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He was seeing Leorio again today.
How long has it been since the last time they saw each other in YorkShin along with Gon and Killua? Has it been almost a year? Kurapika doesn’t remember. He has since stopped counting days, opting instead to measure the passage of time with every eyeball he collected. A pair of eyeballs in his hands, a day closer to his goal. That was how it has been since he last boarded that airship, and how it will be until the end.
His end.
But that was still far from happening, because no matter how exhausted and absolutely spent he is from (over)using Emperor Time, he will make sure his brief existence will not be futile. And so Kurapika pushes on, eyeball by eyeball, getting through the days in a hazy, frenetic blur until the next raid or auction comes.
That was how he found himself being in the Zodiacs as per Leorio’s recommendation. And today of all days would be his first Zodiac meeting as the Rat. Kurapika was not complaining; in fact, he could thank Leorio for the endorsement. There were information that only members of the Zodiac have access into, connections so clandestine even his current position as head of the Nostrade Empire would not be privy to, and exclusive, unthinkable expeditions normal people can only dream of. And of course, the ultimate reason- the best way to be within Tserreidnich’s vicinity. Being in the Zodiacs took him one day closer to his goal, and gave him more time on his feet.
And on his feet he was today, despite the way his body seemed to be protesting, what with the constant pulsating pain at the back of his eyes and the semi-permanent chill that rattled his bones. Yet he treaded the long, carpeted corridor anyway, leading into the Zodiac’s private meeting room. Pushing the door, he surveyed the surroundings and found that the room was almost full despite him arriving early. Eyes fell on him naturally (like usual); aside from Mizai and Cheadle, he had yet to meet everyone he would be working with. Kurapika, however, already accustomed to people gawking at him both surreptitiously and openly, did not bother returning their stares. He was sure there would be introductions set for later anyway, and there was plenty of time for pleasantries. Instead, his eyes scanned the room for that one familiar presence which proved to be absent so far. He sat on the empty chair beside Mizai, taking note of the surroundings, assuring the safety of the conference room.
Said familiar presence came huffing indecorously ten minutes after; dark hair, clean shaven for a change, with even longer limbs than Kurapika could remember. Leorio’s bashful apologies were peppered with ‘too many charts’ and ‘chatty patients’, and his face reflected an indecipherable countenance as he caught Kurapika’s eyes. He occupied the swivel chair adjacent to the blond, the only one vacant then, as he placed his briefcase on top of the wooden table. Was Leorio angry? Kurapika couldn’t tell, but he was not hiding the austere aura coming off him which seemed to be directed only to Kurapika. He surmised the other had every right to be, with the way he had been treating him the past couple of months. He was trying to catch Leorio’s eyes for recognition, but the other was proving to be elusive, avoiding further eye contact at all costs.
Kurapika couldn’t hide the small, nostalgic tug on his lips. There was no mistaking it, it was always good to see Leorio no matter the circumstance, even when he was childishly and openly ignoring Kurapika’s presence. His scrubs suited him well, thought Kurapika, and it pleased him to imagine how far his friend had come since the hunter exam days. Nostalgia had to take a back seat, though, as the agenda for the meeting was presented. Finally admitting defeat in attempting to catch Leorio’s eyes, Kurapika decided to focus instead on the stack of papers in front of him, skimming through the files until his vision began to swim.
The meeting droned on, with the Dark Continent expedition at the heart of the matter. Kurapika was drifting off, getting only bits and pieces of the meeting that was transpiring. He was feeling worse by the minute but this was an important matter, wasn’t it, and there was no time to slack off. He held himself in stiffer than usual composure, until his defenses broke and he caught himself pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to keep the growing nausea at bay. The throbbing pain at the back of his eyes was increasing tenfold, and the chill was getting harder to ignore.
“Are you alright?” Mizai asked beside him, sparing him a glance.
He mumbled something unintelligible before deliberately withdrawing his hand from the bridge of his nose lest he attracted even more attention. Which, of course, proved to be an even graver mistake, as the world suddenly tilted dangerously to his left and the last thing he saw before everything turned pitch black was Leorio’s surprised and overly concerned face.
_
Five hours and almost thirty minutes later, Leorio reentered the medical room to find Kurapika awake, sitting on the edge of his bed, his hand clutching his head. The sound of the door opening alerted him, and they locked eyes for a brief moment before Kurapika smiled at him. Leorio had to give it to him, despite the gaunt face, the pallor, and the overall sickly appearance, Kurapika still had that edge. He was as beautiful as always.
“Is this our new hello, Kurapika? You passing out every time we see each other?” Leorio quipped, finding it difficult to return the smile.
“Nice to see you too, Leorio,” Kurapika said sarcastically, feebly attempting to sit upright as if to retain what little dignity he had left.
Leorio snorted. He definitely did not miss the venom injected into the other’s voice. Oh, how he wished he could strangle the thin(ner) blond in front of him to berate him from all his missed calls that always went to his voicemail. Kurapika never once answered his phone since YorkShin. Not.even.once. Apparently, Leorio had little to no self-respect, as he kept on calling anyway, still wishing for that one beep to indicate his call was picked up, which never came.
But here he was, with the blond in front of him, looking ill and exhausted, and yet he could not bring himself to do the actual strangling that he practiced so many times in his head. How could he? This was not the reunion he imagined. Everything was going well for about an hour or so, he punishing the blond by pointedly ignoring Kurapika even if the other was trying to make eye contact. He had planned to confront him maybe after the meeting, have a yell fest to let the other know how stupidly selfish he had been for not picking up his calls even when it was as important as Gon’s life on the brink. But the meeting did not even end; it was cut short by Kurapika collapsing (gracefully, how was that possible?) on his chair, suddenly looking young and fragile (because wasn’t he, really?). Leorio realized Kurapika looked even worse than the last time they saw each other, when he slept through two whole days due to that fever.
Speaking of fever..
Leorio slammed the door behind him and closed the distance between them, pulling out a chair and settling it across from where Kurapika was sitting. He shuffled closer until their knees were touching. He held out a palm, and smoothing out disheveled blond hair, placed it gently on the other’s forehead. Leorio’s expression soured. Kurapika flinched lightly at his touch.
Too warm.
Leorio remembered, and his expression softened. It was not the first time they had this contact. The difference was that the last time, Kurapika was too out of it to have even known. He was unconscious for the most part, and when he came to, Leorio was not sure he was even there with him. He was fighting his demons whenever his eyes were open, and he was oblivious to the round the clock surveillance and care (of course, it was, what could it have been?) that Leorio provided him.
“You’re burning up,” Leorio said matter of factly, hand still on the blond’s forehead.
“I’m fine,” Kurapika answered, just like he expected.
Leorio rolled his eyes. “You know, Kurapika, for someone as intelligent as you, you sure as hell don’t know what the word ‘fine’ means,” Leorio replied coldly.
“Maybe ‘fine’ is actually relative, Leorio? Or did you not think your dialogue through?”
“I’m talking physiologically, you idiot! Feeling fine is universal, because you know, there are actually health standards for that, in case you missed them!” Leorio answered, octave rising by the second.
Kurapika looked away. This was not how he imagined their reunion to be. Honestly, he had wanted to see Leorio, maybe catch up a little after the meeting if they both had time. Maybe even apologize? The last part he wasn’t sure of, but it was a contingency in case conversations went from bad to worse. But between passing out and being here, cooped inside the medical room, with Leorio’s face too close for comfort, all his plans were forgotten and he had to rely on their usual aggressive banter to dissipate the otherwise awkward atmosphere the unexpected situation incurred.
“I’m sorry, Leorio. I didn’t realize..”
“You didn’t realize you were pushing yourself to your limits again? Or you didn’t realize how reckless and stupid and selfish you have been recently? You..”, Leorio said exasperatedly, stopping before he dished out even harsher words. Despite the number of insults and curses he had wanted to lash out at Kurapika, he did not feel the situation called for it. Leorio took a deep breath, acknowledging the fact that Kurapika was probably the only person who could break his impeccable bedside manners.
“I’m sorry,” the blond repeated.
Leorio sighed, scratching his head furiously. He relaxed his posture, leaning on the back of his chair to allow Kurapika some breathing space.
“So.. how have you been? You never answered any of my calls since YorkShin, so I had to resort to calling Senritsu a few times to check up on you,” Leorio admitted, looking out the window without really seeing anything interesting.
“I know. She told me,” Kurapika answered.
“You haven’t been doing well. I could tell by her tone. And yeah, I see why” Leorio said sharply. He was now stealing side glances at Kurapika, who hasn’t moved an inch.
“How have you been, Leorio? How is medical school?” Kurapika asked, his voice shaky.
“You did not answer my question,”
“If you didn’t notice, your last statement was not a question, Leorio. It was a declarative,” Kurapika replied.
“Enough of your pedantic lectures already! How are you feeling? Does something hurt? Where have you been these past months?” Leorio asked exasperatedly, his voice dripping with concern. There was no point in small talk with this stubborn blond.
“I refuse to answer, Leorio. But I am fine, thank you for asking. How are you?”
Leorio leaned forward and put both his hands under his chin, his face mere inches away from Kurapika’s.
“Why do you care?” Leorio asked, his eyes boring into the blond’s.
“Because I do,” was the other’s curt answer, refusing to look into the taller man’s eyes.
“You have a penchant for showing it. Do you really expect me to believe that? If you had any semblance of care in your system, you would have picked up the phone to see how I-we were doing.”
“There are more ways to show you care, Leorio, aside from your rather limited framework of it. For that matter, asking how you have been is one,” Kurapika says matter of factly.
Of course there were more ways, and he was sure Leorio knew it, he was just being impossibly childish. Protecting your friends from danger, from you, would count, right? Because as far as he knows, that was what he had been doing the past months. He would never let another blunder like YorkShin ever happen again. For someone who’s always banked on his intellect and strategy, he sure made a very stupid, very dangerous decision. And so, it was better that they thought otherwise of him, let them think he has forgotten or he has stopped caring, it was all the better.
“You can be really stupid sometimes, you know that, Kurapika? But seriously, how are you feeling?” Leorio asked, tilting Kurapika’s face to look at him properly, his voice changing to how exactly Kurapika remembers it. Soft, gentle, balmy.
“I’m.. I guess I’m a little tired,” Kurapika admitted timidly. He was not used to being open about his weaknesses, but this was Leorio, and he deserved the (half?) truth. Tired would be an understatement, because he can’t really say he’s dying by inches right now, could he? He could settle with tired.
“Yeah, a little, you stubborn mule. Back to bed. You know you have to be alive to complete your mission, don’t you?” Leorio barked affectionately, as he gently assisted Kurapika back into bed, burying him under the sheets, seeing as how Kurapika was shivering. He scooted his chair closer by Kurapika’s bed side.
“Thank you, Leorio. I apologize for troubling you. You may leave now,”
“Like hell I would. I’ll be here until your fever subsides. Now rest. We have a lot to catch up on when you wake up” Leorio answered, as once again he put a hand on Kurapika’s very warm forehead. Kurapika felt something emanating from Leorio’s hand.. could it be his nen? It felt a lot like his voice, his heartbeat. Calming, soothing. His eyes closed against his will.
“I missed you, Leorio,” he whispered softly, before falling into the deepest slumber he has had in months.