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“Are you telling me ghouls can get drunk on blood ?”
“Bien sûr !” You answered as you sat down, gazing playfully at Kaneki inspecting the bottle full of blood. “At a certain pressure, blood of type O can-”
“Yeah, whatever, the result's the same. I'm not drinking that.” Putting the glass bottle on the table, he looked away, awkwardly standing. “What were you thinking anyway ? Planning to eat me while I wouldn't be able to defend myself ?”
This time, he was staring at you with tired eyes. It had been weeks since he looked so soulless. Sometimes he would lock himself up in his room and not even talk to anybody – not even Hinami. Even if your desire to eat him was still strong, you felt different about him. Something has changed but you couldn't tell what. Were you caring about him ? Of course, taking care of your meal was the right thing to do. Right ? It pitied you to see him in such a state, so you decided to come over for the new year's eve, bringing a little something to cheer him up. Actually, you even asked Banjou if it was okay for you three to get a bit drunk this particular evening, and he surprisingly agreed. Hearing your explanation, he said it was quite a logical thing to do. Well, you didn't really care about his opinion but since he was Kaneki's “shield”, not talking to him about what you planned to do wouldn't have been a very smart move. As for the three masked others, they were all out partying on their own and Hinami, at this hour, was obviously already asleep.
“A-Actually,” Banjou stuttered, “I thought this was a good idea as well. You look really pale and getting a bit drunk would maybe, I don't know, cheer you up ?” He paused, staring at Kaneki's uncertain eyes. “Tsukiyama-san won't attack since i'm protecting you, I'm your shield after all ! Plus, I don't get easily drunk.” He crossed his arms, sure of himself.
“I guess you're right about the protection part, I can count on you. But, this is human blood, right ?”
Both you and Banjou awkwardly looked away. Of course it was human blood. Ghouls' blood was disgusting and getting drunk on it was technically impossible, even if it was O typed. You tried finding words to explain but it ended up in a sigh. You already knew what Kaneki would say. And he already had his answer.
“Fine.” Kaneki sat down and began opening the bottle. More like trying to open it, actually. You glared at Banjou and he was as confused as you. Before any of you two could ask, Kaneki added, still focused on the bottle : “That person is already dead. What can I do ? Nothing. I'll probably end up eating one of my kind in my life anyway. Can't escape it.”
“...Hum, mon cher, I think you need a cork-screw. Don't worry, I brought one.” You took the bottle and started to properly opening it.
Kaneki, realizing how stupid he must had looked, blushed a bit and looked away. “Ah yes...Sorry, I'm a bit tired.”
“That's what I was saying !” Banjou declared.
You tried not to look at him with a contemptuous look ; it was really unnecessary to add this especially since the main idea came from you. Anyway, you couldn't help but find Kaneki cute, you've rarely seen him blushing. The last time you saw him like this was during your date, before you betrayed him. You regretted all of that, you wanted him to trust you again and that's exactly why you were here ! Gaining his trust meant having more chances to eat him while he'd be weak. Right ? But, he was weak right now. You almost froze. You could totally kill that Banjou right now and then eat Kaneki or, like he said, wait for him to get drunk and do whatever you wanted with him.
But you really didn't feel like it, and you wondered why. The later the better, you guessed. You weren't sure anymore. When you saw that adorable face of his, all you wanted to do was to protect him.
“Tsukiyama-san ?”
“Ah ? Ah yes, of course.” You were spacing out a bit and forgot to fill their glasses.
After it, you sat down and suddenly realized how depressing Kaneki's thoughts on his future were. He may be on a ghouls diet – if you could call it like that – , he would probably end up eating a human. Drinking what you brought was only the first step. You didn't know how to feel about this, cannibalism would probably break him mentally at some point and you didn't want that. You felt a bit guilty.
“Hey, I have a great idea for a drunk game, what about the Osama game ? That'd be fun !” You almost forgot about Banjou.
“I don't think it's possible, we're only three.” You said.
“Ah yes, my bad.”
“What is it about ? Why can't we play it ?” Kaneki asked. He didn't really look excited, seemed like he was just curious.
His question didn't surprise you, it was probably his first time drinking.
“The Osama game is a card game, sort of.” You answered before Banjou could. “On each cards there's a number, except for one which has the word King written on it. Everyone pull out a random card and the person who pulled the King card out can make the others do whatever he wants, by saying their numbers. He doesn't know those though, so it's quite random in the end.”
“Sounds fun”. He didn't really look like he meant it. “And why can't we play it ?”
“Because we're only three, and thus the King would already know who is who. That'd be no fun.”
“Oh, obviously.” He looked away, probably feeling like an idiot. He was tired, and he couldn't do anything about it. You thought about telling him he shouldn't feel bad but there were sudden footsteps in the stairs. It was Hinami.
“Hinami-chan ? Why are you still awake ?” Kaneki asked her.
“I kept hearing your voices. What are you talking about ?” She was now right next to the table.
“Hey, we're four now ! We could do it.” Banjou noted.
“You want Hinami-chan drunk ?” Kaneki immediately answered.
“I don't know what it is, but maybe I can do it without drinking ?” She asked, getting more and more curious.
“That's a solution ! Are you okay with it, Kaneki-kun ?” You added.
Now that you were thinking about it, the Osama game was a really great idea. If you happened to be the King, you could ask them to do whatever you wanted them to do – of course, it was the point of the game. But the idea of taking control of Kaneki excited you.
“Yeah, alright, let's do this...” He didn't look like he cared anymore.
Hinami sat down and you quickly explained to the little lady what the game was about and how to play it. She looked even more excited. Banjou actually planned the thing all along and he pulled out the cards out of his pockets. Kaneki looked sleepy but you were sure the alcohol – could you really consider this as alcohol though – would make him feel better. Especially if it was his first time.
You awkwardly pulled a card at the same time, and looked at each other.
“Ah, maybe we should have said the little sentence, you know, “Who's the King~”. It's funnier this way.”
Sounded childish to you. You looked at your card and you happened to have the 3.
“I'm the King ! Or, more like the Queen, hehe.”
Kaneki finally smiled, looking at Hinami. You felt like it's been forever you hadn't seen him smile. “So, what do you want us to do ?”
“Hmm...” She paused for a second. “Number 1 kiss me on the cheek ?”
It was Kaneki, he leaned down and added : “Here you go, princess.”
“I'm the Queen, I told you !” She giggled and blushed a bit.
For a moment you felt a bit jealous, you were tempted to do the same thing if you ever happened to be the King but if the number chosen happened to be Banjou, you'd probably die of embarrassment and uneasiness. You wished Banjou wasn't here, it would have been so much better, even if the Osama game was his idea. Which made you realize you hadn't drink yet. Sure, there was Hinami, but your glasses were already filled with blood.
“What about the drink ? Are we gonna forget about it ? It's le nouvel an, after all.” You said as you took your glass, ready to toast.
“Wait !” The little lady ran to the kitchen and she came back with a cup of water. She sat down and said : “I still can physically drink, aha.”
And you toasted all together, then took a sip. There was still a hour before midnight and you were really glad to be here with them at the moment. With Kaneki, who was finally smiling again.
“Tastes good !” Banjou said, surprised.
“Of course it tastes good. It's my duty to bring quality.” You smirked and then looked at Kaneki. He stayed silent but his eyes were sparkling and that made your heart skipped a beat. Mon Dieu, you were so glad he was enjoying it.
You got back to the game.
“Who's the King~” You sang happily together.
And it was you. The King card was in your hand.
“So..?” Kaneki asked.
“Ah yes, that's me. I'm the King.”
You were a bit confused, it was for something stupid but you didn't expect to be the King so early in the game. You could ask them anything. Anything. But anything was too much. You couldn't ask him to kiss you or something like this, he would probably hate you even more and it'd spoil the mood. Plus, who said you'd choose Kaneki's number, it was totally random. In the end, the Osama game was more frustrating than anything else to you.
But you needed to come up with something. Everyone was looking at you and you didn't know what to do. You couldn't run away, was that how Kaneki felt about his demi-ghoul state ? Well, it was surely worst and you mentally insulted yourself for the comparison.
“Well then ! Hum, number 2 have to stand up the whole evening.”
You mentally slapped yourself. Number 2 could totally be Kaneki and if it was the case he would probably get pissed and even quit the game, which would be the worst thing to happen. You were here for him and if he ever left your presence would be meaningless.
“Ah, me again.”
The horror. You started dying inside and you felt like lying on the floor as you see Kaneki pulling the chair away. And he stood up. Jesus fuck what have you done. You were about to have an heart attack when he told you :
“I never thought you'd ask for such a silly thing, Tsukiyama-san. I'm agreeably surprised.”
He smiled to you. That was it, you were dead and in heaven. Which would be illegal because you'd deserve to be in hell. You couldn't help but giggle a bit, and Hinami as well. That fond look from Kaneki made you extremely uncomfortable but euphoric at the same time. You could almost feel your cheeks burning.
The evening was then full of laughter and none of you asked for awkward situations, and you noticed it was funnier that way. Hinami almost felt asleep and she ended up going to bed by herself. The alcohol did what it was meant to do and Banjou fell asleep. Good job Banjou. That was totally what a shield would do. Kaneki were now totally drunk even though he didn't drink that much and you could tell that you drank a bit too much as well, but unlike him you could handle alcohol better. You used to drink a lot at the Gourmet Restaurant, you were used to it.
“Whooooo's the King~” He picked a card by himself.
“No, Kaneki,” you laughed, “we can't play this game if we're only two.”
“But Banjou-san won't wake up~” he still sang.
“Alright, then.” You took a card and showed it to him. “I'm number 3 again. What about you ?”
“Why are you always number 3...Are you cheating ?”
“If I really wanted to cheat I'd always pick the King card ! Plus, 3 in Tarot cards means Emperor ! It must be fate ! Dolce !” You stood up and almost tripped. Kaneki laughed.
“You liar, 3 means Empress !” He noted after catching his breath. “And why would you always pick the King card ? Whenever you had it you looked super nervous.~ You thought I didn't see you blushing the first time ? Aha !”
“It was because of the alcohol !” You sat down.
“We hadn't even drunk yet !”
“We did, though.”
“Yeah, but we can't get drunk in not even five minutes ! And you're not blushing right now.” He tried to look serious but his elbow slipped off the table.
“Yeah, okay, okay...What do you want me to do, mi amore ?”
He looked at you with wide eyes. Did he understand what you just said ? Why did you even say that ? Oh, whatever, you were having fun. He put his card on the table and you noticed it wasn't even the King card. When he thought you were cheating !
“Follow me.”
Kaneki stood up and you thought he was falling for a second. But he was just drunk. You started making scenarios in your head and you didn't know how to feel about what could happen from now on. Yes, you did want to do it with Kaneki but doing it while he'd be drunk wouldn't feel right.
You ended up in the living room, awkwardly sitting next to him on the sofa. He was staring at nothing but before you could ask what he wanted to do and why they were here – even though it was obviously because it was more comfortable – he turned to you, trying to be serious, and said :
“Hug.”
Your heart skipped a beat. It skipped many beats this evening. Oddly enough, you didn't hesitated. Probably because of the alcohol. You embraced him, putting your arms under his shoulder and he returned the hug, his hands holding your back. Every parts of you that made contact with him felt like it was full of stars and sparkles, and your heart started beating fast as your cheeks were burning. Kaneki leaned a little more in the hug and put his head under your chin, you could tell his heart was as loud as yours. It didn't feel real, you never thought that situation would be happening for real.
He let out a pleased sigh which encouraged you to fondle his back, slowly moving your hands over it. Feeling how warm he was felt so nice. He started doing the same to yours, pulling you even closer. You could feel his breath on your neck and it made you shiver as you gently put a hand in his hair to smell him better. You were tempted to slip the other one under his shirt but you didn't want to make things sexual, it was perfect enough this way.
Suddenly he pushed you over the sofa, your head resting on one of the little pillow. You let out a little surprised noise.
“Y'know...” he said, muffled words because of the cuddle. “The first time I saw you...Y'know what was the first thing I thought about you ?”
You couldn't answer, what was happening was too much for you, better than anything you had ever imagined. You just looked at him confused as he lifted up his head to give you a fond smile and look. You blushed so hard you felt like your head was going to explode.
“I thought you looked like a model ! And I still do...” He paused, looking away, in his thoughts. “The way you acted this evening...It was like you were a normal person, it was nice.” He paused again, longer. He then added “I like you this way.”
That was too much. Was he...Was he confessing ? Was this real life ? You knew he was drunk, but when you're drunk, you mostly speak the truth, right ? Right ?!
“Hey, look at the clock...Happy New Year~”
He slowly rested his head against one of your shoulder. You didn't want him to fall asleep right now, you didn't want this moment to end now, you'd regret it.
You turned your head a bit, put one of your hands in his hair and gently pulled him, lips against lips. He immediately returned the kiss which made you shiver with happiness. You couldn't help but lick his lower lip a little, tasting him a little. You immediately stopped when he made some groans.
“That was my first kiss...” He said, sleepy. He was blushing too now.
You laughed a little. “Happy New Year to you too, Ken.”
Saying his name felt nice and exciting. He looked away , eyes opened wide, sparkling. He couldn't help the tiredness though, so he was slowly falling asleep. But before it happened, you realized you never really apologized for what you've done in the past and even though it wasn't really the moment, you felt the urge to.
“I'm sorry.” You whispered as you covered his face in light kisses.
“What are you apologizing for ? It was nice...”
That was it. He fell asleep. You were sure you heard a sigh that sounded like your first name. Before you fell asleep as well, you saw on the little coffee table a japanese/italian dictionnary. A new year just started but you were already the happiest man ever.