Tale as Old as Time

1

The last thing Killua ever expected was for his family to let him attend a normal school when he grew old enough.

When his first day of kindergarten came, he very quickly felt out of place. Kids were being dropped off, crying as they clung to their parents, and even those that weren't were excited running inside and already making friends. Killua, on the other hand, had walked the past few miles once the bus went no further, and went in silently not even sparing a glance to the teachers who tried to greet each and every student. It felt unusual, but Killua had already had his lecture on avoiding speaking to anyone more than necessary, so ignoring the chaos was easier than he expected it to be.

Only a week into the endeavor, though, a challenge presented itself. Not the schoolwork, by any means, consider Killua already knew everything that was being taught. An annoying, brightly smiling challenge that insisted on following him around every day talking and sitting next to him when no one else would. This kid asked every question, pushed every button he had, and no matter how Killua would never respond with a word, that never seemed to calm him down or slow his spirit in the slightest.

Every day, he would sit with Killua at lunch and try to share his food when Killua insisted on just a piece of fruit or a snack. Every day, he would rush to make sure their mats were close by when it was time for a nap during the day. And every day, just before he got in a car to go home, this kid would ask again and again what Killua's name was.

It took several days before he gave a response just to stop the interrogation, and finally the nuisance shared his answer in return. Gon.

His name is Gon.

---

To Gon, Killua was a different sort of challenge. He never saw the numb, emotionless expression as off-putting or scary. He never saw the silence as pushing him away. He knew what it felt like to be alone. So Gon went with his feelings over his head, and when he saw someone that might need a friend there wasn't a second of hesitation to at least try.

Sure, he might not have stayed around forever had Killua *truly* pushed him away. But while he wasn't the best with words, or complex thoughts, or learning, the one thing Gon had skill in was reading body language. He noticed the tension in Killua's shoulders fading, the way he slowly started to listen to Gon's words instead of just letting them go into dead air.

Especially when he finally learned Killua's name, he was beyond excited and refused to stop talking to his Aunt Mito as they went home that day. He did it. Finally, he made a friend after all.