Chapter Text
“Palistrom wood is the only recorded material that carries the necessary properties to bring a palisman to life,” Hunter sets down the book over his crossed knees and frowns. “And there’s not known equivalent to it in the Human Realm.”
“That we know of. I mean, glyphs don’t work in there because they borrow magic from the Titan, right? Who’s to say there aren’t other materials with uncovered properties that could work by channeling the magic from the Demon Realm?” The snake on Luz's shoulder hisses, seemingly in agreement.
“Right, but it’s still something no one has tried before so we would have to… have you seen my-? Ah, thank you, Flapjack,” He grabs the pencil the bird offers and writes down a quick note to research into human wood on his paper. “We would have to test it first. But that only means that no one has made palismen before outside of the Boiling Isles.”
“Which is why most palismen take the form of creatures that are native here or that someone knows well enough to make.”
“Uhuh, but you don’t need your own magic to be able to carve one… or bond with one,” He smiles when the bird rubs against his cheek. “So what exactly is it that makes it so a palisman has similar behaviors to the creature it was carved after?”
“Obviously intent has a lot to do with it, otherwise these babies wouldn’t be as absolutely perfect as they are!” Luz says the last part as if she were talking to a toddler, scratching her palisman behind the mandible.
Hunter rolls his eyes, but he’s softly petting Flapjack’s feathers as well. There’s not a single thing he would change about the bird, he has to give her that.
“I’ve never seen any palisman that was… well, imperfect?” He bites his lip. He usually tries not to think about the ones before he met the cardinal, but… the more he reads about them, the more regrets he has. He didn’t know, of course he didn’t know back then, but that hardly means anything for all the palismen he damned. “But how do they make the connection if the wood has nothing to do with the final form, and you don’t need magic to make one? I mean, yours chose her form and it’s still something from the Human Realm.”
“Beats me. Maybe there’s something in another one of the books?” The girl turns to look at the pile on the floor beside them. They have gone through at least half of them already, some on their own and some on the few hours the Owl family has been at their- at Darius’s house, but they’re nowhere near finished.
Luz grabs another book from the pile with one hand, and he’s about to do the same when he notices her chewing absent-mindedly on her pencil. His arm freezes mid-air.
“Do you always do that to your pencils?” He asks, vaguely horrified.
“Huh?” She looks up from the new book and gives him a puzzled look until the pencil starts to slip from her mouth and she has to scramble to catch it before it falls to the floor. “Oh, yeah… sometimes, why?”
“It’s gross.”
Luz stares at him, pencil still in her hand. And then he notices with no little alarm that a smile is starting to spread on her face.
“Don’t you dare,” He leans away just in time to avoid the pencil suddenly being shoved to his face. Flapjack doesn’t seem too keen on helping either, because he flies to his bed and makes himself comfortable. “Luz, are you serious?!”
“Awww, what? Are you afraid of a little bit of spit, Hunter?”
“I’m afraid of anything that’s been in your mouth!” He catches her wrist before she can attempt to get the utensil closer to his face again. “Honestly, are you five?”
They wrestle for a few minutes – but he has the upper hand in this fight, he’s absolutely sure – until the Owl Lady’s voice suddenly comes from just outside of his room, presumably due to all the racket they have made.
“Kids? You’re not killing each other in there, are you?”
“Nope!”
“Not yet!”
“Good enough. Have fun!”
Once she’s gone, Hunter lets himself fall on his back, but only lets the tension from his shoulders roll out once he sees the girl do the same from the corner of his eye.
“There’s not even spit on my pencil anymore, it all dried off,” Luz lets out a little breathy laugh and he snorts.
“Serves you right.”
They stare at each other for a moment and soon they start giggling. It’s dumb. But it’s not like Hunter hasn’t been doing a lot of dumb things the past few weeks already… the human is probably a bad influence. He rather likes it better this way than how it used to be though.
“You keep human food around, right?” Luz asks once her laughter has calmed, rolling on her stomach and making grabby hands at the snake. “Come here, girl!”
“Yeah, you want me to go get some?” He watches the palisman slither right into her hands. The behavior is exactly the same as if it were a real snake.
“Pleaseeee, I’m starving. Rena is too, see?” He meets the eyes of the little serpent, but it doesn’t look like a particularly hungry gaze to him. “And don’t get me wrong, the food in the Boiling Isles is… cool, but nothing quite like home, you know what I mean?”
“No, not really.”
“Oh, c’mon! You have eaten my mom’s food before, you know no one cooks as good as her, in the Human Realm and otherwise!”
“She is a great cook,” He agrees, leaning on his elbow to keep himself upright. “But aren’t you seeing her later this week anyway? And you have human food at the Owl House too, don’t you? It’s not like you are missing a lot.”
“Well, yeah, but ‘later this week’ is not today! And later today is not right now; besides, I can’t go all the way back there just for a snack,” She lets Rena crawl right up on her shoulders and rests her chin on her hands, elbows on the floor. “I don’t think mamá would be too happy to see me home just for that either.”
Hunter frowns. Wouldn’t she? The circumstances in which he first saw the Noceda family reuniting weren’t ideal, but the woman had seemed at the very least relieved to have her daughter home and safe. He doesn’t think she ever is anything less than happy whenever Luz is around.
“Can you imagine that?” Luz continues. “’Hola, mamá, oh, don’t mind me, I’m just gonna grab some Oreos real quick and go’. Oh, boy, she wouldn’t be amused.”
“I don’t think she would mind. She adores you; everyone does,” A little bit of resentment slips onto his voice despite his best efforts.
It’s when the smile on Luz’s face fades that he knows for sure that he messed up.
“Hunter…”
“Okay, you have to stop saying my name in that tone.”
“What tone?” She sounds bewildered, but that’s better than before.
“That weird… soft tone you do!” He huffs, sitting up on the floor. “If you have something to say to me, just do it, you don’t have to pity me while you’re at it.”
“I’m not pitying you!” She protests, maneuvering herself to a more comfortable position as well.
“Then what are you doing?”
“I’m just trying to… ugh! You know what? I’m done with pretending this is fine,” Luz crosses her arms. “It’s been weeks. You don’t want to talk to Darius? Fine! Then talk to me.”
“What is there to talk about? Darius doesn’t like me, I’m trying to fix that, I’m failing miserably, happy?” He scowls.
“No,” It’s lucky that she doesn’t give him time to respond to that, because he isn’t sure anything he had to say would be particularly nice. “He likes you, everyone can see that! Except you, apparently.”
“Because it’s not true! And I’m sorry to inform you, but what you think doesn’t matter, you don’t even know him that well.”
Luz throws her arms in the air.
“Exactly! Why would he like me and not you? He doesn’t, Hunter, I’ve been trying to tell you but you don’t listen.”
“Because I’m not interested in a lie to make me feel better!
“It’s not a lie!” Luz lets out a frustrated groan. “Just talk to him! I promise you, it will be fine!”
“That’s easy for you to say! Everyone likes you! I’m pretty sure not liking you is a sign of inherent evil at this point or something,” He passes a hand through his hair, just before Flapjack decides to fly to him and settle himself over it.
‘Calm down! Calm down!’
“That’s ridiculous!” She snaps, and he can see her palisman whistling at her ear.
“Is it? I’m not like you, Luz, people don’t like me just like that. You can’t tell me you didn’t think I was a jerk the first time we met.”
“Por el amor de Dios, because you were acting like a jerk! And you're doing it again right now!”
“Maybe that’s just my personality, Luz, had you ever thought about that?!”
“You’re being really stupid.”
“Well, you can add that to the list!” He swats at Flapjack, but the bird only hovers in the air for a moment before returning to his head. He’s usually glad for his encouragement, but he would rather not have his chirping on top of everything else at the moment. “I’ve always had to work to earn other’s people respect, let alone anything else. And if someone likes me from the beginning, I still find a way to fuck that up.”
“That’s not true!”
“Oh, what do you know? Even after everything, you’re still so naïve,” He snarls.
“Hunter, don’t do this.”
“See? You just did that thing again!” He risks a glance at her. Her eyebros are drew together, and in her eyes there’s a mix of hurt and compassion.
He can’t take this.
He hurries to get up and reach the door.
“I’ll go get your snack.”
“Hunter!”
He ignores the call, vaguely aware of Flapjack flying after him – ever so loyal – while he makes his way through the hallway and down the stairs toward the kitchen.
It’s not Luz’s fault, he knows that. Walking away from her just makes him feel like an idiot. An idiot terribly aware of his own idiocy. He hopes he didn’t make her cry; the Owl Lady would have his head for that and… and, well, he doesn’t know what he would do to make up for that. He didn’t mean to upset her, she was just being… difficult.
He’s fully planning to pretend he’s doing things in the kitchen until he deems it safe to go back, but as soon as he hears voices coming from inside the room, he stops. Going back with Luz is not an option at the moment, but he doesn’t want to talk to anyone else either. While he tries to decide what to do now, he hears the rustle of a paper bag followed by what he recognizes as Raine’s voice speaking and he can’t help but pay attention to their words.
“How come you’re buying baked orbs? I thought you hated those.”
“Oh, I still think they’re disgusting, just so you know,” Darius. He supposes he doesn’t trust the bard alone in the kitchen. “But my- but Hunter likes them.”
“… I see.”
“Interesting.” And there’s the Owl Lady.
“Wipe those ugly smiles out of your faces; whatever it is you’re thinking, you’re wrong,” Apart from the Owl Lady and Raine’s, he can make out a third chuckle. Eberwolf. “I swear I will never understand how is it possible for you two to still act like children after all this time.”
“It’s called staying youthful, Darius, you should try it sometime!”
“If it involves making a fool of oneself, I’ll pass.”
He hears the click of glasses suddenly closer along with steps and he flees behind the corner before they can see him. Flapjack, blissfully silent and well acquaintanced with this kind of activity, hides with him.
Holding his breath until the murmur of their conversation is muted is easy; he’s almost sure they went to the living room. This should be his cue for entering the kitchen and pretending to do something in there until he regains enough dignity to face another person again, but… will they mention him again? Maybe he can figure out exactly what Darius is thinking about him and work from there. If his opinion is somewhat positive, it means he still has opportunities to enact his plan. If it’s not… maybe it would be time to give up and start trying to find a new place to live, even if the thought makes him ache. One way or the other, this would help him to be as prepared as he can be.
He shouldn't. No one likes people listening in their conversations. But what if he also finds out something he can use? He doubts Luz will still want to help him after the way he talked to her.
“What do you say, Flapjack? Should we follow them?” The bird, who was looking way too solemn a moment ago, seems to brighten up.
‘Girl’s right! Talk to him!’
“No… not for that. I mean, just in case we overhear something useful?”
He isn’t sure, but he doesn’t think the cardinal looks very impressed with him.
“… It’s a plan!” He decides.
Walking quietly until he’s as close to the living room as he dares to be, still behind a wall, is the easy part. Now he just has to stay until he hears something that can help him. He has had more difficult patrols in the past; it’ll be fine.
"...not letting him go with your kid again for safety. That girl has your penchant for trouble," he can hear Darius huff, but his declaration sounds rather lighthearted.
"Ha! As if your kid didn't find enough trouble on his own," the Owl Lady retorts, clearly amused by Darius's dignified stance.
"Darius has a kid?" He murmurs, incredulous.
Flapjack nips at his ear, at the same time that he hears the clink of a glass.
'Told you!', the bird seems unusually exasperated for something he hadn't actually been told and had no way of knowing, but that reminder will have to wait because they can't risk the chirping giving away their position.
"Shhhhh!" He hurriedly presses Flapjack's beak together with two fingers and holds his breath.
"... isn't exactly known for his ability to remain inconspicuous," Raine is saying. Even if he missed Darius’s answer, at least that means they didn't hear anything.
"May I remind you we didn't notice him at all at the market until it was too late?"
"And that ended up being one hell of a mess, didn't it?" The Owl Lady remarks.
“Your kid was involved in that one too,” Darius sighs. “I suppose there’s no use in regretting it now, even if it would have been preferable if they hadn’t gone through that.”
Hunter frowns. He isn’t sure he is following this conversation.
“I still don’t forgive you all for that, by the way.”
Maybe something from their past? They seem to have known each other for quite a long time after all.
“We wouldn’t ask you to,” Raine says simply, and he can hear a grunt of agreement from Eber.
“Eh, don’t feel too bad, Rainstorm, or you’re going to make me feel bad for holding a grudge. You two can suffer if you want though.”
“Why am I not surprised?” He can picture the exasperated expression on Darius’s face perfectly. He’s almost tempted to take a look to see if he’s right, but Eber chooses that moment to snort.
Right, probably not a good idea to test the visual range of a master tracker.
The clink of glasses clues him in on the adults drinking from whatever it is they have before the Owl Lady speaks again.
“Even so, I guess you’re right that they have a talent to find a way to put themselves in the jaws of the beast. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was on purpose.”
“From Hunter?” He straightens his back when he hears his name. “Hardly. Although once upon a time I would have believed he only sought trouble. I’m not convinced that’s not what your girl does still.”
“What can I say? I’ve taught her well. I just wish I had known how to keep her away from that creep,” The Owl Lady’s voice turn grim.
He shudders; he has the feeling that he knows exactly who she’s talking about. Flapjack nudges at his hand and he reluctantly lets go of his beak.
“That makes two of us,” Darius agrees curtly. The earlier resentment resurfaces.
There it is again, that care for Luz that he hasn’t managed to figure out yet. It’s not that he wouldn’t have preferred it if she didn’t have to face B-the Emperor at all, but at least he wasn’t actively looking for her to kill her at the time.
…Titan, he’s so selfish, isn’t he?
“We all made mistakes. The best thing we can do now is move on and try to do better,” Raine’s soft voice reaches his ears and he almost wants to laugh.
“I’m trying, Raine, I’m really trying,” He mutters. This time Flapjack doesn’t say anything, but he recognizes the soft touch of feathers on his cheek as the comfort that it is.
“Speaking of mistakes,” the Owl Lady’s tone is light again. “How are you doing with everything, Mr. New Parent?”
So he does have a child?
“I’m offended that you think I’m making mistakes.”
The statement is followed by a snort from Eberwolf, but whatever it is the demon beast says next it’s too low for him to hear.
“Oh, as if you have been doing any better.”
“I have!” The demon proclaims smugly.
“I believe that.”
“Shut it, songbird.”
“Ah, just you wait until he does something that he obviously picked up from you. I went a little misty-eyed the first time Luz brought a ‘Wanted’ poster home,” the Owl Lady laughs. “And I still considered her only my apprentice at the time… there’s no way you won’t cry, fancy pants.”
“He already did!”
“He did?!” His own voice gets thankfully drowned by the echoing shout of the woman.
“I. Did. Not.”
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Darius,” Raine says, and it would be easy to think they mean well if not for their teasing tone. “Was it the hug?”
He feels himself slumping slightly against the wall. So he’s not the only one who’s been hugging the man.
“Ha! Don’t worry, that takes a while to get used to… I didn’t think the kid was a hugger though. ”
“He’s a very affectionate cub!”
“Look at that, that’s how they start. Before you know it, he’ll be causing trouble everywhere he goes.”
“You would be proud of that,” Darius scoffs. “But I suppose as long as it isn’t harmful, he can do whatever he wishes to. I’m sure it won’t be anything too bad unless your kid ropes him in one of her schemes.”
So Luz knows this person? And she didn’t tell him? Maybe that’s why she wanted him to come clean so badly.
“You make it sound as if your kid and my kid aren’t exactly on the same level of mayhem.”
"Last time I checked, mine didn't go around the Isles tackling other people."
"Didn't he try to tackle you just the other day?"
"That was different and you know it," Darius sounds weirdly defensive. "And he didn't knock me down, anyway. Don't even mention that in front of him, if he thinks he did something wrong, he'll just feel bad."
A pause.
"And he did NOT do anything wrong, just to be clear."
"Awwww, look at that, Dar has gone soft!"
"What did you just call me?"
"I have to admit that I never imagined you could be so... paternal, Darius," He doesn't even need to look at Raine's face to recognize the shit-eating grin evident all over his tone. “It rather suits you.”
"I don't- I... don't you two have your own kids to worry about?" The man now sounds embarrassed, while the other adults in the room seem unable to reel in their laughter.
And Hunter? Hunter isn’t sure he wants to keep listening.
He takes a deep breath. Okay. So… apparently, Darius has a child and no one thought to tell him. His plan was doomed from the start. Was that why Luz was so insistent that he talk to the man? So he could be let down early instead of wasting time coming up with a lot of stupid ideas? Letting him make a fool of himself doesn’t sound like something she would do; she’s not malicious enough for that, but then again, he doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to recognizing bad intentions.
He bites his lip, rubbing his thumb against his other fingers while he thinks. Is he missing something? In the house there's only Eber and him, and as far as he knows, Darius doesn't take trips to visit any hypothetical children he might or not have. Is he waiting until he moves out of the house to bring his kid home? That… feels too convoluted, even for the man. There’s no reason for him to be there at all if the space is needed for someone else.
They also only mentioned Luz and him, at least in the part of their conversation he overheard. Perhaps because they’re all presumably around the same age? It might be easy to compare Darius's behavior with him to the way he acts with his child, but if there's only Eber and him...
Wait.
Wait.
It can't be, can it? That would be ridiculously easy. There’s no way is that easy.
“Flapjack…” He grabs the bird with a shaky hand to have him at eye level. “Do you think I am…? That maybe…? I am the kid they’re talking about?”
‘Yes! Yes! My boy! His boy! Same boy!’, he would be offended by the little dance Flapjack proceeds to do on the air if he wasn’t going through at least ten different emotions at once.
"I AM THE CHILD?!"
He only realizes he forgot to whisper when the sound of shattered glass reaches his ears. Someone must have dropped their drink.
“Hunter?!”
The call comes from two different directions, and his head snaps toward the stairs when he hears the thud of steps. Luz looks as startled as he feels, which is a little harder to understand since she came here of her own volition. Also, his brain might be a little bit too busy with recent revelations.
“I-wanted-to-come-get-you-earlier, but-I-also-wanted-to-give-you-space-since-you-seemed-really-mad-back-there, but-then-I-heard-you-yell-and… wait, what was that you said?” Luz pants a little after she finishes explaining herself, probably due to a mix of both her mini rant and her running. Hunter doesn’t know where to even begin, but he gets no time to even try.
“How long have you been there?” he jumps and turns around to find himself face to face with the most skillful Abomination Witch in the Boiling Isles.
Also the current source of his crisis.
Darius looks perplexed, and perhaps even a little embarrassed as well? The surprise at least he seems to share with the other adults, who are behind him looking at Luz at him with raised eyebrows.
“Darius! Hi! I was just…” He makes vague gestures toward the kitchen. “I was going to… I wanted to…“ Titan, he can’t even come up with a good lie. “I—Luz wanted to talk to you!”
“What? No, I didn’t!”
“Luz!” He hisses, but the girl only shakes her head, frowning at him.
… Yeah, he probably should have seen that one coming.
“Actually-! Luz and I were about to go back upstairs! Sorry about the interruption, bye!” He grabs the girl’s arm and tries to pull her toward the stairs, but she seems to be stubbornly planting her feet on the floor.
“Now, hang on a second-“
“Did you just yell ‘I am the child’?” The Owl Lady sounds more confused than judgmental, but Hunter still feels a small echo of the negative feelings he used to have about her back when he thought she was a shameless criminal.
Well, time has proven she is shameless, but that’s not the point.
“No!”
“It sounded more like a question,” Raine’s contemplative expression turns apologetic as soon as he turns his glare at them.
“It wasn’t. Because I didn’t say anything, right, Flapjack?”
The palisman flies to Darius’s shoulder. That puts teleporting out of here out of the question. And he’s going to have to leave Flapjack behind if he wants to leave.
“You… weren’t supposed to hear that conversation, Hunter,” Darius extends a hand in his direction before dropping it back to his side, looking at him with hesitation all over his eyes.
“I wasn’t supposed to hear that you consider me your child?” Opening his mouth seems to be a consistently terrible idea today, as proven by his earlier discussion with Luz and now by this.
But nothing bad happens; the man raises a gloved finger to scratch at his cheek and doesn’t respond.
Strangely, the abomination’s witch subdued attitude is enough for him to not even wonder if he is in trouble. It’s almost as if he wasn’t the one caught doing something he shouldn’t have. That’s something.
“Oh, da…ng. You two hadn’t even discussed this,” The Owl Lady whistles. “How long has it been already?”
“Too long,” Luz sounds particularly disgruntled, at the same time that Darius turns to look at the woman with his indignant disposition back.
“You have a lot of nerve for someone who took years to officially adopt her son.”
“Hey! This isn’t about me. And how do you even know about that anyway?”
“Penstagram!” Eber exclaims cheerfully.
“Eber was bored. We captured Raine rather quickly, after all.”
“Hey, now, you didn’t even notice when I was sneaking away.”
“That was absolutely on purpose; if I wanted to keep you there, I-“
“Okay, that is enough!” Luz interrupts, stepping away from the staircase to stand closer to the adults. “Eda, Raine, we’re going home.”
“Great idea,” Darius claps his hands together and Hunter can’t help a sudden spike of annoyance. Oh, yes, Luz always has brilliant ideas, doesn’t she? “All of you who don’t live here, get out of my house. Eber, show them out.”
“I’m gonna do it just because it seems like you really need this conversation,” clarifies the Owl Lady. Beside her, Eber seems to be gleefully taking advantage of the opportunity to push Raine.
“I’m going willingly!”
“Luz!” Hunter calls out before the four of them can disappear behind the doorway. She stops and turns to look at him with inquisitiveness in her eyes. “I’m… sorry, for earlier.”
Luz smiles.
“We’ll talk at school,” She says. “And bring the books!”
The door closes.
He doesn’t turn to look at the other. Instead, he brings his hands to the height of his chest and starts fidgeting with his fingers, grabbing them one by one as the seconds pass. Flapjack flies back to him, but seems rather content with waiting for them to break the silence instead of offering his own birdy input.
Darius coughs.
“So, about what you heard…” He pauses, either struggling to find the words or expecting him to say something, but like hell he’s going to willingly dig his grave further. Heh. Again. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“By telling me or by not telling me?”
“By making you feel like you had to stay. I know that wasn’t your plan,” Darius being so flustered is actually making him feel weirdly calm. “But I thought perhaps you simply hadn’t had the time to truly consider it back then, I… sort of hoped you would change your mind. It seemed more likely with every day that passed.”
“You… were waiting to see if I would stay?” He repeats. Maybe this is all a very elaborate dream? It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to happen to him.
Darius sighs.
“Yes, but you still don’t have to if you prefer your original plan.”
“That doesn’t make even a little of sense.”
That seems to be enough to break Darius from his embarrassment, because he looks at him with raised eyebrows.
“Which part?”
“All of it! Why would you want me to stay? I thought you were just being nice!”
“You thought I invited you to live with me because I was being nice?” Okay, the incredulity is fair. Darius might be kind, but he’s not exactly known for his amiability.
“Well, I- I don’t know! I thought you were just tolerating me!”
“And that makes more sense to you?”
“Isn’t that what is happening?” He asks defensively.
“Hunter. You just heard me call you my child in front of Eda and Raine. I think we’re past that.”
“But I don’t understand…” He glances at the cardinal on his shoulder. The look he gets back is encouraging enough for him to continue. “I thought… is this because I’m friends with Luz?”
Darius looks taken aback.
“I don’t think I’m following your thoughts here, little prince.”
“Before the Day of Unity… you asked me to keep her safe,” The man nods slowly. “Because… because you hold her in high regard, right? Because she impressed you. But she already lives with the Owl Lady and Raine and with Mrs. Noceda, so I’m the next best thing?”
Darius’s eyes flicker with something Hunter can’t pinpoint, before his face settles in the same cautious expression from earlier.
“Hunter, do you think I sent you to escort her because I was worried about her safety?
“Well, yeah?”
The man shakes his head.
“I’m glad the girl is alright, but I assure you, I did not ask you to accompany her purely for her benefit,” He shrugs. “As far as I’m concerned, she’s Eda’s kid and I have no interest in participating in what she already has well covered.”
“Then why did you order me to do that? I thought it was because you trusted my ability to keep her safe,” his nose crinkles.
“You aren’t entirely wrong. I simply figured you kids could take care of each other,” Hunter looks at him with a blank stare and Darius sighs again. “I was trying to keep you safe, Hunter.”
‘Told you!’, Flapjack’s statement is quiet, but it’s obvious the bird is feeling rather pleased.
“But… but that… it seemed like you were really invested in Luz.”
“I suppose she’s a particularly accomplished human, but as I said, my goal was… elsewhere.”
“I…” He extends his arm to grab at the wall. He’s suddenly feeling slightly lightheaded. “I… I’ve been trying to act like her for nothing?!”
Darius blink.
"You were doing that?"
"Yes! Did you think I was being weird just for the sake of it?"
Comprehension seems to dawn on his face.
“You mean, with the cat ears and that little scene you put on? Is that what those things were about?”
“Yes, of course! What did you think I was doing?!”
The man looks sheepish now.
“I… merely assumed you were long overdue for a little bit of teen antics. With how restrained you used to be, the best course of action seemed to just let you be. No matter how… bizarre some of those things were.”
Hunter covers his mouth with his free hand and breathes deeply in an attempt to avoid screaming with frustration. It doesn’t work.
“You mean to say I've been weirding you out all this time and you didn't think to mention that?!"
“I wouldn’t say you weirded me out, it was just… surprising.”
"I meowed at you!" He laments.
"So you did," Darius grimaces. "Should we expect a repetition of that in the future?"
"Titan, no," He lets go of the wall to hug himself. “This is humiliating.”
“It’s truly not that bad, little prince. Eber said it looked like you were having fun.”
“I… maybe, but what does that matter?”
“It matters,” Darius takes a step closer to him and he lets him, not making any move to put more distance between them. “Because you can figure out who you want to be on your own time. You have the right to, Hunter. But if you’re forcing yourself to be someone you are not because you think that’s what is being asked of you, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to stop.”
His voice is unbelievably gentle, and somehow that bothers him more than if he were mocking him.
“No one asked me to do this, I chose to do this,” He retorts.
“I suppose it’s your decision, but perhaps modeling yourself after someone else’s image might not be the best of-“
“Oh, for the love of… I did it because I was trying to impress you!"
Darius gapes at him. Seems like he’s not the only one who had wrong preconceptions of the situation.
He’s starting to lose his patience though.
“Why are you surprised?” He asks, exasperated. “I practically told you just now!”
‘Be nice!’, Flapjack scolds him softly.
“I thought you had Luz in better regard than me… I didn’t do those things for no reason, they were logical assumptions” He argues, even if he’s realizing his plans weren’t as flawless as he thought. He’s going to have to burn his journal so no one ever figures out his shame.
The man thankfully recovers his composure before he can start babbling about the reasoning behind each one of his attempts.
"You don't have to do all of that to get me to like you, Hunter."
"Don't I?" He murmurs, before he can stop himself. But maybe it wasn’t loud enough for the man to hear?
"What do you mean?"
No such luck.
"You didn't like me before," He lifts his chin to look directly into Darius’s eyes. If he’s doing this, he’s not going to back off.
“I told you; I don’t invite just anyone to live with me, little prince. Of course I already liked you.”
“At the castle,” He clarifies.
“Ah,” Darius sighs. That’s three Darius’s sighs in one conversation. He’ll have to ask Eber what’s his record. “I think an apology is in order.”
“You already apologized. After everything.”
“Not well enough, it seems.”
“It’s not your fault I’m not easy to like,” He shrugs. It hurts a little to say, but it’s hardly a secret.
“That’s not…” Darius closes his eyes, taking a moment to let out his breath. “You’re not hard to like, Hunter. I just didn’t want to like you, before.”
He isn’t really sure that makes it any better. Either way he was still the problem, but in one of the alternatives he wasn’t even given the chance to mess up on his own. As usual.
“Why?” He asks quietly.
“Let’s sit down first.”
Darius guides him to one of the couches in the living room, one of his hands hovering close to his back, but not quite touching him. There is a bottle on the coffee table and a few glasses and the shattered remains of the dropped one are still on the floor. No sooner than he notices it, abomination goop covers the pieces and makes them disappear; they’re probably in the trash now.
He sits down, Flapjack settling on his knee, and Dariu beside him, but leaving plenty of space between them.
“I told you once that the Golden Guard that preceded you was my mentor.”
“You said he was a very strong witch.”
“I did,” Darius’s mouth curves into a small smile. “But that’s not all he was. He was clever and resourceful, everyone knew that. What not everyone knew was that he was curious, kindhearted, mischievous…”
Hunter knows he’s staring, the fascination on his face probably easy to see, but he can’t find it in himself to care. He had wondered, a few times, but he hadn’t dared to ask.
“He was also a huge pain in the ass sometimes.”
He lets out a snortle, and Darius has the grace to let him finish before continuing.
“He was always there. I used to think he probably didn’t have to do as much work as others, being the Golden Guard and having so much authority over everyone else, but I realized later that he just made time for me. For whoever he thought needed it,” His face turns solemn again. “When he… disappeared, I didn’t know what to do. A part of me thought he would always be there, as sure as the moon sets every night in the sky… and then one day you appeared.”
“I’m… sorry,” He says, unsure if he’s apologizing for being there or for the decease of his predecessor. He supposes they're one and the same.
“Don’t. You didn’t ask to be there. I didn’t think of that back then either. I saw this kid in a mask and a cloak too big for him and the only thing I could think of was that those belonged to him,” Darius chuckles, but it doesn’t sound particularly joyful. “I didn’t see you. All I saw was the shadow of a man that had been taken away from me. And that made me angry.”
“I mean, I did replace him,” Hunter tentatively offers. Something pecks him on the cheek.
‘Not a replacement!’
“No. I was angry, yes. Not at you, but I still took it out on you. I didn’t want to realize that none of it was your fault. And I’m sorry.”
Hunter gulps, his throat feeling unusually tight. What is he supposed to say to that?
“I can’t apologize enough for all those years,” Darius reaches out with one hand, a question clear in his eyes. In lieu of an answer, Hunter scoots closer to him and lets himself slump against the man, feeling the arm settling over his shoulders a few seconds later. “But I care about you, Hunter, for being you, not for whatever it’s supposed to make you a ‘good kid’ or whatever. Imposing my wishes on you wouldn’t have been the best start for making it up to you.”
“I didn’t want to force you to accept me either.”
“That won’t be a problem, since I want you here. I… don’t know how to be a parent for you, but if you allow me to, I’ll try.”
Hunter lets out a watery laugh.
“Hunter?”
“You watched me do all of that stuff just for a chance to stay with you. What do you think I’m going to say? No?”
Darius ruffles his hair, leaving his hand there. Flapjack takes the chance to make the man’s hand his new nesting spot.
“About that… you don’t have to earn chances to do anything. Not here. I should have been clearer and talked to you earlier. I’m sorry for that too.”
Judging by the way this conversation has been going, he doesn’t think apologizing too will go over well.
"Thank you..." He murmurs.
“I’m sorry too, cub.”
When they turn around, they see Eberwolf standing in the doorway, his ears lowered with sorrow. Hunter waves at him to join them and the demon wastes no time getting over their legs, stretching his arms to hug them both.
“It’s okay,” Hunter says, biting his lip to keep his laugh once he hears Eber growl in protest. Somehow he imagined that would be his response. “No, really. If I don’t have to earn my chances, neither of you have to either. We can all… figure it out one step at a time? Would that be alright?”
He can hear the smile in Darius’s voice.
“Yes, that’s perfectly alright.”
And for the first time in weeks, or maybe ever, Hunter lets himself relax. There’s nothing to be worried about; he’s with his family, after all.