Author's Notes:
PAIRING: Leorio/Kurapika (Leopika).
RATING: Mature. Sexual content.
Chapter 4: Climax, or where they crash
Leorio blinks. He almost expects this moment — this dream come true — to zap out of existence in the fleeting flash of darkness. But it doesn't.
Kurapika is still here. Still standing in front of him. Still waiting for an answer.
"Nightcap at my apartment?" Kurapika prompts, smoothing down Leorio's collar, all rumpled because of their kisses. "How about it?"
Leorio's mind is whirring overtime. How would Cassander Sol — reformed bad boy and swoon-worthy star of Kurapika's fantasies — respond to such an irresistible invitation? Didn't Cassander hold off from even smooching his heroine until the final chapter of the book?
Yes, Cassander is a gentleman through and through! Leorio should follow his lead! This right here — it's a test of fortitude! Kurapika is trying to trick Leorio into breaking character, trying to muddle the script he's rehearsed. But Leorio won't fall for it!
One thing's for sure. A first date is too early to get frisky with Kurapika. Leorio should wait until the third date, or better yet until the fourth.
Kurapika's voice is impatient now. "Quit playing guessing games with me, Leorio. Are we screwing tonight or not?"
Leorio's jaw drops, and his penis pops upright in the same beat. A strawberry hue is seeping over Kurapika's cheeks. Leorio wants to pinch them. Chomp on them like fruit.
"Well, Leorio? Shall I interpret your persistent silence as a yes or a no?"
Leorio chants the correct answer in his head: No, no, no. Don't give in to temptation, Leorio! But his lips rebel against his resolve, flapping wildly of their own accord. "Wanna screw you, Kurapika. Wanna screw you till you're walking funny tomorrow."
Kurapika's fretful expression relaxes. "I'm counting on that. I won't waste my time on someone who'll only go easy on me."
With this, Kurapika begins towing Leorio along by the hand, back to where the car is parked. Given that Leorio is waging several silent wars at once — not only against the newly gelatinous consistency of his brains, but also against the stubborn stiffness in his underpants — he stumbles.
But Kurapika won't slow down. "Who's walking funny now?" he teases Leorio.
Whilst in the car, Leorio slots in a record of fizzy pop songs. He sings along as he drives. Allows the booming music to mask his actual preoccupation.
Leorio's hand on the wheel is steady, but his head is careening out of control. He cycles through the pornographic scenarios he's memorized, thanks to Zepile's generosity. Leorio has worn out every tape that his friend passed on with nightly replays.
Why, last night must be one of the only times that he's ever skipped choking the chicken to the videographic imagery of his favorite porn star — that woman who looks uncannily like the man now sitting on the passenger's seat beside him.
Serena Sunshine's face in the throes of pleasure. A vision unlike any other. But Leorio pictures Kurapika finally in her place. Locked lovingly in Leorio's embrace where he belongs. Warm and soft, sweet and real. Undressed for him, insides shifting to accommodate him. Just imagining this is enough for Leorio to feel like he might spontaneously combust.
Not singing or speaking, Kurapika stares out the window to the right. What is he thinking about? If Leorio can't decipher him in the brightest of mornings, he definitely can't do it in the deepening dark.
But Kurapika's palm on Leorio's thigh is a promise on its own. They're going somewhere special tonight.
Leorio barely manages to make it past the threshold of the apartment before the urge to possess Kurapika's body takes over. Drowns out any reservations he may have. As soon as the door swings shut, he has Kurapika backed against the wall. He swoops down for a kiss, and Kurapika meets his lips with a fervor equaling, if not exceeding, his own.
Before too long, Leorio's neck begins to ache from bending so low. Without breaking the kiss, Leorio hitches Kurapika's legs around his own waist and lifts him up. This swift motion — the consequent friction as a slight body grinds up against a sturdier one — elicits gasps from them both. Leorio takes this opportunity to slip his tongue inside Kurapika's mouth.
Through the haze of pants-creaming kisses, a question knocks on Leorio's skull. Is he moving too fast? If Cassander could see him right now, he'd surely shake a disapproving fist at Leorio's defiance of their unspoken code of chivalry.
But isn't Kurapika into this too?
"Good," Kurapika murmurs against his mouth. "You're a good kisser, Leorio. But can you, ah —"
"Hmm?"
"Time-out. Need a minute to cool off."
Leorio nods. He keeps a steadying hand on the small of Kurapika's back as Kurapika drops his arms from where they're roped around Leorio's neck, lowers his legs from where they're wrapped around Leorio's waist. On the way down, Kurapika brushes against the throbbing discomfort between Leorio's legs.
Leorio takes a giant step backward, if only to resist the yearning to ravish Kurapika all over again. "Is it time for those nightcaps you mentioned?"
Kurapika shakes his head. "Believe me, I want to keep going as much as you do. But before all that, there are matters I must address. Will you wait here for a while? Just . . . fifteen minutes?"
Fifteen minutes?! Can Leorio even wait that long? "I brought a condom," Leorio offers in order to hurry things up. "I mean, it's not like I was expecting this — anything like this — to happen tonight. But, you know, just to be safe."
"Yes, it always pays to be prepared. However, there's more that I need to arrange aside from protection. The wait will be worth it. I promise."
With a last kiss to Leorio's collarbone, the highest part of that lanky body that Kurapika's lips can reach without the aid of a trampoline, Kurapika disappears into the blue-black darkness beyond the foyer.
Leorio simply stands there, stock-still, attempting to visualize the roiling sea, or meadows dotted with grazing cattle, or similarly serene scenery to calm down his overheated brain.
A wavering yellow light gradually brightens the hallway ahead. Leorio takes in the vanilla scent diffusing around him. Breathes in an undercurrent of spice.
Before Leorio knows it, Kurapika is beside him again, small hands tugging on Leorio's broad palm.
Kurapika's voice is shy. Pliant. "I've readied the bedroom for you, Master."
"Master . . .?"
Kurapika ushers Leorio down a hallway lined with stubby candles. "If anything you see there displeases you, punish me. Spank me as hard as you wish. Let me understand my place. I'll try my best not to cry."
Leorio gapes. What the hell is going on? Is this sudden switch the doing of Kurapika's enigmatic fifth chain — a newfangled Nen ability that can transform such a somber persona into a total sexpot at the drop of a hat?
They reach Kurapika's bedroom. Sides illuminated by the same fragrant candles, surfaces strewn with rose petals. At Kurapika's bashful request, Leorio shrugs off his blazer and sits on the edge of bed.
In a disoriented daze, Leorio looks around the room. But once Kurapika extracts Leorio's sunglasses and settles on the floor between his legs, Leorio's boner springs up instantly, back to full vitality.
Staring at the stiffness straining against Leorio's trousers, Kurapika dampens his lips with his small pink tongue. "Master? Can I touch you there?"
Leorio is too dumbfounded to respond, so Kurapika raises his gaze toward Leorio's face. Without breaking eye contact, he leans in to nuzzle Leorio's crotch.
"K—Kurapika!"
"Please? I can make Master feel good. I can make Master spill all his juice."
Kurapika's hot breath, humming against his hardness. Hypnotizing, even through two layers of cloth. Any more of this, and the melted remains of Leorio's brains will ooze from his ears.
When Leorio speaks, his syllables sputter out all scrambled. An incoherent mess. But Kurapika successfully gleans Leorio's meaning from that nonsense. At the very least, Kurapika can't mistake the greedy gleam over Leorio's dark eyes.
With humble words of gratitude, Kurapika unzips and peels off Leorio's trousers. He folds them neatly. Sets them by the foot of the bed.
Kurapika then works off Leorio's boxers. He jerks his head backward just in time as Leorio's erection leaps into view, finally freed from its constraints.
Leorio holds his breath as Kurapika's right hand gently grasps him. Starts to stroke him. Up, down. Up, down.
Even as Leorio tracks these movements with his eyes, he purposely envisions peaceful inanities again, in an effort to keep himself from exploding prematurely.
Mooing cows. Drifting clouds.
But Kurapika's voice, dripping with desire, interrupts this mental exercise. "So big, Master! Look, my fingers can barely close around how gigantic you are! I need two hands to handle you properly, don't I?"
Kurapika's left hand joins his right. The stroking speeds up.
Leorio can't stifle a grunt of pleasure this time. The crystalline bead of precum on his tip trickles down now.
Kurapika's tongue darts out, catching the sticky stream before it can reach the base of Leorio's cock. As the wet warmth laps over his length, a groan erupts from deep within Leorio's chest.
Encouraged by this sound, Kurapika shuffles closer still. With both hands continuing to pump the shaft, Kurapika's mouth focuses on the head of Leorio's penis. He pecks the tip — once, twice — before letting his lips envelop the head completely.
"Holy fucking shit," Leorio goes, and his language only grows more colorful from there.
Rather than saying it's one thing that causes Leorio to lose his last remnants of restraint, it's more like a multiplicity of factors.
The pressure of Kurapika's tongue as it swirls around the head of his cock and massages his frenulum with an undoubtedly trained mastery.
The tingling as Kurapika's fingers play with his balls, thumb teasing the central seam of his scrotum.
The sight and sensation of his dick being swallowed, inch by by inch, into the snug tunnel of Kurapika's throat.
The muffled noises from Kurapika's mouth as he endeavors to devour more of Leorio. No matter how much Kurapika has already taken in, he keeps attempting to claim even more. More. More. More.
A minute passes before Leorio realizes that he's audibly uttering the word. Spitting out more, more, more with a ferocity that would frighten a lover less committed than Kurapika.
"So close," Leorio gasps. "Gonna come."
Upon hearing this, Kurapika withdraws his mouth from Leorio's erection — engorged, veiny, ready to erupt. Leorio whines with impatience, but Kurapika's voice is as level as can be.
"Master, what do you want me to do? Should I suck you off through it, to prolong your ejaculation? Or should I concentrate on not spilling a single precious drop?"
"Wanna come all over your face." Leorio is surprised by the imperious tone of his own voice. "Wanna mess you up. Wanna see you soiled and sticky 'cause of me."
Kurapika nods and positions his face accordingly. Mouth parted, expectant, he only needs to jerk off the saliva-slick dick thrice. Then it blows — shooting semen with a violence that makes Kurapika flinch despite himself.
A sizable glob hits Kurapika right on the eye. Despite the sting, however, he stays still for a few seconds. Allows Leorio to relish the desecrated scene he demanded. Only then does he lean over to wipe himself off, using a washcloth he set aside earlier.
Once he's through, Kurapika faces the bed again with a satisfied smile. "Are you pleased with me, Master? I've never seen an orgasm as forceful as that."
Leorio feels a sudden rush of affection. Leaning forward, he transfers Kurapika's body from the floor to his own satiated lap.
Leorio tucks a tuft of Kurapika's hair behind his ear. Toys with Kurapika's earring, fiddling its gem between two fingers. "I couldn't be more pleased with you, Kurapika. How do you want me to reward you?"
Kurapika tilts his head to the side. Thinking about this. "Lie on your back," he says eventually. "Master shouldn't do any work. I can take care of everything. I can fulfill Master's wildest fantasies."
Leorio is still puzzling over this whole Master business, but he splays over the sheets willingly enough. "Aren't you spoiling me too much?"
"There's only one reward I want from you. Remember everything that happens here tonight. Don't forget about me right away, okay?"
"Why wouldn't I remember? I doubt I could forget a single stinking detail even if I tried."
Preoccupied with unbuttoning Leorio's shirt, Kurapika doesn't reply. Once every button has been undone, Kurapika sits back on Leorio's lap to drink in the view. His fingertips commence charting the sculpted planes of Leorio's chest, tracing the taut muscles of his abdomen.
"Leorio, has anyone ever told you that you're a peerless marvel?" After a pause, Kurapika corrects himself. "Master, rather. Everything about your body is marvelous, Master."
"Your eyes tell me that all the time. You've always wanted to touch me here, right?"
The corner of Kurapika's mouth quirks up into a smile. "Am I that obvious?"
Leorio scoffs. "You know the only way you can be more obvious? If you got an obnoxious tattoo on your forehead. THIRSTY FOR LEORIO'S TORSO, emblazoned in flaming red letters."
"Ah. Don't tempt me. I just might do it, then you won't find me pretty anymore."
Kurapika folds Leorio's shirt, the same way he did with the trousers. At this point, Leorio instructs him to take off his own clothes. Kurapika attempts to clamber off the bed, but Leorio clutches his waist to keep him there.
"Stay here," Leorio commands. "I want you on top of me while you're stripping."
Leorio is taken aback when Kurapika hesitates — the first indication of genuine nervousness since they started getting intimate. Leorio keeps observing, but Kurapika sheds all his garments without complaint. Tosses them aside without fanfare.
Silence reigns over them, then Kurapika says, "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Stare at me like that."
"Haven't you been slobbering all over my body?" Leorio accuses. "Why can't I do the same?"
Kurapika crosses his arms over his chest. "It's different when I do it to you."
"Why's it different?"
"Isn't it obvious? Leorio — Master — you're perfect. You physically embody the hypermasculine ideal, while I —"
Leorio doesn't permit Kurapika to finish this sentence. He yanks Kurapika down so they can make out.
As they descend once more into a fog of kissing, Leorio's hands wander all over Kurapika's body. As if it's a wondrous new country to explore. Kurapika may harbor insecurities, but Leorio's worshipful fingertips perform a persuasive tactile counterargument.
His touch glides over the sharp angles of Kurapika's shoulders. Skids over the ridges of Kurapika's rib cage. Circumnavigates Kurapika's nipples till they perk up to the stimulation. Trails his thumb over every knob of Kurapika's spine, from his nape all the way to the cleft of his bottom. Cups both cheeks with coarse palms. Squeezes the rounded, pillowy flesh.
When Leorio's hand switches over to the front, groping between slender thighs, Kurapika's breathing quickens.
"Kurapika, open your mouth for me."
Kurapika does as directed. Leorio sticks in his fingers, and Kurapika sucks on them. Deliberately sloppy, seeking to liberally coat Leorio's digits with all-natural lubricant.
The sight of Kurapika obscenely licking his fingers sends blood barreling toward Leorio's groin. His dick swings up, alert as a starving predator.
"That's more than enough, Kurapika. You did well."
As Leorio repositions his hand, Kurapika rains kisses down Leorio's neck. Nibbles on a sensitive spot, just as he senses Leorio's middle finger prodding at his entrance. Groans past gritted teeth as the digit presses into him.
By the time Leorio pushes in his ring finger, Kurapika is whimpering against Leorio's neck, unable to suppress his own noise.
Leorio gently pulls out his fingers. "Kurapika, I — I'm so turned on right now. Do you want to —"
Before Leorio can even finish this sentence, Kurapika is already scooting backward, settling over Leorio's hips again. Grabbing Leorio's manhood once more.
Leorio sighs in anticipation, then belatedly remembers something important. "Condom. It's in my —"
"Don't worry. I've got one right here."
Leorio startles as Kurapika, with effortless efficiency, sheathes him with a rubber. Based on everything else Kurapika has shown him tonight, Leorio shouldn't be taken off guard anymore. But he is.
When Kurapika lowers himself over Leorio's boner, however, Leorio grows truly alarmed.
Leorio sits up at once. "Hang on, Kurapika. Don't you have any actual lube? It's gonna hurt if you —"
They moan in unison as Kurapika sinks down several inches. Leorio is suddenly halfway in, and the bliss that radiates is so white-hot as to be blinding. Kurapika's impossibly tight warmth is clenching Leorio's member with a mind-numbing pressure. Stimulating every nerve ending, every sensitive fold of skin.
Leorio can simply lie back and enjoy this, can't he? He can let Kurapika take care of everything like he said he would. But Leorio won't do that. He'll happily trade all the best sex in the world if it means he can avoid inflicting pain on Kurapika, or damaging him in any way.
Leorio's vise-like grip on Kurapika's waist prevents him from sinking down farther. "Kurapika, why don't we start over?"
"What? Why?"
"I was being too pushy. I'm sorry. Let me treat your body right this time. If you don't have any lube, we can use household substitutes. Do you have coconut oil? Virgin?"
Kurapika doesn't let go, but he doesn't shove Leorio's dick deeper inside him either. He brushes back his blond hair with his fingers. Fixes Leorio with a serious stare. "Didn't I tell you earlier? I don't need or want you to go easy on me. I've done this before. I know what I'm doing."
"Even if you've had experience, I'd still feel better if. . . ." Leorio trails off, uncertain about how to explain his reservations.
"You've hurt people before," Kurapika guesses. "Because you're this well-endowed, you've made someone bleed without intending to."
Averting his gaze, Leorio scratches the bristly hair lining his jaw. "It was terrifying," he confides, "watching the blood running down her thighs. A maroon stain, expanding on my blanket. That metallic stench. She wouldn't stop sobbing. Didn't want me to hold her, wouldn't let me take her to the campus clinic. After that happened, I was too afraid to go that far again. I made do with, um, other avenues."
A beat of silence. Then Kurapika raises his hips to let Leorio's dick slip out of his entrance.
Leorio tells himself that this is a good thing. He was honest with Kurapika, and that's what matters most. Kurapika has been through enough trauma without adding lacerations due to Leorio's penis to the list.
Kurapika may yet decide that the risk of being with Leorio outweighs the potential bliss. And if that's his choice, Leorio needs to gracefully accept it.
Regardless of these rationalizations, there's a stubborn lump in Leorio's throat. Regret. He's hungered to hold Kurapika for so long. Instead of blurting out that unsolicited horror story, why couldn't Leorio just shut his trap?
When Kurapika opens his mouth to speak, Leorio braces himself for a litany of questions. But Kurapika only asks one. "Will you touch me here again? I want to show you something."
Kurapika slowly guides Leorio's hand between his own legs. Leads Leorio's long fingers inside.
"Try doing a scissoring motion, Leorio."
Leorio does so. He raises his eyebrows as he sees what Kurapika is getting at.
"That's why I needed fifteen minutes to get ready," Kurapika explains. "Before I left for our date, I already set all the condoms and candles and petals in place. It was my own body that I needed to prepare for you."
"Um." Leorio attempts to think of something articulate to say, but nothing seems forthcoming. He's mentally berating himself for not paying closer attention when he was fingering Kurapika earlier. Then again, Leorio hasn't been heeding his own head for the past hour, has he? More like the head of his penis.
"When we were kissing in the foyer, I felt you pressing against me. I realized then that you were massive. Considerably more blessed than the other men I've been with. I couldn't wait to feel you — all of you — inside me, but I also knew that preemptive steps would be necessary to maximize the experience for the both of us."
Leorio swallows. "Wish I could've watched you touch yourself. That sounds really. . . ."
"I wanted to impress you. Like one of those prodigiously skilled adult entertainers — ready to get down to business as soon as the camera starts rolling. You're quite the connoisseur of the erotic arts, aren't you?"
Leorio's face burns up in embarrassment. "I — I've watched pornos, yeah! But just a couple!"
Kurapika smirks. He appears to be enjoying a private joke. "So have I, and the few videos I've watched were highly educational. I learned a trick or two, but I won't do anything unless you're comfortable. Do you trust me, Leorio?"
"Of course I trust you."
"Then lie down."
Leorio lets himself fall backward. This is it. He's vesting total control in Kurapika.
"When I'm on top, I dictate the pace," Kurapika reassures him. "I won't do anything my body can't handle. I can promise you that. So just relax."
Kurapika coaxes Leorio back to full hardness with his hands. Fondles his cock until it stands perpendicular to the rest of his reclining body.
Leorio's breathing is turning labored. "Maybe relaxation isn't the best word for this. I'm lying down, but I feel like I'm running an entire goddamn marathon."
"Master, may I please sit on you again?"
Leorio is beyond denying Kurapika anything now. He's waited too long for this. As Kurapika lowers himself over Leorio's lap again, it's all Leorio can do not to weep.
The intensifying hue on Kurapika's cheeks, as he propels Leorio's rod deeper and deeper inside him, seems to suffuse past his skin, spilling over to his eyes. By the time his buttocks come into contact with Leorio's hips, Kurapika's gaze is fire itself. A scarlet more vibrant than any color Leorio has ever seen.
Throughout this entire operation of stretching his hole around Leorio's thick cock, Kurapika lets out peeps of pleasure here and there. But once he begins gyrating over Leorio's lap, it's over for the both of them. It's full screaming season.
Wanton moans rumble from their throats like thunder. They're cursing up a storm. Typhoons clashing, overlapping.
While the majority of Kurapika's oaths is rooted in a language Leorio can't comprehend, Leorio's dirty talk is much less mysterious. "Shit. Shit. God-fucking-dammit. Right there. Just like that. Ride me just like that, Kurapi— come for me. Explode for me. Let it fucking rain for me. Master's gonna milk you dry, right?"
Kurapika lays his palms flat on Leorio's abdomen to keep him steady. He then bounces up, letting Leorio's cock slide out until only the tip remains inside. For a few tantalizing seconds, Kurapika glares down at Leorio. Blazing eyes challenging Leorio's dark ones.
Kurapika slams down with enormous force, leaving the bedsprings squealing beneath them.
Leorio's eyes cross. He feels himself spurt a little, but when Kurapika repeats this maneuver once, twice, thrice . . . Leorio's penis pulses in earnest, slathering the inner surface of his condom with ejaculate. He howls away gibberish, as if this will help him make sense of the astronomical scale of his release.
Leorio is only barely aware as Kurapika cries out, reaching his own climax even as Leorio is softening inside him. Kurapika's sticky essence spatters all over Leorio's torso.
Eyes back to their usual color, Kurapika collapses beside Leorio on the mattress. They both lie staring at the ceiling for a while, panting over the pillows.
Leorio deposits his spent condom into the bin before venturing to speak. "That was . . . um. Wow."
"Wow," Kurapika agrees.
Kurapika fetches a fresh washcloth to clean them both. As he wipes down the matted trail of black hair on Leorio's groin, he can't tear his eyes away from Leorio's sweaty chest. Noticing the object of Kurapika's attention, Leorio rolls over to his side to grant him better access.
Purring in approval, Kurapika burrows his face in. Kissing Leorio's chest, again and again. "Mm. The way you smell and taste when you perspire — so manly. I could get hooked on this."
Leorio pats his blond hair. "All right, Kurapika. I gotta ask you now."
Kurapika pulls his face away. "Ask me what? Am I being strange? Am I freaking you out?"
"God, no. If anything, I'm considering additional upper-body exercises for my regular workout regimen. Whatever it takes to keep your eyes and lips devoted to my chest."
Kurapika rolls over to his stomach. Props his chin up on both elbows. "What do you have to ask me, then?"
"Calling me Master — is that like your kink? Weirdly enough, I never would've figured you to be a submissive. But do you, um, want me to dominate you? Shame you, slap you around and stuff?"
"If that will turn you on, then I'm down for it. Absolutely. Wait, are you saying that you're ready to go again? Is it time for round two?"
To Leorio's amazement, Kurapika suddenly whips out a riding crop from beneath the bed. "Eh?! How long has that been there?"
"This tool is only one of many that I've prepared for you." Kurapika fingers the sleek black implement. "Did I purchase the right kind? I tried to get one just like Miss Sunshine's."
"Miss Sunshine . . .?"
Kurapika reaches under the bed again. He shows Leorio a tape. "I borrowed a few of these from your dorm room after you fell asleep. I studied them to figure out how to satisfy you best. This tape, especially. I guessed that it was your favorite, based on how weather-beaten it is. Miss Sunshine calls her costar Master in this."
Leorio just stares. Utterly speechless.
Kurapika furrows his brows. "Are you upset? I apologize for taking your tapes without your permission. You don't need to worry whether I've damaged them. I've already ordered new copies of Miss Sunshine's entire cinematography as a gift to you. They should arrive within the week. Expedited delivery."
"I'm not upset! Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered you'd go that far for me. But I want you to know — you don't need to mimic Serena or anybody else to make me feel good. As long as it's you. . . ."
"But weren't you doing the same today?" Kurapika contends. "You copied Cassander Sol just to please me. You patterned our date after the dates in Seduction by the Simulacra."
"That's different," Leorio insists. "I had my reasons for doing that."
"Enlighten me, then."
"I had to find a way to make it up to you. For how I behaved the other night, I mean. Like a total jackass, I got blind drunk and sick to my stomach. Conked out right in front of you. I'm supposed to be the older, more responsible one here. To think that I asked you out like that. . . ."
"Ah, I see." Kurapika's smile is tight. He's blinking fast. "You're wishing that you could take back what you said that night, aren't you? You regret asking me out on a proper date, when you only wanted to get me in bed in the first place."
This rapid shift in the conversation leaves Leorio reeling in confusion. "What . . .?"
"If you hadn't drunk yourself into oblivion, this wouldn't have happened. So all this effort — this roleplay of the romantic hero from my favorite novel — is merely an attempt to apologize for leading me on —"
"Kurapika, that's not what I'm trying to say!" Leorio protests.
"Look, if you're planning to reject me anyway —"
"Reject you?"
Kurapika's voice is tremulous. "Can't you just rip off the band-aid in one go? Do it quickly. Get it over with. Tell me this date was fun, but the dream is over now. Tell me it's time for me to wake up. I — I just can't stand it when you delay the inevitable like this."
"Aren't you the one rejecting me here? I'm trying to have a reasonable conversation with you, but you're not listening! You're the one who's pushing me away!"
"But I have to. Don't you see what you're doing here? You're putting the burden on me to end this. I've long known that I'll never be good enough for you. Wrong gender, wrong body, wrong everything." For the second time that night, tears are welling up. Kurapika wipes his eyes with his forearm. Roughly. Impatiently.
Leorio snatches his wrist. "Kurapika, stop. Come here. Just let me hold you, okay?"
Frustrated with himself for breaking composure again, Kurapika permits Leorio to hug him. He leans into the welcome warmth, conceals the tracks of his tears against Leorio's bare skin.
"I like you, Leorio," Kurapika mumbles against his neck. "At first, it was only a game of pretend. I pictured you in place of the heroes in the romances I read. Then I realized something crucial — I didn't like you because you reminded me of those fictional men. It was the other way around. It's you that I've always wanted — the real you, free from all the artifice."
Leorio is caressing Kurapika's hair again. "I know, I know."
"I don't care if you think I'm being ridiculous. I like you, and I wish you'd like me back."
"You're not being ridiculous. I do feel the same way, Kurapika."
Indignant, Kurapika yanks away from his hold. "No, you don't. Don't say that unless you mean it."
"Why is it so hard for you to believe me? Do you think we're still playing pretend? 'Cause I'm dead serious."
Leorio sits up in bed. He motions for Kurapika to do the same.
"Listen carefully," Leorio says. "You know why those tapes you borrowed are so beat up? I play them every night only 'cause they remind me of you. You've noticed it too, haven't you? You look exactly like Serena Sunshine."
Kurapika is taken aback. "No, I don't. She's a knockout. I don't even like women that way, but I can objectively acknowledge that."
Leorio shrugs. "Maybe so. But to me, Serena only stands in for the real person I've got my eyes on. Besides, I couldn't give a crap about the way Serena fucks. If I met her in real life, you know what I'd say? I'd tell her to keep up the good work. Maybe I'd get her to autograph a tape or two. But even on the off chance that I was allowed to, I'd never date her, legendary though she may be in the industry. Not when I've been pining after someone else all this time."
"All this time. . . ." Kurapika echoes.
"Do you understand how humiliated I felt, after I woke up yesterday? I finally managed to get the guy of my dreams alone, only to blurt out the world's drunkest invite to a date! What a goddamn nightmare!"
Kurapika's cheeks are pink now. He parts his mouth to say something, when a buzzing on the bedside table catches his attention. His phone is vibrating.
Kurapika's eyes narrow as he glances at the screen. "Will you please excuse me, Leorio? I have to take this call."
Kurapika leaves the bedroom without another word. Once the door snaps shut behind his retreating back, Leorio cusses and punches a pillow.
That damn phone! What awful timing! It seems like Kurapika was about to say something good too. . . .
While he's alone, Leorio opts to amuse himself by checking on the wide array of toys that Kurapika has arranged under the bed. Did Kurapika seriously ransack his local sex shop yesterday, after taking copious notes from Serena Sunshine? Kurapika never does things halfway, does he?
Leorio is busy brandishing a monstrous purple strap-on dildo, pretending it's a sword, when Kurapika returns to the bedroom. Before Leorio can stuff the sex toy back to where it belongs, Kurapika dives into bed and hugs Leorio hard.
"Kurapika? What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, Leorio. The truth is, there's something that's been eating away at me lately."
Leorio surreptitiously nudges the strap-on over the edge of the bed. Ignores the whump as it falls to the floor. "I suspected as much when you drank too many cans of lukewarm beer. Only the truly desperate can tolerate the taste. So what's up?"
"It's nothing that should concern you, so if you want to leave, I'll understand. We can talk about this . . . this delicate matter between us another time."
"I'm staying," Leorio says firmly. "I want to hear about everything that's bothering you."
"If you say so. It's about Neon Nostrade. Do you remember when I told you, Gon, and Killua about her?"
"Yeah. She's the daughter of your boss, right? Is she okay? Is she hurt?"
"She's not hurt, no. She'll never be hurt again." Kurapika straightens up. Takes a deep breath. "She died about a month ago — caught in the crossfire of a fruitless clash between mafia factions."
"Oh, shit. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Kurapika says tonelessly. "The worst part was, I wasn't even there. The day before, Light Nostrade told me that I was severely overworked. He practically had to crowbar me from my desk to compel me to take a leave. So I left headquarters and just crashed. I slept in. I hadn't had a day off in months, not even on the weekends. When I woke up, I had dozens of missed calls. Neon was long gone by then."
"Damn. That sucks. But . . . you're not blaming yourself for what happened, are you?"
Kurapika squints. "I fully comprehend that it's irrational for me to do so, but it's difficult not to be buoyed by that downward mental spiral. My mind feels like a sinkhole sometimes, unfolding into ceaseless what-if scenarios. What if I defied the directive of my boss? What if I refused to take a leave? What if I delayed my day off to the next week, or to the next month? What if I was at headquarters on that fateful day? What if I was by Neon's side, watching over her like I should have been?"
Leorio takes Kurapika's hand. "It's not your fault."
Kurapika squeezes Leorio's hand in return, but he says nothing.
"Have you considered talking to someone about this?" Leorio asks. "A professional, I mean? Maybe you need some help."
"Now that I've had time to rest, time to think . . . I've often considered that option, yes."
"Is this why you haven't been going to work? Did you take a leave to sort things out?"
Kurapika shakes his head. "As you know, I need my post in Nostrade for entirely self-serving reasons. I can't abandon the progress I've made there just yet. But in the days following the incident, things gradually fell apart. Light kept showing up at headquarters, kept pretending that his daughter's demise meant nothing to him. However, every resentful emotion he'd repressed soon reached a boiling point. He started thrashing everything at headquarters and yelling at everybody to leave him alone. Melody, Basho, and Linssen all attempted numerous times to reach him at his home, but no one answered the door. I began fearing the worst."
"Then . . . who called you? Was it bad news about your boss?"
"Light himself called me. As for what he's told me, I'm not sure if I can appropriately classify it as good news or bad news. It's . . . important news. That much is certain."
"What did he say?" Leorio asks.
"He's stepping down as head of the Nostrade family and appointing me in his place. I've accepted the appointment."
"Eh?! Then you're gonna be the head of Nostrade? A true-blue mafia boss?"
Kurapika appears faintly embarrassed now. "I can't deny that the promotion will provide me with that much more leverage when it comes to my hunt for the scarlet eyes, which will always remain my number one priority. It should be significantly easier to negotiate with flesh collectors in my new role. But Leorio . . . I understand if this is a lot to take in about someone you've just slept with. It's not too late to get out of here, you know?"
Huffing, Leorio captures Kurapika in an embrace again. "Why do you keep trying to get rid of me? Now that I can see how perfectly you fit right here, pressed against my body, no one — not God, not Light Nostrade, not Cassander Sol himself come to life — can pry me away."
"Then stay."
"Can I really?"
Kurapika loops his arms around Leorio's neck. "If that's what you want, you can stay for as long as you like."
Kurapika smooches Leorio on the tip of his nose. Wanting more, Leorio shoves Kurapika back against the pillows and mounts him.
As they're making out, Kurapika grumbles a question against Leorio's lips. Shaking his head to dispel his lust, Leorio props himself up on both palms. "Did you just say what I think you said?"
"Perhaps. What did you think I said?"
Leorio remains silent, not daring to believe it just yet.
Kurapika's hands move from Leorio's nape to hold his face. "Will you be my boyfriend? I've already fallen for you, and I fall for you a little more every time I look into your soulful eyes."
"That's not . . . a line from one of your love stories, is it?"
"No, the words are all mine," Kurapika says tenderly. "But it's okay if you're not there yet, or if you'll never get there. I just want you to myself. I can't stand the idea of you with anyone else."
Instead of responding verbally, Leorio takes one of Kurapika's hands and transfers it to his own chest. He lets Kurapika perceive the invisible — his heart, galloping with unbridled passion.
Leorio smiles at the wonder in Kurapika's expression. "Feel that? With proof like that, how can you doubt my love for you? I may have been acting during that date, but I can't train my heart to beat faster around you."
When Kurapika replies, his eyes are kindled with scarlet again. A much softer shade, reminiscent of the rose petals surrounding them. "I love you too, Leorio."
"And I'd love to be your boyfriend, but are you sure you're okay with just me? Just your regular old Leorio? An average medical student, or maybe slightly above average. Broke as can be."
"Hmm. While I do appreciate your homage to Cassander Sol, I'd much rather spend time with my regular old Leorio."
"I should say the same to you." Leorio rolls over to his back, repositioning Kurapika over his body. "Fucking your roleplay of Serena Sunshine was interesting, to say the least. But can I make love to Kurapika this time around?"
"Deal."