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Darius never wanted the moment to end.
Even if the signature was more symbolic than anything, he had finally gotten reassurance. The proof that even if he had adopted Hunter deep inside his heart the second he saw him after being depuppetified.
Hunter had willingly signed his new name. Out of the blue, in the middle of the night, he had decided who he wanted to stay with.
Darius couldn’t be happier.
Still, the more thought about it, the more an uncomfortably scary question appeared in his mind. Despite how excited he was, Darius knew Hunter far too well to not be at least a little concerned about the sudden decision. Even knowing how Hunter’s insomnia was, it didn’t help to know that the last time he had burst through the door at an hour like that it was due to a bit of a crisis.
Darius needed to be really, really sure.
“Hunter?” he started, pulling apart a little. He could feel Hunter holding on to him, so he instead sat down, patting the space beside him invitingly.
“Before we send anything in, I need you to be very honest with me.”
Hunter looked at him with big, curious eyes. It reminded Darius of a baby wolf from the thousands of pictures Hunter had shown him and Eber trying to make them recognize some subspecies.
Big and curious, but somewhat scared. Even more of a reason to make the question.
“Why did you choose me?”
Hunter’s expression switched to a blank one in a matter of moments, unsure of what to do. He guessed answering because I’m worried you will hate me if I didn’t and I’m far too scared of losing you after everything to let you down” was not exactly what Darius would call an acceptable answer.
So, he tried rephrasing it.
“I… I don’t really know how to explain it,” he hoped would be good enough of an explanation.
Darius, however, didn’t find that half as relieving as Hunter potentially expected him to. He knew very well that was Hunter’s go-to whenever he knew the answer would most likely raise a few eyebrows. As much as he didn’t want to push, he didn’t felt it was right this time.
“Could you try? I promise I won’t feel disappointed in you, if you try I’ll trust you did your best.”
Doing his best to make sure no snarkiness or mockery could be misread in his words, he added softly, “I won’t try to hurt you either. Never, for that matter.”
Hunter felt a shiver trickle down his spine at those words, mixed with a sensation he couldn’t quite place. Shame, for thinking so lowly of Darius? Shame, that it was so obvious what he was afraid of? Shame, about the first reason his mind thought of?
Shame.
He could feel his mind start to spiral, so he took in a couple of deep breaths, just like Gus had taught him not as long ago as he would have liked. That tiny action had saved him so many times now.
“Promise you won’t be weirded out?” Hunter asked hesitantly.
Darius nodded.
“I love Eda and Raine, don’t get me wrong, but they have such a weird dynamic I wouldn’t know where I’d fit there. Like, King is their kid, a Clawthorne, and Luz sort of an honorary member? I never understood the arrangement they made with Camila. It was nice of her to offer taking me in when she barely knew me, with the whole thing she had going on with the Coven, though. I guess that would always be it, taking me in for a while.”
Hunter lowered his gaze, focusing on his hands before continuing. He couldn’t help but twiddle his thumbs incessantly.
“Then, Camila already has Vee and Luz. They fit together so quickly, so well, I didn’t want to impose. When we stayed there after the portal broke, it was nice. I liked it. Camila cared so much about us, but I still felt like an outsider no matter what she did.” Hunter couldn’t help but bite his own tongue at how ungrateful those words came out, quickly trying to fix his mistake.
“I mean, who can blame her? She had six kids to take care of and only so much time. And now, Luz is practically family to me, but I’m not sure what Camila or Vee think. Camila… she saved me that night at the lake, and she tried so hard to make me feel welcome, but I just couldn’t and I—” His voiced cracked a bit.
“About Luz, I guess that there’s something special about the bond that forms when you go through a dozen life-changing experiences for the worst, but well, she’s Luz,” he said with a chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood.
“And… I’m not sure when I began considering you and Eber family, as something to stay in my life. I was scared to lose you if I didn’t have something to prove I cared about you.”
Hunter didn’t look up yet, his leg bouncing a little more instead.
“I’ve known you two for so long now, that even if the time at the castle wasn’t the best for any of us, waking up and seeing you arguing with Eber over their fur on your couch or something makes me feel like good things can stay. You… you chose to help me. I wanted to give you something back, something that could mean at least half of what it meant to me.”
Still a little more terrified than just nervous, he looked up tentatively.
Only to be met with a teary-eyed Darius.
Hunter bolted up from his seat. He had truly screwed up this time. Titan, he knew he shouldn’t have said so much. Now Darius must be worried, if not hurt because of the way he decided to start. He probably had managed to speedrun his worst fear and make it happen the very night he was supposed to have something to soothe it.
All the nightmares about Belos raising from the dead and possessing again, the coming and going dreams filled with the sickening sound of Flapjack being crushed between his fingers. The gloomy visions of the Golden Guard graveyard.
Hunter knew how to deal with them.
As long as Darius was by his side.
Now he had managed to sever the one bond he had grown to have some certainty of. He was going to get thrown out, and he couldn’t even blame Darius. He was going to have to go and find his way somewhere, breaking some other family just because he couldn’t keep one and—.
Darius grabbed his arm softly before he could elope. Reaching out for the form, he spoke.
“Well, I guess we can send this in,” he said as he wiped his eyes.
“What?” Hunter asked, the confusion enough to break him out of his spiralling.
“I was concerned you were only trying make yourself miserable in a home you disliked because you felt it was what was right. That you had only decided it during a breakdown. That you were only trying to pay off a debt. I’m so glad to see that even if you feel like you owe me something —which you don’t—, your main reason is something entirely different.” Darius almost reached for his shoulder, before remembering and going for his other hand reassuringly.
“Hunter, I am honored you decided to be my son. You belong here, you have a place for as long as you want. I fear the… history we had at the Coven might have added to your worries, and I apologize. I want to make you feel safe here.”
Now Hunter’s eyes were the ones being filled with tears. Still a little hesitant, unsure of the way he should speak now, he asked.
“Can I hug you, Dad?”