Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.
A/N: Inspired by a little fact I remembered from a Magic School Bus episode a loooooooooong time ago. I'm not sure about the ten days thing, but eh, whatever.
Sweeter than Chocolate
"Ne, Killua, did you know that if you eat carrots for ten days straight, your skin will turn orange?"
Killua rolled his eyes at his beaming friend and turned to stare at the boy laying next to him. "And where did you learn that useless piece of information?"
Gon grinned. "Oh, I just heard Leorio telling Kurapica one time. He'd probably know that kind of stuff since he's a doctor, anyway."
"Why would it be important to know whether a vegetable could turn you orange?" Killua asked, amused. "It's not like it'd actually hurt you. And stop hogging the blankets."
"But Killua, you have most of it!" Gon whined, tugging futilely at the small corner of the blanket that he was left with.
"I need it more than you do. Besides, I'm your guest, shouldn't I get special treatment?" The ex-assassin smirked at his pouting friend.
"Moouu, you're mean, Killua..."
"Gon! Killua! Stop talking and go to sleep already!" The irritated sound of Mito-san's voice indicated this wasn't the first time she'd had to say that.
Immediately, the two boys hushed their voices but did not stop talking. Or more specifically, just Gon.
"But anyway, do you think that person would taste like a carrot if he starts to look like one?" Gon whispered, snuggling closer to his friend in order to make his voice heard.
Killua's smooth response gave no hint of how red his face had turned from the suddenly close contact. "I dunno, Gon, ask Leorio."
"Well, I think Leorio's wrong." Gon concluded after a moment of thought.
Killua raised an eyebrow at this sudden shift in thought. "Why's that?"
"Cuz if someone turns orange from eating carrots, you should have turned brown from eating chocolates!" Gon answered logically.
Killua stifled a laugh. "I don't think it works that way, Gon."
"Why not?"
"I dunno, carrots probably have certain pigments or something that can make your skin turn orange."
"Pig-ments?"
"The stuff that causes color." Killua explained, ignoring his friend's whining as he tugged more of the blanket to himself. "I'm your guest." He cheekily reminded his friend.
"So do you think someone would taste like carrots if they ate a lot of them?" Gon persisted after relinquishing more of his blanket, seemingly stuck on this pointless topic of conversation. By now, any hopes of sleep had vanished from Killua, but the white-haired boy didn't mind too much. From the sound of how awake and energetic Gon sounded, he didn't think he'd get much sleep tonight no matter how many times Mito-san yelled at them to.
Deciding it'd just be a lot easier to agree with his stubborn friend than to get into long scientific explanations that he really didn't know much about anyway, Killua answered boredly, "Sure, probably."
"So then, Killua must taste like chocolate!" Gon piped up cheerfully.
Killua nodded sleepily, about to doze off. Then the full meaning of Gon's statement sunk into his brain and his eyes shot open. "What?!"
"Can I see if you do, Killua?" Gon continued innocently, eyes shining with the eagerness to discover something new about his best friend.
Killua now sat up, turning to eye his clueless friend.
"Gon, I don't taste like chocolate." He said as firmly as he could, glad the darkness hid his deep blush.
"How do you know?"
Killua would have laughed at this ridiculous question had he not been so preoccupied with how embarrassed Gon was making him feel. "I just do..."
"Well, can I see?"
Killua felt the heat flare up so suddenly on his face that he was sure it could be seen even in the dark. He mentally groaned, wondering why his friend had to be such a clueless idiot.
"No, you can't, Gon." He snapped in his nervousness. Immediately the white haired boy winced in guilt.
"Okay...sorry Killua." Came the contrite voice.
"No, wait, Gon." Killua replied quickly, turning to stare into wide brown eyes. "It's just..." Killua ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he sat up, his best friend's gaze fixed intently on him alone. "You uh...you don't just go around licking...err, tasting random people."
"But you're not a random person, Killua! You're my best friend!" Gon said brightly.
"Yhea, but...ACK! Gon!" Killua yelped as the other boy suddenly tackled him.
"Why won't you let me taste you, Killua?" he whined. The ex-assassin blushed again as he stared up from his straddled position. Not for long, however, as his natural competiveness immediately kicked in. Grinning, Killua grabbed the two wrists holding his shoulders down and kicked out at Gon's midsection. As the black-haired boy sailed over his head, Killua allowed his own body to follow the motion so the two rolled over together, Gon landing on the bottom with Killua on top. Gon frowned, pouting in annoyance at having been bested so easily.
"I win." Killua boasted, leaning in close with a triumphant smirk on his face.
For a moment, Gon just stared up from his subdued position. Then, without warning, he lifted his head slightly...and flicked his tongue out fast as a snake.
Killua jerked back suddenly as he felt the gentle lick on his cheek. Eyes wide, he could only stare with his mouth wide open and his face now redder than a tomato.
Taking advantage of the other boy's shock, Gon lurched his body forward, causing them both to tumble backwards in reversed position. Small but strong hands held Killua's shoulder down to prevent him from getting back up – although he was going to do no such thing, as the shock still hadn't completely set in yet.
"Nope. I win." Gon declared, grinning down at his friend. His smile soon faded into a thoughtful expression. "But you don't taste like chocolate. That's weird."
Killua gaped, his mind racing. Could it be possible that Gon liked him too? Was he suffering the pain of unrequited love meaninglessly? He almost refused to believe it; it was like a dream come true for the pure nature boy to love a killer like him.
"Killua? Did you hear me?" A voice interrupted the angsting teen. Blinking, Killua's gaze focused once more on his friend's concerned face. Taking a deep breath, the white haired boy craned his neck upwards until the two were practically nose to nose. Staring into the soft earthy-brown eyes, Killua whispered as steadily as he could, "Do you want to taste more? Just to make sure."
Gon immediately broke into a smile and nodded eagerly, nearly bumping his forehead against Killua's due to their close proximity.
"Un!"
With that word, Killua slowly reached up to gently grasp the black haired boy's neck. Ignoring the questioning gaze, he pulled his friend's head down and gently took Gon's mouth within his own.
For nearly a full minute, the two boys kissed. Or rather, Killua kissed his friend, becoming more and more panicked at the complete lack of response. Finally, the two broke apart, gasping loudly due to the need to breathe.
"Gon! Killua! You are sleeping, right?" Mito-san called from the next room. Had the moment not been so serious, Killua would have laughed at the ruined purpose of yelling to check if they were asleep.
At the moment, however, the white-haired boy's mind was preoccupied with more important things. Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes as he struggled out from beneath his friend and flopped back into bed with his back to Gon, too afraid to face him. Were they still friends even? How could he have risked that for such a whimsical feeling?
"Killua?" Came the soft, sweet voice.
"I'm sorry, Gon, I didn't ...um, just forget about it, okay?" Killua stammered quickly into his pillow.
"Is something wrong, Killua?" Gon asked, eyes narrowing in worry as his friend flinched away from his touch.
"Aren't you...mad?"
Gon stared at his friend's back, confused. "Why would I be mad?"
"Because...because you didn't do anything when I..."
"Oh, when you let me taste you?" Gon interrupted brightly. "I was just trying to figure out if you really did taste like chocolate!"
At those words, Killua flipped back over, eyes wide and hope renewed in his heart. "You're...not disgusted?"
"Course not! That was a kiss, right?" Gon babbled cheerfully. "Doesn't that mean you like me? Why should I be mad about that?"
Killua nearly gaped in astonishment at the simple-mindedness of Gon. Instead, he laughed aloud and pounced on his friend, hugging the startled boy tightly. As he opened his mouth to speak however, Mito-san's voice interrupted once more.
"Gon, Killua, if you don't go to sleep right now, I won't let you train tomorrow!" She threatened.
Realizing she was serious now, the two boys flung themselves into their blankets, covering their heads. Gon even put in a few light snores. Footsteps sounded, and the door opened a crack as the irritated woman peered in to check on her charges.
"Hmph." She grumbled. Knowing full well they were faking sleep (and horribly too; Gon definitely snored louder than that), Mito quietly shut the door and muttered under her breath. "Boys..."
After several minutes of silence, Gon decided it was safe to whisper one last thing. Snuggling closer to Killua, he whispered in his ear, "I think you taste sweeter than chocolate."
Eyes still closed, Killua smiled.