#happy!!!! birthday!!!! cant wait to see u tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[fairyrona]

when everything's made to be broken (i just want you to know who i am) by @hoteadepresso pt 1

‘Stop.’ Will forced out, shaking his head in disbelief, hurt painting his features ‘Mike, that’s not funny. It’s mean.’ He thought he was joking. Mike was throwing his bleeding heart onto his floor, and he thought it was some sort of a prank. Fuck. ‘You really think I would joke about it?’ his voice sounded like it came from far away, weak and broken. His hand twitched, yearning to touch Will, to take his hand, to brush his fingertips against his warm skin for just one second even if that was all he could ever get.

late happy birthday present for Alex, the bestestest person out there!!!

a little bit of backstory; Once upon a time user @hoteadepresso wrote a fic (click here!!) (read it, its fucking amazing!!!!!!) which I immediately wanted to make fanart of, so, ofc it took me like, over a year to finish just this pt 1 <33

thus, the artstyle changes, which are a thing in this thing

[ghoulsandsunflowers]

Raindrop Prelude - Chapter 7 (Epilogue)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12988278/chapters/33339309 ___________________________________________________________

Pathetic fallacy, as courtesy of Google, is The attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature.

Hide remembered learning about it in literature. the use of certain types of weather in fiction would convey the mood of the scene - for example, a storm if it was sad, sunshine if it was happy, so on and so forth.

He couldn't say he was inclined to agree that it had ever applied to his own life.

Hide liked the rain.

He liked the sound of it hammering outside when he was curled up and warm on a sofa with Kaneki snoring gently on his shoulder. He liked the thrill of running through the sleet with kaneki clutching onto his hand, laughing maniacally at the hopelessness of staying dry.

It only seemed appropriate that it rained on Hide and Kaneki's wedding day.

-

Hide span around and slammed the door shut behind him, panting for breath. as always, the bell above the door rang distantly.

"Ken? Babe? I got your text, is everything okay?"

Usually Kaneki would call out to him from the counter at the back of the shop, but Hide didn't hear anything besides his own deep breaths and the patter of rain on the roof. He brought up his phone to check his text history, just in case Kaneki had replied.

> hide!! are you free right now?

< from the constraints of societal expectations and crushing social pressures? no. am i busy today? also no, whats up

> that sounds like something I'd say. you've been hanging around me too much.

< ken darling i do believe we've been dating for four years now. its too late to get rid of me

< xxxxxxxxxxxxx

> guess im stuck with you, huh. anyhow if youre not busy would you mind coming down to the shop?

< sure thing baaabbee im omw

< do u need me for something?? ur not gonna make me change carry all that compost again are u

< my limp noodle arms cant take it

> maybe. just get over here you donut

> Xxx

There had been no more messages since.

Hide shrugged and slid his phone back into his pocket. Whatever Kaneki wanted, it better have been important. Despite getting the bus to avoid the rain, the walk from the nearest bus stop still left Hide utterly drenched.

(Who was he kidding, Hide would have come over in a hurricane even if Kaneki just wanted a back rub.)

He trudged through the shop as he had hundreds of times before. It wasn't hugely different from his first time visiting, though he was proud to say his influence had certainly called for some changes. He'd convinced Kaneki to repaint the door after months of insisting it would boost business. There was bunting hanging off the walls from when Hide had surprised Kaneki on his birthday and neither of them had the heart to take it down afterwards.

There was also now an additional chair perched in front of the counter, for when Hide visited for either a chat with a coffee, or to serenade Kaneki with an old second hand guitar that lived in the back room of the shop.

Hide had also tried serenading customers.

Hide was now banned from serenading customers.

From where he was, Hide could make out the counter, as well as the distinct lack of a certain somebody behind it.

"Kaneki? You alright? Are you in the back?"

No response.

The closer Hide got to the counter, the more he noticed how much less it looked as to usual. "Usual" meaning dusted with soil, a till hastily pushed to the far side by discarded flower ends, tools and unwashed coffee mugs.

Instead, the top had been wiped clean. More noticeably, it was decorated with sunflower petals, lovingly spread over the otherwise empty surface. Sitting in the middle was a small black box. An open black box. Resting on a bed of red velvet was a simple gold band.

Hide barely heard his own voice over the thumping of his own heart against his ribcage.

"K...Kaneki?"

He heard someone clear their throat from behind the counter. Trying his best to stay calm, Hide took slow shaky steps round to the back of the counter.

Kaneki was there, bent down onto one knee. His face was bright red, and Hide could see him steady his own breathing to try and keep calm. He was wearing pinstripe trousers and a cream dress shirt underneath his classic work apron, which was unusually clean. It was the single stupidest and cutest thing Hide had ever seen.

Both of them had yet to say anything more.

Kaneki stared up at Hide, who had brought one hand up to cover his mouth and the other grasping his elbow.

Hide stared down at Kaneki, who eventually gulped, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Hid-Hideyoshi, ever since I met you at this counter, since you came into my life, I - I have been happier than I ever had before. Could you - um - w-would you please make-" he stopped for breath and looked up to meet Hide's eyes. "If you wouldn't mind, I want to spend the rest of my life as happy as you've made me now, and make you as happy in turn. C-could I have the honour of making you my husband?" Kaneki looked down and fiddled with his thumbs, adding a tiny "please" under his breath.

Hide burst into tears.

-

The rain began to fall before either Hide or Kaneki had woken up on the morning they were to be married. The first thing Hide remembered of that day was being shaken gently awake by Kaneki.

"Hey, Hide. Wake up."

"Mmph. Five more minutes."

"Get your head out the pillow," he laughed gently. "Do you want to be late for your own wedding?"

Hide lifted his head from the pillow, only to bury it in the crook of Kaneki's neck and sigh, wrapping his arms around his back and closing his eyes.

"We can reschedule. I hear next week has good weather," he murmured, dropping a sleepy kiss underneath Kaneki's jawline.

Kaneki hummed appreciatively and brought a hand up to thread through Hide's hair.

"I'd rather not. I'm happy with the weather we have today."

"You’d better be. Only the best for the most beautiful boy in the world."

Kaneki's chest bounced with silent laughter. "Why thankyou, Hide."

"Who says I was talking about you."

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding," Hide lifted his face and brought his arms up so that his hands cupped Kaneki's cheeks. "You're perfect. God, I can't believe you're letting me marry you." Hide allowed a sleepy grin to spread across his face.

"Me neither," Kaneki agreed. "But at this rate it won't happen. Get your cute butt out of bed before I have to use brute force."

"You think my butt is cute?"

"I'm never complimenting you again."

"Fine, fine. I'll get up. For a kiss."

Kaneki raised an eyebrow. "You'll be getting one later if only you'd move, Hide."

"I'm gonna get out of bed! I swear! But I am a goblin who needs payment for the simplest of tasks." Hide pouted and patted his lips with one finger. "My price."

Kaneki sighed with a small smile before leaning down to peck Hide on the nose, who scrunched up his face in response. Kaneki sniggered and moved down to press his lips onto Hide's.

"Better," Hide mused once Kaneki had moved away and sat back up. "I guess I can move now." He propped himself up on his elbows and, with great effort, heaved himself into a sitting position. He looked past Kaneki to the window, though which he decided that Kaneki's evaluation of the weather had not been entirely accurate.

"It's raining!" Hide wailed dramatically, flinging himself over Kaneki's lap. "The whole day is ruined! And after I’d planned it so perfectly."

Kaneki laughed and hoisted Hide up so he was sitting up again, though allowing him to rest on his shoulder.

"You had a plan for today? That doesn't sound like you."

"Don't be rude! Of course I did. I go down the aisle in heelies, you're so love struck that it takes four attempts to get your vows out. After you do, we go for the wedding reception that was paid for entirely by a lawsuit that I filed after slipping in KFC where they didn't put down a wet floor sign."

Kaneki raised his eyebrows skeptically as if to say "go on".

"Once the guests leave, I carry you back to our hotel room to make love to my gorgeous husband. We never get round to it because you can't stop laughing at my dick, so we eventually give up and watch Shark Tale instead. Then we fall asleep in each other's arms, and it's the romantic thing ever."

Kaneki nodded slowly, looking pensive.

"That could work. Except you know i couldn't laugh at your dick. I exhausted myself after the first five times I saw it."

Hide rolled his eyes. "Oh ha ha. eat my ass, Ken doll."

"Maybe later."

"Oh, you-" Hide gave Kaneki a light push, who laughed and stuck his tongue out.

After a couple of minutes of comfortable silence, Kaneki spoke up.

"Now I don't want to get up. I blame you entirely."

"It's not my fault being in bed with me is so thrilling. But no need to worry, it'll be here when you get back. And I'll be in it as an added bonus."

Kaneki laughed, light and sweet. "What, you'll just be chilling there and waiting for me?"

Hide nodded. "Absolutely. And again tomorrow night." He kissed Kaneki gently on the lips. "And then the night after that." He brought his lips down to Kaneki's jaw. "And the night after that." He smiled against Kaneki's collarbone. "And the night after that." Chest. "And after that." Hide kissed down to his stomach.

"Save it!" Hide barely had time to shield his head before Kaneki whopped him with a pillow.

"Hey!"

"No unnecessarily sexy behaviour before eight am. Not when we have more important things to be doing," Kaneki scolded with a grin.

"You're the boss," came Hide's muffled reply, face still squished against Kaneki's stomach.

When neither of them made to move, they burst out laughing.

"Good to see how well we motivate each other, huh," Kaneki mused.

"Oh Ken," Hide sighed, reaching to hold Kaneki's left hand and run his thumb along the ring gleaming on his fourth finger. He looked up and into Kaneki's eyes with a smile he thought he could never be able to wipe off his face.

"I can't wait to grow old with you."

-

Sometimes Hide wondered what his life would have been like if things had been ever so slightly different. Say, if he'd gone into a different shop to shelter from the rain that fateful day, or if someone else had been working the till.

They say ignorance is bliss, and Hide had never welcomed ignorance so lovingly.

Hide would never know what it would have been like if he'd continued smoking for the rest of his life. He didn't know if he'd ever have been able, or willing, to quit on his own.

He would never know what it would have been like to wake up to an empty bed for the years to come, without a warm body to hold.

He would never know what it would have been like to have noone tell him they loved him. And he may have never got to say it back.

Hide didn't know a lot of things.

Some things, he did.

He now knew that the guitar part for Wonderwall is not that hard. (He also knew that if he didn't get his shit together and learn a different song, he might find his guitar mysteriously smashed to pieces.)

He knew that quitting his job at that café was a good idea after all, and opening a quaint little botanical gardens with Kaneki had been his best career move yet.

He knew that terrible movies were ten times the fun with someone to laugh at them with. Or cry. Or just be emotionally open in general.

They had both been happy with this development.

He knew that his new favourite author was Oscar Wilde, and that Kaneki's favourite composer was Stravinsky.

He knew where he liked to be kissed and touched, and how to love Kaneki in turn.

He knew that he was loved, and that was something he had never known before.

Hide was, undeniably, indisputably happy.

It was fine to not know things, he supposed.

After all, that's what the future is for.