Play Date

6. Couch

It was the next morning, and Killua's back was killing him. He groaned as he turned around, but he soon realized, after falling onto the the floor, that he wasn't in his bed. His eyes widened and slowly adjusted to the scenery around him. He wasn't even in his own house.

"Hey, you okay? I heard a-"

Killua turned and saw Gon staring back at him. How the hell...

"You're probably a bit confused right now. You and the girls fell asleep last night after game night, coincidentally, you fell asleep on the couch, I didn't want to disturb you so I just put a blanket over you. The girls went to have a 'sleepover' but they eventually fell asleep after makeovers." Gon explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstay my welcome, guess I got tired," Killua said, rubbing his neck, a red hue on his face from embarrassment.

"Oh no, it's fine. Hey, I made breakfast if you want any, if not, I can go wake up with girls." Gon said, he was about to walk towards the bedrooms but Killua stopped him.

"Oh, uh, they can sleep, it's the weekend so they usually sleep in anyway. We can just eat breakfast together- I-I mean not together but-"

Gon howled in laughter at Killua's red face, "I get it, Killua. I'll make you a plate, be right back."

Killua sighed, his face red from embarrassment as he  looked down at his hands, chuckling softly.

In all honesty, Killua wanted to apologize over and over for accidentally falling asleep. He wanted to apologize to Gon for having to make breakfast for more then the three people who lived in his home. Totally forgetting that Marley was having a sleepover with Ava, so he would've had to feed more people. But, from the way Gon acted, he assumed Gon didn't mind anything, he was so... carefree. Not that it was a bad thing though.

"Hey, you okay?" Killua heard someone ask. He looked up to see that it was Gon holding a plate in front of him, he wondered how long Gon had been there.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, I guess." Killua said, taking the plate from Gon.

Gon stared at Killua, searching for any sign that Killua could possibly be lying, but he didn't find one, so he decided he'd let it go, for now, at least.

"So, I know by the look on your face afterwards, you like the dinner we had, but I still want to ask you if it was somewhat enjoyable?" Gon asked, stabbing the scrambled eggs with a fork and tossing it into his mouth.

"Yeah, no, I definitely did. I was actually happy that you were so thoughtful as to pick a place that would be kid friendly..."  Then Killua remembers. "Even though you didn't know I'd bring my daughter. Gosh, I feel so stupid now."

Gon chuckled, though he tried to hide it the best he could, "I kind of just... knew."

Killua cocked a confused eyebrow at Gon, but then shrugged and continued to eat his food, which was very tasty, might I add.

"Do you ever wonder what'd it'd be like if you didn't have kids?" Gon asked suddenly, biting off a peace of his toast.

"Sometimes, but, nothing seems right."

"What do you mean?" Gon asked.

"Well, it's like, since I have kids, I can't imagine my life without them. The thought seems foreign."

Gon nodded, finally grasping an understanding of Killua's words.

"And what about you?" Killua questioned.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You know, do you ever wonder about a life without kids?" Killua clarified.

"Sometimes, but, when I do, it ends up being useless, y'know?" Gon said, taking another bite of his toast.

"And that's because, everything I planned to do without having any kids, I still did with kids. So, there's no difference, really." Gon said after his swallowed the food in his mouth.

Killua hummed at that statement and only then did he realize that the same thing happened for him. Though, he didn't plan to have kids until later in his lifetime, they didn't stop him from achieving his goals.

"In a sense, I feel like having kids, motivated me." Killua mumbled, but Gon still heard it.

"The same could be said for me." Gon agreed.

A while after they finished their breakfast, Izzy walked in and sluggishly walked to her dad. Gon picked her up and placed her on his lap, "Hey, there. You sleep okay?"

Izzy nodded and yawned, covering her mouth. Not long after Izzy entered the room, Sophia came in, doing the same thing Izzy had just done.

"You two were asleep for a while," Killua chuckled, "You guys hungry?"

They both nodded into their fathers' chest, causing the elders to chuckle slightly. Gon stood, carrying Izzy with him, and walked into the kitchen. Killua followed suit and sat on the counter, a bad habit of his that he didn't think was all that bad, or necessarily rude in this case.

Killua rocked Sophia as he watched Gon move around the kitchen, making various things for the kids, Gon made extra for when the older children woke up and decided to make their appearances.

"Dad," Sophia mumbled. Killua replied with a quiet response. "I like it here."

Killua smiled, he looked up to see Gon smiling too, hearing that last part. Killua looked back down at his daughter and kissed her forehead, "Me too." He replied quietly.

Sophia smiled, a soft smile. The warmth from her father was something she always craved when she was with her mother. Her mother hardly ever showed her any affection. She was always locked in her room, her mother preventing her from being a bother when she had her guests over.

Mental torture, is what Sophia would call it, if she knew what it was. Her mother didn't want her guests to know that she had a child, almost as if she was embarrassed of her. When she would be locked in her room, with nothing but her toys, her mother would tell her to not make any noise, and she would have to sit in the dark space, with only a candle to provide sunlight. Neglect.

Sophia always loved the time she got to spend with her dad. It always brought her joy, the joy she craved to feel when she was with her mother. Whenever she hugged Killua, it was always tightly, somewhat suffocating. Almost as if she'd die if she ever let go. And that alone, pained Killua. It made him hate Shizuku even more than he already did. This was evident, even now, when Sophia whimpered and hugged Killua tightly. He hugged back just the same, but his smile was no longer there, he was angry. The corners of his mouth fell into a frown and he entranced himself with horribly consuming thoughts.

But, Gon, being the person he was, was able to bring him out of the consumption. Truthfully, all it took was a small glance at the blinding smile that Gon held on his face. Somehow, he was always able to make the best of things, even when things felt the worst.

Killua always wondered how Gon was able to smile all the time. He envied him a bit. He wanted to be able to hold that smile for days and days on end without fail. But, Killua didn't know the truth behind that smile. Time was running out. He would find out eventually.