Chapter Text
Can you see us?
- Chapter 1 -
The Beginning
“What did you say?”
“I said," Killua gives out a tired sigh, "that this shit’s dangerous.” Then his eyes roam around the carpet on the floor — disgust clear on his face. “And ugly.”
“Whelp," Leorio claps his hands with fake enthusiasm."You heard it, folks,” he smiles at them in panic, “we’re going to die.”
Killua rolls his eyes in annoyance, crossing his arms around his chest.
What a loser, he huffs.
Leorio could be such a drama queen.
Currently, the gang could be found inside a small town of Doli City. After many years of fooling around and spending time apart, Kurapika, Leorio, Gon and Killua, decided to tackle a new mission together, like old times. It was getting pretty late by the time they finished off their hunt — so, they decided to rest inside a hotel room until the next morning. They had just stepped inside the room when Killua felt familiar chills run through his body. Chills that alerted him when something could go wrong. Call it a sixth sense or whatever, but it was always right.
His blue eyes inspect once more the antique-looking carpet on the floor. Mismatched shades of green; olive, shamrock, and basil. Worn out textile fiber; rough and dirty wool. Revolting geometric patterns; rhombuses, triangles, and pentagons. Killua feels a wave a nausea pass over him. That thing was an abomination, clearly made by the hands of the devil. Or a blind person.
The rug wasn’t dangerous to the point of involving death — but still, he couldn't help but see the hideous thing causing trouble. A lot of trouble.
“So…” Kurapika exhales, breaking the silence. “What do we do with this thing? Do we throw it out? Ignore it?”
“Burn it?” Killua adds, receiving irritated stares. “Just joking, no need to get your panties in a twist.”
“But…what’s wrong with the rug?” Gon questions. “I don’t get it,” he furrows his brow, pouting at the floor. “It only looks kinda funny."
Your adorable pouting face looks kinda funny, Killua wants to add. But knows better and shuts his mouth. It's clearly not the time to for unnecessary pining. You screwed up brain cells.
"Mmmm, it doesn't look harmless," Gon points out, "but it doesn't look dangerous." He turns around, giving them an expectant look, "you know what I mean?"
"No," Leorio deadpans and enters the room. He walks around the carpet with caution and plops on the nearest couch. “I have no idea what’s going on, but Gon just confused the hell out of me.” He starts loosening his tie.
Killua snickers, feeling like the only one with functioning brain cells.
Well, aside from Kurapika.
“Just ignore what this idiot said,” Killua dodges a kick from Gon — laughing when he sees him stick his tongue out. “I used Gyo immediately after entering the room,” Killua walks inside and sits right next to Leorio. “I scanned the room, but found nothing…the carpet has no nen.”
“Well, it’s good to know someone other than myself used Gyo,” Kurapika says, impressed. He leans on the door frame, crossing his arms — “so…what do you think, Killua? Maybe it's possessed?”
“Yeah, well — I don’t know," Killua shrugs, propping his head on his hand. "I don’t believe in the supernatural,” his gaze falls on the carpet. “But…maybe, I’ll start to.”
“Well,” Gon speaks up with fidgeting hands. “This is getting boring," he bounces with pent-up energy. Isn't he tired after their mission? "So…how about we ignore the carpet and—”
“—Go to bed?” Leorio interrupts, “because I’m tired as hell.”
“That old body of yours is rotting away, grandpa.”
“Killua, " Leorio grumbles, "I’m this close to throwing you out the window,” he shows his index finger and thumb slowly getting closer.
“Oh! What do I have to do to get them to touch? Say something about Kurapi—”
“—I was going to say,” Gon raises his voice, emotions on the brink of explosion, “that we could watch a movie!" His brown eyes dance excitedly around the room, " yes? It's been a while since we've been together, so let’s watch a movie!”
“Yeah…no, sorry Gon,” Kurapika leans off the wall. “I have to be with Leorio on this one," his hands awkwardly move around his lower half, dusting his pants. " I’m also really exhausted,” Kurpika yawns tiredly to prove his point.
“Mmmm…alright,” Gon quietly agrees, dejection evident in the slump of his shoulders. He enters the room with a disheartened sigh — deflating in sadness, like blue a balloon.
Killua's heart throbs in pain. He feels every emotion Gon holds inside his chest, like a shared body. And it's clear to him, that after all these years, his affection and adoration, remain unchanged. “I’ll watch a movie with you, dummy,” Killua softly smiles, trying his best to lift Gon's spirit. He knows he has it bad, cause, after all, he's always been weak to his friend's sadness.
As if reading his mind, Gon gives him a breathtaking smile — light finally returning to those nut-brown eyes he adores. And Killua's heart continues to painfully ache with the weight of the emotions he carries inside his chest.
When are they going to disappear? These dumb feelings.
“Well…” Leorio gives Killua a crooked smile and stands up, “don’t stay up too late, kids.” He starts walking towards the bedroom, “ let’s go catch some z’s,” he tells Kurapika, beckoning him with his arm. Killua and Gon turn to look at each other with mischievous eyes. They shout, “no funny business, you two!” when the bedroom door closes.
Childish laughter fills the room once they hear a ‘shut up!’ in return.
Killua finally recovers from their laughing fit, wiping fallen tears with his sleeve. “So…what movie did you have in mind?” he asks while eyeing his friend. Gon regains his composure while humming in thought. He takes off his backpack and drops it on the floor, right next to the door. Gon walks towards the couch and drops next to Killua, "mmmm, let's see," he mumbles to himself, their arms brushing while he moves to reach for the remote.
Too close — Killua thinks, his breathing accelerating by the second.
“Let’s turn on the tv and look for something interesting,” Gon finally suggests — snuggling closer and turning on the television.
Yeah…way too close.
Fuck, he’s going to hear his heartbeat.
“Hey…” Killua whispers shyly, his cheeks lighting up in heat, “um…you know there’s a lot of room on this couch, right?”
Gon wets his lips. “Yeah, so?”
So? He says.
So?
Was he trying to kill him?
“So…” Killua mumbles, “why…are you sitting so close?”
Gon turns to look at him, puzzled — acting like he just asked a very silly question. “So we can cuddle once we fall asleep,” he explains — like it’s the most natural thing in the world, disregarding all of Killua’s struggles and hardships.
“Okay,” Killua breaths out, too emotionally tired to argue back.
“Good,” Gon gives him a warm smile — hooking his left arm around Killua’s neck, nudging his head with his palm, beckoning him to lean on his shoulder.
So — Killua gives in.
Of course, he gives in.
How could he not? When everything he’s ever wanted is presented to him, on a silver plate.
So, Killua lets his body move on its own, resting his head on Gon’s shoulder. He hums peacefully. Relaxes. Gives in to his desires for just a night.
For this one night he has. Finally at Gon's side.
Killua wakes up to the soft singing of birds outside the window.
“Mmmmm, fucking birds,” he groans — noting the deeper tone of his voice. He turns to face the other side, and maybe he’s catching a cold, he concludes. A small gap between the bedroom’s curtains allows the sunrise to peek into his thoughts. The brightness makes his eyelids part and — shit, he regrets the decision instantaneously when he’s blinded by the light.
Augh, fuck.
He immediately closes his eyes, grabbing the covers to shield him from the sun.
Wait, the covers?
Killua thinks back to the previous night, vaguely remembering an uninteresting movie playing on the TV. He does, however, remember very clearly the feeling of Gon's shoulder against his head. He recalls being lulled to sleep by the steady breaths beside him. By the warmth and the rhythmic heartbeats inside Gon's chest. And — that's right! That's it! He fells asleep on the living room's couch. So — what is he doing inside a bed?
Killua opens his eyes once more — moving them cautiously around the room, examining his surroundings.
Is he in the bedroom? He isn't sure. Everything seems blurred out. He rubs his eyes tiredly and braves them open once again. The room's quite small, a single window on the opposite wall. There's a wooden bedside table between him and another single-sized bed. He’s able to make out a head full of blonde hair on the other bed. Is that…“Kurapika?” he calls out, noting once again the strangeness in his voice.
He clears his throat. "Kurapika?" Killua repeats.
The blonde makes a tired noise of affirmation. “I don’t know where he is,” Kurapika mumbles sluggishly. “Go, ask Leorio, I’m sleeping.”
I don't know where he — what?
What is Kurapika saying? He’s just blabbering incoherencies.
“Kurapika,” Killua tries again, louder. “What are you—” he stops mid-sentence, finally recognizing the sound of his voice. And it's strangely familiar. He can almost hear a trace of Leorio in his voice.
“Wait,” Killua's eyes widen in surprise.
Scratch that, he sounds exactly like Leorio.
“Kurapika,” Killua repeats, alarmed. “Look at me, who am—”
“—Leorio?” Kurapika interrupts, turning around and finally facing him. He squints his eyes and tiredly examines Killua, “when did you—” he raises both eyebrows in surprise. “Hey, when did I get inside the bed?” Kurapika drops his gaze to the covers that hug his body. He visibly gulps while curiously inspecting the room, a frown adorning his face. “Hey…where’s Killua? And why do I sound—” then Kurapika blinks repeatedly, sitting up on the bed and eyeing his own body. “Oh! I think I swapped bodies with Kurapika,” he laughs in amusement, touching his own face and hair.
“What!” Killua exclaims in shock, sitting up on bed.
What is he talking about? Swapping bodies?
And…why does he look so amused? Since when does Kurapika show childlike wonder? He almost looks like…wait. Is he—” Gon? Is that you?” Killua asks, almost regretting opening his mouth. The question's simply unrealistic, even if he's seen weirder things.
“Yeah,” Kurapika/Gon confirms with a nod of his head. “What is happening? What a weird situation, huh,” Gon comments while looking at his hands in awe.
Why isn't he weirded out?
Really now, he should at least be more suspicious.
Killua sighs, here come's his turn. “Hey, Gon,” they look at each other, “am I Leorio?”
Gon frowns. “No? You’re Killua.”
“Really?!” Killua looks down at his hands and grumbles when he doesn’t meet pale skin. “Don’t fool around Gon,” he whines — running his hands through his hair, or, well, Leorio’s hair. “I’m Leorio.”
“You’re not?" Gon raises one eyebrow, "I mean, that’s Leorio's body — but you’re Killua. You’re Killua in Leorio’s body,” he finishes proudly — smiling like he just resolved the most complicated math problem.
“Yeah, I figured that out,” Killua mutters. “But how did you know it was me.”
“Oh!" Gon perks up. "Well…everything you were saying sounded like you. You were making those little expressions and gestures that only you make,” he chuckles. “It was pretty easy to figure out you weren’t Leorio.”
Just like that? With just that interaction, he instantly knew it was him?
Killua brings his hands to cover up his face. Well, after all these years of knowing each other, it really isn’t that surprising. It really shouldn’t affect Killua that much. They're best friends, of course they'd figure shit like this in an instant.
But, then, why is his heart beating so loudly? Why does he feel so out of breath? Why do the smallest things make his cheeks burn with affection — with longing?
“See?” Gon mentions affectionately, “only Killua gets embarrassed like that.” He hears Gon stand up from his bed, walking closer to him. “Only you,” Gon finishes fondly.
“Why do you have to look like Kurapika right now,” Killua mumbles inaudibly behind his hands.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” he groans and lets his hands slip down his face.
“Kids! Get out here! Explain yourselves!” they hear someone shout from the living room — with a strange and familiar voice. They look at each other knowingly.
“I don’t like how Leorio’s using my voice,” Killua whines while standing up.
Gon chuckles at his suffering as he opens the door of the bedroom. They exit the room and walk towards the living room, finally encountering their bodies.
“Well…” Killua snorts. “This is weird,” he comments once he sees his own body in front of him.
“No shit,” Kurapika mutters — evidently trapped in Gon’s body.
Killua bursts out in laughter, “Gon…oh my god…Gon,” he laughs harder. “O-oh my god Gon…you actually…aaaaa this is…t-this is comedy gold,” he wipes tears from his eyes. “Gon cursing in a cold sarcastic tone—oh, Jesus Christ — please, keep talking Kurapika, don’t hold back.”
“Oh, shut up, Killua. This is important,” Kurapika grumbles, irritated.
“Yeah, yeah,” Killua cackles, “ you’re doing great.”
“Alright, stop messing around,” Leorio starts pacing. “We need to figure out what the hells going on. Scientifically speaking, this is impossible.”
“A type of Nen power?” Gon offers with a gesture of his hands.
“I don’t think so,” Kurapika responds. “I had a close eye on all of us — we didn’t get hit by any Nen. I’m sure.”
There's brief silence around the room, all of the contemplating the possible scenarios that could've brought them to this situation.
“It’s this shit,” Killua mentions after a while — lifting the dreadful green rug as he hums in thought. Yeah, it's still fucking ugly.
“Wait, Killua, don’t touch that,” Leorio panics and finally stops pacing around. “What did we say about getting closer to that thing?" he gives Killua a disapproving look. "And you’re in my body!” Leorio crouches and swats Killua’s hand away. “If anything happens to my body, I swear you little—”
“—Nothing will happen,” Killua interrupts with an irritated sigh. He stands up. “Actually, something already happened. We swapped bodies," he points at Kurapika and hands him a small paper — “ this was sewed to the carpet, read it out loud.”
Kurapika frowns while taking the paper, scanning it's content with curious eyes. He clears his throat and reads out loud:
“I belong to Mary’s Old Home,
I can see deep within your soul,
If I find a dream that you wish to fulfill,
I will open your eyes and guide you to the stars.”
“What?” Leorio huffs desperately. “That doesn’t tell us anything!”
“Oh! I think I get it,” said Gon with a careful smile — a faint trace of guilt found in his eyes. Weird.
“Okay, explain.”
“Well…” Gon fumbles with his hands,“ this hotel’s name is Mary’s Old Home — so of course, the first part is about that." He looks pensive for a moment and then continues, “ then the rest of it wants us to understand that the carpet is looking for someone desperate enough to fulfill his dream/goal at that very moment. Then its power will manifest in a way that it'll help them fulfill their dream."
Yeah, right on the money. Leorio whistles, “when did you get so smart, kid?”
“C’mon Leorio,” Killua snickers, “everyone came to the same conclusion, except you.”
“Really?” Leorio turns to look at Kurapika, huffing when he sees him nod. “Well then, what kind of dream could be accomplished in a short amount of time by swapping bodies?”
“That’s the weird part,” Kurapika crosses his arms and explains, “ my goal is to get revenge on the spiders, but it’s not something that can be accomplished quickly and in this body. Then Leorio’s dream is to finally become a doctor, which doesn’t happen in a day. So I guess that only leaves us with you,” he gestures to both Killua and Gon.
Well, he better explain himself before he's accused of something he clearly has no control of. “Okay…so I have two dreams,” Killua replies, looking slightly embarrassed.
Gon perks up and smiles, “oh, me too!”
Killua starts pacing around, “so one of them is keeping Alluka safe, but I guess I will be doing that my whole life, so we cross that one out. And the other,” he gulps audibly — he can’t believe he has to explain this one, “ the other one I guess it’s a dream I’m not sure I can fulfill, but…um…if it gets fulfilled that would be great, but, I’m not in a hurry. What I have right now,” he turns to look at Gon, “ it’s a miracle. I’m not asking for more.” He shifts to look at the ground.
Whelp — he hopes no one here puts two and two together, figuring everything out. Killua closes his eyes and sighs — how embarrassing.
Gon looks stunned, and for a moment no one dares to make a sound.
“So Gon…” Kurapika finally mentions. “What about you?”
Oh yeah, what about Gon? Killua turns to look at him — shocked to see guilt gradually morph into Gon's features.
“Ah…well…you know, my dream right now it’s to get my nen back to how it used to be, y’ know, more powerful,” Gon glances down at his feet. “The other dream…well…I don’t think it has to do with this.”
He’s lying.
Killua knows he’s lying, even a deaf person would know, — but why? What is Gon so afraid of? Maybe he's not responsible for this situation, but that goal of his clearly makes him feel guilty. What's making him lie instead of being his honest self? What is he wishing for? What are his desires?
“Okay,” Leorio claps his hands, gathering their attention. “Let’s end this heavy atmosphere we have. How about we get breakfast, all this thinking is making me hungry.”
“Yeah,” Kurapika agrees, “ sounds good, I’ll go get us food.” He starts walking towards the door — opens it and turns to say, “Gon, do you want to help me?”
“Oh!” Gon shakes his head, finally getting out of his trance. “Yes, let’s go!”
Killua watches both of them leave. He exhales and lets his shoulders relax when the door shuts. Leorio was right, the atmosphere was very heavy. He turns to look at the carpet with disgust — he can’t believe he was right about the ugly thing causing trouble. Still, he wasn’t sure why he sensed danger. Sure, the carpet is switching their bodies without permission, but it hasn’t done anything that threatening. Were his senses wrong?
“Oi, stop thinking too much. At least eat before over analyzing things.”
Yeah, he’s right. He should relax. “Maybe your true dream is for me to stop bullying you by realizing how difficult it is to have an old body.”