Work Text:
Ow.
Kaneki hissed, gripping his side. Blood seeped through his fingers. He hadn’t eaten in weeks, and it drained his energy. He pitched himself sideways to avoid the next swing of the kagune, landing hard. He held his breath as he removed his hand from the gaping wound at his side and stood up. Kaneki clenched his teeth, trying to convince himself he wasn’t exhausted. He charged forward, though his kagune was ready to brace than to attack. As a tail the color of midnight spiraled towards him, he outstretched his own blood red arm, praying it would cleanly block the attack.
He hadn’t prayed enough. The enemy’s kagune was far too tough to manipulate, and Kaneki was sent flying. He couldn’t keep this up. Every moment he found it harder to regenerate. He had to escape.
Kaneki pulled himself off the ground and sprinted in the opposite direction, trying to manage the pain digging at his side. He could sense the offending kagune reaching after him like a ghostly bullet and forced himself to focus on the path ahead, knowing his pace would slow if he glanced back. Winding around a corner, something dark flashed in the corner of his eye. Did something just pass him? He realized the chasing footfalls had stopped and hesitantly peeked over his shoulder.
Someone had rushed around the corner, wearing a black hoodie that camouflaged him with the darkness. Within seconds, the ghoul blocked the person’s path, and it frightened Kaneki to see him raise only his arms to guard his torso. He’s not a ghoul? He didn't have the best view, but he could tell the person was trembling.
Kaneki raced back, ignoring the lactic acid building in his legs. He forced all of his concentration into regenerating his kagune and throwing the four arms towards the human. If he was going to run from this fight, he wouldn’t let another person be finished off in his place. He shielded the human for the split second that it took for the enemy’s kagune to shoot out towards him. As soon as the tail made contact with Kaneki’s shield, three of the arms shattered. Kaneki felt a pit form in his stomach as his gaze fixed onto a disturbing smirk. With his actual arms, he grabbed the human from the side and lifted him swiftly over his shoulder. He leapt up onto an awning and pushed off, praying his legs wouldn’t fail him as he crossed gaps between rooftops.
When he felt his side pulsing with his heartbeat and a soreness spreading throughout his body, he finally slowed. The clang from his shoes making contact with the metal garbage bin below caused him to wince, but it appeared he had long since lost the ghoul. Adrenaline stopped coursing through his blood, and the sudden change in energy left him stumbling as he stepped down to the sidewalk. Kaneki released the person from his tight hold, too worn out to keep him up. Too tired to do anything, really. Oh, no. He couldn’t pass out here! He needed to get back to Anteiku. He needed to alert Yoshimura of the ghoul who attacked him. He needed to get this person to safety. He needed to...rest…
Kaneki’s knees buckled. He gazed up at the human in a haze. The human...had a lock of strikingly familiar dirty blonde hair peeking out from under the hood. Slipping out of consciousness, Kaneki barely registered how the figure knelt on the asphalt in front of him. His eyes slid closed, and as he fell forward, his face met soft cloth.
Coffee. Kaneki smelled its rich scent as soon as he awoke. He found himself nestled into a warm, fluffy quilt that smelled like fresh laundry and smiled lightly in comfort.
Wait. Waking up to the smell of coffee in the most comfortable place in the world? Someone must have found him and carried him to Anteiku! He hoped it wasn’t Touka; that would be pretty embarrassing. Kaneki propped himself up on his elbow.
And took a sharp inhale.
Maybe he was still dreaming. There was no way Hideyoshi Nagachika was sitting on the floor next to him, fast asleep, face buried in his arms on the bed. Kaneki stared at Hide’s messy blond hair that stuck out in every direction for what felt like about half an hour before he decided to silently peel back the covers and slip off the other side of the bed, ready to dash from the room.
He didn’t get far. He stifled a cry as he painfully remembered the gash in his side, tripping over himself and hitting the wooden floor with a thump. As he laid there to mentally compose himself, he heard movement from the other side of the bed. Crap! At a loss for what to do, Kaneki froze in place. He felt himself grow cold, tensing up as Hide crawled around the bed and unconsciously coiling inwards as Hide reached for him. Seeing Kaneki’s unease, the blond hesitated. Hide’s expression was laced with concern and a hint of sleepiness, but...
...He’s not afraid?
Cautiously, as if he would shatter under Hide’s stare, Kaneki shifted to sit on his heels. Mouth dry from fear and guilt and a few other uncomfortable emotions, he dropped his head to focus on a knot in the wooden plank in front of his knees. Hide slowly brought his hand to Kaneki’s chin. His gentle touch relieved the tension in the air, and Kaneki felt himself melt from the contact. His eyes began to water as he raised them to his closest friend, whom he desperately wanted to tell him that everything would be okay. He waited for Hide to speak first, afraid the tears would fall if he opened his mouth.
“Hi, Kaneki.”
His soft words were so simple, but they meant so much. Hide smiled when he saw the corners of Kaneki’s lips tug upwards.
“You’re really light, you know that?”
Did that mean--? Kaneki began to respond, softly coughing to clear his throat when he found his voice raspy and wavering.
“You carried me here?”
“I wasn’t going to leave you.”
“What were you doing back there?”
Hide paused, calculating his response.
“Following you,” he reluctantly admitted.
“Did you...know?”
“That you can regenerate your arms like an octopus? Yeah, I figured it out.”
An octopus? Kaneki couldn't hold back a grin.
“Hide!”
His friend chuckled.
“But seriously, Kaneki, are you eating properly?”
A silence followed. How can he ask that so casually?
“I can't do that. I can’t eat something like that, Hide.”
Tears reached the corners of his eyes again, a wave of nausea passing over him as he thought of consuming human flesh.
“ I can't ,” he repeated, choking back tears this time. “Hide...aren’t you afraid?”
He asked it so quietly that he could barely even hear himself.
Hide pulled him into his arms. Kaneki twisted his hands into the front of his sweatshirt, but he forced his face to keep distance from Hide’s shoulder.
“You’re exhausted, Kaneki. I don't want you to hurt yourself. Eat for me...okay?”
Kaneki couldn’t reject his warm words, and he told himself then that he would at least try for Hide if not for his own health.
“And Kaneki?”
The half ghoul held his breath.
“I could never be afraid of you.”
The words reverberated in Kaneki’s mind. He exhaled, letting himself bury his face into Hide’s shoulder, soaking the soft material of his sweatshirt. He clung to him, afraid that if he let him go now, he would never hold him again.
“Okay, Hide.”
As he came to understand Hide was there for him no matter what, he smiled against his shoulder. And as he did, he felt his best friend pull him even closer.