Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable characters mentioned in this non-profit Non-copyright infringement..-ing fic. If I did...Hunter and Dustin would be in my closet.
Author's Note: Um...this chapter is a bit wishy washy....I don't know what I mean by that you might...you don't? Okay...someone does! I can feel it inmy nuggets. So, This chapter is fun, I thought, so I hope you have fun readng it. Oh! I hope the Little Dustin in this chapter is getting better! So...yeah, i took the given tips so let me know? or not?
Chapter Summary: I thought these might be helpful...a little late to start it but...y'know what they say! SO, In this chapter Dustin freaks out, Hunter get teamed up on and he and the two go shopping. Then a cliffhanger? I've never written one so you tell me. enjoi.
Dustin woke up with a small yawn and he instinctively scrunched his nose and turned his head in the opposite direction, morning breath was totally rank. He opened his eyes and nearly panicked at his lack of vision but when his arms flew to his face he felt something warm and fleshy. At that moment he became insanely aware of his surroundings, particularly the way the bed was moving slowly up and down under his chest. He turned his head again and his right eye was greeted by a soft blue light coming from the window and a screeching red light that yelled ':16' he figured the hour was seven...no, six, he hated day lights savings time, it always confused him.
The sight preventing object that covered his eyes lowered to his waist and the bed moved more, Dustin was forced onto his side and he could have sworn he was about to be smashed. Warm breath tickled to top of his head and he looked up, for the third time that morning, he panicked. Hunter. How did he wind up in Hunter's be-...Oh yeah. He vaguely remembered last night but he remembered enough to know how he ended up here. His brows came together and he looked to the side, as if there was someone else in the room watching, when the arms at his waist pulled him closer and he felt the crimson ninja's lips again his hair. Hunter was really affectionate in his sleep. Dustin held back a laugh and settled for burying his smiled in the other's chest.
***
"I'm not making you pancakes." Hunter said for the fourth time as he opened cabinet after cabinet, looking for suitable cereal for his friend.
"Just make him what he wants bro" Blake sided with the little ninja that grinned up at him.
"No, he's going to eat cereal," He pulled a box from the shelf then put it back, "As soon as I find some"
Dustin and Blake exchanged glances; it'd be so much easier for Hunter to find what he was looking for if it wasn't hidden. "Look, I'm gonna go, Tori and I have something planned."
"No way bro, you are not leaving me with him" The crimson thunder said sternly as he shook an unlabeled can.
"But Huntoor, we'll have fun!" The wind ninja grinned and Blake gave his head a pat.
"Take him to get some clothes or something huh?"
"Bye Blake!"
"Bye little buddy"
Hunter didn't even acknowledge his brother was leaving; he was a bit ticked off. He glared at a box of expired Cracker Jacks and slammed the door, "Huntoor?"
"What?" He sighed and walked over to another cabinet.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing"
"Are you mad at me?"
"No I'm not"
"Yeah-huh"
"I'm not"
"Yeah"
"No I'm n-" He inhaled deeply and let it out with a small smile, "Look, how about I make you pancakes?" Hunter was willing to bet that Blake or Dustin or both of them planned this whole morning out, considering they both just happened to get what they wanted out of it.
So here they were Dustin was sitting out the counter with a bowl of pancake mix on his lap and
A ladle in hand while Hunter made a show of flipping the hotcake without the use of a pancake turner. He had dubbed it useless talent number seven, but it came in handy when Dustin made it know through being totally annoying that he needed to be entertained. "Okay, pour some more in"
The earth ninja filled the ladle with batter then dragged it to the skillet with Hunter's help. By the time they were done they had batter and powder on their faces and hands along with a giant pile of pancakes on the table in front of them. "Thank you Huntoor!"
"No problem, let me see..." He took Dustin's plate and cut his food for him and poured some syrup on it then returned the plate.
"Thanks you!"
"No problem" He put cartoons on and sat back on the couch then doused his cakes with syrup. He didn't like to eat pancakes because the sugar in the syrup wasn't the best thing so early in the morning but they had made so much, why not?
***
Hunter couldn't recall a time when he had so many people staring at him, it was creepy. Here he was with a six year old boy that was in a button down shirt that went all the way down to his grey and black clad over sized mis-matching socks on his feet. Okay so it was a weird sight but not as weird as the girl that was wearing a fairy princess outfit in the middle of November. Some parents let their kids walk out of the house like that? Wow. The crimson ninja walked to the kids section with Dustin holding his hand and he looked around, he wasn't really good with shopping.
"Uh, what do you want?" Dustin just looked at him then he pointed at a yellow shirt. Okay, this was easier than he thought. He pulled the shirt off the rack, it was a Bumble Bee shirt with some sort of logo on the back, he didn't see the movie but clearly Dustin had because he was rambling about Transform-or something.
"Sweet!" he immediately began unbuttoning his shirt, eager to get into the other one on but larger hands holding his own stopped him. "Huntoor!"
"Wait, we have to go to a dressing room first dude" he explained as he buttoned the shirt back up and he looked around to see a few people with their own kids smiling or shaking their head in disapproval. "Let's get you some pants" Hunter grabbed Dustin's hand and walked to rack full of pants that was across the designated section's space. He didn't know what size the boy wore so he settles for three different sizes in a dark blue jean. He snagged a pair of Spider-Man socks on their way to the underwear.
"That one! That one!" Hunter had to adjust the apparel in his arms to see what Dustin was urgently pointing at. Ninja Storm underwear?
"You're kidding?" He had no idea they even made stuff based off him and his friends. Is that how Cam funded Ops? A certain percentage of children's underwear sales came to him. Okay...that was he just thinking like Dustin?
"Huntoor, c'mon!" Dustin was hobbling off the shoe section with a baggie of Ninja Storm underwear in hand. Hunter groaned and followed him. "I like these ones!!" He pulled a shoe from a box and dropped it onto the ground and laughed when they lit up.
"Okay, let's go try your clothes on" he picked up the box and the shoe off the ground then they walked around before coming across a dressing room.
***
"You okay in there bro?" Hunter asked, pressing his ear to the dressing room and softly knocking on the door. His answer was the door flying open hitting his head. That kinda hurt. He held a hand over his right temple and took a step back to see a little Dustin in nothing but underwear and light up shoes.
"Look! It's you!!" He exclaimed as he turned his butt to the older man and pointed to the crimson thunder ranger on his left cheek. "And that's Blake," his finger moved to the navy thunder ranger, "That's Cam" he announced, pointing to the green samurai ranger on his right cheek and much to Hunter's dismay the boy turned around pointing in between his legs, "That's Shane, Tori and me!!" he concluded with a clap.
"Excuse me sir, he can't try on the underwear-"
"I know, I'm sorry, I should have told him" Hunter scratched his head and walked in the dressing room with Dustin. "Okay...um..." He picked up the boy then set him on the makeshift wooden bench in the small space and pulled the shirt off the hanger. This was ridiculous, is this what parents had to deal with all the time? Dustin's head popped out of the top of the shirt and he flattened it out over his stomach.
"Good Huntoor?" He asked.
"Yeah," He grabbed the pants and undid the button, "Leg up" Dustin brought his hands to Hunter's shoulders as he raised his leg and stepped into the pants, wiggling his feet to get the shoe through, then his other leg. "Good job" he complimented as he zipped and buttoned his pants.
***
"I didn't really do that did I?"
"Yeah, then the chick working there got mad" Hunter explained with a small laugh. Dustin just sunk down in his seat and pressed his forehead against the wooden table, that was so embarrassing!
"So Dustin, you don't really remember what happens when you're a kid mentally?"
"Cam, you lost me at 'so'..."
"Never mind, was their anything you did remember?"
Yeah, being in Hunter's bed, pressed against his warm body. He wasn't about to say that. Over his dead body! There was no way he was going to say that, Hunter would get mad and probably hate him. "No...Just some things this morning and getting a shirt…but that's pretty much it dude"
"Okay...well after running a few more tests..." He glanced down and shook his head, either he was trying to figure out what to say, Dustin doubted that because Cam was the smartest guy, or it was something bad.
"What did you find?" Hunter asked.
"If...if we don't turn him back soon, he'll be stuck as a six year old kid and he wont be Dustin any more."
To be continued...
