Fish out of water ; killugon mermaid AU

Lesson: Do Not Spill the Beans At Dinner

The only sound that could be heard from the Zoldyck lighthouse right now, was the clinking of plates and glasses. The family almost never talked at dinner. Aside from the occasional "pass me the salt, milky" or "killua. I have told you about eating with your mouth open" there wasn't much chatter.

Killua preferred it like this. Then there was no "killua where have you been all day!?" or "if any of you have been near the sea again... Illumi will tell me" just the clinking of plates. ....Until Illumi decided to be an ultimate piece of sh-

Clink clink clink went Illumi's glass, or rather the dessert spoon he was tapping against the glass; which was strange because this was dinner and Silva thought dessert was a waste of time. The sound rang out, the glass vibrating ever so slightly. Everyone eerily looked up at the same. The dark haired man cleared his throat when everyone's attention was on him.

"So family, as we all know, our little Kil is growing up." Killua's cheeks puffed up, in an attempt to not spit out his food. He choked for a few seconds, hacking and gasping for air before Kalluto finally gave him a hard slap on the back. When Killua finally stopped he gave Kalluto a not-so-subtle glare and rubbed his back, wincing. When everyone's gaze finally returned to him, Illumi continued.

"And as you all know, when children become teenagers they have... Urges. Kil has been experiencing some of these urges. There was someone in his room earlier. This is why he has been so absentee around the house. He has been sneaking out. Because Killua has.. A lover!"

The family's reaction was as follows: Kikyo gasping and clutching her heart, Silva glaring at Killua with evident traces of shock, Alluka looking utterly delighted and Kalluto staring straight ahead as if he hadn't heard anything, then looking mildly jealous. Milluki on the other hand, continued stuffing food into his mouth.

But most of the family had stopped eating and were staring at both Illumi and Killua in shock. Illumi looked on with satisfaction, having got the reaction he desired. But too anyone who didn't know him his expression looked to have stayed the same. Everyone was silent for a second, then they all erupted at the same time.

"Wow big brother I'm so happy for you!"

"Who are they? I don't think they're good enough for you Killua."

"No! My sweet sweet son. I will murder whoever it is! My poor untouched baby"

"You are not old enough to date. You must dispose of this person immediately."

Milluki also said something, but this was muffled by the food in his mouth.

Killua was filtering though a range of emotions. How dare he! How did he know someone was in my room!? Mom's gonna kill me! And Kalluto, Gon is good enough for me! In fact he's perfect for me! Perfect for me...

"Silence!" Silva commanded, his voice hushing everyone instantly. "Let the boy explain himself."

Killua sighed in relief at this. At least one person had some logic at this table. He was going to have to lie about Gon. They couldn't know about him. He didn't know how his family would react, as they were very unpredictable.

Six pairs of eyes turned to stare him expectantly. Killua dragged his blue eyes across everyone who was seated, before preparing to defend himself.

"There was no one in my room! I was just... Watching a YouTube video. Yeah, a YouTube video. Illumi came in and I was surprised! That's it." he spat out, making this up on the spot. However, Illumi was not convinced.

"Then why did you look so worried when I came in?" Killua darted his eyes around nervously. His parents were looking at him expectantly, Silva's eyes narrowed. Alluka looked on encouragingly while Milluki (who had finally stopped eating) and Kalluto (who seemed to have got over his jealousy) looked more intriged then anything else.

"The video I was watching was really... scary. It was about killer mermaids." the white-haired boy made up on the spot. This seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as both Illumi and his parents tensed up at the word mermaid. All was silent before Kikyo's shrill voice rang out.

"Stay away from mermaids and stay away from ocean Kil! I don't want you on that ghastly screen anymore, alright? It's filling your head with nonsense!" Killua just glared down at his food in reply. Suddenly carrots seemed very unappetising.

"I'm done." Killua declared, pushing his chair away from the table and storming off into the kitchen.

"Don't sulk Kil." Illumi tried empathically, but Killua had already disappeared up the stairs. He climbed the many stairs of the lighthouse, silently seething at Illumi and his parents. They were always so secretive! Don't do this Killua. Don't do that. Stay away from the ocean. Then what could he do? If it were up to them he'd stay in the lighthouse 24/7.

What was it with them and the sea? They were completely unreasonable. When Killua reached his room, he banged the door behind him. Just to tell his family he had climbed four floors and was still mad. Suddenly, a bright idea popped into Killua's mind. A stupid idea, sure, but a bright one. Maybe Gon was onto something. He thought, a devilish smirk gracing his features.

...

Killua dropped onto the ground, landing deftly on his feet. Maybe he had given Gon more credibility than he deserved. It was way easier than he thought to scale the lighthouse. Even easier to escape when your parents thought you were sulking in your room. His muscles ached a little, but nothing he couldn't handle.

Climbing trees when he was younger had given him practice, and the lighthouse had lots of handholds. Killua decided to visit Gon, regardless of only seeing him a little while ago. He would wait at their normal spot, and maybe Gon would show up sometime. He did go there often to collect things, right?

He decided he would wait all night if he had to. Not like he had anything better to do. Killua stopped at the library on his way to Gon's secret cove. He needed something to entertain himself while waiting for Gon after all, and a book on mermaid mythology was perfect.

He decided to go to the back of library, where the oldest books were held. He was more likely to find correct information the older the book was, as modern mermaid books today are of questionable origins, and aren't true most of the time. He picked a book with a leather cover etched with a mermaid, and after receiving the okay from the old librarian, he walked to the secret stretch of beach.

...

Honestly this chapter was gonna be shorter than usual but here we are ig