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“Thanks again, Luz,” Hunter straightened his corsage. “It’s just, with Darius being a coven head and me being his adoptive son…”
“Everybody’s going to want to put the moves on you just because of who your dad is,” Luz nodded. “I get it! So you need somebody to pretend to date you. Classic fanfic trope.” She leaned in a little closer. “Please do not take this the wrong way: I don’t really have any interest in actually dating you. I know everyone says that at the start of these situations but I mean it.”
“Oh, gross - I mean, not you, personally, you’re beautiful and anyone would be lucky to date you.” He sighed. “Just not me, because you firmly occupy the ‘kid sister’ part of my brain.”
“Exactly!” Luz gave him a huge hug of relief. “Come on, let’s get in position.” It was a Boiling Isles wedding, which meant the guests were arrayed in concentric circles, and the two parties would be weaving their way between the pews until they reached the altar at the center. For Luz’s part, she was delighted to be even a small part of the ceremony - she would accompany Hunter until they got to the middle, then take her seat. They lined up behind Eberwolf and his wife - not a large wedding party, all things considered, but it was both of the grooms’ second marriages, and neither of them wanted to make too much of a fuss.
***
The ceremony was beautiful and the weather was perfect. The guests moved on to the reception where everyone had one thought uppermost in their minds: offering the grooms congratulations and felicitations.
Everyone, Willow was sure, except Willow herself. “Psst, Amity.” She tugged at the sleeve of the groom’s youngest daughter. “I know I agreed to be your date tonight so your relatives wouldn’t try to matchmake you all night but, um. Who was that boy walking with Darius?”
“You weren’t the only one who noticed him blushing and glancing at you every time he passed you in the circles, huh?” Amity replied, nudging her encouragingly. “I can ask his date for you.”
“Why wouldn’t you just…?” Willow sighed as Amity sped away towards the (admittedly very cute) girl who had been on the blond boy’s elbow most of the evening. Willow rolled her eyes. Amity was her best friend but that girl had less than no chill around the same sex. She sighed and trudged away, off towards the long table covered with appetizers. On the one hand, she was still a little insecure in her renewed friendship with Amity, and getting abandoned on a thin pretext didn’t exactly help. On the other hand, it wasn’t as though she could really complain - it wasn’t like she and Amity were actually dating, and it would be pretty rotten of her to stand in the way of her friend’s happiness. Which, she thought as she noticed the gangly blond boy approaching the same table, was maybe just as well.
“Hi - it’s Hunter - you’re nice to meet you,” he blurted out. “Ah, crap,” he added, realizing his mistake.
Willow curtseyed to hide her grin. “It’s nice to meet you too, Hunter. I’m Willow. Have you tried the broiled dragon slugs?” You got this, Willow Park! Small talk!
“Ooh, are they crispy? I love the crispy ones.” His eyes lit up. “You can crumble them in cookies,” he whispered as though he was imparting a state secret.
“You bake!?”
“A little. I like to bake, and sew, and do woodworking.” He shrugged. “I’m good with my hands, I guess.”
“Well, maybe I can grow something, and you can bake with it.”
“Sounds like a date,” Hunter said, a hint of suaveness creeping into his voice before - “Sorry, that girl with the lavender hair - she wasn’t your girlfriend, was she?”
“Oh, no.” Willow blushed and whispered: “we were just pretending. But, um. Same question to you? I hope you weren’t in love with her because I think she and Amity are really hitting it off.”
“Oh, great!” Hunter beamed. “No, we’re just friends. More like brother and sister than anything. Nope, Luz and I definitely aren’t dating at all.”
“See, I believed you the first time, but now I’m starting to get a little suspicious,” she teased. “You might have to convince me.”
Hunter blinked. “I’m sorry, I’m kind of bad at this - are you asking me to kiss you?”
Wait, was she asking him to kiss her? “Maybe,” she replied, as much to her inner monologue as to him, and prayed it sounded coquettish and not indecisive.
“Well. Alright then,” Hunter replied, and leaned in for a kiss.