BLD6

(A/N: YOOO It's like midnight! WOO! I feel hyper! Anyway… uh… yeah…)

Ch. 6: plans

Kalluto woke up to sunshine at his front, and a strange warmth at his back. Blinking away the glaring light, he recognizes the room as being the one he and Feitan shared. And if he was in bed, and facing the window, the only possible thing that could be behind him…

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Feitan is… snuggled against me! How the, when the, why the… EEEH?"

Kalluto took a good look at his surroundings to find that the only clothing that had been removed was his shoes and socks, and the petticoat from the skirt. He most likely was not stripped at any point. Good.

He was about to turn over when Feitan's voice piped up.

"Are you done with the panic? Sleep, it's too early for waking," he mutters, patting Kalluto's shoulder sloppily.

Kalluto takes a few deep breaths and rolls over, causing Feitan to growl.

"Sorry, but I don't control when the sun rises," Kalluto whispers, "The reason I woke up was because it was shining right in my eye."

Feitan simple snuggles back up to the other, and Kalluto figures he's just always cold or something. It'd explain why he was always so bundled up. In fact, the house did seem a little cooler than before.

"Probably Illumi doing something stupid…"

Kalluto opened his eyes to see a gently sloping hill covered in clovers. The sunlight is warm on his skin, and a sweet breeze moves through his hair.

Looking down, he notices he's wearing a floor-length white skirt and an oversized sweater that looked vaguely like something Feitan might wear. It must have been his, in fact, because the bitter-sweet smell of Feitan's favorite tea and honey clung to it.

Kalluto inhaled deeply, burrowing deeper into the familiar smell as he walked.

The hill soon gave way to a small grove of apple trees, in bloom. In the center, the largest tree had a swing. Not just any swing, but one of those fancy two-person bench swings. It was the same one in Kalluto's garden back at the estate.

Kalluto gasped, but not because of the familiar object. Sitting on that swing was Feitan, in a black button-up shirt and jeans. His mask was off, and he had a bunch of the flowers in his hand.

"Ah, that's where it went." Feitan accused, scooting over and holding out what looked like a crudely made flower crown, "Trade? Jacket for crown?"

Kalluto slides into the seat, and instead of giving up the jacket, takes the crown and puts it on Feitan's head before running off.

"If you want it back you have to catch me!" the younger calls, waving his arms.

Feitan gets up and starts jogging after him, "You can't beat me! I'm the fastest runner in the troupe!"

Kalluto giggles, "I know! I just wanna run!"

Kalluto stays ahead for a while, before Feitan decides to catch up. His movements are so silent that Kalluto doesn't realize he's right behind him until too late.

Feitan wraps his arms around Kalluto and picks him up bridal-style, Kalluto giggling uncontrollable the whole time.

His voice suddenly sounds choppy and urgent, "Kalluto! Kalluto!"

"Kalluto!"

"Kalluto!"

He jerks awake, realizing that the whole thing was a dream. And he was now entering a nightmare.

There was smoke spilling from the stairwell, and the walls were shaking from a fight on the lower level. And Feitan was carrying Kalluto down the hall.

"Feitan what's going on? Is it the Kurapica and the boys?"

Feitan doesn't bother looking at Kalluto to answer, "Yes. The meeting was bust. They follow them home."

They climb the stairs to the attic, and Kalluto puts on some clothes from a box; a long red skirt and a black top. He puts on his sandals and follows Feitan out the window.

They head out into the garden, to the center fountain. Once they seem to be alone, Feitan turns to look Kalluto in the eye.

"They have the one with good ears. We not hide long from her. I fight, you run."

"Run…"

Kalluto grabs Feitan's wrist as he tries to pull away, "wait," he cries, "I need to say something, just in case. I had a dream while I was sleeping. We were in an apple orchard and we were playing and laughing and I was wearing one of your jackets… you were talking with really good grammar, and… I don't know I just wanted to tell you that I had a really nice dream. You know, just in case Killua… kills you."

"I no die. I promise to protect you," Feitan answers surely, "here… just in case."

He places a small drawstring bag in Kalluto's hand. Kalluto nods silently and stares deep into Feitan's eyes.

The torturer stares back, seemingly gathering up the courage to do something. Suddenly, he pulls down the bandanna, leans in and presses his lips to Kalluto's for a moment before turning to face the house.

"Just in case…"

Kalluto finds himself smiling as he runs deeper into the garden.

Kalluto knew his footsteps would be heard by the girl. He knew hiding was futile, especially with his heart pounding like it was. But he trusted Feitan now more than ever.

That wasn't a "true loves first kiss," not at all. It was everything Feitan wanted to say, but didn't have the words. And Kalluto heard him loud and clear.

Feitan wanted to prove Illumi wrong. He wanted to take everyone's opinions and shove them up their asses. He was determined to prove that he was more than the short torturer who talks funny.

But Kalluto already knew the last one. From the moment they met, Kalluto had seen things swimming in those dark eyes; ideas, thoughts, and feelings he wanted so badly to express. He knew there was more to the man than what he was told. It didn't take a genius to see how smart he was, how he saw the world with magnified eyes, taking everything in.

"It takes a special kind of person," thought Kalluto, "to find beautiful things in such horrible places. To see art within sorrow, and joy within pain. Feitan can find something to adore in everything. No silver linings, no happy endings, but a true appreciation for the darker things in life. Not only accepting this world's corruption, but embracing it, and making it into art."

TBC

(A/N: I wanted to start wedding plans this chapter, but I chose poetic musings over plot. I really wanted to put a kiss in, and don't worry it'll make sense later once I show some of Fei's inner thoughts again. I love drawing Kalluto in dresses… it calms me. I can't draw his face, so I usually do prolife shots with his hair covering his eyes. I designed his dress and it's BEAUTIFUL. It's a ball gown with black lace sleeves and trim, as well as a silver belt. And he'll be carrying black roses because why not. Again, Kalluto in frilly dresses is my favorite thing. (and his hair, I love his hair)

ALSO thank you guys for being so nice to me! I had another ffnet account last year and things didn't go so well for me there, and so i had to give up on stories that I really loved because people just wouldn't leave me alone. THANK YOU SO MUCH fore supporting me and just being generally nice... though i think hxh is generally a nicer fandom than Pokemon, which is what I was writing before. The pOkemon fandom has been in anarchy since it's creation, and we all hate each other for no good reason XD)