Chapter Text
"Darius! I’m home!" Hunter made his way into the house and was immediately greeted by the smell of his favorite tea. He spotted Darius who was reading in the sunset-lit living room, giving him a wave. It was quiet and peaceful, and while Hunter loved going to school and hanging out with his friends, this part of the day was also a favorite of his. He flopped on the couch next to Darius, excited to show him all the patches he was able to find at the flea market.
"Hello, little bird. I see you had a good day?"
"Yes! The test was pretty easy actually and then the market had a lot of stuff to choose from! I even found this one for you!" Hunter handed him the patch, the little abomination waving and twirling around. "Cute right? Reminds me of the messenger abominations you like to make."
Darius took the patch and after a moment smiled, and ruffled his hair. Hunter could barely contain his excitement over Darius liking his gift and couldn’t wait to see what kind of activity they would do today. Usually, they settled on a movie but sometimes it was walking around Bonesborough or a late evening fly over the city. But Darius fell silent and for a moment too long didn’t say anything. Hunter’s heart rate picked up at the sudden change.
“Hunter, I need to talk to you about something.” The man sounded serious, similar to the time he had apologized. And even though those talks always ended well, Hunter couldn’t help but feel trepidation. What could it be this time? Did Darius feel the need to apologize again? Did he change his mind? Did he-
“Come to the kitchen with me. I made tea.”
This did not ease any of his troubling thoughts. If anything it worsened them. The kitchen had become the place for serious, life-changing talks and the uncertainty of it all was gnawing at him. But he trusted Darius. Everything would be fine. It had to be.
Hunter took small sips of his tea, waiting for Darius to say what he had to say. Even Flapjack could feel the nervous energy that was starting to fill the room and buried his little face in Hunter’s hair in an attempt to comfort him. The tea and the soft chirps of his palisman lessened some of his anxiety but Darius’ silence still put him on edge.
“I was wondering where I should start but I think the best place is with some simple questions. And answer me truthfully, I promise I won’t be mad.”
Hunter shuffled and moved closer, listening as attentively as he could.
“Do you like our current arrangement? Living here? Me being your guardian?...Using the name Deamone?”
“I…” Hunter was at a loss for words for a moment. He did not expect this and didn’t know what to think of it so he settled on telling the truth, consequences be damned. “Of course I do! I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t! I like it when you bring me to school and when we do activities in the evening! Or when you teach me to sew or when…well everything really. I like that you care at all and that you make an effort for me.”
“Of course, I care! I don’t want you doubting that.”
“Then what is this about?”
“It’s...Oh, Titan damn it.” Darius shuffled around and placed a small stack of papers on the table.
Hunter peered curiously, not picking them up yet until the title caught his attention. The boldface letters of ‘Application for Adoption’ stared back at him and Hunter’s eyes widened. He quickly grabbed the documents and fervently started to read over their contents. Those really were adoption papers; he wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating it. He stared at Darius in disbelief, not knowing what to say.
“Well uhm, what do you think about this? Do you want this to be formal? No need to say yes, of course. This is not an obligation and you will still be a Deamonne to me, regardless of your decision.” Darius’ voice was wavering in an uncharacteristic nervousness. The man looked like he would explode at any moment and Hunter would have found this funny if he wasn’t in the exact same position.
“I…of course, I want to! But…I never thought you would. Everything is still so new.”
“I did not want to pressure you, to make you feel like you are obliged to sign those documents so you can stay here and be a Deamonne. Frankly, they are just a formality. In my eyes, you’ve been part of my household as soon as you stepped over that threshold. I just needed a little push to admit it and finally act on it.”
Hunter looked at the papers again, his eyes blurry and barely able to see the giant title on the top. He couldn’t contain himself anymore, tears running down his cheeks freely. It was one of his ugly cries, he knew it, but his heart was filled with too much happiness to care.
Darius immediately moved to his side, tapping him gently on the shoulder for permission to hug him. Hunter didn’t wait a moment more and once again threw himself in the man’s arms. Flapjack’s happy tweets filled the room, the palisman just as joyous about this development and eventually settled back on Hunter’s shoulder to continue to nuzzle his hair.
The hug lasted longer than usual, both of them basking in the warmth. Eventually, they separated but Darius remained by his side and continued to hold his hand.
“We could fill out the papers now or later, whatever you decide.”
“Now! I wanna do it now.” Hunter tried and failed to hide the eagerness in his voice and felt his face get hot from an embarrassed blush. “But I don’t know my date of birth if I even have one.”
“Actually, I think I can help with that. I learned some useful information from my visit to the Historical Society. At least now we have the names of the Golden Guards from the past fifty years.”
“Really? You will have to tell me all about it after that.”
“Of course. We have all the time in the world.”
Darius ruffled his hair again and went on to find a pen. Hunter grabbed the papers, smiling widely at the title and reading it over and over. He was to be Hunter Deamonne officially, no longer feeling like a mismatched puzzle piece but fitting exactly where he belonged. At Darius’ side, for the rest of his life.