Chapter Text
Leorio had always been entirely confident in his heterosexuality. Feminine looking men may have caught his eye on occasion, but never quite this intensely. Shortly after enlisting to become a pro hunter, he began to second guess his orientation. The hunter exam was supposed to be a trial of cunning, wit and strength; that was to be expected. What Leorio did not expect was to find a boy who made his heart skip a beat. This was definitely going to be a problem.
Leorio found himself increasingly distracted, his dark eyes stealing away secret glances from behind tea shade sunglasses. He wondered absentmindedly how the teen's tufts of sunshine would feel against his rough hands. Or what those cute cheeks looked like dusted in a soft pink. Fortunately, the tabard worn over his training suit was just snug enough to give Leorio's wandering mind a couple mischievous thoughts. He was fond of gawking at women as most teenagers do, but somehow his newest crush made him shy instead. But nonetheless, the doctor-to-be became enthralled in Kurapika's identity. His history, the overwhelming intensity behind his large, twinkling eyes that Leorio had a hard time prying away from. His deepest wishes and darkest desires. He demanded to know everything.
Their first formal meeting was basically an argument, but thankfully their youngest companion, Gon, helped to smooth things over. Fate seemed to smile on the darker haired teen later on when the two managed to actually begin a pleasant conversation. Despite it being huffed in-between gulps of air as they ran to the second area of the hunter exam, their chat was meaningful. In order to learn more of the Kurta, he gave a part of himself in exchange for hearing of the painful past Kurapika held onto so tightly. Empathetic pangs prickled in his abdomen, suddenly making him feel blessed for only losing one single person. As they spoke more and more, every new detail left him all the more intrigued.
As the hunter exam continued, the two shared a number of difficult conversations, constantly butting heads and arguing over their differing viewpoints and opinions. If Leorio wasn't as stuck up as he was, he would be sure Kurapika disliked him, seeing as they were two very different people. But it took a lot to make the man give up, the back of his mind repeatedly focused on wishful thinking. Opposites attract, as they say, right? Kurapika wouldn't argue with him at length if he didn't care, right?
By the time everyone had managed to reach the fourth stage of the exam, they had been through a world of trouble together. Although now, the examinees were forced to split in order to find the badge number they were assigned to retrieve, whether it be by force or through other means. If it weren't for Kurapika's quick thinking and excellent observation skills, Leorio might not have made it out and away from Tonpa and Sommy. When asking to team up, Leorio wouldn't have dreamed of saying no. Quiet time alone with the Kurta was a bit nerve wracking and put his heart into overdrive, but perhaps this was his chance.
The two managed to share plenty of hushed, lighthearted conversation, Leorio locking every important detail he learned in his mind for safe keeping. He nearly beamed when he managed to bash through a couple carefully placed walls around that heart of his and make Kurapika laugh. Not faked or forced, an honest, playful chuckle that flushed pink gently across the med student's cheeks. Kurapika was a sight to behold; a gentle adventurous soul, locked down and closed behind so many iron doors. At that moment, Leorio made it his mission to bust down as many as he was allowed to. His work was a little less graceful than he was hoping, but every opened lock made his heart feel a little lighter. Despite a minor run in with Hisoka near evening, everything was going off without a hitch.
Leorio found that the nights were unexpectedly pleasant. Kurapika insisted they take shifts when sleeping in order to have eyes on the surroundings, as to not let their guard down. It was far from ideal, but they managed to fit snugly in one of the hallowed out stumps that were scattered throughout the island. As narrow a space as it was, Leorio assumed these were only meant for one person each. But he didn't dare announce his theory, thanking whatever gods existed for allowing his and Kurapika's thighs to touch. It was a small action but it still managed to bring those warm, fuzzy feelings bubbling up to Leorio's chest. He couldn't bear to fall asleep the first night, instead relishing in the touch of the Kurta's body on his own.
But the best part, was when it was Kurapika's turn to sleep. Feeling brave, the med student offered his shoulder as a pillow, instead of the hard, scratchy wood of the tree trunk. At first, the blond deemed it wasn't necessary but, in his sleep, ended up gravitating that way anyway. Unlike Leorio, Kurapika was able to fall asleep quickly, his breathing evening out and serious expression blossoming into something more serene. It was fairly dark but every so often the moonlight streamed in just a bit, serving as Leorio's own secret light, allowing him to get an even better look at the Kurta's features.
The skin of his cheeks was a soft, milky velvet Leorio desperately wanted to dip his hands into, imaging what a gift it must be to kiss them. His brows were no longer knitted together and the typical frown that found itself on his lips was replaced with a neutral line. Self control was a lot harder than he was expecting it to be, having such a beautiful creature leaning up against him. Leorio liked to imagine placing a tender kiss upon those pink, parted lips, gently bringing a hand to rest upon the angle of his jaw. Morning breath or not, he imagined the taste to be heavenly. Slightly embarrassed by his own daydreaming, Leorio looked away from his friend, a bright red rushing up to his cheeks.
'Fuck,' Leorio thought to himself. 'I'm in too deep.'
The next few days came and went with no real progress on finding the owner of the badge he needed. As time passed, Leorio's growing worries piled up like a small mountain on his chest. Not only of making it through the hunter exam, but of his now strong feelings for Kurapika. What made matters even worse was since they were always together now and watching each other's backs, Leorio had no time to jerk off. This was the first time in months he had gone so long without taking care of himself and it was quickly catching up with him.
When nighttime fell that evening, Leorio didn't know if he could take it anymore. The tight, cramped space, the fact that the object of his desire was once again pressed up close against him, and moaning quietly in his sleep... He dared not stare too intently for fear of his half chub climbing to full mast.
'Just 2 more days. Just 2 more days. Just 2 more days,' the taller man begged in his mind, trying to usher the inappropriate thoughts from his sleep deprived mind. Despite his pleas, unfortunately he found himself in the exact situation he was trying so desperately to avoid. Now the real question was, should he wake Kurapika and take the chance of him finding out he's a disgusting pervert? Even more so? Or should he take an even bigger risk and simply take care of business while the Kurta sleeps beside him? Quick and quiet was his specialty, perhaps the smaller teen was in a deep enough sleep not to notice?
Leorio ended up opting for the stealthy approach, steadying his right hand over the zipper of his dark blue dress pants. Never in his life was he more thankful for keeping a handkerchief on him than at this moment. With as small of movements as possible he released himself from within the confines of his clothes and began stroking himself. Biting at his bottom lip to keep any noises at bay, Leorio glanced over at Kurapika's gentle, sleeping features with foggy eyes. The Kurta's gorgeous face by itself was nearly enough to bring Leorio over the edge.
Just as he was about to come, Kurapika's eyes flashed open, removing himself from against the taller man's shoulder. Leorio made a silent prayer to every god and goddess he could think of, praying that the darkness covered him enough to not be found out. But the hint of twinkling red in the darkness glaring his way made it all the more apparent that his little jerk off session had been found out. Kurapika was surely pissed. He figured it would be better to start with an apology before he could get yelled at.
“L-Look Kurapika, I'm sorry. It's been days and I thought I could do this quietly. I-I didn't want to wake you--”
“...Just finish,” the Kurta ghosted, voice a bit hoarse and gritty from having just woken up. As if he had been commanded, Leorio felt his orgasm build up, causing a choked noise to erupt from his lips, all without his eyes leaving the bright red ones beside him.
But before the older teen could utter another slew of frantic apologies, Kurapika gripped both of his cheeks and slammed their lips together with bruising force. The kiss itself was short lived but still left the two absolutely breathless. Shaking digits slipped down to grip at the collar of Leorio's shirt as he pulled the taller man down for another encounter. Leorio could barely manage to do anything but melt in the moment, head spinning from the taste of Kurapika on his tongue. After several more endless seconds, the two separated, the Kurta hurriedly rising to his feet. Instinctively, Leorio gripped to one of the blond's arms preventing him from walking away.
“Kurapika...?” The voice was more of a question than a plea. Silently, his grip was shaken off.
“I can't.” Was all he was able to manage before Leorio heard the soft crunch of Kurapika's footfalls, trailing off into the distant darkness of night.
'I fucked up. I fucked up so bad.'
The orange hues of early morning flooded into Leorio's field of vision as he shook himself awake. He quickly glanced to his side, tension aching in his abdomen when he noticed Kurapika hadn't returned last night. Without thinking, the dark haired teen leaped out of the hollowed out stump and called out the Kurta's name, eyes wide in full panic mode.
“Yeah? I'm right here.”
Like a tsunami, the flooding relief nearly knocked the man off of his feet, causing him to release an audible, dramatic sigh. He quickly collected his bearings and rushed in the direction of his friend's call. As Leorio approached, he only noticed the Kurta's tufts of sunshine locks poking out from a small lake close by. Kurapika's training suit, flats and tabard were folded neatly beside the body of water. Kurapika turned to give Leorio a friendly smile as a greeting.
“It's been awhile since I was able to take a bath so I figured I would wash the grime off a bit. Do you want to join me? You seem like you could use it,” Kurapika snickered, not breaking eye contact with the now flabbergasted man before him. Leorio wasn't sure how to process this reaction.
'Was Kurapika not upset about last night? Did he forget all about it? Why was he acting so casual? Should I bring it up? What--'
“Too late, we need to get going. I'm thinking a few might have started making their way back to the start. Maybe we can find Ponzu there?” Kurapika announced, hopping up from the lake, revealing himself and not seeming to care. Leorio tried desperately not to gaze upon the Kurta's body, instead focusing his attention on a nearby tree.
“Leorio?”
“Ha? Yeah, yeah, sounds good to me. Sorry,” Leorio replied in a gruff tone, awkwardly tracing the bark with his fingertips, imaging instead it was the curve of Kurapika's hips. Since it was decided that Kurapika wasn't going to talk about the kiss from last night, neither was Leorio. Obviously it wasn't anything serious on Kurapika's end, but Leorio couldn't get the feeling of those soft lips out of his mind. There were things of greater importance than this silly crush he almost believed to be the love of his life. He needed to get it together.
While Leorio was lost in thought, Kurapika dressed himself and was ready to go, somehow looking refreshed despite the dark circles that loomed under his sparkling eyes. Leorio was sure he had those too, but he felt like his went down to his chin. He couldn't even imagine what a real bed was like at that moment in time.
Conversation appeared to be effortless as the two shared concerns for the remainder of the exam and spoke of various random topics to entertain themselves. The lighthearted air helped to relax Leorio's nerves and slip into a false sense of security partnered with Kurapika. Upon reaching the starting area, thanks to the Kurta's excellent sense of direction, the two found and meet up with Gon. With the young boy's help, they managed to retrieve the needed badge and pass the fourth phase, barely escaping death.
The next and final phase of the hunter exam turned out to hold an interesting twist. It managed to turn usual tournament rules on its head, allowing all but one person to pass instead of the opposite. Gon and Hanzo faced off first, giving Leorio a lot of anxiety as Hanzo was basically beating the poor boy to a pulp. Being as stubborn as he was, Gon refused to give in. Hisoka and Kurapika were the next to fight, the former giving in and allowing him victory, whispering some sort of secret in his ear. Leorio couldn't help but have his curiosity piqued.
Only one of the remaining fights grasped Leorio's attention. One of the examinees known previously as Gittarackur, revealed himself to, instead, be Killua's brother. The hypnotizing hold Illumi had on his younger sibling manipulated Killua far enough to kill Bodoro, causing him to fail the exam and leave bloodied and in a daze. Leorio couldn't help but feel undeniable rage at the man; the group found a friend in Killua and they weren't going to leave him alone.
Once Gon had regained consciousness, the three decided it would be best to follow the young Zaoldyck back to his place of residence, Gon wanting to save him from the horrors of his own kin. And when Gon had his heart set on something, there wasn't much anyone could do to stop him.
The bus ride to Mt. Kukuroo was a long, and relatively uneventful one. Normally, Leorio would be enamored by the adorable tour guide and her antics, but his mind was still clouded with Kurapika-flavored thoughts. The two still hadn't spoken about the kiss, which gave Leorio a bad feeling in his gut. Perhaps the Kurta was just as pent up as he was and needed to let off some momentary steam. As soon as this mess with Killua was sorted out, Leorio was going to get to the bottom of this. Hopefully both literally and figuratively.
It was much harder than anticipated for the trio to form a line of communication with Killua, the family butlers not allowing for any messages to reach him. Zeburo, the gatekeeper and one of the servants of the Zaoldyck household, mentioned that the one and only way to ensure safe travel into the property was to pass through the large testing gate. In order to do so, they required gathering more strength than they currently had at their disposal. The older gentleman saw the resolve behind Gon's large, almond eyes and took it upon himself to assist them with a training regimen to pass the gate.
From previous training, Leorio considered himself to be pretty physically fit, but when fitted with the weighted vests, he could feel his knees shake and buckle. He knew becoming a pro hunter required a massive amount of physical strength, which he was apparently miles away from. So the time spent struggling while lifting and using certain weighted objects around the servant's quarters was time well spent. By the time evening came around, Leorio was too exhausted to have a heart to heart with Kurapika and usually fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
At the very least, Gon kept them able to have a relatively steady, relaxed environment and he was able to get to know Kurapika better in the meantime. Every time their eyes met it was like Leorio was being struck by lightning; he was tongue-tied and made up for the awkward moments with humor. Leorio probably looked like a fool, finding ridiculous ways to make the Kurta laugh. But the way he crinkled his adorable nose ever so slightly made the butterflies inhabiting Leorio's stomach go absolutely insane. He imagined now he was probably strong enough to lift the teen with ease and part of him wanted to try it out.
After a couple days of this new training regimen, the three made incredible progress, opening doors and using objects was beginning to become a breeze. Even Gon, despite being one-handed, needed no help lifting his utensils to eat. However, Leorio did notice Kurapika picking at his food on one particular evening. Through conversation, he had learned the Kurta was in no way a picky eater and enjoyed foods of all kinds. He softly voiced his concern over the dinner table, which apparently embarrassed Kurapika, as he swiftly did his dishes and left for his room. Gon's bright eyes met with Leorio's.
“Something weird is going on with you two,” the boy muttered, popping another piece of broccoli into his mouth. Leorio was taken aback.
“Whaddya mean 'weird'? Nothing weird's going on.”
“Did you have a fight? I don't want you guys to be angry... If something's bothering you, you should talk it out! That way everyone feels better!”
Gon's grinning was infectious and found it's next victim in Leorio. Despite being so young, the boy was mature in way of interpersonal relations. Without even asking him for advice, Gon knew exactly what to say.
“Y'know what? You're right. Wouldn't hurt to smooth things over,” Leorio announced, standing up from his place at the table and proceeding to finish up his dishes.
Even with his new-found strength to confront the blond on matters of the heart, it didn't stop his stomach from cramping up in knots. He stood like a lump in front of the door to Kurapika's room, raised fist suddenly feeling like it weighed just as much as the testing doors. Just as his tensed knuckles made contact with the hardwood, a loud clap of thunder rattled through the servant's quarters, startling Leorio out of his skin. The soft padding of feet woke Leorio from his temporary fright as Gon appeared beside him, remarking about how hard it had begun raining outside. He mentioned it being perfect fishing weather if it continued to the morning and quickly bid him goodnight, planning to wake up a few hours early. Leorio was now right back where he started, still standing in front of Kurapika's door, still feeling like having a nervous breakdown instead. 'What-ifs' began swimming around his brain.
'What if by bringing it up, it makes everything awkward? What if he doesn't even like me? What if him knowing I like him makes him upset? What if--'
Another rumble of thunder brought his focus back on the real task at hand. Leorio would deal with the consequences later, right now things needed to be clear if he was ever to regain at least partial sanity. With a shaking fist, Leorio gave three firm knocks. No response. Surely with the weather as loud as it was, he hadn't fallen asleep already. Leorio knew he often read past his bedtime and was exhausted come morning. Nervously, he adjusted his sunglasses and gave three more slightly louder knocks. Still, no answer. Anxiety began rising it's way up to his chest, smothering him from the inside.
“Kurapika please... I really don't mean to disturb you but we gotta talk. You in there?” Leorio called, feeling breathless all of a sudden.
“Not now.” Kurapika's voice was uncharacteristic, shaky like he was about to cry. Before Leorio could process the thought in his mind, he had already pushed the door open to reveal the Kurta, bundled underneath all of the snow white covers, quivering slightly. Leorio's first instinct was to uncover the man, but instead opted to go a gentler route.
“Kurapika? Are you okay?”
“Leave.”
“You're not okay... What's wrong? Talk to me.”
“I'm fine. Just leave me alone.” The Kurta's voice came out more as a choked sob, but still as stubborn as always. Leorio supposed the only way he would get some sort answer was by force. His gut told him Kurapika couldn't be left alone right now, and he wasn't about to turn his back on a friend. Swiftly, Leorio gripped up the blankets covering the blond to reveal his shaking form, head down in the fetal position. Obviously startled by being uncovered, Kurapika craned his neck to reveal his features. Blond hair disheveled, eyes wide and glowing an ominously bright scarlet, all color drained from his face, making him look downright ghastly. The look of anguish and fear that danced behind his ruby red eyes made the hair on the back of Leorio's neck stand up straight. Without thinking, he reached down to get a grip on Kurapika's arm, pulling him to his feet. The Kurta wasn't given ample time to respond before Leorio pulled him into his chest, arms wrapping around his small, shivering frame tightly.
“I'm here. You don't have to tell me what's wrong, just let me help,” Leorio whispered into the top of Kurapika's head, inhaling the scent of his golden locks.
“L-Let me go.”
“Nope. I'm not letting go until I know you're okay,” he muttered, bringing one hand to stroke through the tangles of sunshine, doing his best to relax the agitated Kurta. “I'm here.”
Another grumble of thunder shook Kurapika's entire form, causing him to latch onto Leorio even tighter. Both of his trembling fists balled against his chest, gripping on the hem of the taller man's suit jacket. Leorio removed his hand from Kurapika's head and instead focused on rubbing calming circles into the teen's back with just enough pressure to relax those tense, quivering muscles. The darker haired teen felt the form in his grip slowly begin to settle down, all that was left shaking was his fists. Leorio wondered if the Kurta could hear how loud his heart was pounding...
“I'll stay with you tonight. We can talk tomorrow. Let's get some rest.” Leorio loosened his grip to take a step back and actually look at Kurapika straight on. The intensity of his eyes had lessened, but he still looked an absolute wreck. Leorio could only speculate that thunderstorms brought back memories that the Kurta wasn't fond of reliving. What a torturous experience it must be, living with so much pain in his heart. Leorio just wanted to hold and protect him, kissing away all the horrible feelings pent up deep inside his heart. Since no protest was made, the taller of the two proceeded to remove his suit jacket, sunglasses and tie, draping them over a nearby chair. He then stepped towards Kurapika, getting himself comfortable in the bed and extending his arms out, inviting the blond inside his shelter. A small hint of a smile found itself on his lips.
“...Thank you,” Kurapika's words were nearly inaudible, a slight color dusting his cheeks. He then snuggled into Leorio's chest, whispering a few unknown words in his native tongue. Leorio felt his body melt into the bed, the scent and touch of the blond against him removing his every fear. Just having Kurapika in his arms felt so incredibly right.