Leorio was seated in the waiting area of the airport, literally on the edge of his seat, his foot tapping, a growing smile on his face. Kurapika's flight was going to be landing soon. Leorio looked at his watch. Mere minutes stood between them.
It had been a little over half a year since they last saw each other. They both had their own responsibilities to attend to. Leorio was hitting the books in medical school and Kurapika was working as a bodyguard for Light Nostrade, which involved keeping his daughter, Neon, safe. It went without saying that it was a dangerous job. He was working for the mafia, for crying out loud. Leorio couldn't help but be in a constant state of worry for Kurapika's well-being, so he made sure to check up on him, constantly calling him on his cell phone. This resulted in a lot of late night phone calls, all of which were short, but reassuring. These calls let him know that Kurapika was okay and further ensured that they would see each other again.
The plane landed and Leorio shot up from his seat, nearly tripping over in his excitement, but he didn't care. He straightened himself out and approached the gate. A line of people came out of the exit, some family, some couples, some traveling solo. When Kurapika stepped out, wheeling a small bag of luggage behind him, Leorio's heart broke out into a happy dance.
Leorio approached him with a bounce to his step and enveloped Kurapika in his arms, lifting him a little bit off the floor. Kurapika chuckled, his laughter sounding strained, and held onto him. "Hello to you, too." He greeted, amused, tired.
Leorio pulled back to look at Kurapika, whose hazel eyes were glassy and bloodshot. He stroked the bags underneath his eyes, surmising how he must've felt. His eyelids must've been heavy, threatening to close, his eyes aching with a need to sleep. Late nights poring over medical textbooks made him grow familiar with this fatigue. "You look exhausted," he empathized.
"I am," Kurapika admitted, easily, closing his eyes, his eyelashes brushing over Leorio's fingertips.
"Let me take that for you," Leorio offered, gesturing towards Kurapika's luggage.
"You don't have to," Kurapika said.
"Yeah, I know, just let me do this for you, okay?" Leorio insisted with some annoyance. Kurapika was already shouldering so much on his own. Leorio wanted to do at least this much for him.
"Okay," Kurapika relented, allowing him to take the bag.
They fell into step beside one another.
"How was your flight?" Leorio asked. "Did you eat anything?"
"It was good," Kurapika replied. "I had a sandwich on the way back."
"Good, that's good"
"You don't need to worry, Leorio. I've been taking care of myself."
"I can't help but worry." Leorio retorted with some heat, but only warm heat. "You're going out on dangerous jobs all the time." Sliding doors opened for them as they headed outside, the air cool. Some leaves crunched beneath their feet. "I don't know if you're skipping meals, but now I know that you haven't been getting much sleep. I mean, look at you. You…"
He was stopped short when Kurapika extended an arm out in front of him. Leorio looked forward to see that he was about to step out onto a busy street, too caught up in his worry over Kurapika to pay attention to his surroundings.
"You should be more careful," Kurapika advised.
"Oh, er," Leorio was overcome by a bout of sheepishness. "Yeah, thanks."
Together, they carefully navigated the street and parking lot until they reached Leorio's car. He fumbled with his keys and popped the trunk, pushing down the handle of the luggage before he laid it down in the trunk, then he settled into the driver's seat.
"I worry about you too, you know." Kurapika said once he strapped himself into the passenger's seat. "You're bound to get into trouble with that big mouth of yours."
"Hey," Leorio said by way of retort.
"It's a legitimate concern." Kurapika asserted, undeterred.
It was hard to deny this claim, but Leorio didn't plan on admitting to anything either. With a scowl, he turned the key and pulled out of the parking spot, hitting some traffic before he hit the highway. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Kurapika had fallen asleep, not like he was surprised. Kurapika was in dire need of sleep. Leorio found himself softening. It felt good to have Kurapika here with him where he could see to his well-being.
It wasn't long before they were home. Leorio stared at Kurapika's sleeping form. He was sitting up, as if he was ready to wake up at a moment's notice, and sure enough, he did once the car was parked.
Leorio reached out to touch his shoulder. "Let's get you inside."
They left the car and headed inside, Leorio's arm wrapped around Kurapika's shoulders. Leorio led Kurapika into his bedroom and offered him a change of clothes, which he agreed to wearing. Kurapika changed into a long-sleeved pajama top of his that looked like a nightgown on him. The sight got his blood flowing, but he ignored the feeling, seeing to it that Kurapika was nice and comfortable in his bed.
"Later," Kurapika said and it took a second for Leorio to realize what he meant by that.
"Y-yeah," Leorio nodded, stroking his face.
Kurapika held onto his hand. "Thank you," he smiled.
"You don't need to thank me." Leorio leaned over to plant a kiss on his forehead. "Sweet dreams."