Chapter 25: Happy

Mito was exactly like Aliara expected: kind, caring, passionate, and beautiful. The ideal mother.

Gon's house was small, quaint, and adorable.

Aliara was enjoying every single second of it.

Mito was scolding Gon, complaining that he should've called if he was coming home, while Gon apologized over and over, grinning sheepishly the entire time. Aliara sat quietly in a chair next to the table, unsure of what to say or do. "Take a bath before supper," Mito commanded next, glaring at Gon. "And I'll take out all of your clothes and wash them."

"Okay, later," Gon agreed.

"NOW!"

All three of them stood up immediately. Killua and Gon dashed upstairs, but Aliara remained behind as Mito counted down from ten. When she finished, sighing, Aliara heard the sound of running water from upstairs. Mito turned back to her. "Aliara, right?"

"Yes," she agreed, shaking her head. She was way too used to being formal at other people's houses. And Mito's house was just so small.

"Would you like to help me with supper?" she asked kindly. Aliara was startled. "You can have a bath later if you'd like."

She blinked, her mouth gaping open like a fish. "I... Uh... Yes, please. I'd love to."

"So polite," Mito said with a giggle. "So, what would you like to do?"

Aliara's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "I don't really know what to do. Can... Can you show me?"

The next half hour was more fun than Aliara would've expected. She helped Mito set the table, cook the meat, prepare the food, and clean up afterwards. Mito seemed surprised by Aliara's lack of abilities in the kitchen (or anything in the house, for that matter) and guided her through everything gently, without judgement. Aliara was completely overwhelmed, and feeling pretty helpless. Nevertheless, she had fun.

When they sat down together, the boys looking much better, they all ate. Aliara couldn't remember sitting down to a dinner that she had actually enjoyed herself at in a while. She didn't remember ever serving herself food. More or less, she copied Gon's lead.

"How was the exam?" Mito asked.

Gon grinned, swallowing his food. "It was really difficult. Only 400 people actually got to the exam place, and only 7 actually passed." He pulled out his Hunter's license and gave it to Mito.

"Looks ordinary," she mused, bending the card in her hand.

After dinner, and Aliara' bath (which was so tiny and small that she almost didn't know what to do), the trio set out into the forest to explore. Mito waved good bye, smiling. Aliara breathed a sigh of relief- fresh air and an escape from the small cottage was exactly what she needed. They followed Gon in what was almost a guided tour- to the place that he met a man named Kite as a kid to one side of the island he always went swimming at. They stopped by the water's edge, and within a few minutes, had caught half a dozen fish and were cooking them over the fire.

The fish were really good, Aliara noticed. Not pretty or expensive.

Aliara sighed, her stomach full, and lay back on the stone, gazing up at all the stars in the sky. They dotted the blackness like freckles, and some were brighter than others. Killua huffed and lay down next to her, crossing his hands behind his head. Gon lay on the other side of Killua.

"Gon," Killua asked, his voice echoing, "what are you going to do now?"

"Well... I'll collect information in August and start looking for my father in Yorknew City. There'll probably be a lot of hunters there." Gon smiled, his voice full of confidence.

Killua spoke again. "How about you, Ali?"

"Me?" she squeaked, eyes widening.

"Unless you know another Ali."

Aliara knit her eyebrows. "You're funny. Well... I don't really know. I don't have anything to do, I guess. Stay on the run, probably. No doubt my mom is looking for me." She swallowed down the bitter taste in her mouth. "How about you, Killua?"

"Same boat as you, I guess," he replied with a sigh. "What should I do?"

"I think that you both should stay here," Gon said happily, sitting up, "and come to Yorknew with me."

"Gon," Killua said slowly, sitting up, "You're great. I mean, I don't have things I want to do. I have plenty of things I don't want to do. Like staying home, or taking on the family business."

"Same for me," Aliara added, finally sitting up. "I don't want to go home. I don't want to get married."

"Wait, what?!"

Aliara blinked at them, her expression completely neutral while they wore expressions of shock or fury. "What?"

"Married?" Killua choked. "You're getting married?"

"I was," she snorted, glaring at her shoes. "My mother had a marriage all planned out for me, with some rich family out there somewhere. We were actually having dinner with them when you guys visited. If I go home, I'm probably getting married off."

Gon's eyes were wide. "Wow."

"Why didn't you tell us this?!" Killua raged, glaring at her.

Aliara glared right back, "What? It's not exactly casual conversation!"

"Anyways," Gon coughed.

"Right," the black-haired girl agreed, turning away from the white-haired boy. Killua huffed.

"I'm happy when I'm with you guys," Gon said suddenly.

Aliara's face flushed. That was just about the most heartfelt thing she'd ever had a guy saw to her. "You- You what?"

"Don't say stuff like that so suddenly," Killua scolded, his cheeks also flushed red.

"You two are my first friends," the dark-haired boy said, smiling up to the stars.

"Same with me," Killua agreed.

She nodded along in the dark. "Same with me too."

"Are you two happy when you're with me?" Gon asked. It wasn't even a needy question- it was completely out of curiosity. It made Aliara want to laugh.

"I guess," Killua grumbled.

Aliara beamed. "Always, Gon."

"I can't say the same for Sunshine, though," came Killua's clear voice.

She turned angrily on Killua, her face red. "Hey, you stupid-"

"Will you two ever stop arguing?" Gon asked with a laugh. They both shut up, clamping their jaws shut. Aliara fumed. Does this mean he doesn't like spending time with me? Was he joking? I can't tell. "Let's go different places and see different things, then. I'll look for my father, and you two can look for whatever you want to do. It'll be fun!"

Aliara completely, sincerely, believed him. "Sounds like fun."

Killua was grinning now. "I guess so."

The trio fell back, lapsing in silence, until they all cracked and started telling stories. Everything from stories to jokes to made up tales, and soon, Aliara was laughing so hard her gut hurt. Eventually, when at least an hour had passed, they decided to head back. Gon didn't want to worry Mito. But it was the way back that made Aliara's heart hurt and flutter at the same time.

"Hey, Killua," Aliara said slowly, gathering up all the courage she could as the white-haired boy slowed down to walk with her. "Do you... uh, you... actually not like spending time with me?" The last part came out like a blur and Aliara felt her cheeks burn.

"What?" Killua asked, his own cheeks flushing red. "Moron, of course not. I'm just teasing you." He glared at her pointedly. "How could you be so stupid?"

Now Aliara's face was red from anger, not embarrassment. "How was I supposed to know, idiot?! You literally said you weren't happy around me!"

"Well that's just stupid!" he retorted. "You weren't supposed to take it like that!"

The black-haired girl threw her hands in the air in exasperation. What the hell?! "How was I supposed to take it, then? Moron!"

"I'm always happy around you, idiot!"

Aliara stopped short, the insult dying on her tongue.

Killua stopped too. If possible, his cheeks burned even brighter. "I- I didn't mean it like that! I-"

She smirked. "So you're not happy around me, then?"

"Sunshine, you are officially the most aggravating person I've ever met!" Killua shook his head, sighing.

"Oi, Ghost Boy, you're definitely up there."

"I am happy around you, okay?" Killua huffed, jamming his hands in his pockets and looking away. "Don't make me say it again."

Oh, twice was more than enough for Aliara. Her heart was pounding in her chest, like it was trying to break out of her rib cage. "Thanks, Killua," she said happily, exhaling slowly. "I'm happy around you, too."

Her sharp emerald eyes didn't miss Killua's worried glance at her shoulder. She paused, looking down at herself, and realized that the edge of the jagged red scar was poking out from her teal tank top. Killua frowned, his blue eyes wide. "But-"

"You can't seriously still be thinking about that, can you?" Aliara said in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "That'll be there for a while, so you better get used to it."

Killua swallowed nervously. "I know. But I can't see why you'd still want to be friends with me."

"You already apologized, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then there's nothing to worry about," she declared firmly, glaring at him. "And I don't care about it. I already told you, it's fine. Barely even felt a thing." Killua looked like he was about to object, but Aliara cut him off again. "Now is not the time for self-pity, Ghost Boy. I'm still your friend because I like you, and I'm happy hanging around you. Okay?"

He rolled his eyes; but the smile was back. His smile widened into a mischievous grin, "Did you just say you liked me?"

"W- What?!" Aliara squeaked, cheeks suddenly so hot that it felt like she was melting. "No! I didn't!"

"Yes, you did! You said you were still my friend because you liked me."

"I- I didn't mean it like that! Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!" Aliara waved her hands desperately at her cheeks, willing them to fade back to skin color. She huffed angrily, and broke into a run; Gon was at least a good twenty seconds in front of them, obviously realizing they needed space. "You're so weird, Ghost Boy!"

"Says you, Sunshine!" he called back, breaking into a run right behind her. It was like a weight had been lifted off of Killua's chest. I like you too, he thought as the blush crept up on his cheeks again. Idiot.

Akirsch-Senpai: Oh, I had so much cake, it's not even funny how much I ate. Thank you for your feedback! :D :D

masoliki1: Thank you, my sweet 16 was great! Yes, I've read the recent chapter of Hunter X Hunter. I LOVE IT, but now I have to reread most of the recent chapters to understand what's going on :P Thanks so much! :)

Night Owl: Aww, thank you so much! Your review made me laugh XD Thank you! :D

Reading1Dragon: Despite the hint, I still have no clue... Agh. I'm hopeless. Nothing wrong with being obsessed with gloves! Thank you so much! :)

Guest: Yes, I've seen so many stories where the OC is stronger than everyone. I'm trying so, so hard to make it the opposite (heeelp) and it seems to be working. Not making your OCs overpowered is tough XD Thank you SO so much for the review and the feedback! I loved it! :D

Guest: Kicking each other's brother's asses... Sounds like fun. XD Thanks for the review! :)

G: Thank you! :) :)

IronyIsMyName: Aha, thank you for the birthday wishes and the review! :)

Vegadawn: I'm literally squealing; people who binge-read my stories within a few days or such make me so happy! I'm so glad that you're enjoying their interactions and nicknames for each other- the nicknames just kinda popped out of nowhere and just stuck XD And YES, that is exactly how I pronounce her name. Thank you so so much for your long review! :)

mel: THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KILLUA MY SUNSHINE CHILD I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK :))))))))