Killua dipped his spoon into his sundae, savoring the rich taste of caramel and vanilla. Sunlight poured in through the windows of Yorknew City's finest ice cream parlor, illuminating the three friends as they burst out in laughter over one of Killua's jokes, their usual stresses temporarily forgotten.

"You know, you're a pretty good babysitter, Kurapika," Killua said, smirking. "I mean, I doubt Leorio would have recommended this good of an ice cream place for us."

"That sounds like a compliment, Killua," said Kurapika, wearing a slight smile. "Does this mean that you'll listen to my advice from now on?"

Killua shrugged. "That would have to depend on the advice."

Kurapika smiled, before looking over at Gon and sighing. "Gon, you smeared ice cream on your face again."

"Really? Where?"

Killua shook his head, smiling. He knew that he could be immature sometimes, but Gon acted even more like a kid than he did. Kurapika got up and wiped the ice cream off his face with a napkin, successfully carrying out his role as temporary babysitter. Once Kurapika finished, Gon hummed lightly to the pop song playing in the parlor as he swirled his ice cream around his dish, not noticing Killua's stolen glances.

But then, just as he had been teaching himself to do for the past month or so, Killua forced himself to look away.

And then Gon mentioned the roses.

"Kurapika, we didn't tell you about the gift that got sent to me in Heavens Arena, right?"

Killua fell silent, playing with his spoon as Gon recounted the story.

"This secret admirer must have been someone who knew your room number," Kurapika speculated at the end of Gon's explanation.

"But I didn't tell any girls my room number!" Gon said.

Killua could feel his face burning up. Thankfully, the conversation ended abruptly when someone walked up to their booth.

The girl looked to be around the same age as Gon and Killua, short and tiny with dark red hair and a small oval face. Her bright blue eyes were cast downward as she fiddled nervously with a sleeve of her white dress. Killua couldn't deny that she was very pretty, beautiful even.

"Hey," she said, and it was only now that Killua realized she was looking directly at Gon. "I couldn't help but notice you when I walked in here, and I wanted to know what your name was?"

Gon seemed surprised, but addressed her in his usual upbeat tone. "My name's Gon. What's your name?"

"I'm Sierra." Her voice faltered a bit as she spoke. "I just wanted to know if I could have your cell phone number?"

"Sure! Here, I'll type it into your phone…."

Killua exchanged looks with Kurapika, who seemed amused with what was happening.

And Killua felt as though he should be having the same reaction. Instead, he felt something very different.

…

Later that evening, Killua lounged around on the couch in his hotel room, watching the weather report with Kurapika.

"That girl sure works quickly. Who would have thought that their date would be on the same day that they exchanged numbers?" Kurapika mused.

"Tell me about it," Killua said, unable to help the resignation seeping into his voice.

Kurapika glanced at Killua out of the corner of his eye. "You don't seem too happy about it."

When Killua didn't answer, Kurapika picked up the TV remote and switched it off. "We should go outside and enjoy the weather while it lasts."

As the two of them left the room and descended the elevator, Killua didn't say much.

The two of them strolled around the boardwalk near their hotel, tourists and locals alike still bustling around, despite it being eight o'clock at night.

"So," Kurapika said after a few minutes of walking, "do you want to tell me what's bothering you, Killua?"

"Nothing's bothering me." Killua tried to sound as upbeat as he usually was, completely the opposite from what he currently felt. It would be unthinkable to even voice what he was feeling.

"Really." Killua met Kurapika's calm gaze. He sensed the kindness in his dark eyes, and Killua didn't feel as tense as before. Kurapika may not have been as loud and exuberant as Gon or Leorio, but he still possessed a charisma that drew people to him.

Which was why Killua finally relented and conveyed to Kurapika exactly what he was feeling. "I feel like I shouldn't feel the way I feel." Killua looked at the sky, endless darkness filled with stars.

"About Gon?"

Caught off guard, Killua couldn't think of anything to say.

"Yes, I've noticed. You stare at him a lot lately, and you didn't say anything when he was talking about the roses -"

"That thing with the roses – it was an accident! I won something at the carnival, the lady told me to give the address of someone special in my life and wouldn't tell me anything else, and next thing I knew, Gon was talking about a secret admirer!" Killua spoke very quickly, feeling his face heat up.

Kurapika tipped his head back and laughed, something rare these days. "But Killua, if you only thought of him as a friend, you would have laughed it off and explained yourself immediately." He smiled sadly. "I know your family taught you to be ashamed of this, but you can't keep denying who you really are."

Frustration and a sense of emptiness built up in Killua, and he felt tears begin to form in his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried, and it wasn't about to happen now. He blinked rapidly, hoping to keep the tears at bay.

"I only like girls, Kurapika. Not…not Gon. I promise."

Kurapika surveyed him with suspicion, but seemed to sense that he wasn't getting anywhere with this. "If you say so." He sighed. "But you have to at least admit that I give great advice," he teased.

Killua rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Suddenly, the two found themselves standing in front of a restaurant – the same restaurant that Gon was inside of with Sierra. Killua and Kurapika exchanged glances, and Killua knew that they were thinking the same thing – that it would be interesting to see how Gon acted on a date.

"It wouldn't hurt to…check up on him, would it?" Kurapika asked.

"Right. We could just sit somewhere where they won't notice us." Killua grinned.

…

Thankfully, the booths were high enough in the restaurant that it was impossible to see over them. This way, it was easy for Killua and Kurapika to sit right behind Gon and Sierra without being noticed.

As they listened in on the conversation, Kurapika's eyes were fixed on the other side of the booth. A fun fact that Killua had learned a few minutes ago – Kurapika was just as nosy as every other hunter.

Killua had expected to feel immense jealousy and bitterness, but instead he was…dying with laughter.

"You look really nice," they heard Gon saying. "You know that, right?"

"You already said that!" Sierra replied with a shy giggle.

"I know, but I should say it again so that you know I'm trying to flirt with you," Gon said, obviously trying to sound sly.

Killua caught Kurapika's eye, and they both covered their mouths to stifle their laughs.

"There was actually something I wanted to say," said Sierra. "I – I didn't mean to ask you out on this date."

Killua's jaw nearly dropped. He looked at Kurapika, whose eyebrow was raised.

"What do you mean, Sierra?"

"I mean, I – I was too nervous to say what I really meant back at the ice cream parlor. I didn't mean to ask you out. I mean, not that you're not really nice and cute and funny and stuff –"

"Sierra," Gon said gently. "It's alright. You can tell me."

Sierra took a deep breath. "I wanted to ask your friend out, the one with the white hair. But I got too nervous, so I asked you instead."

Killua dropped his fork on his plate with a loud clatter, and Kurapika nearly knocked over his glass of water.

They heard Sierra take another breath. "Would it be okay if you introduced me to him? He's just so cute and so dreamy…."

"Cute and dreamy, huh?" Kurapika whispered, the hint of a…smirk on his face?

Killua rolled his eyes. "Shut up!" he whispered.

"Sure! I could introduce you to him sometime," they heard Gon say.

Then, Killua gestured for Kurapika to follow him outside.

Once outside, Killua said, "We should probably head back now before they notice us."

"And you need some time to think of what to say to Sierra the next time you see her –"

Killua scowled. "You're highly entertained by all of this, aren't you?"

"Well, first things first," Kurapika said as though Killua hadn't spoken, "do you trust me?"

"Trust you?"

"To give helpful advice."

"Like I said earlier, that would depend on the nature of the advice."

Kurapika then told Killua the plan. "Does that sound like something you can do?"

Killua's mind was blown. He nodded. "You're honestly the best babysitter I've ever had."