When he pictured a moment like this, he honestly never thought it would come. His life was supposed to be 100% devoted to The Titan's plan, and serving Emperor Belos. He never actually thought he would ever be in such a hold like the one he was in.
She, on the other hand, had pondered what this moment would be like for all her life. A cliche moment, maybe? An accident? Would it be with someone she truly cared about, or would it have been some horrible dare she would have been dragged into? But now, her heart a blazing flutter, she couldn't imagine it in any other way. Willow removed her hand from his, placing the both of them on the back of his neck to pull Hunter deeper into her.
Hunter moved his free hand from her cheek to her own neck, half to keep her there, the other half to keep himself steady. He felt weak at the knees, but in this moment he felt the strongest he ever had. He was really doing this, right? His heart practically felt like it was burning a hole in his chest, but he yearned for it to last a lifetime. Eventually, however, the need for air forced the two to slowly part, their eyes opening slightly, as they stared at one another.
They kept in that moment for as long as they could muster, lost in one another and unable to force themselves to break free. They didn't want to. But, as reality started to slowly sink in, Hunter thought 'Wow...we really just- wait...OH MY TITAN I JUST KISSED HER?!' His eyes grew wide as his face turned even redder than it was before, his reaction helping Willow get knocked back into reality as her own face flushed.
"I-I uh- I-" Hunter stood up straight, taking his hand back from her neck and putting it on the pot of the Memoria Bonsai. Willow still held his neck in her hands, and she was not about to let him go. He was too weak to break free from her, but deep down he knew he didn't want her to release him.
'Oh gosh, what do I do now?' Willow thought, unable to find the willpower to let her hands fall off his neck. She could only stare up at Hunter, wide-eyed, and red faced. Her heart felt like it was skipping beats. She should let him go, say something, DO something...anything. So she went with her natural reaction. She smiled, a big and beautiful smile up at Hunter before giving a few giggles. He looked so adorable with how baffled he was, she just couldn't help it.
Hunter gave her an awkward half-smile back, before it grew into a real grin, moving to rest his forehead against her shoulder. He couldn't help but join in on her laughing, giving a few chuckles himself. He knew he looked like a fool, a love-dazed fool. But, he loved the feeling. He loved being able to be a giant, absolute goof and not be scolded for how he acted. Titan, he hoped he wasn't crying.
Willow wrapped her arms around him, turning to press her lips against the side of his head in a loving gesture. He could feel the smile she was still wearing. "Are you ok?" She whispered to him, her tone amused but still oh so loving. He nodded into her shoulder, turning his head to look at her.
"Y-yeah just uh-..." He really could not find the words, she stole them away. Hunter found himself smiling at her, " I am doing perfect, thank you…" Thank titan his voice didn't crack this time. " H-how are you?"
"I am perfect." Willow smiled, moving to give a light kiss to the top of Hunter's nose. Hunter felt his ears wiggling around against his will, what even was a normal face color for him anymore? He let out a light chuckle again before Clover and Lil' Rascal landed on their respective witches, buzzing and chirping in light reminders that the day was getting late. " I-I guess we should get going, hu?"
"Y-yeah…" Hunter reluctantly stood back up straight, smiling at the girl before him still. He didn't want to leave her, he wished in all of titans power they could stay here, at least a few more hours.
"We...have a lot to talk about tomorrow." Willow gently stated, smiling up at Hunter. He flicked his ears again, nodding.
"W-we do, yeah...u-until then uh…" Hunter brushed his hand through his hair, trying to think of what to say. " T-thank you." 'Smooth, you idiot. Did you just thank her for the kiss or the plant?'
Willow giggled so sweetly, before moving to place a final kiss on his cheek. "Get home safe, Hunter. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled, finally forcing herself to let go of him and step back to take her bag. She looked back at him, still grinning, and him to her. It seemed they were about to get stuck in the moment again, so Lil' Rascal dove behind Hunter and turned into staff form, picking him up unceremoniously, but carefully enough to make sure he didn't drop the Bonsai. Hunter jerked around slightly, unable to stop the yelp that escaped from him as his palisman worked to separate the two.
"A-ah, yeah. See you tomorrow, Willow! Byeee!" Hunter quickly shifted around on the staff, waving down at the girl before Rascal sat off, not willing to let the two get stuck in a pattern again. Willow smiled as she watched the boy fly off, waiting until he was out of sight to collapse to her knees, rubbing at her cheeks.
'Titan oh titan! We just-...What happened to staying FRIENDS, Willow? He doesn't need this right now!...right?" Willow's thoughts rushed. Should she have stopped him? She didn't want to, but...maybe it was something to discuss with him tomorrow. Clover buzzed around her, getting the girl to pull away from her moment of panic. Willow looked to the palisman, holding her hand out to her for her to land in. 'Ok, calm down Willow…' She thought, a small smile appearing on her face as she stood, petting the top of Clover's head. 'Maybe you do not have to panic over this. Maybe...things will work out perfectly?'
Hunter had made sure to change into his Golden Guard gear before heading to the castle, his mind racing between the thoughts of Willow, and trying to make an excuse for the plant. He was in such a head-fog, he almost forgot to put Lil Rascal away for his safety. As the teen neared the castle, he took a pause as the castle came into view. He left his window open...perfect! Thank you forgetful past Hunter!
It wasn't often Hunter felt the need to sneak around the castle, but while holding a Memoria Bonsai that was gifted to him, he wanted no interactions that could draw Willow into more of a spotlight in Belos' eye. It was way past 'getting too attached' now, and he knew it. He had kissed her after all!
Hunter teleported into his room, boots hitting the hard floor. He looked around, making sure the door was closed and locked, and that no little control-freak demons snuck in and snooped around while he was gone. Satisfied, he stood up straight, took his mask off, and went to set the bonsai on his desk. After freeing his hands he took a deep breath in, and let his mind rush with the thoughts he was trying to keep at bay since he left Willow in the grove.
' She was ok with that, right? I did read the situation right, she was ok with me kissing her?'
'What does this mean for us now anyway? Is she my girlfriend now? Just because I kissed her doesn't mean that, right?'
'Ohhh titan, what did Uncle mean by not getting too attached anyway?! Why shouldn't I? Why does he have to be so cryptic in everything? Am I putting her in danger somehow?'
Hunter forced himself to stop, breathing in deeply again before looking over the bonsai. He smiled, before punching his fist into his palm and turning, kneeling down to dig under his bed. The book on magical plants he had was under here somewhere, it had the information on Memoria Bonsais and their colors! Willow did say this was her way of speaking to him in 'Her language' so that means she has to know what the small tree actually means.
He dug under his bed for a while, pulling out book pile after book pile, old newspapers, shoeboxes, a metal tin, the bag of clothing he 'borrowed', and other times he had thrown under the bed but forgot about. He really needed to take the time to actually clean out the space, but that could wait until later. Where was the book on magic plants he had?
Hunter felt his cheeks getting red, he was starting to get frustrated. He had now cleaned his bed out completely with no sign of the book in any pile. This didn't make sense, he always put his more secretive items under his bed, it was the best hiding place he had! If the book wasn't here, WHERE could it possibly be? He leaned back, his back against the edge of his bed's frame as he looked over the mess he created.
'Ok...maybe you just put it somewhere else?' Hunter thought, before sighing and starting to carefully go through the different piles he created, sorting them and shoving them back under the mattress. 'Maybe it is for the best I can't find it. It might…' He sighed through his nose at the intrusive thought, ' It might tell me that Willow actually...doesn't feel the way I think she does.'
'No, that is ridiculous. She would have stopped me from kissing her if she didn't want that to happen...right? Oh titan, should I have asked her first?'
'Why are these feelings so complicated?' Hunter shifted to sit cross legged, no longer caring to sort his treasures and just electing to carefully place them in their hidden place. ' I can't go to Belos and talk to him about how I feel about her...He would think that I have gotten too attached to her and forbid me from seeing her!'
'There is...really no one I can go to about this. It would be inappropriate for me to ask anyone below my rank about this, right?' Hunter sighed heavily again, smacking the item he was holding against his head. The metal tin made a hollowed ringing, snapping Hunter out of his mind to look at what he was holding. 'Oh...right...I forgot about...this.'
The metal tin was, what he understood, a 'Human Food Carrier'. It was probably one of the oldest items he had, and it wasn't even from this realm. Hunter smiled to himself as he sat the tin in his lap, looking over the picture on the color, slightly faded in color with the edges rusted in brown. He always found the design on the tin so lovely, even after all these years, of an off yellowish-pink castle with blue roofing.
He leaned back as he flipped the latch on the top of the box, opening it up to look at the items that were stored inside. The knick-knacks that looked up at him looked the same as they always did, a strange little rectangle with a yellow bi-ped demon on it with two tails, a grey rectangle with a faded label picturing a brown, shell-less snaggle-back, a grey square with ear-buds wrapped around it, a bag of currency from the human realm, and a spool of light-blue ribbon.
Hunter smiled a little more, before pushing the items inside to pick up the envelope at the bottom reading 'To My Golden Sun' on its cover. He let out a deep sigh, 'If she was here, I would have been able to talk to her about Willow…' he thought. Hunter frowned, before setting the letter back into the case carefully. He had read the letter inside a million times, memorized it word for word, and nowadays it brought him little comfort.
He closed the tin box, latched it, and moved to carefully hide it behind the books and newspapers that he had already shoved under the bed. If Belos knew he still kept this box after all this time, he might force him to get rid of...probably? He sighed once it was hidden out of his sight, standing back up to sit on the edge of his bed before looking over to the bonsai. 'She would have loved Willow…' He thought, frowning to himself before laying back. Tomorrow was going to be...big. He already knew as much. But, Willow and him will figure things out. That, at least, he knew for sure.