Work Text:
Killua was on his last paragraph when the fire alarm went off at three in the morning.
BLAAARRR
“Shit!” Killua jolted his seat and clapped his hands over his ears. Wincing, he looked out into the hallway to see white flashing lights playing off the walls.
“No!” Killua moaned. “No, no no no no! C’mon, seriously?!”
He was so close to finishing! He’d been working on this stupid project the whole goddamn night and now the fire alarm just happened to go off?!
Beyond the alarm’s blaring sound, Killua heard several dorm doors opening. He eyed his paper skeptically; maybe he could just stay in here and finish the assignment without anyone noticing? On the other hand, if it was a real fire he could let the whole thing burn up and then he’d have a legitimate excuse not to hand it in-
The door to the study lounge was pushed open and a girl with long, dark hair stuck her head in.
“What are you doing?!” she shouted over the alarm. “Let’s go, Killua! You know how these things work!”
“Can’t I just stay here?” he whined, slumping in his seat. “Think about it Palm; you won’t have to deal with me waking you up when I yell at video games anymore!”
She yelled, “Unfortunately, as your RA, your safety takes priority over your annoying attitude. Now get yourself over here before I drag you out of the building!”
Well. There goes that decision.
He stood up with an angry growl and shoved his hands in his pajama pockets.
“What were you even doing out here so late?” she asked him as he trudged over to the door.
“Bisky’s midterm paper,” he said shortly. All around them students poured out of their rooms, faces a bizarre mix of irritation and sleepiness. The sound hadn’t been enough to fully wake even the deepest sleepers, it seemed. They merged into one large crowd and turned the hallway to head for the stairs.
“I told you that you should’ve completed that paper instead of going out with Ikalgo last weekend.” Palm shook her head, taking two steps at a time. “It’s worth twenty percent of our grade, Killua!”
“I know that! Why do you think I stayed up so late trying to finish it?!”
She shrugged and rubbed her arms. “You’re always up late.”
“Not like- wait.” Killua stopped short at the bottom of the staircase. Students behind him grumbled but he ignored them. “Don’t tell me, is that snow?!”
Palm peered outside “Um, yes! It is. Wow. I didn’t know the forecast called for-”
“Why is this my life?” Killua groaned. The urge to bang his head against the wall was overwhelming. “I’m in a tang top, Palm!”
Palm’s mouth fell open in a perfect circle. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh! I can’t go out there! I’ll freeze.”
“Killua, I’m sorry but you know I can’t let you back into your room. Its mandatory that everyone leaves the building.”
Killua grimaced as he stared out the window. The snow was high enough for it to cover the grass in front of their dorm and more kept falling from the sky. He could feel the biting cold coming from the door every time another sleep-deprived student left the building.
It wasn’t a comforting picture.
“Killua,” Palm said again. “We really have to go. I can try to find someone with a coat, or-”
“No.” He’d rather die from frostbite than get caught sharing coats with some random stranger. Just the idea made him recoil.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s just go. I’ll be fine.”
He wouldn’t, but if it got Palm off his back he’d at least be somewhat less pissed.
Palm sighed but didn’t bother arguing. A smart move on her part. Together they opened the door-
“Fuck,” Killua cursed quietly. Goosebumps erupted over his skin and almost immediately his body shuddered from the cold. If hell ever froze over, this is what it would be like; dark skies with no moon, snow thick enough to soak his slippers all the way through to his socks, and to top it off, a crowd of exhausted college students looking like they were ready to fall over at any second.
“I said I’d-”
“Don’t go there, Palm! I’ll just- I’ll deal with it. We c-can’t be stuck out here that l-long, right?”
Palm frowned as they headed to the back of the crowd. She admitted, “It depends if the alarm was pulled by a student or faculty. If it’s a drill, we can go back inside once the bell stops ringing. But if a student pulled the alarm, the fire department has to check before we go back inside.”
“If someone pulled that thing as a prank, I’m going to rip their eyes out,” Killua growled.
His RA rolled her eyes. “Killua, you can’t just go around saying stuff like that-”
“I’m not joking! I had one paragraph left, Palm! One paragraph! I have no hesitations whatsoever about killing the person responsible for-”
“Who’s Killua gonna murder?”
Killua stiffened at the slurred voice. He twisted around to see his best friend, Gon Freecss, standing right behind him. His light brown eyes were half-way closed even as he struggled to keep them open. Killua’s own eyes widened when he realized Gon wasn’t wearing a shirt- revealing a toned, golden chest- and then Killua’s gaze drifted lower to find-
Killua whirled away to face the opposite direction, heart pounding in his chest as blood rushed to his cheeks.
“Killua?” came Gon’s tired mumble. “What’s wro-?”
“Gon,” Killua interrupted. He was clenching his jaw so hard it hurt. “Why the fuck don’t you have any pants on?!”
“Hmm? Oh, but I do! I have my-”
“That’s your underwear!” Killua’s voice jumped an octave. “That d-doesn’t count!”
“Yes it does! All the important bits are covered, so it definitely counts!”
Killua squeezed his eyes shut. This had to be the worst night of his life. First the paper, then the fire alarm and the freaking snow, and now this. He wished he could permanently erase the image of Gon in his underwear out of his mind, but that was about as likely to happen as Knuckle not showing off pictures of his dogs in the middle of class lecture.
Which meant: not at all. Not even remotely likely.
“And I do have a blanket,” Gon pointed out. Killua peaked over his shoulder, carefully keeping his gaze above Gon’s hip. Gon did indeed have a fuzzy green and blue blanket wrapped around his broad shoulders.
Great. Even Gon had thought to bring something to keep himself warm.
“Killua, don’t you have a jacket? You have to be freezing in just a tang top.” Gon stepped closer and Killua tensed.
“N-no. I was working in the study lounge when the alarm w-went off and there wasn’t enough t-time to go back to my room.”
“Wow. You stayed up really late this time, huh?” Gon yawned and Killua couldn’t help but stare. Gon looked so cute like that, with his eyes all watery and the sleepy smile on his face-
Killua quickly looked away. “Y-yeah. I had to finish Bisky’s p-paper.”
He inwardly cursed himself; was it really that hard for him to hide his feelings? He’d been crushing on Gon for almost a year now and the initial fluttering he had whenever seeing Gon’s bright grin hadn’t dimmed in the slightest. It was a wonder the shorter teen hadn’t noti-
Warm hands tugged on his shoulders and Killua stumbled into Gon’s chest.
He instantly froze. Gon was hugging him, strong arms wrapped all the way around his back, surrounding both himself and Killua in the soft blanket.
Killua’s face was on fire. He was so shocked that he didn’t even move to push Gon away. Instead he just choked out, “Gon, what-?”
“You were cold,” Gon mumbled. His head fit perfectly into crook of Killua’s neck and the tips of his spiky hair tickled Killua’s chin.
“But now you’re the one who’s cold! I don’t want you to-” He struggled to remove himself from Gon’s grasp but to his extreme frustration, Gon didn’t budge. “Oi, Gon! Let go! Its embarrassing!”
Gon’s arms tightened around him, making it hard for Killua to breathe. “No. I won’t. Its fine, Killua, really. Its better if we share body heat then to let you stay like that; I don’t want you to get frostbite.”
If Killua could shrivel up into a puddle and die right here and now, he would do it without hesitation.
“I don’t care about that!” he hissed. “Other people will stare at us if you keep this up!”
“No, they won’t. Everyone’s too tired to care. Even Palm is gone.”
Killua twisted his head around- as much as Gon allowed him to, at least- and realized that for once, Gon was correct. Palm had disappeared into the mob of exhausted students, all of whom were too occupied with trying to keep themselves warm to look at him and Gon.
“See, Killua? There’s no need to be worried. Besides, don’t you feel better already?”
As much as Killua loathed to admit it, he did. The strange numbness in his fingers was gone and his teeth had stopped chattering the minute Gon hugged him. Unfortunately, the lack of cold couldn’t stop the hot mortification from creeping up his neck. In fact, it only made the urge to duck his reddening face under the blanket stronger.
“….I guess,” he grumbled, finally giving in.
“Ha, I told you.”
“Shut up!”
Gon nuzzled against him with a happy hum. Killua’s muscles locked in place.
“Gon,” he said, heart pounding against his ribcage. “What are you doing.”
“Cuddling,” came Gon’s drowsy murmur.
“Why?!” Killua asked shrilly.
“Why not?”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Neither is yours.”
Killua ground his teeth together. “Do you always have to respond to my questions so cryptically?” he snapped.
“You do it to me too!” Gon argued.
“Do not!”
“Do too!”
“Not.”
“Killua, you’re doing it right now!”
He was right, Killua realized with a spike of irritation. He had never answered Gon’s question:
Why not?
Killua’s eye twitched. As if he would ever answer that. “You know what? Fuck you, Gon!”
“Only if you ask nicely.”
Killua’s mouth fell open. He gaped wordlessly at his best friend, totally speechless.
Gon peaked up at him. His eyes twinkled mischievously in the low light. “I’m kidding, Killua.”
Killua shut his mouth and swallowed. Was he really, though? Saying it was one thing, but the weirdly intense expression on Gon’s face was another….
Gon tucked his chin down before Killua could figure out anything else. He rested his head on Killua’s shoulder with a quiet sigh and was silent. Killua waited for Gon to say something- keeping his posture stiff in apprehension- but Gon didn’t move.
Slowly, Killua relaxed. He let his head lean against Gon’s and closed his eyes. Gon’s arms were still locked around his torso, hands meeting at the lower base of Killua’s back. Killua imagined that this was kind of what it felt like to be engulfed in a warm cocoon. Snow continued to fall on top of them, but the blanket protected most of their bodies from getting drenched.
It was nice to be held by someone he cared about like this; he felt safe, secure. Happy. Like no one could ever hurt him or make him sad, as long as he stayed here with Gon.
It made him want to melt into Gon’s embrace and never leave.
“Y’know,” Gon whispered and Killua felt his jaw move against the exposed skin of Killua’s shoulder. “This reminds me of the first time we met.”
Killua cracked his eyes open. “How? We met at a track tournament, not at three in the morning in front of a college dorm.”
“Mm, yeah, I know. I’d never forget meeting you. But-” he kept on talking, oblivious to Killua’s sharp inhale and how his pulse began to race, “- it was snowing that day, too. Remember?”
Killua simply nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
Gon exhaled and Killua watched his friend’s breath float away into the air. He couldn’t see Gon’s expression with the way his face was turned on Killua’s shoulder, but he could easily picture the wistfulness there, anyway. They knew each other too well for him not to have memorized all of Gon’s different expressions, be it joyful or sad or anything in between.
Killua said hoarsely, “We tied for first. Right?”
“Mhm. No one else could keep up with us. Your brother was really mad you didn’t beat me, though.”
“Illumi wasn’t used to me being the world’s biggest a failure yet,” Killua said wryly.
“You’re not a failure, Killua.”
“To my family, I am.”
Gon lifted his head and pulled back just enough for Killua to see into that sun-filled gaze.
“Not to me, you’re not,” he said seriously.
Killua blinked, cheeks already starting to warm. “I-”
Gon leaned closer. Killua winced and instinctively shut his eyes, waiting for- for what, exactly?! What the hell was he doing-
Something brushed against his hair and Killua’s eyes flew open. He blinked to find Gon combing through Killua’s now-icy locks with one hand.
“You got-” Gon huffed as he stood up on his tip toes. “-snow all in your hair, Killua!”
Killua sputtered out a laugh before he could help himself. His heart was still throbbing from- well, whatever that had just been. He didn’t think about what he’d been half-hoping Gon would do, saying instead, “Well, yeah. It’s snowing! You got loads of it on you, too. It looks like you have dandruff.”
“Eh?! Really?”
“Yeah. Here, bend your head and I’ll just-”
Gon did as he was told and Killua tugged one arm out of their blanket burrito. His skin tingled with biting cold. He ran his fingers over Gon’s spikes as quickly as he could to get rid of the snow nestled there. He couldn’t let it show that he’d been dreaming of doing something like this for ages- to feel how soft Gon’s hair was, to bury his hands in Gon’s hair and never let go-
He yanked his hand back under the blanket, shivering. “T-there, all d-done.”
“Aw, Killua!” Gon pulled Killua to him again; close enough for their chests to press up against each other. “You’re all cold, again!”
Killua raised his burning face to the sky and screamed internally. What the actual hell. What did he do to deserve being tormented like this? To be hugged this tightly by his long-time crush who just happened to be ninety-percent naked while the heavens snowed down on them?! What kind of cruel immortal being thought this would be funny?
“I can feel you starting to warm up again, Killua,” Gon murmured into Killua’s chest.
“You’re squeezing the life out of me. It’d be impossible for me not to get warm, stupid.” Could Gon feel his heartbeat? He had to. It was too loud right now for him not to notice-
“Killua, your face is really, really red.”
Please, let him die here before he had to deal with this insanity that was his life anymore.
“It’s the cold,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Hmm. I wonder…”
“You wonder, what?!” Killua hissed and looked down to see-
To see Gon within an inch of his face.
Killua stopped breathing.
Gon smiled. “Heh, you’re blushing harder, now.”
Killua’s legs felt weak. Distantly he wondered, if his knees gave out, would Gon catch him?
“You’re delusional,” he whispered.
“Am I?” Gon cocked his head to the side. Their noses just barely brushed and Killua’s heart skipped, hopped and leaped into overdrive.
“Yes.”
“So-” Gon inched forward, his gorgeous gold-brown eyes taking up Killua’s entire vision, “-you wouldn’t react at all then, if I just…”
Gon’s face kept getting bigger as Gon leaned into his personal space. There was nowhere for Killua to run, not with Gon holding him in place like this. Gon’s eyelids slowly lowered and Killua’s eyes fluttered shut of their own accord. He could feel the faint wisp of Gon’s breath across his face and he tilted his head, parting his lips as-
“OKAY EVERYONE, THE ALARM’S OVER! WE CAN GO BACK IN!”
Killua jolted so badly it was like he’d been electrocuted. He jerked away from Gon with a gasp and tripped over a rock hidden by snow.
Shit, he thought as he began to drop, watching the world tilt-
A calloused hand grabbed his wrist and pulled. Killua was yanked back up into a standing position. He stumbled to get his footing and found himself once again falling into Gon’s extremely toned, beautiful and- most importantly- naked torso.
Gon’s arms locked around Killua before he could react. Killua felt the vibrations of Gon’s laughter all the way down to his toes.
“You okay, Killua?” Gon asked as he beamed.
If Killua’s face was scarlet before, it was nothing compared to what it looked like now.
“You!” He shoved Gon hard enough to send him flying back. “You did that on purpose, damnit!”
“What?! No, I didn’t! I swear!” Gon scooped up his blanket off the ground and carefully brushed away the white flakes of snow.
“Oh, y-yeah?” And there was the cold again, god damnit! “That stupid grin of yours says otherwise.”
“Killua, there’s no way I could know that the fire alarm would be over at that exact moment,” Gon said good-naturedly and the logic of his reasoning made Killua want to shriek. “I mean, you’re really smart so you I know you can’t think I can control stuff like that-”
“Go to hell, Freecss!” he spat and stalked off towards the dorm doors. How could he be so gullible?! All it took was Gon to make those stupid doe-eyes at him and he went weak in the knees.
“Aw, Killua! Don’t be like that.” Gon caught up to him in no time as students surrounded them on all sides. “If it helps, I’m sorry it happened! You looked really cute there; your eyes were all scrunched up and your cheeks were so pink, like flower petals!”
Killua almost stumbled over his dorm’s doorframe. Uncomfortably hot warmth seeped into his limbs, but he couldn’t tell if that was from the building’s heat or his own horrible humiliation.
Cute?! Had Gon just called him- cute?
Gon’s fingers brushed against Killua’s knuckles. Killua snatched his hand away.
“Don’t,” he growled. “I don’t feel like talking to you right now!”
Gon pouted. “What if I helped you finish Bisky’s paper? Would you forgive me then?”
Damnit. There went his plan to give Gon the silent treatment until they sat together in calculous tomorrow afternoon.
“The whole thing?” Killua barked at him as they began to climb the stairs to their floor. “Like, spellcheck and all that stuff?”
Gon nodded. He had Killua cornered and he knew it. Killua could just tell by the impish glimmer in his eyes. Killua groaned out loud.
“Okay,” he said and Gon’s smile widened. “But you can’t sneak out of it this time! I still remember when you ditched me with Wing’s assignment to practice karate with Zushi.”
“That was a year ago, Killua!”
“Yeah, and I’m still bitter! So don’t you dare do that again, got it?”
Gon laughed breathlessly. He snagged Killua’s wrist and dragged him off to the right of their hallway.
“Don’t worry, Killua! I’d never leave you behind.”
Killua…didn’t have a response to that.
“This is your stuff in here, right?” Gon asked, coming to a stop in front of the student lounge.
“Y-yeah. Here-”
Killua pushed the door open and Gon’s fingers slipped away. A small (large) part of him mourned the loss because of course he would. It was so stupid how something as simple as Gon holding his hand turned his insides to mush.
“Okay,” Killua said out loud, skimming his notes and forcibly ignoring Gon’s presence at his shoulder. “I think I’m gonna bring this all back to my dorm, so that way I don’t have to do it later. You’ll have to come with me, of course. I just need my-”
He frowned. He lifted his notebook in the air, then his textbook. Heavy dread settled in his stomach like lead.
“What’s wrong?” Gon asked.
“I don’t see my room key…and I don’t remember seeing it anywhere before the alarm. So, that means-” he let out a long breath and dragged his nails down the side of his face, “-that means I left it in my bedroom. Fuck.”
“Can you call Ikalgo?” Gon gently moved Killua’s hand away. “He should be awake ‘cause of the drill, right?”
Killua shook his head to distract himself from the fact that Gon wasn’t letting go. He kept his voice as steady as possible while he explained, “Ikalgo’s visiting his hometown. There’s some kind of Ant reunion thing going on.”
“Ant?” Gon repeated.
“That’s his high school mascot. But, basically, I can’t get back in my room. Because why wouldn’t my night get even worse than it already is-”
“What about getting an RA?”
Killua looked at him like he was crazy. “Don’t you know who’s on duty tonight?”
Understanding, mixed with genuine fear, dawned in Gon’s eyes. “Hisoka.”
“Exactly. There’s no way I’m asking that bastard for anything. He’d start- I dunno, moaning or some weird shit like that. Plus, he’s been really insistent with asking for Illumi’s number lately and I’ve had enough frustration tonight.”
He rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on. “I guess.” He groaned. “Ugh. I mean, I could always just sleep on the couch in here but who knows what these things have been through.”
Gon slid up behind him. “You should stay with me!”
The back of Killua’s neck prickled; Gon was too close. That seemed to be the theme tonight.
He twisted around to face his best friend, lower back pressed against the wooden desk. “What about Zushi?” he asked nonchalantly.
“He’s away at a tournament until tomorrow,” Gon said and he squeezed Killua’s hand. “Please, Killua? It’ll be fun!”
Oh, Killua seriously doubted that. Knowing that Gon was sleeping naked in the same room as him practically guaranteed that he wouldn’t get an ounce of sleep.
But. Killua couldn’t say no to those puppy eyes.
“Ugh, fine. Fine. But if you keep me up, I’m going to throw my textbook at your head.”
Gon grinned. “That’s fair.”
“Damn right, its fair. Now, help me get this stuff together; I’ll just ask Palm to help me open my door tomorrow or something-”
Together they gathered Killua’s books and computer before heading towards Gon’s room. True to his word, Zushi was absent. What Killua hadn’t expected, however, was the mound of Gon’s unfolded clothes thrown in a tangle on top of Zushi’s mattress.
Killua stopped short, staring at the bed. What the-?
“Gon,” he said slowly.
“Mm?” Gon had his back to him as he carefully laid Killua’s computer on his desk.
“Why’s all that stuff on Zushi’s bed? I can’t sleep there.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t expect you to!”
Now Gon really wasn’t making any sense. Killua demanded, “Then where the hell am I supposed to sleep? I’d rather use the study lounge couch then use your floor.”
Gon sent him a bemused glance. “You’ll sleep with me, of course. In my bed.”
Killua gaped at his best friend. What?!
“What?” he said feebly.
“I mean, it’ll probably be tight ‘cause the beds aren’t that big. But there’s definitely enough room, so you don’t have to worry!”
“That’s,” Killua stuttered. “That’s not what I-”
“Killua. It’ll be fine, c’mon,” Gon tugged on his arms, dragging him towards the whale-patterned bed that could only be Gon’s.
“Gon, no, I seriously don’t think this is a good idea!”
“Sleep is always a good idea!”
Not if it meant having Gon’s body pressed right up against his, it wasn’t!!!
Gon pouted at Killua’s terrified expression. “You don’t want to stay with me? Did I do something wrong? I know I upset you earlier, but I really didn’t mean-”
“Oh god, shut up,” Killua moaned. “Just. Get into bed, already.”
He really, really didn’t want to do this. But whenever he saw Gon’s crestfallen face, something twisted painfully inside his chest. He couldn’t say no. He just couldn’t.
Gon immediately brightened. He climbed onto his bed, finally shedding the now-wet blanket that had shielded them from the snow, and Killua immediately looked away at the sight of Gon in just his underwear.
His life was literally hell at this point.
Gon practically pulled Killua up onto the bed using his absurd strength alone. He drew the covers up to Killua’s chin and flicked off the light before flopping down on the mattress.
“Ow. Gon, that was my leg!” Killua hissed.
“Sorry,” came Gon’s low voice. His breath ghosted over Killua’s face and it was only then that Killua realized just how little space there was between them; their faces were less than an inch apart as their heads rested on the same pillow, legs tangled together on the bottom half of the bed.
Killua swallowed thickly. He could just barely make out Gon’s eyes in the dark, but he could feel the heavy weight of Gon’s stare as he gazed at Killua’s face, fixated.
“Killua?” Gon asked.
“Yeah?”
Killua jumped slightly as Gon brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen into Killua’s eyes. Gon murmured quietly, “I really am sorry. About earlier.”
Killua’s heartbeat roared in his ears. “You mean when I fell? Don’t worry about it. I know it wasn’t your fault. And you caught me in the end, so it doesn’t matter.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Killua’s brows furrowed. “What, then?”
The mattress dipped as Gon shifted closer.
“I’m sorry that they stopped us,” he whispered.
Then his lips were on Killua’s, chapped from being outside in the freezing cold, but gentle and sure. Killua automatically kissed him back and their hands found each other under a mess of blankets and sheets.
And that was the story of how Killua just barely passed Biscuit Krueger’s cut-throat class by writing the midterm essay the night before, standing outside in the snow at three in the morning, and eventually making out with his best friend before passing out and waking up the next morning to said-friend’s very flustered roommate.
But, he’d gotten a boyfriend out of the whole thing. So he wasn’t complaining.