"You're kind of a hypocrite you know" he said drying the dish she just handed him with a tea towel before slotting in into the cupboard

"What are you getting at Killua?" She replied, brows knitting together in irritation

"Don't get your panties in a twist Lex, I'm not trying to start a fight, just making an observation"

"About?"

"Well" Killua started, hopping up onto the kitchen counter and crossing his legs "it's just you claim to be a 'proud omega' yet you won't go a day without taking your pheromone suppressants and you tell pretty much everyone that you're a beta"

If looks could kill Killua would have tumbled to the ground there and then, Lex's expression softened after a few seconds, she could never stay mad at him "why are you suddenly so curious? It never bothered you before" she said looking back over her shoulder at Killua while she poured two glasses of red wine, she turned to hand him one before propping her self up on the counter opposite him and gulping down almost half of her glass

Killua swilled his wine around his glass for a moment before taking a sip and humming in appreciation "it's not that I'm bothered, it just doesn't make much sense"

"Iamproud of being an Omega" she defended whilst sitting her glass down on the counter next to her "well, I am now anyway... It's just no ones business you know? If people knew I was omega they'd treat me differently, either like I'm some poor helpless creature or a disposablesex toy" her face screwed up on the words, like they left a bad taste in her mouth, it was no secret that Lex despised Alpha's, and some Beta's for that matter "besides" she continued "you're one to talk, you're as uptight with your pheromone suppressants as I am. Excluding the guys you fuck I'm the only person who knows you're an omega"

"Well I kind of have to" Killua retorted "I'm a hunter, if people knew I was omega I'd never get any jobs, not to mention my family would pitch a fit, and I don't really feel like dealing with any of that, so I have an excuse"

"You're in the exact same boat as me!" Lex bit back

"Hardly, you work in a bar, if you came out it'd probably be good for business"

"What so desperate alphas could pine after me all night? No thank you. They make me sick as it is, I'd sooner crawl back into a cave and live out my days there rather then letting themscentme and proceed to battle out which one of them can take me home"

Killua chuckled at that, taking another sip of his wine "there not all bad you know"

"I beg to differ"

The conversation mellowed out after that, they drank more and chatted for the next few hours, mostly reminiscing on the last few years they'd spent together, Killua noted that Lex bought up the cave and he mentioned it again in conversation, that is how they found each other after all.

They were both 16 when they met.

Killua had been travelling alone after his younger sister Alluka opted to go to boarding school, he was beginning to suffocate her with his over protectiveness and she wanted to feel some kind of freedom for the first time in her life, she made some friends in one of the towns that they'd spent the summer hanging out in, some girls her age who attended the nearby school, it was an elite school, and very expensive, hence why Killua had to take so many jobs. He saw how well her and the other girls got along, it made him happy and maybe just a little bit jealous. It was a difficult decision, parting ways with Alluka wasn't easy, for a long time it had just been the two of them and he loved that. At Killua's insistence they decided it'd be best if Alluka changed her name, she goes by 'Lola' at school, she dyed her hair pink and she wears brown contact lenses, she's almost unrecognizable now, Killua felt a twisting in his gut the first time he saw her like that, until he realized she was still the same Alluka, and she'll always be his baby sister. She was gonna live at the school from now on, she'd be sharing a room with one of the girls she met over the summer, there the only ones who knew her true identity, and after spending some time with them and grilling them a few times Killua decided he trusted them, he was glad she made friends so easily, despite spending most of her life in solitude it turns out Alluka's some what of a social butterfly, she quickly became popular at the school, and she was blossoming into something beautiful, she didn't look like a child anymore, far from it, she was catching up to Killua in height, she'd lost the roundness of her cheeks, her features had started to change and her body was developing into that of a woman's, Killua mentioned one day that Illumi could walk past her in the street and he'd never recognise her, she wasn't the child he'd remember her as. That's when Alluka pointed out the obvious, something she'd been keeping in since they'd made this decision, she was afraid of hurting Killua's feelings and she hated the idea of being far from him because she loved her big brother, more than she'd ever loved anyone, but it had to be said "Oni-chan, he will recognise me, he'll always recognise me as long as I'm with you"

The realisation hit him like a ton bricks,of course Illumi wouldn't recognise Alluka, but he would undoubtedly recognise Killua, as long as he was by her side Alluka would always be at risk, if Alluka was going to stay here then Killua would have to leave this town. He'd originally planned on staying in the apartment they'd spent the summer occupying, that way he could hang out with Alluka after school and on the weekends, but if she was gonna be able to stay here then Killua would have to leave, it hurt but he loved his sister and her happiness was the most important thing in the world to him. So he'd move far away, she'd come home to him over Christmas and Summer but it wasn't enough. Leaving was hard, it wasn't the first time Killua had to walk away from someone who meant the world to him, and just like that Killua was alone.

He moved to a city that bordered a vast forest, he'd sometimes wonder there, walking cleared his mind and it was peaceful in that forest, well it usually was until one day he was walking by a waterfall, it was a beautiful waterfall it was small in comparison to the other ones he'd seen, there was something peaceful about it, what wasn't peaceful was the sound of someone crying and screeching loudly, he looked around for the source of where the sobbing was coming from and had it not been for his keen eye he may not have noticed the cave tucked behind the stream of the waterfall, he was about to leave when an all to familiar smell greeted his senses, he knew that scent all too well, that was the smell of an Omega in heat. He knew because he'd presented omega himself almost a year ago, he was travelling with Alluka when it happened and it shook his world, he was certain that he would present Alpha, his whole family were Alpha and everyone had told him that he had all the right traits, it made sense though, how he was so protective over Alluka, how he almost mothered her, that realisation didn't come to him untilafterhe presented. He knew the cries coming from that cave were the cries of an omega in pain, the kind of gut wrenching, stomach twisting, blinding pain that an omega experiences when they go into heat and don't have an Alpha to relieve the ache.

He wasn't sure what he was going to find when he entered that cave, but it still surprised him when he found a girl who looked no older than him curled up on the cold wet ground clawing at her stomach and screaming at him to"GET OUT"

He didn't leave though, instead he walked over to her and held her while she cried, she'd have ran if she could but she was too weak to move and Killua took this opportunity to study her closer, at this proximity he could tell she was definitely about his age, despite the state she was in he could tell she was very pretty, she was slender and tall, he could make out green orbs beneath long lashes and teary eyes, her skin was golden and she had very long very dark hair, in fact, she kind of reminded him of...he mentally scolded himself and shook that memory out of his mind

"what's happening to me?" she cried

Oh,thought Killua, she doesn't understand what's happening...this must be her first heat, she's presenting and she doesn't even know it

She screamed at him when he told her what was happening and if she had the strength she'd have torn his throat out for saying something so ridiculous

"I'm not a fucking omega" she forced out between sobs "I can't be! This isn't fair"

Any thoughts Killua had of leaving this stranger here to wait out her heat quickly subdued.

He never thought they'd become so close, even as he carried her shaking body back to his apartment and especially after she tried to attack him for suggesting he go and find an Alpha to fuck her heat away.

His apartment was big, he'd bought one with three bedrooms that way when Alluka came to stay there would be enough room for her and her friends if she decided to bring them along. He settled Lex into one of the bedrooms and took care of her for the remainder of her heat, they didn't talk much during those two weeks, Lex mostly cried and slept and Killua would bring her food and fresh clothes. It wasn't until after her heat subdued that they started to really get to know each other.

Lex had insisted on leaving after it was over, she was embarrassed that someone had to look after like she was a child, it made her feel weak, and she was anything but weak, but upon learning that she had nowhere to go Killua insisted she stay until she figured out what she was going to do.

Killua told her about his family of assassins, about his childhood and all the terrible things he had to go through, he told her about how he escaped and how he met a boy that changed his life, he told her about all his adventures and about Alluka.

And in turn, Lex told him everything about her

Her earliest memories were of the orphanage, she can't remember anything before that. It was a hellish place, the children were terribly neglected and often beaten. She learned early on that it wasn't a good idea to make any friends, as soon as she started getting close to another child a family would come along and adopt them, no one ever came for her though, Lex had a terrible temper and a venomous tongue, this left her too battered and bruised for the orphanage staff to allow her to be seen by the would be parents who came to visit, and when she would be presented she did nothing to bite back the malicious words she spat at them, most of the hopeful couples that came only spared a glance for the beautiful children, Lex would often be approached only to send them scurrying away in the opposite direction once she gave them a piece of her mind.

She was 13 when she ran away and as her feet bounced off the pavement below and the wind blew her hair back she wondered why she hadn't done this sooner, until her legs tired from running and her stomach growled and she realised she had nowhere to go.

It wasn't long before she met Rico, he was sweet and kind and gentle, his hair was grey and he had deep wrinkles either side of his mouth from decades of laughter, he owned a small coffee shop on the other side of town, he gave her a job working there and let her stay in the one bedroom apartment above the shop. Rico had no children and Lex quickly became the daughter he never had, and Rico became the father she never knew she wanted. Being here was the first real happiness Lex ever tasted, it was 3 years later when that happiness turned to ashes in her mouth.

Rico would usually leave the shop every evening to go home and Lex would lock up and go to sleep upstairs, but that night he stayed, he'd been acting strange all day, when the last customer left Rico locked the door behind them and before Lex could question him she was lying on her back on the shop floor and Rico was on top of her unbuckling his belt and unzipping his trousers, it took her a moment to even realise what was happening and when she looked up at him he wore an expression that she'd never seen before, it was hungry and animalistic and she felt as if she was looking into the eyes of a stranger, when his hands found the waistband of her trousers and started tugging Lex conjured a part of her that she'd long buried and before Rico could catch his breath from being flipped onto his back Lex was on top of him crying hysterically while her fists pounded into his face, once he was unconscious Lex unlocked the door and ran, she ran until her feet bled and even then she carried on running, she found herself in a forest and only stopped to stand still when she felt as if someone had reached into her stomach and was twisting at her guts.

It wasn't until after Killua had found her and explained that she was presenting that it clicked, Rico was an Alpha and Lex had started releasing pheromones that sent him into a frenzy. That was when her hatred for Alphas was born.

They emptied the last of the wine bottle into their glasses, after spending the evening reminiscing they'd lost track of time and it was getting pretty late.

"we should probably get to bed" Lex mused as she sipped from her glass "you've got to be up early to get to that job"

Killua looked a bit panicked at that and Lex raised her eyebrow in question

"I guess I got a little side tracked, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about" Killua said and he breathed in deeply

"Is something wrong?" Lex replied, concern evident in her tone

"Not exactly, it's just, there's not really a job, I mean there is...technically, it's just not my job, it's complicated, well, the thing is...I..."

"Spit it out Killua"

"I'm going to see Gon"