Boys Like Boys ➸ Hide x Kaneki

Part One

     Hideyoshi Nagachika loved women—he always had. He loved the curves of their lips, the gentle lilt to their voices, and the softness of their bodies. The spectrum of women Tokyo had to offer was peppered with variety, and it never failed to keep Hide happy, regardless of his lack of success in getting anybody to actually date him. 

     Even more than the concept of women, though, Hide loved the action of flirting with them. Not a day went by that Hide was able to keep his suggestive comments and frivolous compliments to himself, even if they were typically tactless and blunt. He'd relish in the reactions that girls would throw his way, whether it be flustered fidgeting or indignant attempts at hitting him.

     Lately, however, Hide had noticed an issue with his interest in women. Despite being so enamored by their often softer, more delicate auras, there weren't any particular individuals that held his attention. He'd realized that, ultimately, he loved the notion of dating a woman far more than he could ever love a woman as an actual partner. 

     Men, on the other hand, were the opposite for him. He would never spend his time openly pursuing random men for the hell of it, but there were times when he'd become smitten for a specific one. Where women were there to fraternize with regularly, men were there for his very occasional silent enjoyment.

      Silent being the keyword, as there was no way that Hide could ever act on any impulses regarding any of his male romantic interests. He was a university student, so admitting to having feelings for another man this late in life could complicate his current relationships.

      Namely, his friendship with Kaneki.

     Hide had resolved long ago to never allow himself to catch feelings for his long-term best friend. He didn't think sticking to that decision would be difficult. After all, Kaneki was just so different from Hide: Hide lost himself in music, Kaneki lost himself in books; Hide was always full of energy and extroversion, Kaneki was reserved and quiet; Hide was easy-going, Kaneki tended to take things a touch too seriously. 

     As he sat listening to Kaneki ramble on about some girl he'd started pining over at a local cafe, though, Hide realized that his original resolution wouldn't be one so easily followed. Hide, despite constantly teasing Kaneki about his lack of a love life, was starting to feel a bit bitter as he heard Kaneki describe his wishes to take her out on a date to the bookstore. It was fairly clear to Hide that he was starting to feel jealous of this mystery woman. 

     "Man," Hide laughed, his carefree front seamless as ever, "you're hopeless. You can't take a girl to the bookstore on your first date!"

     The corners of Kaneki's lips turned down in a frown. "Well, she might think it's a good idea."

     Hide took note of the familiarly defensive edge to Kaneki's voice. He knew Kaneki didn't truly take offense to his response, and he was sure that Kaneki interpreted his teasing as being without any particular reason. Really though, Hide just wanted to subtly discourage Kaneki from pursuing the girl. "She'll think your lame," Hide snorted. 

     Flusteredly crossing his arms, Kaneki straightened up. "Then I'll take her out for burgers."

     Hide only laughed harder at this, slightly perturbed as he realized that, if he were having this conversation with anybody else, he'd likely be more supportive. 

     "I'm being serious!" Kaneki huffed.

     "I know." Hide leaned his head into his hands, meeting Kaneki's eyes with a lopsided grin, a hint of a chuckle lacing his voice. "That's why it's so funny." He didn't take the sudden rush of serotonin into his blood stream as a good sign. Of all times to be feeling this way, why now?

     Kaneki didn't avert his gaze, using the opportunity to throw a challenge Hide's way. "Since when are you an expert? Where would you take a girl on a date?"

      Like Hide would know. "Well," he responded half-halfheartedly, "I would pay attention to her interests and choose a place based off of that."

     "You have no idea, do you?"

     Hide knew he should've taken offense to the implication that he's inexperienced with girls, or that he should've at least have shot back at Kaneki with a sarcastic comment, but he just shrugged. "I guess girls aren't my strong-suit."  

     The cafe was abuzz with quiet chatter that blended in with the sounds of brewing coffee and the low-volume news station that was broadcasting on an overhead television. All of it was background noise to Hide, though, as he decided to press Kaneki for more details. "So, who is she? The cute girl you were telling me about?"

     Blood rushed to Kaneki's face and he stared back at Kaneki with wide eyes, flustered at the casual mention of her. Hide noticed right away, and felt a slight pang of envy at the girl. To his own dismay, Hide realized he wanted to be the one to pull such reactions out of Kaneki. 

     "Oh, that's her?" In an attempt to distract himself, Hide took a wild guess, gesturing towards a waitress addressing a table a few feet away. She seemed like Kaneki's type, with her well-mannered smile and naturally pretty features; less like Hide and more like Kaneki.

     Kaneki shook his head, his eyes awkwardly trailing over to her. "No. She's pretty cute too, though."

     Since when had Kaneki had enough interest in women to develop opinions on their appearances? The development bothered Hide a bit more than he would've liked to admit. 

     Any other time, Hide would've called the girl over and made a terrible attempt at courting her. Something about his situation stopped him from doing so, though. "Is she, Kaneki?"

     Kaneki furrowed his brow in confusion at Hide's question. Before he could reply, a soft chime of the cafe's shopkeeper bell sounded, and his eyes flitted up. "It's her."

     Hide followed Kaneki's gaze to the door. She was cute—beyond that, really. Soft, lavender hair fell over her shoulders, where structured collarbones connected; her dress hugged her slight frame; and her dark, eerie eyes fit onto her well proportioned features like two ravens in a meadow. She was gorgeous by any man's standards, and Kaneki's infatuation was completely warranted. 

     Relief flooded over Hide. He had nothing to worry about. As amazing as Kaneki was, a girl like that would never give a guy like him the time of day.  "Don't even go there. It's like beauty and the whatever."

     "The beast," Kaneki corrected.

     Hide was majoring in English. Of course he knew the correct name of such a classic western fairy tale; he just didn't care enough to express this. He didn't bother to point this out to Kaneki. "Well, then," Hide yawned, stretching out to loosen the muscles that had grown stiff from sitting with Kaneki for such a long stretch of time, "now that I've seen you lovelorn, I think I'll take my leave."

     He dropped some loose change on the table before standing up and heading towards the door, despite Kaneki's weak protests. Now that he knew the type of girl Kaneki had allegedly fallen for, Hide no longer felt the need to sit and guard his friend. He didn't need to worry about her stealing him away; she was out of his league. The thought was enough to boost his mood, enough so that he teasingly bid goodbye to the cute waitress on his way out.

     "Keep your head in the clouds, Kaneki," Hide called with a wave as he stepped out of the door.

End of Part One