Story Time

It was getting late at the Nostrade mansion, with Kurapika and his fellow guards making their final rounds of the property before swapping shifts with the guards of the night watch. Making his way inside, the blonde guard heads to his charge's room, deciding on one final check. When he arrives, he notes the light protruding from beneath the door and sighs. She was supposed to be asleep…

Knocking on the door, he could hear a faint "come in!" and so enters the room. Walking over to the rather large bed covered with a few stuffed toys, he bows slightly to the occupant, his charge Neon.

"Kurapika!"

"Neon-sama, it is way past curfew for you. Why are you not asleep?"

With a huff, and her lip jutted out in a childish pout, Neon turned her head away.

"I'm not sleepy!"

"But Neon-sama, you really should be getting some rest."

"But Kurapikaaaaa…! I'm not tireeeeed!"

With that, she threw one of her stuffed animals at his head. Having not payed particular attention, it smacked him in the face. Though keeping a calm exterior, he was getting rather annoyed, and thus picked up the toy only to toss it back to her. "Eep!" Came the squeaky reply, as she didn't expect him to throw her toy right at her, let alone her own face. Glaring at him, she throws yet another toy, only for him to catch it.

"Neon-sama, if you keep throwing these at me, I will confiscate them."

"You can't do that! They are MINE! I bought them!"

As usual, she had to argue with him. She was technically his boss, so she felt she didn't have to listen to him. He on the other hand, was trying to look after her, thus acting more like a babysitter than a bodyguard. With another quiet sigh, he glances over to a bookshelf tucked into a corner of her bedroom. Wordlessly giving back the toy, only to get smacked in the back of the head with it, he makes his way toward the shelf, having to walk around many other plushes and furniture scattered around the room.

"Kurapika, what are you doing?"

In one of her many changes of mood, as if completely forgetting to be mad at him, Neon watches the blonde move about her room, her curiosity piqued.

"You'll see, Neon-sama."

"But I want to know right now..!" She whines. Though a young adult, she really could be such a spoiled brat, and it amazed him how childish she could be.

"Just be patient, Neon-sama…I can promise you'll like it." Hopefully…

With a resigned huff, and arms folded over her chest, she gives in. "Fiiiiiine….but hurry up!"

Shaking his head, he focuses on his task, eyes scanning over the many titles laid out before him. Selecting one, he pulls the book from the shelf, and carries it over to her bed, only for him to sit upon the edge of the mattress.

As soon as her blue eyes saw the bright colors of the book cover, she wriggled in excitement.

"Are you going to read me a story?! Ooooh I can't wait!"

Without wasting another moment, Neon was snuggling under the blankets, curling up on her side facing him, head laying comfortably on her pillow. "Ok, I'm ready! Read it to me now!"

Though he may have a dull expression most of the time, her cute behavior had his lips twitching into a slight smile, though he was chuckling on the inside.

"Very well then, Neon-sama…"

Opening the fairytale, he flipped to the first page and began to read aloud for her.

"Once upon a time…"

For once, Neon was paying acute attention to him, fascinated by the story much like a small child would. From time to time she interrupted him, making him stop and demanding to be shown the pictures illustrated that accompanied the story, otherwise she wouldn't let him continue. But as time wore on, and he progressed further into the story, she interrupted less often.

It wasn't until he reached the ending that he noticed it was rather silent, and had been for awhile. Looking up from the book, he was rather surprised to see that the reason Neon hadn't said anything was because she had fallen asleep.

With a soft, small smile, Kurapika closed the book, finishing the story with a quiet whisper.

"And they lived happily ever after…"

Though before getting up to leave, he reached out a hand. It seemed that when she did fall asleep, face partially nuzzled into the soft pillow, some of her hair had fallen into her face. Careful not to wake his charge, he gently brushed the tips of his fingers against the skin of her forehead, sweeping the long strands of her bangs out of her face and tucking them behind her ear.

"Goodnight…Neon-sama…" He leaned in to whisper, before standing and quietly exiting the room. Before completely leaving he set the book on her dresser, and paused in the doorway, watching her sleep for a long moment. Seeing her in such a calm, relaxed state…it was definitely new to him, but he rather liked seeing the cute side of her. With a flick of a switch, the light was turned off, and he closed the door behind him.

"Sweet dreams, Neon-sama…"