After her own shower, Luz examined herself in the mirror. She had only noticed then how sore she actually felt. It felt different too. Her whole being. The weird pain in her private area was simple to explain. It had been her first time after all.

On her neck she found several hickeys. She wondered how Eda hadn't noticed them, or if she simply decided not to say anything. The dark blue and red bruises were more than just a little visible. But she wasn't wearing anything right now, so…..

Something in her told her that it had been wrong, another that it had been exactly what she needed. But Luz couldn't explain why. And there was no way she wasn't going to talk with Hunter about this. How could they not?

Putting on some clothes, Luz took a deep breath before exiting the bathroom. Eda had already left. Said that Raine had contacted her. They met for more information. But Luz doubted that it would be any more helpful than what they already knew.

Which meant she could talk with Hunter in peace. Walking to the living room, she saw him sitting there with a book in his hands. Flapjack sitting on his shoulder. His whole concentration was towards that book.

Luz came up behind him to get a better look. But the words on the pages didn't help much.

"What'cha reading?" she asked.

Startled, the witch yelped and let the book fall to the ground. His palisman gave a similar reaction, flying from his shoulder for a second.

"Whoa, sorry" she chuckled.

"It's fine" Hunter sighed, picking the book up again. Or at least he intended to. Luz was faster.

She took a close look at the title. She had expected something about wild magic. Something Eda might have given him, but no. The title read: how to prepare for your first offspring.

Luz felt her whole face become red. She did not expect this.

"Hunter" she hesitantly placed the book in the table in front of the couch.

"I-um" he stuttered, ears becoming red. "I wanted to be prepared. Just in case."

"Already?" she asked.

"I know you said it would take a while until you were certain, but if you are then it won't be long until we have to look after a child. I may have read some books in the castle but not to this detail" he babbled.

Luz chuckled. It was sweet. He really wasn't going to run away from this. No matter how it turned out. Prepared to help her in any way he could.

"That's nice and all, but I'm not sure if witches and humans work the same way in that department. And judging by the title of the book, this one is for witches" she said.

"Oh" he blushed. This time, Luz was sure of that, it was from embarrassment.

Luz sat down on the couch beside him. Looks like she had to give him 'the talk' human edition. There was no way around it.

"Okay, since we….uhm…..did it" she started awkwardly. "I am certain that humans and witches reproduce the same way."

"Looks like it" Hunter said shortly. He definitely didn't want to have this talk.

"Right" luz nodded. "And as I have told you, humans have a certain way of knowing if they are pregnant."

"Which I still find weird" the teen admitted.

She couldn't help but laugh at that. For her it was perfectly normal. There were still things she didn't know abut the demon realm, and this had been part of it. Not like she would ever ask Eda about that. There was no need for it.

"Okay, okay" she took a deep breath. "Let's pretend that I am pregnant for a moment."

"In that case I will do everything you ask me to do. What do you need me to do?" Hunter leaned closer to her.

Luz laughed again, almost falling off the couch. "Slow down" she laughed. "I said 'let's pretend'. I want to explain to you how this works for humans. Just in case it's different."

"Oh, right" he leaned back again, clearly embarrassed by his own actions. He'd get a lot of those moments today. She just knew it.

"So, like I told you, when a human is pregnant their period stops for that time" she started.

"Period?" the witch raised an eyebrow.

"The bleeding" she explained. "Anyway, being pregnant means a lot of change for the body. During the nine months of pregnancy there are a lot of things that will happen."

"Nine months? That's pretty close to witches" Hunter said.

"Really? How long are witches pregnant?" Luz asked.

"About six to seven months" he shrugged.

"Huh, that is kinda close" she said.

"And uhm…what else changes?" Hunter dared to ask.

"Oh! Slowly the belly starts growing, to make space for the baby. We get mood swings, food cravings….stuff like that" she shrugs.

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"It can be. The first weeks are said to be the worst. And giving birth is no fun either" she chuckled.

"Birth. Right. We usually use magic for that. Mostly from the healing coven. Doesn't take long" Hunter said.

"Man, lucky witches. At least you didn't tell me that witches lay eggs for birth" Luz laughed.

"Wait, so humans don't lay eggs?" the witch asked with a straight face.

Luz went quiet and looked at the other. He wasn't serious, was he? That had to be a joke, right?

Within the next seconds, Hunters straight face fell, and he began laughing himself.

"Oh my god" Luz gasped.

"Sorry, I'm sorry" he heaved, trying to catch his breath.

"I can't believe you did that" she punched his shoulder, giggling herself.

Hunter, the golden guard, had made a joke. Luz never thought she would see that day. The day where he would let loose and make a joke. But it was a good feeling to see him relaxed like this for once.

"Okay, for real? I know that witches and humans are the same when it comes to giving birth. But I am pretty sure that humans have the more painful version" he said.

"Great" Luz huffed.

"Do you…have you a suspicion about when you will be able to know?" he dared to ask.

Luz hummed in thought, trying to remember when her next time would be. It could vary, of course, but if she was being punctual, which she usually was…..

"About a week. Periods aren't always directly on the day. They can come a day earlier, or later. It depends. But a week should be accurate" she finally said.

Hunter nodded. That was good enough. But there was one more problem they had to solve. Well, a lot of problems, but one urgent one.

"Should we tell Eda?"

"Ah….." Luz had to think about that.

The thing was, if she was pregnant, then Eda would know at some point. If she wasn't, there was no reason to tell her. Tricky one. Eda was smart though. There was a chance she already knew what they did.

"I think we should. If I am pregnant, then there is no way around it. She can help us too. Sure, she will yell at us first, but then it'll be fine. But…." She hesitated. Should she even ask that?

"But?"

With a deep breath, Luz turned to look Hunter deep into the eyes. It was important. "Do you even want that?"

"Want what? I told you I would do everything you asked me to do" he said.

"I know" she nodded. "But do you want children? Or would you stay because you feel like you have to?" her voice broke.

That had always been a big fear of hers. Being left alone. And being alone with a child would hit her even more. Luz had known for a long time that she wanted children herself.

Maybe she was to young to actually know what she wanted, but it was clear to her that she wouldn't want to get rid of the baby if it was there. So she had to know.

"I mean, we're practically children ourselves. Who knows if it would be right" he said.

Luz clenched her hands into the side of her shirt. That sounded like a no.

"But….."

She looked up again.

"That doesn't matter. Luz, I don't know how humans do it, but witches only have one partner in life."

She held back a gasp, taking a deep breath instead. Great, she ruined his only chance of ever having a partner he actually loved. To find someone that made his heart beat faster. Made it hard to breath and talk nonsense.

"So, witches don't really marry. They mate" she concluded.

"Both actually" Hunter corrected her.

She hummed. That didn't really make her feel any better. "I'm sorry" she said.

"For what?"

"You just literally told me that you could never have another partner because of me. That's my fault" she said.

"Yeah, kinda" he made it sound like a joke. Why did he say that like this? Wasn't he angry?

"But I always could've stopped you" he shrugged. "I may be bound to you, but you are not bound to me. You will go home eventually and never have to worry about any of this again."

Oh god, why did he have to sound so sad? Was he that certain that she would just leave him? Of course she could go back and forget about everything. Especially if she wasn't pregnant. But to Luz that thought didn't seem right. Not at all.

No matter the outcome, she wouldn't leave him alone. Just seconds ago, Luz was worried that he would leave her, but it was the other way around. She would leave him. That was his fear. Wait a minute….

"Why didn't you stop me?"

Hunter rubbed his neck with discomfort. Did he want this? Was he actually…..

"I think I love you" he said.

The breath got caught in her throat. Never in her life did she think she would hear those words directed towards her. Luz had had some crushes in her life, but never had anyone felt the same. People thought she was weird, different.

But in this world Hunter was like her. Different, an outsider. In a world with magic, he was the only powerless witch. That must be hard.

"Wow" she breathed.

"It's okay if you don't feel the same" he assured. "It's probably better this way, since you'll have to leave eventually."

"I think you misunderstand" Luz smiled. "There is no way I'm going to just leave you like this."

"What?"

"I don't know if it' love. But I know that I like you. A lot" she leaned on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

She could hear his heartbeat. It was practically bouncing in his chest. This felt right. She wouldn't mind having a child at all. But there was still a problem they had to solve. A hand slowly came to hold her around her waist, pulling her closer.

"There is a good chance that the baby might be human" she whispered.

"It will definitely not be able to use magic" he answered.

Luz hummed. Right. Hunter couldn't use magic. There was no reason to believe that the baby, if it would be a witch, was going to be able to use magic. She could still teach the child once it was old enough. That is, if she was pregnant.

"I love it here" she sighed. "But I can't raise a human here. It's too dangerous. Especially with Belos around. He would find out eventually."

"I know" he muttered.

A moment of silence followed. It started to rain outside. Eda would come back soon. She didn't stay outside the Owl House when it was raining. That would be a good moment to tell her everything.

"When did things start to change?" she asked. "Between us."

"I think it was in Latissa already" Hunter muttered.

He leaned back and Luz let herself fall onto the couch with him. Resting her body on top of him. Her head on his chest, turned to the side. One hand rested on her back.

"I thought-I was told that you worked with wild witches. And thinking what I thought was true, you had to be the bad guy. Wild witches are dangerous and everyone associating with them can only have bad intentions."

Luz decided not to say anything in that moment. He needed to get it all out.

"But you were nothing like I ever imagined. You were so worried about the palismen that you were willing to fight me for them. You were worried about your friends and never lied to me. I just couldn't understand it" he rambled.

"It's okay" she sighed, closing her eyes. "Belos hasn't been very honest with you. And I don't know what happened to make him hate wild witches this much, but it's not your fault. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but if I am pregnant, then I don't really want him around the baby."

Some part of her felt guilty for saying that, but she wasn't comfortable with the thought of Belos around her child. Not with the things he has done.

"No, it's fine" he said. "I honestly don't know how I feel about that thought either" he admitted.

"But that doesn't mean I will be leaving the demon realm forever" she assured.

The hand on her back tightened. "I know."

A moment of peace fell between them. It was quiet expect for the rain falling outside. Luz was almost asleep when the door burst open. She yelped, almost falling off the couch, with Hunter catching her.

Eda came in, looking deep in thought for a moment before noticing the position the two teens were in. A knowing smirk came across her face.

"Looks like you two have something to tell me" she smirked.

"Actually" Luz laughed nervously, sitting up on the couch. Beside her Hunter began to fumble with his hands nervously.

"There are a few things we have to tell you."