No Filter x Serial Dating

Sunscreen (For Protection)

New Years was spent with the Umis, a bottle of champaign, homemade potstickers, and the Super Bowl. Killua and Zushi fell asleep on the couch shortly after the New Years' ball dropped and when Killua woke up in the middle of the night, Zushi's mom had strewn a blanket over him and propped up the foot rest for him. Killua nestled in with a smile, warm and cozy, and oh-so relieved.

Zushi drove Killua to the Greyhound stop that next morning. They weren't hungover, by any means, but they both knew that at this hour of the morning, the entirity of Sigma was probably a shitshow. The guys were due to arrive in Yorknew before the ball drop, which meant that a New Years party was bound to happen to the wee hours of the morning.

Zushi yawned as he parked the car outside of the station and turned to Killua. "I can't believe Gon agreed to an arrival time before noon."

"You and I both know he's going to wake the fuck up and down three shots of espresso," Killua said as he propped open the door. He dragged his duffle out of the back with a huff and a sigh, swinging it over his shoulder. He leant back in to look at Zushi, who had his head tipped back against the headrest, smiling at Killua. "What?"

"Nothing. You're just my entertainment for the year, is all," he said.

Killua rolled. "Glad I could stir up some drama for you."

"It was worth it," Zushi said. "Now I know how to torment Gon to get him to do what I want."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Killua laughed.

Zushi leant over with a maniacal grin and said, "Tell you to cockblock him."

Killua shoved his hand in Zushi's face and pushed him away. They were both laughing, though, and Killua's cheeks hurt from smiling so wide—and also, maybe, from the sunburn. "Bye, Zushi. And thanks for letting me stick around for so long."

"Hey, you should come for Spring Break! My parents love you," he said. Killua agreed to it before shutting the door and stepping back. He waved as Zushi pulled away from the curb and down the road.

On the three hour trip north, Killua stuck his earbuds in and slept. When he awoke in Yorknew, he felt momentarily groggy and disoriented, but that promptly vanished when he recognized the campus in the far distance stretched along one of the river channels. Killua straightened in his seat as the bus pulled into the Yorknew facility and, excitement buzzing like electricity in his chest, looked for Gon around the facility.

The bus came to a stop and Killua was one of the first to emerge. The air was colder and lighter here, latent with moisture from the fog that rolled in from the ocean. Killua let out a shuddering breath as he looked down the stretch of bus stops before crossing the street to the building.

The Yorknew station was connected to the city's entire public transit system. The gallery hall branched off to the light rail and busses as well as the subway. Killua's footsteps echoed down the marble flooring, his heart thrumming in his throat as he searched for Gon Freecss' head of fluffy black hair among the few heads in the room.

And then, he saw someone stand across the atrium.

"Gon?" Killua said. Even if he said it quietly, it echoed.

Sure enough, it was Gon-fucking-Freecss, the freshmen running back on the winning Top Ten team, and he was vaulting over chairs and sprinting to where Killua didn't even bother moving. He dropped his duffle so that when Gon came skidding up, there was nothing holding him back from throwing his arms around Gon's torso and sweeping with the momentum that sent them spinning around. Gon's feet left the ground and skidded for purchase as their circle came to a quick stop.