I just knew today was my last day.

I had been coughing up flowers ever since I had been woken in the middle of the night by a certain Gon, who had been panicking because I was coughing up blood in my sleep. I hadn't gotten any sleep at all, spending all my time hacking up petals and entire flowers. There was also blood, a lot of blood.

My entire body ached at this point, every one of my muscles burned from the exertion of coughing for such a prolonged period of time. It was getting harder and harder to breathe as the hours ticked by. When the sun finally rose, I could only take shallow, uneven breaths. I felt dizzy and light-headed from the lack of oxygen.

I know I am going to die today. It won't be long now before I can't breathe at all.

I let out a weak, ragged moan of pain before doubling over and coughing up yet another round of tulips and blood, adding to the pile of flowers in my lap.

"It's alright, Killua." Gon said, dabbing at my forehead with a wet cloth and running his other hand up and down the length of my back in an attempt to comfort me. "It's gonna be okay, I promise."

He'd been right there with me ever since the whole ordeal started. Based off the grave, haunted look in his eyes, I could tell he knew I was dying too. But he didn't say anything about it, he just stayed right where he was and did whatever he could to ease my discomfort. He really was an angel, I thought to myself, before yet another coughing fit completely derailed my train of thought.

"I'm... I'm gonna go talk to Leorio, just to make sure there isn't something else we can do for you. I'll be right back." Gon murmured, tucking a loose strand of white hair behind my ear before getting up and leaving the room.

I gagged and abruptly threw up a shit ton of tulips and blood the moment he stepped out the door. It was so painful I wanted to scream, but I knew screaming would make it even worse so I bore my agony in silence.

I could hear Leorio and Gon talking outside the door, and decided to listen in on their conversation to distract myself from the pain.

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do for him?" Gon was asking.

"I'm sorry, we've done all we can. The least we can do now is keep him warm and comfortable until his time runs out." Leorio replied, solemnly.

"But I can't just let Killua die like that!" I heard a loud thump, it was probably Gon stamping his foot like the stubborn child he was. "You're a doctor, right? Isn't there a way to remove the flowers? What even causes Hanahaki to begin with?"

Oh god. My eyes widened, but I couldn't move. More flower petals plummeted from my mouth and settled in my lap. Leorio, you bastard, you'd better not tell him.

"...He didn't tell you?" was Leorio's next question.

"Tell me what?" Gon asked, innocently.

"That Hanahaki is only caused by what the victim believes to be one-sided love." i

"What... What does that mean?"

"It means Killua's in love, Gon. So deeply in love that he won't have anyone else. But he thinks the person he's in love with doesn't reciprocate his feelings, so now he's dying because of it." Leorio replied, voice adopting a somber tone. "Trust me, I tried to convince him to get the flowers surgically removed, but he wasn't having it. There's nothing we can do."

"Is surgery the only way? Surely there's something else that can be done!"

"Well, no. If he confesses his feelings and finds that they are reciprocated, the disease will die off on its own and he'll make a full recovery."

That son of a bitch. Words could not even begin to describe how much I hated Leorio in that moment.

"I'm gonna go slap some sense into him..." a split second later, Gon reappeared in the doorway. His face was set into a determined line, I knew there was no stopping him now. He marched across the room, grabbed me by the shoulders, and forced me to look at him. "Who is it?" he demanded, his voice as sharp as a knife.

"I-I don't..." I started to say, but he shook me violently to shut me up.

"Don't tell me you don't know, Killua! Who is it?"

I tried to speak, tried to insist I couldn't tell him, but more flowers surged past my throat and spilled out of my mouth. I cried out in pain and clutched weakly at my chest, doubling over and watching helplessly as several delicate pink petals mixed with blood trickled out of my mouth and into my lap.

Gon seemed to realize that forcing me to tell him wouldn't work, so he took a more gentle approach. He cupped my face between both hands and tilted upward, making me look at him again.

"Killua... You're dying. I don't want you to die. You're so very special to me, I can't imagine a world without you in it. So please don't make that come true." he said, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles into my temples. "You have to tell me who it is you're in love with so I can find them and bring them back here. I know it's hard and you may not wanna do it, but you need to confess."

"I-I can't." I managed to choke out, before my voice broke off into a wail of agony.

More flowers, more blood. I couldn't stop coughing for a couple minutes straight this time.

"Please. Killua, please. I need you. I don't want to live without you. Please don't make me live without you." Gon's voice cracked and I realized he was trying his absolute hardest not to cry. "Tell me who it is. Please, you don't have much time left. Killua..."

I couldn't stand the aching sorrow in his voice. I knew that, if I died like this, not only would he never be the same again, but he'd never forgive me. All I had to do was open my mouth and tell him that he was the reason I was dying right now.

It's too much. I can't.

I have to.

I rasped and clawed at my throat, tearing at my own flesh in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain. I realized that I almost couldn't breathe at all. In just a couple minutes, I wouldn't be able to talk anymore. If I was gonna say anything to him, I had to say it now.

"G-Gon... Please don't... D-Don't make me." I pleaded, weakly.

"I'm sorry." he said, sincerely. He slid just a little bit closer to me, smoothing his fingers across the shell of my right ear lovingly. "But you don't have a choice. You have to tell me right now."

I coughed up yet another whole tulip flower, and Gon surprised me by reaching out and plucking it out of the air before it could settle in the growing pile of bloodstained petals in my lap. He released my face so he could examine the flower, turning it over in his hands, eyes widening as he realized what it was.

"This is... This is my favorite flower. Is Killua..?" he trailed off and looked up at me, realization dawning in his eyes.

He's figured it out, hasn't he?

Oh, well. Here goes nothing.

I hacked up a couple more petals before nodding weakly. "I-It's you. It's always... Always b-been you."

"K-Killua..."

I knew Gon was about to reject me, about to tell me he appreciated it but really didn't see me that way. I quickly interjected, postponing that horrible moment for just a little longer.

"I know it's... It's r-really stupid, but..." I had to pause to cough up more petals. "I've always l-loved you, Gon. I'm s-sorry, I-..."

I couldn't go any further, because suddenly Gon threw his arms around me and crashed his lips onto mine.

My eyes went as wide as they could possibly go, and for a second I worried that I'd throw up petals on him. But he didn't seem to care. He also didn't seem to mind that my lips and chin were smeared with blood. He was kissing me so hard that I saw stars.

"I love Killua too." he whispered against my lips. "But I was too afraid to tell you. I thought you wouldn't want to be friends anymore if I did, so I stayed quiet all this time. I'm so sorry, I really should've told you before this happened. I'm sorry."

I was too stunned to reply.

Gon had kissed me. He had really and actually kissed me.

And the horrible coughing and vomiting spells had stopped. My throat and chest still ached dreadfully and it was still alarmingly hard to breathe thanks to the lack of space in my lungs, but I wasn't coughing anymore. Leorio was right, reciprocated love was the cure to Hanahaki disease.

"Killua's not coughing anymore. The flowers must be going away." Gon smiled and began wiping the blood from my mouth with the end of his sleeve, cleaning it off my face. "We're gonna have to move you to my room so Kurapika and Leorio can clean up all the blood and flowers here."

Only then did I notice the absolutely massive bloodstain I had left on the bed. That, and there were flowers everywhere.

I knew Gon would tell me no if I confessed that I wanted to help clean up my own mess, so I didn't bother trying. Instead, I smiled weakly and said, "You aren't gonna help them. That's lazy of you."

"Nope! I'll be too busy keeping watch over you to help them with this." was his cheerful reply. "I'm not leaving your side, Killua, until I'm absolutely certain that you're getting better." he slid one arm around my back and the other under my legs so he could lift me up and carry me to his room.

I decided it wouldn't be wise to fight him and completely relaxed, snaking my arms around his neck, leaning my head against his shoulder, and closing my eyes. My mind felt fuzzy, as if someone had stuffed a bunch of cotton balls into my skull. I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around what had just happened, it seemed too good to be true.

Gon kissed me, and then said he loved me. If he had been faking it just to save me, he wouldn't have kissed me right off the bat like that. I think it's real.

Once I was safely tucked up in bed, Gon ran off for a second to get some more wet cloths. He was determined to get me all cleaned up, even though I protested a bit and told him I could do it myself.

"Killua, I swear. Stop being difficult and let me clean you up. If you don't, I'll have to duct tape you to the bed." Gon swatted me over the head repeatedly until I stopped moving.

"Okay, fine. I can still do it myself, ya know..." I grumbled.

He rolled his eyes and began dabbing at the numerous bloodstains on my skin, starting with the ones around my mouth and working his way outward. "You're gonna have to change your shirt. It's pretty much ruined." he declared, lightly poking me in the chest to indicate the massive crimson stain spread across the front of my shirt. I grimaced.

"Damn. This is a nice shirt."

"I'm just happy you'll be okay. Or at least I hope you will. You're still gasping like you can't really breathe all that well." Gon replied. He'd noticed my rather irregular, shallow breathing pattern. I was still really sore and my lungs felt extremely heavy.

"If Leorio was correct, it should go away overtime. It's not gonna happen right away." I told him, and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Mmh! But until then, I reserve the right to keep a very close eye on you. I'm not taking any chances. What happens if you choke on your food and die? Somebody's gotta be around to do the Heimlich maneuver on you!"

I snickered and elbowed him to shut him up. "Don't be weird. That's worst case scenario. In other words, it will never happen."

"You don't know that and neither do I, so I'm gonna stick around in case I need to protect you." Gon flicked my forehead and returned to the current task at hand. He smoothed the wet cloth over my lips before dabbing lightly at the dried blood just under my chin. The cold water felt good against my skin. And he seemed so focused on what he was doing that it made me smile. He looked so cute like that, with his jaw set in a determined line and his brow furrowed with concentration. He must've felt my eyes on him because he suddenly glanced up, and I looked away as quickly as possible. "It's okay, Killua. I don't mind if you watch." he laughed.

"I wasn't even looking at you, shut up." I shot back, defiantly. "You're just stupid."

"The only thing stupid here is the fact you're in denial." Gon giggled and cleaned away the last little bit of blood before tossing the cloth to one side and tugging lightly at the hem of my shirt. "Let's get you out of this."

I tried to swat him away, but he was stubborn and wouldn't relent until I gave up and let him help me get my shirt up and over my head.

"Why do you insist on helping me do everything, Gon? I'm not completely helpless, y'know." I glared at him sharply and he chuckled, unfazed.

"Because it makes me happy. I like helping Killua with everything, especially because you get all flustered and defensive about it. You're so cute when you're acting all tough." Gon said, and I immediately turned bright red, as if on cue. "See, there you go again." he declared.

"S-Shut up." I hid my face in my hands. He was such a shameless bastard sometimes.

Gon disappeared for a second to find me a shirt. When he came back, I had managed to compose myself and get my blushing under control. But what he did next caused the little bit of dignity I'd salvaged to completely dissipate. He set the shirt down on the bed and crawled over to me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a warm, tight embrace.

"Hey, hey, what the heck? Let go!" I exclaimed, trying to squirm away from him.

"No." he said, simply. "Killua's so beautiful like this. I'm glad you finally told me how you feel about me."

"Hmph. You're so embarrassing."

"Awww, is somebody blushing again?" Gon teased.

I made a point to slap his arm as hard as I could. "No, you idiot. Can I put my shirt on now?"

"Fine."

The tan arms encircling my body loosened, and I wriggled away from my friend so I could grab the shirt he'd brought for me and put it on. He watched me closely the entire time, and I couldn't stop blushing, much to my absolute dismay.

"What're you staring at, baka?" I asked, dryly.

"You. I thought it was obvious, but apparently you're losing your sense of sight." Gon shot back. He really was the most shameless person I had ever met.

"Tch." I finished arranging my shirt before flopping over on my side, making a huge show of ignoring him.

"Killua..." Gon hummed, curling up against my back and draping his arm over my side. He'd had a habit of doing that the past few days, I noticed. But I wasn't about to complain, I really liked it. "When you're better, we should go out."

"Go out? To train?" I raised one eyebrow in confusion. He was already thinking about sparring matches and workout regimens again? Jeez...

"No, I mean like... On a date."

Oh Lord. All the blood in my body crammed itself into my face. My ears were burning.

I think my brain short-circuited too because for several seconds I could think of nothing to say. It was like I had lost all ability to legibly communicate. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before managing to stammer out. "Umm... W-Why?"

The moment those words left my mouth, I wanted to facepalm. That was smooth. Real smooth. He probably thinks I'm a jerk now.

But Gon just chuckled and nuzzled the back of my neck lovingly. "Because I want you to be my boyfriend, silly. We can't be proper boyfriends unless we go out on a date. And I intend to do exactly that." his tone was so matter-of-fact that I choked on my own saliva.

"You know, some couples never go out like that. They prefer to keep their relationship completely and utterly hidden from the rest of the world." I told him, and he scoffed.

"You're so mean sometimes, Killua. I don't wanna be like that."

"Well, I'm not real big on public displays of affection, so you're gonna have to get used to this."

"You're not real big on any display of affection, baka."

"I'm not used to it! Give me a break!" I snapped. A few moments of complete and utter silence ticked by before I blushed even harder and said, "Yes, I would love to go on a date with you."

To be continued...

-

A/N: *heaves a sigh of relief and collapses* oh my god. That went a lot better than I thought it would. Now, Killua's recovering and he got himself a date! Woooot! This fic was honestly pretty liberating to write, what with all the angst, but there came a point in time when I started making myself anxious because I couldn't decide if I wanted Killua to actually DIE from this disease. That was when I realized that I want to write a sequel, and Killua has to be alive for that, so I had no choice but to let him live. Just know that y'all are lucky, I came dangerously close to killing him several times throughout this entire emotional rollercoaster of a story.

Please bear in mind that the story doesn't end here!! I will write a couple extra chapters of fluff to give y'all a break from all that angst. I will also write a bonus chapter as a preview for the sequel (and as a means of announcing the sequel has been published lmao), so don't go anywhere! This fic is still active until further notice!

Eyyyyy thanks so much for making it to the end of this chapter! Please remember to leave a review on your way out, I'd love to hear what you thought of everything you just read. Love y'all, take care of yourselves! See you next time!

-UltimatexAdmin