Warning: Spoilers for people who haven't read the raw scans or following the manga. This takes place after Chapter 79. Not much of the actual storyline is mentioned here but still. Also yaoi. Tsukiken. Nothing too graphic, but rated M to be safe.

This will be a multi-part fic (with no real plot - there might be, but it'll definitely go off on a tangent of its own) with an emphasis on character interactions.

Excuse my bad writing. Enjoy!

I. Gourmet, Part III

Kaneki wakes when someone slips into his bed quietly, the mattress dipping down carefully. He pretends not to notice, but an arm slowly wraps around his waist, tugging him and enveloping him in a warm and intimate embrace. Kaneki sighs, turning around to face the other man.

The moonlight peeking through the slits of the blinds illuminate the long dark lashes, a gleam of sensuous red in the dark. A soft minty breath brushes against his face, the curve of a lip pressed against his cheek. "Did I wake you?"

Tsukiyama sounds exhausted, too tired. The usual buoyancy of his voice, evident in even his whispers and even in the most dire of situations was replaced with a soft, cracked admission of weariness.

"No." Kaneki lies. "I was awake before you came." He shifts a bit, settling more comfortably against Tsukiyama and letting the other wrap both arms around his body, the hands taking care to not stray too far down from his back.

"Waiting for me?" Tsukiyama whispers with a hint of smile. Kaneki delivers a sharp blow into his gut, hears Tsukiyama cough out a pained groan. "Ah, I take that back."

He doesn't retaliate, and instead quiets down after the pain subsides. Tsukiyama leans into Kaneki's body, his nose twitching and mouth tightly shut. Kaneki could hear the other's teeth grinding, clenched in an attempt to restrain himself from taking a bite. He thinks about the other's past actions, his proclamations of wanting to eat Kaneki, and then his sudden change of heart - but.

But Kaneki doesn't believe much of what Tsukiyama says. He is clever, sly, cunning, and downright merciless and ruthless when the situation called, always acting on his own whims and desires, similar to Rize, or of what Kaneki had found out about Rize. His life had revolved around amassing delicacies, satisfying his intricate dance of predation and refining his palate. Kaneki knew he kept a handkerchief of his blood from the first time that Tsukiyama had shown his true colors; he could smell it on him every single time he drew near.

And yet, the Tsukiyama that crawled into his bed every other night, murmuring bad pick-up lines and cracking terrible jokes that made Kaneki want to punch the other in sheer aggravation had carved out a small niche of an inexplicable fondness. This Tsukiyama was different from the day: he was almost human. He was almost genuine.

They had slept together enough on the same bed for Kaneki to trust him not to do anything. After all, it went against his "ethic," as laughingly as a term like that associated with the Gourmet.

"Sleep." Kaneki said, throwing the covers over Tsukiyama, who grabbed it gratefully and nodded obediently. Soon enough, quiet snuffles filled the silence, and Kaneki wondered, not for the first time, how this arrangement came to be.

But given daytime, Kaneki knew that Tsukiyama would be gone, pretending as if he had never passed nights in his bed and behaving in that ridiculously suspicious fawning and unctuous manner to him. Kaneki almost wished the nighttime Tsukiyama would replace the daytime, but of course that was just silly, since both were the same person.

Kaneki's eyes slid closed, and reverting to his usual position, he clutched onto Tsukiyama as he slept.

When he woke, he was gripping his pillow tightly, alone. The sunlight cast horizontal shadows on his bed, and only the faint smell of mint and lavender gave any indication that he had not been alone in the night.

Strangely enough, it brought Kaneki more comfort than he had thought. I'm getting weak, he thinks before plodding into the bathroom, leaving behind a tangle of slowly cooling bedsheets.

Tsukiyama crawls into Kaneki's bed again the next night. "I have information," he says as a way to explain himself. Kaneki stares, deadpan, at the silk pajamas that stretch nicely across Tsukiyama's torso and legs.

"Of course you do." Kaneki mutters, turning around to face away from Tsukiyama as he snuggles against his back. "Save that for the morning then, I guess."

"Thanks." Tsukiyama whispers into his ear, and Kaneki, too used to these gestures, brushes off the tingling feeling away, shrugging slightly. "Good night." Hesitating, Kaneki adds, "Sleep well, okay?"

A soft voice replies, "Yes. Good night, Kaneki-kun." Kaneki doesn't need to turn around to know that Tsukiyama is smiling.

He lies in bed feeling Tsukiyama's chest hunched over him, the rise and fall of the other's chest rhythmic, soothing. He closes his eyes and tries to fall asleep. Tonight sleep eludes him, and he feels restless. He turns around, presses his face into Tsukiyama's chest, ignores the soft flutter coursing through the other's body, and inhales the scent of mint and lavender. The effect is almost instant, Kaneki's eyes drop, his limbs relax, and he clings to Tsukiyama as the gentle tides of sleep washes away his consciousness.

Kaneki wakes up around the same time in the morning when Tsukiyama usually gets out of bed. For Kaneki, it is the loss of the other's body that jolts him awake. Tsukiyama, startled by the sudden change in Kaneki's breathing pattern, turns around, halfway through tugging off his silk night shirt. The shift in expression, from surprised to a pretentiously playful and cheerful expression, catches Kaneki off guard and he clenches his fist as Tsukiyama drawls out, "Good morning, my darling!"

The face that he makes, a large smirk with closed eyes, causes Kaneki to momentarily snap and throw his pillow into Tsukiyama's face with a loud thump. He darts forward, driving the other's momentum to the floor. Glaring, face flushed with the early morning exertion, Kaneki straddles the other's abdomen, pinning his arms to his side.

Dark eyes blink up at him in unveiled surprise. "What? Kaneki-kun..." He looks up into Kaneki's angry face, bemused. "Did I do something?"

Kaneki tries to control his anger, fails, and squeezes his eyes shut, his nails digging into Tsukiyama's bare shoulders. He inhales deeply, the scent of lavender and mint strangely intoxicating, and exhales, his mind cooling off. Without a word he gets off of Tsukiyama, throwing his dress shirt at him, gaze averted.

"Don't greet me with that stupid expression!" Kaneki says, cheeks flushing at how...how tsundere he sounds.

"O-okay." Tsukiyama replies, unnerved, and pulls on the dress shirt. Kaneki's embarrassment fades, a vindictive pleasure of knowing that even Tsukiyama didn't know what to do in these kinds of situations almost balancing out his initial outburst.

At that moment, Banjou knocks on his door, asking with well-meaning intentions, "Are you alright, Kaneki-kun? I heard some strange noises."

"I'm alright." Kaneki shoots Tsukiyama a look, willing him to understand this and possibly go away or hide. Tsukiyama is halfway through his pants, and Banjou chooses that moment to open the door. His eyes go stupidly wide, mouth falling open like a goldfish, and his loud, loud voice carries throughout the whole entire house as he yells, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Everyone runs to Kaneki's room, standing outside as Tsukiyama beams brightly at everyone, somehow appearing suave and smooth, even with his pants half down his legs. "Kaneki-kun invited me over for the night! I simply couldn't refuse his gracious offer." His voice lowers, and he looks over at Kaneki with hooded eyes.

Banjou almost roars in his anger at what Tsukiyama implies. "What?! You- No- Kaneki-kun isn't like that! Put some pants on!"

Tsukiyama tugs on the rest, calmly clasps his belt, and pats the red-faced Banjou on the back. "Why don't you ask Kaneki himself?"

All this while, Kaneki was silently cursing Banjou for interrupting, Tsukiyama for being so infuriating, and himself. Crossing his arms against bare chest, he almost huffs in annoyance but catches himself with three pairs of eyes trained on him in horrified curiosity. Tsukiyama's pose at the door is casual, ikemen-like, and his face is smooth and leering. Dark eyes follow his movement, predatory and keen, but some shadow of emotion makes Kaneki want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Two could play at this game. Smiling as innocently as he can, Kaneki pulls Tsukiyama back inside his room. "You guys are disturbing us, Banjou-san! And," his ears prick up as they catch movement upstairs, "I think Hinami-chan is awake." With that, he pushes the rest out of the door and closes it.

"Are you sure you wanted to do that, Kaneki-kun?" Tsukiyama's voice is purring and low. Kaneki glares at him, coolly noting the subtle shiver in the other's stance.

He steps gracefully around Tsukiyama, circling him and closing in, watching Tsukiyama take hesitating, stuttering steps away, pupils dilated and a cold sweat beginning to dot his brow. Pinning Tsukiyama against the wall, Kaneki leans upwards, holding his cold glare. He breathes out softly, feels the muscles against the body tense and swell. His mouth hovers near Tsukiyama's chin, but his hands are enough to bring Tsukiyama to the floor, on his knees. Kaneki straddles his hips again, locking the other against the wall. He is close enough, too close in fact, to see the red flecks in the taller man's eyes, small cracks in the other's dry lips.

Kaneki places his head onto Tsukiyama's shoulder, inhales the musky scent of lavender and mint, and then shakes in silent laughter.

"Kaneki-kun?" Tsukiyama says slowly, nervously as if afraid.

Kaneki raises his head and locks his gaze with the other's, thinking I can't believe that I'm actually going to do this. Closing his eyes in preparation, Kaneki inches closer to the other man. He is much too tense, but...

Tsukiyama blinks and stares. His expression is more confused than Kaneki has ever seen, and Kaneki climbs off Tsukiyama with a large wicked grin. "I thought this was what you wanted, Tsukiyama-san."

Dark violet brows furrow, and a faint pink stains the other's face before smoothing out. A twisted, ironic smile appears on his face. "That's playing dirty, Kaneki-kun."

Kaneki shrugs, stripping off his boxers and pulling on his skin tight fighting suit. He watches Tsukiyama's face as he stretches, feeling oddly satisfied at the sudden bob of the other's Adam's apple and the dilating pupils. "Help me? I can't get the back." He says, feeling a small wrinkle in the back.

Tsukiyama's hands are shaking slightly as he pulls out the wrinkle from the latex, his fingers brushing against Kaneki's skin, the area where his rinkaku is. "You little brat." He mutters shakily, and Kaneki, used to 24/7 proclamations of his brilliance and worthiness, starts before grinning. He gives in to the temptation of wriggling his hips a little, hears the sharp intake of breath, and thinks about how to trap Tsukiyama completely.

Loyalty, Kaneki thinks as he turns toward Tsukiyama with a small and lopsided smirk, could be obtained in more than one way.

Parts 1-4 will be posted out of order.