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It was a masquerade dance. One with bright colors and lavish decorations and everything expected from one of the richest hunters in the world. People were dressed in sharp, cleanly pressed suits and long, expert-woven gowns. Suits and dresses were fatuous, however, to the ornate masks that sat upon the guests' heads. Some were embroidered with the thread of their homeland, others with precious jewels. Each hid a joyful face under the decorated material.

A boy of black hair and blue eyes found himself wearing one of these masks, a crystalline blue sort of color with white beads in a seemingly erratic pattern. His brand new suit became rumpled as he was zipped around disgruntled hunters and their companions by the firm hand of his little sister.

"Hey! Hey, Stop!"

The girl did end up stopping and turned around, a bright smile spreading across her youthful face. "Onii-chan, stop complaining. You promised you would enjoy this for me."

Killua let out a long suffering sigh, the corners of his mouth eventually molding their way into a quirky smile as well. "I was enjoying it. I was enjoying watching you dance from the sidelines. I can continue to enjoy it from there."

"Not on my watch. I'm not letting you leave this floor until you've danced at least once." Alluka accentuated her point by giving her dress a little twirl, the movement drawing attention from prying eyes around the room. If Killua's outfit was extravagant, then Alluka's was downright ostentatious, the pink folds of her dress covered by a sheer golden sash, making it seem as if she had been wrapped in a glittering sunrise. She wore white, pristine gloves on her hands and brown woven flats on her feet. What she lacked in jewelry, her hair made up for. Long, shing black strands were curled into tight curls that rested on the top of her head in a flowery bun, two loose coils intertwined with golden thread and the beads she and Nanika were so fond of sat upon her chest.

Killua let himself be dragged off, only because he didn't want anyone to try anything on his baby sister, but someone else had other plans in mind.

"Excuse me!"

Killua whirled around at the voice. The warm and pleasant voice. The achingly familiar voice.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but do you mind if I steal this dance?"

He may have been wearing different clothes and had a mask covering half of his face, but that was Gon. He knew it was. Killua had recognized it from the voice, the charming and comforting voice. Staring at him now, even if his hair had been dyed a new color and his voice had gone a tone deeper like Killua's had, those honey-brown eyes would have been unforgettable. Keeping his hair a black-green color and only reaching a few inches taller? The familiarity was uncanny.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Killua stood aside. No matter how much he wanted to throw off his mask and greet his friend in a hug, he couldn't. There was no telling what connections his brother had. If he revealed himself here, it would only be seconds before he was seized and dragged home. Gon had asked his sister to dance. He could sit back down and watch from afar once more. She'd be safe in his hands. And, if Killua was being honest with himself, it would hurt a little less too.

Gon, precious, radiant Gon, reached his hand to his neck in a nervous gesture. "So, uhm… is that a no?"

Killua felt two hands in the small of his back, and suddenly found himself pressed against a firm body.

"It's a yes," Alluka's voice rang out from behind. "Sorry about that, big brother's just a little slow with people sometimes."

"Hey-" Killua began, but cut himself short. Gon was smiling. It was a big, shining smile, and Killua found himself involuntarily relaxing just a little.

"Great! Thank you very much!" The words were directed towards his sister, and before he knew it, he'd been whisked away to the middle of the dance floor.

They adjusted themselves awkwardly, it being clear that neither of them had any experience dancing with another male. Eventually they found themselves in a position with Gon's arms wrapped around Killua's waist and the latter's around Gon's neck. Meeting each other at eye level, that sleight height difference Killua had once been so proud of now tied by the millimeter, Killua was able to get a good look at the mask. It was an earthy green, very simple compared to the ones he'd seen on everyone else. Killua amused himself with the realization that his best friend never escaped the colors of his youth, even while he stood before him in a black and white suit - though, Killua's mask was of white and blues, so he couldn't say much about himself either.

"Your eyes are really pretty."

The comment startled Killua, sending him reeling backwards with the embarrassed flush he'd thought he'd left behind.

"W-why would you say that?"

"Because they are." Gon closed the distance between them and raised a hand to rest it on the side of his head, fingers absentmindedly flicking up black-dyed hair. "They're really pretty. Like the color of the ocean on a clear day. Actually," he paused here, an embarrassed flush making its way up his face for once, "they remind me of someone I know."

"They do?" Killua leaned forward in interest. He knew that he was a big part of Gon's life, even if the other never felt the same way that he felt about him, and he knew that he must have crossed Gon's mind at least once, but the other boy had thought his eyes pretty. Did he dare hope…

"Yeah. He has eyes just like yours. Actually, I only really came to this party in the first place to find him. I thought I heard him earlier, but I guess I was wrong." Gon's voice faded into a disappointed tone at the end. A tone that he recognized in his own voice whenever he talked about his friend. Killua wanted to grab his shoulders. He wanted to grab his shoulders and shake them and scream, 'I'm right here, you idiot' till the sentence was ingrained in Gon's mind. But he knew he couldn't. Not when people could be watching. Not when they could take Alluka and him away.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, caught in between the line of meaning it and not. "I'm sure he'll be here eventually."

Gon looked at him, long and hard but not seeing. "I don't know. It was a long shot anyways. He's been off the maps for a while, so I don't really know what I was expecting."

Killua swallowed. This wasn't Gon. Gon wasn't sad like this. Gon was upbeat and positive and if he couldn't be that, then he was a burning ball of anger waiting to explode. Gon wasn't… resigned.

The former assassin changed the subject, hoping to change the mood to something somewhat lighter. "Oh, I see. If you don't mind me asking, why did you ever ask me…"

"Ask you to dance?"

Killua nodded.

"Hmmmm... I don't know. It was just a feeling… I think."

"You think?"

"You remind me of my special person. That's all."

Special person. Special person. Did that mean Killua was his special person? Killua turned his head, looking around the room to find Alluka, to confirm if what he was hearing seeing was real.

Gon continued, oblivious to his internal strife. "You really do sound like him at times, you see. It's like your voices are exactly the same… and then, and then they're not."

Killua knew that Gon was thick headed, to not have realized who he really was even with all these things he'd picked up on. To instead find him and think that he was nothing more than a similarity. Gon never mentioned who he was though, so maybe, maybe if he left a vague enough answer, he would be able to piece together everything without Killua having to reveal anything at all.

"That's why I asked you to dance. Cause I thought I heard him. I thought maybe you were him." It was an honest answer, one that got straight to the point and didn't waste time sugarcoating anything with meaningless compliments. But, if what he was saying was true, then that meant that Gon would have asked him to dance anyways. Because of who he was. Something about that realization sent his heart hammering in his ribs, giddy energy rising up inside him. "Even if you aren't him… you look enough like him that I still want to be with you. For this dance."

There was silence then, the only noise being the crowd's amicable chatter and slow music flowing from the performance upstage.

"If I'm being honest," Killua began, "You remind me of someone special to me too."

"I do?"

Their roles were reversed. This time it was Gon with the hopeful and curious tone to his voice and Killua with resignation in his, only that Killua was completely aware of who the stranger really was.

"Yeah. He means a lot to me. He was the person who taught me to let other people in and to care about them in return. I think it's safe to say that he was my first friend."

Something of an understanding was beginning to flicker in Gon's eyes, and Killua smiled at the slow process of him putting the dots together. Before Gon could reach complete clarity, before he could open his mouth and shout his name to the crowd, Killua closed the distance between their faces and connected their lips in a passionate kiss.

Not even a year ago, even with Gon by his side professing their friendship everyday, could Killua have ever done this before. Mortification wouldn't even have the chance to reach him because the kiss would have never happened. He'd never had the self-worth to believe something good could come out of a reckless and selfish decision like that.

Their journey together and the distance between them had changed him, though. And now with his lips caught in a bruising force against Gon's, the taste of chocolate and citrus blending together on their tongues, Killua couldn't find it in himself to regret the decision.

Their dancing had slowed to a stop, and instead they stood, molded into each other with their arms intertwined on each other's hips, making up for all the time they'd missed.

I'm sorry.

I missed you.

I love you.

When their breath had run out and their legs turned weak, the kiss broke off. The two boys separated and stared, breathless, into each others' eyes. Gon closed the gap a second time, not to go for another kiss, but to rest their foreheads together. The gesture was so childish and sweet and so like Gon that Killua found himself bearing a true, beaming smile for the first time that evening.

"Killu-" Gon began, but before he could even finish the word, Killua interrupted with words of his own.

"It's nice to see you again, Gon."