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“Do I look scary?” Hunter asked out of nowhere.
“What? No, why would you say that?” Luz replied, incredulously.
“My scars. Do they make me look scary?” he asked again, staring at the ceiling.
They should be sleeping. Everyone else was. But neither of them could fall asleep. One of Luz’s light glyphs was the only thing illuminating the dimly-lit room. Sleeping bags keep them warm, but not very comfortable on the hardwood floor.
They’d been talking for a while about nothing in particular, but with that question Hunter changed the entire mood of the conversation. Luz was taken aback.
“No, of course not. You’re Hunter,” she finally dared to respond, not taking her eyes off of the ceiling either.
“What is that supposed to mean, exactly?”
“You may look tough on the outside, but on the inside, you’re a cinnamon roll!”
“Say what? Luz, I still don’t understand your weird human expressions. Why am I a type of bread?”
“It’s sweet bread, first of all,” she corrected.
“Yeah, why am I sweet bread?”
“Like I’ve just said, you’re actually sweet inside. Figure it out.”
“I am not,” he said after a pause, huffing.
“Yes, you are.”
“Am not.”
“Do I have to list you all of the reasons why you’re sweet so you believe me or what?” she spat out without thinking. She’s kind of annoyed at his stubbornness at this point.
“Yes, please. Go ahead. Enlighten me.”
“Okay.” She stops to think for a moment. “First of all, you’ve saved my butt countless times. Even when you still pretended you couldn’t stand me.”
“Who says I can stand you now?” he teased.
“Shut up, smart guy!” She grabbed her pillow to slap him with it on the face. He doesn’t complain or move, but chuckles a little.
“Alright, sorry. Keep going.”
“Second of all, now you’re always nice and kind to people.”
“Always?” He smirks under the pillow even if she can’t see it, but she can sense it from the playful tone of his voice.
“Well, most of the time. That leads me to the third point. You still try to act mean sometimes, like you did ten seconds ago,” she explained. He let out a laugh. “But you don’t really mean it. I know you’re just teasing, so I take it as a form of affection, even.”
He gets very quiet all of a sudden, like he’s been cornered and has no more quick remarks. So she keeps going.
“Plus, you’re always offering to help out with anything. And you do nice things for your friends, even when you think they won’t notice. And-”
“Okay, fine, you win! I am sweet. You can stop now,” he grumbled.
“Oh, am I revealing all of your secrets? Sorry, but you’ve been awfully bad at hiding them!”
“Back to the main topic.” He takes off the pillow and throws it back at her. “So I don’t look scary at all because I’m actually very sweet, according to you?”
“Yep. That’s correct,” she agreed, adjusting the pillow under her head again.
“Thanks, I guess? This was a very weird three A.M. conversation,” he stated.
“You’re welcome. And you literally asked me, may I remind you!”
“Whatever.”
He can still feel the heat on his face, which had nothing to do with being a little suffocated with a pillow mere seconds ago.
"Besides," she went on. "You don't think I look scary, do you?"
"What? No. Of course not! You're Lu- Ah." As the realization hits him, he feels kinda silly. Of course none of his friends would see him as scary. Much less Luz, for that matter.
"See, exactly my point, dude."
"Hmm," was his only response.
He couldn't tell her because he felt it was kind of horrible, but he was kind of glad he wasn't the only one with scars. He felt less alone. It make him feel closer to her, even. But he couldn't say that, so he stayed silent.
After a small silence between them, she goes on. “You don’t have to try to keep the bad but sad boy act here, Hunter. You're okay with us," she assured. "You're okay with me," she whispered, half-hoping he didn't hear it.
“I know.”
“And your scars are only proof that you’ve survived time and time again. Nobody who knows you would fear you for that, I’m sure. Remember that.”
“I will. Thank you.”
In a streak of courage, Hunter grabs her hand and gently squeezes it. Luz squeezes back and doesn't let go when he softens his grip. She will hold on to him, no matter what.
With nothing left to say, because neither of them are ready to say it yet nor do they feel it's good timing, the silence that settles over them decides the conversation is over. So, they both mentally agree to try to sleep again, feeling calmer now. Luz extinguishes the light she casted with the glyph so they don’t have any more distractions.
“Night, Hunter,” she said, intertwining their fingers in a gentle grip.
“Goodnight, Luz,” he replied, feeling safer than ever.