TAKEN » 𝐾𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑘𝑎 𝐾𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑎

Before 𝙳𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛

F/n twists in the mirror as she admires her outfit. It wasn't too dressy, but it was definitely dressier than what she would usually wear. She blows air into her cheeks. After her and Kurapika's exchange of angry words and her throwing him into her coffee table, he still decided to invite her for dinner. The chain user and a spider having a friendly dinner with his friends? The whole situation was almost laughable to the (h/c)-haired female. If she didn't admire him, she wouldn't have agreed to go.

She straightens the few wrinkles in her shirt and turns away from the mirror to pick up her ringing phone. It was Chrollo. Her eyes roll back and she huffs out angrily. "Hello?" She answers in an extremely sarcastic, cheery voice. (F/n) walks into her kitchen and grabs the banana bread she made for dinner since she didn't want to arrive empty-handed.

She can hear Chrollo huff out, unimpressed by her attitude. "Seven, Illumi has informed me that you're aware of the missing Spiders-" Her eye twitches, and her fist clenches at her side, "yes, I know what happened, I know the chain user did it, blah blah blah. What are you calling me for?"

"If you would let me finish speaking, then I'm sure you would've found out five seconds ago," Chrollo bites back and while F/n was bitterly staring at her front door, he says, "we'll be holding a small funeral for them."

This takes F/n by surprise, causing her to bite her tongue harshly. Then she swallows the sudden wave of emotions and asks, "when?" It wasn't like him to have a funeral for the dead spiders, so she assumed it wasn't his idea.

"Anytime before midnight tonight."

"I'll be there."

"Good, we'll be at the usual spot."

She shoves her phone in her skirt pocket after checking the time and steps outside of her home. (F/n) would have time for the dinner and she would be able to go to the funeral. With her door locked and her banana bread and keys in hand, she walks down the walkway that ran along the front of the homes and small, stone shops.

The air was cooler and it softly nipped the skin of her legs, but she welcomed the feeling as a shiver ran up her spine. (F/n) stops outside of Kurapika's home and she slowly realized how uneasy she was. Was it nervousness? Possibly. For all she knew, she was the next Spider on his list even if he knew she didn't have anything to do with slaughtering his clan. She was still a Spider after all and the territory came with many enemies.

(F/n) raises her knuckles up, ready to knock on the door, but before they could make contact, it's opened quickly. "I knew I sensed someone!" A boy with dark hair, that seemed to illuminate green under the light, exclaims. His face was bright and he was practically hopping in place. Another boy with silver hair stood beside him, but he held a neutral expression. "She's really pretty too!" 

The compliment causes (F/n) to smile at the boy. 

"Hello, I'm-" "Ah! (F/n), it's nice to see you." Kurapika turns the corner and greets the girl. The blond seemed incredibly tired, but the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips let her know that he was happy to see her nonetheless. (F/n) could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she has to stop her grip from crumbling the banana bread. Should she even be here? She could come up with an excuse on the spot and-

"Please, come in and make yourself at home." (F/n) smiles, "thank you," she says briskly and steps into his home. "I made banana bread." Kurapika eyes it before taking it, "I'll take it to the kitchen."

"Do you guys not like each other?" The bouncy boy from earlier asks, looking over at (F/n) as she shrugs her coat off and sits her things, except for her phone, on the table next to the coat rack. (F/n) cocks an eyebrow at him while she kicks her shoes off. She knew exactly what he meant and she wanted to deflect the question, but instead of doing so, the silver-haired boy crossed his arms. "They definitely like each other."

"What makes you say that?"

The two boys started talking among themselves and (F/n) didn't want to stand and listen to teen-boy gossip, so she makes her way into the familiar home.

"Well, hello!" A tall man exclaims, causing (F/n) to jump back but the way he looked at her and the way he acted made her comfortable again. "Well, hello to you too!" She copies his large grin and he lets out a happy laugh. "I didn't mean to scare you! I'm Leorio Palandinight, Kurapika's best friend, but please just call me Leorio!"

Kurapika watched the two from the other side of the island that separates the kitchen and the living room while he chopped away at a variety of peppers. Leorio and (F/n) seemed so comfortable with each other and their energies matched flawlessly. Wasn't that how they were when they first met?

You just had to go and fuck things up, huh? It's not like he meant to. His whole reason for living was to kill ALL the Spiders, right? Yet you didn't kill her. He couldn't. You could've. She's a Spider, yet you spared her life. She wasn't involved with slaughtering the Kurta clan. You're killing her friends. THEY were involved. She'll choose them over you no matter what you offer.

"Kurapika? I'm sure the cutting board won't go anywhere." Kurapika looks down, now focused on the knife that was deeply embedded in the wooden cutting board. The pepper he was chopping was almost a puree and (F/n) was standing beside him. "Look... I can leave if you prefer," (F/n) starts and watches Kurapika's shoulders stiffen. "If me being here makes you uncomfortable, then-" Kurapika steps away from the cutting board, his heart was beating furiously, and he glances back into the living room.

His eyes flash red as a sudden wave of emotion floods through him. You like her. But she's a spider. YOU LIKE HER. "Where are Gon, Killua, and Leorio?"

"They're outside. They said something about teaching Leorio how to skateboard. Why? Is everything okay? I can have them come back in?"

The blond shakes his head and his hair sways softly with the movement. "I don't want you to leave," Kurapika bluntly states but he looks her in the eyes, "but I don't want you here. I know you want to leave, yet you'd much rather be here." His hands are against the counter, gripping it. "I know that us being in the same room is insane and I know that we're supposed to hate each other. I also know that I don't hate you. You have every right to want me dead and I'm sorry for making you feel that way." When his voice cracked, he realized that he was going to cry. Why, though? He wasn't necessarily sad or angry.

"I don't," (F/n) mutters, looking into his scarlet eyes, "I don't want you dead. I don't want any else to die, but that doesn't mean I forgive you. I want to go back to what I used to do. I don't want to attend funerals because the first person I felt a connection with is a sworn fucking enemy."

Kurapika's eyes widened. The connection was a mutual sense?

"Yes, but I regret staying with you that day after stitching you up. I don't regret helping you and I don't regret giving you my sweater." Kurapika instinctively wraps his arms around his stomach since he was wearing the black sweater once again, "I just- I just wished that maybe we could've met without us being, well, us."

"Let's pretend we're not us for the night then," Kurapika says and he watches as a faint smile appears on her lips and he can't help but mirror her expression.

"I'd really like that."