When We Were Babies (Kurapika x Leorio parents)

25 Growing Pains

A week had passed. Kurapika gently clothed Gon after a warm bubble bath. He observed the child in front of him.

He had grown so much.

It had frightened Kurapika when Killua had shown clear discomfort in his arms that night, whining and whimpering. The blonde was about to call to Leorio, but as if reading his mind, the familiar lanky man entered the kitchen.

"Something's wrong with Killua."

The brunette was at his side in an instant, gently taking the snow haired baby from him. "What's wrong with him?"

"He started becoming restless when I tried singing to him, and I thought maybe he had a tummy ache but he just started crying more... I don't know what to do." He whispered, his brows knotted in worry.

Leorio inspected the baby, both parents remembering the last time Killua wasn't okay, his first death rattling them to the bone. The brunette gently set the baby on the island counter underneath the light. He then performed a meticulous check up, repeating the process over and over. He wasn't going to let Killua die again due to his negligence.

He noticed something on his arms and back. White and red streaks. Stretch marks?

Next he inspected the baby's mouth, to find almost all baby teeth grown in to his surprise, and a loud growl from his tiny stomach made Leorio put his hands in his face in relief.

"Leorio? Is he okay? Leorio?" Kurapika didn't understand why the brunette was laughing into his hands. "Leorio!"

"Oh, he's fine, Pika!" Leorio said breathlessly. "He's just growing really fast, that's all." The brunette began to massage Killua's arms. "He's experiencing growth pains because he's growing faster than he should. Gon shouldn't be far behind."

Kurapika took in Leorio's words as he heard him let out a stressed sigh. So that's what it was. The week progressed as the babies began to grow exponentially faster. At this rate both parents assumed they would be around age five by the end of the month, which was three weeks away.

The blonde carried a now clean Gon in his arms. He began to sing to the baby, a song Gon enjoyed. 'Dream a Little Dream of Me'. The toddler tried his very best to sing along with his mother, and the kurta was impressed at the natural pitch the child had, indeed, this could be a gift he never discovered in his previous childhood.

Kurapika continued to sing as he stepped out on the balcony, the sunny afternoon breeze carrying their voices to the sky. The thought of finding the Spiders had faded from view dramatically from Kurapika's mind. All that bitterness and deep seated hate was finally dissipating. The blonde had found a more wholesome purpose for living for the time being. Besides, the previous events still showed its ugly head in his dreams at night. He was still very afraid of the people from the past coming to haunt him again. Sometimes he'd find himself looking over his shoulder in the village, anxious if Neon was around.

"Mama, I hungry." The baby chirped in his arms.

"Alright, Gon, let's go get something to eat!" The blonde internally cheesed at the progression of the child's verbal skills. The raven haired toddler pawed at his mother's chest, his legs kicking in excitement for eating. Kurapika frowned slightly at the sensation his chest gave from the baby. It tingled and was somewhat painful to him. The kurta concluded it was probably due to the nightmares he'd been having.

In every dream he was clawing at his chest, desperately trying to get those ghost hands away from touching him. The never ending cackle of Neon and ever present hysterical voice of Karen kept plaguing his ears and filling his mind to the brink of insanity. But he couldn't escape the hands that touched him and the green eyes that bore down on him. He'd scream and scream for Leorio, but he was on the other side of the room, seeming like he heard Kurapika, but couldn't tell where he was.