~from Kaze's POV~
I paused in front of the school, Kaneki by my side. I turned to face him. "Um...I'll see you in Home Ec, then," I said, bowing slightly and hurrying on ahead.
"See you then," he called out after me, and I nodded, waving over my shoulder, but I only had a few minutes in the mornings before school, and I had already made plans...
"What took you so long, idiot?" Ayato asked from his seated position on the vents, which were nestled against the windows on the far side of the empty classroom.
I just shrugged, walking over to him and dropping my school bag. I held my arms out slightly and waited, and with an annoyed hmph, he easily lifted me up and seated me next to him. "Ayato, I have a question to ask you."
"Mm?" he grunted, not looking particularly interested. As far as boyfriends go, I could probably find someone more friendly, kind, gentle, and sweet, but Ayato made up for his lack of all of those traits in...well, everything else. He was strong and caring, whether he admitted it or not, and most of all, he made me feel safe. Maybe it had to do with previous traumatic experiences, but that sense of protection was what drew me to him the most.
"Well, it's just...this is my first year in high school, and you're a few years younger than me, right?"
"So?" he snapped. "What's that have to do with anything, idiot?"
"Nothing, just...I was wondering how you managed to enroll," I asked, looking up into his pale blue eyes.
He shrugged, cracking his knuckles. "You just have to look the part." He turned and grinned wickedly at me. "Judging by appearances alone, I'm of a legal age."
"Legal age to do what?" I asked, my voice coming out a little panicky, at odds with the emotionless front I usually put up. But I couldn't completely seal out my feelings when I was with Ayato. They were too vast to be contained, so every now and then, my shell would break, leaving me feeling completely defenseless. Vulnerability - that was something Ayato could easily detect and prey upon.
But today, it seemed, he was letting me off the hook. He just gave me a knowing look, a smile on his features. "Don't worry, idiot. I won't do anything to you...not while you're not legal, any way," he said, looking out the window, his face tense, before looking back at me with a smirk. "But you owe me something in return for your safety, got it?"
"What do you want?" I asked, trying to hide the blush that stained my cheeks, but it was useless trying to hide anything from Ayato.
He laughed and brought his mouth closer to mine but stayed just slightly away so I could feel his breath on my neck as he rested his head against my shoulder.
"You want to...use me as a pillow?" I asked, and he growled, lifting his head and glaring at me.
"Like any man would settle for that," he spat out before grabbing the back of my head and bringing his mouth to mine in a rough manner, but after a second, he became very gentle, making sure not to pull my hair.
He pulled away a very long and breathless moment later, and my blush was even more noticeable now.
He hopped off the vent and picked up both of our school bags, slinging them over his shoulder before holding out his arms. "C'mon, Kaze. I've got to get you off to first hour."
I stared at him for a second - his arms, waiting for me to fill them - before smiling and lightly hopping off the vent and into his outstretched arms. He caught me with ease, as I'd known he would, before gently setting me down.
I peered up at his angular face until he looked over, annoyed. "What do you want, idiot?"
I just smiled back at him. "Nothing. It's just the first time you called me by my name today, is all," I replied, and he looked away to his left, cursing me, but when I craned my head to see his expression, I saw that he was blushing ever so slightly.
I laughed softly until he handed me my bag back. "You can carry it yourself, idiot," he muttered, and I accepted the bag, hugging his closer arm before stepping away and waving at him.
"Goodbye, Ayato!" I called out before jogging towards my first hour class.

~from Ayato's POV~
I watched her figure fade into the crowd, and then I turned and headed for my first hour class.
Once inside (although two minutes late - but it was definitely worth it), I took my seat in the back and resumed my normal disposition, which consisted of a perpetual glare, foul language, and a trigger-happy approach to violence.

~from Kaneki's POV~
I share first hour with Hide, so we went there together, getting there a few minutes early and waiting for everyone else to trickle in.
Last was Ayato, and before he sat down and proceeded to make everyone's life miserable, I noticed something that seemed a bit odd.
He was blushing.