I have returned, though I won't bore you all with the details of my absence. Here's a long chapter to make up for a long wait, though.
I could have and would have done more in the flashback, but I was honestly struggling to get through this in the first place because I do like Palm and I wasn't having too much fun making Killua hate her. So I had to finish this before I ended up hating it enough to just trash the whole thing and start all over.
I have a bad habit of hating everything I do, and I mean everything, too. It kind of sucks being a perfectionist in a world with no perfection.
Take note that sadly this story is coming to an end soon, maybe another two or three chapters tops. But I forbade myself from starting any other stories as long as this "practice story" is still going. So even though this one will end soon, it just means I'll be free to write plenty others! I've already got some 9 to 12 folders of story ideas I come up with before falling asleep ready and waiting, but there's one in particular I've been really wanting to do, so watch out for those in the future!
I just got to hope no one else comes up with them before I do them. I don't want it to seem like I'm copying everyone else.
I tried to work on being more descriptive here. Looking back I never really did too well on that, huh? But that's why I call this my practice story and won't write anything else until it's done, because I learn as this one goes. Maybe I'll even make a rewrite some day to try to make it better.
Ramble mode deactivated. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter. I would love to though.
Chapter 24: Getting HomeXNeighborXHostility
"It was probably just a bad time. Maybe a meeting, or the power went out?"
Gon and Killua were still walking through the pouring rain to their home, passing through the more rural area of their town now, wondering why Mito had not answered their calls earlier. Gon was still holding the clear plastic umbrella with two hands while Killua had retreated his hands into his pockets.
"I guess," Killua said, looking down at the ground in thought.
Gon eyed him carefully, not wanting the other to worry too much about it. "How come you didn't try her cellphone?"
"Because you said your signal was messed up all day. I thought it would be the same for her, too," the silver-haired teen explained. "So I didn't bother."
The storm had gotten progressively worse as time went by while the two were making their way home. The streets were starting to flood, little by little, and after a while cars may not even be able to make it home. People would likely have to just stay at wherever they were now and wait the storm out.
Gon gave a hum of understanding, looking up at the grey clouds hovering in the sky. He wondered what was going on with his Aunt Mito right now, and hoped she was alright during this storm.
Killua nudged the other softly, feeling his unease. "I'm sure she's fine, don't worry about it. She's one of the toughest people I've ever seen, after all."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," the spiky-haired boy said as he smiled at the other. "Do you think she'll be home before us?"
"She has to be. There's no way she'll let us be home alone anymore," Killua answered, watching the very few people who littered the side walks and wondering what they were even doing out. "Not after what happened last year, anyway."
"Oh, yeah..."
They walked in silence after that, their steps making small splashes in puddles of various sizes that they didn't bother trying to avoid. Their shoes were already completely soaked all the way to their feet, so it was pointless to worry about that now.
Gon snapped to attention after a realization hit him. "Ah! That's right!"
"What?" Killua asked, looking at him curiously.
"Today was so eventful, I almost forgot what tomorrow is," Gon answered, smiling at the other. "It's-"
"Yeah yeah, I know," Killua said, waving a hand dismissively at the matter. "I don't really care too much, though."
Gon frowned at hearing that, believing his friend should really care about what tomorrow is. He pouted at the other, then turned away with a huff. "You really should, but fine then. I'm setting the alarm for midnight when I get a chance, though."
"Whatever," Killua said, looking in the opposite direction in annoyance.
The spiky-haired teen glanced at the other after a while. While not agreeing with his friend's view he didn't want some miniscule spat like this to go on for too long, so he poked the other in the side. When he had the pale-skinned boy's attention, he gave a small kiss on his lips.
Killua sputtered in surprise and looked around the empty sidewalks and streets, making sure no one saw them. "D-don't do that in public, idiot!"
"What? Why?" Gon asked, exchanging his smile for a confused and sad frown. "I..thought I could do that now?"
"I said not in public. I didn't say not at all," the silver-haired teen clarified. "Because it's embarrassing if other people see us."
Gon pursed his lips and gave a small hum of annoyance. "I don't care about them, though. I only care about you."
"I realize that," Killua said, huffing at the other. "I don't care about them either, but it's still embarrassing."
"But..if you don't care, then how is it embarrassing?"
Killua opened his mouth to reply and paused, having to actually think it over. Gon looked over at the slightly slack-jawed boy, smirking at his absent reply.
"It..I..don't know. It just is, okay?" Killua answered, looking to the side. "I just don't want other people to see I guess."
The spiky-haired teen pouted, not really understanding the problem or why the other was embarrassed about such a thing, but let it slide as he did not wish to upset the other. He would try to find out another time.
"Alright," he said, looking down at the ground in sadness.
Killua glanced at the other and sighed, feeling bad as he noticed the saddened expression his friend held. "You can do that when we get home, alright? Just not where a bunch of strangers can see us. I..don't like letting other people see me care or something, I guess, okay?"
"Really?" Gon asked, looking up and grinning at him. "So..it's like saying that side of you is mine? Just for me."
Killua placed his face in his hands and groaned. "Geez, you're such a selfish idiot! But yeah, I guess..."
"That's not a very nice thing to say, Killua," Gon said, referring to the 'selfish idiot' comment, even though he didn't really care that much.
"Yeah? Well the truth hurts," Killua muttered. "Come on, we're almost home."
Gon looked down the road, only just now noticing that they were on their own street. He didn't know what time it was and could not see past the storm clouds to try to make a half decent guess, but seeing no car in the driveway said that Aunt Mito was not home. Without knowing the time, there was a good chance that it could be minutes or hours before she came home, as well. Probably hours if you considered the near-flooded streets that no one would want to drive in.
Walking up to their house, they stopped when they noticed a light was on through the living room window and tensed up.
"You didn't leave the light on when you left this morning, did you?" Killua asked, looking at the other with wide eyes.
"No," Gon answered, shaking his head and peering at the window. "Aunt Mito would have turned it off when she left even if I did. She hates wasting electricity."
The silver-haired teen practically glared at the window, more than willing to believe someone had broken in during the hectic storm to make off with some small things to sell.
"I'll go high, you go low," Killua told him, already thinking of ways to take the intruder out.
Gon nodded and they made their way to the door, poking it open just barely enough to look around inside. When they saw no one they cracked it open enough to slip in and ran to opposite corners of the room.
This organization was the result of the video games they played alongside their impressibility.
Mike's head rose at he looked between the two, tail beginning to wag. He was about to bark when Killua waved his hands frantically.
"No Mike! Shhh!" he whispered, but the dog's tail wagged on.
A loud bark resounded through the house, shocking the other two through the silence. When they heard a noise in the kitchen, they immediately ran to either side of the entrance and waited. As soon as a young woman walked through the door Killua clamped a hand over her mouth and eyes while Gon stopped short of kicking her legs out from under herself.
"O-oh! Ms. Siberia!" Gon said as he stopped his leg, backing away from their neighbor.
Palm Siberia had lived next door since before Mito and Gon moved into the house years ago and more often than not was called on to babysit the pair when no one else would be home to keep them out of trouble, since Granny had passed on and could not watch over them. Gon and Palm hit it off pretty easily and became fast friends, which was a reason Killua was not a fan of her mere presence being in the vicinity at all even though she tries to be nice to him. He doesn't trust her in the least, and because of that he gets pretty mean whenever she's around.
When they moved in Palm had practically been forcibly dragged over to meet them by her friends Knuckle and shoot, but did not regret being forced through her shyness when she met the family. Mito was a bit skeptical about the girl's appearance at first, but did not judge her upon first look. The first time she was asked to babysit them did not go over well with Killua, who complained that they were old enough to take care of themselves. Palm agreed regardless, and became the regular sitter after getting to spend enough time with the boys to learn she enjoyed being with them.
Killua slowly removed his hands from her face, still a bit suspicious. Carefully and quietly he asked, "Why are you here?"
"M-Ms. Freecss asked me t-to come over if the storm got too bad a-and I didn't see h-her car back before five," the frightened neighbor explained.
Gon gave a quiet 'oh' as Killua eyed her skeptically. The spiky-haired boy grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him away, elbowing him in the ribs and whispering, "Stop it, she's just here to help."
Palm watched the two boys as they quietly bickered in front of her. She began playing with her hair in nervousness and looked back to the kitchen at the food she was preparing for the two. "U-um, I'm going to go check on the roast while you two..sort this out."
Both their heads perked up at the mention of food and they followed the tall, lanky woman into the kitchen. When they entered the room they saw a plethora of ingredients around countertops being cleared off by their sitter. Looking at the table back in the other room they saw small dishes to go with the roast she mentioned consisting of mashed potatoes with gravy, two big bowls with different kinds of pastas, and a small pot of cooked vegetables. Their mouths began to water at the sight of all the food, staring wide-eyed at the table, when Palm appeared behind them and poked each one lightly.
"You're both wet," she said, pointing out the obvious. "And why are you in bandages?"
"Yeah, we missed our bus and had to come home in the rain," Gon explained, turning around to answer before Killua could make a sarcastic comment. "But we got an umbrella from a friend on the way, so it wasn't too bad."
"Long story," Killua answered, hiding his damaged hand behind his back.
Palm nodded in understanding, disappearing back into the kitchen once more to finish cleaning.
"Still want to get rid-"
"Yes," Killua cut off his friend sharply, wanting their sitter to leave.
"She's just trying to help, Killua," Gon tried. He frowned when his friend glared at the kitchen. "How come you dislike her so much?"
"How come you don't?" Killua questioned, turning his glare to the other.
Gon blinked a couple of times before something clicked in his mind. There'd only be one reason for Killua to want him to dislike her as well, wouldn't there?
"Killua," Gon started, giving a very cheeky mix between a grin and a smirk, "are you jealous?"
The pale-skinned boy spluttered indignantly, staring wide-eyed at his friend. "W-wh-what?! No! W-what the hell are you talking about?!"
Gon finally realized it now. When they played board games like Monopoly and Sorry!, Killua always targeted Palm specifically. When they watched movies, Killua always sat in the middle to separate them. When they ate dinner, he would always sneak small glares at her when she wasn't looking. When Gon and Palm would have conversations with each other, Killua would either hide away or outright refuse to participate.
"Killua, do you not like it when I have fun with other people?" Gon giggled lightly, letting it soon grow into full-blown laughter at the realization.
Killua scoffed at the other, hitting him on the back of the head. "N-no! I-idiot! Of course not, g-geez!"
The spiky-haired boy held the back of his head, still laughing some before he smirked again. "So you just want me all to yourself?"
"N-no," Killua answered quickly, blushing at the mention of that. "I don't care who you hang out with."
"You're still the most important to me no matter what, Killua," Gon said, smiling at him. "It can only be you, in fact."
The silver-haired teen crossed his arms and huffed, tossing his gaze to the side as his blush intensified. "Whatever. Just shut up."
"Well it's true," Gon said, looking back at the food on the table.
Palm walked in from the kitchen carrying a few lids to put on the dishes to trap the heat, keeping them from getting cold. Once the lids were in place, she turned to the boys.
"Go shower and dry up for dinner, please," she said as she pointed to the stairs. "No need to soak the furniture."
The pair looked down at their wet clothes, remembering that they had not yet changed into dry ones. Gon pushed Killua lightly towards the stairs, urging him to go on.
"You go first, I'll go after."
Killua turned to look at his friend questioningly. "Why?"
Gon internally sighed, just wanting his friend to do what he was told without some sort of question or snarky comment for once. "Alright, we can go at the same time. Then we can explore!"
"Down, Fido." Killua said, placing his palm on the other's face to lightly push him away, averting his eyes and getting flustered at the thoughts that comment initiated. "I'll go first, geez."
"Leave me some hot water," Gon said. He smiled as he watched the other go, then turned to Palm and looked her seriously in the eyes. "Can we talk for a bit?"
"What?" Palm gave him a surprised look, caught a bit off-guard by the sudden change. "Um, I don't see why not. Is something wrong?"
"Well..kind of," Gon answered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You see, because Aunt Mito isn't here I was kind of hoping I could be with Killua alone today. We kind of just..got together? I think. Something like that, a while ago. I'm not really sure, but I like to think we are! And I'm pretty sure Killua is a little jealous of you. Or it seems like that, anyway."
The lanky woman nodded in understanding. She always felt that the pale-skinned boy had some sort of issue with her, though did not hold it against him, but she never expected it to be that. "So you want me to leave?"
The spiky-haired teen nodded with an apologetic smile. "If you don't mind."
"Your aunt would be pretty mad if I were to do such a thing, you know."
Gon hadn't thought of that. Surely Aunt Mito would be mad if their sitter were to just up and leave simply because they wanted her to. He let himself get lost in thought, then threw a finger up when an idea came to mind.
"Why don't we just tell her you had an emergency and couldn't stay long? I'll handle her from there."
Palm hummed in thought, thinking it over before nodding. "Very well. But this," she waved her hand over the table, "was meant to be everyone's dinner. Including mine and Mito's. So I get to stay and eat first."
"Of course! I wouldn't dare make you go hungry," Gon said, beaming at her.
"Well, dinner should be ready by the time you're dressed," she said, fiddling with her hair and retreating to the kitchen once more.
"Okay!" Gon chirped happily, heading up the stairs to his room.
Killua leaned back against the shower wall once he was done cleaning himself, letting the warm water beat against his skin as he thought about what happened in the park today. The images of their two kisses flooding his mind, wondering what his friend was even thinking while trying that. Of course he certainly wasn't displeased with the results, but it was so unexpected and bull-headed that even if you knew it was coming you still would have been caught off-guard by it. Though he guessed he had to be happy the other was like that, or else neither of them would have ever gotten anywhere. The silver-haired teen knew he definitely never would have made the first move.
He slid down against the wall to sit on the shower floor, closing his eyes as the water hit his face. "Where do we even go from here? Should anything even change?"
He wasn't sure if he wanted anything to change at all. He was happy with how things were, and knew that change was not always for the best. But never being in a situation like this before he didn't know if change would be good, bad, or both.
"Maybe I should just roll with it. It's not like I could be unhappy with him."
Sighing, he ran a hand through his wet hair and made a grab for the shampoo bottle they shared. Squirting some of the liquid in his hands he started rubbing at his head. He winced when he bent his damaged hand a little too much and a small, sharp pain shot through it. After letting it rest for a moment, he continued at a slower pace. When he leaned his head forward to rinse the gathering foam out of his hair he heard a knock on the door.
"Killua, don't take forever! I still need to go, too!"
He opened his eyes at the sound of his friend's voice, not realizing he had been in there for so long. He finished rinsing the suds out of his hair and turned off the water, stepping out and grabbing the towel he left on top of the toilet seat for himself. He wrapped it around his waist and grabbed a second towel to drape around his shoulders in an attempt to keep somewhat warm. Leaving the bathroom, he hurried to his room and shut the door, seeing dry clothes laid out for him on the bed.
"Oh, good, you're out. I'm going to go head in then," Gon said, poking his head out of the closet.
"Yeah, sorry for taking so long. I kind of spaced out in there," Killua explained, giving a small smile.
Gon grinned, stopping in front of the other at hearing that. "Were you thinking about me?"
"Maybe," Killua answered slowly, eyeing the other suspiciously. At seeing the spiky-haired teen's grin grow bigger his own face transformed into one of horror, turning red. He hit his friend on the back of the head as he exclaimed, "N-N-NO! N-not like THAT! I-I wasn't even doing that, idiot!"
Gon snickered as he hurried by, too amused to pay attention to the blow his head just took, knowing that Killua surely wanted to hit him even more. "Sorry Killua, but it's funny when you get like that!"
"Tch." The pale-skinned boy slammed the door shut behind his friend, hoping that it hit him on the way out, before he began towelling himself dry to get dressed.
Once he was dry and dressed, he looked out the window to see the storm had hardly even budged. He pressed his forehead against the cool glass, watching the raindrops hit the window, losing himself in his thoughts again. He didn't feel like going downstairs and being alone with her, so he would just wait up here. Maybe even avoid dinner altogether.
Gon entered the bathroom and started undressing, dropping his clothes in the hamper in the corner and avoiding the small puddles of water on the floor. He entered the shower and turned on the water, turning the dial past the half-way point as he figured Killua must have used a good portion of the hot water already. When the water started, he stood directly under the nozzle to avoid getting hit by the cold water before it heated up. Giving it a few seconds, he moved under the water and gave a contented sigh as the warmth spread over his body. He had been freezing cold ever since he left the school due to the rain soaking him. He stood there for a while and enjoyed the water, then when he felt satisfied he took the soap and washrag to begin cleaning himself.
He hastily washed himself, as he didn't want to be unfinished when the water turned cold, and grabbed the shampoo. He noticed the bottle was still open and smiled. He loved it when Killua's hair smelled like this. When Killua said he didn't care what shampoo he used and that he would just steal Gon's so he didn't have to worry about it, Gon purposefully started buying this type because he loved the smell. It probably didn't go too well on himself, but he believed it went perfectly with Killua's natural scent.
He squirted some in his hand and started spreading it through his hair, which was matted down by the shower water. After rubbing it in deep enough, he let it settle for a moment before rinsing it out under the shower head. Once all the foam was out, he turned the dial further to 'Hot' and closed his eyes to relax in the heat.
Thinking back, he was extremely happy now that he took that risk and kissed the other. Or maybe he should be more happy that he could be thoughtless enough to do something so bold without worrying about it in the moment.
"Did I just call myself dumb in a way?" he wondered, frowning at the thought.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the thought, his eyes shot open at the sudden burst of cold he felt against his skin and practically jumped out of the shower. Nearly slipping on the way out, he grabbed hold of the sink to stop himself from falling completely and stood upright. He took a moment to steady himself, and once he was sure he was steady he turned off the shower and went through the cabinet under the sink for towels. Seeing none, he huffed and went to the door. Opening it, he poked his head out to call out for his friend.
"Killua! Can you come here?!" He hoped his friend would hurry, as he was freezing cold and shaking.
After a few moments, he saw Killua walk out of their room and down the hallway to stand in front of him with his hands in his pockets. The silver-haired boy looked at him questioningly, wondering why he was only poking his head out of the door.
"What's up?"
"There's no more towels in here, can you go get me one or two?"
Killua grinned mischievously at the shaking boy in front of him. "Yeah, of course I can."
"Thanks, Killua!" Gon said with a smile, but his smile slowly faded as the other didn't move for a while. "Aren't you going to go get them?"
"No. I said I can," Killua clarified, turning and walking away. "I didn't say I would."
"Wha..b-but! Killua!" Gon shouted at the other, who was still walking away slowly. "Killuaaa! Please! I'm cold!"
"Yeah?" Killua said, stopping and looking over his shoulder at the shaking boy. "Well why don't you just think of me and warm yourself up?"
Killua began walking away again with Gon shouting after him, "Wait! I'm sorry! I-I was just having a little fun with you!"
Palm came up the stairs and looked between the two of them. "What on earth is going on up here?"
"Nothing," Killua said sharply, turning once more to look at her while trying his best not to outright glare. "Go back to whatever you were doing."
Palm eyed the shaking teen hanging half way out of the bathroom door. "What's happening?"
"Killua has the last two towels in our room, and I'm just trying to convince him to bring them here," Gon said as calmly as he could, trying not to get their sitter involved for his friend's sake. "No big deal."
Palm sighed and started for their bedroom. Killua visibly bristled when she passed him, and Gon could practically feel the anger radiating from him. His friend never did like letting their sitter in their bedroom, and whenever she had to go in it was as if his anger grew unbridled enough to become tangible.
"Wait, Palm!" Gon called out, stopping her. "It's okay, really. We're just having a little fun is all. You can go a head back to what you were doing, don't worry about us."
The lanky woman stared at him for a moment, seemingly oblivious to the anger radiating off the boy a few paces behind her. She began walking back to the stairs as she spoke, "Alright then, but hurry before the food gets cold."
"Yeah, we'll be down soon," Gon told her as she passed him, then looked back over to the slowly calming Killua. "If you're okay, can I get the towels now? I feel like I'm rolling around in melting snow."
Killua stopped glaring at the staircase, looking at Gon with a stern expression when he was spoken to. He went into their room and snatched the towels off the bed, staring at them for a long moment.
"Who the hell is she to think she can come in here? This is our sanctuary, not hers. As if it isn't bad enough she's allowed in the house, she has to try to come in our room too," he thought angrily, scowling at the poor, innocent towels. "This is my family, not hers."
He clutched the towels harder and gritted his teeth, seething at the mere thought of the times she came in here and tainted his safe haven. Stealing his time with Gon, telling him what to do as if she were Mito, stealing his time with Gon, watching over them as if she were Granny, stealing his time with Gon, causing him to recede within himself and hide away, stealing his time with Gon.
"Wait," Killua thought, his head bolting up from the towels he was still scowling at. "Shit, Gon."
Killua hurried out the door and down the hall, shoving the towels in the shaking boy's face. "Here."
"What took you so long?" Gon asked, wrapping the towels around himself as quickly as he could manage, relishing in the small amount of warmth he finally felt.
"Just got a little preoccupied." The silver-haired teen buried his hands in his pockets and looked away with his head down.
Gon came out of the bathroom, now covered by a towel around his waist and one around his shoulders, and patted his friend on the back. "That's fine. Come on, let's go eat."
Killua grabbed the other's shoulder, who had started for the stairs. "Clothes, moron."
"Oh." The spiky-haired teen looked down at himself, remembering that he was not dressed or dry. "Right."
As Gon began down the hallway to their room Killua stared at his hair as he went, thinking how he looked that much cuter with his hair down because of the water. He started down the stairs, sitting in a chair at the dining table across from Palm. He stared at her for a long while, a seemingly indifferent look on his face.
"So, how was your day?" Palm asked, giving a small smile at the boy across from her.
"I kicked Gon in the face when I woke up late, got in trouble before I even left for school, nearly had my skateboard taken away, hit my head on a chair, found an embarrassing picture of myself, probably broke a few of my knuckles, almost missed eating lunch and got in trouble with the teacher. I blacked out and can't even remember what I did during half of gym, yet still managed to some how knock out Gon and cause bleeding to the back of my head. Freaked out in the nurse's office and made Gon freak out in turn, missed the bus home, forgot my skateboard at school, threw a shit fit and broke some school property. Then I hurt Gon's feelings and made him run off on his own, getting us both soaked in the rain when I went to go look for him." Killua bit back the part about coming home to see she had invaded their place once more and avoided letting her know anything good that happened in the hopes of shutting her up. "Want to hear about yesterday?"
"No," she answered a little too quickly, twiddling her thumbs and looking away. "That's fine."
Killua smirked inwardly, getting just the reaction he wanted from her when Gon came down the stairs and took a seat next to the other boy. Palm didn't waste any time in taking off the lids on the side dishes and passing around cuts of the roast to each of the three plates. It was pretty obvious to her that Killua wanted her gone, so she would not try to prolong this.
"Leave some for Mito. I'm sure she'll be hungry when she gets home," Palm said before she started eating.
Their dinner was spent in an unsettling silence. Palm kept to herself, watching her food, not wishing to upset the pale-skinned boy anymore. Killua would either be looking down at his plate or glaring at the woman across the table. Gon would constantly be looking between the two of them, just wanting everyone to get along. The only sound accompanying the soft clanking of silverware on plates was the thunder booming outside every so often.
Gon was first to finish, with Killua close behind. They took their plates to the sink in the kitchen, rinsing them off and leaving them there as Palm entered after they were done. When Palm rinsed off her own plate and left it in the sink, she went to the front door and grabbed her coat. Killua watched her curiously from his spot on the sofa as she put her coat on, wondering what was going on when Gon went up to her and handed her their clear-plastic umbrella.
"This one is ours, you can bring it back whenever you want," he explained with a smile. "Or keep it if you like. Thanks for doing this."
She accepted the umbrella with a small smile and checked her coat pockets to make sure she had her key. "Thank you. I'll bring it back tomorrow afternoon."
Gon locked the door behind her when she left, then went back to sit next to the confused boy awaiting him on the couch. He made sure not to kick Mike, who was lying at the edge of the sofa under Killua.
"Where's she going?" Killua asked, confusion laced in his voice.
"Home," Gon answered as if it was obvious, sitting next to his friend who was lying on his back on the couch. He could hear the slight relief in the other's voice.
Killua flipped around to lie on his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows and looking up at the other suspiciously. "How come?"
"Well, I would have preferred she stayed because I don't get to see her all that often," Gon explained as he smiled down at the other. "But she was bothering you, so I convinced her that we would be fine if she went home and that I would handle Aunt Mito."
Killua stared up at his friend, not entirely sure how to feel about that. Mad that Gon wanted her to stay? Happy that he got her to leave for him? Annoyed that he only got her to leave because Killua wanted her gone? Honored that Gon acted unselfishly just for him?
He opted to stare blankly at the other for a while, who was giving a nervous smile because he wasn't sure exactly what the silver-haired teen was feeling or thinking.
"Whatever," Killua mumbled, crawling forward and resting in Gon's lap.
Age 14
One day Mito had been held up at work, leaving Gon and Killua home alone for a mere 2 hours. When she drove down the street to her home that day, she saw a fire truck and 2 police cruisers parked outside the house with flashing lights. The firemen were just finishing up in putting out the fire, the officers were dragging the two teens away from the house and Mike was chained to the small post they put in the front yard so he can go out every so often on his own barking at them all. Her heart jumped at the sight, and she parked in her driveway.
"What's going on?" the red-head asked as she got out of the car, rushing over to her two boys. Her eyes widened when she noticed the handcuffs on both of them.
"Hi Aunt Mito!" Gon called out happily, as if nothing were wrong at all.
"Ma'am, are these your children?" one of them asked with a tired tone.
"Yes, they are. What happened? Why are they in handcuffs?"
"Well we went in to get the boys to safety from the fire, but this one," the officer holding Killua pushed him forward roughly, "decided to bite me when I tried to escort the other boy out, so I had to forcefully restrain him. That was when the other one decided to jump me, and my partner had to restrain him as well."
"Because you were hurting him!" Gon yelled at the man angrily.
"He bit me and refused to let go."
"He-"
"Gon, stop arguing with him," Mito scolded, crossing her arms. "Sir, is there anyway we can let this go with a warning?"
"He assaulted an officer of the law, ma'am. That is not something we take lightly."
"I understand, and I'll handle them. They're just very protective of each other, and the situation was surely causing extra stress on them," Mito tried, really not wanting them to have a record for that. "They really aren't bad or violent kids."
Well, not bad anyways.
The officers looked at each other, but relented and uncuffed the pair. "We don't want to have to see these two again, ma'am."
"I understand," Mito said, nodding at the parting men.
When the firetrucks and police cruisers were gone, she dragged the two inside and had them sit on the sofa. She glared at them long and hard, waiting for an explanation.
"We didn't know when you were going to be back, and we were hungry, so," Gon trailed off, rubbing his shoulder and looking away.
"I figured that out from the beginning, what I can't understand is why you would dare attack a police officer."
Killua winced at that and looked down at the ground, knowing that she was speaking more at him than Gon. "I..we were trying to put the fire out, but those guys came in and grabbed Gon. I didn't know who it was or what they were doing, so I just tried to get them off him."
"The blue suits and gold badges didn't say anything?" Mito questioned skeptically, putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at him.
"I wasn't looking at that! I was trying to throw water on the fire but it wouldn't go out, and when I turned around to get more I just saw two guys who looked like they were trying to hurt him!" he tried to explain desperately. "I didn't know..."
Mito sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Well, you're certainly not allowed to stay home alone anymore. That's for sure."
Killua and Gon glanced at each other, then back at her. Gon asked, "You're not going to make us stay outside, are you?"
"What? No!" Mito answered, staring at him incredulously. "Are you out of your mind? I'm going to get a babysitter whenever I'm not home from now on."
Killua stiffened when he heard that, really not wanting to have to hide away again because of some new person in the house. He clutched the sofa cushion under himself and squared his shoulders. "Do you really have to? I'm sure we could take care of ourselves, this was only the first time after all."
"Yes, I do. I shouldn't have left you home alone in the first place," Mito answered. Walking away, she told them, "I'll ask around and look for ads tomorrow for sitters."
Killua sighed, looking down at the ground, he really didn't want this to happen. "This is going to suck."
"It'll be alright, Killua," Gon said as if reading his mind, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure we'll get someone nice. Just think of it as making a new friend!"
"Just because it's that simple for you doesn't mean it is for everyone, Gon," Killua said, shaking the hand off his shoulder and getting up to leave.
Later that same week Mito hired their first sitter. A pretty, young, blonde, teenage girl, probably only two or three years older than the boys themselves.
"She must be joking," Killua whispered to Gon.
"Hi Clara!" Gon greeted the girl brightly.
"Don't we go to school together?" the girl, Clara, asked. She was obviously confused as to why someone almost her own age would need a sitter.
"Oh, wonderful!" Mito exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. "So you already know each other!"
"Mito, she's only two grades ahead of us!" Killua said exasperatedly, waving a hand at their schoolmate.
"Age doesn't matter in this situation, Killua," Mito retorted as she grabbed her coat. "You two could be fifty years old and I would still hire a sitter to watch you."
"We aren't that bad, Aunt Mito," Gon said, feeling a little insulted.
"Of course you're not, Gon," Mito said, hiding her sarcasm well. "You three call if you need anything, I'll have my phone."
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Clara said cheerfully to the parting red-head. "Right boys?"
Killua had Mike chase her out ten minutes later in a mess of snarls and barks, regardless of Gon's protesting. When Mito returned and heard the story, she decided not to get any younger sitters from here on out. The next time, she called on their neighbor instead. They often had tea together, and she trusted the other woman could handle herself.
Hopefully.
Palm Siberia walked through the door to Gon, Killua and Mito's home. Mito had called and asked her to come over and babysit while she went to a co-worker's house for a few hours. Palm was a bit nervous, but said she would be right over.
"They have to be in bed by 10:30 at the latest. Don't let them give you any excuses to stay up longer," Mito explained as she was putting things in her purse and walking towards the door. "And if they try to give you any trouble, don't be afraid to call me right away."
"I'm sure we'll be fine, Ms. Freecss," Palm said, toying with her hair as she followed the red-head around.
Gon watched them happily, smiling at seemingly nothing. Killua watched them indifferently, not really showing any type of emotion in front of this strange woman who he has only seen once or twice. Mike was sitting beside Killua loyally, staring at the sitter as she went about.
When Mito was finally gone, Palm closed and locked the door. Turning around she saw the two boys still standing in place, the dog still sitting dutifully next to them, one smile and one blank faced.
"Um, hello," she said hesitantly, not exactly sure where to go from here. She had come around often, but never really spent any time with the children, only to spend time with Granny and Mito. She pointed to each as she said their names for confirmation, "Gon, and Killua?"
Both boys nodded, and Gon spoke up, "Hello, Ms. Siberia! That's a cool sounding name. It reminds me of a Siberian husky, and they're awesome!"
"Yes, well, you can call me Palm if you like." Palm leaned down in front of Killua as Gon nodded again, asking in the nicest voice she could manage, "And how about you? Do you have anything to say?"
Killua's eyes glinted momentarily with something akin to a territorial cat, but he did not speak. Mike could feel his master's unease, and subsequently let out an almost inaudible growl that no one heard.
She frowned when she noticed this dangerous glint in his eyes, staring at him for longer than intended. Had she wronged him in some way already?
"Ah, Killua doesn't really..well, like people he doesn't know," Gon's explanation broke the tension filled silence. "He um, might take a while to open up to you."
Palm turned her gaze to him as he explained the other's problem. Nodding in understanding, she turned back to the pale-skinned boy and smiled. "I suppose that's why I didn't get the pleasure of seeing you the first few times I came over. Well, I hope in time we can become good friends."
Killua instinctively took a couple of steps back, obviously irritated. Mike then growled at the woman, standing on all fours and baring his teeth, though Palm did not budge or even pay him any mind.
"Mike, no! Bad!" Gon called out crossly. He was not going to have this happen again. "Sit!"
Mike took a step back to sit beside Killua once more, still watching the lanky woman closely.
When Palm saw Gon take hold of Killua's hand, calming him down some, she opted to make friends with the brown-eyed boy until the other decided to open up to her. She stood to her full height and looked down at the two.
"Well, Gon and Killua, is there anything you'd like to do? We could play games, or watch movies, maybe do some puzzles."
The duo stared at each other a while, seeming to be having some silent conversation. She idly began to wonder exactly how close these two were when the brighter of the pair spoke up.
"Can we have dinner first?" Gon answered. "We haven't eaten all day."
"Oh, well of course. I'll make something right away," Palm said happily. "I actually like to cook a lot, you know."
She made for the kitchen with the pair following closely behind her and Mike lying on the floor in front of the kitchen entrance. She looked around the kitchen before asking, "Is there anything specific you would like?"
"Anything is fine, but uh," Gon said, trailing off. "Can we make something with chocolate, too? Killua would really like that."
"Well, I don't see why not," Palm answered, happy to see Killua's eyes soften even the slightest at that.
"Hey Palm, can we help?" Gon asked when she began pulling things out of the fridge.
The sitter turned around and stared at him, confused. "Well..yes, but don't you have something more fun you two would rather be doing?"
"Well, maybe. But I can't really think of anything else to do right now."
Killua frowned, displeased by that answer. He could likely think of something to do.
Palm hummed thoughtfully, pulling out a box of cake mix and a big bowl. She prepared the mix with eggs, vegetable oil and water and mixed it up some to get it started.
"Well, I suppose you can mix this then." Palm gave the spiky-haired boy the whisk and bowl full of chocolate batter, which Killua tried to dip his finger in and had smacked away by the whisk Gon was holding. "He can have some, but not too much."
Killua stuck his tongue out at the other, until a spoon was shoved into his hand. He looked at the tool used for eating with absolute disgust.
"Killua likes to use his fingers." Gon gave him a weird look as Killua wiggled his fingers, then turned back to Palm. "He always says it tastes better like that."
Palm stared at the pair, not exactly sure what to say about that. After a couple blinks she asked, "Well I'm not really too fond of sweets, so I won't be having any when they're made. So if you don't mind him doing it then I suppose it's okay."
"Are you kidding?" Gon beamed at her. "I love it when he does that! It makes the cupcakes taste like him, and Killua tastes great!"
Killua buried his face in his hands, face completely red and wanting to cry from the sheer stupidity of that statement, let alone what it implied. Palm continued to stare at the duo, obviously a bit shocked from that statement. It took a few moments before he actually understood what he just implied.
"O-oh. No, not like that. I mean he always smells real good, and usually you taste like how you smell," Gon tried to explain with a desperate look. "B-but, that's not to say when he smells bad he won't taste good. B-because it's Killua, a-and everything about Killua is always great. In fact-"
The rambling teen was silenced when Killua hit him on the back of the head hard enough to send his face rocketing forward into the bowl full of batter in the poor boy's hand. Gon lifted his head from the mushy substance, the batter dripping from his face, and slowly opened his eyes.
"I'll shut up now," he said quietly after a sigh.
Gon handed the bowl and whisk over to Killua, then headed for the sink to start washing his face. The silver-haired boy began happily eating the chocolate batter with his hand, not even bothering to stir with the whisk, until he looked towards the sink and saw Palm cleaning the other boy's face with a washrag. That wouldn't have bugged him at all, if Gon weren't grinning like an idiot at her.
"What's wrong, Killua? Does it taste wrong?" Gon asked, walking up to other.
It took that comment for Killua to realize he had stood there, unmoving, and staring at the two with his fingers in his mouth. He shook his head 'no' to answer, and continued to lick the batter off his fingers, trying to seem unbothered.
"Kilua..you're not even stirring it," Gon said, frowning at his friend. "Can I at least have a little, then?"
Killua looked at him suspiciously, but reluctantly pulled his fingers out of his mouth and agreed. Barely above a whisper, he said, "I guess..."
Gon smiled, but instead of going for the bowl that the other held out for him he took Killua's wrist and licked one finger. Completely innocent and oblivious to what he was really doing, he continued to lick his friend's finger until it was clean of all batter on it.
Killua didn't know whether to laugh, cry, yell, hit him or all of the above. Though he was too shocked to do anything at the moment, so he just stared in horror with a red face as the spiky-haired teen went at it.
When Gon pulled back and let go of his friend's wrist, he grinned brightly. "I was right! You even taste better than the batter!"
Killua could hear Palm stifle a laugh and glared in her direction, only to see she was trying her hardest to not look at the pair. Throwing the whisk in his friend's face, he hugged the bowl protectively and stormed out of the kitchen.
Gon rubbed his nose where the whisk hit him, then took a couple of steps forward and stopped at the sound of Palm's voice.
"Gon, why don't you stay here and help me? Maybe Killua just needs a little space," she tried, wanting to give the silver-haired boy some time to cool off.
"But..he isn't mad, is he?" Gon asked with worry, afraid he had wronged the other in some way.
"Well, maybe not mad. But I think he could use a moment or two to himself. Let's let him enjoy his chocolate and we'll check on him in a bit, okay?"
"Okay," Gon replied a bit sadly after staring at the kitchen entrance.
The sitter handed him a spoon and told him he could be in charge of stirring the pots full of rice and broccoli, remembering Mito's warning of not letting him actually try to cook anything. While handling that he listened to Palm tell stories of her friends, Knuckle and Shoot. She would often ramble on to another subject entirely until Gon got her back on track, though sometimes he would let her ramble on as he just enjoyed listening.
Meanwhile Killua sat in the living room, tensing up every time he heard his friend laugh at something the lanky woman said. Normally the sound of the other's laughter was enough to let him know everything was alright, but for some reason it was extremely annoying at the moment. Could it be that it's because the cause of it is someone else, rather than himself?
"Nah," he rebuffed the thought immediately. "I don't get jealous."
He sighed, not liking that he didn't even know why he was in a bad mood. Not knowing only served to make it worse. Lying his head back on the sofa cushions, he dipped another two fingers into the bowl of chocolate batter in his lap and absentmindedly put them in his mouth. He was far too gone in his thoughts to even realize what he was doing anymore. Another laugh from the two in the kitchen caused him to grit his teeth, resulting in a rough bite to his two fingers.
"FUCK!" the silver-haired teen screamed out, jumping up in shock.
The bowl miraculously landed right side up, not spilling a drop, on the floor in front of him. He waved the hand he bit back and forth, as if trying to shake the pain off, as he clamped the other over his mouth when he realized what he had just screamed out. Gon came running in first, slamming into the back of the couch and staring at his friend's back in worry, with Palm following behind shortly. She watched from the archway entrance of the kitchen, sure that Gon could probably handle this better than she could at the moment. She was afraid that if she got too close, Killua might close himself off again and they wouldn't find out what happened.
"Killua, what's wrong?!" Gon asked in a raised voice with evident worry. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Killua answered sharply, keeping his back to the other.
"No," Gon retorted sharply. "You don't use bad words unless something really bad happens, and I want to know what."
The pale-skinned teen rolled his eyes at his friend's stubbornness, silently cursing the fact that Gon was not as dumb as he constantly made himself out to be. Looking around the immediate area for an excuse, he settled for a believable lie that the other would likely buy into.
"I tried to stand up without watching where I was going and kicked the coffee table," he answered, still not turning around.
"Liar," Gon called him out instantly, crossing his arms and glaring.
Killua's face dropped at that, and in a flat tone he asked, "How would you even know?"
"Because you don't like to look at me when you lie."
Sighing, he turned around. The first thing he noticed was not his friend though, but the lanky woman standing in the kitchen's entryway watching them warily. He gave a small glare without realizing it, then turned around and picked up the bowl on the floor. Not sparing a glance back at the two, he went to the stairs. Palm went back into the kitchen to check on the food when she noticed the glare directed at her.
"Stop trying to run away, Killua," Gon said angrily, grabbing the other by the shoulder. "It doesn't help anything."
While he knew it was true, he really didn't want to deal with things like this. He just wanted them to go away and be done with them. Groaning softly he took his foot off the first step, placed the bowl down on the steps, and faced the other. placing his hands on his hips, he forced out an exaggerated sigh to let the spiky-haired teen know he was greatly annoyed.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want you to tell me what's wrong," Gon answered. "You've been in a mood all day, ever since Aunt Mito said she was going to get someone to watch us. I hate it when you get in these moods because they make me feel bad, too."
"One would think he would have given himself a clue with what he just said," Killua thought to himself. "Nothing is wrong. I'm not in a mood. Have you thought that maybe you're just being paranoid?"
"Have you thought that maybe you're just in a mood?" Gon countered sharply, beginning to lose the little patience he had in the first place.
Killua bristled indignantly, balling his hands up into fists at his sides and raising his shoulders, wanting to strangle the other for his accusations. He ground out slowly through gritted teeth, "I am not in a mood, damn it."
"You always use bad words when you're really mad, too."
Killua slapped his palm on his face and slowly dragged it down. He honestly wanted to kill this boy right now. Maybe not bad enough to actually do it, but still pretty badly. He forced a smiled, although it looked more maniacal than happy. "Look, Gon, I'm fine. See how happy I look? Everything is fine."
"You look like that Hisoka guy from down the street who drives the ice cream truck when he's staring at people," Gon replied, taking a step back. The look didn't convince him that Killua was happy, but certainly worked in creeping him out.
Killua sighed and dropped back to sit on the steps, covering his face in his hands. When he landed, a soft 'splat' was heard and his head shot up as he immediately knew what just happened. He stood up slowly, horror evident on his face. He couldn't believe what just happened, what he had just done, the crime he had just committed. His bottom lip began quivering, his eyes as wide as saucers.
"K-Killua," Gon tried to speak through held back laughter. "U-um, I think you-"
"I know what I did," Killua interrupted the other sharply.
He turned around to pick up the bowl and heard Gon strain himself to hold back a burst of laughter. Picking up the bowl and staring into it, he saw the imprint of his bottom disappear as the batter reformed itself. That was when it hit him, and he quickly turned to face his friend. His face turned red in embarrassment when he realized the spiky-haired teen could see his backside in detail through his shorts thanks to the chocolate mess.
"Killua-"
"I will kill you if you say a word about it," Killua warned him. "I swear I will. I will destroy your remains and burn your grave."
Gon threw his hands up in mock surrender, taking a couple of steps back. "Okay, okay."
The red-face boy eyed him warily, not trusting him one bit on this matter. "I'm serious. I will."
"I understand," Gon reassured him. When the pale-skinned teen started ascending up the steps Gon waited until he was at the top to blurt out, "I like it, though. It's like your shorts are see-through!"
Killua turned and lifted the bowl in the air, ready to throw it at the boy, when he remembered the precious material that would be harmed if he did and lowered it. Then he remembered that it was tainted and lifted it up, ready to throw again. Though he figured his shorts were clean, so it was probably still fine, and lowered it. But then the thought of eating something that touched his backside made him raise it once more. However, because it was clothed it wasn't so bad and could be tolerated. Lowering the bowl he decided to just leave to go change before the substance got through his shorts and boxers, and to avoid continuing this little 'dance' of his.
"I hate you," Killua said as he left.
Roaming back into the kitchen, Gon stood beside his sitter and peered over the stove into the pots. He wasn't sure if anything was or wasn't done, but it certainly smelled good enough to go ahead and eat.
"Hey, will it be ready soon?" Gon asked, pulling on the side of Palm's dress for her attention. "Maybe Killua is moody because he's hungry. That annoys him a lot."
"It will be ready soon," Palm answered, then looked down at the boy. "You really know a lot about him, don't you?"
"Uh huh!" Gon said, nodding with a smile. "Killua's my best friend ever, so I have to know everything about him! Good and bad, no matter what."
Palm nodded slowly at that, understanding some what. She usually wanted to know everything about her friends as well, but understood there was boundaries. This boy before her did not seem to know boundaries, however. But that was just an assumption from the last statement.
"Or maybe he just doesn't want boundaries with Killua," she figured. "That or he has no shame."
They turned their attention to the kitchen entrance when soft footsteps were heard, and saw Killua with his hands dug in the pockets of the sweat pants replacing his shorts. Both quickly turned their attention back to the pots, not wanting to make him uncomfortable by staring after what had happened.
Killua frowned at their quickly turned heads, immediately getting the wrong message and leaving the room. "Well screw you both, too."
Going back up the stairs to his room, Killua stopped himself short of slamming the door and simply closed it instead. He huffed as he went to sit in the middle of the bed, taking the bowl of chocolate batter he left in their room in his lap and staring into it.
"At least you never get bored with me," he told the bowl, watching it for a minute before placing it on the nightstand next to the bed. "Too bad I don't feel like chocolate right now."
He lied back on the bed and closed his eyes for a moment, just wanting to forget about everything for a while. That hope was short-lived, however, when he heard the door softly squeak open. He kept his eyes closed and back on the bed, hoping they would just leave him alone thinking he was asleep. He was unpleasantly surprised when the person jumped on the bed and poked him in the side twice.
"Killua," Gon's voice said, "come on, let's go set the table."
The silver-haired teen still didn't move, figuring the other would believe he fell asleep if he just held still. Though he knew better than to believe the more-stubborn-than-a-mule teen would give up so easily, he hoped against hope and tried anyway. Another few pokes and a loud huff later, Killua felt something jab itself and a small part of his shirt into his belly button. He sat up abruptly in surprise, his eyes wide and reeled his fist back to retaliate. He stopped himself short of knocking the other boy clear across the room when he remembered who it was.
"Oh," Gon said when he noticed that he was about to get decked, "you weren't faking, huh?"
Killua groaned and rolled over onto his side, putting his back to the other. "Go away."
"Only if-"
"No, I'm not going to tell you 'what's wrong' so you can go away when there is nothing wrong and you won't go away even if there was and I told you," Killua snarled at the other, glaring over his back. He also didn't exactly understand what was wrong in the first place, but he didn't want Gon to know that. "Just put my food up and I'll eat it later. Or eat it yourself, I don't care."
Gon frowned and looked at the bowl of unfinished chocolate batter on the nightstand. "If Killua won't even eat that, then it has to be really, really bad."
He stared at his friend's back in silence for a moment, then sat on the edge of the bed next to him.
"Why are you still here?" Killua asked when he felt the bed stop shifting, obviously annoyed.
"Because I want to help," Gon answered softly, gripping the sheets with impatience. "Why won't you let me this time? You always have before."
"Yeah, after you pestered me for hours on end about it every time." Killua rolled back over and stared at Gon's side. "Why won't you just let it go when I say it's nothing?"
"Because whatever it is it's obviously bothering you," Gon declared, looking down into Killua's eyes. "And if it's bothering you then it's bothering me, too."
The spiky-haired teen fell off the bed when a pillow connected with his face, landing on the floor. He took a second to register the fact that Killua had just thrown a pillow at him, and glared up at the pale-skinned boy who was turning to his other side. Gon felt like he was dealing with a volatile animal. While this wasn't the first time he had to deal with one of those, obviously it couldn't and shouldn't be handled in the same way. He sat cross-legged and put a hand on each knee, deciding to stare at the other until he was told what was wrong.
The silver-haired boy felt the eyes of the other boring into his back, and glanced over his shoulder at him. "That's not going to make me say anything."
Gon continued to glare in silence, completely unmoving.
"Don't you need to go set the table or something?" Killua asked, sparing another glance at the other.
Gon continued to glare in silence, completely unmoving.
"You are not accomplishing anything, Gon," Killua said, starting to get angry. "The only thing you're doing right now is annoying me and probably missing dinner, so just go eat."
Gon continued to glare in silence, completely unmoving.
Killua got off the bed and stood in front of the glaring teen, looking about ready to strike at him for refusing to leave. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, sitting cross-legged in front of the other. He placed his hands on his knees in the same fashion and blanked his face, staring indifferently at the spiky-haired teen. The pair stared each other down for a while, but just when Killua was about to say something Palm walked in.
"I hope I'm not interrupting, but the food is ready," she said, studying the two.
"We'll be down in a minute," Gon replied, looking over Killua's shoulder at her.
Palm wasn't going to have that, however. She could practically feel the tension polluting the air. She walked further into the room as she questioned suspiciously, "What's going on, exactly?"
With each step Killua heard from her, one of his fingers would twitch the slightest bit. This went unnoticed by Gon, whom was still watching Palm.
"I'm just trying to find out what's upsetting Killua," Gon answered, looking back at the pale-skinned boy. "Even though he won't work with me."
Sitting on the bed above them, she looked down at Killua. "Killua, why don't you talk to us about it? Maybe we can help."
Gon got a little nervous at what reaction his friend might produce from this, but watched on curiously. Killua's gaze shifted to the side, looking up at her rather blankly, but he refused to speak. She wondered just what this boy had to go through to be able to readily hide everything so well, remembering that Mito had mentioned he had not always lived with them.
"I'm not here to hurt you, I can promise you that much," Palm insisted, not wanting this to be anymore harder than it should be. She wasn't expecting them to embrace her with open arms on the first day, but she wasn't expecting this, either. "You don't have to hide from me."
Killua stood up, crammed his hands in his pockets and made for the door to go downstairs. On his way out he muttered, "Not interested..."
Gon sighed and looked up at Palm. "I'm really sorry, he isn't usually this mean. Trust me, he's really nice when you get to know him."
"You mean 'if he lets you get to know him'," Palm corrected. "But don't worry, I'm not offended. We'll just wait until he's ready to open up, and until then I guess you'll have to be twice as nice to make up for him."
Gon laughed at that. "I think I can do that. I'll make sure you have lots of fun whenever you come over! Maybe if Killua sees me having fun with you he'll want to try, too!"
"Yeah, maybe." Palm said. "Let's go before the food gets cold. Maybe we can convince him to play a game with us afterwards, or watch a movie. Something to lighten the mood."
"We'll let him pick!" Gon said cheerfully, jumping to his feet in excitement.
Within the next few months, Killua did in fact open up to Palm. Though to everyone's dismay, certainly not in a positive way.
Don't feel obligated to give a good review, I accept good and bad alike, so don't hold back. Though I prefer any review to none at all. Constructive criticism is very much welcomed.
Thank you for reading.