Killua sighed and leaned his head back into the hot water, letting the heat permeate his skull and make his thoughts jumbled and foggy. He relaxed his tail, and let it float lazily to the surface of the murky water. Steam rose up from the water in droves, distorting his vision. Bubbles pounded against his tense back muscles, still sore from the constant traveling.
I love hot tubs way too much. If someone were to step in and kill me right now then I wouldn't raise a finger. If these hags keep treating me like this I think I might just give up on this mystery and let them do whatever the hell they want.
The Valkyrie grinned and flopped against the smooth edge of the hot tub, melting in the embrace of the heated water. The water was even infused with muscle rejuvenating plants! This was the greatest day of Killua's life!
Once the tour had ended, Gon and Killua had been served a light lunch, and then had been ushered into a new part of the building: a spa. Killua had been skeptical at first, stuff like this was for women.
But his mind had quickly changed.
Whoever had decided spa days were for women could go fuck themselves.
Sure, being bathed was annoying and being rubbed with oils like some Givingthanks turkey was beyond uncomfortable, but this hot tub made up for all of it in droves. The chocolate was a nice touch too. Killua snatched another sweet of the tray beside his head, and smiled happily as one of the spa-attendant-Neko-girls quickly shifted the arrangement of chocolate to have more of what he had just eaten.
Tropical plants lined the walls, walls which were made of bamboo. The entire room was steamy and hot, making Killua so incredibly relaxed. His hair was soaking wet and slicked to his head, the dripping strands fell to his shoulders, and he could feel the appreciative gazes of the Neko-Girls on duty against his skin. Usually so much attention from females would annoy him, but he'd tolerate literally anything at this point.
Killua peeked from under heavy lidded eyes at Gon, who had just resurfaced after submerging his head beneath the murky water. The steam veiled everything in a haze, but Gon's toned body was more than visible. His tan skin glistened with water and sweat, and the sleepy lighting in the room sent little shadows across the plane of his chest, making his muscular form all the more apparent.
The Valkyrie averted his gaze.
Gon sloshed about in the water, changing his position every five seconds.
Killua opened one eye and judged him.
"Eh- Killua! Quit judging me!" Gon exclaimed.
"Judging? Whatever do you mean?" The silver haired boy asked with a lazy smirk.
Gon pouted, and blew a strand of wet hair out of his face. Wet hair Gon had officially returned, Killua had decided that his friend had two distinct forms: dry hair Gon and wet hair Gon. Would he ever disclose this information? No. He would take this to the grave. The tan boy just looked so incredibly different with his hair down!
The course mass had turned from a spikey green mountain range to a sashaying field of black grass. It fell to just above his shoulders and framed his face perfectly; not even the most enchanted of picture frames could do any justice in comparison to the wet hair curling around his ears and jawline.
Killua averted his gaze once again.
I keep having this problem lately…
Gon finally stopped squirming, and leaned back in the water in a similar position to Killua. The Valkyrie had almost fallen asleep when a slippery foot brushed against his own under the water. He peaked from under his silver lashes to find Gon struggling to keep a smile off his fake-sleeping face.
Killua savagely kicked the foot with an evil smirk.
Gon yelped in pain, and then burst out laughing.
Had they not been under the influence of the perfect hot tub, war would have been waged. But Killua was far too relaxed to start anything. The hot tub was small anyways, so he decided to tolerate Gon's feet brushing against his own. They were both completely stretched out under the water, so it was inevitable that their feet would meet in the middle.
The Valkyrie was on the verge of sleep once more, when a soft sound met his ears.
It started small, going on and off a couple of times, before continuing and getting louder by the second. It was a dull rumble, with the hint of breathing audible through the burbling baritone.
Is that a-
Killua sat up and looked at the boy across from him, "Gon, are you purring?"
The boy in question inhaled sharply through his nose and sat up, the noise quickly shutting off. "Err, yeah… I mean, sorry! I'll stop it! It just kinda came out.."
Gon's face was burning red, and his posture was stiff and embarrassed.
He's blushing? I must exploit this.
Killua grinned and fixed Gon with a sly look, "You purr?"
The blush got deeper.
"Like a cat?"
The blush got deeper still, spreading to Gon's ears and down his neck.
"I-I know it's stupid and annoying, I swear I'll cut it out! But when I'm super relaxed it just comes and I can't stop it!" Gon exclaimed suddenly, hiding his face behind his arms. "That's why I was squirming so much, cause I kept getting all relaxed and it was hard to contain."
Now Killua's face was getting pink.
He opened himself up so quickly, while I was making fun of him too! And, he thinks the purring is annoying and stupid? He's hiding his face, it's so adorable-
"Gon. Why are you embarrassed about purring?" Killua asked in a softened voice, all mischievous air dismissed for the time being.
"Well," he said from behind his arms, "Back on Whale Island, whenever I'd hang out in the same area as the other kids (they'd never actually play with me, but I'd still try to be around them and stuff), but anyways, everybody would sit out in the sun cause it was just so warm and pretty. Whenever I get all warm, I start purring. So whenever I sat out in the sun like they did I would start purring… but they, like… made fun of me. They called me a weirdo, and said that purring was annoying and stupid, the would say: 'humans don't purr, you dummy!' Or they'd say: 'what are you, some sort of stupid cat?' They already made fun of me a whole bunch as it was, what with me looking all like a hybrid and stuff… but the purring was different. I know looks don't matter, Aunt Mito made sure to teach me that, but the purring was an action. And I just… it made me really embarrassed so I made sure to never let myself purr ever again, cause it's annoying and stupid and embarrassing."
Gon finished his story with his eyes closed shut tight, the only part of his face Killua could see from around his arms. The blush was deeper still, the Valkyrie could tell because though Gon covered his face, he had not managed to cover his neck as well.
Killua's heart hurt, physically hurt for Gon. This story was so heartbreaking! Fuck, tears were blooming in the corners of his eyes. Protective bff mode had been activated. What the fuck- that's so fucking sad! Those stupid little cunts, how could they make fun of Gon like that! I bet all their mother's are no good slutty ass whores that get a kick out of-
Killua shook the aggressive thoughts from his head before they could get any more explicit.
He floated over to squat in front of Gon in the water, and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Gon."
Gon shook his head, water sloshing around his waist.
Killua bit his lip, he was like a little baby puppy-
"Gon."
The horned boy opened one eye, and met Killua's sapphire gaze.
Protective bff mode intensifies.
"Gon, don't listen to those stupid little dickheads!" Killua called out, probably louder than entirely necessary.
Gon's eyes widened at Killua's sudden outburst, having fully expected his friend to agree with the other kids back on Whale Island.
"There's nothing wrong with purring! They can all go fuck themselves with a metal rod!"
Gon loosened his arms from around his head, amber eyes glimmering with emotion.
It's too much-
"Don't listen to anything they've said or anything they will say! Anything that comes out of their mouths is complete shit!"
Gon lowered his arms all the way, shoulders still bunched up and face still burning.
Oh, fuck it-
Killua grabbed Gon by the shoulders and leaned in to within an inch of his face, their noses almost brushing. He pinned Gon with his gaze, letting his Valkyrie-dominance permeate the hybrid's eyes.
"Purring is awesome! There's nothing wrong with purring! Purring is a part of you, and anything that's a part of you is solid gold! You hear me, SOLID GOLD! Never be ashamed of who you are, Gon! Those nasty ass-licking little dick-wads can go shit a brick! Cause as far as I'm concerned anything that comes out of their mouths is total crap!"
Killua ended his speech, fully aware that he had been yelling, but not regretting a single word. He held Gon tightly in his grip and continued staring him down. Tears still sat on the edges of his eyes, but he refused to break his gaze. He stared Gon down and ordered him with those intense eyes of his to listen.
Gon started laughing, slowly at first, his shoulders just barely shaking. Then the laughs gained strength and voice, and soon he was cracking up with tears slipping down his cheeks.
Killua watched, more than a little concerned, unsure of what to do now.
Gon completed his laughing fit with a little sigh, and then drug his hands down his face, and fixed Killua with a grin bigger and brighter than anything he had ever seen. It was less enthusiastic than usual, with a slight hint of un-assuredness and nerves, but still was the most beautiful sight Killua had ever laid eyes on.
"I've never heard you curse so many times in a row, Killua!"
Killua sputtered, then slapped Gon upside the head. "Did you not hear a word I said, moron?!"
Gon cracked up again, "No! No, I definitely did!"
The amber eyed boy met the Valkyrie's gaze, his eyes sincere and emitting so much raw emotion that it hurt Killua's head to look at. "Thank you, Killua. Are you sure.. purring isn't weird or anything?" Insecurity, an emotion Killua was unaccustomed to coming from Gon, weighed down his words.
"No, of course not. You taught me that my tail isn't something to be ashamed of," Killua held his tail up and out of the water to show him, "And you're purring isn't any different."
Gon sat there for a second, processing.
Killua waited, a little annoyed at how long it took Gon's thick skull to think this all through, but was patient as ever.
Tawny eyes lit up with realization, and with a joyous cry Gon wrapped Killua up in a slippery hug. He crushed the Valkyrie to his chest and slung the both of them into the water.
"Hey, Gon!" Killua squealed as they resurfaced, all too aware that neither of them were wearing anything.
"You're the best friend EVER, Killua, you know that?"
Killua shoved him away, and averted his gaze, face burning. "Yeah, yeah, I'm amazing, I know."
Gon giggled and grinned at him, not discouraged in the slightest at having been shoved violently out of the embrace. "Who's amazing? Killua is amazing!"
"Cut it out!" Killua said, cheeks practically giving off their own steam.
"Amaaaaazzzzzinggggggg~~~~~~~~~~!"
"Stop it! You're embarrassing, ya know that?!" Killua exclaimed, knowing full well that at this point Gon was just praising him because he knew it made the Valkyrie embarrassed to no end. "Just shut up and do your purring, you idiot."
Gon laughed one last time, before settling back down.
Killua sighed and did the same.
Gon's purr started small just like last time, but this time gained momentum until its joyous baritone filled the entire room. Killua smiled as he watched Gon from beneath silver lashes. The other boy had never looked so happy.
AN: fun fact, the reason this entire arc is even a thing is because I needed a place to put this scene lmao. for a section that started as just an excuse for a spa day, it sure turned out a lot longer and more detailed than I expected, we're not even a fifth of the way through! *laughs in evil*