Coexisting || Uta x Reader

➺ Chapter One

You were at your side of the room, sifting through the records of clients at your desk while Uta worked at his own at the other side of the room. Soft music that went with the dim lighting, which highlighted the pieces you drew hanging on the walls, played through the shop and you tapped your foot to the beat absently.

"Have you heard about the new ghoul?" you asked loud enough for Uta to hear.

"The one-eyed boy?" he replied.

You flipped a page. "Yeah, I think Touka is bringing him by later. Yoshimura mentioned something about it earlier when I was speaking to him at Anteiku," you said.

It took a few seconds, but then Uta responded with, "I can smell them already."

You swiveled in your chair and stood up. Uta closed the notebook he had and slid out his sketchbook, but left it on the desk as he turned to you.

"I'm going to scare them."

"Yeah because you're terrifying," you teased, looking up at him.

Uta was much taller than you and had a lot of muscular build, plus the tattoos and piercings added to his intimidating nature, so just about everyone was afraid of him, but you simply joked about it.

"I am to everyone besides you, my dear," he commented, pressing his lips to your forehead before parting to clear off one of the stands.

You let him climbed on the stand in a crouch and he threw a white sheet over himself. You shook your head and prepared yourself by leaning against Uta's desk with a small notepad. The door opened and in walked Touka with the boy wearing an eye-patch behind her.

"Hey, (Y/N)," Touka greeted politely. "Uta around?"

"He's... somewhere," you said hesitantly.

You watched the curious boy go over to the sheet and lift it, revealing Uta as he scared the living hell out of the guy. You held back your giggles as Uta hopped down and introduced himself.

"This is my lovely assistant, (Y/N)," he said, gesturing to you with a pencil in his hand.

"Hi," you muttered shortly as you felt the anxiety wash over you.

"This is Kaneki. He needs a mask," Touka said.

You noticed Kaneki's cheeks tinting pink and you realized he probably had the same problem as you when meeting new people, especially of the opposite sex. It helped you relax a little at knowing you weren't alone in the situation.

Uta got to work on asking Kaneki questions and getting measurements as you jotted down extra notes on your paper. Touka joined you by Uta's desk and struck up a conversation. You were a human she felt never judged or ridiculed their lifestyle and she genuinely enjoyed your company. Also, surprising to some, accepted your relationship with Uta.

"How is everything going?"

"Good," you replied. "How's Anteiku?"

"Hinami and her mother are back," Touka revealed sadly.

"What about her father?" you questioned, stopping your writing and giving her your full attention.

"He's stuck doing work, so they're staying at Anteiku for a while," she answered in a whisper. "The Doves are starting to pop up more too."

"Great," you mumbled sarcastically. "It's already hard enough for ghouls to move around with humans and now the Doves are piling up."

"Just look out for Uta," Touka warned.

"Of course."

There wasn't anything you wouldn't do for Uta, including murder or being killed yourself for caring about him. It was the price you paid for sticking by his side and you regretted none of it.

"All done for now," Uta said, going back to his desk on your right. "It'll be done in a week."

You walked Kaneki and Touka out of the studio, then flipped the sign to Closed and went back to the show room where Uta was already to work on the latest masterpiece. You smiled softly and grabbed his stashed jar of eyeballs to place next to his work for him to snack on when he got hungry since it was evident that he wouldn't be sleeping that night.

You weren't disgusted or turned off by anything ghoul-related, including the gooey human eyeballs, which was surprising to all who knew of your relationship. It was a way of life to you--not your life, but others', like the one you loved most. It was normal, especially after being around it for such a long time.

You went to your desk to finish the snippets of paperwork, but you were done before Uta was truly started on Kaneki's mask; he was only sketching at that point. You went over to see where he was at and rested your hands on his shoulders to lean over his tall frame and see the piece.

You saw the black wrapping and red lip, but it was only vaguely there. You were continuously drawn in by how well and smooth he sketched each mask he designed and how much time he put in.

"It looks great," you compliment, bending over further to cross your arms over Uta's chest and have your face next to his.

"You always say that," he murmured, grabbing a new pencil that wasn't dulled out from the cup.

"And I always mean it."

You kissed his ear where multiple piercings were located, then his neck where the tattooed ink scrawled across his skin. Uta stopped his doodling and let you tend to his silent need for your affection, even going as far as breathing in your scent--the one he couldn't get enough of.

"Come to bed later," you commanded softly and straightened up. "I don't want you to be tired."

"Okay," Uta replied, realizing you just played him like a violin to make sure he rested.

You went up to the apartment above as Uta got back to work because he knew there would be consequences if he disobeyed your request, but he thought himself lucky to have someone for the first time in his life care for him the way you did.