Reprogrammed (Hunter Angst)

Questioning the Reality Outside of My Bubble

Hunter deflated a little into the couch. More therapy? Now? Hadn't he just had enough? It didn't even work for him...

"Oh, also, I'm starting therapy too, and Eberwolf's moving in with us. Does that all sound cool?"

"Uh, what?" Hunter was really not expecting that next part.

"Yeah... I know that the incident with the psyche ward was probably not the most... trust inducing thing... But I want you to keep trying with the therapy stuff." Darius pressed on, completely ignoring the two bombs he just dropped mid-sentence.

Hunter was struggling to keep all of his ducks in a row. "No, go back. You're... What? Where does Eberwolf fit in with all of this?"

"Darius, you can't just blow past the therapy part and try to cover it up with another big piece of news." Camila pointed out.

"Ugh, fine. I've been thinking, and I think it would be nice to have another person in the house with us to kind of... mediate? Eberwolf and I are also working together to quell some of these little pro-Belos resistances that occasionally pop up, and it would be good to have him around as extra security, y'know?"

"That's cool and all, but also, do we even count Eberwolf as a person? Ugh, Doesn't matter-" Hunter was trying his hardest not to get distracted. "You're starting therapy?"

Camila nodded encouragingly. "Tell him what you told me, Darius"

"Yeah, it's true. I think it would be good to start my own healing. You and I both went through a lot in the Emperor's Coven, and I know that I've been ignoring my own issues in favor of trying to be the big strong adult for you. But the more that I think about it, the more I realize that trying to pretend to be perfect is actually damaging our relationship. I want to be a good caretaker for you, and that means fixing my own issues."

Hunter smiled, the gap in his front teeth briefly flashing. "That's... really sweet of you, Darius!"

"Yeah, whatever, don't get used to it." Darius said with a wave. This earned him a soft punch in the bicep from Camila.

Darius rubbed the offending arm. "I won't be going to see Mrs. Rose, of course, but I will be trying to find a therapist here who understands our... interdimensional predicament."

"Pfft, good luck with that. I still haven't told Mrs. Rose about any of that stuff. It's getting a little interesting, trying to explain Belos stuff to her without giving away too much." Hunter rolled his eyes.

"You'll probably have to tell her at some point. Technically , by human law, she can't tell anybody. And... Even if she did, she'd probably look crazy." Camila pointed out.

After they finished their discussion, Hunter was finally allowed to gather his things and head through the portal. The breath of slightly humid air that he deeply inhaled as he stepped through the other side was a welcomed relief.

The Owl Lady, her dog, and the strange owl tube (he still hadn't figured that one out) were waiting on the other side. They were just as excited as Luz and Vee regarding his return. King wagged his tail, and immediately shoved one of his stuffed animals into his hands.

"It ripped! I've been waiting so long for you to get back, can you fix him?" The baby Titan asked.

"Yeah, I can fix it." Hunter promised, tucking the stuffie into one of his bags. Before he knew it. Eda and King were sweeping him up into another tight, welcoming hug. It felt just as good.

It took a bit of time, especially with all of his cargo, but he and Darius eventually found their way home. Eberwolf was waiting for them, growling excitedly. He quickly scrabbled onto Darius's shoulder as soon as Darius freed it from one of Hunter's bags.

"Eber and I are gonna start on lunch. If you'd like to head upstairs to unpack, you're welcome to it. Let us know if you need anything, okay?" Darius told him. With a thumbs up, Hunter carried himself up the wooden stairs.

Upon opening his room, the force of the door sent dust particles swirling around in the sunbeams passing through the window by his bed. It was just like when he'd first moved in with Darius, when the house hadn't been touched in awhile.

His room had clearly also not been touched in awhile, now that he looked at it. The bed had a perfect imprint of where he last laid on it, when he'd... overdosed. The word sat heavy on his mind. Wrinkles in the sheet stared back at him, a perfect stamp of a time much more terrible than the present.

Hunter thought back to that night. He and Darius had fought, and they'd both said some pretty shitty things. Now, apparently Darius was starting therapy and Hunter had just gotten out of an inpatient he'd never expected to be in. The teenager supposed that there were many unexpected things that had taken place in the last few weeks. Turning his head, he scanned the rest of the room, all evidently untouched.

Hunter wondered what Darius had done during the day while Hunter was at inpatient. Did he help the ongoing efforts to repair the Isles? ...Did he spend the days in worry for Hunter?

The more he thought about it all, the more that Hunter himself began to worry. He felt terrible for what had happened. More than anything, the boy wondered how Darius had found him. The adult had recalled the story of that fateful night in the past, but Hunter would never really be able to personally experience how it had all gone down.

Did Darius find him face down, barely breathing? What about the rain, did it burn Darius on their way to the portal? How much had Eda seen of Hunter, in his deathly state? What did she think of him, now that he'd done the things that he did?

Worse yet, what did his friends think of him? What did they know? How did they feel about him, knowing that he'd beat another student up at school and then accidentally tried to kill himself?

Hunter figured that they were angry, but he couldn't really know for sure. Luz and Vee had hugged him so tightly. Amity, Gus, and Willow had such a blast with him when they all went to lunch that one day, even though Hunter was actively in the process of internally bleeding out. And yet... Hunter quietly wondered about the malice they might carry because of him.

In this particular moment, as he stared blankly at his room, he felt so out of touch.

The little gap in hunter's front teeth makes me go fucking feral, it's literally my favorite part of his character design <3333333

I've (hopefully) finished my last big assignment for my undergrad, yay!! It's finals week this week, but it should be kinda easy for me. 5 more days AAAAAAAAA