Wonderland (Kaneki x Touka)

Kaneki

Touka had been staring at me strangely these past few shopping trips. They seemed to be the only time we could converse without someone trying to kill us.
"And the old man?" I asked, reaching up to one of the higher shelves that she couldn't reach. She gratefully took the coffee beans from me. "He's the same as usual. He seems more persistent on having you stop by once in a while."

"He wants me to go back and work." I laughed. She had her eyes trained on my chest, refusing to meet my gaze. I ignored it; she was probably spacing out. "You should." She said softly. Her intelligent purple eyes finally rested on mine. "You should come back to work. I miss you." She smiled shyly, pink dusting her cheeks ever slo slightly. "Oh?" I leant against one of the shelves. She quickly pulled on my arm, forcing me back to my feet, a worried expression on her face.
"The shelves aren't stable." She said, changing the subject. I sighed as she began to walk once more. I ran a hand through my hair, but felt my eyes travel down to her butt.

She had a very nice body, I found that I could admire her all day, all night. She seemed to be interested in me, but it also seemed like a long shot. We only saw each other once in a week, maybe once every two weeks, and even then we would only talk about Anteiku. I wanted to know more about her. "So.. how's school?" I asked her lamely; I sounded like a parent. She seemed surprised by my question, but quickly regained her composure. "It's good. Hard." She laughed. "I'm scared." She said softly, biting down on her lip. Her complete U-turn in personality had me stunned for a moment.
"Of what?" I questioned, my heart thudding loudly in my chest; so loudly that I feared she could hear it. Her eyes had become deadly serious, and her body had stiffened.

"I'm scared of being alone. You're out there fighting all the time, aren't you? You could die... and you'd never know how I felt." My heart was racing as she reddened. I leant in closer to her, careful not to miss one word. "Kaneki, I like you. I don't want my feelings to get in the way of your work, so I never told you before now."

"How long?" I asked softly. Her face fell slightly.

"Since you started to work with us." She murmured. I pushed her chin up, my finger curling smoothly on her soft skin. She met my eyes with a sad determination, yet she looked ready to retreat. It burned my heart, seeing her look so incredibly sad. "I like you, too." I murmured, and I couldn't stop the grin that broke out on my face. "My work means nothing to me compared to you. I'll risk my life to save yours. I'll do anything to rescue you."

"You make me sound helpless. Like I always need to be rescued." She sighed, smacking her lips in distaste. I leant down and kissed her softly, drawing a soft sound from the back of her throat, yet I found that I couldn't stop. I pressed against her, our kiss filled with fiery passion despite it only being our first. I pulled back with a wet 'pop' and sighed, "You are helpless." I laughed as I jumped away from her punch, poorly aimed with no power. "I remember when you could kick my ass." I sighed softly as we continued down the isle. The air that was once uncomfortable seemed to be so comfortable that I could fall asleep.

I followed Touka back to Anteiku, and then up to her room. I took a moment to admire her as she sat, cross legged, on a bed that was too large for one person. She held textbooks in her lap, highlighting certain lines and chewing the end of the thin highlighter while she was thinking. "What do you want?" She questioned with a soft sigh as I put my head on her lap. She placed her book on my forehead, but her other hand snaked under it to scratch my head softly. I sighed in content.
"Your actions and your words don't match up." I whispered. I could fall asleep now, most definitely. Her soft scratches were sending small waves of pleasure through my body. "I asked a question that I wanted an answer to. Your hair is really soft, and I wanted to touch it." She said, turning the page of her book.

"I only want to be with you." I said softly, smiling as she rolled her eyes but made a small noise to signal her agreement, and continued to read. I closed my eyes, feeling sleep take over me slowly and calmly.

----

I stared up at Touka. It was around 6 in the morning, and she looked like death. "You haven't slept, have you?" I asked. She shook her head, flipping to the last page of her new book. I slowly took it off of her, and put it under me on the bed. She stared at me. I stood, picking her up in the process, and then I sat back down. I felt her small hands clenching into fists on my shirt, her small fingers stroking my flesh, her legs intertwining with mine, her body rubbing against mine as she squirmed to get into a comfortable position.

"When did you get so many muscles?" She asked as she yawned. I shrugged. She was asleep in a few minutes, her soft breathing fluttering against my shirt. I sighed, pressing a kiss to her temple. She snuggled closer to me, burying her face into my neck. I smiled at the ceiling as her soft lips brushed against the column of my throat. I managed to close my eyes and fall asleep, holding her tightly, refusing to let her go.

----

When I woke up this time, Touka was gone. I began to panic. Doves? No, they would have killed me as well, so that was a stupid thought. Did she run off? Desperate to get away from me, did she dash away to ponder her mistakes? I raced out of the room only to find her working her first shift of the day. I sighed lowly, wondering why that thought had never occurred to me. Stupid, stupid Kaneki. Maybe being a ghoul had made me pessimistic, but it was definitely worrying to think of all the possibilities before work popped up into my head. I could only watch as she waited on many people; taking the flirtatious advances of men, the harsh words of women, the compliments from children, all in her stride. She seemed to be lost in thought, though she always replied to one of her customers; meaningless conversation that seemed to drone on for too long. I watched her in a trance, before one particular comment snapped me out of a daze.

"Yo, sweet-ass!" There was a whistle. "You got a boyfriend? Cause you should dump his ass and give me a try." I flinched as I watched her grip tighten on the tray she was holding, her knuckles turning white.
"N-no." She shook her head. She turned on her heels.
"Don't turn away from me! Don't you know who I am?" He hiccuped slightly, a blatant indicator of his drunken stupor.
"No, sir." She said as she turned to face him. She took one step forwards, and his hand shot out to snake around her wrist. I stood up from my position, watching the exchange with narrowed eyes. He pulled her back to him, dragging her down onto his lap. She tried to get up, but she couldn't seem to break his grasp. Fight him, Touka! Why won't you fight him!?
"Let me go," she demanded. "I don't want anything to do with you." She seemed to ignore his other hand on her thigh. "My boyfriend will beat the crap out of you." She said, and I took that as an invitation; yes, Kaneki, you can help me. I bounded towards her, snapping the boy's arm back. He released his grip on her, and I tugged her towards me. "Took you long enough." She breathed, but there was an air of teasing in her words. "Thank you, Kaneki." She sighed. "Thank you for saving me." I didn't know how she could change moods so quickly. I heard the boy's feet shuffling, dragging against the ground as he staggered out of Anteiku. "Brother?" I heard Hinami's sweet voice. I turned to look at her, and I smiled. "How's your reading?" I asked as I knelt down to hug her. "It's good!" She grinned. I ruffled her hair lovingly, smiling at the excited look on her face. "Good."

"I miss you, brother!" She smiled up at me. "Are you staying here?" My eyes rested on Touka.
"I really would like to." I said softly. "But there's one more thing I have to do." I answered her.

One more thing.