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When Hunter woke to golden rays streaming through thin curtains, he was acutely aware of the heat next to him he felt immediately after shuffling slightly under the covers. His gorgeous Willow, fast asleep beside him with the most peaceful look on her face. He felt his cheeks flush and the tips of his ears become hot, this wasn’t the first time they had a sleepover together, but it had been the first they were allowed to share a room together. Darius had agreed to let the couple sleep in Hunter’s room so long as they kept the door open at night, and Willow’s dads also had to agree as well. They were 18 and 19 now, clearly old enough to make responsible choices. Throughout their relationship they had proved to their guardians they could be trusted to not break the rules, and now they were here, slowly waking up to each other on a sunny Saturday morning.
Hunter wasn’t sure how much time passed before he saw his girlfriend’s eyes flutter open, squinting both from the light and because her glasses were left on the table beside them. They were close enough that she could see the boy next to her clearly though, which brought a smile to her face as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
“Good morning,” she said sleepily, not fully ready to wake up yet.
“Morning,” came Hunter’s reply, and he returned the kiss to her forehead. “Did you sleep well?”
The younger witch nodded with a yawn, she probably could have slept for another hour if the sun hadn’t bothered her. Last night they had played flyer derby together along with the rest of the Emerald Entrails team, it wasn’t often they got to play with Hunter since he was typically busy at work. When they were able to get the gang back together, they played hard like it was for a real competition, which usually left them all incredibly tired afterward.
Of course Hunter had been tired too, but he was naturally a morning person, waking up with the sun had never bothered him. He was glad to hear Willow at least still got a good night of sleep even if she was waking up a little earlier, “Good, me too.”
She adjusted her position under the covers, pulling the blanket up further towards her eyes and burning her face in Hunter’s chest– trying to block out the sun as she closed her eyes. It made him chuckle and he wrapped his arm around her to hold her close. He heard a chirp from across the room where Clover and Waffles were sleeping, and he saw his palisman flutter towards the window where she pulled the thicker curtain layer closed. The little bird was surprisingly strong, but it was clear even the palismen weren’t quite ready to wake up yet.
“Thanks Waffles,” he said with a smile, petting the blue jay when she flew over to give her owner a quick snuggle. She flew back to the nest where Clover was and got comfortable again, ready to fall back asleep now that the room was a bit darker.
Speaking of falling back asleep, Willow mumbled what sounded like her own thanks to Waffles for blocking out the sun as she sighed into Hunter’s chest. It made the boy feel like there were butterflies in his stomach, his heart swelling with how much he loved his sweet girlfriend. He was so grateful to be able to wake up next to her, to hold her in his arms as she dozed off, resting for a little while longer on the weekend morning. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine years from now when they might be moved out on their own, waking up like this every morning in a house they shared. He would love to surprise Willow with breakfast one morning, waking her up with the smell of her favorite food just because he could.
It was surreal to think how his life used to be before Willow came into it, when the only kind of “love” he knew– if it could even be called that– was the painful kind from Belos. When he was hit and punished out of the man’s supposed caring nature, it had only taught him that love was supposed to hurt like the sting of a fresh wound. That it was something to be earned by carrying out tasks asked of him, only to receive a fake smile and a shallow compliment from the man he used to consider family.
When he met Willow, she showed him what love was supposed to be like, how to be gentle and kind. She took his hands and kissed his knuckles where bruises and scars had been, the abuse he was subjected to wasn’t any kind of love compared to the sweetness one girl had shown him. All of his friends had taught him he could feel so much more than just sadness, anger, and fear, that the world could be so much nicer than he had ever known. He learned that after the clouds of a storm roll away, the sun will always be there waiting to shine again, golden and bright. Love to him was like daylight.
He wasn’t sure if he had fallen asleep again while thinking of his girlfriend, but it was clear time had passed since they had initially woken up as now both Waffles and Clover were awake, chirping and buzzing to each other. Hunter could only understand the blue jay, but it seemed the two palisman were happily chatting to each other, which brought a smile to his face.
“What’s gotcha lookin’ all cute like that?” Willow teased sleepily, and when he looked down to meet her gaze he realized she had put her glasses on. He must’ve dozed off after all, if everyone else was awake before he was.
“Just those two,” he answered, blushing, with a nod in the direction of their companions. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall back asleep.”
The girl beside him giggled, shrugging slightly as she replied, “Don’t worry about it, I did too. I think it’s probably around nine o’clock now.”
Hunter wasn’t used to sleeping in so late, he was usually up and running around by seven, if not earlier. He knew it was probably good for him to get some extra sleep, especially after a night out with his friends. In the past, he might have been worried about accidentally sleeping in too late even if he didn’t have to go to work that day, a side effect of the punishments he would receive back in the coven. It was a comforting realization, to know that he had gotten to a point where he didn’t panic over things like that anymore– or if he did, it was only very rarely.
His stomach growled and he realized waking up later meant eating breakfast later, which his body was definitely demanding now. He asked, “Do you wanna get something to eat, then?”
“Sure, you guys still have that jasmine tea I like?”
He laughed and nodded, “I keep it in stock just for you.”
“What a gentleman you are, my sweet boy,” she pretended to swoon dramatically, laughing once she couldn’t keep the act up any longer.
Hunter only kissed her playfully, sitting up in bed and stretching his arms out before they both got up to walk down to the kitchen. Waffles had followed and perched herself on his shoulder, tweeting cheerfully at the promise of getting some food and Clover had done much the same, although she chose to fly next to her witch instead.
He moved around the kitchen, setting up the kettle on the stove for Willow’s tea, taking a mug from the cupboard for himself to get some coffee that Darius had likely brewed earlier when he awoke. As he waited for the water in the kettle to boil, he felt arms circling around his waist and a chin resting on his shoulder– opposite the one Waffles was perched on. His girlfriend had decided to embrace him while waiting for her tea and he couldn’t help but chuckle and lean his head against hers; The quiet atmosphere of the moment brought them both a sense of bliss.
“I love you,” he sighed, truly grateful to have this amazing woman in his life.
“I love you too, Hunter,” she replied.
In the quiet moments of their love, Willow seemed to always set his heart ablaze with just the smallest actions and simplest words. In the darkest times of despair and grief, she had been his light at the end of the tunnel, guiding him out to the other side. She was– and is– his sunshine, everything about her was warm and healing, her love golden, like daylight.