Work Text:
There were lots of people Kaneki would expect to see, but Tsukiyama certainly wasn't one of them. Anteiku wasn't rundown by any means, but it wasn't top tier either. For Tsukiyama to be here, it could only mean that he wanted something.
Kaneki had only glanced in Tsukiyama's direction before going right back to Hide, but Hide noticed the change of atmosphere immediately.
He raised and eyebrow at Kaneki before swiveling his head. He turned back to Kaneki, his eyebrow still arched.
"Is he an ex or something?"
Kaneki was about to take a sip of his coffee but nearly dropped the cup at his comment. "N-not at all!"
Hide hummed skeptically before glancing over his shoulder again. "But you know him."
"Not really..."
"Well he's coming over here."
Kaneki flinched and looked over Hide's shoulder and sure enough, Tsukiyama was coming their way, his walk confident and his smile pleasant.
"Shit." Kaneki muttered, looking down at his coffee, hoping that maybe Tsukiyama would walk past them, that he wasn't looking at them, that--
"Bonjour, Kaneki-kun."
He raised his head slowly to meet Tsukiyama's eyes.
"Um...hi."
Tsukiyama's smile widened as he glanced over at Hide. "Would you mind introducing me to your friend?"
Kaneki felt his face flush and a pang of annoyance but he forced his voice to stay level.
"This is Nagachika."
Tsukiyama looked Hide over and Kaneki felt that pang again as Tsukiyama stuck his hand out for Hide to shake.
"What a pleasure to meet you Nagachika, I'm Tsukiyama."
Hide smiled happily and shook his hand. "You can call me Hide!"
Tsukiyama's hand lingered a little too long in Hide's own, a fact that Kaneki noticed all too much.
Hide motioned to the table beside them. "How about you pull up a chair and join us?"
"I thought we were about to leave." Kaneki said hurriedly, but Tsukiyama was already dragging a chair over.
He sat down and crossed his legs, that pleasant smile still plastered on his face as he continued looking at Hide.
It was already annoying enough that Tsukiyama was looking at Hide like a piece of meat, but on top of that Hide looked interested. His cheeks were lightly flushed and his smile seemed a little too friendly.
Hide was asking where they knew each other, and Tsukiyama was recounting their meeting at Kamii University. Kaneki couldn't focus though, because he knew what Tsukiyama was. And he knew that Hide not only was a human, but a very attractive one. Was Tsukiyama sizing him up, wondering what part of him would taste the best?
He felt something warm on his thigh and his head snapped up. He hadn't realized he had been brooding into his cup of coffee.
Tsukiyama's hand squeezed high up on his thigh before sliding back into his own lap. "Isn't that right, Kaneki-kun?"
Kaneki could feel blood rush to his face and he shut his legs tightly.
"W-wh" His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "What was it?"
Tsukiyama's lips twitched into a smile. "That we both have much in common."
"Not in particular..."
Tsukiyama shrugged. "Book tastes say more about a person than one could ever put into words. That's a very intimate connection we share."
Kaneki looked pointedly at Tsukiyama, ignoring the blush that burned his cheeks. Hide looked between the two of them, clearly intrigued by their exchange.
Tsukiyama sighed and stood. "But I really must be going, I have some business to attend to, I had seen you through the window and just wanted to say hello." He turned to Hide and smiled warmly. "It was wonderful meeting you."
"Yeah, same here!" Hide said, returning the smile.
Tsukiyama put his chair back at the other table and left the shop.
Kaneki let out a pent up breath and sipped his coffee. When he looked up Hide had replaced his friendly smile with a devilish one.
"So it's painfully obvious that something's going on between you two."
Kaneki frowned and shook his head. "It's nothing like that, honest."
Hide hummed but didn't press him on the matter.
"So is he a model or something? He's got the walk and everything."
"And everything?" Kaneki asked teasingly.
"Well, to put it simply, he's gorgeous." Hide shrugged. "If I was that hot, I'd definitely use my looks to make money."
"You could if you wanted to."
He hadn't realized he had said something weird until he saw Hide's expression, then it dawned on him.
"I-I mean, you aren't bad looking, you know? Objectively speaking, you could...I'm not gay but--"
The heat that had only just managed to leave his face returned full force.
"I'm... just going to stop talking now."
Hide began laughing, a full blown laugh that drew the attention of the few people in Anteiku. Kaneki hung his head, embarrassed at the attention but even more embarrassed at his own words.
When Hide settled down, Kaneki looked at him pointedly. "Why can you say a guy is hot but it's suddenly a problem when I say the same thing?"
"Because you called me hot."
Kaneki refused to look away from Hide, because that would be as good as a confession.
"I was just stating facts. Both you and Tsukiyama are good-looking guys."
It was Hide who looked away first, and Kaneki noticed that his cheeks were probably just as red as his own. Kaneki took the opportunity to gain the upper hand in the situation.
"You're only embarrassed because you're modest."
Hide looked out the window, refusing to meet his eyes, his hands slowly rotating his cup on the table. "I think it's more of the fact that someone attractive is calling me attractive."
"You think I'm attractive?" Kaneki asked, bewildered.
Hide finally looked at him. "You think I'm attractive?"
Kaneki couldn't think of anything to say so he spluttered out the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm not gay."
"Well I am."
They both sat quietly, neither of them looking at each other.
Kaneki couldn't believe Hide was gay. It wasn't that it bothered him, but the fact that Hide had never told him meant that it bothered Hide. Why? Hide knew that Kaneki wouldn't mind about something like this.
Kaneki chanced a glance at his friend and found that Hide had had the same idea. They both looked away quickly and Kaneki felt unbelievably childish.
Hide was probably worried that Kaneki would think differently about him, and Kaneki couldn't deny that he did. He thought back to all of the times they had hung out together, all the times Hide had fallen asleep on him or when they went on late night coffee runs when they both were studying together or when they both went skinny dipping when they visited Hide's grandparents. His stomach felt light and fluttery recalling all of these small little things they had experienced together, and how much Hide meant to him.
"I..." His voice cracked and he had to start over. "...I think I might be a little gay too."
Hide looked up at him, his eyes wide. "Since when?"
"When did we first meet?"
Hide looked speechless and could only muster a small "Oh."
They both finished their coffees, lukewarm at this point, before leaving Anteiku together.