"So... you weren't an escort for my dad," Gon reiterated, and for the hundredth time, Killua nodded against the hand he used to hold his head up above the kotatsu table.

Gon put his elbow to the table surface and sighed. Killua glanced at him, curious as to what, exactly, was happening. "I feel... weird calling him 'dad'. Do I just call him 'Ging'?"

"Call him whatever you want. He started a literal brawl in a white-collared event full of CEOs," Killua said. He dropped his hand down as Gon hummed, sounding far away. "You've really never met him?"

Gon shook his head. "No. My Aunt Mito raised me," he said, only to shake his head. " Mom . She's basically my mom . I don't—I don't know who my actual mom is, but she's basically it."

"And she never... talked about Ging?"

Again, Gon shook his head. "Whenever my abue mentioned him, my ma usually changed the subject. Or she'd start cursing at him. Or... throw something. She doesn't think fondly of him."

Killua licked his bottom lip and sighed, "Right." because he didn't know what else to say to that. Sure, he had family issues, but he didn't talk about them . He didn't even know how people would cope with the amount of shit on his plate, so he just kept it to himself.

But now he was intrigued, so he decided to keep Gon talking. "Did you know he lived in San Francisco?"

Gon shook his head. "No. I didn't even know he was in the US, honestly. I figured he was still back home. Like, in Mexico."

"Oh. Does that... bother you?" Killua asked, and Gon glanced up at him, lips pursed. "I mean, it's fine if you don't want to meet your dad. I guess I just want to know how you... feel about him?"

"Indifferent," Gon decided. He pushed to his feet then and said, "I think I'm gonna go to bed now."

Killua watched Gon walk off to the open bedroom door. He had hoped telling Gon would ease some of his own anxieties about the night, but it only fueled them. As dismissive as Gon was trying to be, Killua was all to familiar with liars.

Gon shut his bedroom door behind him. He turned off the lights and, dressed in his grubby basketball shorts and tshirt, collapsed onto his bed. He wormed his way under the blankets and laid there, facing the window, his brow strung tight. It grained on his aching brain and the muscles in his forehead until the morning, when he didn't realize he fell asleep like that and woke up with a raging headache.

Distantly, he heard the buzzer in the foyer going off. It was only nine, which meant that Killua was probably still around to see who was at the door. Sure enough, Gon's phone blinked on the pillow next to him—a text from Killua.

Gon picked up his phone, curious and frowning. He couldn't seem to unstick the sour expression from his face.

"Ikalgo's at the door. Do you want me to answer it? "

Ikalgo was in the same boat Gon was in, and realizing this had Gon realizing the very reason his forehead hurt so much. His father —No, Ging Freecss. Just Ging.

Sure, he could go around telling Killua, Zushi, or even Knuckle that his father was back, but they were never there. They weren't there for the eighteen years of his life in which Ging just didn't exist . He had no notion of a father. Aunt Mito was it all—his primary caregiver, his guardian, his mother in all sense of the word.

Gon replied to Killua and decided to get ready for the day as he waited for Ikalgo to come up. He weaseled himself into a pair of jeans and tucked his pajama tshirt into it.

"You're being ridiculous," Gon told himself with a huff, aggressively straightening out his shirt and jeans. "Ging's just a man—you're a man! You never have to see him."

He threw his bedroom door aside and marched out into the living space. Killua was already back to the kitchen, making an egg for himself on the stove. Gon went to join him, arms folded tightly over his chest. The two of them watched the egg sizzle and pop in the grapeseed oil before Gon said, "I made a lot of food yesterday."

"I saw."

"You're welcome to help yourself. I put a post it note with your name on a few containers."

"Yeah, I saw," Killua said. After a moment of silence in which Gon tugged their roommate agreement off of the fridge, Killua glanced sparingly at Gon and said, "Thank you."

"It's nothing," Gon said, quietly as he slipped the paper into a drawer.

A knock sounded on their door, so Gon hurried off to answer it. He peered through the peep hole—just in case—and found Ikalgo standing there with his eye right up against scope. Gon recoiled back with a giggle and unlocked the door.

"H-Hey, Ikalgo—I didn't know you were stopping by," Gon said, heat flushing up his neck as Ikalgo stepped in.

The guy was wearing a pair of washed blue jeans and an open plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows. It was a classic, casual look on him that really shouldn't have looked as great as it did, and yet there Gon was, fanning himself discretely as he turned away.

He cleared his throat as Ikalgo said, "You never gave me your number. A grandes males, grandes remedios." Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Gon gasped, horrified with himself. "Oh, God, I'm sorry. Here—I can give you it now—"

"It's no problem, really," Ikalgo said as they sputtered uselessly to each other on the cusp of the foyer archway. Off in the kitchen, Killua aggressively flipped his egg over on the pan, his initial desire for sunny side up demolished.

After handing Ikalgo the phone back, their eyes met and Gon swore he heard the angels singing in the distance.

He stumbled back into the living room, blushing like a maniac and rubbing at his hair. Only then did he remember that Killua was there and gave a frantic gesture in Killua's direction. "Oh, uh, Killua's here."

"Yeah, I know. He buzzed me in," Ikalgo said, offering a light wave to Killua, who eyed Ikalgo from over his shoulder, looked at Gon, and went back to the stove.

Gon smiled apologetically at Ikalgo. "He's not a morning person..."

Ikalgo gestured to the two of them as he wandered towards the center of the living room and asked, "Does he... usually stay over at your place?" and Gon wished he would have said it in Spanish.

Killua all but slapped the spatula down and Gon flinched.

Gon knew what he wanted to say, but he loathed how being in Ikalgo's company suddenly made him question the barrier his "relationship" made. But then Ikalgo went and said shit like that and Gon was glad he didn't come clean.

"Y-Yeah, we're dating ," Gon said, glancing at Killua. Killua said nothing as he turned to rest his hip against the counter, plate in hand, and proceeded to eat standing up as he watched Gon and Ikalgo from the outskirts.

When Gon gave him a "What the fuck? " look, Killua shrugged and took a bite of toast.

Clearly, "dating" wasn't enough of an excuse for Ikalgo. He made a look Gon would have expected from some elderly lady passing on the streets thinking to herself, "Millennials ."

Killua scoffed and said, "Didn't think you'd be so old-fashioned, grandpa."

"Killua!" Gon gasped, but couldn't hide the startled laugh of amusement that escaped him. He put a hand to his mouth, grinning, as Ikalgo rose an eyebrow at him.

"I just don't like that it feels like you two are living together when you're dating," Ikalgo said, and this comment sobered the both of them.

Gon waved his hands dismissively. "We aren't living together."

Killua thought to himself, So much for trying to come clean about everything. Gon never seemed all that interested in lying, but he did so because Killua asked. This, however, gave Killua the distinct impression that Gon wanted to lie about this to Ikalgo.

And Killua couldn't really blame him.

And, so, to put the icing on the cake, Killua pushed off of the counter. He transferred his plate to one hand so that the other could pass around Gon's shoulder blades. He snickered at the sight of Gon's flushed ears up close before Gon turned to look up at him, eyes wide.

He felt the minuscule tremble that went through Gon's shoulders when Gon caught sight of Killua's diabolical smile. "Would it be so bad to live with me?" he teased before laying a kiss on Gon's forehead.

It was just a split second, executed just as Killua passed him to head to the kotatsu. Gon felt his soul ascend from this dimension into the next as he did a complete 180 just to watch Killua walk by. When he spun back around, dizzy and disoriented, he found Ikalgo's eyes honed in on the back of Killua's head.

"Um..." Gon started, drawing Ikalgo's attention back to him. His wide, dark eyes reminded Gon of a bright-eyed puppy, and he melted at the sight of them. "Did you, um, just come here for my number or...?"

" That and I also wanted to see if you'd want to go for a walk with me since I don't have weight training this morning. I'm not really familiar—at all, really—with the area. We could get coffee or something—"

"That sound nice," Gon said with a soft smile.

Ikalgo smiled, and Gon melted all over again at those dimples . They had to be illegal.

Killua was so furious for no particular reason—perhaps it was because he couldn't eat in peace in his room, which didn't technically exist to Ikalgo, or perhaps it was because his fake boyfriend just agreed to what was clearly a date. Either or, he never inhaled a fried egg so quickly and so thoroughly before in his life just so he could pointedly dropped his fork on the table to get their attention.

Killua propped his elbow up on the table and met Ikalgo's eyes. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

Before Gon could even summon the good sense to convince God to open the earth beneath his feet and swallow him whole, Ikalgo put his hands on his hips, turned to Killua, and said, "If you don't mind, it would just be Gon and I. We have a lot to catch up on."

"Oh, of course, so you can...? Convince him to date you instead, is that it?" Killua said, and Ikalgo rose an eyebrow at him. "I'm not stupid , you know."

"Neither am I," Ikalgo said, taking a step towards the kotatsu as Gon feebly put a finger up, like he was raising his hand in the middle of class during a debate. Both parties ignored him. "Which is why I'm quite confident that I'm better suited for her—"

"Him ," Killua hissed, damn near close to bending his fork.

Ikalgo closed his eyes, damn near close to strangling something . Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Sorry. I know."

"I-It's fine, really," Gon squeaked. "It takes a while, I get it."

"It takes a while, yeah, for cis het dude-bros," Killua said.

"He is not a cis het dude-bro," Gon said, gesturing to Ikalgo. Ikalgo blinked at him, and Gon stammered, "H-He's just... cis het."

"What does that mean?" Ikalgo said.

"Born a guy, identifies as a guy, attracted to the opposite gender," Killua droned, pushing to his feet. "AKA bottom of the future pecking order once we dismantle the patriarchy in a millennia."

Ikalgo stared at him, and Gon withered at the look of absolute repulsion on both of their faces. It didn't help that he was still reeling from Killua's intrusion. Before either of them could open their mouths again, Gon pushed between them and grabbed Killua by the wrist.

"I need to talk to you—my room, now ," Gon hissed, giving Killua's arm a firm yank.

Killua didn't give in until he made his distaste abundantly clear by pegging Ikalgo with two fingers towards Ikalgo's chest, which he then redirected to his eyes and back again. Ikalgo mimicked it, muttering an insult under his breath as he watched Gon herd Killua into his room.

Gon shoved Killua out of sight and glanced back at Ikalgo with an apologetic smile. Only then did he shut the bedroom door behind them and turn with a groan of contempt in Killua's direction.

"Do you have to be so rude 24/7?" Gon seethed as quietly and calmly as possible.

"He's got the mentality of a Gen X-ers—I was practically born to fight the entirity of Gen X," Killua said.

"He's—! He's barely a Millennial!" Gon whisper-shouted, flustered beyond belief.

Killua slapped his hands together, rolling his eyes. "We're Gen Z , get your facts straight," he snapped.

"I don't want to fight you on—fundamental generational disparities!" Gon said, and if he was surprised with himself for having blurted that out, Killua was even more so.

They both blinked at one another, thoroughly stunned by where the conversation went. Gon put a hand to his forehead and muttered, "Aye yai yai..." as Killua sighed, relaxing back on his heels, shoulders straightening once again.

Now composed, Killua said, voice hushed, "Do you want me to be your fake boyfriend or not?"

Gon's shoulders bristled. "Yes, but—"

"Okay, then this isn't about me anymore. Clearly you have issues with Ikalgo that make you want to lie directly to his face about this," he said, and when Gon fell silent, utterly caught, Killua continued. "Then if I was your boyfriend, I'd be pissed that Ikalgo even spoke to me like that—or you for that matter. It's obvious that he thinks our relationship is weak enough for you to ditch me to go to him."

Gon put a nervous, trembling hand to his cheek, and then his chin, his fingers rubbing beneath his lip. He paced the floor and worried himself to pieces. He felt his brain starting to overheat and fry with the stress of it.

Killua's words made him crumble to pieces in a matter of seconds. "Oh no—Oh no, oh no, what do we do?" he moaned, dragging his hands down his cheeks. Killua opened his mouth to answer, but Gon was on a blubbering tangent. "I really like him and I really care about him but I'm—! I'm not ready for that kind of commitment! I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love a boyfriend who'd take me out for food and get me flowers and go on morning walks with me—not that... I'm a morning person or anything, but I'd totally consider it if—"

"Jesus Christ," Killua muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"—But I barely know the guy anymore—! If he swept me off my feet now I'd scream bloody murder and call it kidnapping—" he went on, pacing back to where Killua was, only to turn for another lap around his mattress.

"Gon, for Chrissake," Killua said, snapping his fingers in front of Gon's face. Gon startled with a squeak, blinking fast. "I get it, you're looking for Prince-fucking-Charming, and I hate to break it to you, but Ikalgo isn't it. Not right now, anyway."

"Yeah, you're right," Gon sighed, shoulders slumping. "So what do we do?"

"We need to convince him we're a power couple. Get him on board with our relationship so he holds off on pursuing you for a while," Killua explained.

Gon nodded. Yes , he thought, that seems like a good idea. Definitely doable .

There was very little, however, that he understand about being perceived as an authentic couple.

He discovered this approximately the second they got out of the apartment complex. After strapping into their shoes, zipping up their jackets, and locking the front door behind them, the three of them made their way down to the first floor of the complex. Ikalgo held the door for them, which Gon thanked him for as he walked by.

When his hand swayed back, a cool, solid hand grasped onto it. Gon startled at the touch, about to retract. In the process, he pulled the hand closer and found Killua attached to it.

Killua pushed his fingers between Gon's, his wrist touching the back of Gon's, and his skin displaying all of the rough edges and marks of a pole dancer. The calluses were hard like pebbles under the pads of his skin just beneath his fingers, and in the damp, foggy San Francisco air, they felt dry to the point of flakey.

But his grip was firm and confident—something that pulled Gon back to the concert where he had watched in awe as Killua hoisted himself upside down with nothing but a hand on the pole above him.

Gon's cheeks flushed at the memory of it as he watched, speechless, as Killua turned to Ikalgo and asked, "I know a place we could go. I haven't taken Gon there yet."

Ikalgo glanced past him to where Gon struggled to shake himself out of the shock of holding a guy's hand . The realization that he was even holding someone's hand struck him as The Best Thing Ever and soon, he was beaming so wide his eyes shut into happy moons.

"That sounds great!" he said, cheerful as ever, and started off ahead of the group, his hand trailing behind to where Killua gave him a weird look and Ikalgo grimaced in distaste.

Killua gave Gon's hand a tug and said, "Wrong way, you idiot—" only to curse. Fuck , he thought, I can't call him that! He could already feel the judgement seeping off of Ikalgo only five paces away from the front door of their apartment complex.

Gon whined, slumping his head against Killua's shoulder. "Aw, so mean," he teased, and Killua could have sighed in relief. Teasing. Right, that was what he intended to do, because that was what couples did.

Ikalgo strolled up alongside Gon and said, "So what are you majoring in?" which sparked Ikalgo's immediate interest in Gon's music. He had, after all, been there for Gon's early stages of learning the guitar.

As they talked and drifted on from Gon's music, the topic trickled into an old classmate of theirs from Mexico who also picked up the guitar. Before long, Ikalgo was naming all of the people Gon had forgotten but remembered instantly upon hearing their names.

Killua never felt that level of nostalgia, but it consumed Gon for the entirity of the walk to their destination. Gon listened intently to the stories Ikalgo had—about people from their hometown who had passed away, gotten married, moved abroad or simply away to another city. It was heartbreaking for Gon to hear that their favorite tree had been cut down in fear of it falling over one of Ikalgo's relatives' homes. It was equally exciting, however, to hear that they had built an addition off of Ikalgo's grandparents' house that included a screened-in porch filled with all of his grandma's voracious plants.

They walked down streets filled with old brick buildings and refurbished warehouses. Amidst the checkered windows and open store fronts, there were a number of people frequenting the coffee shops and the antique stores that were just now opening for the afternoon. The buildings were all a variety of shapes and sizes, pressed up against one another, and on the rare chance that the side of a building showed through, they found murals painted on the exposed brick.

Considering the number of antique stores in the area, Gon assumed that was their plan. Instead, however, they followed the smell of fresh pastries that traveled with the people passing by. Killua held the door open for Gon, his hand trailing off of Gon's fingers as they separated.