When Eberwolf scratched at his door to alert him that it was lunch time, Hunter felt vastly relieved. In the hour and a half that it had taken to cook the food, he had spent most of it spacing out, thinking about every event that had led up to this very moment.
... There was a lot to process. He temporarily swept all of these thoughts away in favor of enjoying his first legitimately good meal in a long time. It wasn't anything fancy, noodles with spicy cream sauce, but anything was a top tier meal to Hunter as long as it wasn't psyche ward food. The fact that he wasn't on such a high dose of medication anymore also greatly added to his appetite.
Darius was pleased to see Hunter wolfing the food down. He was slightly less happy to watch Eberwolf literally eat food like a wild animal. Despite this, he was happy to have people at his table that could enjoy his food and company. He felt nervous over the fact that Hunter had been discharged and released, but he was also grateful that his kid was home, and eating.
What a fatherly thing to think, Darius realized.
Initially, the plan was to box up any leftovers and do the dishes, but by the time the Coven Head looked up from his own half-eaten plate of noodles, Hunter and Eberwolf had chomped through all of the food, and Hunter had done the dishes. The teenager had been gone for just long enough that his caretaker had nearly forgotten just how quick and efficient Hunter could be. The Emperor's Coven had done extraordinarily well to teach him the meaning of time management. That was yet another thing that Darius would have to slowly train out of all of them.
The truth of the matter was that every person living in Darius's house, including Darius himself, was an ex-soldier. All of them had spent an extraordinary amount of time in the Emperor's Coven, slaving towards the lie of a brighter future for years. Hunter had spent his whole life living a lie that he wholeheartedly believed was the ultimate truth. What a huge mind-shattering revelation that must have been for the kid; to realize that his whole life had been a lie.
No wonder he was struggling so much.
Shortly after finishing lunch, Hunter excused himself back upstairs to "continue unpacking". He hadn't even started. The food, which was delicious, sat strangely in his stomach. No longer did he feel that all-consuming nausea. Instead, that feeling was replaced with an odd kind of shame. The more he allowed himself to think, the more he began to over think.
So much time, money, energy, and headspace wasted on his desperate need for attention. The revelation sounded eerily familiar, like something that Belos's rotting skull would tell him. A cautionary glance around his room revealed that he was alone. The Sertraline had been warping his perception, causing him to hallucinate his dead uncle... But now that there were no exterior voices from his past to remind him of his shortcomings, he was stuck with his own internal chastising.
How long will it take until I won't have these thoughts anymore? I thought that when I cut down on my medication it would help, but here I am, just as miserable as always. The disappointment dripping from his own thoughts made him frown deeply.
Perhaps a distraction was in order. After digging around inside of his nightstand for a moment, he was pleased to find Camila's iPod and a tangled pair of earbuds. Listening to music would help, surely. So, the teenager popped in his headphones, turned on one of his favorite albums, and finally set about unpacking.
It was slow work, trying to put everything back in its place. The psyche ward had taken the shoelaces off of all of his shoes, despite the fact that he'd only ever gotten the opportunity to wear one of his three pairs. It took a lot of time and energy to re-lace them, and fix up other objects that had been modified to fit the requirements of the inpatient program.
Everything took energy, and despite the fact that he was only halfway unpacked after two hours, he felt exhausted. His bed was filled with half-folded laundry and a duffel bag strewn with junk, but he chose to ignore it in favor of the soft pillows and cushions that awaited underneath it all. Despite his intention to merely rest his eyes, he dozed off.
Darius listened to the shuffling coming from upstairs for almost two hours after lunch, as he sat in his usual armchair with Eber resting on his lap. He pretended to read, but really he was listening to the little shuffling noises emanating from above him.
After a bit of time, they ceased. Darius strained his ears to listen intently. Maybe Hunter was just taking a break, or maybe he was sitting on his bed folding clothing, or maybe... maybe he was overdosing again, unconscious; shaking hands with Death. No matter how he tried, the man could not shove that horrible thought away from his mind. It's cold, slimy fingers wrapped around his brain, urging him to knock on the boy's door.
It's been a few hours... probably time to check on him and make sure he doesn't need any help , Darius tried to rationalize.
"Eb, I'm gonna go upstairs to check on Hunter. You're welcome to come with or stay here, but you gotta get off my lap either way,"
Eberwolf growled and rolled their eyes, but eventually peeled themselves off of the spot on Darius's lap and climbed up to his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, I don't wanna hear it. Might I remind you that you're living here rent free?"
This remark earned him another disgruntled huff, which Darius chose to ignore. The silence from upstairs was really starting to dig into his nerves. Taking the stairs two at a time, both Coven Heads made their way to the second level of the house.
A terrible memory popped into Darius's head as he knocked on the door: rapping on the wooden door, just above the handle. Rain pattering outside, the only sound penetrating through the evening air. No answer from inside, knocking again, making an uneasy joke. Being met with more soul-crushing silence. Opening the door, despite his hesitance, and revealing a dark room within.
His foot kicks something small and plastic, sending it skittering across the floor. Turning on the lights to reveal a most horrible sight, his kid, the one he spent months worrying about, face down on the bed, halfway to the afterlife.
Darius blinked back to the present to the gentle sound of Eberwolf purring on his shoulder. A gesture that asked are you okay?
"I'm fine, just... paranoid. He's just a little quiet for someone who has a bunch of stuff to unpack, that's all."
Just like that night, he knocked, listening for sounds from within. He felt the urge to call out, make a joke to ease the tension. He squeezed his eyes shut, heart fluttering in his throat.
"Hunter? Not to pry, but you're awfully quiet in there. Need any help?"
No answer. Fucking shit.
Without thinking, the door was thrown open and Darius thrust himself and Eberwolf inside. Afternoon sunlight lazily cascaded into the bedroom, highlighting the boy sprawled out over the covers. Despite the comforting warmth of the room, the man felt fear run ice-cold down his spine. Hunter was face down, and not waking up.
Eberwolf was trying to communicate that he needed to calm down, but Darius was not in the business of listening. In two swift steps, he was in front of the bed and rolling Hunter over onto his side.
Hazy, bloodshot eyes popped open, and Hunter shot backwards and away from Darius's sweaty hands.
" Fuckin' Titan, What the hell Darius!" Hunter eventually spat, a little slurred from his nap as he scrambled off the bed. The blood rushed to his head a second later, and he stooped over the bed and pressed a hand to the mattress to support himself.
Darius, however, released a tremendous breath that he didn't even realize he was holding. Several other deep, panting breaths followed. Fuck, he'd been so scared, and he hadn't even realized until relief flooded in to replace the fear.
Eberwolf and Darius stared at Hunter, and Hunter stared right back, waiting for any one of them to speak.
"... Sorry." Darius eventually started. A dark, heavy blush rushed to his face. "Might've overreacted a bit. Did you have a good nap?"
"Yes, I was having a good nap, until you decided to make an attempt on my life, or whatever you were doing." The teenager replied, clearly pissed from such a rude awakening. The words sat heavy in the air for a second, and then a heavy realization hit Hunter right in the gut.
"Did you... Did you think that I-"
"No, no it wasn't that!" Darius lied. Hunter saw right through it.
"Unbelievable! After all of this time, no matter what I say, you still don't believe me when I tell you that it was an accident!" The teenager threw up his hands and turned to face away from the other two people sharing the space with him.
"Hunter, I'm sorry, but you can't blame me for being worried. You weren't waking up!" Darius pleaded.
Hunter faced towards the window with his head turned to look in Darius's direction. "So what, I'm not allowed to take a nap now?"
"No, that's not what I said, I was just worried that you- you were"
"That I was what, Darius? Busy killing myself? I can't deal with this right now."
Eberwolf growled, trying to convince Darius that this argument was only going to escalate if he tried to reason with Hunter.
"...Listen, neither of us are in a state to talk about this right now. I know I upset you, and I'm sorry. Can we talk about this in a little, after we've both had a bit of time to cool down?" Darius said, changing his voice to be soft and calm, rather than accusatory.
The sudden flip in tone threw Hunter off for a moment, and made him think a little more rationally. The last time that they'd had an argument, it had turned into a huge blow up. Then. he had to spend a rather long time in a hospital. Hunter was not interested in a repeat.
"Fine. Let me know when you're ready." Hunter said through gritted teeth.
Darius released another breath, and then excused himself. It was only another twenty minutes before he was knocking politely on the door again. This time, Hunter actually opened it and allowed him inside. Then, the teenager plopped down on his bed and dragged a hand down one side of his face.
"...Sorry for being mad earlier, you just scared me. I wasn't expecting someone to touch me like that."
Darius leaned against the wall, Eberwolf still on his shoulder. He crossed his arms and tried to make his stance as casual and open as he could.
"It's my fault too. I shouldn't've shoved you like that. I panicked."
"The great Darius Deamonne, panicking? You're losing your touch, old man" Hunter smirked. The tension in Darius's body quickly oozed out, and he smiled too.
"Hey, at least I don't look old! I'll have you know that my skincare routine will have me looking like I'm twenty-five all the way until my grave."
"I guess we'll see about that." A pause, and Darius watched the fleeting mischievous glint empty from Hunter's eyes. "What happened earlier?"
Darius squeezed his eyes shut. "Like I said, I panicked..."
"Did you think... I mean..."
"I wasn't fully convinced... but I did psyche myself up a little. I knocked on your door and you didn't answer, and for a second it felt just like that night."
It was Hunter's turn to squeeze his eyes shut. "Fuck... I'm sorry, I should've told you that I was gonna take a nap, I wasn't planning to, I just-"
"Hey, if you weren't planning on falling asleep, it's all good. I was just worried."
"Aw, the great Darius, worried for the Golden Guard. Who would've thought?" Hunter quipped, sarcastic edge coming back with a slice.
Darius growled, and marched up to thoroughly muss Hunter's hair. "I could beat you in a fight any day, kid. You may have been the Golden Guard, but I was in charge of a whole Coven ."
"Yeah whatever, grandpa." Hunter rolled his eyes. After another moment of thought, he started again. "Would it help if I left my door open just a crack, just so that you can peek in if you feel like you need to check up on me?"
Darius pondered, and eventually shrugged. "Actually, yeah. That might be kind of nice, I suppose."
Hunter nodded. Then, he reached into his pocket to pull out Camila's iPod. "Cool. If you don't mind, I'm gonna keep unpacking now."
"Want some help? Eber's great at finding lost socks," Darius offered, gesturing to the beast on his shoulder, who nodded vigorously.
"Hmm, fine. You wanna listen to some of Camila's human music while we do it?"
Darius smiled. "It couldn't hurt to try."