“Aaa — ACHOOO! Guh…”

Leorio paused in the middle of the hall, clutching half a dozen grocery bags in one hand and wiping his nose with the other, hoping his explosive sneeze hadn’t disturbed anyone else on this floor. His hair was wind-tousled and his fingers had gone numb, but he’d made it back relatively dry and in one piece — and not a moment too soon, either. A thunderstorm had been biding its time off the coast of Whale Island, clouds rolling in like high tide. Judging from the deep, threatening rumbles, it was going to be a bad one.

Leorio shivered, before hurrying on, genuinely looking forward to spending the rest of the night curled up on some lumpy old couch watching bad television — and even though he said he wouldn’t get his …show more content…
In truth, Kurapika didn’t have much of a taste for sweets. He only accepted that bite of candy because Killua had insisted.

“So then I got your headache powder,” Leorio continued excitedly, “and I thought you might be a little dehydrated, so I grabbed a couple bottles of water, a bag of these spicy chips I like, and a pack of cigarettes. I was about to leave, but then I noticed they had ramen!”

“Ramen?” Kurapika repeated doubtfully.

“Not just any ramen. My absolute favorite brand of ramen,” Leorio said, thrusting a colorful little box under his nose. “Ta-da!! You know how long I’ve been tryin’ to find this stuff? This particular brand went off the market in my city for some reason, but they totally had it here! I couldn’t resist buying a couple of boxes.”

“A couple?” Kurapika eyed the other grocery bags. Leorio had bought at least fifty, maybe more. “What in the world is so special about this, Leorio?”

Leorio sniffed, wounded. “This stuff is the real deal, okay? Most instant brands are totally gross, but this...it’s fuckin’ heavenly, okay? Full, robust flavor, real vegetables, lotsa noodles...eatin’ one of these is like having a party in your mouth! Not that you’ve ever been to one, but trust me on …show more content…
“This stuff is my bread and butter.”

“I’m not arguing,” Kurapika replied mildly, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. “I just...can’t believe you bought all these boxes of ramen.”

“It’s my favorite,” Leorio pouted.

“...and spent ten minutes trying to decide what kind of ice cream I liked. You do realize you could have called and asked.”

“H-hey! Maybe I wanted to surprise you! It was an extremely nerve-wracking decision, alright? There were a lot of flavors to choose from. Like, a lot.”

Kurapika pressed two knuckles to lips, stifling a laugh. “Leorio...you’re an idiot.”

Leorio pouted again, but he could hardly find it in him to be annoyed by the insult. Especially when Kurapika looked so happy, relaxed and smiling. Leorio fidgeted, biting his lip to keep from doing something stupid — like lean down to kiss him.

“Hmph! Kurapika, you’re so cruel. This is the thanks I get for risking my neck out there?” he whined.

“Oh hush, you big baby,” Kurapika replied, snatching the vial out of his hands. “I said I was grateful. And since you went to all this trouble, we better eat that ice cream before it melts.” Kurapika’s face softened as he smiled. “I hope you picked up some