"Oh, fuck," Leorio slurred as he flopped onto the hotel bed, his voice cracking into an odd, pitchy baritone on the fuck. "Th-that… was some… whoopsy-d—hiccup—daisy…"

Killua took it upon himself to swipe the wallet out of the man's pants pocket and open it, ignoring Leorio's muffled sound of protest. "Yup, it's empty," Killua confirmed to Gon. "He spent it all on bribes."

"I know, right? Fuckin' bullshit!" Leorio exclaimed. "There was like, four million in there, and I still have only a day to get out of town! Fuckin' cops don't know how to treat a good bribe…"

Killua tossed the wallet on his chest, critically regarding the man's clumsy scramble to pick it up.

"…Should we, um, do something?"

"No," Killua immediately replied. "He just has to sleep it off, now. And besides, suffocating on his own vomit is the only way he'll learn."

"Heyyyyy, I'm not gonna… puke… Oh, God… BLEARGH," Leorio puked.

Gon hurried to his side and patted his back awkwardly through the dry heaves. "There, there… Killua, can you get some towels, or something?"

"Nope," he denied once again. "Leave it for housekeeping."

"But it's all over the bed!"

"His bed," Killua clarified. "You and I will be sleeping over there, by the door."

"Killuaaaa," Gon whined. "It's too strong of a smell; I'll never be able to fall asleep with this in the room."

"…Goddamnit, Gon," Killua cursed to himself. He stormed into the bathroom and grabbed some fluffy, white towels. "Why are you always like this? He's the reason we can't do any of the fun stuff we planned! All because he was stupid and got too drunk!"

"So what?" Gon retorted as he caught the towels mid-air. "We still have to help him! Because that's what friends do."

"Friend. Right. Everyone is Gon Freecs' friend. So they don't have to deal with the consequences of their actions."

"Killua…"

"Some people are bad people, you know? And there's no changing them no matter what happens, no matter how nice you are. You really shouldn't be buddy-buddy with those types." Killua looked up helplessly at the plaster of the ceiling. "You don't know like I do… how messed up people can be. They don't deserve your patience."

He chanced a glance at Gon, and just as he feared, his gaze was fierce, cutting through his layered meaning with the keen efficacy of a scalding blade. Gon simply knew him too well.

"Killua. You're my friend, and that's my decision. It's not a matter of 'deserving' or not; that's just the way it is. My friends are the people I like to spend time with, and guess what: you're at the top of that list. So don't talk about yourself in such a negative way; I won't allow people to speak so poorly of you."

Killua turned around, closed his eyes, and dialed the hotel attendants to get another room.

Later that night, around 4 AM, all was quiet but for Leorio's snoring and the occasional patter of footsteps in the hall outside their room. Gon was eagle-spread on his mattress, a spindly thread of drool leaking out his open mouth, blankets kicked to end of the bed, his tank top riding up to reveal the tan abdomen beneath.

Killua locked himself in the bathroom and leaned back against the door. He held the hand that Gon had held in front of his face, turning it slowly so to see it at all angles, and a cold bead of sweat slid down the back of his neck. Gritting his teeth, Killua lowered the shaky hand down to his waistline, reached inside his underwear, and has never hated himself so much before.