Reunion

Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this story are mine.

Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk

This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization

One Year Since the Fall of the Alatreon

"Oh, hey. It looks like Kerry and Harker moved into a new house."

"Really? Another one? Did Harker blow a hole in another one? That's three in the last month. He hasn't said anything in his letter… or at least, I haven't gotten to anything like that yet."

"Hmm… Kerry doesn't say… I guess by now we should just assume as much. Oh, wait, here we go… It looks like Nastre's town council is 'encouraging them to seek more rural locales in which to proceed in their endeavors'… Um, okay. They are… being forced to live outside the town walls at the base of the mountains. Right, then."

"A thousand zenni says the townsfolk come at them with torches and pitchforks in a year."

"Make it two years and you've got a bet, Mister Levin."

Levin chuckled, flipping through the papers he held over him as he lay on the floor of his and Ellie's hut. He liked days like today.

Mel was manning the Guild booth, giving him the day off. The work wasn't as difficult as it had been, now that he was growing more proficient with his dark limbs. His arm was still mostly useless, even after six months of work, but he was at least able to stand and walk around without much help now. Some days he still needed the cane, but rarely. Ellie had the day off too, thankfully. There weren't any hunts in the area that required her specific attention; nothing nasty that they couldn't send Marshall's new apprentices after, so the two of them were both able to spend time together.

Levin supposed that, had the Alatreon not destroyed the Lost civilization, put them in the azure crystals, then woken them up countless years later, and he and Ellie had somehow met and fallen in love anyway, this might have been a fine time for a date: something cliché like a movie or trip to some fancy restaurant. Of course that kind of stuff wasn't available in the hunter's world, but maybe if they were in a city, they'd be able to find something adequately fitting for an occasion like that. He'd heard that the Lost had been putting on popular plays and musicals based on entertainment from back in their civilization…

That wasn't exactly the normal fare for a village like Boma, however. There were a few secluded locations that could spark a romantic mood, but Boma was small enough that anyone old enough to have dated knew where they all were. Even the training yard behind the Guild booth, where they found privacy when they'd just started dating, was now out of the question with Marshall's three apprentices going in and out of it on a regular basis. If they really wanted some alone time, they'd either need to lock themselves in their hut, or leave the village and head into the forest, and Levin wasn't quite ready for a trek like that in his condition.

Thankfully, the first option was plenty satisfying for the both of them. Levin supposed that a lot of hunters couldn't stand sitting around quietly for too long, and felt the urge to move around and be active, even on their days off. Admittedly, after almost a year without hunting, Levin was getting fidgety himself, but after everything he and Ellie had gone through in the last few years, there were few things that relaxed them than lying on the floor of their hut together and just… talking and savoring each other's company. And other things of course, if the mood struck…

Sure they'd gone out in the morning to gather some foodstuffs, talk with friends, and stop by their favorite restaurant for a bite to eat, but as soon as afternoon rolled around they'd found their way back to their hut, flopped down on the Lagombi-fur rug in their living room, and just lay there talking with each other or simply enjoying the feeling of a warm body next to them. Maybe they'd read a book or letter, or toss a line off the back porch into the bay to see if they could catch dinner, but they were always right next to each other when they did it.

Today, it was a letter. Harker and Kerry sent them constant correspondence of their goings-on, which Levin and Ellie returned with news of their own. Levin always got the pleasure of trying to slog through Harker's twenty pages of inane ramblings on every little development that had been unraveled over the course of his and 'Lady' Kerrigan's research, in search of information that he and Ellie actually cared about.

"Looks like Harker's figured out a way to make barrel bombs more powerful… wonderful," Levin muttered. "It looks like the secret ingredient is… fish. Really? Fish?"

"Explosives again? I thought he was helping Silas with the airship engines."

"He was… I guess he got bored. Besides, all those Lost engineers seem to revere him, so he probably had too many people asking him questions to get anything done. Either that or Silas kicked him out for blowing up too much of his equipment."

"Hmm… What do you think the price on Harker's head will be when the Guild finally decides he's gone too far?" Ellie asked casually.

Levin groaned flatly. "Mercy… at least three hundred thousand zenni, dead. Twice that alive so they can interrogate him for all of his diabolical creations first."

Ellie gave a dry laugh at the thought. "And if Kerry got caught up in it? I doubt she'd just let them arrest Harker."

"Oh, man… They'd be a regular Bonnie and Clyde, if they went outside the law. I know Harker's the worse of the two, but Kerry did that thing with the Gigginox extract and the Brachydios slime… left a nice little crater in that field. Two million for the both of them, dead or alive."

"Just two?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Give them time," Levin muttered. "Wait until Harker makes something really dangerous, then it'll be ten million at the least."

"Really dangerous, huh? Like what, a death ray?"

"Oh man, don't even joke about that. I wouldn't put it past him at all."

Ellie laughed, scooting herself closer to him. "I guess it's a pointless conversation, anyway. Let's face it, if the Guild really decided to arrest those two… they'd never catch them, no matter what reward they offered."

"No, never; I mean, even assuming that Harker didn't have some escape plan hatched already, they could steal an airship… Hell, Harker could probably just build one of his own. Kerry could concoct some fuel for it that wouldn't blow them both up. Mercy knows those flash bombs he can make would blind any pursuers… and everything else within a half-mile."

"And if they did get close, Kerry would chase anyone away," Ellie chuckled. "She's a sweetheart, but there aren't many hunters as strong as she is, and she'd use that strength if she had to."

Levin chuckled in amusement at the idea. He was afraid that Harker really might go a little too far one of these days, but as long as Kerry stuck close to him, she'd at least be able to keep him from creating something too dangerous.

He and Ellie spent several more minutes reading through the letters and discussing what they read, but there didn't seem to be anything more that really caught their interests, though Harker mentioned something about wanting to study hunting horn effects. Levin had gotten a chance to play a hunting horn a month or so ago, and had surprised everyone (himself included) when he proved to be quite proficient at it. Ellie had tried too, but something about the horns just didn't click with her, and the huntress could barely get more than a couple notes out of the weapon, much less one of those buffing tunes that the horns were famous for.

Soon enough, the letters were finished, and the papers were set aside. Neither Levin nor Ellie stood up, however, remaining where they were on the floor of their little hut, both of them staring at the ceiling and listening to the lapping of the waves against the support beams out back. With a sigh, the huntress rolled over, laying against his chest and wrapping an arm around his torso. She poked idly at the old, battered shirt he wore.

"This old thing again?"

"I don't really have many decent short-sleeved shirts, Ellie. It's not like I really wear them that often anyway, and for good reason."

"Hmm… We should get you more one of these days, anyway. It's almost summertime, and it's been long enough that you shouldn't have to suffer through the hot weather in long sleeves, gloves, and boots."

"I'm not doing it for my own sake, Ellie…"

"Oh, I know," Ellie huffed irritably. "But, I mean, who cares what other people think? They know how and why you got those limbs… well, part of it at least… and if it bothers them, then they can shove it. People should look at them with pride, not fear. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who minds doesn't matter, and anyone who really matters doesn't mind."

Levin chuckled. "I guess you're right, Miss Ellie."

"Damn right I am. I mean, we hunted the Alatreon! The least people can do is let you wear cooler clothes in the summer, instead of hiding old wounds behind long sleeves. I mean, look at what I'm wearing and tell me you wouldn't be more comfortable in something like this."

Boma had been getting a lot of foot traffic, thanks in no small part to their own fame, but the village wasn't really much of a fashion haven (save for the mad outfits Sophie the armorer created). Fancy dress was saved for parties and other functions, so most of the women of the fishing village wore simple work outfits for their daily lives, made for keeping cool in such warm climates, and for swimming when the need called for it. Ellie did the same, leaving the huntress wearing comfortably loose cotton pants, a snug tank top and a small green vest. Like everyone else in the village, the outfit left the arms and abdomen completely exposed, something which had admittedly taken Ellie some time to accustom to.

Levin loved it though. Every woman in the village wore similar clothes, but few could match the toned form that years of hunting had left his beloved with. Other men might prefer the soft, curvy forms that non-hunters had, but Levin much preferred the solid, taut body Ellie had developed.

Even the scars that lined her bare flesh had their allure. There was the nasty burn wound on her shoulder she'd received from Yara the Rathian back in Echo Village, and the long curving scar on her chest and abs she'd gotten from the Barroth they'd fought with Pugnax. There were some lingering scars on her arms and abs that she'd received during their time in Malefica, the riots in Loc Lac, and their battles against the World Eater and the Alatreon itself. Not all of the scars were badges of honor, and not all of them came from pleasant memories. However, they were symbols to Levin of everything they'd gone through, and everything they'd survived, and Levin took pride and pleasure in the fact that they were alive and happy, despite the hectic last few years.

"You're staring, Levin," Ellie murmured in amusement, smiling up at him.

"I know. Is it a crime to enjoy the view?" he asked, trailing his fingers along her arms, tracing them across her scars.

"You're lucky it isn't," she replied. She brushed her hands against his chest and arms, running them across his own scars. They even crossed over and worked their way along the great scar that covered most of the right side of his torso and face. It was an ugly thing, Levin knew that much, but Ellie didn't shy away from it, nor did she pretend it just didn't exist. She accepted it, and Levin was happy with that.

She wasn't afraid of the dark limbs anymore, either. Even if you managed to ignore the appearance, sometimes coming into contact with the Metal could chill the blood, biting into whoever touched his arm or leg with a snap of cold. It was never anything all that bad, but even the people that Levin had known the longest here in Boma Village got a little antsy whenever Levin had the Dark Metal exposed. Ellie never did, though, and had started to treat the dark limbs as though they were normal. She didn't shy away from them, and actively touched them, even if sometimes he could see her shiver a little from the chill.

She did make a few jokes at his expense though. Not so much on the scars, or his dark limbs, but that fact that he now only had one eye. Levin had always thought the whole 'lack of depth perception without two eyes' concept was widely exaggerated, but he'd been hit in the face numerous times thanks to him missing an eye. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed to have tickled a funny bone in Ellie, and now the huntress had made a bit of a game of it, tossing things at him to see if he could catch them. She called it training for when he finally got back into hunting, but the fits of giggles she fell into when Levin was left covered in egg or fruit or cake belied her true intentions.

The two of them laid there for a while, chatting idly. They were pulled from their thoughts by the chiming of a small cuckoo clock Harker had made for them. It was a shoddy little thing, but it seemed to keep time fairly well, and was one of the few gifts the madman had given them that didn't seem to pose a danger to anyone in a five yard radius. At least, it hadn't posed a danger yet…

"It's still that early?" Ellie asked. "I would've thought it was later by now… We've still got a few hours to burn before we need to start cooking dinner."

"I can think of a few things to pass the time," Levin replied with a smirk.

"Oh, I'm sure you can," Ellie purred, leaning forward and pulling her face close to his. "Why don't you list off a few ideas, and we'll see how much I-"

They paused as a light, uncertain rapping sounded at their door, and Levin groaned. Ellie sighed in frustration as well, thumping her head against his chest. She looked up at Levin again with a contemplative look on her face, clearly considering whether or not she should get up and open the door, but a few moments later, there was another knock and the huntress ruefully pushed herself to her feet.

"This better not be another Guild rep or someone coming to meet the 'famous hunters'," she muttered sourly. "I asked Mel not to tell those people where we live… What's the nicest way to tell someone to screw off?"

"I find that wiggling my dark arm in their face usually works, but you don't exactly have that advantage," Levin replied with a chuckle, pushing himself back into a sitting position.

"Guess I'll just have to get creative, then," the huntress growled. She turned and gave Levin a sultry smirk, before leaning in and kissing him. "You just stay right there, Mister Levin. I'll be back for you once I take care of this… distraction."

"I eagerly anticipate your return," he replied with a sly grin. Ellie laughed, before darting out to the hall leading to their front door. Levin leaned against the wall, humming to himself as he heard the front door open.

An abrupt yelp filled the hut, and Levin sat bolt upright. He could hear startled shouting coming from the entrance of the hut, something he hadn't expected, and a fearful twinge of worry shot through him. As quickly as he could manage, he struggled to his feet, desperate to get to the front door, but in his panic he was having trouble keeping himself balanced on his dark leg. He scrambled to grab his cane leaning against their fireplace, pushing himself fully upright and hobbling as fast as he could towards the front door.

But it wasn't a scene of fear or pain that awaited him outside, but one of… joy?

There was a man and a woman Levin didn't recognize in front of their hut, an older couple. They certainly didn't have the physique of hunters, and they weren't well-dressed enough to be Guild reps. So… civilians, then? The man was a couple inches taller than Levin, with brown hair that was well on its way to greying over. He was stout, and wore a pair of old glasses, but he certainly held himself as though he was someone important, or at least as someone who used to be important. The woman was shorter, with much lighter brown hair that was braided behind her and had lines of grey through it as well. She was relatively lean, but gave off a very matronly feeling. However, what really caught Levin's attention was how the woman's oval face and vibrant green eyes reminded him very, very much of Ellie's…

Actually, Ellie was enthusiastically hugging the two visitors, laughing excitedly as she wrapped her arms around their necks. The two were hugging her back just as enthusiastically, and Levin could see tears welling up in the eyes of all three of them as they talked erratically between each other. Apparently he'd completely misinterpreted Ellie's yelp from before, being an unfamiliar sound coming from his usually unflappable beloved.

Levin sat in stunned silence, watching the three of them talk between themselves excitedly for several minutes, completely ignored as he stood in the doorway. However, the older woman suddenly turned and looked at him curiously, as though she had just noticed him. Levin blinked in surprise as the woman glanced between the hut and Ellie, then back to him, before giving him a scrutinizing look. Oddly, while her gaze lingered on his dark limbs, clearly visible in his current clothes, as well as the cane he leaned on, they didn't stay there for long before moving straight to his face. She didn't even seem to care about his missing eye or the patch that covered almost all the right side of his face, and focused intently on his expression. He gulped nervously under her judging eyes.

Then her expression abruptly shifted to a gentler, seemingly curious expression. "Eleanor, dear, who's this young man behind you?"

"Oh!" Ellie gasped, turning in surprise and chuckling sheepishly as she saw Levin standing in the doorway. "Sorry! Levin, look! These are my parents! They… they actually made it through the crystals!"

"You… Your parents?" Levin asked dumbly, before realization kicked in and his eye widened in shock. "Oh! Really? That's… that's amazing, Ellie! Congratulations!"

"Haha, yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Ellie giggled happily. However, she stuttered nervously when she realized that her mother was looking at her expectantly, and her father was giving Levin a noticeably distrusting glare, staring poignantly at his dark limbs and the scars covering most of the right side of his body. "Right, um… Mom, Dad, this is… this is Levin. He's my… my hunting partner. And my… um… my… my fiancé."

Both of Ellie's parents' eyes widened in surprise at the words, but though Ellie's mother smiled brightly at the words, her father's already dark expression grew even fouler with anger. Ellie's mother noticed immediately though, and sighed wearily.

"Excuse me?!" he snapped. "You and him are engaged? Now hold on a damn minute-"

"Daniel, calm down," Ellie's mother said soothingly.

"No, Mary, I'm not going to calm down! I refuse to just let it slide that some boy has asked for her hand without at least coming to us for permission!"

"Dear, up until a couple months ago, we were trapped in those… Lost crystals. We weren't exactly in a position to be asked that kind of thing, now were we? Besides, I'm sure our daughter's smart enough to know whether she wants to marry this young man without our input."

"Erm… well, yes, of course Eleanor is old enough and smart enough to make her own decisions… But nonetheless! That arm and that leg… I'm not just going to sit back and let Eleanor accept his request without at least giving me - and you Mary, of course - time to make sure that he-"

"Oh! Well…" Ellie gasped, interrupting him and grinning sheepishly. "Um, well… if that's the only thing you were worried about, dad… I actually asked him to marry me. Not the other way around."

Daniel blanched in shock at the words. "You… what? You did?"

"Really?" Mary asked with an amused smile.

"Yeah…" Ellie replied bashfully, glancing at Levin. "I knew he was going to be stubborn about the whole thing. I figured if he was ever going to ask me himself, it wasn't going to be until after he got used to his… prosthetics, and that could take years. As if I wasn't going to love him even if he didn't have two working arms and legs… So I figured, to hell with waiting, and asked him myself a little less than a month ago."

"Ah, one of those types?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," Ellie sighed. Levin groaned, giving her a pained look, and she laughed. "Well, on the bright side, he accepted almost immediately. He hesitated just long enough to realize what I'd asked, had a moment of regret at not having asked me first, before deciding it really didn't matter and saying yes."

"How wonderful."

"What? Now hold on, Mary…" Daniel cut in, returning a withering glare in Levin's direction. "No… no matter the circumstances, I still don't like this. It's just too… abrupt."

"Come now, Daniel, we knew about this. Well, most of it, at least. We were told in Loc Lac that Eleanor had been… awakened at least four years ago. We've certainly missed a few birthdays; our daughter must be nearly twenty-four years old by now! There's plenty of things our little girl could have gotten up to in that time, especially considering how hard-headed she is… like her father. If stories we've heard are true, she became a… a hunter that fights giant monsters, helped take down some criminal organization, took part in a riot, and slew a rather dangerous dragon of some kind, all while apparently accompanied by a pair of… lunatic scientists or something. I mean, just look at her, Daniel! She's looks much stronger than I ever remember her being, and I can't even guess how many scars she might have, considering how many I can see right now." Mary turned, giving Ellie a knowing smile. "Honestly, I think our little girl getting engaged is the least worrisome thing compared to what people have told us about her."

Ellie chuckled sheepishly. "Ah, um… yeah, maybe. There's… Things are a little more… complex than how they sound."

"And I'm sure you'll give us a full account now that we're here," Mary said, before turning back to Daniel. "You see dear? There's apparently quite a story behind everything, and our daughter is certainly smart enough to make her own decisions, even those involving who she decides she wants to marry. So why don't we catch up with her, and get to know this young man she's clearly become quite taken with? And once we've done that, then you can decide whether or not to object to her decision."

Daniel had visibly deflated by now, and had a very cowed expression. "Oh… fine. But if I don't like him-"

"Then we'll find out who's more determined about this: you or Eleanor. Though, I must warn you dear, I don't think she'll budge. I still recall how fiercely you defended me when you introduced me to your parents and they weren't too impressed, dear. I imagine our little Eleanor will be just as stubborn." Daniel had puffed his chest a bit proudly at Mary's words, and seemed to settle in to a begrudging acceptance of the situation. Mary nodded at the hut Levin and Ellie shared. "Now dear, are you going to invite us in? We have come all the way from Loc Lac to find you after all."

"Oh! Right, right, come in!" Ellie replied quickly, motioning them inside. "We were… uh, we were just getting ready to start cooking dinner! We might not have enough, but…"

"That's fine, dear. I'm sure we can make due," Mary told her, taking hold of Daniel's hand and leading him up the stairs and into the hut. "Though I must admit, Eleanor, I don't recall you ever really having the… capacity for cooking back home."

"I can do just fine…" Ellie muttered. "Though, um, Levin is certainly better at it than me. Oh, also, we don't really have, uh, any spare mattresses or anything. I mean, I could talk to one of the neighbors and see if they have something we could borrow. If I'd known you were going to awaken from the crystals, I would have asked the builders to add a guest room when they made the hut, but…"

"How many bedrooms does this hut have?" Daniel asked, shooting an accusing glare at Levin and making the hunter gulp nervously.

"Um… well…"

"Oh, come now, Daniel," Mary chided, pulling her husband along. "It probably has just as many as our first apartment together had, back before we could afford a house. I'm sure you remember how cozy that was."

"Oh… But Mary, that was-"

"Come now dear, let's talk about other things and find out what our dear daughter has been up to. Also, what kind of dinner are you cooking, dear? The restaurants we've eaten at so far have such strange names for their meals, and I'm not sure how much of it is truthful. I mean, Dragon Head certainly sounds intriguing, but it can't really be…"

Levin watched as Ellie and her parents passed him by, heading into the living room as they continued their conversation. Already, their little hut seemed many times louder than it had been earlier that day… Levin could already see that those peaceful days he had grown so fond of with just him and Ellie were vanishing into the wind, especially with a man like Daniel Geisel hanging around. Ellie's mother, Mary, seemed… recipient to their relationship, but her old man was a whole different story.

For a moment, Levin just stood there, but soon he shook his head and laughed to himself. Who was he to look at something like this like it was an inconvenience? This was a great thing, for Ellie to have her parents alive and well and here with her! It would just take a little getting used to, and Levin didn't mind at all.

They'd certainly have something interesting to write to Harker and Kerry in their next letter, that was for sure.

Author's Note: Please Review!

Not much to say this time… hope you liked the chapter. Meant to release it when I woke up, but got distracted by the MindCrack Extra Life Charity Stream.

On a side note, I guess I did think of an oneshot idea that's fun in theory, but kind of meta. Essentially, it's just along the lines of, what if my main characters weren't in the MH world, but just a bunch of dorks in… college or something, which met and became friends through playing the game? I don't know, it's a dopey idea, but it's kind of funny for me to think about.

Playing: MH3U, Animal Crossing New Leaf
Listening: Colin Hay, Interpol, Earshot, Cut
Watching: Robin Hood Men in Tights