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Gon isn’t sure when Killua started having nightmares around him. In fact, he isn’t sure when Killua had started being comfortable enough to really sleep around him. In the past, especially during the Hunter Exam, the boy had been up at the drop of hat. Gon wasn’t much different, but he had always been bizarre compared to the other kids on Whale Island, so he didn’t count. It was clear that his friend had been through a lot throughout his short lifetime, but Gon wasn’t one to pry at things that didn’t require a physical force behind them. Impossibly heavy doors and Killuas were two very different things.
All that being said, it was clear when Killua had a nightmare. At least, to Gon it was. Sometimes he didn’t catch them, the events unable to permeate his sleep, but other times- like tonight- he would. With his own sleep coming slowly and reluctantly, he found himself lying awake with his eyes to the fancy ceiling above them. It was grounding to listen to the only other person in the room and reassure himself that Killua was alive and well. Often, this was how Gon managed to drift off to sleep at all, although he apparently didn’t need much of it in general. He ran like a turbo-powered engine, with enough oil to keep him going for a bit longer than the average tugboat. With nightmares, his friend’s breathing would grow uneven- frantic and quick, until Killua would eventually wake with an eerie silence that screamed of a trained reaction. The smell of fear would spread through the room until it clogged Gon’s nose, making it all he could think about.
Of course, from there it became a matter of what to do with himself in order to help his friend. Leaving him to shake off the terror by himself wasn’t even an option Gon considered, being the type of child he was. He knew, from many experiences in the past- both in and out of the Hunter exam- that Killua would never ask him for help, or comfort. That meant it was up to him to reach out first, if that was even welcome.
Without thinking, Gon slips from his bed and pads over to Killua’s. The boy still pretends to be sleeping, eyes imprinting under his eyelids as they twitch and making his attempt futile. Gon smiles, unable to help himself.
“I can’t sleep. Can you scoot over?”
It’s not a lie, but it’s not exactly the truth either. Killua sighs, no longer trying to hide his lucidity, but Gon can tell he’s not actually mad at him. Instead the restless sleeper slides to the side, and Gon bounces into the bed beside him, immediately pulling the covers up to his chin and beaming across at his friend. It takes Killua only a moment to smile back, with reservation at first, before his smile grows bigger in that mysterious way only Killua can manage.
The beds are comfortable, as all higher-level contestants have always been provided, but Gon will argue tooth and limb that Killua’s is better than his. It’s somehow firmer and more inviting all at once, like somebody punched a cloud into a mattress with sheer strength and determination.
Of course, Killua argues the same of his bed. Really, they spend a lot of nights sharing their space with one another. It was only natural, after what they’d been through together. Not that the Hunter Exam had been particularly traumatic for either of them - at least not yet, anyway. Surely, in their elder years, they would look back on it with a sense of wonder and horror alike, the opening to all their troubles and their greatest adventures. And, of course, the beginning of each other.
No, as for right now… it’s simply a new memory they both share. Their first of many experiences together.
“What’re you gonna do for your next battle?”
Another pointless question, with an inevitable answer, but Gon can feel the fear and unease in the room dissipating with every lasting second.
“You already know, Gon. I’m gonna kick his ass,” Killua snorts. He looks relieved to have such an obvious answer to a question, like he’d been battling another far harder one in his head earlier.
“You bet! I’m gonna kick butt too!” He punches upward, catching his fist in the duvet cover and sending it shooting upward. Killua cackles as it floats down towards them, and Gon starts giggling too. He’s always shocked by the strength he garnered after training to open the Zoldyck’s doors. Somehow he thinks he’ll never get used to it fully, in the small moments like these where he forgets himself.
“I’ll mash him like that blanket,” Gon says, making Killua laugh harder still. The sight makes Gon feel warm, like he’s witnessing a sunrise back on Whale Island, high on the moors where the seagulls swarm.
“I’m sure you will,” Killua returns after he’s calmed a little. He gets a decisive nod for a reply, like Gon is set on it.
They fall into silence again, but it’s not riddled with the sour of fear anymore. It’s the silence they shared on the trip back from the Zoldyck mansion, on the nights they were too exhausted to do anything but lay next to each other in a bed, for the moments when they knew they didn’t need words anymore.
Gon likes to talk, and Killua likes to listen to him, but sometimes they take a moment to treasure their silence instead.
A lifetime goes by before the quiet is broken again.
“Thank you.”
Killua’s eyes are closed when Gon turns to look at him questioningly, and before his mouth even opens to ask, he realizes what Killua means. Of course nothing gets by the mini assassin- he was raised to know things. To know everything, and miss nothing.
“Shut it. I’m trying to sleep,” Gon replies. Killua snorts disbelievingly, smacking Gon gently on the arm before rolling over and curling up properly within the settled duvet.
Gon closes his eyes, and they are quiet once more.