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They’ve never been normal, so it makes sense that their relationship isn’t all that typical either.
It’s long past midnight, one night after a successful assignment. Killua and Gon are lying in bed, nearly asleep. Killua’s been thinking. Thinking about when they met, and when they parted, and when they met again. Thinking about the first day in their apartment together. Thinking about how he never wants to be away from Gon. Thinking about how there’s something different about them both.
“We don’t love each other like that, do we?”
Gon is silent for a moment, considering. They’re used to each other’s questions without context. Killua has no doubt Gon understands exactly what he means. That’s another thing he thinks about. They can easily anticipate each other’s moves and trains of thought, able to move like one without even saying a word.
“No.” Gon turns, brown eyes seeking out blue in the darkness. “Does that bother you?”
“No.”
Gon finds his hand beneath the blankets and draws it into his own. “I love you.” It’s not a confession, some grand gesture. It’s merely giving words to what both of them have already known all along. Gon loves Killua, and Killua loves Gon.
⸻
It’s the next night and Killua shifts close, tucking his head just under Gon’s chin.
“Gon?”
“Hmm?”
Killua hesitates, question waiting on the tip of his tongue. “I know we’re not like that…”
“But?”
Killua swallows, fiddling with the hem of Gon’s sleeve. He thinks he knows what Gon’s answer will be, but he’s nervous all the same. “What if we… kissed?”
“That’s what you want?” Gon’s voice is curious, not judgemental.
Killua shrugs. “Sometimes.”
“Alright!”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Sure!” Gon says cheerfully. He shifts and tilts Killua’s head so their eyes meet. “Now?”
“Okay.”
Gon leans in and Killua meets him in the middle, eyes falling shut. Gon’s lips are chapped and smiling against his own. It’s not axis-turning, or world stopping, but it doesn’t have to be. Killua doesn’t want it to. It’s simple and sweet, and that’s enough.
“How was that?”
Killua hums. “Nice.”
Gon grins and then lets out a giant yawn, prompting a laugh from Killua, and then a yawn of his own.
“Goodnight, Gon.”
⸻
It’s time for their annual meetup with Leorio and Kurapika. They meet in a café for lunch. Gon and Killua get there first, having come straight from a mission. It was long, and required more Nen than Killua expected, so he’s a bit tired as they wait.
He glances around the place and, noting nothing seems amiss, pillows his head on Gon’s shoulder and closes his eyes. He would have never dared to as a child, but he trusts Gon, knows he’ll keep an eye out for the both of them.
“Is Killua tired?” Gon asks, pitching his voice higher like it used to be when they first met.
“No,” Killua lies.
Gon laughs and wraps an arm around him. “I’ll tell you when Kurapika and Leorio get here.”
Killua snuggles in and lets his mind drift, thoughts scattering amongst the chatter of the other shop patrons. For a brief moment all he knows is the cool air of the A/C sinking down from above and Gon’s arm around his torso.
“Killua.”
“What?”
Gon laughs. “Your hair is still staticky. It’s sticking to my face!”
Killua cracks his eyes open and spots the metal rim of the table. With a quick brush of his fingers, his hair falls from Gon’s face. It happens, occasionally, after big fights when Killua uses his lightning powers. The bulk of electricity is gone as soon as he stops using his Nen, but some residual power sticks, particularly in his hair.
“Better?”
Gon hums an assent and Killua closes his eyes again, though he doesn’t let his mind drift. Instead, he calls on his Nen as subtly as he can, sending a low current into Gon. He’s fairly sure the current is low enough that Gon won’t sense it, even more so since he’s not on guard for an attack. When the other doesn’t react, he knows he’s got it right.
“Here they come!” Gon says.
Killua hears the door scrape against the mat in front of it and sits up to see Leorio and Kurapika smiling. Gon jumps up to greet them, and Killua can’t keep the grin off his face as Gon goes for a high-five and gives Leorio the worst static shock of his life.
“You!” the man hisses.
Killua stands, hands in his pockets, face the picture of innocence. “Hey, old man, nice to see you, too.”
⸻
They try to get missions together, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Killua’s assignment ends quicker, and for two days he rattles around the apartment alone. It reminds him uncomfortably of his days on Kukuroo Mountain, where he could spend hours without seeing another person. But unlike the dark, cold hallways of his youth, his and Gon’s apartment is warm, with big, western-facing windows that light the whole place golden in the afternoons. Though Gon may not be there, Killua is still safe and surrounded by him.
It’s late when Gon gets home. Killua scrambles off the couch when he hears the key turn in the lock, running straight for the door and leaping into Gon’s arms as he enters, knowing the other will catch him.
“Killuaaaa!” Gon whines good-naturedly. He shuts the door with his foot and locks it as he drops his bags on the ground. His boots get shed on the short walk to the couch, where he flops down.
Killua stays wound around him the entire time, face buried resolutely in Gon’s neck. He doesn’t plan on letting go any time in the near future, and it would take an apocalyptic event to make him even loosen his grip. He soaks in the heat radiating from Gon’s body, and his ever-present outdoor scent, and the scratchiness of his hair, and the way his hands run gently down Killua’s back.
The tension he’d had from being home alone bleeds out and he sighs happily.
“I missed you, too,” Gon says, a smile evident in his voice. He moves to run his hands through Killua’s hair and trace aimless patterns on his shoulder.
They simply lay there, enjoying each other’s company. Faint city noises float up from the streets below. The clock in the kitchen ticks. Gon’s chest rises and falls as he breathes. He wasn’t wearing his jacket when he came in, so his plain white tank top is soft beneath Killua’s cheek. Save for these details, his mind is blissfully blank and quiet. Quiet enough that he quickly succumbs to the edges of sleep.
“Killua…”
“Hmm?”
“I’m kind of hungry.”
“So go get food,” Killua mumbles.
“You’re sitting on me!”
Killua shrugs. “Sounds like a you problem.”
Gon sighs and begins the arduous task of peeling Killua off. Killua meant it earlier, though, and he doesn’t plan on letting go unless the building starts crumbling beneath them. As soon as Gon gets a limb loose and moves onto the next one, Killua rewraps the freed one back around. Eventually, Gon huffs and rolls off the couch into a standing position. Without a word, Killua drops to the ground, darts around, and latches onto his back.
Gon merely laughs and heads to the kitchen with his newfound turtle shell.
⸻
There’s one night after a relatively easy mission together that they decide to just have a night in. They get pizza delivered and rent a few children’s movies that Gon remembers liking and spread out on the bed.
Killua watches with a childlike fascination, eyes glued to the screen as he experiences something he never got to when he was young.
Once he’s done eating, Gon sets his plate aside and replaces it with Killua’s head. As they watch, he plays with Killua’s hair, making little braids before undoing them, and twisting strands up tight just to watch them spin as they uncurl.
The motions are just as calming to Gon as they are to Killua, and he finds himself yawning as he gets up to put the next movie in. They switch positions when Gon climbs back onto the bed, Killua taking his turn to play with Gon’s hair.
Typically, it’s Killua who falls asleep first, head pillowed on whatever part of Gon he can reach, but tonight it’s Gon. He looks peaceful, a hint of a smile still on his lips as he sleeps. His head is in Killua’s lap and one hand is outstretched, like he was trying to reach for Killua’s hand but fell asleep before he could grab it.
As much as he loathes to move, Killua has to get ready for bed. Carefully as he can, he inches out from beneath Gon’s head and rests it gently on the bed.
“Kiiiillu…” Gon mumbles, hand patting across the sheets.
Killua offers his hand and squeezes once before dropping it. “I’ve got to get ready, Gon.”
“Who cares?”
“Do you want me to pee in the bed?”
Gon is silent, and with an amused huff Killua pads off to the bathroom.
He’s still lying in the same position when Killua comes back, curled up almost dead center.
“Come on, dummy, get under the blankets,” Killua says affectionately, grabbing the edge of the comforter and flicking it against Gon’s back.
Gon half crawls, half drags himself onto his side and under the blanket, eyes never opening. He once again blindly reaches out as soon as Killua slips beneath the covers.
Killua drags him close, shifting so Gon’s head is nestled beneath his own. He hears Gon sigh contentedly as he wraps Killua in a bear hug. He’ll be trapped there until morning, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Love you, Killua,” Gon whispers.
Killua gently bumps their heads together. “Love you, too.”
⸻
Killua lets out an “oof!” as Gon’s entire weight lands on top of him. “Idiot! You’re squishing me!”
Gon laughs as he flops onto the bed.
Killua closes his eyes and restarts the process of falling asleep. He’s almost there when he feels a finger poke his arm once, then twice, then a third time.
“Gon.”
“Hmm?” The poking stops. Then cold feet find Killua’s legs under the blanket.
Killua whips the pillow out from under his own head and uses it to smack Gon.
When Gon recovers, he grabs his pillow and fights back, laughing as they both land hits hard enough to knock a regular person over.
“Is this what you wanted?” Killua asks as he places a well-timed hit, knocking Gon off balance enough that he has to escape to the floor.
Gon takes a few steps back and then runs and jumps, tackling Killua. “Yes!”
Killua rolls them over and gets his pillow, shoving it in Gon’s face. “Even though you knew you’d lose?”
Gon’s response is lost in the pillow as his arms flail, smacking harmlessly at Killua’s arms.
“Do you give up?” Killua cautiously lifts the pillow to see Gon grinning.
“No!” Gon yells as he launches upward, grabbing his pillow and getting in a good hit.
Killua lets out a screech and fights back, both of them swinging until their arms hurt and they devolve into half-hearted smacks. Killua’s cheeks hurt from smiling and Gon can barely swing his pillow, one hand around his middle as he laughs. It only takes one more hit for Gon to finally fall, and Killua falls with him, exhausted from their impromptu battle.
“Killua! You’re crushing me now!” Gon exclaims as Killua lies down half-across him, face smashed into the bed.
“Too tired to move,” Killua mumbles.
Gon tries to wriggle out but Killua has him strategically pinned down, unable to properly move his arms.
“It’s no use, Gon. You’re stuck like this.”
“Nooo!”
“It’s your fault for starting a pillow fight!”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Gon pleads.
Killua laughs, but doesn’t bend. “Too late.”
“Killuaaaaa!”
“Yeah?”
Gon changes his tone to something sweet. “You’re the best, Killua. The best friend in the whooole world!”
Killua snorts. “Nice try. Not moving.”
After struggling for a moment more, Gon gives in. The two of them fall asleep that way, Gon lying diagonally, Killua perpendicular, and they stay that way until morning. Gon gets the last laugh, though, because Killua wakes with a crick in his neck.
⸻
“Have you ever thought about getting married?” Gon asks the question one night, right as Killua is about to fall asleep.
“A bit. Being a Hunter has all the same benefits,” he mumbles in reply. Then he wakes up a little more and adds, “Unless you want to?”
Gon hums. “No, I like the way we are.”
Killua rolls so his head is pressed against Gon’s arm. They trade off, asking these kinds of questions every once in a while. It always makes Killua think and reflect. He likes the life they have. He loves waking up every day next to his best friend. He loves going on missions together. He loves how Gon makes boring things like grocery shopping fun. He loves Gon, perhaps a little differently than most, but he loves him all the same. Then, and now, and forever. He loves him just like this.
“Killua?”
“Yeah?”
“We’re out of milk.”
Killua laughs. Just like this.