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Night had long fallen onto the habitants of Whale Island.
Gon peacefully slept in his bed, his chest slowly rising with each soft breath. Unbeknownst to him, one couldn't help but to stare — that someone being his very dear friend, Killua, who laid besides him, the silence palpable.
Killua's sharp blue eyes were trained on Gon's figure, almost as if seeing something more than what's visible.
From Gon's plump cheeks, to his round, slim nose, to each pore his face held, Killua took it all in, almost reverentially so.
The white haired boy's lips purse into a thin line, his mind riddled with thoughts — with doubts — as one pale hand reaches out to touch Gon's cheek.
"Gon…" Killua murmurs, a weak and breathless mutter, his hand cupping Gon's face with undeniable gentleness, as if afraid the other boy's skin would break.
Silence dragged on for a few moments, Killua seemingly choosing his following words carefully.
"Why me?" He whispers, his voice breaking slightly as he pulls his hand away. "Why?" Killua adds weakly.
Gon remains unresponsive, just as Killua expected.
The boy closes his eyes, sitting up on the bed.
"You deserve so much more, Gon.
Will you ever realise that?
When you do, will you leave me?
Goodness, do you even know how much I adore you?
I—… Would you even mind if I left?
If I left, would you search for me, Gon?
Or would you keep living?
Would you be prepared for my absence?
Would you be pleased with my absence?
Oh, Gon.
…
Do you see me the same way I see you?"
…
"I don't."
Killua's eyes shot open, his heartbeat picking up while staring at the now awake Gon.
"… What?" The albino boy stammers out while attempting to calm down.
"Killua…" Gon starts, sitting up on the bed as well, both of his hands finding their way to hold Killua's. "I don't see you how you see me."
Killua's chest tightened a bit with that statement. Gon's expression was completely serious, it was impossible to discern his thoughts.
"And that's because…" Gon pauses, as if purposefully leaving Killua on edge. "I see you a thousand times better than how you see me!" He completes with a confident grin.
And with that, Killua's mind went blank.
Without skipping a beat, he continues. "Killua, we're best friends, I would never leave you!" he says, now leaning closer to Killua, something that the white haired boy could swear made his heartbeat drum against his chest even more aggressively.
"You're the best, nicest and coolest person I've ever met, you're my very first friend. I'll stay with you until you kick me out yourself, but maybe I'll be too stubborn to let that happen in the first place." Gon says with a giggle, the warmth in his expression now undeniable.
With a reluctant sigh, Killua finally says something.
"… Just friends?"
The moment those words left his lips, he already felt like punching himself and saying he was joking, but he didn't. He wanted — no, he needed Gon's reply.
For as long as Killua has understood himself as Gon's friends, his feelings for the boy grew with each second, and they've long surpassed the platonic line. Killua continued with a poker face, playing though, trying to hide his growing paranoia.
"… Huh? What do you mean?" Gon replies in confusion.
"Uhm… You know.. UGH! Forget it, you idiot!" Killua says nervously as he pushes Gon away.
"C'mon! Tell me!" Gon pushes with his stupid teasing grin.
"No way in hell! Shut up!"
"Pleeaseeeeeeee~~" He pleas like a little whimpering puppy.
"You look stupid." Killua says with a huff.
"I am stupid. Can you tell me now?"
"Nuh uh."
"Yuh uh!"
"You're annoying."
"C'mon, you were being so vulnerable earlier, now you're being so mean!"
"Ugh…"
"Tell me! Tell me!" Gon chants with an excited smile.
"You— You won't give up, will you, idiot?" Killua grumbles as he glares at Gon.
"Nope~" He replies proudly.
"… Fine! Just because you're insufferable."
Gon leans closer, giddy with anticipation.
"When I said that I… I…" Killua starts, his cheeks flushing bright red as he starts tripping over his own words. "I meant as in.. Like.. Partners.. Uhm… Y'know.. More than friends.. Like lovers…" He says nervously, doing his best not to stutter more and embarass himself even further.
"Huh? Like.. Girlfriend and boyfriend?" Gon asks incredulously.
"Yes, dumbass! Is it that hard to understand?" Killua snaps back.
Gon doesn't reply, a tinge of red dusting his cheeks. "Oh…" He mumbles, adverting his gaze.
Killua wasn't any better, in fact, he was even more embarrassed.
An awkward silence hang in the air, both being too flustered to say a word, that is until Gon finally spoke up.
"I mean, uhm… I don't see why not." Gon says as he fidgeted with his fingers.
Killua went bright red, staring at Gon like he said the impossible. "H-Huh? Are you for real??" He stammers out.
"Yeah! I mean… Don't people marry their best friends? It'd only make sense…" Gon says while scratching the back of his neck.
"You— You're such a buffoon. But… I guess I can work with that.." Killua murmurs.
Silence filled the room again.
After one shaky breath, Killua mustered up all his courage once more to speak. "… So… We're dating now?"
"I think so?" Gon shrugs.
"You think so? Ugh. Great help." Killua pauses. "… If you're agreeing, then you, uhm, love me, right?"
"Huh? Of course I love you! We're best friends!"
"You twat… Get the best friend thing out of your head! Do you love me like I love you, you dimwit?!"
"… Yes?"
"Ok! We're dating! End of story!" Killua says in annoyance with how clueless Gon is.
"… And what do couples do?" Gon asks meekly.
"Uh.. We'll.. We'll find out later." Killua says dismissively, his face was already beet red, and his heart was beating like crazy, if they went ahead to discuss such things, he would explode for sure.
"Alright, if you say so…" Gon smiles.
They say nothing else.
They remain silent, almost indulging themselves in the silence.
Both have their own thoughts at the moment, and both are just as glad and pleased with the outcome of the interaction in their own way.