Kaneki x Touka [Touken] One Shots

Birthday Surprise

Set after events of Tgre last chapter.

—

It was already 12.34am by the time Kaneki reached home from the expedition outside Tokyo and he collapsed onto his bed as soon as he came out from the shower. Touka couldn't bear to wake the tired male up so she pressed a kiss to his forehead and whispered, "happy birthday, Ken."

—

20th December.

The next morning, Kaneki stirred in his sleep as the sunlight filled the room and he turned to his side, stretching his arms out to reach for his wife but they met with an empty space. His eyes shot open and he bolted up in bed. Where is she? Was she kidnapped by—his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a metal bowl hitting the floor before a squeak came from his daughter, and he could hear his wife go 'shhhh, you're going to wake papa up!'.

He sighed in relief and dropped back down onto the bed. After turning into a ghoul and fighting for many years, this kind of dreadful thoughts often haunted him, whether he was asleep or not. Glancing over to the clock on the bedside table, it said 7 am and he yawned. Why the hell were they up so early for? He was stuck between getting up to join them in whatever they were doing and going back to sleep.

Since Touka seemed to not want him to wake up, he decided on the latter and let himself drift off to a much-needed sleep.

—

Touka quickly picked the bowl up and placed it back onto the table before turning to Ichika with a frown on her face. "Be careful, you don't want to spoil the surprise for papa, do you?"

"I'm sorry, mama!"

It was Kaneki's birthday today and they planned to surprise him by baking a cake for him.

—

A few hours later, he turned on his back and slowly opened his eyes. He heard a loud 'pop' as confetti fell down on him and he felt something warm press on both of his cheeks. Fully awake now, he realized that his wife and daughter had just kissed him on his cheeks and were looking down at him with a smile on their faces.

"Happy birthday, Papa!"

"Happy birthday Ken."

Hearing both sentences at the same time by his 2 most beloved people in the entire brought a huge smile to his face and he wrapped his arms around them. To think he'd completely forgotten that today was his birthday. "Thank you."

Before Touka left the room, he held her back by her wrist and she turned to look at him. "Hey, are you alright? You said you've been having back pains since yesterday."

She stared down at her swollen belly with a smile. "I'm okay. Pretty sure your son just can't wait to come out."

A smile appeared his face at her reply.

Kaneki settled down at the dining table and waited patiently for something they said they'd bring to him. Suddenly, he heard someone singing. "Happy birthday to you..."

Whisking his head around, he saw Touka holding a cake in her hands and Ichika standing by her side. They walked towards him slowly whilst singing the birthday song and placed the cake onto the table in front of him. Tears brimming in his eyes, he stared down at the brown-colored cake and colorful candles.

"Make a wish, papa!"

"Mm, I shall."

He closed his eyes and wished for his family and friends to be healthy and safe always. Opening his eyes again, he blew on the candles' fire and they went out. Ichika ran to get the plates and cutleries and sat down beside her mama who was opposite papa. Her mama was just teasing papa about how he cried when he saw the cake.