Excuse me," Hide called out.
The woman turned to him.
"Yes,sir?"
"Do you happen to have anything behind the counter we could look at?"
"We do, yes." She turned from them,disappearing from view.
Hide tapped his fingers on the glass,earning an annoyed glare from his boss.
"Can you stop that?" Amon requested. Hide complied.
"Sorry. So...what are your holiday plans?"
"Not much. Akira just wants to spend a quiet evening at her place. We don't have much family."
"That's cool, We're just going to have a couple friends over,Kaneki wants to have a tree. He's out looking at them."
"Sorry it took so long." The young woman said, carrying a tray with various rings. Instantly, Hide's eyes lit up.
"Can I see that one?" He pointed to a silver colored band, in the center, a ring of blue,green material ran the length of the object.
"This one is a rare piece, its tungsten, and the blue green is opal. They're very durable and-"
"He'll love this, I'll take it.' Hide said excitedly, reaching for his card.
" that was a quick decision, how can you-"The older man began.
"Sky blue and this shade of green are his favorite colors. I just... Feel it,he's going to love it.'" Amon shook his head.
"And here I am putting all this thought into it." He scoffed.
"When you see it,you'll know." Hide said taking the small bag and thanking the woman. Hide turned back to Amon.
"Sorry I can't stay and talk, I have another store to get to, good luck and Merry Christmas." He grinned, exiting the store.
"Yeah," Amon sighed. "You too."
The sun was setting as Hide reached the house he shared with Kaneki. He pushed open the door and was met with the smell of fresh coffee. He made his way to the living room, smiling at the sound of Christmas music and soft voices coming from inside.
Hide stopped in the doorway, his eyes resting on the Christmas tree that stood in the corner. The green branches seemed to have artificial snow in various places.
"Do you like it?" Kaneki asked,standing to greet him.
"It's awesome, I thought you didn't like the-"
"Honestly, I'm not fond of the all white trees, I like it to look as real as possible, so I found a compromise."
"We went to like five different stores." Touka pointed out."I told him he should just pick one, then Yoriko had to have one."
"I can't help it if they're cute." Yoriko retorted.
"I thought we could get together tomorrow and look at ornaments."
"That sounds great, I actually saw one at the store, I thought it would be good start." Hide reached into his bag,pulling out a single red drum which hung from a golden thread.
Touka and Yoriko exchanged confused glances.
"You know how much I like music, and don't you remember that time we tried to learn when we were kids, that was an awesome time. I thought we could put it on together." Kaneki reached out taking hold of the other side of the tread.
"You know I only did that because you asked me to." Kaneki pointed out. Hide kissed him softly.
"I know. Thanks." He said pulling the white haired ghoul closer.
Yoriko leaned against Touka with a sigh.
" we should get something special for our tree." She suggested.
"Anything you want,Yoriko, as long as you're happy."