'I am so sorry.' I hung my head and sighed when I opened the door for Chrollo. He could only laugh about my exasperation though, so I immediately looked back up at him. 'And we're talking about the stunt you pulled over the phone after all this is through.' I was not particularly happy that the first time those words had been said, had been over the phone or even on this goddamn day for that matter.

'My apologies, it kind of slipped out.' The gleam in his eyes was saying otherwise. It's hard to gauge someone who generally cannot show genuine emotion though, so that gleam was all I could go by.

I heard my mother already approaching from the kitchen. He was in luck, dad was still out taking care of some business with Pairo's family, so he only had one parent to worry about. 'Thank you for saying it back either way, though. I know it's been a hard day for you.' With my mother already in the hallway, he decided to lean over and give me a short kiss. I could feel my face turn red, and heard Lianna make an annoying sound from behind mom. I pulled away immediately and wanted to scold him for doing that, but we were interrupted before I had the chance to.

'Mr. Lucilfer, glad to finally make your acquaintance.'

'The pleasure is mine. My condolences on your niece.' Annoyed, I still let him pass. Mainly disgruntled with mom wanting to interrogate him on a day like this, I wanted to follow behind them to make sure he wasn't harassed too much, but Lianna stopped me before we even got out of the hallway, and wanted to drag me off with her right away.

'Kura~'

'What?' I sighed the word, pulling my arm out of her hand, too tired from everything,

'Have you guys done it yet?' My eyes shocked open wide to hear that question suddenly come from her, my face involuntarily contorted in fairly unpleasant surprise,

'A-are you kidding me?! You're eleven, why are you already concerned with stuff like that?!' She grinned back up at me wickedly. What is happening tonight?

'So you haven't.' I glared down at her, not dignifying it with an answer. 'What's it like with someone older than you?' I wasn't left alone for a second though.

'I didn't know mom gave you the task to interrogate me.' I turned away from her, walking back into the living room, but she stayed practically glued to me. 'And just ask mom and dad. I swear to god though if you plan on dating someone 15 or over, I'm personally strangling him.' I leaned back against the couch, trying to catch a glimpse of the two currently in the kitchen. But she blocked sight to there by jumping up on the couch, leaning her hands on the backrest, closing her face in on mine. I had to back away a little. Tonight has just begun and I'm already beat from the day, where do you get your damn energy from,

'Ne, what do you guys do when you're together if you're not having sex?'

'None of your damn business!' I replied exasperated. I was starting to lose my patience already.

'And if you guys are gonna do it, how does that go with two guys?' ….Excuse me?! After a short, sudden silence in both rooms, Lianna getting an incredulous from me, I heard Chrollo laugh at the question. Lianna turned around, her hair swishing behind her when she redirected the question to him. 'How's it done?'

'Lianna you are not asking a question like that!' I raised my voice at her angrily, but Chrollo just raised his hand, and took over.

'It's not important how it's done. It's something private between me and Kurapika.' My face turned a deeper shade of red when he looked straight back at me, and I indignantly turned my eyes away. This is beyond private indeed. Lianna still pouted back at him, wanting to continue the questioning, but mom interrupted,

'Lianna, Mr. Lucilfer may be so nice to answer you, but you know what I think of this kind of attitude, you're either going upstairs without any of your electronic devices, or you're going to sit here, silently, until it's time to eat. What will it be?' Mom's tone told both of us that she was dead serious, and Lianna huffed and puffed at the ultimatum, sitting down on the couch with an angry look on her face. Serves you right, you little nightmare.

After that debacle was over, I decided to just start helping out in the kitchen as well, but apparently I wasn't allowed to talk with Chrollo at all. I thought you invited him over to soothe me, mom. I gave her that look, but she ignored it time and time again.

It wasn't until Chrollo stayed with me in the dining room while mom made the final preparations, that I could even interject a word in between her interrogation to talk with him.

'You're taking this well.' He leaned over to kiss me again, but I raised my hand in between us before he would reach his goal. 'Please not here and now.'

'I'm used to a lot worse than this. And it's less stress this way, right? In the long run it's better it happens, although timing is a little bad.' He pocketed his hands,

'A little?' He closed his eyes and shrugged when I repeated it, a second later hearing mom ask the next question already,

'Where did you say you grew up again?' He raised his voice to answer calmly,

'Meteor city, ma'am.'

'That's a poor city, isn't it? How were you able to get where you are now, growing up there?'

'Yes it is very poor, I had a hard time getting a decent education there, so I mainly schooled myself in the neighboring town. I worked in cleaning and maintaining the building itself for compensation.'

'That's quite admirable.'

'Thank you.'

'So you were good friends with the resident staff?' She turned the corner into the dining room, Chrollo turning around to her, you already know all of this, mom,

'Would you like me to get the contact information of that school? I'm sure they still remember me.' Her eyes narrowed a little when he let it be known he knew exactly what she was doing.

'Why would they remember you?'

'It's not every day that someone helps so much just to get an education. For the poor school that it still was, they will undoubtedly remember me.' She was silenced for a couple of seconds before she shrugged it off and said that just the contact information would be fine. When she stalked off to the living room to get an undoubtedly grumpy Lianna, Chrollo found the moment of distraction where he kissed me above my ear anyway.

'Goddamnit, I told you I didn't want that here!'

'There was no-one watching. I thought it was okay.'

'Not tonight please.' I sighed the words, Chrollo still sliding his arms around me from behind, pulling me into a short embrace.

'I'll not do it again unless asked to.'

'That's a good dog.' We both snorted when I said that.

'Well that's one way in which sex is possible.' I inhaled very deeply, closing my eyes, trying my utmost not to yell back at him, holding my breath. Lucky for him, before I could utter any kind of profanity, mom and Lianna had already come back to the dining room. Chrollo's hands slid away from my waist as he went to sit down at the table. This goddamn night.

'I still can't believe any of this day's happening, to be honest.' I finally sat down on the couch next to Chrollo at the end of the night. By now, everyone was already getting ready for bed. Not only had Chrollo gotten a cross-examination during dinner as well – even more so when dad got home - they'd been able to keep him here the entire night. It's eleven, and now they decide that it would actually help more if I had time alone with him. Where did you guys even find the energy for this interrogation.

He'd taken all of this without a problem though. I guess being a specialist in Assassination, he's used to these kinds of talks – either getting them or having them with others.

'I think my favorite moment was from your little sister before she was sent upstairs, when she started wondering out loud how it would go.' I started grunting when remembering that moment, letting my head fall down in my hands, and shaking it; all night she'd been set on embarrassing me – all night. That damn eleven year old is too preoccupied with this stuff for her age. I heard Chrollo laugh next to me. Thank god you have no shame, and thank god that you blew her off. 'But next to this being extremely awkward at best, it was a good distraction for a while, wasn't it.' With a slight touch of his finger, he stroked some hair behind my ear. Well, if it was one thing,

'It still hurts to have seen Pairo that devastated. I don't even want to imagine how it would feel if my own sister would do that.' I turned my head a little to be able to look at him.

'Don't worry, she doesn't seem like the type to commit suicide.'

'Pairo's sister didn't look it either.'

'The worst thing you can do right now is get overly concerned about her, because that will only push her further away.' I closed my eyes again and sighed in this realization. I can't help something like that either way. The moment that sigh escaped my lips, Chrollo decided to pull me closer. Unresisting by now after this entire day, I let my head lean against him, burying my face in his shoulder a little. When he turned my way some more to lay his other arm around me as well, I lazily lifted my hands around his waist. For a while, we stayed in the silence just like that. This, this was all I needed right now. The entire day I'd spent comforting family, being there for them, holding them, feeling their pain, staying strong. Now I could finally just let it go a little with someone who didn't have anything to do with the family, and wasn't feeling that same pain. It felt really warm and cozy…

'Don't fall asleep just yet. I still have to drive back.' He whispered to me after a couple of minutes when he noticed I started drifting off.

'Can't you just stay here for the night, you're really warm.' My sleepy brain wasn't helping me right now.

'I don't think your parents will appreciate that right away.'

'Then just take me to your place, that's fine with me.' I nuzzled a little further against his shoulder, not really caring what I was saying.

'I think they'll appreciate that even less.' I groaned a little when he mentioned that. I don't want to get up anymore today.

'Goddamnit, don't be right all the time.'

'Haha, sorry about that.' I felt the soft touch of his hand gliding over my back. 'Come here.' He untangled us a little before grabbing my waist, and motioning me to sit with my legs on both sides of him, facing him. My eyes fluttered open a little at this physical activity. I felt his hands still on my waist, and I casually let mine rest on his for now. None of this was registering to me that my parents could take it the wrong way if they decided to come down one last time. 'Not tonight, but any time you feel like sleeping over at my place, you're welcome to. No strings attached.' I was slowly waking up a little. With the emphasis on the slow,

'You have an incredible amount of empathy for doing what you do.'

'It's my job, it's not my hobby. Besides, nine out of ten times I actually prevent more victims to happen.'

'That's probably true.' When he leaned away from the backrest, I accommodated and leant down to meet his lips halfway. I finally felt the freedom to do so. Just a month ago, this little action had sent me into a state of utter confusion. Now all that's left is a very pleasant and warm feeling.

'Don't worry, I'd kill any employer that would ask me to kill any of you.' I laughed a little when he said that. Why, thank you so much. He got another kiss for that one, lingering close to me, 'By the way, I've been meaning to ask something.'

'What?'

'Why do you wear colored contacts all day long?' My mood dropped again when the dreaded subject finally surfaced.

'Personal preference, don't worry about it.'

'Are you ashamed of their natural color? Do you have a disease?' He kissed one of my lids before leaning back when he heard an exasperated sigh. 'I'm sorry if it's a heavy subject for you.' I just raised my hand and answered.

'They just have an unusual color, I rather not catch attention with it.'

'But we're alone now, there's no threat, is there?'

'Don't take this personally, but I'm really uncomfortable removing them in front of anyone.' I turned my head away from him, but he turned it back by my chin. I really don't want to deal with this now.

'One day I'd like to look in your real eyes, but if you're really this insecure about them, it can wait.' He let his hand slide back to my waist when I leaned in to him completely to kiss him. I could've easily stayed in that warmth all night, not thinking about all the pain.

Were it not for Lianna very subtly interrupting us again.

'Mom! Dad! They're having sex on the couch!' I almost choked when I heard that shrill voice scream back up to our parents, and pulled away from Chrollo who started laughing heartily at hearing that.

'You little bitch, you know goddamn well we're not doing that!' I yelled back at her, and stood up from Chrollo to chase her away. Stupidly laughing and sticking out her tongue, she ran back upstairs. Before I could run after her in a fit of maturity, I felt a pair of hands on my waist stop me and turn me around, pulling me against him for a final kiss for today. I was left a little dazed when he pulled away,

'Good night.' It wasn't until my eyes had followed him all the way out the door that I was able to say the same thing back,

'Good night…' He just goddamn evaded the conversation I wanted to have earlier, didn't he. It would take at least another week before I could spend the night with him though, I'm taking over the last couple of days from Pairo's target.

'He's alright, isn't he.' I heard my mother's voice softly from behind me. 'He passes.' I turned around to her. 'Somewhere I still have this notion that he's too perfect a boyfriend, but there's nothing about him that sets alarm bells ringing with my motherly instincts, so he passes. I'm sorry I was so rough on him.' It was at that point that I finally actually broke down crying after this entire week, and let myself be caught by my mother. No matter how much I care about Chrollo, my family will always be most important to me, and today I had to take more than I could handle. 'There, there. We'll get through this together.' I clutched around her tightly, smothering my cries on her shoulder. She kissed my cheek before laying her head next to mine. 'Never forget your own sorrow to catch someone else's, okay?' I felt some tears of hers fall down on my shoulder when she said that. Everything's been too much lately, hasn't it, for everyone. I'm so glad I have all of you, please don't go anywhere.

A/N

I just realized, I haven't updated this for 10 days, have I D8
That has to be a new record for me.
I'm already writing the next chapter though!

And thank you Lianna for taking everyone's mind off things xD
Also, just to make clear that Kura's family is still the most important thing to him