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When Leorio rolled off his couch with a pounding headache, he didn’t expect it would be to answer his front door at seven in the morning. After a night of binge drinking with friends after an even longer day of studying for Exams, Leorio was planning on sleeping in. He knew for a fact that he hadn't ordered Yorknew Eats, and he sure as hell didn’t have any classes on a Saturday. All of his alarms were off, the blinds firmly shut, and he was pretty sure he had no packages ordered that needed to be signed for.
Rolling his stiff shoulders and throwing off the labcoat he was using as a makeshift blanket, Leorio wrenches his eyes open and forces himself to get up, if only to yell at the person persistently banging at his front door.
Sleeping in the living room was a mistake.
Stumbling to his feet, he tried to go through the different possibilities of who could be ruining his Hangover Recovery day, Leorio narrowed it down to it either being the landlord (a prissy old bastard who was always going on about Hunter’s being the worst renters), some kind Hunter Association Solicitor who wanted to break his balls, or his new bestie Zepile needing a place to crash.
Regardless, all the options were shit and Leorio wasn’t here for any of them. With months of practice, Leorio was able to maneuver around piles of trash, books, and miscellaneous objects that littered his Yorknew apartment with his eyes closed. For good measure, Leorio made sure to stomp his feet so he could scare the hell out of whoever was out there.
Finally opening his eyes, he decides to keep them narrowed. Leorio runs a tongue over his teeth before bearing a snarl. Yea, that would work. Perfect.
“Who the hell’s knocking?! Don’t you know you have the future of Yorknew City’s Medical World Living behind these doors!” Leorio shouts out, his own ears ringing at how loud his voice is. Damn.
Leorio whips the door open, the sun blinding him instantly as the light forces its way into his dark living space. He resists the urge to hiss and back away, choosing to hold his ground. Puffing out his chest and squaring his shoulders, he ensures that whoever his unwanted guest is, he looms over them.
“Leorio, we have a problem!” A chipper voice says almost humorously as a hand shoves him back far too easily, causing Leorio to lose his footing, “And you’re just the guy to fix it!”
In a flurry Leorio is shoved against the wall and grabbed by the arm, dragged limply back towards his kitchen. He can hear his front door being kicked shut, and the smell of sweet carb filled foods wafting from his new guest. Damn it, was that the smell of pancakes? Crepes? The sticky smell of syrup was heaven to Leorio’s sleep deprived mind.
Rubbing the now sore part of his chest, like a balloon left out too long, Leorio deflates. The fight goes out of him, and his shoulders fall in defeat. He’s been bested, completely and utterly destroyed before eight am.
Temptation gets the better of Leorio, and within seconds he’s at the beck and call of his unwanted guest, accepting whatever their terms were as long as he got to have a sliver of the food they had brought.
With the door closed and the sun no longer blinding him, Leorio courageously opened his eyes again, letting them adjust to the darkness he has long become accustomed to. For a moment he’s shocked to see no one in his kitchen, that is until he looks down at the spiky black haired child digging into his fridge, humming as he rifles through miscellaneous containers and dozens of ice coffees that make up the contents.
“Gon?” Leorio rubs the sleep from his eyes, now pleased at the guest who has intruded, “Gon what are you doing here!”
Picking up the boy in his arms easily, Leorio beams as Gon yelps in surprise, before chuckling at Leorio’s reaction.
“Hey Leorio, been a while! Congrats on being the new medical world or whatever!” He laughs, “I picked up some Yorknew Breakfast, you know, the one with the sausage pancakes and Mafia Hashbrowns.”
“Because they’re so good they should be illegal.” Leorio knows the slogan too well, and squeezes Gon tighter, “I can already feel my hangover leaving me, now let’s dig in!”
At this point Leorio is ravenous, and he drops Gon back onto his feet as he moves to the table, pulling out three styrofoam containers of breakfast from a plastic bag. Of course Gon would be courteous enough to get an extra serving, what a well raised kid.
Gon takes out two ice coffee’s and a carton of milk that Leorio isn’t sure passes the sniff test. In a moment Gon realizes the same and sighs, dumping the milk down the drain and chasing it with hot water, “Leorio, you still kind of suck at keeping the fridge clean, huh.”
Leorio slumps in his seat as he stuffs his mouth with sweet, sweet pancakes, his eyes watering at the velvety taste. Soft, ample, better than he could have ever imagined.
Gon takes a seat across from him and beams, opening up his breakfast, and then the third one, causing Leorio to raise an eyebrow.
Leorio points at the container with his fork, “You want me to shove that in the fridge or are ya planning on devouring two Yorknew Breakfasts in one sitting?”
Gon cracks open the ice coffee and passes it to Leorio, before opening a second one for himself. Oddly, Gon grabs a water bottle and pours it into a shallow bowl, “Obviously the third one is for Killua.”
Leorio straightens up, looking around the kitchen. How could he forget that Gon and Killua came in a duo package, the two of them practically attached at the hip these days. Actually, considering how they were always together, Leorio was surprised that Killua hadn’t made his infamous entrance yet. Usually the white haired teen was flashy, full of sarcastic comebacks and off handed comments. Leorio had no idea how he and Gon were so compatible, especially since Gon was so good natured, albeit a little bit blunt.
Crackling a wry smile, Leorio leans back. “Wow, I almost forgot about that silver haired brat. Seems like it was a little too quiet this morning without his bickering and complaining. Well, where is the kid? Did he get shy and run off or something?”
Leorio hisses as something scratches his ankle, causing him to shove his chair back in shock. A white blur darts from his view and the sound of cans clattering and bags being thrown around comes from the small living room.
“What the hell is that!” Leorio shouts as he jumps up from his chair, whirling around to grab a cheap broom lying against the wall, and holding it out in front of him like a sword. “Is that a rat?! I knew Yorknew had some whack ass rodents, but I’m gonna call the HOA and the landlord and the newspaper once I kill that thing!”
Gon, with his own mouth full of scrambled eggs, waves a hand and blocks Leorio’s way to the living room with a raised arm. Gon doesn’t even get out of his seat, too enthralled with the delicious meal that he has blessed Leorio with. Leorio braces himself for the demon to return, eyes darting from the living room to Gon, and back again, before he tosses the broom to the ground and hesitantly takes a seat.
Chugging ice coffee, Gon finally clears his throat, “First off, chill. Second, can I have your Yorknew Toast? Third, well, Leorio, that thing you think is a rat is the little problem me and Killua are having, but that can wait until we’re done eating. Killua you don’t have to hide, your breakfast is getting cold.”
Leorio snags his buttery toast, “Hell no you can’t have my Yorknew toast. You can have some of the Shadow Beast Sausages. But just one.” Leorio holds it out with a scowl, and Gon beams as he steals one from Leorio’s plate.
Out of the corner of his eye, Leorio spots the white rat sneak out from behind his couch, stretching out much longer than any rodent he’s ever seen before. Well, that’s not true. The rat Zodiac Pariston was quite the lanky bastard, but quite the anomaly.
This thing was more nimble then a rodent, and when its bright blue eyes met Leorio’s gaze, Leorio blinks in surprise. The thing was a cat with silky white fur, a long fluffy tail, and some of the most chilling eyes Leorio’s ever seen on an animal. Quickly, as if all the fear had vanished into thin air, the cat leaps and lands on Gon’s shoulders, ensuring that it was at eye level with Leorio.
Hissing, the car flicks an ear at Leorio as if baiting him, smugly waving its tail as Gon absentmindedly rubs his cheek against the side of the cat's head.
“Didn’t take you as the type to get a cat.” Leorio says awkwardly, reaching out to the third platter to grab another slice of Yorknew Toast.
The cat bristles and leaps down onto the table, swatting at Leorio’s hands, causing him to retract his arm in a huff.
Gon points at the plate, “I told you that was Killua’s, you should ask him if you want another piece of toast before just taking it, Leorio. That’s just good manners.”
Leorio squints and looks at the cat who's now sitting in front of the styrofoam container and nibbling on one of the sausages. The feline doesn’t allow the food to touch, moving the eggs away from the hashbrowns, quite eccentrically for a cat.
Leorio raises a brow as the cat moves towards the opened can of iced coffee, only for Gon to push a cup of water towards it. “No caffeine, sorry.”
Whining, the cat’s small pink tongue comes out and freezes, the feline watching Leorio before moving its body to shield its face from view. Instead, it turns its back completely to Leorio, refusing to let him get the pleasure of watching the cat drink, as if it was some kind of thing to be embarrassed over.
Gon sighs and rubs the cat's head, “It’s fine, don’t get so worked up over it. I’m sure it’s not too bad, right? At least you’re super cute.”
“No way,” Leorio gawks, a laugh escaping him, “Oh come on, Gon. I’m hungover, not stupid. You can’t expect me to believe that’s Killua. How?”
“Let’s just say there are some interesting Greed Island players, some who have Nen and one who didn’t really like how good we were playing the game.” Gon continues to run his hands over the cat's back. “Actually I was supposed to be the one who got in the way, but Killua decided to play hero and here we are. We took a leave from the game until we could sort this whole thing out. The player who did this said something about needing a doctor to fix this, and that it couldn’t be reversed on its own. He would have said more but I might have accidentally broken their jaw when I punched them, the jerk.”
Killua meows loudly and moves away from Gon’s grasp, turning around now to face Leorio. Sitting as tall as his kitty body could let him, Killua swishes his tail with confidence.
“This is hilarious.” Leorio snorts, shoveling hash browns into his mouth, “No, this is karma for all the times you gave me a hard time. Now look at you, as cute and sweet as can be.”
Killua hisses and Leorio swallows nervously, eyes darting to Gon, “Okay, okay, relax, I’m just kidding. But damn, how long has he been like this?”
Gon counts on his fingers, “Maybe two or three days? It’s been a little weird adjusting, but I’m positive we can get Killua back to his normal self. Plus, he’s a little bit feisty since he’s not allowed to have soda or chocolate anymore until we fix this problem.”
Killua paws at his eggs, pissed at Gon reminding him that he was banned from his favorite things.
Leorio was honestly sure he was still asleep, since all this seemed like utter nonsense. Delicious food, a visit from his close friends, and a boy turned cat all in the same day? Ya right, it was nuts.
“So do you want me to do an examination on him or something? My skills are amazing but I don’t know if this is something that I can handle. Is there a button we should press?” Leorio reaches out and grabs Killua by his tail, albeit gently.
Killua takes this as a personal offense and goes after Leorio’s hands, scratching and biting as if his life depended on it. And in this instance, Killua truly believed it did. Yelping, Leorio jumps away from the cat, nursing his injured hand and pointing a bloody finger at Killua.
“You bastard! You know I wasn’t going to pull your tail! I’m getting a spray bottle and coming for you!” Leorio whines, rushing to the bathroom to wash and clean his hand, “This is my good hand! My Doctoring hand!”
Killua swipes a sausage from Leorio’s plate and chomps on it happily, fully satisfied with himself and his choices.
Gon beams, pulling Killua towards him and hugging him tightly, “I know I shouldn’t, but Killua you’re so soft I can’t help myself! We should get you a little backpack and some shoes! Or a bandanna! Kitty-llua or something can be written on it! You’re going to be the talk of the town.”
Killua presses a small paw to Gon’s cheek, pushing him away gently, little toe beans hiding dagger like claws. Unlike how he unleashed them on Leorio’s defenseless hand, Killua would never consider doing the same to Gon, even if the boy was too touchy for his liking in this situation.
A banging on the front door startles the pair as they both look towards it, not sure who could be trying to bother Leorio on a saturday morning, well, other than them that is. Leorio emerges from the bathroom with his right hand covered in bandages, his mouth pursed into a scowl as he stares daggers at Killua, before ambling towards the door.
Cleaning his throat, Leorio whips the door open. “Who the hell is bothering Yorknew’s Medical Genius this early in the morning!”
“Shut up, you idiot, I’m hungover, not deaf!” Another voice yells out, and once again, Leorio is shoved aside.
Zepile, in his haphazard and lethargic glory, makes his way into Leorio’s house, his shirt on backwards, and his hair all kinds of scuffed. In an instant Zepile takes a seat in Leorio’s chair, grabbing his fork and shoveling Mafia hashbrowns into his mouth at a breakneck speed.
“These are so good, they probably are illegal.” Zepile groans in pleasure, “Some kind of addictive additive, but hell, if they aren’t the greatest hangover cure, then I don’t know what is.”
Leorio darts to the kitchen after slamming the door shut, and promptly grabs Zepile by the back of his neck, “Who the hell said you could eat my breakfast? First you leech on my liquor, then you force me to pay for yesterday's tab, and now you’re back again to feast on my goods!”
“Yea right, what happened to you being Yorknews geneious cheapskate! You know you get your shit covered here because of your hunter license, so let me have some of your food. Plus, last night was the first time you have ever paid for the tab! Usually it’s me paying for you and I’m a starving artist!” Zepile tries to swipe a piece of Yorknew toast.
“Get a damn job!” Leorio snarls.
“I have a job!” Zepile bangs a fist onto the table, “and you’re a financial nightmare!”
“Hi Zepile, long time no see!” Gon breaks into their fight, handing him a slice of toast, “I’m glad to see you and Leorio have become best buds! Have some of my breakfast, I ordered a lot just in case Leorio was hangry.”
“Hey.” Leorio huffs, pulling up a chair beside Zepile and grabbing his rightful food. “Don’t make me sound like the bad guy. I’ve been doing my damn best to pass these courses, so excuse me if I let loose on my Friday nights. I only get them once a week!”
Zepile snorts as he takes some breakfast from Gon’s plate, “I don’t pity you, especially when you’re out partying every Friday night on the Hunter Association Tab. If I have to hear you brag abut being a Hunter again, I’m gonna hurl.”
Gon and the cat side eye Leorio, which makes Zepile smirk.
“I like your pet here, sick party trick.”
“Hah, you wouldn’t believe it but that’s our resident firecracker Killua.” Leorio points out with his mouth full, “watch out, he bites.”
Killua hisses and bears sharp fangs, lifting a paw with even sharper claws. There’s great satisfaction in watching Leorio rub his bandaged hand, before pointing a fork at Killua.
“My house, my rules. Technically I’m not allowed to keep pets, so you better not make a mess anywhere, and if that means I buy you diapers then so be it.”
Killua bristles at the comment, the thought outlandish.
“Oh he hates that,” Gon observes, finishing off his eggs.
Zepile crosses his arms over his chest, “So even you’re taking part in this little prank. I’m not falling for it. I point out fakes for a living, so I'm not falling for anything.”
“Pfft, then you should quit your day job, because we’re telling you the truth.” Leorio points at Killua, “That’s him, apparently. Some nen accident or whatever.”
Zepile squints and leans forward, “nen accident? Like someone turned you into this? Forever?”
Killua meows bitterly, tail swishing at the unwanted attention.
“We thought Leorio could help since he’s a doctor, but apparently this isn’t something he studied in school.” Gon runs a hand through his hair, biting his lip as he tries to think about the next course of action. “It isn’t that bad, although I’m sure Killua doesn’t want to stay like this. I have to say, we’ve been able to travel pretty easily, he rides on my backpack and shoulders, and people love taking pictures of us! We might be famous online or something.”
Zepile grimaces, “not sure if that’s what you wanna be famous for, but alright. Well, I guess condolences on your loss of thumbs. Rip.”
Leorio chuckles, taking out his beetle phone and flipping through different contacts.
Killua swiftly moves to sit beside Leorio, watching him hover over Kurapika’s profile. Killua makes a small chirping noise, probably his version of a laugh.
Leorio sneers, hitting the call button. “I don’t know why you’re laughing, this is my way of helping you! Why don’t you show me a little more gratitude.”
Killua returns back to Gon’s side, jumping to the floor and choosing to rifle through Gon’s backpack.
Leorio, as expected, has his call go to voicemail, almost instantaneously.
“I don’t even think the phone rang, like, one time.” Zepile points out, trying to be helpful.
Leorio mocks him, “I don’t think you should be looking at my phone, okay. Kurapika is always busy, you know, he’s a mafia bodyguard now so he probably has some secret security detail he’s on right now, so of course he can’t pick up the phone.”
“Ugh, huh. Sure.” Zepile grabs another piece of toast, munching away on it. “So now what.”
Killua jumps back onto the table, his beetle phone hanging by the antenna from his mouth. Pawing at the keys, Gon takes the hint and goes through the contacts. As the screen flashes on Kurapika’s profile, Killua meows, and Gon presses the call button.
“I literally just tried that,” Leorio growls, “If he didn’t pick up for me why would he-”
“Kurapika speaking. What is it?” The phone blares on speaker, Gon smiling largely as Killua puffs out his chest.
Leorio is flabbergasted.
“Hey Kurapika, we’re actually in Yorknew right now! Killua ended up having a nen accident so we’re wondering if you would have any ideas on how to help him.” Gon says out loud, absentmindedly playing with Killua’s tiny paw.
“Kurapika!” Leorio whispers out, looking at Zepile in shock.
Kurapika humms, “I’m actually in the city right now, and judging by your location, I’m five minutes away. I’ll see what I can do. Don’t move from your location.”
“Thanks Kurapika, you’re the best!” Gon chirps.
Leorio jumps out of his seat and snatches the phone, “Kurapika, what the hell! I just called you and you didn’t even pick up-”
The call has already ended, and Leorio sadly drops the phone into Gon’s outstretched hand.
“Don’t be bummed out, Leorio.” Gon says sympathetically, “usually when Killua calls Kurapika it's some kind of emergency, and I know Kurapika just doesn't want to worry you. Don’t take offense to it, I think he’s just letting you focus on school and do what you need to do.”
Zepile nods his head, “that sounds like a stretch.”
“Get out of my house.” Leorio grumbles, looking begrudgingly at Zepile, who ignores him.
It takes a few tense minutes, but just like he said, Kurapika makes his grand entrance. Opening the front door, all eyes are on the serious faces blond, who looks more mature than ever. If there was anything Leorio could say about Kurapika, it was that he was hella dependable, especially if there was ever a crisis. Albeit he was hotheaded, and emotionally charged, but if there was a problem, Kurapika would do anything in his power to help.
Well, that’s if Kurapika wanted to help, or could get something out of it.
In this case, Kurapika genuinely wanted to help Killua, and felt indebted to the small group in one way or another.
“Gon, Zepile…Leorio. I didn’t realize we were meeting at Leorio’s adequate student housing, or I would have suggested we meet at one of my penthouses in the city.” Kurapika runs a hand through his hair, and quickly looks around the room. Clearly he was looking for the reason for Gon’s call. “How odd, I sense his nen, but I don't see Killua. Where is he?”
Gon pat’s the cat on the back, and Killua meows as he makes his way towards Kurapika, stopping before the blond’s feet and looking up shyly.
Kurapika glances at the long silvery whiskers of the cat, and then the iconic ice blue eyes, before turning to Gon in confusion.
Gon shrugs.“I know how it looks, Kurapika, but it seems like we ran into someone with the ability to change human form into feline while in Greed Island, so now we’re looking for a way to get Killua back.” Gon gestures to the cat. “We would have asked the guy who did it, but I kind of Janken rocked him into a coma, so that might take a while.”
Kurapika raises an eyebrow in surprise, “There’s someone with a nen type that can transform cells? That’s…unheard of, but I suppose nothing is impossible.”
“Hi to you too, Kurapika.” Leorio cuts in as he stands up and places his hands onto his hips. “Thanks for always returning my calls and texts and emails and voice messages, by the way! Love that we’re both in the city and you never have time for me, but when Gon and Killua call you, not only can you pick up the phone, but you can also just conveniently drop by. Really great!”
Kurapika sighs, “Leorio, isn’t this exam season for you? You should be taking school more seriously, it’s painfully obvious you’re hungover.”
“Oh come on! Who said I’m not taking school seriously, first off. My weekends are mine for doing whatever I please, be it binge drinking, binge watching, or binge eating. At least you could have left a message so I wasn’t sitting here looking like a damn fool!”
Kurapika shares a long, tired look with kitty Killua, who twitches his ear in response. Better to end this now before Leorio went on a full tirade.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this, and it’s just a one off visit, Leorio, I assure you. Once you are finished school and I conclude my mafia ordeals, we can plan accordingly.” Kurapika rubs his chin, dismissing Leorio and returning back to Killua. “Now, dealing with the current matter at hand, I can’t help but wonder what the long term side effects of being a cat would be. Have any of you taken a look online for a nen exorcist to remedy this problem? I don’t think it’s a good idea for Killua to be in this form for long.”
Gon gawks, “You know what, I forgot about the hunter website! We should have tried that first.”
Leorio shakes his head, pulling out his phone, “Well, that was my next suggestion if you guys ever let me get to it, I just got distracted!”
“Surely that’s true,” Kurapika does not believe Leorio’s bullshit, and doesn’t pretend to. He looks to Zepile, “How do we know you again, and why are you here? I just remember you vaguely from Gon’s texts.”
Zepile waves a hand, “I helped the kids get money for a Joystation, yadda yadda, and I’m just here for breakfast. Me and Leorio are drinking buddies now, so I kind of know a little about all you and the whole Hunter thing. I plan on taking the Hunter Exam this year too. Um, nice to meet you.”
“Hm, the same to you.” Kurpaika nods.
Leorio, who is currently ignoring Kurapika acting so civil with everyone but him, scrolls through the hunter website, quickly scanning names before he stops on one triumphantly. Leorio pulls up a nen removal specialist on his phone, a man with dark glasses and an artificial smile, and shows Kurapika. “ Look at this person I found for hire. Mr. Remover has 4 stars! Reviews say he's good at cleaning up after messes and can take JCOIN or Jennies!”
“This is a joke, right.” Kurapika struts further into the room with his sunglasses on his head and a designer Hill Suit that screams Mafia Money. The chains on his fingers hang loosely to the floor, further accentuating the status of this man. Now that Leorio can really take a look at him, Kurapika has become an influential and important looking man, who wasn’t hard on the eyes either. Oof, maybe not an expression Leorio should ever say since Kurapika was touchy about any eye related things.
Killua can’t help but bat at the chains, thoroughly captivated by their swinging, before bristling at his cat-like instincts taking over.
“Killua, please.” Kurapika offers a half smile.
Killua meows and lowers his paw, cursing himself internally.
Kurapika snatches Leorio’s phone, exiting out of the current page with the obvious scam artist, and instead typing in some kind of code. The symbols and text seem haphazard, that is until it reveals a private page in the underground of the Hunter Website, showing a long list of nen Specialists for hire. Most are obviously there to help with hits, killing, and disposal, but Kurapika makes his way to the bottom where a shadowy figure is seen in their profile picture. The nen removal specialist is someone who definitely doesn't want to be seen, known, or heard, seeing how their face is mostly covered, and all of their features are easily fabricated. There’s no hesitancy on Kurapikas part, especially as he sends a sum of money over to the man that would make any hunter blush at the amount of zeros his price was.
“You picked this guy!” Leorio yells, seeing that Kurapika had ordered the man through HIS account. “That’s more than medical school, Kurapika, what the hell! I can’t afford that, even with the Hunter discount!”
Zepile whistles, “Now that’s the kind of job I need.”
Kurapika scowls, tossing the phone back to Leorio. “Why are you yelling, you know Killua is good for it. Just send him the bill.”
Killua jumps as Kurapika picks him up, analyzing the cat with curious eyes.
Loeiro’s jaw practically hits the floor, “You don’t let me pick you up like that.” He grumbles.
Killua hisses in Leorio and Zepiles direction, but allows Kurapika to hold him without fuss. Even Killua can’t hide that he enjoys the attention from the blond.
“Anyways, the nen exorcist will be here within the next few hours, although their ability is only semi permanent. Once you’re back to your human form, ensure you go back to the source and figure out a permanent fix, that is if you know where they are.”
Gon beams, “Oh we know! They’re currently in the hospital, but Bisky is keeping watch. This will be helpful though!”
Killua is passed from Kurapika to Gon, held gingerly like a newborn. Killua practically melts in Gon’s hands, momentarily forgetting himself as his chest rumbles as low purrs come from him.
Gon hugs the cat closely, in a spectacular mood. “As much as I like seeing you in your normal body, this has really been a game changer. If you were totally feline I don’t think I would like it as much, but knowing it's you inside there has made this almost more fun than I thought!”
Killua freezes, his purring stopping.
Leorio picks up what Gon is saying instantly, “You mean Killua just has a cat body, not a cat brain, right?”
Zepile smugly grins, “Killua, are you getting a kick out of this? I’m sure you’ve been cozying up to Gon all week, huh.”
Kurapika can’t help but smile, “Didn’t expect you to take advantage of the situation, Killua.”
“Of course it’s Killua’s mind in there, who do you think has been booking our plane tickets and hotels?” Gon rolls his eyes, “It isn’t me, that’s for sure.”
Killua, in a flash, fights for freedom, leaping out of Gon’s hands and needing to find somewhere to disappear from the now knowing glances. Killua bolts and hides under the doctor's lab coat sitting on the ground, shame radiating off him in waves. His tail waves about erratically, before pressing against his back.
“Don’t hide, Killua! You knew we knew, didn’t you?” Gon whines, bending down and pulling the coat of Killua’s head. Without hesitation he pats Killua’s back, almost apologetically, “Right?”
Killua whines.
“But you were acting so cute, I didn’t want to spoil the fun.” Gon says sweetly. “Don’t listen to the rest of them, I know if our roles were reversed I would want to enjoy all the things cats do too! I bet riding on your shoulders would be great.”
Leorio covers his mouth, “Adorable, Killua must have been having a field day.”
Kurapika shakes his head, enjoying the show but knowing that this couldn’t be an all morning kind of visit. “Alright Gon, Killua, if there's any other issues just let me know, but unlike the rest of you, I have to go back to work.”
Killua meows his thanks, tail happily swaying.
Kurpaika throws a peace sign and slips his sunglasses back on, taking an iced coffee from Leorio’s fridge as he makes his way back to the limo that has been awkwardly parked in front of Leorio’s student housing. “Later.”
Gon waves him off with a grin, “Thanks Kurapika, I always knew we could rely on you!”
“Hey!” Leorio groans, “What about me? It was my idea.”
Zepile shakes his head, slapping Leorio on the back, “thanks for nothing, Dr. useless. At least we got some good breakfast. Killer actually.”
Leorio sighs and yells out the door behind Kurapika, “Next time pick up my calls!” he shouts out as the limo drives off. Closing the door, Leorio pockets his phone and can’t help but feel a little happy to see the blond.
“Mmm, yea, I think you’re out of luck.” Zepile says from the table, “Are you going to finish your Mafia Hashbrowns or can I have these?”
“No Zepile, you can’t!”
Gon hums as he scoops up Killua, moving to sit back at the table, “Might as well finish breakfast since we have a few hours to kill.”
Leorio sits beside Zepile, and stabs his fork into an egg, “Killua, you better pay me back for the nen exorcist, because there’s no way I’m getting stuck with that tab.”
Zepile has a shit eating grin, “serves you right. Maybe this will teach you about some financial literacy, and you know, not taking advantage of your friends.”
“Killua! I’m being serious!” Leorio begs, “I can’t cover it! It’s non refundable!”
Killua meows and feigns ignorance, having no idea what Leorio is talking about as he takes a bite of the sausage he had started before. Gon chuckles and works on finishing his breakfast, enjoying the sounds of friendship and home. Killua was getting a kick of Leorio’s whining, and often meowed in response, further irritating the man.
“Dam you,” Leorio slumps in his chair, mouth full of delicious syrupy pancakes, “if this wasn’t so good I would kick you out.”
Killua rolls his large blue eyes, as if to say: Yea, yea, old man. Sure you would. Now shut up and eat your food, you hungover idiot.
Gon, sensing Killua’s hidden intentions, covers his laugh behind a cough, knowing all too well what kind of argument the two would get into if Killua wasn’t a cat right now.
Zepile, ever the observant bystander, pretends to be oblivious as the morning goes on.