Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul nor gain any profit from it. I just write stories for mine and everyone's enjoyment.

He was the only ghoul who seemed to have his kakugan activated until the ghoul with the eye patch covering his left eye made a comment, asking if he was hungry. Uta just told him he preferred to have it activated constantly. How strange an answer it was. Then again, Uta was a strange ghoul in general but strange in a good, fascinating way. And he managed to spark an interest in Kaneki just as Kaneki sparked an interest in the mask maker. To Uta, Kaneki smelled unusual and that gained his interest. But that smell wasn't a bad smell.

Uta wanted to know more about Kaneki other than what he was allergic to or not allergic to and his head measurements. It's why he managed to convince Kaneki stay the night shortly after he took his measurements and they spent that entire night talking about interests. Kaneki listened to Uta as he talked about art and how fascinated he was by it and how he became a mask maker. Of course when the tattooed ghoul mentioned he liked reading as well, Kaneki lit up like it was his birthday.

It was then Uta's turn to listen to Kaneki talk about his favorite books while taking in his irresistible smell. He was discreet about how he went about smelling the half ghoul as he didn't want to make him too uncomfortable. But Uta couldn't help himself. To him, Kaneki had the stench of blood a ghoul has yet the irresistible spicy sweet smell of a human. Both scents collided and made Kaneki smell quite delicious. It made Uta quite hungry but not enough to actually devour the younger ghoul. It would mean harming one of the few interests in his life. And Uta didn't wish to do that. Not after getting a chance to talk with Kaneki alone.

The tattooed ghoul found he really liked Kaneki and asked him to come visit him anytime. This continued for nearly a month and a half while Kaneki attempted to get used to his life as a ghoul. Touka usually accompanied Kaneki to the place because of the ghoul investigators looming about but Kaneki figured he could do without her for one night. Which is why on one late Friday evening Kaneki found himself at Uta's place again, on his own this time despite the risks. It was a normal visit before a specific question from Kaneki had surprised Uta who stopped working on a mask, likely Kaneki's, midway. And his eyes widened in moderate shock.

"…My original eye color?" he asked in an incredulous tone as Kaneki shrunk back slightly in response, becoming little restless on the stool he is sitting on. Uta eased up upon seeing Kaneki's reaction, thinking this kid was too cute and anxious.

'No need to scare him any more than usual.' He thought, deciding not to push his boundaries in scaring the male. Though this time it was unintentional.

"Ye-yeah. I realized your kakugan is activated but you don't seem to be very hungry." He noted, now looking away from Uta who eyed the other questionably. "Ah I'm sorry for prying so much, Uta-san! I was only curious…"

"It's fine, Kaneki-kun." Uta responded calmly, trying to fend off his feelings of uneasiness before they showed on his face.

How long had Kaneki thought about what his natural eye color might be? The notion sparked a little anxiety in Uta. No one had ever pondered this so soon, or at least brought it up the way Kaneki had brought it up. The younger ghoul had to be thinking about him for an extended amount of time. While the normally apathetic mask maker rarely reacted to anything, somehow this got to him. He was happy yet he felt melancholic. It's silly but his eye color is still quite a sensitive topic for anyone to approach. It was more than him just not liking his eyes. Uta didn't think his eyes were as beautiful and as vibrant as the other shades of eye colors. Even Kaneki's smoky grey eyes were lovely. Even more so because they still retained innocence along with his sense of humanity. Good thing Rize hadn't eroded that part of Kaneki when he became part ghoul.

Uta's eyes held none of what Kaneki's eyes held. His eyes were a very dark brown, nearly black in his opinion. Nothing vibrant or lovely about that. He may be a calm, caring ghoul but that didn't mean he was innocent. He has killed people. It was to ensure his own survival and had no reason to hide that fact. Even when Kaneki saw him snacking on various human parts during his visit.

Still, the fact is Uta does not have the natural bright eyes. The ones that glittered beautifully when they are excited about something. Sure you can see that in his eyes when his kakugan is activated. Since he only gets compliments about his eyes then, he has always deliberately kept his kakugan activated. A part of him thrived on the compliments his eyes received. Yet he secretly wanted people, or at least those of his kind to see his real eyes and like them. It would help him love his natural eye color more.

After a moment of deliberation, Uta felt like it was okay to show Kaneki his real eyes. Maybe this college kid will be one of the first to like them. He didn't realize his true emotions were slipping through his defenses when the younger ghoul began fidgeting.

"You don't have to show me if you don't want to." Kaneki murmured as he looked away and Uta shook his head then.

"If it's you, Kaneki-kun, I'll show you. Please give me a moment." He told Kaneki who looked back at Uta, surprised while fidgeting in anticipation. The tattooed ghoul smiled slightly then closed his eyes.

If he were to voice his worries about revealing his eyes, Kaneki would likely tell Uta he wouldn't have to. Then Uta would have to see the suppressed look of disappointment on Kaneki's face. Because he preferred to see him smile, Uta didn't want to do anything to prevent that from happening. So for Kaneki, he decided to reveal his eyes to him. It took a moment since it has been a long time but he managed to deactivate his kakugan. That was surprisingly easy to do since he is full.

Uta took a deep breath then slowly opened his eyes. His gaze linked up with Kaneki's and it was like time had stopped. His grey eyes were wide and there was a light blush tinging his cheeks, Uta noticed. He would have been worried about how Kaneki was staring at him but he quickly noticed that was a look of awe and something else. He wanted to know what that was.

"Are my eyes that strange to you, Kaneki-kun?" Uta asked the other ghoul who was still staring at him before snapping out of it.

"Ah… No, they're not strange at all, Uta-san. I like them." Kaneki managed to get out as he thought of how to string his words together into another coherent sentence. "Your eyes are beautiful. They remind me of things that are warm. Like the sun or my mother's hugs. They also remind me of fresh soil from the earth and chocolate. I could drown myself in your eyes…"

That was… Kaneki's answer to Uta was really cute and so flattering. He felt his heartbeat pick up speed as he let the positive comments about his eyes sink in. Kaneki liked his brown eyes. In a strange way he had described it, the comments regarding his eyes was so warm. Maybe that was because Kaneki read a lot of books in his spare time. Or maybe the boy was good with his words since he was a college student. Either way, Uta felt happy. Never had he thought there would be the day he would be complimented for his real eyes. And to hear those words from Kaneki of all people was so reassuring. It made Uta accept himself a little more or at least his natural eyes.

Uta smiled then leaned in to give a stunned Kaneki a kiss on the lips. It was gentle and Uta could taste the coffee on his lips before pulling away. It would be best to not let himself be too tempted by Kaneki as a whole. He smelled too good… Too delicious…

"U-Uta-san…"

"Thank you Kaneki-kun. I'm happy you really like my eyes. You may think it's strange but my eyes when they're not hidden behind my kakugan are not something I favor. It's rather silly now that I think about it." He explained then pulled away from Kaneki who seemed in a little of a daze. It was amusing to Uta and he figured that had to be Kaneki's first time being kissed like that by anyone.

Uta touched Kaneki's cheek for a brief moment then deciding to go over to the table to work on the mask for the person in question. But just as Uta turned his back to Kaneki, he felt his wrap sweater being tugged on by the half ghoul. He glanced over at his shoulder, wondering what was on Kaneki's mind now.

"It's not silly at all, Uta-san. Even as a ghoul, you're allowed to feel anything your heart feels." Kaneki told Uta as he looked at him in his eyes. "I'm not completely okay with the life I have now but I am learning a lot from the other ghouls and seeing their side of things."

"Oh?" Uta was curious now and he pulled up a stool to sit on, now taking one of Kaneki's hands and holding it. "Care to elaborate?"

"Hmm, how should I explain… It's more like, I haven't thought what life must be like for a ghoul. Whether or not they feel the same things humans do, experience what humans experience. Just anything other than killing someone for food." Kaneki sighed in a way that made Uta raise an eyebrow.

Oh, it seems like Kaneki is the same as him but Kaneki has trouble accepting his ghoul side. And Uta realizes this.

"We as ghouls need human flesh to survive, Kaneki-kun. There is no other way around it. Coffee helps with the hunger to some degree as you know fairly well by now." Uta's fingers of his free hand gently touched Kaneki's lips, tracing them slightly. His eyes softened a little when Kaneki shivered under his light touch. "I get the thought of hurting another person is not something you wish to do…but you also need meat or else your body will be affected. The Hunger can be unbearable."

"I know…" Kaneki murmured, averting his eyes.

'This realization must still be fresh on his mind,' Uta thought while tilting his head slightly and he pulled his hands away from Kaneki's lips.

"Kaneki-kun," He managed to get the other ghoul to look at him. "How you choose to live your life is up to you. I won't force you to eat human meat but I will suggest it whenever possible. Or whenever I'm eating. I always wanted to share my meal with someone special after all."

"Special?" Kaneki's face went bright red then and he covered it with his hands, feeling embarrassed. Cute. Too cute.

"I like having you around here, Kaneki-kun. It fills me with euphoria."

"Aren't you attracted by my smell?"

"I am but I won't eat you if that is what you were worried about." Uta admitted, standing to his feet and smiled as he held out his hand for Kaneki to take. "I like you too much to see you as food, Kaneki-kun."

Kaneki glanced up at Uta warily but finally took his hand and was gently pulled to his feet. The hand Uta was holding gave his a gentle squeeze. Without saying another word, Kaneki allowed himself to be led to the back of the art studio where Uta actually lived. Good thing Uta closed the studio for the day because now he can have Kaneki all to himself.

And it didn't seem like the half ghoul minded this at all.

—

When morning came around, Kaneki woke up a little before Uta who looked so peaceful asleep. He smiled, thinking he didn't look like a ghoul. Then again, that was pretty much what he thought when he came across everyone he had met at Anteiku. But Uta was different. He was a ghoul but he didn't look like it now and yesterday when he showed Kaneki his eyes. Ah yes, his real eyes… They were beautiful. The half ghoul loved them immediately. It really felt like he was seeing the real Uta for the first time and his heart fluttered once more as he thought of those chocolate brown eyes belonging to his lover.

His lover…

Just another term he is trying to get used to. Out of anyone in the world, Kaneki never thought he would be with someone like Uta. However, he can't say he regrets it even if his body is aching slightly when he attempted to remove himself from Uta's arms. The pain will be gone along with the bite marks on his shoulders and neck. Thankfully Uta held himself back from tearing his flesh from bone. Kaneki would like to avoid that during sex if he and his partner can help it. Again, Kaneki was glad the sex with Uta wasn't so bloody last night.

Before he could succeed in removing himself from Uta's arms, he was suddenly pulled flush against Uta's bare, well-toned chest. When Kaneki lifted his face, he saw brown eyes staring back at him with a hint of sleep in them. A part of him was relieved to see Uta was not hiding those eyes from him.

'If I can see these eyes if something happens to me, I think I would be okay.' Kaneki thought to himself as he hesitantly pressed a kiss to Uta's neck, directly on the tattoo. He briefly wondered what it meant since it wasn't in Japanese but that thought was diminished by Uta lightly running his hands over his naked skin. He shivered under Uta's touch and tried to focus on what he was going to get out of bed for.

"Mmn… Uta-san, I need to get up. I have classes in two hours." He managed to get out before a small mewl escaped him when he felt hands touching him in an inappropriate place. This man was the very definition of the word 'bold.'

"That's more than enough time, Kaneki-kun," Uta's low voice chimed in his ears. The younger ghoul could have sworn he heard a smirk in his tone of voice hidden under sleepiness. "Besides, you want me to continue."

Kaneki's face turned red as he realized his kakugan must be activated in his left eye again. This happened last night too when they had…

'Damn it…' he pretended to sigh in defeat as he willingly gave himself to Uta like he did the night before. Uta's own kakugan activated in adjacent to his own desire for Kaneki as they connected their lips for a heated kiss.

Many things are still wrong with how the world is but Kaneki wanted to remain in blissful ignorance a little while longer. That is one of the few things he wants along with Uta. No, he wanted to remain with Uta for as long as possible.

Maybe he would be able to accept himself as a ghoul just as Uta began accepting his real eyes. It was a nice thought if he were to be honest with himself.

Author's Note: Cross posting from my AO3 because why not. And I figure I should update my ffn account once in a while since people still follow it. ovo; (Also, please go to my AO3. I post more there than I do here and maybe drop a kudos or comment! Thank you for reading!)