Summary: All the outfits that Killua wore that Gon never noticed and one he definitely did.
Author's Note: Okay, so this piece was somewhat inspired by the various outfits that Killua's worn over the course of the anime. I have a tendency to assign subliminal signals to clothes (being rather a clothes horse myself), and I saw Killua's various outfits as psychological markers reflecting his search to find out who/what he wanted to be (just as Gon's never changing green outfit reflected his character's steadfastness). And then I came up with this reunion idea and centered it all around that. It's probably a stupid notion, I know, but the muse was chattering at me after taking such a long break from writing, and I've been loving Hunter x Hunter so, so much and, well, I just went with it…:)
I own nothing, as per usual.
Dedicated to Nayru Elric, for all the enjoyable and interesting Hunter x Hunter conversations we've had...
Clothes Maketh the Man
The cab pulled up in front of a pink Victorian home with frilly amethyst trim and a sloping gabled roof.
It looks just like one of Bisky's outfits, thought Gon as he emerged from the back of the black car. It was fitting, though, as this was Biscuit's actual home, the place where she crashed when she wasn't out hunting for precious gems. The sun was slowly melting behind the pink-tinged roof, making it glow like a particularly garish looking cupcake, as the day silently slunk away to make room for night. Said glowing cupcake made Gon's head twinge with muscle memory, as he thought of rocks falling on his skull because he had, once again, let go of the rope in the middle of the night. He unconsciously rubbed at the spot on his head, remembering, as he slowly approached the steps leading up to the porch. "Man, why do I have to remember such stupid things after all these years," he muttered to himself, still rubbing at his untameable mass of black hair as his boots hit the front porch.
It's been so many years, thought Gon.
Today was his eighteenth birthday.
Both Biscuit and Wing had insisted on throwing Gon a party to mark the occasion, even though they had never bothered to give him a party for any of his previous birthdays. Gon, in his usual modesty, had tried to deter Biscuit from going to so much trouble for him. But she had insisted. "Really Gon," she had said, wagging her finger in his face as if he were still twelve and her pupil. "You're almost a man now. Not to mention one of the best lost hunters in the business. You should want to celebrate your achievements. Plus, I'm in the mood for a party. So just say: 'Thank you, sensei' and get over it."
Gon had capitulated.
The sugary dessert house was aglow with soft yellow lighting. Strains of music and idle chatter drifted through the open windows. Pink blossoms fluttered to the ground, detaching themselves from the encroaching bushes surrounding the porch. Gon hesitated at the door. So many of his old friends were going to be at this party. People he hadn't seen in a long time. Various names filled his head: Kurapika, Leorio, Knuckles, Palm, Shoot. Even Ging. But one name in particular was at the forefront of his mind. One face. One person.
And it was the possibility of seeing this person again that made Gon want to simultaneously bolt from this porch or—
—storm this house like a fortified castle, sweeping all those other people aside as he sought the one lost treasure he had yet to find and claim—
As Gon's hand hesitated on the brass knocker, the front door suddenly flew open and a woman with long dark hair and shimmering blue scales for sleeves stood there holding a champagne flute. Her eyes widened like yawning black holes and she blurted loudly: "Gon! You're here! I was just going outside for some fresh air, but now you're here…" The woman turned to shout over her shoulder to all of the unseen occupants of the room: "HEY EVERYONE! GON IS HERE!"
Gon gulped and stepped through the door. Well, there was no backing out of this now.
"Gon! I was starting to think you had bailed!" The first person to approach him was Bisky, of course. Her rosy flounced skirt swirled around her tiny form like an open flower bud. "I was just saying to Wing, I was going to give you a piece of my mind if you didn't show!" But the way she shook her fist at him made it clear it wasn't her mind that she was going to give him a piece of. Gon found himself backing away from the balled fist, so much so that he bumped into Wing, sloshing his old teacher's drink in the process.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Wing-san!" Gon apologized, turning and mopping at Wing's sleeve with the frayed hem of his own green cloak.
"Tch!" said Bisky, waving him away, "Don't worry, I'm sure this one has other more wrinkled and stained button downs he can trade it in for!" Biscuit grabbed Gon's arm, twirled, and hauled him bodily to the middle of the room. "Hey, everyone, our guest of honor is here!" she practically yelled. There were people everywhere: Standing by the fireplace, hovering over the sideboard, sitting in chairs. Some had drinks. Some had plates of food. Some were deep in conversation. Hunters from all over the globe gathered in his honor. Gon craned his head, his molten eyes searching the crowd: Hunting, hoping, longing…
But no such luck. There wasn't a single white hair in the room, no glint of a blue eye—
"—GOOOONNNN!" Gon heard the familiar booming voice behind him before he turned and saw the requisite dark suit and striped silk tie making its way toward him. Leorio's arms were outstretched, waiting to take him in a giant bear hug. "There's my guy, all grown up now!" Gon grinned and allowed himself to relax into Leorio's warm and generous embrace, remembering better, happier times. "Leorio, I'm so happy to see you," Gon found himself gushing sincerely. "Is Kurapika with you? I'd love to see him, too. How is your practice coming?"
"The doctor's office is good, very good." Leorio grinned a razor toothed grin that belied his chosen profession: That of pediatrician, with a charitable practice set up in the run-down town of Meteor City, no less. "Kurapika was last seen in the kitchen, tending that mountain of a birthday cake that's waiting for you." Leorio slapped a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, I'll go with you to find him."
But navigating the human landmines of the party proved difficult, as Gon was constantly stopped by this person or that. People shook his hand and wished him well. Some asked him about jobs. Some asked him about his father (who was conspicuously absent, Gon noted). By the time Gon had made it across the room to the kitchen archway, he had been wished 'happy birthday' over a dozen times by people who were both known and unknown to him. This should have made him happy, should have lifted his spirits, but it didn't. There was something missing. Or rather, someone missing. And it wasn't Ging. Not now. Not this time. Biting his lip, Gon turned to Leorio and said, in a stammering voice, "Hey, Leorio, do you ever hear from—"
"—Gon, you finally got here. I was starting to give up hope." Kurapika came from around a large wooden island, followed by the tiny music hunter, Melody. The sight of a giant white and pink three tiered cake was blotted out by Gon's nose being pressed into the shoulder of the brilliant blue tunic that Kurapika was wearing. Gon was somewhat disturbed to note that he had to lean down into the embrace, for he was taller than the Kurta warrior now. "Happy Birthday, Gon," Kurapika said in a low voice by his ear. "Thanks," said Gon, pulling back. He stared at the monstrous cake. "Did you guys get all that for...me?" he asked in disbelief.
Kurapika rolled his eyes at the dessert. "It was Biscuit's design, obviously," the Kurta said with more than just a hint of disapproval.
"But you know how Biscuit is," injected Melody. "She has a certain...aesthetic she likes to stick to—"
"—But just the aesthetic," added Kurapika. "She didn't make the cake, no, that was—"
"—GGGOOOONNN! Where's our birthday boy? Or should I say birthday man?" A man dressed completely in white with an impressively high pompadour came barreling into the kitchen. Gon's feet suddenly left the tiles as he found himself swept up into yet another overly enthusiastic birthday hug. Gon was surprised to feel wetness against his face. "I'm so proud of you! Look how much you've grown! You used to be such a shrimp, but now look at you! Such a man! It brings a tear to my eye!" Over Knuckles shoulder, Gon could see Shoot mouthing "Sorry, he's had a few,' while subtly pointing at the drink in his hand. The beast hunter continued to hiccup out drunken tears while Gon slowly disentangled himself from his weepy embrace. "Thanks, Knuckle. It's good to see you, too," Gon stuttered, rubbing the back of his head in an all too familiar gesture of embarrassment.
Gon felt a warm hand encircling his wrist, tugging him forward. "Gon, about the cake," Kurapika was saying loudly over Knuckle's muttered speech, "If you could just come out on the back p—"
"—Gon! You're really here!" squealed Zushi with enthusiastic delight. Kurapika was forced to release his hold on him as Gon suddenly found himself surrounded by a bunch of familiar faces both old and new. The chatter became a din. Even though he was surrounded by so many happy smiles, by such an outpouring of love, Gon still felt a sense of emptiness invading him. A sense of lack. A sense of disappointment. And feeling both bereft and somewhat stifled by all the attention he was receiving, he started carefully clawing his way out of his circle of friends, muttering, "Excuse me, I think I need some air."
Gon found a side screen door leading from the kitchen out onto Bisky's expansive wrap around porch. He pushed his way outside, savoring the cool night breeze that wafted over his damp clammy face. The moon showed in a sickled arc above the overgrown flower bushes. Fireflies signaled beacons amidst the blossoms. The fragrant scent of night flowers brought up a certain memory from a few days ago…
...Aunt Mito stood inside the Whale Island kitchen, arranging flowers in a vase at the table where Gon was just finishing his breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Without looking up, Mito asked him in an absent minded voice:
"Gon, whatever happened to that pale haired boy that used to come stay with you? You know, the one who wouldn't say grace at the table?"
Gon's shoulders automatically stiffened, his fork pausing just above his plate. "I don't know, Aunt Mito," he sad in what he hoped was a casual enough tone. "I'm a hunter now, like Ging, so I've been far too busy to keep up with such things—" The words burned with certain untruths even as they left his lying lips.
A disapproving sigh pursed Mito's mouth. "That's where you're wrong, Gon. Turns out, you aren't anything like Ging—"
"—what do you mean, not like Ging? Of course I'm like Ging, from my crazy hair, to my brown skin, to my constant need for adventure—"
"—I don't mean those kind of things," His aunt interrupted him, reaching out to gently caress his cheek. She stared directly into his eyes. "What truly makes you different from Ging is this: Your limitless capacity for love. Your sense of generosity." She paused. "And your loneliness. So please, Gon, don't ignore the opportunity for love if you find it. You have so much to give. So much heart. Just promise me this: Promise me that you won't stay here on this island, living with loneliness and regret until it's too late to change it. Because in the end, you are yourself and absolutely nothing like Ging…"
"...Remember Gon, love is the only treasure that's truly worth finding…"
Gon's eyes shone in the darkness, witnessed only by the flickering fireflies, as he shook away the burning memory of his aunt's words. He leaned back against a sterling white column, steeling himself to go back inside, when an extremely loud, extremely crude, and all too familiar voice came hurtling over the tops of the bushes:
"...and then the asshole had the nerve to tell me I was fired for eating too much product! And after he'd said, 'Have all the sweets you want'. What a dirty fucking liar; it was just two cartons of chocolate-"
A dull roar like the sound of ocean waves filled Gon's ears as he stood stockstill behind the column like a trapped animal. His heart banged inside his chest like a creature scratching to get out. Forcing himself to breathe like a normal human being, and not one that was currently having a stroke, he turned and peered over the tops of the azalea bushes to observe two figures sitting in a pair of garden chairs.
One of them was Ikalgo, his signature beanie cap resting on his rounded octopus head, and the other was obviously Killua, leaning forward on the edge of his seat, gesturing wildly. OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod! thought Gon as he stared, completely dumbstruck. It was Killua and yet not Killua. Or rather, it was an older, wilder version of Killua, wearing a tight maroon tank top with ripped leather arm bands, the bands crisscrossing their way like slinky oily snakes up his pale sinuous arms. A pendant dangled from his neck on a leather cord. Yellow green pants with some kind of tiger stripes hugged his slender hips. His pale wild hair stuck out in every direction, just as Gon remembered it, completely electric, but when he turned his head to stare off at something in the distance, Gon got an electric shock of his own—
—Killua's cobalt, cat-like eyes were rimmed with dark, smudged eyeliner.
Ohmygod! Gon would have went head first into the bushes if he hadn't been holding onto the column. His heart knocked against his ribs, his pulse beating like butterfly wings at his throat. A million half finished thoughts raced through his head all at once:
When did he—
Why did he—
How did he—
Get so—
"Hey, beautiful." And before Gon had any time to react or even process what was going through his head, the lost treasure he'd been seeking all this time was suddenly standing right in front of him. Gon's mouth opened and shut like a gaping fish. The words...they just wouldn't come. They'd been stolen away—taken by this gorgeous, mischievous punk demigod glowing beneath the moonlight.
"Whasamatter, cat got your tongue?" Killua asked teasingly, a hint of a lopsided grin forming at his mouth. Yey, you're the cat. When Gon turned to mutter incoherently into the porch post, Killua's tone turned more serious. "Uhm...are you okay?" More silence. Then: "Uh, is it me? Because if it is, then I can just go—"
"—NO!" Gon practically shrieked, turning and grabbing Killua's hand. A hand that, he noted subconsciously, was subtly trembling under his grip. Blue eyes locked onto golden brown. Neither said a word. Gon's eyes slowly started drifting down from those beautiful lined orbs, to the delicate yet cutting mouth beneath, to the slender, smooth chest, until-
"Is that...is that a fishing lure around your neck?" Gon finally blurted out.
A hint of pink blossomed on Killua's cheeks. "Well, yey. Don't you remember? It's from that summer before Greed Island?"
"When we stayed with Aunt Mito?"
"Yey. I kinda stole it from your tackle box. I was wearing it on the boat back. Don't you remember that?"
"You mean, do I remember what you were wearing?"
"Yey."
"No."
The cat eyes rolled back, a familiar look of disbelief crossing the pale boy's face. "I can't believe you don't remember it," he grumbled. And there it was. That tone Gon knew so well. The chiding tone that said, You idiot, how can you be so stupid? He probably should have been offended. He probably should have said something snarky back. But he didn't. He didn't because—
He had missed hearing that voice so damned much.
Instead, Gon focused on the positive. "You've been wearing my fishing lure all this time," he stated, pointing out the obvious.
"Well, yey," Killua said almost defensively. "It made me remember...so I kept it."
"Remember what? Me?" Gon reached out for Killua's other hand, reeling him towards him like a fish on a hook. On a lure. He felt his former hesitation melt as he regained his confidence. Remember, Gon, love is the only treasure truly worth finding. After all, he had an arsenal at his disposal: He had the moonlight behind his back. He had a million twinkling fireflies. He had the heady scent of fresh flowers. He also had an intimate, darkened porch all to himself.
He had a chance, and he wasn't going to waste it...
But before he could make his move, Killua muttered, "Stupid Gon, " and proceeded to snake both leather clad arms around his neck to lean up and kiss him. It was like a spark of electricity had been set off in the dark. Gon wasn't completely convinced that Nen wasn't involved. As their lips touched there was a zing! that ran from his mouth, through his chest, down his legs, all the way to the tips of his toes. Sparks flew and danced, lighting up sensitive nerves. And wanting—craving—even more of that sensation, Gon grasped the lithe body that was entwined with his own and swung him around, pushing him back against the column. Caught you! thought Gon like a gleeful fisherman, as he held the other boy in place and kissed him, again and again and again.
"Well, goddam folks! I guess all the other birthday presents can pack it up and go home! Including the cake Killua baked!"
Catcalls and wolf whistles were coming from a large picture window. A very open picture window. A window that was currently full of Gon's friends. Bisky smiled quietly with her chin on her hand. Leorio winked and gave them both a thumbs up. Zushi looked perplexed. Knuckles was crying again. Kurapika smiled and nodded approvingly. Gon felt his cheeks light up, but Killua became more animated, shooting them all the bird over Gon's shoulder and yelling, "Yey, that's right, pack it up! 'Cuz present number one has got all of you beat!" There was the sound of laughter from the window.
"And my cake is awesome, too!" he added for good measure.
More laughter and the window was finally shut, leaving the reunited love birds in peace.
"Did you really bake that giant cake just for me?" asked Gon, amazed.
"Yup. I worked in a bakery for three months. And, uh, got fired for eating too much stuff."
Gon blinked in surprise. "You worked in a bakery?" he repeated dumbly.
Killua nodded. "And a tattoo parlor. And a clothing store. And a library." Killua was listing off the jobs on his fingers. "I even played bass in a band for a while."
Gon's eyes widened. "You can play an instrument?"
"Not really," admitted Killua. "It was mostly a lot of D notes and hair gel," he said as he mimicked playing with his fingers.
"Is this where you got this hot new look?" asked Gon, sweeping his hands meaningfully down Killua's sides.
"I told you Gon, I had this same outfit back then, when we were on the boat and I was searching for what I wanted to be."
Gon looked up into Killua's eyes, his hand touching the fishing lure pendant around his neck. "And did you figure out?" he asked in a throaty voice. "What you wanted?" He left the sentence dangling on purpose, like the seasoned fisherman he was.
There was a look that passed between them, one that said a thousand words and so much more. But all Gon got in return was another kiss and one single word in reply:
"You."
End/Fin.