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Kurapika hummed to himself as he turned the page of his book. Gon and Killua created noise in the background as they rough-housed and rolled over the AirBnB floor. Leorio opened the door, groceries in hand.
"Welcome back, Leorio," Kurapika stated without looking up, "Thanks for getting groceries."
"Thanks for keeping the gremlins out of trouble," Leorio returned.
"Of course. The two of them behave quite nicely for me," Kurapika flipped his page again.
"Yeah, old man Oreo," Killua began, pulling a giant lollipop from the top of the paper grocery bag before Gon tackled him to the floor. The young assassin fixed his steely gaze on the medical student. "Kurapika's so much cooler. He learned his special Nen attack before any of the rest of us did."
Leorio stuttered for a moment before settling on, "I'm going to ignore your middle statement. And what did you just call me?"
Killua wriggled out from under Gon and unwrapped his lollipop from its packaging. "Oreo," the Zoldyck boy answered.
"Oh, do you care about me enough to give me a nickname?" Leorio asked, his face lighting up as he set the bags on the counter.
"It's cute that you think I'd give you a nickname before I give one to Kurapika," Killua answered, "Face it, old man, you fall at the bottom in the nicknaming pecking order. Old man fits just fine for now."
Kurapika chuckled quickly and quietly while he hid his face behind his book to hide his smile. Gon, however, failed to be as subtle as Kurapika, instead laughing openly.
"But what does Oreo even mean?" Leorio asked, his voice nearing a shriek.
"It's a special type of cookie," Killua explained, leaning back as he shoved his hands down his pockets, "It's two tiny chocolate cookies with cream in between them like a sandwich. The cream comes in all sorts of different flavors and they taste really good."
"I see," Kurapika answered, sliding his bookmark into the book. While his friends were a blessing, quiet was not their strong suit—especially not Leorio's. Perhaps he should read up in the room he shared with Leorio instead of the living room…
"I want to try them!" Gon exclaimed. Such youthful energy made it hard to believe he was Killua's senior, if only by two months.
"Is this your way of complimenting me?" Leorio asked, kneeling down to look Killua in the eyes better.
"No," Killua answered, spitting out the stick of his lollipop, "I simply thought it would be funny."
Leorio took a deep breath to compose himself. "Clearly, they must be decently good cookies for you to smile when you mention them. I'll make you a deal: You and Gon load these groceries into the fridge and pantry, and I'll go grab some of these Oreos as a reward. Sound fair?"
"All right," Killua sighed, shrugging.
"Come on, Killua, let's race to see who can unload more items first!" Gon suggested, bounding into the kitchen.
"Careful!" Leorio exclaimed, "There are eggs in there!"
With a sigh, Kurapika set his book on the coffee table by the couch and stood. "I'll handle the eggs."
"Thank you," Leorio breathed as he opened the door and stepped out, "Maybe you can make dinner while I'm out?"
"Of course. We can hardly call your skills in the kitchen 'cooking', after all,"
Killua tumbled to the floor with laughter as Kurapika lifted the package of eggs out of the bag it was in and set them in the fridge. Leorio let out a whine as he pulled the door shut behind him.
"Kurapika, can you count us down for our race?" Gon asked, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Loser does the dishes!" Killua interjected before Kurapika could agree.
"You're on!"
Kurapika smiled. "Yes, I can count you guys down. But please be careful not to break anything in the kitchen."
"Thanks, Kurapika!" Gon exclaimed.
"Three… Two… One!"
Gon and Killua took off, Killua with the bag of pantry items and Gon with the cold bag. Both the fridge door and the pantry door opened with a synchronous, loud bang. Kurapika winced at the sound and turned to the cabinets by the stove. He opened one of them and pulled out a pot and a skillet.
Kurapika set the pot and skillet on the stove. He had just moved the lid off of the pot when he heard both Gon and Killua cry, "FINISHED!"
"Aww, man," Gon whined, "We finished at the same time. Now who's going to do the dishes?"
"Let's make the old man do 'em," Killua suggested, "After all, Kurapika's cooking."
"And I fear you'll race doing the dishes and drop them," Kurapika added as he pulled the newly-bought chicken broth from the pantry. He set it on the counter by the pot and casually wandered over to the fridge. Kurapika opened the doors and loaded ground beef and various vegetables into his arms.
Kurapika hummed to himself as he turned to the sink to wash the zucchini and green pepper. He dried them with the towel on the handle to the oven and set them on the counter.
A crash echoed from the living room and Kurapika ran a hand down his face. Killua's laughter coursed through the house along with Gon's.
"Don't worry!" Gon called, "Nothing's broken!"
"Except maybe my pride," Killua grumbled loudly.
Kurapika sighed in relief and retrieved a cutting board from one of the cabinets and a knife from one of the drawers. He set the cutting board by the vegetables and decided to cut the zucchini first. With quick precision, Kurapika cut the zucchini into round pieces and set them in the pot. Then, he cut the bell pepper into little slivers and dumped them into the pot.
Kurapika set the ground beef in the skillet and turned the heat on. The sizzling sound it made brought back memories of his childhood, of the village elder teaching Pairo and Kurapika how to make the most well-known ancestral dish. His body operated on bittersweet autopilot until Leorio burst in the door.
"I'm back!" the spectacled man called out, holding the package high in the air. Killua sprinted to the door immediately, Gon hot on the young assassin's heels.
Leorio stepped into the building and shut the door. He set the package on the counter and opened it. Gon reached in first and grabbed one of the cookies.
The green-clad boy shoved it into his mouth whole and Killua scoffed. "I think they're better when you pull them apart and eat the cream first."
"I'll be sure to try that next!" Gon said around the food in his mouth.
"Finish chewing before speaking," Kurapika corrected softly.
"Oops," Gon answered after swallowing. He reached for another cookie and ate it as Killua had instructed.
"No matter how you eat them, these are really good!" Gon exclaimed when he'd finished the second cookie.
Leorio grabbed two cookies from the package. He pulled the first one apart like Killua had suggested, and ate the second whole. "You're right, Gon!" Leorio agreed after having tried them both ways, "They are good!"
Kurapika sighed and grabbed two cookies as well. Like Leorio, he pulled the first cookie apart. "The cream is decent, I suppose. The cookies taste bland without it, though."
"Maybe you're just the type who prefers them as the sandwich they're designed as," Leorio suggested, "But I'm with Killua. Separate is better."
"I agree!" Gon added, reaching into the package and grabbing another. Killua eyed his fellow pre-teen and took a handful as though he were scared the cookies would all disappear before he got the chance to eat one.
"So you're the odd man out," Killua noted, "Are you at least going to try it the other way?"
Kurapika answered by taking a bite of the whole cookie. He chewed and swallowed, before answering, "Leorio himself is more impressive, if only just."
Leorio gasped dramatically.
"Do you not like them?" Gon asked.
"Not really," Kurapika answered, "I can tell how processed they are. It leaves a strange taste in my mouth. However, the less I eat, the more there is for the rest of you. Just… make sure to leave room for dinner."
The blood drained from Killua's already-pale face as the young assassin realized his blond friend had caught him red-handed.
"Speaking of dinner," Kurapika continued, "It'll be ready in ten. I expect you to be ready in ten as well."
"You heard him, let's finish the Oreos and wash up before dinner," Leorio suggested, taking the package into the living room.
"But I thought he said not to ruin our dinner?" Gon questioned as he followed the tall man.
"There's not that many in the package," Leorio argued, "And I think he was mainly talking to Killua."
"It's not my fault that I have a sweet tooth," the white-haired boy complained.
"But it is your fault that the package is only one-third full by now," Leorio countered.
Kurapika could hear Killua's following huff from the kitchen and chuckled to himself. He turned to the pot to stir it.
"LEMME HAVE THE LAST ONE!" Killua yelled.
"Come on, can't we split it in half?" Gon begged.
"Half?" Leorio asked, "What about me?"
"These cookies are hard enough to split without breaking them to pieces," Killua argued, "There's no way it'll split into thirds. And if I have to split it, I'd rather split it with Gon."
Kurapika sighed and poked his head into the living room. "Dinner's ready. And I thought I told you to go wash up."
"Come on, let us just figure out who gets the Oreo!" Killua pleaded.
"That wasn't a question," Kurapika answered, "Wash up. Now."
"You remind me of Aunt Mito when you talk like that," Gon chuckled as he stood and headed to the washroom. Leorio followed and Killua glanced forlornly at the Oreo in the container.
"Don't you dare," Kurapika ordered, "It's not fair to them and you know it."
"Well, life's not fair," Killua retorted, grabbing the cookie and shoving it into his mouth. The young boy then followed his peers to the washroom.
"I tried," Kurapika sighed to no one in particular as he retrieved four bowls and set them by the pot. He then pulled out four spoons and set them in the top bowl.
"I'm back!" Gon announced, barreling into the kitchen, "What'd you make?"
"One of my clan's traditional dishes," Kurapika answered.
"It smells amazing," Leorio interjected as he entered.
Kurapika felt his face heat up from the compliment as he replied with a soft, "Thank you."
"So what happened to the last Oreo?" Gon asked.
"I swear on my clan's eyes that I tried to stop him," Kurapika began.
"He didn't!" Leorio exclaimed.
"He very much did," Kurapika sighed, "Killua ate it after you two left. Anyways, there's nothing we can do about it now, you might as well fill your bowls."
Gon and Leorio did as they were told. Killua entered, his hands in his pockets. "Fill your bowl," Kurapika ordered.
Within a few minutes, the quartet had seated themselves at the small, circular table in the dining room. Gon took the first bite. His brown eyes lit up.
"It's like a hug you can eat!" the boy exclaimed, "Are you okay giving Aunt Mito the recipe? It tastes really good!"
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt for the traditional recipes of the Kurta to live on," Kurapika answered, "I'll write them tomorrow and you can mail them to her with your next letter."
"Okay!" Gon agreed, taking another bite, "In fact, you should come to Whale Island with us next time we visit. Aunt Mito loves taking care of people, she'll take you in as her own if you aren't careful."
"That doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world," Kurapika said, "I've already begun seeing you as family, what's the harm in adding your aunt to the list?"
"That's the spirit!" Gon cheered.