Leorio picked a picnic table out and sat down at it. He checked his watch and realized how early he was. Taking it as a chance to rest, Leorio stretched out on the bench seat and folded his arms under his head. The sky above was devoid of clouds and the sun shone bright. Leorio shut his eyes against its bright rays.

He was more nervous than he wanted to admit.

This was going to be the first time he saw Kurapika since the day they had gotten rid of the evil spirit. He had no idea what she was going to say when they met up again. The fact that she hadn't refused to see him was a good sign.

As he lay there, he couldn't help but think back on their parting.

000

They had emerged from the woods exhausted. Despite this, Kurapika announced that she would be going back to her employer that day. Leorio told her it would be better to rest before leaving. An argument had consequently broken out between the two. Kurapika won, but Leorio knew he had come close to convincing her to stay with him a few hours longer.

Their bus ride to Leorio's city had been quiet. On the rare occasion one of them spoke, it was only about a trivial subject. Leorio ended up falling asleep and remained that way until his stop. In a daze, he said his goodbyes to Kurapika and got off the bus. He remained at the bus stop to watch her leave.

He hadn't expected to be hit with a sudden feeling of loneliness as the bus pulled away. He tried to ignore it, but as the bus got further away, it got worse. The memory of their embrace in the Gateway then came to the center of his attention.

The next thing he knew he was running on to the road and chasing after the bus.

Cars behind him honked. His own body, sore from lack of sleep and fighting, protested. He paid no mind to either and waved his arms at the bus. People gathered at the back of the bus to look at him.

When his cell phone had rung, he had added to the insanity by answering it.

Before he could say "hello", Kurapika's voice flooded his ear. She sounded like she was on the verge of shouting.

"Leorio, what are you doing? You're scaring everyone on the bus."

"I have something to tell you!" he gasped, trying to get some air at the same time.

"Get off the road and call me later. I'm sure it can wait." He saw Kurapika join the crowd at the back of the bus. Her expression was a mix between annoyance and embarrassment for him.

Leorio kept his eyes on hers as he let the next words slip. "It's very important. I love you, Kurapika."

A pause. In the bus, Kurapika had shut her eyes and shook her head.

"Stop chasing the bus and go home, Leorio. You obviously need more sleep."

"I mean it, Kurapika. Come back whenever you can. I'll wait for you," Leorio said. He made his way to the side of the road and slowed down.

"Goodbye, Leorio," Kurapika muttered before hanging up.

With his mission done, Leorio let himself collapse on to the ground. The rational part of his brain, as well as his body, told him what he had just done was stupid.

His emotions did not share such logic.

He had grinned like a fool for several minutes.

000

Leorio was pulled from his thoughts by the soft tread of feet on the grass. He opened his eyes, squinting in the sunlight, and saw Kurapika. He was a little disappointed to see she was wearing her usual Kurta outfit.

As she put a bag on the table, he rose into a sitting position.

"Did you pass your finals?" Kurapika asked, taking a seat next to him. She wasn't showing any signs of discomfort; it was the same Kurapika as always. This calmed Leorio down a bit.

"I sure did. How's your job?"

"It's going well." She looked off into the distance and spoke in a more somber tone. "I managed to find another set of eyes from my clan."

"Any ghosts try to suck your soul out?"

"Not that time. I think you're the one who brings them out."

"Yeah, right. If I hadn't been there, you would be dead right now," Leorio said, straightening his tie out of pride. He let it go as he remembered Sokiri. "Well, actually, I can't take all the credit."

A silence passed between them before Kurapika spoke again.

"I'm grateful for the both of you."

Leorio nearly jumped when Kurapika put her hand over his. He looked down at their hands and then up at Kurapika. She returned his stare.

"So, does this mean you like me?" Leorio asked in disbelief.

Kurapika cocked an eyebrow.

"Like? I thought you said 'love' when you called me on the bus."

"I did. I just didn't think you'd feel the same way." Some of the nervousness was coming back. He could feel his face get warmer. He didn't know how Kurapika was managing to stay so calm.

He thought it was time to change that.

"Hey, let me kiss you."

Kurapika reddened, giving him the reaction he wanted. He scooted closer. Kurapika put held her hands up.

"Not here."

"Why not? It's a public park. No one's going to care if I kiss you," Leorio said. He leaned in closer.

"Leorio, stop!"

He kept going. Kurapika punched him in the mouth.

"Was that really necessary?" Leorio shouted as he brought a hand up to his mouth.

An energetic voice from behind him answered the question.

"Hey guys!"

Leorio spun around to see Gon and Killua approaching the picnic table. His mouth didn't hurt as much anymore.

"We interrupting anything?" Killua smirked.

"No," Kurapika and Leorio said at the same time.

Killua shrugged. "Geez, no need to get angry. Gon and I can leave you alone if you want."

"Why would we do that, Killua? We haven't eaten yet," Gon said as he dug into the bag Kurapika brought. Leorio turned to Kurapika and whispered loudly.

"He's on to us. You have to tell them you're a woman."

"I don't have to do anything! This is your fault, anyways."

"You should have warned me sooner."

"I gave you plenty of warning."

Killua sat down next to Gon and watched the argument unfold.

End

Well, if you made it this far, you're awesome. Thank you so much for reading my story!

This story was originally supposed to just focus on Leorio discovering Kurapika was a female. Sokiri and evil!Sokiri were after-thoughts and I'm afraid they may have taken up some of my attention to the whole "Holy crap, my friend's a chick and it is so wrong that I find her hot" plot. I feel it's turned out well, though, and hope you feel the same.

But if you think otherwise, don't be afraid to say so.

All these chapters have presented some kind of challenge. These ranged from making up a name for a town (solved by random words) to keeping the characters in check. I also apologize if my dislike for action scenes was showing; I have a very short attention span when it comes to them and have to work hard to write them.

If anyone's wondering, Pons is not going to let Leorio forget he wrecked his baby. (He did get insurance money, though, and fixed her.)

Thank you, Chris, for hounding me to get this story written.

And, once more, thank you for reading.