A month goes by, and Ken almost feels human again. He gets used to intimate moments, hands on his body, being stretched apart and laidbare and open. It was embarrassing, he'd admit, that first day back at work after losing his virginity where he smelled too thickly of his human and walked with the slightest limp. His friends knew, he knew that they knew, and it was only confirmed when Koma had unabashedly asked "how was the dick appointment?" It was laughed off after the ghouls basked in his humiliation long enough, and they didn't ask any more questions.
They asked no more questions then, nor the nights since then he left from work to return with bruises on his neck and smelling like Hide's pine and citrus shampoo. It was for the best, he thought, heaven forbid they find out how little he knew what he was doing. He'd always made a point of keeping his sex life limited to Hide's place, he couldn't trust himself not to make obscene sounds and couldn't bear to go through another talk like the one with Koma. This aspect of his life and his relationship with his partner was new and exciting, and as far as he knew, he'd never have to deal with the embarrassment of addressing it with his friends again.
Unfortunately, there's another fun little aspect of ghoulhood he wasn't aware of.
Kaneki knocked on Hinami's door, a cup of coffee in hand. He's already dressed for work, but his shift isn't for another half hour. It was a routine they found pleasant, he would make sure she's awake by seven on weekdays, give her some coffee and talk to her about whichever book she's reading. Both enjoyed those little sessions that grounded them, for a little while each morning, they could just relax and be a family.
Which was why it was strange that she wasn't answering, and that there was an odd smell seeping out from beneath the door.
"Hinimi?" The half ghoul called.
"Hini? Are you still asleep?"
There's a pause before the answer.
"No… can you get Touka? Or Irimi?" The voice came strained, worry in the tone. Ken furrowed his eyebrows.
"Is something wrong?"
"Maybe, um, please go get them," Hinami insists, panic rising in her voice. The half ghoul flinched and considered his options, but as he realized he didn't know what was going on, it was clear that it was best to do as she says.
"O-okay," the brunette concedes as he begins walking quickly away. He put the coffee down on a table before he arrived at touka's room, deciding that it was important enough to disturb her over. He shifted his legs and braced himself to be yelled at as he knocked urgently.
"What?" Demanded a terse voice from the other side. Ken swallowed, apparently he had taken too long as she spoke again.
"Why the fuck are you waking me up so early? Do you have a reason? Preferably a good one so I don't eat your knees"
"Hinami…" he searches for a way to phrase it that won't make her angry for disturbing her. "Hinami said to come get you or Irimi, she wouldn't tell me what's wrong but something smelled off by her room. Do you know what's going on?"
Oddly, she didn't respond as angrily as he thought she would, more concern than annoyance in her voice.
"What did it smell like?"
"Uh, sort of like lavender. And orange. Well at least how oranges used to smell before I turned into-"
The door burst open before he could finish, forcing him to step back. Out came Touka, hastily dressed in a baggy t-shirt and some old jeans with a rip over the knees.
"Shit, it's happening, stay calm!" She commanded as she sped towards hinami's room, the half-ghoul following sheepishly behind.
"Wh-what?"
"I said stay fucking calm!" The purple haired woman arrived at the room, sniffing at the air, then going stock-still before saying anything.
"Her heat started, go tell Irimi to get the car."
"What do you mean? Heat? Like with animals?"
"Oh my god, stop acting like an idiot and go!" She shoved him towards the stairs, and he could only do as she said since it was clear he didn't know what was going on. As he descended down to the cafe, he tried to contain his rising anxiety. Heat? What did she mean? Was Hinami sick? What did that smell have to do with this? He enters the cafe and looks around, searching for Irimi. The woman is setting up chairs around the tables while Yoshimura is prepping the coffee making station. They both look to him, some concern showing on his manager's face, normally when Ken looked this afraid it was from dangerous encounters or panic attacks.
"Good morning Kaneki. Are you alright?" The old man asks calmly, careful with his approach in case the boy was unwell.
"Yes. No. maybe?" The eyepatched man began. "Irimi! Touka told me to come get you. There's something wrong with Hinami and she said 'her heat started' and whatever it is it sounds bad! They need a car, do you have a car? It sounded like-!"
Irimi smiled softly, pushing the last chair in before putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Our girl's growing up. I'll pull the car around. Mr. Yoshimura?"
"Kaneki can cover for you." The man assured her.
"Sir? Do you know what's happening?"
The old man set down what he was working on and went to start setting up their outdated register.
"This is Hinami's first heat, I understand that it's stressful but there's no need to panic."
"What does everyone mean by heat? Is she sick?"
There's a pause. The older man's brow furrows. Irimi looks between the two as she realizes.
"Have you not told him?" She asks their manager.
"Told me what?" The half ghoul asks, cocking his head a bit in confusion.
"Has no one told him?"
Yoshimura looks almost embarrassed, clearing his throat.
"I... forgot."
He looked up from the rundown register.
"Irimi, go drive the young ladies to the hotel. Take as long as you need."
The woman does as instructed, waving as she went outside to get her car ready for its passengers. The old man beckons Kaneki closer, hesitantly, he goes behind the counter with him.
"Sir?"
"Everything is alright," he assured him in a gentle tone.
"What Hinami is going through is natural, Touka and Irimi are taking her somewhere where she can wait it out. As for you, I apologize, I have failed to prepare you for another aspect of life as a ghoul. It's an awkward conversation, but you'll need to know so after work we will have a talk."
It was an unusual reaction, but the assurance of a future 'talk' made him nervous.
"Is… did I do something wrong?" He questioned. His manager seemed puzzled, but then shook his head.
"No, young man, not at all. You're not in any trouble." He consoles.
"All it is is that I assumed you understood something there's no way you would have known, or more accurately overlooked the circumstances of your transformation, and didn't cue you in on a lesser known aspect of ghoul biology."
Ken nods, glad to hear that he wasn't in any trouble but still unnerved by the ambiguity of what exactly it is that he didn't know.
"Anteiku is opening soon, so we can't talk now," Yoshimura continues. "And it may even be wise to have Nagachika listen in. Could you contact him?"
"Yes sir, what should I tell him?"
"Tell him that there's something about ghouls he'll need to know. It's alright if he's busy, but sooner or later he'll need information about it as it could affect him and I'll be able to explain better than you can."
The half-ghoul did as he was told, taking out his phone to send Hide a text.
K: Hey hide, are you free later? Mr. Yoshimura needs to tell me about a ghoul thing and says you should be there too
A few moments, then the three dots appear.
H: sure! I have class until 4 but after that I'm free all day! What's he telling us?
K: I do not know, I'll see you there.
H: ooooo ominous!
The eyepatched man smiled at the screen before turning it off and placing it back in his pocket.
"He'll be able to come."
"I am inviting Nishiki as well, if you don't mind."
"Not at all, but can I ask why?"
"He is also in a relationship with a human, since I have not been in quite some time, he'll likely have some advice if you want it." The older man informed. Beside them, the door to the upstairs opens. Touka walks urgently through the cafe with a blanketed bundle in her arms. It was Hinami, completely limp in the blankets and filling the room with that orange and lavender smell. Yoshimura went ahead to open the front door for the woman, who sped through it to the car parked outside. Kaneki watched as Irimi appeared around it to help her place the bundled girl in the back seat, then close the door and get in the drivers seat. The motions are hurried, even from inside the cafe he could see that both of his coworkers seemed anxious as they got into the vehicle and drove off. He couldn't linger on it though, because his manager continues.
"She's going to be alright, really there is no reason to worry. Oh, would you look at the time?"
The half ghoul looks up to the clock. Opening time already, has it really been half an hour?
"We'll continue this conversation after work, but our loyal patrons are expecting to get their coffee on time, so can you man the counter for me?"
"Yes sir," he takes his spot at the register as his manager slips by him to retrieve the little folding sign to put outside. Time for work, whatever confusing, weird, ghoul bullshit is going on will be addressed when work is over. Until then, he would focus on doing his job. That doesn't mean he can't worry though, because Hinami looked out of it, and whatever is going on, no one seems to want to talk about it.
—
"It's going to be fine, alright? If it was able to wait until your shift was done then it's probably not that bad," Hide insisted. The human had only just arrived at the apartment above the cafe, and already he could tell that his boyfriend was anxious. Kaneki was still in his uniform since he'd just gotten out of work, and had now taken to pacing about the living room until Yoshimura could come up.
"But it might not be," the nervous man argues.
"You didn't see Hinami, or how freaked out Touka looked, and I thought I knew all the important things about ghouls but if I didn't know about that than its probably way worse than I know!"
"Ken, babe, sit down," Hide requested. The half ghoul reluctantly plops down on the couch next to him, and leans against him. The blonde gives him a peck on the forehead.
"It's going to be fine, it's probably just a cultural thing."
"I hope so."
The couple sits together for a few more minutes before the door opens, in walking Yoshimura, followed closely by Nishio. The brunette was surprised that he came, especially considering the short notice. Nishiki sat cross legged on a chair, placing a plastic bag on the ground next to him, its meager contents making the tiniest clink, then looking at the two boys on the couch.
"Fuck, let's get this over with," he sighed. The old man sits in the chair closest to the window, his calm demeanor unchanged.
"Hello, Hide, I'm glad you could make it. Thank you for coming," he greets.
"No problem," the blonde responds. Ken sits up at attention so as not to seem uninterested in the conversation. He notices that Nishiki is leaning in his elbow and looking away from them, and Yoshimura seems the slightest bit rigid as well.
"Kaneki, thank you for your patience, I apologize for not having this conversation much earlier."
The half-ghoul nods.
"So how much do you understand about this topic?" The old man questions.
"Only what I saw today, touka looking worried, and that I'm supposed to know what's going on by now." He admits.
"Oh dear…" Yoshimura takes a deep breath.
"Well there is no pleasant way to put this so I will be blunt, it has to do with reproductive cycles."
It takes a moment for that to sink in, but when it does, Ken's eyes go wide and his face flushes red. On no oh god oh no! This is a sex thing? Oh no this is a sex talk! He is not about to get a sex talk from this sweet old man! As he melts in embarrassment at the situation he finds himself in, He can hear Hide stifling giggles next to him. He shoots him a glare but the blonde can only attempt a plea through amusement.
"I'm sorry man, I was expecting something bad but it's ghoul puberty!" He wheezed.
"Oh my god," Ken whimpers, burying his face in his hands. This is humiliating. He swears he hears Nishiki snicker along with his boyfriend's giggling, but they're quieted by Yoshimura.
"Settle down boys, come on, this is serious," he gestured for them to keep the noise down.
"Now, since this is quite new to you, I'll start at the basics. Around twelve or thirteen, just a little while after puberty starts, the heat cycle begins. What you saw this morning was Hinami's first heat."
Kaneki looks up from his hands, intrigued by assurance that what was going on with her was normal.
"If it's normal, then why did she and Touka seem so… afraid?"
"It's normal for the first one to be scary, it's draining, it comes unexpectedly and often symptoms can be mistaken for sickness. Nishio, I believe you told me that during your first heat you crawled into the river thinking you needed to cool a fever."
"I told you that in private," he hissed indignantly, making it even more difficult for Hide not to crack up again.
"Anyway, it's shocking when it starts, but once one has had a few they become routine. They happen twice a year almost exactly six months apart. As for Touka, her fears are to be expected as the last person she's helped through a first heat was her brother, and well… you've met him."
Ken shudders, it's hard to imagine him being cared for. His manager goes on.
"Though it is indeed a difficult time for her, Hinami is completely safe and going through a normal part of a young ghoul's life."
That's good to hear. Just growing up, she's just growing up, not sick or hurt. It was awkward, but he was glad to know what was happening.
"Thank you for telling me sir," Ken starts to stand up but is stopped.
"We aren't done yet," the old man tells him. The half-ghoul feels that anxiety return, but he sits back into the couch.
"There is much more to talk about, specifically, how this will affect you."
Oh.
No.
"You've been a ghoul for nearly six months, and the ghoul whose organs you were given was an adult, so yours is going to come any minute now. You need to be prepared."
The brunette looks at him wide eyed, but next to him, Hideyoshi seems to grow more serious.
"Is that why you wanted me here sir?" He inquires.
"Precisely, in the end what you do with this information is between you, but first I need to let you both know what to expect. Now Kaneki, are you ready or do you need a moment?"
"Im fine, this is fine, I'm ready," he insists, but his quavering voice denoted more anxiety than he'd admit. Yoshimura simply nods and continues, better to just say all there is to be said
"Heats effect everyone a bit differently, but overall they're the same. You'll feel hot, hence the name, as well as a bit fuzzy in the head, and of course more excited."
Hearing that from him made Kaneki want to cry but theres not comfortable way to get a sex talk at 19 from your boss now is there?
"Females get more aggressive, but males get very weak, to the point of having difficulty walking unaided. Things like muscle aches, abdominal cramps, and an increased sense of smell happen to everyone, but differ from person to person. Since you're in a relationship with a man who is...I'm presuming you're biologically male?"
"Yeah that's right."
"Yes, since you're in a relationship with a cis man you don't have to worry about pregnancy. With straight couples, heats would eventually sinc and they would become capable of having children, but that's a conversation for another time. What's important now, is discussing your options and making a plan."
"A… plan?"
"Yes. It's the norm for ghouls to have agreements and arrangements for their heats."
"What sort of things are planned? Like stocking up on meat and stuff?" Hide chimes in. Nishiki looks at him weirdly, clearly not expecting the human to be so relaxed in referring to the corpses of his own kind as "meat".
"They do include that, going through these periods is much more unpleasant when hungry, but there's much more. For one, there's the decision of where to spend it. Has anyone mentioned the hotel to you Kaneki?"
"Um, no, which hotel?" He asks.
"One in the sixth ward, it allows humans, but it's main function is providing a protected space where ghouls can spend their heats safely. The staff is all ghoul, so they understand the etiquette and don't ask too many questions. That's where Hinami was taken, and I'd recommend you stay there for your first one as well, it'll be more comfortable having that privacy"
"Okay," Ken agrees.
"Something you'll find is that you'll produce a lot of pheromones when it starts," Yoshimura warns. "There's no way to stop it and it will attract other ghouls. Most will ignore it but there's always a few disgusting ones who will attempt to take advantage of people in heat, so the front desk people won't let anyone up to your room who you haven't told them are safe. When you get the time, please write out a list of people who you'd be comfortable having visit you."
"I'm.. I'm okay with anyone from anteiku to visit me."
"I'm flattered, but know that it's completely fine to not want friends to visit if you don't want them too."
"I'm really okay with it."
"Alright, but keep in mind that you can always change your plan."
Kaneki nods, and the old man sits back.
"Now for the uncomfortable part."
"This is the uncomfortable part? It hasn't started yet?"
His boss chuckles.
"Part of planning includes sex and consent."
Once again, the half-ghoul goes red.
"Isn't that something that's just um, just between me and Hide? We can figure that out when… it happens."
"I'm afraid it needs to be discussed beforehand, because a ghoul in heat is not completely able to give consent."
Hideyoshi sits upright, and looks to his boyfriend, who is clearly even more nervous than before.
"What do you mean?" The half-ghoul asks.
"Hormones, heat exhaustion, and instincts are overpowering. It's a sort of natural inebriation, and during it, one simply can not give consent. Any sexual activity needs to be agreed on well before it's initiated otherwise it's questionable whether or not the one in heat would have agreed if sober." He informs as professionally as possible.
"But if it were up to me, I would have you wait."
Nishiki rolls his eyes, but Yoshimura defends his statement.
"When people's heat cycles start, they're too young to have sex so they have a few years to get used to them before spending them with a partner. You on the other hand…."
Kaneki shifts in his seat, he knew what he was about to say.
"You were a human then. You've never had a heat before, so you don't know how it will affect you or how your body will react to stimuli. In addition to this, it will be dangerous for Nagachika since aggressive instincts can not be stifled during these periods. It's not too much of a problem with other ghouls, but can be fatal with humans."
The half-ghoul jolts at that. Fatal? Could he kill Hide? He looks to his boyfriend for a reaction, but he seems much more calm about all of this, placing a hand on Ken's and squeezing a bit to reassure him. Unexpectedly, Nishiki chimes in.
"Oh come on Web MD, don't freak them out over nothing," he chides his boss before turning back to the two boys on the couch.
"Look if you want to fuck, just do it. Yeah, at some point your monster brain is gonna take over and try to bite a bunch chunks out of him, but there's things for that."
"Chunks?"
"Not if you plan it right. Old Man Abstinence here may think it's a bad idea but I've spent two heats with Kimi and she's fine."
"But… you did bite a chunk out of her," Kaneki points out.
"That was a different thing. Trust me, heats fucking suck but dealing with them alone is way worse"
Yoshimura sighs.
"That's one thing we don't agree on, but I respect his decisions and will respect yours. As long as you are being safe and respecting one another."
"Hell yeah I'm respectful as shit!" Hide exclaims while his boyfriend is still quiet as he contemplates. If he decides not to have sex, he can have time to figure out how he feels about the experience without the extra factor, but potentially have it be worse. If he decides to have sex, he'll have the company, the intimacy, and the relief, but could be putting himself and his boyfriend in danger. Yoshimura stands up and puts his hands together.
"You two don't have to make a decision right away, but don't put it off. Whatever you choose, we're behind you," he assures them.
"Do you have any questions?"
"When it happens, how can I help out? Is there anything I should grab or should I just yeet Ken in an Uber and bring him to the hotel?" Hideyoshi asked. The older man smiled a bit at his eagerness to help. As he begins explaining to him what to pack and how to keep his boyfriend safe, Nishiki stands up and grabs the plastic bag he brought with him.
"Twink, over here," he demanded. Said twink was still shaken up enough that he didn't hesitate to obey. Once he was closer to the ghoul, he noticed the bag.
"Yes?"
"I'm gonna give you something and then we're never going to talk about it again."
"What?"
The full ghoul huffed.
"I told you there were things to deal with the instincts, so if you're going to fuck your boyfriend through your heat, you'll need it. But you better fucking promise that we never talk about this."
"...Your friendship is really threatening but thank you, yeah we don't need to talk about whatever this is."
Immediately, Nishiki shoves the bag into his chest. Ken grabs it, and the other man starts walking quickly away. The half ghoul peeks inside for a second, then quickly gripped it closed, blushing at the contents.
"Nishio!"
"This never happened!" He shouted back as he descended the stairs out of sight. The brunette is left standing there, dumbfounded, holding his gift.
A muzzle.
He takes a breath and looks in the bag again. Black leather straps, a leather guard where it rests on the face, and metal bars that make up the guard. The thing is daunting, that's some real kink material, and Ken never thought of himself as particularly adventurous, but It would certainly keep him from biting.
And he doesn't hate the idea of Hide putting this on him.
Kaneki twists the bag closed and tied the opening in a knot to ensure the muzzle stays hidden until it comes time to use it. This embarrassing assurance of safety, the information he'd been given, and just watching his boyfriend talk to Yoshimura about every possible way he can support him, made his decision. He trusted Hide completely, and he wanted to be taken care of
Sex it is.
