Challenge Theme #35 Hold my Hand (Holding Hands)

By: Kortni Malarik aka Shortness2007

Characters by: Togashi Yoshihiro

Plot by: Me

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"The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they're alive."
Orlando A. Battista

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Killua stared at the ground as he listened to Gon's grunts of excitement. They were out fishing on the edge of Whale Island, and Gon seemed to be having the time of his life. Killua sighed and laid back, to gaze at the darkening sky.

"I don't understand how you think this is fun, Gon." He muttered, his eyes moving to see Gon staring at him with curiosity.

"Eh? What do you mean Killua? Are you bored?" He asked, a sudden sadness in his voice. Killua sat up in reply and nodded.

"Cant we go exploring or something? I don't like sitting still for too long." He explained, a bit of blush crawling to his face. Gon's eyes narrowed and he turned his back.

"Killua… You've got to have patience when fishing! Its gonna be boring at times… But…"

"Baka… We've been out here all day! I wanna go climb so trees or… Do something!" He retaliated, getting slightly annoyed with Gon's attitude. He stood up and began walking to the edge of the woods. "Maa… I'll go by myself, if that's what you want." He lied. Killua walked slowly ahead, a small smirk on his face. He mentally counted to three before Gon yelled after him.

"Killua!! Matte yo!" Gon yelled, tripping over his feet, in order to catch up to his best friend. Killua rolled his eyes and kept walking. The forest was dark and the sounds of cicadas seemed to give the air a creepy feel. Hands shoved in his pockets, Killua stopped to wait for Gon to catch up.

"See… I knew you would come." He said, watching the raven haired boy dust him self off. Killua took this time to look over every detail of Gon. The muscular 12 year old body, scars and bruises from the Hunter Exam and before, his perfect facial features and gravity defying hair. Shaking his head, he felt more blush creep to his face. He couldn't believe he had fallen for his best friend, and fallen hard too. He hated thinking about it, but realized that he couldn't change what he knew was true, even if he hated it. He glanced over at the woods, before looking back at Gon, who had suddenly appeared in front of his face.

"Ki-llu-A!" He yelled, causing Killua to fall backwards and land on his rear. Killua's heart was now racing at top speed and he knew his face was ten times redder than before. While he tried to catch his breath he glared up at Gon.

"Gon! Don't…Do that!" He hissed, breathing hard. Gon smirked and fell to the ground, sitting next to Killua.

"Mouuu…Killua… Were you really that bored? Fishing with me?" He asked, a sad look drowning his face. Killua gulped, regretting his actions from before. He shook his head quickly.

"Baka! I wasn't bored, cuz I was with you… I was bored cuz we didn't catch anything… We've been out since early morning… Look its getting dark out!" He nearly shouted, waving his arms frantically. Gon grinned.

"You said it!" He squeaked, happily. Killua stopped moving and stared at Gon, confused.

"What did I say?" He asked, suddenly thinking he had said something he didn't mean to. Gon grinned wider and got closer to Killua.

"You said that you weren't bored when with me!" He replied, eagerly. Killua blushed and looked at the ground.

"Yeah… What did you think? That I was?" He asked, overwhelmed by the heat of Gon's close body. Gon nodded a bit.

"Un… I thought…Since you always wanna do something else… Maybe you were bored with me." He said, his voice catching in his throat. His big, brown, eyes stared at the ground and Killua saw the sadness in his eyes. He gulped down the lump in his throat before counting to ten in his head. If he was going to say it, it was now or never.

"Gon… I could never be bored with you. Maa… Being with you is fun… And I don't wanna be anywhere else or with anyone else." He said, almost in a whisper. Gon looked up quickly, and smiled brightly.

"Hontoni?! You like being with me?!" He asked, super excited that his best friend felt the same way as he did. With Killua's sheepish nod, Gon lunged forward and captured him in a tight hug. "I love you, Killua! You're my best friend in the whole world!" He exclaimed, giggling wildly.

Killua was in utter shock. Even though Gon had said that he loved him, it was probably a different feeling than Killua felt for him. The situation he was in was overwhelming him. Gon's light body and cute laughter was all over him and it was making him dizzy. He pushed Gon off of him and stood up.

"Maa… Mito-san is probably worried about us… We should get back." He said, shaking the blush off of his face. Gon jumped up, raising his hand to the sky.

"Hai!!!" He exclaimed, marching ahead. Killua walked next to him, almost lost in thought. He did notice when Gon suddenly stopped walking. He looked over at the grinning 12 year old.

"Ne… Gon?" He asked, stopping. Gon giggled and held his hand out.

"Ne… Killua… Hold my hand?" He asked, outstretching his hand further. Killua couldn't help but blush even more and turn away.

"Why are you asking me things like that!? Its embarrassing…" He muttered, trying to control himself. Gon gave him a sad look before running in front of Killua.

"Killua! I've seen it before! People holding hands!" He said, stopping Killua. Killua looked up.

"What kind of people, Gon?" He asked, knowing Gon didn't know what holding hands meant. Gon put his finger to his chin, to show he was in thought. His eyes lit up when he came to answer.

"Well! The lady down the street and the baker where holding hands last week! And the fishermen are always holding the hands of girls! So… Why cant we hold hands?" He asked, pouting. Killua clenched his teeth. There they were, those puppy dog eyes. He looked away, but kept talking.

"Gon… Do you know why people hold hands?" He asked, knowing he would get a naive answer. Gon glared at Killua.

"I'm not stupid, Killua! You hold hands if you really like someone! And I really like you Killua, so PLEASE! Hold my hand?" He asked again, a more pleading look on his face. Killua, who was now red with blush, held out his hand.

"Maa… If you say so…" He muttered, awaiting Gon's hand. Gon squealed with excitement and took Killua's hand into his. Killua gasped when he was finally in hand with Gon. He never realized how soft or small Gon's hands were. It felt frail and tiny, compared to the hands of an assassin. Yet, that one hand had enough power to send shivers down Killua's hands, for he had been longing to hold hands with Gon, since the day he was rescued from his home. It was hard for him, knowing his love was unrequited, but as long as he got to be near Gon, he was content. He gave Gon's hand a squeeze and looked over at the happy boy.

"Arigatou… Gon…" He whispered, looking straight ahead. Gon cocked his head, but seeing the soft smile on Killua's face, he didn't say a word. Instead, the boy's didn't utter a word, until the reached Gon's home, still hand in hand.

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