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The blood on Killua's skin could be wiped off with a towel, but the blood in his hair refused to come out without a shower. It clung to the soft white tufts stubbornly, soaking down into the roots. If Killua tried, he could probably look pretty scary like that, but instead he just wrinkled his nose at the smell. He'd been irritable since the start of the hunt and the involuntary bloodbath didn't help. With a wry smile, Gon suggested that they check into a local inn for the night before returning to Hunter HQ.
"They're famous for their baths, right?" He held up a brochure with photos of steaming baths and tatami rooms with mountain views. Killua narrowed his eyes at the glossy image of the Japponese-style breakfast ("When did you even find that brochure?"), but consented to one night's stay after taking a look at himself in a mirror. No blimp would take them aboard looking like they had walked out of a horror movie.
Cheadle requested them personally for this hunt. The mission was to track down a terrorist who had been systematically targeting the heads of various agricultural corporations. Because he was one of the last of a volatile ethnic minority and kept two endangered Japponese wolfhounds as pets, the Japponese government was insistent that neither he nor the wolfhounds be killed. Gon was to secure the dogs while Killua neutralized the terrorist. It had gone fairly smoothly. The dogs were aggressive, but they were nothing Gon couldn't handle.
Checking into the inn, Gon noted that the other patrons were old couples and families. The woman at the front desk was understandably surprised to see two bloodied, foreign young men. Gon handled the talking and let Killua hang back, though it seemed that the woman was struggling to understand his accent. He supplemented his speech with cheerful hand gestures.
"Killua." Gon turned around, balancing on his good leg. "They've got rooms with private baths. Should we get one of those?"
"Probably a good idea."
Although Killua looked like a mess, none of the blood belonged to him. The terrorist was a nen user who specialized in manipulating his own blood, as well as the blood of anybody he had killed. Gon didn't get to see his fight, but it looked like Killua got drenched in several people's blood before managing to knock the guy out. Gon felt that he got off fairly easy with only a few bite marks on his calf and forearm. They had cleaned and taped the wounds on-site, but his pants were still ripped and blood-stained.
The innkeeper led them down a narrow wooden corridor to a locked steel door, a concession to foreign architecture in the name of security. She bowed deep and left them with their room key and a large stack of extra towels.
Their room sat at the corner of the first floor and looked out onto a winter garden, snow piled neatly around stone lanterns and emptied ponds. They looked guiltily at the crisp, clean tatami mats and stripped naked by the door, leaving their dirty things with their shoes. Killua grumbled as caked blood fell from his scalp like dandruff.
"Didn't even kill anyone and I still have to deal with this."
Gon laughed and took his hand, pulling him into the bath before they made a mess of the room.
The private bath was smaller than the pictures, but it seemed to have all the same amenities. Two wooden stools faced two seated shower stations, complete with shampoo and soap. On the far side of the room was a bath big enough to fit a small family, topped with a wooden cover. The glass windows featured a view of the mountains, just as promised.
"Come on, I'll wash your hair." Gon gestured him over to one of the wooden stools, pulling them so that one sat in front of the other.
"What for?" Killua asked. He folded his arms. Gon opened his arms wide to counter Killua's withdrawn body language.
"There's no way you can get all that out on your own." He sat down and patted the stool in front of him. "Besides, I want to."
Killua's mouth quirked to the side and it looked like a refusal nearly won out over tiredness. Just nearly. Killua settled onto the stool and let his shoulders slump down, elbows falling to his thighs. Gon reached around him to adjust the showerhead and turned on the hot water.
Killua's hair, shockingly fluffy even when coated in blood, flattened to his head. More flecks of red rolled down his pale skin. Gon pulled the showerhead from its holster and sprayed Killua down, running the stream of water across his shoulders and over his legs. Killua ran his hands along his arms to rub away the small patches of smeared blood. Once Killua was rinsed off, Gon switched off the water and grabbed a shampoo bottle.
"Smells like lavender.” He squirted a single pump into his palm.
"Great." Killua sounded more exhausted than annoyed. Gon placed his hands on Killua's head and started to work the shampoo through his hair. Killua stiffened at first, but relaxed again when Gon began to knead his scalp with the pads of his fingers. Smiling to himself, Gon tugged at the skin first with blunted fingertips, then gently with his nails. He scratched around the edge of Killua's hairline and ears, breaking up the caked blood there.
Once he'd worked all the blood loose, he filled a wash bucket with warm water and poured it over the crown of Killua's head, washing the debris away. Killua sat still under the cascade with his eyes closed, his arms now hanging loose at his sides. Gon pumped out another dollop of shampoo and went to work on Killua's hair again. This time Killua leaned into Gon's hands, almost unconsciously.
Gon continued his ministrations absently, alternating between firm kneading and gentle scratching across the whole of Killua's head, crown to nape. Killua was particularly sensitive on the neck below his ears, Gon noted. Like a cat.
"Your hair is really nice." Gon interrupted the silence. "It's soft."
"Now that it's not covered in somebody else's blood, sure." Killua snorted, though his eyes remained closed. He was still thinking about something else.
"Are you going to meet up with Alluka after this?"
Killua bristled. If his hair weren't flattened wet, Gon was sure the neck hairs would've stood on end.
"No?" Gon ventured again, all the while washing Killua's hair, watching the way that Killua's irritation dialed up and down between questions and touches.
"She said I'm not supposed to bother her for the rest of the weekend," Killua groused. "While she's on her date."
"Oh. Isn't that good?"
"Yes. No. I don't know." Killua sighed and reached over to switch on the water again. "My hair's clean now, right? Thanks, Gon. That actually felt really good."
Killua stuck his head under the water and rinsed out the remaining shampoo. Gon took the opportunity to shampoo and soap up himself, moving much more quickly and mindlessly than he did with Killua. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Killua's back tense up again, his shoulders curling in.
Once they were done, Gon turned off the water and stood up.
"Before we try the bath, can we dry off? I want to give you a massage."
"First washing my hair, now a massage?" Killua raised a brow. "Is this a Remedy Hunter thing? Did Bisky put you up to this?"
"You're all blocked off and frustrated," Gon said, tugging him off his stool. "You always do that when you're worried about something. You're not going to sleep well like that. Washing your hair worked well, I just want to try something else."
Whether it was because he was too tired to argue or he enjoyed having his hair washed more than he'd admit, Killua gave up resisting. He let Gon pull him up off the stool and snagged a few towels on their way out.
Initial maneuvers were awkward. The inn had already laid out futons for them, but Killua circled around to the farthest one before laying down. Almost belatedly, he flipped over onto his stomach. He rearranged his arms at least three times. Gon had to stifle a smirk. Over ten years had passed since they had met, but he could still see some of the young Killua in his friend's small movements. Gon stepped over his futon to crouch beside Killua.
"You comfortable?" He couldn't keep the teasing tone out of his voice no matter how hard he tried.
"This was your idea," Killua shot back. He rested his head against the covers with his head turned to the side. Gon could see that his cheeks were red.
"It's a good one, you'll see." With that, Gon swung one leg over Killua's body and straddled him, settling down below his spine. He shifted his legs carefully, so as not to brush the wrapped bite wounds.
"This is surprisingly soft." Gon snickered. Killua reached back to whack him in the arm.
"I can throw you off any time—"
"Okay, okay, relax. I'm starting now."
The white covers made Killua's skin look more starkly pale. Gon's dark hands on Killua's back reminded him of the shadows made by thick clouds over snow. He started with light pressing, using four fingers to push small furrows in the skin. Like guiding fabric through a sewing machine, he moved from the top of the back towards the bottom. His hands ran over the xylophone bars of Killua's ribs and Gon marveled at how distinctly he could feel them, even through all the muscle there.
"Is that all?" Killua asked, voice muffled against the futon.
In response, Gon took his thumbs and started to twist and knead Killua's back. Killua exhaled audibly. He made small wedges with his thumbs as his fingers pulled the opposite direction, digging into the muscles of Killua's lower back. When he pressed in with his thumbs on either side of the lower spine, he felt Killua shift under him.
"Is that bad? Tell me if it's bad."
"No," Killua said quickly. "No, that's fine. You can do that again."
Gon did it again. He tried various motions and pressures around that lower pelvic area, even scooting lower on Killua's legs so that he could massage the upper part of Killua's butt.
"Are you serious," Killua cut in.
"What?" Gon kneaded Killua's gluteal muscles again.
"How is this not weird to you—Whatever, keep going."
Gon shrugged and went back to massaging Killua's lower back, hips, pelvis. Rubbing his thumbs over the arch of Killua's pelvic bone was particularly fun. He gradually added more pressure, soon working up a sweat as he began to move up Killua's back again. Slowly, Killua came undone beneath him. A slight flush had spread on Killua's cheeks, along with a lazy, contented smile. Gon noticed each shift of Killua's body and wondered how it felt for him, other than simply "good." But rather than thinking too much about that, he threw himself back into concentration.
He mapped each region of Killua's muscles, rubbing the flat of his palm against Killua's spine, fitting Killua's shoulder blades between his thumb and index fingers. As his hands crested over Killua's shoulders, he discovered the cleft between Killua's shoulder bones and rubbed in deep with his fingertips. He made small circles with his thumbs at the juncture of Killua's back and neck.
"There is good," Killua mumbled. Gon shifted his hands and gently squeezed the back of Killua's neck with just enough pressure. Killua sighed, this time calm rather than exhausted. Gon smiled and moved to squeeze the muscles of Killua's upper arms when Killua stirred beneath him. He lifted his hands and sat up, allowing Killua to shift his upper body to face him.
"Do you want me to give you one too?" he asked. There was no pretense of exasperation in his face, just simple honesty.
"Mm, it's okay." Gon shook his head, climbing off. Killua's expression was reward enough.
"But I want to." Killua pulled himself into a sitting position, his eyes never leaving Gon. His posture was relaxed but clear in its intent. Gon found that he'd shifted his legs beneath himself, as if ready to spring away. But he couldn't do that, not when Killua had bared himself for him like this. He forced his body to loosen.
"It won't.. be for me like it is for you."
Killua's expression didn't waver. Was that clear enough? Gon had no way of knowing. That small space of silence felt infinitely long.
"I know that, do you think I'm stupid?" Killua managed a half-smile. "But it's fine. You're number two, remember?"
Between his shoulders, a tension that Gon hadn't even noticed came spiraling free. His chest felt warm, the same way it always did when he thought about his best friend. His face split in a broad smile. Seeing it, Killua's smile widened as well.
"You going to let me repay the favor or what?"
Gon flopped face-first onto his futon. Killua clambered on top of him a bit more hesitantly, choosing his position like a cat making its bed. Gon snickered and Killua was nice enough to ignore it.
Killua's massage was different. He started from the middle of Gon's back instead of the top. He was more careful to add more pressure, he asked how much pressure was too much. He seemed reluctant to use the tips of his fingers. But it still felt good, having Killua's strong, graceful fingers work through his muscles. As Killua kneaded around his ribs, Gon felt some tight spots that he hadn't realized were there. Occasionally Gon opened one eye to sneak a side glance at Killua's face.
"Does it bother you?" he asked.
"Not really." Killua didn't need to be reminded what Gon meant. "Does it bother you?"
"No. This is really nice though. I can feel how much you care." Gon smiled into the futon.
"God, you're embarrassing." Gon didn't have to glance up to know that Killua was blushing. "It's just a massage."
"No, it's not. You wouldn't touch anybody else like this." Gon shifted under Killua's weight. When Killua let up, he twisted his shoulders to lock eyes with him. "And I wouldn't want you to."
Killua's hands rested at the small of Gon's back, their purpose momentarily forgotten.
"What if I did?" Killua asked. There was no challenge in his voice, nor overt curiosity.
"I'd be upset. I don't want anybody else to be number two." The answer came easily, from the same place in his chest that felt warm when Killua had accepted him. Killua held his gaze for a few moments, before breaking it with a sigh.
"You say some pretty selfish things." Gon opened his mouth to protest. Killua continued speaking regardless. "But whatever. Get back on your stomach again, I was in the middle of something."
"Does that mean—"
"It means that you're the only number two and only number two gets to be touched like this, so shut up and let me give you a damn massage."
Gon smiled so wide he thought his face would burst. But as Killua requested, he swiveled his shoulders around to lie flat on his chest again. Killua went back to his ministrations wordlessly, redoubling his concentration and effort. Gon could tell by the controlled force behind his hands.
Killua was better at giving massages than him, he decided. Killua had a better understanding of where all the sensitive spots were on others, whereas Gon really only understood himself. With a few more minutes under Killua's hands, he felt as if all the muscles in his body were melting into one fluid whole. He felt boneless, like a jellyfish.
His mind wandered to images of fish and water, to swimming in the streams in Whale Island. He recalled the way that the sun would filter through the treetops at midday, lighting up the riverbed and warming his skin. He hadn't written to Mito-san in a few weeks. That was the first thing he'd do tomorrow, he thought. The persimmons would be in season by now. He wondered how big the saplings in their back yard had grown.
"Gon," Killua said. "Oi, Gon."
Gon opened his eyes slowly, realizing vaguely that Killua's pressure had disappeared from above him.
"Killua..?"
"I'm done." Killua sat down beside him, cross-legged. He poked Gon in the forehead. "You spacing out during the best massage of your life?"
"Yup." Gon sat up, rubbing his eyes. "It was that good."
"Nice save." Killua smirked. They had been out of the bath long enough that Killua's hair was almost completely dry. It puffed up in its typical fashion, white and pristine. Gon grinned.
"Still up for that bath?" he asked.
"I'm actually pretty tired. Sleep?"
"Yeah, sleep."
In the morning, they had the inn's well-advertised Japponese-style breakfast: rice, miso soup, salad, grilled fish, and five types of pickled vegetables. Killua complained that he always had to eat the same garbage when he went home, but it was delicious. In the middle of his second bowl of rice, Gon glanced across the table.
"By the way, did you sleep well?" he asked.
"Yeah, best in weeks." Killua picked another chunk of fish meat off the bones. "You?"
"Yeah. I dreamed about home." Gon smiled.