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"I'm sorry—honest to god. I didn't want to spend your only day off like this."
Kurapika may have meant their jab about Leorio's cramming while the two of them ate out to be lighthearted, but who wouldn't feel guilty after hearing him say that?
"If anyone is at fault, it's me for forcing my schedule upon you," they replied. "Don't worry so much, Leorio. Just make sure you do your best tomorrow."
With a short, sweet smile to punctuate their words, Kurapika assured themself they'd do well to give him the peace and quiet he'd need to concentrate.
At the time, that seemed like the right response to give. An entire dinner spent in silence aside from the sound of pages turning and the clinking of silverware, however, was something that grew more unbearable to Kurapika by the minute, especially given the three months they'd been separated and the two between the next time they would be able to meet again.
But Leorio didn't put his dream to be a doctor before his relationships often, if ever; Kurapika knew that it was incredibly important to Leorio that he do well on his finals.
"Leorio... What are you going over right now?" Well, that didn't last very long. Kurapika inwardly cursed themself for letting their feelings get the better of them, but they figured that was a safe enough question to ask.
It was a loud one that often landed him in trouble, but they'd missed his voice more than they realized.
"Uhh well.... The nervous system, mostly," Leorio scratched an itch with the back of his pen. "If we're talking specifics, then injuries and how they affect body function. You wanna help me review?"
Kurapika dabbed the corners of their mouth, set their finished plate aside. "Anything to help."
They hadn't expected to understand much of what Leorio would say as they sat there listening, but Kurapika could easily understand why Melody had once said Leorio was also particularly suited to become a teacher.
"...and if you happen to hurt yourself here, it could mean loss of function in the legs or possible decline in vision."
Kurapika suddenly felt a shiver slide down their back and the pores of their skin prickle.
"And then, if you injure C6 and C7–"
"Wait. Leorio," Kurapika tensed. "I didn't catch that part earlier about the... vision loss."
"Hm? Well, that's if you injure between your cervical–" Leorio leaned across to show them a diagram in an area of the back they recognized all too vividly. "–and thoracic levels here. Between levels, things get a little blurry, so you could end up with tetraplegia, paraplegia, or autonomic dysreflexia–that's where the vision decline comes in."
"Oh... I see." They tried to wait for their heartbeat to calm down before speaking again. "How easily would you say the symptoms can be treated?"
Leorio took a moment to glance up at Kurapika, to gauge their face before answering.
"It really depends on how severe the damage is. I'd say if the initial injury was light enough, you could probably manage the AD symptoms easily, and you might be able to recover from weakened limbs through physical therapy."
"Ah, well. That's good to hear. For the one injured, I mean."
Leorio hadn't missed the red flare up in Kurapika's eyes then, and he had to control himself from asking about it further.
A story for another time, he thought.
"Hey.... Kurapika," Leorio whispered, reaching forward to brush his fingers over the knuckles of their hand. "I really appreciate your sticking around with me."
Kurapika tilted their head, somewhat confused. "Well, you have to admit that with my schedule that I don't do as good of a job of it as you might like. But what's this all of a sudden?"
Their fingers slid into the space between his, and despite their confusion and flash of emotion from before, they instantly felt the jolt from where their skin made contact and found themself breathing more easily.
Leorio felt his face warm at the touch. "Mmh, well–I dunno where that came from, really. I just felt like I should say these kinds of things more often," he crinkled his brow and started to rub gentle circles into the back of Kurapika's hand. He chuckled. "Maybe my way apologizing for having you pretty much eat alone tonight?"
"I don't need an apology as long as you're the one paying for the meal." Kurapika gave a quiet chuckle of their own and raised Leorio's hand to their lips. "I know you'll make a great doctor, Leorio," they murmured into the warmth of the hand of the person they loved most. "You'll change so many lives for the better once you do. I have faith in that."
It was Leorio's turn to pull both of their intertwined hands toward him to kiss the junction between palm and thumb on his significant other's hand.
"Not as much as you've changed my life, Kurapika."
With their hands together, they could feel their pulses speed up, not knowing which was whose and not caring. They exchanged glances briefly, with Kurapika immediately darting their eyes to the side and trying to suppress laughter bubbling up in their chest, both of their faces quickly reddening.
For someone who had already changed them so much, Kurapika thought, god was that cheesy.