Chapter Text
Killua is proud to say that, in his fourteen years of life, he's experienced a lot of things. However, one thing he has absolutely no experience in, is dealing with his feelings. Specifically romantic ones. So the day Killua had realized that yes, he definitely had feelings for his best friend, he had no idea what to do. He had planned to go on with his life and ignore it. If those feelings had ever reared their ugly head, he would lie his way out of it. Piece of cake. That is, until he actually had to deal with them.
Which was exactly what he had to do in this certain situation.
He and Gon had stayed after school with a classmate of their's on cleaning duty. Nothing too peculiar about it. He was cleaning the chalkboard with the other girl while Gon was looking for brooms in the closet. Killua had never enjoyed cleaning duty, much like many of the other students, but it never seemed to phase Gon. He was always his cheerful self, no matter what he was doing.
Killua clashed the two chalkboard erasers together, absentmindedly watching the white puffs of dust that erupted from them. Their classmate had moved on to another task, briefly leaving the room to get some water. Gon, however, was still it the closet. Sighing, Killua set the erasers down, deciding to go check on his friend. The boy made his way over to the closet door and peered into the dark room.
"Gon," he stated. "What's taking so long?" Killua, curious, stepped into the dark storage room. "How long can you possibly take trying to get some br-"
"Oh, hey, Killua!" Gon interrupted. He was currently standing on top of a chair, attempting to climb onto the shelf in front of him. "Sorry for taking so long. You see," The boy's gaze shifted from Killua to the shelf. "The brooms are up here, I think. It took me awhile to spot them! Once I did, I realized I wasn't tall enough to reach them? So I saw this chair and I thought I could use it to climb up here..."
After listening to about half of his explanation, Killua drowned Gon out, shaking his head at the other. Of course he couldn't handle the simple task of getting the brooms.
"Okay, okay. Just... hurry up. The sooner you get those brooms, the sooner we can get out of here." Killua replied, turning towards the doorway.
"Sure, Killua!" Gon chirped back, returning his attention to his previous task. He raised his left leg while balancing the other on the seat of the chair. Slowly, wobbling along the way, Gon lifted his leg higher, trying to plant his foot on the shelf and haul himself up. With a grunt, he succeeded, pumping his fist in a silent victory.
Reaching towards the back of the shelf, Gon felt the bristles of the brooms brush his fingertips, and he began to feverishly grab for them. Meanwhile, Killua was at the chalkboard again, resuming to his own task.
Slap.
Slap.
Slap.
Killua groaned, looking up from the erasers and snorting dust out of his nose. The white haired boy wondered how long it was going to take Gon until he heard a loud crash coming from the closet, accompanied with a weak sounding 'Killuaaaaa..'
Opening the door, Killua found Gon sprawled on the ground, one hand holding a broom and the other placed on his forehead. The boy had fallen backwards off of the shelf, landing not-so-soundly onto the chair under him.
"Jeez, Gon," Killua sighed, holding out a hand to him. "You idiot, are you okay?"
The teen only received a strangled moan in response as Gon grabbed his offered hand. Heaving himself up, the spiky-haired boy winced, rubbing his back.
"Aaaah, that hurt! But I think I'm okay. Thanks, Killua!"
Killua turned, avoiding Gon's gaze. He felt his face heat up as he bit his lip, yanking his hand out of the other's. He hated how such a simple interaction made his heart beat faster. He hated how his body turned on him, causing his cheeks to change color when Gon looked at him with such a sincere, bright smile.
"Yeah, it was nothing... Just, get those stupid brooms already. We've gotta sweep still." Killua mumbled, quickly shuffling out of the closet.
Gon followed suit, along with the brooms in his hand. He handed one to his friend, and they began to sweep in silence. It wasn't awkward silence though. It was light and comfortable, the sort of silence that was appreciated from time to time. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional scratch of the broom bristles against the classroom floor.
Light footsteps broke the silence however, and the pair looked up to find their classmate at the door. She was holding a bucket of water, presumably to change the dirty water in the vase. She made her way over to the said vase, delicately taking the flowers out and placing them in a temporary cup. She then took the vase filled with the dirty water and poured it out in the sink. Meanwhile, the boys were still sweeping, listening to the plop of the water as it was poured into the vase.
Clearing her throat, the girl spoke.
"Well, I'm done with my part. Can you guys finish up here without me?"
"Mmm, yeah, Ponzu. You can head home if you want!" replied Gon, looking up from the broom to give her a smile.
"Okay then, see you tomorrow," Ponzu trailed off, grabbing her bag from her desk. "Oh! I almost forgot. You might want to be careful on your way home. I heard it's supposed to rain this afternoon." With that, the girl left, and the room returned to it's previous silence.
"Did you hear that, Killua? I guess it's going to rain today..." Gon mused. Killua just chimed in with a simple grunt. "Did you bring your umbrella today, Killua? I woke up late and Mito-san threatened to not make me breakfast, so I never checked the weather."
Glancing out the window, Killua shook his head.
"No, I didn't bring mine either. Let's just hope the forecast's wrong today." The boy replied, closing his eyes. "Either that, or hurry up, because this sweeping is the last thing I want to be doing right now."
That elicited a chuckle from Gon, who continued sweep, not wanting to make Killua unhappy.
About fifteen minutes of sweeping later, they had finished cleaning duty, and the classroom was pretty much spotless. Grabbing their bags, turning the lights off, and locking up, Killua and Gon ran down the school hallway, hoping to beat the storm. Stopping at their lockers, the boys put their shoes on and left the building, making their way towards the entrance gate.
That was when Killua felt a soft plop on his nose, and looked up to find that they were surrounded by dark, puffy clouds.
"I think we're out of luck Gon, it's already started to rain." The white haired boy informed, looking to the other.
"Mmm, my house is closer, right?" Gon asked, blinking as a drop fell on his face as well.
"Yeah, why?"
"You should spend the night! Your house is pretty far from here, and you shouldn't have to run home in the rain."
Killua frowned at the other.
"A little rain isn't going to kill me," he scoffed. "I don't need to stay at your house."
It's not like Killua didn't want to though. It was the exact opposite actually. He would love to, but he shouldn't. Like he said, a little rain isn't going to stop him, and he doesn't want to get himself into a... situation. Knowing Gon, he definitely would if he stayed with him.
However, a whine from the other pulled him out of his thoughts.
"But, Killuaaaa!" Gon pleaded, looking up at him with something akin to puppy eyes. Really, really cute puppy eyes that he simply couldn't resist.
Killua let out an aggravated sigh, biting his lip. "Gon, I really hate you sometimes."
Gon only cheered, grabbing the other's arm. He was completely unfazed by Killua's previous sentence, only dragging him along as they ran through the now harder downpour.
The warmth from Gon's touch coursed through his arms, torso, and eventually to his cheeks, which were dusted a light pink. He blindly followed his friend, barely noticing the drops of water pelting him. Killua had certainly gotten himself into a mess, but he found that he didn't mind too much. Any time spent with Gon was fun. Gon was... just a great time, regardless of how Killua felt towards him. He needed to remember to call his brother when they got home. If his family didn't know where he was, his mother would probably throw a fit.
Gasping for breath, the soaked boys collapsed on the porch of Gon's house. They just lied there for what seemed forever, the pitter patter of the surrounding storm filling their senses. Gon turned towards Killua, the other doing the same. Then, they broke into laughter, the most genuine smiles plastered on their faces.
While the pair were laughing, they never noticed that the front door had opened, a concerned Mito standing in the doorway.
"What are you boys doing?" Mito questioned, looking them over. "You're both soaked! Hurry in inside, I'll go get some towels!"
The two took that as their queue to stand up, slowly making their way inside. Killua followed Gon to the living room, where they found said towels laid out neatly for them on the couch.
Mito could be heard in the kitchen, presumably making dinner. As Gon picked up the towels and handed one to Killua, she called out from the kitchen.
"I don't know why Killua's here, I won't ask. He's welcome to stay, but I won't have you two getting my furniture wet. Take those towels upstairs and take a bath. Then change into some clean clothes. Gon, let Killua borrow some of your pajamas. Leave your wet uniforms in the hamper, I'll wash them for tomorrow. After you're dry, come down for dinner."
Killua blinked towards the kitchen entrance, still processing the information. Gon, however, was used to it, and swiftly replied with a "Yes ma'am!"
"'Cmon, Killua, let's go take a bath!" Gon said, already making his way up the stairs. "If you don't hurry I'm going to use all of the hot water!"
This didn't fly with Killua, and he quickly raced up the stairs after Gon.
"Not on my watch you're not, idiot!"
Downstairs, Mito chuckled as she heard the boys' antics from the bathroom. She continued to prepare dinner, hoping they wouldn't get themselves into too much trouble.
---
A well appreciated bath later, the three were sitting in the dining room, about to eat dinner. Killua remembered from the last time he was here to give his thanks, but he wasn't really sure what that meant, so he just copied Gon and Mito until they were done.
After dinner, Killua and Gon began their homework. Or, rather, Mito forced the two to do their homework. If it were up to Gon, they would be doing anything but homework, however Killua didn't mind either way.
As he worked on the algebra problems that were assigned to him that night, Killua felt an extra weight on his legs. He looked up to see Gon sprawled across him, a perplexed look on his face. The boy chose to ignore it, returning to his own work, when he heard a frustrated noise escape from the other.
"Ughh, Killua, I don't understand this!" Gon complained, shifting on top of Killua once again, now facing towards his friend. He held his, now crumpled, chemistry homework in his hand, and was still on what looked like the first problem.
Lifting his legs up and rolling Gon off of him, Killua simply shrugged.
"Hmm, tough luck, Gon. You can't always rely on others to do your work for yo-" He was suddenly cut off as the spiky-haired boy had pounced on him, his hands roaming to Killua's sides. "S-stop it, you moro- Gon! Seriously, stop i-it! Oh my go-"
Laughter filled the room as the two rolled around on Gon's bed, their homework now forgotten. Killua's face was flushed with a brilliant shade of red, protests spilling out of him. Gon, however, paid no attention to said protests, determined to tickle his friend until he got what he wanted.
Clutching his sides, Killua finally gave in. "Okay, okay, you win! Jeez, just stop tickling me already!" Anything to get Gon to stop.
Grinning triumphantly, Gon released his friend and flopped off of the bed in search of his chemistry homework.
"Okay.. I dropped it over here somewhere? Ah, yeah! Right here," He sang, lifting the paper into the air and waving it around. "So, I sort of... don't understand any of it? I dozed off in class today. But I figured it would be okay because Killua could teach me!"
Killua shook his head at the other as he watched him climb back up onto the bed. To be honest, he didn't expect anything less of Gon. But, in a way, he figured that's why he found the boy so endearing. Gon was the exact opposite of him. Gon was what he needed to stay together, sort of like his glue. From time to time, Killua did find himself annoyed by Gon, but not in the way you would a stranger. Killua found it charming in a sense, and even if the other made him angry, he could never deny him. Almost like a child asking for a toy. You want to say no, but you can't. He always gets his way, and Killua feels he should be upset by this fact. But he's not.
"Whatever," Killua sighed. "Let's just get this over with. You better know what you're doing after this though, or I'll be angry that you wasted my time."
But that was a lie. Even if he didn't particularly want to be spending his time as a chemistry tutor, he never considered it a waste.
---
"Damn! I forgot to call Illumi!" Killua cursed, sliding down the stairs, almost slipping on the last step. As he dialed his brother's number on the home phone downstairs, Gon's laughter could be heard as Mito yelled, "Language!"
After a, thankfully, short talk with Illumi, the teen rejoined Gon in his bedroom. It was rather late at this point, and Killua couldn't help but let out a silent yawn.
Not too far behind, Gon yawned as well, a short chuckle escaping his lips shortly after.
"Yawns are pretty contagious, huh?" Gon laughed. "Maybe it's time for bed. I'm a little tired anyways."
Killua nodded in agreement, eyes drooping. "I'll go get you something to sleep in, be right back!"
While waiting for the other to return, Killua began to clean the bed off from earlier. Papers and miscellaneous school supplies were still scattered around. The boy stacked their homework in a pile on Gon's bedside table, then tossed the pens and pencils on top of their backpacks. They'd deal with organizing it all in the morning. Killua was way too exhausted to deal with it at the moment, and he certainly knew that Gon wouldn't do it.
After Gon got back and the boys had changed, they settled into bed, eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.
Killua began to feel himself sinking into sleep's clutches, thankful for the chance to finally relax. That is, until he noticed a shift in the bed, and then felt a soft poke on his back.
"Mmm, are you awake, Killua?" Gon whispered, staring at the back of Killua's neck.
"Well, I am now. What is it?" Killua sighed, turning over to face the other.
"I can't really sleep," A pause, accompanied with a sheepish chuckle. "And I was thinking, we haven't had a lot of sleep overs lately! So, like, maybe we could just talk? I want to talk to you, Killua."
Red seeped up onto Killua's cheeks, and he stuffed his face in his pillow. This kid was so... embarrassing.
"Jeez, how can you say such weird things? Okay, sure, we can talk." His words were muffled, but still intelligible.
Killua briefly looked up from the pillow, only to see Gon's face, a brilliantly bright smile plastered onto it. One that was directed right towards Killua. It made him wonder how he'd gotten into this situation in the first place.
"Great! Okay... let's see here," The teen's brows furrowed as he hummed in thought. "Let's ask each other questions! Like twenty questions, but maybe more? If we ask more than twenty questions..."
"That's stupid. What don't we know about each other?"
A couple moments of silence passed before Gon piped up.
"Well, I've got one!"
"Oh, please share."
"I don't know who Killua likes!"
A mop of white hair shot up from it's place on the pillow, Killua eyeing Gon with a look of shock, mixed with a little bit of panic. He hadn't expected this question, though he supposed he should've expected it when Gon suggested the 'questions game'.
"W-what if," Killua coughed. "What if I don't like anyone? Do you like anyone?"
As he waited for his friend's response, Killua was trying to think of an excuse, an exit. This is exactly what he was trying to avoid. That deadly situation where he actually had to deal with his feelings. He could always lie and say he wasn't interested in anyone right now, but at this point it was pretty apparent that that was not the case. He could name a random classmate, but that could lead to a whole other problem later on. Yes, in this situation, the best thing to do was melt away, disappear. Which is a shame, because that's impossible for Killua to do right now.
"I do." Gon spoke, his voice slicing through the silence and ringing in Killua's ears. It was blunt and straight to the point, and Killua found himself engulfed in curiosity. Carefully, he replied.
"Who?" The response was shaky, light, and filled with wonder. The boy was sort of... scared of Gon's reply. He almost didn't want to know, but he couldn't drop it either. The tension in the air was thick, like gooey syrup. As if the two were thinking the same thing but couldn't possibly let the other know.
There was a pause, that probably lasted only a minute or to, but to Killua it seemed like an eternity.
"Do..." Gon looked away. "Um, does Killua promise he won't, uh, hate me?"
Killua's reply was immediate.
"O-of course not! We're, like, best friends... right?" He stammered. "If you tell me, I'll tell you too. It's only fair..."
Gon only closed his eyes, shifting in his place once again. Killua wondered if Gon was as uncomfortable as he was. Or, uncomfortable wasn't the word. Scared? Maybe a mixture of both. It was an emotion the boy couldn't quite place. Squirming, he began to talk, his mouth on autopilot.
"Uh, you know, you don't have to tell me. It's cool, Gon. Like, um, it's..." Killua trailed off, realizing he was just rambling. Even if he was making a fool of himself, he wanted anything to break the silence and make the tumbling in his stomach stop.
However, when Killua did look over to Gon, there was only a smile on his face, and he was chuckling.
"It's," The boy gulped, turning towards his friend. "It's you, Killua."
In that moment, Killua froze. He pushed his face further into his pillow, Gon's confession running through his head. It was him. It was... Killua. This took a moment to register in his head, to sink in. In hindsight, it made sense. But the fear of being rejected had numbed his perception of the situation.
"Um, Killua... you said you wouldn't be mad. Are y-you mad? I'm sorr-" Gon was cut off by Killua's hand, which he had shoved in the other's face.
"Gon, it's you," Killua uttered into the pillow. "I like you, Gon."
Although he hadn't noticed, Killua had shuffled closer to Gon during his confession, as if he was seeking comfort. He could feel the boy's quick breaths slow down, and eventually the rumble of his chest as he spoke up.
"Really...? That's, that's really great Killua." Gon said, sounding very relieved. Peeking up from his pillow, Killua looked Gon in the eyes.
"What do you like about me?" He mumbled. Killua wasn't quite sure what he was feeling at the moment, but he knew his face was on fire, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let Gon see. Not while he had his pillow to conveniently hide his face in.
"Hmm, I like Killua's eyes. They're deep and mysterious. They look like they hide a lot of secrets in them. I also like Killua's hair. It's soft and snowy, almost like a little kitten!" Gon giggled, and Killua punched him lightly on his shoulder, feeling his face grow warmer. "I also like how cool Killua is. You're really smart, and you always seem like you know what you're doing. I like that. But I like everything about Killua. Killua is really pretty."
"J-jeez, you're so embarrassing!" Killua groaned, curling up into a fetal position on the bed.
"What do you like about me, Killua? I told you, so you have to tell me too." That made sense. The boy nodded, looking up at the ceiling. In the back of his mind, he was still wondering if this was even happening.
"Well, I like how brave you are. Daring, I guess? You do things I would never think of, and because of that I've experienced things I probably wouldn't have if I didn't meet you. That and, you're really kind. I'm sort of jealous of that, I suppose. Um, and I think," Killua whispered. "I think you're cute."
Gon grinned at that, wrapping his arms around Killua. Surprised, the other jumped, pushing his face into his pillow once again. Killua felt as if he could die of embarrassment at any moment. But, he was also elated, because Gon liked him back. He was currently in Gon's house, in Gon's bed, cuddling with him. He had to wrap his mind around the whole thing.
"Hey, Killua?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, have you ever kissed anyone before?"
"N-no."
"Do you want to?"
"Yeah... I think I do."
Gulping, Killua looked at Gon's face. He could tell this was going to be a long night. He just hoped that he would at least get some sleep before tomorrow.