Work Text:
[1]
“I’m done!”
Hunter finishes the line of stitches he has been painfully working hard on during the past half an hour, refusing to do anything other than a perfect job after enough lessons have passed that he insists he should have this down already.
Darius doesn’t doubt that he has done a splendid job, though in the back of his mind he’s already pondering what to say to make him cheer up in case the stitches didn’t come out perfect after all; the kid has the tendency to feel like the lowest of the lowest if he can’t do something flawlessly by, at most, the second attempt. He hasn’t had the heart to ask him why, but it’s not hard to guess.
When the kid finishes his own inspection, however, he seems rather pleased with himself, and finally turns around the fabric to show Darius, seemingly braced himself for whatever it is the verdict of his work.
Now, Darius may be a lot of things, but despite the fact that he’s currently keeping a cover that requires him to hide many essential things about him, like his beliefs and morals, he isn’t about to trick Hunter with sweet, white lies. The heartbreak the kid would feel about that would be worse than knowing where he can improve right away, although he always makes sure to put more emphasis on the things he did get right.
So when he smiles, Darius means it.
“Flawless work, little prince.”
Hunter lets out the breath he had been holding and looks at him with a mix of happiness and incredulity.
“A-Are you sure? I didn’t miss any of the steps or anything?”
His legs are bouncing slightly over the edge of the bed and his hands, still holding the fabric, are shaking it ever so slightly up and down. He looks so ready to start celebrating and yet his face still holds hope that is only tentative.
Unable to help himself, Darius brings his hand up and pats his head.
“Not one. You’re an impressive fast learner,” He says honestly, and Hunter smiles widely and pretends very hard he’s not trying his damn hardest not to jump in joy. Darius doesn’t point it out, not even to tell him that he doesn’t mind.
He’s not sure how exactly to say that without bringing unwanted attention to it that’ll make Hunter shut off again and keep as still and stiff as a toy soldier, like he did the first few times they had sewing lessons together. So he doesn’t say anything, hoping that eventually the kid will realize on his own that he can simply be himself when no one else is around.
“Thank you, Darius. I won’t forget this,” Hunter promises. “I don’t take lightly that you always find time to teach me.”
Darius scoffs softly.
“Now, where did that come from? You don’t need to talk to me like this is a mission report, you know that already,” He gesticulates lazily with one hand. “Besides, I still have more to teach you… next time,” He adds, already seeing the little’s prince determined face starting to settle. “It’s getting late and you really shouldn’t be running out there without having even rested, so shoo.”
The kid looks disappointed but not chastised, which Darius seriously consider as a victory considering how he is.
It isn’t until he’s well burrowed under his blankets, trying to trick himself into thinking he’s going to feel energized after waking up despite the fact that he won’t be able to sleep nearly enough for that, that he realizes that Hunter didn’t flinch or tense even a little when he raised a hand in his direction.
It shouldn’t feel as big as it does, but Darius ends up sleepless for an hour more thinking about it.
[2]
Seeing Hunter safe and relatively unscathed simultaneously makes Darius feel more at ease than having a plan for the Day of Unity, and more frantic –keeping the boy safe was already an important consideration for him, but knowing how close he was to being brought back to the person who bears him the worst ill-will on the Isles is downright frightening.
He’s still wary of Darius, but he didn’t expect anything else, and that he accepted to talk to him at all is everything he wants and everything he feared hoping for.
“How long have you been a rebel?” Hunter asks, evidently still trying to piece together all of the information he’s received. If Darius could have his way, he would have told him all of it in better circumstances, when the kid’s life hadn’t been put upside down.
But this isn’t a perfect world and he can only hope his efforts will be enough.
“That’s a complicated question,” He says tentatively, knowing he can’t afford to spare any details if he wants the other to trust him. “But certainly a lot before I started…”
‘Caring about you?’, ‘realizing I was a Titan-damned asshole to you for no reason?’.
“... Giving you sewing lessons.”
Hunter’s face is doing something complicated; he’s frowning and biting his lip before his face relaxes with something akin to either resignation or understanding before tensing all over again and restarting the cycle. Darius can only venture to think about the million thoughts going through his head. He has to be wondering why Darius didn’t say anything earlier, why didn’t he help him if he knew, and just how much did he know in the first place… and at the same time, he believes that Hunter is clever enough and knows him the right amount to figure out that there’s not a straightforward answer to any of those question.
But sometimes it’s simply better to hear it from the source anyway.
“Did you know?”
“About what?” Hunter looks at him as if he was trying to remember what he looks like to later describe it to someone to make a portrait. Whatever for he’s looking at him like that is another question, but the kid has to be the one who ends up with his curiosity satiated in this encounter.
“The… thing. With the Golden Guard.”
Well, that doesn’t give him much to work with.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to be a little more specific than that, little prince,” His tone is apologetic. He doesn’t want to make things harder for Hunter but there are far too many things that he knows in relation to that rank.
“The… uhm,” Hunter’s voice dies in his throat. Whatever concern is plaguing him has to be a hard one, because he’s not even looking at Darius anymore. He’s unsure if that means the boy has decided to trust him or not, but pressuring him isn’t going to do any good, even if they have limited time now.
There’s a rustle in the woods nearby.
They both react before their minds can catch up completely, Hunter immediately summoning his palisman and Darius turning a hand into abomination, ready to grab whoever was spying on them and make sure they regret it.
When he uses an extended amount of abomination to check, however, he only finds a few animals and insects. He makes his magic retreat with a sigh; he’s been too much on edge lately.
He turns at his side to look at Hunter and blinks slowly when he notices the kid is a bit farther back than he assumed, partially shielding himself behind Darius’ shadow. He doesn’t comment on the trust shown in the actions if not in the words, but he smiles slightly, keeping his joy at bay when that seems to finally make the tension roll out from Hunter’s shoulders.
“Sorry about that. We can’t have any stray scouts snooping around, can we?”
Hunter shakes his head.
“Now, what did you want to know?”
The kid considers his words, and then he looks from Darius to his own clothes.
“Would you rebels happen to have some clean clothes somewhere?” He asks sheepishly, and though Darius knows that there’s no way in all the hells that he was trying to ask that earlier, he takes the hint and accepts the topic change gracefully.
“Thanks Titan, I wasn’t sure how to bring up that mud isn’t really your color, little prince,” He teases softly, ready to retract his statement if the words seem to hurt the other.
But it doesn’t. A tentative smile makes its way to Hunter’s lips and Darius really needed this, to see that kid is alright enough to be able to still show happiness or, at the very least, amusement.
He stays as long as he possibly can before leaving, with a promise to be back with a change of clothes and some supplies. It doesn’t escape his notice that Hunter seems to feel unconsciously certain that Darius will protect him. He just hopes he can match the expectations.
[3]
Their house is dusty, but after everything that’s happened, Darius barely gives a damn.
He sends some abominations to start taking care of it, however, because he’s not a brute and he’d rather not die by choking on the signs of neglect in an ironic twist to him surviving what could be considered two different world-ending predicaments.
Hunter is… for lack of a better word, lost.
He’s happy enough to be there with him and Eberwolf, Darius doesn’t doubt that, but he’s understandably a little unsure about what to do when this is so far off from all the ways in which they interacted with each other before.
There’s also the matter that he seems a bit on edge of the house, or at least the house is the only feasible explanation for it, though Darius is sure that there’s more to the story than that.
He looks like he wants to memorize every detail of it, not out of awe, but out of precaution, and if it wasn’t sure to bring up painful memories, he would have asked him about it, find out if there is anything he can do to make this easier… although he can do just that, he simply has to be careful enough in his phrasing so Hunter won’t close off.
Darius is still thinking about the best way to go about it when one of his abominations (it can’t be Eberwolf, he promised to come back later with some supplies he could find, since most if not all the food and other products in the house must be expired at this point) knocks something over in another room, and makes Hunter turn around so fast in the direction of the sound that he’s almost dizzy just by watching him.
“I told them over and over to be careful,” Darius sighs, trying to make some light of the situation to put the kid at ease. “You would think an abomination would be good at listening, and yet…”
He stops himself, noticing that he’s still talking to the back of Hunter’s head rather than to him. Which would be alright in normal circumstances, because despite what appearances might suggest, Darius doesn’t give a crap about etiquette.
But Hunter’s shoulders are shaking and even from here, he can hear how his respiration has gotten agitated, seeing silhouettes of nightmares that aren’t there.
“Hunter?”
No response.
He takes a few steps toward him, making sure to make noise as he does to not startle the boy, at the same time that he tries to convey that this is a casual walk, and he’s not approaching to scold him or anything of the sort.
“The abominations are clumsy on occasion, you don’t have to worry,” it doesn’t seem like the other is listening, so he adds: “Even if it isn’t that, I wouldn’t let anyone lay a hand on you, not ever again. I promise.”
Despite his words, he doesn’t believe he counts as one of the possible threats himself, and so he puts a hand over blond hair, praying to all that’s out there that it won’t scare Hunter.
It startles him, and when he whips around he has such a frightened look in his eyes that Darius fears that he’s made a mistake, but Hunter’s hand grabs into his wrist with such desperation that he can’t be sure anymore.
“I’m here,” Darius says, trying to convey how serious he is about protecting him through those two little words. The kid seems to get it, because his breath starts going back to normal, slowly, but he never lets go of his wrist as it does.
Later, when Eberwolf comes home and flings the door open in their efforts not to drop any of the bags they’re carrying with them, the sound doesn’t startle Hunter, wrapped up as he is in one of Darius’ arms in the one clean couch they currently have.
Darius can’t do anything but be grateful that Hunter knows that nothing can harm him as long as he’s there. He’s had enough hurt for a lifetime.
[4]
By the time Darius arrives to see the group of kids being confronted by sneering adults, his heart is about to give out inside his chest.
Hunter’s message had only contained a vague direction and a simple ‘help’, which to Darius’ frantic mind could have meant anything from “I’m being kidnapped” to “I forgot my umbrella at home and the weather prognostic said there would be boiling rain today”. Two drastically different levels of predicaments, but when it comes to his kid in particular, he isn’t about to assume the safest possibility.
He’s glad he didn’t think he could afford to spare the time to think twice about it when he takes on the scene in front of him.
Hunter is standing in front of his friends, hands bare, but extended at his sides to protect his stunned friends, that are all huddled together behind him in such a way that it looks less intentional and more like the oldest boy of the bunch suddenly pushed forward to put himself in the line of fire should anything were to happen; considering how protective of each other all of those kids are, Darius would bet that this development happened only in the last few seconds before he appeared.
Right now though, he isn’t too keen on betting anything.
He immediately wills himself to melt into the ground and reappear right in front of his kid. His little trick is immediately rewarded with the scornful faces in front of the kids turning to fright, and once again, he’s grateful that no matter what, he has kept his reputation as ruthless in a fight.
And oh, is he fully willing to act on it right now.
“You better not be trying what I think you are, or you’re going to regret more than following my kid around today,” He growls, watching them shrink into themselves with immense satisfaction.
Truth be told, he isn’t entirely sure about what exactly were their intentions, but at the very least, they were trying to pick up a fight judging by his son’s tense posture earlier. He glances at his back to check on the kids; Hunter has taken a step back to where the rest of his friends are standing, looking more like part of the group than their protector. He gives Darius a small smile when he notices him looking, and one could almost think he called him simply because he missed him rather than because they all were in possible danger.
It might be part of the truth, Darius thinks as he makes sure the –most likely– ex-scouts are appropriately frightened. Those kids have unfortunately fought a literal monster of a man before, he doubts these people would have given them a lot of trouble.
But Hunter knows now that just because they’re able to fight, that doesn’t mean they have to.
On their way home, Darius buys them all eye-scream to compensate for the nerve-wracking incident and, once all of his friends are gone and safe in their own parents’ doorsteps, he doesn’t hesitate to let Hunter know just how proud he is of him for coming to him for help.
He knows he wouldn’t have wanted to bother him with ‘something so trivial’, even just months ago.
[5]
The woods are never quiet, not even at night.
Still, there’s something eerie about being in a forest on a night when the moon is covered by clouds, and Darius is only grateful that those don’t seem intent on spitting on them; he could easily make a shelter, but he’d rather not have to deal with the hassle that hot mud means on his shoes.
Plus, that would truly ruin this whole thing, and with Hunter kneeling on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold tombstone carved with the shape of a friend, Darius thinks that would be nothing short of heresy.
He isn’t a religious man, but there’s something that feels almost sacred about this moment.
Normally he would have suggested that they come in daylight, or at least that Hunter does, considering that this is very much a private moment, and while Darius has come before to pay his respects to the principal responsible for bringing his boy back home to him, he knows there are moments that belong only to Flapjack and Hunter, this being one of them.
But it’s the anniversary of the day they met. Or rather, the night. Hence why they’re here now and not at any other hour in which creatures aren’t lurking in the darkness.
Hunter is afraid of the woods at night.
Not a surprise, considering he has collected a good amount of frightening experiences running between trees that project looming shadows all around him and don’t let him see the real threats.
But this was important to him, and he had planted himself in front of Darius and requested his company for this, looking as tense as if he were still a soldier requesting a squadron to help him with a tricky mission.
As if Darius could deny him anything even if he wanted to. And he does not.
He hears Hunter murmur soft words. They’re easily carried in between the harmonic sounds of the night, but Darius, while still close enough that he’ll be able to react fast in case of an emergency, does his best to distract himself with his own thoughts and not listen to the intimate murmurs of a lost bond.
No matter how hard he tries, however, the wind carries the last words perfectly: “Thank you.”
The couple of minutes that follow the end of Hunter’s little speech feel like seconds, and so Darius almost thinks it’s the echo of it when the kid is suddenly at his side, looking painfully serious for someone his age.
“Thank you,” He repeats, with all the sentiment of someone that owes another more than they could begin to express.
Darius knows that tone well, but he’s never been too keen on it. He always thinks he could and should have done more.
But that’s not what he says. “Whenever you need,” He says simply. Because it’s true. Because Hunter needs to hear that more than he needs the guilt of an older man.
Not all wounds are made to be soothed in company, some things each of them have to deal with on their own, and tonight really feels like the moment to do so.
He offers his hand and smiles when Hunter takes it.
He’s happy that Hunter trusts him enough not only to allow him to do something he really needed to do for himself, but to let him comfort him when everything is said and done.
[+1]
The echoes of laughter ring in Darius’ ears as Eberwolf, Hunter, and him stumble into the door of their home, all of them so exhausted that Darius is half sure that they’re going to- scratch that, they’re definitely going to crash into a pile on the couch.
His back and neck aren’t going to be grateful tomorrow, but that’s a problem for future him.
His warms feel pleasantly warm and his chest feels full of the love he has for all the old friends that stuck with him despite all the loneliness and harsh words said a lifetime ago. They all have learned to mature and take things at their own pace. It probably helps that they all got kids to be better for.
Though those kids are getting older in the blink of an eye, and Darius’ eyes get a bit watery at the thought as he settles on the couch, making him kiss the top of Hunter’s head, unable to stop thinking about how he no longer has to bend down to reach it.
Hunter still has his work uniform on, and Darius would have scolded him about going to his friend’s party looking like that if it hadn’t been more of a casual affair, no one wanting to make Luz feel awkward by being underdressed at her own celebration, being the guest of honor and all of that.
It’s endearing, in a messy kind of way, but that can be said about a lot of things Hunter does.
Darius wouldn’t have it any other way, especially not when that has brought him to this moment, lying warmly on the couch with his son laying on him and his little brother on top of them two. Not the most common arrangement, perhaps, but it’s comfortable enough and they’re too exhausted to even go upstairs to crash on someone’s bed, so this will have to do.
They wake up in the early hours of the morning, startled by the sound of Eberwolf dropping on the floor after slowly sliding off of Hunter’s back and into the ground below.
When he realizes what happened, Darius laughs until tears are coming out of his eyes while the demon grumbles, but lets out a few chuckles himself, prompting their kid to start laughing earnestly too, even if he’s also rubbing at Eber’s back to help him ease any possible pain.
Darius doesn’t think about how Hunter didn’t startle at the sound, about how, when he puts a hand on his shoulder, the boy doesn’t look scared or even surprised at his own lack of fear, he doesn’t think about him feeling safe with him because why wouldn’t he? They’re a family and they’re always there for each other, their home a shelter from everything and anything, from disgruntled people who blame the current government for any problems they have to nightmares and even petty disagreements between friends that end after a few days at most, instead of almost thirty years.
Darius doesn’t know when he started to take for granted the fact that Hunter feels safe with him, but he doesn’t even wonder about it.
As the three of them smile and laugh at each other, grabbing onto each other’s arms and shoulders to continue their rest upstairs in a proper bed to avoid any further incidents, he doesn’t even realize.