Work Text:
Hunter woke up to the sound of snoring.
He opened his eyes and hunched forward, glancing to his left and spotting his girlfriend sleeping soundly beside him. Last night he'd stayed up until two in the morning trying to solve his rubix cube. He considered himself skilled in the field of puzzle games and problem solving. He’d mastered and beaten many video games from Tetris, to Minesweeper and many others in his lifetime, but this dastardly children's toy was giving him so much trouble?
It was ridiculous!
He reached and grabbed the cube, stifling a yawn as he fidgeted with it.
"How does one even solve this?"
Beep!
Hunter flinched, the cube slipping out of his grasp.
A loud groan muffled under the covers caught his attention.
"M-Morning already?" Ellie grumbled, rubbing her eyes before plopping her hand on the alarm.
"Yeah it is sadly."
"Well, I'm going back to bed." Ellie tossed to the side, closing her eyes.
Hunter frowned, placing a hand on Ellis's arm and began gently shaking her. "Come on Ellie, you're already awake, why not enjoy the day?"
"Because I'm tired."
"So you're gonna be sleeping all day like a lazy slob?" Hunter teased.
Ellie rolled over to the side with a smirk. "Screw you. I'll get out later, just give me an hour or so, alright? Work yesterday was draining and I'd rather sleep in."
"I'm exhausted too, but you don't see me complaining."
"Oh yeah, ‘exhausted’, let me guess, you spent the entire night trying to solve that children's toy?"
Hunter's face flushed slightly. "N-No!"
"Ha! Yeah right, you're blushing."
"That's because it's really hot in here."
"Totally. More like I've caught you red-handed?"
"My hands are peachy though, not red?"
Ellie blinked twice then looked in Hunter's eyes. "It's a phrase Hunter."
"Oh."
Ellie burst out laughing, playfully swattering Hunter on the arm.
Hunter shook his head, his lips quirking up. "Alright, you got me there, but in all seriousness, I'm struggling to solve it."
"And you expect me to have the answer?"
"You're smart, you should be able to do this."
"Thanks, but puzzles aren't really my type of thing. The best advice I can give is if you're struggling and you're feeling like you're making no progress, then take a break." Elilie explained. "Trust me, sometimes whenever I'm trying to do something and nothing works out, taking a break and allowing my brain to recharge helps."
Hunter hummed in agreement. "That's good advice," He said before leaning his elbow against the pillow with a goofy grin. "It's a shame that the workaholic can't follow it."
Ellie narrowed her eyes and smirked. "Hey! I'm committed to my craft. It's not my fault I enjoy brainstorming and coming up with dress designs."
"Maybe you should take a break too? Spending your nights locked in your bedroom drawing away must get draining."
"It does, sometimes there's like this buzzing sound in my ear to keep going, to keep working." Ellie said, her expression softening as she began trailing her finger along the bed, slowly making its way up Hunter's upper body. "If I don't then it feels like I'm wasting my time, does that make sense?"
"Yeah, it does. Sometimes it's the same for me when it comes to working out," Hunter lips formed into a thin line. "Some days the motivation is not there but I still do it. People usually say that's a good thing, but I end up burning myself out even more and making myself more miserable."
Hunter shuffled in his bed and adjusted himself where he was directly facing the ceiling, a whirlwind of thoughts swirling in his mind. He couldn't agree more with how Ellie felt, sometimes there was this feeling pushing him to keep going, to keep working on the things he loved. Which was fine, sure, if he gave up going to the gym and instead spent his day blasting around the house that'd be pretty dumb. But, was it worth it to force himself into doing something he didn't want to do? Going from an activity that he actively loved, for his own enjoyment to something that was to check off a box on a to do list?
Was he working to live or living to work?
"Geez, we really are workaholics, aren't we?"
"You're more of a workaholic than me," Hunter flashed a faint smile. "But, being serious for a moment, it'd be best to take a break whenever those feelings come, who are we trying to impress by constantly working?"
"Ourselves?" Ellie said, crossing her arms. "It feels like I'm wasting my day if I'm not doing anything worthwhile."
"Then how about we spend today doing something simple?"
"Like what?"
"Not sure, but let's take things easy today, alright?"
Elilie grabbed onto the quilt, glancing down at it with a thoughtful look, "Fine, we'll take things easy," She turned to him, smiling sincerely. "Whatever makes you stop worrying about me, I'll do it. I'd rather have you not wasting your time worrying about me. I can take care of myself, but you deserve to not live in constant fear."
Hunter interlocked a hand around Ellie's. Ellie blushed and turned away. "I know you can take care of yourself." He shuffled over, their bodies touching. "But today's our day off and we deserve to have some fun, let's enjoy the most of it."
Ellie squeezed his hand, slowly turning to face him, her eyes wide. It was like the words in her head had stopped processing internally.
Hunter hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her close, "Hey, there's no need to get embarrassed alright?"
"I-I'm not embarrassed, I'm just taken aback,"
Hunter leaned against her shoulder, "Are you sure?"
Ellie pouted, a playful glint in her eyes. "I'll admit, I'm a little embarrassed," She chuckled. "It's just so weird seeing someone be so kind and understanding to me."
"Why's that?"
"Not sure, maybe it's because New York is a hell hole and people can be assholes for no reason? Or that the work is stressful as fuck and people are just trying to move up the ranks by doing anything, through backstabbing, manipulation or any of the sorts."
Hunter frowned. "I'm sorry you have to go through that," He tightened his grasp around her.
Ellie laid her head against Hunter's lap, her hair caressing over the quilt. "It's all right, I'm strong, I can deal with that bullshit." She reassured. "But, back to what I was saying, It's weird being with someone so genuine, no strings attached, no ulterior motives, just plain love. You're very special to me Hunter."
"T-Thanks… That means a lot to me too, you're not too bad yourself Ellie."
Ellie's lips trembled, though, she took a deep breath and whatever that seemed to bother her faded away.
"You know, us talking like this is rather nice."
"Yeah it is."
"Sucks that I'm no longer feeling tired, it was the perfect excuse to stay in bed all day." Ellie feigned a yawn, rubbing her eyes.
"Seems like someone can't rely on being tired to hide the fact they're a lazybones?" Hunter grinned.
"Fuck you Hunter, I'm going back to bed." Ellie chuckled and tossed to the other side. "How about while I'm sleeping you stop bugging me and take a shower? You certainly need one after sweating your ass off failing to solve a Rubix Cube."
"I'm rather comfortable laying in bed with you. I'll take a pass on that one."
"So this is how our days gonna be? Laying in bed and talking all day?"
"You're making it sound like that's a bad thing. We deserve to relax, we're both off from work afterall. What's better than spending your day off with the person you love?"
"That's the corniest thing ever, but you're not wrong." Ellie shuffled to the middle. "Hanging out with you is certainly the highlight of my day, believe it or not."
"I do, and to be honest, laying right here with you has been the highlight of my week. I know it sounds dumb but there's something so nice just talking without worrying about getting anything done, you know?"
"Of course, there's always this thought about chasing something, to always be productive, but sometimes It's nice just to stop and take a glimpse at what you have."
"And besides you is me, the one you love."
"Getting too confident there Hunter."
"Oh please, just admit it, you love me, there's nobody watching us."
Ellie crossed her arms, her face turning red as she pouted. "Fine, I love you a lot. Are you happy now?"
Hunter wrapped his arms around her and kissed Ellie on the forehead. "Does that answer your question?"
"Yeah it does you goofball." Ellie cupped Hunter's chin and planted a firm kiss on his lips. Hunter blinked, clearly confused and Ellie noticed. "Seems like someone is taken aback?"
"Well yeah, you're not the type of person who'd do such a thing out of the blue."
"Because I joke around from time to time doesn't mean I'm afraid of kissing you. It's a part of the fun."
"So you're saying you like teasing me?"
"More like play hard to get, but that's along those lines too."
"You're insufferable, you know that?"
"Then why are you dating me then?"
"Because beneath your teasing attitude you're really enjoyable to be around. Plus, you have a good sense of humour, you're also really pretty too."
Ellie hummed. "I'm flattered, thanks. You're not too bad yourself with those muscles of yours." Hunter checked himself. Ellie playfully rolled her eyes and shoved him. "But you're also really sweet, you're not some meathead who loves girls because of their bodies, you have a big heart and you're pretty funny too."
"Thanks really kind of you say. I'm surprised you're that supportive of me."
"How come?"
"I'm not exactly a genius aren't I? I'm a bit socially awkward at times and I'm pretty reckless."
"Because you're not some super genius doesn't make you any less handsome. Yeah at times you can be a bit reckless, but, we all have flaws after all. I can be a mega bitch at times whenever I'm pissed off, but hey, we're human after all. If we were all perfect then love would really have no meaning would it? Like yeah, It'd be nice to have no problems at all and not have our own faults, but it's those issues that show how compatible we are if we work together and accept each other despite them."
"Woah, that's, I'm not sure what to say really…"
"Then think about it," Ellie shuffled over to him and grabbed his hand, flashing a sincere smile.
Hunter rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks flaring up. "I will," he said, giving Ellie's hand a gentle squeeze.
Ellie let out a content, her lips tugging upwards, "I know you will, but, I'll leave you to it. This girl needs some extra beauty sleep, you don't mind if you don't interrupt me, right?"
"I'm alright with that, just sleep well. You've earned yourself all the rest you need."
"You're the best of all jokes aside." Ellie leaned her head against Hunter's chest and closed her eyes. Hunter smiled and hooked her arms around her stomach. "Before I sleep, if I feel your hands roaming anywhere near my chest or the bottom of my stomach I'm gonna knee you."
Hunter's eyes widened. "I-I won't!"
Ellie chuckled, patting Hunter's leg. "I'm kidding, I know you're not one of those types of guys," She stretched her muscles and yawned before sinking deeper into his chest. "Just, whatever you do, please be by my side for at least a little bit? Your arms are really warm and soft. I hate that I'm gonna say this, because it sounds like something out of an overly sappy romance movie, but I've never felt more safe in your presence."
"You mean that?"
"Yeah, I do, if I'm asleep then do whatever you want, but for now I'd greatly appreciate it if you stay."
"Then I'll keep that promise." Hunter murmured and tightened his embrace.
Thirty minutes had passed by and no word was spoken. A comfortable silence rained in the air and time seemed to slow to a crawl, the only sound that came in the room was their fan turning joined with the occasional noise of the wind outside.
Hunter had his arms resting behind his head, a stream of ideas of how he could spend his day flooding into his mind. Maybe he could stop being lazy and make Ellie some breakfast? She deserved it afterall, the poor girl was overworked and earned herself a treat.
He trudged out of bed and snooped out the bedroom, going into the bathroom and turning on the shower, he hated showers but like with many things in life it was something that he had to get done. It's not like he disliked the idea of cleaning himself, that'd be rather dumb, wouldn't it? His main gripe was jumping into shower and getting hit with the sudden coldness, it gave him the energy to go through the rest of the day, sure, but there was something nice about being in half sleep deprived state, the feeling of being half awake and not at the same time was calming in a way.
After his shower he cleaned himself and threw on some pajamas and walked into the kitchen. He wasn't skillful in the art of cooking, He somehow broke a toaster once when trying to surprise his mom with breakfast. How does one break a toaster? No idea, but he managed to mess that up.
That was eighteen years ago, now he's a fully grown adult, making toast can't be that hard.
"Do we even have bread laying anywhere?" Hunter muttered, looking around the kitchen. He spotted a blue bag housing bread, his eyes lit up. "Ha, this should be a piece of cake." He said, dipping his hand into the bag, rummaging through until he pulled off two slices."
He turned on the toaster and plopped the two pieces of bread inside and pulled down the button.
Now it was the waiting game.
Two slices of toast laid on the plate.
Hunter smiled and brought the into the living room, placing it on the table.
"At least nothing got broken this time," He said to himself, looking down at the meal, "But something's missing? Oh right, yeah, a meal is not a meal if there isn't a drink to go with it.” He rounded back into the kitchen, poured himself a glass and milk and returned back into the living room. "There, I bet she'd be pretty happy with this."
He rested it on the table with a proud smile.
His stomach grumbled and he rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin, "Guess I could have something to eat?" He rounded into the kitchen and found a carton of eggs, picking up two and banging them against a bowl before stirring them.
"You're making breakfast?"
Hunter glanced up to Ellie standing in front of him fully clothed.
"Yeah, I'm making an omelet” Hunter said before flickering on the stove. "So how was your sleep?"
"It was nice," Ellie leaned against the fridge. "I woke up when I heard the shower going."
"Oh, sorry for that, I'm sorry for breaking the promise about not disturbing you."
"Don't worry about it, the world doesn't stop for my needs." Ellie smiled, placing her hand on the bowl. "Say, let me deal your eggs for you while you devour what's in the living room."
"The milk and toast? That's yours."
"It is?"
"Yeah it is, see, with you being tired and exhausted from work. I thought you deserved your breakfast being made for you. You've had a hard week and you've earned to be treated like a queen, it's all yours."
"That's… really sweet of you, you didn't have to go out of your way to do that, especially when I was the one who was too busy sleeping at 10 o'clock.”
"Oh It's nothing, I'm just being a good boyfriend that's all." Hunter poured the stirred yolk into the pan, his eyes lighting up as he watched the egg sizzle. "I knew you'd do the same for me. I was too tired."
"I'm not sure what to say, you're quite something else Hunter." Ellie said. "You know, you're too good for me, I'm not gonna let you get away with doing something nice for me without paying you back."
"Ellie, It's not a big deal."
"It's a big deal for me, no one's ever been so kind to me in my whole entire life."
"You're saying this over me making breakfast for you? Isn't this a little overdramatic?"
"Fucking hell Hunter, listen, you're good person who's too good for me, I'm gonna pay you back somehow. Okay? What I said earlier was me being completely honest, so, let me return the favour."
"Alright, if there's one thing that's been causing me trouble lately It's -"
"The children's toy." Ellie laughed. "Listen, I'll solve it in an hour tops, I'll even teach you how to solve it."
"You will." A spark of hope ignited in Hunter's eyes as she poured the cooked omelet on the plate.
Ellie nodded, "Yeah, I'll help you solve it, but let's eat our breakfast." She smirked, staring at him with half lidded eyes. "Then, we have the rest of our days to ourselves, who knows what we'll get up to?"
Hunter tugged on the corner of his shirt with a nervous smile. "Yeah, I wonder what we'll get up to."
The duo finished their breakfast,
Ellie pushed the chair back and stood up. "I'll be back in a minute." She said before walking out of the room and heading upstairs.
A minute later she returned a dastardly toy that plagued up so much of his free time.
Hunter rested his hand against his chin and tapped his finger against the desk, he'd rather not admit the amount of time he'd invested in trying to solve the damn puzzle. In most puzzle games he'd played there was at least an indicator of progress being made, but, with this there was none. One side could almost be the same colour then the next minute he could be questioning his sanity or why he even woke up in the morning in the first place.
But, he got some enjoyment out of it, it was fun to sink his teeth into a challenge and go at it for hours on end. Like sure, at times he wanted to just quit the damn thing and turn his attention to something else, but there was a strange allure that kept bringing him back, like an opened chest with bestowed endless possibilities of what was inside. He wasn't going to get bested by some puzzle. He'd spent a good chunk of his life fighting and clawing to succeed. Why should some rubix cube be an exception? He knew when to call it quits and take a break, sure, but he wasn't going to give up. And with the support of his girlfriend he was bound to succeed sooner or later.
It was only a matter of time.
Ellie placed the cube on the table and sat down, "So, how does this work?"
"You turn the cube until eventually all sides are the same colour."
Ellie shrugged. "Sounds easy." She picked it up and began twisting it around.
Hunter chuckled and lounged back in his chair. "It does, but, you just wait, it'll break you eventually."
"Like this is gonna be a challenge."
"How much money do you wanna bet on that?"
"Twenty dollars?"
"Good luck."
Ellie laughed and focused her attention on the object. "We're acting like giving the other money is going to do anything, one of us is just gonna give the other person the money back once this is said and done."
"Well you can but I'm not, you need all the money you can get for college right?"
"College is brutal with how much money it wants me to fork, so I guess I'll keep the money when I win."
Hunter crossed his arms. "You mean, if you win?"
"Yeah right.” Ellie tightened her grip on the cube, smiling. “Just watch the master solve this in record time."
Hunter nodded and watched his girlfriend go at it, he grabbed an apple and took a lot out.
Ellie narrowed her eyes as she recorded the colours, it seemed with each spin her confident demure was slowly slipping away, she didn't mutter a word her eyes glued on the cube. Hunter lowered his feet off the table, a strange feeling brewing in his stomach, he could sense that something was building inside of Ellie as tightened her grasp around it, he wanted to make a teasing comment, he felt if he did he'd get suplexed to next week.
Ellie let out an exacerbated sigh and looked up. "I'm beginning to understand why you're struggling." She tossed the item at him. Hunter scrambled and quickly picked it up. "Like, there's this illusion of progress being made, but it's all a lie isn't it?"
"Welcome to my life."
Ellie shook her head. "Great, now I'm addicted to solving this thing." She stood up and eyed the cube with a glare.
"Well at least we can do this together?" Hunter flashed an unconvincing smile.
"Great…" Ellie's voice trailed off, she frowned and picked the item back up. "Guess this is going to put a dent in my plans for today."
"You have plans?" Hunter raised a brow.
Ellie reached into pocket and pulled out her phone. "Kinda? I'm still debating on what to do with the rest of my day."
"You could help me out with this?" Hunter teased and pointed at the cube. He stood up and walked towards her.
"Pfft, as if? This is impossible to solve, plus it'd be a dent in my plans."
"And they are?"
Ellie tensed up, her eyes widening. "W-Well…" She turned to her phone and began quickly swiping through random photos. "We're behind on shopping?"
"I went shopping yesterday, have you checked the fridge?"
"Of course not, I've been too busy sleeping."
"Then now you know you don't need to go shopping." Hunter grinned, placing a hand on her phone and gently pushing it down. "Just admit, we haven't got anything else to do, we might as well solve this together with the spare time we have."
Ellie's face reddened, her lips tugging upwards. "Fine, you caught me."
"Knew it,"
"Fuck off." Ellie chuckled and pushed him. Hunter stumbled backwards and landed into the chair behind him, the chair tumbling backwards before him and the chair crashed to the ground. A concerned expression formed on Ellie's face. "Oh crap, a-are you alright?"
Hunter nodded as he winced, lifting his head up flashing thumbs up, a strong burning sensation was raging in the back of his head, there was one question that plagued his mind, when did Ellie get so strong? From the time at the gym he'd attained a pretty good physique and built quite a lot of muscle. How someone of Ellie's size managed to push him down was beyond him? He should be concerned and afraid of the idea that his girlfriend could randomly deck him at any moment, but it was the opposite.
He actually liked the feeling in a weird way.
Ellie kneeled beside him and planted a hand you thought. "I'm so sorry for doing that, it was stupid of me to push you like that, I bet you're pissed at me?"
"No, it was an accident, of course I'm not mad."
Ellie sighed in relief, "Oh, thank God. For a second I thought you'd lose it."
Hunter shook his head, smiling. "Like I'd get mad at you doing something like that? I'm more impressed if anything that you pushed me with that much force." He staggered to his feet before straining himself, a satisfying crack coming out of his back. "When did you get so strong?"
"When did you get so weak?" Ellie teased.
"It's the morning, try to cut me some slack," Hunter crossed his arms and flashed a toothy grin.
"Excuses, excuses…" Ellie muttered
"Come again?" Hunter raised a brow.
"Oh nothing, It's just that you're just using the lamest excuse possible."
Hunter plopped himself on his chair, sinking into the soft cushions, "Sure, excuses, not like you caught me off guard or anything," He said, his voice lighthearted and teasing. His eyes locked onto the Rubix Cube idly laying on the table, an idea formed in his mind. "You know, you never solved that cube."
"Oh yeah, I'll give it another go." Ellie snatched with a determined glint in her eyes. "Last time there was a fluke, now I'm actually going to try."
"Go for it, let's see how long it takes before you throw the damn thing." Hunter rested his face into his hands.
Ellie smirked and cupped his face with her finger. "Can you move your chin up?”
Hunter shrugged. “Sure,”
Once he did that Ellie sat on his lap.
Hunter stiffened. "What are you doing?"
"Making up for hurting you earlier."
"Why are you sitting on my lap specifically? We're surrounded by chairs, you know?"
"These chairs are pretty cheap and hurt your ass after a while.” Ellie admitted. “It's better to sit on something soft."
"The sofas are right there." He pointed towards it.
Ellie glanced at the sofa before turning back to him. "True, but it'd be pretty depressing solving this on my own without you by my side would it?"
"Sounds like the perfect excuse to sit on me, but hey I'm not complaining." Hunter wrapped his arm around her.
"Yeah not surprised there." Ellie raised an amused smirk, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I bet you're loving it having me sitting on your lap, aren't you?"
Hunter's face reddened as he looked glanced away.
Ellie laughed and playfully nudged. "Come on, I'm only teasing." She said with a grin "If I'm being a little too much I'll tone it down, how about that?"
"I'm alright with the way you're acting." Hunter laughed, “Just get back to solving the damn cube."
"Sure." Ellie refocused her attention and began twisting the object in all sorts of combinations.
Hunter looked down and watched his girlfriend. He'd be lying to himself if didn't find the sight of girlfriend dead focused on a task he failed to complete multiple times rather sweet.
"You've got this Ellie."
Ellie turned to face him. "You think so?"
Hunter smiled "Yeah, I believe in you, just keep going. I'm sure you'll win eventually."
Ellie smiled and paused her activity. "I'm surprised you're this supportive of me stealing your shine, like, doesn't me swooping in and completing what you've been trying to solve for months now not hurt a bit?"
"Nah, I'm fine, really. It'd be nice to say I did it, but if you do it then I'm just as happy."
Ellie puckered his lips and kissed them.
Hunter deepened the kiss and hooked his around her waist.
After some time, Ellie was the first to pull back, flashing Hunter a smile.
“I’ll do this for both of us,” She promised.
Hunter nodded, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I know you will.
It took an hour of fidgeting around, but she did it. After a long grueling hour of questioning her own existence, she could confidently say she solved the damn thing that troubled her boyfriend for so long.
Ellie placed the cube on the table, resting her hands on her chin with a satisfied smirk.
“Piece of cake.”
Hunter raised an amused brow. “It took you an hour?”
“The saying holds true if we’re comparing your problem solving skills.”
Hunter blushed. “Fair point.” He rubbed the back of his head. “So, what now?”
Ellie rubbed her chin. “Hmmm, how about we watch some TV?”
Hunter’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea, let’s do that.”
Hand in hand they walked into the living room, getting themselves comfortable. Ellie huddled up to Hunter, resting her head against his shoulder with a smile.
Hunter wrapped his arm around hers, picking up the TV remote and began flipping through the channels.
They eventually found a show the perfect show to binge and spent their rest of the afternoon watching it in each other's arms.