Archive of Our Own

Waking up to an empty bed was never fun, especially not on your honeymoon. Leorio yawned, stretching his arms far over his head- hitting the beds headboard- looking around the room with one eye open for any sign of his now husband. Nope, the hotel room was empty as far as he could see. Just how typical of him, to disappear in the morning and leave Leorio alone in the bed. 

Wait- nevermind. He could see movement on the room's balcony through the curtains. He put on a shirt, as quickly as possible making his way to open the sliding glass door. 

"Watcha doing out here at seven in the morning?" Leorio asked, after taking a step out into the humid, hot air. He did not like the weather here one bit, especially since it was so early in the morning and already 80 outside, but surprisingly enough Kurapika seemed to enjoy it. He claimed it was a nice break from YorkNews "cold, dry, air".

"Enjoying the view," He answered simply, leaning against the railing. They got an ocean view hotel room, twenty floors up, and Leorio understood exactly what Kurapika was doing. It was so easy to be mesmerized by the view up there. 

"It is a nice morning, isn't it," Leorio agreed, leaning against the railing too, shoulders touching. 

"Yeah," Kurapika agreed softly. 

Kurapika now had a well established job as a social worker, just as he always aspired to be. He was able to get a job right out of college which surprised him to say the least, but he was happy to take it nonetheless. As for Leorio, he was able to pull a few scholarships and enter into some special programs, allowing him to finish med school early. Oh, and debt free. Now, he recently was hired at a pediatric clinic offering free services to families in the city, while it's not his own clinic like he wished to open, he hopes to save enough money one day to open one. 

It'd been over four years since they started dating, and now it's been two days since they got married. Leorio honestly didn't think he'd ever seen Kurapika so relaxed literally ever up until this moment. He had a soft look on his face, one he didn't think he'd ever seen before, and it was almost like his eye bags completely dissipated in the last week. Has he ever seen him without eye bags before? His hair was just above his shoulders now, right at the perfect length where his soft curls started to show at the ends. Leorio really liked it when it got to this length, even though it'd only gotten that long a few times before. 

"Stop staring at me," Kurapika said with a smile, still looking onward at the ocean. 

"You never let me stare at you," Leorio argued, "You're so pretty let me look at you," 

Leorio saw the way his face ran red when he said that. Four years of being together and his compliments never ceased to make him blush- to Leorio it was the cutest thing, but he's sure he was definitely the blushing type too. 

"Well I can't say no when you say stuff like that to me," Kurapika said, resting his face on one of his hands. "What do you want to do today?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Don't ask me there's like a million things to do on this island," Leorio said.

"We could go on a hike," Kurapika offered, "There's that waterfall we talked about seeing…" 

"Absolutely," Leorio said, standing up straight, "but first we have to go eat cuz I'm hungry and I know you haven't eaten anything either." With that said, Leorio reached down and swiftly picked Kurapika up bridal style with ease. Kurapika let out an 'oof' at the suddenness of it, immediately latching onto Leorio's neck for more support. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for this to happen. 

He gently put him down on the bed, proceeding to sit down next to him and practically tackle him with kisses. It made Kurapika laugh, getting a streamline of kisses along his neck and jawline as Leorio's hands touched his sides, almost like he was trying to tickle him. 

"What are you doing-" Kurapika tried to say through laughs, "we should be getting ready!" 

"But we just got married and barely had any alone time together!" Leorio said, pulling away to look at Kurapika, who was still laughing a little. 

"We're spending the whole week together, and like forever now" Kurapika said with a light red tint to his face, "You can wait a little, I wanna go on a hike right now." 

"Hm," Leorio hummed in half agreement, giving him another kiss on the cheek. "I guess you're right." 

--

(eight months earlier)

"I think I'm gonna do it this week," Leorio said, gripping the steering wheel nervously.

"Why this week?" Nanika asked, from the passenger seat. 

"The four year anniversary of when we met is this Friday, so…" 

"Well how are you gonna do it? Is it gonna be a big grand gesture or casual? Have you planned this at all? Are there any Kurtan proposal traditions you would use? Have you both even talked about getting married before?" Alluka questioned him from the backseat with her arms crossed. 

Leorio didn't really know the answer to any of that. For one, neither Leorio or Kurapika ever even had a conversation about marriage before- well, they had, but not marriage like- to one another. 

Alluka, on the other hand, had a conversation about marriage with Kurapika not too long ago. It was mainly Kurapika confirming that he did want to marry Leorio, but that he wasn't sure if Leorio was ready yet, especially since he just got a job. So Alluka knew Kurapika would say yes no matter how Leorio popped the question, but she wanted to freak him out a little first. 

"Well, we talked about Kurtan culture and stuff and he said since everyone in the clan marries 'outsiders', there's a lot of influence from modern culture on their proposals, so I know it's basically the same as how any proposal I'm familiar with would go," Leorio explained, "Well… I know in Kurtan culture they have this earring custom, where once we’re engaged and planning to get married we have to change our earrings- well, you guys already know about that… but I don't have them so, I think I'll have to stick to a ring for now."

"Hmmm," Alluka hummed, "Do you have a ring already? Or a speech yet? A plan if he says no? How are you going to execute it?" 

Leorio let out a long, frustrated sigh. He knew she was just messing with his head at this point, but honestly he didn't have an answer to any of that. Well, he did have a wedding ring already- actually he bought it a long time ago, so that's one thing he didn't have to worry about. But how was he actually gonna pull it off? He had no idea. He knew Kurapika wouldn't want something too big, if anything he knew it'd be better if he proposed while they were both alone- even if that made Leorio even more nervous- but he didn't necessarily have to plan anything extravagant. 

"Well, do yall have any suggestions?" Leorio asked, since they didn't seem to actually try and help him. 

"When were you planning on doing it again?" Nanika asked. 

"Sunday" 

"Well, me and Alluka have our concert that night, so maybe you guys could come and then do something after and that's when you ask?" She suggested, "So it seems at least sort of planned out." 

Leorio was currently giving them a ride to York New University, where both girls were currently enrolled, both studying music. Bisky even had the guts to call them "Kurapika's replacements"- they were insanely talented just like him, except they chose to actually pursue it as a career. But now they were pulling into the parking lot of the University's theater, and Leorio felt like he barely got any help at all. 

"Yea, I guess," He sighed out, finding a parking spot. They were right, he probably could do it that night when they came back, and it would still be special if Kurapika knew it was the anniversary of when they first met. 

"Well, thanks for the ride!" Alluka said abruptly, knowing they were running a bit late. "Goodluck figuring it out!" 

"Get your licenses!" Leorio reminded them, as they both scrambled to get their things. It became a regular thing for him to say whenever he had to give either of them a ride anywhere, which was quite frequent. 

"No!" They said in unison, closing the doors and walking away. Their behaviors weren't too different from Gon and Killuas if you asked Leorio. Infact, both of those boys just got their licenses at the old ages of 21, but for some reason the girls still begged Leorio for a ride that day. 

And Leorio still had no idea what he was going to do.

--

"Leorio," Kurapika said nonchalantly, lightly tugging at the back of Leorio's shirt and surprising him a little as he cooked, "Leorio there's a big one in the shower." 

Leorio turned around and turned off the stove, finding Kurapika with horrified eyes just standing there, hand still gripped to his dress shirt. They'd just gotten back from Alluka and Nanika's concert, and they were attempting to formulate a date night by cooking and staying in. When they came back, Kurapika decided to shower and change into something more comfortable, and that's at least what Leorio thought he was doing up until now. He was confused to say the least, seeing his boyfriend just stand there half undressed in boxers and an unbuttoned dress shirt, shaking with a terrified expression.  

"A big what, exactly?" Leorio asked, raising an eyebrow and grabbing Kurapikas hand so he wasn't tugging at his shirt anymore. 

"Spider," he still said with no emotion, even though his face and demeanor said it all. 

Oh right, Leorio was the designated spider killer. It honestly wasn't until quite a while into their relationship that Leorio found out about this phobia of his, and he was definitely confused as to why he had it but he never questioned. He did find it a bit funny at the way Kurapika would approach him about the spiders though, it reminded him a lot of the way a kid would do it. 

"Ah," Leorio said, "I got it." He briskly walked to the bathroom, sure enough seeing quite a large spider on the rim of the tub. Shit, it kind of scared him too. 

But, Leorio never actually killed the spiders, no matter how much Kurapika would scold him for it. So, he did what he always did, and took it outside with a paper and a cup without harming it. 

"Crisis averted," He said to Kurapika who was seated at the dining room table, waiting for the said crises to be averted, "No more spiders in the bathroom."

"Thank God," Kurapika sighed out in relief, standing and giving Leorio a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to clean the bathtub now." 

"What about dinner?" Leorio asked, scratching the back of his hand. 

"It can wait half an hour, gotta make sure no more come into the apartment, sorry sweetie." Kurapika said, making his way back to the bathroom. This was usual for him, whenever there was a spider he would scrub the entire area down and then make an essential oil spray that worked against spiders. And hell, it did work, it was pretty rare to ever see any bug in that apartment. Perhaps it'd just been a while since they'd sprayed any in the area of the bathroom. 

But the thing was, Leorio was planning to propose over dinner that night. It actually was their anniversary, and it seemed now that there was a delay to the proposal his heart just moved up his throat. He still didn't really know how he was gonna do it. 

So, he paused on making dinner for a bit as he waited for Kurapika to at least get in the shower. Standing there in the kitchen, he did his best to go over his options.

One, he could ask it towards the end of dinner in a very stereotypical way. However, he didn't have a speech planned whatsoever so whatever came out of his mouth would be improvised. 

Two, it could be later in the night after they watch TV, which is what they planned to do after they ate. That felt less romantic, but both of them didn't really go by the rule books and were rather casual about a lot of things. But again, he didn't have any speech so it would once again be improvised. 

Three, he just didn't do it that night. But if not that night, when? At this point, Kurapika was the end game for Leorio and he knew he was the love of his life. It's been exactly four years since they met in that library, and he couldn't think of a better day to ask. 

He was pretty sure he'd say yes, after all. No matter how he popped the question. 

But also, how was he going to pop the question?

So when dinner rolled around, Leorio's hands got sweaty and clammy. The box the ring was in in his pocket felt like a boulder. He could hardly eat his food as he tried (really, he tried so hard) to intently listen to Kurapikas analysis of the girls' performances that night. As the topic changed direction multiple times, eventually an easy silence fell over the two of them as they almost cleared their plates. 

"If you were to travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?" Leorio asked suddenly, looking up at Kurapika. He didn't know where he was going with this, but it was a start. 

"Hm," Kurapika hummed, resting his chin on his hand, "Anywhere with pretty beaches and warm weather, I guess. Like Hawaii or a Central American country." 

Leorio nodded. So that's where their honeymoon will be, he thought. He knew the beach was Kurapikas favorite place, but warm weather? That was new, but he figured anyone would get tired of York News dry, cold air. 

"What about you?" Kurapika asked, taking one more bite. 

"Good question, I don't think I've ever had a specific place in mind. I'd like to see a rainforest at least once in my life, though." Leorio answered honestly. He wanted to say 'I'd be happy anywhere as long as you're there', but that would be too cheesy even for him. Kurapika nodded. 

"Why'd you ask?" Kurapika questioned, slightly raising an eyebrow. It was literally now or never, and he was about to improvise everything too. Hopefully this will go better than he thought. 

"Remember when we first went to the beach together, on that vacation with the kids all those years ago?" Leorio asked, completely unsure where he was going with this. He was just going to monolog it. 

"Yes? How could I forget?" Kurapika asked, eyebrows raising a bit higher. Leorio gulped. 

"I… I was already in love with you then, I think I was in love with you way before we even started dating, but…" Leorio stopped for a brief moment to think about where he was going with this, barely noticing that Kurapika's eyes widened slightly, "I think that night at the beach was when I realized I wanted to be with you forever, like you were literally everything to me." 

Leorio could see the gears start turning in Kurapikas head about where this was going. 

"I don't think I tell you that enough, either. Every time I look at you, you look like an angel, literally. And since then it's felt like non stop signs from God that you're the one. The way you radiate light, just everything about you is so beautiful, Pika… and I can't imagine myself doing anything in the future without you there…" His hand moved to his pocket, not so sure about what else to say. "I think we are immortal, just like you told me three years ago too. I don't think I fully understood at the time, but I do now. So…" 

Kurapika's eyes were glassed over, and his lips were slightly parted in shock. His movement was a bit awkward, since he felt a bit out of place doing it, but he got down on one knee and pulled out the box, flipping it open. 

Inside was a ring with very intricate and delicate floral designs that held a dark ruby gem in the center. Leorio may or may not have had it custom made to share similar patterns from the regions around Lukso province, knowing what they looked like from conversations with Kurapika about Kurtan wedding traditions. It may or may not have also cost him most of his savings. 

"Will you marry me?" Shakily slipped out of Leorio's mouth, as he watched tears slip down Kurapika's cheeks, slowly being illuminated red by the gradual change in color of his eyes. 

"If I had known you would propose to me tonight I wouldn't have changed out of my formal clothes! I must look ridiculous being proposed to in sweatpants and one of your shirts!" Kurapika let out through laughs and smiles, confusing Leorio a bit. 

"I'm not going to tell you that I'm proposing, who the fuck does that?!" Leorio asked with an awkward smile and confused expression, lowering his hands with the ring in it. "Um…"

"Give me two seconds," Kurapika said abruptly, standing quickly and half jogging down the hallway towards their bedroom. Ok, now Leorio really couldn't tell what was going on. Was he being rejected? But Kurapika also was smiling and crying? What was happening? But sure enough, Leorio stayed there on the floor for a few moments until Kurapika came back with a box in his hands. 

"Leorio, sit back down," Kurapika demanded, having him sit in the dining room chair. Then, shocking Leorio, Kurapika got down on one knee too, opening the box to show two Kurtan earrings, both with flowers engraved in them.

"Leorio, I knew I had a crush on you the day you helped me with math in the library. I knew I was in love with you after our first date when you said you wanted to be with me through anything, and I knew you were the one on the day at the beach as well. You've always been everything I needed, you never question me and you always understand what I need when even I don't know it. Honestly, I could never have asked for a better person to spend the rest of my life with…" Kurapika paused, letting in a very shaky breath, "My parents always told me about what it felt like to meet the one, but I never thought I'd get that feeling until I met you. Your empathy, your kindness, your understanding and care for the world… Although our bickering drives me insane, I wouldn't trade it for anything. We really are immortal, and this is exactly what I meant by that all those years ago…" 

Kurapika stood to his full height, right in front of Leorio. 

"This can't really be a proposal, since you proposed first… so I won't ask the question. You beat me to it fair and square. But yes, love, I will marry you." Kurapika said firmly, blazing red eyes staring straight into Leorio's crying ones. He reached down for the box with the earrings, taking out one and gently replacing the old one Leorio had in with the engagement earring. He did the same to himself. 

Standing, Leorio took out the ring in the box, sliding it onto Kurapikas index finger on his left hand. 

"I love you so much," Leorio let out through a cry. It was Kurapika who then on the tips of his toes latched his arms around Leorios neck, gently pushing each other together for a kiss. They'd never shared a kiss so sweet before. 

"We're gonna get married," Kurapika said, foreheads against each other, "This explains why you've been nervous all day. You're so bad at hiding it." 

"You could tell?" Leorio asked with a soft smile. 

"Anyone could read you like a book, dear." Kurapika confirmed. They stood there for several moments, enjoying each other's presence. After a while, Kurapika pulled away, holding Leorios hands in his. "Did Alluka and Nanika know about this?" Kurapika asked, smiling softly.

"W- how'd you know? Did they say something?" Leorio asked, looking very confused. 

"They wouldn't stop asking me questions about marriage every time I've seen them this week, I thought it was weird, but now it makes sense." He explained. 

"Ah, I told them not to say anything," Leorio muttered a little, making Kurapika giggle. 

"So what now?" Kurapika asked, tilting his head slightly. 

"Hm, well I guess we should clean the table and then start wedding plans. Or watch TV, up to you." Leorio answered. 

"How about wedding plans tomorrow, TV tonight. Celebrate tonight and stress tomorrow." 

"Fair enough," Leorio said, reaching down to kiss him gently, quickly. 

--

Standing there, so angelic, Leorio hadn't seen anything so beautiful in his life. The way the sun rays made his hair shine, the gold embroidery in his Kurtan robes shimmer, were hypnotizing. 

If Leorio looked hard enough, he swore he'd see a halo floating over his head. He was an angel. He was the sun.

--

The warmth of his hands enveloped him like a blanket, the smile on his face sending a wave of peace and tranquility over him. He was so comfortable, so beautiful, so angelic to look at. 

If you asked Kurapika, he'd tell you Leorio was the most perfect being on the planet. He was warmth, he was peace. Kurapika loved every inch of him, more than words could describe. 

--

Leorio always told Kurapika he was angelic, holy in one way or another. So beautiful the sight of him could blind anyone. But Kurapika didn't think he ever told Leorio anything like that about him before, but he wished he had the guts to. He was his husband now, after all. 

They were at a secluded beach, on their honeymoon, and it was just past midnight. It was pitch black, except for the light of the moon and stars illuminating them a little. 

"Can I admit something to you?" Kurapika asked after a while. He could feel his mind wanting to drift off into sleep, so he found it easier to say the words he was going to say. 

"Yea?" Leorio answered, more like a question. Kurapika paused for a moment before saying anything. 

"When we got married, I expected to feel… old, I guess. Because I see it a lot, where people get married and it seems that suddenly they age ten years and mature. And, I thought that would happen to us, in one way or another," Kurapika said, "But I haven't felt that at all. This last week the only thing that changed between us was legally and spiritually binding… nothing emotional." 

Leorio didn't respond right away, he sort of just hummed to indicate he was thinking about it. 

"I think… It's because a lot of people don't have any love in their relationships. When they get married, it feels more like an obligation. Like oh, I've been dating this person for a while so I guess we should get married," Leorio explained, "but we're not like that… everything's been on our own terms and not because we feel obligated to do anything. There's also genuine love between us, nothings been faked." 

Kurapika sat up, looking down at what he could barely see of Leorio against the sand. 

"So you think we're special? Different from everyone else?" Kurapika said, down at him. He had a hand in the sand and another on Leorio's chest. 

"I guess," Leorio shrugged, "We've got stable jobs and were married now and still haven't matured, so yea that makes us different." 

"Yea," Kurapika agreed softly. 

"Y'know, it's fun not being mature. Imagine getting married and it's all taxes and the economy boring bullshit after. Well I mean we do still worry about that but you get what I mean, like peoples relationships usually feel expired by this point." 

"Exactly," Kurapika sighed out, brushing some of Leorio's hair out of his face. Maybe, in a way, Leorio was like the moonlight- because he was a lot more soft, calming, and reassuring. The sun could be used to describe him in many ways, but the more Kurapika thought about it, the more he was like the moon. At least in his opinion. 

The way people often feel at peace when bathing in moonlight, that feeling of tranquility, it was very similar to how Kurapika felt around him. Like there was so much chaos everywhere in his life, but when he looked at Leorio there was stability and serenity pouring out of him. There was no way for him to make a nickname out of it in the same way you could make sunshine into a nickname, but he still thought the parallel between them was interesting. 

"Luz de la luna," Kurapika said just above a whisper. 

"What?" Leorio said, raising an eyebrow, "Moonlight?" Kurapika's eyes widened realizing he said it out loud. 

"If I'm sunshine, then you're moonlight, right? That makes sense?" Kurapika said, acting like he said the phrase on purpose. 

"Yea, I guess," Leorio said, pausing to think for a moment. "We should get matching tattoos, then." 

"Of what?"

"The sun and moon, obviously."

"You know I have a low pain tolerance, Leorio, I would pass out." 

"Aw, but it would be cute!" Leorio argued. 

"Maybe," Kurapika paused, "It depends on where the tattoo is." 

"I heard the forearms don't hurt," Leorio said, "I'll get a sun, you get a moon."

"I'll think about it," Kurapika said with a playful smile. 

"Think good," Leorio said, as Kurapika leaned down and messily pressed their lips together. 

--

Kurapika was generally pretty good at keeping secrets, but this one? Fuck, this one was getting way to hard to cover up. Not only that, but anymore postponing with dropping this bomb on his husband would have major consequences. But oh god, he was so nervous. 

They were walking along the beach about half an hour outside York New, the sun was beginning to set and they had lanterns dangling from their belt loops by carabiner clips in preparation for the night. It was late June, but the cold ocean breeze was keeping them nice and cool. They had their arms interlocked, hoods up while their hoodies tussled with the wind. It was mostly quiet, both just enjoying themselves and the evening. They let the cold waves crash into their legs as they walked along the shoreline, while their jeans were rolled up of course. 

He had to say it now. Well, he had to ask first. 

"Leorio," Kurapika said softly, still looking forward at the endless miles of sand ahead of them. 

"Hm?" Leorio hummed, looking down at him. 

"Can I ask you… a pretty serious question?" Kurapika asked. 

"Yea? You don't have to ask to ask," Leorio said, almost with a snort of laughter. Kurapikas face flushed a bit red in slight embarrassment, but also because his heart was racing a million miles an hour. 

"Ok, um…" Kurapika gulped, "Do you want kids? I- I know that's sort of out of the blue, and I know we sort of talked about it with the whole Woble situation, but… I mean, long term. Like a kid of our own." Kurapika asked with a shaky breath. They walked a few more steps in silence before Leorio said anything. 

"Honestly… since we took care of Woble for a bit, I did start to seriously consider it… but even before then, I did like the idea. But… of course, your opinion matters too, so why do you ask?" Leorio said genuinely. A small rush of relief flooded Kurapika. 

"I feel the same…" Kurapika said, pursing his lips. 

"Why are you making that face? Is something wrong?" Leorio questioned, noticing the nerves starting to take over Kurapikas demeanor. Kurapika stopped walking, giving Leorio great confusion as they both stood there in front of the setting sun at the shoreline. 

"To clarify, to make it a hundred percent clear," Kurapika breathed in, "So you are open to having kids. You are willing to be a parent." He said, both hands in front of himself like he was trying to settle something. 

"Yes," Leorio said with a raised eyebrow and a very small smile. "You are too?" 

"Yes," Kurapika gulped again, "I am." He clarified. 

"So, then," Leorio said, putting his hands in his hoodie pocket, "why are you asking? Is there another similar situation to Wobles at work, but like, more serious? Or are you implying we start having the conversation on how we're gonna have kids?" It looked like Leorio was trying to contain copious amounts of joy behind these questions, like he was trying to cover the slight excitement in his voice. Kurapika took a big breath in, unable to make eye contact with him. 

"That's the thing," Kurapika started, folding his arms over his chest nervously, "already got one on the way." 

"Wait, what?" 

Kurapikas lips pursed again, unsure how to say it without actually saying it. He didn't want to say it. Leorio could figure it out, right? His heart was in his throat. 

"Kurapika, what?" Kurapika started playing with the sand with his foot slightly, as the waves continued to crash onto them. He couldn't look up at Leorio, he didn't have the guts to. 

"Sunshine, I need an explanation for that," Leorio said desperately. 

"We're having our own kid." Kurapika said simply, still not looking up at him. 

"L-like, like you're p-" 

"Yes." Kurapika said quickly, nodding slightly. 

There was nothing for a moment. It seemed Leorio needed a second to process it. It worried Kurapika, as he just stood there, still unable to make any eye contact with him. 

"Ok, ok ok ok ok ok… ok…" Leorio started, "Ok, before I say anything else, are you ok with this? Are you comfortable with it?" Kurapika knew what he was referring too, but honestly in the past whenever he pictured having children he was always comfortable with the idea of carrying them. 

"Yes." Kurapika simply answered again. There was a beat of silence. 

"Kurapika…" Leorio said, voice cracking. Kurapika was really, really trying to contain his emotions, but hearing the way Leorio said his name was going to make everything spill over. 

Leorio's hands moved to the sides of Kurapikas face, slightly tilting it upwards so they could finally look at eachother. Leorio was crying, crying a lot, but he looked so happy. Kurapika hadn't seen this same look of pure joy since their wedding day, just over a year ago. 

"I can't believe it," Leorio said, head shaking slightly, "I can't believe it, Pika, we're gonna be parents. Oh my god, oh my god," He said in disbelief, wiping away at the stray tear making its way down Kurapikas cheek. 

Kurapika let out a laugh, a small laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. He smiled for the first time since he first found out. 

"I love you so much, oh my god," Leorio kept saying, pulling Kurapika, almost aggressively, into a tight embrace. It was an almost magical moment, with the way the sun was making its way behind the sea as they stood there latched onto each other, rocking in the waves. Kurapika had his head dug into Leorio's chest, as he cried, with his hands gripping the fabric of his jacket. 

"How long… How long have you known? Is this why you've been acting so weird lately?" Leorio asked, pulling away so he could look at his husband's face again. His scarlet eyes were digging into his, looking for any sign of discontent, but there was none to be found. "I know we've been super busy lately, but this explains a lot."

"About three weeks," Kurapika said, still holding onto the back of Leorio's sweatshirt. "I've known for about three weeks, I just… I couldn't find the right time to bring it up, with everything going on." 

In fact, the whole "Woble situation" was pretty recent. Since Kurapika was a social worker now, he obviously had his own cases. One of these cases involved a newborn named Woble, a very sweet girl, and it had been ongoing for a few months. It was one of the toughest cases he'd ever had, to the point where Leorio and him almost had to become her foster parents- as in she was even placed with them for 3 days. It was a complicated process, but the case finally wrapped up a week ago, and amongst all the chaos was when Kurapika found out he himself had his own child on the way. On top of that, Leorio's work was alarmingly busier than usual recently, causing them to not have as much alone time with each other as desired. 

"So if you've known for three weeks… then how far along are you?" Leorio asked, hands curiously moving up to Kurapikas shoulders. 

"About 8 to 9 weeks along," Kurapika said, "If I did the math right." 

"Ah," Leorio understood, "is this why you haven't worn anything but a hoodie this whole week? And the whole 'I'm trying not to drink coffee anymore' thing?" Leorio asked.

"Yes, well… I was starting to show a bit, enough for you to notice at least…" Kurapika answered, still sniffling a little. By this point both of them were just ankle deep in the water, completely accustomed to the cold. 

"I was starting to get suspicious of something, but I would've never guessed pregnancy, " Leorio said, "But has it gone smoothly? I don't recall you ever being sick, I think I would've noticed that." 

"Well, your shifts have been starting before I wake up, the mornings have been pretty rough." 

"Oh," Leorio said a little stupidly. There was blank emotion on his face before it immediately lit up again.  

"What?" Kurapika asked, noticing a huge grin moved across Leorio's face. 

"This would be the first family beach trip then, right?" Leorio said with a sparkle in his eye, grabbing Kurapikas hands in his. 

"Oh- I guess so?" Kurapika said with a slight chuckle, cheeks turning pink at the realization.  

"Ok then, Pika don't move," Leorio said suddenly, taking a few steps out of the water and taking his phone out. "Smile!" 

It very much caught Kurapika off guard, but he was so happy in that moment, to Leorio the picture came out perfect. This was definitely one he would have to print out and frame, it was so beautiful. The sun had just set, so the lighting was perfect and Leorio hadn't seen such a big smile- such a gentle one- on Kurapikas face in a very long time. 

"You're so pretty," Leorio sighed, looking at the picture, "One day we're gonna show our kid this picture, and we're gonna be like, this is the first picture of you, ever." 

"That's an interesting way to view it," Kurapika noted, looking down at the phone as Leorio re-entered the water. 

"Can I?" Leorio asked, gently placing a hand over Kurapikas abdomen. 

"Yea," Kurapika said, placing a hand over Leorios so they were both touching. Their tattoos were lined up on one another, both being on the palms of their hands under their thumbs. (It hurt, it hurt so bad, but apparently in Kurtan culture it was the most common location to get a tattoo in). 

Neither said anything during the tender moment, both just in their respective headspaces, thinking about everything the future now entailed for them. 

"We should start thinking of names," Leorio suggested. 

"Already?" 

"Never too soon," Leorio said, "Any Kurtan names you've got in mind?" 

Kurapika thought for a moment. He did, actually, already start thinking of names.

"I always figured if I were to have a child, I'd name them after my mother, Rojin. It's a gender neutral name, so it works for anything, I think. It means 'one who is like the sun.'" Kurapika explained, "Do you have any ideas?" 

"Nope, I've never thought about it actually, that's why I asked you," Leorio said with a sheepish smile, "But Rojin is beautiful, I think it'd suit them however they came out." Leorio said honestly.

"Alright," Kurapika said, "Rojin, then?" 

"Yes," Leorio agreed, looking up at Kurapika. The sun was now set, and it was starting to get dark. 

"What now, then?" Kurapika asked, looking at him also. 

"Well, we both get tomorrow off," Leorio said, thinking, "And it's a Saturday… we could hang out with the kids?" 

Kurapika nodded, turning to look back at the ocean and interlocking arms with Leorio. They'd have to turn on their lanterns soon. 

"Should we tell them?" He asked. 

"Hm… maybe, but also it could be just our secret for now, if you want." 

"Oh, I already told Melody, though." 

"What?! Why her first and me second?!" 

"Leorio." 

Leorio grunted. Kurapika laughed.

"So does Cheadle." 

"My fucking boss?" 

"Yes."

Leorio groaned. Kurapika rubbed his hand softly. They stood there in comfortable silence, allowing the dark of the night to envelop them. 

Eventually, after turning on both of their lanterns, Leorio leaned down and kissed Kurapikas forehead gently. 

"Let's head back now," Leorio said. They left the shoreline, sand getting stuck to their legs. 

Leorio's hand rubbed back and forth over Kurapikas abdomen, as they laid together trying to fall asleep. His chin rested on top of Kurapikas head. 

"Thank you, Leorio," Kurapika said softly, almost as if he wasn't sure if Leorio was asleep yet or not. 

"For what?" 

"For helping me with math," He answered, "I don't thank you enough for that." He said simply. 

"Don't thank me for that." 

"But I'm thanking you anyway. I love you." 

"Hm. Love you too, now go to sleep." 

They did.