Work Text:
Hunter had been turning and squirming in his bed for hours by that point. The clock on his nightstand said in bright letters 2:00 am.
It was far too late for him to be up if he didn’t want to wake up feeling all giddy and lightheaded from the lack of sleep.
It was still decently early. He had gone much further.
It wouldn’t be the first time that week, either.
While he usually had a hard time recognizing what in the Titan’s name felt off, he had finally begun to develop what he liked to call the “checklist system.” It mainly consisted of ticking off possible causes, allowing him to (hopefully) land on the one and be able to solve it, or eliminate it without realizing it. Either way, it had worked just fine so far, and he felt waking up Darius or Eber, or texting his friends to help him figure it out was pretty much out of the question.
First, he removed a blanket. As the cold air made contact with his skin, making him shiver, he figured it probably wasn’t that. Then, he tried the opposite, adding a new blanket. While the extra coziness wasn’t bad, it wasn’t what was bothering him.
Maybe his pajamas? Hunter tried lifting sections of the cloth to see if the lack of contact with it felt any better, only to find no changes. Other than a bit of extra coldness, though.
He emitted a light groan. While most of his night discomforts were usually solved by now, it wasn’t the case that day.
He then proceeded to grab his scroll for a dim yet useful light source while he went down to the kitchen. Cautiously making sure his barefoot steps didn’t disturb Darius or Eber’s sleep, he made his way down, squirming to see.
The cupboard opened with a creak, much to his dismay, but he was able to reach for his favorite glass, a simple blue plastic vase with the most gorgeous grey wolf he had seen. Hunter smiled as he remembered the first time he made Darius join him on a shopping trip at the Human Realm, the same day he got his glass.
After pouring himself some water as quietly as he could, he grabbed a not-dog bread from the bread cabinet. He would usually have gone for something fresher as a snack, but there was something oddly comforting about the bread he simply couldn’t deny.
While downing two glasses of water did make him feel better, and the sensation of a not-so-empty stomach helped too, something still felt off. Oddly off.
Hunter was starting to get irritated.
He had gone through almost the entirety of his list already, and he barely felt a difference. Knowing himself, the lack of sleep was probably to blame too, but how could he solve the discomfort from tiredness if he couldn’t bring himself to settle?
Grunting, he walked slowly towards the bathroom, his last hope. If that didn’t do the trick, he would simply have to resign himself to another morning of being greeted with a headache and some extra sensitivity.
He closed the door behind him and turned on the lights out of habit, panicking at the realization for a second. Seeing the door closed, though, made him exhale in relief. He turned around to face the seat, catching a glimpse of his reflection on the mirror.
It caught his attention.
Even with the poor quality of the sleep he had gotten that week, his eyebags and the dark circles under his eyes were nowhere close to where they had once been.
When he was in the Emperor’s Coven.
His faced looked less gaunt than he remembered. Not quite chubby, but he couldn’t help noticing the fact his cheekbones were no longer one of the most prominent sections of his face. His cheeks no longer looked sunken.
Like a corpse.
While his most recent scars had definitely taken some time to get used to, he had ultimately accepted them as yet another feature to his face. Darius had been very keen on letting the option of talking to Raine open if Hunter ever felt his advice wasn’t what he needed. As much as he had insisted he didn’t need it, a part of him had actually felt lighter after doing so.
He was even making jokes about them now. Giving annoying people annoying explanations of how he got them if they were too pushy.
It had actually made him feel lighter.
He didn’t get why it took so long, if he had done it before.
And his hair.
It had grown a little wild in the few months that had gone by since his last retouch. Right now, it was pretty much still a mess thanks to all the squirming. Still, somehow, he felt it looked cool.
He didn’t like it when his hair was too well done.
While Darius had suggested cutting it, thinking of all the ways the reason behind the “sick mullet,” as Luz had called it, could make him uncomfortable or worse, Hunter found it amusing. Fitting, even.
In a way he had tried explaining many times now, just to find himself at another dead end, Hunter liked his hair as it was. He had even gotten Darius to learn how to keep its shape.
It was original. Made him feel… different.
As he studied his reflection, he remembered with a soft shiver the time Willow had helped him cut his hair back in the Human Realm.
He was definitely never letting it grow long.
In a way he couldn’t explain to himself, Hunter could even say he was a little afraid of growing it long. The sole thought of having blonde streaks framing his face made him want to look away.
Just like him.
Hunter pictured it tied back, a mere formality. On a too-warm day. To free his vision.
Just like him.
He turned his face as fast as if someone had slapped him.
The overgrown tips of the back of his hair touched his neck.
He could feel the tips touching his neck.
Just a little more, and it will be long and flowy.
Hunter opened the bathroom door and ran upstairs tripping over his own feet, all silent intentions forgotten. He just hoped Eber’s sleep would be as heavy as usual today.
The words came out just as pathetic as he had expected them to. A little shakier and more breathless than he had thought, though.
“Darius, can you help me cut my hair?”
Darius removed his purple sleeping mask to find a completely bewildered Hunter.
“...Please?” Hunter added with a soft tone, not less worrying in the slightest.
He didn’t say a word as he followed the boy to the bathroom.
“The usual?” Darius said, imagining the state he was in. Hunter never liked to talk much after nightmares, or whenever he woke up at night randomly.
Hunter only nodded.
The only sounds that filled the house were those of snipping scissors for a good while.
Until Hunter broke the silence.
“Do you think I look like him?” Hunter sighed deeply before continuing.
“He was a Wittebane. My Ortet —Caleb— was a Wittebane too. What if no matter what I do I always have that Wittebane bit in me?”
Darius almost dropped the scissors.
“Oh, Hunter.”
He made sure to place them carefully aside before dusting off the remaining hair and hugging him.
“I think you always look very Hunter, no matter what haircut, clothes, or mannerisms you have.”
“But what if…”
Darius let him go before chuckling softly. “Hunter, you used to not have had a single choice in your life about who took care of you. Look at you now! You have Camila and Eda and Raine practically fighting for you, in the good sense. And of course, Alador and me. Well, at least me for sure,” Darius said.
“You might have been a Wittebane with no options, but you can choose now. Clawthorne-Whispers, Noceda, Deamonne. Titan, maybe even Deamonne-Blight someday. If being a Wittebane worries you, I can always speak to some people to have your Hexside documents changed,” he added with a wink.
“Whatever you choose, take for granted I will respect it. You don’t have to be something you don’t want to.”
Hunter felt his lungs be filled to comfort for the first time in almost a week, and his mind rest as Darius hugged him again.