Stellar date
A small killugon day fic. Very tropy... sorry. A fake date thing XD. Fluff, so much fluff.
Collage AU - sorry again, I’m physically incapable of writing canon.
Rating: Teen and above
3.5K words
Warnings: Aged up characters, one sexual reference.
AO3 Link (it’s edited there, somehow i can’t get the edited version to format correctly here, I’m just messing things up XD)
Killua could hear agitated voices from behind the door even when he was turning the key. “Take cover the witch is upset and casting curses,” Ikalgo came out from the kitchen the moment Killua entered. The wiry short man was nursing a cup of ramen in his hands. From his clothing and hair it was clear he had not left the apartment all day. He had to turn in a draft of the second chapter of his graduation paper on Monday, so he had been a recluse for the past two days. “I thought our flat has the wrong alignment or some shit and, I quote: she can’t be here, because it messes with her aura.” “Not today, apparently. She came half an hour ago and won’t leave. I can’t concentrate with the yelling, so I’m taking a break. I hope this ends soon.”
Killua left his backpack by the door and took the few steps to the living room. The apartment was big, five bedrooms, but rather old and on the fifth floor without an elevator. Alluka and Canary were snuggled on the couch, while Palm was pacing around the coffee table. Her wiccan amulets and numerous bracelets were clanking loudly. “This is a PR nightmare,” she hissed. “What is?” Killua asked as he came up to the couch to peck his sister and her girlfriend on their respective foreheads. “Oh demons,” Palm whined. “Why are you here?” She looked at Killua accusingly. “I live here?” “Aren’t you supposed to be at your karate practice?” “Tae kwon do, and we finish at five thirty now.” “Just my luck.” She touched one of the rings she was wearing as if it was meant to do something. Killua rolled his eyes.
So, what’s up?”
“I lost my lottery draw,” Canary said. Her voice showed frustration, and Alluka cuddled her in a comforting way.
“Doesn’t that mean you just won nothing?” He was confused. “Why is she here?”
“She did win! One of the best prizes, to boot! I worked so hard to get these prizes..”
“I bought twenty lots!” Canary interrupted her. “Twenty! Just to have a shot at that telescope. And instead of winning nothing, I won a date with some dumb frat boy.”
“Dates? Really, Palm? Dates with some frat creeps?” Killua hated frats, because they were part of his family tradition and everything related to that was simply revolting. “I guess it tracks… you have the worst ideas when it comes to men.”
“Shut up, you know nothing. They are not frat boys, Canary. Well, maybe some of them are, I don’t know exactly. But they are from the wrestling team.”
“Same difference,” Canary said.
“No, it’s not. They are accomplished. Especially, Gon Freecss. He has so many wins. The dean and the board adore him. And he’s such a hunk.”
“Eesh, Palm,” Ikalgo said, Killua just now noticed that the man was standing by the door to his room, slurping ramen. “You’re a postgrad, and Freecss is second year, like Killua.”
Palm turned red and quiet for a moment. Then decided to cover her embarrassment with yelling. “I just meant it as a selling point. For Canary. You knew the dates were prizes, you useless nerd lesbian, why did you take part?”
“What did you call my girlfriend!?” Alluka almost got up. “And really Palm, it’s your fault. It was a women in STEM fair. A girl power kind of thing, right? Couldn’t you have organised less sexist and heteronormative prizes?”
“Other winners are not complaining about their dates with hot guys.”
“Well, can’t you just tell him the date is off, he’s free to do whatever he wants?” Canary asked.
“You don’t know him. He was so happy to participate. He’s already posted on Instagram that he’s going on a date with a ‘star girl’. Half the campus follows him. Including the dean!” Palm showed around the screen of her phone as proof. “We need to think of something.” Palm dropped onto an armchair, very dramatically as was her style.
Killua exchanged looks with Ikalgo. His friend finished his noodles and waved goodbye to everyone. Killua decided that this did not concern him as well. And as much as Palm amused him, he also stunk after the training, so he went for a quick shower.
When he came back in a bathrobe and a towel on his head, Palm was still there.
“Is this still going on?” he asked, drying his hair.
“Yes,” all the ladies answered in unison, in various stages of frustration.
“Can’t it, like, be happening over a group chat, while she’s back in her hut on chicken legs.”
“Haha, you’re so funny.” Palm got up. “Wicca is..”
“I know… Please, not again. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He went to his room and grabbed a pair of skinny jeans. He would have preferred sweatpants. But while that witch was here he was going to look his damn best. He put in some earrings and grabbed his makeup bag.
“The date is today,” Alluka said. “She’ll sit here until Canary goes.”
“Or somebody goes,” Palm said. There was a hint of something in her voice. Hope maybe?
Oh, Killua realised. She wants Canary to cede the date onto her. Gross. Killua had never in his life expected to feel sympathy for some dumb jock.
He finished putting on his eyeliner.
“So, where is this date happening?”
“He’ll be waiting by the clock tower,” Canary said.
“In thirty minutes!” Palm chimed in.
“Alluka, could you show me your t-shirt?”
“My t-shirt? What?” His sister looked up at him, clearly confused by the sudden change of subject.
“Yes, there’s something on your back.”
“Huh?” She untangled from Canary and sat up. Killua approached her from behind as she tried to pull the back of the tee to the front. He pretended to help but actually pulled it over her head instead.
Then he just put it on. It was purple and had huge silver stars. He had an eye on it ever since she had bought it.
“Oh, come on. Killua!” Alluka got up.
“What? I need it more than you.”
“Seriously? What for?” She sulked.
Canary was rolling on the couch laughing and Palm was staring in shock.
“My date, with the super hunk. He’s expecting stars, or something. Palm was saying.” He winked and went towards the door. He heard Alluka chuckle. She was too amused to be angry with him anymore.
“No, you can’t go!” Palm was running behind him.
“Yes, I can. Right, Canary?”
“Knock yourself out,” she answered, though it came out muffled. She was still laughing.
“See?” He shot Palm a mean grin. “Should have been more open with your creepy intentions.”
She let out a disgruntled sound. If she said anything else he did not know, because he was out the door.
Running down the stairs he started questioning it, whether he was not going there to get beaten up by some jock who could not take rejection or a joke. Then again Killua had not lost a fight once, and being a bit of an enfant terrible he had be in several over the years.
*
Gon was gently rocking on his feet, his hands in his jacket pockets. He was playing with a star shaped rubber he bought for his date.
It was actually quite exciting, taking part in a lottery like that. He had never organised a date for a person he had not known at all. A cool sort of challenge. It required some research into Canary’s social media and asking around the Physics Department.
He expected college to finally be the place where his social circle would expand. Whale Island was a tiny place, with one high school, and while he knew everyone who had attended it with him, he never grew close with any of them. Yorknew University turned out similarly disappointing. He managed to sort of befriend Leorio, a postgrad and professor Zepile’s assistant supervising Gon’s lab classes. Which lead to getting to know Kurapika and Melody, Leorio’s drinking buddies and postgrads like him. They were fun, and all. But their lives differed so much from Gon’s. The people he met in class or on his team were nice too, he did not mind hanging out with them. Just there was never a deeper connection. Maybe he was meant to only have three closer friends?
He knew the date was going to be platonic. The social media told him as much, Canary was in a relationship with some pretty brunette. But he hoped that maybe they could become friends. She seemed so nice in her photos, her smile had this soft and kind quality to it.
One glance at the clock told him it was almost time. He looked towards the campus main gate. A few people were walking in various directions, but none looked like the girl from the photos. Gon wished he had asked Palm for Canary’s number.
“Hey, are you Gon?”
The question startled Gon. It came from a tall guy in a zipped up grey hoodie.
“Yeah.”
“Canary’s not coming.. Sorry.” The guy smiled apologetically. “I’m her replacement. My name’s Killua.” He offered Gon his hand.
Gon took it but was unsure what to do with it. Shake it? It was not exactly date like behaviour, and it felt like this guy was implying that he would be going on the date instead. Which was all the same, Gon figured, since he was looking for a friend. And it would not hurt to try and befriend this guy. So should he stick to the date script? The touch lingered past any reasonable duration and Killua seemed to actually be blushing slightly. It was funny and cute, and mischief took over Gon.
He bowed a little and kissed the hand.
“Gon Freecss, pleased to make the acquaintance.” He extended his lips in the most suave smile he had.
The result was pretty charming. First Killua flushed and made a shocked face, but he collected himself quickly and laughed out loud.
“You’re good.”
“You’ve seen nothing yet.” Gon wiggled his brows, which earned him more laughter. “First off, because my evening plan is a little long I decided this will work better than flowers.” He took the rubber out his pocket and handed it to Killua.
“Wow, this is super cute.” Killua said turning the pink, blue and purple star in his fingers.
Gon beamed.
“Come on, we have tickets for seven thirty.”
“Tickets for what?”
“The Science and Technology Institute.”
“Isn’t that for kids? And won’t it be closed now?”
“That’s the best part. It closes for kids at seven, and from seven thirty till eleven there’s a limited number of tickets for adults. My friend Kurapika works there part time, so they got me the tickets.”
Killua made a skeptical face, but followed Gon.
“I thought Canary would like it, because she’s, you know, a physicist. And I’m in the environmental studies department. So I thought we could go to the physics part and they I could take her to the biology wing. What do you study, Killua?”
“AHM.”
“Eh?”
“Arts and Humanities Major… it’s like this program where you take courses from various faculties and departments and then choose something during your fifth year.”
“Sounds cool.”
“Yeah, it’s okay, it serves its purpose.”
“Its purpose?”
“Driving my parents up the wall.” Killua made a mischievous face.
Gon giggled, he had never met anyone like Killua before, everyone cared so much about what they studied. Gon did as well, he had been passionate about nature ever since he could remember.
“So what are you into?”
“Well, skateboarding, martial arts, graffiti, fashion. Travelling is also cool, and computer games. But you’re probably asking about college stuff.”
“Nah, this is cool. I like these things as well. What martial arts?” Gon stopped and looked at him. Killua was tall and lean, but there was a hint of muscle on his legs, and his shoulders were quite wide.
“Tae kwon do.”
“Is that the one where you jump a lot?”
“Yeah.” Killua took a step back, looked around and did a backflip. Then two more.
Gon was standing there with an open mouth. He could do a backflip, but not consecutive ones, and definitely not so high, that was some acrobat stuff.
“Wow, this is amazing,” he said. “You’re amazing. You have to teach me.”
“Sure. This isn’t even that impressive. These pants are too tight for anything really cool.” Killua looked smug, but somehow there was a slight blush on his cheeks. He ran up to Gon and they continued to the Institute, they were almost there.
*
At first Killua thought Gon is silly because he wanted them to spend time in some glorified playground. But they had so much fun there he felt ashamed for passing judgement upfront. They did experiments with magnets, built bridges from various materials where Killua’s couple of semesters of architecture came in handy. They made huge soap bubbles with a help of a storey high contraption and it was embarrassingly romantic, especially that Gon was sending lovely smiles Killua’s way all the time.
It was ridiculous how cute the guy was. He instantly adapted to the new situation, too. No girl showed up? Fine he was going to do the whole song and dance to court a guy. Killua came completely unprepared. Actually, the fact that they were still doing something together was mind boggling. Well, maybe not, because now hope was slowly brewing in Killua that the guy was bi. It happened from time to time that boys from sport teams were not straight, but while they were ‘generous’ enough to accept a blowie in some dark corner and sometimes even reciprocate, they were aggressively no-homo in public.
Was Gon sending a signal that he is taking it all in good fun, unless Killua wants it serious? So confusing.
He even took a photo of Killua. They were at the electricity exhibit and one could get their hair to stand up from a mild current. Well, Gon could not, because of all the hair product he apparently used. Others did it to everyone's amusement and giggling. Killua demanded a photo and even gave Gon his phone. Which the other just put in his pocket.
“It'll be easier to take it with mine,” he explained when Killua was about to protest.
“Is this a ploy to get my number?”
“Maybe.” He had the audacity to wink.
Killua decided it was a game of chicken from then on. So when they got to the section with live insects, amphibians and reptiles and Gon started to talk about all these critters, Killua began to act like personal space was an alien concept to him. He would lean in closer to the glass and kind of brush arms, and of course ask follow-up question. Maintain eye contact. There was something about the glow in those amber eyes that he could not get enough of.
Finally they reached a restaurant at around ten and not a moment too soon. Killua realised that he had no food since before his training and his stomach was protesting loudly.
*
Gon had chosen the Italian-ish chain because of the location, close to the Institute. And its casual neutral decor, in case the date would not be going too well by then. And the price range.
“What do you think about pizza?” he asked once they were seated in a booth. “What toppings do you like?”
“Most of them,” Killua said noncommittally because he was studying the menu.
“Hawaiian with pineapple?” Gon teased.
“Pineapple is sweet and I’ll eat anything sweet.” Killua winked at him. “But I have a better idea. This.”
He pointed to a special item on the menu, a huge portion of tagiatelle, with herbs, mushrooms, thin slices of pork and five cheeses. It frankly looked like a thick cheese soup in the photo.
“It doesn’t sound half bad, but it’s, you know... a couple’s item… they give you one bowl and two forks.”
“What? Afraid you won’t be fast enough to get any?” Killua looked at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You should be.”
“No, the couple’s pasta bowl it is,” Gon said and called the waitress to order.
He spent the waiting time trying to get a clear answer out of Killua if he indeed tolerated fruit on pizza. Which turned out to be a bad idea, because Killua was in a mood to tease and suddenly the subject morphed into chocolate on pizza. Gon had to throw in the towel, before he got nauseous. Killua definitely won this one. So Gon felt doubly motivated to eat most of the pasta just to show him.
That proved easier said than done, because Killua had an appetite and apparently little dignity when it came to slurping up noodles dripping with thick sauce. They fought to wrap the same noodle on their forks more than once, before the mountain of carbs and fat was gone.
Killua covered his mouth to have a little burp.
“Are you still hungry?” He looked at Gon from under half closed eyelids. He was probably implying that he managed to eat more than Gon, though that was not necessarily true.
Gon suddenly realised that he could see Killua’s long lashes so well, because there was mascara on it, and the lids were marked with eyeliner. A guy in makeup was something new to him, a clear sign of his sheltered upbringing. It looked good though. Killua was generally very attractive. Even with cheese on his nose. Gon really wanted wipe it off with his thumb. And then maybe lick off the other spot from Killua’s cheek.
The concept was both new and familiar at the same time. Gon had seen guys kissing before, on TV, or at parties. And he had thought then that it was kind of hot. But an opportunity had never presented itself… on Whale Island sexuality was not something discussed. People just got married, sometimes without even dating much. During college parties he and his team mates attracted girls, but usually not the type of girls that Gon got along with well.
Now he was technically on a date with a guy who was the epitome of hot, and who was clearly flirting with Gon. And well, Gon had to admit that he started it with the kiss on the hand. It was supposed to be a joke, to make the situation light, after the wrong person showed up. To make it clear that everything is fine.
“Are you listening?” Killua flicked Gon’s forehead.
“Huh?”
“I was asking do you want dessert?”
“Yeah, I guess I could have some.” It took some effort to concentrate on the answer, since he was staring at Killua’s lips. They were moving in a very alluring fashion.
Damn it, the thing was that he came here planning to make friends. While now he was falling hard for someone he hardly knew. What was he supposed to do?
*
The chocolate ice cream was sitting heavy on Killua’s stomach but he did not regret ordering it. The evening turned out splendidly.
Gon insisted on walking Killua home, since he was the date organiser he perceived it as his duty. And he clearly needed more time to muster the courage to act. His staring during dinner left little confusion as to whether he was interested or not. Or so Killua hoped.
“This is my building,” Killua said once they reached the steps to the main entrance. “So... this was fun. Which lottery do I have take part in to win another evening like this?”
“None, I’m glad you want to hang out again.” Gon was standing close, gently rocking.
“No, I mean another date.” Killua decided to give it one last try.
“Oh, so this counts as a real date then?” Gon shot him a radiant smile.
“That depends… You know how a perfect first date should end? Romantic comedy style?”
Gon looked at him with what Killua thought was hesitation.
Oh well, I guess I pushed it too far, but it was worth a go, Killua thought a little disappointed.
There was a moment of awkward silence.
“Well then, you have my number. Call me when you figure it out,” Killua said and went inside.
He took maybe three steps up the stairs, only to hear Gon call his name and ran after him. Gon grabbed him off the stairs, which resulted in a little pirouette in the air. Once Killua’s feet were on the floor again he got pulled into a kiss. The world around them disappeared for a good minute.
“I figured it out,” Gon said once they had to take a moment to breathe. “See you soon.” He let Killua go and marched out, throwing one last bright smile in Killua’s direction.
Killua was left weak in the knees on the stairs. He had to take a few deep breaths before he was ready to resume his climb home.
Once he entered the flat he was bombarded by questions.
“What took you so long?” Canary asked teasingly.
“We were on a date. In the Science and Technology Institute. We made soap bubbles, with a half a metre radius, got electrocuted, and watched really gross bugs.”
“What? So he actually planned something cool?”
“Yup, it was really fun.”
“Isn’t the Institute a kids hell hole?”
“Not at night when you have limited tickets for adults only.”
“Damn, I should have gone.” Canary sighed.
“What?” Alluka sulked. “Also, give my tee back! You stinky sock!”
“Nah, I’m keeping it. It’s my lucky tee now.” He patted his sister on her head.
