Killua is offered a lift home, but they're determined to make due, with their original promise.


Killua had excused themselves for a moment, walking away with the phone in their hand. Daniel requested they call him to pick them up. Although, originally the request was expected if they mainly felt uncomfortable… They didn't feel uncomfortable, at all.

In fact, they had some of the best conversations and learning experiences, by being with this group playing DnD. Especially with Iason, as the man's question resonated with them. They don't know what kind of relationship they wanted with Daniel, but it was certainly more than what they have now.

Talking to the man's friends, felt so freeing in a way that was hard to explain.

They remarked good things about Daniel, but hearing so much left Killua wondering how much could they prod that man for more… how much would he be willing to tell them about himself?

Exactly how much, would he be willing to tell them, if they gave a small piecemeal? Killua could accidentally reveal what they spoke about during the game. About their parents…

Having been stuck in their head for so long, they hadn't expected the dial tone to go to some kind of pre-recording, Daniel's voice resonating through the phone.

Killua's expression fell, "Maybe he missed the first call… I'll try again just in case."

"~"

Daniel was lying flat on the couch, arm dangling over the armrest of the chair, his face buried into the pillow, drooling, as he snored softly. The ringing of his phone made him stir against the couch, whining in absolute protest against the ruckus, "Arrgh… can you get the phone, Killua."

The moment the phone stopped, Daniel sprung awake, eyes wide open "KILLUA?!"

Seconds later, the phone started ringing again. He scrambled towards the phone, crawling across the couch like a newborn baby. The moment he grabbed the phone, his foot got caught under the blanket. The man screamed as he fell to the floor along with the phone.

"Are… you, okay?"

The man barely heard Killua's voice, but that didn't stop him from pulling the phone towards his ear, unable to contain his smile. He knows it's only been a few hours, but it's felt like an eternity since he heard Killua's voice. It was soothing to his half-groggy state, a refreshing tune for his ears.

Feeling it was one thing, but saying it was another "I'm fine… how did it go? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… it was quite fun actually. We finished just a few moments ago… and I was hoping you'd come and pick me up." Killua thought about it for a second, "If you're okay to do so."

"Yes… Yes! Of course, gimme… thirty minutes and I'll be there."

"Knuckle and Shoot have offered to take me back, home…" Killua stopped for a moment, clarifying their last word "Home as in back to your place."

"It's okay…" Daniel's heart swelled a little with affection, hearing the way they said home. It was the finer details that the man felt himself fall for the other. But once again, his head got in the way of his feelings.

He has felt that way before…

Closing his eyes, he reminded not only himself of the predicament he was in. He couldn't fall for someone again so quickly, "I don't mind picking you up, as long as you don't mind waiting for me."

"I don't mind…" Killua felt a sense of relief, "I kind of realised, I kind of need to speak to you."

"Are you… okay?"

"Yeah, I just have questions and answers I wish to share with you… if that's okay with you?"

"Yeah…" Daniel paused, a feeling of doubt cropping up in his mind, "Yeah, yeah… that'll be fine. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Good, I'll wait for you until then." The door creaking open made Killua turn, the alien now noticing the door had cracked open during their conversation with Daniel. Was someone snooping? When Meleoron stuck his head through the gap, they half expected the man to apologise for infringing on a private conversation.

Having seen the man mouthing something to them, the alien spoke into the receiver "I'll see you then, bye, bye."

When they received a goodbye in response, the alien hung up, arms now being crossed "Never pegged you for a… what's the saying?"

"Sticky nose…?"

"Yeah, I hope you weren't listening in on my conversation." I wouldn't want you to flush your trust down the drain…

"Barely, I just wanted to apologise, not for listening to your conversation… because I wasn't, it was for my treatment towards you in the beginning."

"Right…"

"I'm… how would I put it, don't like the idea of having to train anyone from scratch… which is why you won't see me much in a position of power. I dislike the idea of being a leader of sorts. I prefer to follow."

"And object to majority rules, it would seem."

"Eh, that's just my character… DM is the one rule to that exception because, at the end of the day, it's just roleplaying." Meleoron dismissed with a wave of his hand, "But there's something I am interested in about you… which I'm hoping you can tell me."

"My past is for me to tell when I feel ready to do so…" Killua went on to clarify their reasoning, "As Iason said, you guys shouldn't be probing me for more of my life, especially, when I have applied the same rules towards Daniel."

"Oh…" The man then shook his head in response, "No, what I'm curious about is how the two of you met." When they didn't answer, the man continued, "Well after listening to you speak several times, it seems like the way you speak is…"

He hummed, eyes diverting away as he clarified, "Alien…"

Killua tensed at the acknowledgement, eyes glowering, seething from the judgment being placed on them. They never expected to come off as alien… but the question now, is what kind of hints were they giving away to give off that vibe?

"Well, less alien… more foreign." The man clarified, "When you speak it seems… robotic. Not as in you speak with constant pauses," the man enunciated, a pause between every word to show what he meant, "It feels like…"

"I got it…" Meleoron smacked a fist in his hand at the revelation, now smiling when he looked towards Killua "It feels like English is your second language. Don't get me wrong, it's really, damn good if it is… it's just you speak way too formally like you're in a societal class way above the rest of us. It's way too formal for a stereotypical Australian, which is why I'm interested in how you met."

"We met because of circumstances…"

"Oh, I thought you said you knew him since childhood?"

"Yeah, that is the circumstance… I knew him since childhood. He's really, the only friend I could find contact details for. It probably helps that he works in a public field, being a psychologist and all. I needed… a reason to escape my family." This part is true… it's the lie I need to make up in the process, "he's the guy I just happened to land on."

"Right…" The man scratched the back of his head, "I'm probably not going to get any more than that… am I?" When he received a nod in response, Meleoron sighed in defeat "Well, it was nice meeting you. You should join us for a game, every now and then, maybe even attempt to bring Daniel along. Otherwise, you may want to drop the formal tone. Listen to the way Daniel speaks, you'll understand what I mean. He has a professional and casual tone… you can hear the difference, just listen."

"I'll keep my ear peeled…"

"Nice meeting you, I'm gonna try hitch a ride home, maybe Ikalgo can help a brother out. See ya."

Killua felt a little confused by the conversation. What did he mean by Daniel having a professional and casual tone? Did he mean by the way Daniel spoke? Because when they have discussions about their cultural differences, there was a clear difference between how he spoke, when it came to comparing against a casual conversation about mundane things…

The thing is… Daniel has spoken to them more formally for most of their time here than he has done casually. Maybe striking up more casual conversations would be beneficial…

There was only one way to find out… and that was to talk to him.

"~"

Killua sat comfortably in the car, Daniel barely speaking to them. It seems like the two of them had a lot on their mind at the moment. Killua thought about what's the best question to use to probe the man.

They wanted to know more. They wanted to hear more about the man, but that required them to be a little tactful about the situation. The man was private about his life, so probing without being a little open would be difficult.

When Daniel turned a corner, Killua casually broke the silence "So, what did you do?"

"I watched TV… then fell asleep, my apologies for not answering the phone the first time."

"It's fine…"

"Did you…" Daniel looked at Killua through the mirror, barely glancing in the alien's direction, "have fun?"

"I did… we had a lot of deep discussions, thoughtful questions… and a lot of dirty jokes, it would seem."

Daniel snorted, "Dirty jokes… that's one hell of a way to break the ice." He thought his friends would be a little discreet with those kinds of jokes, but they must have sensed something about Killua, that didn't make the alien come off as being a prude when it came to dirty jokes. He guesses he can appreciate they didn't act differently around his new friend.

Killua grinned, "It would seem so. You guys have multiple ways to make dick jokes."

"Surely some of your degenerate species make those kinds of jokes?"

"About the Acronis… no, we have some class." When Daniel looked at them in disbelief, Killua snorted, "The closest kind of one I can think of, is… what would be a comparison?" The alien hummed, "maybe the storage kind. Less about the smell, more about producing said smell… like a queef?"

Daniel chuckled at the comparison, "Oh, you mean like, to be full of shit?"

"As in…?" Where does this man keep pulling these idioms and explanations out? Surely, some of them had to be made up by now. There was no way all of these were real sayings.

"They're unreliable or ridiculous with their statements. So, if I say I find women attractive I'd be-"

"Full of shit."

"Exactly…"

The car fell into a sort of comfortable silence. Killua felt ready, to reveal a little more about themselves. The question was what would pique Daniel's interest… what would the man find interesting about them?

They were so limited with what they could tell, as giving away too much, may deter Daniel away from wanting to be friends with them. They guess they could bring up a part of the conversation they had with Iason, given that being truthful, would mean Daniel would have to be somewhat truthful too "Iason spoke to me about something, but told me not to say anything to you…"

"Did he now…" Daniel's fingers tightened around the wheel, "What about?"

"Hmm…" Killua took note of the man's reaction. He was on guard, which wasn't good for them if they were being honest. They needed to think about which way they could break the question, without breaking the rule they made with the other, "Well, I can't give too many details. But, it's mainly about how… how you feel about me?"

"Feel…?" Daniel tried to think about the kind of conversation the two had. Hopefully, it wasn't about the kiss… he dreads to think about how his friends would react, especially, when one calls Killua an eleven on the hotness scale. Someone who was way above their attainability "Well, I think you're… intelligent, well-mannered and a great conversationalist, why?"

"I feel the same about you, although…" As Daniel raised an eyebrow in concern, Killua pressed on "maybe scratch off the intelligent part and swap it more with entertaining."

"You wound me Killua…" Daniel broke into a smile, even though it counts as an insult "I'm gonna scratch off well-mannered and swap it with cheeky."

"Now you wound me…"

"I'd like you to think of cheeky, in a way of endearment…"

Killua saw that same smile again, "Why do you smile like that?"

"Like what…?" Daniel frowned. He didn't think he smiled unusually.

"It's hard to explain… it's like when you get comfortable, you smile in this strange way…"

"Like I seem happy?"

"I'm not sure… but I guess. Is that how you feel? Do you feel happy around me or something?"

"Well…" Daniel sighed. He was starting to feel uncomfortable, as being honest was insanely difficult right now, "Like how you don't like to talk about your past, this is the one topic I refuse to go into. If you find the way I smile is-"

"No, I guess… I like it." Killua got hung up, silencing themselves for a moment. How do they explain themselves better to Daniel? "It's hard to explain from one language to another, but when you smile like that, it feels genuine, as though you're being honest. Or about to be honest… it's like a visual hint for me, I guess."

"I am comfortable around you…" Daniel defied the alien's assumption. He can feel comfortable, without the need to smile like that, in Killua's eyes.

"But when you're like that, I know you're being honest."

"It's not something I can force, Killua…" The man's voice showed signs of anger. He didn't mean to voice his anger; he was just getting frustrated having been probed like that. His eyes met Killua's through the mirror, expecting Killua to challenge him on that statement.

But it never came. Instead, the alien's words further cemented their predicament, "Kind of like that kiss…"

"That was an accident!" Daniel grew exhausted. It was an accident… he never meant to kiss Killua. If he could turn back the clock, that's the one thing he'd undo. He'd make sure it never happened.

"Accident or no, I appreciated that gesture." Daniel's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe his eyes, let alone his ears with what he was hearing… but Killua, from the sounds of things, was being genuinely honest to him "It didn't feel forced, it felt comforting, I guess… It feels… like it's your way of saying everything is going to be okay or something to that effect."

"I guess…" The man's cheeks tinged from the knowledge; eyes diverted away from his alien friend. To hear it is one thing… to know it, is another. He appreciated the sentiment, but it did way more harm to his conflicting heart than to benefit it… what would happen if he were to accidentally kiss Killua on the lips now?

Of course, if he were to pull over the side, and not do so while in the middle of driving.

Would they lean into his touch…? No, I can't think about that… I can't throw myself into another relationship. I'm not ready… "that's nice to hear, I guess…"

"Another thing, I do appreciate the things you do to me… and I may have accidentally revealed a piece of my history to the others… nothing incriminating, but I felt you should know." They were met with silence, Daniel's gaze through the mirror hardening. He was watching them through the mirror, waiting for them to continue the conversation, "My… parent, the Master, in this case… expects great things from me, but what they want and what I want, are two different things. I want a life of freedom… they want, or expect me to take rein of a ship I don't desire to control."

"Thank you for telling me this, Killua…" Now knowing this, the man questioned himself. What were Killua's parents expecting of them? Clearly, it was something against their will… but with what knowledge he has so far, it'll be like taking a shot in the dark… he had no clue.

"Basically, I only told them, that my parents sought control of what I can do… nothing more."

The man gave a nod, eyes returning to the road, "I guess… I should tell you something in return." When Killua faced them, he spoke slowly, "My previous partner, Yannick… broke not only my heart but my trust too. He had been breaching my privacy for his own, gains, snooping around for my likes and dislikes, so that he can woo me with that knowledge, later… there was one secret I refused to tell anyone, like… nobody should have known about it. Yet one day, he brought it up like it was nothing…"

Killua thought about things they have learnt so far. Maybe Daniel accidentally told them what that betrayal was. As much as they'd like to play a guessing game, they assumed Daniel wouldn't like being probed further than he has stated so far. So, the alien relented "I assume this is the main reason why you don't want to have a relationship?"

"No…" The man turned another corner, "It's a little more than that. But it's not something I wish to go into. Just know he broke my trust, and now I do not wish to reveal any more about myself than I have to… I hope that's okay with you."

"Sure, I'm grateful…" The alien paused, thinking back on what Meleoron said. They were listening to Daniel's words, listening to when the man switched from a formal tone to a casual one. Maybe they should start replicating those mannerisms "I appreciate you telling me this. Although, I think this Yannick guy is… what's the word?"

"A dick… or in a stereotypical Australian response, a cunt…"

"Yes, one of those… a cunt. I Queef-ing one…"

Daniel snorted, "Queef-ing?"

"Well, what would you use?"

"A flatulent gasbag, if I was being formal… A whoopie-Cushion, cunt, if I was being honest."

"Whoopie-Cushion?"

"It's a toy you blow up, then sit on. It makes farting noises as it expels the air."

"I've said it once… I'm going to say it again, humans are definitely, weird."

"I know…" Daniel smirked. He liked that about Killua, the way they take things in stride. He's going to be a little more honest with Killua, "How about this, the more I get to know about you, the more I'll tell you about myself, deal?"

"Deal!" Killua accepted without a complaint. Did that mean expressing more about themselves was required to learn more about that man, sure… But they were desperate to know more. Iason thinks the man may have feelings for them, if it can lead to being open and honest, especially, if it involves exploring more with them. A fling here and there, they wouldn't mind…

Although, the only way that's going to happen, is if Gon talks with Daniel, apparently… Only time could tell when that's going to happen.