This Side of Paradise: HxH Royal UA

The Freecs House

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING HERE? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE I COULD GET IN IF I WERE CAUGHT WITH YOU TWO???? Just hurry up and get inside and I want a full, and I mean full, explanation to WHY you are here on my door step at three o'clock in  the morning!" We were quickly shooed inside by Gon's Aunt Mito, who was screeching at us at her doorway.

"Aunt Mito, please calm down-"

"YOURE TELLING ME TO BE CALM??? Gon you brought a PRINCE into my house, Hello your Majestey, and you're telling me to be calm?" Mito interuptted her nephew, Gon was standing beside me in the hallway leading to their front door.

"Look, i'm sorry this is so sudden, but I promised Killua he would get to meet you, and theres horrible things going on in the castle right now and all sorts of stress and other things, so please, try to be considerate, I felt like Killua needed a moment away from royalty and his home life is all," Gon said in a soft cautious tone.

"You couldn't have asked me first?"

"Are you kidding? They strip everything down to the last particle when things go in and out of that castle, and would you believe me if I said that my friend here has never been outside?" Aunt Mito looked me up and down, and nodded slowly, I didn't know whether to take offense to that or not, so I just stood uncomfortably while Gon and his Aunt argued.

"Still! You should have told me the last time you were going to bring him with you!"

"You know, he has a name! It's Killua Zol-"

"FINE fine fine, I'm sorry Your Majesty for my nephew's behavior, is he like this when he's with you?" Aunt Mito asked me.

"Uh..." I started, thinking of how to respond.

"Don't answer that Killua, can we at least come sit at the table and talk?" Gon interrupted, gesturing down the entry way to a warmly lit room that must have been a kitchen or living-area.

"I'll make some tea, are you boys hungry?"

Gon looked at me, I shrugged, not wanting to sound demanding or rude.

"Yes please, can we just have some apples?"

"Come get them yourself, I've got my hands full right now," Aunt Mito said, rushing around the kitchen, grabbing different jars and containers off shelves left and right, it looked like she was dancing.

Gon took my hand lead me to a small sofa by a warmly lit fire place.

"Have a seat, I'll be right back," he smiled warmly, I couldn't tell if it was the fire making my face feel warm, or just my own feelings.

I took a look around the place, Gon's house was very homey and lived-in, the only light was the soft glow of the fire, which looked as if it had been burning for hours, but yet it hadn't gone out yet. The sofa I sat on was comfortable, but old, it was leather, worn soft by all the years of use, covered and piled by homemade blankets of bright colors. Books and other random things cluttered the ground everywhere you looked, yet there wasn't a speck of dust in sight. There was a small staircase to the left of the fire, it looked creaky, but stable. There was no door connecting the kitchen to this area, so the smell of herbs and spice carried into the room. The kitchen was a marvelous spectacle, lavender, cloves, and other dried spices hung from tiny ropes on the ceiling, shelves lined the walls, filled with glass jars of colorful powder, liquid, and beauty. all with a tiny label with the name of the ingredient. You could still see flower from kneading bread on the wooden counter tops, still cluttered with measuring cups and other tools. Aunt Mito was working fast, quickly tying a white, ruffled, apron around her waist, and filling the kettle up with water to boil. Gon was nowhere in sight.

I heard small steps descending from the stairwell, I turned my head, curious to see who it was.

A little old lady, wearing dull and vibrant shawls, her grayed hair in a tidy knot with a beautiful hairpiece on the back of her head. Hershey was hunched over, you could barely see her wrinkled face and warm smile.

"I knew you'd come eventually, my grandson has told me all about you, young lad," the woman pulled out a wood cane from somewhere in her mass of shawls, and hobbled over slowly to where I was sitting. This woman must have been Gon's grandmother.

"What is your name my child, I can't seem to remember, my mind is old you see," She asked, slowly taking a seat beside me.

"I'm Killua, ma'am, Killua Zoldyck."

"Ah, a Zoldyck, I remember them, the royal family, they've been around as long as I could remember," the woman gave a little wheeze, which must have been a laugh of some sort," what brings you here to our home?"

"Well, actually... Gon invited me to come see everyone, so he lead me here so I could meet you guys, you have a lovely home ma'am," I said politely.

The woman smiled, and raised her hand, twitching her index finger toward me , gesturing me to come closer. I leaned in, she lowered her wrinkled and worn hands, and took mine in my lap.

"Don't tell my Grandson I told you this, but  he's rather fond of you my boy, the way he talks about you is so lovely, I would say he likes you very much," 

I didn't know what to say, "T-thank you ma'am."

"Please, call me Oma, Granny Oma my son."

I felt a special connection to Oma, the way she talked, oh...I could listen for hours. I leaned away, and smiled.

"Thank you Granny Oma."

I closed my eyes, and breathed in, this was peace, this was family.

All the sudden, I felt a warm, furry lump beside me, it's body humming softly. I turned, a large, furry, gray cat was curling up beside me, starting to pace my lap, looking for a comfortable spot.

"Ah, I've see you met my little friend, that's Butters."

Butters. Huh, what a weird name for a cat.

Butters finally layer down, curling up into a ball on my thighs, purring softly. I pet him softly, careful not wake the cat up.

I heard a door shut behind me, I turned my head slowly, careful not to disrupt Butters.

There was Gon, cheery eyed, and arms full with freshly picked apples.

"I'm back! Is the tea done yet?"

"Almost."

Gon looked at me.

"How are you doing? I see you've met Grammy Oma and Butters, how do you feel?"

I smiled, "like a Freecs."

Gon smiled, and walked over to the sofa I was sitting upon, he set down the apples with a sigh.

"Granny, are you tired, we should get you to bed, it's really late," Gon said, reaching out to help his Grandmother up, leading Oma to the stairs slowly, with his arm around her slouched back.

When Oma had gone, Gon sat beside me, really close beside me. Gon rested his head on my shoulder, I panicked, but stayed calm enough to not tense up.

"I'm so glad I met you, your my first real friend you know."

I didn't know want to say, so I just rested my head on his, and nodded slowly.

I closed my eyes.

What I couldn't see was Aunt Mito behind us, watching, shaking her head, smiling with her hands on her hips.

"Kids, what will you do without them."

(A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry it took to long to publish, I had a little case of writers block. It's all better now. Thank you for all the love and feedback, you guys are my number one supporters. Stay safe, and have a great rest of your day/night, and stay tuned for next weeks chapter!)