LET YOU DOWN.
chapter fourteen.
HUNTER HAD HER EYES TRAINED on the ceiling as she laid back in the padded seat. A low deep hum echoed out from the vibration of the tattoo gun as it traced its way over her arm— the left one that was previously an empty canvas in comparison to the right one which already held sunflowers and an arrow head.
It was her first tattoo in color, a tribute to her late brother as the stencil was the same as the tattoo he once held on his own forearm. An old paint bucking horse with a cowboy on its back, a classic tattoo in numerous different styles. But she didn't want something different, she wanted something that represented Cody Callahan.
Hell, she already held the sunflowers on one forearm for Lane, she might as well dedicate the other forearm to Cody.
The artist, Jacob, was rather quiet but Hunter enjoyed the silence— minus the hum of the tattoo gun that created a peaceful pattern that brought comfort to Hunter as she laid still, only able to think rather than actually do anything.
There were lots of things on her mind, there always were. She had yet to open the little box that soldiers returned to her on the day of her brothers funeral. She didn't have to, she knew exactly what she would find— a custom made forty caliber bullet with a language she didn't understand carved into the side of it. The same kind of bullet that had shot her in early 2018.
There was something so unnerving about the fact that the same man who she used to psychologically torture— and used to do the same to her— killing her own brother. An underlying sense of guilt sat in Hunters stomach every time she thought of Cody, wondering if it was just a subtle reminder from T. Solotov that he was still around. Or maybe it was one last mind game that he couldn't pass up.
A long standing rivalry between the Callahan and the Solotov wasn't unknown. Hell, Solotov was the one that pulled the trigger on the bullets that killed Donny Fenn and decommissioned Hunter.
The blonde woman was snapped out of her thoughts as the humming of the tattoo gun went silent. "All done," Jacob chimed in, as he brought a wetted towel to clean of the ink residue from her arm, "we can do touch ups in another six months if you're interested."
"I'll be fine for now," Hunter said as she sat up, swinging her legs to be planted on the floor. Holding her arm out for the man to wrap it up, "but thank you."
It was her third and final session, the colored tattoo finally completed after weeks of waiting and rescheduling. Jacob hadn't been taking clients due to the state of California deeming him a non essential worker but he had made an under the table exception for the firefighter who all but begged him to take her in.
Hunter pulled the nine crisp bills from her wallet that she had picked up from the bank earlier in the week and passed them into Jacob's hand. It wasn't the cheapest or best choice she ever made but it helped her mind, something as simple as a tattoo did.
"I feel like I haven't seen you the last couple days," Hunter looked up at the sudden voice that had entered the locker room.
The blonde shrugged, "Alexa's been tryna catch up with me—"
"Which is code for you're mad at me," buck interjected, leaning against the lockers and looking down at Hunter who was seated on the bench.
Buck wore the standardized LAFD navy blue uniform, the long sleeve hugged to him tightly. He had changed so much since Hunter had first met him, and not just in his appearance.
Hunter shook her head, "why would I be mad."
Buck gave her a knowing look, "just admit it was a good idea asking Taylor to cover the story— she, she actually did help."
His statement was indeed true, although Hunter wouldn't elect to admit it. Taylor's coverage of the news helped spread the word of the hit and run and in turn, the LAPD was able to track down the man who had hit Sue Blevins— who was on her way to making a full recovery with her beloved husband right by her side.
The suspect, who's name Hunter hadn't bothered to learn, was arrested not that long ago but in addiction to the attempted vehicular homicide, he would also be tried for kidnapping. It was important to note, the police had found the man with a missing woman in his possession— a woman who probably didn't have much more time left had the police been any later.
"I put my pride before others feelings—"
"And while I would normally find that confidence incredibly hot," buck began with a sigh, "I'm, uh, I'm sorry if I upset you."
Hunter scoffed but gave the man a soft smile as one of her hands trialed up to play with the metal dogs tags around her neck. "Buck, honey, you do want to you. In the most caring and affectionate way possible, I do not care."
"Seems like you cared."
He was right. She did, but she couldn't quite place her finger on the why part of the of the equation. The who and what were perfectly clear. But the why couldn't of been a multitude of things. Sure she had a hatred for the pushy redhead that once cornered the blonde girl and brought the fire out in her blue eyes.
And yes, she didn't like that Taylor Kelly had slept with her boyfriend but she wasn't jealous. Hunter did not get jealous, especially over something that happened over a year ago. She never was the jealous type, if a man wanted to leave her, it wasn't her problem. It was quicker to move on than to care.
But maybe the real problem is that the Buckley boy didn't tell Hunter his was reaching out to help from Taylor. The feeling of being left out and secluded didn't sit well. Hunter liked being in the loop, knowing what was happening. She always had, even before her time in Afghanistan, but that's where it became amplified.
"I like you... I don't like her," Hunter gritted out, elbows resting on her knees as she looked up through her eyelashes at the man.
"I'm sorry," he apologized again, crossing his arms as he sighed. Buck was a caring man and an even more thought partner since the 3.0 software update. "I know she technically helped but I'm still sorry I went to her."
"Seriously," Hunter let out a small chuckle, "don't worry about it."
"Do you at least want to get have dinner after shift tomorrow?"
Hunter nodded, "sounds good, Buck."
If Buck had wanted to respond, he was cut off by the loud voice of Hen as she flew into the locker room, "there's my girl!"
Buck subconsciously backed away from Hunter as Helen entered the room. Looking up, Hunter shook her head with a smile she had fakingly plastered on her face, "what's up?"
Stopping, hen let her jaw drop, "is that what I think it is."
Her eyes trained on the plastic wrapped arm of the Callahan woman with a excited glint in them, "sure is," Hunter nodded, "Nine hundred dollars later..."
"Did it hurt?" Hen asked, holding the blonde's arm while she tried to tuck her LAFD shirt into the waistband of her pants with one hand.
Hunter shrugged, sitting up straighter on the bench , "Wasn't as bad as the underboob."
Hen nodded, "I can do needles and shots but tattoos is where I draw the line," she said with a fake shiver as she dropped the girls plastic wrapped forearm after studding the fresh ink.
"Just zone out and it's not that bad," the blonde advised, "it's what I do at work."
Buck snorted at her words, "let's not admit to that."
The Callahan shot him a wink as Hen rolled her eyes, ignoring the two's antics— electing to chalk it up to the close friendship the two had formed since the enemies to best friends shift.
"Better that than liquor," she chimed in, making eye contact with hen who rolled her eyes but kept a smile on her face.
In the hardship of losing Nia, Hen had been taking it surprisingly well. Although, there was a chance that she was falling apart in private, she never let the circumstances affect her work. Hen was strong in that way, pushing down things that others wouldn't be able to and continuing to serve the city of LA.
"You're ridiculous," Hen said, turning to leave the room she had entered only minutes before, "but I love you."
Hunter wanted sarcastically at the retreating figure of the slightly older woman before standing and following after. Only one hour into the shift but yet it felt like she had been there all day already.
The remaining three hours did not breeze by, to say the least. "Are you sure you even want to eat?"
Hunter shook her head as if to say no but it was inhibited by the pillow that she had shoved her face into. It was nearing noon, Hunter having had ran home to her own apartment before arrive at Buck's.
The Buckley in question stood near the top of the stairs as he looked at the blonde woman in his bed, "would you rather just sleep?"
In response to his question, Hunter nodded her head ever so softly. Letting out a soft chuckle and shaking his head, he walked over to his bed. Rolling Hunter to the side as he lifted the blanket and crawled in, covering the both of them.
Hunter didn't move, nor did she flinch as Buck wrapped as arm around her waist, resting firmly against one of her navy blue and red marine shirts as he pulled her close.
Buck softly laid a kiss against the side of her neck, not knowing if she was still awake or even functioning enough to listen to him, "you know I'd never risk losing you, right?"
Hunter didn't respond, although she did shift slightly as she adjusted in his arms, "I... I know old me wasn't the best— to you or women in genera, but, I know what I got," he told the girl in his arms softly as she loosely grabbed his hand that sat around her waist, "I worked so hard for you to, to uh, trust me enough to be willing to be here."
Often times, buck was still in shock that he had managed to get the Callahan woman to open up to him. And even more in shock that he had been able to worm his way into her life enough to have her accept him as a boyfriend. She trusted him, had told him things that she had never once told anyone else, not even Eddie and Hen knew things about Lane and Donny. But he did, because she trusted him and that was a feeling like no other.
Buck didn't know if he'd ever be able to amount to the memory of Lane Dunn, or that he would want to. Lane had brought a happiness to Hunter that still made a shimmer shine in her blue eyes. Buck would never try to replace the relationship that Hunter once held with the Marine field medic, he knew how important it was to her. But Buck also knew that he was the present, Lane was stuck in the past— albeit not by choice, and Buck would try his damnedest to be the future too.
"I don't want you to ever regret letting me in."
this is my last prewritten
chapter so if I don't get to
writing there won't be an update
next week :(