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Hide was half-asleep when he heard the curtains rustle and felt a hand gently brush against his back. He turned around, not bothering to open his eyes. A hand cupped his cheek and he hummed as lips pressed against his own.
“I thought you weren’t going to come tonight?”
“I wasn’t planning to, but I ended up in the area.” Kaneki’s lips brushed against his forehead. “I wanted to see you.”
Hide cracked his eyes open just enough to see his face. Kaneki was pale, dark circles under his eyes that told stories of many sleepless nights, spent fighting the CCG, or the nightmares that plagued his dreams. Hide pulled him into a hug, reaching his arms around his shoulders. Kaneki sagged into him, taking a shaky breath. Hide shifted just enough that Kaneki could join him on the bed, lying on top of the covers.
Hide waited, wondering if Kaneki would confide in him. He did for certain things, but for others… Hide was in the dark, not able to do anything other than hold him and hope everything would be okay. After a few minutes, Hide knew it was something he couldn’t – or wouldn’t – share.
“Are you going to stay the night?” He rarely did. It was always special to Hide – being able to sleep through the entire night in Kaneki’s arms, and still have them around him when he awoke. Sleepy morning kisses, followed by hot coffee in the kitchen, and snuggles on the sofa with all of Hide’s blinds drawn.
After all, no one could see them together.
Kaneki shook his head, voice drawn and tired. “I can only stay for a couple hours. They need me back at base early in the morning. We have a lot of planning to do for the upcoming months.”
Kaneki was the leader of a ghoul organization fighting for… well. The right to live. To be able to eat and survive. They weren’t saying they were going to kill anyone, but rather have meat harvested off the dead. There was more than enough food for all the ghouls in the city without killing innocent people.
But recently the CCG cracked down on the ghoul population, implementing RC Gates all across the city. They were on the buses, on the subways, in businesses, and so on and so forth. There were even certain communities you had to pass through an RC Gate to get to. And the CCG was only adding more throughout the city.
Ghouls retreated underground, into tunnels used by their predecessors. Any ghoul found was immediately killed or captured by the CCG. It turned the conflict into an all-out war.
And Kaneki was in the middle of it.
If Kaneki was seen here with him, Hide would be imprisoned. Or worse. The CCG’s law was clear that there was no tolerance towards ghoul sympathisers.
So Kaneki – Hide’s beloved friend turned lover – had to sneak through his window in the dead of night to even see him. Hide would have loved to go to him, as he could travel throughout the city freely, but Kaneki was scared for his safety. The CCG cracking down on ghouls meant that less ghouls were able to meet their nutritional needs. There were more starved ghouls, which meant there was a greater chance of Hide being attacked if he went to Kaneki’s base.
“Do you want coffee?” Hide’s voice was still thick with sleep, but he blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to wake up a bit. “We could talk, or just sit?” Hide tangled his fingers in Kaneki’s hair, still clutching him close.
“I just want to be here with you. Maybe catch some sleep. You want to set an alarm for me?” Kaneki pulled away, shuffling about a bit so he could pull off some of his clothes and crawl under the covers with Hide.
Hide reached for his phone. “You said two hours, right?” At Kaneki’s confirmation he set the alarm.
They settled against each other. Hide tangled their legs together and curled an arm around Kaneki’s waist. Their foreheads touched, breath intermingling. Kaneki leaned forward, kissing him gently. His fingers traced over Hide’s back lazily. Gradually the tension drained for Kaneki’s shoulders as they kissed. When they separated, and Hide opened his eyes, he noticed Kaneki kept his closed.
“Goodnight, ‘neki.”
All he got was a sleepy hum in response. Kaneki was more tired than he was letting on. Within seconds, he was out like a light. Hide was tired as well, but he couldn’t fall asleep. He always worried that when Kaneki came to visit him, it would be the last time Hide would see him.
Hide laid in bed, staring at Kaneki’s face, tracing his features and committing them to memory. Over and over again. He loved him. And he loved these sweet little moments they stole, even if he wondered how long they would last.