Gon looked himself up and down in his full body-length mirror. Is this the right thing to wear? He asked himself. Nearly every item of clothing he owned laid strewn across his room- draped across his desk and chair, slung onto his bed, and thrown onto the floor.
He had decided on a pair of light denim jeans, a navy long-sleeve, and a navy, green, and white color-block windbreaker. Of course, he paired it with some long white socks and his trusted green converse. But he was rethinking it. And every life choice that had ever led him up to this moment.
He hadn't been this nervous in a while. And what for? Killua and Gon had hung out every day for the past two weeks. He should be well past his nervousness. But this one felt... different. A herculean swarm of butterflies hadn't left his stomach all day. He relished in the feeling of being so excited that he had physical symptoms of joy. It was something he hadn't felt in a long time.
He checked his phone and saw the time was five fifty-nine. Five fifty-nine? He threw open his bedroom door and almost fell into the kitchen from his room. Leorio and Kurapika both shot him startled gazes.
"Kid, why the rush?" Leorio asked, stifling his laughter.
"Gotta go! Bye!" He quickly stammered out, throwing open the front door and promptly stepping out. He shut it behind him and took a deep breath in. Calm down, Freecss. Like for the love of all things holy, please, calm down. Don't embarrass yourself, he chanted to himself, attempting to give himself a pep-talk but reprimanding himself instead. He let out a sigh and walked over to Killua's door, bawling his hand into a fist and knocking only a few times.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Killua called from inside. Gon took a step back from the door and inhaled deeply, trying to calm his nerves again. By the time he exhaled, he had made absolutely no progress in doing so.
Killua opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. "Okay, let's go," He said, starting to walk down the hall. Gon started to follow him, staying a few steps behind him.
"It's like a ten or fifteen-minute drive, so it shouldn't take us long to get there," Gon informed Killua with a light smile. Killua just hummed in response, opening the door to the stairwell.
"Not gonna lie, I don't actually know what you do at a planetarium," Killua admitted through a pitiful scoff.
"Oh! It's actually super cool! It's basically a really big dome and-" Gon stopped himself mid-sentence, a thought having popped into his mind. "Actually, you know what? It'll be better if you just see for yourself," He smiled, not wanting to ruin the fun of seeing it for the first time.
"Ugh- fine," Killua groaned, rolling his eyes at Gon's secretiveness.
A short walk to Gon's truck and a fifteen-minute drive later, Gon and Killua were at the York New Planetarium. It was a large building, the interior displaying astronomy facts and maps of constellations on the walls. It was only open to the public at night, probably to add to the atmosphere of the whole thing. The flooring was a deep navy with tiny shiny specs mixed in, resembling the night sky they were about to observe. The ceiling of the main building was glass, exhibiting the dark sky filled to the brink with smog and pollution, hiding the stars. The planetarium, the building's crowning attraction, was about a five or so minute walk from the entrance.
"Wow, this place is massive," Killua noted breathlessly, taking in his surroundings. His eyes were drawn to everything, darting around excitedly. Gon laughed softly at the sight.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Gon remarked while smiling. "And not too many people know this place even exists. Think of it as York New's best-kept secret," He said. The two continued to walk through the hall, nearing the planetarium entrance.
"How do you know about it then?" Killua asked, still looking around at the flawlessly drawn star maps. Everything was so detailed; It was astounding.
Gon's breathing hitched at the question. "My friend brought me here once," He stated, rubbing the nape of his neck awkwardly. The reality was that Retz brought them here for one of their first dates, only for Gon to bring them back on their second anniversary. The planetarium was where they had their first kiss.
The things Kurapika said earlier crept into Gon's thoughts, threatening to devour his mind with overthinking and dwelling. But Gon shook the thoughts away and plastered a soft smile onto his face.
"No offense but, is this all there is to it?" Killua asked, looking back at Gon.
"No, definitely not. We haven't even gotten to the best part," Gon cheered through a beaming smile.
"Okay, well, where is the 'best part'," Killua questioned, growing a little impatient.
"Right there," Gon said, pointing up ahead to a spherical room with a vast dome top. The planetarium was at the epicenter of the building and was about seventy-five feet wide. Gon heard Killua mumble something along the lines of 'woah', and he smiled at his awe. It reminded him of the first time Retz brought him here.
Gon and Killua walked over to the entrance, standing in line to be let into the planetarium. They were the only people in line, but they assumed that would change as it grew closer to showtime.
"Oh, Killua, I've been meaning to ask you something," Gon started, looking at Killua excitedly. Killua perked his head up and hummed in response, signaling Gon to continue with his question. "Have you heard anything exciting from your neighbors?" Gon asked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.
"You mean have I been spying on them and invading their privacy by listening in on their conversations?" Killua corrected, looking at Gon with a smirk.
"I mean if you wanna put it that way, sure."
Killua sighed. "I may have done a little bit of... listening in...." Killua trailed off, clearly embarrassed to be admitting such things.
Gon gasped. "You have to tell me everything!" He begged eagerly, grabbing Killua's arm out of excitement.
"Okay, okay," Killua conceded, letting Gon hang onto his arm for the time being. "My neighbor to my left is Palm, or at least I think that's what her name is. The walls muffle words a lot. But she's chasing after this guy who's obviously not interested. Not in the slightest. Anytime they interact, she takes it as a proclamation of his love for her. Her roommate, I don't know his name, keeps trying to convince her to move on, but she refuses to. She says that he's the only guy for her, and she's willing to die on that hill. Honestly, I'm pretty sure the guy she's chasing after is gay."
Gon laughed at the last sentiment. "What makes you say that?"
Killua shrugged. "Maybe the fact that the guy came over one day while Palm was gone and he hooked up with her roommate, who is also a guy." He quipped with a smirk.
Gon gasped again. "No way! Did the roommate tell Palm?"
"Nope."
"Oh my God. So that's why the roommate has been trying to convince her to get over him," Gon mumbled, taking in everything.
"Ding ding ding," Killua sounded.
"Your side of the complex is so much more exciting," Gon groaned, upset that he was stuck with mediocre neighbors. At least he had Killua to fill him in on the details.
"Oh, that's not even it," Killua boasted. Gon's head perked up, and his eyes widened. "Okay, so, somehow, in the apartment to the right of me, there's four roommates. Meruem, Pitou, Pouf, and Youpi- or at least, that's what I think their names are. So, Meruem has this girlfriend, Komugi. She comes over a lot for game nights, and from what I can gather, she wins every time. Pouf despises her, like- I think he's on the verge of committing murder. It's because he clearly has a major crush on Meruem and wants him all to himself. Youpi and Pitou like Komugi well enough, but they just want Meruem to be happy. So, they support their relationship full-heartedly. Pouf is devastated and completely heartbroken. His sobs and stupid sad violin keep me up at night. It's horrible," Killua complained. The melancholy tune of Pouf's violin was perpetually stuck in his mind on a loop.
"Aw, that's kinda sad," Gon pointed out, finally letting go of Killua's arm. Killua rubbed his arm where Gon had previously been clutching onto him, secretly missing the warm feeling.
"Just you two?" A worker asked, looking at the two from the doorway of the planetarium. Gon and Killua looked behind them, realizing no one else had gathered in line. "Lucky you then, you have the whole planetarium to yourselves," The worker smiled, opening the door fully for them to follow.
Gon and Killua followed the man down the hall and into the planetarium. Inside, there were about sixty or more chairs organized into curved rows. The seats were all leaned back, giving everyone a good view of the circular screen above them- everyone meaning Gon and Killua, who were the only people in the planetarium besides the workers.
Dim lights lined the rows, illuminating the small steps and aisles so neither of them would trip. The ceiling was dark, as the show hadn't started yet.
Gon and Killua decided to sit in the middle of the center row so that they could have an optimal view of the dome's entire ceiling. They sat down in the comfortable chairs, both of them leaning back.
"Uh, what's supposed to happen now?" Killua asked, just staring at the dark screen above them, utterly confused.
Gon gave him a small laugh. "Just be patient, okay? I promise it's worth the wait."
"Mm, okay," Killua groaned, crossing his arms in his chair and tilting his head back.
"Okay, I guess we'll get started since no one else has decided to grace us with their presence," The man said from the top of the dome. His voice carried over an intercom system. "My name is Artie, and I'll be your presenter for tonight's show."
The remaining lights in the planetarium shut off, leaving the room a dark void. The screen turned a light grey, illuminating the room ever so slightly.
"How much do you know about the universe? Well, I'm sure you've heard at one point in your life that the universe is infinite and always changing. Infinite is a pretty hard term to grasp- our brains have a hard time processing that something can lack an end. I'm here tonight to try to show you what our infinite universe holds and to give you a peek into our existence," Artie narrated into the microphone system.
Suddenly, the entire screen was illuminated by hundreds of thousands of stars. Small whirls of other galaxies and solar systems laid scattered on the screen as well, the deep blues, purples, and pinks coloring the sky in a gorgeous array of colors and bright lights. Everywhere the two looked, the sky reflected its beauty and wonder. Killua nearly had the wind knocked out of him.
He uncrossed his arms and set his left arm on the chair's armrest. His hand brushed against something, and looking down, he discovered it was none other than Gon's hand. He immediately moved his hand so that he was only taking up less than half of the armrest.
"Sorry," He whispered, instantly looing away.
"It's okay," Gon whispered back. He moved his hand towards Killua's so that their pinkies barely touched. Killua turned his head back to see that Gon was looking at him with a warm, light smile engraved onto his face. Killua gave him a soft smile in return, intertwining their pinkies. That swarm of butterflies that hadn't left all day raged inside Gon, fluttering all the way to his heart.
"As you can see now," Artie started, calling their attention to the screen above them. They both looked back at the ceiling, pinkies still intertwined, and saw Artie was zooming further out of the screen. He started showing a more expansive view of the universe- more galaxies and stars became visible, their solar system was just a speck in the vast stretch of the cosmos.
"We're only a minute region of the universe. However, as far as astronomers and scientists know, earth is the only planet in the entire cosmos that can inhabit life," Artie narrated, moving around the screen and showing Gon and Killua more of the stars and galaxies this world had to offer.
"Woah," Killua muttered breathlessly. Gon turned his attention to Killua, softly smiling at how intently he admired the dome's ceiling. The cosmic colors displayed on the screen reflected onto his face and gleamed in his eyes. Gon couldn't look away from him even if he tried.
"What are you looking at?" Killua whispered, not needed to look at Gon to realize he was staring at him.
"You," Gon softly replied. Killua shot Gon a quick embarrassed glance before casting his gaze back to the screen in front of them.
"The screen is much more interesting than me, idiot. Look there instead," Killua mumbled, trying his best to put on a assured facade.
Gon simply smiled and quietly laughed at his comment. He reluctantly turned his head back to the show.
Artie continued to give them a personal tour of the cosmos, zooming out as far as astronomers have been able to document and study, and eventually zooming into their galaxy, solar system, and the region of stars directly above York New. Even for Gon, who has seen this three times now, it was an incredible display to view. He could never get tired of watching it.
"That concludes our show for tonight! Thank you all- er- you two for coming, and we hope to see you again soon!" Artie concluded, turning on the lights and the screen off. Gon and Killua separated hands as soon as the lights came on, rubbing their eyes to adjust to the sudden increase in brightness.
Killua stood up first, stretching his arms behind his head and letting out a satisfied sigh. "I don't know what I was expecting, but that exceeded all of my expectations," He noted, offering Gon a hand to get up. Gon took it and hoisted himself out of his reclined chair before stretching as well.
"I told you it was gonna be great," He beamed through a smile. "Aren't you happy I didn't spoil the surprise?"
Killua sighed in defeat. "Yeah, yeah, I guess so."
The two walked out of the planetarium, reflecting on the spectacle they both witnessed.
"I know he explained what it means that the universe is infinite, but it's still so weird to think about," Gon mumbled. "I've seen it three times, and it still hurts my brain!" He lamented on their way back to Gon's truck.
"Idiot, he did say it's hard for the human brain to grasp the concept of infinite," Killua scoffed.
"Well, I guess so. It's just so weird to me that something can exist without an end. Does that mean it doesn't have a start? Did it ever have either of those things? Did it grow to be infinite?" Gon whined, his brain on the verge of combustion.
"Jesus fucking christ, would you knock it off? I can practically see the smoke coming from your ears," Killua quipped, looking at Gon with a playful smirk.
"I'm not gonna be able to sleep for a few days while I mull over this," Gon complained, rubbing his forehead.
They reached his truck, and as Killua went to open the passenger side door, Gon locked it. Killua turned around to see Gon with a devilish smile engraved on his face.
"Hey, what gives?" Killua questioned. Gon raised his hand and threw the keys to Killua, who hardly caught them in his own two hands.
Gon looked at Killua with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "I did say I was gonna teach you how to drive, right?"
WC: 2,760
A/N: I made my friend go to a local planetarium with me a few weeks ago just so I would know how to write this chapter lmafo but it was SO COOL
everyone raise your hand if you think Killua is gonna be a good driver 🤨 I guess we'll see tmr!