The very next day Chrollo woke up in a cold sweat, seeing that his phone had a few messages on it, and all from Kurapika.

He didn't bother to check what they said; they were all probably telling him that he better be at home, which he most definitely still was. Crawling out of bed, he analyzed his two options: defy the blonde and be hunted down, or stay and let the other finish his revenge.

One offered security for longer, but the other promised a better outcome long-term. He sighed, throwing off his sleep shirt, deciding to deal with his current issue: getting into actual clothes. He had just put on his pants when his stomach gurgled, and he relented with what his body needed.

Looping a belt through his pants, he made his way to the kitchen to find something to eat when he stopped in the middle of the doorway to see Kurapika sitting in his living room. He must've made a surprised sound because the blonde looked up almost immediately as he entered the dining room, his mouth forming to greet him only to go slack before he even said anything.

They both sat there silently, their faces slowly becoming increasingly red as time went by, Chrollo being the first to speak up after it all became too unbearable.

"You're… already here."

Kurapika nodded at this, his eyes not wandering off of Chrollo. The dark haired man shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Uh, I," he started, but then thought better of trying to explain why he had walked out of his room half naked; the blonde probably didn't want to hear it. "I'll go put a shirt on." Chrollo said finally, turning back to his room to quickly throw one on, returning a moment later and heading straight towards the kitchen without a glance over at his guest. It wasn't until after he had gathered some snacks did he begrudgingly go to the living room where Kurapika sat.

"Want any?" Chrollo offered to Kurapika, but the blonde shook his head, his gaze avoiding him.

Chrollo sat down, letting few minutes pass where neither of them said anything as he slowly ate at the food he had brought. Just when Chrollo thought he couldn't take any more silence, the blonde spoke up.

"Your door was unlocked."

"Oh."

Chrollo continued to eat until the other spoke up again.

"You should probably lock it next time." Kurapika advised, and Chrollo shrugged.

"Probably."

Kurapika finally turned his direction again, a glare on his face.

"Take this more seriously."

"I'm taking this as seriously as one can." Chrollo defended through a mouth full of food. "Just give me some time to really wake up."

"I can help with that." Kurapika threatened as he raised his arm up as if ready to punch him again, and Chrollo leaned as far away as he could from the blonde.

"Thanks but no thanks. Please wait till after I'm done eating to release your vengeance upon my face."

Kurapika dropped his arm. "Not like I was really going to at this moment, but alright."

"Thanks. And I'm sorry, about what I said last time. I don't know why I assumed that you were a-"

"It's fine." the other said through gritted teeth, and Chrollo gave him a deadpan look.

"It's not fine if you have to hide your anger about it happening." he pointed out. "If it's any reassurance, it won't happen again." Chrollo promised. "And, you still get to punch me after this. It's a good deal, right?"

Kurapika eyed him with suspicion but made no further comment on the matter, only humming that he understood.

Chrollo took that as his cue to finish up eating, so he quickly finished the food and threw the trash away, coming back to the living room when he was done doing that. Kurapika seemed deep in thought, and didn't even look up when Chrollo came back, so the older man sat on the couch, hoping that maybe if he waited long enough that Kurapika's timer would run out and he would get away with his mistake.

But then again, that was only hoping. And it had been a while since Chrollo had gotten a break with luck.

"After I punch you, you have to make good on what you said last time."

"...you mean my apology?"

"Yes, your 'proper' apology." Kurapika said, though he sounded less than thrilled about it. "You better make it good."

"Well after offending you two times in a row, I'm going to have to."

"Alright. Ready for it?" Kurapika asked, stretching his arms.

"Nope, just surprise-"

Chrollo didn't even get to finish his sentence when Kurapika's fist collided with the side of his jaw, and he could immediately tell that it was going to be sore the next day. The force knocked him sideways onto the couch, but he managed to slip off the side and hit the floor, making his whole right arm throb with pain as well.

"Ow." he said with emphasis, bringing up a hand to feel at the spot he was punched. A lump was already forming. "That was… quite a surprise."

"Only doing what you asked of me." Kurapika said smugly, giving a satisfied smile at the back of his hand that was devoid of any timer. "I do have to say though, this has done wonders for releasing my pent up energy."

"I'm sure." Chrollo said, picking himself up. "Should I insult you again just so you can have a punching bag to release your stress?"

"What? No! Why?! Wouldn't that be a bad deal for you?"

"Not really. You're nice company to have when I'm not suffering from your wrath."

Kurapika opened his mouth but nothing came out, his face turning a light pink. He closed his mouth and turned away from Chrollo, seeming embarrassed about the compliment.

"Oh. Thank you."

"No problem." Chrollo said, rubbing at his jaw and wincing at how much it hurt now. "Kind of wish this grudge thing took away the pain though."

"You deserve that pain and you know it."

"I do." Chrollo affirmed. "Anyway, now that you've accomplished your mission to punch me yet again, what else are you going to do?"

"Go home, probably. Enjoy the rest of my day off." Kurapika said, getting up. "Speaking of, I should probably head out right now before you slip up, insult me, and then make me come back."

"You know, you could just ignore it too."

"You offered to be my punching bag, so if I have the opportunity, why would I ignore it?"

"I'm starting to regret that offer now." Chrollo sighed, causing the blonde to smile.

"I know. But if you're not such an awful person later on down the road maybe I won't get the chance to take advantage of your offer will I?"

"Suppose not." Chrollo shrugged, watching as Kurapika walked out of the living room. "See you around I guess."

"Hmm. You too." Kurapika said, as he got to the door. "Maybe next time we meet you won't be such a jerk."

Chrollo smiled.

"Not a chance."

Kurapika scoffed and waved him goodbye as he left, closing the door behind himself when he did. Chrollo wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt really lonely, like the blonde had taken all of the cheer from the room with him. He frowned, but got up anyway, trying to think of what he could do for the remainder of the day, when a thought struck him.

Getting up with haste and motivation, he retrieved his phone from his room, scrolling through his contacts until it got to the one he wanted. He then sent a text message in hopes that he would either force them into another grudge or somehow end up becoming their friend. He hoped, that just maybe, he could accomplish both in due time. But then again, he was definitely sure this wasn't how friendships were supposed to start:

hey kurapika

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