It was a sunny day that day- just like this one. Tsukiyama smiled ruefully. It was almost as if fate was mocking him with the beautiful clear skies above his head- completely contradicting his mood. An onlooker might've taken one look at Tsukiyama and thought they had walked in onto the set of a cliché teen angst film. For Tsukiyama was sitting atop a bench in the park, shade from a nearby tree casting dramatic shadows over his face and soft wind rustling violet strands of hair. His wardrobe was altered drastically; instead of lavender suits and polished shoes, he now wore cashmere sweaters and washed out jeans. Granted, the outfit by itself wasn't necessarily bad, but this was a huge step down for the ever-elegant Gourmet. He had barely found enough energy to once again enter the outside world, so he paid little attention to what he wore this time around- much to Kanae's dismay.

Last he was here, he was a completely different man. Content, and hopeful. A bubbly laugh erupted to his left, and he turned to see what appeared to be a high school couple walking on the pebbled path. A short blonde had dropped her scone on the ground, and her partner was laughing good-naturedly before offering some of his own treat. Tsukiyamas' eyes crinkled at the sight. Ah, jeune amour. How sweet. Sickeningly sweet. He didn't want to remember. The memory sprung up anyway. Perhaps it was his fault for walking to this particular park. He had just gone where his feet had taken him, so it was probably just a subconscious thing. He cursed his mind for betraying him like this.

He came out here in the hopes of some normalcy, something to help Tsukiyama forget about.. him. No, instead he was only pointed out of what could've been, what should've been.

This ghoul was tired of mourning, of shattered faith and broken dreams that could never be. Tsukiyama tilted his head back and closed his eyes, allowed the wind to transport him to another time, another place. When he opened his eyes again, he was beside his beloved once more. He could still faintly remember his scent. He inhaled deeply and turned to Kaneki. He let out a puff of laughter at the small pout on Kaneki's face. Seems his coffee had spilled on the ground. Tsukiyama was about to offer to buy him another, but he stopped mid-way upon noticing the look of utter horror on his date's face. His singular eye was fixated on Tsukiyamas' white shoes-

… Well, they had been white before, but now they were stained with droplets of dark coffee. The Gourmet looked back up at Kaneki. This was one of his favorite looks so far- all flushed cheeks and shoulders raised to messy, brown locks of hair. He wondered how a bite would taste right about now, what with all the blood rushing up to his face. Délicieux! Without thinking, Tsukiyama leaned down and pecked Kaneki's cheek. Only after the deed was done had the older man took note of his actions, for Kankeki eeped! and placed a delicate hand over the spot.

"Ts-Tsukiyama-san.. wha-" he began. However, Tsukiyama was quick to intervene.

"Ah, désolé, Kaneki-kun! You are simply too irresistible!" The suited man directed a hand flourish towards Kaneki's way.

"R-right.." Being quite flustered, Kaneki brought his gaze to the ground, which inadvertently brought him full circle as to why he freaked out in the first place. Tsukiyamas' shoes were the exact same kind he'd seen his cousin get one Christmas, back before his mom-

Okay deep breath. Anyway, those were the same kind his cousin had gotten, while he was forgotten. Kaneki told himself it was fine, he didn't need anything other than maybe his books… but then he saw that pair or white shoes padding across fields of green with his aunt, without a care in the world. The younger Kankei felt the prickling thorn of envy poke at his side. He wanted to ruin those shoes.

Ah well, looks like his wish was granted when he almost tripped over his own two feet (seriously Ken, get it together) and sacrificed his to-go coffee for his balance. Now Kaneki dumbly watched as darks spots bled onto pristine white shoes.

"Tsukiyama-san… I'm really sorry, I-I can pay for them, ah err… well that is, I don't really have the money at the moment but um, i-if you just give me enough time I can-" He probably would've kept rambling if it wasn't for Tsukiyama cutting in again.

"Oh my, there's no need for that! I can just buy another pair. I wasn't very fond of these anyways, so it looks like you rather did me a favor!" Tsukiyama smiled brightly.

Well. Kaneki wasn't going to push it much farther if he said it was okay. He nodded demurely and was about to set off again but stopped mid-step and did a 180. It couldn't be that comfortable walking in drenched shoes. Erm.. they weren't exactly drenched, but the younger one still felt a bit guilty. The least he could do was help clean it up a little.

He went to his knees- mindful of the coffee puddle on the ground- and brought out a handkerchief from his back pocket. Kaneki began to wipe at Tsukiyamas' shoes. Once he was mostly done, he realized that doing such a sudden act without any words of explanation might seem a bit weird. Still kneeling before Tsukiyama, Kaneki raised his face and began, "Umm.."

He trailed off after noticing the odd expression upon the normally cool face, eye tracing over slightly tinted cheekbones. Strange, thought Kaneki. He'd never seen that before from Tsukiyama. Then again, this was only their third time meeting so it's not like he had much to go on.

"I didn't think it'd be entirely comfortable walking around like that so…" Kaneki stopped himself, brain finally catching up to his actions. His eyes flicked downwards and back up again. Oh, he thought. This was… probably not the best position to find himself in; especially not in public. After taking a waddle-sort-of step backwards and putting at least more than his original 3 inches of space from face-to-crotch, Kaneki shakily stood up.

"I-I uh.. sorry about that?" He wasn't sure if he should've made an attempt to help at all. He always makes such a mess out of things (Stupid, stupid). "I ummm… didn't mean t-to.. Ah.."

"I-it's fine, it was a charmat gesture," Tsukiyama saved him from explaining himself further. The slight stutter in his typically elegant voice made Kaneki dully wonder what other kinds of things he could make his voice change- but no, Kaneki got off that train of thought quickly. "Anyway, I'd rather not walk around in these, so I'll just call for one of my servants to come bring me a new pair."

"Is that really ok?" Kaneki asked in a slightly disbelieving tone. Ah wait, did he say servants? He knew this man was wealthy, but just how much? Was he really a model like he first assumed?

"Oui, it should be fine. Besides, if I were to head into a store for a replacement right now, I doubt the owner would let me in. Trailing all this in," Tsukiyama explained as he pulled out a very expensive looking phone. "Hello, would you be so kind as to bring me a new pair of shoes? I'd like…" Here the Gourmet trailed off as he appeared to be re-assessing his outfit. "Forzieri Oxford shoes.. the two-to-.. Aha you know me well… Mn, yes… Right… Sich beeilen!"

While Tsukiyama had been arranging things over the phone, Kaneki had led the older man over to a nearby bench and sat him down. Upon observing the (quite cute) fidgeting of Tsukiyamas' legs, the half-ghoul resolved to take ahold of them and place them atop his lap. Quickly- as not to lose his nerve- Kaneki began untying the laces.

It was a good thing Tsukiyama had ended the call when he did, because he spluttered and almost spilled his own coffee, too. He placed the cup on the ground beside the bench first, then began in a rather high-pitched voice. "K-Kaneki-kun?! What-"

"Sh-shut up. You always make big deals out everything that happens to me, s-so I thought I'd return the favor," Kaneki had (somehow) successfully unlaced the ruined shoes and was now placing them gingerly on the other side of him. The brunette looked down and numbly took in how Tsukiyama wore blood-red socks and wondered in the back of his mind, is all his clothes this gaudy? He shook his head.

"Gaudy? My dearest Kaneki-kun, you wound me."

Kaneki whipped his head toward Tsukiyama. Oh no. Had he said that aloud? He had. "O-oh! No! I didn't mean.. I just…"

Tsukiyama was laughing openly now; not small chuckles contained behind dainty hands. This… was something Kaneki could get used to hearing. His laughter was nice- had almost a musical tone to it.

Ah, what am I thinking? Nonetheless, Kaneki smiled in spite of that. He couldn't help it. It was contagious. "A-ah well… It's true, y'know? You'd look much more handsome in a real suit," He jabbed playfully at a visible ankle.

"Real?!" Tsukiyama asked incredulously. "And what makes you think this isn't a real suit? I'll have you know that this is hand-crafted by only the finest Italian designers and- Wait…" Tsukiyama suddenly smiled in a Cheshire-like way. "Kaneki-kun, did you just say I was handsome?"

It was Kaneki's turn to splutter now. "What?! No, no, I-I.. No I didn't mean- I never said-"

During Kaneki's bout of embarrassed stammering, Tsukiyama was exclaiming loudly in a variety of languages. "My! How dolce! Bezaubernd! Ita bellus es!"

"Oh my god, shut up!" Kaneki effectively silenced the overly-dramatic Gourmet by throwing a nearby twig at his face. A surprised oof! was heard.

"Désolé, but did you really have to hurt me?" Tsukiyama pouted.

"Shut it. It's not as if I actually hurt you," Kaneki glanced over just to make sure. "Anyway, when's your servant coming over?" He absently stroked at the soft socks Tsukiyama wore. This didn't go unnoticed, but Tsukiyama didn't dare utter a word about that.

"He should be here soon. Kaneki-kun, if you don't mind me asking… are you always this mean to all your friends? Have I been fooled?"

"Pfft!" The younger one snorted. Mean? Was he mean to others? Well, not really.. He sometimes yelled at Hide, but that was usually when Hide was teasing him and Kaneki wasn't afraid to express his feelings around him. Kaneki was close to Hide.

So.. did that mean Kaneki was getting closer to Tsukiyama? No way. They'd just barely met while it took months for Hide to break past Kanekis' walls. If this really was happening… " I… I'm not like this to most people so… I guess you just bring out a different side of me, Tsukiyama-san," Kaneki smiled demurely.

"Kaneki-kun," Tsukiyama breathed out.

"Mein gott! Tsukiyama! Finally, I have found you!" What seemed to be a younger version of the suited man appeared before the pair, panting and holding out a black box.

"Ah, Kanae. Great timing," Here the ghoul rolled his eyes, and Kaneki chuckled a bit at the sight. The new man to the party turned to glare at Kaneki, but quickly schooled his face into a graceful smile. He then turned again to address his look-alike.

"I'm terribly sorry sir, but the traffic at this hour is just schrecklich! Here are the shoes you ordered," Kanae handed the box to Tsukiyama.

"Ah, oui. Thank you."

… Did both of these guys spout off in random languages? I mean, they've got to be related, right?

Tsukiyama laughed aloud for the second time that day. Kaneki felt his eyes widen as he turned to look at Tsukiyama, because no, not again, please not-

A look at a slightly disgruntled Kanae told him, yes, yes again.

"Ohmygod I am soooo sorry-"

"Tsukiyama… You didn't tell me you were on a date. How lovely," Kanae addressed his master, but was looking straight at Kaneki. The flustered half-ghoul looked up and immediately regretted it. The smile on Kanae's face was, he decided, not human. "Will you be taking him over to the restaurant?" Kanae continued.

Restaurant? Tsukiyama has his own restaurant? Well duh, of course he does. He has his own servants, how much father is having his own restaurant, really? Kaneki looked towards Tsukiyama to await his answer. Oddly, his lips curled into a frown and his eyebrows became pinched with.. was it worry?

"The restaurant," He repeated. "Is not something we talk about in public."

"Right, right. Entschuldigen sie. You will, though. Right?" Kanae smiled brightly.

"Kanae," Tsukiyama all but growled.

Kaneki got shivers down his spine. He didn't understand why Tsukiyama was getting so angry, but he figured it was… rich people stuff..? Nevertheless, he didn't ask any questions for the fear of either of them snapping. Kaneki subconsciously tightened his hold on Tsukiyama's ankle, which seemed to bring the seething man back to his senses.

"Sorry-"

"I don't need to hear it. We will talk about this once I get home, understand?"

"Yes, of course," Kanae bowed and began walking away; to what Kaneki only assumed a limo or perhaps one of those fancy sports car. Once Kanae was a speck on the horizon, Tsukiyama began,

"I am extremely sorry you had to see that, Kaneki-kun. Sometimes Kanae forgets who he's talking to."

"A-ah, no.. it's my fault…" Kaneki nervously apologized.

"For what? You did nothing wrong, mon chérie!" Tsukiyama reached over and patted the hand atop his feet. Kaneki opened his mouth with the intent of asking multiple questions, but figured Tsukiyama wouldn't be able to answer any of them with his previous reaction to the restaurant. Ah well, he might find out someday if Kanae was so adamant on him visiting, right? He guessed he'd have to wait until then. Instead, he asked a different question.

"What does that even mean? Sounds Italian or something.."

Well, today must be Kaneki's lucky day, because it was now the third time he heard Tsukiyama laugh like that. Kaneki got the strange urge to just lean over and ki-

Oh my god, no. Just- no. Ken, what are you thinking? Kaneki coughed and discreetly tried to hide his blush, but Tsukiyama seemed to notice anyway and smiled slyly. Damn eccentric guy. Curse him for being so gorgeous and-

"Merveilleux. No, but you're close. It is French, and well, as for the meaning… You know, I think it'd be better if you look it up!" Tsukiyama seemed to fidget a bit. Strange.

"What? No way, I don't even know how to say that, much less spell it! That's not fair, Tsukiyama-san!" Kaneki crossed his arms defiantly and pouted. "At least write it down somewhere!"

Tsukiyama seemed to ponder this for a bit and decided, 'Why don't I just text it to you? Oh wait, is it possible we haven't even exchanged numbers? The tragedy! We must do so now!" The Gourmet whipped out his phone and stared eagerly at the other.

"Ah w-well… I don't have my phone with me.. You see, I don't use it much so I don't remember my number…" Kaneki twiddled with the ends of pinstriped trousers.

"Oh, I see. That's fine, I can just give you my number!"

"O-okay… Do you have like, a paper or something..? I only have this pen for some reason.." Kaneki pulled said pen out from his pockets. Must've stuffed it in there when he was in a hurry to class or something.

"Hm.." Tsukiyama patted himself down but came up dry. "Seems I do not… no worries though, we can just ask someone!" He began to pull his legs down to the ground, but Kaneki stopped him. It seemed a bit childish what he wanted to do but…

'Wait! You can just… write it h-here…" The half-ghoul placed the pen in Tsukiyama's palm and presented him his own hand.

Tsukiyama peered up at Kaneki, whose gaze was cast aside as his cheeks were lightly dusted with pink. The suited man then grinned and proceeded to finish the task at hand. The angle was awkward, but Tsukiyama finished it gracefully despite that.

Once Kaneki looked back to see the final product, he blushed even harder. Of course, he should've expected Tsukiyama's handwriting to be as elegant as him. Under the set of blue numbers was,

'mon chérie'

Kaneki smiled. "Th-thanks Tsukiyama… I'll definitely look this up now! And I'll text you when I find it! It better not be something mean.." He pouted.

"No, no, it's not, I promise. Ah, it's getting kind of late, would you like me to walk you home?"

Kaneki looked around them and seemed to finally realize how late it actually was. The sun was already going down. When did that happen? "Um, no, it's fine. I can walk myself," Kaneki gently pushed the red-clad feet off his lap.

"But Kaneki-kun-"

"I'm not a girl, Tsukiyama-san."

"I know, I didn't mean to imply anything, it's just that it gets dangerous at night and-"

"Tsukiyama-san. I live like literally ten minutes from here. It's not even night yet, really."

"But it will be soon-

"It will be soon if we keep arguing like this. Look-"

"Ah, ah! No, you should just let me walk you home, it's the least I can do to-"

"Oh my lord, do you ever shut up?" Kaneki pushed Tsukiyama back down onto the bench- for they had stood up in their argument- and kissed him right on the lips. To say Tsukiyama was stunned was an understatement.

Kaneki giggled and ran off before the now-stuttering Tsukiyama came to.

The ghoul sat there for at least ten minutes before he snapped. "K-K-K-Kaneki-kun?!"

Now, Tsukiyama placed his hand over his lips, remembering the brief, but sweet kiss. He smiled, then looked around him. His smile slowly deformed into a frown. The streetlights had turned on and there were only a few stragglers left behind on the streets. Since when did it get this late? Ah, he was losing track of time once again. Well, time didn't matter much to him anyway.

Nothing did really. Now that he was gone.

Tsukiyama slowly got off the bench, bones creaking ad popping as he stretched. He really was a long time out there, huh? His mundane journey back home was without a hitch. Well, except for when he bumped into another man at the turn of a corner. Odd, he seemed to have the ends of his hair bleached white or something. Must be a new fashion trend. It's not like Tsukiyama would know, since he doesn't keep up with them anymore.

They guy only muttered a small sorry, but it wasn't a big deal. It didn't compare to the heartbreak he was going through now. Well, whatever. It didn't matter anyways.

Tsukiyama somehow made it up the stairs to his room and promptly collapsed on his king-sized bed. He took his sweater off and flung it half-heartedly to the other side of the bed. He was about to pass out when he noticed that a slip of paper a few inches from his face. It must've fallen from his sweater pockets.

Thinking it was another note from Kanae, saying something like, 'Lächeln!' Tsukiyama reached out with a heavy sigh.

Tsukiyama was shocked. On the small slip of paper was a set of numbers in blue. And below it,

'mon chérie'

AN: So uh. Me and my friend decided that this ship is in dire need of some more fluff. So yaaaaaay lots of fluff!~ Also, Google translate is my best friend. Please don't hate me if I did something wrong in a different language ;n;