Tsukiyama burst into the apartment with his usual energy and dramatic flair, exclaiming, "Bonjour, Banjo! Little lady! My dear Kaneki-kun," He purred the last part before remembering himself.
'Calmato, me,' he thought, his wide smile never faltering as he was for the most part ignored.
Banjo grunted and continued to watch the television, which was set to a cooking channel (of all things), not even bothering to comment on Tsukiyama saying his name right for once.
Kaneki sat in his usual chair, nose in a book. He was aware of Shuu's presence, he knew, always guarded around the gourmet. BUT! If he only believed that Tsukiyama no longer wished to eat him. No one believed him, even though he had proved himself time and time again. It hurt a little, he admitted, but he also knew why they mistrusted him. No matter.
Soon, they'd all see how sincere he was. The only one who even acknowledged his existence was Hinami. The young girl smiled almost as brightly as Shuu, replying, "Hello, flower man!"
He beamed back at her, producing his latest bouquet of flowers(yellow roses and pink tulips ) to her with a flourish. "They're so pretty," she giggled. "Thank you."
"De rien," Tsukiyama shrugged, still buzzing with happiness (along with about three pots of coffee, because he had only gotten two hours of sleep the night before).
He took a seat next to Banjo, crossing his legs and folding his hands on his lap.
Hinami carefully placed the flowers in a vase, before resuming her previous activity, which appeared to be an arithmetic booklet.It was quiet for a moment, and in Shuu's opinion, downright depressing.
When he couldn't stand it any longer, Tsukiyama blurted, "It's such a beautiful day, non?"
Hinami once again piped up. "Oh, it is! I asked Onii-chan if I could go outside sometime but he said it was still too dangerous." She looked extremely disappointed.
"He is right, little lady," Shuu consoled her. "He does not wish for you or Banjo to be hurt. Neither do I! You are all very much important to me, and I don't know what I'd do if something happened."
It was the truth. At first, the only thing Tsukiyama cared about was gaining Kaneki's trust, so that he could finally devour every last delicious bite of the half ghoul.
But over the last few months, his feelings had slowly changed.
The hunger was still there, faint but easily overlooked. He had found himself enthralled by Kaneki. His smile, his laugh, his scowl. His anger, his passion, his will to protect those he loved.
He lost his breath when Kaneki looked at him, and his heart gave a funny squeeze when he spoke. He had been horrified in the beginning. Non, non, non, he had thought.
I cannot be falling for Kaneki-kun. Non.
But he was. He adored the half ghoul, perhaps too much; obeying every order he was given, fighting proudly beside him, giving generously to his cause, letting him use him as a punching bag. Kaneki's attention, whether good or bad, was craved, because if Kaneki paid attention to him, he reasoned, that meant he was needed. Wanted. Trusted, for a better reason, a different motive.
All he wanted now, at the end of the day, was for Kaneki to be happy. A part of Shuu knew this was unhealthy, his devotion. The rest of him, however, was too head over heels to care.
"But! If Kaneki-kun says it is alright, and when it is safe, I can take you out, and we'll go shopping, if you'd like," Tsukiyama told Hinami, as her whole face lit up.
"And! I know an absolutely magnifique cat cafe we could try. Do you like cats, little lady?"
At that, an enthusiastic nod.
Shuu shifted closer to Banjo, leaning on his shoulder. The other ghoul grumbled but made no move to shrug him off.
"What about you, Banjo-san? Would you like to go to a cat cafe with the little lady and I?"
"I don't really care," Banjo said, though he looked interested at the mention of cute furry creatures. "Cats are kinda cute."
Bingo! Tsukiyama was ecstatic. He began making half-constructed plans to book a spot at his favorite cat cafe, as he turned to the last person in the room, who would have to okay it all.
"Perfetto! What do you think, Kaneki...kun?" His smile dulled as he glimpsed Kaneki's glower. The half ghoul glared.
" A word, Tsukiyama-san," He said, voice flat and quiet.
Hinami looked back and forth between them. Banjo looked up, too, obviously wondering what was going on as well. Shuu himself didn't know.
What had he said that was wrong? Was he being too much? Did Kaneki think he was just trying to win Hinami and Banjo over to better get at Kaneki?
Well, he had already tried that, but he definitely wasn't doing it now. He had grown fond of the young girl, seeing her as a little sister of sorts. He didn't even mind Banjo anymore, in fact, he very much enjoyed debating various topics with the other ghoul. So what had he done?
He slowly got to his feet, as Kaneki had stood and was making his way to his bedroom.
Hinami asked, hesitant, "Onii-chan? What did flower man do?"
"Don't worry, Hina. I just need to talk to him for a moment."
That was slightly reassuring. Shuu perked up. He had a small ray of hope, knowing Kaneki didn't intend to outright kill him. When he was done, he'd come back out and discuss what cat breed was the best and why with Banjo-san.
He followed Kaneki into his room, puzzling over why Kaneki had let him into his private quarters, and trying not to breathe too deeply the scent of Kaneki.
A hopeless task, as the room smelled entirely of the other ghoul, except more concentrated. His mouth watered a little, just as a very embarrassing situation happened in his pants.
He froze, panicking silently. He had to go, before Kaneki noticed either of those things.
It was one thing to drool when you smelled a person's scent, and another thing entirely to get hard at it.
Before he could think further or even do anything, he was slammed against the door. He yelped, surprised, a Kaneki glared up at him. "What the hell are you playing at?"
"W-what do you mean?" Shuu was bewildered.
"Don't play dumb! I saw you out there with Banjo-san!"
Tsukiyama frantically tried to think of what he'd done wrong, but came up empty.
"I.........I........."
For the second time today, Kaneki shocked Shuu. The half ghoul jerked the gourmet down by the collar,hands tangling in Shuu's immaculate hair, kissing him roughly. Tsukiyama squeaked, then moaned quietly when Kaneki's tongue slipped into his mouth. After a few moments of desperate kissing, Kaneki pulled away with a soft noise. "Fuck. Do you know what you do to me?"
Tsukiyama didn't know. He swallowed hard, blushing down at the other ghoul. His mind was blank except for the replaying of the kiss.
He finally found his voice, blurting out the first thing he thought of. "S-so.....do you want to go to a cat cafe, too?"
