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“Look at that!! It's like a web of jewels!”
For a moment, Gon simply watches as Killua's eyes seem to sparkle at the view beyond the glass and hundreds of meters below them. It's not that the view wasn't pretty, but in Gon's eyes nothing compares to the most brilliant shade of blue he had ever seen his entire life. He thought that even if he hadn't been a werewolf and was able to see every single shade of color, he'd be enthralled by them still.
Sometimes, he would be a bit sad that the color blue was the most he could see. Not all of the time– after all, it allowed him to see the sky and the ocean at full bloom back in Whale Island. But especially right now, it doesn't bother him at all.
There was a comfortable silence for a second before Gon decided he had to satisfy his curiosity about the not so subtle vampire beside him.
“Say, Killua?” He started casually, looking away from his eyes to look down at the city below them.
“Hm?”
“Your parents, are they…?” Despite knowing he was a vampire, he didn't want to assume they all were dead, or that they were all–
“Alive? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are.” It's said in a casual tone, but Gon can't help but think that's an interesting answer.
“Pretty sure’? It's like saying they were alive last time he saw them, and while they could not be right now, he's ‘pretty sure’ they are. Do his parents lead a dangerous life?
“What do they do?” Gon asked as casually as he could without letting his eagerness and curiosity show.
“Mass murder.” The way he said it so bluntly told Gon that it was meant to be some kind of punchline, but he couldn't sniff out a lie, so he pressed him a little further.
“Both of them?”
Killua turned to look at him, and Gon took the chance to stare at his eyes again. After a short moment of silence, Killua's laugh almost startled Gon.
“You're a riot!!” Seeing Gon's confused expression, Killua elaborated “I really gotcha with that one didn't I?” His smile was wide and silly, and didn't do much to hide his long fangs.
Gon tried not to stare.
“But it's true isn't it?”
At this, Killua's smile dropped, and Gon almost felt bad for calling him out. Almost. But watched silently as Killua studied his face. Gon wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he spoke up after finding it (or maybe not finding it?).
“You think so?” Killua asked, skeptical, to which Gon easily replied with a confident “Sure do.”
Killua made a small ‘huh’ noise before turning back to the window and speaking again.
“Interesting… My ‘cute kid’ routine is about never letting on if I'm serious or not.”
The comment seemed to be more for himself than for him, and Gon didn't feel like telling him that his act wasn't as effective when: one, they were the same age, and two, under the abnormally strong scent of chocolate, Killua smelled of blood and death.
Admittedly, Gon hadn't known what bloodlust smelled like until Killua had pointed it out at the first phase of the exam. But now that he was aware of it, it was hard to miss. Killua didn't smell like bloodlust particularly– at least not now, or not compared to Hisoka. But he still had that lingering scent that Gon has learned to associate with death, thanks to spending a good chunk of his life in the wilderness by his own choice.
He didn't word any of this, however.
“Uh huh…” Gon wondered if it had sounded sarcastic, like he doubted Killua– but it seemed not, as he kept talking.
“Assassins– that's the family trade. We all take it up.” He briefly glanced at Gon for a reaction, but when he didn't get one, he kept explaining.
“My folks see me as an ‘exceptional prospect’. But I don't see that I haveta’ live up to their expectations, y’know?”
Gon vaguely nodded, despite his words not being at all relatable. Or, on second thought, maybe Titi Mito not wanting him to be a hunter was some kind of expectation he was defying? He wasn't sure what she was expecting, even Abuela Abe thought he'd leave to have his own adventures one day. It is basically impossible to keep a werewolf on a leash, after all.
But Gon doubts that's what was frustrating Killua about his own family, so he said nothing.
“When I told them I'd decide my own future, they flipped!!”
That part was vaguely familiar, but Gon didn't get a chance to comment on it before Killua kept going.
“My mom, with tears in her eyes, said I was throwing my whole life away!”
‘Aunt Mito hadn't been as dramatic, had she?’ Gon thought with a drop of sweat comically appearing on his forehead.
“Go figure, right? They're awful!” he exclaimed after seeing Gon's expression. “Then things got nasty! I slashed my mom in the face, stabbed my brother in the side, and ran away from home! Bet that still has them stirred up!! If they come after me, I'll kill them all!”
Gon couldn't help but smile at his odd level of enthusiasm, contagious despite the circumstances.
“After I get my license, I'll hunt them down to the last one. Once I collect the bounties on their heads, I'll be set for life!”
Gon couldn't help but laugh at his dreamy expression, as morbid as his words were. Frankly, Gon didn't understand Killua's family dynamic, but he found he didn't have to. If that's what Killua wanted, then who is he to question it?
Sure, it was weird, but Killua thought he was weird for wanting to follow his absent dad's footsteps, so in Gon's head that makes them even.
When their shared laughter calmed down, Gon pondered if he should ask Killua about his vampirism. Was it supposed to be a secret? He hadn't mentioned it at all, nor did he mention that Gon was a werewolf. Had he noticed? Gon didn't particularly try to hide it. He didn't hide his strength or his stronger senses, or the fact that he thrived in nature. That had been obvious during the exam, hadn't it? Killua had even called him a “half-dog”, it was hard to believe he didn't know Gon was a werewolf. Maybe he was like Gon, and hadn’t actually met one before?
Gon had never actually met a vampire until Kurapika. Yet, he couldn't help but be able to tell he and Killua were very different. It made sense, since Kurapika came from an ancient clan of pacifist vampires– and Killua was clearly nothing of the sort.
Admittedly, if Kurapika hadn't told Gon that Killua was a vampire, he wouldn't have been able to figure it out. But once he knew, it was like the scent of bloodlust– impossible not to recognize.
It was obvious in the way he smelled of blood and always had that thick hood over his head. He kept it on at all times, and Gon suspected it was because it would be all too obvious he was a vampire if he took it off when the sun was down, or out of sight. But the hood failed to cover the unnatural glint of his eyes, the same kind Kurapika had when his eyes turned scarlet. Or, well, to Gon they were just a darker grey– but he'd been told they were scarlet, so he believes him.
Either way, to Gon, Killua's eyes stood out like a sore thumb. Hisoka's also, but his weren't half stunning– not the way Killua's were, anyways– and he did nothing to hide his vampirism.
And despite that, he could walk into the sunlight. Gon wondered why that was.
“Gon?”
Said werewolf startled back into reality from where he had zoned out staring at Killua's eyes.
‘Well, that's embarrassing.’
“Yeah?” He asked a little too fast, earning a questioning stare from Killua.
“You're such a weirdo sometimes.” He teased with a cat-like smirk, getting a pout out of Gon.
“That's the third time you call me that today!”
“Well maybe stop being a weirdo, and I'll stop calling you one!”
The lighthearted banter helped Gon forget of the thoughts that plagued his mind, and the last thing he thought was–
‘Even if Killua hasn't figured it out yet –which I doubt–, he's bound to figure it out soon. It's not like it matters much anyways.’
And if Gon noticed the overwhelming smell of blood on Killua the next time he saw him later in the night, that was nobody's business but his own.