Work Text:
Title: When You Share
Author: Triste
Fandom: Hunter x Hunter
Pairing: Killua/Gon
Rating: PG
Status: Complete
Disclaimer: Not mine
~~
It had all happened so quickly. Gon, ever the peacemaker, stepped into an argument while they'd been busy eating lunch. Killua didn't even know the names of the two guys Gon had pushed himself between; all he knew was that one of them was the waiter who worked they were at and that the other had been looking for a fight. Gon, who hadn't even been the cause of the fight, who was only trying his best to help, had been the one to get hurt. When that happened, Killua could no longer just stand by idly and let the events play out by themselves.
Gon hadn't even tried to defend himself. A punch to the face had knocked him onto his back and sent him sprawling over the tiled floor, where he lay, motionless. Leorio had been the first to get up and Kurapika had been the first to speak, but Killua beat them both by slipping out of his seat without their notice, crossing the distance from their table to the spot where Gon had been thrown in the blink of an eye.
"Do you know what you've done?" he said, reaching out with his left hand and fisting it into the jacket of the one who'd assaulted Gon while cracking the knuckles of his right. "Do you know how much you've pissed me off right now?"
Kurapika was shouting something, but Killua couldn't hear it. All sound had been tuned out so that neither Kurapika's protests nor the pleading of Killua's newest victim could penetrate, but Killua could still feel the anger swirling up inside of him. It was white, like a veil flowing in the wind, enabling him to focus on that pure calm and channel all his thoughts into one.
'He hurt Gon. I'll hurt him.'
Before he could get the chance to do just that, however, another voice spoke out, this time breaking through Killua's shut off senses and making him do something he never did before a kill.
He froze.
"Stop it! You're only making things worse!"
A pair of arms were wrapped tightly around Killua's waist (strange, he'd never let his guard down this much during a confrontation) and pulling him back (when had Gon moved to do that, anyway?) as the voice insistently shouted into his ear.
"I'm okay, really I am! You don't have to do this anymore, so stop! Go back to normal, Killua! Please?"
The killing intent disappeared as abruptly as the popping of a balloon, leaving Killua to slacken his grip and allow himself to be tugged away. Slowly, he looked down to see a familiar shock of jet-black hair, and Gon raised his face, locking his gaze with Killua's and making him experience something even more unusual than hesitancy during battle.
Killua's earlier fury switched to regret as soon as he saw the concern swimming in Gon's eyes, and it hit him harder than any physical blow. He'd made Gon worry. That made him no better than the person who had been the root of all this trouble, and as Gon gently repeated Killua's name, Killua responded the only way he knew how when under pressure, by running away as fast as he could.
Surprisingly, Kurapika was the one to catch up with him, but then again, Killua hadn't exactly tried to hide his presence. Perched on the edge of the pier as he was, he'd hoped the lulling of the waves would ease his nerves somewhat, but it only made them worse. Looking at the ocean made him think of fishing, and thinking of fishing made him think of Gon.
"I thought I'd find you here," said Kurapika, keeping a respectable distance and talking to Killua's back instead of going further ahead in order to sit beside him. "Are you sulking?"
Killua rolled his eyes, knowing there'd be no one but the gulls bobbing in front of him to see, and answered irritably, "Isn't that the geezer's area of expertise?"
"It's true that Leorio can be more childish than any toddler when he feels upset," said Kurapika. "I'm not here to discuss his actions, though." Then he paused before adding quietly, "Why did you do that back there?"
"I got mad," Killua said simply. "Everyone's allowed to lose their temper once in a while."
"I suppose it's not unreasonable," Kurapika conceded. "Any human being would want retribution after seeing one of their friends being harmed."
"Gon is more than just a friend," snapped Killua, glaring over his shoulder warningly. "He's more important than anything!" Then he turned back to the ocean and brought his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his crossed forearms to muffle his words. "Being around Gon is fun. What's wrong with wanting to stay by his side? What's wrong with wanting to do something for his sake? It's my life. I'll live it how I like."
Killua flinched back in revulsion when he sneaked another peek, scowling fiercely upon seeing Kurapika's smile.
"Stop staring at me! It's creepy, dammit!"
Kurapika just laughed, making Killua scowl even harder, but he soon became serious. "For all the times you make Gon worry, there are a hundred more where you make him happy. That's the kind of effect you have on him. Be sure to never forget it."
Even so, Killua didn't truly realise the full extent of what Kurapika had told him until they made their way back to where Gon and Leorio were waiting. Gon's expression was anxious, but he broke into a smile when Killua came into view.
"Yo," mumbled Killua, blinking awkwardly when Gon held a candy bar under his nose.
"Eat," he ordered cheerfully. "People get short-tempered when they're hungry, and you never managed to finish your meal. Chocolate will make you feel good!"
Killua feigned indifference to cover his surprise, pretending to be scornful as he said, "I come from a family of professional assassins, idiot. I've been through training where I had to go for days on end without food. Do you really think I'd be so desperate for nutrition after eating only fifteen minutes ago?"
"But you love candy," Gon reminded, waving the bar back and forth in a hypnotising fashion. "This type is your favourite, after all!"
Killua's eyebrow twitched and he snatched the treat away from Gon, tearing off the wrapper and preparing to cram the whole bar into his mouth before sighing and snapping it in half, saving one for himself and handing the other to Gon. "Here. It tastes better when you share, right?"
"I was kind of hoping you'd say that," Gon confessed. "It's the reason why I spent my money in the first place."
Killua laughed long and hard, slapping Gon on the back and then letting his arm rest loosely around his waist. "You're so weird," he announced. "You're way too honest."
"I know!" beamed Gon.
"Don't agree so readily!" Killua told him.
"I'd be lying if I said otherwise," Gon replied sincerely.
"Lying is good! Stealing is good! Anything bad that you can get away with is good!"
"It's all stuff that gets us scolded, though. I don't like being yelled at, but I do like being with you."
Killua went pink and shut Gon up effectively by shoving chocolate into his mouth, that way he could keep Gon content and also prevent him from saying anything else that might result in his face getting any brighter with embarrassment than it already was.
End.