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Warnings: Lime/slightly mature content, yaoi (boy x boy), un-beta-ed, swearing and more tsun!Kurapika~
Chapter 9
Killua had made that joke purely for his own entertainment value, however perverted it may sound, but Kurapika had taken it into serious consideration. "Or... do you need some help with it?" Killua had said, his eyes imploring the same innocent expression despite the question which was clearly stated otherwise. Kurapika shivered, either from the dampness from the bathroom or the overwhelming fact that Killua had just offered to jerk him off in the bathroom. Feeling slightly light-headed, he walked out from the bathroom in an overly-conscious manner, his cheeks flaring up brightly until it reached the tip of his ears.
Srangely, despite his torments earlier, Killua was eerily silent when the blonde came out. Occasionally, — Kurapika observed — he would stare at his hands while shuffling his feet against the white-tiled marble floor. And sometimes, he would just look blankly at the television screen, as if he was having a staring contest with it. 'He's probably thinking of ways to tease me again,' Kurapika thought bitterly, and his blush faded away as quickly as it arrived. To his surprise, he realized he didn't hate the attention he got from the younger at all. In fact— even though he would never say it out aloud— the blonde Kuruta was growing quite fond of it.
As strange as the assassin may seem— who was sitting on the couch accompanied with only his own thoughts instead of provoking the blonde like what he usually did— his replies were much more, well, un-Killua-like.
"Ready to go?" Kurapika had heard himself saying.
As if he was snapped out of trance, he gave a jolt and shot his attention towards the Kuruta. "Me?" Killua asked in a surprised manner— too surprised, if you ask him— to which Kurapika narrowed his eyes at.
"Yes, you," came his reply. The man eyed the bag he'd settled down earlier on the couch suspiciously and undid the zipper, making sure that the outfit inside was just as how as he had left it. He sighed in relief. Thank goodness Killua had not bothered to check the ridiculously enormous bag. Though the Kuruta knew very well that there's nothing else left to hide from the silver-haired teen— I mean, he already knew about Kurapika's job from the very beginning! What's there left to hide? Despite that, the blonde still felt conscious about opening up to other people about his job. And by 'other people', he meant Killua. He didn't want to take any risks. Pulling the zipper back up, Kurapika picked up the bag and threw the latter another look. "Would you prefer to stay and look after the house, then?"
His question was met with utter silence.
"Oi, Killua!"
Said man gave another violent jerk at the sound of his name pronounced in a very harsh and demanding way. "Oh," was the only syllable that Killua managed to croak out, before stumbling mindlessly onto his feet, not even returning Kurapika's attempt to make their eyes meet. He whispered something that sounded like, "Where to?", completely ignoring Kurapika's suggestion about him remaining alone in the house.
"What's gotten into you? You're acting really weird," Kurapika pondered out loud, suddenly amused at this side of Killua.
Killua stared blankly at the older, half-expecting and still waiting for the blonde to answer his question.
Kurapika sighed and rolled his eyes, slinging the bag unceremoniously over his shoulders. "Where else? To the shop, of course,"
"Can I tag along?"
"I've been asking you that since a minute ago. Do you want to or not?" Kurapika asked impatiently and cocked his head as a barely visible frown formed on his pale face.
As if someone snapped him back to reality, his blank expression immediately morphed into that of a gleeful smirk. 'Ah, there's that smirk again,' Kurapika sighed, immediately regretting his invitation as the urge to tear that ridiculous smirk grew.
"And risk seeing you in your uniform again?" Killua's lips curled into a teasing smile. "I'm going with you— just go ahead and try to get rid of me,"
Kurapika couldn't help but to let out a chuckle at the younger's brave statement. Despite that, Killua's sullen state just a few minutes ago flowed into his mind and lingered for a while. He forced a smile to brush the thought away; now wasn't really the right time for that. 'I'll bring that up sometime later, ' he promised himself. And besides, Killua seemed to be in a good mood, and the last thing the Kuruta wanted to do was to ruin it. He tilted his head sideways as if the Zoaldyeck had said something really stupid, and gave the latter a grin of his own. "Who said anything about getting rid of you?"
Killua felt the blonde's warm gaze on him, and it seemed almost... flirtatious, if he dared think it.
"Good, because I don't intend on leaving," Killua returned him a genuine smile which contrasted heavily with his initial one, his eyes twinkling merrily as he did so. Kurapika didn't think he could take any more torture; the comment itself had made Kurapika's heart pound and drummed heavily against his chest, that and doubled with Killua's brilliant smile which was directed just at him— a sight which was truly rare; so rare that Kurapika considered himself a lucky person to live long enough to see it- had caused the blonde to momentarily forget how to breathe.
"... Idiot," he mumbled silently under his breath, as his cheeks grew impossibly redder by each passing minute.
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The walk from Kurapika's house to his workplace was uneventful; both of them left each other with their own thoughts. However, after 10 minutes or so, Kurapika couldn't stand the silent treatment the assassin was making him go through; he was nearing his limit and it took him a lot of willpower to not attack the younger Zoaldyeck right then and there. His primal insticts told him to 'just do it!', but he knew he shouldn't. He couldn't. Kurapika didn't want to risk the chance of losing Killua as a friend. Unless...
The blonde Kuruta brushed off the thought, shaking his head vigorously. It was just a hopeless dream. It wasn't possible. Yet, the more he thought of it, the more he realized that there was a chance that it could be possible. The Zoaldyeck had sent him signals to indicate that he had liked him as well, but Kurapika wasn't so sure— its either that or he was too blind to notice. Kurapika had his fingers crossed and hoped it was the latter. Perhaps he needed a medical check-up as well.
The situation was becoming more and more awkward, so Kurapika tried to start up a conversation. Ah, that's right! He should bring up the reason behind Killua's sudden change of mood that morning. He had looked so ominously sullen for some reason, and Kurapika didn't like it even for one tiny bit. Besides, it would probably be a good conversation starter.
He cleared his dry throat. "So-,"
At the same time, Killua, too, gave a slight cough of his own. "So-,"
Both of them stopped abruptly as their gazes met, surprised at each other's interruption.
"Its okay," Killua quickly spoke up. "You can start first,"
"No, no, its fine," Kurapika replied almost just as quick, unsure on how to react or deal with these kind of situations. "Mine can wait," he added again, reassuring the teen, although a tiny part of him screamed at his own idiocy. It couldn't wait. He needed to know the answer now!
Oblivious towards the blonde's indecisive attitude, the silver-headed boy took up the blonde's offer as an invitation and cleared his throat again. "When are you planning to go back to York New?" His voice was a bit out of tune, and Kurapika guessed that he, too, couldn't stand the silence for another minute longer.
Even so, the question took Kurapika by surprise as he searched his mind for solid answers. Why did Killua bring up this particular question? It was hard to read Killua sometimes; he couldn't just spit out the answer just like that. What did he mean by the question, anyway? He remembered clearly yesterday night when he told the assassin that he would return to York New just for, well, Killua, but he didn't expect the teen to suggest him to take off this soon. He didn't think his Jennys would be enough to cover all his expenses to travel all the way to York New, including accommodation, food, et cetera. Well, maybe not yet, anyway. He's still working on it. Speaking of which, how the hell did Gon, Killua and Leorio paid to get here, anyway? 'They must be crazy rich to do so,' Kurapika told himself exaggeratedly, even though he knew that wasn't the case. Shrugging his shoulders uneasily, Kurapika nearly tripped over a stone as he re-encountered Killua's question, which to him, sounded more and more intimidating. While he re-adjusted himself, he felt cerulean eyes bore straight into him and it made Kurapika feel like he was a minister getting interrogated by the press.
"Uh, soon, I guess?" he managed hurriedly and nervously, which ended up making the statement sound like a question. He crossed his fingers and prayed for Killua to not notice.
Fortunately, Killua paid no heed. Instead, he simply nodded. "I see,"
Kurapika drew a relieved breath. 'That was too close,' he warned himself. Silence followed them right after that, and it was longer and more intense compared to their initial one. For once, Kurapika wished he had one of those portable media devices to let him tune out the deafening silence which was already starting to get on his nerves.
"How about you?" Kurapika asked, although it came out rather hoarse due to the lack of moisture in his throat. He then inwardly smacked himself when he realized that he was supposed to ask the aforehand question. Oh, well. Going along with the flow wouldn't be such a bad idea.
"Huh?"
"When will you guys be going back?"
"Why?" Killua asked accusingly.
"N-no reason!" the man blurted out, making the assassin arch both of his eyebrows at him. "No reason at all!"
"Is it because... Do you plan to join us, Kurapika?" Killua asked again, looking smug, his eyes seemed to gleam mischievously. Kurapika's jaw dropped. And no matter how much force he exerted, he couldn't force it to close. His eyes popped wide open when Killua added, "Plane tickets should probably be fully booked by now, but don't worry," he smirked, patting his thighs, "there's plenty of space here on my lap,"
Said man stared at the assassin unbelievably, his heart rate dropping to a ridiculously alarming rate as he felt heat crawling back up to stain his cheeks. "You're impossible," he whispered, mortified, and dashed ahead, leaving the Zoaldyeck who was laughing hysterically behind. Oh, how he loved teasing the blonde.
Still snickering, he hastened his pace to catch up with the Kuruta.
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"Oh my, its that guy from yesterday!" Anna squealed, reaching out her hands to exchange pleasantries between her and 'that guy'.
"No shit," the Kuruta's snide comment followed by a roll of his eyes earned him a sharp, painful jab in the ribs from Anna.
"I'm Anna," the brunette said, batting her eyelashes, while shuffling her feet— there was no doubt that she was flirting with the assassin. "Its really nice to meet you,"
Of course, Kurapika felt uneasy at the brat's sudden approach towards his boy— Killua. He smacked himself for inwardly addressing the teen something he shouldn't. Despite that, as much as he hated being teased about getting jealous, he couldn't help but to frown. He just prayed and hoped silently that Killua wouldn't notice. If he did, oh boy, Kurapika doubted he could survive from the teen's endless teases. However, his concerns dissipated instantly when he heard the latter respond with a surprisingly short reply.
"Killua," the assassin said.
But Anna wasn't the type to give up that easily. "That's a great name!" she tried again. "Where are you from, Killua?" She pronounced the name carefully and daintily; its as if she was afraid she would piss the teen off if she'd said it harshly.
Nerves started popping on Kurapika's temple, his brain chanting repeatedly for Anna to shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, and shUT UP.
But, alas, to Kurapika's relief, her eagerness was met with another brief, instant response. "York New,"
Kurapika chuckled inwardly in exhilarated glee.
She continued and clasped her hands together in joy, despite the blank expression Killua gave her- the same one he had put on that morning. Kurapika winced at the look. It made him feel uncomfortable and, dare he say, insecure, even though he knew that it wasn't meant for him. His thoughts were disrupted once again by Anna. "Ooh," she cooed. "Kura-chan, you never told me he's a city boy!" The man's enthusiasm died almost immediately and he grimaced at the pet name given to him. He made a mental note to himself to wring her neck mercilessly the next time he saw her. However, Kurapika had caught Killua's intent gaze on him, and his expression displayed a mix of curiosity, amusement and... was that envy? Kurapika nearly laughed out loud. Both of them were envious towards Anna! Before he had a chance to burst out in laughter and embarrass himself, the Kuruta decided it was best if he left. The blonde turned back towards Anna and gave her a broad smile, excusing himself to the kitchen. He was glad he did so; Kurapika didn't want to be a victim of Anna's idiocy. Suppressing an evil chuckle, he left Killua all by himself to deal with the brunette's endless, irritating questions.
However, imagine his surprise when he came back to find the brat chatting animatedly with Anna! It was as if they had known each other for a long period of time already. Kurapika's face scrunched up in a somewhat angry frown. The fact that the oh-so-sweet smile was directed towards the brunette maid and not towards Kurapika was enough to set the blonde's blood boil with utmost jealousy.
It became worse when Anna offered to take Killua on a tour of the maid café. The blonde Kuruta had smirked in silent victory to himself, although he didn't know what he won. But even so, he knew quite well that Killua was not the type of person to be easily-impressed, especially towards things he had zero interest in. Kurapika had guessed that the assassin would be more interested in an amphibian's blood circulatory system rather than having to tour the tiny, girlishly, petite shop.
Killua, however, shocked the blonde again by accepting Anna's offer, and throwing another flirtatious smile at her while doing so. Kurapika's mouth gaped wide open; he couldn't believe what he was witnessing at that moment. Was the silver-haired kid standing a few feet away from him really Killua? It didn't seem likely. Kurapika was tempted to attack the 'stranger' right then and there in order for him to disclose his real identity, but he himself knew it was no use. He knew quite well that he was the same Killua who had teased him about working in a, well, foreign environment. The same one who willingly kept the blonde's secret. The exact one who had been Kurapika's crush since forever.
Kurapika clenched his teeth as his eyes followed the two who strutted towards every damn corner of the café, sometimes revisiting the same place twice, taking their own sweet damn time. Anna sashayed across the damn shop with her arms locked into one of Killua's, whose hands were in his pockets, attempting to look cool. It was annoying the ever loving crap out of Kurapika.
Kurapika immediately reached out for a cloth and pretended to scrub the living shit out of the countertop, while at the same time, trying his best to hide his displeasure as soon as he saw the chattering duo coming closer towards him. The last thing he wanted was having Killua teasing him for being jealous.
'Wait a minute,' Kurapika stopped himself. "I am not jealous," he corrected himself, slightly mortified. "I. Am. Not. Jealous," he whispered himself angrily as he went back to scrubbing, emphasizing each word with a harsh scrub.
"Who's not jealous?" Willa had overheard him, so she peered out from the kitchen out of pure curiosity.
"N-no one!" Kurapika blurted out, his cheeks burning up in shame as he was caught talking alone to himself.
"Oh, well then," Willa said shortly, although her lips curled upwards in enthusiasm. Kurapika rubbed even more furiously when Willa commented that the duo looked like a couple who just came out from a romance movie. Kurapika argued and scoffed, "More like a horror movie,"
"Oh, come on, Kura-chan. I know you're jealous, but, really, you don't have to be that mean," Willa rolled her eyes.
"What? I'm not-!" Kurapika wanted to disagree; he was not jealous! Never in a million years! Suddenly, it occurred to him that Willa had probably meant that Kurapika was envious towards the assassin, who was being too friendly with Anna. Kurapika nearly puked. He had a mind to convince Willa that it was the other way around, that he was envious of Anna being with Killua, but he had a strong, nagging feeling that Willa wouldn't be too keen on the statement.
"Is he one of your friends?" Willa took a guess, and Kurapika groaned out a reluctant yes. The brat was attracting more attention than himself!
The manager then proceeded to ask more questions regarding Killua's identity which was starting to get even more personal— too personal for Kurapika's liking. Then, all of a sudden, she stopped. "Wait," she eyed Killua suspiciously, squinting her eyes to get a proper view of the teen. "wasn't he the guy from yesterday? And he's your friend?"
Kurapika nearly choked to his death. He didn't expect Willa to remember the assassin's face, as the incident happened at night when there was little to no light at all. Kurapika opened his mouth; he wanted to protest that Killua was not just a friend. He was, well, something more than that. However, he stopped just in time to save himself from embarrassment. But, alas, heat crawled up onto his face as his mind was already replaying last night's unfortunate event, when Killua and Kurapika were this close to—
"Yeah, he was," Anna's voice rang, interrupting Kurapika's wonderful, wonderful memory of the wonderful, wonderful sensation. Trust Anna to ruin his special memory. Apparently, they overheard Willa's not-so-accusing accusation towards the silver-headed boy and came closer to argue against it. "Willa, this is Killua. Killua, meet our manager, Willa," Anna introduced them briefly, and Kurapika's patience teetered at the edge of a cliff. He was the one who was supposed to be doing the introduction, not Anna!
"Good morning, ma'am," Killua said, his head nodded slightly in respect towards Willa. Both Anna and Willa beamed at the said man's attitude, except for Kurapika, who emitted a silent growl towards Killua. The blonde suddenly realized that it was all one sickening act; since when was Killua ever polite?
"Nice to meet you as well," Willa said, genuinely pleased, and immediately, her suspicions liberated into the air. Suddenly, she clasped her hands together as an idea hit her. "Ah! Good timing! Our café needs more employees, as Anna and Kura-chan ('Again with the pet name', Kurapika sighed) could barely handle the customers during peak hours," Willa explained briefly, before adding. "And since you're Kura-chan's friend, I would be really honored if you would cooperate and work with us, Killua,"
"What?!" both Kurapika and Anna shrieked. Anna sounded more joyful and ecstatic while Kurapika- well, his brain was already experiencing one of the worst mental breakdowns one could ever have.
"This doesn't concern both of you," Willa snapped, ignoring Kurapika's horrified squeal of "Yes, it does!", before turning back towards the assassin. "Would you accept the offer?"
Killua was overjoyed at the thought of working with Kurapika. Imagine all the stuffs he could torment him with during work hours! Working with the blonde also meant that he'd have more time to spend with the Kuruta. And, plus, imagine all the treats he could have! What could possibly go wrong?
On the other hand, Kurapika started to go on and on about Killua's flaws, babbling and enumerating all the reasons why Willa shouldn't employ Killua, of all people. But the manager would have none of that and shoved him away to hear what the silver-haired teen had to say.
"Yes," The assassin's eyes gleamed, giving the older blonde a mischievious grin. "I accept,"
Kurapika groaned, burying his head into his palms.
That's that.
That's it for now ahahah; I'm sorry its quite short- But I'll be uploading Chapter 10 soon, I promise! Please look forward to it as there will be intense lime scenes~ :D
