Notes:

+ written for a tumblr shipping meme, prompted by maplecat89: "Any pets? Or plants?"

+ hope you like it!

For the third time that day, the patrons and employees of Anteiku flinch as a cry rings out through the restaurant, followed by a breathless "Sorry! Sorry! I'm sorry!"

Kojima glances at her with a grin, and Touka groans. Not again.

She turns, runs a towel under cold water, and pushes it into Kaneki's hand.

"The steamer is for the milk," she reminds him. "Not your hand."

"Thanks," he says, with a grimace. She sends him off to the back room to get a bandage, and almost tears her hair out when he burns himself again the instant he returns to the espresso machine.

And that isn't the end of her troubles. His cappuccinos are totally flat. His latte art is a goopy, incoherent disgrace. When he makes a mocha he spills chocolate syrup on his hand, and unthinkingly sticks his finger into his mouth to lick it off. The next thing Touka knows, she's hauling him to the bathroom and patting his back as he retches over the toilet.

Still, he leaves that day with his unfaltering soft smile, despite the fact he has bandages on all but one of his fingers. Touka is relieved until she opens up the back room's fridge to pick up her food for the week, and realizes the package marked KANEKI is still on the shelf, totally forgotten. She rests her head on the wall for a second, allows herself one exasperated hiss, and then dashes off after him, his package in hand.

Slowly, he gets the hang of the steamer and the espresso pull, though she practically cordons off the bean grinder from his access and tells everyone not to let him near it. When ten minutes finally pass without a casualty, Touka retreats to the back room for a break.

Someone has left a magazine on the table, something about "small apartment lifestyles," and she lounges on the couch and pages through it. To her surprise, there's a huge feature on pet rabbits, and she lingers on a photo of a particularly fluffy lionhead rabbit eating a carrot that is much larger than it is. A flush colors one cheek. It's really cute. Really cute. Before she knows it, she sees the lionhead romping around her apartment…hopping excited figure-eights between her ankles when she gets home…taking a super-large carrot from her hand…

There's a knock on the doorframe, and she's so startled that she sits up straight and throws the magazine on the table, as if she'd been looking at something shameful.

"Oh," Kaneki says, "sorry, Touka-chan."

"It's fine," she says, clearing her throat. "What happened? Did it get busy downstairs?"

"Um, no…"

He hesitates, then lifts up his hand. His last unbandaged finger is pink with a brand new steam burn. Touka rubs her forehead and stands up to retrieve the first aid kit. She gestures for him to sit across from her and she dabs it with iodine and prepares the gauze and tape.

"Thanks," Kaneki says, scratching his head in embarrassment and wincing when he brushes one of his wounds too hard.

"Don't mention it," Touka mutters. "Just don't start moving on to your toes next. For one thing, you'll have to use your feet to walk back if you forget your food again today, because I'm not running after you again."

"Haha…yeah…of course. I'll do my best." While she works, Kaneki glances around the room and down at the magazine, which is still open to the rabbit feature.

"Oh, are you planning on getting a rabbit?" he asks, just as Touka finishes his bandage.

She looks down at the photo again.

"Aren't they kind of time-consuming?" he asks, and suddenly Touka sees it herself. She'd have to teach it how to behave properly…have to take care of it if it got sick or injured…have to run after it if it forgot to eat…

"Yeah," she sighs. "One pet is enough."

"Huh? You — you already have a pet?"

"Nevermind. Don't worry about it."