Two days went by before Killua realized that Gon was intentionally avoiding him. At first he assumed Gon was sleeping in—the guy did have a car, anyway, so he could afford to take his time without fear of missing his bus—but then he came home from his second shift at the Phantom and caught the tail end of Gon escaping into his bedroom for the night.

Killua hesitated, half-inside the apartment, half-out. Clearly, Gon had heard his key turn and in the five seconds it took Killua to get inside, Gon had scooped up all of his class work into his arms and made a run for his bedroom.

It's fine , Killua told himself as he shut the door. In the end it was better that I got it off my chest—I just wish I would have let him know that I wasn't a creep. Not that... I should have to reiterate that...

He shook his head as he slipped off his shoes. He locked the door behind him and tossed his duffle near the laundry door. He felt greasy and crusty from work and shut himself up in the bathroom for a thorough fifteen minute shower. It was his usual timing, something that Gon knew all too well. It gave him approximately fifteen minutes to pack up the food he prepped that evening and stuff it into the refrigerator.

He wasn't fast enough.

Killua emerged from the bathroom before Gon could escape. Gon turned like a deer caught in headlights, but instead of headlights, he was caught in the angelic glow of Killua, freshly cleaned and sporting nothing but a black towel and his used clothes clutched to his stomach.

They both stared at one another until Killua did a habitual thing: He gestured to himself and said, "Like what ya see?" like he was in the locker room with Kurapika.

Gon went bright red. Killua had never seen someone's skintone snap like that before.

Gon nearly dropped the container in his hands on his way to the fridge, holding it up as he said, "TH-THIS IS FOR YOU!" before shoving it onto Killua's shelf and making a break for his bedroom, eyes on the ground.

Gon gasped in relief as he slumped against his closed bedroom door. His heart was in rapid motion the past two days, and the momentum with which it took off Sunday night sent it blasting off into space. And if Gon knew anything about the laws of physics, it was that his heart would keep going, spiraling through space and time, until it was caught in the orbit of something far greater than itself.

Or until it smacked straight into an oncoming object. That too.

There was only one person he could talk to about this, so he made plans with them that very next day. There, amongst the chaos of tourists and carnival games, Gon confided in Kurapika.

"I don't know how much longer I can survive this!" Gon whined, full of dread and sinking against the floorboards of Fisherman's Wharf. He had a funnelcake in hand and his fist raised to the clouds, crying, "Curse you, Aphrodite!"

"Yeah, fuck Aphrodite. Making two men fall in love with this bastard," Kurapika said, putting a middle finger to the Bay. He drank from his reusable coke bottle that was now tinged with Malibu on a Tuesday evening. He propped a hand behind him, crossing his legs at the ankles as he studied Gon's profile. Gon pouted, scowling out at the sea lions. There weren't as many out and about that early in the season, but those that populated the docks were barking and sunning themselves in what minimal light broke through the clouds.

It smelled like salt, sewage, and cotton candy, but at least the funnelcakes were oh-so delicious and powdery in Gon's mouth. He popped a piece in his mouth and sighed. "He has to be kidding, right? I mean, we're roommates and I'm... me . I'm not—I'm not..."

"I swear to God, if you say you aren't good enough," Kurapika threatened with a scowl that caused Gon to pause, eyes settling on Kurapika. Kurapika rolled his eyes. "I've never known Killua to fake liking a person. Except at work. But work's different."

"Has he... ever had a boyfriend before?" Gon asked, realizing that he never thought to ask. There were those times Killua said he had a date, but by now Gon had dissected them enough to know that it was a lie to cover up the fact that he was off to the club to spin upside-down on a pole for cash.

Kurapika thought about it for a moment. He opened his mouth, and Gon's eyes widened, only to sober when Kurapika snapped his mouth shut again, deep in thought.

He opened his mouth again, hand raising. Gon straightened. Kurapika dropped his hand and shook his head with a sigh, scratching at his chin.

"I'll take that as a no," Gon said, dully. Something about this realization hit him as disappointing rather than surprised. He blamed it on his desire to have someone else take the reins and know what to do.

He stopped that train of thought right there because why the hell was he actually considering this?!

"Yeah, honestly... I don't think Killua's dated anyone now that I think about it. He's never mentioned having a partner, even in high school," Kurapika confessed. "You know he used to tell me that he was exclusively attracted to Ruby Rose?"

Gon burst out laughing. "You're kidding! That's amazing—I hope he had, like, a pinup of her or something."

Kurapika shook his head, laughing. Gon lamented this knowledge with a groan. "And what's this I hear about that Mexican bastard? Not you, the other one."

Gon giggled again, blushing. "His name's Ikalgo and he's a friend of mine from elementary school. He's here on a scholarship for pole vaulting."

"Wow, two men who work the pole—all in the palm of your hands—"

"K-Kurapika!" Gon gasped between fits of laughter. He kicked his feet out at the water, cackling. "W-We're just friends now! But he really likes me and I really like him, I just think there's gonna be a huge adjustment period. He's spent the past decade thinking I'm... a girl. And calling me by my deadname."

"Oh." A moment of silence after Gon whispered, "Yeah..." It wasn't awkward silence, however, and Kurapika broke it with a startled, "Oh! You're—!"

Gon jumped, alarmed. "You mean you didn't—?"

"No!" Kurapika cried, slapping a hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry, I never—"

"Th-That's okay! That's the point!" Gon cried, alarmed. Truthfully, he was flattered that Kurapika never knew. In a perfect world, everyone would just assume he was a guy. "A-And it's different with you guys. You never got to know me before I started T or changed my name. It took my Aunt actual months to stop calling me by my old name. I mean, she named me . She was attached to it. And... I got into trouble a lot in high school and she used to curse at me with my full name and now—"

"I get it, I get it," Kurapika said, waving his hand. He smiled and said, "In that case, I'm glad you got to introduce me to the real you. My vision is unclouded ."

"Yeah... So..."

"It is an issue, though," Kurapika reiterated, and Gon slumped. He loathed to hear the words he was thinking spoken out loud. " But the only reason I'm not opposed to this Ikalgo business is because I once changed Killua's name in my phone."

Kurapika took a sip of his drink, which prompted Gon to say, "... And?"

"I spent a week wondering who the hell 'Thicc Booty' was in my notifications. Every damn time he texted me it took me five seconds to realize who it was. He doesn't even have a thick booty! It's firm but it's flat, you know what I'm saying?"

"I—! I haven't looked at it!" Gon cried in a way that suggested he had, in fact, looked at it. He put his hands to his face and realized the truth. "Oh, shit, I have looked at it," he said, thinking of the rave where he spent the entire night staring at Killua on the stage.

"But I also know that Killua would call us transphobe apologists."

"That's... a bit extreme? I don't think Ikalgo's a transphobe."

"I know. But since he's evidently into you, he's probably just pissed that you're thinking about dating this Ikalgo guy."

Gon pulled his knees up from over the ledge of the dock. He blushed down at his funnelcake and said, "I've never—I don't think I've ever had someone act like that because of me. I don't think Killua would call us transphobe apologists for the sake of... discrediting Ikalgo."

"Only one way to find out," Kurapika said.

Gon shuddered with discomfort. He couldn't imagine talking to Killua about Ikalgo now. They had talked about Ikalgo before, but that was... before . Before Killua offered up his abs and his heart on a downtown San Francisco public bus. Gon's breath hitched at the memory of Killua's hand on the window, leant over Gon.

Of Killua kissing Gon, inadvertently, that one fateful morning.

Canary .

The silence between had gone on comfortably and accompanied by the gentle lull of the ocean lapping against the concrete walls beneath the dock. Kurapika finished his Malibu and coke and capped the bottle with a sigh. "I wonder if Killua doesn't know how to flirt outside of the club. Ten bucks says he's a virgin."

"Wh-What!" Gon shrieked, louder than intended. A kid looked their way and their mother shooed them off. Gon stammered abruptly, saying, "Why would you—?"

"Damn, you're right. Fifty bucks," Kurapika said. "I'm pretty confident."

"He works at a—! You know!"

"And? Listen, I don't think Killua's ever crossed the line into actual cold-hard sex work. He's never gotten paid to give a blowjob or handjob or a quickie or whatever—but Lord knows he's been offered it plenty of times. I'm talking more times than I can count on my fingers—"

"K-Kurapika!" Gon cried, mortified. He set his funnelcake aside and groaned. "I'm not going to make a bet with you about Killua's virginity."

Kurapika squinted at him before turning away with a curse and saying, "Damn. This sucks."

"What does?"

"That we didn't work out. I woulda made your first time amazing . Hands down."

If Gon could exceed the color red, his face certainly did. He wished he could roll off of the dock and into the ocean. "Kurapika..." he groaned, uncomfortable beyond belief. His skin crawled.

"I'm just saying."

"B-But you like guys . Wouldn't you be disappointed if—?"

"Whoa, hey, no. None of that. My sexuality is based on identity . Not genitals. I don't care what candy store you've got down there—I'll lick it."

Kurapika burst out laughing as Gon ceased all motor function. As his brain exploded into a cloud of dust through his ears, someone down the dock recognized him and, likewise, recognized the blonde beauty sitting next to him.

Gon's name was called, and the two of them turned to see Retz Nichols strolling up, eyes wide and a DSLR strewn around her neck. She had with her a tablet, which she slipped into her satchel as Gon stammered, "R-Retz! What're you doing here?"

"Working on a story," she said. She pointed off to the Alcatraz tour boat. "Two of our classmates were set up on a date—mostly on purpose, but they think it's an accident. It's a whole affair, so I'm staking it out to see how it goes."

She looked to Kurapika and said, "You were with Zoldyck that one day, weren't you?"

"Zoldyck?" Kurapika repeated.

Gon's skin crawled. He gestured frantically between them and said, "Retz, this is Killua's friend , Kurapika. Kurapika, this is Retz. She's in the same major as me and Killua."

Retz put her hand out to Kurapika, who looked at it and pointedly pulled his sunglasses down. Gon grimaced, and quickly slapped on an apologetic smile when Retz raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well," she said, "it's nice to finally meet you."

"Interesting," Kurapika said.

Retz pursed her lips. Gon jumped to say something, anything. "S-So are we thinking next Saturday for the movie thing?"

"Yeah, if your place is still available."

She gave him the chance to correct that mistake, but Gon was just too relieved to have shifted the conversation to even consider changing the location. "Yup! Sounds good."

Retz had to run off to catch the boat, so Gon bid her farewell and, immediately after, Kurapika reequipped his sunhat and turned away from the direction Retz took off in. Gon smiled and Kurapika rolled his eyes. At the turn in the walkway, which put Retz slightly ahead of them, Retz put her DSLR camera up and snapped a picture of Kurapika's turned head and Gon's smiling face.

"Did she take a picture?" Kurapika whispered.

Gon smiled apologetically and said, "Yeah, she kinda did..."

"Killua's gonna gut me," he said, and Gon laughed. Later that day, they would all be getting notifications from Retz's newsletter declaring the mysterious figure in the parking garage a friend of Killua's rather than a lover .

_______

"¿No le molesta a tu novio que estemos saliendo?" Isn't your boyfriend bothered that we're hanging out? Ikalgo's question met Gon just outside of his classroom. They were near the student union with plans to grab coffee and work on homework, but it felt a lot like a study date to Gon the moment Ikalgo asked that.

Gon rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, a blush coloring his cheeks. "I... I didn't tell him. I don't have to tell him who I hang out with, you know," he said, speaking fast through it all so they could get it over with. He hurried ahead, half-jogging down the steps to the sidewalk. "A-And I've got a project to work on! Yeah, I had a recording sesh the other day so I've got a lot of files to sort through—"

"Right," Ikalgo said, and Gon caught him smiling as they wandered side-by-side through the middle of campus to the parking structure. There, they hopped in Gon's car and made a swift getaway to Bisky's café where they would spend the afternoon on their computers, reading their textbooks, and pretending that everything was normal.

An hour into it, Gon glanced up from across the narrow, two-person table. Ikalgo caught his eye, only to duck his gaze back down, his dimples showing. Gon snickered and kicked Ikalgo in the shin—mostly by accident.

"Ow, por qué chingados hiciste eso?" Ikalgo laughed, rubbing at his leg. What was that for?

Gon yelped and said, "¡Oh!, ¡Lo siento! No quería-" They both combusted into giggles at the knee-jerk way Gon's Spanish blurted out. His face went red in an instant, smiling despite himself. It felt nice knowing that he could even keep up with Ikalgo after years of not touching the language.

"Puedes hablar en inglés o español, vas a hacer que desfallezca," Ikalgo said, thoroughly sending Gon's spirit into the afterlife. You could speak English or Spanish and you'll have me swooning. "Though, I have to say: It's a bit exhausting speaking English all the time."

"Puedes usar el que quieras conmigo," Gon said, lowering his hands from his face. You can speak whatever language you like with me. He backtracked instantly. "Though, no promises that I'll keep up."

"Don't worry—I won't judge," Ikalgo said. "I'm glad you're still making music."

"A mí también," Gon said, relieved. Me too.

Just as he was starting to calm down, he caught a glimpse of white hair through the front window of the café. Gon's heart stopped in his chest, only to kickstart at top speed when he heard the front door to the building open, and then again the café door where a bell chimed overhead. Gon sucked in a deep breath, pretending to be focused on his computer, but he knew Ikalgo had full view of the door, and full view of Killua walking into the café.

That evening, Killua worked, which meant that he needed an espresso boost to tide him over. The café down the street from their apartment was his primary pick-me-up location, and was precisely where he ordered his caffeine while Ikalgo leant back in his seat, arms crossed, and looked between Killua and Gon, an eyebrow raised.

Ikalgo turned to Gon, pointing towards the cash register, as he said, "¿No es ese tu novio?" Isn't that your boyfriend?

By now, Killua had a more or less tuned ear for catching any lick of Spanish spoken on campus. Call it paranoia, but he always assumed it was Ikalgo, but grew to chalk it off as the days went by. That day, however, when Killua looked, he caught sight of Gon staring at him like a deer caught in headlights, and Ikalgo, turning to him with look of mock surprise.

Ikalgo blinked, pretending to be startled, and said, "Well, if it isn't the man of the hour."

Killua glanced at Bisky, who had already walked off to make his order. He wandered over to their table then, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. He observed the textbook on Ikalgo's bent knee, the laptop in front of him, and Gon with his industry-standard headphones on sitting in front of his laptop.

Study date , he concluded, his eyes lingering on the panicked way Gon's eyes were scanning the entire café except him.

"Fancy seeing you two here," Killua commented. He grabbed the nearest chair and dragged it up beside Gon, who leapt like he was shocked and scooted his chair over to make room.

"We were just studying," Ikalgo explained, innocently, and was practically cut off by Killua saying, "Looks like it," on his way to fetch his espresso.

When he returned, he took his seat next to gon, kicked one ankle up on his knee, and stretched his free arm over the back of Gon's chair. He clasped onto the wooden spoke as he glanced at Gon, whose wide, doe-eyes were pinned on his.

Killua took one look at him and thought, Fuck—what an idiot , because common sense told him to put Ikalgo at such a distance, the guy might as well be back in Mexico.

Gon ducked his head, his finger playing along the edge of his computer to distract himself. "What're you doing here?" Gon asked, his voice quiet. Gon could feel his heart in his throat with every word he squeezed out, and little did he know, that each one punched Killua straight through the heart.

But Killua recognized when distance was needed. He could tell the signs clear as day, and he thanked his profession for that. He relaxed his hand on the back of Gon's chair and gave a flippant response. "Just getting some espresso before work," he said.

"What do you do?" Ikalgo asked.

"I work at a retail warehouse," Killua lied, and he audibly heard Gon's breath escape him with relief. "What about you?"

"I don't have time for a job right now," Ikalgo said, tipping his head to the side. "Scholarship for track."

"Huh. Full ride?"

"Yeah, full ride."

"That's a pretty sweet deal," Killua said before taking a sip of his espresso. He set the dish back onto the neighboring table and glanced at Gon's screen. He recognized those audio spectrums. He leant forward, both feet touching the ground now. "Is this from the session?" he asked, and his interest peaked Gon's attention.

"Y-Yeah," Gon said, scrambling to take his headphones off. "I'm almost done—"