[HxH] Just stay

A quick little KilluGon fluffball for Killua's birthday!

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It had been a long day. One of the longest Killua could remember in recent history, after he'd gotten so used to spending his days at a more leisurely pace. All he'd gone out to do was visit the local post office, but he should have known better than to think it would be that simple.

The alert on his phone had been the first sign – he didn't get those unless something bad was happening in his immediate vicinity. He had no interest in hunting down criminals who were miles away, not when he had Alluka to think of, but if something was going on nearby that would put them both at risk.

The second sign had been the state of panic that quickly overtook the town, people retreating hastily to their homes, businesses dismissing their workers early and locking their doors tight.

And finally there'd been the third sign – the flood of hunters pouring into the area, planning and plotting and working together even though they'd just met. It was never a good sign when people agreed so easily to split the rewards.

He'd almost left them to it, almost decided it wasn't worth getting involved, but still the alerts were yelling at him from his pocket, and when the first “hunters have been injured, approach with caution” warning had shown up, he knew he couldn't just step aside. And so, with electricity tingling in his fingertips, Killua had followed the sounds of disturbance and found himself in the middle of a miniature warzone.

By the time he dealt with the issue, leaving him a little more battered than he'd have liked, the post office was about to close. He'd hurried in at the last minute, digging for his ID to present, and the lady had shaken her head slightly.

“We haven't received anything, my apologies.”

He didn't know what to say. There was always a letter waiting for him, had been one every year since he was fourteen years old, no matter where he ended up. It was the one constant in his life, the one thing he could rely on – if he showed up at his local post office on that one day, there would be a letter waiting for him.

He stuffed his hands deep in his pockets as he started his walk back to the little apartment they'd been renting, staring at his feet, at the shadows on the concrete, as he trudged along the paths. It shouldn't have bothered him so much, really. He could check back the next day, maybe the staff had just been too busy to get to it that day, or had made a mistake in sorting. Even if there wasn't one, did he really have any right to expect it? It wasn't like he really made an effort in return. He sent emails and texts, sure, but had he ever gone out of his way to post a letter? To send a gift? Even a postcard? No, he was just being selfish, of course there wasn't a letter when he'd been such a jerk.

“Alluka, I'm back,” he called, as he kicked his shoes off in the entrance and locked the door behind him. “Sorry I'm so late, there was kind of a mess, I had to go help arrest a couple of jerks.”

“Welcome home!” she called back, her footsteps quick and light as she hurried out to see him. “I made dinner!”

“Thanks,” he smiled softly, his eyes not quite matching the expression. “It smells really good. Just let me go wash my hands.”

Alone, he let his smile fall, cleaning his hands and face and dabbing some cream on the worst of his cuts and grazes. Alluka had gone through the effort of making him a special dinner, and he couldn't even smile genuinely and be grateful? He really was kind of pathetic.

With a carefully held smile he returned to the hall, heading toward Alluka's voice in the kitchen – she didn't talk to herself often, it was a fairly rare sound for him to hear, but he supposed it made sense. She probably got lonely when he was out all day, after all.

He opened his mouth to speak, to apologise again or thank her for the food, but immediately his body fell still. He couldn't make words, couldn't form a coherent sentence in his mind, when the bright eyes and beaming smile leapt up from a wooden chair.

“Happy birthday, Killua!” he exclaimed, throwing himself across the room to pull Killua into a hug. “It's been so long! You got taller!”

“G-Gon?”

“I had some free time and thought I'd come surprise my best friend for his birthday!” he explained with a laugh, conceding his grip in favour of looking Killua in the eye. “Did it work? Are you surprised?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, eyes wide as he stared back. “I... I can't believe you're here.”

“It's so good to see you!”

“Yeah, you too.”

He finally smiled for real, when Gon hugged him again, pulling him in with strong arms toned by adventures in the forest. He hugged back this time, wondering if maybe he was going to wake up confused in his bed, or if the body in his arms was going to melt away into some trick of the mind, but Gon was strong and sturdy, not going anywhere under his touch.

“I've missed you,” he admitted. “I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me.”

“Killua!! I would never!!” Gon insisted, squeezing him even harder. “You're my best friend!”

“You're mine, too.”

“But we should eat! We can catch up afterwards! Alluka's food smells amazing and I've been waiting hours for it to be ready!”

He nodded, following with wobbly legs as Gon darted back to the table to sit. He patted the seat beside him and Killua joined him obediently, smiling softly when Alluka set plates down in front of them both.

“Thank you, Alluka, it looks amazing,” he praised. “You must have worked all day for this.”

“Gon helped me out too,” she grinned. “Turns out he's a pretty good cook! Make sure you save room for cake, though!”

“You got cake?”

“We made cake!” she corrected him. “I hope it tastes good!”

“I'm sure it'll be the best cake I've ever tasted.”

The pair of them were so bubbly, chatting away as they ate as if they'd never been apart a day in their lives, instead of meeting years ago and rarely talking since. He couldn't keep up, not even close – it was like the building had filled with its own person sun, burning with warmth and kindness.

“Cake time!” Alluka declared, the moment Killua cleared his plate. “Wait here, I'll go get it!”

When she turned away, Killua glanced over at his friend, finding a beaming smile waiting for him on the sun-worn face. Gon's strong hand reached out, landing on top of Killua's on the tabletop and giving it a quick squeeze.

“I'm glad you're here,” he said softly, watching Gon's face somehow light up even brighter. “You really surprised me.”

“I'm glad to be here!”

Alluka lit the candles on a white-frosted cake, and immediately they were both singing, loud and entirely out of tune. Killua couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up in his throat, covering his mouth when it burst out of him.

“Make a wish!” Gon demanded, as Killua leaned in to blow out the candles.

“Idiot, what would I wish for? You're both right here.”

Despite his protests, and the fond “aww”s from both of them, he closed his eyes, taking in a big breath.

Stay.

He blew out all eighteen candles in one fell swoop, opening his eyes on his best friend and his favourite sister both cheering for him like the big idiots they were.

“What did you wish for?” Alluka asked.

“It won't come true if he tells us!” Gon insisted, clapping a hand over Killua's mouth. “Don't tell!”

“Okay, okay!” he pried Gon's fingers off, smiling all the same, and accepted the big cake knife from Alluka's outstretched hand. “Who wants cake?”

“Me me me!”

He cut huge slices for each of them and once more they settled in to eat and chat. This time, though, Killua found himself laughing along with them, even contributing his own voice. They remained there well into the night, eating second helpings of the delicious chocolate cake as they caught up for lost years.

It was like Gon had never been gone, and Killua's chest ached a little.

Eventually Alluka excused herself to sleep, and when Gon insisted on doing the dishes – the birthday boy couldn't possibly do the cleaning, after all! - Killua stood beside him, leaning against the counter to watch.

“Is it okay if I stay here tonight?”

“Stay as long as you want.”

“Don't be silly, Killua! Like I would ever want to leave!”

“Then don't.”

Gon fell silent for the first time in maybe his entire life, staring at Killua with wide eyes.

“Don't leave,” Killua repeated, his cheeks flushed. “Just stay here. With us.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Gon dried his hands on a tea towel with painfully slow motions, but then his arms were around Killua's neck again, holding him close.

“I thought you'd never ask.”