A/N: Sorry this update was so long in coming! I've had it written for forever, but got wrapped up in a project for my D&D group (building languages and alphabets! Fun stuff, guys!) and completely forgot about posting... Anyways, I think this story is kind of important to their relationship, because generally, not only in my own writing but also lots of other LeoPika fics I've read, we usually see Leorio supporting Kurapika. But, obviously, a relationship works both ways, so I'm glad I was able to write and contribute to presenting the opposite.
Warnings: Some vague descriptions of (probably inaccurate) medical stuff and death.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter X Hunter, Kurapika, or Leorio, but I do own this story! Cross-posting to ChocolatteKitty-Kat on FFnet and Ao3, and maliciousbubbl3s on Tumblr.
.*.*.*.*.*.
Kurapika hardly glanced up when he heard the door shut, absorbed in his work as he was. The kitchen table was covered in papers, notebooks, and his open laptop, and his back was to the doorway. "Welcome home!" he called over his shoulder, receiving only a muffled grunt in response. He didn't pay it much heed, falling easily back into his work, until he realized that it had been at least half an hour, and Leorio hadn't come back out of the bedroom.
"Leorio?" he called out, setting his notebook aside and leaning back in his chair. If he tipped it back on its back legs and gripped the edge of the table, he could just see around the corner into the living room and towards the bedroom. The door to the bedroom was closed.
Kurapika rocked his chair forward, landing with a thud. "Leorio?" he called again. Still no answer. He got up, catching a highlighter as it started to roll off the table and setting it securely between two notebooks, and headed for the bedroom. "Leorio?" he said softly as he opened the door.
Leorio was in bed, stretched out on his side on top of the blankets with his back to the doorway. He was still dressed from work, in scrubs wrinkled from the day's wear and socks wearing thin over the balls of his feet. Kurapika slipped into the room and crept over to the bed. He slid into the middle of the bed and reached over to rest a hand on Leorio's arm.
"Hey," Leorio's voice was thick.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurapika asked, keeping his voice low.
"Not right now."
"Do you want me to go?"
There was a long pause, and then Leorio reached up to take Kurapika's hand. "Stay with me."
Kurapika obliged, kicking off his house slippers and laying down against Leorio's back, wrapping his arms tightly around Leorio's chest and resting his forehead between his broad shoulders. Leorio took his hands again, squeezing them tightly with both of his. They laid like that for several minutes before Leorio's whole body began to shake. He pulled away from Kurapika, who released him so that Leorio could roll over and bury his face in Kurapika's chest, muffling his sobs in the other man's sweatshirt. Kurapika let Leorio cry, petting his short hair absently as he murmured soothing words. He didn't even know what he was saying, but he doubted Leorio did either, so he simply hoped the tone would come across the way he wanted it to. Leorio wrapped his arms around Kurapika's waist and pulled him close, squeezing him tight like he never wanted to let go.
Finally, as the sun finished setting outside and the streetlights blinked on, shifting the light from a glowing orange to a murky yellow, Leorio began to still, his sobs fading into shaky, hiccuping breaths as his tears dried on his cheeks. He gave Kurapika a final squeeze before pulling away slightly and looking up into the blond's face.
Kurapika rested his hands on Leorio's cheeks, rubbing his thumbs over his cheekbones. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not right now."
Kurapika nodded and pulled Leorio close again. Leorio's hands roamed up and down his sides, back, and even stomach, almost like he was searching for reassurance that Kurapika was really there. Kurapika settled for stroking Leorio's hair and massaging the back of his neck with his thumb, hoping the motions and pressure would soothe Leorio's restlessness.
It was another long while before the separated again, Leorio being the one to pull away. He rolled over and sat up. He rubbed his face with both hands, picking at the crystals that had formed in the corners of his eyes, before turning to offer Kurapika a sad smile. I'm okay, it said.
Kurapika yawned at sat up too, stretching out his arms and shaking feeling back into the one Leorio had been laying on top of.
"Let's order in for dinner," Leorio stood up and headed for the bathroom to wash his face.
Kurapika nodded. "You call, I'll clear off the table."
.*.*.*.*.*.
They ate most of their meal in silence, until Leorio's elbow bumped the precarious stack of Kurapika's work materials heaped at the back of the table, sending the top few notebooks and papers sliding forward.
"Shit! Sorry," Leorio scrambled to help Kurapika recollect the materials. "What is all this stuff, anyways?" he looked at the sheet of paper in his hand, a blown-up photo of a rock wall, carved with runes he didn't recognize, a translation scrawled under them.
"A uh… kind of gave me a job, I guess," Kurapika shrugged. "I helped her out with some stuff a little while ago, and she asked me if I'd do it on a regular basis. It's mostly just organizing and filing and scanning her and her team's notes on projects, and helping with transliteration when they have large blocks of text to work on."
Leorio nodded, setting the paper back on top of the stack. "Sounds fun."
Kurapika shrugged. "It's not something I would have seen myself doing, but it's actually kind of fun. She's fundraising another foray into the Lukso province for the near future, so that'll definitely be something I'm interested in."
Leorio nodded along, his gaze becoming distant as Kurapika spoke.
Kurapika frowned and reached out for Leorio's hand. "Hey. You here?"
Leorio gave him a small smile, his eyes focusing on Kurapika's face. "Yeah. I'm good."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not right now."
.*.*.*.*.*.
Late that night, as they were laying back-to-back in bed, Leorio spoke.
"I lost a patient today."
At first, he thought Kurapika was already asleep. Then, there was a shuffle of a body against the bedsheets, and Kurapika's face was pressed against his back again, an arm slung over his ribs. "Do you want to talk about it?" he felt the whisper as much as heard it, Kurapika's breath warm against his bare skin.
"He came into the emergency department halfway through my shift. He'd been sick for a while but couldn't afford to see a doctor. He only came in when it got so bad he couldn't eat or drink or sleep. He was so weak, he could hardly move. I have no idea how he got to the hospital."
"What was wrong with him?" Kurapika asked.
"A flesh-eating virus," Leorio replied. "It had gotten into his stomach somehow—we have no idea how, and I kind of don't want to think about it—and was basically eating him from the inside out." He shuddered. "It was one of the worst things I've ever seen… I wish I could forget about it."
Kurapika's eyes widened. Leorio could feel his eyelashes brushing against his skin. "I don't think I've ever heard you say that before."
"I never have," Leorio could feel tears rising in his eyes again. "I almost can't believe I'm saying it now. But… it was so bad. Maybe part of it is that… by the time he came in, there was nothing we could have done. We made him comfortable… But even that was hardly anything. He died screaming in agony."
Kurapika had to fight back his own tears. He scrunched up his face and tightened his grip on Leorio. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
Leorio grabbed Kurapika's hand and squeezed, his tears flowing fast and silent down his face. "It was harder than the normal ones I see because there was nothing we could do, I guess. It reminded me of… people I lost growing up, because I couldn't do anything then either." A pause, then a whisper. "It reminded me of him."
They didn't speak again. Leorio wept until he fell asleep, Kurapika's damp face pressed between his shoulders. When Kurapika felt Leorio's breathing shift from shuddering sobs to a regular rhythm, he relaxed his own body. If there was anything I could do to keep you from feeling like this, I'd do it in a heartbeat, he thought, reaching up to press a kiss to the nape of Leorio's neck. For now, I'll just do whatever I can to make it better.