I decided to update a little bit early (I'm crap at sticking to schedules) because I had this chapter ready, but I will start my once a week (or two weeks) regimen definitely when school starts.
By the way, I released a one-shot of Kurapika/Pairo if any of you are interested in reading it.
Holy heck! Why do I always write so much for Kuroro and Kurapika's dates? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this 5000+words chapter~
Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter
See bottom of chapter for added notes
Chapter Twenty-five
Kurapika sighed, checking his watch. 6:45, it read. Fifteen more minutes left before it's time to go. Turning back to the paperwork in front of him, the blond rubbed his eyes wearily. He'd been paging through the various contracts and extended rules of the briefings that Dalzollene had given him. The man had given him a heads-up a earlier that day, hinting that he was going to step down from his position as head bodyguard to allow Kurapika to take the reins.
"You do most of the work now anyways," Dalzollene had admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's only fair that you get paid the amount that you deserve."
The idea of being head bodyguard and counsel to the Nostrade Family was nothing to take lightly. Having both titles made for an impressive display of power, and practically ensured trouble for all the Mafia families. Any major change of employment among such a highly ranked family like the Nostrades was not taken without a great deal of backlash in the underworld; once appointed, it was common for the other families to send out their own men to test out the caliber of their new head bodyguard. It was messy to say the least, but effective in deterring any drastic changes from coming to play that might affect the Mafia business.
To state it simply, a weak head bodyguard meant a weak family, which lead to the other surrounding families attempting to take advantage of their vulnerability. One wrong hire could mean game over, which is why the interview process for the Nostrades was very strange and strength-oriented. Kurapika, however, wasn't worried in the slightest about any problems with other Mafia figures.
By his careful research, only the top two tiers of the underworld ladder had access to nen-using employees, which meant that any strikes from the lower ranks wouldn't be much of a consequence. The ones that did hire nen-practitioners were also not a point of contention for him. Judging by the higher-up families' retaliations to the Phantom Troupe's heist, none of their employees were in any place to fight Kurapika and have an advantage over him.
Now, this wouldn't even be a problem if it weren't tradition. It was a symbol of trust that each Mafia family inform the underworld community of any new developments with their hiring process. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Kurapika supposed. If Light Nostrade had not been obligated to notify anyone of the impending head bodyguard change, Kurapika could have transitioned quietly and peacefully, and none would be any the wiser until the next major Mafia event was at hand. The other families didn't even know where the Nostrade's were located at the moment!
However, the tradition dictated as such, and so Kurapika would have to comply with it. Dalzollene had assured him that it wasn't so bad. The other man had had no trouble fending off any attempts, but that partially because the Nostrade family hadn't made quite a large name for themselves yet. What Kurapika anticipated was not nearly as bloodless as Dalzollene's had been. And so he'd been moved, along with the rest of the bodyguards, to their Yorknew City office, where they'd originally been operating in prior to the relocation of the Nostrades.
So, he'd have to walk around in the heart of the underworld with a target practically painted on his back. Great. If all possible, he wanted to avoid killing anyone, but he had a feeling that the other families were going to make that goal as hard as possible.
"Kurapika," Linssen called, walking into his office. The blond looked up from his work, pen balanced in one hand. The other bodyguard looked slightly embarrassed, a look that was very out of place on his features. "There's a... man outside asking for you."
The blond stood up, slipping back on his suit jacket from the back of his chair before nodding. "Tell him to wait outside, please. I need to handle something before I take my leave."
Linssen dipped his head, walking back outside to presumably inform Kuroro that he needed to a few minutes. Massaging his temples, Kurapika hurried over to Dalzollene's office. Knocking quickly, the Kurta entered the office, causing Dalzollene to set down the stack of paper's he'd been reviewing.
"So? Will you take the position?" the current head bodyguard asked, looking expectant.
"And save your ass from all the paperwork? Yes, I will," Kurapika replied loftily, quirking a brow. He handed over the last of the contracts.
Dalzollene breathed a sigh of relief. "Great. Now, you'll have your testing tomorrow at nine. The boss will be there, as well as the rest of bodyguards and some of the Nostrade's associates."
"Testing?" Kurapika remembered reading about it briefly in the packet. "Is my recent physical not enough?"
The other man just shrugged. "Light wants to make sure that I picked the best of the best. Don't see why he bothered, though. You're his counsel, and he knows that you took out those Troupe members," he muttered.
"A bragging show, then?" Kurapika surmised. "With Light's associates there, he'll be spreading the word to just about every high-profile underworld boss about my abilities."
"Something like that."
"Alright," Kurapika acknowledged, turning to leave. "I'll be off the clock an hour earlier, but you can contact me if you ever encounter any problems," the blond told him carelessly, already halfway out the door.
"Heck, you took up my position; I'd give you a week off," the head bodyguard mumbled, shuffling through the stack of papers.
Kurapika speed-walked down the hallway, making it about half-way before Melody intercepted him.
"Did you really think I'd let you leave without seeing my first?" Melody teased, faking hurt.
"I was hoping..." Kurapika responded cheekily.
Melody ignored his comment in favor of tugging him to face her. "Okay, since I'm crunched for time..." she said under her breath. Working quickly, the woman loosened his tie, popping open the first two buttons of his shirt before mussing up his hair a bit.
"What are you doing?" Kurapika asked, trying to fend off the hands pinching at his cheeks.
"I'm bringing a bit of color to your cheeks; you're pretty pale. Have you been eating recently?" Melody rattled on, proceeding to rumple his suit a bit.
"No, I mean what are you trying to accomplish?" Kurapika tried again.
"I making you look more sexually appealing," Melody piped cheerfully, "not that you really need it, of course."
"You're what?" The blond's voice jumped an octave in disbelief.
"You'll thank me later," she assured him, ushering out of the building. "Now go have fun."
"I—what?" Kurapika stopped protesting as he realized that she'd left. "Seriously?"
"Kurapika?" Kuroro's voice sounded from behind him.
Swiveling around, Kurapika pulled on a smile for the other man.
"Are you ready t—" what ever the dark-haired man was going to say next seemed to die at his lips, the man's eyes darkening immediately as he took in the blond's appearance.
Alarmed, Kurapika turned, catching sight of his reflection in the nearby window. "Oh dear," he managed. His hair had been tousled in a playful, almost alluring way (was that even possible?), the pink of his cheeks made him seem flushed, and the top of his shirt was cracked open to reveal a bit too much of his skin, leaving more than enough to the imagination. To be frank, he looked like a flirty, seductive businessman straight out of some person's fantasy. He hadn't tried to bring out that side of himself in oh, such a long time. Kurapika shuddered. Oh, I'm so going to give Melody a piece of my mind.
All thoughts of maiming his coworker were promptly banished from his brain when Kuroro lowered his face onto his, eyes hungry and sparked with something heated and unfamiliar that made Kurapika warm all over. Needless to say, the rest of the world slipped away as Kuroro dipped him back for better access, lips moving insistently over his own.
Breaking away, Kurapika became aware of the various eyes on them. Much to his horror (and Kuroro's delight), Melody, Basho, and Linssen were all crowded at one window, each with a different expression. Melody looked smug, even going so far as give Kurapika a thumbs up and a wink. Basho appeared shocked, and a bit calculating, sizing Kuroro up much like a protective older brother would. Linssen, on the other hand, looked completely flabbergasted, mouth gaping open and face a dark shade of red as his eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.
Kuroro did not help in the slightest either, slipping a strong arm around Kurapika's waist and waving at them cheerfully. Kurapika was torn between slapping the man for his audacity and appreciating the warm fingers playing at his hipbone. The blond settled for just leaving the embarrassing situation entirely.
"Come on, let's go," Kurapika urged, tugging the other towards the car, which was a sleek, black sports-car model. The dark-haired man had the nerve to laugh —which he got smacked for— and opened the car door grandly to let the blond in. Blushing like mad, Kurapika forced himself to sit calmly in his seat, expression kept neutral even as his eyebrow ticked in annoyance.
"At least you didn't have to directly speak with your coworkers about me," Kuroro reasoned with amusement tinging his words.
"You're an asshole," Kurapika sniffed irritably, but he let a smile slip across his lips.
"But I'm an attractive asshole," the other corrected, turning the key in the ignition. "Did you get the flowers I sent you?"
Kurapika rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did. You really went a bit overboard, you know."
"Well, that's how I do things," Kuroro admitted.
The car thrummed to life, and soon the two of them were speeding through Yorknew's narrow streets.
"So what do you have planned for us this evening, o' attractive asshole?" Kurapika asked, quickly checking his phone for any messages. There was only one. Told you you'd thank me later, Melody had texted him, a winky face added to the end of it. Sighing, Kurapika put his device away, meeting Kuroro's mirthful gaze.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." He punctuated the statement with a kiss on Kurapika's wrist, something that the blond scoffed at.
"So dinner first, then the entertainment, I'm guessing?"
The Spider Head cast him a glance. "Right as ever."
"Will we be engaging in anything illegal?" Kurapika ventured.
Meeting his eyes in the rear-view mirror, Kuroro winked. "You're going to have to find out."
"Just don't kill anybody," Kurapika demanded seriously. "If you do I'm calling in Pairo."
"Pairo?" Kuroro inwardly seethed. That damn brunet.
"And Hisoka," Kurapika added quickly, recognizing the jealousy in the other's eyes. "I'll want to beat him up for tricking me into dating you in the first place." He kept his voice carefully light.
Kuroro immediately relaxed, white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel unclenching. "So this is a date?"
Fixing him an unimpressed stare, Kurapika sighed. "You're the one who asked me out on it. Shouldn't you know?"
"Good point." Kuroro grinned. "But I'm asking you. To me this is a date, but is it the same for you?"
Feeling bold, Kurapika looked up at his through his lashes, voice lowered flirtily. "Depends."
Immediately the other man stopped the car, turning to the blond with accusation written all over his features. "Don't you know what you're doing to me?" he almost growled, voice heavy with arousal.
"Doing what?" Kurapika's eyes went wide with innocence. The Spider Head swallowed thickly. Shaking his head, the blond dropped the act, placing a hand against the other's chest to push him backwards. "Just focus on driving."
The dark-haired man jerked back, robotically pulling back into the lane. A silence passed then, one that Kuroro was restraining himself from breaking. After a few minutes however, he couldn't help himself.
"How do you know how to do that?" Kuroro winced at the apparent possessiveness in his voice. At once, the other caught onto his meaning.
Kurapika shrugged, voice casual even as his expression turned guarded. "You aren't the only one who spent some of their childhood in poverty."
Mind reeling from the implications, Kuroro let out a pained noise, torn between foolish jealousy and concern for the Kurta. Just what had he been forced to do to survive? He himself had gotten his way with dirty blood spilled and death, but Kurapika? The blond seemed completely unwilling to murder to get his way, if the current state of his Spiders were any indication.
"Relax," Kurapika soothed, placing a hand on the other's tensed hand in a similar way that he did with Pairo. "I did what I had to to keep myself alive. Things got easier when I reunited with Pairo, and now I don't associate myself with that type of work anymore."
"I can dispose of those sick fools for you," Kuroro hissed, not liking one bit the thought of any other person laying a hand on his lover. "I can."
Kurapika closed his eyes. "Just think for a moment exactly who caused such events to happen, and you'll have an answer."
The Spider Head's eyes widened realization.
Smiling bitterly, Kurapika tilted his head. "I've already doing my best to forgive you, so it is wise if you do not attempt to help my past. It's over now, and here I am, sitting beside you." Signalling that the conversation was over, Kurapika smoothly changed the topic, tension immediately concealed behind a mask of calm. "So what kind of place are you taking me to?"
Inwardly screaming, Kuroro felt himself reply. "Just a nice little restaurant that caught my eye one day."
"Oh?"
Kuroro fixed a small smile on his lips. "We'll be there right... about... now." The car stopped in front of a cheery little storefront, good for a quick bite to eat.
"So I'm guessing we'll be eating to-go?" Kurapika concluded, stepping out of the car and waving off the other's offered assistance.
"Yep. Trust me, we want to eat as fast as we can for tonight," Kuroro revealed, opening the door for the blond like a proper gentleman.
"Careful with the hints," Kurapika teased, "I might figure out your plans at the rate we're going."
It was at that moment that Kuroro finally released the breath he hadn't known he was holding. Okay, back to semi-familiar territory. All he needed to do was charm the pants off of Kurapika and he'd be in a good position to ask for a third date. Charming. I can do that. And then Kurapika flashed him a beautiful, honest smile, and Kuroro's brain short circuited for a second.
"Uh—um..." Kuroro searched for words, hands flailing around in a desperate attempt to communicate.
"Are you okay?" the blond asked, looking up at his face quizzically.
"Completely fine," he assured the other, even as a blush crept up his neck. Damn it. He really needed to get a lid on his emotions. He'd been perfectly fine at doing so just a few hours ago, he was sure. Was he that easily unraveled in front of the Kurta?
"Well, then let's get our food and be on our way," Kurapika suggested, moving past Kuroro to retrieve a plastic menu from the nearby counter. No, Kuroro definitely was not checking him out as he bent over. Definitely not. Soon after, the two of them selected their food and went up to a nearby employee to order.
It certainly didn't help with Kurapika's sanity that the waiter/counter server tried to flirt with him, and blatantly stared down his shirt at the toned skin underneath (he needed to button up his shirt, probably), which cued up Kuroro's overly possessive nature. It wasn't like the blond couldn't handle himself, either (he's glared the crap out of the leering man). Still, Kurapika had to stare down all of the patrons at the restaurant as he stalked out —Mafia boss persona on full blast— with a smirking Phantom Troupe leader latched onto his waist.
"At least we got free dinner," Kuroro pointed out, a mushy look in his eyes as he played with the fabric of Kurapika's pants, something that he was swatted for when his hand wandered up too far.
The other snorted, something that Kuroro found very adorable. "That's only because I threatened to bring up a complaint about sexual harassment to his boss," he huffed, stabbing viciously at his pasta. Offering up a noodle, Kurapika went on with his rant as Kuroro took it, pleased at the casual gesture of familiarity that the blond had unknowingly given to him.
"...honestly, he's just lucky that I wasn't in a bad mood when he pulled that. Technically I could have left him bloody and unconscious on the floor and the authorities wouldn't be able to touch me. I'm Mafia and a Hunter, so I'd like to see them try."
Kuroro chuckled, and the blond trailed off, throwing him a questioning look. "I just think it's painfully attractive when you talk like that," the dark-haired man admitted.
"When I verbally abuse the law?"
"Precisely."
"God, you are one weird pervert," Kurapika laughed, wiping his mouth neatly with a napkin. Checking his watch, the blond fastened his seat-belt. "Come on, you still have... three hours and twenty minutes before I'm officially back on call again. Make it count."
"Three hours and twenty minutes? Perfect." Kuroro started the car, one hand still resting comfortably on Kurapika's knee.
"Perfect?" Kurapika echoed.
Kuroro grinned. "I have this date planned perfectly."
"Is that so?"
"Well, that's what we're going to find out," Kuroro replied ruefully.
The blond hummed, and Kuroro filed away the lovely sound for later introspection. "That's reassuring."
"Just as I planned it to be," Kuroro responded with equal sarcasm. "We'll be there in three minutes."
Kurapika paused, doing the calculations in his head. "We're going to the Yorknew Museum of History, aren't we?"
"How did you know?" the Spider Head asked, a delighted look on his face as he steered them through the traffic.
"It's my job to know."
"Oh no, you did not just pull the 'it's my job to know' card on me, did you?" Kuroro exclaimed with mock hurt.
Laughing, Kurapika shook his head. "No, seriously, it's part of my career description that I know all of the fastest routes between famous landmarks and places that my boss frequents. I know the layout of the whole city, along with the approximate distances between many places."
The other let out a whistle of appreciation. "So your boss takes trips to the museum very often?" That seemed quite out of character, based on the profile that he'd crafted on her when he was collecting information on Kurapika.
"Of course not," Kurapika answered. "She has her own private museum to tour. It's right across from the place that I'm currently living in, don't you remember?"
"Right." That just makes my plan all the more effective.
A few minutes later found the two of them parked in front of the museum's impressive facade, the moon glimmering brightly in the dark sky. Rolling his eyes, Kurapika exited the vehicle, pointedly ignoring the arm Kuroro had held out and was about to walk up to the front doors when the dark-haired man caught him, pulling him back.
"What are you doing?" Kurapika asked quietly. He didn't protest to the hand at his elbow, though, so Kuroro figured that was a good sign.
"We're going through the service doors," Kuroro explained, leading the blond towards the smaller, side entrance.
"Oh no," Kurapika said, stopping. "You've got that look on your face again."
Immediately, Kuroro made his expression blank. "What look?"
"You're going to do something illegal, aren't you?" Kurapika accused, arms crossed.
"No, we are."
Kurapika opened his mouth to speak, but Kuroro cut him off calmly.
"Don't worry, I'm not stealing anything, and no one will get hurt, hopefullly." He said the last bit under breath, but the blond caught onto it anyway. Kurapika's features funneled through a series of emotions, settling on a resigned expression that made Kuroro found hilarious.
"Alright," Kurapika found himself saying, "but it better worth it, Kuroro, or else the authorities aren't going to be your biggest problem."
The Spider head was a bit ashamed to admit that the blond's words significantly aroused him. There was something about the way that he uttered them, with the slight lilt on Kuroro's name, that he found seductive. Well, literally anything that the blond did entranced him, so he supposed that this was no exception.
"Got it," Kuroro muttered, scanning a fake ID badge at the sensor to let them in.
"Aren't there cameras that we're supposed to be worried about?" Kurapika questioned, eyes darting around the space.
"Nope," Kuroro reassured him, "I have one of my own running interference, so there will be no problems in the next three hours."
"And after those three hours?" the blond prompted, walking down the long hallways.
"We'll be safely away while they puzzle over a technical malfunction that caused their scanners and cameras to lose all their data of the past three hours," Kuroro informed him, easily matching the other's fast pace. The both of them continued on until Kuroro ducked into a nearby room, signalling the blond to follow him.
Slipping inside, all of Kurapika's hesitations and reservations disappeared as he glanced around the room. Shelves upon shelves of books lined every wall, and multiple carts laden with reading material were strewn about carelessly. Kurapika barely restrained himself from immediately picking up a book and losing himself into it.
"Welcome to the Yorknew Museum of History's literature archive," Kuroro declared grandly, catching sight of the blond's stunned expression.
Turning to face the Spider head, Kurapika spoke in disbelief, "So you broke into a high-security facility to show me books?"
Face faltering, Kuroro replied, "Yes?" He braced himself for the other's criticism. And he had been so sure that he'd be able to impress Kurapika with this! It was incredibly disappointing that he had failed so.
What the blond did next completely astonished Kuroro, and, hours later, he was still contemplating how drastically his mood had improved because of it. Laughing, Kurapika ran up and wrapped his arms around the other, amusement rolling off of his aura in waves. Astounded, Kuroro slowly brought his arms up around the Kurta's slight frame, the sweet scent of him suddenly flooding his system.
"You are so ridiculous," Kurapika said into Kuroro's neck. "You went through all this trouble, and I could have just taken out my Hunter's license and they would've let us in without batting an eyelash."
Kuroro chuckled. "What's the fun in that?"
"Idiot," Kurapika murmured, drawing away from him. Kuroro couldn't help but miss the other's warmth.
"But I'm your idiot," he pointed out.
"Oh, shut up."
Taking Kurapika's hand, the dark-haired man grinned. "Well let's go reading, shall we?"
Standing on his tip-toes, Kurapika brushed his lips against his cheek. "We shall."
Kuroro blinked, a light blush crawling up his cheeks.
"How much time do we have left?" Kurapika asked, closing his book.
The Kurta had just finished working through his fifth stack, something that Kuroro had noted with amusement. The two of them had spent the past few hours selecting different tomes and texts to pore over, but rather than read, Kuroro found himself staring at the blond, fascinated at how the blond's soft brown eyes skimmed over each line; how he turned the pages so carefully, with a kind of natural grace that he didn't think possible.
"We have... fifteen minutes," Kuroro replied.
"Then we should start preparing to go," Kurapika proposed, shifting from his position beside the Spider Head.
"And that's exactly what I expected you to say," Kuroro stated, brushing himself off and helping the blond put away some of the books.
"Is that so?"
"Of course," Kuroro said arrogantly. "I told you, I have the whole date planned out to the last minute."
"Well then," Kurapika began, sliding the last volume back into the shelf. "What is it that you have planned next?"
Smoothly, Kuroro slid up to Kurapika, placing a hand at his hip and steering him towards the exit. "It's a surprise." Heck, if what he had prepared was carried out well, he would have managed to both completely sweep Kurapika off of his feet and sent a message to his other suitor. All he needed to do was time it correctly.
"Always so dramatic," the blond teased.
With ease, they walked out of the building without a single alarm blaring. No unexpected ambushes, no screaming, and no fighting necessary. Just the kind of night that Kurapika had wanted.
"That was... easy," Kurapika commented, looking back at the museum as if expecting it to burst into flames in front of his eyes. Kuroro chuckled, leading him out into the middle of the one of the now-deserted streets, a handful streetlamps illuminating the pavement
"I told you nothing would happen," the dark-haired man ressponded, smirking.
"There's still twenty minutes until I have to go," Kurapika prompted, "what are we to do until then?"
Kuroro didn't respond, simply taking the blond up suddenly into his arms. Kurapika looked up at the man with a confused expression, lifting a delicate brow as he twined his hands behind Kuroro's neck.
"Is this the surprise?" He looked around, scanning the area for anything out of order. Seeing nothing, Kurapika turned his gaze back to Kuroro, finding a small smile at the other's lips. This Kurapika observed with growing curiosity. Was there something he was missing? Maybe there was some sort of puzzle he had to solve first. Yes, that must be it. He was just about to run through the main points of the night when Kuroro spoke again.
"Wait for it," he advised, grey eyes watching the skies with anticipation. Following his movements, Kurapika glanced upwards just as the first few fat raindrops began to fall from the clouds.
"You knew about this didn't you?" Kurapika breathed, the rain picking up and slipping blissfully cool down his cheeks. "You made sure that we would both be here just as the rain started, am I correct?"
The other man bent down, face only a few scant inches away from the blond's. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for cliches." The sheer closeness of him caused Kurapika to feel dizzy, and it was the dizziness that he blamed as the cause of his next actions.
This time, it was Kurapika who leaned in, closing the gap between them as Kuroro tugged him closer. The kiss was slower than the last one, the two taking their time exploring each other. Absently, Kuroro noted how soft Kurapika's lips were, how pliant he was in his arms, and how each sound he was able to derive from him was sweeter than the last. Most of his concentration was on stopping himself from taking the blond right then and there. A cause that he was slowly losing.
Every kiss he stole from the other's lips only made the need inside of him grow, a burning thing that refused to be put out. But, he knew that it was a need he had to deny. So he contented himself with planting soft kisses at Kurapika's jaw, along the milky column of his throat. He treasured the little gasps that escaped from Kurapika, the way that he seemed to jump under his hands, the way that he shivered and arched at his touch. He curled another arm around the blond as the other's knees weakened, smiling even as his want expanded and nearly drowned all his reason.
Eventually, Kuroro broke away, unable to contain himself another moment longer. Gazing at the blond, Kuroro was once again struck breathless at how beautiful the other was. The rain continued to pour down, streaking down their clothes and dampening their hair in a way that Kuroro found was very distracting. Blushing, Kurapika burrowed his head in the crook of Kuroro's neck, avoiding the other's heavy stare.
"How do you feel about another date?" Kuroro ventured, still slightly out of breath.
Kurapika hummed in response, and Kuroro took that as a 'yes'.
Inwardly cheering, Kuroro sneaked a glance behind him. Sure enough, there was a pair of brilliant red eyes glaring back at him from one of the windows, watching the two of them with something that Kuroro could deduce as heartbreak.
Just as planned.
To be Continued...
Added Notes:
1) To be clear, Kurapika's eyes are blue in the 1999 anime, grey in the 2011 adaptation, and brown in the manga (I used the manga as my reference)
2) Wow this chapter was cliche, but whatever (sorry you had to read this)
3) Pretty much the odd blurp of tension between Kurapika and Kuroro is about a bit of miscommunication between them. Kuroro was under the impression that Kurapika used his appearance to get money from people (basically as a hooker or something), but really all he did was act pretty and beat the crap out of the lechers that approached him and stole their extra money. So, yeah. Clarification.
4) Next chapter will be Pairo's thoughts about seeing Kurapika and Kuroro kiss, plus a bit of his way of making his move on Kurapika.
5) I kind of have an idea of where this story is heading, but it's still a bit shaky. It will most likely go on for about 10 more chapters or so, unless any of you have any input
6) This story will stay rated 'T', but I'm going to throw in some implications of *things* as the story progresses, if that's fine with you all.
Thanks for putting up with this story and I will hopefully update soon!