Chapter Text
Hunter stirs sluggishly on top of an air mattress that he and Gus shared in the living room; Movements from the floor above him suggest that others in the Noceda residence are up. Cracking an eye open, the teen realized that Gus's side of the bed was vacant. Deciding that's his cue to wake, he sits upright and stretches his aching muscles and joints.
Hunter glances at the sliver of sunlight shining between the closed curtains. Three full days have passed since they got stranded in the human realm. The cloudy and rainy weather finally dispersed, and the blue sky broke through with the rising sun.
The teen boy closes his eyes to focus on familiar chirping sounds coming from outside before crawling out of the slowly deflating air mattress. He walks to the bathroom, tugging on a small black t-shirt (it has some weird drawing of a dark-haired boy with a half-scarred face) that Luz gave him.
Hunter enters the bathroom, locking the door behind him; He stares at his reflection in the mirror and groans at his dishevelled appearance. He twists the sink faucet, and cold water spews from it. The teenager removes his gloves to wash his hands before splashing the water on his weary face in an attempt to look more awake. With his wet hands, he tries to smooth down his wild bedhead. Somewhat presentable, Hunter dries off his hands, slips his gloves back on and unlocks the door.
"DUDE!" Gus yells in the blonde teen's face as the door opens, disrupting the quiet morning routine. "We're going in a car! Wanna join?" he asks. Willow stands next to the younger boy and gives Hunter a quick wave.
"Huh?" Hunter wasn't sure what a car was.
"Vee and I are going to the store with Mrs. Noceda! We're using this giant metal thing to get there," Gus explains further.
"Oh, I see." Still wasn't sure what that was.
Mrs. Noceda was by the front door with Vee, whom Hunter met in their basilisk form on the night they arrived. Camila was opening a bin containing coats, hats and scarves and started digging into it. Once Camila finds the items she is searching for, she brings them to the two boys.
"Here you go, sweetheart," she says, handing the younger boy a hat and turning her attention to Hunter, giving him a baseball cap. "Good morning, mijo! Are you coming with us?"
"Oh, I was thinking about… taking a walk?" Hunter says, gripping the cap, unsure if he was allowed to leave. He wasn't keen on going to a crowded human store.
"Oh! Sure! Will you be fine on your own?" Camila asks.
"Yes, M'am, I think I can manage." Over the last few weeks, getting lost in a small human town has been low on Hunter's danger meter.
"Well, why don't you take Vee's cell with you, just in case, mijo," Camila says, waving Vee over.
Vee was currently shapeshifted into Luz, but an entirely different version of the human than he had ever seen. Camila asks them if Hunter could borrow the phone. Vee agrees and hands the cell to him.
"Thank you," Hunter says politely as he slips it into his jogger's pocket. He puts on the red baseball cap that Camila gave him with the help of Gus (who put it on backwards, styling Hunter's hair and ears, so he looks 'cool').
"Luz! We're leaving!" Camila calls out for her daughter as Gus and Vee put on their shoes.
The older woman looks at Hunter's attire and sighs. "Tsk, you boys need some clothes as well," Camila says, fretting over Hunter's ill-fitting tee. She wrinkles her nose. "And soap," she adds aloud before moving away from a flustered teenage boy.
"Why did she have to say it out loud?" Hunter grumbles to himself.
His ears perked at the sound of a snort of laughter. His head shoots up at Willow, who doesn't cover that she's staring and grinning teasingly at him, causing Hunter's blush to radiate throughout his face.
"Uh, Mrs. Noceda," Gus says timidly, tugging on a blue beanie hiding his pointed ears.
"Oh, please, call me Camila," Camila says.
"Camila. Could we get some, uh, 'dunk-a-ruse'?" He asks with hopeful eyes.
Camila purses her lips for a moment. "Alright, we can."
Hunter hadn't seen Gus light up in a while and couldn't help but smile at his buddy's excitement for whatever he asked for.
"Could we also get your human Ghoul Aid too!?" Gus shouts eagerly, bouncing on his heels.
"Ghoul-what?" Camila asks, confused as Luz hops into the room, saying something along the lines of 'Aw, you never got me Kool-Aid and Dunkaroos!' with Amity trail behind.
"You said something about a walk? Mind if I join?" Willow asks, suddenly beside him. Her thick black hair is freed from the usual braids and now cascading down her back with a bright floral headscarf. They all had to wear Luz's clothes, and the Captain herself was sporting another goofy drawn boy t-shirt and bright blue 'basketball' shorts. Nevertheless, Hunter thinks even with Luz's dork clothing, she still looks…Nice.
Nice?
Hunter flushes slightly, realizing that he had Willow waiting for an answer.
"Y-yeah, I mean. I don't mind," the blonde stutters, trying to give a nonchalantly smile but utterly fails when Willow raises a skeptical eyebrow.
"Are you sure? It's okay if you don't want the company," she says.
Hunter shakes his head and hands at her, kicking himself for being so awkward around his new friends. "No, I do want the company!" Hunter says hastily; he rubs his wrist where his coven sigil is. "Are you sure you don't mind my company?"
"I wouldn't have asked in the first place," Willow points out. She then nods in the direction of the group standing by the entry. "Those two look like they need some time alone."
Hunter glances over to the pair; Luz was too busy talking to her mother to notice the Blight girl wringing her hands anxiously next to her. He couldn't blame her. Luz has been acting rather odd lately. She and Vee ran off one morning without saying a word, returning midday to a frantic Amity. The human never really explained what they were up to.
He and Luz also spent hours sitting around the kitchen island each night. Sometimes they talked about theories and a game plan, which felt fruitless. They did figure out magic should work in this realm when Luz told Hunter about Vee's story. And at least they have Luz's… Egg Palisman thing. And sometimes they wouldn't say anything to each other, too tired to think but not enough to sleep.
"Besides," Willow continues, nudging him lightly on the ribs with her elbow. "I enjoy your company," she says earnestly.
Hunter blinks at her, startled at the skip in his heart as Willow's genuine smile beams up at him. "T-thanks, Captain."
"Huh, what? You guys are going out too?" Luz asks the pair as they start putting on their shoes soon after Camila and her helpers leave.
"Yeah, we're just going for a walk!" Willow says, grabbing hold of Hunter's arm. "Don't wait up!" She yells, pushing him along till they are almost out the door.
Luz's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait! But Hunter– I found this town's history book at the library and–"
"No!" Both Amity and Willow yelled in unison. Luz shrinks at the two girls (Amity placing her hands on her hips). Even Hunter flinches like he is the one getting in trouble. Luz laughs nervously, raising her hands in defeat at the girls.
"Luz, you need a break," Willow adds, giving Hunter a purposeful glance from the corner of her eye. "Hunter needs a break. So bye!" She quickly shuts the front door with her arm still interlocked around his.
The two weren't far when Hunter got shivers down his spine as if eyes were watching him. He looks over his shoulder at the house, confirming his suspicion. The curtains were spread open, and Luz stood in the middle, staring. She gestured something that Hunter couldn't make out from a distance and shrugged in response.
"Luz's watching?" Willow asks, though seemingly unvexed by her nosy friend.
Hunter turns to face the path ahead again. "Yeah," he says with an eye roll. He's glad not to be in her shoes right now. Blight was a scary person when she wanted to be.
The same chirping from this morning and a flash of red broke his train of thought. He craned his neck to follow but lost it as swift as it came.
Soon, the dirt path turned into a paved walkway, and the building increased around them. Few were tiny shops and businesses. There weren't many people around the area, given that it was a weekday, and Hunter figured the humans worked their weird little jobs.
"Uh, so where are we going?" He says, breaking the silence between them.
The girl shrugged, humming a tune.
Hunter peers down at Willow. The younger teen was occupied by a flower shop across the street. His eyes catch their arms which were still looped together. Willow probably hasn't noticed as well. He clears his throat, grabbing her attention.
"Uh, Captain, we're still." He doesn't know why talking normally to her, and only her lately is so hard. Gus was easy to talk to. So was Luz. (Blight: No comment.) He ends up nudging their locked arm.
"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Willow exclaims, letting go of his arm. He watches the hand that was previously wrapped around him fiddle with her hair before allowing it to swing to her side.
Hunter feels a ping of remorse, like he didn't want to stop holding her. He shoves his hands in his pockets instead. Opting to take in the surroundings, they were slowly making their way toward the town square without asking each other if that was what the other wanted. Both are curious about the strange world in front of them.
"Too bad we don't have 'money'. I'm kind of thirsty," Willow says as she stares at a nearby cafe. They walked to the center of the square, stopping next to a large statue when Hunter scans the area and spots the exact thing he was searching for.
"There's a water fountain over there," he says, guiding them towards it. "Captains, first."
Willow smiles at him before drinking the water flowing from the fountain. She held her hair away from her face, preventing any of the water from soaking it. Hunter found it mesmerizing, to say the least; his ears burned as he focused on something other than his Captain. That patch of grass seems interesting. Very green.
"Going to have some?" Willow says, stretching after finishing her refreshing drink of water.
"Uh." Hunter usually forgets to drink or forgets to even feel thirsty. Willow places her hands on her hips (Just like Blight, uh oh) and points at the fountain.
"Drink. Captain's orders," the younger but stronger teen commands in a teasing tone.
He goes over to the fountain without a word. Taking gulp after gulp, he realized that he might have been more thirsty than he thought. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hands; he looks back at Willow, who nods triumphantly.
"Well, what should we do now, Captain?" He asks with a smirk.
Willow pretends to ponder hard, placing a hand on her chin as though deep in thought. "How about we–"
She takes hold of his hands, nudging him to follow. He lets himself get pulled off the stone path and onto the grass till they stop underneath a tree, its shadow shielding them from the sun. With a hefty sigh, Willow plops down on the grassy ground and leans back on her hands. The girl closes her eyes, and a tiny calm smile on her lips.
"That's it?" Hunter questions, raising an eyebrow.
The girl peeks an eye open, peering up at him. "Yeah, now sit."
And Hunter does, crossing his legs together. They sat in comfortable silence between them. Hunter closes his eyes, listening to the different bird sounds and the occasional wind shuffling the leaves on the tree's branch above the two teens.
"Do you think my magic could work here?" Willow asks, lightly touching a human world's flower with little white petals and a yellow center beside her.
"Try it out," Hunter says, eager to see if the theory is true. He faces the younger teen, observing intently.
Willow casts a tiny spell circle; on the ground comes a light pink flower with curved petals and a thorny stem. She plucks it carefully out of the earth, bringing it closer to inspect.
"I only know plants and flowers from home." She inhales the sweet scent and exhales slowly. "It smells-"
Hunter couldn't help but admire her again; the leaves' shadows danced interestingly across her soft rosy face. The way wind blows lightly through her thick locks. The way her cute round nose scrunches.
"Nice," he finishes.
"Yeah," Willow agrees softly. Her eyes turned sober the longer she stared at the flower. "I'm the one who suggests running into the portal. It's my fault we're stuck here. And if Luz didn't make it in…" Willow shudders at the thought, dropping the flower.
"Hey, we're alright. We got you, Captain," Hunter tries hopefully, but Willow shakes her head at him.
"I'm serious! You've saved us! If it wasn't for your quick thinking, who knows-" He breaks eye contact. "Who knows what would have happened to us all," Hunter says in a hushed tone, looking down at the fallen flower. He takes it, removing the thorns so he can tuck it in Willow's headscarf.
"I think highly of you. Which is completely crazy because my chest feels like it wants to burst open when you're near. It feels like a sting every time you touch me. I just— you make me nervous," Hunter rambles, uncertain if he's making any sense. "And I don't want any of it to stop."
"You know, Hunter, you make me nervous too," Willow says in a whisper he nearly didn't hear.
Hunter gaped in shock at the girl. "But, you're really brave and strong!" He flushes brightly at his confession.
Willow covers her face, shoving her glasses upwards in the process. "Oh, my titan! Please!" she begs meekly into her hands as he lists things he likes about her.
Hunter stops and frowns, puzzled by the reaction. The older teen leans closer to make sure she's okay, wondering if he overstepped a boundary. "Did I say something wrong?"
Willow shook her head with her hands still covering her face. She drops them on her lap, revealing her face as bright as his own. Taking a deep breath, Willow gazes up, locking eyes with fiery determination.
Their faces were mere inches; Hunter felt something, a squeeze and pull in his chest (his heart?) towards her. He couldn't stop staring at those green eyes, deep and rich like a darkened forest. His senses were filled with Willow. She smells…
Nice.
"Willow." Her name slips from his lips breathlessly.
They were moving so close that Willow let her eyes droop shut while he slowly reached to grab her face with trembling hands.
Chirping again, louder and closer this time, and Hunter froze in place, his eyes unconsciously following the sound to see–
A cardinal swooped by before landing on a statue. The statue that Hunter was preoccupied to have paid attention to earlier. The two strangely familiar men posing together had the teenage boy recoil in fear and disgust all of a sudden.
"Caleb, you okay?" Willow asks, furrowing her brows while she touches his shoulder.
Hunter winces, twisting his body away from her. High pitched ringing in his ears, he felt waves upon waves of nausea. Covering his mouth, he tore his eyes away from the figures.
'Caleb!' The twisted version of his uncle roared when he saw Hunter's palisman.
"Woah, Hunter," Willow gasps, shuffling on her knee closer but not touching him.
The teen girl tries to follow his gaze from before and scans around the town square for… something. She turns back as soon as she hears short and strangled breathing coming from the teenage boy.
"Hey, let me help," Willow said slowly; she faced him, removing his gloved hands from his mouth and placing them on his lap.
Hunter squeezes his eyes shut, only able to nod to let her know he is listening. He clutches hard on the fabric of his joggers, pinching a bit of skin.
"Okay, breathe in as I count to 4."
He nods. That he can do, he's good at following orders.
"1…2…3…4… Now slowly breathe out, 4…3…2…1… You can repeat it till you feel better."
"Can– can you keep counting?" He asks through shallowed breaths.
"Of course," Willow says.
Willow starts to repeat the mantra, slowly and methodically. Hunter wasn't sure how long they stayed like this. Her counting, him breathing along. The rapid heart palpations steadied to a much more manageable state. Sounds around him didn't feel like they would crush him anymore; he let his shoulders sag as his muscle finally became slack.
"Thanks," he says when he finds his voice.
"Can I hug you?" She asks immediately.
Hunter's ears burn, but he nods, feeling Willow's strong arms wrapping around him. He hesitates, then returns it tenfold, soon burying his face into her shoulder.
"Why are you nice to me?" His question was muffled from his current position.
"Because I believe you're a good person, Hunter," she replies with ease.
His eyes swelled with guilty tears. "I haven't been honest to you or anyone else. You still think I am good?"
She leans away from the hug, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "It doesn't matter. I trust you, and I am here to listen."
He ducks his head from the sincere, affectionate gaze, drying his eyes. Hunter trusts Willow too. He briefly glances at the statue as he takes a deep breath in.