Collab between me and @enchiibean!! I wrote a 700 word drabble, and they drew for it!!!
The weird thing about meeting Gon’s aunt is that she’s so nice to Killua.
Not that he expected her to be like his mom, but part of him still wants to talk back like he does at home. Instead, he ends up frozen, confused by the weird feeling when Mito asks him if she can clean his clothes, telling him to take a bath or help Gon set the table.
It’s just not normal. Not for Killua.
And yet, when her hand reaches out to touch his shoulder, he ends up melting into the warmth in it. There’s something easy about allowing her to take care of her the same way she takes care of Gon—after all, Gon is a good person, the light to Killua’s shadow. So Mito must have had a hand in that, too.
Killua doesn’t know why Whale Island feels so weird to him. Gon leads him through it, and Killua keeps getting startled by how loud the forest is. He almost wants to tiptoe around it, even as Gon makes noise beside him, following dirt trails toward the cliffs.
“I don’t know,“ Killua complains to Gon as they put out their campfire, above the precarious cliff and slow moving water. “It’s so different from Kukuroo Mountain. Mike keeps a lot of the noisier things out, so it’s not like I’m used to hearing foxbears stomp around.”
Gon looks up from the embers. “Is Mike quiet too?”
“Yeah,” Killua grins. “He’s super quiet. My dad trained him really well.” Just like he trained Killua, making sure he’s silent at all times.
“Hm,” Gon hums. “Is there anything you do like about Whale Island?”
Killua thinks for a minute. His eyes trail upwards at the stars they’d been looking at just a few minutes before. He thinks about Mito, and the warm welcome he’s received. Even sleeping is easier here, even if Killua gets woken up by unfamiliar noises every morning so far.
His eyes fall back to Gon. He’d called him his first friend—the embarrassment lit a flame in the center of his chest.
Killua glances away again. “I guess I like the stars here. I like the mansion and all that, but there’s no time to take in the sights. It’s boring.” Which is kind of why he feels so weird being here, taking up space that created Gon—Gon, who is grinning at him right now.
“I thought it was interesting!” Gon said. “I didn’t like it there, but it’s not boring.”
“Of course you think that,” Killua sighs.
Killua closes the front door behind him, squinting as his eyes adjust to the bright blue sky.
Mito, laundry basket at her hip, turns her head. “Oh, hello Killua. Gon isn’t with you?” Behind her, bare clotheslines line up in neat rows.
“Nah,” Killua says. “He said he wanted to see if he could meet that foxbear he likes again. I can’t come with him, so I’m staying here until he comes back.” Suddenly, a sense of shyness overtakes him—he can’t remember feeling anything like this before. “I hope that’s okay.”
Mito’s smile is gentle. “Of course it’s okay. You can help me with the laundry, can’t you?”
Killua honestly hadn’t expected to be told to do that. He’s too used to his own home—the opposite of bright days and putting wet clothes out to dry. Finding something to do with himself is easy when she’s offering, so he accepts it.
Everything feels a little warmer here. It’s warmer because of Gon, and because of Mito.
Now that he’s left alone for the first time in a long time, he finds that it’s not so bad. Even after spending every day training with Gon, this is also so completely different—a different kind of warmth, a feeling of not caring that he doesn’t have Gon to push him into another adventure for the day.
Staying here while Gon does something important—that’s fine. He’s happy, even.
He doesn’t tell Mito this while they work, but he feels like he’s gained something—an experience he didn’t know he was missing. After asking Mito again to make sure he did it right, he steps back. He stands among the clothes he’d clumsily put up, and feels clean.
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