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His shoulder felt tender where she had bitten him, the newly repaired skin still soft and a little pinker than it's surroundings. Though his regenerative abilities were above average, the wound wouldn't be completely back to normal for another half an hour or so. Even though Tsukiyama had thoroughly been defeated, Kaneki still found himself looking over at his body. In horror movies, the villain always made a final struggle, grabbing at their victim's ankles for one last scare. With the way his life had been the past few weeks, it wouldn't surprise him if it happened. Touka seemed to have the same thought, giving his body a little nudge with her foot as she walked cautiously by him to Nishiki.
"Oi, you're in pretty bad shape." She said, looking him over.
Nishiki hardly had the energy to raise his bloodied face, but he still managed to suck his teeth derisively. "You're an observant one." He panted.
Even on the brink of death, he could still be a sarcastic asshole, Kaneki was truly impressed.
Skirting around Tsukiyama nervously, Kaneki spoke up. "We should bring him to the shop..."
It was Touka's turn to look at Nishiki with distaste and suck her teeth. "As much as I don't want to, you're probably right."
Kimi's eyes were full of tears as she smiled, adjusting her grip on Nishiki. "Th-thank you..."
Touka didn't respond as she slung one of Nishiki's bloodied arms around her shoulders, helping Kimi raise him on shaky legs. Kaneki wrung his hands, wanting to help but not knowing how to. He settled for holding the church door open for them as they made their way onto the street.
~~~
It was late when Nishiki and Kimi finally went home. Kaneki was exhausted, so he knew Touka had to be in much worse shape. She had done most of the fighting, after all.
They were slumped on the couch upstairs, the blood on their clothes dried in stiff burgundy splotches. Kaneki hardly had the energy to change, much less get home.
Touka sighed, lifting a bit of her sweat-greased hair to look at it with mild disgust. "It's late." She stated dully before turning her head to Kaneki and dropping her hair back over her eye. "The manager probably wouldn't mind if you slept on the couch."
Kaneki nodded in silent appreciation.
With a sigh, Touka hoisted herself up, stretching tiredly before glancing down at him. "I can get you some clothes to change into after a shower."
She made her way out of the room with that and Kaneki stood with a small grunt and followed her, trying not to drag his feet.
It wasn't the first time he had been in her room, but it still felt weird being there. He was struck again by the contrast of her living space compared to her as a person. Light, airy colors, cute stuffed animals; it was jarring to see the sullen and abrasive girl that the surroundings belonged to. It made him think that he really didn't know Touka at all, which really wasn't much of a surprise.
She opened her closet and Kaneki furrowed his brow before staring at her back like a deer caught in headlights. Was he going to be wearing Touka's clothes? It seemed so intimate, to wear a girl's clothing. Would it even fit him? Sure, he was pretty small for his age, but even still, Touka was a girl, she was petite.
She turned around, holding a shirt up and looking between it and Kaneki. It was faded black, with "Metallica" written out in jagged letters. She nodded her head and tossed the shirt to Kaneki.
"I figured you and my brother were about the same size." She pulled out a pair of dark plaid pajama bottoms and tossed them at him as well.
"A-Ayato?" Kaneki asked, fumbling with the pants before getting a firm grip on them.
Touka looked at him blankly for a second before seeming to remember that his name was still on the door. "Yeah, that's him." She said shortly, clearly not wanting to continue with the direction of their talk.
"Is he..."
He stopped himself from finishing the sentence, not knowing why he had blurted it out in the first place. By the flat look in Touka's eyes, he realized his outburst was definitely not appreciated.
They stood awkwardly for a few beats of silence, and Kaneki was about to ask where the bathroom was for a switch of topics, but Touka spoke quietly, surprising him.
"He's not dead. He's just...not here."
They avoided each other's eyes as silence fell again. The subject of Ayato seemed to be a sore one, but at her small admission, he couldn't bring himself to regret the fact that he had brought it up. Touka might act tough and uncaring, but the fact that she had let her facade down, albeit a little, meant a lot to him. It showed that she trusted him, even if it was only a little.
And from what he could discern from his short stay at Anteiku, her trust was something that wasn't easily attained.
Shaking her head as if trying to scatter unwanted thoughts, Touka pulled clothes out of the closet seemingly at random before heading to the door. "I'm showering first. I'll try to leave you some hot water."
~~~~
Kaneki had to fight to stay upright in the shower. The warm water was doing wonders on his sore muscles, the smell of the lavender shampoo mixing in the humid air and making him feel all the more drowsy. So this is what Touka smells like. he thought hazily, massaging the suds into his scalp as he watched dry blood wash from his body and turn the water swirling near the drain pink.
He finally made his way back to the employee room, ready to lay down and pass out and end this long and hellish day. He flipped on the light, not remembering having turned it off, only to jump early out of his skin.
He hadn't expected to see Touka on the couch.
He nearly cried out, but managed to turn his outburst into a loud exhale of breath. She was was curled near the end of the couch, sleeping. Her damp hair hung over her face and fluttered lightly with her light breathing.
Kaneki flipped the light switch off, the light from the doorway stretching the shadows in the room and casting a fractured stripe of yellow light across the furniture.
He walked cautiously into the room, trying to make no noise. He stopped in front of Touka, crouching down so that they were eye level with each other. Carefully so as not to wake her, he brushed the hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. It was nice seeing her entire face, usually hidden behind a curtain of bangs.
He smiled in the darkness. She looked so peaceful, so innocent like this. He didn't know why, but it made his heart ache. He wished he could make her always look this way, to not have to worry, to not have to be scared, to have to fight tooth and nail to survive.
She sighed in her sleep, her warm breath ghosting over his face. Kaneki flinched, not realizing that he had leaned closer to her while he was lost in thought.
It would be so easy to steal a kiss.
The thought made him stand abruptly, his knees popping, the sound deafening in the silence. Touka would definitely kill him if she woke up to something like that. Hell, she'd probably kill him if she woke up and saw he was staring at her like he was now. He was tired, that had to be why such a dangerous thought had crossed his mind so casually.
He ran his hand down his face tiredly and made his way to the other end of the couch, sitting down slowly so he didn't jostle her.
With his elbow on the arm of the couch and his head in his hand, he closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh.
~~~
She could never sleep for more than a few hours before waking. It was something that she hated, but could do little about, it had been that way since she was little. She blinked hazily in the darkness, stretching her cramping legs out only to feel something soft touch her feet.
Touka sat up, the tightness behind her eyes signalling that her kakugan had activated. She felt disoriented for a second, not recognizing where she was, until she could vaguely make out the shape of a slumped figure at her feet and the furniture in the room.
Oh. She must have fallen asleep waiting for Kaneki.
She let herself relax as she listened to the small snores coming from him.
Rubbing the back of her neck, she stood on sleep-heavy legs and watched his sleeping form. His arm was under his head, the angle of his neck showing off his thin, pale neck, the stretched neck of the shirt nearly sliding off his shoulder. Wasn't that where she had bitten him? In the semi-darkness, she couldn't see any flaw in the skin. Even still, she felt guilt wash over her. She knew she had did what she had to do, but even still...
Without thinking, Touka ran a finger over the exposed skin. Kankei shifted and made a small noise, making her yank her hand away as if she had been burned.
She held her breath as Kaneki's eyes fluttered opened, looking at her but not focusing.
"Sorry." He mumbled, his eyes closing as he sighed and let out another light snore.
She stood silently for a few seconds, listening to his even breathing.
"Dumbass, what are you sorry for?" She whispered finally, giving him a small smile before tip-toeing from the room.