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“I don’t think I’ll ever be used to this.”
Willow steps out of the car as fast as she can, her heeled boots clicking against the sidewalk. She looks uneasy, her expression screwed into an overdramatic look of disgust.
Hunter moves himself out of the driver’s seat, shivering in the brisk fall air. “Aw, I’m not that bad of a driver.”
“Oh, it’s not you ,” Willow rushes to assure as he shuts his door. “I’m just never sure if these things can eat us at some point.”
“They’re cars. They’re not alive.”
“Just wait until someone tries to make it alive with a moonlight conjuring!”
Hunter doesn’t argue further. He’d spent significantly more time in the human realm than his peers, and it seemed they never really understood the intricacies of the planet Earth in the same way that Luz still didn’t know everything about the Boiling Isles. That was fine though. It was like having two homes; and frankly, he’d always imagined himself having none , so he was happy with his outcome.
They’d spent a half hour on the road returning from Darius’ apartment; it was a small modest place, intended for human research. Hunter always wondered how Darius could manage having to hide his hair and ears from constant prying eyes, but Darius insisted none of it was a burden, that he liked the chaos and intrigue of the human realm, that hiding himself was as easy as breathing at this point.
“These things will probably end up in the Demon Realm eventually,” Hunter intones, thinking about the piles of research and notes and experiments littering Darius’ apartment, and the distinct signs that Alador frequented the space when Hunter wasn’t there. “Darius is already beginning to understand human, uh, elec-tri-city.”
Willow shakes her head and reaches into the trunk, withdrawing a present wrapped in gaudy bright pink paper, complete with toy horses plastered all over the surface. Hunter grabs their shared knapsack, the hidden spot that Clover and Waffles nestled into whenever they left the Demon Realm. The two of them reach and snap the trunk closed before sharing a look.
“I’m nervous. Are you nervous?” Willow’s voice is high.
“I’m so nervous.” Hunter replies.
And how couldn’t they be? It’d been four weeks since they’d seen Luz and Amity. It’d been three weeks since Amity had given birth in a hasty messy situation in the demon realm. It’d been two weeks since they even FaceTimed Luz for a small update and information on when they could visit.
And it’d been exactly sixty seconds since Hunter had been worrying about his friends’ well-being.
“She’s going to be so tiny.” Willow slips a casual hand into Hunter’s as they approach the front door of Luz’s home. The crisp air brushes at the stray hairs framing her face, and Hunter ignores the slight shiver down his back at the impending cold. “I’m so excited to hold her. Are you going to hold her?”
“I don’t know.” Hunter swallows against a lump in his throat. He handled delicate things everyday as a career, but handling a baby felt different. Especially someone so important as Luz and Amity’s baby.
Willow moves forward to knock. Hunter is grateful because his hands feel like lead and he’s scared to try moving.
There’s a few painstaking moments of silence. The two of them stay patient.
The lock clicks and Luz’s frazzled face appears in the doorway. The bags under her eyes are heavy, nearly as bad as when they’d been thrown through the portal, and her hair is messy and sticking up at all ends. The only difference here is that, through her exhaustion, there’s an optimistic blaze of determination. Her eyes light up at the sight of them and she smiles and throws herself into their arms. “Ohmigosh, friends !”
“Luz!” Willow crows. Hunter grunts at the contact but their group hug is warm and inviting. Luz pulls back, her grin permanent as she ushers them into the house. “Come in, come in!”
The interior looks as if it’d been slammed by a tornado of Halloween and baby supplies. Milk bottles sit next to a softly glowing candle smelling of pumpkin spice. There’s a giant box of diapers next to a gaudy skeleton statue. Luz sidesteps a mess of baby clothes and sets a bib down next to a bowl of Halloween candy. “Oh, I’m so happy to see you guys, was the drive okay? I told Darius he didn’t need an apartment so far but he didn’t listen—“
“No, it was good,” Hunter assures as he hangs up his coat. “Luz, I’ll be blunt, you definitely look like you’ve had a baby.”
Luz only grins, lopsided and snarky. “Oh, just you wait. She’s got a brilliant pair of lungs. I don’t remember the last time I slept.”
Camila and Vee withdraw from the hall; Vee’s arms are full with a basket of clothes but she shoots Hunter and Willow a wide grin before disappearing into the laundry room.
Camila greets them warmly, enveloping the two into a hug, and Hunter desperately hopes his nervous trembling isn’t noticeable. She draws back, fussing over Willow’s ankle brace (“it was just a Grudgby accident, I promise, yes , I’m taking some time off”) and Hunter’s skinniness before she finally turns to Luz.
“I’m going to the store, Mija. Anything you need?”
Luz shakes her head before jolting in realization. “Wait, yes! Another bottle, um, maybe more baby wipes. And that dark chocolate Amity likes, if you can find it.”
Hunter’s head swims, ignoring most of the conversation as Camila exits the house and braves the sharp nip of the autumn cold. Vee comes in next, launching into a vague tirade of having to return to the Demon Realm in a few days for work. After enough time, Willow finally claps her hands softly. “Well! Can we see the baby, Luz, please?”
Luz beams, like she’d want nothing more.
They enter the nursery with precise care; the lights are dim and blue-toned and the hum of a white noise machine whirs away in the corner. The room is bird-themed, the trinkets and bedsheets and decor taking shape of all forms of avians, and Hunter’s eyes roam over the painted silhouettes across one of the accent walls. His gaze lingers on one familiar shape, a sharp pointed silhouette with a scar over one eye, before he snaps his attention back to Amity in the rocking chair.
Amity looks surprisingly a bit more alert than Luz. She’s wearing baggy sweatpants and Luz’s old college sweatshirt, but her eyes are bright and shining with excitement. Stringbean lays nestled in the mess of Amity’s hair, covered in layers of brown and faded pink. “Willow! Hunter!” The bundle against her chest is still; a small remnant of brown hair pokes out from the blanket wrap.
Willow bends down and they exchange whispered greetings as Hunter carefully approaches. “How’s the healing going? I’m surprised you haven’t visited the Demon Realm healers yet.”
Amity shakes her head. “You’d be surprised how many human remedies there are for birth here. Camila has been a blessing.” Regardless, her smile twitches. “I guess I wouldn’t mind a few healing sigils though. This girl was big .”
Willow clasps two hands at her chest as Hunter meets her side. The two of them lean in in tandem, their eyes wide and focused on the gently moving bundle in Amity’s arms.
Luz swoops in like a hawk, careful to give Amity space as she takes the bundle and carefully shifts the blanket to reveal a sleeping chubby face. “Hunter, Willow, meet Esperanza Noceda.”
“She’s beautiful,” Willow breathes.
Hunter doesn’t say anything but he’s taken-aback by how small she is. Her nose is sharp like Amity’s and her hair is chestnut brown like Luz’s. Her eyelashes flutter as she blinks, and dark brown eyes stare up and Willow immediately coos.
Hunter gently moves a hand forward, grazing a finger against Esperanza’s arm. “Hi, there, little one.”
Esperanza blinks.
Then her face scrunches and she immediately begins to wail.
“You scared her!” Willow jabs in jest, but Hunter immediately withdraws. Luz quickly pulls Esperanza close, shushing her softly and patting the bundle as a million emotions run through Hunter’s mind. “Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry—“
“Oh, don’t worry. She does this a lot.” Amity’s tone is light but there’s a heavy layer of exhaustion on her face with the development. “Luz, bring her here.”
“No, no, mi amor , I got it.” Luz rocks the bundle as the screeching heightens. “You need to rest.”
“Luz, c’mon, I’m already sitting here.”
“I said I got it .”
Willow winces at the tone shift and Hunter can’t help but feel like this is his fault. The general comfort of the room fades; he feels stifled and trapped and Waffle begins to shift in her pack at the sense of his unease.
Vee appears in the doorway, poking her head in and looking confused. “Um…sorry, guys, but the door—“
“I got it.” Hunter makes a beeline for the exit, ignoring Willow’s soft protests as he leaves the nursery.
Hunter opens the front door, immediately greeted by a heavy furball flying into his chest. He grunts, but luckily the force doesn’t knock him over.
King latches onto his shirt, looking up at Hunter with a tinge of confusion. The kid only seems to get bigger every time they meet; he’s up to Hunter’s chest now, and the claws on his paws are rather imposing. The rest of him isn’t as threatening; his limbs are lanky and disproportionate, and he only looks goofier in the oversized sweater he’s wearing as a half-baked disguise.
“…you’re not Luz,” King mutters in dejection.
“And you’re lucky he’s not! You would’ve bowled her over.” Eda’s voice chimes in as she enters the house with a big tote bag over her shoulder. “Nice to see you, Golden Boy. You alright?”
“Peachy.” Hunter carefully picks King’s claws off of his shirt as he shifts the kid against his hip. He tries to ignore the piercing screams of the baby filtering down the hall. “We finally met her.”
“And I take it she’s not in a visiting mood,” Eda remarks as the screams rise in pitch. “Whaddya think of her?”
Hunter muses, unsure what to say. He doesn’t want to be near her. He doesn’t think he’s suited around babies. But then he realizes maybe he’s been silent too long so he blurts out what he can. “…she’s really small.”
“Smaller than me, finally!” King crows. “Now I’m not the tiniest in the group. I call it a win.”
“You look like you’re getting taller by the second,” Hunter quips as he gently releases King onto the ground. He shifts his gaze onto the giant tote against Eda’s side. “What’s that?”
“Supplies.” Eda gives the tote a hearty pat. “Luz hasn’t popped into the Boiling Isles yet, so everyone’s been relegating me to give her their gifts.”
“So many ugly baby outfits,” King whispers.
Hunter moves aside and the two make their way to the nursery as the baby cries begin to quiet. Vee stands in the entrance of the living room, her hands behind her back and her posture uncharacteristically demure.
Hunter doesn’t want to subject himself to making Esperanza cry again, so he approaches Vee with amusement. “I’m surprised you didn’t let them in if you saw it was just Eda and King.”
Vee shrugs, not quite meeting Hunter’s gaze. “Well, I don't…my home is here , you know? I guess I’m still not used to trying to talk to them.”
Hunter nods, though he doesn’t relate at all. His home is everywhere ; he had a solid place in everyone’s web of social relations and it was a strange mix of exhausting and invigorating. He wonders what it was like to have such a permanent place in only one spot.
“Is there anything I can help with?” His eyes flit towards the nursery entrance. “I imagine it’s getting kinda crowded in there…”
Vee smiles knowingly. Luckily, she was observant enough to know when it was better to not bring any prodding questions to Hunter’s avoidant tendencies. “Wanna help me hang up the clothes?”
Hunter nods. He removes his pack, draping it over a kitchen chair. Clover stays in it, snoozing away, but Waffle nudges her way out and makes her way to his shoulder. She chirps in concern, rubbing against his cheek, and he offers a soft smile in return.
He hoists up a basket of damp laundry and follows Vee out to the backyard. She begins to pull from the basket, shaking out the clothes and clipping them up to dry in the brisk breeze. Hunter follows suit, his hands gently hanging up a onesie covered in stars.
“Did you make her cry?” Vee’s voice is careful. Ready to switch the subject on a dime. Hunter sighs, hating the vulnerable feeling it brings, like he’s made of glass, like he needs to be taken care of. His reputation brought that feeling enough; and despite his friends learning how he felt about it, everyone still made him feel unusually fragile without meaning to.
“Probably.” Hunter flaps out a thick blanket, brushing out the creases. “I touched her and freaked her out. Maybe it’s…” his voice drops, worried about anyone listening. “Maybe it’s because of the whole, you know, grimwalker thing.”
Vee purses her lips as she digs into the basket again. “I doubt it. I’m a shapeshifter and I know Esperanza senses it, but she isn’t scared of me.”
“Was she in the beginning?”
“…I don’t think so.” Vee clips up a shirt of Luz’s, a graphic tee with a silly cat meme on the front. “I made it a point to introduce myself to her as a basilisk. Ya know, as myself. And she didn’t care!” Vee grins knowingly. “She’s more than just a human baby, you know. She’s got witch blood too.”
Hunter pauses, damp jeans in his hands. “…does she have pointed ears?” He realizes he hadn’t even paid attention. Switching between worlds so often meant that ear shape became irrelevant.
Vee nods. “It’s a strange shape though. Not completely pointy. But it’s there.”
He notes that before clipping up one last piece of clothing. Waffle chirps in his ear, ruffling her feathers. Hunter suppresses a shiver as the cold air begins to creep up his back. “Maybe it’s better that I don’t let her see me too often. Maybe there’s a reason she’s scared of me.”
Vee raises an eyebrow but she doesn’t say anything as she picks up the empty basket and walks inside.
Hunter is grateful for her silence as he follows.
Hunter revels in the warmth of the house as he adjusts to the new liveliness. Mostly everyone has filtered out to the dining room, chattering amongst themselves and sorting out the giant bag of Eda’s baby gifts. Luz, Amity, and Esmeralda are blatantly absent.
Hunter approaches Willow’s side as she holds up a onesie with a hood displaying a bat’s face. “That’s cute.”
“Right? Apparently it’s from the Bat Queen.” Willow folds it up and sets it into a pile of clothes. “It’s nice, seeing this mixture. Like…a beautiful clashing of human and witch.”
“That’s what she is,” Eda quips, swirling a glass of wine in one hand. Camila has a similar glass in her own hand as she flips through a catalog of baby supplies. “The joining of witch and human. It’s gonna be some great chaos when that kid learns to use spells.”
“Don’t remind me,” Camila mutters as she flips a page and neatly circles a listing of a stroller. “I’m lucky enough that Luz’s glyphs never worked here. How do you tell a child not to set off fire spells in the house?”
“You don’t,” King mutters.
Willow snickers as Hunter moves to inspect a teddy bear with sharp rows of teeth and a demon-ish smile. “…I don’t think some of this will make the cut though.”
“I’ll take it!” Vee proclaims, plucking the bear from his hands. Hunter rolls his eyes before realizing Willow was watching his face intently. “…what’s up?”
Willow shakes her head. “Nothing. Just…are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Hunter shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant, but he knows it’s a flaky attempt at best. He had his tells; and even worse, Waffle was a beacon of his emotions, and she continued to fluff and preen her feathers anxiously as she perched on his shoulder. “Did you hold her?”
Willow nods. “She’s adorable. Her eyes are so bright! And I can feel the power from her. She’s gonna be a brilliant witch.”
A hand taps against the small of his back and Hunter jumps and turns to see Amity’s apologetic smile. “Sorry to scare you. Luz wants to talk to you.”
“Oh.” Hunter winces, feeling everyone’s eyes on him. “Where is she?”
Amity jabs a thumb back towards the nursery. Hunter swallows, tempted to straight-up deny and act like it was nothing more than a brotherly instinct, but he knows that’d only raise suspicion.
Amity doesn’t wait for an answer, scooting around him and lifting up the bat onesie. “Oh my gosh, who gave this?”
“The Bat Queen!”
“…the what ?”
Hunter carefully slinks away, disappearing into the quiet of the hallway. Waffle chirps into his ear, questioning his thoughts, and he tries to mentally reassure her that he’s okay as he enters the nursery.
Luz is bent over the railing of the crib, balancing on her crossed arms and gazing down at a dozing Esperanza. Hunter quietly reaches her side, finally taking a good look at the bundle.
Vee was right. Her ears are slightly rounded, but longer than Luz’s. With a squint, one would think she was fully human. He figures that makes things easier when she’d be in the human realm.
Luz seems to read his mind as she follows his gaze. “You know, I was so scared she’d come out completely witchy. Having to cover her ears every time she visited her abuela would’ve been a pain.”
Hunter nods. “That’s why Amity gave birth in the demon realm, huh?”
“Well, we kinda decided she’d give birth in whichever realm we were in when it happened.” Luz props her cheek with her hand. “If it happened here, I was going to say Amity’s pointed ears were like…a weird birth defect.”
Hunter snorts. “That’s cold.”
“Hey, I was trying.” Luz lightly shoves her shoulder against his before gazing down at the baby again. “I promise she’s not scared of you. She’s just a bit flighty. I was like that as a kid.”
“You don’t know that.” Feeling a sense of unease, Hunter steps away. “I’m not human or witch. Maybe she knows that.”
“Neither is Vee. But that didn’t matter.”
Hunter closes his eyes, something evil and dark crawling up his throat, his brain plagued with a worry that follows him everywhere. “Maybe she just knows where I’ve come from.”
Luz falls silent, pulling away from the crib. He doesn’t open his eyes, already hearing the stunned sympathy in her voice and knowing for a fact she was showing a gaze of similar emotion. “Hunter, no.”
“I don’t want her to know anything about him.” The deep incessant pain in his chest only grows at the memory of Belos’ reign, of the pain he’d caused, of the lies he’d grown up with. “You sacrificed yourself to save us. I’m like…a memory of him. A reminder.”
Luz shakes her head hard, almost angrily. “Hunter, no, that’s not the case at all. If that were true, I’d be a reminder too. I already am a reminder.” She pauses, clutching a hand against her chest. By the nape of her neck, Stringbean sticks out her face, staring at Hunter with protective anger. “I’m the merger of realms. I’m the reason everything was thrown into motion. But you and I are reminders that we saved everyone, that we got rid of an evil when no one else could.”
Hunter chokes out a laugh, careful to still keep his voice low. “Man, we’re all types of messed up, aren’t we?”
Luz offers a shaky smile. She lowers the crib railing, the noise bouncing off the walls and jolting Hunter out of his thoughts. “I want you to try holding her.”
Hunter winces as she removes the bundle, something so small and distant and fragile. “Luz, I don’t want to wake her up.”
“You won’t.”
“What if I make her cry—“
“You won’t .”
Luz is gently insistent and has always been stubborn; Hunter couldn’t deny her requests even if he’d tried. He dumps himself into the rocking chair, his legs shaking too much to keep him standing.
Luz tells him how to hold his arms, where to place his knees, how to support Esperanza’s head. Waffle flaps up to Hunter’s head, watching the whole affair with curious eyes.
Luz deposits Esperanza into his arms. She’s warm and squirmy, immediately awoken the second she touches his skin. Hunter withdraws for a second before thinking twice and pulling her close. Luz pulls back, but she still hovers, one arm present in case Hunter wants to give her back.
Esperanza wipes a gloved hand against her face and a soft wail begins to rise from her mouth.
“No, no, it’s ok.” Hunter brings her close to his chest despite his screaming thoughts, despite the fact he feels he’s hurting her. “It’s ok, you’re ok…”
He’s not sure if he’s saying it to Esperanza or to himself. Maybe it’s both.
Esperanza gives a short trembling cry. Hunter’s babbling devolves into quiet shushing as he shuts his eyes.
He shoves away the thoughts of the past, instead focusing on the spirit within him, the essence of Flapjack that stayed intertwined with him through the years. He pulls at the warmth, like yanking a blanket from a tangled pile, begging for something to rely on.
Flapjack’s spirit is relatively malleable, and he comes forward with a surge. Hunter controls it as easy as he breathes, careful not to accidentally teleport in the process.
Esperanza shifts before slowly falling silent and settling into his hold. Hunter opens his eyes, the world tinged with gold before it fades. She doesn’t wake up again, calmly laying in his arms as if nothing had happened.
Luz beams. “See? She just needs to get used to you.”
Hunter doesn’t reply, gently rocking the bundle in his arms. It feels…right. A familiar sense of yearning yanks at his chest, something he’d been feeling for months, an urge he’d been burying.
“Can I tell you something?” His voice is rough.
Luz shifts closer.
“…I think I want one too.”
Luz’s eyes widen. “You…” they widen even more, comically large, and her hands fly to her cheeks in shock. “Hunter, is Willow—“
“No,” Hunter quickly interrupts, a blazing blush rising to his face. “No, she’s not pregnant, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Boo.” Luz lowers her hands, but her eyes are still shining with unrestrained delight. “Have you told her that? That you think you might want a kid someday?”
Hunter shrugs noncommittally, still sorting the thoughts in his mind. They’d discussed it before their relationship had progressed; Willow said she wanted kids, Hunter had said he was indifferent and okay with any option.
When Amity and Luz announced their pregnancy, it’d stirred something in Hunter’s chest. The thought of a legacy, the thought of someone to continue a part of him had felt…almost empowering.
He hadn’t meant to exist. Not really. And having a piece of him in the world, in this beautiful family he’d created, felt like a goal he’d suddenly wanted.
The racing fleeting thought had only returned more and more as Amity’s pregnancy had progressed. Nervousness and fear began to accompany it once Esperanza was born, like it all felt too real .
With the miracle in his arms, her warmth and gentle breathing and oddly shaped ears, it was like the decision had finally solidified itself in his brain.
He says this all to Luz in a hushed voice and she only seems to get giddier and giddier. He rolls his eyes at her and transfers Esperanza over. Luz’s demeanor switches as she holds the baby close, whispering words of love as she settles her back in the crib.
Hunter joins her as they overlook Esperanza in the crib, her tiny arms raised, her face relaxed and composed. Luz hooks an arm into Hunter’s and raises an eyebrow at him. “Well…what’s stopping you, you know? I’m sure Willow would be ecstatic. Esperanza would love a cousin.”
Hunter doesn’t reply. His gaze is locked onto the tiny form in front of him, the fear and uneasiness crashing through him like a wave.
Luz removes her arm, pinning him with a look. She could read him like a book; it was almost uncanny. “Hunter, you’re not going to be like Belos.”
“What if I am?” Hunter’s voice cracks like a pipe under immense pressure. “What if I’m a horrible dad?”
“You’re not him. You never were.” Luz squeezes his shoulder, grounding him, and Waffle reaffirms her words. “You’d be amazing. I know that.”
Hunter takes in a shaky breath, and his lungs don’t feel quite filled, but it’s a reassuring sentence anyway. “Can grimwalkers have kids?”
Luz shrugs, quirking a smile. “I mean, we had the same worries too, you know. Can a human and a witch have a kid?” She gestures to Esperanza, a sense of pride in her gaze, like she was showing off her biggest accomplishment (and she was.) “The answer was yes. You won’t know until you take the first step.”
Hunter lets her words end into a cozy silence. She presses her shoulder against his as they watch Esperanza sleep; he makes it a point not to pull away.
Eventually, they leave the baby to sleep in peace, and Luz leads Hunter out of the room with a strange device called a “baby monitor” in hand. As they leave the hallway, Luz’s calm demeanor immediately dissipates and she throws up her arms at the new person in the room. “Gus!”
“Luz!” Gus surges forward and the two embrace. Gus had already had the privilege of meeting the baby only a day before, but the two of them still act as if they hadn’t seen each other in ages.
“Everyone’s here!” Luz pulls away, grinning from ear to ear.
Eda raises her wine glass in response. “Now come look at all your gifts, kid. And help me convince Amity that the demon mask should be a keep.”
“You are not putting a demon mask on my baby!” Amity snarls.
“But it’s funny .”
The festivities stretch on until the night sky slinks in. Hunter feels worn out and mentally exhausted, but he’s relatively comfortable with the people around him. He retreats to the backyard as everyone becomes engrossed in a heated debate over car seat models. The cool air soothes the heat on his cheeks and he sighs, glancing up at the stars and the strange human moon with its overly smooth surface.
The door opens and shuts. He turns to see Willow waltz up, a glass of soda in hand and a small smile on her face. “You ok?”
“Yeah. Just taking a breather.”
She hooks her arm against his. They didn’t really hold hands, but they still found ways to stay connected. Hunter takes in a shuddering breath, already feeling her inquisitive stare. “Did you hold her?”
“…yes.”
Willow bows her head. “I’m sorry I said you scared her. Even if it was a joke.”
Hunter shrugs. “It was true. But…she’ll get used to me. And I’ll get used to her.”
Willow giggles, like the concept is hilarious — and maybe it is. Hunter was fairly fearless having grown up in the conditions that he did, but a small squirming baby was enough to keep him on edge. He giggles with her and they lean against each other and watch the wisps of clouds pass above them.
Hunter knows he should mention his second portion of the conversation to Willow. The secret desire to follow his friends’ footsteps. But the words don’t make their way out, feeling like he’d be taking a plunge down a canyon if he tried. Waffle shakes herself on his shoulder, nudging against him to break him out of his thoughts.
“Hunter, can I tell you something?”
Hunter blinks, meeting Willow’s eyes, and utterly stunned to see an intense emotion within them. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I hope. I just…” Willow reaches a foot out, toeing at the grass with her boot, aimlessly tracing one of Luz’s old glyphs. “So the Emerald Entrails are taking a break from this season because of Skara’s injury and just to give the league a rest and I’m still getting money from sponsors in the meantime…I mean, this whole thing has me thinking like, opportunity-wise…it’s just a thought, it’s not a deal-breaker, I’m just thinking —“
Hunter reaches out his free hand and squeezes her own. Willow finally stops her rambling, and her words make Hunter’s world fall out from underneath him. “I want a kid too.”
Hunter stays silent. He blinks, his hand frozen. “…what?”
“I want a baby too.” Willow’s tone remains uneasy and hesitant, something so uncharacteristic, which only alludes to the gravity of her words. “And…it’s just something to think about. If holding Esperanza made you realize you don’t want kids, that’s okay, it won’t change anything—“
Her words break off into a yelp as Hunter swoops her into his arms and lifts her in the air. They twirl as Willow shrieks and Waffle chirps excitedly as she flutters by Hunter’s head. “Hunter! What—“
“Me too!” Hunter laughs, disbelieving, giddy. “ Me too !”
Willow gasps, grasping onto Hunter’s shoulders for dear life as he sets her back down. The two of them laugh, babbling nonsense, holding each other together in a sheer moment of happiness.
The sliding door screeches open as Luz leans out. She seems to immediately get the message because she runs out with socked feet and joins their hug, the three of them yelling and celebrating and screeching into the chilly night.