Author's Notes:

Sorry for the cliffhanger ending. Expect a full juicy chapter late on Sunday 6/29/2014. For those who are curious about the Carson McCullers reference, I was referencing an excerpt from The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. A google search for "Carson McCullers lover beloved" should find it for you. Also for those of you who haven't noticed by this point, some minor elements of my story were inspired by Pandora's Lair by Alex Donado. I also feel a bit indebted to Heh Killua by Dadou.

DISCLAIMER:

This story features sexual content and themes intended for mature audiences. Only read this story if you are legally permitted to do so by local law.

Chapter 4: Aboard the M.S. Armida

It was some time before Gon and Killua came down from the upper deck to join their friends. Leorio and Kurapika were reclining by the pool in lounge chairs, sipping tropical drinks and basking in the mid-morning sun.

"Hey boys! Nice of you two to finally join us," Leorio said, raising his glass to the two young Hunters.

"Neh, Killua, wanna go for a swim?" Gon asked.

"Way ahead of you!" Killua yelled, jumping headfirst into the sparkling blue water.

"No fair!" Gon exclaimed, leaping in after him.

Leorio smiled watching the two boys splashing around. "Those two... it's been weird with them gone so long" he said, a hint of melancholy in his voice. He turned to face Kurapika only to find his friend buried in a book, completely oblivious to the typhoon of activity coming from the pool. "Hey, Kurapika, what have you been reading this whole time anyway?" Leorio asked, taking a large swig of his drink.

"Oh, some old trash by this Carson McCullers person. You'd probably find it boring," the Kurta added, not bothering to look up from his book.

"If you're reading it then it can't be that bad, though, can it?" Leorio prodded, legitimately interested in whatever it was that had been occupying his friend's thoughts.

"Well, to be honest, it's about love, so it's already guaranteed to be mostly nonsense from the outset," Kurapika began, marking his page and turning to face Leorio. "If you insist on knowing, though, she seems to think she has love all figured out, and that in general it's a terribly broken, only intermittently successful sort of thing," he continued. "I actually tend to agree with most of what she has to say, though it's all rather depressing..."

"Of course you do," Leorio said, rolling his eyes. "So what fascinating insight does this Carson McCullers person have into the infinite complexity and subtle intricacies of love?" he asked in a mock sophisticated tone.

"She claims that in all loving relationships there is a lover, and a beloved," the Kurta began, clearing his throat. "No matter what faults the beloved has, the lover will ignore all of them, desiring his beloved no matter what and above all else. The beloved could be an exceptionally ordinary person, even someone ugly, evil, or grotesque, but to the lover, he is the most beautiful creature on this earth, to the point where all his faults become irrelevant," Kurapika continued, taking a moment to smile coyly at Leorio. "On the other hand, the beloved may legitimately appreciate the affections of the lover, or maybe he doesn't, in fact he may find the lover to be repulsive from the moment he first sets eyes on him, but even if they are together for many years, one thing is always certain: the beloved always comes to fear and despise the lover, for the lover wants nothing more than to strip the beloved of his humanity."

"That was a mouthful," Leorio said, seeming a little bit bewildered. "I think I saw something like that on TV once, though. I think it was 'everyone either settles for someone, or someone settles for them, but love can never be a truly equal exchange'... Something like that..." Leorio trailed off for a moment. "So I guess according to that logic I'd be the lover and you'd be the beloved," he continued. "But what of it? In a way you've always despised me, but it's not like you'd actually leave seeing how you despise everyone else so much more," he added, grinning.

"Not what I had in mind exactly, though you're certainly right that it's applicable to us," Kurapika replied. "I actually had our dear friends Gon and Killua in mind," he continued, smiling slightly. "When it comes to them, I think Carson McCullers somehow got it wrong. Whether it's merely friendship, or something more, their relationship... whatever it is they have... is fairly remarkable," he concluded. "As you put it, Leorio, neither Gon nor Killua really settles for the other, nor does one seem to be the lover while the other seems to be the beloved. Rather, they both just seem to care for each other equally. Do you understand what a rare thing that is? In that sense, they are perhaps the most fortunate individuals on this planet. My only hope is that they are able to find happiness with their first love where we could not," the Kurta added gravely.

"Jumping to conclusions again are we?" Leorio laughed. "You realize we still have no solid proof that either one of them is gay..."

"Oh please, have you seen Killua? The boy is practically flaming, and Gon, well... it's as if girls are invisible to him. He completely ignores them. I mean just look at those two!" Kurapika gestured to the two teenagers laughing and wrestling in the shallow end. "They look like they're ready to jump each other!" he exclaimed, laughing wholeheartedly.

After a rather violent game of Marco Polo in which a blinded Gon had grabbed Killua underwater around the waist, causing the ex-assassin to squirm around like a fish and blush profusely, the pair finally decided to calm down and resorted to sitting together by the side of the pool.

Gon sighed and lay down on his back, kicking his feet absentmindedly as they churned the clear blue water. Killua sat up and smiled fondly at his friend. He watched as drops of water slid down Gon's chest, meandering between row upon row of glistening wet muscle.

"Oi, Gon, wanna try a drink now?" the ex-assassin asked, grinning mischievously.

"Yeah why not?" the dark-haired boy replied, looking up to face his friend.

The two boys grabbed their wallets from the mess of green and white clothes strewn over one of the lounge chairs and hopped back into the pool. When they approached the bar, the bartender eyed the pair with suspicion.

"You two are aware it's against the law for us to serve alcohol to minors" he said curtly. Gon looked at Killua uneasily, unsure how to proceed.

"Is there a problem?" Killua asked, casually flashing his Hunter's License at the bartender, the slightest hint of murder gleaming in his steely blue eyes.

"Yeah, we're both Hunters," Gon said, pulling out his license and trying his best not to act like a little kid, though this was already proving to be an uphill battle.

For a moment the bartender just stared at the two licenses before him, absolutely dumbfounded. Who the hell are these kids?! he thought to himself, half afraid that the white-haired boy was going to rip his arms off at any moment.

"Ye.. ye... yes, of course, what will it be young sirs?" the bartender stammered before quickly regaining his composure.

"A drink, please!" Gon exclaimed brightly, apparently unaware that there are in fact different types of drinks to choose from.

"He'll have a mudslide," Killua interjected. "And I'll get a chocolate martini, straight, and make it extra strong if you can..." he said grinning.

When their drinks arrived, Killua immediately downed his chocolate martini like it was water. At first Gon eyed his drink suspiciously, but once he took a taste he realized it was just like ice cream, so he gulped it down almost as fast as Killua.

"You like it?" the ex-assassin asked, pleased to see that Gon had got through his first drink so quickly.

The dark-haired boy nodded vigorously in response. "It's just like ice cream, but it's weird because it makes everything feel a tiny bit fuzzy," he said, beaming.

"That was just a baby drink, so it tastes really good because it doesn't have very much alcohol. If you're a real Pro Hunter, you'll do some shots with me," Killua said, a sly expression creeping onto his face. "I'm gonna warn you though, it'll taste bad and will probably burn your throat. The key is to pretend it doesn't hurt. Think of it like a challenge. You want to appear less affected than the other person. Do you think you can keep up with me?"

"OK I think I can do it!" Gon said, always ready for a challenge

Killua motioned for the bartender to come over. "Alright, can we get two shots of Belvedere?" he asked. "Oh, and also a water for him," he added, anticipating that Gon would need a chaser.

"No skip the water," Gon interjected with a grin, not wanting any special treatment.

"Yes sir of course right away," said the bartender, turning around to grab a clear frosted glass bottle from the top shelf. He placed two shot glasses in front of the boys and poured.

Killua clinked glasses with Gon and downed his shot all in one swift, fluid motion. Gon copied his friend, doing his best not to grimace when the vodka hit his throat.

"So how was that? You think you can do another?" the ex-assassin asked cautiously.

"Bleh it tastes gross, but it's manageable I think I can do some more," Gon said, an intense expression on his face.

Several shots later both boys were definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"KIlllluaa we shouldd do one more so we can prove we're both Pro Hunters..." Gon stammered.

Oh god, what have I created, Killua thought, barely sober enough to keep from falling out of his stool.

"Gon we've had enough you don't want to throw up, do you? Here how about we just float for a while..." Killua said, sliding off his stool and dragging Gon into the pool with him.

"OK," Gon said. "Neh Killua why is everything spinning? I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster."

"That's the alcohol..." the ex-assassin said, slurring his words slightly.

By this point the four Hunters were not alone. Several girls who were just about Gon and Killua's age had congregated in the shallow end of the pool. They were eying the two young Hunters, whispering to each other and giggling.

"Hey what's your name?" one of the girls asked, cautiously approaching Gon.

"Ohhh, hi, my namee is Gon" Gon said, overtly slurring his words.

"I'm Liz," the girl said, smiling flirtatiously at the dark-haired boy. "Come over here let me introduce you to my friends!" she added playfully.

Well, I'm going to kill this girl. That's all there is to it, Killua thought to himself, sparks involuntarily forming at his fingertips.

NOTE: Sorry I haven't posted the new chapter yet. I have a boyfriend now and I'm finding I have a lot less time to write since I've been so busy. Been getting LOTS of inspiration for new material from

Will try to get this uploaded by the end of this weekend, and then after that point I'll try to do a new chapter every two weeks.