"Here it is, boys: Vegaslas, the City of Lights."

Gon pressed his nose against the window and gaped at the flashes of neon rushing past them, reduced to colorful streaks by the pace the train sped them along. "You were right, Leo; this is nothing like Yorknew!"

"Please, that overhyped flea market? This is where we make the real money," Leorio announced.

"I dunno about you, but me and Gon are here to be tourists," Killua asserted once more, pointedly sticking his nose up in the air. "So just leave us out of whatever you're planning."

"Don't be like that," Leorio pleaded. "You gotta know I'd split the pot even!"

"Like we care."

"Come on, kiddo," he bit through his fake smile, and Killua bristled at the name, standing up from his chair and balling his hands into fists.

"Hey, I wanna help Leo!" Gon interjected. "What do you want us to do?"

Killua shot him an affronted look and opened his mouth to retort, but Gon met his stare head-on, not one ounce of regret betrayed by his expression. Swallowing his grimace, Killua slowly sat back down and forced his hands to relax. "Yeah, wanna share your grand plan?" he muttered.

"We win… a lot. At cards."

Killua turned back to Gon and made a face as if to say, Can you believe this dumbass, but Gon only cocked his head quizzically, not making the mental connection. Groaning dramatically at his fate as the group's permanent explanation-guru, Killua continued, "By cheating. He wants us to cheat."

"Oh, but how?" Gon asked, and Leorio jumped at the second chance to make his pitch.

"You've got that crazy eyesight! Remember the butler guy throwing that coin around everywhere and how you kept track of it? This isn't that different; what you gotta do is count cards, which'll let you figure out the dealer's hand," he eagerly appealed, and Killua's jaw dropped at the false equivalency in play. Gon, on the other hand, was hanging on every word.

"Eh… But I'm not too good at math…"

"Can you count to fifty-two?"

"Yeah…?"

"That's all there is to it!"

"Wrong again," Killua sneered. "Even if Gon can pull it off, do you really think there aren't safety measures for that old cheat? They've got regenerating card decks, now, so they never run out of any one card. Get it, old man?"

"Still only nineteen," he muttered under his breath. "But a-anyways, that doesn't change my 'grand plan' for you, you sarcastic git!"

"Oh?"

Leorio fixed him with a smug look. "You're a transmuter, right? So you use Hisoka's texture surprise to change the cards you're dealt into a winning hand every time!"

Killua slammed his palm against his forehead. "Jesus, the things I have to deal with… Look, just because I'm also a transmuter, doesn't mean I can use other people's signature moves at the drop of a hat. Do you have any idea how much that pedo must've practiced to pull that stuff off?"

"Um…"

"A lot. The answer is a lot. It would take me months to do it as fast as he does."

"Tch," Leorio growled as the train lurched to a stop. "Fuckin' brat—!"

" /PLEASE EXIT COMPARTMENT AT YOUR DESIGNATED OUTLET. THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING POP-CHOP EXPRESS FOR YOUR TRAVEL NEEDS/ "

"Come on, Gon. Let's go check out the hotel," Killua ordered casually as he strolled off the train.

"Alright! Um, sorry about your plan, Leo. We can try something else, later," Gon added, hopping off behind him. Leorio waved him off, scrubbing vigorously at his bangs in frustration.

"I can show you all the best places! I know the coolest prank-call numbers, the biggest waterslides, the…" Killua paused at the realization there was no one beside him. He turned around and found Gon's green figure frozen in the middle of the path, totally dumbstruck by the blinky smorgasbord of media around them. It was more than just the pervasive rainbow of casino logos; there were a million distinct tunes hidden in the din, a menagerie of different smells to assault his sensitive nose.

"Gon," Killua called, but the boy didn't respond, seemingly unaware of the people bustling past him. Killua glanced over his shoulder, braced himself, and grabbed Gon's wrist to lead him out of the crowd's way.

"Oh, sorry," he sheepishly apologized. Killua grunted his acceptance, and Gon suddenly slid his wrist out of Killua's grasp so to better hold his hand.

"W-wait, um—" Killua stammered, but Gon just smiled brightly and pulled him along.

The hotel was a huge complex that hosted no less than five casinos off the opening plaza, which was a roofless, park-like arena—having grass, benches, and artfully-placed palm trees—all leading up to the two gigantic windows that walled off the lobby. Here, they could finally get a good view beyond the city's horizon, and Gon stared up in wonder at the orangish glow of light pollution tarnishing the night sky.

Killua waved over a vender and ordered them two smoothies. "What do you wanna do first? Jump on the beds? Swim in the pool?"

"Let's wait here for Leorio," Gon said instead, pointing to a pair of lawn-variety armchairs facing the hotel's front doors. He let go of his friend's hand as he plopped himself down; Killua's face felt hot.

"…Hey, Killua?"

"What?"

"How can you be so calm about this place? It's amazing!"

"I've been here before," Killua said quietly.

"For wh—Leorio!" he suddenly shouted. Leorio gave a half-hearted wave as he walked past them toward the lobby's front door, immediately sticking his hand back in his coat pocket.

"You guys can do whatever," he muttered. "I need a drink." Killua stuck his tongue out at him when he turned his back.

"What's wrong with him?" Gon asked once the man was out of earshot.

"His get-rich-quick scheme didn't work out, and now he's gonna get drunk 'cause he can't deal with it," Killua chided reproachfully. "He'll probably order a few hookers, too."

"Hookers? You mean… oooooh."

"Yeah. Disgusting, right?"

"Well, I dunno. Girls can be pretty nice so long as they're in a good mood, but everybody's that way, I think. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

Vietnam-style flashbacks of his overbearing mother raced through his war-battered mind. "No, no I have not."

"That's too bad; they're loads of fun!" Gon assured.

Killua choked a little on his drink. "You've had a girlfriend?"

"Yup. Those ladies who made port on my island, remember? And that's how I was so good with Palm?"

"Oh," he exhaled, settling down. "That hardly counts."

"Well, it's more than you can say," Gon quipped, sucking loudly at his cup's straw. "I can help you find a girlfriend, if you want."

Killua smirked and tossed him a sidelong glance from under his lashes. "Oh yeah? And how exactly would you help?"

"I could, um, you know… advise you."

"Mmmhmmm. What's the perfect date, then?"

"…Take her to dinner. Wait—show up to dinner with a rose. And tell the girl it reminded you of her."

"Pfffft," Killua snorted. "That's so cheesy."

"Girls like that kinda junk! Basically, all you have to do is show that you care how they're feeling and give it some romantic flair. Trust me; I know about this stuff." Gon smacked his lips cheekily and took another obnoxious slurp.

"Oh, come on," he scoffed. "Don't act so high and mighty, like you're some kind of ladykiller. You're twelve, same as me! So it's not like you've got such a ~treasure-trove~ of experience, alright? And I don't care how many old ladies you helped cross the street back home."

"But—"

"No buts!"

Gon heaved a deep sigh but left the matter alone. They were quiet for a while as they watched the traffic flit by on the boulevard below.

"…When will Leorio be back?"

"As soon as he gets robbed or gets laid. Whichever comes first."

Right on cue, Leorio staggered out of the lobby with a girl on each arm, half-empty champagne bottle in each hand, obviously a few too many drinks in the hole. When his eyes fell on his fellow Hunters, he stopped in his tracks to blink slowly at them, but just as it seemed the stupid-train had finally pulled into station, one of the girls whispered something in his ear, and a sleazy grin broke out on his buzzed-up face. With a boisterous sniff, Leorio whirled around and marched back inside, dragging his giggly entourage along for the ride.

"Honestly," Killua grumbled. "Adults are so dumb. What's so great about sex, anyways?"

"Well, it feels really good if you know what you're doing," Gon chirped.

"That's what they all… say…" he trailed off, confidence going askew. "Wait, what?"

Gon got a sly look on his face, eyebrows cocked mischievously, a little smirk playing on his lips. "And if you're really good, you can make the girl feel even better, which is a whole other sort of nice feeling."

Killua stared at him even harder. "Hold on," he whispered sharply. "Have you ever had sex?"

"Yeah, totally!"

"Dick in vagina? That sex?"

"Is there any other kind…?"

"Dude!"

"Yeah?"

"What the fuck!"

Gon snickered impishly. "I already told you, Killua: those ladies had a thing for young men, and I happened to be the only kid around."

"But those were just dates!"

"Sexy dates."

"I—I just—" Killua stammered, further unbalanced by Gon's seamless composure. "Does your Aunt know?"

"Well, she knew about the dates… huh. I guess I never went into much detail."

Killua leaned back into the chair (having literally been on the edge of his seat) and turned his gaze back across the hotel plaza. Leorio was making a scene inside—swinging a tennis racket wildly at a hoard of policemen—but the boy hardly noticed. "That's messed up. And I'm not even talking normal creepy, here—hell, I'm normal creepy. But this? This is Hisoka creepy, alright?"

Gon gave the obligatory shudder, yet the resolve did not drain from his eyes. "Hey, who said you were the one who gets to decide what's weird? After all, you were killing people while you were still in the womb. That's not everyday creepy, Mr. Normal-Guy-McGee; that's advanced creepy, right there."

Leorio burst through one of the windows with a receptionist braced under his forearm, seemingly as a hostage. "Sex is totally different, man. You just don't mess with that."

The police formed an armored brigade that cut off their view of the commotion. "Why? What makes sex so special? It's nice for everyone involved! Murder, now that's unpleasant all the way around."

The sound of another window breaking. "It makes babies. That's a big deal, I think you can agree."

The familiar pop of gunfire. "I guess…"

Leorio appeared again, somehow having climbed up on the hotel roof. "And I thought you didn't care about the murder stuff."

"Yeah, you're right; I don't. I just wanted to prove my point. Sorry," Gon offered sincerely, and Killua could see it too clearly, the pure emotion shining on his earnest face. He swallowed stiffly and tried to breathe, his response stuck in his throat. To call Gon an open book would be inaccurate, since understanding a book at least requires some literacy on the part of the reader; his was a cornucopia of thought, overflowing and instantly recognizable—literally springing out at anyone willing to look. Staring him dead-on like this was always a deer-in-the-headlights kind of feeling, a seizure-like trance that never failed to take him by utter surprise. It was an excruciating beauty; Killua averted his eyes.

"…So why did you do it?"

"Well, they asked me real' nice, and I already knew what it was from some other sailors, so I thought, why not? It'll be another experience under my belt! That's what Miss Mito always says about trying new things, anyways."

"And you liked it?"

"Oh, for sure," Gon affirmed, nodding emphatically. "It felt great on my end, and I liked that they liked it, too. They were real' thankful, afterwards—said that nobody knows true loneliness until they've spent a few months at sea. Then they bought me a milkshake for the trouble!"

His mouth felt too dry, but he couldn't make any spit. "Really? That's what you gave your virginity to? Some lonely fucking hags?"

"Killua," Gon started, reaching out to clasp him on the shoulder. He was always saying his name so weirdly, with such an odd cadence to the normal intonation. There was no way for Killua to not hear his name when it was spoken in that voice, to ignore it or forget what was said; the hand on his shoulder felt like a brand burning through his shirt. "If I'm not upset, then why should you be?"

"Whatever," Killua muttered, pushing the hand away. His bitterness removed him even further from the situation, like an island of hurt no one understood.

"Don't be mad! It doesn't change anything, after all. This whole time, I haven't been a virgin, and we still got along just fine. Us together, that means so much more than anything in the past," Gon insisted. His eyes were too hazel.

"Hopefully you didn't get the clap," Killua mumbled.

"The what?"

"An STD, moron. Sexually Transmitted Disease."

"Eh…?" Gon wondered aloud, looking down at himself. "I don't feel sick. And that was a long time ago, anyways."

"Well, I feel sick. Your gross story made me sick. Good job."

"I really don't see what's the big deal," he sighed. "Sex is amazing; you should try it sometime! It's not that different from touching yourself."

Killua froze in his chair.

"…You know what I mean, right? When you're kind of horny, start thinking of something dirty—someone you like, maybe—and reach down—"

He needed Gon to stop looking at him. A distraction. Anything.

"Killua?"

He knew that he was safe. There was no way Gon could know. But still…

"Oh, my gosh. Have you never even touched yourself before? Is that even possible?"

"Of course I have," Killua hissed through his teeth. "Would you stop talking about it so fucking loud?"

The other boy laughed cheerfully at his embarrassment, and Killua's gut churned with his guilt. It wasn't like he was lying. Gon hadn't asked, so it was fine. But still…

He was getting away with something that he shouldn't be.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Miss Mito's a bit of a prude, too, but I always assumed that was 'cause she's a lady." Gon grinned, showing off all his pearly whites. Killua looked down and said nothing.

"Heeeeey. Don't zone out just yet. We have to wait for Leo."

"I can zone out while I'm waiting, can't I?"

"But then who'll I talk to?"

You could go make friends with someone new, Killua considered saying. You're good at that.

"Hah… Fine, then. My company is too amazing; I get it," Killua said instead.

"It really is! There's no one else I'd rather be with!"

Again, his heart throbbed painfully. Gon was always taking things too far, always stepping over all the lines. What was Killua supposed to say to something like that? How was he supposed to feel?

He felt creepy. Not the normal kind, either. Advanced creepy.

"…You know, this is the part where you might say, Why, thank you, Gon! I feel the same!"

"You wish," Killua laughed. "You wish."