"Fuck! This has been the longest day of my life," Ging complained, swiping his card and unlocking the door to him and Pariston's room. Though Killua supposed it was Ging, Pariston, Gon, and Killua's room now.

The Elven-hybrid led the three of them inside, and immediately crashed face first onto the couch. The room was pretty welcoming, warm toned like the main area rather than all sterile like the rest of the place.

It was a small room, consisting of a bedroom area and a living area. There was a tiny minifridge and counter space in the sorry excuse for a hall between the two, as well as a bathroom across from the kitchen area. There was a desk tucked away in the corner of the living space, along with one chair and a pull out couch… that Ging was grumpily getting off of.

Pariston was slinking through the room and flipping on lights, and Killua noticed with a shudder that the shadow he left was anything but humanoid…

"Whelp," Ging sighed, stretching his arms high over his head. "This room isn't too big, the tickets for this damn ship were outrageous. You guys can fight over the couch, Paris and I are taking the bed."

"Both of you?" Killua asked with a raised eyebrow. No way in hell would he share a bed with a Demon.

"Well that's none of your business, now is it?!" Ging snapped, getting strangely defensive. "I'm getting ready for bed, just don't break any furniture while you duke it out, okay?"

Gon and Killua watched Ging march off into the bedroom area, and then shared a glance. They both snickered, and then worked together to put together the pull out couch.

"Jokes on him," Killua smirked, "He won't get to watch any fighting between us anytime soon."

"Yup!" Gon chirped, pulling every single extra blanket, pillow, and sheet provided from the closet. "I think I've fought enough with you to last a lifetime," he murmured.

Killua stiffened.

He agreed.

And cause of him… they'd almost had another fight… if he hadn't listened to Gon's whole story then he probably wouldn't be here with Gon right now.

I really need to stop taking what we have for granted, Killua thought to himself, watching from the corner of his eye as Gon put on the sheets and piled on the blankets. Why am I so ungrateful? I need to savor these little moments.

Gon nodded at his work, then turned his back and started unbuckling and peeling off the layers of blubber and leather and wool. Killua's face flushed, and he quickly turned away… only to come face to face with the mirror… where he could see Gon's bare skin reflected in the glass.

Killua squeezed his eyes shut, and focused his mind on taking his own Sorcerer's uniform apart.

Stop it.

Calm down.

Don't think about it.

Don't think about it!

The hiss of cotton against Gon's skin echoed through Killua's skull, he was straining his ears so hard that he could hear the ringing of the air itself.

Too late.

He thought about it.

Killua bit his tongue in punishment, and wrapped his overly-excited tail around his leg to keep it from twitching about and betraying his messy thoughts and emotions. He quickly changed into his pajamas, willing his heart to stop racing like this. Willing his cheeks to stop flushing so red.

Gon walked silently off to the bathroom, and Killua released a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. He folded his uniform up, and then crossed the room to fold Gon's. He then sat on the edge of the bed, and hugged Gon's stolen pillow against his chest. He inhaled deeply against the soft fabric… Gon's scent was long gone but smelling it even now made Killua feel better…

It was still something of Gon's that he'd saturated with his own scent…

Claiming it…

Making it his and his alone–

"Damn it," Killua whispered to himself when his pants gave an unwelcome twitch. With a growl he slung the covers back and buried himself in their blankets. The pull out couch creaked under his weight, the springs digging uncomfortably into his side.

He focused on that instead of the heat in his mind… the head in his belly.

This is getting so much harder.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME–

Fuck, why do I always word in the worst possible way!?

But still…

It really is getting so much more difficult. I don't know how long I can keep holding out like this. I'm so close to confessing… or doing something I'll regret. Be it acting on these feelings or doing something stupid…

I just…

Killua turned over, and looked at Gon's side of the bed. He brushed the back of his hand against Gon's new pillow, dusting up his smell and sending it spiraling through the air. Killua inhaled deeply, and then sighed.

His lower stomach was a squirming bed of hot electricity, his heart thundering in his chest.

I'm such a mess.

But… I just…

I'm starting to think that just loving him from afar isn't going to be enough for me.

It's been more than six months now… since all that happened. I'd say that our friendship is more than reassured at this point. I think now… it's safe for me to start back up where I left off before Kurapika left us. I think I'm gonna go back to trying to get Gon to fall for me…

Killua scooted over, and buried his face in Gon's new pillow. His heart squeezed, fuck, he loved Gon so much.

I… I need him.

I need him more than anything.

So what if he doesn't love me back? I won't know if he does until I try… And I won't know if he can until I start to push the boundaries of our relationship again.

Killua squeezed his eyes shut tight, remembering that moment on the balcony back in Yorknew City… when a damned feather had ruined his chance.

If he'd been more assertive back then… then maybe they could have…

Damn it.

Killua would make up for his missteps back then. Gon was going to fall for him. Killua would get Gon to fall in love with him if it was the last thing he did.

Pariston snorted.

Gon in the bathroom, and Killua laying in the pullout couch.

Honestly, the amount of hormones roiling off those two was laughable at this point.

"I fear we may come to regret sharing a room, all four of us," Pariston chuckled, pulling the comforter closer.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ging retorted, yanking it back in his direction.

"You're just as dense as your son," Pariston sighed, rolling over and joining Ging on his side of the bed. There, now they could share the blankets without issue.

The hybrid glared at him, but didn't push him away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later," the Demon hummed.

Ging and Pariston stood at the foot of the pull out couch, fully dressed.

Looking in disdain at the younger two, who were still sound asleep.

It was 11:34 am.

"Okay. I understand what you mean now," Ging grumbled, watching his son drool all over his Valkyrie companion's hair.

Pariston simply laughed.

"Alright, let's go over the finer details of the mission," Ging said around a mouthful of french fries.

Gon and Killua nodded, sitting so close that their thighs had to be touching in the booth.

Ging suppressed a dramatic gag.

They were even eating off each other's plates! Sharing their drinks!

What the hell, how were they both so oblivious?! This was so painful to watch. I was making Ging inclined to just tie them together and throw them in a closet.

Gods.

Watching them dance around like this was so damned annoying.

Well at least there was no question about his son's preferences, he supposed.

Ging heaved a sigh, and slapped Pariston's hand away from his food. Damn Demon. Just because his idiot son was sharing his food with his "friend" didn't mean that they were doing the same!

"For starters," Ging began, scooting his tray out of Pariston's reach just for good measure. "We'll be traveling on the Black Whale only until we reach the first refuel station. This ship is going all the way to Berayneah. We're not going in that direction. The first stop will be on the moon Thyrane, and we'll get off and switch ships once we arrive. We'll catch a ride on whatever ship is stopping at Hallah, and then we'll get off and purchase our own ship for the rest of the journey. This is Chimera we're talking about, so we're gonna have to jump through a lot of hoops to get there. We'll be flying our purchased ship to a rendezvous point with a Rebel Chimera soldier, and we'll move in on the operation from there. Sound good?"

"Yup!" Gon chirped, Killua nodding in agreement.

"Perfect!" Ging declared. "Now, this being your first time in space, the two of you aren't accustomed to… well, anything. You might as well be a couple of toddlers, and as it stands you'll do nothing but get in the way." Killua frowned. "Luckily for us, the Black Whale has more than enough accommodations to help us out. For the duration of our time on this ship, I'll train you two in anti-gravity and EVAs and junk. Kapeesh?"

"Got it," Gon agreed, Killua just broodily swirling the straw around his milkshake.

Gods, that Zoldyck kid was a whole lot more trouble than he was worth.

Ging would almost go so far as to say that he was as bad as Pariston… but just almost.

No one was as bad as Pariston.

Ging peeked at his Demon companion out of the corner of his eye, where he was striking up a conversation with Killua about his experience with flight and his altitude resistance. A spark of fondness swirled about in his chest, but he squashed it. Like the disgusting bug that it was, like he always did.

That didn't stop Pariston from noticing though, and the Demon brushed his leg against Ging's under the table. The hybrid sighed and continued his meal. But he didn't move his leg away.