[Genre:Slight angst]

[Not requested]

Fluffy at the beginning but the middle, and a bit of the ending has angst.
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You sat on yours and Kaneki's shared bed in your apartment, watching the T.V which sat at the end of the bed. Kaneki had been gone for a few hours now, saying he needed to stop by this old coffee shop he worked at.

The T.V didn't interest you very much so you shut it off and stared blankly at the screen. Was it always this boring without Kaneki around?

You would've plugged in your phone since it was dead, but the charger was all the way across the room and you didn't feel like getting up.

Your eyes trailed over to your mask which lied on a chair near the closet. Maybe you could go out in patrol for Aogiri? No. Kaneki didn't like it when you did stuff for them.

You had been a part of Aogiri before Kaneki, but you had only joined to protect you little brother. It's not like you actually liked being there.

The only friend you had made was Ayato, and he was a jackass so you and him were more rivals than friends, seeing as you liked to butt heads with every person you came across.

When Kaneki had joined, you had taken an immediate interest in him, since he was the only one there closest to your age. All the other members being too young, or too old for you to get along with.

Poor guy was so quiet and awkward when you talked to him, despite him being a total badass in battle. He'd try to stay a bit away from you, as he was extremely antisocial, but you kept persisting on being his friend.

Eventually, you did become friends with him, and he confessed to having a crush on you. After that, you guys had begun dating.

He didn't want everyone around you guys, invading on stuff between you two, so he preferred to not stay at Aogiri headquarters and lived in his old apartment with you.

You guys had been together for about a month and a half now, and you guys were serious with eachother. He tended not to be monotone around you, as he wanted you to feel loved, and you did.

He didn't really like talking about his life before Aogiri, as he didn't like reliving some of those memories.

He did talk about the good ones, like his friend Hide, his friends at Anteiku, and Touka.

He talked highly of the girl, as he seemed to admire her, but he assured you he had no feelings for her whatsoever, and that was fine. You didn't want to be the kind of girlfriend that got jealous of every female friend he had, as you had a boyfriend in the past that was controlling of you in that exact way.

You blew air past your lips as you stared at the ceiling. You were bored out of your mind.

Suddenly, you heard the front door open, making you spring up in excitement. As you were about to get off the bed, the bedroom door opened and Kaneki walked in except... He was all dirty.

"What the hell happened to you?" You asked. His white, button up shirt was wrinkled, and covered in what appeared to be dirt. His trousers were in the same state. His face was all scratched up, and there appeared to be some swelling on his left cheek, and his eyepatch was hanging off of his ear.

He sat on the bed Infront of you and flopped down, immediately regretting it as he had landed on one of his bruises. He crawled his way over to you and rested his head on your lap, wrapping his arms around your waist.

"Touka happened" his voice was muffled, as his face was resting on your thighs.

You ran your hands through his white hair, twirling the strands in your fingers. You lied back on the bed and watched as Kaneki moved his body with yours, resting his head on your breasts.

You chuckled "are you using my boobs as a pillow now?" He nodded and gave you a cheeky smile "your boobs are the best pillow" you flicked his nose and rolled your eyes.

"So, wanna tell me what happened?" You ran your hands through his hair again, scratching your nails against his scalp lightly.

He hummed in satisfaction against your chest "I went to visit Yoshimura, the manager at Anteiku, because I wanted to ask about the One-Eyed Owl. He gave me answers, and when I was on my way back here, Touka found me. I told her that Yoshimura wanted me back, and that I didn't know if I wanted to or not. I told her I just wanted to protect everyone there, that I didn't want to lose anyone else. She told me that they didn't need my help, and that they were fine without me. I said that as long as she wasn't left alone, I was ok. She said a few things, yelled at me, and stated that I should never come back to Anteiku, and stay at Aogiri. She punched me in the face, and punched the rest of my body. She kept asking why I turned out this way, and I couldn't answer her. After that, she left and I came home. I'm really sorry for making you wait".

His body was tense above yours. You brought your hands to his shoulders and rubbed them. He began to ease up, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you and him to lay down on the bed sideways. Both of you lied in your sides, though his head was still on your chest. Your legs tangled with his, your arms wrapped around his shoulders, playing with his hair.

"How about you get changed and take a shower? You smell like dirt and sweat" his body slumped as he lifted his head and gave you a pout. You gave him a stern look "Ken." He puffed out his bottom lip and and sighed "fine. Whatever you say mom". You have him a small glare, causing him to groan and get up off of the bed.

He walked over to the closet and pulled out a pair of long, grey pants, along with a short sleeved black shirt. He folded both over his arm and walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.

A few minutes later he came back, his damp hair dripping water onto his shirt. He held a towel in his hands and brought it up to his hair, drying it.

Once his hair was dry, he crawled onto the bed next to you and lied down, pulling your body to his for warmth.

You rested your chin on his shoulder, wrapping your arms around his semi-skinny waist. Even if he had abs, he was still small in height and his waist resembled that of a females.

"What did you find out about the Owl?" You asked. Kaneki breathed out a sigh through his nose "The Owl is Yoshimura's child, and will stop at nothing to make sure the world is in utter chaos".

Your hands fidgeted with the hem of his shirt "well, I guess we'll have to stop that from happening then. You're a half ghoul, so you easily have a place in the human world and in the ghoul world. You're the bridge between all of us" he rested his cheek on top of your head, letting out a short sigh "it seems that I'm more ghoul than human these days. I don't know how I'm some supposed bridge. Is it because people like to walk all over me?" You pinched his stomach and looked up at him "you're so morbid sometimes, but then again, so am I" you felt him press a light kiss to your head before pulling the blanket over both of you.

"I wanna take a nap" he mumbled into your hair. You smiled softly before nuzzling into his chest. He smelled like coffee and newly printed books. It put you at ease. "Then let's take a nap".

Kaneki shuffled his body to where he was laying Infront of you face-to-face, his nose and lips inches from your own. "I love you, you know that?" You smiled sweetly at him "I do. I love you, too" a small smile graced his face before his gaze lowered and his smile was replaced with a frown "if anything were to happen to me, promise me that you'll move on? I don't ever want you to hurt because of me" your eyebrows creased "why would anything happen to you? Is everything ok?" His lips pursed before he looked back up at you "just in case. I'm not saying something will happen, but it's just for future reference. The last thing I'd want to do is leave you" you placed a gentle hand on his cheek "I love you with everything I have Kaneki. I won't ever get over you in the blink of an eye. I'm yours forever, even if one day you wake up and have no memory of who I am. I'll always be yours" tears pricked at the corners of his grey eyes, and he smiled, resting his forehead against yours.

"And I'm yours, love"

~~~

You sat at the kitchen table, watching as the snow fell down from the night sky. Your gaze was tired, but you couldn't sleep. You needed to wait for him.

>FLASHBACK<

You sat on the couch, your legs propped up with a book in your hands. You heard your bedroom door open and looked up, watching as Kaneki came out with his black, skin tight battle suit on. You whistled, eyeing him up and down "that's hot. What's the occasion?" He looked away from the mask in his hands and up at you "could say the same for you, seeing as you're only in my T-shirt" you stuck your tongue out at him "it's comfy and it smells like you, and I find comfort in your clothes" he shrugged "fair point".

You marked the page of your book and placed it down, walking over to him. "Seriously though, everything ok?" He placed a hand on your head, running his fingers through your hair "the CCG found out that Anteiku is a place for ghouls, and is going after the coffee shop, as well as Yoshimura. There's basically a war going on in the 20th ward, so I'm on my way now to help Aogiri stop the CCG" he smiled at you "it's nothing to worry about, I'll be fine".

"Wait, why not let me come? I'm a part of Aogiri too!" Kaneki frowned "no. I don't want you getting hurt out there. I know you can take care of yourself, but I can't risk losing you" your gaze dropped and Kaneki gave you a sad smile "hey, when I get back you can lecture me all you want, ok? But for now, can I kiss you before I go?" You pouted but nodded.

Kaneki held your face in his hands, tracing your lips with his thumb before pressing his lips to yours. His hands ran down your cheeks, to your shoulders, arms, waist, hips, and then your thighs. He lifted you up with ease, wrapping your legs around his waist and carrying you back to the couch.

Your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer and running your hands through his snow colored locks, softly tugging at the strands.

He moaned quietly against your mouth before pressing himself against you more, letting his tongue go between your lips and brush against your own.

You grabbed him by his upper arms, using all of your strength to pull him onto the couch and onto you, his knees on each side of your thighs.

Kaneki broke away from the kiss, panting a bit. He licked his lips before giving you a small glare "I know what you're trying to do" you faked a curious expression "I'm not doing anything wrong" he flicked your forehead before kissing the tip of your nose "you know I can't stay for long" you pouted "damn, I thought it'd work".

Kaneki smiled and ran his fingers through your hair, giving your scalp light scratches "god, I love you so much you dork" you smiled cheekily "and I love you, too nerd".

His eyes held nothing but pure love and adoration as he looked down at you "seriously, I love you so much. You don't even know". You smiled at him "just how much do you love me?".

He nuzzled his head into your neck, taking in your scent "with all my heart". You hugged him, pressing a kiss to the side of his head "I love you too, with all of my heart".

You two stayed like that for a few minutes, resting in eachothers arms, before Kaneki reluctantly pulled away, his eyes holding a slight sadness.

"I have to go now..." Your mood slightly downed but you smiled at him nonetheless "I understand. Go do what you have to to help your friends" Kaneki kissed you on the forehead and stood up, making his way to the front door, mask wrapped around his neck.

"When I get back I'll make us some coffee and we can watch those weird dramas you like so much" you flipped him off "they're not weird!".

Kaneki laughed, his cheeks tinged a light pink as he opened the door "I love you! I'll be back before you know it!".

You waved at him as he walked through the door "I know you will!".

How wrong you both were.

>FLASHBACK END<

Your cheek rested against the palm of your hand, your eyes slowly falling shut due to your exhaustion. Kaneki had been gone for hours now, and the sun was just now starting to peak over the horizon.

Just as you were about to fall asleep, a knock at your door jolted you awake.

Kaneki didn't usually knock on his own door? Who was here this early?

Getting up from your seat, you headed to the front door. Due to you being slightly too short to reach it, you didn't look through the peephole and just opened the door.

There stood a girl around your age with purple hair and purple eyes. Her bangs fell in a fringe that covered her right eye. Her clothes were covered in snow and what appeared to be singe marks on her tan jacket. Her cheeks and nose held a pinkish color due to the weather, and her eyes looked puffy, as if she had been crying.

"Are you Y/N?" She asked.

You rose a brow. "Yes? May I ask who wants to know?".

She shuffled in her posture, her hands stuffing themselves in her pockets "my name is Touka Kirishima. Kaneki sent me to tell you something".

Your lips parted "Kaneki? What about him?".

She gulped, her eyes glazing over with tears "a few days ago, he asked me that if anything were to ever happen to him to find you and tell you what happened..." She drew out a shaky breath "during the raid, he got into a fight with the CCG's White Reaper...he suffered alot of injuries to his body and head...he didn't make it...I'm so sorry..."

At that moment, the whole world came crashing down upon you. You couldn't comprehend anything around you. You didn't even notice the moment where you fell to the ground in tears.

It was like you couldn't hear anything. Your heart hammered in your chest and rang throughout your body. Tears fell down your face like a river, darkening the wood as they hit the floor.

You were having a panic attack. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to do anything.

The only sound that ever reached your ears was the sound of your own deafening screams of anguish.

He was gone...

And he wasn't coming back...

>2 YEARS LATER<

You stepped out of the back room of Re: cafe, tying your apron around your waist, getting ready for the day.

Touka looked up at you from behind the bar, giving you a smile as you walked towards her and Yomo.

"Guess you decided to finally get up huh?" Touka teased, laughing as you gave her the middle finger.

"Fuck off, Touka. I only slept for fifteen hours today" Touka nodded "that's true. You really need to work out that sleep schedule of yours".

You sat on one of the bar stools, resting your head on your cheek in boredom "anything interesting happen today?" Touka shook her head "nope. Just regular customers coming in for coffee or other stuff. Same as usual". You nodded, twirling your hair in your fingers.

Touka blew a raspberry out of her mouth before walking away "I'm gonna go clean up some other tables". You nodded as she walked away.

As you sat there, you stared at the jar of coffee beans that were on the shelves, seeing your reflection in them.

You had changed alot in the last couple years. It took you awhile to finally accept that Kaneki was gone, and even now you were still trying to come to terms with it.

As you sat there in boredom, you heard the door to the shop open, but you didn't bother to see who it was.

You heard a small gasp "what an aroma! I guarantee this cafe serves a delicious cup of coffee! Trust me, my nasal kagune hasn't let me down yet!".

Your eyes widened.

That voice...

You looked towards who had walked in, and the sight almost brought tears to your eyes.

Your lips trembled as your hands shook. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Touka walking back, but you couldn't hear a word she said.

You gulped down the saliva that rose into your mouth, watching as Touka handed you a pad and pen.

You looked up at her, noticing the sad smile she gave you.

"You can do this".

You nodded and took them from her, walking to the table where they sat.

You drew in a shaky breath before putting on a smile "hi, my name is Y/N, what can I get for you three today?" The man with orange hair and shark like teeth have you a wide smile "how about a Carmel macchiato? Mutsuki, Mr. Sass, what do you guys want?" You looked towards the one he called 'Mr. Sass' and saw how he was looking at you, his pupils dilated.

You gazed at him for a bit longer before sending him a smile. You noticed the way his pale cheeks flared red, and the way he looked away nervously.

'So much like him...' you thought.

Soon, they all gave their orders and within a few minutes, all the drinks were at their table.

You watched as the one you now knew as Sasaki drank from the mug, a tear slowly falling down the left side of his face as he did so.

You smiled sadly at him, watching as his friends grew worried at the sight of him crying.

You took a folded napkin out of the pocket of your apron and handed it to him, letting him dry his tears.

He sighed "thank you, I don't know why that happened" he laughed dryly "can I ask you something, miss?" You nodded "of course".

"Have we met before?"

Your body stiffened as you stared into his curious grey eyes.

Grey...

Those grey eyes...they didn't recognize you at all...

But that was ok.

Because you made a promise to him before.

"I don't think I've ever met you before, sorry. Maybe you've seen me on the street?"

He chuckled and shook his head "yeah, maybe. Sorry, I must've confused you for someone else".

You smiled at him "it's ok. Have a good day, sir" you bowed before walking back to the counter.

You'd always choose him, even if he woke up and had no memory of you.

It was always him

And you loved him so much.

With all your heart...

God damn, that made my heart hurt.
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