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The words began to blur together even when he had a freshly brewed cup of coffee beside him. Not turning to see the clock on his right was how Leorio has been able to go through almost all of the chapters he needed for his exam tomorrow. He has been an intern at a local childrens’ hospital for three months now, and free days like this were purely used for studying and catching up with academic duties.
It really didn’t help that it also happened to be the only day that he could truly rest, which only seemed something that he could only look forward to after finishing med school. If he really wanted to pass the stupid neuroimmunology exam, then he had to finish the book. And in order to do that, he would need to chug the coffee besides him, even if that meant not sleeping even after closing the damned book.´
“Well, here goes nothing”, Leorio thought before beginning to chug the still very hot cup of coffee.
If it weren’t for the tasty blend that the Hunter license allowed him to buy, he would’ve totally thrown up by now. Around the third gulp, he promised himself to eat something and chug some water as well. By the time he was halfway through the cup, he heard a knock on his door.
What the fuck.
This time he did look at the clock on his wall. 3:48 a.m. What the hell. None of his classmates lived nearby, and the apartment complex he lived in was extremely private.
He returned the cup to its coaster and grunted while he got up. Grabbing one of his biggest textbooks, he got physically ready to use Nen if necessary. The knocking repeated itself, now accompanied by a small voice.
“Leorio?”
He knew that voice. A voice he hadn’t heard in months, not even when he called time after time, leaving voicemail after voicemail. A ton of emotions and thoughts flooded his head, the loudest one being “he’s alive, he’s alive” accompanied with an upset stomach that didn’t know how to process the sudden guest.
Still with a textbook in hand and ready to fight in case this was some sort of trap, he looked into the peephole, just to be greeted by a Kurapika in what seemed a black suit, trying to look inside as well.
Leorio rushed to unlock his door, praying that this was truly him. He even got a spare millisecond to marvel at how he could feel so many emotions for one man in such a short amount of time; Heart pounding, worry mixed with excitement, and hands beginning to sweat.
The second that the door opened, Leorio didn’t even need to take a step forward when he was hugged by the blond. Tight. Leorio returned the hug, as tight as it was given, so happy to feel the warmth and deep breaths that Kurapika was taking. Alive. Alive.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the emotion of the moment began to subdue. A subtle rush of panic began to fill his head. Why isn’t he letting go? What happened to you? Why did you come here? Why are you in a suit?
“Are you okay?” Was the only question he could mutter out loud.
The blond hair on his chest bobbed his head up and down, not letting go, “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m okay now.”
Leorio painfully decided to ignore the ‘now’, and tried to get a hold of the shorter man’s shoulders, get a look at him. Wasn’t that the least he deserved after being months with no contact? Kurapika obliged, separating but still holding Leorio’s waist, while looking up at him. He was the same, blond hair, perpetual boyish face. Well, sort of, his short hair had grown, and his face, worryingly, could only be described as exhausted.
“I’m glad you’re fine, I-”, he didn’t realize how much of a mess he was until the moment his voice broke. “Christ, Pika, I didn’t hear from you in months and I didn’t even know how you were, and everything here is also so insane and-”
“I know, I know, believe me,” his hands began to fall down, now resting ever so softly on his hips, “I should’ve at least let you know I was fine. All of you, really. I don’t know what else to say but I’m sorry. I’m okay though, thanks for letting me in, Leorio.”
“How couldn’t I?” His mind was now rushing thousands miles per hour, not even knowing what to process first, the questions he had, the soft hands resting on him that felt like they were burning, wanting to tell him about his life and the little he knew of Gon and Killua.
Kurapika’s hands slipped now totally off of him, making Leorio crave more touch. His friend shot a soft smile before he began looking around his apartment, letting himself in. It wasn’t a huge place, but it definitely was something few people could afford while being a student without a Hunter license.
“Oh, were you studying? To be honest, I didn’t think you would be up at this hour. Sorry if I interrupted.”
That damn ‘always composed’ voice Kurapika used would’ve actually worked if it weren’t for the purple under his eyes, paler skin, and slight limp that betrayed him. But after almost a full year of internships, he could tell something was up, and that this wasn’t just a catch up meeting in the middle of the night.
Kurapika walked towards the sofa in the tiny living room, just in front of the desk that he was just studying in, faking interest in the notebooks that were laid out. When he finally let himself fall on the couch and Leorio closed the door behind him with a lock, he dared to speak.
“Kurapika, are you okay?” there was worry in his voice, and somehow he could tell that this question would upset his friend.
He was wrong.
“Yes, of course! I just told you so. Could I please get a glass of water though? I walked from the station, it’s longer than it seems.”
It wasn’t. It really wasn’t unless you were tired, and Leorio would know. Still, he wordlessly went to the kitchen to pour a large glass of water. There was something wrong and he, for some reason he couldn’t pinpoint, felt like he was walking on eggshells. He took a deep breath, trying to dissipate this uneasy feeling he had before returning to the living room.
He extended the glass of water to his friend, while he himself sat down on the same office chair he was studying earlier, facing him. Kurapika took the glass, but his left hand was still wrapped around himself. He whispered a small “thanks”, when he proceeded to gulp half of the glass in one go, even more impressive than his own number on the coffee earlier, considering the size of the glass.
When Kurapika finally glanced up, he asked with a weak smile, “Are you okay? You’ve seemed uneasy ever since I entered… If I need to leave I understand…”
“No! No, no, it’s not that at all, please don’t worry. I… I guess I still can’t believe you’re here right now,” Leorio answered, feeling how fake his own smile looked, “Well, I mean, what have you been doing? Why couldn't you call back or…?”
“Ah, I, uh-”, he was definitely paler than before, “I kind of actually went and did what I wanted. I’m chasing down the people that killed my clan. It… hasn’t been easy.”
“Yeah, no, I would expect that…” Leorio couldn’t and didn’t care to mask his worry anymore, “you look… different. Tired. I, I don’t mean to pry, just, it’s just,” he used one hand to signal him.
Thankfully, this time he wasn’t met with recoil either, but with a soft nervous laugh and shifty eyes.
“Yeah, I guess you could say I do. I’m fine though,” he lied, again. It was starting to be irritating, “I was able to get your address from the general Index, was around here and decided to pay a visit, in part because I owed it to let you know I’m fine, and because I really wanted to see you.”
Leorio hadn’t realized how much he had leaned into Kurapika’s space to hear him talk until that last line made him sit back straight. His mind and body were having a battle; his body wanted to give in and reach to hug him again to kiss him if given the permission. His mind told him that there was something wrong and that his role as a good friend was to help. Stupid Kurapika was an expert at playing these games.
He let out a sigh before he started to say the only apparent thing he could say that night, “I’m glad you came, truly. I was nervous with you going zero contact, knowing your goal, knowing the people you were after. I know you are strong and can deal with your problems, and-”
“Leorio.” Kurapika’s voice was both soft and demanding, forcing him to stop his ramble and look at him. It wasn’t fair how pretty he was. He wasn’t sure if his eyes were as glowy when they began talking as they were now.
“....Yes?” It was almost breathed. He really could cut the tension with a knife if he wanted. With Nen, he probably could.
He was neither expecting nor waiting for an answer. His legs moved on their own, closing the gap within the two of them with four steps, taking the glass off his hand and placing it on the table next to the sofa. Going with the safe choice, he sat beside him first, while they both met halfway in an embrace. With the height difference shortened, he could really bury his face in Kurapika’s neck. He was cold to the touch but his heart was beating and suddenly Leorio was extremely aware of how Kurapika’s hands were trailing slowly down his back and groping at his waist.
That was enough to separate Leorio and see Kurapika in the eyes. They were so definitely glowing underneath the contacts, a low red that could only be seen from this distance. When Kurapika broke eye contact for a second just to look down at his lips, he almost sighed in relief as he moved forward to finally kiss him. It was soft and chaste at first, both of them clearly just testing the waters, until Kurapika’s hands pulled Leorio backwards. Oh, okay. He took it in his hands to deepen the kiss, allowing Kurapika to push him further into the cushions behind him, whilst licking over the other man’s lower teeth, asking for a permission soon granted to be able to taste him fully.
He wasn’t sure when exactly this had turned into a make out session, but he wasn’t really complaining. One of Leorio’s hands was buried in golden locks, while another tentatively pressed against a slim lower back, trying to get some type of reaction. It wasn’t until his back was totally pressed against the sofa, that he allowed himself to trail his hands all over the body pressed against him, tracing his right hand down to touch the most he could of a bare back, while the left one began its way up and sideways, trailing up to grab softly at hips and then slightly grope Kurapika’s waist.
A moan escaped Kurapika’s throat.
Except it wasn’t a moan. It was a hiss, a growl. It was not at all a pleasurable noise.
Leorio broke the kiss immediately, wondering what went wrong, what the hell was making the man above him uncomfortable. His common sense returned to him like a truck, making his head spin. Why was Kurapika this late in his apartment in the first place? So pale, so thirsty? So many symptoms?
Kurapika seemingly didn’t care, and began nibbling into his neck, leaving small bites that were not helping the imminent headache Leorio felt was building.
“Kurapika? Hey,” Leorio said, as soft as he could, into the man’s ear, “hey, everything okay?”
His hands trailed up to cup his face, trying to make him look at him. But even with both his hands on his cheeks, Kurapika just moved his face to the side, hiding eye contact.
“I’m fine, I told you so” Kurapika’s voice was both soft and firm, as if wanting to put an end to the discussion.
“You hissed when I touched… are you hurt? I can take a look at it, if it’s simple I could give you some painkillers or, oh, I still have…”
“Leorio. I’m fine. Stop.” At this, Kurapika finally looked at him again, his eyes were still glowing, the red on his face pretty much there, but his expression was of total annoyance, which, in return, annoyed Leorio.
“Pika, you’re lying” he decided to use the same annoyed tone that the man above him was using. Fine, if that’s what got him to listen, then fine.
Kurapika sat on the back of his heels, clearly mad. Talk about a mood change. His breathing was fast and shallow, but not for the reasons that Leorio would’ve liked. “I’m fine ”
“Okay, then take off your shirt.”
Kurapika looked at him with a full scowl while he stood up, not fast enough, and Leorio caught his wrist before he could take a full step.
“Show me.”
“No. I’m leaving.”
“You’re not, show me. Stop this. Did you come here because you wanted to see me or because I could help you? I can. If you’re injured I will take care of you, Pika” his words softened towards the end, tiredness and dizziness were truly getting to him.
Kurapika let out a huge sigh. While Leorio sat up, he freed Kurapika’s wrist, and he finally obliged. He undid the two buttons of his suit, threw it on the sofa, and began undoing the buttons to his white shirt. It was covered in sweat, but what made Leorio whisper “shit” was the line of dry blood across it. It wasn’t until he was almost done with it that Leorio’s eyes widened. There was a horrible bruise that covered almost all his waist area, while his back was so smudged in old dried blood that it had become a plaster.
The area on the front was the most decent, his whole left side was deeply bruised, deep enough to scare him. Whatever did that managed to leave a bloody back in its way, It looked like some giant had literally grabbed and squeezed him by the waist, leaving a neat circle on his torso of nothing but damage.
“Sit, I’ll get my kit”
And thankfully, Kurapika did. He could still feel anger coming from him, but apparently he had given up the fight because he obeyed while Leorio went to his room to get what he needed. What worried him the most was, surprisingly, the bruise, it was horrible enough to suggest internal bleeding.
When he got back to the living room, he turned on all the lights he could while setting the things he needed on the cushion next to Kurapika. His hair now covered his whole face, his head totally down, trying to hide. Leorio wanted so badly to be mad, but right now just worriedness and medical information flooded his mind.
He began by slowly pressing the area, if pain was immediate, then he didn’t care if he himself needed to knock Kurapika out to get him instantly to the nearby hospital. It wasn’t until there was a fair amount of pressure that the blond fisted his hands in sign of pain. Okay, good. He moved on then to cleaning his back, revealing what seemed like hundreds of small deep cuts.
“You may have internal bleeding, considering the area it's in, I want to get a scan as soon as possible. You’re strong, it may be able to heal on its own with rest, but I won’t risk it. As to the cuts, that… was a lot of blood, wasn’t it?”
Kurapika didn’t answer at first, and when he did, his voice was shaky, “Yeah, this was two days ago, it stopped bleeding today.”
Leorio’s hands stopped. Two. Days. Ago. That explained just about everything. Okay, so the internal bleeding was for sure not going to kill him, at least.
He took a long time tending to the wounds, applying different medicines and using stitches, not wanting to risk giving some painkillers that would thin his blood. When he was finally satisfied with the urgent care, all that was left was bandaging the area.
“Pika, I’ll need you to take off your binder, I’ll restrict your abdominal area, I need you to breathe freely”
There was a short glance of panic, the first one he has been given since starting the treatment.
“C’mon Pika, it’s not like… I have seen you. And this is purely medical, please take it off slowly, try not to stretch too much”
Kurpaika’s glance softened, whatever was going on in his head, he wanted to know. He tried extending one arm to take the black garment off, but he hissed with pain.
“Want help? I can take it off if you allow me”
Kurapika looked like he was either on the verge of tears or of having a breakdown, but he nodded slowly while he sat himself straighter. Leorio stood up and began working the binder slowly, getting it off his head first, so Kurapika didn’t have to stretch his arms. He welcomed the huge sigh of relief the blond gave once it was fully off.
“Breathe deeply 10 times, I’ll bandage you up and we’ll be done”
Still very obedient, he began taking deep shaky breaths. Leorio hated the tension that was settled in the room, the sadness, the nervousness, the uncertainty, it felt like all of the feelings they both had filled the room, and it felt suffocating. When deep breaths became stable again, then Leorio began the bandaging, using as little pressure as he could so that Kurapika could be comfortable. Once he was done getting it in place, Leorio sat down back on his heels. Kurapika was looking at him with furrowed brows, as if he was wondering who he was.
“Kurapika, what have you even been doing?” it slipped before he could stop himself. Earlier, when he took his binder off, he saw a shotgun wound on his left shoulder blade, and took every last piece of patience not to lose it right there.
Kurapika’s eyes slowly came back to reality, his body following, tensing up, causing Leorio to tense in defense. Anger pooled Kurapika’s eyes again, gosh, please, no. “I- look, things that I’m not proud of, okay? I don’t care. I really don’t. Neither do I repent of doing it, I will continue doing it if it means…”
“ Continue ?! You’re going to keep doing whatever the hell is making you this injured and tired? Are you crazy?” Leorio realized just how his words were meant to pierce, increasing his volume.
“Maybe? I don’t care. If this brings me revenge and brings my clans’ eyes and peace, why should I care?”
“ Why ?! Why should you…? I just stitched up eleven wounds on your back, and I was scared to death for like twenty minutes that you would goddamn bleed to death on my sofa. How could I know if you’ve pierced your stomach? Kidney? Your whole damn waist has one of the worst cases of trauma I’ve seen in a while. Kurapika. For fuck’s sake you have a gunshot wound on your back! You could die!”
“So what?!” They were both shouting at each other’s faces, and Leorio couldn’t remember when they’ve stood up.
“So I can’t lose you! I already thought I did! So you can’t die because you’re the last of the Kurta, you can’t die because you can’t give them the satisfaction!”
“ Fuck you! ”
“Whatever, sure. I just need you alive Kurapika, I need you to be more careful in whatever the fuck you’re doing” The moment that Leorio dared to say ‘ Kurta ’ he knew he crossed a line, but it was done. All he could do now was try to get the man in front of him to rest some or he, they , would definitely lose consciousness.
“You wouldn’t fucking know, would you Leorio?” His eyes were redder than before, “All you do is play doctor here in the capital, where everything is nice and clean.” The words were loaded with venom, they did hurt, but Leorio was starting to get dizzy too.
“I do.” he backed two steps and ran his hands through his hair, releasing a small laugh that was horribly accompanied by some tears “Yeah, I guess I do. Just like right now, correct? Pika, I… I fuck, I just need you to rest now, okay?”
The sun was announcing the beginning of another day, and even if he wanted to, Leorio couldn’t do the math to know how many hours he’s been awake now. He needed Kurapika to sleep, and he needed to at least get some hours of sleep too, before his exam. Rationality was finally settling in again through tears, and Leorio welcomed it.
Kurapika was also weeping freely, using the back of his wrists to dry his eyes as best as he could. He was shaking and sobbing, he looked so young, so small, so scared . Leorio closed their distance, softly touching his upper arm, trying to offer whatever comfort he could. Kurapika welcomed it, and just as the beginning of this disastrous night, Kurapika engulfed him in a hug, still crying, while Leorio ran his hands over his hair.
When there were only soft hiccups and short breaths, Leorio talked into his hair, “Let’s get to bed, we both need to rest”
Kurapika simply nodded.
—-----
Mornings were colder than nights these days, which meant that some extra blankets covered him and Kurapika. He was warm against his skin, his breathing had finally stabilized, and he looked thoroughly exhausted. Still, he was the one that cuddled up to Leorio, no more conversation once they’ve entered the bedroom.
Leorio hated being the one to break the peace that had settled “I have an exam at 10am, I’ll be gone by 9:30 to get there in time. I need you to sleep more than that. Feel free to make yourself fully at home.”
“Okay,” Kurapika’s voice was very low.
“Kurapika?”
“Leorio,” his tired voice gave a fake syrupy tone to it, he hated it.
“Promise me to be here when I come back, please.”
“Yes, Leorio” Kurapika lied, before sleep took over him.