Tease

{ The Most Romantic Proposal Of The Century }

a/n: This is pretty much the final chapter! There's a quirky little epilogue tho that I'll post later :D

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Illumi was at the apartment that same night Killua had his heart thoroughly handed to him by Gon Freecss. Killua couldn't believe he kept it together during the rest of the group meeting with Meruem's classmates, but he did, and he continued to keep it together all the way to his apartment and up the stairs.

But fast forward, past that night Killua cried more than he had during that entire coldturkey bullshit. Nothing could compare to the agony in his chest from realizing that he had, in fact, been right. He wanted to set fire to all of New York City just for keeping a sliver of a doubt. It infected him and made ripping it out so much worse.

But Gon never lied, at least not intentionally. Killua knew that going into this friends-with-benefits situation. He also knew that Gon's aversion to dating had nothing to do with Killua—it was just a fact of Gon's character that Killua couldn't avoid.

It hurt, but it wasn't his fault.

It wasn't his fault.

It was Gon's fault.

It was all his fault.

"I don't remember inviting you here," Chrollo said as he observed the state of Gon standing on his stoop in a leather jacket and baggy sweatpants. His clear, latino features looked out of place beneath that oversized scarf.

"Can I come in?" Gon asked.

Chrollo pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at Gon. After glancing both ways down the street, he opened the front door all the way and gestured for Gon to enter.

The first time Gon visited, he hadn't stopped to observe the place beyond Chrollo's face. He had been too absorbed in his idol that sight-seeing had turned into staring at Chrollo's perfect countenance. That remained true as well, because after a quick sweep of the foyer, Gon turned to Chrollo, who shut and locked the door.

"I'll be honest—I didn't know who the hell you were before Kurapika asked about getting you an invite," Chrollo said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his fluffy robe.

"Yeah, I don't blame you," Gon sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "My channel's pretty small compared to yours. And it was mostly straight until recently."

"I take it since Kurapika isn't with you, this has something to do with HUNter?" Chrollo asked, eyebrow raised. When Gon said nothing, Chrollo sighed and said, "Look, kid, I've got nothing against collabing with small channels, but—"

"Oh, no, I'm not asking you to collab with me," Gon insisted, shaking his head. "Like, as cool as that would be, that's not what I came here for."

He reached into his back pocket for his wallet. When Chrollo saw it, he asked how much Gon needed, and Gon passed over the necessary cash. Chrollo gestured for Gon to stay put while he went and got a pack. While Gon waited in the foyer, he listened to Chrollo ask, "Why come to me?"

"Because I don't know how to tell Kurapika that I've been blowing through my stash, to be honest," Gon said with a half-laugh. He rubbed at his temple as Chrollo came back with a baggie. Gon thanked him and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. "But I also don't know how much I can trust you with Kurapika. In my experience, it's not healthy to fuck the people you work with."

Chrollo grinned and said, "I won't argue with that. If it makes any difference, you do have potential in your... nine-to-five job, so to speak."