Chapter Text
A few hours later Hide stirs and groans, eyes squinting in the dimness of the room. They're still glazed and bleary, and Kaneki stands quickly, hovering over him, worried.
"Hide?" He manages, softly.
Hide blinks at him, brows furrowing.
"...'Neki?"
The ghoul's heart warms at the nickname.
Hide struggles to sit up on the hospital bed before Kaneki gently pushes him back to lay down. The look in the ghoul's eyes is soft, and Kaneki's voice is low when he asks Hide to rest.
"How are you feeling?"
Hide sighs and lifts a hand to his stomach, "A little dizzy."
"You have a mild concussion." Kaneki tells him, tucking the blankets around him, "You'll be okay though."
Hide's eyes go wide, "The baby--"
Kaneki smiles, "--is fine. No harm done."
Hide sighs and his shoulders relax in relief.
They're silent for a moment, Kaneki frozen in worry, anger and fear at the situation as Hide watches Kaneki's expression, brown eyes roaming his face.
"Are you okay?" Hide asks, voice weak in the dark hospital room.
Kaneki frowns harder, "Why are you asking me that, you were hurt! Hide you could have died!"
"But I didn't." Hide says simply, "You saved me."
Kaneki expels a shaky sigh.
"What you saw tonight, I...I need you to know you're always safe with me." Kaneki assures him, holding Hide's hand as the human tries to wake up properly.
"Of course I know that. You've been nothing but really sweet to me since we met."
"I just really want you to know that--"
"You really thought I would reject you because you're a ghoul?" Hide asks, tilting his head in confusion, "Why would I--"
Kaneki kisses him, the rush of love for the blond too intense for him to handle. In hindsight he probably shouldn't have, Hide was hooked up to machines and his body was so fragile and sometimes Kaneki got so excited that he curled around Hide too tight.
He still likes me he still likes me he still likes me--
Kaneki knows he's consciously rubbing his scent all over Hide, soaking him in smells that claimed Hide as his.
The ghoul instincts taper off a bit when Kaneki is reasonably sure that Hide smells like Kaneki and everyone within a dozen miles can smell it.
Kaneki is just content to hold Hide after that.
"Kaneki." Hide gasps, "You're squeezing me a bit too hard."
The ghoul startles and loosens his hold on the human, giving him an apologetic look.
"Hide! I'm sorry, are you hurt?" he asks, panicking.
"I'm fine." Hide smiles, one hand on his stomach and one hand fisted in Kaneki's shirt. That rush of love Kaneki experienced earlier comes back. Kaneki is just more careful now.
He holds his human gently, and Hide curls into him, quiet and for the most part, unharmed. Kaneki is grateful for that.
"What were you doing earlier?" Hide asks softly after a moment, "You looked really intense and you got really serious and started touching me everywhere."
Kaneki goes pink.
"I was uh, marking you, I guess." Kaneki tells him, looking away.
"Marking me?" Hide asks, "For what?"
"Just so others know."
"Know what?"
"That you're mine." Kaneki says suddenly, eyes sharp and tone dark. It's obviously not geared toward Hide, but the human feels a chill run up his spine at the look in Kaneki's eyes.