He had promised to protect you, but this was the last thing you wanted.
It all happened too fast; one moment everyone had been together, the next Luz had tackled you out of harm's way just as Kikimora charged you all. In the blink of an eye she had grabbed hold of Hunter, and despite everyone's best effort, she managed to get away with him.
You barely even remember what was said between Odalia and Alador before she took off herself, leaving all of you alone as the dust settled.
Your mind had been elsewhere.
Once it became clear that there were no more surprises waiting for you and your friends, you felt the anxiety and fear crash down on you. Your throat tightened as you bit back a whimper, trying to will your eyes not to tear up.
Before you knew it, you had turned and broken into a full sprint back to the airship, barely slowing down enough to avoid slamming into the controls that you had no idea how to operate.
It didn't matter. All that mattered was that it moved, and fast.
The longer you fiddled with the controls, the more frustrated you felt. Nothing moved, not a single sign that the airship planned to come to life. You slammed your fist on the counter in your exasperation just as your friends joined you, Amity coming to your aide by placing a gentle hand on your shoulder.
"We'll get him, you just need to calm down." She said softly.
You turned to look at her, doing your best to keep your voice as steady as possible as you caught her gaze.
"Would you be calm if it were Luz?" You asked.
You watched her heart break for you in real time.
You had known about your own feelings for Hunter for some time, but it was also obvious to anyone with eyes that the boy had been through some serious trauma and was highly inexperienced with most things. With everything he had been put through, the last thing you were going to subject him to were your feelings. You doubted he even felt the same way, so you had never vocalized your feelings to him or anyone else.
But right now, you were feeling desperate.
You watched Amity close her mouth instead of responding, giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze before removing her hand from it.
You looked over at Luz, who was being unusually quiet as she stared at you with wide eyes. You figured it was because you rarely lost your composure in front of her, so this was a side of you she had never seen before.
You released a heavy breath as you looked around at your friends.
You were vaguely aware of Alador speaking to Amity from beside you, and you were about to ask where your missing party member was until your eyes landed on him as he began climbing onto the airship, looking exhausted.
It was most likely due to the fact that he was using his illusion magic for some reason.
You only managed to take a single step toward him in concern before he released his illusion, hearing a small pop behind you.
"What is going on?" Amity asked in alarm, causing you to turn around.
You felt relief hit you, immediately followed by guilt.
Standing where Luz had been just a moment ago was none other than Hunter, who immediately started apologizing and babbling an explanation.
It was Luz who had been taken after all.
For a moment you blamed yourself for what you had just said to Amity, who was now experiencing the fear you had just felt, but another realization hit you full force, and suddenly you were flooded with white-hot embarrassment.
Hunter had heard what you said.
Your eyes were on him again, hoping he was oblivious enough to not understand what you had meant, but when he caught your gaze and immediately avoided it, you felt your stomach drop.
He knew and he wanted nothing to do with you now.
That was all you could think about now that you were in the air thanks to Alador. You found little comfort in King, who was asleep in your lap, or Willow, who had attempted to assure you that there was no way Hunter would shun you for your feelings.
Considering the fact that he hadn't looked at you once since you took off, you found that highly unlikely.
You sighed and closed your eyes, pulling King closer as you did your best to pull your knees up without crushing him. He remained totally unaware of you slipping your arms around him to hug him to your chest, wishing the ache in your heart would dissolve like your hope had just minutes ago.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made you open your eyes.
You were shocked to find Hunter standing directly in front of you. You bit your lip as you stared at him for a moment, feeling on edge as he took a deep breath that seemed to go on forever.
Followed by another eternity as he held it, staring back at you.
You blinked in surprise when he released it, his whole body deflating.
He stared at you a little longer, and then his body was moving to sit where Willow had been just moments ago.
You didn't know if he heard you or not, because his gaze was fixed straight ahead of him. He looked incredibly uncomfortable, and you wondered why he would do this when he really didn't seem like he wanted to.
You blinked again when he moved his arm to hide his face before pulling his knees up to his chest. You meant to lean away from him, maybe even move your body entirely to give him as much space as possible, but you stopped when he moved his other hand to hold it out to you, palm up.
Now you were even more confused.
You expected him to drop his hand at some point, but he didn't move a muscle, still sitting curled up in...
It suddenly clicked what he wanted you to do.
You let out a breath as you slowly slid your arm away from King, letting your hand slip into his open palm to thread your fingers together with his gloved ones. You looked up, able to see the tips of his ears begin to turn red as he shyly curled his fingers to better fit against yours, moving your hands so they rested between the two of you.
Your heart felt like it was starting all over again, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with the butterflies in your stomach. You turned and buried your face in King's neck, hiding the wide smile spreading across your face.
Despite everything he had been through, Hunter would never hurt you. He promised to protect you, and it was clear he intended to keep his word.
titsay
