Chapter Text
Gon jumps to his feet the moment Leorio and Kurapika enter the infirmary, rushes straight into their open arms and hugs them tight.
“We’re so sorry, Gon,” Leorio says into Gon’s dark brown spikes.
Gon leans back, surprised. “Why? You didn’t do anything-”
“We told you to stay away from Killua.” Kurapika’s mouth is downturned into a deep frown. “We were part of the reason why Killua felt so...alone, here. And that was cruel and wrong of us. We should have never said those things about him.”
Gon bites his bottom lip. He’s not really sure what to say, so he takes each of his friends hands in his and squeezes them lightly.
He doesn’t understand it still- the way Leorio and Kurapika would only ever look at Killua out of the corner of their eyes, how they both tensed whenever Killua passed by. It didn’t make sense to Gon, and he doesn’t think it ever will because the way he sees Killua- bright, colorful and amazing- is different than from how everyone else does.
Gon loves Killua. Killua is his best friend, and he’ll never see him as anything less than incredible.
“You were scared,” Gon finally says. “I don’t really get why, but you were. And the most important thing is that you were there for him with Illumi; Killua said he was really grateful that you both stood up for him. He might not have still been in Camp by the time I arrived if not for you two.”
Both Leorio and Kurapika blink at each other, then glance over Gon’s head. Gon knows they’re looking at Killua stretched out and sleeping peacefully on the mat behind him. It makes him wonder what they see- another camper, a monster?
“...we were glad we could be there for him too,” Kurapika says quietly and Leorio nods resolutely next to him.
Gon smiles. He knows the answer.
Gon is going through his things, looking for cards he can play with Killua while he recovers when he finds the box from Aunt Mito.
It’s been over four months since his mother had first given this wooden crate to him. He ran the tips of his fingers over the rueves and edges, a small smile on his face. He thought he would miss home more. But he’d never felt anything since leaving Whale Island except for a desire to learn more, to travel more, to see more.
But first, he wants to show Killua what is in this box.
“Where’s Killua?” Gon asks, bewildered at the sight of the empty cot before him.
Mister Wing peers into the room, a new camper with bushy eyebrows and shaking hands in tow. The centaur looks out the window with a thoughtful hum. “A man entered here while you were gone. He requested a meeting with Killua and they left about ten minutes ago. I’m sure they’re somewhere around Camp if you search hard enough.”
A man? Gon frowns. What man? There weren’t many adults at Camp Half-Blood, who would go through all the effort to travel here just to talk with Killua?
He’s turning to leave when Mister Wing calls out to him, “Oh, and Gon?”
Gon pauses. “Yeah?” He’s itching to go and search for Killua. He couldn’t have gotten that far; although Killua hadn’t been injured during his encounter with his older brother, his condition remained extremely weak due to the lack of sleep he’d been getting recently. Conjuring that much lighting had drained him even more.
“Would you and Killua mind showing Zushi around camp after you find him?” Mister Wing nudges the boy at his side forward.
Gon blinks. “Oh, sure! Nice to meet you, Zushi, I’m Gon!”
“H-Hi,” Zushi stammers out and Mister Wing places a firm hand on his shoulder.
“He just needs help getting the hang of things around here,” Mister Wing says kindly.
Gon bobs his head, already edging his way out the door. “No problem, just let me find Killua and we’ll be right back!”
Then he turns and runs. Wind tears at his hair and his open jacket flaps around his waist but he keeps sprinting as fast as he can.
Not even the weight of Ging’s box in his arms is enough to slow him down.
Gon eventually finds Killua, but he’s not where Gon expected him to be.
Panting, Gon squints down at the beach stretched out below him. Scattered sunbeams reflect off the ocean as waves break against grainy sand. It takes him a few minutes to spot the two figures in the distance slowly strolling down the shore.
Gon instantly knows which one is Killua- he’s shorter than the man standing next to him, his white curls much lighter than his companions charcoal grey locks.
Gon doesn’t recognize the other man at all. But he doesn’t let that deter him.
Cupping one hand around his mouth, he hollers, “KILLUA!!!”
Two heads look up at the sound of his shout. Gon waves frantically and gets a raised, pale hand in return. As he watches, Killua turns to say something to the man. They shake hands and nod to each other, and then Killua is jogging swiftly through the sandy dunes. He makes it up the hill to where Gon is standing in record time and Gon wastes no time in grabbing his thin wrist and tugging him towards the fields.
Their sneakers pound against the ground. Soon enough they’re racing back down the hill, giggling and weightless in the humid, July air.
“Gon!” Killua laughs, breathless and happy. “Wh-where are we going?”
“Anywhere!” Gon chirps and throws a grin at his best friend. “Does it matter?”
Killua shakes his head, eyes shining with simple joy.
“No,” he says and squeezes Gon’s hand so tightly that Gon feels the faintest trace of electricity dancing between their interlocked fingers.
Gon's heart swells. He tugs on Killua's arm, forcing him to jump forward, and then the pair are running together through the tall grass. His rapid pulse matches the pounding of their feet and the ragged inhale-exhale of their breaths.
"Who was that?" he yells. He wants to know- who was the man that cared enough about his best friend to visit the Camp? "Did you know him?"
Killua's smile is small, but full of wonder. It's an expression Gon's never seen on Killua before.
"Gon," Killua says with a voice choked with emotion. "Gon, that was...that was Zeus. That was my dad."
The confession is nearly enough to make Gon trip. He regains his footing quickly though, and turns his head to gape at Killua even as they slow to a stop. "Wh-What?! That was Zeus?!"
Killua laughs again and nods unsteadily. "Yeah, that was him. He wanted to talk to me about what happened with Illumi."
Gon's eyes widen. No way. The gods paid attention to stuff like that?
"He also gave me this."
Killua lifts a silver chain hanging from around his neck. He raises it just high enough that Gon can see the speckled feather attached to it. As Gon stares, the feather shimmers with a gold film.
"Zeus gave you that?" Gon asks, awed.
"Yep. It's an eagle feather; Zeus' animal, you know? He said it will protect me from Illumi's nightmares."
Gon blinks. He looks up at Killua and is met with another one of Killua's rare, but blinding, smiles. The sight makes something flutter in his gut, brings a rush of warmth to his cheeks.
"You're...you won't get them anymore?" Gon stammers out. "You're free?"
Killua beams and curls his fingers around the gold-doused feather. "I'm free."
Relief crashes over Gon. It's so strong his knees go weak and he throws his arms around Killua with a loud cry.
Killua's responding laughter sends a rush of pure joy through his veins.
"A box?” Killua asks, confused, as Gon proudly holds out the small wooden crate Aunt Mito gave to him.
He nods excitedly. “Yeah! Here-” He shoves the box into Killua’s unexpecting hands and the other teen curses at the rough gesture, “- open it, open it! I want you to see what’s inside!”
Killua rolls his eyes but does as he’s told. He pops the box’s small latch and flips the square lid off the top with a small clack!
Gon scoots closer as Killua peers hesitantly inside. They’re sitting side by side on the hill they fell down the first night they met- that time when they gazed up at the stars, laughing and giggling, agreeing to be friends. It was only months ago, but Gon feels like he’s aged a lifetime since then.
He’s different, now that he’s met Killua.
“Okay,” Killua says slowly. He pulls out the ring first, lets it dangle from the chain so the deep green gem glints in the light of the setting sun. “You got a ring. Which is kind of cool, I guess. If you want to sell it I know some people who’d-”
“I don’t want to sell it, Killua!” Gon laughs and Killua’s face darkens slightly in embarrassment. “Keeping going, you’ll understand in a sec!”
The other teen turns back to the box. Gon waits impatiently, practically bouncing as Killua takes out an old roll of parchment- a map, Gon already knows- and a note covered front and back with nearly unreadable scribbles.
“It says…” Killua says slowly, brows furrowing. Gon watches the way Killua’s sharp, beautiful eyes flicker across the paper, and feels a swooping feeling deep inside his chest. Killua continues speaking, oblivious, “It says he doesn’t want to see you. Jeez, what a sour old man. Your dad’s a piece of work, Gon.”
“Mmm, yeah. Kinda. But, look.” Gon leans into Killua’s side and points with one finger. “It also says that I can try to find him on my own, if I want. I just need to figure out how to use the stuff he left in this box.”
“And do you? I mean, he abandoned you when you were pretty young. Is that really someone you’d want to talk to?”
Gon shrugs. “I dunno. I’m not sure what I’d even say to him. But…”
Killua looks at him sharply. “But? But, what? I know that tone of yours, Gon.”
“Ha, well.” Gon scratches his warming cheek. Killua always read him too easily, but that’s something that makes Gon happy. Killua’s his best friend, his most trusted companion. He’s happy Killua’s always been there to understand him, to help him. He’s even happier that he was there to do the same for Killua.
“You want to go after him, don’t you?” Killua says with a groan.
“...yeah,” Gon admits and smiles sheepishly when Killua’s groan becomes louder, more pained. “Hey, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to, you know!”
“Shut up, Gon,” Killua snaps back, making surprised laughter spill from Gon’s lips. “Of course I’m coming. Who else would keep you from getting killed on a regular basis? You don’t even know half the gods yet! You’d be eaten alive in, like, five minutes. And that’s being generous.”
“Not true!”
“Hmm. Okay, maybe you’d be eaten in ten minutes. But only ‘cause you stink-”
“Killua!” Gon shrieks and tackles Killua to the grass. They roll over in a spiral of laughter and shouts; Killua yanks at Gon’s hair viciously and Gon shovels dirt into Killua’s porcelain cheeks.
They come to a stop, both laying side-by-side while their chests heave. Gon’s skin prickles with tiny cuts from sticks and rocks, but he feels warm and breathless and giddy. Something cool brushes against his knuckles and when Gon looks down, he finds Killua’s hand tightening around his own.
“Besides,” Killua says and Gon’s eyes dark back up to his friend’s face. Killua’s skin is dusted pink and he stares up at the darkening sky like he’s searching for something. “You want me to come with you, right? That’s why you showed me.”
Gon’s face feels very, very warm now. So warm it’s almost uncomfortable, actually, and his stomach is filled with butterflies. Still, he says, “I always want you to come with me, Killua. I want us to stay together. Forever.”
Killua bites his lip, then releases a shuddering breath. His voice sounds small when he says quietly, “Forever...that’s a long time, Gon.”
Gon squeezes their interlocked hands. “I know. I don’t mind it, though. Not if it’s with you.”
Killua turns to look at him then, midnight blue eyes shining like the stars starting to twinkle in the sky above them, and the air leaves Gon’s lungs.
“What if I have stuff I need to do?” Killua whispers as Gon’s heart pounds. “Illumi won’t ever leave me alone, you have to know that. And that thing he said at the end, about coming back…”
“Yeah? What is it?”
Killua swallows thickly. “I don’t know what he was talking about, but it had to be important. Illumi doesn’t make vague threats. He meant what he said. He thinks I’m going to return home.”
“You don’t have to ever go back,” Gon says and his grip on Killua’s fingers tighten briefly. “Killua. You don’t have to listen to them.”
“I know. But, still. I think there’s something left there that I’m missing. Something- or someone- I love.” His brows furrow. “I might have to go back, eventually.”
“Then I’ll come with you!” Gon pushes himself upright with his free hand and leans over Killua so the starlight teen has no choice but to look directly at him. “I won’t leave you to face them alone. I want to be with you, no matter what!”
A red blush blossoms across Killua’s skin. Gon can feel Killua’s hand shaking around his, trembling like a leaf. It only makes Gon more aware of their proximity and the heat radiating off his own face. The air between them is thick with unspoken words as they gaze at each other as if transfixed.
Seconds pass. Gon keeps staring into the blue abyss of Killua’s eyes, not even sure what he’s trying to find but searching for a sign of something anyway. He thinks could drown in Killua’s eyes and die happy.
Whale Island and Aunt Mito had been Gon’s home for fourteen years. But he’d found a new one here, at Camp Half-Blood. He’d found home in a lightning-born teen with hair made of moonbeams and eyes the color of the deepest sea.
Finally, Killua chokes out, “What do you mean by saying that, Gon?”
“I mean…” Gon slowly lifts his free hand, uses it to tenderly brush starlight bangs off Killua’s forehead. “I want us to be together. I want you to come with me while I search for Ging, and I want to be with you when you face your family. And after that, I still want us to be together. I don’t want to ever leave you, Killua.”
Gon leans down, and Killua’s eyes grow large. Gon can hear the blood roaring in his ears, the way his heart is beating so fast it makes his head dizzy. But he doesn’t stop; he couldn’t stop, not even if he wanted too.
Gon kisses Killua under a canopy of stars, hands clasped tightly and the smell of dirt and grass in his nose. Killua tastes like ambrosia, like orange juice and chocolate and something sweet and wonderful and good-
And Gon knows then what he’s known from the beginning; he wants to be with Killua. He wants Killua. It’s as simple and beautiful as that.
“Are you sure?” Killua murmurs against Gon’s lips when they part. A shiver cascades down his back as Killua’s arm curls around his back, Killua’s long-fingered hand tracing patterns into Gon’s shoulder blades. “It’s going to be difficult, Gon. The son of Zeus and the son of Poseidon is a dangerous combination.”
Gon grins. “It’s going to be an adventure. And I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend it with.”
Killua smiles too, eyes shining. He’s beautiful and incredible and Gon’s chest feels like it’s going to burst from the joy building up inside his heart.
He bends down to kiss Killua once more and his lips curve upwards when Killua meets him halfway.