faded ❦ ︱ Kurapika x Reader

Arc 26

What is this feeling? It's so embarrassing, I just want to hide and avoid him!

"(Y/n)," A chill ran up your spine when he called you. "Let's cross the river."

"E-eh?" You tried to calm yourself.

"There are rocks big enough so we can cross. It looks like a shortcut."

You were almost relieved he didn't bring the staring up. "Sure."

He stepped from one rock to another, and you followed.

Looks like he didn't notice...

You stepped onto a rock.

Why do I feel disappointed? That's so out of character for me.

You didn't realize that you had started to slip.

I should shake it off—

A yelp escaped your lips when it finally came to you. Your shoes were wet from earlier, and it was totally backfiring. Your eyes closed shut, waiting for the impact of rocks on your face. But instead, you felt strong arms catch you. Your eyes shot open and immediately looked up at the black irises that stared back down.

"Are you ok?"

You gulped, realizing how close he was. Your hands were on his shoulders for support, his gently placed on either side of your waist to keep you from falling. Just one inhale for air was a terrible mistake, since all you could smell was his scent.

"Yeah." You managed to sputter.

—

You had never savored the warmth of your sweater so much in your entire life. It was freezing to the point where you couldn't feel your limbs anymore. The weather, unfortunately, was much more bipolar than you anticipated.

"Are you cold?" A voice brought you back from your thoughts.

"A little." You muttered through chattering teeth, hugging your knees closer to your chest in an attempt to warm yourself.

The blonde continued to pry at the embers. "I'm sorry, this fire doesn't seem to be strong enough."

You glanced at him, rubbing your hands together before blowing hot breaths into them. "It's not your fault."

To your realization, Kurapika wasn't sitting far away this time, and instead, was sitting directly beside you.

Why am I suddenly aware of his actions?

"We've been through worse, no?" You smiled at recalling the memories from what seemed like ages ago, "...The Exam."

He managed a barely noticeable smile, flashbacks playing in his mind of the situations you had barely made out alive from.

From the corner of your eye, you examined his features, frowning at the bags forming beneath his eyes. "You seem tired." 

 Kurapika placed another stick in the fire before crossing his arms over his chest to maintain a bit of heat. "Some things are somewhat complicated to think about but, I have my ways of coping."

You gave him a slight hum, acknowledging his response. "You've always had the habit of overworking yourself, Pika."

He raised his head to look at you, the faint bags under his eyes disappearing for a moment. A blush coated your cheeks when you had just realized what you did. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to call you that—"

"No." He shook his head, a small smile creeping on his lips. "Don't apologize."

Kurapika's gaze felt like it was boring through you. You avoided facing him, since you knew you would probably fail at maintaining eye contact. However, that was not an option if you wanted to maintain your composure. Casually, you scratched your cheek in an attempt to soothe yourself. 

But some urge within you felt like an itching feeling that wouldn't go away. Slowly, you turned your head towards him, holding his gaze. It took you everything you had to not look away, so you probably had some sort of flustered expression on your face. It was just the way he looked at you. Eyes all soft and glowy like that, hair all soft and glowy like that, skin all soft and glowy like that—

Ugh, what am I thinking?!

A laugh caught you off guard, making you stop panicking for a second. Kurapika was actually... Laughing?  Your face went red with embarrassment. "I-Is there something on my face?"

His laughter died down. "No. Good night."

You sighed heavily. "Good night."

— ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ ♰ ♱ —

Chappy Question:
Where do you want your first date to be? 

Love, Kai( ◠‿◠ )