Killua sparked to a stop in the corridor. There they were, Ging and Pariston. They were being held by an enormous group of crewmates, and both of them were put in restraints just like Killua's.

Before the crewmates could even think to react to Killua's arrival, he placed Gon on his feet and exploded into action. The Valkyrie tore through the opposing army, Ryder finishing the job close at his back. It was all over in a matter of moments.

Killua grinned over at Ryder, they made a perfect team!

The purple skinned male swished his tail giddily, making a laid back symbol with his thumb and pinky finger.

"That was hot, bae!" Ryder chirped.

Killua snorted, shaking his head and darting over to Ging. He ripped the restraints off his arms and the mask of his face, Ryder doing the same for Pariston. Gon was standing off to the side, frozen in shock.

"Holy shit, Killua! That was fucking badass!" Ging exclaimed, slapping the Valkyrie across the back once he'd been freed.

Killua chuckled, his attention not entirely on Ging. He glanced over at Gon, who was still standing off to the side… he was staring over at Ryder. He had a deep furrow in his brow. Uh oh. Killua flushed, turning his attention back to Ging.

"Yeah, I'm amazing," he drawled, helping the older male to his feet.

Dammit. Killua was feeling very guilty right about now.

It felt so wrong having Gon and Ryder in the same room at the same time… it was like Gon was stumbling across his sex toy or some shit like that… and that wasn't entirely inaccurate. That was, in fact, exactly what was happening.

Gon - who Killua was madly in love with - was now interacting with Ryder, an attempted hook up of Killua's. It felt like he'd been caught cheating… although the feeling was going in both directions. Cause here Ryder was, a guy who made his attraction to Killua abundantly clear, interacting with the man that Killua was in love with! Who wasn't him!

Fuck.

This felt so awkward. And Killua was the only one who knew it was even supposed to be awkward in the first place! He hated this. Gon looked so confused–

Killua was so embarrassed.

All he could do was avoid eye contact with the horned male and try to get his face to stop flushing.

He could still run away from his problems! For now, at least. They needed to make it to the slip vessel, and before the army of vengeful crewmates beat them there.

"But we need to move," Killua called out the the other four males, "there's a shit ton of crewmates, and if we wanna steal the slip vessel we need to beat them to the northern bay."

"Hahah!" Ging barked, "Perfect! I've been wanting to get off this damned ship this whole time!"

"Alright, let's move out!" Killua ordered, bracing himself to sprint. "We can't slow down!"

"After you, bae!" Ryder chirped, skipping over the Valkyrie's side. Having both Ryder and Gon around at the same time was making Killua's stomach lurch with shame and nervous fear every time he glanced over at Gon, so he simply took off without looking behind him.

Killua led the others through the ship, Ryder at his side and Ging and Pariston tagging along after them. Why hadn't Gon made it up to the front yet? Stride in stride with Ryder, Killua shot a glance over his shoulder to see why Gon wasn't next to him already–

The Valkyrie's stomach dropped as Gon cried out and tripped over his own feet, crashing to the floor and sliding against the metal.

Killua gasped, his heart skipping a beat, "Gon–"

"There they are! Don't let them get through!"

Shit.

Killua snarled, facing back forward. There was a scout squadron right ahead of them, blocking the entire corridor. Fuck, if the crew had already found them, then they already knew where they were going! They couldn't afford to slow down at the point, Killua need to take these people out and he needed to do it now, but Gon was–

"I got him!" Ryder called out, tagging Killua on the shoulder before turning on his heel and sprinting back to get Gon.

The assassin sighed in relief, a beat of warmth sparking in his chest for Ryder.

Gritting his teeth, Killua turned his attention back to their enemies.

Fine, if they wanted to get in the way then they could get in the way.

Didn't mean Killua would slow down.

The crewmates braced for impact, recoiling as they realized that their targets weren't slowing down. "Open fire!" the leader cried.

Killua smirked. A valiant effort, but a useless attempt.

The Valkyrie, Ging, and Pariston didn't even have to dodge, they simply activated their Ren and allowed the laser fire to bounce right off like ping pong balls.

Killua was on top of the scout squadron in a matter of seconds, not hesitating in the slightest. He didn't usually like to do this, but the high risk situation was forcing him to lean into his ingrained instincts, attained from all those painful years of training.

He released a fourth of the glamour, slipping into assassin mode.

Killua relaxed his arms, and focused all of his strength into them.

"Serpent Work," he hissed, cutting through the barricade of crewmates with a quick and fluid flurry of motion.

"Daymn!" Ging laughed, stomping across the carnage without a second thought.

Killua left assassin mode active, leaning down and extending his arms out behind him. He picked up speed, darting through the halls and dispatching each and every crewmate they happened across. It was fast work, efficient. Killua was truly the best in his class.

He was really showing his true assassin colors at the moment, but that didn't matter. Gon was in critical condition, being hauled along in Ryder's arms. Killua needed to get them to the slip vessel so Gon could be treated for brain injury. His safety was top priority; not to mention the fact that they'd be thrown behind bars and very much unable to complete the mission if they were taken into custody.

They turned one final corner, the doorway to the northern bay right up ahead. Of course, it was blocked by another squadron. As if it would even matter?

Killua darted ahead of the others, plunging his fist into one crewmate, decapitating another with his tail. Five, eight, twelve. All of them gone in a flash. Blood splattered Killua's suit, sticking between his fingers and staining the slick surface in red.

Ging and Pariston shot through the opening after him. Together, the five now-fugitives (on this ship, at least) hauled ass for the slip vessel.

A slip vessel was like a larger version of an escape pod. It was a smaller vessel often carried along in larger vessels. It was not meant for long distance travel, just for getting crews to the next station over if something went wrong. It was also their only way off this damn ship.

Due to safety protocol, the entry ramp to the slip vessel was always open. It was a sleek vehicle, silvery and new with stripes of metallic blue down the sides. It was a much newer model than the hunk of junk that the main ship was, and would have just enough room and oxygen to get the five of them to Hallah.

Killua beelined for the entry ramp, ignoring the storm of laser fire raining down on them as they ran. The five of them stormed up the ramp, frantically tripping over each other to squeeze into the small space.

Killua waved Ryder on, who was bringing up the lead with Gon cradled against his chest.

The second Ryder got inside, Killua smashed the glass case around the emergency switch to close the ramp without use of the cockpit. A mere split second before the crewmates caught up with them and the inside of the vessel was filled with laser fire, Killua flipped the switch and the ramp rose up, slamming closed with a defining thud.

The Valkyrie whipped around, they needed to get out of here before the crewmates shut the bay window or got out some heavier artillery!

Ryder dropped Gon down on the couch in the sitting area, and tore off towards the cockpit, where Ging and Pariston were currently being overwhelmed by the controls. Believe it or not, flying a spaceship was not something you could just pick up as you went.

"Hold on, does anyone know how to fly a ship?!" Ging yelled frantically, the stress catching up with him as the hulls of the ship vessel were barraged with hundreds of little "pings" of laser fire.

"I do!" Ryder announced, flying through the doorway to the cockpit and shoving Ging and Pariston aside. He slid into the pilot's seat, and started flipping a myriad of seemingly random buttons and switches.

The vessel hummed to life, much to Ging and Pariston's astonishment.

Killua grinned from where he leaned against the door jam to the cockpit. Ryder was pretty damn impressive, wasn't he? Pride sang in Killua's chest for his friend. He'd forgotten just how cool Ryder could be…

"Alrighty! Let's get this baby up and running!" Ryder cheered, finally taking a hold of the yoke. "Holddd onnn, to 'yer nipples!" he barked with a wicked laugh, tugging at the yoke and jerking the vessel up and off the ground.

Killua groaned at the awful reference, clinging to the door jam as Ryder messily slung the ship into the air and slammed the yoke forward. The vessel shot out of the bay window, the passable plasma barrier shivering as they shot through.

Ryder laughed like a mad man as he picked up speed, rushing them further and further away from the larger vessel. "Hell yeah!" he screamed, "We did it!"

"That we did," Ging gawked, watching in awe as they hurtled through space. There wasn't really much to look at aside from empty blackness… but the feeling of them moving at thousands of miles per hour was enough to spark speechlessness in even the likes of Ging. The slip vessel's artificial gravity system wasn't as strong as the one on the main ship, so when Ryder pushed the poor little ship past the red the motion could be felt.

"So, where we going?" Ryder asked, slouching back in his seat and glancing lazily over his shoulder at Killua… driving with only one hand. Something about watching this idiot drive a fucking space ship with only one hand was particularly alarming.

"Hallah," Killua answered, squeezing past Pariston to sit in the copilot's seat. There were three chairs in the cockpit: the pilot, the copilot, and the navigator. Even a ship as simple as a slip vessel needed three pilots. It was just too much work for a single person to handle.

Ging leaned over the back of the navigator's seat, prodding at the screen and turning it on. "Okay, setting a course for Hallah!" Ryder chirped, leaning over the arm of the pilot seat to slap Ging's hands away from the screen of the navigator.

"Hey, bae, take the yoke for a second, huh?" he asked, the only warning Killua was given before he let go, and the vessel was veering off course!

In a frantic scramble, Killua lurched the arm of his chair to reach Ryder's seat, grabbing onto the yoke and correcting the ship's motion. But before Killua (or Pariston) could yell at Ryder for being a reckless dipshit, he was leaning back into his place and taking the yoke back from Killua.

The hybrid's hands slid over Killua's as they traded the controls, and Killua leaned back into his seat. The assassin's skin was tingling from where Ryder's hands had touched his. Huh.

Ging was still leaning over the back of the navigator's chair, staring intently at the screen and trying to figure out how Ryder had gotten it to do what it was doing.

"It's calculating our course," Ryder explained with a snort.

"Yeah! I knew that," Ging retorted, leaning back and retreating to Pariston's side to pout. "Killua, who the hell is this guy?!"

"I'm his Di–"

"Shut up," Killua hissed, jumping over the arm of his chair to slap his hand across Ryder's stupid loud mouth. The hybrid giggled, tail wagging as he directed the ship. "This is Ryder," Killua explained, the hybrid wiggling his fingers in greeting. "I met him a while back while in Yorknew City. He was one of the pirates that attacked, but when we ran into each other he decided to join up with us instead. He's helping us with the mission."

"Oh, is he now?" Pariston gasped with a growing grin.

Ging scoffed. "What?! You can't just decide who joins this mission, Zoldyck!"

Killua turned around in his chair to glare at Ging. "Oo, Killua's in trouble~" Ryder cooed the second his hand was freed. The Valkyrie hissed and slapped him upside the head.

"I'm not in trouble, idiot!" he snapped. "And yes I can decide who comes on this mission, cause I already did. What, can you fly a spaceship?"

Ging opened his mouth, and then closed it. Clearly enraged at not being all knowing on this subject. Jeez, this guy had serious superiority complex issues.

"Thought so!" Killua declared, shooting Ging a taunting smirk.

Ging puffed his cheeks out. "How do we know we can trust this guy?! He's just some random assed pirate you grabbed off the streets!"

"Actually," Ryder interjected jokingly, "there are no streets in space–"

"Can it, jackass! You're on thin ice as it is, don't test my patience!" Ging snapped.

"Sorry, daddy, I promise I'll behave–"

"How many times to I have to tell you to shut the fuck up?!" Killua hissed again, flicking Ryder in one of his stupid bat-like ears. The little shit just laughed. "He's more trouble than he's worth, but he's trustworthy," Killua told Ging, no smirk this time. All business. "I didn't wanna kill him, and he didn't wanna die. I gave him the option of either getting killed or joining up with us. Obviously, he's here with us."

Bending the truth a little, but it would have to do. Killua needed to convince Ging to let Ryder stay. For some reason it meant a lot to him that they didn't kick him out or tie him up. He wanted Ryder to be accepted into their group. It was the least he could do, after all the trouble Killua had caused him in Yorknew City.

Ging frowned, staring into Killua's eyes. The Valkyrie stared right back. It was a contest of wills.

The older male looked away with a grumble, turning his attention to Ryder. "You, alien boy, why are you here?"

Ryder turned in his chair, once again driving with only one hand. "I'm here for Killua," he answered truthfully. Getting serious for once, he stared Ging right in the eye. Green gaze intense and glowing. "I won't betray him. So I won't betray you guys either."

The Valkyrie blinked at Ryder. There was so much resolve in those words. He really was serious about sticking with Killua, huh? It seemed he wanted to join up with Killua just as much as he had back in Yorknew City… before everything had gone to hell and Killua had ditched him for Gon.

Ging narrowed his eyes. "Fine. But only if you drive the damn ship with two hands."

"Awesome sauce!" Ryder cheered, those eyes lighting up as he went back to being playful again. "I won't let you down, daddy!"

"Don't call me that," Ging snapped, sounding uncomfortable… and rightfully so.

"Aw, no fun!" Ryder pouted, though listened to Ging and faced forward. "What can I call you, then?"

"The name's Ging, and this is Pariston."

"A pleasure!" the Demon chirped.

"Sick! I never met a Demon before!" Ryder exclaimed, tail swishing about as he reached over to the navigation computer to press a few more buttons and make some adjustments to the calculations it had made.

Ging and Pariston shared a shocked glance. How had he figured out Pariston's species? He hadn't released any aura at all, and still had his glamour completely up. His Demon blood shouldn't have been detectable. Even to the likes of Killua. The Valkyrie grinned. Ryder was a lot stronger than he seemed. Soon Ging and Pariston would see why he'd be good to keep around.

"Where are you from, kid?" Ging asked, stepping forward to stand beside Ryder's chair and watch him drive.

"Oh, I'm from Overworld just like you guys! I grew up in Yorknew City, but my whole life I'd always wanted to go see space, cause I'm part alien, ya know? So I went! Only the army I joined sucked ass, as you guys saw. So I decided it would be more fun to team up with you guys than to stay with those light weights!"

"Huh, you're pretty cuddly, aren't you?" Ging grumbled, clearly having not expected Ryder's entire life story.

"You could say that," the green eyed male snickered. "How are you and barf boy related?"

Ging cracked out a laugh, and Killua stiffened. Oh, shit.

That's right.

Gon existed.

Fuck.

"His name's not barf boy, but that's my kid," Ging explained, grin on his face. It ticked Killua off a little that all it had taken was a jab at Gon from Ryder for Ging to accept him… come on, asshole. Have some loyalty to your fucking son, huh?

"I figured as much!" Ryder said. "He sure doesn't take a hit well, does he?"

"Nope! He loves to get the shit beat out of him," Ging sighed, plopping down into the navigator's seat.

Killua frowned, suddenly feeling defensive in Gon's place. "Shut up, old man," he snapped at Ging. "Gon's stronger than you are."

"So his name's Gon?" Ryder mused. "I dunno, 'Barf Boy' has a better ring to it."

"Don't call him that, jackass," Killua grumbled, slapping Ryder in the arm.

"Come on, don't be like that, bae!" Ryder whined dramatically, leaning over the side of his chair to get closer to Killua. "Why won't you let me bully the Barf Boy?"

"Cause his name's not 'Barf Boy,' and you're being a dick!" Killua snapped, flicking Ryder on the nose.

The purple skinned hybrid laughed, tail swishing about behind him. Showing his attraction towards Killua.

Pariston watched from the door jam, immediately taking notice of Ryder's interest in the Valkyrie. He also took notice of the way the tip of Killua's tail flicked in time with the Alien-Cryptid's.

Interesting, Pariston sensed some drama stirring. He loved drama!

Killua and Ryder bickered back and forth for a few minutes, Ging egging them on every so often. It was crazy, Ryder had fit in with their group so easily. It was like he'd been here the whole time. Maybe Killua was worrying over nothing. Him and Gon would probably get along fine!

Probably.

"Whatever, I'm gonna go check on Gon," Killua announced, leaving the copilot's seat. Pariston took his place, silently slipping into the chair.

"Yes, hurry to Sleeping Beauty's side," Ryder cooed dramatically, leaning backwards over the chair to watch Killua leave. "You must sit at his bedside to ensure he has sweet dreams!"

"Shut the fuck up, jackass!" Killua protested, grinning as he slapped Ryder with his tail on the way out.

"Love you two, bae!" Ryder sang, holding onto Killua's tail with his own until they unwound when the Valkyrie left the cockpit.

Shaking his head, Killua walked across the ship to the middle block. The slip vessel was divided into three blocks: the cockpit, the common area, and the bunk area.

The common area had a couple of small couches, as well as a table and cramped kitchen area. There was some freeze dried food stored in the cabinets over the stove, as well as some bland ration packs and gallons of water.

The bunk area had a single bathroom, as well as six bunks built into the walls. There was some storage space back there, as well as a couple crates of weapons and tools.

Gon was currently laid down on one of the couches. He was covered in blood and sprayed gristle, and had a nasty head wound on the back of his skull. It was still bleeding, leaking a tick pool of blood onto the couch. Killua didn't smell any cranial fluid, so the injury wasn't too bad.

The Valkyrie sat down on the area table before Gon. The poor guy was out cold, face pallor and brows furrowed. Killua's features slackened, his insides turning to mush as he remembered that morning… before everything had gotten so crazy.

It was insane but… Killua was pretty sure Gon had been about to do something crazy.

"Something crazy" meaning confess to him.

Shit, just thinking the words was enough to turn Killua into a blushing mess. His heart was racing, remembering the way Gon had leaned him down… hovered over him… slid his hands down Killua's body–

Okay. That was quite enough!

Heat was starting to poll in Killua's lower belly, and that was never a good sign.

Shaking the steamy thoughts from his head, Killua leaned forward and rested the back of his hand against Gon's forehead. He had a little bit of a fever, and his skin was slick with sweat.

Warmth stirred in Killua's chest. He hated seeing Gon like this… he wanted to make him all better, and something about tending to his injuries like this just felt so… tender.

The Valkyrie gently lifted Gon's head up. He leaned down, spreading that coarse hair and inspecting the damage. His scalp was pretty busted, the skull a little visible. Damn bastards. There had been no reason to kick Gon in the fucking head! This was obviously a boot wound! He only would have gotten it if he'd already been down. Fucking assholes.

A little pout on his lips, Killua gently laid Gon back down. He hurried over to the back block, rummaging around in the storage bins until he found the medical kit. Once back at Gon's side, Killua cleaned off the wound. He lovingly wiped Gon's face free of blood and the grime from battle, and wrapped his head in a bandage.

Gently, Killua picked Gon up. He was heavy, heavier than Killua was even though the Valkyrie had him in the height department. Killua's cheeks flushed as he looked down at Gon, head leaned against his chest. He was so cute when he was sleeping…

Shaking the sappy thoughts from his mind, Killua walked Gon over to the bunks and laid him down in the one on the bottom left. Killua sat on the bed beside him, indecisive. Gon was still in his space suit… that was unsanitary. It was covered in other's blood, and stunk like laser fire and sweat.

I should take it off.

His heart started to race. Should he do it?

Gods dammit, Killua!

Yes! Yes he should! Gon was injured, what, was he just gonna have him marinate in his own grime until he was well enough to undress himself?! No!

With a decisive huff, Killua ignored his flaming cheeks and turned Gon over onto his side. Now that Gon's back and the zipper running down it were visible to Killua's eyes… he was starting to get skittish again.

Killua hissed at himself, he needed to stop thinking erotic things! He wasn't undressing Gon for… that reason, hell, he wasn't even undressing him at all! Gon had clothes on under the space suit, dammit! Killua was just taking off his outer layer so he'd be more comfortable…

Yeah.

No reason to be getting aroused– Which wasn't happening! Killua swears on his life!

With fingers that he wished weren't shaking, the Valkyrie placed his fingers against the helmet-choker. He pressed the release buttons on either side of Gon's neck, and the metal piece released with a hiss of air pressure. The suit relaxed against Gon's skin, getting a little looser.

Killua took a deep breath, and pulled the helmet-choker away. He placed it on the floor beside the bed, and scooted a little closer to Gon. Hovered over the sleeping male, Killua slowly closed his fingers around the zipper on the back of Gon's neck.

It was high collared… resting at the base of Gon's spine, just the slightest band of that ruddy tan skin peeking out from the pearly white of the suit. Gon's skin was hot to the touch, and damp with sweat. He was too hot, which was why Killua needed to get the suit off.

Yeah.

Yeah! So just fucking do it! Why was Killua having so much trouble with this?!

Holding his breath, Killua slowly pulled the zipper down. Down the back of Gon's neck, between his shoulder blades, along his spine… all the way down to his ass. Heart in his throat (and with a pulse coming to life in his pants) Killua turned Gon onto his back.

The Valkyrie reached underneath him, and peeled the suit off of his body. He pulled Gon's arms out of the suit, fingers shaking as his trembling fingertips brushed against the bare skin of Gon's arms.

A whine rising in his throat, Killua pulled the suit down Gon's chest, and to his waist.

The Valkyrie took a break. This was too much, too much! And it shouldn't be this big of a deal, but Killua was just a stupid, horny, lovesick idiot!

Tail tense with nerves, Killua just hurried and pulled the suit down Gon's hips.

Shit–

Killua froze, the suit was tight around Gon's waist, and was pulling the shorts he had under it along with it. His pants were dangerously low… shadows playing against his hips and that defined v-line that dove down into the shadows–

His breathing was starting to pick up. Dammit. Why did Gon always have to wear crop tops?! How hard would it be to wear a shirt that wasn't waist-band length, huh?! Then the shirt would be covering his waist and Killua wouldn't be in the situation!

With a growl (NOT a sexual one! No… a… determined one) Killua slipped his thumbs into the belt loops of those stupid fucking green shorts, and pulled them back over Gon's hips where they belonged. Crisis averted. Killua took a sigh of relief.

Moving on, Killua pulled the suit down around Gon's thighs, but this time used one hand to keep his pants up.

Hands shaking like crazy, Killua knelt on his knees on the bed. He lifted Gon's legs up one by one, and peeled the suit all the way off.

Once the deed was done, Killua jumped off the bed like it was covered in hot coals. He stood back, clutching the dastardly space suit against his chest. Watching Gon sleep. Killua whined dramatically, why was he such a mess?!

Ignoring the straining of his dick against the armor plate in his suit, Killua walked Gon's dirty suit to the laundry corner and threw it into the washer. The Valkyrie marched back over to Gon, feeling ashamed for how much trouble he'd had with that…

Groaning in exasperation, Killua plopped down on the bottom bed on the right, opposite Gon's. He watched the hybrid's chest rise and fall… he looked so peaceful.

Killua should probably put him under the blankets, but he didn't think he could handle moving Gon around any more like this. He needed to take a brain break… as well as get his stupid hormones to calm the fuck down.

"You idiot," the Valkyrie mumbled, eyes never leaving Gon's sleep slackened features. "Why do you always have to go and get yourself hurt?"


AN: i dunno, Killua, that was kinda gay