Chapter Text
It had been a long day, but being deep in the wilderness felt like home to Gon. The mountains this time of year were pure bliss; a winter wonderland of snow-covered pine. He greedily sucked in their bitter yet sappy scent as the cold stung his cheeks. Idyllic as it was, the damp in his bones and the burning almost numb sensation on the tip of his nose had Gon ready to head back to base, but… he could do one more tunnel right? Just one more and he’d go back.
Gon was working with Kite and the gang who were researching the Jelly Pika. They were an abnormally large burrowing animal that also utilized vast underwater caves. The current research goal was to map the Jelly Pika’s tunnel systems. For Gon’s part, he wore a geo-mapping device that tracked his movements. He didn’t really understand the technology beyond that, but he didn’t need to. All he needed to do was find where the tunnels opened up on the surface and follow them underground until he hit water.
So far, he’d had bad luck.
Not only had Gon never seen a Jelly Pika, every tunnel he found hit water before ever reaching a cave much less the central cave that Kite used to think connected all the tunnels. That theory was currently under contention. It wasn’t just Gon’s lack of seeing anything but also because Kite seemed to think of the other’s sightings as >>lackluster<<. The caves they found didn’t seem big enough or were too easily found. Ha!
But the fact that there definitely was something to see out there and maybe something even bigger and cooler than what anyone else had ever seen before meant that, probability wise, Gon was bound to find it eventually. Every “dead end” tunnel also meant he was one step closer to finding the right one. So as tedious and annoying as the job could be at times, it came with the possibility of great reward. Especially if he was the one that finally found the central cave (if it even existed), but at this point he was willing to settle on just seeing a Jelly Pika.
Just one more~
He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he climbed into a tunnel and found big eyes staring back, but the hope of finally getting to see one was what kept him going. Adrenaline cut through the fatigue then as Gon spotted the telltale signs of another entrance. With his toe, he nudged the brush being used to camouflage the entrance but stilled as he heard movement on the other side.
Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod.
Energy surged from the cold depths of his bones. He was so ready to finally see one! The Jelly Pika had iridescent white fur and glowing eyes so to see it in all its glory would be to see it in as much darkness as possible. However, too much, and the fur would have no light to reflect. So, really this was maybe his best chance. Gon took a moment to quiet himself, heart pounding away, before finding a small opening among the fallen branches and prickly pine needles. He peeked inside to find that the brush didn’t block out as much of the snow’s light as you’d think. Little rays criss-crossed all along the tunnel entrance, but still it was hard to make anything out. But as far as he could tell it looked empty.
“Darn it.”
Gold flickered to life in the shadowy depths of the tunnel and just as Gon noticed it, the glowing light was on top of him. It was so fast, a flash, less, and Gon tried to move back but time seemed to flow in slow motion. His mind was still stuck on the golden light, the word “eyes” just forming as he leaned back and a hand burst through the brush towards him. It looked animalistic with its long fingers and sharper claws but Gon didn’t have enough time to be afraid before it took hold of his sweater. Then time seemed to fast forward and before he knew it, Gon was pulled through the brush, into the darkness and its embrace.
The darkness sighed and… it sounded strangely familiar.
Gon had been so stunned he hadn’t fought the arms that wrapped around him and now… There was something about that voice. He pushed against the body to get a look at what or who was holding him, his brain scrambling to come to terms with what his instinct had already figured out. The arms let go and Gon crashed down to the ground and looked up at… Hisoka?
Gon blinked and looked over the man from head to toe because… what? It had to be a dream, but even in his dreams Hisoka was always wearing the same outfits Gon had seen him in before. Now, the outfit was crimson and pine green with pink accents though the curly-toed boots and pale harem pants seemed much the same. This time Hisoka was wearing a coat too! With the weather, it made perfect sense, but it was a detail Gon would never have imagined himself. That meant it had to be real. Hisoka was really here! The nostalgia of days that seemed far too long ago washed over him, heart pounding once again at the sight of the star and teardrop painted on Hisoka’s cheeks. Then there was the hungry smile that lay between them and by the time Gon met those golden eyes once more the air caught in his throat.
Hisoka~
Hisoka’s lips parted, shifting into a little “O” of surprise as he searched Gon’s face. Time finally seemed to catch up then, too quick to process though so it took Gon another long moment for his garbled brain to make sense of everything. Then it did and suddenly he had a million questions, only the stupidest one came spilling from his lips first.
“Hisoka?”
Even Gon had the sense to be embarrassed about it. He scrambled for something else to say as he moved to stand up. Hisoka offered a hand, surprising Gon a little and making him stutter a bit.
“His- Wh-what are you doing here?”
Gon laughed a little, nervous and embarrassed and not really knowing why. It didn’t seem like Hisoka was likely to notice anyway, not with the way those golden eyes were roaming up and down Gon’s body as Hisoka helped Gon to his feet. It sent a shiver up his spine and Gon found himself cringing from the attention.
“Hisoka!”
That got the magician’s attention, or his eye contact anyway. While Hisoka’s arched eyebrow asked a silent question, a whole different shadowy look of desire painted the rest of his face. It didn’t last long as Gon felt the air around them shift. He turned to see the wall of brush that blocked the tunnel entrance. Despite him getting pulled through it, the covering was still pretty much intact. The light had let them talk and properly see each other but it was in the dark spots where Gon could actually see the air move around them. The way the dust moved… it was like little puffs pushing through from the other side of the brush and then came a noise.
It sounded almost like sniffing.
Gon flinched at the soft crunching of snow but didn’t pull away as Hisoka’s hand wrapped around his bicep and began slowly leading him backward. The sniffing, it was definitely sniffing, crept closer until you could tell that the nose making that sound must have been huge. Excitement bubbled up in Gon again as his back touched the far wall. He put up a finger to shush Hisoka, not that the magician had said anything. They were both dead silent, stance relaxed, and ready to move. Gon’s eyes never wandered from the brush but his breath caught as the criss-crossed streams of light began to disappear, yet another sign that something big was approaching the tunnel entrance. The slightest movement beside him broke Gon’s attention and he turned to find Hisoka with his claws out.
“Don’t!”
It wasn’t the smartest decision, Gon knew that, but in the moment it was the only thing he could think of to keep Hisoka from killing the Jelly Pika. Only… Gon had expected the animal to run away at the sign of an intruder. Instead, the ground began to shake—the grinding of claws and earth deafening. Gon felt an arm wrap around his waist as the tunnel began caving in. Soon the world turned black and he was being swept away.
At some point Gon was knocked out, when and how he wasn’t sure but it didn’t seem to be for long? It was hard to think with the noise filling his ears, his brain, making him want to cringe for the second time in mere minutes. The clawing finally stopped then, the sound beginning to fade as the ground began to settle again. With the silence, Gon now realized he was wet, a cold weight sticking to him, probably snow, but he didn’t have much time to think before he was plopped down on the ground again.
It was Hisoka, who Gon assumed had been the one to carry him away to safety, and Gon gave him a little side eye for the drop before he got distracted by the very fact he couldn’t see Hisoka at all. Gon pulled around his backpack and fumbled for his flashlight. It flickered to life and its brightness cut through the dark like a knife. It felt about the same way to his eyes and Gon blinked until they adjusted. He aimed the flashlight at the ceiling and used the ambient light to look around. Hisoka was standing next to him looking in the direction of the cave-in. Gon looked and, yeah, a massive pile of rubble and snow now blocked the entrance.
Great.
Gon shivered and then remembered he felt wet. He looked down and saw his jacket and sweater covered in snow, the moisture quickly soaking through the wool. He had to get it off. As he peeled away the sweater though, Gon felt like he was being watched. Another side eye to Hisoka both confirmed it and served to warn him at the same time. Hisoka stared anyway. It was just looking though and only outerwear so Gon left it alone. As he looked back to the wet clothing, Gon realized he was lucky.
His jacket was weatherproof and in no time it was both clean and dry. However, he had left it open, the commotion opening it even wider, and the sweater was absolutely not weatherproof, not even a little bit. He brushed off what he could but had to stow the sweater away via a dry bag in his backpack. Gon was more likely to catch a cold wearing it than not, though, just barely.
It was cold underground.
On the bright side, they were out of the elements. It was dry in the tunnels and there was no biting wind constantly sapping their warmth away. Still… they weren’t in a good situation. Gon put the jacket and backpack on before turning to Hisoka whose eyes he’d never felt leave him. Hisoka seemed calm, but as Gon looked him over he found blood on the magician’s left hand. Gon looked back up to Hisoka, a little worried now, and pointed to the hand.
“What happened?”
Hisoka followed Gon’s gaze before looking back at Gon with a shrug.
“It’s not my blood. I don’t think so anyway.” Hisoka chuckled lightly, covering his mouth with his right hand. “I did however hurt that wrist.”
Hisoka’s eyes were serious, hard, unlike the nonchalance painted across his face. It was eerie, but that was Hisoka for you.
Gon sighed. “So, does that mean you can’t dig or punch us out?”
He already thought he knew the answer, or at least the answer Hisoka would give him.
Hisoka shook his head. “I’m afraid not, but…” He propped a hand on his waist and smiled. “That’s not the entrance I used anyway. Though~ you may not like the alternative since it seems you want to avoid spilling blood.”
Gon groaned and tried to think through their options. There weren’t many. He didn’t know which way Hisoka had come in, but as far as Gon knew about the Jelly Pika, their tunnels didn’t have multiple exits. They had dead ends that branched out from the main tunnel which were used to store food, but that was it. Tunnels went from the underwater cave to the surface, though sometimes they curved and dipped making the journey longer than necessary. Had Hisoka crossed through the cave from one tunnel to another? That seemed unlikely but… Gon looked back to Hisoka, who grinned in an attempt to seem friendly, and then to the bloody left hand… it wasn’t impossible, especially for Hisoka, and the blood seemed to support that theory.
So the options were spilling more Jelly Pika blood or to wait it out. When Gon didn’t return, the group would check his GPS, see it hadn’t moved in a long time, and go look for him. So, spill blood or spend the night with Hisoka. Easy answer for Gon.
“Hisoka,” the man in question looked at him curiously, “we can wait until the morning for Kite-san and the group to come dig us out or we can try your route, but I’m definitely against killing any of them.”
It was difficult for Hisoka to keep a straight face. He even turned away with a musical hum to pretend like he had to think about the answer. It had been years since he’d seen Gon and now they were trapped until morning… underground… in the cold of winter. Testing out the underlying threat that Gon wouldn’t let Hisoka kill any more Jelly Pikas was tempting. Was the boy still without nen? Without it, Gon didn’t stand a chance, even though he’d likely grown stronger in the last few years. That didn’t mean Hisoka didn’t want to watch Gon try. What was all the more curious though, was how adventure boy wonder Gon wanted to skip the adventure and instead wait here. All night. With him. Mmmm~ What in the world was Gon thinking?