Chapter Text
"Kaneki, do you want to go to Big Girl after this?" Hide asked, voice low so that he wouldn't disturb their teacher, a small grin spread across his cheerful face, eyes lit with the ever-present excitement. Kaneki turned to face him, skilfully managing to take notes as the teacher spoke, and regarded Hide with a thoughtful expression.
He supposed that they could go, Kaneki didn't have any more lectures that day to attend after Asian History and it wasn't like he had any chores to do at home (unlike Hide, he kept his apartment clean). Though he was sceptical, very sceptical, since-
"Last time you tricked me into paying for us both." He accused, and Hide grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and chuckling. He sighed, shaking his head and turning to face the front of the class. "I'll go if you treat me."
"EHH? Kaneki, don't be like that!" Hide whined and the teacher stopped, giving him a hard glare. He sulked, sliding down behind the desk and trying his best to shrink away from the teachers angry stare. After he returned to his passionate history lecture, Hide nodded his head, agreeing, though not too happy about it. "Fine, but only this time!"
For the rest of the class, they listened to their teacher, taking notes and ignoring his burning (scary) passion for the subject he was teaching. "Oh, look at the time! This will be it for today. Make sure to research about the topic we went through today, got it?" A chorus of replies could be heard as Kaneki packed his bag and when he turned to tell Hide he was ready, the other was already running out the door.
"H-Hide..." Kaneki grumbled, throwing the trap of his bag over his shoulder and following his best friend, though not as rushed as the other clearly was. It wasn't like Big Girl would be closing soon, anyway. They had practically all day, considering it was still early afternoon.
"Kaneki, hurry up!" Hide called from down the corridor, standing by the stairs and when the dark haired boy was halfway there, Hide went ahead and vanished from his sight. Not surprising. He really loves the hamburgers there, Kaneki thinks, smiling softly. Though, they did have both, the delicious hamburgers and cute waitresses. So, Kaneki did see why Hide wanted to get there as quickly as humanly possible. If only he had the endless energy his best frie-
"Huh?" Kaneki gasped, suddenly losing his footing and tipping head-first down the flight of stairs. He could hear gasps around him, too, and everything felt like slow motion. He could see the can he stepped on, tripped (slipped, maybe) on, rolling down the stairs, a few students trying to grab him, anywhere, to stop his fall. Why was there a can littering the floor in the first place?
And then everything happens so quickly. He covers his face with his arms, bracing himself for the meeting with the stairs and floor. The grabby hands others made at him, not quite reaching and after a few painful roll overs down the sharp stairs digging into his back, he came to a halt at their bottom. He groaned, sitting up and holding his aching head. "Oh my, are you okay?" A concerned student asked, crouching in front of a him and a small crowd of onlookers and students from the floor he fell from, made a circle around him.
He laughed nervously, scratching his chin and looking to the side. "Y-yeah. Just tripped over something, not a big deal, really!" he assured, though the girl looked unsure of his words, looking around the crowd.
"Are you sure? It looked like quite a painful fall." Someone else commented and he just nodded.
"Do you need any help going to the infirmary or..."She let the end of the sentence trail off and he quickly shook his head, waving his arms frantically.
"It's fine, really." He insisted. "Please just go ahead, just a few bruises won't hurt me, it's nothing serious." She pursed her lips, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and chewing on her lip. The crowd around them dissipating into a few lingering people that didn't have classes to attend. She opened her mouth, about to speak -
"Kaneki! What was that huge cro- re you okay?!" Hide was running from the entrance, shouting until he noticed that Kaneki was sitting on the ground. He came to a screeching halt by his best friend and crouched down, turning to the girl, her eyes still startled, blown wide by Hide's sudden appearance. "What happened to him?"
"Hide, I'm right here and I can ans-"
"He fell down the stairs. I suggested taking him to the medical wing so he can get himself checked over, but he insists it's just a few bruises." She answered, then blinked. "But I have a friend who majors in the medical department, so maybe he can have a look? You could have a fractured bone and not even know it!" Kanki sighed.
"Hm! Kaneki, you are such a klutz! You shouldn't fall down the stairs like that! Wah-ha-ha!" Hide laughed, slapping Kaneki's back.
"H-Hide, stop it..." Kaneki muttered, swatting the offending hand away. "And I'm honestly fine, so please don't bother yourself with me."
The girl sighed, standing up and dusting off her skirt. "Fine, but be sure to check it out if something starts hurting, okay?" He nodded and she walked away, glancing back only once before making a turn.
He sighed, shaking his head and standing up while saying, "Let's just get to Big Girl. I'm star- Ouch!" Sharp pain flared in his right ankle when he stood on it and he lost his balance.
"Ha! She was right! You are totally not okay!" Hide accused, helping Kaneki regain his balance by throwing his arm around his waist, to support his weight. "You probably just twisted your ankle, so nothing too bad, right?"
"Yeah, I'll deal with it later. I can more or less walk so let's get to Big Girl. What." Kaneki said, not asked, seeing the flat look his best friend was giving him. "Can you stop staring at me like this? It's not nice."
Hide turned his back to Kaneki, squatting. "Get on."
"Excuse me?" Kaneki made a noise of disbelief, cheeks flaring up when a few people turned to look their way, eyes curious.
"Just get on. You twisted your ankle so wakling to Big Girl will take forever and we're both hungry! So just get on and stop complaining. Like this it also won't hurt you to walk, right?" Hide was grinning and Kaneki was still unsure. It felt a little bit odd.
"That's not.. normal for two guys." He decides to use as an excuse ( a weak excuse, he thinks). He knew Hide would brush it off as something totally normal.
"Oh, just get on!" Hide says, giving his best impression of being angry, and failing.
"Fine, fine." Kaneki mutters, his hands coming loosely around Hide's neck and he could feel Hide's hand dig into his thighs to keep him in place. They started walking, or rather, Hide started walking and a few girls commented on how adorable they were. Kaneki blushed and Hide just kept grinning.
"You know, that girl..." Hide said. "She was pretty cute, Kaneki, you lucky bastard. Thank her next time you see her on campus."
"Oh, r-right." He says and then he thinks. She really was cute, but he didn't bother paying much attention to her. Frowning he says, "But Hide, why did you decide to give me a piggyback ride. We're basically adults."
"Wah-ha-ha! Adults-what-adults! We're young adults, bordering teenagers, since we only finished high school a couple of months back. Besides, piggy backs aren't only for kids and teens, you know. Anyway. you are awfully light. Gain some weight, it's unhealthy. How much do you even weight?"
Kaneki pouted. "55kgs."
"See! My point exactly. You are so fragile~ Now time to eat!" He grins, walking a bit faster.
Kaneki burrowed his face in the crook of Hide's neck feeling and seeing all the stares that were set on them.
Never again is Hide carrying me.