Work Text:
“This is all your fault, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Leorio looks through his phone distractedly. How long is this downpour supposed to last? It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy spending time with Kurapika, but this isn’t the best weather for anything involving the outside. They’d had to clear up another one of Pariston’s messes at the office, and now they’re late going home, which would be fine, only it had started unexpectedly pouring, and now they’re stuck under the tiny roof of the train station, waiting for a ride. Granted, the reason they’d had to stay late hadn’t been totally Parriston’s fault; Leorio is happy to accept blame where blame is due. But he doesn’t want to dwell on that. They’d gotten themselves into this situation, so it’s best to deal with it now.
“What time is it?” Kurapika checks the train schedule again, as if hoping for a magical change in the time slots. “There’s supposed to be a late train today, isn’t there?”
“I think so.” Leorio doesn’t actually know, but he figures Kurapika is probably right. They’re always right– that’s just one of their many annoying (and endearing) qualities. “If not, I guess we could try walking.”
Kurapika shudders. “In this weather?”
“That’s right, you don’t like the cold, do you?”
It’s easy to forget, since Kurapika always tries to act so stoic and tough, but they’re not well suited for inclement weather. They’ve never really seemed to grow accustomed to anything but the balmy climate of their childhood home, and when the thermometer drops below 60, they bundle up to an almost ridiculous extent. Today, however, they’re just wearing a thin shirt, and they look grumpy and miserable.
“I’m fine.” They look anything but fine. “I’m sure the train will come soon.”
Leorio nudges them gently with his shoulder. “Is that a touch of optimism I hear?”
Kurapika huffs, but there’s a smile in their voice as they reply, “I can see through rose-colored lenses sometimes.”
“No way.” Leorio pauses, delighted. “Did you just make a joke about your scarlet eyes?”
Kurapika’s smile grows even more pronounced. “Of course not.”
“You dork.” Leorio nudges them again, and finally their smile turns into a full-fledged giggle. They’re so adorable it almost hurts. It’s always hard to believe they went so long without seeing each other, but times like this are when the realization hits hardest. Before he can stop himself, Leorio blurts out, “I missed you.”
It’s not enough. Words can’t articulate the depth of emotion, the acute longing, the desperate desire to have Kurapika by his side, and the bitter knowledge that nothing could break their self-imposed exile. But Leorio doesn’t know how to express all this, and even if he did, he’d be afraid of going too far. Even now, he’s afraid Kurapika will react badly to this barest of sentiments. For a brief second, he can’t even look anywhere but the ground, wishing he had better impulse control. But then he glances down to see Kurapika looking up at him through their lashes and smiling softly.
“I missed you too,” they say.
Leorio thinks his heart is going to explode. It’s almost ridiculous, he thinks, how one little phrase can have such an effect on him. He’s not sure how to reply, so he blushes furiously and looks at the ground.
“W-well, don’t worry about it,” he stammers, acutely aware that he’s not making any sense. “Wanna go sit down over there?”
Kurapika smiles. “Sure.”
Together, they make their way to the bench at the back of the platform. It’s a little more sheltered, and by this time, even Leorio is growing tired of the freezing rain, so he’s happy to sit down. Kurapika immediately hunches over, drawing their shoulders together and crossing their arms over their stomach. Leorio looks at them with concern.
“You okay there?”
“I’m great.” They sound suspiciously like they’re clenching their teeth to keep them from chattering, but Leorio decides not to comment. They gotta have their dignity, after all.
“So, Parriston,” he says instead. “What a guy, am I right?”
“He’s not so bad,” says Kurapika. “He bought me a coffee once.”
“Wow, a whole coffee.”
“That’s more than you’ve done,” Kurapika points out slyly. Leorio huffs.
“I’ll buy you a coffee,” he says. “I’ll buy you ten coffees.”
“Really?”
Belatedly, Leorio realizes the implications of what he’s just said. Judging by the mischievous little smirk on Kurapika’s face, they have too. Still, there’s no going back now. “Yeah, really,” he says. “Just say the word.”
Kurapika smiles. “Wow, Leorio. You’re really a gentleman, you know?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“By me?”
“Shut up.”
Kurapika smiles and leans into his shoulder, just enough to show that it’s intentional, but not enough to warrant the juddering spasm that wracks through Leorio’s chest at the contact.
Shape up, he tells himself. Come on, man. You’re tougher than this.
It doesn’t work. Ridiculously, he feels himself going red, and it might be dark outside, but it’s not so dark that Kurapika won’t notice if they happen to look up. Somehow, he has to stop them from doing that. What would they say?
In a frantic, ill-thought-out move, he shrugs carefully and shifts to wrap his arm around Kurapika’s skinny shoulders, bringing them closer to him so they can’t look him in the eye. They start in surprise, and Leorio is just about to run away back to his apartment, rain or no rain, but after a beat they relax and lay their head down on his shoulder.
What.
Leorio is legitimately panicking now. He never meant for this little desperate move to avoid embarrassment to go this far. He’s the one who’s gone stiff now, but Kurapika doesn’t seem to notice.
“You’re warm.”
“W-what? Warm?” Leorio isn’t sure where his brain’s gone. Could it have disappeared? Is that a medical condition? Maybe he should look into this. It wouldn’t be good for his future patients to be running around with no brains, after all.
Kurapika pays no heed to this physiological dilemma. They scoot a bit closer, nudging Leorio’s hand down to rest on their waist. “Mh. Stay just like this, please.”
“Wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else,” babbles Leorio, completely well and gone now. “I’m comfy as heck. This is good. Fine. This is a good, fine, happy time.”
Kurapika doesn’t say anything (not that there’s any good way to reply to this anyway), but they hum in quiet contentment, and stay where they are. They’re shivering a little less already, though it’s obvious they’re still anything but warm. Leorio wants to pull them onto his lap and tuck them inside his coat, but he knows this would be much too much– they’d probably bolt away from him, run out into the rain, and catch pneumonia. This will have to be enough for now.
Leorio isn’t sure how long they wait there like that, huddled together agains the driving of the rain, but finally there’s a light at the far end of the tracks, and the train pulls up into view. Kurapika is slow to pull away, and Leorio doesn’t want to read too much into it, but he thinks they stick a little closer to his side as the two of them make their way onto the platform to board.
There’s almost no one on the train at this time of night, so there’s really no excuse for Leorio and Kurapika to sit so close together, crowded into one of the benches by the far end of the car. But they do. Kurapika nestles right up close against him as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, and it’s really not, but Leorio wouldn’t have it any other way. He doesn’t try to put his arm around them again, but their leg is brushing his, and even this bit of contact is enough to send him into jitters. He isn’t even sure what he talks about, just that Kurapika listens, and laughs, and teases him back the whole ride home.
His home, at least. Kurapika gets off much later, has to ride to the end of the line to get to the scummy little apartment building that they live in. It’s far away, and dingy, and cold, and Leorio doesn’t really have anything in mind but Kurapika’s safety and comfort when he asks,
“Do you want to stay over at my place tonight?”
Kurapika’s eyebrows shoot up. Leorio realizes how his question might have sounded, and backpedals as fast as he can.
“N-nothing funny, though! I mean it! I didn’t mean that– ”
(Unless you wanted me to)
(Shut up, brain!)
Kurapika smiles now, and it might be his imagination, but do they seem a little disappointed? It must be his imagination. Kurapika’s chaster than a luna moth.
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You could never be a bother.” Leorio is brave enough to lay his hand over Kurapika’s. “Please. I don’t like the thought of you walking back by yourself on a night like this.”
Kurapika smirks at him. “You do know I’m a fully competent nen user, right?”
“Sure, but…” Leorio doesn’t know where he’s going with this. All he knows is that he wants Kurapika to stay, wants them to remain at his side instead of disappearing into the night. “Just stay,” he finishes.
Kurapika’s fingers curl around his. “I’ll stay.”
Well, that’s nothing if not aneurysm fuel. Leorio is so flustered that he doesn’t say anything else until the conductor calls his stop, and they have to get out of the train.
It’s only a five-minute walk from the station to get to Leorio’s apartment. He’s actually quite proud of this, but he doesn’t get a chance to brag to Kurapika about his propensity for finding good and cheap deals because Kurapika tucks their hand into the crook of his elbow, and now they’re walking arm in arm like some kind of couple. Definitely, it’s just for convenience, or maybe for safety because Kurapika’s so small that any strong wind or slight crowd might tear them away, but their hand is light and delicate on his arm, and their body is pressed up against his, and Leorio thinks he’s lucky that he can remember the way home at all.
Despite the short distance, they’re both soaked and shivering by the time they get inside Leorio’s apartment. Kurapika, especially, looks like they’re about to keel over. So it’s definitely just for medical reasons that Leorio grabs a towel and some of his spare clothes and pushes them into the bathroom to dry off and change, because he doesn’t want them to catch a chill, not with everything coming up so hectic at work. The last thing either of them needs is to set off into the Dark Continent with the flu. It’s a sign of how miserable Kurapika is that they don’t even try to protest; they just nod a quick thank-you and shuffle off into the bathroom to clean up.
It doesn’t take Kurapika long to change and dry off, but it’s long enough that Leorio has the time to think clearly about this whole arrangement, and how stupid he was to ask them to come here with him at all. They’re probably immensely uncomfortable, especially since it’s nighttime and they’ll both have to sleep somewhere, and right, speaking of which, Leorio is a poor medical student, he doesn’t have much furniture. Where are they going to sleep? He’s just considering popping next door to see if his overly-friendly neighbors have any spare blankets he can borrow, when Kurapika comes out of the bathroom dressed in his shirt, and he loses the ability to think of anything else. It’s huge on them, which shouldn’t be as adorable as it is, and they’re flushed and tousled from drying off. Leorio can’t really articulate what he’s feeling, but he’s pretty sure it’s something suspiciously close to love.
“G-good,” he stammers. “I see you dried off. Good.”
Kurapika mercifully lets the inanity of this comment pass. “The bathroom’s all yours.”
“Good,” Leorio repeats, wanting to kick himself even as he says it. He quickly grabs a change of clothes and ducks into the bathroom before he can say anything else and embarrass himself further.
He tries to be quick in the bathroom, not wanting to leave Kurapika waiting by themselves out in the other room. But the harder he thinks, the longer everything seems to take. Combing his hair takes forever, because he wants to look put-together, but not like he tried too hard, because that would be weird. Then, he has to carefully apply just a touch of cologne, because, again, he doesn’t want to seem like he’s trying too hard, but he also wants to smell nice. It’s hard to maintain the right balance of casual and cleaned-up, and he’s so caught up in thinking about how to maintain this balance that he ends up brushing his teeth twice. He’s washing his mouth out for the second time and mentally face-palming for his own ridiculous behavior (come on, Leorio, how old are you?) when the lights flicker, and then go off. The bathroom is pitch-black and Leorio is standing in the dark with a mouth full of toothpaste and the unpleasant realization that he hasn’t paid his electricity bill for the past two months.
Oh.
Oh no.
Leorio washes his mouth out as best he can without bumping his nose on the sink (he still does), and hurries out to the other room.
“Kurapika! Are you okay?”
“Yes, Leorio,” Kurapika’s disembodied voice is dry and amused in the darkness. “Did you hit the light switch or something?”
“No, well, y’see…” This is so embarrassing. Leorio can’t believe he has to admit this. He briefly considers lying to protect his ego, but he knows this wouldn’t do any good. Kurapika’s too sharp to fall for that. “Okay,” he says. “I kinda don’t have much money right now, and it may have slipped my mind to pay some bills. Judge away.”
“I’m not judging you,” says Kurapika immediately, and huh. Leorio hadn’t expected that. Their next question is as blunt as always, though. “Why don’t you have any money?”
This is the really embarrassing part. “I kept buying things,” Leorio explains, glad Kurapika can’t see his shame-faced grimace. “I knew it was a bad habit, so I decided to kick it. I put all my Hunter money into a secure account, and set the guidelines so I can’t withdraw over a certain amount each month. I use it to pay tuition, and a few living expenses, but I kinda forgot about utilities, so now I’m stuck living like this until I graduate and the contract I set runs out.”
A soft, tinkling giggle comes out of the darkness, and it’s proof of how thrown Leorio is by this whole situation that it takes him a second to realize that it’s Kurapika laughing.
“Hey,” he says, not with any real heat. “What’re you laughing at, asshole?”
“Asshole yourself,” replies Kurapika merrily. Their voice is so sweet. For the thousandth time, Leorio curses the Spiders for taking their laughter away from them.
“I’ll fix it,” he says. “I’ll figure out a way to get back to normal. Or I’ll budget more. Or buy a buttload of candles. Or something.”
He’s not really sure why he’s saying all this. It’s not like he wants to show Kurapika that he’s capable of providing for them, or anything. Is he? Shit, this is all getting out of hand. He’s about to suggest that they have a glow-in-the-dark nen competition just to get himself back on track, when something brushes up against his back in the dark, and he yelps like one of Knuckle’s dogs.
“What the hell?”
“It’s just me, you loaf.”
A pair of slender arms slides around his waist. Kurapika has managed to find him in the dark and slip up close enough to tuck themselves up against him. Their body is against his, and their head is on his shoulder. Somehow, this is even more confusing.
“Uh, h-hey there,” he stutters. “What’s, uh, what’s going on there, Kurapika?”
“I’m scared of the dark.”
“Like hell you are. The only thing you’re afraid of is that your rage will fade over time.”
Kurapika goes still against him. “You remember that?”
That’s a silly question. Leorio remembers everything about Kurapika. Or at least, everything that they’ve been willing to share with him.
“Of course,” he says. “It’s important to you.”
“Hmm.” If it weren’t so ridiculous, Leorio would swear he could feel them smiling.
“What?”
“It’s just, I didn’t expect you to remember that. It was a long time ago.”
“Not that long.” Leorio wants to put his arms up and wrap them around Kurapika, but he doesn’t know if he’s allowed. Does their sudden cuddliness extend this far, or will they bite his head off? He’s about to try, but then,
“I don’t know if that’s still true.”
Kurapika must turn their head as they speak, because all of a sudden, they’re breathing at Leorio’s neck, and he’s having trouble keeping his thoughts– and all parts of his body– pointing in the right direction. Do they know how distracting they are? He struggles to pull himself together.
“Don’t know if what’s still true?”
“The rage thing.” Mercifully, Kurapika turns their head, but now their arms tighten around Leorio’s waist, so he still doesn’t get much respite. “I used to be so single-minded, but now… I don’t know. I have people who are precious to me, and causes that are more than just revenge. It’s different. I don’t think that’s my underlying philosophy, or my worst fear anymore.”
“You’ve grown.”
Maybe it’s the darkness that’s giving him the courage, but Leorio feels like he can say this honestly, without fear of being misunderstood. Everything’s a little clearer without vision, sometimes. Kurapika must be able to feel the raw sentiment in this, because they press their face against his chest like they’re trying to align themselves with his heart.
“I’m trying,” they whisper.
Finally, Leorio reaches up to hold Kurapika. They’re small and wiry and they fit perfectly against him, like the two of them are puzzle pieces that have finally come home. Neither of them move or speak, content just to stay wrapped up in an embrace that’s long, long overdue. The air is heavy with what they’ve just said, what they’ve shared, and Leorio knows that this is a turning point, one from which they can never go back. Whatever path they choose now, they’ll always have this between them, this moment in the dark.
Whether it’s minutes or hours, Leorio doesn’t know, but something between a split second and an eternity later, Kurapika pulls away just far enough to speak clearly.
“Can we sleep?”
Leorio doesn’t even bother offering to sleep on the floor. He knows, sure as if he had a dowsing chain of his own, that Kurapika will end up pulling him into bed with them, not for any illicit purpose (not yet, his traitorous mind whispers), but just to sleep, connected in a warm sprawl of arms and legs, safe and content, together at last.
“Come on,” he says. “My bed’s over here somewhere.”
He leads Kurapika across the floor (not that there’s much floor to traverse– his apartment’s tiny) until they hit the edge of his bed. They climb up and tuck themselves in, too worn out to quibble over sides and pillows and blanket distribution. Kurapika snuggles up to Leorio immediately, nudging their head into the crook of his neck, and Leorio fits his arms around them almost automatically. It’s amazing how natural this feels. He starts to rub circles against Kurapika’s shoulder blades, just hard enough to relax them.
“Are you comfortable?”
“Yes.” Their voice is already soft-edged with sleep. “Is this okay for you, too?”
“It’s perfect.”
Kurapika hums gently. They’re probably nearly asleep. It’s no wonder, they’re always pushing themselves way too hard at work, so it’s amazing that they’ve stayed awake even this long. Leorio lies next to them quietly, listening to the slow sounds of their breathing and the clatter of the rainstorm outside. He’s not sure when he begins to slip from reality into dreams, but just before he does, his last conscious thought is that this is the only place he wants to be.