Hunter X Hunter 1. Stomach-aches and Bets

Bet You'll Fall

Hello everyone! It's been forever since I wrote a fanfic, so… i hope this turns out well.

/

"Great! This is just…" the white haired boy sighed in annoyance "Great."

He and Val had made a bet about how much time it would take to finish the last big paperwork of the month. He swore it would take just about an hour, while she thought it would take the whole morning, and here they had been waiting for about two hours in an eternal line. He could see from the corner of his eye that he smirked. He hated losing, scratch that, he hated losing to her.

He and Gon had been travelling for about 6 years, when they realized they needed to find a job. So, they finally ended up working for the Hunter Association, hoping it would be good pay and entertaining, exciting, active job. Well, he had hoped WRONG. It was mostly loads of paperwork. You would think that since they were both in the same office they would be able to have SOME fun. Wrong again. Gon, since he was, well, GON, he was fine with it and did his work with loads of enthusiasm and thought it was not ethic to joke around while working. He, being Killua, got bored, so he had to find a way to entertain himself. That way was Val. When they arrived at the office they had immediately noticed her, since she was their age, and got immediately got along. She had warned them about the BOREDOM of that job, saying that it would only get exciting with promotion helping them leave that damn office. So, as soon as they realized they were both bored, they started making bets. Now, 6 months later, they would make bets about anything.

Killua glanced at her while she smirked and flipped her black mid-length hair back, and then he sighed again. Now, not only did they have to wait in an eternal line, but he had ALSO lost this bet. Just like each they had made this month. NOW he had to buy her raspberries as usual, WHICH were out of season. This meant that they were fucking expensive, and she could eat as many raspberries as he could chocolate! After this last bet, he would be officially broke.

Killua took a step as the line moved foreward, and sighed. It would be a long morning.

"Now, come on." Val smiled "At least I get to eat healthy food, and you don't get to ruin your health with sugar" shed coughed a little while suppressing a laugh.

He just mumbled under his breath and waited for that morning to end. Around two or three hours later they left the damn building and had to go back to the office.

"Killua it's lunch time, why don't we grab something to eat and then head back?" she suggested.

"Okay, where to?"

"I dunno, maybe to the city market. I think I want some raspberries. Oh wait" She smiled evilly "I just remembered you owe me some!"

A vein popped in Killuas forehead and he looked away. "I know okay! Damn it all, why am I always losing nowadays?!" he asked in a dramatic way while raising his hands to the sky. She laughed her head off and he just smiled, while doing some math to find out if he could last 'till the next pay.

They finally arrived at the office and Gon looked up.

"Hey! I thought you would be ready before lunchtime" Gon said raising from his seat.

"Yeah, we finished just at lunchtime." Val said. "We just passed by a market and grabbed something to eat." She smirked at this and Killua put a defeated expression. Gon just sweatdropped and assumed Killua had lost another bet.

After work that day, the three of them went training for a few hours as usual (they wouldn't want that much paperwork to finish their career as hunters) and then they headed home. As soon as Gon and Killua went through the door Gon received a call.

"Yes? Oh hello, Jan" Killua furrowed his brow; Jan was their boss (though he was never in the office, which pissed Killua off). "Oh?... I don't think it would be a problem, sir. Assume we are, I will notice you if something comes up. Okay, no problem, have a good night sleep!" He cheerily hand up and Killua sweatdropped.

"So, what's up? Was he telling you why he never shows up at the office and how sorry he is?" Killua always complained about that if he got the chance.

"Hahahaha" Gon smiled at his friend "He actually called to say we had to take a trip for a few days to take care of something."

"At last, we finally get some action!" Killua made a victory pose and Gon sweatdropped.

"Not really Killua, it is a business trip in which we're supposed to attend a reunion."

Killua just sighed "That's too bad. But isn't a reunion faraway supposed to be important? Why send us newbies to take care of that? He's in charge anyway, shouldn't he go instead?"

"Well, he said it's about the work we've been taking care of, and since he hasn't been coming he knows nothing about it." Gon awkwardly smiled and continued. "He's sending Val with us, since she has experience in this kind of stuff. Oh by the way, out plane tickets are booked for tomorrow at 7,30 am. It'll be a two day trip, so we should pack up."

Killua turned around mumbling something under his breath about not liking to wake up that early and started packing.

/

"Finally some freedom!" Val said walking out of a big business building, with Killua and Gon nodding in agreement. They had been stuck there all day, making arrangements and having reunions. Even lunchtime was a reunion! Well, Killua and Gon didn't actually do much work. Val did most of it, negotiating and stuff, while they just took care of the technical aspects. They went over to have dinner at a local restaurant.

"I'll have some spaghetti Bolognese, please." Gon said and the waiter took notes. He looked over to Killua, who ordered a lasagna. He then looked over at Val who was still checking the menu; she suddenly opened her mouth in awe.

"I-Is this?" her eyes were as big as plates as she read the menu between her hands. "Vegetable stock with raspberry sauce?! I'd like to have three of these please!" she said with shiny eyes and everybody around sweatdropped. Killua and Gon looked at eachother with something in their eyes. Last time something like this had happened they had had to carry her because of her stomach-ache.

"Val!" Killiua looked at her "You'll have another stomach-ache after eating that much food!"

"Will not."

"Yes you will".

"No I won't."

So in the end, they ended up betting on that too. The food was served and they all enjoyed it and had a good time. As soon as Val managed (barely) to eat the last of her food, she paid her share and excused herself saying she was tired.

Killua and Gon also paid for their food and walked out of the restaurant.

"Hey Killua, wanna go sightseeing a bit? It's still kind of early." Gon said. Killua simply nodded and Gon called Val to say they would be back in a few hours. They had been walking for about 10 minutes and now were at a beautiful street market, but Killua kept putting a weird face. Gon stopped walking "What's up Killua?"

"Something's fishy" Killua put his hand to his chin "I'm sure she's keeping her stomach-ache from us!"

"Relax, I bet she's alright. She would've told us otherwise" Gon tried to reason with Killua.

"No she wouldn't have! I can't lose this bet, I'm fucking broke!" Killua complained.

"Then you shouldn't bet that much!"

"I know!" Killua held his head with both hands and then looked at Gon "I will check on her just for a moment. We're two blocks away from the hotel anyways. Will you come?"  
"I'll wait, don't be too long!" Gon waved at Killua as he ran to the hotel.

Killua was, for once, thankful that they had to share a room. It would be too obvious if she saw him come in and then just leave. As he stood on the elevator he decided to put on Zetsu so Val wouldn't notice him, and he then approached the door. He took the magnetic card out, which he was thankful for, since it was as quiet as keys got. He put his ear on the door and heard Vals breath; it was pretty fast.

'That's it!' Killua thought 'She's sick and I've won this time!'

He slowly opened the door, peeked inside and his eyes grew as plates.


	2. Did not expect that

Bet You: Chapter 2

"Hey Gon! I didn't take long, see?" Killua said approaching Gon who stood in the middle of the street market where he had left him.

"Hey Killua! Was Val alright?"

"Y-yeah, I guess" Killua looked away at Gons inquiry face "She was asleep and I didn't want to wake her, but she looked just fine to me."

"Oh, ok! Let's go check that Romantic Church out, it looks really old and they say it's over 800 years old…" Gon kept talking about the damn church and Killua couldn't help but NOT listen.

Around two hours later they returned to the Hotel Room, and Killua wished Gon had had some more sightseeing in mind. He did NOT want to go back now. Maybe he didn't want to return ever again. He tried to find an excuse, but it was late already and they had another LONG list of reunions the next day. Val was already asleep, so Gon and Killua got in their beds and slept.

Well, at least Gon did. Killua kept turning in his bed, he could NOT get himself to sleep. He had tried counting sheep and all that shit he had never had to try before. I did NOT work; he would manage to count a bunch of sheep and then SHE would appear in his mind.

/

**Flashback**

Killua's slowly opened the door, peeked inside and his eyes grew as plates. His heart started pounding so hard he thought she would hear it. In front of him, laying on a bed was Val. She had her black hair sprawled around her head in total chaos, and it shone with the dim light that entered through the window. Her pale skin shone as well but her cheeks were flushed, making her look simply beautiful. Her amber eyes were closed, so he could not see them, but she was not asleep. Her breath was rapid, almost hyperventilated. Her mouth would sometimes open slightly as she exhaled and then close in a tight line again. She was covered by the bed sheets, so most of her body was hidden. But it was winter and she had just one layer on her, which allowed Killua to notice her rapid chest movement. He could also see how her arm was stretched downwards, and her hand was just between her legs.

Val made a sound and Killua snapped out of it. He slowly closed the door and didn't stop until he was in front of the elevator, 20 meters away from the door to their room. He slowly breathed in and out, trying to calm down. Killua stood for a minute or two, and only then was able to calm his breath down. He pushed what had happened to the back of his mind and went back to Gon.

*End of Flashback*

/

Killua pressed his temples while lying on his back on his bed. It was not that much of an issue anyways, everybody did that anyways. He did it, probably Gon too, girls too…

What bothered him was the fact that he had stood there watching her for what felt like an eternity (maybe 15 seconds or so). Why didn't he just leave? Why did he have to make that stupid bet?

He had never been that near of sexuality before (besides his own) and he was having a hard time getting the image of her face out of his mind. He had seen some adult magazines and videos before, but thought they were just lame, almost ridiculous. THIS, however, was very different. He had managed to hear her breath and he had smelled something kind of sweet in the air. He had not really seen anything, but maybe that was much worse since it had gotten his imagination going. He had started wondering about her body under the sheets; warm and soft skin.

Killua slapped his cheeks trying to stop the current of thoughts and images.

"Killua?" Gon asked raising an eyebrow "Are you ok? I heard something."

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry" he said reassuringly. Gon smiled and turned around again to sleep.

Killua sighed and mentally cursed the erection he was getting. He focused on thinking about work, and after a long time he fell asleep.

/

They sat in a long reunion, the third in a row. Killua could hear Val do her thing and feel Gon elbow him on his side for the tenth time.

"Killua!" Gon whisper-yelled at him. "Stop it already"

"S-sorry" Killua sighed. He had been sleepy all day. He had slept around one hour last night. Which had never been a problem for him, he could stay awake for days. But he was NOT trained against boredom and sleepiness combined. Maybe he had been, but was just not used to not sleeping anymore. He mentally cursed the previous day event and decided to focus on the subject at hand. Maybe it was interesting enough to keep him awake. It was, but barely, and he had struggled to pay attention and not fall asleep.

After what seemed like forever to Killua, the reunions were over and, but it was NOT over. Oh no it wasn't. As soon as they got on the cab and waved goodbye the shouting began.

"What the fuck, Killua?!" Vals face was almost red from rage "Do you know how much there was at stake here?! Seriously!"

"Killua" Gon looked at him seriously "It was really disrespectful to everybody in there, specially Val, she was trying her best to do a good presentation. We were lucky she didn't show any signs of nervousness."

"You should be thankful I tried my best to keep their attention on me and Gon kept on waking you up!" Val said and then just sighed and directed her eyes towards the car window deciding not to heat her head up any more.

"I'm sorry guys" Killua said honestly. "I really am. I just barely got any sleep last night."

"Really?" Gon asked "Why? Were you feeling sick?"

"N-no" Killua stuttered when Val turned around and looked at him "There was just something on my mind. But nothing importante, don't mind it".

When Val returned her eyes to the outside Killua mentally sighed, he did NOT want to get into any details about what had kept him awake for many hours. After all, he now was pretty sure that the "event" was in the past; he had, until now, managed to stop thinking about it and he was sure it would be nothing but a memory in a few days.

After a while the awkwardness subsided and they were joking and grinning all around the airport. When they finally sat down in the plane, with Killua sitting between Gon and Val, Gon immediately drifted to sleep. It was so easy for him to sleep that it made Killua jealous. When the plane was already high in the air Killua started getting sleepy again… he would soon REST. But, oh no. Life did not want him to sleep, apparently. As soon as he got kind of sleepy Val turned to him.

"Hey Killua" she said looking at him straight in the eye. "Don't think I forgot about yesterday." She said smirking a little and poking at his side.

Killuas breath was caught in his throat. He was starting to panic. She did NOT notice him yesterday, did she? What was he going to say to her? How was he going to act around her from now on?

"Hey!" Killua snapped out of it when he heard Vals voice. "What's wrong with you? If you cannot afford to pay the debt just tell me."

Killua was relieved; THAT was what she was talking about.

"We can find another way for you to pay, without money." She continued.

"What?" Killua looked at her in surprised and blushed. "Without money? W-what do you mean?"

Val looked at him for a second and then started laughing. "AHAHAHAHAHA" she pointed at him while laughing her ass off. Killua hoped it would wake Gon up, but it didn't. Val continued between laughs "What's up with you? Why would I want you to pay THAT way?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." Killua was as red as a tomato and, for the first time in his life, he cursed his pale skin.

"Ohhhh you don't" Val was mocking him, and she was having a blast. "I had NEVER heard you stutter before. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

Killua looked away in an attempt to hide his red face. He didn't look at her for a whole minute as she kept on laughing.

"Okay! I won't mock you anymore, for now." She smiled evilly. "You can pay by giving me a hand in cleansing my apartment in the weekend. Haven't had enough time to do it, and it's kind of messy all around."

"Oh, okay" Killua said. "No problem."

Val wrote down on a note and handed it to me. "Here. That my address.. It's 10 am. Ok for you? You can call me if something comes up."

Killua took the paper and put it in his pocket. And then, FINALLY, he drifted to sleep.


	3. Cleaning up

Bet You: Chapter 3

The next day went by as usual, but no bets were made. Betting had rules, and one of them stated "No betting shall happen if a previous bet is left unpaid". So, Friday went on as usual; they had to do some boring paperwork, they had lunch and talked about random stuff and hunter topics and headed home after a few hours of training.

Gon and Killua were home and Gon suddenly had an idea.

"Hey Killua, I was invited over to a party. It's a few hours away, but they say it's going to be a blast! I already know where we can stay at and then come back tomorrow afternoon." Gon said excitedly and did a thumbs up.

"I promised Val I would help her out tomorrow as payment, and I don't want this damn bet to last longer than tomorrow." Killua answered truthfully.

"Ohhh, that's too bad. Want me to stay and give you a hand?" Gon suggested.

"No way. I bet it'll be too boring, and a party sounds much better. You should go and have some fun. It's my fault anyways if I go around betting if I have no money." Killua sighed.

"Mouu... I wanted you to come. I'll go and arrange another party so you can come along next time." Gon grinned wildly and headed over to pack a few things and left because he was late already.

Killua watched some TV and then want to bed early. Next morning he was not going to be late; he would always oversleep if Gon wasn't there to wake him up.

/

"AGHHH!" Killua ran all across the house. He had overslept again. It was already 10 am, and Val didn't live close to his house, but if he ran fast enough, he would be there in no time.

He ate something, too a shower and got dressed in 15 minutes and then headed towards Vals house; he arrived "just" 30 minutes late.

Val lived in a SHITTY neighbourhood, it was just like gangster and crime movies in there. It was practically in the outskirts of the city; a few minutes car ride and you'd be in the country.

"Really? I mean…" Killua scratched his head. He did not mind her living there at all, but he just did not understand why she lived there. They were not rich, but the pay down at the Hunter Association was pretty good. So there had to be some explanation for why she lived there… he knew she could definitely afford a place four or five times as expensive as that apartment.

He stood in front of Vals door and knocked on it, there was no bell. He waited for a minute or so and started wondering if it was some sort of bad joke Val was making. Maybe he should hide away or something. Suddenly the door opened and a dust cloud started floating his way.

"Cough-cough" Vals voice was heard and she came out of the dust cloud. "Hey! You're late! I knew it! I was gonna bet on it but you know the rules!" she grinned at him. She had her hair up in some sort of messy bun and she looked DUSTY.

"Heh, well, if you'd bet on it I would've been on time" Killua said.

"Yeah, right. Come in!" she said leading the way inside. "Where's Gon?"

"Gon had a party out of town last night, so I came by myself. It would not have been fair if he had come, after all it's me who goes around betting all his money." He said and, somehow, felt kind of disappointed about her expecting Gon as well. Then he looked around; that place was a mess!

"How did you manage to even live in a place like this? Why didn't you clean up before?" Killua was amazed someone could come home to a place like this.

"Well.. let's say I have not had enough time lately" Val sighed. "Well, let's just get to work!" she handed killua some rubber gloves and got to work. They actually had a good time talking about stuff, mostly about food. After a while they came to Vals bedroom, which was not as messy as the rest of the house. They cleaned up that last room, and after a few hours they were over.

"Well…" she said throwing herself on the bed and putting a mock-sensual pose "You know what's coming, don't you?"

Vals flushed face appeared on Killuas mind again and he got as red as a tomato. He KNEW she was just messing with him; but he could not keep that image away if she joked about THAT.

"Hahahahahaha" Val started laughing "Come on, I never thought you'd be such a kid." She stood up and messed with his hair. "You know, it doesn't really matter."

Killua raised an eyebrow "What does not matter?" he said puzzled.

"You know." She pierced him with her eyes. "I had decided not to say anything, but you seriously are having a hard time dealing with it."

Killuas eyes widened "W-what are you talking about?" she could NOT know about it, could she? Maybe she was talking about something else?

"Ever since we came back you've been acting all shy around. We're both adults; let's just accept what's obvious".

Killua was swating like mad; what was he supposed to say? And if she had noticed him, WHY on earth did she not STOP? Had she wanted him to look at her?

Killua was about to open his mouth when Vals phone started ringing, she was about to get it but Killua decided to speak.

"Why did you not stop? Why did you not say anything?" he said while the phone rang.

"Well, I was just too close and did not want to stop. I would never be embarrassed about something as natural as that; if it made you uncomfortable you should have started by not stalking on me."

Killua thought Val was impossible, how could she say that? "I was not-"

"Hey, relax, no problem. I know you did not want to lose that bet." And then the answering machine went on.

"VAL, they're here." A deep voice spoke. "We're low in man and they don't seem to be considering mercy. We need-" Val was already at the phone and started speaking.

"I'll be right there. Wait for me!" she hung up and turned to look at Killua with a serious face. The most serious he had ever seen her make. Killua suddenly felt like a kid making a fuss about a candy. "Killua, I need you to leave. We're done here anyway." Val started walking towards the door and got her backpack while doing so. Killua just followed her. "Thank you for helping out, I'm sorry to just tell to leave, but I have an urgent matter to attend."

"Okay, no problem" Killua said nodding "See you around."

Killua watched her get on a mountain bike and quickly head away from the center and towards the country. He just sighed and walked back home. It was already lunch time and he was really hungry, so he prepared something to eat and then decided to chill out. But his mind kept going back to Vals face; not that one. Vals last face was as stern as an old persons and Killua couldn't help but wonder what had happened that made her leave that fast.

Finally Gon came back and he asked how things were with Val. Killua just told him they did what they had to and that the place had been a mess. Then, Gon started talking about how fun the party was and about how he had already organized another one for Killua to attend. Killua had always been amazed at Gons popularity; he was everybodys friend. They just trained and chilled for the rest of the weekend.

The next day, however, Val didn't show up at work and called saying she was ill and needed to stay in bed for a few days. Killua knew something was fishy, he just KNEW it all had to do with the call she received on Saturday. He wondered about it for a while and thought that maybe something bad had happened to her. Maybe she was not home at all. What was she hiding?


	4. Doubts

Bet You: Chapter 4

After work that day Killua headed towards Vals house. He felt no presence in there, but knocked anyways. Nobody answered even though he waited for about 10 minutes, so he just headed home.

The next day Val was absent again, and the next one again. Gon kept on saying how he had not expected her to ever be ill, because his instincts had perceived her as strong and healthy. Killua knew Gons instincts were always right. It was all just too suspicious. Killua just sighed and decided to just let it go… for now.

But that didn't mean he would stop noticing her absence; it was boring work and no fun all over again. Gon was not helping out; every time Killua tried to make a joke he would become all ethic and shit. In the end, Killua decided to lay back on his office seat and relax… but as soon as he did so he started thinking about Val.

What was up with her? Not really caring that he saw her ding THAT to herself, simply stating that she didn't want to stop. Living in a dangerous and shitty place while her pay could definitely afford buying or renting a house in a good neighborhood. That message she had received… what was that all about? She had never mentioned anything that could give him a clue about that. Now that Killua thought about it, she had never talked about anything personal at all. The both of them would talk all day and every day, but all they did was joke around. They would make bets on the most random stuff and joke around. They had talked about unimportant things and, occasionally, about news and people in the office, but not much. Now that he thought about it, he knew something about everyone in the office except her. He knew about everybodys political opinions, their moral opinions and personal religious belief. Everybody had talked about their family past life, except for him and Val. He had heard each one of them talk about that kind of stuff. Their lifes and opinions were not much out of the ordinary, but he had never heard her talk about any of that. He remembered it clearly; she would just sit back and listen, sometimes smile a little, but she would never say speak her mind. Even when people just said they had no opinion at all, she would be quiet. But she didn't mind taking part on joking, betting and talking about food (or any other everyday topic).

Killua frowned; he considered Val a friend, but he didn't know anything about her. How come something like that had always passed unnoticed to him? He had always been very sharp and could easily figure people out. He sighed again. After all that's happened last week the way he thought about her would surely change… what could he say to her? How was he going to start talking about this subject? "Hey, you know, you never speak your mind about anything relevant. What do you think about life? What are your personal goals? What about family? Do you have some? Why never say anything about any of that in the first place? I feel offended!" He did feel bad about this; she had never actually opened up to him.

Killua just sighed inwardly and decided to just… wait. Wait and let it flow. If there was a change to talk about any of that he would take it. Then he decided to just get back to work.

After three days of absence Val came back to the office just as if nothing had happened. Killua watched her with interest; there was nothing new with the way she acted.

"Nee, Val!" Gon approached her "You look good! Thank god you feel better already."

"Thank you, Gon!" she smiled "I'm still feeling kind of tired, but I'm ready to come back to work."

Killua approached her and smiles "It's good to have you back." He honestly said. "I was getting bored already with no one to bet and joke around." He smiled and she grinned back.

"Betting? You wanna bet? What's the next thing you're going to do WHEN you lose? Remember you have nothing left to bet! Ahahahahah" She mocked him and Killua just glared.

"Lose? I'm not losing to you anymore." He said defying her.

"We'll just have to wait and see." She said and sat in front of a huge pile of paperwork. "Ughhh… this doesn't look good at all. I think I might feel lightheaded and just might need some more sleep." She said grinning, and then just started doing all that work.

So, everything went back to normal in the office. Well, apparently it did. Killua was now really interested in finding out about her and he just NEW she was aware of his suspicious. She didn't show any signs; but she was a hunter as well. And he knew she was really good. She would NOT be oblivious about his sudden interest, he knew she felt it.

At the end of the day she excused herself from training saying she was still too late with all that paperwork and that she would join them some other time. Gon and Killua went to the usual place where they trained, but as soon as they arrived Gon stopped and looked at his friend.

"Killua, what's up with you?" he asked

"What do you mean?" Killua didn't know what Gon was talking about.

"Is there something going on between you and Val? I have noticed you dozing off a lot in her absence, and today you kept on eyeing her from the corner of your eye." Gon said truthfully. "Did anything happen on Saturday?"

"Well…" Killua was upset; not about Gon asking these things, but about him being so OBVIOUS. "While she was absent I wondered if there was anyone with her… but then realized that I didn't know ANYTHING about her personal life. She has never said anything serious to me, so I realized I knew nothing about her. All we ever did was joke around."

"Really?" Gon seemed surprised. "The both of you seemed pretty close to me. I actually thought the both of you had something going on… you know. Something romantic."

"Whaat? Noo, nothing like that has ever happened!" Killua said wondering if the fact that he had seen her would classify as something romantic.

"I think you should ask her. You're the closest to her at work." Gon continued "Besides, I think she trusts you enough; she invited you over to her place!"

"I was NOT invited. I was supposed to pay a debt by helping her out!" Killua answered.

"Yeah, I know. But if she didn't trust you she would've never suggested something that implied you going over to her house in the first place, would she? She at least trusts you with that."

"Gon, I had never thought about it that way" Killua smiled "Thank you."

Killua knew now that at least ONE topic of conversation might be open, but he suspected that, somehow, it was all connected to why she had left in a hurry that day.

"Now, let's train!" Gon said starting his Hatsu and Killua started right after him

/

A few days passed, everything went by as usual and Killua and Val had to take some papers over to a ministry. They were standing in a long line, again, on which they had bet AGAIN. This time they had left really early and it was Val who had bet that they would take no time in delivering it, while Killua decided to bet on the opposite. So, Killua had a huge grin on his face. He was going to get free chocolate! He was pretty happy about that, but soon his smile faded and a frown crept on his face. There were black clouds above them, it was going to rain in no time and they were really far away from the office.

"Damn, it's a good thing I'm getting free chocolate, but I don't want to get wet!" he sighed while looking at the still long line.

"It's not free, you know? I'm paying for it." Val eyed him and pouted.

After an hour or so they were done, but the rain had started falling, so they ran towards Killuas house, which was only two blocks away. Val bought a few choco robos on the way and they decided take shelter in their apartment until the rain passed.

Killua was thinking about… just maybe ask her about why she lived in a place like that. He was having a hard time making that decision as he was opening the door. He entered and she followed. Killua was thinking hard about how to start a conversation when Val spoke.

"Killua." She said and Killua froze and turned to look at her.


	5. Melt away

Bet You: Chapter 5

"Killua." She said and Killua froze and turned to look at her. "Here you go."

Killua received what the threw at him and looked at it. CHOCOLATE!

Killiua happily sat down on the couch and started munching on the sweets, all issues forgotten; the sweetness of chocolate captivated him. Val kept silent for a while watching Killua with a smile. After a few minutes she broke the silence.

"You're gonna get fat, you know? You're not a kid anymore." Val reprimanded him with a smile.

"Nah, I've bewn eawting these awll my life, thwey won't do me any hwarm, trust mew." Killua answered, his mouth full of chocolate. Then he swallowed.

"All your life? Like, since you were 3?"Val asked

"Uhm..I've been eating lots of sweets as long as I can remember… I think it was before that." Killua pointed out.

"Ugh… did your mother never tell to stop or something? I mean, it's bad for your health, especially if you're a small kid." Val frowned and sat down bedside him.

"No, she didn't seem to care about that. I only remember her being interested in making me stronger. You know, family business and all that shit." Killua answered carelessly.

"It must've been awful." Val looked at him with care in her eyes.

"Nah, don't worry. It has never affected me in any way." Killua said looking at her in the eye.

"Never? How come? Then why would you leave them until now? It's been many years after all."

"I just wanted to decide my own future, you know? I just didn't like assassination; I had never been comfortable with it." Killua looked out the window and watched the rain fall for a second. It suddenly seemed kind of nostalgic. He felt his heart heavy and then turned back to look at Val with a frown.

"I know, we've been through this before. But why never try to contact them after that? The fact that you don't share somebodies point of view doesn't mean you necessarily break those bonds forever, does it?" Val pointed out.

"Well… I actually don't know. I just don't want anything to do with them. It even ruins my day when people talk about them." Killua sighed and looked out the window again, the weight on his chest got heavier and he suddenly felt like screaming. Why was he feeling this way? His family issues had never meant anything to him.

"Really? You haven't talked to or seen any of them for… how long was it again?" Val put her finger to her chin while thinking.

"Almost 4 years now." He said immediately, he didn't have to recall any events.

"That's really a long time…" Val looked out the window and then turned her eyes to Killua again. He felt as though she was looking right into his soul, that she knew him all too well. "Do you now think of them in the same way you used to?"

"Well… I don't really know how I feel about them, it's just something I don't like to think about… It just makes me angry, you know?" Killua said looking into her eyes. She saw something in his eyes that made him look fragile, even though he was one of the physically strongest people she had met. "Gon and I have lived a simple life for all these years, not having much money with us, except lately, which isn't that much eighter. I wouldn't mind living like that again, as long as I get choco-robos." he grinned joking, but something seemed off. Killua looked away and sighed. "I just don't get why making money was so important to them. I mean… if there hadn't been enough to eat or… I dunno… I would've understood. But they had tons of money, I mean, we lived in a fucking mansion and owned a mountain! Why put us through all of that? They were so obsessed with making us top assassins that they didn't give attention to anything else. They even did some things on purpose so that we would be less 'emotional'. I have some vague memories of me trying to hug my parents when I was a little kid, I remember wanting to play and smile with them. But every time they would push me away and say that assassins don't need any of that, they just need to focus on their abilities. I was just a kid! I didn't need to face any of what they threw at me at that age! They were horrible parents, and they probably still think they did the right thing! That's why I won't forgive them and I don't want to know anything about them ever again!" Killua stopped.

He suddenly realized what he had said and looked away from Val. He was feeling pretty confused about anything. He had never given his family a second thought, so he was surprised about what he had actually said. Not only did he not expect to feel SO MUCH about his family, but had said it aloud. And he had said it to Val… He didn't even know how to handle these emotions. What would she think of him now?

"Killua…" Val started but Killua turned around to look away and interrupted her.

"I'm sorry." Then he looked down. "I don't know what came over me. It's not a big deal anyways. I'll figure out how to handle these things I'm feeling."

He suddenly felt warm and soft arms surround his body and her voice was strong and clear, but somehow warm. "Don't. Don't be sorry. Ever. Letting your emotions flow doesn't make you less a man, or less strong. Accepting what you feel is the only way to grow strong; there's nothing to handle. Just let it be, don't suppress your feelings" She finished with a whisper while her hand caressed the back of his head.

Killua couldn't see her, because they were hugging (well, at least Val was hugging him), but he could hear the smile in her voice. He closed his eyes and he could see her warm smile; one he didn't often see. He inhaled deeply… and felt a knot in his throat. He would've never expected it, but tears came out of his eyes. He felt insecure about letting all these feelings simply flow out, he had never cried, ever… at least since he was a little over a toddler. He didn't know how she would handle this situation, so he made a movement to turn away from her, but her hug tightened around him reassuringly and she caressed her back.

"It's ok." She simply stated. Killua just hugged her back and melted into her embrace. He felt like a kid; not himself when he was a kid, but a real kid… well, at least he suspected that's how kids felt. He felt vulnerable, but safe at the same time. There was someone around who would support him and accept him no matter what. He had never really felt like this before. He could smell the crook of her neck; she didn't smell like perfume or shampoo or anything. She had the most unique scent, it was a human scent and he could almost feel his head spinning around. The fact that he had seen her sexually pleasured didn't really have any relevance anymore. He also caressed her back and the back of her head… it was just natural to do so. He just forgot about the world and time seemed to melt away.

They just stayed like that for what seemed forever, he didn't know how much time had actually passed; it could have been 5 minutes or an hour. That was when his phone rang; he suddenly stiffened, feeling awkward again and pulled back and answered the damn phone.

"He-sd-cough" Killuas voice was hoarse and he cleared his throat. "H-Hello? Oh, Gon. Yeah we got stuck in the rain so we passed by the apartment and I had something to eat. Okay, no problem, bye."

Killua looked outside and saw that the rain had almost passed and some sun rays were passing through the now clearer clouds. He stiffly stood up and was about to open his mouth when Val followed and put her hand on his shoulder and Killua looked at her. He saw her grinning widely at him, but her grin had something different from the usual one. She was not just having a good time; she actually looked genuinely happy and had something warm in her eyes.

"Hey." She said patting his shoulder. "I assume we have to get back."

"Yeah" Killua answered while notoriously relaxing. "There will be a reunion to attend in an hour, and that's roughly the time we need to get there. The rain is ceasing anyway."

"Okay, no problem! Let's go!" Val said energetically and headed towards the door and went straight out and pushed the elevator button. Killua smiled as well and he followed her after locking the door. He realized that, somehow, not only the weight in his chest was no longer there, but his heart felt different. It was as if was now filled with helium, making it full and light at the same time. The feeling made a small smile crawl to his lips. He suspected that he had felt it before, or at least something similar, but it had been so long that he didn't remember when it had been. What was it again? Joy? He didn't know, but he didn't really mind. He decided to just enjoy the feeling and leave his thoughts for later. They stayed in some sort of quiet peace until they reached the office.


	6. All About Trust

Bet You: Chapter 6

It was finally Friday; no more boring paperwork or anything at all. Killua would usually be excited about weekend, but somehow he was not enjoying the idea as much as he used to. He trained with Gon and Val for a few hours, as usual, and then they parted ways.

"Killua, you remember what today is right?" Gon asked grinning when they were arrivind home, and put his index finger up. Killua shaked his head. "Today we have a party! You know, the one I convinced them to organize so you could attend?"

"Ohhhh…" Killua wasn't really in the mood for a party, since he was not looking forward to the weekend at all. But looking at Gon he decided to play along with it; Gon had actually organized it so he could attend. So he grinned back and answered. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's get ready and leave!"

"Hell yeah!" Gon smiled happily and got into the bathroom and Killua heard water running.

Killua sighed; why was he like this? He had never really been a fan of parties, but he would still manage to have a good time. Now he didn't even feel like getting out of the house. He sighed again and decided to just put all this in the back of his mind and just try to have a good time; he didn't want to spoil Gons mood, since he had always loved social life. He took a shower when Gon was done and they took the bus towards the place where the party would be held. It was on the beach and the climate was hot and humid; he wished he had put on lighter clothes. As they approached the house he decided he would try to have a good time.

NOT. There were these nagging girls around him all the time. Since it was a beach party, he had taken his shirt of, as everyone else. He wished he hadn't; since they were hunters he and Gon had a considerably much better physical condition than most people in there. And that was probably the reason why they were now surrounded by hungry girls, to which Gon was obviously oblivious and he simply talked happily back. Killua sighed and listened to the bullshit some girls were saying to him. He had always thought that party conversation themes were superficial; he didn't know if this case was worst or he was just less patient about it. They were talking about... what was it again? How drunk they had gotten the last time and how they had OBVIOUSLY rejected some guys who had approached them and how pathetic they had been… Killua just didn't listen anymore. He looked at one of the girls that were looking at him, and she then flipped her brown hair back and winked at him. He simply stood up and excused himself saying he needed to go to the bathroom. He used the wc as a seat and grabbed his head; why on earth did he have to come to this party? How could Gon even stand listening to bullshit? He stayed there for a while and then decided to go out and find something to do. He suddenly saw a group of guys talking and he approached them. Maybe listening to bullshit but not being hit on would be more tolerable. Killua spent an hour or two skipping to different groups of conversation, finally arriving at a specific one. It was the time in which everyone was drunk at the party; he wasn't since he thought it was ridiculous. People in this specific group were not as drunk as in the other ones, and the woman in it didn't seem to want to hit on him. He listened to their conversation. It seemed kind of politics of some sort. He wasn't a fan of politics, but it was way better than staying somewhere else. He listened for a while and said nothing they didn't seem to mind.

"It's not as if the big capitals and the mafia will let the government simply pass that law." A blond short girl said. "They've been conspiring all along to get away with all the damage they've done. The government is too afraid and pressed, there's no way we can rely on them. Maybe things should be taken in our own hands."

"Take into our own hands?" a man said. "How do you pretend to do that? How can our individual action make a change when we're facing all these big fishes? There's no way to bring them down and make a change in the system."

"Maybe we should just leave civilization and live in the woods, you know." another person said. Everyone laughed at that. "Just like the LCL."

"Hey did you guys hear about their outcast faction in Kansterhood?" another girl said. Killua listened up; that place was just by the city Gon and he lived. In fact, it was just by Vals neighbourhood. Just out of town. "It seems last Saturday something big happened, but apparently no one died." Killua lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but it's not the first time. It's no news anymore; I just hope they can bring peace upon themselves."

After that the conversation turned to another topic; something about a politician making a new political party. But Killuas mind was somewhere alse again. Something big happened in Kansterhood last Saturday? Something in which nobody died but could've? It was the direction Val had taken when she had left in a hurry that day. And it was near her place; she leaved in the outskirts of the city and Kansterhood was just next to her neighborhood. It was it too much of a coincidence. LCL? What was that? It seems it was some kind of political organization. It was fishy, he could just ask Val about it, but he was not sure what to expect. Maybe if he hadn't said anything until now it meant she didn't want him to know about it.

Killua approached Gon after a while and decided to just chill by him and watch people make embarrassing things. They stayed there until it was 6 am. and took the first bus home. They arrived at nearly 8 am. and went straight to sleep. Killua woke up 5 hours later and made rice and fish to eat and, since Gon didn't seem to want to wake up anytime soon, he ate by himself. He then decided to do some research on the internet about the 'LCL'. He searched a lot, but there was NOTHING in there. Nothing as nothing related to politics. According to his research LCL was some kind of weird disease, it was also a piece from a professional camera, and so on. He frowned. He decided to check the hunter intranet to search; maybe it was an underground group, but it was weird since people at a party would know about it. Nothing, there was nothing about it in anywhere. Killua frowned. Did it not exist? Was everyone at the party making fun of him and what he had seen last Saturday was just some coincidence? He didn't think so, but why would nothing appear even in the hunter association files? It was weird. Maybe he could ask Val about it, but maybe she wouldn't take the right way the fact that he was investigating about that. But at the same time she was THE best contact he would get; she was, after all, in charge of every file in there.

Killua stopped. Val was in charge. That meant that she could decide to simply erase information about anything. Not only in the internet; but also in the hunter association site.

He frowned. There was no way he could just go and ask her directly about it. But he was now truly interested in her secrets. Anyways it's not as if he'd thought of her as boring before. He had always thought she was nice and interesting, not to mention beautiful. She would always find a way to cheer everyone up and there was always something to talk about. He could also see that she had a good heart; her eyes would soften at the mention of anybodies misery. She had a slim but firm body; not too voluptuous but feminine enough. Her face was really pretty and he assumed that if she ever maked up she would be just like any model, not that he wanted her to be. He liked her he way she was; as simple as it gets. Because of all of that she probably could get any man she wanted and she was probably desired by many. But he didn't know of anyone who thought of her that way in a more serious way. Maybe it was because, at the same time, she hid a part of herself from the world and didn't allow people to get too close. He knew that what he knew of her was true and honest; he knew when people lied. But, even though she was herself and spontaneous, there was a whole world about her that he didn't know of. He trusted her, but apparently she didn't trust him enough to tell him about her personal life.

Then it hit him. He didn't really care that much about who she was or what she did; he felt that he knew her deeply even if he didn't know FACTS about her life. He could always keep on trying to find out about her on his own, but he was not going to. He now knew that what he truly wanted was her trust; he wanted her to tell him all about herself because of personal choice and not because of pressure. Killua smiled a small smile and felt much lighter than he did one moment ago and so, he closed his laptop and decided to wake Gon up.

"Oi, Gon!" he said walking down the hallway. "Wake your lazy ass up, I wanna train!"


	7. Banana Sandwich

Bet You: Chapter 7

Killua stretched his arms and layed back on his seat looking at the ceiling. It had been a BORING couple of weeks in the office. Val had been occupied with some stuff that needed to be attended outside and, well, Gon was a serious worker as always. He actually thought about dropping by and visiting Val more than once after work, but he simply couldn't show up out of the blue. He actually missed her a little. After he had poured his emotions on Val a few weeks ago he just seemed to cherish her presence more than he used to. Her being around didn't only mean fun now. It somehow soothed him, even if she didn't talk to him. He felt reassured when she was around, even though there was no apparent reason for him to need reassurance. Some days he suspected he was developing something towards her, but most of the time he would just shrug it off. Today was one of the days in which he had to deal with those damned suspicions.

He suddenly heard someone enter and stand next to him. It was Jan.

"Boss." Killua said immediately straightening up and acknowledged him with a nod, gesture that was returned.

"Killua, I need you to something for me." Jan searched through a portfolio he was holding and rummaged through a few pages. After a while he took a handful and handed them to Killua. "I need Val to read this today, and she's not coming to the office. Will you please hand it to her for me?"

"Me? Where should I find her?" Killua raised an eyebrow

"I don't know where she is right now and she isn't picking up her phone. I thought you could drop by her place later and hand it to her. You can leave an hour earlier so you don't use you own free time to do it." Jan said.

"Eh? No problem, sir, but why ask me?" Killua said; there was a person in charge of doing these kind of things.

"Well, no one knows where she lives, and I assumed you were the only one who knew that piece of info." Jan smirked a little while raising an eyebrow. Killua heard some chuckles behind him and gave everyone a quick glare, to which they all went back to their own matters.

"Okay… " Killua said under his breath and put the papers in a folder and in his briefcase.

Killua thought he was blushing, so he didn't turn back to look at everyone. What the fuck? Did the whole office think there was something going on between him and Val? It's not like he didn't want anything to happen, but why would everyone suspect such a thing? He sighed and looked at his never-ending paperwork; he smiled. At least he would get to visit her, which was something he was looking forward to.

After a few hours, he finally got to leave that boring place. "Bye, everyone!" he said waving and tried to ignore everyones grins at him. "Gon, I'll see you at home in a few hours." he said to the boy that stood next to him.

"Oh, no need, Killua." Gon whispered and beamed. "I will not expect you awake."

Killua scowled and left before anyone could mock him anymore. He fumed all the way until he got to Vals building. He suddenly forgot everyone's jokes and jumped the stairs up, with a small smile on his lips. He knocked on her door and after a few seconds the door was opened.

There stood Val; she wore fluorescent orange leggings, black military boots and a red indian-looking shirt. Her hair was in a messy bun and she had a yellow head scarf around it, somehow trying to keep it in place, but failing miserably. Killua sweatdropped. He had always seen her at work or while training; so he never actually knew what kind of clothes she wore. Now he did; she was a werido. He inwardly smiled at that.

"What's up with the ridiculous outfit?" he smirked and pointed at her. She looked at herself and scoffed.

"People just don't have a fashion sense. They're the ridiculous ones, dressing all like clones." She grinned and made a pose. "See?"

"Yeah, right." Killua laughed it off. Val got back inside, but Killua simply stood in the doorway.

"Are you coming in?" Val said turning around and raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, right." Killua closed the door and headed towards her living room. It was still tidy enough, which was a relief to Killua and he threw himself on her couch.

"Yeah, make yourself at home." She said and sat next to him. "If you want anything to eat or drink just grab it, okay?"

Killua nodded, a few seconds passed and he looked back at her, feeling a little awkward. She was expecting him to say something. She raised an eyebrow. Suddenly he remembered.

"Oh, right!" Killua opened his briefcase and took a folder and handed it to her. "Here you go. I was supposed to bring this over to you."

"Eh, thank you, I guess." She said. "Why would they send you?"

"No one knew where you lived and Jan said he assumed I did. So, yeah." He answered blushing little bit. "Hey, Val. I've been meaning to ask you something."

Val raised her eyebrows "Go ahead."

"It's alright you don't want to answer me. But, why live in a place like this? I mean, I don't have anything against it, but I'd think you'd be able to afford something better. If you have some kind of problems maybe we could help you out."

"I knew that you'd eventually ask." Val said smiling at him. "Well, long story short, I needed to rent somewhere where no personal documents or data were requested. This kind of neighbourhoods are the only ones who accept that kind of stuff."

"Yeah… Why are you hiding?" Killua asked.

"I'm involved in a political movement… and let's just say that not everyone likes us. So, just in case, I want to keep underground for some time."

"What is it all about? The movement you're part of."

"I wish I could tell you now." Val sighed "But, lately, everything's been pretty unstable, so I'd rather not say. But I promise I will, when the time's right."

"No problem" Killua smiled widely. He felt kind of relieved knowing that Val trusted him enough to say something like that. He saw her stand up, go to the kitchen, and come back with a glass of water.

"I assume you know how to keep a secret." she said.

"What secret? Oh, what you just told me? I'm so sorry! I just texted everyone telling them about it." Killua said smirking, she laughed. The conversation turned light again, and they ended talking about how horrible it was when someone said something embarrassing about themselves in front of other people. Killua complained about how Gon had always been imperceptive to that kind of things and how he always seemed to embarrass him.

"Hey, can I get something to eat?" Killua said.

"I already told you, you go and get whatever you want. Don't ask again." Val said pointing at a door. Killua assumed it was the kitchen and headed that way. After a few minutes he came back with sandwich, sat down again and started chomping on it.

"What the fuck is that?" Val frowned at what he was eating.

"It's a banana sandwich. Duh." Killua said, his mouth full of food.

Val put a disgusted face "How can you put banana in your sandwich? It looks pretty awful."

"Well, people just don't have good taste. It's pretty awful that they all eat the same stuff, like clones or something." Killua said with his index up. Val laughed at that. "You wouldn't believe how good it tastes."

"Ok, let me try it out." She leaned towards Killua, to the point where she was almost laying on top of him. She grabbed the hand that held the sandwich, pulled it to her mouth and took a bite. She swallowed and looked back at Killua.

"Wow, it actually tastes better than I'd thought. It actually is pretty yummy." She said and looked at Killua, who was as red as a tomato. "Wow, you actually blend in with my shirt, Killua." She smirked and his blush got even deeper, if it was possible. She leaned closer to him and poked his cheek. "Why? Want me to taste you now?" she said with a smug smirk.

"Hah, you wish I did. I thing this sandwich is much yummier that you are." Killua smirked back at her.

"Ohhh, suddenly you're all complacent, aren't you?" She said and laughed a bit and pointed at his sandwich. "That tasted good, but I'm way better. Just imagine how good I must be."

"Uh-huh. I highly doubt that." Killua said taking another bite.

"Wanna bet?" Val said with a confident smile.

"Of course, it's always fun to have you buy me chocolate."

"Okay, let's settle this." Val said and Killua raised an eyebrow at her. "Taste me."


	8. Banana Taste

Bet You: Chapter 8

"Okay, let's settle this." Val said and Killua raised an eyebrow at her. "Taste me."

Killua then looked into her eyes. Killua gulped, he didn't know what he was doing, but he would simply let it flow. His eyes were piercing through hers and he leaned a little closer to her; her face now only half a meter away from him.

Killua didn't tear his eyes away from Val, observing her reaction. And then the unthinkable happened; Val blushed. She did. Killua thought he had never seen anything as cute as that, and he made a mental note to mock her later. She looked at him in the eye; her eyes however were much calmer than his. Killua knew his eyes were stormy and expressed nervousness, while her eyes were as soothing and calm as her presence. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth and spoke almost in a whisper. "Go on."

Killua knew that she expected him to do all the work, since he was the one supposed to taste her. He just KNEW she would mock him later, but her lips were the only thing that occupied his. He slowly leaned closer to her, his heart raced and pounded like crazy. He thought that his chest would explode. He stopped just a few centimeters away from her lips and directed his eyes towards her lips. Her eyes were calculating, observing his every move, and they were warm and inviting. He saw her part her lips and he leaned in until his lips brushed hers. Killua felt electricity flow through him and his mind was as if it was drowning in the moment. He finally leaned in and kissed her softly, inhaling her scent and feeling overwhelmed by her soft lips. She kissed his lower lip and bit it slightly. Killua put his hand on her nape and barely pushed her towards the kiss. She complied and Killua kissed her again and licked her lips. She parted just enough for him to slip his tongue in her mouth and Killua savoured her. She tasted like bananas and something else he could not put his finger on. It was almost sweet, and it took over his senses. He had almost lost himself in the kiss when she gave him a last peck and pulled apart. Killua opened his eyes and looked at her; rapid breathing, flushed face, messy hair and intense eyes. Her eyes made the biggest impression on him, because she simply could not look any more beautiful that she did and it made him feel as if the world would crash down any second.

She inhaled and exhaled deeply. "W-wow." She said honestly still looking into his eyes. "That was better than I expected."

"Y-yeah." Killua rubbed the back of his head and looked away still blushing.

"So, tell me." Val smirked "Would you rather have another kiss or another banana sandwich?"

"Hmm…" Killua rubbed his chin and put on a smug smile. "I can't decide just yet. Can I have another try?"

"No way, you have to decide now." Val smirked. She was gonna win; all the way

"Damn." Killua sighed. She was mocking him. She knew that he wanted another kiss, but he would have to admit defeat to get it. He didn't want to lose, but all he could think about was getting another kiss. "Ok, damn it. I lose. Happy?"

"Yeaaah!" she beamed and made a winning pose.

"So?" Killua approached her with a dirty grin. "Can I get another one?"

"What? Another what?" Val raised an eyebrow innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about. The bet's over." She smirked while raising her chin as if looking down at him mockingly.

Killuas eye twitched. Was she really going to do this? What was he supposed to do? Just go ahead and eat another fucking SANDWICH? He looked at her with an unbelieving expression and waited for a reaction; he knew that she wanted more… a few seconds passed by.

"PFFF—HAHAHAHAHA" Val started laughing her ass off. Even a tear or two appeared on the corner of her eye. After a while she wiped them off and looked back a Killua, who had an annoyed face. "Ha-ahah… come on, Killua. I'm just teasing you." She lifted her finger. "Just one more. Don't get used to this."

Killua smirked. He knew she wanted to go on as much as he did. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, looking into her eyes with a smug smirk.

"Don't deny it, you want this." He said and, when she opened her mouth to protest, he kissed her full on the lips. She grabbed his head with both hands and practically buried her face in his. Killua pressed her against his body. He could feel her body against him and her warmth engulf his senses. He was pushing her down into the sofa when she pushed him away and gave him a last peck.

"Hah" Val smirked "Hold it right there. It was a kiss, and just one."

"Aren't you supposed to be like super sexually free and stuff?" Killua tried to hold her by the waist again but Val dodged his hands and stepped back.

"Two things." She lifted a finger while putting a serious face. "First. The fact that I believe in sexual freedom doesn't mean I'll go and fuck the first man that approaches me." Killua gulped sensing she was a bit annoyed. She then lifted a second finger and put on a smirk. "Second. It's fun teasing you."

"Yeah, I can see that." Killua said almost pouting. Val gave him a small smile.

"Hey, I'll prepare one of those banana sandwiches of yours. Want one too?" She asked changing the topic.

"Nah, I think I better head home. Gon said he'd be waiting for me." Killua lied. The truth was that he needed to think things over and it was late anyways, he'd been at Vals place for almost two hours. He didn't really know how time had flew so fast, but he needed to head home and clear his mind.

"Ohhh.. that's too bad." Val put on an exaggerated tragic expression and raised her arms into the air. She laughed and looked into Killuas eyes. "Okay , no problem." She headed to the door and opened it up for him. "You can drop by anytime."

"Ok." Killua said and passed her by. "See you around!"

"Bye!" Val happily waved at him from the doorway. "Remember you owe me! And don't get used to this!"

Kilua didn't look back at her but waved to let her know that he'd heard her just fine. He headed home, his head a turmoil of thoughts and images of him and Val.


	9. A one time thing

Bet You: Chapter 9

Killua pulled his hair in annoyance; Gon had been throwing him smug glances since the previous day. He had come home from Vals and Gon had immediately asked how it had been and Killua, of course, said ok a nothing out of the ordinary. He was sure he had not put a suspicious face or changed his expression, but Gon somehow perceived that something was off. And since then he had been mocking him and asking "how Val was" and shit. They sat at work and they were supposed to be working. Well, Gon actually was; he simply threw a glance his way once in a while, smirked, and kept on working. He, being Killua, of course wouldn't just go back to work; he had to find a way to STOP Gon before the rest of the office started mocking him too. He was trying to remember something embarrassing about Gon, but his sharp memory was failing him NOW. Suddenly the door opened and Val came through.

"Heyy! Good morning everyone!" she grinned and raised her hand. Everyone greeted back and went back to work… except for Killua who froze at her sight and a light blush covered his face… and except for Gon who was looking at him with an amused expression. Killua realized this and turned his face back to his paperwork; when the fuck had Gon become like that? He sighed and forced his mind back to his work; he just hoped the day went by fast.

It didn't. He was awfully self-conscious and he knew Gon was very aware of him. And, on top of that, he kept thinking about Val; he was just too conscious about her and the temptation of looking her way was great. On top of that, she kept throwing jokes at him, as usual, but he would just laugh a little and go back to work. He didn't want Gon to see him blush again. After what seemed forever, it was time to go home.

"I'll wait for you downstairs, Gon." he said while hurriedly picking up his stuff and heading towards the stairs. When he finally reached the entrance hall he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Why, no need to sigh every time you see me, Killua." Killua froze and looked around. Val stood there with a small smile on her lips. "So, what's going on?"

"Huh?" Killua raised an eyebrow.

"You've been avoiding me all day. Does it have something to do with what happened yesterday?"

"Well.. Gon's been a pain in the ass. He keeps on trying to find out if something's going on between us." Killua answered scratching his chin. "I guess I should tell him, but I don't want him pestering me all day long."

"Ahahahaha- K-Killua. So what? If you make a big deal out of it he'll tease you even more. Just tell him what happened, it's not that big of a deal. Everyone has had a one-time thing, ne?" she said elbowing him and then turned to leave and raised her hand "I'll be going now, something up. Bye!"

Killua sighed and looked back to the staircase, a few seconds later Gon appeared and they both headed home.

"So…" Gon begun.

"Ok, ok." Killua sighed in defeat. "I'll tell you ok."

Gon beamed and Killua told him about the time when Val comforted him about his family and about the day they kissed. Gon was radiating and almost jumping from excitement.

"I knew iiiit! Why didn't you tell me before?! Have you confessed yet? Are you going to bring her flowers or something? Gonna ask her out?"

"Wai-what?" Killua looked at Gon and raised his hands in front of him, but he couldn't suppress a small blush. "There's nothing romantic going on between us. She comforted me as a friend, and that kiss was just a one-time thing."

"You don't even believe that, Killua!" Gon said crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Well, she definitely does, so I better believe it too." Killua said looking away and his eyes landed on a pretty couple walking hand in hand. Killua sighed. Val was completely different from other girls, he couldn't even picture her being together with someone. She wasn't girly, she didn't seem to like romantic clichés, she didn't even seem interested in men. How did Gon expect him to do anything like that, assuming that he actually wanted to. Did he? He didn't know for sure, but whatever it was he was feeling, he had to deal with it soon, before he got to a point of no return.

"Killua!" Gon startled Killua, and the latter looked back at him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah- I just spaced out."

"No, I mean are you ok with that? I've known you for 7 years now, I KNOW you don't just want to be friends with her."

"Wh-why would you say that?" Killua blushed even more.

"I've seen how you look at her. You may not realize it, but it's obvious to me. You like her, at the very least."

Killua rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Gon, just drop it." He didn't want to go any deeper into this subject. "Let's just pretend nothing's ever happened between the two of us."

Gon looked at Killua with concern, but decided to stop talking to him about it, at least for now. They simply walked home in silence, and as soon as they arrived, Killua locked himself in his room until the next day.

The next week went by peacefully; Gon stopped nagging Killua, Killua stopped blushing like a madman and he and Val went back to usual. They would make bets, joke around, and so on.

Next Saturday morning Killua headed towards a specific store in order to have their electric oven fixed, since it hadn't been working for a few days. He was near Vals neighbourhood, so Killua just wondered what she was up to. Somehow, without consciously planning it, his feet carried him to her street. He looked up to her apartment and remembered the last time he had been there. She had actually told him to drop by any time. He bought raspberries for her, since he owed her, and headed to her front door. He stood there for a second and then knocked on the door. A few seconds later Val opened the door.

"H-huh? Killua!" she widely smiled at him. "What's up? How're you doing?"

"I'm alright, I was in the neighborhood, so I decided to drop by and pay you." He said with lazy eyes and handed her a box of raspberries. She beamed and her eyes shone at that and Killuas eyes softened. She took the box happily and lifted it up as if it were some sort of treasure.

"Everytime is perfect for strawberries! Come in!" Val stepped to the side and led Killua inside closing the door behind her. Killua entered her living room and as soon as he stepped in he felt a third presence. He looked to the side and saw a baby girl, not older than 3, sitting at the dining table.

"Hwello." She said smiling. Killua simply stood dumbfounded and raised his hand at the toddler and forced a smile; he lacked experience with little kids. He looked back at Val who had just entered the room and got closer to her.

"Care to introduce us?"


	10. Trust

Bet You: Chapter 10

"Hwello." She said smiling. Killua simply stood dumbfounded and raised his hand at the toddler and forced a smile; he lacked experience with little kids. He looked back at Val who had just entered the room and got closer to her.

"Care to introduce us?"

"Oh, ok." She said raising an eyebrow. "Anako, Killua, Killua, Anako. There you go. Now shake hands." Anako stood up and jumped happily towards Killua and stretched her hand upwards. She had beautiful big amber eyes, black mid-length hair and fair skin. She was a like a miniature version of Val. Killua took the little girls hand and shook it lightly and honestly smiled.

"Pleased to meet you." Killua said patting her head.

"Pleased to meet you!" Anako answered and then asked both Killua and Val to play with her. They played with some wooden cubes and tried to build some kind of house. Killua was reminded about his own childhood when he used to play with Alluka and a warm yet nostalgic feeling came over him.

After half an hour or so Val put the baby girl to sleep and came back. Killua was sitting on the floor and played with one of the cubes. Val sat on the floor next to him and stared at him for a while.

"How old is she?" he asked not looking at her.

"She's two and a half years old." Val said. "She's a sweetheart, isn't she?"

"Yeah…" Killua still didn't look at her. "Doesn't she live here with you?"

"Huh?" Val looked puzzled. "Well, no she doesn't. She lives with my brother. Even if she wanted to I would never allow something like that; it's too dangerous around here and I can't look after her all day long."

Killua was silent for a while. He then looked at Val with sadness, or was it anger?

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" he said containing himself. How was it possible? Did she not trust him and Gon? They were friends, weren't they? Why would she keep her daughter from them? Why had he never heard of her before? Who was the father? Was Val still together with him? Killua felt deeply brayed, even though there was no reason to be. He and Val were just friends, and maybe she had a good excuse for not telling him about it. Killua looked at Val and her expression turned from a confused one to a knowing one. She looked at him with interest.

"There's nothing to say. She's my niece, not my daughter, Killua." She said with a small smile.

"Oh." Killua was relieved. He looked back at Val and scratched the back of his head. "Forget about it, then."

"No way."

"Huh?"

"No way." Val looked damn serious. "What would have happened if she'd been mine? What would you have thought?"

"I… I don't know." Killua said and tried to imagine the situation. "What I was currently feeling was a little betrayed. I kept wondering why you hadn't said anything about her." He looked out of the window, hiding his face from her. "And I wondered if you and her father were still together, I wondered if you'd cheated on him when…" He didn't finish his sentence. The thought of her lying to him like that made his heart clench.

"Killua." Val said and Killua looked back into her eyes. "I would never do something like that. If I'd had a daughter or son I would've told you. If I'd been together with somebody I would've told you. And I would've never cheated, except of course in an open relationship. Which I don't have."

"Oh, ok. We're good then. I just somehow thought you were playing with my feelings."

"Playing with your feelings?"

"W-No." Killua cleared his throat and tried to calm his speeding heart. "I mean, I thought you were playing with his feelings. I mean-" He stopped for a second. "I thought you were playing with his feelings, though me. What I mean is, if you did that you'd play with mine as well. Not that I-"

"Killua" Val put a finger on his mouth and looked into his eyes warmly. She had so much care in her eyes that it made her look fragile and strong at the same time. "Listen. I would never play with anybody's feelings, MUCH less with yours." She stressed the word much and then her finger moved from his mouth to his cheek and caressed it. Killua felt his heart race. Did she…? Her eyes were softer than ever and it was as if she was an open book. For the first time, Killua saw a little apprehension in her and his hand moved to touch her cheek as well. He softly cupped her cheek and he swore he saw her eyes tear up a bit.

"Val, wh-" Killua started but something flicked in her eyes at the sound of his voice, as if she was waking from a dream. She tore her hand away from him in a rush and stiffened. It was almost funny, since she was acting the way Killua had used to and he was the cool one now.

"We're friends, aren't we?" she said faking a smile, which didn't fool Killua at all. "Friends care about eachother. So I'd never do something like that to you"

Killua looked at her and furrowed his eyes. What was that about? He decided to drop it, since she didn't seem willing to talk about it.

"So, your niece." Killua changed the subject.

"Oh, yeah. She's my sisters daughter, but lives with my brother and his mate. She really nice towards her, as if she were her real mother."

"Why doesn't she live with her actual mother?" Killua raised an eyebrow and he saw Val eyes sadden a bit at the question.

"Well…" Killua saw some doubt in her eyes, as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to answer. She took a deep breath and spoke. "She died a little over a year ago."

"I-I'm sorry." Killua said putting his arm on Vals shoulder.

"Anako doesn't really remember her… she had an accident; she fell down from a second floor and landed head first." Val looked out of the window. "On top of that it was on the 8th anniversary of my parents death, you know? They died 8 and a half years ago; I was 13 at the time."

"How did it happen?"

"They were murdered." Val answered not looking at him, so he couldn't see her face. Killuas eyes widened at that. "They were murdered because they wanted to follow their dreams till the end."

A few seconds passed by and neither spoke. Killua decided to wait until she had decided to talk further or not.

"My parents had established some sort of political movement. They started working on it when they were around our age; it was some sort of anarchist movement. They believed in a world with no money, no private property, no state, no religion, with individual freedom and community life. They established a cooperative with everyone within the movement and bought 50 hectares of wild land. They built small houses out of natural materials, had artisan work done, raised their own animals and food and so on. It went without much trouble for around 10 or 15 years. But their dream was way too utopic; in the end internal conflicts took over. There was a point at which the situation had become untenable, there were two big factions. One was on my parents side; they supported a peaceful life away from society and living close to nature. The other on was violent; they thought the system would crush their dream and it had to be destroyed. The faction to which my parents belonged gathered around twice as much people as the violent one, and eventually the latter thought of them as a threat. So they entered our house on night and killed them in their sleep; I don't know, though, why they let the three of us live. That event made the peaceful faction much weaker; many left in fear of being murdered too, and our parents were leaders, even though there weren't any officially. The violent ones took over the movements name, but they left the commune land. Nowadays the peaceful faction remains, but it's been really difficult to keep it going. There are sometimes confrontations, but we've managed to lower our profile."

"We?"

"Yes, we. That's the reason I live in this place, I can't give my background or name away, and they allow me to pay every day in this apartment. I wanted to tell you earlier, but things were pretty difficult before. Right now the status isn't good, but it's acceptable."

Killua smiled at Val. She looked at him a little confused.

"I'm glad you've actually told me about yourself." Val looked startled a his remark. "I've known for quite some time that you hid a lot about your personal life. I was expecting you to trust me and tell me about it."

"You know, I've wanted to for a long time. But it was just too complicated at the time." Val smiled.

"I know, you would never hide anything from me, just like you wouldn't play with my feelings." Killua said smirking and Val fidgeted in discomfort. Killua let out a small smug laugh and elbowed Val on her side.

"Hey, I'm an honest and good person, you should value that!" Val said smiling and stood up. "I'm getting some coffee, want some?"

And so, they spent the rest of the day talking until Vals niece woke up and Killua left.


	11. At ease?

Bet You: Chapter 11

A couple weeks had gone by, and both Killua and Val had, somehow, grown closer to eachother, at least in Killuas opinion. They didn't actually act differently towards each other, but he somehow felt at easy when she was around. A few weeks before, they would joke around and talk just like now, but he, somehow, kind of had his guard up. Not because he thought of her as a threat, but because he didn't want to lose to her nor did he want her to embarrass him. Nowadays he wouldn't really mind if she won all those bets of if she made fun of him; he didn't mind. He was as careless as he had ever been, he sometimes felt a little exposed and vulnerable. But strange as it seemed, he was ok with it. He liked not caring about anything when she was around, he would joke and bet, not for the sake of winning, but just because he wanted to have fun. And he wanted to see her smile; he sometime made bets wishing he'd lose so he would be able to treat her to raspberries, as usual. He didn't really know if she was the same, but it sure felt as if it was. He wasn't dumb; he knew he was developing feelings towards her. He didn't currently know what to do with them, but he just figured it would resolve itself on time. Killua hadn't said anything to Gon; he didn't seem to suspect anything, but Killua didn't know anymore. The three of them would still train every day after work and, as time had passed by, Gon had become sharper and things didn't go unnoticed by him; Killua was certain he probably had figured him out by now. Killua didn't mind Gon knowing, of course, since they were best friends. But it would be annoying as HECK if he got teated about something he didn't know how to handle.

He sighed as he finished his breakfast and joined Gon and the both of them headed towards the office. They happily talked about random stuff on their way, as usual, and Gon acted as if he knew nothing, as usual. Killua was actually grateful for it. As soon as they sat down in front of their desks Jan stormed.

"Boooooys!" he said in a rush, as he always seemed to be. "The both of you are going on a business trip the day after tomorrow. I've got it all planned up, so you better assist!"

"No problem." Killua said and looked at Gon with a smile. But something evil flicked in his eyes and he faked a tragic face.

"Oh, no! Killua I forgot to tell you I'm going to be busy those few days." He said and then turned to Jan. "But don't worry sir, I'll find someone to go in my stead."

"Oh, thank you so much, Gon." Jan said and turned to Killua handing him a bunch of papers. "Here are the details. I'm counting on you!"

Killua glared at Gon for a second and then growned lowly. He just KNEW what Gon was planning. It irked him that he'd stick his nose in this, but he was kind of grateful at the same time.

After work he and Gon headed home, the latter throwing complacent glances at him all the way home.

"So, tell me already, what did she say?" Killua said as they got off the subway.

"Huh?" Gon feigned ignorance. "Her?"

"Val."

"Oh no, you're mistaken. I asked Sei to go with you." Gon said raising his finger. Killua dreaded and a shiver went down his spine. Sei was THE most creepy guy he'd met, right after Hizoka. Now that he thought about it, he was almost as creepy as the clown.

"AHAAHAHAHAHAA" Gon laughed his ass of and had to stop to lean a hand on a knee while e clutched his belly. "You should've seen your face!" Killua simply glared at him and rolled his eyes at the not so funny joke Gon had thrown at him. "Don't worry, Val will be going with you. I hope you can actually make something out of this trip. It's a great opportunity, you know?"

"What do you mean?!" Killua furrowed his brows as he felt creep up his cheeks.

"Oh, nothing." Gon said smiling, no, BEAMING. Killua sighed, he had guessed right; Gon knew about 'it'. Whatever 'it' was.

/

Killua sat on the plane next to Val while she peacefully slept. He had tried to sleep as well, but her relaxed features kept his eyes glued to her. Also, Gons previous words weren't helping at all.

*Flashback*

As soon as he saw him opening the door with one hand and his handbag on the other Gon walked over and patted his shoulder.

"Have a safe trip! And hey, you better do it right." Gon said and pushed a confused looking Killua through the door. "Unlike you, she doesn't seem to lack experience at this, so you better not disappoint her!" and he closed the door on Killuas face.

He stood there for a second wondering why Gon said he had no experience, when he'd already been on a business trip be-. And then it hit him, and his face flushed a light red. He scowled at the now closed door, turned around and left.

*End of Flashback*

Killua growled and pressed his temples with the tip of his fingers. He sighed and inwardly cursed, since now, thanks to Gon, Vals aroused face kept popping into his mind. He wondered if would be able to keep his composure during this trip… did he even want to keep it?! He sighed again and looked out the window just hoping that he wouldn't get too stirred up.


	12. Business Trip?

So, Hexel-JustAnotherReader drew a fanart of Val, I'm posting it here since it actually illustrates how I imagined her. It's on dropbox: s/3h8xj32bw0ua85q/Val%20-%20HxH% ?dl=0

Thank you! :)

Bet You: Chapter 12

Killua and Val stood in front of a mid-wage looking hotel.

"This is it, come on, let's go check in." Val said leading the way and Killua followed behind. They approached the lobby desk and a smiling man greeted them.

"Welcome! Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, it's under Killua Zaoldyeck." Killua answered and simply rolled his eyes when the lobby man paled at his name. He looked at Val and whispered "Told you we should've used your name…"

"Too bad we didn't bet on that! Hahahahaha!" Val laughed hysterically and made a pose.

"Oh, shut up." Killua mumbled as a vein popped in his forehead.

"Here you go, sir." The man handed them the key and quickly turned around to 'arrange some documents', clearly not wanting to interact with a Zaoldyeck anymore.

"What? One key?" he said as a blush appeared on his cheeks. "Damn you GON."

"Hey, it's not that bad." Val put a hand on his shoulders. "Besides, the reservation was probably made by our boss and he initially thought Gon was coming with you, not me."

"Yeah… anyways, come on." Killua said and they headed towards the elevator.

They left their bags inside and then headed to the cafeteria to have something to eat. They were happily munching on their snacks when suddenly Killua received a call.

"Hello? Oh, hello sir. Wha-. Really? Ok, so… ok. No, not really. We've trained together before. Ok. We'll check it right away. We'll be in touch, good bye." Killua hang up and stared at the screen with a frown for a few seconds.

"It was boss, wasn't it? What did he say?" Val said leaning forward.

"There's a change of plans. The business meeting was postponed because we have something else to tend to, and it's urgent."

"Really? What is it?!"

"He said he'd send us an email right away, explaining the details…" Killua said and Val had already his phone at hand and checked her email.

"Ah, here it is." Val said and Killua yanked the phone from her hands and his eyes checked the details at full speed. His eyes then stopped moving, but were glued to the screen.

Val was getting impatient "What?"

"They expect us to go and do 'business' with some underground group. We're supposed to gather info for the association since they have no intel on this group. They don't even know what they do; assassination, drugs, black market… the know nothing! We're supposed to act as though it's a business trip all along, but I'd say this is an actual mission." Killua said seriously but with almost gleaming eyes. "Anyways… they're not to find out about our real intentions. According to what I read, we have to pretend to offer them some kind of laundry services. There are some documents attached that explain this commercial field, we'll just have to make sure we sound like experts."

"Ok… this is a pretty sudden turn of events. But let's just get to the problem at hand." Val said and they printed the info that their boss had sent on the subject. They spent the rest of the day reading about it.

"I don't know about you, but I don't feel like an expert at all." Killua complained and crossed his arms. "Going unprepared to infiltration missions is too risky. Can't we just postpone this thing a week or so?"

"I know it is risky, but we can't do that, it's already settled. We have to be there tomorrow at 8 am. Apparently we'll be meeting at an old storehouse in the outskirts of the city. Right… here." Val said and pointed at a map of the city.

"WTF? A storehouse? I mean… It was already likely that they do illegal stuff, but do they have to be so obvious about it?" Killua sighed and facepalmed.

"In my opinion, it's very likely that they don't hide their activities from those they do business with."

"Yeah, probably. But isn't it a little too risky? Shouldn't they expect infiltrations from the police or the military? Or the hunter association? I mean, they probably didn't even do a background check on us! If they had they would've backed down or chosen another place to meet. Unless…" Killua said lifting a finger.

"Unless they know who we are and this is a trap." Val said raising her hand to her chin and shaking her head. "But it's no use. We have to be there and there isn't really enough time to do something about it."

"We could always simply not go. It's too sudden and risky, boss would have to understand" Killua said with a glimpse of worry in his eyes. "I was taught not to act like this!"

"I know! But we're hunters, and if someone's got to do this, it's us." Val said and looked out the window. "There are innocent people who probably suffer from this organizations doing, someone's got to take the first step."

Killua sighed. "I knew you'd say something along that line. All right, but let's make sure we know our surroundings well and have a few backup escape plans."

They did some scouting around the area and headed back to the hotel. After a couple hours they finally came up with two backup scape plans.

Val stretched and noisily yawned. "Finally! We can have some rest." She approached her bag and took of a pile of clothes. "Thank god it's summer and pjs don't take that much space in my bag! I hate travelling with big suitcases, don't you? Wait here, I'll go change in the bathroom."

Killua watched Val close the bathroom door behind her and suddenly flushed a deep red. How were her pijamas? Were they sexy? Like, short? Exposing? Killua's mind was sunddenly filled with images of her in tight and barely covering clothing. He remembered the time he'd walked in on her pleasing herself, and his heartbeat became much faster.

Killua turned and pressed his temples, trying to get a hold on himself. Suddenly the door opened…


	13. Gut feeling

Bet You: Chapter 13

Killua turned and pressed his temples, trying to get a hold on himself. Suddenly the door opened and Val appeared with a black tank top and sport shorts.

"Yay! Time to sleep!" Val cheered and raised her arms and then looked at Killua. "Huh? What's up with that face?"

"What are you wearing? Are you a kid?" Killua said and sweat dropped.

"HA! Did you expect some kind of sexy nightgown?" Val raised an eyebrow. "I don't have to try so hard to get you in my bed."

"What!"

"Come on, have some humor sense… but actually..." Val stopped and looked down slightly blushing. "Would you sleep with me?"

Killuas eyes widened a bit and his mouth dropped. "You actually mean that?"

"I don't mean like, WITH me, just next to me." She said still looking down but then raised her head and looked at him with something in her eyes that Killua couldn't quite place. Was it concern? "Killua, ever since we got off the plane I've been having this gut feeling that's been bothering me. After the change of plans it got much stronger, and my instincts are usually right."

"What does it have to do with us sleeping together?"

"Just… It would help me ease a bit." She looked away. "If you don't want to it's alright, I've been sleeping by myself for the last-"

"No problem." Killua smiled a bit. "I want to help you feel at ease.

Val smiled widely and jumped under the covers. Killua went to the bathroom and changed into comfortable shorts and ah sweat shirt. Val smirked and raised her eyebrows.

"What are you, a kid?" Killua grumbled a bit ah she smiled. "Come on, we have to wake up in five hours and I definitely don't want to be sleepy tomorrow and I'm already dead tired."

"Heh, ok." Killua said approaching the bed and waited for Val to squeeze towards the wall, since it was a single bed. Killua laid down next to Val and he immediately felt her arms circle around him and she rested her head on his shoulder. Killua accepted but looked away to hide his blush.

Even though they were just side by side, Killua couldn't help but feel overly conscious of Val. She was hugging him and he could feel her breasts brush against his arm. Her legs were dangerously close to his and he could feel the heat rising in his body. Images of Vals aroused face kept plaguing his mind even though he tried hard to keep them away. He felt himself getting aroused at the thought of Vals body next to his. Vas she even aware of what she was doing to him? Was she doing it on purpose? And above all, was she feeling that way too? Killua decided to look at Vals face.

He turned his head and as soon as his eyes landed on her face Killua sweatdropped. She was asleep! How did she even manage to ignore their compromising position and simply sleep? She did tell him she was tired, but to actually fall asleep in less than five minutes? He looked at her peaceful expression and his eyes softened. He stared at her sleeping face for a few minutes and then closed his eyes. He exhaled and let the feeling of fulfillment slowly drift him to sleep.

Killua awoke at dawn staring at the ceiling, soon they would have to get up. He softly stretched his arms and legs trying not to move much so he wouldn't wake Val up. After all, their legs were mingled and his arm was stretched under her head almost embracing her. He then turned his head to look at Val… and realized that she was awake.

Actually, Val was wide awake, her amber eyes piercing right into his. Killua would've gulped but he did not dare move and inch. He stared into Vals eyes and realized that they it wasn't really a piercing glare. Her eyes were almost caring, but were deeply looking into his as if searching for something. They stayed like that for a moment until Vals eyes drifted towards Killuas lips for a split second. Killuas heartbeat fastened and he felt his own eyes wander to Vals lips for a moment and then back to her eyes. He could see a faint blush appear on her cheeks as she licked her lips with anticipation. Killua slowly closed the gap between them by nearing his face to hers and softly pushing her head towards him with his arm. Killua barely met Vals lips, and brushed his nose against hers.

Both stayed like that for a couple seconds staring at eachother. Killua could see longing in her eyes, suddenly stripped of their usual sharpness. His lips brushed hers again, and they enveloped into a lips-brushing sort of kissing. Slowly the kiss started getting deeper, and Val licked Killuas lower lip with the tip of her tongue. Killua slowly bit hers in return and so their kiss suddenly turned into a passionate one. Killua pulled Val into him with the arm under her head and she hugged him pressing his body against hers.

Their arms started wondering and slowly caressed their bodies. Killua could feel all of Vals body against him and he knew she could his obvious arousal. Killuas head was a turmoil, all that was in his mind was Val, the sounds she made, the heat of her body, the way his hands felt against her skin, her scent, her taste. He pressed himself against her harder and buried his face in the crook of her neck kissing and licking her, tasting the salt of her sweat. Val spread her legs and placed them around his hips, pulling closed to him. Killua made and almost inaudible groan and Val moaned into Killuas head. Killua turned his head to look at her face and saw her eyes clouded with lust, probably just as much as his. One of his hands moved to her neck and the other to cup her face, while both of Vals hands pulled his hips closed to hers. Killua started moved against her as they kept their faces close. He could feel her breath on his lips and he could almost feel her wetness though their clothes. The air suddenly was suddenly filled with a sweet scent.

Val raised her head touching her nose with his and murmured Killuas name, her voice filled with lust and passion. Killua passed his hand under her sweat shirt and cupped her breasts and stared caressing them in circles. Vals fingers pressed against Killuas back and she arched her hips upwards trying to deepen their contact. Killuas lowered his face and started kissing and sucking on her collar bone, making his way to Vals breasts. He tugged her shirt to gain more access to her breast, sucking and liking the spot right next to her nipple. Val pressed Killuas face closed to her chest, wanting more from him.

He started pulling her shirt off when suddenly the alarm clock went on loudly, startling both of them and reminding them the reason of their trip. Suddenly consciousness about what they were about to do sunk in. Killua and Val looked at each other while heavily blushing and panting. They had set the alarm clock just on time, they had no time to lose. Val was the first to break out of it and sat on the bed and sighed deeply.

"It seems time has found the right time to annoy us…" she said looking away from Killua. "Come on, let's get ready." Val stood up and entered the bathroom.

Killua sat there deep in thought for a few seconds and then got dressed. Today was going to be critical.


	14. Trapped

Bet You: Chapter 14

Killua and Val stepped out of a cab and stood in front of an old storehouse. They had talked only when necessary ever since they'd left the hotel as if trying to not bring up the subject until the mission was finished. Killua was about to walk to the entrance when he realized Val had stiffened, just barely, but he noticed.

"Hey, are you ok?" Killua raised his hand and held her arm softly.

"Yeah, it's just that gut feeling telling me to run away." She sighed and motioned towards the entrance and started walking. "Come on, we can't back away now."

They had taken a few steps they were almost at the entrance when Val suddenly looked at him with a small smile and spoke in an almost inaudible voice. "I just want you to know the time I've spend with you has been the happiest I can remember. I'm glad."

Killuas eyes widened a bit, did she mean that…? Killua heart almost stopped at the thought, he was going to question her but they already were in front of the door and she simply pushed it open. Two guards stood right inside the hall and were armed with guns and one of the, approached them as soon as they entered.

"State you purpose."

"We're here to close a business in representation of Cleanwash Corp." Val stated in a formal voice.

"Oh, we've been already notified. Please follow me." One of the guards started walking and Killua and Val followed behind. They followed the guard down a corridor and entered an industrial elevator that lead them three stories under the surface. Killua inwardly scowled since being underground would be a great impediment in case they needed to escape. He looked at Val and she shot him a quick glance, and he immediately knew that she was on edge though she didn't show it. The elevator door opened and they followed the guard down a dimply lit hallway until he stopped in front of a door.

"This is it." He said as he opened the door for them and motioned for them to enter. They entered, but as soon as they did both regretted it but the door was immediately closed and locked behind them.

Six men sat inside the room, probably the leaders of the group and they knew nen; Killua and Val could tell from the way their auras moved around them. Not only that, but they were pretty good at it; around their level. If they could tell the leaders knew nen, the leaders probably had also figured them out. Killua almost growled but then felt Vals tense form and looked at her only to see her eyes widened and her hands clenched at her sides.

"Well, well." One of the said men stood up. He had short blonde hair and fair skin and was probably around 30 years old. "I was expecting a laundry service meeting, but that would've been pretty boring. Instead luck was generous this time and brought you to me, Val." He said with an almost sick smirk on his face.

Killua saw Val compose herself and half growl at the man. "What is this? If you'd been looking for money laundry you should've been more specific." Killua gulped at her harsh words and then looked at the standing man.

"Hah, come on Val. Don't be so harsh." He ironically smiled and ran his hand through his hair in a smug manner. "Aren't we childhood friends?"

"Don't you dare say that." Val almost spat. "You're responsible for everything." Killua assumed this man had something to do with her parents death and what had happened to the political movement they founded.

"Oh, dear. We'll be able to… speak soon enough." He said deliberately pausing before the word speak and looked at her in a sick way. At this Killua and Val got in fighting position, but as soon as they did another man stood up and raised his hand.

"Kai-lan." He said as his hand glowed and Killua and Vals bodies simultaneously glowed as well. A second after that the glowing faded and both realized that their nen was in zetsu mode. The last man smirked. "You won't be able to use nen as long as I use my ability, so you better be good and do as you're told."

"Damn." Killuas face contorted in fear, there was no way they'd be able to fight them without nen. Right now those six men could crush them in a second. He looked at Val with a stern face and held her wrist. "Don't be reckless."

Val clenched her teeth in anger but nodded anyways. They were lead down another hallway, but soon both were taken in different directions. Killua looked over his shoulder to see Val giving him a regretful look. Her gut had always predicted something would happen and she had simply ignored it due to her justice ideals. Killua knew she was now felling guilty about their situation, even though it wasn't her fault.

Killua was thrown into a cell and one of the men sat in a chair in front of it. The man relaxed because he knew that Killua would be suicidal if he fought him without nen, but the man probably didn't know about his superior physical strength. Killua decided to wait until he was alone or the guard was distracted in order to break down the wall and escape.

Killua sat down and frowned. He was worried about Val and what she'd have to face with the blond haired man. He clenched his hands and started thinking on a way to get to Val once he'd been able to get away.


	15. Fabric

Bet You: Chapter 15

Killua had been sitting on the floor inside the cell for a good half an hour and he had figured out a way to get to Val when he managed to break out of the cell. He would find a weak man and have him show the way to the one who had suppressed their nen. That ability would probably weaken him greatly and he would manage to disable him. As soon as he recovered his nen, he would use En to find Val. The ratio of his En was currently 60 m., more than enough given the size of the store house they were being kept in. He was grateful he had decided to perfect his En technique, he knew it would come in handy someday. Now he just had to wait until the guard was distracted.

Suddenly the door to the hall way opened and the man that had recognized Val back at the meeting room came into view. He slowly walked over to Killua followed by two other man and stood right outside the cell. He had a sick smirk on his face.

"Well, I guess you and I should introduce ourselves. I have to keep my manners." He outstretched his hand until it was just past the bars for Killua to take. "My name is Matt and Val and I know eachother since we were children. You could say we used to be friends but… tactical differences brought us apart."

Killua glared at the man but decided to play along and, since he already was at great disadvantage decided to simply shake his hand.

"My name is Killua and I met Val almost a year ago. We work together." Killua simply said keeping his face deadly serious and letting go of Matts hand.

"That's the way to actually relate to people!" He said and fake-sighed. "Val was just not easy to talk to, you know? After all we've been through and all the time we've known each other she just COULDN'T answer a few questions for me. Maybe you'll be easier to talk to."

Killuas anger was slowly rising but he kept his nonchalant façade and spoke in a calm voice.

"Well, we'll have to try."

"You see." Matt half-grinned ironically as he spoke. "I REALLY miss some of the people Val and I had in common. I would love to… talk to them. I paid a visit a few months ago but they were not around, too bad huh? I thought Val would be thrilled to let us meet again, but apparently she's jealous and doesn't seem willing to give me any answers! So I thought, wait, maybe her friend would try to help me! Ne?"

"I'm sorry." Killua said glaring at the man. He now knew he was responsible for Vals parents death and was probably linked to the violent faction of their movement. He couldn't tell him anything even if he wanted, since he knew nothing. "I don't know anything about that. You see, Val and I are just co-workers and I don't know anybody related to her."

Matt stepped closer to the bars and his face contorted in rage. "Don' . ." he hissed and pointed at Killua. "YOU are not just her co-worker. I can tell you know each other very well. You better tell me what you know."

"I don't know anything, I already told you." Killua replied but didn't deny the fact that he and Val knew each other well.

"Ok. So you won't cooperate either. I know you're close to her, so you must know something. You will tell me eventually what it is you know. I'd even say the both of you have some dirty business going on." He smirked and raised his finger. "Oh! I have just thought of the best souvenir for you!"

Killua watched the man reach for his pocket and pulled out a blue fabric and threw it on a corner inside the cell and turned around and walked away.

"I'll be taking my leave now. I'll come back so you better think about whether you'll help us or not." He suddenly stopped midway and looked back at him from above his shoulder and smirked. "Oh, by the way, I'll leave these two more man to keep you company. We don't want you to be lonely, it wouldn't be fair since Val has a lot of company as well."

Killua silently watched him turn around and burned holes in his back until he closed the door. He watched two more man sit next to the other guard and cross their arms. He then turned around and looked at what Matt had thrown in his cell. He slowly approached it and cautiously eyed it. What was it he had thrown to him? Was it save to pick up? What the hell had that to do with him and Val doing dirty stuff or not? He couldn't use Gyo since he was in a forced Zetsu state. He decided to poke it and nothing happened. He then picked it up slowly and carefully keeping it away from him with one hand. He eyed it with a puzzled look on his face. He realized it was some sort of blue fabric, cotton maybe? He walked towards the edge of the cell and put the textile under the dim light of the hallway. His eyes widened and his other hand reached to extend the fabric in front of him. Killuas heart dropped to his stomach and his armed started shaking.

It was a piece of feminine underwear. He had given it to him as a 'present' because of the kind of relationship he assumed the both of them shared. What Killua didn't know was if the clothing posed a threat of what he would do to Val… or if it was proof of something that they had already done to her. And image of Val being abused came into Killuas head and it made him sick to his stomach.

Killuas rage crept up his body, paralyzing him. His killing intent spiked as he glared out the cell and looked at the door with murderous eyes, eyes he had not displayed for the past few years. The guards in the hallway raised their guards, but Killua knew that he wouldn't be able to bring the three of them down without causing a fuss and alerting everybody, which would put both him and Val in danger.

Killua growled in anger and decided that anybody who dared touch her in any way would have to beg him for death. And he would NOT comply.


	16. En-blind

Bet You: Chapter 16

There was a dripping sound in the background, probably due to the high humidity in the space. The walls were covered in water-drops, which had managed to condense as a result of the lack of any kind of ventilation. The room was awfully quiet, being the dripping sound the only noise along with the even breathing of a man that sat in a chair with his arms behind his head. The door softly opened and another man entered the hallway, making the previous one raise his head and openly smile at the approaching figure. Killua had been laying back in his cell for the last couple hours, waiting for the right time to strike.

"Hey, how's everything around here?" the walking figure stopped in front of the sitting one.

"Not much. Apparently he's been asleep for a few hours." The sitting guard motioned towards the crouching boy that was lent on a wall in the right in front of them. "And I feel pretty bored."

"It's been almost 10 hours already, go take a break; I'll keep watch for the next shift."

"Thanks, man. I'm tired of sitting already." The man stood up and stretched his arms and rubbed the back of his head.

"Have you heard the rumors?" the other said raising an eyebrow. "Shina seems to be having an affair with Fred- who the fuck would've expected that?"

"Wha- really? Wow." the man seemed impressed. "Who would've thought that jackass like him would get in her bed, she's totally hot. I'm jealous."

Both man walked a few steps while making comments about the said woman's attributes until they reached the door and one of them stepped outside. Both men failed to notice the silently bending jail bars of the cell they were supposed to be guarding.

The remaining guard closed the door in front of him and attempted to turn around. Attempted to, because as soon as the door was closed a shadow moved behind him and knocked him unconscious. Killua caught his limp body in mid-air and brought to the chair to set it in a sitting position. He then silently rushed to the door and put his ear on it. When he felt no noise at all, he slowly opened up and peeked to make sure nobody was around. He waited a few more moments and saw another man walking along the hallway. Killua quickly assessed him and decided that he was no more dangerous than a regular civilian. As the said man walked past the door, Killua opened it and put his claws against the man's throat.

"Don't make a sound and don't move." Killuas voice was dark and threatening. "If you want to live take me to where the tall blue-haired man is."

"O-Oh, I know who you're talking about." The man said with a trembling voice and walked with Killua right behind him until they reached a door.

Killua dismissed the man with motion of his hand and watched until the frightened man turned around the corner in the hallway. Killua took a deep breath and burst into the room meeting face to face with the blue haired man.

He had been right, the man was laying on a bed and was accompanied by a men, who was immediately knocked out by Killua. He then appeared right next to the blue haired man and put his claws on his throat.

"You better give us our nen back." he sad with murderous eyes. "If you don't, I'll have to kill you."

The scared man looked incredibly strained but managed to nod slightly and cleared his throat.

"K-Kai-zen." He said with difficulty. Killua immediately felt his aura flowing freely through his body. He grabbed the panting man by the shirt, lifted him and simply knocked him out.

He then breathed in deeply and used En to find Val. His took a couple seconds to sense her and smiled in relief. If he could sense her aura fully, that meant he was allright. Save and sound, alive and out of danger. He sighed in relief and used Godspeed to rush a through the hallways until he reached the stairs and went a couple floors down. He passed by many man that probably worked in that place and they probably noticed him as a blur rushing by. But he didn't have time to mind them, he had to get him ad Val out of tha ere.

It took him a little over 10 seconds to get to the front of a steeled door and he happily opened up expecting to find Val out of harm.

When the door opened he realized there were several men knocked on the ground and everything looked pretty bloody. He noticed a figure in the middle of it all, covered in light bruises and cuts and panting heavily. The figure was and dressed in what looked like a suit skirt and a blouse, but the clothes were ripped and cut and were dirty with blood and dirt. Its face had been hidden by strands of messy black hair, but a couple seconds after the figure seemed to notice his presence and whipped its head towards Killua. Killua found himself paralyzed under the doorframe and looking into widened amber eyes.

"Val…" he managed to blurt and took a single step towards her. He didn't know what to say or do.

Her eyes softened and she closed the distance between them and hugged him tightly. "Thank god you're fine." She said with a steady tone of voice and Killua wondered if her face expressed what her voice did. He was about to pull away from her to take a look at her face, but she suddenly turned him around. He put her arms around his neck and climbed into his back. "Come on, let's get out of here."

As soon as she did, hew whole body was pressed against him and Killua was hit by realization. Her trembling legs, her ragged breath, her torn clothes and the overly bruised thighs he was holding to keep her in place. He felt his heart clench but decided to keep his thoughts in the back of his mind until they were safe and sprinted away with godspeed.

After all, even though his En could read much about somebodies physical health and wellbeing, it was completely blind to heart.


	17. A good friend

AN: so, first author note ever, cause i dont really like to do them. Sorry for the few and short updates. I have lots to do and just sit down and write some when i find time to do so. So... please be patient and thank you for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 17

There was a faint light coming in through the window, indicating that it was dawn already. The window opened and Killua entered carrying a limp figure on his back. He remained in the same position standing in front of the window until he shakily and heavily sighed. He then took a few steps until he reached one of the twin beds in a corner and carefully placed the female body on top of the mattress.

He walked to a vanity on the other side of the room and placed both hands on top of it. His hands trembled and his eyes were shut in frustration. Images of the girl that was laying on top of the bed were filling his mind. He hadn't really had any time to think about anything or really check her state since the first priority had been to escape that place. But now that they were relatively safe in their hotel room, his stomach was clenched in a knot and he could already feel the nausea filling his senses.

He didn't even know what was to be done in these cases. He was wary of taking her to a hospital since he knew they were being searched all around; he had seen people go out to find them. What was one to do in this situation? He was used to treating usual wounds and injuries, stitching somebody up wasn't really much of a challenge to him... but this? This was way out of his league. He didn't even know how to assess her situation. For gods sake, he had only managed normal battle wounds. He was no doctor!

And then it hit him.

He took out his cellphone and dialed a number. Soon there was a voice on the other side of the line.

"Hello? Killua!" said a cheerful voice on the other side of the line.

"Leorio."

"Haven't heard of you guys for a couple months already. How are the both of you doing?"

"Well we're... fine. But I'm not with Gon right now." Killuas voice had managed to stay calm and collected all along.

"Oh?"

"I'm calling you because I need help."

"You do? What happened?" Leorio seemed to hear the urgency in Killuas voice.

"I have a... medical... situation here." he somehow was losing his cool. Killua was always capable of keeping his cool in anxious situations. But know that the storm had passed... picking up the pieces was not something he felt prepared to do. "I... was with a girl on this... fucking mission we should've never taken. We... were ambushed and taken captive for a little over twelfe hours. We managed to get out, but I can't get her to a hospital..."

"Well, don't worry. I can help you out, but I used to think you could handle all kinds of cuts and injuries."

"I... this is NOT a regular situation. Leorio..." Killuas voice cracked and he suppressed a sob, his voice shaky and low. "She... she was... was.. she was ra-raped. I-I think. I can't tell for sure because she's unconscious right now."

Killua bit his lip and cursed himself for losing control over his emotions. He was already venting out his feelings on the phone and Leorio had probably figured his feelings for the girl already. He never lost his cool, he never did. However, it had taking all of his will to simply say the damn word.

"Killua. You allright?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now listen to me. She needs treatment, somebody has to do it. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I... I'll have to." Killua gulped at the thought of taking a look at her private parte without her consent and in this situation.

"Wait, where are you?"

"I'm in a hotel in the center of Hummingtown."

"I'm in a town nearby right now. I'll go find you and take a look at her. Where are you exactly?"

"Golden Plate, room n°513"

"Ok, I'll be there in an hour or so. You need to make sure she's stable and well hydrated though."

"Ok."

"Wait for me and keep calm." Leorio said and hung up.

Killua hung up and put the cell phone down on top of the vanity. He sighed one more time and then turned around to look toward the girl.

"Val…" he approached her and sat on the bed next to her.

Her face was stained with dried blood and dirt and her hair stuck to her cheek. He gently removed it and placed it behind her ear. He realized that her lips were dry and there was a small cut on her lower lip. He then realized his own lips were as dry as hers, which made sense, since they'd been out for 14 or 15 hours and had had no water to drink. He walked to the bathroom and filled a glass of water and drank it a second. He then filled it again and brought it back to the room. He took a small spoon and started giving her water little by little.

While he was at it he realized she looked fragile and weak. He could only compare her pale and still form with the how she had been just a day ago; full of life, rosy cheeks, high spirit, grand ethic, beautiful laugh. She had always found the way to cheer him up, even if meant he had to pay for tons of raspberries and get no chocolate. Actually, he'd rather never eat chocolate again if it meant she'd come out of this unharmed and unbroken.

He checked the clock on the wall. Still half an hour to go and he had already given her all of the water. He decided to clean her so that Leorio could immediately check her up.

Killua went to the bathroom and soaked a towel and brought it back with him.

He slowly raised her to an upright position and carefully removed her blouse (or what was left of it). He cleaned the dry blood and dirt off of her back and front torso. When she was clean enough he removed the stains in her neck and arms. He realized that even though she was covered in cuts, they weren't deep. Most of them were actually scratches. He then laid her back down and removed her skirt. He proceeded to clean up her feet, ankles and legs. When he was done cleaning her thighs he noticed that there were bruises on them. He gritted his teeth and his bangs covered his eyes. His hands clenched the towel and water dripped on the floor.

Suddenly the room phone rang and Killua jumped up and picked it up. The receptionist was on the other line noticing about a visitor named 'Leorio' and Killua called him up.

Killua opened up even before there was a knock on the door. Leorio stood there with a serious expression and Killua looked into his eyes for a moment before feeling himself hugged strongly and briefly. With the passing of years he had completely gotten rid of the image he had had of Leorio when they'd just met. He was actually a really good friend and one could always count on him. Leorio walked into the room and saw an almost naked unconscious girl lying on the bed.

"Ok." Leorio put his bag on the floor and looked back at Killua. "What's her name?"  
"Val."

Leorio nodded and added "I like to at least know the name of my patient. Have you been keeping her hydrated and stable?"

"Yeah I gave her 300 cc of water, couldn't do much more since she's passed out. She's seems pretty stable to me, but I'm no doctor."

"Let's have a look at her." Leorio said and Killua nodded and sat on the other bed across the room.

A few minutes passed by and Leorio checked for fever and anemi amongst other probable issues and finally looked back at Killua.

"She seems stable. But I have to say, someone at least _tried_ to abuse her." He then pointed at her thighs. "Her thighs are bruised and it's deeper on her inner thighs, meaning someone tried to force her legs open."

Killua didn't answer and just looked away from Leorio, feeling guilty for not protecting her.

"Killua, I'm going to check for inner bleeding or injuries, if that's all right with you."

Killua simply nodded, a gloomy atmosphere surrounding him as he clenched his fists tighter. Leorios gaze lingered on Killua for a moment and then turned back to the girl in front of him. Killua watched Leorio remove her underwear and turned his head away. He felt like he was violating her privacy; she didn't need him looking at her, with Leorio it was more than enough. Besides, Killua didn't know if he could handle watching any sexual derived injuries on her.

After a few minutes Killua heard Leorio speak up and he turned to face him.

"Killua. There are no injuries and she's fine… physically that is. I can't say for sure what happened to her, but she'll need support. I've treated some of these cases before, and what the victims need the most is constant support."

Killua nodded. "It's strange, you know. I've never been goof with emotions and feelings and I have always envisioned her as emotionally strong and collected. It's actually difficult for me to imagine us with inverted roles."

"Really? I would've never imagined you off the controlling and supporting role."

"Yeah, I know." Killua smiled softly and he spent the next hour or so talking with Leorio about his relationship with Val. Finally it was time for Leorio to leave, since he had a surgery scheduled for later that day. He stood up and headed to the door with Killua following behind. Before opening the door he turned around and face Killua.

"You know what? I intently listened to you when you told me about her. I can tell that you really love her, don't you?" he smiled but didn't wait for an answer. "Let me tell you this. I know she'll be fine. I'm not saying this because I want you to feel better – which I do – but because I really believe it. She seems strong to me and you seems like the perfect support candidate for her. So, don't worry too much, will ya?"

"I won't, only old men like you worry more than they should." Killua smirked and patted his friends shoulder. "Drive safe. And, Leorio? Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it. Just make sure to call more often. I don't want to see you next time in your wedding. Ja ne!"

And with that Leorio was gone.


	18. The thought of you

Chapter 18

Killua was sitting on the bed opposite to the one Val was sleeping in, and even though it had only been two hours since Leorio had left it certainly felt like forever. Somehow as time passed by and he found himself alone with Val his confidence started to falter. When Leorio had left he was at ease and was certain they would manage to get through all of this. He still did but, even though he had more than enough willpower to do what was necessary to help her, he felt like he didn't know WHAT was to be done. And on top of that he was growing hungry, after all it 20 hours had already passed since he last had something to eat. Sadly there was nothing in the room to eat and there was no way in hell he was going to leave and risk Val waking up all by herself.

Suddenly a shifting noise caught his attention and his senses immediately focused on the girl asleep in front of him. Or that HAD been asleep in front of him. Her head was turned to the side facing him completely, her hair was messy around her and her eyes looked directly upon him. He couldn't really say her eyes were open though, since they looked swollen from lack of sleep and stress. As soon as their eyes met the vulnerability in her gaze startled him and he open his mouth so say something to say. Anything would do, as long as she felt supported by him. But nothing came out, his mind was blank. How come he hadn't thought of what to say to her? He had been so caught up thinking what he was going to do in the future for her that he hadn't even wondered what he was to say when she woke up. He inwardly facepalmed at his stupidity but his eyes never wandered away from her. His mouth closed after a few seconds and her mouth opened to say something, but all that came out was an unintelligible throaty utter.

A second after that he was filling up a glass of water and bringing it back to her. He put it on the night table and sat next to the pillow her head was upon. He helped her into a sitting position and put the glass to her lips until she drank the whole content. She looked at him briefly in the eye and then back at the glass and he filled it up again. When she had finished the second glass of water she sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Thank you, Killua." She said looking at her hands that were folded on her lap.

"No. I'm sorry." Killua blurted without thinking. After all, it was true. The feeling that was eating him up inside was guilt. His inability to think straight or make any decisions on the matter at hand had been due to the remorse he felt towards her condition.

"What are you sorry for?" her voice was still hoarse but she could at least speak now.

"I… I couldn't help you. I sat in my damned cell while they tortured you for hours. I wasn't capable of finding another way out earlier. I could've prevented what happened to you, I could've taken some risk but I didn't. It was all my fault. I could've done something, anything. I-"

"Stop." Vals voice was steady and firm. He choked on his words and his eyes widened a little as he looked at her. Her haze was directed at him and even though her voice expressed confidence, he could see in her eyes that she was about to break down. "Just… stop. I can't deal with this right now. Please."

Killuas lips tightened to a line and his gaze faltered. He had been venting out his feelings of guilt on her while SHE was the one who needed support. When he had spoken he had not been thinking about her, but about him. He bit his lower lip in shame and looked up at her. He sat there for a few seconds that seemed like eternity. He finally put his arms around her and softly brought her closer to him. He felt her head lay on his shoulder for support and he lightly caressed the back of her head. After a while her breath had seemed to adjust to his. The embrace had had the both of them anxious at first but after a good ten minutes both had relaxed into it.

Val slowly pulled away and looked at Killua in the eyes and cupped his cheek.

"I want to thank you again, Killua." She said as she caressed his cheek with her thumb. "All the time I was in that place the thought of you helped me stay strong." She closed her eyes and smiled a little, half bitterly and half tenderly. And Killuas eyes softened more if it was possible. "Whenever I felt on edge I would close my eyes and picture your smiling eyes. Did you know? Your eyes are so transparent that I feel I can see directly into your soul if I look with enough attention. Even though you may seem controlled and stoic in front of others, I have somehow learned to see through you. So, I would remember the good times we've had and the way your eyes shone with bliss. Every time-" her voice broke a little and her eyes watered "every time they tried to break my will I found comfort when thinking about you. You did help me, Killua. It was not your strength that helped me, it was your heart."

Killua was at a loss of words. What was he supposed to say? Even though he knew he was supposed to keep himself together for her, he couldn't help turn his gaze away. He felt his blood rush to his face and his heart beating faster. He felt her eyes burning into the side of his head, but he refused to look at her feeling his blush deepen even more.

Val chuckled a bit. "No need to be so shy."

"Wha- It's you who's getting all sentimental." Killua pointed out and held an accusing finger at her.

She laughed it off and pulled away. "I'd like to get my mind off all that's happened. Wanna go grab something to eat?"

Killua smiled at her, his shyness forgotten and his face returning to its usual pale color. He stood up and wanted to help her stand up as well, but remembered that she was in nothing but her undergarments.

"You don't need help getting dressed, do you?" he said as he looked away from her

"What, didn't you get enough of me the other day?" she grinned and he smirked.

He turned around and threw her clothes on her bed and motioned for her to get dressed without throwing her a glance.

"I'll be waiting outside. Call out for me if you need anything." Killua said closing the door behind him. As soon as he stepped outside he felt relief washing over him. He would be able to help her, they would manage to get through this.

He had doubted himself and her as well. After talking for a while with her he realized that things were the same between the both of them. Maybe she needed help, maybe she it would be hard, but it would be all right as long as they had each other and the bond they'd built over time. He smiled a little and stepped in front of a window in the hallway, which looked out to a patio inside the hotel. He could see the sun passing through the leaves of a tree and the green colors shining brightly. For an unknown reason that view was magic to him, and it somehow gave him hope.

The moment was interrupted when Val stepped out of the room and grabbed his hand quickly and muttered something along the lines of having a hole in her stomach, which Killua didn't quite make due to his dreamy state. He simply allowed her to pull him out of the hotel and into the street, a soft smile never leaving his lips.


	19. Back home

Bet You: Chapter 19

Killua awoke to a piercing scream that suddenly filled his senses and jerked him awake to a sitting position. He frantically looked around, still disoriented due to his sleepy state. A couple seconds later his stare turned to Val on a bed next to him. Her eyes were tightly shut and she was thrashing her arms and legs violently. A second later Killua was by her side and trying to wake her.

"N-no! Stop!" she tried to push Killua away as soon as she felt his hands on her shoulder shaking her awake.

"Val. Val, it's me. Killua."

"K-Killua?" Val said abruptly stopping her thrashing and remaining still but keeping her eyes shut.

"Yes. It was just a nightmare" Killua said in a calm voice. Vals eyes opened her tear filled eyes and looked at him. She put her arms around him and leaned her head on his chest and tried to calm her breathing. Killua softly stroked the back of her head, a lump forming in his throat.

Killua assumed she had had a terrible nightmare, but he could only imagine what exactly. Yesterday he and Val had returned home, and all along the journey she had not said anything to him about that day. All he had were his assumptions based on what he had seen and what Leorio had told him. He knew she was avoiding the subject, trying to pass it off as a something unimportant and trying not to worry him. Her smile wouldn't reach her eyes and sometimes she would jerk away from human contact. As soon as they arrived he offered Val his company for the night, and she accepted throwing a joke back at him. He knew better. He could see it in her eyes. He had offered his company because he knew she would break at some point and he didn't want her to be alone. It appeared he had been right. Even though the girl in his arms had managed to breathe regularly now, he still could feel her body stiff. He didn't know if it was because of his closeness or because of the dream. He certainly hoped for the latter. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable; he just wanted to help her.

"You're safe now."

"I know I am. But memories keep flooding my mind." She said with her head still buried in his chest. "I feel trapped inside my own head."

"You can tell me, you know. If you think it'll make you feel better." He said softly.

"Maybe it will." She sighed and she stayed silent for a couple seconds. "…Their leader knew me too well and he was certain I wouldn't speak no matter how much pain they put me in. So they took their only chance: t-they had to break my will." Her voice trembled a little bit. She stopped for a second. "The first hour or so, they left me there by myself. I thought they were just going to keep us prisoners… but then they came back. They threatened to kill everybody once they found them instead of simply disbanding them. They threatened to rape every woman in the movement. I wouldn't talk. They knew I was trying to protect them. Then they threatened to kill you… but I knew they wouldn't. They said 'the zaoldyeck boy' so they knew they'd be getting into a load of trouble if they did. Even though, I said you didn't matter to me at all… they didn't believe me. I…I couldn't let them do anything to you because of me. I threatened to bit my tongue off if they did. I must've sounded pretty sure of my own threat, because they stopped talking about you. Then they left again… I worried so much about you. I thought they'd gone and done something to you. My heart clenched tightly at the thought t of losing you. I even decided to spill I order to keep them from hurting you further. I-I considered betraying them… I loathed myself at the moment. But I couldn't put you at such risk. Your life was worth nothing to them, so I had to keep you safe. A couple hours later they came back… but they said nothing about you. I feared they'd already killed you or something. Then they… decided to break me." Val stopped for a moment and stared shaking. "They injected this drug on me which left me disoriented and dizzy for a couple hours at least. I don't know how long I was there with them, Killua. I can't even accurately remember what they did to me. I know they sexually threatened me… but I don't remember actual… rape. They wanted me to give in due to psychological stress. They touched me and grabbed me… they always came to the point when they would be a couple inches away from raping me… but they didn't. I… the time passed by. Hours, I believe. I started to think… JUST GET OVER WITH IT, TAKE ME AND FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE. I was so tired. I… I was losing my mind and they were wining. I started to fear I would eventually tell them what I wanted to know. That I would betray my family. Then… then I felt my aura come back to me in full force. I didn't know if it was some sort of dream or hallucination, you know? But anyways, I decided to butcher them all… as soon as I did I wished I hadn't and that I had tortured them the way they tortured me. And then… you came." She started shedding tears. "When I saw you- You don't know how relieved I was to see you alive. I knew everything was going to be allright…"

She sobbed uncontrollably on Killuas shirt and clenched its collar with trembling hands. Killua hugged her and realized that it didn't matter that they didn't actually rape her… they had broken her anyways. They had known how to stretch the torture beyond regular sexual abuse. He caressed her back lightly but said nothing. They stayed like that for a long time until she falled back into slumber. Knowing that he was at peace know – or at as much peace as she would get for now – Killua fell asleep right afterwards. They slept in each other's arms in an almost sitting position. They would wake up with a sore back, but none dared move away. They slept happily until next morning- or not.

Past midnight, Killuas phone rang. He swore lowly and pulled his hands off Val and crouched down in front of his bag and searched for his phone. He stepped into another room and saw that it was Gon and cursed himself for not turning his phone off and going back to sleep. Might answer anyways since he was alrady up.

"Gon."

"Killua! Hey, are you alright? You were supposed to be back by now."

"I am. I'm staying at Val's."

"Ohhh….— Tell meee… have you already-"

"Stop." Killua clenched his free hand and his eyes darkened. "The mission was a failure. We…we were captured…"

"What! Are you-?"

"I'm fine, nothing happened to me. Just… Val was… tortured. I'll tell you about this later, ok? I'm staying here in case she needs me."

"…I'm so sorry. You know you can count on me if anything happens. Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I don't know. I intend on calling boss and talking to him tomorrow before I set out. I think she needs at least a couple days off."

"Ok, tell Val that I wish she gets better soon."

"I will, Gon. Bye."

"Bye!"

Killua hung up and got back to bed. He was about to get on his own bed when he looked at Vals peaceful face, her hand stretched across the mattress, as if trying to find something. He smiled softly and lay back by her side, surrounding her frame with his arms again. He felt her heat radiating into his body, at while he smiled and let sleep take him once more.


	20. On the trail

Chapter 20

Killua checked the time for the tenth time in the last hour. Their boss had granted Val a week off, and he was content with that. But leaving her by herself with her physical and emotional wounds was putting him on the edge. It was almost time to go home and he was fidgeting in his seat, barely managing to stay seated and obviously not getting any work done.

They had gotten home three days ago and he had been staying at her place. Of course he missed Gon, but there's no way he'd leave her alone even if she insisted she didn't want to bother him. He didn't really think that she would have much trouble by herself… but he just knew she'd rather have someone around. At night she would wake up terrified, and he could see it in the way her eyes softened when she looked at him, that his presence was comforting to her. He was actually impressed at how good she was pulling though, noting that the captives back a Kukuroo Mountain that were psychologically tortured had a much worse development. He could tell she wasn't hiding any of the pain in her heart and pouring it on him when she felt it overflowing, but that didn't mean she was weak. On the contrary. The way she was dealing with this subject could only be label her as strong. Not the physical strength or the emotional coldness that were usually referred to when using the word strong. No, it was the kind of emotional strength that came with maturity and a lifetime of emotional and ideological hardship. The need to live a double life, the loss of most of her family, the deprivation of her close ones to protect them, and the ability to even though manage to smile honestly every day was more than enough to prove her resilience.

He knew she didn't really need him all day long with her, but he could only concentrate in work for a few hours. At the end of the day the anxiety would start eating him alive. He didn't want her to be alone, he didn't want her to think he didn't care. He wanted her to know he did and that he was there for her even if it meant just sitting there and listen to music or talk about mundane stuff. He didn't want her to think he would fail her again. He would make sure she knew how sorry he was for failing at doing anything back at the mission. He would make sure HE erased his incompetence and replace that feeling with the knowledge that he was actually helping her. Or at least trying to. He mentally scoffed at his stupidity. This whole thing wasn't about him, it was about her. But his emotional insecurity had him making it all about himself. About his feelings of incapability, of his want to be useful to her.

His presence at her house always brought a smile to her face. And for the whole week she got off, he kept her company. He promised he would be by her side until she was better. At night he slept next to her since she still woke up at night screaming and thrashing in her sleep and he would hold her until she calmed down. When that week was over with, she started working but only in the morning for a couple weeks. Her nightmares started to fade away, but he could still tell she woke up at night and held tight him for comfort.

A month after the incident and the last week she would get her afternoons free, he was walking over to her house thinking how she'd seems so much better this past days. He hadn't felt her wake up at night, and wondered if it was time for him to go back home, since Gon kept pestering him on how they seemed like a married couple now. He had to recognize that, even though he was relieved and happy with Vals development, he wished she woke up at least every other night. That way he would have an excuse to sleep next to her. Even though they hadn't kissed or done anything sexual, he still found comfort feeling her heat and presence. He couldn't believe he would become this cheesy. A couple months ago he would've laughed at himself. He sighed and knocked on the door, which was opened the door with a smile.

"Hey" Val stood there with a black military boots, short jeans and a gray sweatshirt that was really tattered. He black hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was fastening a small puch on her hip.

"What, are we going to war?" he raised and eyebrow.

"Something like that." She said grabbing his backpack and tossing it inside the apartment and closing the door behind her. She grabbed his hand and started walking down the hall. "Let's go."

"Okaaaay—try to explain?" he said tilting his head sideways and looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know…." Val teased and laughed when he frowned. Her laughter died and a serious expression appeared on her face. "I need to check is everything is alright… you know were. What happened back there only meant trouble. I usually go only with previous appointment, but I can't just wait and let harm go their way." Her eyes bored into his own and he felt his heart race. "Killua, would you come with me?"

Killua was at a loss of words. He had wanted her trust for so long, wishing for her to open up and let him into her life. After a couple seconds he managed to close his hanging jaw and smirked.

"I wouldn't want you to miss me."

She smirked back at him and with a knowing expression "Yeah, let's just leave it at that. _I'm _the one doing all the missing." Killua felt his face warm up. Maybe she had a point; it was him doing all the missing. She smiled honestly and looked ahead once again. "Or maybe you're right. Come on."

The bus stopped and Killua and Val stepped down. Killua looked around and saw that they were in the middle of no-where. It was just raw nature and some farm lands all around.

"Are we here to visit some trees or something?"

"Maybe we are." She teased. "You know how they say trees are great teachers?"

Killua snorted "Yeah right."

"I bet Gon would agree with me. There's a lot for one to learn about nature, you know?"

"Yeah, like poisonous herbs or nen."

Val heartily laughed. "Not everything is about violence, you know?"

"Oh god, please spare me the hippie talk." He said putting his palms together in front of his chest and looked at the sky in fake desperation.

"Hey" Val said in fake hurt. "Come, on. We still have some way to go and it's only a couple hours till dawn."

She took an almost imperceptible trail in between a couple trees and Killua followed. A first the landscape looked a little arid and only a couple trees and shrubs could be spotted around. The ground looked dry and there was little wildlife. Soon everything stared turning greener and trees were constantly growing numerous and taller, which was really like a postcard according to Killua, but that didn't stop him from inwardly complaining from the mud that stuck to his shoes. Twenty minutes into the trail and he could see his favorite pair getting muddier, his shoelaces no longer identifiable.

"ARRRGHHH this is why I hate the country. I love paved floors and coffee shops, and street light at night." He said irritably.

Val laughed at his distress and stopped in front of him pointing at her military boots. "Maybe I should've warned you, but I very well know you don't have this kind of footwear. You're too vain to even consider purchasing a pair of these."

"What! Vain? What are you implying, huh?" he said actually feeling a little shaken by her comment.

"I don't mean to say you're shallow, Killua, couse you're not and you know it. I just know you care about the way you look."

"Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing. You _clearly_ don't mind." He mocked her and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Maybe I don't." she smiled and crouched down. A couple seconds later she was pulling off her boots, tying them together with the laces and putting them around her neck, one boot at each side. She then stuffed her socks inside each boot and stood up pointing at his feet. "Come on, take them off. The road's just gonna get messier and I don't want you to ruin your sneakers." She saw the ghost of a frown on Killuas face and added. "I even took my own boots off so you don't go complaining all the way."

"I was _not_ going to. I'm a hunter too, you know? It's not _hard_ for me to take my shoes off." he said taking his own shoes off and tying them around his shoulder. He the stood straight and raised an eyebrow with a small smug smile, his body language spilling a self-righteous attitude.

"Oh, well done, sweetie." She said laughing and started walking again. Killua followed in silence. "You know, I haven't been around here for the longest time. This place was where my parents first settled down with the community. Its existence was hardly known to most members, and I dare say only a handful knew its location. I can only assume they've come this way, it's the safest place to be."

"Wait, what? You don't know for sure I've they're here?"

"Not really. But I know how they work as much as I know the palm of my hand. I would almost bet my life that they're here."

"Well, can't really take you on that one." Killua sighed. "I really hope they're here and this journey was worth it."

"I have the feeling that it'll be." And after that she said no more. Killua wondered if she was having another gut feeling or not, but decided not to ask. Whatever it was, there was no turning back now.


	21. A step forward

I'M SORRY for the delay…. I've been just too busy. I hope you enjoy this chapter, heh.

Chapter 21

After a half hour walk they started trailing across a Clearwater creek. In the distance Killua saw what appeared to be a clearing and a couple houses. As they approached, he decided that those weren't houses, but more like cabins. He could count around twenty of them, and he could see some people walking around the place. Everybody seemed tense and the air was tense, which made Killua wonder if they knew that they were being targeted.

"Killua." Val whispered with a frown. "Something's not right."

"I can tell." He nodded back at her.

"I don't want them to notice us just jet." She said crouching down and hiding behind the abundant shrubs and tree trunks. Killua followed and they moved forward in a sort of crawling motion. They approached the first house in line and hid between the wooden wall and an old tractor covered by an old textile. It was a good place to hide since it hid them well, but also allowed good observation towards the clearing. Both sat down and decided to wait for a while to see if anything suspicious happened around.

After a couple minutes voices talked inside and both held their breaths in order to properly listen.

"Mother…" a feminine voice called in an apparent greeting.

"Daisy, sweetie, come here." a more grown voice called back and steps could be heard.

"Is everything all right?" the younger voice called.

"I need to tell you something, Daisy." The mothers voice was serious but tender. "A letter arrived today."

"A-a letter?" the other voice stuttered and silence followed.

Killua and Val exchanged glances, both knowing that there was no way mail arrived to this kind of place, so that meant that the letter either was from someone inside the community, or brought by someone from outside. Val frowned and tilted her head up to listen better.

"Yes, a letter… you know that only one kind of letter is sent to our people."

"I-I do." The younger voice said in feat. "M-mother, I-I don't want to."

"I know, I know…" the older voice seemed to trail for a moment and then sighed. "It arrived a couple hours ago and I've been wondering if here's a way to prevent this from happening… but you have to know that it's dangerous to refuse."

"I don't care!" the other voice raised a little and then went back to its normal level. "I won't do this. I don't care what they do."

"Daisy, please. Think about it. You have a little brother…"

"NO!" the voice raised again, steps were heard and then a door slamming shut.

Killua and Val shared a frown and stayed hidden a while longer, but the village suddenly got really quiet. They silently crept back to the woods and walked for a while until they were rather deep into the forest. They stopped when they reached a clearing, from which the sky could be clearly seen above. It was late dawn already, and some stars shone across the dark purple sky.

"We'll have to stay hidden until we find out what's going on. It sounds as if that family's being threatened." Val said.

"I agree." Killua nodded. "We'll have to sleep out here tonight. You're not carrying a tent with you are you?"

"HA! Of course I do." She said with a winning pose. "Wait did you say tent? I meant that I carry a blanket with me. But no tent, sorry, so we'll have to sleep in the open. Why, you scared?"

"Why did I even agree to come with you? Jeez… what a bother."

"Well, you can always go back. I'll stay here, you know I can take care of myself."

"No way, then you'll rub it in my face. How much of a coward I was and all." Killua croseed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Val simply laughed her ass off and clutched her stomach. "Let's leave it at that. I'll build a fire, I don't want you whining when you freeze to death. Wanna get something to eat?"

Killua nodded and started walking out of the clearing and into the woods. "I'll hunt something."

Half an hour later they were seated opposite from each other and eating a roasted rabbit and some berries they'd gathered not far away. The silence had stretched for a while now, but both felt content and at ease. After a while Val started rubbing her arms and blowing into her clasped hands.

"GOD, it's cold. Killua, come over here."

Killua smirked and walked over her and sat down right next to her. He put his arms around her shoulders with a smug smile. "Well, if you didn't dress thinking of seducing me you wouldn't be so cold now, would you?"

"What? Has my comfortable and shitty war outfit actually _seduced_ you? Wow, I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff." Val said with mock surprise.

Killua didn't feel as intimidated by her dirty joked as before and tilted his head until it rested on top of hers. "Anything you wore would do the trick. Or anything that you didn't wear for that matter."

Val seemed taken aback by his answer and a blush slowly crept on her face. "Jeez, Killua." She seemed to try to find something to say back to him, but she didn't and simply sighed. She then reached to grab her backpack, opened it and took out a blanket.

"Here." She said and handed it to Killua. He stood up and covered himself with it.

"Much better." He said with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm the freezing one in here!" Val almost pouted.

"Oh, I didn't think I'd have to hear you whining about freezing to death."

Vals mouth dropped for a second and then she frowned and turned around in her sitting position. "Fine." She said now facing away from him.

Killua inwardly smiled at how she seemed so deeply mature most of the time, but sometimes her inner child would show. He watched her back shiver for a couple minutes and tried to control the laughter building up in his throat. He finally chuckled and walked over to her.

"Come on, let's get you warm." He said as he sat down beside her, placing both his legs on either side of her and hugging her from behind. That way both of them were covered by the blanket. Slowly the heat of their bodies started to radiate and Killua felt her shivering stop. He rested his chin on her shoulder and sighed as he felt the heat building up in her body. A small content smile formed on his lips and his eyes softened. His body relaxed at the feel of her body and he suddenly felt his usual self-awareness and timidity melt away. He suddenly felt certain of himself.

"You know, you're really adorable when you act like this. And it also makes me feel less like a child in comparison."

Val turned her head to look at him from the corner of her eyes and with raised eyebrows. After a couple seconds a smile formed on her lips and her eyes looked back ahead of her. She rested her head on top of Killuas and he hugged her tighter, now the front of his body completely pressed against her back. Killuas face was practically buried in the crook of her neck, and he couldn't help but inhale her scent until his senses were overwhelmed by it.

Val sighed and Killua realized that his nose had been brushing her ear and neck, and that his breath probably tickled her. But she hadn't complained and seemed to like it. He moved his head slowly caressing the side of her neck with the tip of his nose. He let his lips brush behind her ear and felt her shiver slightly and tilt her head to give him more access. Killua half kissed and half caressed her neck with his lips while his hands raised to her shoulder and his fingertips trailed her arms down. He could feel Val relaxing into his touch and her mouth parting slightly.

His lips hands left her arms and stroked the portion of skin between her shirt and her pants. His hand sneaked beneath the shirt and his fingertips softly trailed circles across her belly. His lips kissed her shoulder and his hand reached up to brush under the hem of her bra. Val inhaled sharply and her hands suddenly clutched both his legs firmly.

Both his hands trailed ever narrowing circles around both her breasts, his mouth now kissing her shoulder. When his hands brushes her nipples she moaned softly and arched her back slightly, letting her head rest on his shoulder and giving him more access. He softly pinched the top of her mounds and kissed her on the lips softly but almost desperately. She held the back of his face and pulled him closer in order to deepen the kiss.

Killua remembered in the back of his mind that Val was sexually delicate right know… but the desire he felt for her had been building up for a long time and his will to stop and ask was not strong enough. He figured that she would say something if she didn't feel like doing anything with him.

One of his hands lifted her shirt and her bra and broke the kiss to pull both garments off. His came back to hers, but soon left a trail of kisses down her throat and collar bone. He soon found one of her breasts and kissed her soft skin gently. As he worked on her he could feel his mind becoming drowsy with desire. All his senses could register was the reaction of her body to his touch and the sweet sounds that left her parted lips – low moans and ragged breath. Killuas keen eyes caught how Val clasped her legs together and swayed her hips almost imperceptibly. His hands grazed the valley between her breasts and down her belly until he found the hem of her shorts. He played with his fingers at the spot for a while and then proceeded to slowly lower her shorts. As soon as he did, his senses were overflowed by the scent of her sex. His hand caressed her down her undergarment and he realized she was soaked, even her upper inner thighs were moist. Killua didn't think his throbbing erection could get any harder, but it did. He rubbed her wetness through her cloth and he almost groaned in pleasure.

"Killua…" Val whispered in a ragged voice. Killua 'hmed' into her breasts and turned to look at her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips red and parted, her hair messy and her eyes… her eyes held deep desire and care that made his own emotions overflow. "Killua… touch me…" she almost moaned the words.

Killua could only comply and started removing her panties, which she finished kicking them down her legs. His senses partially returned and he gulped at the fact of what he was supposed to do. He didn't really _know_ how to do what he was supposed to do. He had only vague ideas…

Apparently Val realized his doubt, because she took his right hand in hers and led it down to her core. She took on of his fingers and slid it between her folds, which were not only wet, but hot in contrast to his cool hands.

"You'll figure what to do soon enough…" she said and traced his finger along herself back and forth, allowing him to feel her completely. Killua realized her body shifted a bit every time when his fingertips brushed a certain part of her. After a while she handled his hand so that he was rubbing a certain mound, which made her moan softly into his neck. After a while her hand left his, and Killua figured he was supposed to keep going. Her breath became rougher and her body tenser. Soon she clutched to him tightly, her face contorted in pleasure and her lips parted for her to moan. Her hand held his own to stop him. Killuas heartbeat was erratic, his desire burning in his gut.

He lifted his hand to his lips and licked the moisture covering his fingers. Their eyes met and Val suddenly pushed him away and stood up. Killua looked up at her naked body in awe, but wondered if he had done something wrong. Val reached to her backpack, took a condom out and crouched down again next to him. Killua wondered if she had been planning this all along but the thought left his mind as she stripped him of his own shirt with a smug smile. He complied and lied down and, as soon as he did, Val proceeded to remove his own pants. He would've felt self-conscious if his lust weren't greater than his logical brain. He hands softly touched his throbbing member through his boxers. He couldn't help but groan in pleasure, lifting his hips slightly to her touch. She removed the last of his clothing and he kicked it off. She kneeled beside him, looked him in the eye and leaned in to kiss him passionately. Their tongues exploring their mouths and their hands clutching to each other faces. The finally pulled away and she raised one of her legs to straddle his hips. His hands unconsciously held her hips and she looked into his eyes as her hips lowered. When his member finally brushed her wet core, he groaned again and she sighed softly. She held him with one hand and pressed lightly while rocking her hips back and forth. She moaned softly while his member rubbed her clit and his hold on her hips tightened. She stopped moving to put the protection on him and when she was finished, she slowly, slowly, lowered herself and Killua felt his member being surrounded by tight, hot, wet walls. He hissed and tilted his head backwards and heard Val sigh. All his senses were suddenly focused on the pleasure he felt from where their bodies were joined.

Val rested her hands on top of his chest and started rocking her hips back and forth. Amongst his own pleasure he could see her eyes closing and her teeth biting on her lower lip. Her hand traveled back down to where their bodies were joined and started rubbing her small mound at the same pace of her rocking hips. Soon their pace fastened and Vals body tensed again. Killua felt her walls rhythmically tightening on him with one last squeeze which was followed by a loud groan from her. Killua felt himself edging but tried to control himself, he didn't want this to end just jet.

Killua suddenly turned them around so that he was on top of her. He looked down at her flushed face and trembling body and crashed his lips down on hers. He pounded into her, harder and faster as seconds passed by. He moaned as he felt a tightening building in his lower abdomen and gripped her shoulder tightly. Val hugged him tightly and whimpered in pleasure as he tried to reach as deep as he could into her. Her walls tightened around him with a force he hadn't felt before as she screamed in ecstasy and he thrust into her a final time felling his member throbbing and pulsating simultaneously with her own body. He finally collapsed on top of her hot body and struggled to regain his breath.

After a minute or so he realized he must've been crushing Vals body, so he rolled to the side and looked at her. His eyes widened as he saw she had tears streaming down her face. A pang of guilt build on his chest and he raised his hand to wipe a tear away. He was at a loss of words… Even though it was his first time and he hadn't much experience, he thought it had been good… real good. For both of them. Maybe he was wrong? Maybe she hadn't been ready to do this just jet… All his doubts disappeared when she turned to look at him with a smile.

"Deep down… I was afraid." She said in almost a whisper. "I was a afraid that any kind of intimacy would be impossible for me now…" And Killua understood that she didn't cry because of sadness or anger. She cried because she was happy, and relieved. And he felt his chest tighten in bliss as the thought that she had been able to take a big step away from that incident from a few weeks ago, and at the fact that he had been able to help her out. He smiled and held her hiding his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent.

"Killua… thank you."

HA! There you go, finally huh? Please let me know what you think!


	22. Back on track

So, finally I found some time to finish this. Here it goes!

Chapter 22

Killua and Val slipped through the shrublands as silently as they could. They'd been talking about the unknown issue bothering the inhabitants of the village. They had little clues about what was going on, but they agreed that their gut feeling pointed towards someone abusing people and blackmailing them with their loved ones. So, both decided that one of them would simply approach someone and ask straight ahead. If they received a violent reaction, they'd leave and the other one would try a different way. They decided to speak to the girl that they'd overheard the previous night, since they already were certain she was aware of the local issue and they'd be able to tell if she lied about that fact.

"I think you should be the one to go and ask her, Killua." Val whispered as they neared the populated area and hid crouching behind a dense shrub.

"Huh? Why me? I don't even know these people. You know more about their ways and customs, so you should be the one to speak."

"We're not here to talk morals, values or ideas. We want that girl to feel like she's in good hands, and that whoever talks to here would be able to actually help. From what I've seen around here, it looks like sexual roles are pretty conservative, so a man would probably make her feel safer than a girl." Val said scratching her chin in a thoughtful manner.

"You've got a point. But what if those conservative sexual roles also imply that she won't open up to a man. Maybe she'd be more willing to speak her mind to another woman."

"Hm… if the both of us approach her at the same time she might feel daunted and won't want to speak to any of us. Also, if the both of us go simultaneously and fail, we might not get another shot."

"I say you go and tell her you've come with a strong man who can help her out." Killua raised his finger.

"Ohhh, so I'll be like… 'I've come with a prince in a shining armor who can recue us, thank goodness'." Val mocked raising her voice to a higher tune.

"Hey, I'm just trying to speak in a way that a girl that might think like my great grandmother could relate to, ok?" Killua scowled a little at her remark.

"I know, I know. If all of that fails, you'll go and captivate her with your chaaarm, peeerfect Adonis muscles and incredibly good looks."

"Whoa, didn't know I had such good qualities. Really, like, Adonis muscles and incredibly good looks? I must really have you around my finger, don't I?" Killua wiggeled his eyebrows while holding a smirk.

"Pfft, while you might have those qualities, I sadly won't be deceived by them. Sorry."

"Really? Last night says otherwise." Killuas smug retort took Val by surprise and she blushed a little bit.

"That was something else…" she mumbled even more quietly and, if Killua hadn't had increased hearing abilities he wouldn't have heard her. He smiled at her blushing face and put his arm around her shoulders while both were still crouching down behind the bush. Both stayed hidden and quiet for a good twenty minutes until they saw the door to the house open and the girl walk out.

"So, you'll go and talk to her, right?" Killua whispered into her hair and her shoulders relaxed.

"Yes, keep watch in case someone sees us." Val said and Killua nodded, to which she slipped away and closed up on the unsuspecting girl.

Killua saw as Val hid behind another shrub and raised her voice a little bit.

"Hey!"

The girl turned around and immediately tensed her body. "Who's there?" To which Val immediately poked her head out of the shrub and motioned for her to come closer. "Could I speak to you for a moment?"

The girl approached Vals hiding spot and Killua could no longer hear them since they now spoke in a lower voice. He saw the girl raise her eyebrows in surprise and then nervously fidget with the hem of her dress. Then Val started gesticulating with her hands and assumed she was convincing her of how strong he was. He assumed Val had gone straight to the point and was now speaking truthfully about the things she'd previously mocked him about. Killua couldn't help but smuglysmirk at that. Suddenly the girl reached out and held Vals hands in a strong grip, at least as strong as a civilian girls could get. She cautiously looked at behind her and then turned her head towards Val to speak in a hurried manner. After a good thirty seconds he saw Val shoulder tense and her whole body freeze. The girl stood there for a couple seconds with a worried look on her face. Killua damned that he couldn't see Vals face and understand her sudden reaction, but soon she relaxed slightly and put put her hand on the girls shoulder. Killua assumed she'd probably said something to let her be calm and to bid her farewell, because she immediately turned around and dashed into the forest.

Killua wondered what was wrong but simply followed. As soon as they approached the clearing where they'd camped before she stopped and stood with her hands clenched. Killua stood by her side for a couple seconds and was about to ask what was wrong when she spoke.

"_FUCK_."


	23. Finale

So, so sorry. It's been a long time since I last updated. I've been really busy. So, here you go.

Chapter 23

"_FUCK_."

"Val, tell me. What happened?"

"That girl… what she told me. This is outrageous.. I can't believe this."

"What?"

"The only persona here on the inside that knew what kind of work I did died a couple years ago… I didn't think I needed someone else inside. I really trusted them and simply lent a hand to them when needed as the daughter of two founders. But now they… a couple years ago someone was appointed as the ruler. But the power he possessed skyrocketed in half a year or so. He became some sort of dictator and he acquired a certain privilege. Every few months he would have the right to choose anyone in here as a personal servant that would serve him until he decided he wanted someone else. Every time he would choose beautiful young women, and none refused since he would threaten their families. You know what this means, right? He's a fucking PIG! I'll destroy him. I will." Val finished shaking by now. Killua stayed beside her and put his hand on his shoulder.

"What do you want to do? How should we face this? You can't just go to the authorities and blow the cover you've been working on for so long. You'd expose them..."

"Does it even matter? The dream my parents held in life that I tried to protect… it's gone. If this has happened, then most of them have been corrupted. What kind of dream of fearless freedom and mutual help can be built upon people who allow something like this to happen?" Val sighed. "It's gone. And I've helped keep this shit going for the whole year that it lasted. I covered for this pig. It's my responsibility."

"Val! Don't say that. You didn't know what was going on… You had a noble ideal you were trying to follow. You-"

"Killua. Don't you understand? If I was the one with the power to keep them hidden, it was my responsibility to make sure what was going on! The last couple years I relaxed too much."

"Val, nobody knows who they work for until they do. Don't punish yourself like this. What matters is what you're going to do now that you know what's going on. I think we should just let everyone go and help them adapt into society. But it's your call."

"I agree. I'll help for a while until they can fend for themselves…" Val said and sighed. "Let's call Gon. He should be able to give us a hand. Get the hunter association to bring a bus and take them as refugees for a while or something."

Killua called Gon and he immediately agreed on helping in whatever he could. As soon as they hung up they got into action. Not much action, really. They were just regular people, not hunters, not good fighters. It was easy to disband the group of people that supported the newly appointed leader. The oldest members did recognize Val and they told everybody that she used to be a part of them and was the daughter of deceased founding members. She apologized for not realizing sooner what was going on and promised to help everyone adapt to the outer world.

As soon as they were on their way home, Val was fidgeting with her sweatshirt and sweating. Killua was looking at her with an eybrow raised. "Hey, what's up?"

"Killua, since I have been living with very little for a couple years, I think I have enough to support them for a few months until they find a job or whatever. I know I should do this myself, but I don't think I'll be able to. In case I can't, can I give this money to you and trust you to help them for me? I know it's a lot to ask of you, but please?

"What? What are you talking about? I mean, I wouldn't mind helping you out with this. But why wouldn't you be able to do this yourself?"

"I think I might have to go to prison for this." Val said sighind

"What? You're a hunter, don't we get special treatment?"

"You do know I spent the last couple years erasing whatever info about them came to the association.. you think they'll forgive me this easily?"

"You told me the one person who knew about what you did died a couple years ago. Does anybody else know?" Killua question with furrowed eyebrows.

"I… I don't know. I don't think he told anybody else, they would've tried to contact me… I think."

"Then, nobody knows about this! Let's not tell anybody about your doing, I promise not to talk. You know I won't." Killua said and squeezed Vals hand when he saw the doubt in her eyes. "Val, I don't want you to go to prison. It's not that I think you wouldn't be able to escape, 'couse you absolutely could, but I know that you'd willingly pay for something that you assume it's your fault. Now listen to me. It's NOT! You are innocent and don't deserve to be stripped of your freedom. You can do much more good out here as a hunter then there as a convict. Please."

Val looked at his pleading face and closed her eyes to think hard. Did she really deserve this? Shouldn't she pay for her mistake? She looked at Killua once again and stared deeply into his eyes once again. She remembered all they'd lived together, the story they shared. All the hardships they'd faced, how they'd helped eachother. She remembered how they'd made love the night before and how at ease she was around him. Going to prison would mean not seeing Killua for the longest time… not being able to share with him. And who knows how long her sentence might be.

"I… Killua I think I'll be selfish this time." She said looking at him. His eyes were questioning, meaning he still didn't understand what she meant. She smiled. "With that I mean that I don't want to lose you. I'll stay because I enjoy your company more than anything. I want to be with you. I don't think I could stand being away from the one I love for a long time."

Killua slightly blushed and embraced her tightly. A small smile adorned his lips and he closed his eyes enjoying her scent. "I love you too." He mumbled into the back of her head and looked at the sky thinking.

_Gon, I think I've found what I want to do._

FINALLY. The end. Tell me what you think and revieeew


End file.

Hunter X Hunter, Adventure, Romance