Archive of Our Own

Gon puffed out his cheeks in a pout that only lasted a moment before being broken by a huge yawn. Cute. "Then, I'm gonna use you as a pillow, okay?"

Killua scoffed, crossing his arms. "Why me? Roll up your jacket or something."

"Because you're comfy, silly."

Without waiting for a response, Gon closed his eyes and lay his head on Killua's shoulder with a smile, nuzzling his cheek against the soft fabric of Killua's t-shirt. "'Night."

Gon was warm even through Killua's layers, and he couldn't deny that the weight of his head was comforting. The shorter boy fit perfectly in the crook of Killua's neck. His spiky hair tickled Killua's skin as he snuggled in further and wrapped his arms around the backpack on his lap.

Killua considered fighting this for only a split second before resigning himself to his fate. He put his elbow on the windowsill and rested his chin in his palm, watching the landscape go by in a blur. He drummed the fingers of his other hand on his thigh. He could feel Kurapika's curious eyes on him, and he tried his best not to blush, to act as if he were totally chill with Gon using him as a pillow. Because he was. He was totally chill. Why wouldn't he be?

Only a beat passed before Gon went limp on Killua's shoulder, his arms dropping from around his backpack. Killua automatically readjusted him to keep his head from lolling off and took the backpack off his lap to put it between his feet before it fell.

Killua looked up to see Kurapika smiling at him. He gestured to Gon with a nod of his chin. "Does he do this a lot?"

Killua almost shrugged, but stopped himself so as not to disturb Gon. He settled for rolling his eyes. "Only when he's been talking and running around nonstop like he's been for the last five hours."

Kurapika let out a soft chuckle. "And you've been running after him. You can close your eyes for a bit, too, if you want. I'll wake you up before our stop."

"I'm fine."

Leorio let out a huge snort, and Kurapika laughed silently at him, covering his mouth with his hand. He tucked a lock of blond hair behind his ear and stared up at Leorio with a look so loving that Killua had to avert his eyes before he puked. Get a room.

Kurapika stood up and stretched one arm over his head. He stepped over Leorio's long legs, splayed out every which way, and into the aisle. "I think I'm going to go find some food. Do you want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good." Killua glanced down at Gon, whose breaths had evened out. His face looked totally relaxed, his mouth slightly parted. "Um, but... Maybe bring back a sandwich or something to keep him occupied if he wakes up?"

Kurapika smiled down at them. "I'll get two. Be back soon."

With a swish of his skirt, Kurapika disappeared down the aisle and into the next car. 

The only sounds were Leorio's snoring and the rumble of the train steadily moving toward their next destination. The buildings started to thin out into fields interspersed with houses here and there, the sky steadily growing darker as the sun began to set. 

Killua sank deeper into his seat, shifting to get more comfortable. Gon let out a quiet sound, somewhere between a snuffle and a whine of complaint, that made Killua's stomach perform somersaults. 

Christ, he had to get a hold of himself. He was worried that Gon would wake up any second from how wildly his heart was beating in his chest. Killua forced himself to take slow, deep breaths, but it didn't do anything to slow his heart rate. Instead, he got lungfuls of Gon's scent, of fresh wildflowers and crushed grass, of bright yellow buttercups being held under his chin.

Killua balled his hand into a fist. His palm was far sweatier than it should be. For fuck's sake, Killua, be cool.

Gon mumbled something unintelligible, and Killua couldn't help but glance down at his sleeping face again. Gon was pressed as close to Killua as physically possible, his arm and thigh plastered against Killua's own. He radiated so much heat that it was like sitting next to the sun. That was certainly why a warmth was spreading throughout Killua's whole body, from his ears to his toes.

Gon's eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and Killua gently pressed a finger there to smooth out the wrinkles before he could think better of it.

Killua pulled his hand back, quick as lightning. Ugh, what the hell was wrong with him? He bounced the leg that wasn't touching Gon up and down with nervous energy. He looked out the window again, determined not to stare at Gon like a weirdo.

Killua listened to Leorio's god-awful snoring—that man needed a sleep apnea machine—and watched the farmland go by. His lips quirked up at the sight of dozens of horses grazing in a field. He almost tapped Gon's knee to wake him up, picturing the boy plastering his face to the window with wide eyes and an even wider grin, but decided against it. He'd tell him about it later.

As the world outside the window grew darker, Killua felt his eyelids get heavier and heavier. He didn't strictly need to sleep right now, but he supposed he should take advantage of the safety of this situation and get some shut-eye while he could. He trusted Kurapika to wake him up if anything happened. 

He blamed Gon's steady breathing for lulling him into this sleepy state, for rendering him so unguarded that he couldn't even fight the sleep trying to take him. Gon's face was peaceful now, not a furrowed brow in sight, and Killua smiled despite himself.

Killua snuck a look at Leorio. Once he was satisfied that the man hadn't actually been faking sleep for the past forty-five minutes, he closed his eyes and tentatively rested his head on Gon's. 

And oh, Gon was so comfortable. His gelled-up hair was surprisingly soft against Killua's cheek. So soft that it should be illegal. Killua gradually let the full weight of his head fall on Gon's, not wanting to wake him up with any sudden change in arrangement. He sighed from deep in his chest, allowing his body to fully relax.

Surely this was fine, right? Gon had no qualms at all about sleeping on Killua. He obviously didn't think it was weird. So, why should it be weird if Killua leaned on him? Friends definitely used each other as pillows, didn't they? There was absolutely no reason for Killua's heart to be beating out of his chest right now.

Killua stretched out his legs, inching his foot closer until the toe of his left sneaker touched Gon's right boot. Only because that was a more comfortable position to sleep in, of course.

He would just rest his eyes for a minute, that was all. Just until Kurapika came back.