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The Pabu sun streamed in and warmed the side of your face as you scrolled through the datapad on your lap. You heard the front door open and close from your spot on the couch, and you smiled when you turned and saw Hunter stroll in, his body slightly hunched.
“Hey,” you stood up, placing the datapad on the caf table. “You’re back later than I thought.”
Hunter stretched his neck out, eyes drifting closed before he forced them open again. “A couple of the boats broke down before they left the dock, slowed us down.” He smiled tiredly at you after running a hand down his face.
“Sounds stressful,” you commented before meeting him in the open kitchen.
Hunter shook his head, downplaying and evading his troubles as he often did. “It was nothing.” He moved closer to hold your arms and gave a lingering kiss on your cheek. “How was your day?”
“Fine,” you smiled, leaning into his kiss. He kept holding you, like if he didn’t he wouldn’t be able to stand upright. You took his hands as you surveyed his appearance. The bandana that kept his hair in check was askew, and his hair was knotted from the sea breeze. His clothes lightly smelled like sweat and the brine of the ocean, and his strong hands were slightly red and his palms calloused. He needed to relax, but he would never ask for it. You tucked some tangled hair behind his ear. “Why don’t you go shower and change, and I’ll make you some food?”
“It’s my turn to cook tonight,” he protested weakly.
“Don’t worry about that,” you said, cupping his cheek with one hand and kissing the other. “Just go and clean up, cyare.”
Hunter smiled, evidently too tired to argue and softened by the endearment. He pulled you in for a gentle kiss that almost made you forget your name before pulling away from you and going to shower. You smiled as you heard the door close and the water turn on.
The water running quickly became a comforting kind of white noise as you made Hunter a sandwich with the Pabu’s famous seeded bread that he loved so much. You just finished cutting the sandwich diagonally when you heard the water shut off and the bathroom door open a few minutes later. Hunter emerged with loose pants hanging low on his hips and a sleeveless undershirt, wet hair stuck to the skin around his collarbones and neck. He looked a little more refreshed, his tattooed face a little brighter as he ran the towel over his wet hair.
“Better?”
“Much,” he draped the towel around his neck as you pushed the plate with the sandwich across the bench. He smiled at you with such gratitude you would’ve thought you had done more than just make him a snack. “Thank you,” he took the plate.
You returned the smile. “You’re welcome.”
You poured him a glass of cool water and then you both made your way over to the couch to sit down. You pulled your legs up under you to face him as he leaned forward to eat over the plate he’d placed on the caf table. You watched the tendons in his neck move as he took a bite, he hummed in enjoyment, making you smile. “Good?”
He nodded. “Thank you,” he repeated after swallowing. “Tell me about your day?” he asked eyes meeting yours in genuine curiosity as he took another bite.
You launched into a retelling of your day; a trip to the market and the bakery for the bread with Omega before dropping her off to help Tech and Phee with cataloguing the Archium, then helping an elderly neighbour with her pruning since her hands often locked up before coming home and tidying things up after Omega stayed with you both last night. She tended to hop around to each of her brothers’ bungalows, but this was her home base.
Hunter listened intently as he ate. You watched him as you spoke, almost getting distracted by the way his hair fell in his face as he leaned over the plate so it would catch any crumbs. You reached out and placed some damp hair behind his ear, curling it gently. These moments between you were so practised that you often didn’t notice them anymore. Both of you just moving with each other automatically. You didn’t notice touching Hunter’s hair, softly running your fingers through it. You didn’t notice when he offered you a bite of his sandwich wordlessly, and you took one mid-sentence, covering your mouth as you talked around it while he took a bite where you just did.
There was an ease with Hunter that meant these moments, however insignificant, made up the pattern of your intertwined lives. Both of you weaved together effortlessly as if you were always meant to.
After Hunter finished eating and his glass of water was empty, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes. You shuffled closer and ran your fingernails over his scalp. “Today was pretty tiring, huh?”
Hunter peeked open an eye and nodded. “Since Shep opened up the surrounding islands for settlement, there’s always shipments coming and going, things to load and unload. Today felt longer than others.”
You smiled sympathetically. “You’re doing good, you’re a great help to everyone.”
Hunter smiled and reached to grab the hand resting in your lap, squeezing it as his thumb caressed the back of it. “Thanks, mesh’la.”
You smiled and gently tugged him closer and guided his head down, so his head could lay down in your lap. As soon as he realised what you were trying to do, he scooted down so he was comfortable and closed his eyes, sighing with content. You chuckled and looked down at him. “Comfortable?”
“Extremely.”
You laughed again and continued running your fingers through his damp locks, which were already starting to curl up as they dried in the setting sun’s heat that permeated the bungalow.
Instead of talking, you let him rest, watching his rest rise and fall. You adjusted yourself carefully under him, angling his head slightly so you had more access to his hair. You combed through it gently with your fingers before sectioning it in two, and then into three smaller sections on each side, braiding his hair. You softly tugged the hair as you weaved the strands together, watching his face and body slowly relax from the movement of your hands against his scalp. He loved it when you played with his hair. It soothed him in a way nothing else did.
You finished off one side before starting on the other, and by the time you were done with the braids, Hunter was asleep, his breathing deep and even. You smiled, gently brushing the bare side of his face with the back of your fingers, warmth filling your chest at the sleeping man of yours. You were glad he could finally rest.
Hunter stirred a little from the touch, reaching up to cradle your hand to his face. He cracked one eye open. He was always a light sleeper.
“Sorry, go back to sleep,” you whispered, gently caressing his cheek with your thumb.
“Closer,” he mumbled still half asleep, tugged your hand, making you smile.
You both readjusted, him lifting his head so you could get out from under him before he pulled you down, so you lay with him, head resting on his chest. Hunter’s arms went around you, one of his hands running up and down your arm as if soothing himself back into a slumber. You relaxed too, his steady heartbeat under your ear. Soon, his touch stilled, turning limp as he fell asleep again. You smiled before closing your eyes too.