Chapter Text
It all started late one night in a house in Gravesfield. A young man with pointed ears and blond hair was stirring in his restless dreams.
“Hnng, nooo,” Hunter groaned, fighting off an invisible enemy. “You… won’t… take me… Leave her… alone…”
In a flash, his eyes shot open, staring blankly at the dimly lit ceiling. He couldn’t move, he could barely breathe. The nightmare that haunted him that night brought about sleep paralysis.
As tears welled up in his eyes, he struggled in vain to move so much as a finger. But to no avail, as was the case with him trying to draw a deeper breath. He knew the breathing technique he learned from Gus would be his only hope, but he was unable to do so physically.
‘Come on, Hunter,’ the grimwalker thought. ‘If you can’t use your body, do it with your mind.’
He closed his eyes, trying to visualize a hand counting down. What he thought of was a gentle but strong hand. One used to tending plants and soil. As he thought of this hand, he heard a soothing voice in his mind. To him, it was angelic, the voice of someone dear to him.
‘Ok, Hunter,’ Willow said in his mind. ‘In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.’
The young man followed the instructions, his body relaxing at the mere thought of her voice. Eventually, his shallow breathing stabilized, and he regained control of his body.
Hunter sat up, checking his surroundings. Flapjack was sleeping on a small blanket nearby; Gus was curled up on the couch. A string of lights wrapped around the banister leading up the stairs. He was in the basement of the Noceda residence, and everything seemed normal.
Suddenly, he felt the dryness in his throat. ‘Water, I need some water.’
Quietly, without disturbing either his palisman or his friend, he crept up the stairs and into the kitchen. After pouring a glass of water and drinking it, he looked over at the microwave. The clock read ‘3:04 AM,’ far too early for anyone to be up, let alone him.
As he saw this, he heard light tapping against the window. The sound of gentle rain. Not boiling rain, but cool and gentle.
“I can’t believe it’s only been a week since we came here,” he mumbled aloud. “And the rain is still so weird.”
Only a week. Hunter still hadn’t processed that he was a grimwalker, a clone of another person. Nor could he believe that Belos had seen him and the other Golden Guards as expendable. Let alone the feeling of being in a completely different world, with different air, weather, plants, and animals.
‘I wonder if this is how Luz felt when she first came to the Isles…’
As he pondered this, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. His focus turned to it as he heard the front door open and close softly. Curious, he put his glass away and walked toward the front of the house. He stepped outside to see who it was, and turned to see, resting against the house on the porch, was Willow.
“Oh,” she said, looking up at him. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“Huh?” Hunter looked at her confused for a moment, then shook his head. “Oh, no, I was already awake. I kind of had a bad dream.”
“You too? Well, I’m glad I’m not alone on that.”
He moved closer and asked, “Can I sit with you?”
She nodded, and Hunter walked over and sat on the other side of her. For a while, they said nothing, just enjoying the scenery. There were a few nearby streetlights, and they could see the gentle, late summer rain. But other than that, it was mostly dark around them.
After a moment, the grimwalker chuckled. “You know, the human realm is oddly beautiful.”
Willow nodded and hummed. “Yeah, it’s especially nice to not have nature trying to kill you at every turn.”
“Ha!” He laughed but tried to keep it quiet. “I assume you’re talking about the non-boiling rain.”
She chuckled in response. “Yep.”
They quietly laughed together. Eventually, Willow hugged his arm and rested her head against his shoulder. At first, Hunter was shocked, but then he reciprocated, nuzzling his head on top of hers. As they cuddled, they could not see that they were both blushing.
“So,” the former soldier said, trying to break the silence. “What was your dream about?”
“Oh, you know,” Willow shrugged. “Just a normal nightmare about me worrying about my dads, our friends, and our home burning to the ground. The usual stuff… What about you?”
Hunter leaned back against the wall and sighed. “Well, it started with me in my old uniform…”
“The Golden Guard one?”
“Yeah… I tried taking it off, but I couldn’t. And as I tried, everyone threw rocks at me, screamed at me for what I did as the Golden Guard. And I mean ‘EVERYONE.’ Luz, Amity, Gus, our friends, everyone at Hexside… You…”
The plant witch looked up with sorrow as he continued to dwell on what happened. He wasn’t completely lying; he was still afraid of his friends hating him for what he was made to do. However, in his dream, everyone hated him because they found out he was a grimwalker. Which was his biggest fear.
Hunter shook his head and continued. “…After that, I tried to run. I was afraid of you all hurting me, or worse. But as I did, I felt something grab my arms and legs…” He swallowed hard as his body trembled. “…It was Belos. It was like he put puppet strings on my limbs to control me. And he made me go after all of you…”
Willow looked at him with deep concern. “Holy Titan, that’s messed up.”
Hunter then laughed sardonically. “Yeah, tell me about it…”
He felt her let go of his arm for a moment. As he glanced at her, he could see her arms open up for a hug. For a moment, the grimwalker hesitated, but then embraced her.
“I know we haven’t known you all that long,” the plant witch mused, rubbing his back with her hand. “But from what I’ve seen, you’re incredibly compassionate and caring. You’ve never hesitated to help us when we needed it, and you’ve even thrown yourself in harm’s way just to protect us. That said, I really don’t think any of us could hate you. Especially knowing how manipulative and abusive Belos was.”
Hunter buried his cheek into her shoulder, looking away. “I don’t know… There’s a lot about me you guys don’t know…”
“True, but I believe we know enough,” as she said that, her hand moved up to his head. After running it through his hair, she said. “I think we’re always going to care about you. You have a good heart, Hunter. That counts for a lot.”
He pulled away for a moment, looking at her. “Maybe. Thank you, ca… Willow.”
For a moment, they said nothing, just staring into each other’s eyes. Then, the plant witch leaned into him, almost as if she was going to press her lips to his. As his eyes closed and did the same, he felt her hands on his shoulders, pushing both of them back a little.
The former soldier sat there, looking confused and disappointed. He gazed at Willow, who looked away and sighed, gripping his shirt slightly.
“Say, Hunter,” she said. Several emotions layered her tone. “Do you have a crush on anyone?”
He stared at her blankly and tilted his head. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure I’m familiar with that term. Could you elaborate?”
The flier derby captain adjusted herself awkwardly and sighed. “A crush is someone you have strong… Romantic feelings for…”
The grimwalker froze as his entire face and neck flushed a bright red. He coughed and swallowed whatever saliva was in his mouth, then nodded meekly.
“Describe them for me,” she said. The plant witch’s tone became serious, like she was waiting for something.
Hunter couldn’t look at her, especially while describing the witch who captivated his heart. “Well, first of all, she’s strong. Like, bewilderingly strong and absolutely fearless. Smart too, and incredibly kind. Her and I got off to a fairly shaky start, but there’s no one I trust more than her…”
Willow nodded, having a pretty good idea of who he was talking about. His eyes darted around, and he rubbed the back of his head.
“What about you?” he asked. “Do you have a… um… ‘crush’ on someone?”
She couldn’t help herself. With a playful smile and a tint of rose on her cheeks, she decided to tease him a little.
“Yeah, I do,” she blushed as she saw his face melt into near heartbreak. Without missing a beat, she shifted her teasing into a jovial manner. “He’s incredibly brave. Reckless at times, silly, kind of awkward for the most part. But he’s also unreasonably intelligent.”
As Hunter let out a pained sigh, her hand reached up. Using her fingers, she began playing with his forelock. When she did, his eyes went wide.
“He’s also, without question, the fastest witch alive. Not to mention being an incredible flier. And his hair is gorgeous to boot.”
When she said ‘gorgeous,’ she gave his hair noodle a gentle tug, slowly pulling her fingers away. She then looked in his eyes, and he was gob smacked. He could not begin to process what she said to him for the longest time, but like her, he understood.
They sat in an awkward silence for quite some time. The only sound being the light patter of the rain falling around them. Eventually, Hunter cleared his throat and sighed.
“So,” he said. “What… what do we do now?”
Willow shrugged. “As much as I’d love to go out with you. And I do, believe me when I say I do. Right now, with all of us trying to figure out a way back home? I’m just not sure it’s a good idea for us to get distracted by our feelings.”
She said those words, but they lacked a certain emotional weight. It was as if she didn’t know what she really wanted at that moment. Like her romantic feelings were greater than her desire to go home.
Hunter picked up on the tone and looked off toward the street. “What if we went out, anyway?”
The flier derby captain looked at him, confused. “Wait, what?”
“I mean,” the grimwalker said, still scratching the base of his neck. “What if we tested the waters? Go out on a date or something and see if this is what we really want. And if it’s too much for us for now, like if it gets in the way of everything important, we hold off for a while.”
She pondered this as the former soldier continued. “I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Obviously, our main goal is to make a new portal. But… maybe as long as it doesn’t effect that, we can try?”
The plant witch took a moment and a deep breath. She then nodded and said, “one condition. We CANNOT tell the others at all.”
Hunter nodded ‘enthusiastically’ with a cringe. “Yeah, if any of them found out, we’d never hear the end of it. Especially from Luz and Amity.”
Willow smirks. “Right? Why are we cursed to live in a house full of shippers?”
They chuckled again, pressing their foreheads together lightly. As their laughter died down, Willow took her glasses off, staring into the eyes of the boy she loved. It was hard to see because of her astigmatism and the fact it was so dark out. But she saw a glint of magenta that made her get lost in them.
She cupped his cheek with her hand and asked him nervously, “Could I do something? It’s something I’ve wanted to do since you stood up to Head Witch Deamonne that evening…”
Hunter closed his eyes, letting out a soft whimper. “What is it?”
The plant witch took a deep breath, working up the courage to ask. “…Can I kiss you?”
He gave the slightest of nods, his lip quivering in anticipation. “Go for it.”
They pulled closer, lips pressing against each other that sent a jolt of electricity through their bodies. They separated for a split second before their lips parted, going back for more. It was slow, intimate, but not super intense. They could feel each other’s passion, but they didn’t feel ready to push past their limits.
As they pulled away, the couple smiled, yearning to continue. However, their post-nightmare adrenaline rush had subsided, and fatigue washed over them rapidly.
Hunter groaned slightly, his eyes were heavy and dry. “We, um, we should go back inside. Probably not a great idea to fall asleep out here.”
“Mmm,” Willow listlessly hummed, putting her glasses back on. “Yeah, probably for the best.”
They got up, walking inside gingerly. As Hunter walked past the stairs, he felt her fingers clutch his. He turned and in the pale light, he saw her pleading eyes begging for another kiss. The grimwalker moved closer, giving her a quick but loving smooch, which she gladly reciprocated.
As they pulled away, he smirked. “I’m so not used to that.”
Willow snickered. “It’s ok. I’ll give you plenty of time and practice to adjust.”
They blushed and said their goodbyes, as their fingers lingered, desperate to not let go. Eventually, they went to their separate rooms, slipping back in unnoticed. Their friends did not so much as stir as Hunter and Willow returned to their respective ‘beds.’
For the rest of that night, neither of them had another nightmare. Instead, their dreams were pleasant. Devoid of past traumas and current fears, they dreamed of cuddling with each other.