A/N: I finally had the gut to write for this ship. I obviously love Lumity, but the idea of romantic Luz/Hunter has intrigued me since watching Hunting Palismen. So, this is my first TOH fic, I apologize if this is OOC.

Please be respectful in the comments. Hope you enjoy!


There is… a light.

No. More than one.

The smell of fire and the magic woods welcome her senses, her brown eyes finding a small campfire and several light spells, small balls floating around, protecting her from the darkness of the mysterious forest.

Luz's head hurts, though.

She grunts, and once she tries to try and stand…

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The voice, at first, alarms her and she's ready to take Eda's staff to defend herself. Except it's not by her side, and when she realizes, Luz is not actually in danger.

A few feet away from her is the Golden Guard – Hunter, she remembers –, sitting by the campfire with a frowning but saddened gaze. His red eyes are dark in contrast to all the light surrounding them, and besides his absent golden mask, he's not wearing his trademark white cloak, either.

… in fact, said cloak has been covering Luz all this time.

Before the girl could question it, the little cardinal lands in front of her, chirping in happiness.

"Hey, little guy," Luz awes in spite of her pain, allowing her to sit – with a few struggles. She notices her arm is bandaged by some ripped white cloth, apparently from the cloak.

Unlike the little Rascal, Hunter doesn't even look at her. He looks like he's in too deep in the fire, seeing things no one else can.

"Wh… What happened?" Luz asks, unsure.

Hunter refuses to take his eyes off the flames; he seems to hug his knees tighter.

"Kikimora found us in the woods when we tried to escape," he replies. "Let's just say, she was less than happy to see us."

Bits and pieces come back to Luz, having her recall they were on a mission together; as much as she still didn't trust him, she couldn't quite refuse when Hunter had gone all the way to the Owl House to ask for her help, in the middle of the night, to fight off the Emperor's Coven from eradicating the few wild magic there still is.

"Did- Did we at least take some of the wood with us?" Luz wonders, searching for her bag.

Hunter looks down. "No."

Luz stares at him sadly.

"Sorry," she mutters.

"… it doesn't matter."

"What do you mean? T-They were going to destroy it-!"

"Kikimora almost killed you!"

The tone of anger and frustration in his voice shuts Luz for good. Maybe she's still a little doozy, but she swears she might even see Hunter's eyes glowing thanks to the light spells.

He takes a deep breath, however, and looks far away into the dark forest.

"We barely got out of there alive," Hunter rephrases, his voice noticeably a lot quieter, as if afraid the world might hear. "And then, when she had me cornered, you"— his hands clutch his sleeves —"you jumped in to save me."

Luz remembers.

She replays the entire scene in her head, and she sees herself stepping in. Despite all the conflicting thoughts, Luz did not hesitate; she yelled and took the blow, and that was the last thing she saw before blacking out.

The teenage girl can't help but hear the conflict in his words. Hunter sounds guilty and confused. Then she realizes. The white cloak still protecting her, her bandaged arm, the light spells illuminating her view…

No one has ever gone out of their way to protect him.

Knowing Lilith, Luz is aware the Emperor's Coven is hell. Imagine then, how it must be for a teenage boy who could've been a normal student at Hexside, being forced to work for Belos. Luz might only see it through Hunter's scars and his short-tempered and distant attitude, but… truly, the Emperor is not a merciful man.

It's all he must've learned.

And yet he's so desperate to get out, that he told Luz about his life, he reached out to her… and now, he's taking care of her. This isn't a joke, nor a plan.

Hunter must be very confused.

Luz has… so many thoughts. Strange ones. Quite usual for a human living in the Boiling Isles, really.

The little Rascal flies over to Hunter's shoulder for comfort. The boy might flinch at first, but he relaxes his body. Luz smiles in support, while the other hides half of his face in his arms.

"Hey," she says, scooting a little closer to him, "thanks for looking after me."

Hunter finally snaps his head at her, and his face… becomes as red as the cardinal chirping.

"I-I—" He coughs a little too violently, "W-Well, what else could I've done? I couldn't just leave you there, after I asked for your help! I mean- we still have our truce, remember?"

"Well yeah, but…" Luz gestures at the light spells that join them. "I think there's some light inside you, after all."

After a few seconds, Hunter groans, "That was terrible."

Luz giggles along with the Rascal. The boy sighs it out.

"In any case, we'll have to stay here for the night. You're not in any condition to fly all the way back to the Owl House," Hunter observes her, with a speck of worry. He blushes again and avoids her eyes. "Early morning, we'll get out of here."

Luz hums. "Roger!"

"… my name is Hunter."

"Nevermind."

He shrugs. "I made sure to leave traps near us. I had to use some papers of yours, though."

"Wow, someone's becoming a pro already?" She smirks.

"I-It's not that hard," Hunter scoffs, "but yeah… I've been practicing when I can."

"Too bad you can't come to my glyph lessons. I've been teaching Eda."

He raises an eyebrow. "The Owl Lady?"

"Mm-hmm," Luz grins. "You could learn a lot more from me."

Surprisingly, Hunter smiles back. "I already do."

The girl admits, he looks good smiling. Wait.

Noticing that, he returns to his serious persona.

"You should rest now," Hunter advises, "the healing potion I gave you might take a while to have effect."

"Okay," she yawns as soon as he says it. How convenient.

As soon as she lies down, Luz watches Hunter not following his advice at all.

"Well, aren't you gonna rest too?"

"I don't need sleep."

Luz frowns. "Your eyebags beg to differ."

Hunter hisses silently, like a grumpy cat.

"Hey, we've had a long day, some hours of sleep won't hurt you," she insists.

"I can't let my guard down again," Hunter says firmly. He faces away from her. "I can't ever lose focus."

She would've teased him more, but it wouldn't feel right.

"… I'll be okay," Luz reassures him. "You made sure we're safe; they'll think twice before getting to us again."

The sixteen-year-old boy holds a very long stare, mentally trying to trust her words. Luz smiles at him with support.

"Right," he sighs. "You win."

Luz is, admittedly, kind of surprised he's complying, but he must be really tired. When does he even get to rest?

Hunter lies down beside her, though he keeps his distance. It allows the Rascal to sit between them, and Luz pets the adorable little bird. As for Hunter, he turns around and she only finds his back.

"Hey, um, do you want your cloak back?" Luz asks.

"You need it more than I do. It's cold out here."

"You sure? Aren't you cold, too?"

"Not really. I'll be fine."

"Okay…" Luz hugs the white cape close, and quickly smirks, "I might not give it back though. I'm a known heat stealer."

Even when she doesn't see his face, the girl can tell he's rolling his eyes.

"Whatever. Go to sleep."

She snorts.

Although the Boiling Isles are not generally peaceful, there's… quite a beauty to it. Even when she's being hunted by the evil Emperor himself, this might be one of the few moments of peace Luz's had since arriving here.

Ironically, with the guy she once hated. She's not too sure how to feel about him yet… but he's really just a kid, forced into a destiny that is not his own. He's really trying to come out of his shell, and it's pretty sweet.

Luz might lean a little to check if he's asleep – as it turns out, he's already sleeping like a rock. Who knows how much he needed it.

She smiles and soon joins him, guarded by his newfound magic.