After their afterglow, Daniel has some thoughts he needs to go over with Killua.
Killua flopped onto the bed after his long-awaited shower, cleaned out and refreshed. Daniel joined right after, curling his body into his lover's. Killua lazily wrapped an arm around him, drawing random shapes along Daniel's back, savouring the comfort the boy provided him.
Daniel soon found himself stroking his partner's abs, sometimes even random drawings or symbols like Killua was. A sigh eventually escaped his lips. He couldn't hold his thoughts in any longer. He needed to talk about it "You know our talk with Clarisa…?"
"Which part? We talked about a lot of stuff with her…"
"Pretty much everything."
Killua turned his head slightly, looking at his partner who was also looking at him. Daniel not only piqued his interest, he wondered if what they talked about hurt him in some way.
At no point did he see his partner show pain, but that didn't mean he was hiding it internally "Where did you want to start?"
Daniel had so many questions, but no idea where he should start. Did Killua still prefer to be called Kyle, or should he call him by his actual name? Should they also include Alluka, or keep her name under Audrey?
Is Killua worried about his family acting on the announcement?
Is Milluki keeping an eye on social media to see if their names pop up?
Will Killua accept the way Daniel announces their partnership? Or does his boyfriend prefer to be low-key before it spreads like wildfire?
A long sigh escaped his lips. He sat up alongside with Killua, hands pressing against his knees. The one thought that continued to worry him, was will Killua get upset with his reveal?
"Killua, I want to be open with our relationship… are you comfortable with that idea?"
Killua gave his partner a cheeky glace, interpreting the statement in a manner Daniel would never think of "You wanna be like Gon, bring others into this relationship. Tsk, tsk, I'm strictly-"
Daniel pulled his partner in, the boy's breath hitching as they sealed a kiss. The boy's arms tighten around his waist, holding him as though he was afraid to let go. He pulled away, his eyes meeting Killua's, their noses touching "You're the only one for me…"
Killua broke into a soft smile. He saw it coming, but the soft, tender tone makes him feel weak. Jokes aside he felt his heart swell with affection at that time. He's the only one for Daniel. He was teasing his partner for his word choice, but Daniel always knew how to twist the outcome.
Still, he couldn't deny he hasn't thought about being more open with their true relationship at school. It wasn't so much about being accepted by their peers; there were only two people in this relationship, the other's opinion simply does not matter.
Besides, they have reached a point where no one seemed suspicious, including the teachers Eifion has asked them to avoid. Those were due to Daniel sharing a striking resemblance to his father, minus the hairstyles and age difference. If they saw him, it may lead to mistaken identity… or an accidental outing.
He has also humoured the idea that if Daniel ever wanted to "come out", he won't stop it. He, like Daniel, wanted to make each other happy. Even after revealing the truth, if people turned on them, hated them for keeping secrets… If the world made them drop to their knees, beat them into submission… they'd each take the time of their lives to help each other back up.
No matter if it was Gon, Leorio, Kurapika, Palm, Ikalgo, Sakura or Iason… they had faith in each other to have their backs.
It's what friends should do for each other…
Picking up the pieces that their friends had lost along the way.
Although, there was another thing that worried the boy about Daniel's word choice. Exactly how "open" did Daniel intent to be? Was that the boy's way of saying his up for a little bit of outdoor sex, that he's into a little bit of voyeurism?
No, Daniel wasn't as bad as some of his fantasies. How did the boy plan to "come out"?
Killua had been awfully quiet, lost in his own thoughts. He didn't mean to; he just had a lot weighing this situation down. One mistake could put his partner in danger.
Daniel grabbed Killua's shoulder, bringing the boy out of his thoughts "Killua, you don't have to say anything now. This is me admitting that I'm open to some revealing details about myself. We should think about us, how we should make our next step? Maybe next year, once we've fleshed out the details. Especially, if you're not ready…"
"It's not so much me…" Killua sighed, looking down at his knees as he thought out loud "it's more so about us. How we feel about this… You said that you're ok with it. I'm ok with it, as long as you're not ridiculously sappy during the reveal. There's a fine line between sharing your affection for another, and dousing them in it… You do the latter… enough so that if you were to light a match, I'd go up in flames."
"I-"
"But on the other hand, I won't tell you to stop. I like it, it's something that can be hard to get used to. But at the same time, I've… wanted it for a while; just someone to admit they want me, for me… Not because I'm a Hunter… A skilled assassin… A Zoldyck… or because I'm-"
"Pretty?"
Killua turned a shade red, "sure… let's go with that."
"There's also gorgeous… stunning… sexy…"
Killua turned a deeper red "You can stop now."
"Intelligent… creative… kind… caring…"
Killua pressed a hand to his boyfriend's mouth, stopping the boy from uttering anything else. He was one shade away from people mistaking him for having a fever "I get it! You get rock hard whenever you think about me."
Daniel pulled his partner's hand away "I wouldn't say that exactly…"
Killua tilted his head slightly, giving the boy a knowing glance "Compliments aside, you proved my point. You tend to get out of hand… sometimes." Daniel was about to open his mouth to argue, but Killua held a finger to the boy's lips "That being said… I'm not about to stop you… except for this time, this one doesn't count. You were being ridiculous. My original point is… I… like it, because it's what makes you…" Killua looked into his partner's eyes "You…"
Daniel pulled his partner's hand away, bringing the boy in for another kiss, "You could've said this while I had lil' Killua in my mouth."
"That would've been too hard… In more ways than one…" Killua paused for a moment, smiling cheekily at his casual double entendre "I was being noisy…"
"That you were…"
Thinking how to carry the conversation forward from such a sexual note, Killua thought more about the consequences of revealing the truth. It's most likely that Clarisa will be upset at them for hiding the truth when she was hammering away at the door for real details… or juicy gossip, for her housemate or friends "Clarisa will definitely be upset…"
"That would be true. But I'm sure if we broke it down for her… she'd understand why we did it."
Killua scoffed at the idea. Less so about her understanding, more about the fact Daniel was a skilled liar… or as the boy liked to say fact bender. Clarisa saw Nathanial as a gentle, caring father figure to everyone at the Swordcross Institution. She had the next generation right before her eyes, and she never once said: hang on, Daniel looks like Vastorie "You're going to somehow… casually mention that the men who propped her up, just happen to also be your parents. Mind you, you share a striking resemblance with Vastorie, which should have been a "wait a second" moment for her. Also, that we are boyfriends, and your grandpa is trying to kill you… I'd like to see you try breaking it down as casually as possible."
Daniel chuckled, after Killua explained everything, it's going to be a lot harder for him to break everything down for Clarisa to digest "Yeah… this is gonna be a lot more difficult than I originally anticipated."
"Yeah… difficult…"
"But I think before we actually have to talk about that… I do plan to reveal our relationship… I've been wanting to do that for a while."
Killua hummed in understanding "Me too… about the wanting to for a while part, not so much the reveal. We both have to agree to that. Which, we have reached a consensus on… not so much as how you plan to reveal it."
Daniel offered a small nod at that. He agrees with Killua, they both have to agree to the whole coming out as partners part "Before I can talk about that… I'm not sure about what our boundaries should be. What I should and shouldn't admit. For one, I'd never mention your surname for multiple reasons. But should I say my partner Killua or Kyle?"
"Don't mind… Regardless of which name you use, It's still me whether I'm under a false name or not."
"But it does to me… I love Killua, not Kyle the nerd who loves his sister and wants to study Electrical Engineering. I don't want to say my boyfriend Kyle. It doesn't settle that well on my tongue. It feels like I'm… I don't know…"
"Cheating on me with another dude who doesn't really exist."
"Yeah, cheating on you. It makes me feel queasy. I want to have your heart… Emotionally, not literally. The only one who could literally hold my heart is you."
"Which I don't plan on plucking out any time soon… But I understand where you're getting at. You've been underlying your issue the whole time. You're worried about my family acting upon you're reveal, correct…?"
"A family of assassins who hate my guts for possibly corrupting their brother or son's mind. Yes! I am worried about adding to our long list of issues to worry about."
"Baka, I'm pretty sure as I almost broke down from seeing Gon, you hugged me. Not only that, the heartfelt conversation we had between Alluka, you and myself are to be included as well. You're already knee-deep in shit. They let you go because of the consequences of taking you or Alluka away at that time. That being said… I wouldn't worry about the whole family's opinion. Alluka is all that matters to me, and she said you were… kind and gentle with my brother, and if it makes him happy, I'll be happy! Seeing as Alluka's opinion is the only one that matters, you got my family's vote already. As for the butlers, I don't think any of them would think that. They saw how you acted with me… Sure, the ones that care about my father's, mother's or Illumi's opinion might consider that a possibility, but like I said earlier… I don't care about them."
"Alright, I'll accept that. But you can't deny it… A Zoldyck and Darkscryer romping and kissing under the sheets."
"Surnames shouldn't mean anything to us. They hate Vastorie, not you personally… But even if they did, as I said earlier… it shouldn't matter. However, the only way I could possibly hate you is one-"
"I have deflowered their baby boy…"
"That too. But one, you look like your father… I can see the resemblance. And two, you sometimes act like him."
"That is sadly true… However, that being said… promise me you won't think about my father while we're doing it from now on."
"Hell no! Uh-uh… I ain't thinking about any of your fathers while we're getting frisky. But… on the other hand, it might be kinky to call each other daddy when we're older."
"The only ones who should be calling us daddy is our kids. Of course, if we somehow have kids."
"We're thirteen… going onto fourteen next year. That's the last thing we should be thinking about now. We're too young for that shit. Focus on the here and now…"
"Right! Well, another problem I have is, wouldn't Milluki be keeping tabs on social media for us? Your name being dropped would make it easier to find."
"Sure, but let's think of it this way. Illumi is filled with so much bloodlust, the moment he steps onto these school grounds, he'll be falling into a lava pit or some other country thousands of miles away. So again, it shouldn't be something to worry about unless we step off these grounds. So, we should continue to do whatever feels comfortable for us."
Daniel paused, looking at his partner in the eyes, "What about Alluka? Should we continue to call her by her alternate name… or actual name?"
"Again, up to you. My family will know I'll be keeping her close by, so if they find me here… they'll know she's here as well. Any more worries…?"
"There is one, but… it's in relation to what you said earlier. it'll spoil the surprise fun."
"Oh, nooo… what are you planning to do? How do you intend to reveal our relationship?"
"Nothing extreme, just something I intend to do to make you happy. Now that being said… I can't tell you any more about the plan."
Killua looked incredulously at his partner. If Gon tried this stunt, he would've choked the boy until he revealed the truth. When Gon says he has a plan, nine out of ten times… it's was either dangerous or reckless. But this was Daniel… he wasn't that kind of an idiot. It was going to be sappy; he was certain of that… "So, what else is weighing on your mind… considering your being this honest with me?"
"If I came out to the school… as I no longer hid for example… my surname. Would you care?"
Killua raised an eyebrow at the question. Exactly how was Daniel planning to reveal this information… scream it through a microphone? He wasn't worried… just curious "No… I trust the school and its faculty members."
Killua shifted in his seat, trying to read his boyfriend's mind. He wanted a little bit of information about the reveal now, especially after seeing his partner relaxed from his words "At least give me a hint…"
Daniel scrunched up his face, "I can't… not without spoiling anything."
"Please…" The boy gave his partner puppy dog eyes, hoping that it will break the boy's guard.
Daniel sighed, "Ok… One hint. It will require your trust in me."
"That's not a hint. You're already asking that of me."
"No, when the time comes… I hope you can trust me. That you'll… take my hand."
The boy sighed in defeat. Daniel was going to hold his hand someday and make the reveal "Fine… But, in the case of the students…" Killua flicked his fingers out, nails sharpening for an exaggerated effect "I'll continue to glare at them if they try to get too close."
"So, you've noticed…"
"They stick out like a sore thumb. I don't care if it's girls or guys… You're mine." Killua blushed at his own comment. He didn't mean to sound so possessive. But the genuine smile breaking out from Daniel's features, told him, that his boyfriend liked hearing those kinds of words.
Daniel saw past the possessiveness…
He could see the words for what they meant. He has spent so much time by Killua's side, he has learned to understand his partner's hidden feelings. With a hand cupping Killua's cheek, he leaned in closer, their lips touching once more.
Even if it was for a second, he still must express his feelings "It means a lot to hear you say that."
"Being possessive?" Killua willed himself to turn away, he was embarrassed for admitting he thought he sounded too possessive.
"I know what you meant, Kil~lu~a…" The boy enticed his partner to look at him once more, cupping the red cheeks he wanted to layer in a thousand and one kisses. Once he had gotten his partner's attention, he finished his statement "You want me to look at only you…"
Killua's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, "Baka! That was waaay too cheesy…"
Daniel pressed a kiss into his partner's lips for another second "But you didn't deny~ it."
"Who did you even learn this crap from. There's no way you're this naturally affectionate."
"Does it even matter at this point?"
Killua rolled his eyes. It did in a sense. For it being Daniel's first relationship, he was unnaturally good at keeping track of his emotions and feelings. He must have had a partner before him. But like the boy admitted, he was his first… and only partner. Even when he lost his memories, Killua was still counted as his first…
The boy gave in with a sigh "You're right. It doesn't really matter…" Killua curled his body into his lover's, head now resting on the boy's chest "Promise me that you'll never love somebody else."
"I will-"
Killua shot his partner an intense glare. Daniel better have not been thinking off replacing him, especially after admitting he's the only one for him "You want to run that by me again?"
"They'll call you daddy."
"You're… You're officially the worst…" He hid his features, a smile escaping his lips as he felt Daniel stroke his hair, "definitely the worst…" He closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift off to sleep, with the sound of sincere laughter acting as a lullaby.