⊹ ᨳ᭬ ▭ 𝐈llumi 𝐙oldyck ⸝⸝ ᝬ

Illumi has always said he has no friends, and he's never doubted that fact until we talk about you. You're the exception, not quite an exception, but you are. You've known each other since Illumi was 17, and since then you've spent most of your time together, more than Hisoka. It was a December day, the air whipping cold, the snow falling, the surroundings white, but that didn't matter to Illumi. He was at a market (a rare thing to see him do), looking at stall after stall, searching for the perfect gift... He never thought he'd be like this, buying something for himself, since he's never called you "friend." He doesn't think they're friends, he deceives himself into believing, time and again, that they're nothing more than business partners who spend 24/7 together... "How much... does this cost?" He asked when he finally entered one of the many shops he'd seen, none of which had caught his eye. He held a pretty porcelain doll in his pale hands, knowing you loved collecting those kinds of dolls—rare to him, beautiful to you. Illumi was so engrossed in staring into the doll's cold, lifeless eyes that he didn't hear you enter until you touched his shoulder, making him slowly turn until you were face to face. Nothing seemed to change to you when you saw each other, but if you were more perceptive, you would have noticed. Illumi slowly lowered the doll, turning away and feeling his heart—that organ he sometimes thought wasn't even moving—begin to pound wildly in his chest for the first time. "Oh, hi... What... What are you doing here? You were supposed to be out of town for a few days," she exclaimed, trying to divert attention from the forgotten and half-hidden doll as she finally turned to face you, staring intently at you with those bottomless, deep eyes.