~4 years ago~
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~present time~
Hunter was quiet.
He was tapping his leg anxiously and his pupils were extremely contracted. He was pale too.
You were still processing everything he told you. He looked as if he was holding his breath.
His grip on his drink was tight. It was so tight that-
He gasps slightly.
The glass of the cup shatters and the drink spills everywhere. He flinches.
"Oh my Titan!" You exclaim.
"I- sorry-" He stutters.
"It's fine. You're fine- it was an accident." You say and stand up.
"Uh- stay here I'll get you some napkins- or something." You say.
"No. It just got on my jacket it's fine." He sighs and takes his jacket off.
"I'll wash it later." He shakes his head and just facepalms himself.
You stare at him silently.
"...so you kil-"
"Stop." He holds out his hand.
He looks away from you and takes a shaky breath in.
"Don't remind me. I told you once. I'm not telling you again." He shakes his head.
You stare at him silently as he just sits there alone with his thoughts. He looks away and covers his face.
You hear him shakily exhale.
"I'm so sorry... that that all happened..." You say.
He doesn't respond.
"I just-" he starts.
You look at him sadly.
"I hope he wasn't in too much pain... but he probably was-" His voice breaks.
"If there were a more peaceful way I would have done it- but all we had was a knife- it- he probably was in so much pain-" he shakes his head.
You put your hand on his shoulder, he glances at you and he looks like he's trying not to tear up infront of you. He doesn't want to look vulnerable or emotional in front of you.
"What happened after that?" You ask.
He shakily inhakes and then slowly exhales.
~4 years ago~
We stare at eachother for a moment as the knife sits in his heart. His eyes are twitching, and he looks as if he's holding his breath.
He coughs once and blood spurts out of his mouth.
My heart rate picks up and I quickly pull the knife out and back away.
He winces and coughs crazily as he falls against the ground instantly. And I breathe shakily and back away. My heart rate is through the roof and I feel like I'm about to throw up.
Blood spurts out of his mouth as he coughs painfully against the ground. I back away, shocked at what I had just done.
I start breathings fast and I feel as if I'm getting lightheaded just watching him painfully cough and writhe in pain. He's panting and gripping his chest.
The guards grab me and I gasp and they quickly pull me away and I want to shout out to tell them to stop but I remember I need to keep my act on.
The turn my body the opposite direction and immediately start speed walking me away. I'm making panicked breathing. Tom is left all alone.
I hear his body fully thump against the ground.
I just breathe quickly and bite my tongue refraining myself from talking or looking back.
"Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" One of the guard asks me.
I squeeze my eyes shut and I just let out a shaky exhale and I am trying not to cry. My chest is rising up and down over and over again way more faster than it needs to be.
"Calm down, you're safe now, you did the right thing." One of the other soldiers puts their arm behind my back and escorts me away.
"He won't hurt you anymore." Another scout says and they all take me away.
I breathe shakily and I shakily turn my head around to look at Tom as they try escorting me away.
He was still struggling to stay alive. He was trembling.
I didn't even pierce through his heart correctly and he was just slowly bleeding out. No one even put him out of his misery.
They just walked off with me and left him there to die... bleeding out and shakily breathing until he just... died.
He wanted a quick death and I couldn't even give him that. I failed.
He didn't want to suffer a slow death and I gave him the exact opposite of what he wanted. I felt like a monster.
~present time~
You grip Hunters shoulder and he just facepalms himself.
"I remember the last thing I saw him do was reach his hand towards the dirt. I don't know what he was doing... he was moving his hand against the dirt... trying to... get up..? I don't know.." Hunter sighs.
"But... with the amount of blood loss he had there was no way he made it out alive. It's not like he could get any immediate support." Hunter shakes his head.
Suddenly you hear footsteps nearby the door. Slowly moving away.
You both dart your head over to the see through door and you see someone walking away.
Hunters pupils contract and he stands up.
"W-were they just-"
"No.. they probably just saw that the balcony was occupied." You say and stand up with him.
He looks at you and then back inside. He looks extremely tense.
"It's probably nothing." You put your hand on his shoulder to try and reassure him.
He looks at you and his contracted pupils slowly dilate back to normal. He shakes his head and sighs. He sits back on the couch.
"...what else..?" You ask.
"When they were taking me away... when I was being put on the boat... They asked me if I was okay, if he had hurt me, everything. They called me a hero for killing him." He says hoarsely.
"A fucking.. hero.." He glares at the ground and shakes his head.
"I hate looking back at that. I hate that he died with everyone but me thinking he was a bad person. He wasn't." He shakes his head.
"Everyone thought of him as a traitor, a psychopath, for "kidnapping" me. They said they couldn't believe that he was my predecessor and that they used to take orders from him." Hunter grips his head.
"And... I had to pretend to agree. That he was a bad person." He shakes his head.
Hunter sighs and holds his head in his hands. He sniffles and hides his face. You grip his shoulder.
"...Darius was... weirdly insistent about what happened. He kept trying to ask me questions." Hunter shakes his head.
"I just told him what I told the others... I was kidnapped." Hunter says.
"But he kept trying to ask me more questions, it got annoying and I just ignored him." Hunter shakes his head.
He turns to look at you and he has a serious look on his face. You stare at him.
"Listen." He says.
"Now that I've told you this there's something else I need to tell you." Hunter says.
You look at him seriously, sort of concerned about what he's going to say.
"It's Belos's fault this all happened. He sent the scouts to look for us. If he never did Tom would still be alive, and I wouldn't have had to do that." Hunter says.
You look at him and nod.
"My project im working on? I'll tell you." He folds his arms.
You nod.
"I'm working with someone... and I always swore to myself ever since the day Tom died, I'd kill the emperor." He says sternly.
Your eyes widen.
"It's what Tom wanted. I'm gonna do it." Hunter glares at the ground.
You don't say anything you just look at him. He looks at you insistently. He holds out his hand and grips your shoulder.
You look down at his shoulder and then into his eyes. He runs his hand from your shoulder down your arm.
He then slides his hand into yours and holds it in his. You look up at him again.
"Help me." He says softly.
Your eyes widen. His eyes shimmer.
"...Do you remember when we went to that volcano..? To get that purple magma?" He mutters brushing his fingers against yours.
You nod.
"Well... it's-"
"A prophecy?" You ask.
He looks up at you and furrows his eyebrows. He then tilts his head.
"How'd you-"
"I couldn't help my curiosity so I went to the forbidden stacks to look for its definition.." you say.
"Oh Titan, you didn't even know who I was back then and you couldn't keep your nose out of my business..!" He rolls his eyes.
"Well it doesn't matter now, continue." You roll your eyes.
"Yes, it's a prophecy. I was gonna use it to figure out the key in killing him. It had to show me what my missing piece was." Hunter says.
You look at him as he speaks.
"...and it showed me you." He says.
...
You go silent. He stares at you intently. Then he grips your hand tighter and takes your other hand in his as well. He grips both of your hands tightly.
"I don't know how you'll help. If anything I didn't even want to involve you in this. I don't want any danger upon you." He says softly.
You frown.
"But... if you're the key then..." He mutters and holds your hands tightly.
"Then I need your help." He says.
"I... I don't know how to help- I-"
"I don't know how either." He shakes his head.
"But I'm sure somewhere you might come in handy... we just... have to figure out how." He says.
You look at him.
"Hunter." You say.
He looks at you.
"...why didn't you tell me it was you... all those times I saw you at the library?" You ask.
He gets nervous and looks away. He lets go of your hands.
"You.. you could have told me and I would have believed you. I would have tried to help you sooner- I..." you say.
"I was afraid." Hunter says.
"...why?" You ask.
He gets nervous and he looks away.
"I... I wasn't golden guard back when we talked, I could get away with talking to you. But when I returned to the isles..." He says.
"Belos had high expectations for me. Extremely high expectations. And the fact he knew that I knew about Tom... he trusted me with his secrets." Hunter says.
"I killed him. He was... proud... of me that I finished him off." He glares at the ground.
"And... because of that he tasked me with more difficult missions and tasks." Hunter says.
He looks at you and he starts sweating again.
"I was promoted immediately, and he tasked me to kill. He figured since I killed my predecessor I wouldn't have any shame in killing other people." Hunter mumbles and looks away.
Your eyes widen.
"...I have so much blood on my hands." Hunter trembles.
"...that potions maker at the shop- is that what you were-"
"Yeah." He nods.
...
...
He glances at you and looks at you with a serious look.
"Does that frighten you?" He mutters.
You don't say anything.
"Were you the guy on the paper who failed to kill that girls father?" You ask.
He frowns and nods.
"...when I saw he had family I couldn't do it. I left, but of course Belos sent someone else to kill him anyway." Hunter mutters.
You frown.
"He was mad. I... that's how I got this." He mutters and trails his finger across the scar over his eye.
"Belos did that to you?" You say.
He glances at you and then he nods. You look at him in shock.
"But... I didn't want to talk to you because... well... I was afraid... I was... I had already started my missions... and I didn't think you'd be comfortable knowing Belos sets me off on missions killing other witches." Hunter glares at the ground.
"I just... I thought you wouldn't ever wanna see me again either. After what I did." He says.
You take his hand and he looks at you. You brush your thumb over his hand and a soft blush gently grazes his cheeks.
"I worked at that library for 3 years in hopes to see you." You say.
He blinks.
"You think I'm still petty over you locking me in there? Sure it was upsetting and I was miserable but I turned out fine look at me." You say.
He looks into your eyes and his grip on your hand tightens as yours does for him too.
"I wanted to see you more than anything." You frown.
His face heats up and his fingers subtly twitch. He looks down at his hand in yours and then back into your eyes.
"...I did too." He mutters.
You look into his eyes and he looks emotional. He looks like everything he's saying is coming from the heart.
"...I came into the library to see you everytime I could." He mumbles.
"I wanted to talk to you so badly." He mumbles.
You look at him and you frown. His grip on your hand gets tight and then he puts his other hand over them and holds your hand with the both of his hands.
He looks into your eyes and you can see the shimmering light from the moon in his eyes. You blush and you can't help it when you look at him.
You gently take your hand off of his and you slowly trace it up his arm he glances at your hand and watches it trail from up his arm... over his shoulder... to his neck...
His lips slightly part and you slowly cup his cheek again.
He sighs, and leans his head into your touch. Your face heats up.
"...and... if you were to talk to me... what would you have said..?" You ask.
He gently opens his eyes to look at you. He breathes softly and he can't help but move his hand and rest it over your hand on his cheek.
His lips slightly part open.
"...that... I missed you..." He whispers.
He leans his head more into your touch and sighs softly.
"...that.... I've been wanting to see you ever since I left..." He whispers.
You brush your thumb against his cheek. He closes his eyes.
"...I've dreamed of you.." He mutters.
Your eyes slightly widen. He opens his eyes again and his cheeks heat up.
"...the... first thing I wanted to do when I came back was see you... i... I wish I could have told you everything..." He mutters.
"I... I should have talked to you." He shakes his head.
"It's okay. I'm glad you told me." You say.
He frowns.
"I haven't told anyone this..." he mumbles and looks at you gently.
"And... now that you did..? How are you feeling?" You ask.
"...Better.. I guess." He looks away.
"Still... I still hate looking back at it... I do... but... I guess... Im glad someone other than me knows the truth." He mumbles.
You brush your thumb against his cheek and he looks back into your eyes.
"Do you think... he hates me...? Do you think he's mad at me.. that... I couldn't make him die more quickly..?" He mumbles.
You frown.
"No. Of course not... it's not like you've done it before... you couldn't have done it perfectly... he's probably glad you're okay. And that... Belos didn't kill you too." You mumble.
"...he's smart... acting that out... his idea worked, they believed you never betrayed the emperors coven." You say.
Hunter frowns and nods.
"I'm glad I'm still here... but at the same time... I... I don't know.. I..." he shake his head.
"I feel terrible I did that to him. I know it's what he wanted but... it haunts me." His voice shivers.
You hold his face with both of your hands this time and his eyes shift to you.
"I'm just glad you're still here." You say.
He looks at you and he frowns. His cheeks are a slight pink and he looks like he wants to say something but he doesn't.
You can't help but keep stroking his cheeks with your thumbs. You don't know why you do but you really want to. He just looks like he needs it.
And he doesn't even seem to mind it at all. He closes his eyes.
"I missed you." He whispers and it seems as if his voice is breaking.
Your heart flutters. He hasn't changed at all, he's still the same, he was just hiding it under that mask of confidence.
You don't know how to respond to him. You just sit there and watch him relax into your hands.
His eyes open again and he looks at you sadly.
"Despite it all I'm just... I'm glad I can see you again." He says sadly.
He's been hurting this entire time.
And you had no idea.
His eyes suddenly widen and he gets embarrassed and pulls away. You tilt your head in confusement.
"What am I doing- I- I'm sorry- I shouldn't act so comfortable out of nowhere around you- not after I was being so smug and stupid to you- I don't- I don't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything- I-" He shakes his head and start getting redder.
"No. It's okay." You say.
"I've missed you too... and... now that I know the truth I'm so glad to be with you again. You... never really did change..." You say gently.
"You were just... trying to hide all this pain you've been holding behind a mask." You mumble.
He doesn't say anything he just looks back at you and his eyebrows curve sadly. He looks away and his face seems to be getting red.
He's tearing up.
He's tearing up and he's holding his breath to try and restrict the tears from fully coming out.
You slowly approach him and you hold your hand out and grip the side of his arm. He's trying hard not to let the tears slip out from his eyes.
You look up at him with a worried expression.
"It's okay." You say softly.
His eyes tilt over to yours and as soon as you say that a quiet sob escapes his lips. Your eyes widen and you grip the side of his arm tighter.
You frown even more and you can't really help it. You just pull him into a hug.
He doesn't even hesitate to hug you back.
He's been waiting for 5 years to share a soft embrace with you.
He tries not to cry too much as you hug him. He doesn't want to seem like a baby, but you hear a soft sob every now and then escape his lips. Just gentle quiet sobs.
It's crazy how about an hour or 2 ago he was being so smug with you... and now he's being so much more comfortable infront of you.
How did it change to this..?
He stops his quiet crying and he gently pulls away from you and he looks at you with a gentle gaze.
You can see the tear stains down his cheeks.
He's been holding in so much for so long.
The moon is gently shining on both of your skin. His pupils dilate as he looks at you.
"I was lying when I made fun of your dress." He says gently and tilts his head.
You tilt your head too.
"You look beautiful." He whispers.
Your eyes widen. He continues to stare at you, his eyelashes still a little wet from tears.
"And... I've always wanted to say that to you ever since I came back. You've gotten so beautiful." He says softly.
Your eyes widen.
"...you don't need to accept the compliment if you don't want to." He looks away.
"...you probably shouldn't anyway. Since... youre with someone else." He sighs.
"Why did I say that..." he frowns.
You both are still standing and still somewhat hugging. His hands are behind your back and yours are still around his back.
"I'm not with him anymore." You say.
His eyes widen slightly.
"Why not?" He asks.
You blush and look away slightly.
"...after holding your hand that day... I realized something.." you mutter.
He listens to you.
You look back into his eyes and he watched you with anticipation. Waiting for what you're gonna say.
"I.." you look away again.
... He blinks and tilts his head more.
"I can't get over you." You say getting all red and embarassed.
His eyes widen and his lips slightly part open.
You feel your lips quivering in embarrassment and you gently look back over to him.
He looks at you with a feeling in his eyes.
"...Me neither." He whispers.
Your eyes shimmer.
You didn't realize how close your faces were. How close his body is against yours.
You let out a soft breath. He traces his hand up to your cheek, and holds your face this time.
Your heart is swelling up. You can't control your emotions. The way he's looking at you. The way his lips are quivering, his eyes glazing over your lips.
"Hunter..." you mumble.
He blinks rapidly for a moment and then his lips part slightly open.
"...Yes..?" He whispers.
You say something. It slips out. You couldn't even control it.
"Can you kiss me...?"
He inhales shakily and his eyes widen.
He doesn't even hesitate.