Chapter Text
Willow was pregnant. This should have been wonderful news, but Hunter found himself panicking. His mind was too full of what-ifs. What if the baby didn’t make it, what if his weird biology messed up the kid, what if…what if he turned into Belos. None of his friends had kids—though Luz and Amity were trying. He didn’t know how he would interact with them. And he didn’t know if his interactions with his own kid would be different from other kids. He was burning a hole into the living room floor with how much he was pacing. Willow would be home soon. He needed to calm down before then. She’d been so
excited
when she told him this morning, she’d be so disappointed if she saw how scared he was.
“Are you okay, honey?” a voice asked, interrupting his thoughts. Oh. Willow was already home.
“Yeah,” Hunter lied. “Just…nervous.” Willow crossed the threshold to him, holding his hand in hers.
“Is it about the baby?” she asked and he nodded. That wasn’t a lie, not really. “Oh, it’s okay Hun,” she said gently. “You’re gonna be a great dad, I know it!”
“I really hope so,” Hunter mumbled. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.
“By the way, Hun,” Willow continued, “I’m gonna have to take time off work soon.”
“Of course,” Hunter replied. “You’re pregnant.”
“I’m just letting you know because I’ll have to go on maternity leave earlier than most people, since my job is physical.” Hunter hadn’t considered that, but it made sense.
“I’ll be sure to pull my weight more then,” Hunter joked. A really lame joke. That Willow laughed at anyway. Her laughing at his stupid jokes was probably the biggest proof that she really loved him.
“Speaking of work,” Willow said abruptly, “I really need to shower.”
“Can I join you?” Hunter blurted. “I-I just wanna wash your hair!” he backtracked, blushing to the tips of his ears. Willow giggled, running a hand through his hair affectionately.
“Of course you can,” she replied, leading him into their bathroom. He kept his eyes off of her as the two undressed. “Come on, Hunter,” Willow said, playfully punching his arm. “It’s not like you haven’t seen this before. Clearly.” He glanced over to see her cradling her stomach, reminding him of the life they’d created together. She was also fully naked now, and he let out a little squeak and looked away again. “I genuinely don’t know if this is cute or concerning,” Willow muttered. “Come on, Hun,” she repeated, lightly shoving him. “We’re almost thirty now.”
“I’m trying to be polite,” Hunter defended weakly and Willow rolled her eyes.
“Let’s get in the shower,” she sighed, holding her hand out. He took it and they stepped into the warm water together. “You wanted to wash my hair?” Willow asked with a smirk, looking directly at Hunter, who was still actively trying not to look at her. His entire face turned red as he forced himself to face her. He nodded, grabbing the shampoo off the ledge.
“You’re so pretty,” he whispered in awe. It was Willow’s turn to blush.
“So are you,” she said as Hunter began washing her hair. She leaned into his ministrations and he swore he could see the love radiating off of her.
“I don’t deserve you,” he mumbled.
“Hey, hey, don’t start that,” Willow scolded lightheartedly. “We deserve each other, we’re both a little messed up.” She said with a giggle, but Hunter couldn’t take it as a joke. I’m so much more messed up than you. Instead of replying, he just kept massaging her scalp, which succeeded in distracting her.
Several hours later, the couple was settling down for sleep. Willow had her arms wrapped around her husband, spooning him.
“Willow?” Hunter asked, voice groggy.
“Hmm?”
“Have you told your dads? …about the baby?” He felt Willow shake her head.
“No. I figured we could tell them together.”
Hunter groaned, burying his face in his hands.
“They already hate me,” he grumbled. “They’re gonna be so mad.”
Willow’s grip on him tightened enough to hurt slightly, which he was mostly sure was not intentional.
“They don’t hate you!” she snapped, sounding more offended than he’d expected. She took a deep breath and the anger dissipated, her hold returning to normal. “They’re just overprotective.” Hunter chewed at his lip, unconvinced. “When do you wanna tell your dads?” Willow asked abruptly.
“I only have one of those,” Hunter grumbled. “And even that’s a technicality.”
“I’m sure Darius wouldn’t be happy to hear you say that,” Willow said, a teasing lilt in her voice. Hunter’s face turned bright red as he groaned again. “And your stepdad would still probably like to know about this.”
“My ‘ stepdad ’ has three other kids to worry about!” Hunter snapped.
“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about you.” An awkward pause followed. “We should probably also tell Camila. And Eda. And probably Raine.”
“Stop!” Hunter yelped. “Please, just go to sleep.” He felt her shift beside him.
“Are you going to sleep?” she asked, a note of suspicion in her voice. Oh. Caught .
“I uh, have a lot on my mind,” he said, evading actually answering the question.
“I know,” Willow said gently. “Which is why….” She trailed off as she began scratching Hunter behind the ear. A side effect of being a Grimwalker was that he had the same weakness as Stonesleepers. He was out in no time.
Hunter woke up still cradled in his wife’s arms. She was still asleep, her even breathing right next to his ear. Looking out the window, he could tell it was still early. He never had gained a good sleep schedule, but now he at least managed to sleep past five in the morning most days. It seemed today was not one of those days. Not wanting to get up quite yet, he snuggled closer to Willow. He couldn’t see her from the way they were laying, but her warmth was enveloping him. It was nice. He was glad she didn’t mind being the big spoon, being held in her arms was so comforting. He only wished he could stroke her hair. As he cuddled with her, he abruptly remembered the situation.
She’s pregnant! I’m going to be a dad! He clamped a hand over his mouth to keep Willow from hearing his unsteady breathing, willing himself not to make any more noise. He wasn’t ready. He didn’t think he’d ever be ready. When the kid was born, what would he do ? The safer option would be to bail, simply not be a part of their life. But would that actually be just as bad as if he stuck around and hurt them? He’d never interacted with a baby, what if he messed up when they were still a newborn?
It would be safer if he just left. He couldn’t hurt them if he wasn’t there. It was probably the only way to guarantee his kid’s safety. Huh. His kid. That felt…surreal. Not wanting to wake Willow, he covered his mouth again to let out a groan. Even if it would be safer for everyone involved, he couldn’t just abandon his wife and child. He could only hope Willow had the good sense to divorce him when–no, no, if –he became just as bad as Belos. He knew he could never bring himself to divorce her.
Hunter frowned into his drink.
“How would my biology affect a kid?”
In the eleven years since the Day of Unity, only one book about Grimwalkers had been found. The one Belos had used as a guide. Hunter frowned, his brows furrowed. He looked at Willow with hollow eyes.
“Do you think it’s going to make things difficult for them?” he asked, pointing at Willow’s belly. She wasn’t showing yet. She placed a hand on her stomach even so.
“Then we’ll figure things out.”
Hunter was more than a bit jealous of her optimism.
“What if we don’t know what to do ?” he protested.
“Well,” Willow said, crossing the room to put her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “That’s going to happen sometimes. My dads told me that not knowing what to do for me was the hardest part of raising me but once we all talked things out it was always fine.” They both know she’s oversimplifying. “Oh, and we'll be better at communicating than they were before The Reunion.” Ah, there it is.
“Wait,” Hunter said out loud. He tugged away from Willow in order to face her and she mentally prepared herself for whatever he needed to say. “You were fifteen by then!” he exclaimed. “Oh, Titan, and you have good parents.” She glared at him for just one second.
“And we’ll be able to avoid the mistakes my good parents made by communicating with our kid,” she says, a bit tersely. Hunter wraps his arms around himself.
“I hope so,” he whispers.
“Do you want to tell my dads tonight?”
“ Huh ?”
“About the baby,” Willow clarified, placing a hand on her stomach again.
“N-no, I understand that part-it’s just- tonight ? Isn’t that a bit, I don’t know, sudden?” He did not manage to keep the edge out of his voice.
“These are my parents , Hunter,” Willow said firmly. “This is their grandchild . Shouldn’t they hear the news first? Unless you’d rather we tell your dad first?” she added, a note of curiosity in her tone. Hunter wasn’t sure why the idea of telling Darius he was going to be a dad was forming a pit in his stomach. It was silly, he thought to himself, to worry about whether his kid would be accepted as Darius’ grandchild when he was Darius’ son. Only on paper , said a voice in the back of his head. He tried to shoo it away, to no avail.
“We-we can tell your dads first,” he mumbled, averting his gaze as his face flushed. “Um, how are we-do you have a plan?” Willow nodded in response, pulling out her scroll.
“I’ll ask them if we can come over for dinner tonight.” She smiled and Hunter miserably stabbed his breakfast.
“Do I have to come?” he asked quietly.
“ Yes , Hunter,” Willow groaned, clenching her hands in frustration. “This is your kid , these are your fathers-in-law, it’s important that you show up.”
Hunter shrunk back in his seat.
“They’re gonna be so mad,” he mumbled miserably. Willow reached across the table, placing her hand over his.
“They won’t be mad,” she said, her anger subsiding. Hunter winced, unconvinced. He couldn’t deny she was right though, her dads did deserve to know.