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“Gon.” Killua plopped down beside him in the cafeteria. “I have a proposal for you.”
“Mm?” Gon barely registered Killua’s presence; there was a new article that Kite’s old team had written on an undiscovered species in Africa…
“Gon.”
He didn’t hear Killua at all that time, still too absorbed in what he was reading to pay attention-
Soft hands gripped his cheeks and Gon was forced to look up into Killua’s starling midnight blue eyes.
“Gon,” Killua said again as Gon’s heart jumped up into his throat. “This is very important.”
Gon gulped. “Y-yeah? What is it?”
Killua released him and Gon blinked to find a silver ring suddenly thrust in front of his nose.
Killua grinned. “Wanna marry me, Gon?”
Heat rushed to Gon’s face. “What?!” he squeaked. “What are you- but your family would-”
“Not for real, jeesh!” Killua scoffed.
Oh.
“Oh.“ Gon hid his strange feeling of disappointment as best he could. “Then, why would you-?”
“Gon. Gon, Gon, Gon,” Killua said with a sigh. “Do you know what season it is?”
“Um.” Gon had no idea where Killua was going with this. “Autumn?”
“Exactly! Just after wedding season. So. When all those wedding halls are done with the summer weddings, but still need to generate sales, what do they do?”
“They…advertise?”
“Yeah, exactly! Here, look at this-”
Killua shoved a piece of paper into Gon’s hands. Gon squinted; it was a pamphlet for a new event involving all the local catering halls. It was for newly engaged couples who were interested in taking tours and receiving free samples of wedding cake to taste-
Ohhhhhh.
Gon glanced at Killua to see his coworker grinning mischievously.
“You want the cake,” Gon stated.
“Obviously! So, what do you say? Want to be my fiancé for a couple of hours?”
“I dunno, Killua…you probably want to go to all of these places, and that’s a lot of cake in one day.”
“Gooooooon,” Killua whined. He grabbed onto Gon’s upper arm and shook it. “C'mon, it’s cake. Free cake, Gon! Think about it!”
“Err, um.” Gon swallowed thickly as Killua stared up at him with large, glimmering eyes. Killua often said that Gon’s puppy face was infamous, but little did he know the affect of his own full-blown pout. Gon could already feel his will crumbling.
“I want caaaake, Gon. Do you really want to keep me from the simple pleasures of life?”
“I, well.” He deflated. “Okay, fine. I’ll be your fake fiancé.”
“YES!” Killua pumped his hand in the air then threw his arms around Gon’s shoulders. “Thanks! I promise, I’ll be the perfect fake boyfriend!”
Gon’s heartbeat roared in his ears. A little voice in his mind whispered: Killua would be the perfect boyfriend, regardless if it was fake or not.
He squeezed his eyes shut. What had he just gotten himself into?!
“Oh, its so nice to have young couples like you in here! Congratulations, by the way!”
“Thanks,” Killua said as Gon gave a smile that was more of a grimace. He elbowed Gon in the side and pointedly ignored Gon’s wheeze of pain; if they were getting married, Gon better act like it was the best day of his freaking life.
The woman beamed at them. “The cake will be out in a minute, but until then I want to hear absolutely everything!”
Killua and Gon shared a confused look. Gon asked, “Um. About what, exactly?”
“About your relationship! I’m sorry, that sounds so rude, I’m just such a sucker for love stories! I have to know everything. How long have you two known each other? How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?”
Okay, wow. Killua leaned back in his seat. He had not planned on this. He’d just come here for the cake, and now they had to come up with a whole backstory-
“We met five years ago,” Gon piped up, surprising Killua. “I was a police officer in training still and I caught him stealing out of someone’s car in an alley. I arrested him and then convinced him to try out for the police force that same year!”
The woman blinked. “Oh. Um. Well, that’s certainty….original.”
Killua’s eye twitched. “Hey,” he hissed lowly at Gon. “You don’t have to tell her that!”
Gon tilted his head sideways. “But its the truth.”
“Yeah, but that’s not exactly something I want to broadcast, stupid!”
“But-”
Killua grabbed Gon’s cheek pulled at it hard enough for Gon let out a whine.
“Eim sorree, Killuuah! Plees forgevee me!”
“No way! You’re gonna have to more then that to win back my favor-”
The woman’s laughter startled them both enough to freeze.
“I’m sorry,” she said, hiding her mouth behind her hand. “Its just- you two are so cute! I totally understand the whole meeting-weird thing; my husband was an erotic dancer.”
She winked at them and it was at that exact moment that the waiter came in with their cake samples.
Killua was never happier to see cake in his entire life.
“When did you know you liked each other?”
This time it was a little girl in pigtails who asked them a question; her aunt had brought her along to work and the girl ended up trailing behind Killua and Gon’s tour the entire time.
"You first,” Killua said quickly and Gon stuck his tongue out at him.
“Well.” Gon scratched the back of his head as the girl waited with baited breath. “I think it was one of the first times Killua slept over my house-”
“You two don’t share a house?” the girl interrupted with wide eyes.
Killua scowled. “No. What the hell, why do you care?”
“Killua! Don’t be rude.”
“I’m not! This brat thinks she can just come in here and ask anything she wants, the fuc-”
“Anyway!” Gon interrupted shrilly. “It was one of the first few times he slept over. He forgot a sleeping bag, and I wouldn’t let him sleep on the floor with nothing, so…we shared a bed.”
“And?!” the girl asked eagerly. “Did you make out?!”
Killua chocked and Gon laughed. “Ah, no. We didn’t. I just remember I woke up first, and he had fallen asleep facing me, and the look on his face like that was so peaceful, he kind of just…”
Gon coughed, cheeks burning. “He took my breath away. And that was the start of it all.”
He peaked at Killua and his stomach flipped; Killua’s face was as bright red as a stop sign. He gaped at Gon, utterly speechless.
Gon looked away. None of that had been a lie. Killua probably knew that, too.
“And what about you?!” the girl demanded of Killua.
“M-me? I, uh.”
Gon’s head snapped up to see Killua staring pointedly at his shoes.
“It was…when we did our first practice run on the streets as official police officers. Gon was really nervous because he kept worrying that we were gonna mess up even though that was impossible. So, to distract him, I said something to make him laugh. And at that exact moment the sun hit his face face and he just…he shone. I couldn’t look away.”
Gon felt his eyes grow large. He stared at Killua but Killua purposefully avoided his gaze for the remainder of the tour.
This cake was shit. It was a ‘specialty flavor’- some weird combination of nuts and chocolate and mint. That stuff was like, okay by themselves, but put them all together and it was one hot disgusting mess-
“How did you two get engaged? Let me guess- it was the albino, here, who popped the question.”
Killua grit his teeth. “For the last time,” he snapped at the unimpressed fat bald man sitting across their table. “I. Am. Not. An. Albino!!!”
“Then why is your hair whiter then snow on Christmas mourning? Did you dye it? Because I think you need a new pair of eyes if that’s the color dye you went with.”
Killua was going to fucking murder this guy.
“It was when we went stargazing!” Gon interrupted, grasping Killua’s fist to keep him in place.
Killua stilled. His eyes trailed down to their hands, then slowly back up to Gon’s darkening face.
Gon visibly swallowed. “We- we stayed up the entire night, watching shooting stars. And we said…we said we would stick together. No matter what. Because neither of us have any family left, and we’re all each other has.”
Gon squeezed Killua’s hand. “R-remember, Killua?”
Killua would die before he forgot that night; it was the anniversary of Alluka’s death, which also happened to be the same day that Gon’s aunt and mentor had passed away a couple of years ago. He and Gon spent the whole night clinging to each other and whispering secrets and crying and Killua remembered waking up the next day and feeling so light and loved, and-
“Oh? That’s all?” The man sniffed haughtily. “How boring. My current husband proposed to me on a pile of diamonds while wearing a silk tux, and-”
Gon had to physically hold Killua back from strangling their host.
“When are you planning on having the ceremony?”
It was the last wedding hall and Gon would be lying if he said he wasn’t more then a little relieved.
The woman in front of them was the least overbearing host they’d had so far. She had long, curling black hair and a gentle smile. Her name was Palm, and they’d both felt comfortable around her immediately.
Gon rubbed his thumb over the back of Killua’s pale hand; ever since the incident with the bald guy a couple of halls ago, they’d gotten into the habit of holding hands for support when they entered a new wedding hall. It was nice, even though Gon’s pulse raced fast enough to make him dizzy whenever he thought about it too long.
“Uh,” Gon said. “We’re not sure. Yet. I mean, its definitely something to think about, obviously, but-”
“In the spring,” Killua interrupted quietly.
Gon looked at Killua curiously, but Killua continued to pick at his orange and chocolate flavored cake nonchalantly.
“Oh, that’s nice.” Palm leaned forward on the table. “I love spring weddings! Any specific reason why?”
“Well.” Killua pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I hate the cold, so a winter thing was never going to happen. And the summer’s too hot. Or-” his gaze flashed to Gon, “-I mean, that’s just what I thought, but if you want a summer wedding I wouldn’t be opposed to-”
“No, I agree!” Gon said hastily. Summers were hot and sticky and uncomfortable. He wouldn’t want them, or anyone else, to be uncomfortable at their wedding.
Killua nodded. “Okay, cool. I was thinking spring because. Um. Its just, that.”
Gon watched as Killua’s normally pale complexion grew pink.
Killua ducked his head down. He mumbled, “Gon, he…he saved me from a bad path I was heading down. I always had the idea that he kind of. Brought me back to life, if that makes any sense. So, with the symbolism behind spring-”
“Oh, I understand!” Palm said as warmth spread to every corner of Gon’s body, making his toes curl. “Oh, that’s- that’s beautiful. I’m sure spring will be lovely with all the different flowers.”
Gon pondered, “We should probably have it in May, then? That way everything would be blooming and it wouldn’t be too cold for you.”
Killua brightened in the middle of eating his cake, accidentally missing his mouth and leaving a trail of icing on his nose.“Ah, yeah! That would be great! Maybe we could have it on your birthday, Gon!”
“Eh, maybe. But I don’t want it to be about me. I want it to be about us.”
He leaned over and gently wiped the icing off Killua’s face. Killua’s beautiful blue eyes flew open and the pair stared at each other, not blinking.
Gon’s heart twisted in his chest. In his mind’s eye, he saw memories upon memories he had stored of Killua: Killua laughing, Killua gazing off into the distance, Killua smirking when he was about to pull a prank, Killua smiling softly at Gon when he thought Gon wasn’t paying attention….
He realized the truth then: he wanted to spend every day seeing every type of Killua there was to see.
And wasn’t that what marriage was about?
Killua let out a long breath as they left Palm’s wedding hall.
“Long day, huh?” Gon asked and Killua bobbed his head wordlessly.
Gon’s grip around his hand tightened. “Well, I mean, its over now so we can go back to my place, and-”
“YOU TWO STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!”
Killua froze and twisted around at the familiar voice.
There stood Leorio, a dedective who worked in the same building as he and Gon. His long face was beat red, tie skewed, chest heaving, and there was a phone clutched in his right hand.
“What the hell, old man?” Killua asked. “Why are you so out of breath?”
Leorio straightened abruptly and pointed an accusatory finger at them.
“You! WHY DIDN’T YOU TWO TELL ME AND KURAPIKA YOU WERE ENGAGED?!”
Killua’s blood ran cold. “W-what?! We’re not, where did you get that idea?!”
“Don’t try to fool me!” Leorio snapped. “Everyone around the town is talking about it! Melody herself said she saw you two in the window of Netero’s dinning hall feeding each other cake-”
“That has nothing to do with anything!!! I just wanted some free cake!” Killua shrieked as he flushed at the memory. Gon giggled quietly at his side and Killua had to resist the urge to bury his face in Gon’s shoulder.
“Don’t give me that bullshit, you’re holding hands now!”
They were, Killua realized in horror and immediately tried to pull his hand away.
Tried to, being the key words. Because Gon wasn’t letting go.
“Gon!” Killua tugged harder but Gon didn’t budge. “What-”
Gon suddenly dropped down to one knee and all words of protest died in Killua’s mouth.
Gon looked up at him through brown lashes. “Killua?”
Killua couldn’t speak.
His best friend smiled slightly. Still holding Killua’s hand, he said slowly, “Y’know, we went to a lot of wedding halls today. And it was really easy, going through the whole process with you. It felt…natural, somehow. And I know you felt the same way, ‘cause otherwise you would’ve stopped after the first few places and demanded we go to bakery for cake or something instead. So…”
He took a deep breath. Killua could feel every beat of his heart against his rib cage and he was having a hard time inhaling for air. He could feel his hand shaking under Gon’s.
“So, Killua.” Gon smiled at him again; bright, warm, full of love and joy and everything that made Gon so wonderful-
“Will you marry me? For real?”
Silence.
When Killua finally found his voice, he croaked out, “We haven’t even gone out on a single date.”
Gon’s smile grew into a full-out grin. “From the answers we gave all those people Killua, it sounds to me like we’ve actually been dating for a while.”
Killua’s eyes prickled. There was a lump in his throat that made his knees go weak.
Gon bit his lip. “Killua? If you don’t want to, we don- mph!”
Killua threw himself at his best friend, nearly taking him down, and captured Gon’s lips with his own.
When they finally separated several minutes later, Gon’s hair was complete messed and his cheeks were stained scarlet.
“Yes,” Killua whispered. “A million times over, yes, yes, yes, yes!”
Gon grabbed his face to pull him down for another set of breathless and perfect kisses, trailing his lips across Killua’s forehead and nose and cheeks and-
In the background, Leorio was whisper-shouting into the phone:
“Kurapika, you’re not going believe me when I tell you what just happened!!! Gon just proposed to Killua- they’re finally gonna get married!”