Cards Struck By Needles [Hisoillu]

Night

"It's getting late," Hisoka said, "what will we do for the night?" He asked, looking over at Illumi. "We'll have to find a place to sleep, I could dig us a hole in the ground if we go back to the forest." Illumi offered. "No, that won't be necessary, I will not be sleeping in the ground under any circumstances. Let's find a hotel."

Hisoka and Illumi walked around the village, and asked the first local they saw, where the nearest hotel was. "Well there aren't any hotels in this town, and the closest one is about an hour away. If you want to get there, then follow that path until you see a tall building with many lights." The local explained; the two of them thanked the person and then made their way onto the path they were advised to take.

The walk was peaceful, and the path was next to a field, that was in front of a beautiful sunset. Illumi and Hisoka didn't talk much, but they found each other's presence calming.

After an hour or so, the two men spotted a tall, impressive building, which wasn't easy to miss, because of how it was illuminated.

"This must be it." Said Hisoka. He and Illumi then walked inside. The lobby was luxurious, with sparkling chandeliers, high ceilings, and marble floors and columns. It took them a minute to find the reception. "I would like two rooms for only until noon, tomorrow, please." Hisoka said to the receptionist. "I'm afraid we don't have two rooms left;" she said, looking at the computer, "only one, with two beds."
"That will be fine." Hisoka replied, looking at Illumi. Hisoka then paid for the room, and the receptionist handed over the key, with the room number 301 engraved on it.

Hisoka and Illumi walked toward the elevator, and asked the lift man on which floor their room was. "Do you need any assistance with your luggage?" The employee asked, after helping with the floor number. "We don't have any." Hisoka said, as him and his ally entered the elevator together.

As the elevator went up, Illumi stared at the elevator display, while Hisoka seemed to be thinking about something.
He smiled to himself, as he caught a glance at Illumi; but he quickly looked away before Illumi could realize. Hisoka had noticed that Illumi had been very quiet, and wondered if he was always this way.

When the elevator had reached their floor, the doors opened and they both walked out. It didn't take long for them to find their room.

The room was large and quite lavish, with its two king sized beds, elegant furniture, and floor-to-ceiling windows.

"I'll take a shower now." Illumi said to Hisoka. "All right, I'll use it afterwards." Hisoka replied, before Illumi got into the bathroom, and closed the door behind him. Hisoka felt bored, so he turned on the TV in the room, and flicked around the channels. Meanwhile, Illumi removed his clothes, with his needles being pulled from his chest; he planned to polish them the next day. He got into the shower. As he ran the water over his head, he thought about everything that had happened on that day; running away from home, meeting Hisoka, getting attacked, going to the library, walking to the hotel; and even the thing he dreaded thinking of: breaking down in tears right in front of Hisoka. Illumi looked down, he felt like a complete disappointment. But then he remembered the reason why he left home; he had had a feeling that what his parents were doing to him and his siblings was wrong, that maybe, it could be a good thing to show his emotions. Illumi was so deep in his thoughts, that he had lost track of time, and so he quickly washed up, washed his hair as well, and left the shower. He then wrapped one of the towels provided around his waist, and a smaller one around his head to dry his hair, and left the bathroom.

As Illumi went into the bedroom after his shower, he found Hisoka sitting on the bed, watching TV. He walked quickly to his side of the room, where there was a robe hanging in the closet. He planned to wear that to sleep, since he hadn't brought a change of clothes with him. Hisoka stared at Illumi, eyeing Illumi's toned body; scarred skin, that still looked so perfect, and elegant walk.

"What are you looking at?" Illumi asked, while putting on the robe. "Nothing, just wondering what took you so long in the shower." Hisoka smirked. Illumi then went back into the bathroom to retrieve his clothes, and came back out again.

"Are you finished with the bathroom?" Hisoka asked. "Yeah." Illumi answered. And so, Hisoka got up and went into the bathroom. He took off his clothes, and stepped into the shower. While he had started showering, Illumi sat on Hisoka's bed, to watch the movie Hisoka had started, it was actually quite interesting to him. As Hisoka showered, he ran his hands through his crimson hair, and let the hair gel get washed away by the water. His makeup, that consisted of eyeliner, a little concealer, and the star and teardrop he painted on his face every morning; all washed away as well. He washed his body, but soon his mind got filled with thoughts about meeting Illumi. Hisoka, like Illumi, was also used to always working alone; and he felt happy to be looking for the phantom troupe, because he was working with Illumi. And even though they were just allies, he felt as if his wish to no longer be alone, had been granted, even if only for a few more days. Hisoka turned off the water before shaking his head so that some of the water would come out of his hair; and got out of the shower. He then wrapped a towel around his waist, and folded his clothes that had still been on the bathroom floor. He left the bathroom, and saw Illumi on his bed.

"How do you like it?" Hisoka asked Illumi. "What?" Illumi was very focused on the television. "The film." Hisoka chuckled. "It's very interesting." "I agree, I've seen this one before."

As Hisoka walked towards his bed, that Illumi was still sitting on, Illumi caught a tiny glimpse, a split second, where he saw Hisoka shirtless, his hair still wet, down, and slightly wavy. Illumi wondered why Hisoka didn't have his hair down more often, he thought it looked even better, but he still didn't let Hisoka notice his staring, and looked back at the TV, while Hisoka placed his clothing in the shelf of the closet, and then sat next to Illumi on the bed. They finished the movie together, brushed their teeth, and went to sleep, in their respective beds, Illumi in the robe, and Hisoka in his boxers.

Hisoka had managed to fall asleep pretty quickly, he snored lightly. But Illumi, on the other hand, was still awake an hour later. He couldn't sleep, worried about if his parents would find a way to get him back home; worried if running away wouldn't work out after all. He was scared to be forced back home, to be punished for trying to escape, for his parents to hang his arms on chains in the dark chamber, to leave even more scars than the ones that already marked his body.

Illumi whimpered quietly, hoping he wouldn't be heard, but it was too late, as Hisoka had already woken up. He sat up in the bed, turned the bedside lamp on, rubbing his eyes a little. He then patted the bed with his hand, signaling for Illumi to come sit down next to him. Illumi walked over and sat down.

"What happened, Illumi? Is everything alright? You can sleep here if that makes you feel better, only if you want though; and the bed is big enough." Hisoka proposed, showing his concern. Illumi nodded and quickly got under the covers. Hisoka turned off the light. Hisoka's face, though a bit surprised at first, turned to show a gentle smile. He placed a hand on Illumi's arm from behind, and rubbed it gently, until he saw Illumi fall asleep. Hisoka soon fell back asleep as well, and both of them slept, unbothered, for the rest of the night.