Your Eyes ||Kurapika x Reader||

Eleven || A Car Ride

I stared out the window, watching all the sad streets and buildings of Hanmatten pass by as we drove at a regular speed.

[Hanmatten = Manhatten]

My eyes lingered on a particular bronze statue I saw peaking out from behind a few trees in a park not far from the street as the car slowed down in front of red traffic lights. Kurapika followed my gaze to the magnificent monument of a man on a horse accompanied by some sort of woman. "Do you know who that is?" He asked.

"William Tecumseh Sherman. And beside him is the Goddess of Victory." He remained silent so I continued, "He was a soldier who fought in the Civil War. He was said to be the first modern general." I spoke a little more about the symbolism between the figure and victory all while Kurapika drove and listened.

There was a lot more I could have said but I stopped talking when the golden boy let out a breath of laughter through his nose. "Is there anything you don't know?" He asked with a smile. That smile melted my heart almost as much as his praise did.

I wanted to gloat over his compliment, remember it forever and take it to my grave. But I could only do that if I gave a reply which wouldn't make me regret the entire thing. I didn't know what to say. What was I to say? Is there anything you don't know. If only you knew that I really didn't know anything. Sure, I was educated on random and insignificant details about our world but when it really came down to it there was nothing. Absolutely no thought in this smooth brain of mine which would ever be of use in the real life.

Hours, no, years must have passed before I finally answered him. "I know nothing, Kurapika. Nothing, just nothing."

"You certainly know more than me." Why was he returning my near-tragic tone with bland ego-boosting? And what did he mean I knew more than him? Was he aware of how different the two of us were in terms of intelligence, with me clearly submitting to him? Stupid boy, just because I happened to remember the origin of a particular Yorknew statue did not mean that I was far greater than you. I'm not. You know I'm not. I know nothing, Kurapika.

I exhaled and smiled sadly. "If only you knew how little I know about the things that really matter." If he asked what things that mattered, I would be done for.

And then, almost as if he read my mind, "What things that matter?"

I remained silent. Because staying silent was the only thing I could do. How was I supposed to reply? Was I to tell him that I knew nothing about the things that mattered: that I knew nothing about him, about myself, about us, about anything? I would rather die than admit my complicated feelings to him. I don't know you, Kurapika. I don't know what goes on in your mind, where you randomly disappear to and why you spend so much time alone. Heck, I wasn't even aware of the little things like when you got your ears pierced, where you learned to drive, or even why you asked me come today.

Is what I wanted to tell him. But I couldn't. "That's for me to know and for you to find out!" I said teasingly with a grin instead.

He stared at me long and hard before chuckling once again. "You're so weird." He smiled as he parked the car into a pavement. "This is why I wanted you to come," I raised my brow. After overthinking the reason for so long I was eager to know it. I was finally going to gey the answer that I desired "You make me laugh." He said.

He unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door. "Wait for me here, I have to run upstairs and get some papers. Don't go away."

I looked at him with a confiding smile. "I'm not going anywhere." And then he left.

As I waited, I stared at his back while he walked into the tall, dull brick-building. Was that all I meant to him, just someone who made him laugh? Did he only see me as a form of amusement in his stressed little life?

His words didn't really hurt me, though. I knew he had no ill-intentions behind them, he was being genuine when saying that I was the reason for his smile. It was a nice thing to know. Still, I wasn't entirely satisfied because it felt like I had wanted him to say something else, something more but I wasn't sure what.

I fiddled with the hem of my skirt. The dress was new since I had bought it recently. It was as white as the China tea cup I drank out of that morning. There weren't any designs on it but I liked it because it hugged my body tightly (except for the skirt) but was still modest enough to end until just below my knees. My white heels matched it perfectly. I wore it because I assumed I would be free of any fighting today again seeing as it was a day off. It felt nice to change my outfit every once in a while.

Very unlike Kurapika who wore the same clothes daily. But I didn't blame him, it was good to be prepared for any situation, not that changing your outfit indicated you were letting your guard down. I wasn't stupid enough to let myself remain defenseless completely. I still had my gun except only then I wore it under my skirt, it's sheath strapped tightly around my thigh; just like those badass women in action movies who would wear their weapons around their legs to accommodate their skimpy dresses. I felt really cool.

When Kurapika returned the first thing he blurted out was something about how the workers took so long gathering Dalzollene's documents. He started up the car and began driving down the same road we had just came.

"Are we going home now?"

"Yes. Why, is there somewhere else you wanted to go?"

"Not really." I was kind of hoping he would say no with plans to take me somewhere else. But that was too unrealistic apparently. It was fine though, we could always go somewhere else some other time. "This is the most I've heard you speak." I said to the blonde.

"Yeah? I'm not usually talkative, I suppose." He paused. "I've been stressed lately."

"About what?"

"The auction."

"Oh."

That's right, the auction we had awaited for so long was only a week away. It was natural for him to be worked up during this time since hunting down the Spiders meant so much to him. I opened my mouth but shut it after realising I had nothing to say to him.

After a long time I finally spoke, "Don't worry too much, okay? Everything will turn out just fine." Everything will be fine my ass. I regretted it right after the words left my mouth. They were so meaningless and overused, it probably meant nothing to Kurapika. It wasn't going to lift his mood.

There was another moment of silence. "Thank you, (Y/N)." I only nodded. And then we rode in a comfortable silence for the rest of the journey.

We passed by the same monument we had seen earlier at one point. I looked at it and I wondered, would I think of Kurapika every time I saw that golden statue? The memory of that conversation would probably be triggered by this sculpture. I didn't think I would ever look at Shermon again without recalling how happy I felt when Kurapika complimented me.

I smiled. Despite my overthinking, it was a nice morning that I spend with him. It was a lovely car ride.

~

Did I really write 2000 words about a simple car ride? Yes. Yes I did. The majority of this was just me waffling actually. But that's okay. I'm eager to write about a intimate moment that yall and Koorapika will have next actually, be prepared :)