Greetings.

This is a part of an exchange with Bai-Feng333. She requested a LeoSen fic and I requested a cover art for a fic of mine. Oh, she'll also make a cover art for this fic as well :3

Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter and its characters belong to Togashi Yoshihiro.

Bad grammar, typos and errors here and there. You've been warned...

Anyway, enjoy!

Coffee Break

Hospital: white, clean, and smelled like disinfectant.

Leorio Paladinight was a medical student. Hospital was one of the places he visited the most after his apartment and collage. He was used to see people dressed in white, sometimes green, divagating in the building. Just like any other aspiring doctors, he always dreamed that one day he could stand among those people. He wanted to work there and dedicated his whole life to help the others.

That place was his biggest dream.

However, it would be a different story if he visited that place not as a student but as a visitor.

Lied before his eyes was his best friend.

That friend was not sick. No, his condition was far worse than sick. It was the worst.

Leorio raised his hand and touched the cold glass that separated him and the room where the doctors isolated Gon. He couldn't see the boy because of curtains that covered around the patient bed, but he could perfectly imagine how Gon looked.

The person in bed was as thin as a mummy. His entire body blackened; it was as if it had been made of charcoal. Blood kept flowing out from the pore of his skin and dyed the bed dark red. The most advanced medical equipment could barely keep him breathing.

Gon - the cheery, optimistic, and sometime foolish boy he once had known - was now only a hair breadth away from death and he couldn't do anything for him.

Leorio turned around and sighed wearily as he leaned his back to the glass. He took out his black phone and gazed at it. He swiped the screen with his thumb. He pressed several icons sequentially then put it up to his ear. He waited for a person on the other end of the line to pick up his call. His eyebrows then furrowed as he heard nothing but the endless dial tone. He cut off the line, repeated the procedures and made another call. The result was still the same. One out of three, he would be redirected to mailbox, while on other chance his call got automatically cut after a minute.

Gon was in the verge of death, Killua disappeared on his own, and Kurapika never answered his call.

Let alone saving Gon, he didn't even able to keep everyone together.

Really, he was so useless.

Leorio stuffed his phone back into his pocket after his tenth or eleventh failed attempt of making call. He sighed heavily (again) and turned around. He then noticed a familiar person standing several meters from him.

"Senritsu!" He called out as he saw the tiny woman.

"Leorio." She greeted back with a nod.

"Since when you've been here?" He asked when she walked to his side.

"A while ago," she answered. "When you were making call."

"I see. Sorry, I didn't notice." He scratched his not-itching head and grinned sheepishly.

"Nah, it's okay." She shook her head, causing the red hair under her earth-colored hat swayed lightly. She then turned to the window.

He smiled and thanked her as he turned his gaze to the same direction as where she was looking at. "Thank you for coming."

She nodded silently in replied. There was a lull following their conversation as they both staring at the light blue curtains that isolated Gon's bed. He stole a glance at the much shorter woman and saw her eyes were fixed on them. She frowned and bit her lower lips. He wondered what kind of sound she was listening to. Was it Gon's barely-there heartbeat? Or was it the boy's heavy breathing?

His mind trailed again to the thought of how useless he was right now.

"Gon's fighting." She suddenly said as she looked up, catching him off guard.

Leorio blinked several times in confusion. "E- eh?"

"Gon may be weak now, but he's not giving up," she smiled. "I can hear it."

"Is that so?" Leorio's lips curved and formed a thin smile as he gazed through the thick glass. Not giving up eh? That's just like the stubborn Gon he knew. If only he could have helped that boy...

"I think Gon knows that everyone is here to support him, that's why he's doing best to recover." Senritsu added. She stopped for a while and looked at the tall man who just turned his face at her. Her eyes met a pair of brown orbs behind his round, tea-shade glasses. "He knows you're always here for him and it's enough."

His mouth parted as he heard the woman's words and saw her soft, reassuring expression. So she saw trough it. She knew that he had been troubled by something. "You're really a clairvoyance, aren't you?" He chuckled.

She laughed. "I'm not. I'm just able to hear things... and heartbeat."

"But you can even tell what's in my mind."

"It's because people's heartbeat change," she closed her eyes and touched her chest as she explained. "I can hear a sad melody from your heartbeat and it's different from the last time we met. That much I can tell that you're trouble with something," she then opened her big eyes and continued. "Besides, you keep looking at Gon's room with that sad face. I think anyone can tell."

"Is that really obvious?"

"For me, yes."

"I see..." Leorio murmured. He looked back at the ICU through the window. He thought for a while as he stared at the curtains before he spoke up again. "Say, Senritsu..."

"Yes?"

"If... If Gon can really tell that we're here... Can he also hear our conversation?" He asked.

"... I think it's possible."

"Is that so?" Leorio took a deep breath the exhaled. He turned at her, but his face had completely changed. His eyes looked more vivid and livelier. His lips curved upwards; but it wasn't the sad, melancholic smile anymore. It was his usual confident smile. He puffed as he placed his hands his waist. "In that case, I shouldn't make him worry, right?"

"Right." Senritsu involuntary smiled brighter as she saw the sudden change on this man. It wasn't only his appearance, his heartbeat also changed and she was really grateful it had turned back to what it used to be.

Leorio's heartbeat was the most pleasant sound she had ever heard. She hoped it would stay that way forever.

"It's thanks to you that now I've realized it," Leorio said. "Glad to have you here."

"Same here." She said, indirectly admitting that his heartbeat made her at ease and how much she liked it.

He blinked. He found her reply rather confusing but then shook it off.

"Say, what about having a cup of coffee? It's my treat." He offered, which was gladly accepted by the woman beside her.

"Sounds good."

That's it. Sorry if it's too short and not really romantic. Idk why I'm not able to write fluff anymore these days X( Anyway, this is how I imagined their relationship would be... maybe love would bloom from this... Well, who knows? ^^

Hope you guys like it, especially Chris-san. Hope this is satisfying enough for your liking!

Please drop a comment or two in the review. I'd love to hear what you think about this particular story. Concrits and corrections are warmly welcomed!