The moment Kurapika boarded the airship, he retired to his assigned room for the afternoon. He removed his shoes and his mantle, laying the latter out carefully so that the emblem of his clan was facing upwards. He went to the window and leaned against the frame, closing his eyes and reveling in the temporary serenity. It was the first time he had let his guard down, even partially, all week , the fourth phase of the exam requiring all of his concentration and vigor. He took deep, calming breaths, willing the tension to leave his body, muscle by muscle.

Though he would never give in to it, he was physically and mentally exhausted. He figured he could allow himself five hours of sleep to refresh. He lay down on the bed clad only in his white trousers and undershirt. The sunlight streaming through his curtainless window had absolutely no effect on him. In moments he was drifting off, his mental clock set to awake him in no more than five hours.

Knock. .

Kurapika's eyes opened and flicked to the door, flashing red momentarily. He thought of a thousand increasingly rude things he could say to his caller, but in the end his good breeding overcame his irritation and he stood to open the door. He was not surprised to see Leorio. Only he could have such bad timing.

"Yes?"

"Hey, um, I was wondering if I could come in and chat with you for a second." Leorio scratched the back of his head nervously, a huge, cheesy grin on his face.

"Is there something in particular you wish to discuss?" Kurapika asked.

"Sorta, I, uh…" He trailed off uncomfortably. Kurapika sighed almost inaudibly, then stepped back to give Leorio room to enter.

"Come in." Leorio stumbled awkwardly into the room. Kurapika's eyes narrowed in slight distaste. The man was severely disheveled: his shirt untucked and half unbuttoned and his hideous necktie was knotted around his forehead. His pants were splattered with ink and smeared with what appeared to be chalk. He was still grinning stupidly. However, one look at Kurapika's face and the grin slid off his face.

"Er, did I interrupt something here?"

"Just my nap. But no matter. What is it you wanted to say?" Kurapika said, briskly but not unkindly. Leorio lowered his head solemnly.

"I… I want to thank you, I guess, for what you did back at the cave. You really saved my life back there."

"I appreciate your gratitude, but it is really Gon you should be thanking. He's the one who risked his life to find an antidote and carried us all out." A flush spread over Leorio's neck.

"Well, yeah, but I already thanked him. I saved you for last because, well frankly, you're a lot harder to talk to than him…You're the one who administered that antidote, so I think you deserved a thank you too. Anyway, sorry to disturb your sleep." He turned to go, shaking his head. Kurapika picked up on Leorio's frustration and felt the sudden urge to alleviate some of his negativity. Leorio really is a big softie underneath his tough façade, he thought.

"You're welcome," Kurapika said before Leorio could leave, a hint of a smile gracing his lips. The other man turned to face him. "Underneath all your bravado, I feel yours is a life worth saving, so you're welcome." Leorio grinned again. Seeing his expression, Kurapika felt an unsettling satisfaction. An awkward silence filled the space between them.

"I can't believe the end of the exam is so close," Leorio said finally, leaning casually against a wall of the tiny room. Kurapika mentally rolled his eyes. Great, now I'm responsible for starting a conversation. He wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and drift away. The five hours he had allotted for sleep were ticking away in his head. It was by sheer force of will that he kept his eyelids open.

"I agree. I've wanted this for so long it doesn't feel real... It's been a grueling process."

"Yeah; it seems like forever since the day we met on that ship."

"I try not to remember that day, personally," Kurapika half-joked. Leorio chuckled.

"That bad, huh?"

"I came very close to killing you that day."

"What, no way! It was you who would've been sleeping with the fishes if Gon hadn't gone overboard!"

"Absolutely not. If Gon had not distracted me, you would certainly have been slain."

"Shall we settle this right now, then?!" Leorio leapt to a fighting stance. Kurapika smiled. Leorio always jumped to extremes. There was no happy medium with him, but when they were not in a life or death situation, it was actually an amusing quality.

"No, I don't think we will." Kurapika replied simply. Leorio's mouth hung open in shock.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when you back down from a challenge, Mr. Arrogance," Leorio managed to say after a moment. "Fine; if you won't fight, answer me one question, then." Kurapika raised his eyebrow in invitation. "Tell me, once and for all, are you a girl or a boy?!" In the next instant Leorio was looking up at the ceiling from the floor, his jaw throbbing quite painfully.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?!" Kurapika shouted at him. Leorio picked himself up and grabbed Kurapika roughly by the shoulders. The smaller man's eyes went wide, not in fear, but in surprise. They were much too close.

"I knew you'd lose your cool eventually," Leorio breathed. Kurapika was confused by Leorio's sudden closeness; by the new, lusty tone of his voice. As he looked up incredulously at the rugged face staring down at him he felt the lean, powerful body pressing against him, invading his personal space.

"Leorio, what-?!" Leorio's lips cut him off midsentence. Leorio's mouth crushed against his, hot and urgent. For a second Kurapika stood frozen, staring in shock at the face attached at the lips to his, at the eyelids clenched tight in passion before him. He thought to pull away, but could not force himself to do it. A moment's hesitation, and then, his lips began to move against Leorio's and his eyes fluttered closed. Leorio moaned at Kurapika's positive response, his hands moving from his shoulders to wrap tightly around his waist. Kurapika's hands hung limp at his sides. He was shocked at himself; that he would accept this, want this, enjoy this.

And then Leorio jerked away abruptly. His expression was that of horror. He backed carefully away from a bewildered Kurapika, a beet red flush dominating his face, and fled from the room as fast as he could. After a moment of shock, Kurapika slumped against the nearest wall.

What the hell was that?

Kurapika moved slowly to the bed, his fingers touching his kiss swollen lips absently.

What was I thinking?

It had all started and been over so fast, Kurapika didn't know what to make of his own feelings. Was he happy or shocked or angry; turned on or disgusted? He sat down on the bed to think. The kiss couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds. In that time, everything that had seemed so simple a moment before was now complex. Could he ever face Leorio again?

It's probably him who can't face me, he thought. Leorio had looked so horrified at himself when he bolted out. Could they ever be friends again? Did he want to be friends? Kurapika was forced to analyze his own behavior. He had not resisted Leorio's advances as he should have. Kurapika knew of sex and of homosexuality, he was not stupid. But he was relatively innocent. He had never been with a woman, but he had been attracted to women before… at least he thought so. Certainly he had never thought of copulating with men. He was a tolerant young man, but frankly, the idea seemed foreign and awkward. And he could not sense any attraction to Leorio in himself prior to this episode. The man was so pigheaded and obnoxious, Kurapika could not even imagine women being attracted to him, let alone himself.

But he had let himself be kissed and…well, he could tell the truth to himself, couldn't he? He had enjoyed it. The feeling of having another person so close, letting down his defenses, someone other than himself eliciting pleasure from his body. And if he was going the honesty route, he could admit, solely to himself, that there had been times when just watching Leorio had made him smile. The times that he was most insufferable were often the times that Kurapika paid most attention to him, and even in the midst of screaming at him to "SHUT UP!" he was often trying his hardest not to laugh.

There is so much more to Leorio than what met the eye. He acts as though all he wants is money but underneath, he really has a kind heart. He would make an excellent doctor one day. And he really is smarter than he gives himself credit for. And that's another thing. Leorio is always beating himself up about one thing or another, always taking the blame. There is a tortured look in his eyes sometimes that-

Kurapika stopped his train of thought before it could take him any deeper into that foreign, awkward world. Was it possible that he could have felt all this for Leorio and not known it? …It was more likely he had blocked all thoughts like the ones he had just been thinking to save himself the pain. But did their kiss mean that Leorio had been harboring even stronger feelings for him?

Kurapika blinked stupidly in shock for several moments as he pondered this. It had been Leorio who'd initiated the kiss. And his sudden departure was most likely due to fear of rejection from Kurapika in the wake of what he'd done...

Kurapika shook his head, totally unable to make sense of any of it. In any other situation, he would know exactly how to handle a problem and exactly what to do next. But this was a situation like no other he'd been faced with. Should he go see Leorio and talk this out? He balked at that idea. Should he avoid all contact with the other man? However, that idea, though far more agreeable to him, did not seem fair to Leorio or himself.

And this brought up another question: If he ever saw Leorio again, which was highly likely due to the limited space of the airship, what should he say? How should behave? How did he feel like behaving? Was he offended or flattered? Pleased or disgusted? And most importantly, did he ever want what had just happened to take place again? His brain was buzzing now. He had totally lost the calm and serenity that were leading him into a well-deserved sleep. There goes my nap, he thought,

Kurapika felt his slightly kiss swollen lips dazedly. And there, in the safety and privacy of his own room, he allowed a small smirk spread across his face.