A/n 1: Ello! Happy birthday to our dear Hisoka! figure I should be updating 'You Read Me Like An Open Book', but I suddenly had the motivation to write this.

A/n 2: Personally, I think Gon might be a bit of the jealous type. Killua's used to Gon getting along well with others, but Gon's used to a bit more reserved Killua, so I can imagine him getting a little jealous. What do you think?

A/n 3: For about a month now, I'm with someone, an adorable and wonderful person who may just be reading this now. XD But speaking of romance, this is my first actual shot at writing a kiss scene, so it may not be very good. Suggestions and advice are much appreciated! ^^

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hunter x Hunter. Togashi Yoshihiro does.

Couldn't Really Blame Him

He wanted Gon's attention.

And you couldn't really blame him for that.

The black-haired boy was constantly running around, making new friends, actually doing things, while Killua preferred to go home right after school sometimes, maybe take a nap after reading some manga or eating Chocorobo-kun. As much as the poor silver-haired teen tried, he could never really catch up with Gon and his fast and lively pace. He tried, he really did. But he couldn't catch up.

Just like Gon could never catch up to his feelings.

That idiot didn't know.

That idot couldn't see.

He was perfectly sharp in lots of other ways - he could identify a plant or animal species in a matter of seconds, follow the scent of an animal no matter how strong the winds may be or how faint the scent, figure out just the right amount of strength to use to reel in a humungous and aggressive fish…

So why the bloody hell couldn't he see that Killua liked him?

Killua sighed.

Perhaps he hadn't shown enough affection. After all, what were his occasional responses to Gon's hugs in comparison to Gon's obvious, loud outburst of affection? His constant hugs, the smiles, the pinky-promises?

Maybe he just had to be more open!

Yeah, maybe that was it! Maybe he just had to try and smile more, to spend more time with Gon, to maybe be the one to initiate the hugs.

…But would Gon even notice?

He was an oblivious idiot, so no matter how Killua looked at it, he…

He couldn't really blame him for that.

XxX

The first thing Killua tried to do was smile more. At first, he'd thought out a detailed plan for it, but decided against it in the end, knowing fully well Gon would prefer if things were natural, and in all honesty, so would he.

So when the front door of the Zoldyck household was opened for Gon to fetch Killua, like it was every morning, Gon was greeted with a surprise.

Killua was smiling.

What was this sorcery? Killua? The guy who absolutely loathed early mornings and always looked half-dead in the morning, looking all bright and happy and smiling?

Gon took a step back.

''K-Killua?'' He spluttered, looking bewildered at his best friend.

''Hey. Morning,'' Killua greeted, still smiling as he slung his bag across his shoulder. He paused when Gon didn't reply but instead was still kinda stoning.

''Gon? You okay?'' He asked. When Gon nodded, he shrugged and turned to close the door.

''Then, let's go.''

The whole day, Gon was in an immense state of shock.

Killua'd been smiling.

A lot.

He'd smiled at their classmates, even the pestering girls who fangirled over him, which was definitely a first. Heck, he'd even smiled at Ms Krueger (call her Bisky! She wasn't that old, you know!), the teacher he usually picked fights with.

Gon was beginning to worry. Had something happened to Killua? Something bad? Wait, no, if he was smiling, itought to be something good, right? But...

He'd last seen Killua the previous evening, and he'd been acting normally, which meant…

Whatever good thing had happened to Killua…

Probably happened…

At night.

Instantly, he felt his cheeks heat up.

Ahh, what was this? He hated this! A month ago, he wouldn't have been having these thoughts…! It was all because of his friends, who showed him a magazine filled with things that weren't exactly very appropriate for school. His innocent, oblivious mind had been corrupted, even if only a little.

But that corruption had made him realize things. He'd begun to notice people around him more, and he'd even begun to realize that they were people he simply didn't care to notice.

But then there was Killua. His best friend, with the cerulean eyes and the silver hair so fluffy you always felt like petting.

He'd always noticed Killua. And recently, he'd begun to notice him even more.

The way he walked.

Killua always liked to stick his hands in his pockets when he walked. Gon wasn't sure if it was a preference or simply a habit, but it made him look cool. He'd tried it once, too, but it didn't help that he liked to swing his arms when he walked.

The way he acted in front of people.

Gon could easily tell whether his best friend liked someone or if he was just pretending to like them to get something he wanted. It took a while to realize, seeing that Killua never even flinched or looked away when he was lying like Aunt Mito did, but over time Gon had come to understand the meanings of even the slightest of his friend's body movements in front of others. And it was beautiful in its own way.

The way he was generally reserved, but occasionally allowed other sides of him to be shown.

Killua often came across to others as stoic and cool; the smart, princely guy who hung around with his polar opposite, the ever-lively and active Gon. Everyone thought they knew, but they never really understood. They didn't even try. And because of that, they missed out on so many wonderful sides of Killua that Gon took pride in being the only one to have seen.

The playful Killua. The angry Killua. Cute, blushing Killua.

Gon loved Killua.

That was the conclusion he'd reached.

But now, Killua seemed as if he liked someone else… Killua rarely smiled so much, after all.

Did he get a girlfriend? Someone to hold hands with, hug and kiss?

Maybe that was why he'd been so unresponsive to his own hugs lately?

O-or maybe! He was just overreacting! That must be it, right? Right?

Killua was so full of surprises, you could never guess whether the cause of his excessive smiling was due to getting a girlfriend, winning a decade's worth of Chocorobo-kun or having blown up a red pepper plantation. (Killua hated those. Disgusting and disfigured red balls of sheer terror, he called them.)

Gon buried his face in his hands. That was just how Killua was.

He couldn't really blame him for that.

XxX

The next thing Killua decided to do was hug Gon more. The first plan seemed to have no effect on Gon, as expected, so Plan B it was.

Now, normally, when Gon tried to hug Killua, the lighter-haired of the two would run away, blushing and saying that it was embarrassing. Occasionally, though, he would hug back. Lately, though, all he'd been doing was evading Gon's hugs entirely.

( Luckily, nobody in their class ever found this weird. Probably because Gon was a sociable bear and hugged pretty much anyone who let him.)

So you could imagine Gon's shocked face when Killua walked up to him right before they left the empty classroom to go home and hugged him out of the blue.

''A-ah… Killua? You, uh, feeling okay?'' Gon asked meekly, his arms awkwardly trapped in Killua's embrace.

''Yeah, why?''

''Well,'' Gon slowly released himself from the arms wrapped around him, much to Killua's disappointment. ''You've been acting strange lately. Did something good happen?''

Killua's heart began to sink, and he looked away.

That stupid, oblivious idiot. Why couldn't he just see-

''Did you maybe get a girlfriend, Killua? I'll be happy for you if you did,'' Gon suddenly asked. Killua immediately turned his head back to Gon and stared at him with wide eyes.

''W-what? No! I... I… Gon? You alright?''

Somehow, when Killua turned back to look at Gon, instead of the tinge of playful amusement in the honey-coloured eyes he'd expected to see, Gon's eyes were clouded with something. Sadness, and…

Jealousy.

Killua's gaze never wavered. His eyes remained fixed on Gon's own. The normally happy and easy-going boy looked more serious than ever right then. Killua didn't know what happened in the next couple of seconds, but he felt as if his heart, which had seemed to be sinking just seconds ago, had revived and was beating ten times faster than ever before.

His staring into his friend's eyes, and only into his eyes, meant that he didn't realize that Gon's hands had lifted to cup his cheeks till he felt the warm skin come into contact with his own.

Likewise, he didn't notice that Gon had pulled him close. All he realized was that the brown eyes seemed to slowly grow bigger and bigger—meaning Gon's face was coming nearer and nearer. But there was nothing Killua could do, until he felt a warm pair of lips press against his own after what seemed like hours.

Gon was kissing him.

He kissed back.

And it was wonderful.

XxX

''So… I wasn't really expecting this,'' Gon chuckled softly.

''Neither was I. Never took you to be the jealous type… Or the overthinking type,'' Killua mischievously said back in reply. ''Or the thinking type, for that matter.''

''Don't be mean, Killua,'' Gon hummed, flicking Killua's sensitive spot, his earlobe, gently, causing the latter to wince and blush adorably.

''Stop that,'' Killua huffed. ''Anyway, I take it you like me back, the way I like you?''

Gon shrugged.

''What do you think?'' He asked.

''I think that's a yes,'' Killua answered.

''I think you're right,'' Gon grinned.

And so the two lovable dorks locked up the classroom and walked home together as they always did, except this time, holding hands, and both feeling much happier than they had the previous day.

And, well, you couldn't really blame them for that.

A/n 1: How was that? Not too bad, I hope? Suggestions and feedback would be much appreciated~ I feel like this wasn't even worth being called a romance fic, ahaha…

A/n 2: Anyone else excited for the Chairman Election arc to be animated? I'm so excited for Alluka's voice actress! *screams*

A/n 3: I haven't replied to the reviewers of my other fic yet, I know. Sorry about that. I'll do my best to reply soon!

-Al