A/N: Hey, all! Sorry for the long delay with the updates on this; we switched Wi-Fi providers and couldn't get the password to our new network for a week! But, now it's back, and I've been writing the whole time, so there are lots more stories coming here!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter, Kurapika, or Leorio, but I do own this story! Cross-posting to and Ao3 as ChocolatteKitty-Kat, and Tumblr as maliciousbubbl3s.

.*.*.*.*.*.

Kurapika started awake as Leorio rolled away from him to turn off his alarm. Kurapika groaned and rolled too, wrapping his arms around Leorio's chest and burying his face in Leorio's shoulder. "Don't go," he mumbled, hooking a leg over Leorio's hip for good measure.

"I have class," Leorio sighed, squeezing Kurapika's hand.

"Skip," Kurapika suggested.

"I can't skip it," Leorio chuckled. "I miss too many when you're home anyways. And don't you have to work?"

"I'll call in sick," Kurapika said as Leorio pushed his leg away and pulled his hands apart.

"Right, because mob bosses are usually pretty generous with their sick days," Leorio teased as he climbed out of bed.

"I'm not working for the mob right now," Kurapika replied. "I'm just a glorified security guard. There are a million people who could replace me."

"You don't want to lose the job," Leorio said gently, leaning down to kiss Kurapika's temple.

"I can get another one," Kurapika mumbled, reaching out to grab Leorio's wrist, but the other deftly evaded him.

"Not today," Leorio said, gentle but firm.

Kurapika slid down under the blankets, wrapping them around himself as he sulkily watched Leorio start to get dressed. "What do you want for dinner?" Leorio asked, turning around as he buttoned up his shirt.

Kurapika sat up, keeping the blankets around his shoulders, and shrugged. "I'm not even hungry for breakfast. Dinner's too far ahead."

"Well, think about it," Leorio shrugged, heading for the bathroom. "Text me if you think of anything during the day."

Kurapika sighed and crawled out of bed, stopping to remake it before he started to get dressed. When he finished, he joined Leorio in the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee maker.

"One or two eggs?" Leorio asked.

"None," Kurapika said. "I'll just make some toast, I think."

"You sure?" Leorio asked.

"Yeah," Kurapika handed him a cup of coffee before pulling the toaster out of its cabinet.

They ate their breakfast in silence, Leorio rushing through his eggs while Kurapika took his time on his single piece of toast. When he was done, Leorio gulped down the last of his coffee and rushed the dishes to the sink. "Hey, eat something else before you go, okay?" he leaned down to wrap an arm around Kurapika's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.

"Mmhm," Kurapika mumbled, squeezing Leorio's hand briefly before he pulled away. "Have a good day."

"I'll see you tonight," Leorio called over his shoulder as he pulled on his shoes. "Let me know what you think about dinner!"

.*.*.*.*.*.

Leorio yawned as he packed up his things after his last class of the day. He pulled his cell phone out of his briefcase and turned it on, slipping it into his jacket pocket while he waited for the device to boot up.

He didn't pay much attention to his surroundings as he headed for the parking lot, so it took him a while to notice that his phone had started buzzing in his pocket. Surprised, Leorio pulled it out and checked the screen. Three missed calls from Kurapika, two from an unknown number, and three voicemails. Leorio didn't even bother to check the voicemails before calling Kurapika back.

"Hello-"

"What's wrong?" Leorio demanded, yanking the door to his car open and chucking his briefcase inside.

"You didn't listen to your voicemail, did you?"

"What happened?" Leorio demanded again, hardly checking behind him as he started backing the car up.

"Can you just come pick me up?"

"Where?"

"... The hospital."

They both fell silent. Finally, Leorio sighed. "I'm not even going to ask. I'll see you in half an hour." He hung up without waiting for a reply and stared dully at the line of cars in front of him. "Shit!" he swore and smacked the steering wheel.

.*.*.*.*.*.

Once he got to the hospital, it took Leorio a while to get the information he needed out of a desk clerk, since he and Kurapika weren't related. While he waited for the clerk to confirm that he was allowed to go up to Kurapika's room, he sat in the lobby and listened to the voicemails. The first two were from someone at the hospital. One informed him that a person for whom he was listed as an emergency contact had been brought in. The second had slightly more information, namely that Kurapika had been in an unresponsive state when he arrived, but had since woken up.

The third voicemail was from Kurapika himself. Over the recording, Leorio could hear how weak and pained his voice was.

"Leorio, it's me. I just wanted to call and let you know that I'm okay, no matter what the calls from the hospital sounded like. Just, if you can, once you're out of class, can you please come and pick me up? Thank you. Um… I'll see you in a little while."

There was a long pause after that, and Leorio almost deleted the voicemail before he heard the final phrase, whispered at the end of the recording: "I love you."

.*.*.*.*.*.

It took Leorio nearly twenty minutes to get to Kurapika's room. When he entered, he blew through the first half of the room to find Kurapika in the back half, curtained off from the other occupants. Kurapika wore only his white button-down, untucked, and black slacks, his blazer and tie draped over the footboard of the bed. He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, leaning against the back; his head had fallen back, letting his blond hair fall away from his face, which was paper-white and drawn. Leorio took in his closed eyes and the even rise and fall of his chest and guessed that Kurapika had fallen asleep waiting for him.

He sighed and set his blazer and briefcase aside, pausing to watch Kurapika for a moment, then moved to take a seat on the side of the bed. After another moment, he reached out and brushed the back of his hand against Kurapika's cheek. Kurapika shifted slightly and his blue eyes slowly fluttered open.

"You're here."

"Yeah," Leorio chuckled.

"Took you long enough."

"Yeah, sorry. They didn't want to let me up."

Kurapika nodded and sat upright. He rubbed his eyes before scooting towards the end of the bed for his shoes and jacket. "We can go. They just didn't want me leaving on my own."

"What happened?" Leorio asked gently.

"I guess I was dehydrated or something?" Kurapika shrugged. "They said it wasn't anything serious. They just gave me some fluids and did some tests and said I could leave."

Leorio nodded. He picked up his blazer and briefcase and slung them over his shoulder, while Kurapika pulled on his shoes and slipped into his jacket, stuffing his tie in the pocket. "Ready?" Leorio asked.

"Yeah," Kurapika nodded, offering him a wan smile.

Once they got into the hallway, Leorio draped his free arm around Kurapika's shoulders; the blond wrapped his own arm around Leorio's waist and leaned into the taller man.

"You hungry?" Leorio asked.

"A little," Kurapika laughed.

"Let's go out for dinner."

"Okay."

"What are you hungry for?"

Kurapika paused, then shrugged. "You pick."

"Okay, then. Noodles it is."

"You always pick noodles."

"Well, that's because I like noodles. Do you have a better idea?"

"... No."

.*.*.*.*.*.

Once they were in the privacy of his car and on their way to dinner, Leorio finally addressed the situation. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Huh?" in the passenger seat, Kurapika looked up from his phone.

"Just listen," Leorio said firmly. "I don't want you to say anything until I'm done, okay?" he caught Kurapika's nod out of the corner of his eye and took a deep breath before continuing. "I need you to take better care of yourself. You can't just go around skipping meals and not drinking water. I talked to the nurse before I came up; she said you passed out from low blood sugar and dehydration, and they thought maybe lack of sleep too. You can't just do stuff like that."

He pulled over and put the car in park before turning to look Kurapika in the eyes. "I will do everything I can for you, you know that. But even if I do everything in the world, it won't be enough if you refuse to take care of yourself. Sleep. Eat. Drink something besides coffee and red bull every now and then. But if you're not willing to do that… well, I'm not going to just watch you kill yourself. I can't stand by and watch you waste away. So just… think about that, okay?"

Kurapika nodded slowly. Leorio could see tears welling in his eyes, while red flickered around his blue irises as he fought back his emotions.

"Come on; let's go eat. I'm starving." Leorio broke the silence, and, with a grin and a wink, climbed out of the car, heading for the restaurant. A few moments later, he heard the other door open and close, then running footsteps and Kurapika hurried to catch up to him. A cold hand slipped into his, and Kurapika rested his head on Leorio's shoulder while they walked. Leorio smiled slightly and kissed Kurapika on the head. It wasn't the promise he had wanted, but it was better than nothing.