Gon cracked Killua's door open and peeked inside. It was ten in the morning, and everyone else was already up. Kurapika had decided to let the assassin sleep for a bit until their results came in, and now that they were Gon got to wake him up! He had initially wanted to wake Killua up when he got up at the crack of dawn, but Kurapika had stopped him.
I'm glad to have another morning person around though! Kurapika even made coffee! It was so good! I really wish he didn't ban me from drinking it ever again though…
Killua's room was like a dark cave. Gon's room was the only one with windows, so the only source of light were the various lamps. The Valkyrie liked to sleep in pitch darkness, no night lights. He was tangled up in his sheets and blankets like a squirrel in its nest. With a smile growing on his face Gon crept silently into the room.
The Valkyrie's backpack was sitting on the desk in the corner, and he had a pile of dirty clothing strewn about in another corner. His purple tennis shoes were leaned up against the closet door, and the soap from the Neko-Village was set on the bedside table, ready to be brought to the bathroom.
The only part of Killua visible was a halo of fluffy white hair. He was completely buried in the pillows and blankets. Gon could barely contain his mischievous snicker as he leaned over the edge of the bed to get a closer look. It was fun waking Killua up because he always made such a big deal about it! Messing with him was so fun! Gon's friend was absolutely NOT a morning person, but something about dragging him out of bed in the morning was particularly enticing.
Since they had all gotten separate rooms Gon hadn't been able to sleep next to Killua, and probably wouldn't for a while. It made him a little sad, and he'd noticed that he hadn't slept as deeply either. But waking him up in the morning would just have to be enough!
Careful as a surgeon, Gon took the edge of the outermost comforter between his fingers and peeled it back. It was like removing the outer shell of a set of Russian dolls, there was another blanket right under it. Gon pulled back two more blankets before he uncovered Killua. The silver haired boy was laying on his side and tucked into a ball. He was tangled in several smaller blankets, and had a pillow tucked against his chest.
That's where my pillow went!
Gon didn't think much of it, he had plenty of pillows and if Killua wanted to steal it then he could! Oddly enough the Valkyrie hadn't woken up yet, he was either really comfortable or really deeply sleeping. Gon leaned down and took his pillow from Killua's arms. The boy immediately stirred, his light-sleeper-nature coming into play.
"Killua!" Gon said.
"No…." was the only response.
Gon grinned. I knew this would happen! "It's time to wake up! Our results are in!" With that, he grabbed his friend under the arms and dragged him out of bed. Killua squirmed and pushed against his face, but Gon didn't give up! He marched the stubborn Valkyrie out of his bedroom and into the hallway bathed in morning sunlight. "Morning time!" Gon declared.
Killua snarled and tried to hide behind him to get out of the sun. Gon looped his arm around the assassin's slender waist and spun him around to face the sun again. Suddenly awake, Killua made a noise of surprise and stood fully up, untangling himself from Gon's arm in the process.
"Good morning!" Gon said cheerfully.
"Y-yeah, good morning," Killua mumbled, face hidden from view as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his arm.
"Come on! Our results from yesterday's fights are in!" Gon grabbed Killua's wrist and ran down the hallway to join Leorio and Kurapika in the living area. Once they reached the end of the hall, Gon jumped up and over the back of the couch. Killua quickly copied his motion and the two of them landed on the couch, barely giving Kurapika and Leorio enough time to scoot out of the way.
"Well, if it isn't sleeping beauty!" Leorio quipped at Killua.
"Ew," the Valkyrie responded without pause. "That's the last face I wanna see when I wake up in the morning."
Leorio took a breath to retort, but Kurapika elbowed the wind out of him at the same moment Gon elbowed Killua in the ribs. Fight prevented as if they had simply flipped off a light switch, Kurapika got right down to business.
I love how good friends we all are! Leorio and Killua bicker all the time, but Kurapika and I always separate them without a second thought. Me and Killua get all hyper a lot, and Leorio and Kurapika yell at us to calm down before we break anything. Kurapika and Leorio get into spats about random stuff, and me and Killua mediate to keep it from getting too heated. Our friend group is so tight knit, just like a family! I'm so happy I met all of them!
"Our results have just been released," Kurapika announced. "Let's check and see how we placed. These results will determine the course of our entire stay here at Heaven's Arena." With that, the blonde Elf pointed the remote and turned on the television. The first thing that appeared on screen was a colorful motion graphic congratulating the four of them on their wins, it then settled onto a screen showing where each of them had been placed, how many points they had earned, and what their next steps would be.
"HAHA!" Gon exclaimed. "I'm placed on floor 147! Killua there's no way you-"
"-Jokes on you, ya idiot!" the Valkyrie interjected. "I'm also on floor 147!"
"Huh?!" Gon whined, then stopped to actually read Killua's section of the chart. Sure enough, they had both been placed on floor 147 to start off from. They had both acquired 150 battle points on some super complicated scale that Gon didn't understand. "Come on, I thought for sure I had beaten you!" The hybrid leaned back against the cushions to fake-pout. Killua snickered and ruffled his hair roughly.
"How did you guys get all the way to floor 147?! That's crazy!" Leorio all but yelled. "I just got to floor 72!"
"Yes, and I am on floor 123," Kurapika said, in a calm voice that was the complete opposite of Leorio's.
"If YOU got placed all the way up on floor 72, then I can't imagine how weak the fighters on floors 1-71 must be," Killua taunted at the Goblin.
Leorio leaned forward so he could see past Kurapika to where the mischievous Valkyrie was. "Oh shut up! I'm plenty strong and you know it! I beat that alien lady like it was nothin'!"
The silver haired trouble maker smirked. "Oh really? You beat a woman? What an incredible feat."
Gon slapped his friend upside the head. "Killua! Respect women!" he commanded.
The Valkyrie glared at him while rubbing his hair, "Yeah yeah, I'm just messing around."
"I know," Gon teased with a smile.
"If the three of you are done roughhousing," Kurapika interjected, "It says here that we have 24 hours to sign up for our next battle, or else we will be disqualified and evicted from the Arena. All business regarding our battles will take place remotely (save for initial battle results), using the technology provided in each hotel room. We each have a personal tablet to sign up for our battles, and all money will be transferred directly to a personal account under each of our names."
"How do we buy stuff if it's stuck in an account?" Leorio asked… only paying attention to money as usual. Gon had to admit though, he was wondering the same thing.
"In Yorknew City there is an advanced economic concept known as a debit card, it is a plastic card much like a license. It allows you to pay for goods and services without having to lug all the physical money around," Kurapika explained.
"Efficient," Killua commented.
"What's the fun in having a bunch of money if it's not physical? Then you can't swim in it!" Leorio complained.
"You can swim in money?!" Gon demanded.
Killua shoved the dense hybrid with his shoulder, "You can't swim in money, Gon. The old man's just being an old man. He's talking about rolling around in it. If it's not liquid then you can't swim."
"That's too bad!" Gon said in disappointment.
"So, Mom, what's our next move?" Killua asked the blonde.
Kurapika gave the assassin an annoyed look and then answered. "It says here that when signing up for our battles now and for every other time, we will have three months of gap time in between each actual fight. That time is used to heal and train in order to continue winning. So we could spend three months in wait, but I do not recommend that. We are here to earn a substantial amount of money while we fight to impress the Phantom Troupe. A way to increase our winnings is to increase our popularity with the audience members and battle followers. Heaven's Arena is somewhat of a sport here in Yorknew City. It is a form of entertainment for all sorts of humanoids living here. The best way to gather attention and a fanbase would be what is known as a floor-streak. It is when a rookie fighter fights back to back to back until they make it to the top, or to a floor they are unable to pass."
"So we're gonna speed run Heavan's Arena?" Killua asked.
"Yes… just not how I would have worded it. The closer together our fights are, the faster we will rise in ranks, and the more of a reputation we will earn. With this in mind, we should schedule our fights right now, for the soonest possible date." Kurapika reached under the coffee table to the shelf underneath. He passed out the tablets they had been provided to each of the other three. "Let's hurry and sign up before the soonest battle slots are taken up."
Gon pressed the on-button and the screen lit up. He swiped up to unlock the screen, and opened the scheduling app. These digital things were so weird but cool at the same time! Gon loved the tablets, but he had to say that the television was his favorite though. Once the app was open, it displayed Gon's fighting information and had an icon labeled "schedule my next fight." Gon tapped the icon, and a calendar appeared. There were several slots open on the calendar, all of them waiting for Gon to select.
"You guys seeing this?" Leorio asked in his usual skeptical tone whenever anything too technologically advanced was involved.
"Yes," Kurapika answered before Killua could start another bickering match. "Since we are all able to select our own fighting dates, I suggest that we schedule our fights so that we can all watch each other's fights. There are slots open for tomorrow on my floor, what about you guys?"
"I have all kinds of spots open for tomorrow!" Leorio declared.
"Me and Gon have a few, oh! Two of them were just taken!" Killua exclaimed.
"Alright then, Gon and Killua, you need to hurry and claim your spots before you run out of slots for tomorrow. The higher the floor you are on, the harder it is to get a fight date closer up."
Gon selected a space for a fight at nine in the morning. Maybe he'd come to regret it being so early, but the name of the opponent listed had seemed interesting. Sabithay Gwendalia. They seemed like an interesting opponent!
The hybrid confirmed his selection, and when he was directed back to the calendar he saw his name on the chart, as well as Killua's.
"Aw, Gon, why'd you pick one so early?" Killua complained.
"Sabithay Gwendalia seemed interesting!" he explained.
The Valkyrie sighed through his nose, but Gon didn't miss the smile he tried to hide. "Of course you'd select your spot based on something like that," the silver haired boy murmured. "Anyways, as you can see, my fight is at 2 in the afternoon against some dude named Veerin."
"I just finished scheduling my fight for 11 in the morning!" Leorio announced.
"And mine for 10:30," Kurapika added. "Gon, Leorio, and I's fights are all back to back, so we will attend each, then eat lunch, and then Killua's fight will be the last fight of the day."
"Sounds like a plan!" Gon said excitedly. "I can't wait for tomorrow! It'll be so fun!"
"What would we do without you, Mamapika?" Killua cooed.
Kurapika sighed and shook his head, clearly having given up on combating Killua's moniker. "Just tell me what you want for breakfast, child. The rest of us have already eaten." He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
Gon watched as Killua's cerulean blue eyes lit up with mischief. He jumped over the back of the couch and all but skipped to the kitchen counter where he proceeded to order an intricate feast of breakfast foods. He was clearly overjoyed to see Kurapika relenting to his joke, and even participating in it. Gon smiled as he watched his friend shoot back and forth with the blonde about what he would be eating.
"What do you want to watch, Gon?" Leorio asked.
Gon turned around to face the television, on which the Goblin was flipping through channels. "Is that show with the naked people in the woods on?" the hybrid asked.
Leorio laughed out loud. "Naked and Afraid?"
"Yeah!"
"I guess we could watch it, I just don't get why you like it so much."
"It's cool watching people survive like that! They have no clothes and that's kinda weird, but it's so interesting to see how they deal with such an uncomfortable situation!"
"At least it's edited," Leorio commented with a smile and a shake of his head. "You're a weird kid, ya know that?"
"I'm only a year younger than you!" Gon pointed out for the hundredth time.
The Goblin ruffled the tan boy's hair. "Maybe so, but if Kurapika is your mom then I'm your sexy uncle!"
Gon side eyed the green-skinned man. "And you say I'm weird?"
"Wha- Hey, I'm just going along with the joke that THAT little jerk off in the kitchen started! If you wanna call anyone weird say it to him-"
Gon laughed as Leorio went off on his millionth rant of the day, once again feeling overcome with joy that he had such great friends.
…
After some hard core convincing on Kurapika's part, the four of them spent the entirety of the day in the hotel room. They ate room service for each meal, and spent their time hanging out and resting their bodies in preparation for their rookie debuts. Kurapika had perused the bookshelf and selected a couple of novels. Leorio had spent the majority of his time either sleeping, rearranging his medical suitcase, or watching television.
Gon and Killua, on the other hand, had partaken in a day that was a far cry from relaxing. After breakfast they had arm wrestled for two hours straight. Then they demonstrated their skill in flipping and gymnastics for an hour. There had been an intense game of hide and seek that would have taken all day, had Kurapika not called them for lunch. After lunch Leorio had turned in for an afternoon nap and the two had discovered video games.
Video games, Killua decided, were the greatest feat of humanoid creation.
They had played battle games, racing games, and even a sports game. Killua won the majority of the time, of course. It was payback for losing in arm wrestling and gymnastics… he had lost both of those competitions thanks to this infatuation for Gon. Aggressive hand holding had been a struggle. Killua had been unable to focus on dominating in physical strength with Gon's strong hand gripped against his own.
Gymnastics had been another story.
Killua had assumed that he would be the more flexible of the two, but he was proven wrong. Gon was incredibly flexible. Watching him bending over backwards and twisting all about had been torture. Especially when he had decided to take his shirt off.
The video games had been a pleasant reprieve from his constant state of embarrassment. The silver haired boy was becoming more accustomed to his attraction to Gon, and he was proud to say that he had trained himself to be in his friend's presence once again. Suppressing his emotions was something that the runaway prince excelled at, and this was no different. He had the creeping feeling that this crush was a whole lot deeper than raw physical attraction, but at the moment he was caught up in the first-time-spark of it all.
I can live with this. I can get over this. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I can't be friends with Gon just like normal. This is nothing.
Oh, how Killua would be proven wrong.
After dinner the foursome had turned in for some late night television before bed. They would have to be up annoyingly early the next morning, and bedtime was set for 9:00 sharp. Mamapika's orders. With thirty minutes until they would be undoubtedly dragged into bed by force, Killua was leaned back against the couch cushions with his feet propped up against the coffee table. Gon was seated next to him with his knees drawn up in front of him. The two old men were sitting in the two reclining chairs like the boring old men they were.
All of a sudden, Gon broke the peace. "Killua!"
The Valkyrie hummed in response around the spoon in his mouth. He had finished the ice cream a long time ago, but maybe if he kept licking the spoon more would magically appear?
"I wanna shower before tomorrow! Come on!"
With that, the Valkyrie was dragged off the couch and down the hall by his wrist.
"You can use the shower when we're done!" Gon called to Leorio and Kurapika. "Hey, Killua, your soap is in your room, right?"
Wait-
"We're showering together?" Killua asked, his brain suddenly refusing to compute.
"Well not together, we'll just be in the bathroom together like at that other hotel when we first got here! That was super fun, so I wanna do it again," Gon chattered as he barged directly into Killua's room and just up and took his soap, shampoo, and conditioner.
"You want to, huh?" Killua stuttered, defaulting to sass as he always did. "Didn't think to ask me my opinion?"
Gon stopped in his tracks before the bathroom door. Killua bumped into him because of the sudden stop of motion, and quickly stepped back to eliminate the proximity. Anywhere he and Gon's skin touched was set aflame. The hybrid's hand was still wrapped around the Valkyrie's wrist, and that small bit of contact was sending sparks up his arm. It was a war to keep his face from flushing. That war was lost when Gon turned to look at him with compassionate amber eyes. "Oh! Sorry about that. If you don't want to then we don't have to," he rubbed the back of his head with the shampoo bottle. "Yeah, sorry, I get so worked up over stuff that I forget to ask first sometimes."
He's so sincere-
"I never said I didn't want to!" Killua stammered. "I was just being difficult.."
A pair of honey colored eyes lit up, and a grin as wide as the sky itself burst across Gon's tan cheeks. "Oh, yay!" Killua's stomach gave a flip and color threatened to rush to his cheeks. Those familiar bubbles stirred in his chest, and the warm feelings for his friend twirled round and round.
Gon opened the bathroom door and pulled Killua inside. "Don't use up all the hot water!" Leorio barely managed to instruct before the door was shut.
"Do you wanna go first or do you want me to go first?" Gon asked as he tugged the hem of his shirt upwards. A flash of tan skin assaulted Killua's vision, and his heart rate picked up speed. This is so unfair.
"Uh, I'll go first!" the silver haired boy choked out.
"Okay then!" They hybrid then dropped the hem of his shirt and turned around to turn the shower on. Killua gritted his teeth and retreated to the corner of the bathroom. Once Gon assumed his place on the toilet seat and turned around, the Valkyrie shucked his clothes off as fast as possible and darted into the shower.
Gon was chattering about his fight tomorrow and how training with his neurotoxin had been going. He was getting better at controlling the potency, however he hadn't meant to make the dose he'd used on Sekodan. He really wished he had an antidote, and on and on and on.
Killua's heart raced as he stood beneath the water. His heart was beating out of his chest, and all he could think about was Gon. Once again, they were only a thin curtain apart. This shower curtain was more sheer than the other one, and Killua could see the shadow of Gon through it. That means he can see me too. Shit I should probably stop just standing here.
The Valkyrie made quick work of his shower, and hated to admit that he was only half paying attention to Gon's words. He rinsed the last of the conditioner out of his hair, and shut the water off. Gon came to the end of his tangent, and silence filled the bathroom as Killua reached out and grabbed the towel off the rack.
Killua's mind produced an unwelcome daydream. A day dream in which Gon grabbed Killua's wrist to stop him from taking the towel. He then stepped forward, opened the shower curtain and-
Stop it! Killua commanded himself. He wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower with flushed cheeks. The silver haired boy was glad for the heat permeating the room, that was a perfect cover up for his flustered state. Killua walked back to the corner and kept his back to Gon. The sounds of the fabric sliding over and off his tan skin made the Valkyrie's stomach flip. He bit his lip and ordered himself to stop imagining what it would look like if he turned around.
Thankfully, Gon stepped behind the curtain and Killua was given a physical barrier between himself and the subject of his intrusive thoughts. He impulsively turned around, and was met with the silhouette of his friend against the shower curtain. He was standing beneath the water with his hands running through his hair. A line of heat shot from Killua's chest into his lower stomach, and he averted his eyes.
"Killua, thanks for letting me be in here. I know it's kinda weird, but I just like hanging around with you. So, thanks for putting up with me being a clingy friend!" he finished with a little chuckle.
"Yeah, it's nothing," Killua murmured. Gon and I are friends, and he just wants to be around me. Yet here I am thinking these thoughts and feeling these things about him that are the complete opposite of friendship. It feels almost like I'm… exploiting him in some way.
"Do you think I should get tattoos?" Gon asked out of nowhere.
"What?! Where is this coming from?" Killua asked as he dried himself off.
"Well, you have tattoos! And they're so cool! So I thought maybe I should get some too!"
"Don't get tattoos just because of me! Besides, mine are just there for sealing my wings. They're not art or anything."
"But wouldn't it be super cool if I got, like, a tattoo of a fishing rod or something?"
"Absolutely not."
The two of them dissolved into their usual banter, with Gon trying to make impulsive decisions and Killua being the voice of reason. He loved their friendship so much… Gon was so incredible. He was like a ball of light, radiating brightness and warmth wherever he went. Killua was a mere ember compared to him.
Gon's my friend, I shouldn't be thinking of him like this. That's why it's imperative that I never tell him how I feel. I'd just freak him out… I know Kurapika told me that Gon wouldn't care if he knew I was gay, but it would be a different story if he knew I liked him. There's no way he likes me back, I'm certain he's straight.
Besides.
I'd just mess all of this up if I said something. It would be like setting off an emotional bomb, and I don't want Gon to feel obligated to return my feelings. I just can't dump all of this on him. I can't lose him. I know I don't deserve him… but I'm selfish, and I need him here. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him.
Killua's thoughts were dark and depressing, he sure had a tendency to get in his head. Gon, on the other hand, was positive and radiating joy as always. The green haired boy stepped out of the shower with a towel around his waist with a goofy grin on his face. Killua forced himself to keep his eyes on Gon's face instead of on his chest.
"Not even a tiny tattoo on the inside of my wrist?"
"No. No tattoos for you," Killua said with finality.
The two of them continued their conversation until they walked into their separate rooms. As Killua put on his sleep clothes, he became even more steely in his determination to keep his feelings for Gon to himself.
