Arabella looked down at herself. The sun was bright and warm. She was wearing a fancy dress and she was wearing her favorite high heels. A small squeeze told her that Hunter was holding her hand and she looked up at him with a smile. Arabella turned her eyes to look at the scene around them. There were beautiful flowers everywhere and the sun was beating in through a window. They were sitting in a church and everyone around them looked fancy. She recognized a lot of people that she knew from camp. Her eyes landed on a man at the front of the church, looking nervous but happy. Arabella turned into her seat and she saw the flash of glasses and a red head before everyone screamed and Arabella felt a sharp pain in her side.
Arabella's eyes popped open and she sat up quickly, breathing hard. It was a dream. It was all a dream. she touched her hand to her forehead lightly and realized that she had been sweating a little bit. Her heart was racing and she felt a little sick to her stomach because of nerves. It had been years since she had a dream like that. Trying to calm herself down, she looked to the bed beside her and saw that Hunter wasn't there. With a sigh, she rested her forehead on her knees, trying to forget about the dream.
Hunter woke up and got dressed. He knew that they had a long day ahead of them and, to be honest, he was a little excited for it. He went downstairs and walked into the kitchen. He started cooking some pancakes with eggs and a few strips of bacon. He got out a tray and put a glass of orange juice on it. He hoped that Arabella had slept well, considering the circumstances. Once he finished cooking breakfast, he loaded up the tray and carefully picked it up. He walked upstairs and pushed the door open with his back. "Breakfast is ser-" He said with a grin as he walked in. His smile dropped and so did the tray almost at the sight of Arabella. He quickly hurried over to her, setting the tray on the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay, Ellie?" He asked quietly. "What's wrong? Is something wrong?" He said, putting an arm around her.
When his arm went around her, Arabella started to relax almost right away. She took a breath and she leaned into him slightly, trying to regain her composure and her control. That dream couldn't mean anything good. She felt it in her heart and in her soul, it was not just a random dream. Arabella took her forehead off of her knees and she shivered lightly "Dream" she whispered "Just a bad dream"
"Oh. A demigod dream. Got it." He said with a nod as he pulled her closer. He rubbed her arm and kissed her temple. "What was it of?" He asked quietly. He leaned over and hooked his finger in the tray. He carefully slid it back over and offered it. "I have breakfast here. Food will make you feel better." He said, scooting behind her and rubbing her shoulders.
Arabella smiled a little smile when he started to rub her shoulders and she took a bite of the bacon. It was perfect and made her bacon from the previous day taste like crap. Arabella sighed as she thought about her dream "I, I don't know..really. I was at a wedding and you were with me but then suddenly, everything just sort of..fell apart and monsters started attacking like crazy" she said softly. Arabella had never been the best when it came to fighting monsters and they kind of terrified her. "Then I woke up" she finished and she ate another piece of bacon.
"It was a good thing you were there." He said quietly. "I'm just a mortal, now, remember? I don't have any celestial bronze weaponry. No bow. No arrows. No knife. No sword." He said with a sigh as he moved his hands up to the base of her neck. "Other that the dream, how did you sleep?" He asked, rubbing his fingertips in small circles, down her back
Arabella moaned softly as he moved his hands down her back. It was relaxing and it was wonderful and it was perfect. She let out a little sigh and she ate some of the eggs. "I slept good" she told him with a nod then chewed on the inside of her lip "You were never just a mortal and you're never going to be just a mortal. We're gonna have to get you some weapons and get you trained up again, mister. I do not want to be the one that has to protect us if we ever get attacked. You know how much I suck"
"Umm...Excuse me." He said, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her back for a moment to look at her. "I remember a certain student of mine, elbowing me in the face." He said with a smile before pecking her on the lips. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." He kissed her again and let go, going back to working on her back. "You, Ellie, did not suck. Not compared to some others. They sucked." He said as he ran his hands down her sides.
Arabella let out a soft sigh, leaning forward slightly as Hunter worked on her back. She took a bite of the pancakes and ket out a little moan while Hunter rubbed her back "Why are you so good at this?" she teased him, echoing what he has said to her lat night. She took another bite of her food and cleared her throat "I'm okay with the fact that I suck, Hunter. It took me a hell of a lot of work to be able to elbow you in the face. And that wasn't even on purpose" she giggled "Daughter of Athena, I am not"
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You've got charmspeak." He reasoned, rubbing her shoulders again. "That's not nothing. I saw you make the scariest monsters do whatever you wanted." He rubbed her arms and down her sides before wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. "Mmm...You haven't been charmspeaking me, have you?" He asked with a chuckle, trailing his lips down to her shoulder.
Arabella giggled and she turned around in his arms so that she was facing him and she put her hands on his neck, pulling him down to kiss her "Maybe I have. It was all a big scheme of mine to get you into bed" she teased with a wiggle of her eyebrow and she pressed her lips against his, giggling softly. Arabella ran her hands down to his shoulder for a moment before pulling away softly "Amazing breakfast, by the way"
"Mmm. Thanks." He said kissing her again. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers lightly down her side, pulling her closer for a moment. "You taste like maple syrup." He said against her lips as he leaned into her. He finally broke away and sighed. "Let's finish unpacking." He said quietly. "Then if there's some time..." He smiled and kissed her again before standing up. He picked up her tray and walked out the door.
"You are such a tease!" Arabella called after him. She heard him chuckling from the stairs and she smiled to herself. With a small sigh, she rolled off of the bed and she worked on getting her clothes unpacked again. It was easier this time and soon enough, she had her closet organized perfectly with her shoes neatly lined up. Arabella smiled before pulling off her clothes from yesterday and slipping into a pair of skinny jeans and a simple v-neck shirt. Arabella pulled her to the side and she started to braid it as she walked down the stairs, wondering where Hunter was.
Hunter washed the dishes and put them away. He dried off his hands and did a quick inventory of the fridge, making sure they had everything for dinner tonight. With nothing better to do he stood in the living room and stared at the TV. Arabella's TV. He looked up when he saw Arabella walk in. "What are we going to do with this?" He asked quietly. It really didn't fit in anywhere. He walked over to her and slid an arm around her waist. "Are you done already?" He asked with a smile as he pulled her in for a kiss.
Arabella smiled against his lips and she nodded "Yeah, I had most of clothes organized in the boxes and bags so it didn't take too long to fix it up in the closet" she said softly and she leaned into him slightly before looking down at the TV. Arabella let out a little huff and turned her head to the side, like a puppy that heard a sound it had never heard before. "We can figure it out some other time" she finally decided with a shrug.
"Well," Hunter said, checking his watch. "We've got an hour and....a half until noon. What do you want to do until then?" He said with a raised eyebrow and wrapped an arm around her waist. He pressed his lips to hers and pulled her closer. "Do you have any ideas, at all?" He asked, smiling against her lips.
"Mmm...I could think of a few things" Arabella said with a giggle and she pressed herself closer to him, kissing him seductively "Let's make a puzzle!" she laughed and placed gentle kisses on his jaw before pulling away. She started to walk away from him, making sure to wiggle her hips.
Hunter grabbed her by the wrist and spun her into him. He kept his arm around her and kissed her. "Maybe tomorrow." He said as he stepped backward and tumbled over the back of the couch, dragging her along. He landed awkwardly and wrapped his arms around her even tighter. He looked at her with surprised eyes before laughing and kissing her again. "Are you okay?" He asked with a laugh.
"Yeah, I'm great" Arabella said, looking down at him with an amused but shocked look. She kissed his chin lightly and put her hands on his chest, holding onto his shirt lightly "Let's not fall over anymore couches, though. Okay?" she teased and grazed her lips down to his neck, kissing him around the base of his neck "So, what do you want to do?" she whispered against his skin
"Mmm." He said, running his hands down her sides. "We could just sit and watch TV." He suggested, bring her face up to his and kissing her tightly on the lips. "Or something a little more...interesting." He said, running his fingers up and down her spine.
She smiled against his lips and pushed herself closer to him, into the kiss more. Part of Arabella wanted to stay with Hunter like that all day, Thye didn't even need to get off of the floor. They could stay like there, happy in each other's arms and Arabella would be content. "Maybe we should watch TV. You'll need to save your strength for tonight, after Dad is gone" she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows
"Oh, really?" He said with a chuckle. He kissed her again and stood up from his spot on the ground. "Uhh...We can just move it." He said quietly as he plugged in the TV. He handed Arabella the remote and sat down next to her on the ground. He put an arm around her and held her close before pulling a blanket off the back of the couch and put it over their legs. "I don't watch TV, really..." He said as he leaned his head toward hers. "So it'll be your job to get me addicted."
"I can do that" Arabella said with a giggle and she folded her legs under her. She leaned into him slightly and turned on the TV. There wasnt too many shows on really, not at that time of the day. Arabella chewed on her lip and flipped through the menu. With a little gasp of delight, she saw that her favorite show was coming on and she quickly turned it on "This is a good show. It's called Monsterquest" she told him and put the remote down.
"Monsterquest." Hunter said with a nod. He raised an eyebrow at Arabella. "Really? Okay." He said, clearing his throat and turning to the TV. They were searching for proof of giant birds. "What? No." He said as they showed 'proof'. After the first episode, his opinion of the show was very low. The next episode was a search for Bigfoot. He leaned into Arabella a little and ran his fingers through her hair. "Bigfoot." He said shaking his head. "That's not real. I've fought every monster ever. Trust me. Bigfoot is not real. Chimera. That's real." He said with a nod.
Arabella smacked his leg but she didn't take her eyes off of the TV. "Oh, just enjoy the show. I find it quite hilarious" she said stubbornly and turned her head to grin at him "Besides, how do we know for sure that Bigfoot isn't real?" she giggled and turned her eyes back to the TV. She never took the show seriously, but she thought that it was funny. It was entertaining to see them trying to find these monsters and prove that they were real "We could always watch Ghost Hunters" she added with a nod.
"At least ghosts are real..." He said quietly as the credits rolled. He sighed and checked his watch. "You stay here, beautiful. I'll make lunch." He said, kissing her cheek. He stood up and walked into the kitchen where he started on making a pizza. "What do you want on your pizza?" He shouted into the living room.
"With pepper heart?!" Arabella shouted back excitedly and she switched the chanel to Ghost Hunters. Arabella loved all of these kinds of shows. She found them interesting and funny and in the case of Ghost Hunters, sometimes a little scary. Arabella sat up straighter and she pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees and watched as they searched a light house for ghosts.
"Sure!" Hunter said with a chuckled. He made the pizza and slipped it into the oven. He set the timer and walked back into the kitchen with a cup of coffee for Arabella and a cup of water for himself. He sat down and handed her the coffee. "What did I miss?" He asked, pulling the blanket over himself again. "Oh. 'Ghosts'. Right." He said, making quotes with his hands.
"Don't be such a party pooper" Arabella said, taking a sip of her coffee and leaning into Hunter slightly "You know what we should get for tonight? For after my dad leaves?" she asked and looked up at Hunter who looked down at her with an eyebrow raised, looking a little hesitant "We should get a horror movie, popcorn, lots of candy. And maybe a few extra things too" she added with a wink and a nudge, trying not to giggle too much.
Hunter blushed a little. "Extra....things?" He said quietly. He pushed the images that he thought of out of his head and finally recognized the other words in the sentence. "A movie night. That sounds like fun." He said with a nod. He looked at her again and blushed. "Ex-Extra things." He stammered quietly to himself. "I guess that's okay, too." He said quietly. "Within limits!" He added.
"Babe, we are young and in love" Arabella said in a playful tone and she slipped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her "There are no limits" she added and giggled as she kissed him. She could practically feel his heart racing and his cheeks getting hotter. When Arabella made Hunter feel awkward like that, she thought it was the cutest thing in the world. Hunter had always been someone who was so strong and sure of himself in her eyes and the fact that she could make him feel awkward at the mention of sex was just too much fun.
Hunter smiled against her lips and tried not to think of what she was intending. "Oh. Speaking of your father..." Hunter shuddered at the topic transition. "Did you call him?" He asked, leaving one more kiss on her lips before leaning back again. "I'm curious what his thoughts were on the idea of dinner here. He probably thinks I'm going to poison him or something." He said with a chuckle.
Arabella looked over at him and she shook her head. She took a sip of her coffee and cleared her throat "No, I never got around to it yet. Do you think I should call him, right now?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together. She was a little worried about calling him, to be honest. Arabella didn't know how he would take it.
"Well, I want him to have plenty of time to come up with ways to insult me." Hunter said with a sigh. "You still want to have him over, right?" He asked, putting his arms around her. He put his forehead against hers and smiled. "I really want your dad to like me. I will win him over. Oh! And make sure you invite Tyler. He's always welcome here." He said with a nod. He smiled at her and looked into her eyes. "Tonight is going to be really good."
"He's not going to get away with insulting you anymore" Arabella said softly and she put a hand on his cheeks gently. She smiled up at him, looking into his eyes and she nodded "Tonight is going to be the best night ever. If he is a jerk to you, then I'll just make it up to you after he leaves" she said softly and pressed her lips against his in an innocent kiss.
"We saw what happened last time, didn't we?" He said against her lips. He smiled and lightly licked her lips before breaking away. "Why don't you give him a call? Get everything set up. Then we'll go-" BEEP! Hunter perked up. "Oh. The pizza. I totally forgot about that." He said, standing up. He jogged over to the oven and pulled out the pizza. "Eat first and then call your dad." He said, waving her over.
Arabella pushed herself off of the ground. She walked towards the kitchen, holding her coffee mug close to her chest, "Ohh, it smells amazing, Hunter" Arabella said and she kissed his cheek before looking down at the pizza. Her stomach grumbled in an angry way and Arabella blushed. Quickly, she grabbed a knife and started to cut a slice but she came very close to slicing her finger off and Hunter took the blade from her so that he could cut up the pizza.
Hunter cut up the pizza and gave Arabella 2 slices and himself 3. He handed her a plate and refilled her coffee before grabbing his own plate and walking back over to their spot on the floor. "Wouldn't this be better if the TV was in view of a piece of furniture?" He asked with a chuckle as he sat down and curled up with Arabella again. He said a little prayer to Aphrodite and bit into his pizza. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until now.
"Oh well, I'm fine on the floor" Arabella said with a little shrug and she took a bite of her pizza. She moaned softly and turned to look at Hunter with wide, loving eyes "You, my good sir, are seriously the best. How did I manage to find a guy like you?" she said before leaning into him and kissing him tightly for a moment. Arabella smiled at him and turned back to her pizza, enjoying every bite.
Hunter smiled. He blushed, like she could always make him, and took another bite of pizza. "I don't know actually. There was a camp or something. I remember saving your life a lot. Then you saved my life a lot. I don't know. Something like that." He said with a chuckle as he leaned into her a little bit and finished off his second piece of pizza. "How did I manage a girl as beautiful as you?" He asked, taking a sip of water.
Arabella blushed lightly and she smiled up at him. Trying to sound smooth, she shrugged "Just lucky I guess" she giggled and put her empty plate down so she could pull his face down to hers and kiss him lightly. She looked at the time and let out a sigh "I should go call my dad" she told him then kissed him before standing up "Wish me luck" she giggled before walking out of the room with her phone.
"Good luck." He said with a smile as he finished off his pizza. He watched the rest of the episode of Monsterquest and stood up, shaking his head. "Jungle cats in suburbia...So dumb." He said with a scoff as he picked up the plates and brought them to the kitchen. He washed them and put them away before walking back and sitting on the couch. He was showing confidence about meeting her father again, but in all honesty he was going crazy a little. He took a deep breath and looked at himself in a mirror, checking his appearance.
As the phone rang, Arabella knotted her hands in her shirt, trying to calm herself down. Why was she so nervous about this? He was her father. He had been wrapped around her delicate little finger her whole life. Then, she heard the phone pick up and a familiar voice was speaking into the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Daddy!" Arabella said in her sweetest, daddy's litte girl voice "Look, before you say anything, I have something to ask you. I really wanted to say sorry about the last time that I saw you. Things got a little heated and I was hoping that maybe we could try it again. Hunter wanted to invite you over to his..our place for supper tonight"
"Arabella, dear, I don't think that's a really-"
"Please, Daddy! It would mean so much to me. Please, please, please, please, please!" Arabella said and walked around the spare bedroom. With a sigh, she opened up a box that Hunter had placed there and she started to look through it. She had kind of zoned out of her conversation with her dad because he was starting to ramble. The box had a whole bunch of things in it. A Camp Half Blood necklace was in there, a small photo album was in there. There was a ring that looked very, very old. It looked like it might have been made in the 1920's. She smiled softly and closed the box then let out a sigh.
"Will you come tonight, or not?" Arabella asked her father, cutting him off. Her father sighed.
"Yes, dear. I'll come over"
"Thank you, Daddy! Bring Tyler too!" Arabella said "I love you!" she added quickly before hanging up and grabbing the box, resting it on her hip as she walked out of the room and up the stairs towards Hunter "Look what I found!" she told him happily.
Hunter turned quickly away from the mirror to look at Arabella. His eyes widened at the sight of an old worn Converse shoebox. He had forgotten where he put it after Marina brought it to him. She had claimed a few of the things he left behind when he left camp. He had put it somewhere and totally forgot about it, partially not wanting to go through a semi-painful memory. "Oh..." He said quietly. He took it from her and sat on the bed with the box on his lap. The first thing he pulled out was a very small and faded Camp Half-Blood shirt. He smiled softly at the sight of it. "This was my very first Camp Half-Blood shirt." He said with a chuckle.
Arabella sat down next to him, folding her legs under her. She smiled at the camp shirt and touched it lightly, smoothing it out "You must have looked very adorable in it" she teased, nudging him lightly. It was interesting to see some of these things. Arabella wondered what kinds of things Hunter would have held onto after he left camp, what kinds of things would have meant something to him.
He handed the shirt to Arabella and looked in the box again. "Oh, wow. I thought someone would have taken this for sure." He said as he reached in and pulled out a shining silver knife, curved like a claw. "This is the claw of the Nemean Lion." He said with a soft smile. He lightly ran a finger across the side. There was no dust at all. He wrapped it in the shirt and set it on the bed next to him. He looked into the box and swallowed. A dog tag. He reached in and pulled it out, running a finger across is and read then name. "Orion." He said with a sigh.
Arabella looked back at the claw and smiled a little bit. She looked back at Hunter then down at the dog tag in his hands "Oh, Hunter..I'm sorry" she said softly and rested her chin on his shoulder. She felt so bad for pulling out the box now. Arabella never thought that it would have something like Orion's dog tag in it. She chewed on her lip and looked up at him "Do you want me to put the box back?" she asked him softly
Hunter sighed and looked over at her. "No." he said quietly. He set Orion's dog tag on the knife next to him and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Thank you." he said with a soft smile. It felt good to look through some of these memories. He was glad that Arabella was there with him too. He looked into the box again and pulled out a small flower. "Oh my gods...I had totally forgotten about this." he said holding I up. "When I was 13, who was it? Jordan. Daughter of Ares. She challenged me to a sparring match with the stipulation, that if she won, I had to go to her school dance with her." He said, looking at the smashed flower. "I won, but she had already bought the corsage. She hit me in the eye with it." he said with a chuckle.
Arabella laughed and she lloked at the flower for a moment before looking back at Hunter "I can't believe you broke her hert like that" she teased and looked into the box, pushing a few things around in it. There were lots of little items that looked like they had been pretty old. She pulled out a small photo of a group of kids, recognizing some of the people in it from camp, but not too many. She knew Hunter in the picture and a couple Hermes guys but that was it. Everyone looked happy and they were holding a flag in the air "Capture the flag, I'm guessing?"
Hunter set down the flower and looked over at the picture. "Mmhmm." He said with a smile. "Never on a losing team." He said with a chuckle as he pulled out the flag from that game. "It was the first time Chiron let me compete. I actually won the game. I was...10, maybe? Yeah. I had to be. " He said, spotting a knife on his belt. The same knife that he found in this box. He blinked at it for a moment before taking a deep breath and pulling it out of the box. He carefully unlatched the sheath and gingerly pulled the knife, letting the tip linger for a moment inside the sheath for a moment. He held the familiar knife in his hand, feeling the wear in the handle. He looked at it and closed his eyes a moment before flipping it over and running his finger over the stain. The stain that he could never get out.
She looked away from the picture, setting it down. Arabella used to to love playing capture the flag. She was never the one that caught the flag or did anything too major to help her team win, but she enjoyed herself. Arabella looked over at Hunter and her eyebrows knitted together in concern. She looked down at the knife and the stain and she chewed on her lip "Is everything okay, Hunter?" she asked him softly.
Hunter sighed and debated telling her what it was exactly that he held in his hand. He shook his head a moment and took a deep breath. "This is um...This is the knife that I killed Kate with." He said with a nod as he resheathed it. He was done shedding tears about that. He had come to terms with what had happened, but seeing the knife again made it feel all too real again. He cleared his throat and handed it to her. "I didn't even know I still had it." He said with a nervous chuckle. He cleared his throat again and shook his head before looking into the box again.
Arabella looked at the knife for a second, but she quickly put it down. She remembered when Kate died. It had been a really, really difficult time. Arabella kept running around the camp, trying to find out what had happened. All she had known was that Kate died. No one would tell her anything. Either they didn't know themselves or they didn't think that she should know. Arabella reached out, taking Hunter's hands and holding it in her own gently "If you ever want to talk about it, or anything like that..I'm here" she told him with a nod and she looked up into his eyes. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like to have gone through something like that. The guilt would probably have killed her.
Hunter ran his thumbs across the back of her hands. "I know." He said quietly with a sigh. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He said with a soft smile before kissing her lightly on the forehead. He sighed and looked down into the box. He laughed at what he saw. "Ugh...I'm shocked I kept these." He reached and pulled out a glasses case. He opened it and pulled a large pair of glasses, slipping them on his face. "How do I look?" He said, looking at Arabella with very blurry vision.
Arabella burst out laughing at the sight of Hunter in those big glasses. She put her hands on his cheeks "You look like the sexiest nerd in the world" she teased and pulled his face closer to hers so that she could kiss him. Arabella smiled against his lips and she slipped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her "Oh, by the way, my dad said that he would come. So you can go back to having a panic attack now" she teased
Hunter smiled against her lips. "Oh. Good. I was starting to relax." He said with a chuckle. He glanced into the box and saw it. "Oh, I remember this." He said with a chuckle, reaching in and pulling out a flower. "Kyle made this back when he was more...creative. It was actually my idea, but..." He held it up and it turned into a yellow tulip. He smiled and kissed Arabella on the cheek, slipping the flower into her hair. He watched as it turned into a bright pink orchid. "It never wilts and it changes into the favorite flower of whoever is holding it." He said with a smile. He looked into the box again and pulled out an envelope. He immediately recognized his name written on the outside in very curly and adorable handwriting. He had never even opened it. He tore it open and pulled out a bracelet. One that he recognized as the ones they made in Arts and Crafts at camp and a note. "Hunter," He read aloud. "Hey, buddy! I thought I'd make you this to remind you that we're best friends. Looks like this note will need to be quick though. The schnook is coming. Love you, Hunter. Let's go jogging sometime. Arabella." He stared at the note and thought for a second. "Jogging?" He said with furrowed eyebrows. "Jogging...Jogging...OH! Jogging! Ohmygods...Jogging..." He said before busting out laughing. He turned to Arabella and held up the bracelet. "I'm so sorry, I never opened this." He said with a chuckle. "I'm serious. I feel like an idiot." He said with a smile. "I'm definitely up for a good jog, though." He muttered before kissing her lightly on the lips.
"I'm always up for a good jog. I gotta stay in tip top shape" Arabella giggled against his lips and kissed him quickly before pulling away a little bit. She took the bracelet from his hands and turned it over in her fingers. She remembered making it and writing that little note. Part of her wondered why he had never opened it but she didn't want to ask. She didn't wantt to be the girlfriend that get angry at stuff like this. It wasn't her. Arabella looked back into the box, pulling out a beaded necklace "Your camp necklace!" she said excitedly and held it out for him.
"Oh, wow." He said with a chuckle, taking the necklace from her. He had given up on actually wearing it considering the 14 beads on it. He handed her the bracelet and gave her his wrist for her to tie it on. "This is...Wow. Here's my first year. I was the big event." He looked at the bead and the little cradle painted on. Then Thalia's pine. Then...Oh. I remember this. This was a hunters vs. Campers summer. One of the Ares kids bet that the camp would win. If they lost then Chiron would wear a prom dress to campfire that night. That was a pretty boring summer, except for that. I don't remember this one." He said going through the beads. "We had a music contest this year. Then this one was the year that the pegasi went a little crazy. A few campers got injured." He shrugged. "These are all from the war." He said, skipping the next 4 years and letting his eyes linger on the empire state building bead. He had lost a lot of friends in the war. He cleared his throat and looked at the sun bead on his necklace. "This was when Apollo went on vacation and so his kids were responsible for the chariot. They crashed. A LOT." He said with a chuckle and looked at the next one. "Oh, I remember this one. Mr. D was a little...crazy that summer." He said with a chuckle rubbing his finger across the diet coke can bead. He blushed at the sight of the next one. "You probably remember this year. Do you remember when your mom just...went bananas on the camp? She cast that love spell? And everyone was all...lovey dovey for like 3 weeks? I can't imagine you don't remember."
Arabella laughed and she nodded, reaching out to touch the bead "How could I forget? It was probably the funniest summer that I have ever lived through" she said with a giggle "I swear, every guy I spoke to asked me out. A couple girls did too, now that I think about it..." her voice trailed off and she touched the flower in her hair lightly "Capture the flag was the most awkward thing. Ever. I remember walking through the woods and everywhere I looked, there was a couple making out. Some guy I didn't even know from the Ares cabin proposed to me.." she told him with a shudder. It had been 3 of her favorite weeks at Camp Half Blood but the weeks following it was tough. Mostly because she had gotten her hopes up during those 3 weeks that Hunter would run to her cabin and sweep her into his arms. But she had hardly even seen him.
"I uh...I was in the infirmary a lot." He said with a chuckle. "I would be sparring or out in the woods and somehow someone would find me, expecting some sort of...romantic...thing up in a tree. I fell. A lot." He smiled at the memory and rubbed his leg which he had broken and then rebroken in that short period of time. He looked back at the beads and moved on to the next one. "This was the year I got claimed. Or...Took the oath." He said looking at a small bead with antlers on it. That quest was tough on him and it was a weird year to save the world. He moved onto the last bead which had several eyes wrapped in chains. "This one was from...the uh...The other war." He said quietly. That one was a little too...fresh. To talk about at least. He lost a lot for that war. He dropped the necklace in the box and closed it before looking at his new piece of body decoration on his wrist. "This is beautiful, Ellie." He said, looking up at her from his new/old bracelet. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "Mmmm....I'm sorry I didn't open it." He said against her lips. "I promise I'll make it up to you. Name it. I'll do it." He said, kissing her again.
"Oh, I could think of quite a few things" Arabella whispered against his lips and smiled. She moved her lips away from his and placed gentle kissed over his cheek, to his jaw and up to his ear. Seeing Hunter's things like that had been nice. It was fun to see some of the things that he had kept with him at camp, even if some of it was depressing, like the blade and that bead. Arabella kissed around his ear before pulling away slightly to look at the clock "Maybe we should get going soon. I don't want to miss the visiting hours at the hospital.." she sighed and looked back at Hunter.
Hunter turned to look at the clock and nodded. "Yeah. We should leave. I guess I'll pay my penance after dinner with your dad." He said with a chuckle as he stood up. He repacked the box except for the knife wrapped in the shirt. He put the lion claw in and looked at the shirt with a proud smile on his face. He sighed and put it on the box again, closing it finally. He grabbed his keys off the dresser and slipped into shoes before putting a hand on the small of Arabella's back and leading her out. They walked out of the house and locked the door before getting into Hunter's car. They backed out of the driveway and took off toward the hospital.
Arabella tugged at a loose thread on the hem of her shirt as they drove. She was looking forward to seeing tom but she was still a little nervous about it. How would he look? Would he be okay or would he still be in pain? Arabella shook the thought from her mind and she turned a little bit in her seat so that she could look at Hunter. She smiled at him as he drove and she studied the way that he sat, the way that he held the wheel, the strong line of his jaw. It was like she was trying to commit everything about him to memory, locking it all away in a little safe in the back of her mind. Being with Hunter like this was something that she used to dream about when they were at camp together. Now that it was all coming true, she was worried that it was too good to be true. Arabella reached over and she put her hand on his leg, tapping her fingers lightly out of nerves.
Hunter was a little nervous. The last he saw of Tom was loading him into Daniel's car. He was bloody and mangled and looked almost dead. He was definitely glad that Tom was going to be okay, but the Tom that he was going to see was a different one. A damaged one. He let out a small sigh as he felt fingers on his leg. He looked down and saw Arabella's slender fingers tapping his leg. He looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind?" He said, slightly amused at her obvious sign of anxiety.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm just worried about Tom" Arabella said softly, not taking her hand away from his leg. Being able to touch him, to have some kind of contact with him was calming her down a little. "I mean, Daniel said that he was going to be okay but that really doesn't tell us much. I'm worried that we're going to walk in and he'll be in a lot of pain and still really messed up" she said, all in one breath. Arabella chewed on her lip "I guess I'm a little nervous about Dad coming over, too. So that's not really helping much"
Hunter smiled a little at her nervousness. "Nervous." He said with a nod. "You? This sexy, confident, beautiful executive woman is nervous?" He teased a little. He put his hand on hers and gave it a little squeeze and looked over to her. "Ellie, I can't really tell the future, but I feel like today is going to be great. Tom will probably be sleeping when we get there. If he's not sleeping then he'll be awake, but heavily drugged. He's probably more mellow than Addie after exhausting her stash." He said as comforting as he could be. "And as far as your dad goes..." He said, reaching over and brushing the hair out of her face. "He's going to come in. We're going to have a lovely steak dinner. He'll toss some insults my way. I'll not care. He'll eventually tire himself out and the battle goes to me. He'll leave. We'll go upstairs and go on with the rest of our night." He said with a wink. "That sound good?" He asked with a smile.
"That sounds perfect" Arabella said softly in a grateful voice. Hunter always knew the right things to say. She leaned towards him and she placed a kiss on his jaw, near his ear "We're going to have a wonderful night after my dad leaves" she whispered, giving him a small wink then sat back in her seat. the city was coming into view at this point and Arabella smiled a little bit. Maybe Hunter was right. Maybe everything would go well. Maybe her dad would calm down enough to be nice to Hunter. "Almost there" she whispered, looking out the window as they got closer to the hospital.
Hunter nodded and kept driving. When they reached the hospital he drove to the curb. "Alright. You go ahead and find his room. I'm going to run one quick errand and then meet up with you." He said with a smile. He kissed her on the cheek as she got out and closed the door behind him. He turned around and parked in the lot. He remembered that Elliot Benson's office was only a few blocks from the hospital. Hunter locked his car and left the lot, walking toward the lawyer's office. As soon as he walked in, he gave a friendly nod to his secretary before walking straight into Elliot's office. "Elliot?" He said quietly. The lawyer perked up from his desk and smiled.
"Hunter, my boy. It's good to see you." He said, standing up and walking over to shake his hand. "Please. Sit." He said, gesturing to his regular spot. Hunter shook his hand and sat down. "Well, what brings you around?" He asked with a pleasant smile. Hunter chuckled.
"I was curious. If I changed my mind on an item, could I get it back by chance?" Hunter asked with a raised eyebrow. Elliot seemed to debate in his head for a moment before walking over to his filing cabinet.
"It truly depends on the item." He said, looking for a file in the many drawers. "Some stuff we straight sold. You probably can't get that back. Other things though. The cars. The jewelry. Many of them are still--Here it is." He said, pulling out a file. He placed it on the desk in front of Hunter. "Excuse me. Many of them are still waiting for auction. You can happily take those back. It's less paperwork and less actual lawyering for me to do." He said with a nod. Hunter laughed quietly and gingerly looked at the file, leafing through the items.
"I'm looking for a gift. For a 16 year old boy." He said quietly. "I remember seeing it here bef--Perfect. This one." He said, turning the file around and sliding it to Elliot. "I'll take this one. I'll pick it up. Tomorrow, I think." He said with a nod. Elliot looked and nodded.
"Very nice." He said with a chuckle. He made final arrangements and left, feeling satisfied with the meeting. He quickly walked back to the hospital and walked in and up to the front desk.
"Hi. Ma'am, I'm looking for...Tom?" He asked, realizing that he had never learned Tom's last name. The nurse gave him a 'I don't have time to play games, sir' look and Hunter sighed. "Tom. He's a doorman. He got hit by a car.Yesterday. Came in with a fla-"
"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Arabella said, walking over to Hunter. She took his hand and before she could say anything, she started to drag him off, towards Tom's room. Arabella glanced up at Hunter and took a deep breath before pushing the door open. Tom was on the bed and he was awake. He had a far off look on his face, which Arabella assumed was from the drugs, but other then that, he looked like he was going to be fine. He was banged up, of course, but there was no doubt that he was going to get getter. Arabella let go of Hunter's hand and walked over to Tom's bedside. Gingerly, she sat down in the chair and smiled at him.
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Tom said in a raspy sort of voice, like he hadn't used it in a little while. Arabella giggled and looked up at Hunter, who was standing by the door awkwardly. Tom coughed and Arabella looked down at his beside table, looking for a glass of water or something for him.
"Are you doing okay, Tom?" She asked gently and she reached her hand out to Hunter, making it obvious that she wanted him to take her hand and sit beside them. "Is Danny around here?" she asked
"This is the longest he's been gone. He went for some coffee. I don't think he's left since I got here" Tom told her. Slowly, he turned his head to look at Hunter "How are you doing, Hunter?"
Hunter cleared his throat and stepped forward. "I'm doing just fine." He said with a nod. "How are you doing, Tom? You healing okay?" He said, lightly putting his hand on Tom's good leg. Tom smiled weakly.
"I think so." He said with nod. "I'm going to be in here for a while longer, but I feel fine. Probably the uh..." He ran a finger along the IV line trailing from his arm. "Whatever this is. It's pretty good." Hunter chuckled to himself. "I'm glad to hear that." He turned to Arabella. "I'm going to see if I can track down Danny. I'll be back." He said before waving at Tom and walking out.
Arabella watched Hunter walk out then she turned back to Tom, putting her feet up on the chair and wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees. Tom looked back at her and he smiled lightly. Seeing him in the bed like that was hard for Arabella. He had been a person that she saw every day and it was reassuring. He always had a smile for her and he could always make her laugh, even if she was having a bad day. She reached out and took his hand lightly "It sucks seeing you like this, Tom" she said softly
Tom shook his head, waving her concern away "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me" he said and looked down at her hand in his "If anything, you should worry about Daniel. He's really beating himself up over this"
Hunter turned a corner, keeping look out for the blonde hair of Daniel. He was worried that Daniel had passed out somewhere, not to be found until the end of the week by a janitor who had been putting off cleaning for a while. He scanned the cafeteria and saw no one, but soon-to-be dads retrieving ice chips and doctors looking for any drip of coffee they can get their hands on after a long day. He walked out and almost tripped when his feet collided with a leg sticking out from between two chairs. He looked down and saw Daniel slumped down on the ground next to an empty styrofoam cup. Hunter raised an eyebrow and knelt down. "Danny. Danny!" He said as he shook his leg. Danny let out a groan and turned to his side before cringing and sitting up. "Not a comfortable place to sit, I'm assuming."
"Hmm? What?" He said, rubbing his back and neck. "Hunter? Oh my gosh! What time is it?!" He said, checking his phone. "Wait! What are you doing here?!" He asked, looking at Hunter like he wasn't supposed to be there.
"Calm down, Daniel." Hunter said, standing up and extending his hand. Daniel took a drank from his empty cup and, with a disappointed face, tossed it aside and took Hunter's hand. Hunter hauled him up and patted his back. "Ellie and I are here to visit Tom." He explained, leading Daniel back to the cafeteria. "Let's get you some coffee and we'll get you presentable for your man." He said with a chuckle as he stood him in front of the coffee depository. He patted the dust and lint layer from Daniel's jacket and straightened it slightly as Daniel refilled his coffee cup.
"He can't be my man anymore. I hit him with my car." Daniel said drearily. Hunter sighed.
"Danny, I know Tom." Hunter said with a nod, putting an arm around Daniel's shoulders. "Come on, Danny. Tom is going to be fine. He's not really one to hold a grudge." He lead him back to Tom's room and walked in. "I found him by the side of the road. Can we keep him, Ellie?" He teased lightly.
"Do you really like him?" Arabella asked, leaning towards Tom slightly with an eyebrow raised "'Like' like him. Not just as a friend?"
"I-uh, I mean, we..." Tom stammered but he looked over to the door when Hunter walked in and Arabella let out a little sigh. She looked away from Tom and towards the door. A smile spread across her lips and she shrugged
"I guess so. He's just so cute!" she teased and she slid out of the chair, walking over to Daniel and giving him a little hug. He was going to be beating himself up over this for the rest of his life, Arabella knew that for sure. She hoped that he would be able to forgive himself eventually. Tom coughed and Daniel let go of Arabella and ran over to Tom's bedside so fast, it hardly seemed possible. She giggled a little and looked up at Hunter.
"It's like they're married already." Hunter whispered to Arabella, slipping an arm around her waist and looking at Tom and Daniel. "So, did they say how bad your injuries were, Tom?" Hunter asked.
"Umm..." Tom said quietly with a look of thought on his face. "My leg is broken. A few ribs are cracked and bruised. A slight concussion. Could be a lot worse, according to the doctor." He said with a nod. "Danny was gentle with his car." He said with a chuckle.
"I'm so sorry, Tom." Daniel said with a sigh. Tom put his hand on Daniel's and smiled.
"Don't worry about it, Danny. It's not an issue." He said with a smile. "Our date will just have to be that much better on Friday." He said, giving Danny a wink. Hunter was taken aback a little by Tom's flirting. He had never seen Tom do anything like that.
Arabella saw them flirting and she looked up at Hunter with big eyes and an excited look on her face. Seeing people flirting like that, especially Daniel and Tom, made her simply giddy. Arabella loved to see love. She could practically feel it in the room. With a soft sigh, Arabella linked her arm with Hunter and looked back to Tom and Daniel "You better get well soon then, Tom. Daniel goes all out on his dates. I'm sure he has a whole day of things planned for you two"
"Zip it, sweetie" Daniel said, looking over at Arabella with a small smile on his face. She could tell that he was kind of forcing the smile but it was still nice to see it.
"I'm sure it'll be wonderful" Tom said and he never took his eyes off of Daniel. It was obvious that he was crazy about him. Arabella looked up at Hunter with a slightly raised eyebrow because she was shocked that she hadn't picked up on this earlier. How did she not know that Tom is gay?
Hunter looked at Tom who was paying little to no attention to Arabella or Hunter. "Well," Hunter said, breaking the brief awkward silence. "We should be going. We've got...something else. Danny, it looks like you have everything under control here." He said, walking over to Tom. He shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder. "Get better, okay? We'll invite you over to the house sometime." He said with a smile. Tom grinned and nodded.
"Sounds good, Hunter. Thanks for coming." He said quietly. Hunter looked at Danny and sighed. He put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll see you later, Danny. Try to sleep in a bed next time, okay?" He said with a chuckle.
Arabella walked over and she kissed Tom's cheek lightly, not wanting to hug him in case she hurt him "We'll make supper for you, sometime. Well, Hunter will make supper. I'll make the drinks" she teased before turning to Daniel and hugging him tightly. After a few moments, Arabella let go of him and she walked back to Hunter, taking his hand.
"Have a good day, you two" Tom said with a little nod.
"You too, Tom" Arabella said and she waved at the two men before walking out of the hospital room with Hunter "Well, they seem perfect for each other" she said with a little laugh.
Hunter let out a laugh as they walked out to the parking lot. "Pretty much." He said with a chuckle as he unlocked the car and opened Arbella's door for her. She smiled at him and he kissed her gently before walking around and getting in on his side. "So, when is your dad coming over?" He asked with a small yawn as he started the car. "I was thinking that you could make your Greek salad with dinner. I already have everything for it." He said with a nod.
"He said that he's going to come over around 5:30" Arabella said with a nod and she looked over at Hunter. "Salad sounds good. Dad really likes that salad" She told him and turned to look out the window. So far, everythign was going good. Her father coming over could be wonderful or it could be terrible. But with any luck, it would be wonderful "I'm looking forward to your steak. Best steak ever" she said and her stomach growled in agreement.
Hunter laughed quietly and leaned over, kissing her cheek. "Well, shucks." He said with a smile. After a few moments, he was pulling into the driveway of his house. He walked into the house and straight into the kitchen. "Bacon-wrapped steak with freshly baked breadsticks." He said to himself as he pulled several ingredients out of the fridge and pantry. He put them in a tupperware container along with the steaks and closed it. He shook it up and put it back in the fridge. The plan was to marinade them for a while before cooking them. He'd start when her dad got here.
"I'm going ot go for a quick shower, okay?" Arabella said and she kissed Hunter's cheek lightly. She patted his butt once before walking out of the kitchen, giggling at the look on his face. Quickly, she got to the bathroom and she peeled off her clothes, stepping into the shower. The hot water hit her body, relaxing her muscles. With a sigh, Arabella closed her eyes. She thought about the night ahead, about her dad coming over. She hoped that he would be nice and that he would give Hunter a chance. Arabella knew that Hunter would never hurt her but her dad didn't know that. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself before walking to the bedroom. Arabella jumped a little when she saw that Hunter was in the room, looking for some clothes to wear. "I swear, bumping into each other like this is like..out thing now" she teased, her cheeks were pink and she held onto the towel tightly.
Hunter turned around and blushed a little. "I can't...We need to have a signal or something." He said with a chuckle. He grabbed a dark blue polo and a pair of black jeans before stepping into the hallway. He changed clothes slowly, supposedly allowing enough time for Arabella to become decent at the least. He buckled his belt and balled his old clothes up before opening the door and walking in. "Oh, seriously? I gave you like an hour and a half." He said, shielding his eyes from the sight of Arabella just now pulling up her panties. A very risque pair of panties, actually. "You don't own anything more...suitable for having dinner with your dad, brother, and boyfriend who wants very much to not be killed by your father?" He asked as he cautiously walked to his hamper and tossed his dirty clothes in.
Arabella looked down at the pale pink lace panties she had just pulled on and her eyebrows knitted together, almost in confusion. She looked up at Hunter and shook her head "These are the most conservative ones I own, actually" she told him with a nod them turned back to the closet. Arabella had no problem with being naked but she thought that the way that Hunter got all awkward was pretty funny. She pulled on a skirt and walked back out of the closet, wearing only the skirt and her bra, with a shirt in her hands "Besides, my dad and brother aren't going to be seeing them. My boyfriend however, just might get to see them again" she teased with a wink.
Hunter chuckled and peeked through his fingers to see her slipping on a shirt. He sighed and moved his hand down before creeping up behind her. As she pulled the shirt down, he slipped his hands around her waist, under the shirt. "Is that so? Well, I wouldn't have it any other way then." He said, as he buried his face in her hair and kissed her head. She turned around and put her hands on his chest, lightly grabbing his shirt and kissing him. Hunter kept his hands on her hips and lightly ran his fingers up and down the soft skin on her sides. He felt her press her body closer to his and hum against his lips. He brushed his lips across her cheek and to her neck, when a loud knocking on the door rang through the house. Hunter pulled away and licked his lips. "There not here alrea-" He checked his watch and let out a sigh when he saw that it was 5 o clock. "If that's them, I'm going to make them wait outside for 30 minutes." He said with a chuckle, kissing her on the nose.
Arabella giggled and kissed his neck lightly. They would show up just then. It was just Arabella's luck. She grazed her lips from his neck to his ear "Later" she whispered and placed a hand on his arm, squeezing his bicep. Arabella smiled when she felt him shiver and she fixed her shirt before skipping out of the room and down the stairs. She pulled the door open and jumped into her dad's arms, giving him a bit hug.
Tyler stepped into the house and his face broke into a wide smile when he saw Hunter walking down the stairs. "Hi, Hunter!" he said excitedly
Hunter smiled and looked at Tyler when he reached the door. "Hey, Tyler. How's it going?" He said with a chuckle as he extended his hand. Tyler shook it excitedly.
"I'm doing great." He said with a smile before receiving a look from his father, causing his smile to fall a little. Hunter sighed and looked up at Arabella's father.
"Sir. How are you?" He asked, extending his hand. Matthew reluctantly shook it, strongly, in an impromptu game of Mercy that Hunter quickly gave up on. "Won't you please come in? Make yourselves comfortable." He said, stretching his hand slightly. He watched as Matthew walked in cautiously, looking around for something with which to attack Hunter.
Arabella looked at her dad as he walked into the house and she turned to give a look to Hunter. She gave him a comforting smile and touched his arm lightly. She looked over at Tyler and pulled him into a tight hug "Nice to see yoo too, sis" he said, patting her back lightly. Arabella let go of him and he walked over to Matthew.
"What is the TV doing on the floor?" Matthew scoffed, raising an eyebrow
"Dad, be nice" Tyler said in a small voice. Arabella sighed and rolled her eyes slightly at her dad. She knew that he was going to pick at little things like that, just to find some fault with Hunter.
"It was Ellie's TV from her apartment. We're just deciding where we want it, you know?" He asked with a nod. He looked over at Arabella and gave her a wink. "We want to make the house perfect. Since we're both living here, of course." He glanced around for a moment. "Oh and speaking of house perfection, Ellie why don't you get your dad a cup of coffee. I want to show Tyler something." He said with a grin at Tyler who looked as excited as ever. He patted Tyler lightly on the shoulder and lead him to the basement. "So, I asked Ellie what some of your interests were." He said as he flipped the lightswitch and climbed down the stairs. "She only had good things to say, of course, and I figured, 'hey this kid sounds awesome. I want to hang out with him.'" He said as he finally reached the empty basement. He opened his arms in a 'ta da' type manner and smiled at Tyler.
"Umm..." He said with knit eyebrows. "I appreciate it, but what are we doing here?" He asked quietly. Hunter chuckled.
"This is your blank canvas." Hunter said with a smile. "I grew up at Camp Half-Blood. I don't know anything about video games or computers or TVs. I mean, the only forms of entertainment I knew for 20 years of my life was practicing Ancient Greek and firing a bow." He said with a nod. Tyler looked at him excitedly. "No, we're not going to fire a bow." He said with a chuckle. "Not until I ask Ellie." He said quietly. Tyler laughed a little. "So, my question is...Would you be willing to teach me all of the stuff that I missed? Video games, TV, computers, all that. No cost to you, of course." He placed a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "I might be able to fit in an archery lesson." He said with a smile. "So, what do you think? You up for it?"
Tyler looked at Hunter with wide eyes. Was this really happening? "Are you...are you serious?" he asked softly then let out a breath, trying desperately not to freak out. He didn't want to look like a loser in front of Hunter. Tyler took as couple steps around the basement, his heart was racing. "This is just...wow, Hunter. Thank you" he said softly, looking back at Hunter. He couldn't tell him just how much this meant to him. It meant a lot. "I hope that we can get some archery in"
Arabella and her dad stepped into the kitchen and she poured a cup of coffee for him. He looked around the kitchen, looking a little uncomfortable. With a small sigh, Arabella pushed the coffee towards him and started getting the things out for her salad.
"So, you moved in with him?" Matthew asked, taking a sip of the coffee. Arabella looked up at him and started chopping, trying not to slice her fingers off.
"Yes, Dad. I did" Arabella said softly and looked up at him "Can you please, please, please be nice tonight? I understand that you're protective and all that but please just give Hunter a chance"
"Wonderful." Hunter said, giving Tyler a high five. "I guess, I'll have you come over soon and you can give me my list of school supplies." He said, patting Tyler on the back. "Come on. Let's get back upstairs before your dad starts thinking I'm giving you drugs or something." The two of them started back up the stairs. Hunter felt really good about how his first real interaction with Tyler went. Reaching the ground floor again, Hunter let out a sigh and walked into the kitchen. He kissed Arabella on the cheek and smiled down at her work. "Looks good, Ellie." He said with a smile as he pulled the steaks out of the fridge along with the bacon and the breadsticks. "How do you like your steak, Mr. Foster?" He asked as he opened the tupperware.
"Well done" Matthew said in a stiff voice and Arabella threw him a look. He looked back at her and sigh, taking another sip of his coffee. He was trying to be hate Hunter but it wasn't easy. Arabella looked at Hunter with a glow and a happiness in her face that Matthew had never seen on her before. At the same time though, this was his little girl. He had seen Arabella with Chad and Brian and too many other boys that broke her heart.
"Tyler likes his rare, like mine" Arabella told Hunter, just as Tyler walked into the kitchen.
"This is such a cool house! I wish we lived near a beach" Tyler said, looking over at Arabella with a big smile.
"You can come visit us whenever you want, Ty" Arabella said, returning the smile. In most ways, they looked nothing alike. Tyler looked exactly like their father and Arabella looked more like her mother. But they had the exact same smile.
"Alright. Well done. Rare. Rare. And then however it is mine ends up." He said with a chuckle as he got out the stovetop grill and set it out. He waited for it to heat up as he prepared the breadsticks. "I'd like to apologize for my previous actions, Mr. Foster." He said with a smile as he slipped the breadsticks in the oven. "I let my emotions get in the way of a nice evening." He tried to hide a smile that screamed, 'I'm making it really hard to not like me, aren't I?' and turned around, leaning on the counter. "I'm glad that you decided to join us for dinner tonight. It's really special considering your daughter is cooking." He said, walking over and glancing at her ingredients.
Arabella nudged Hunter lightly, smirking at him "Don't be mean" she teased and chewed on her lip as she focused on slicing the last tomato.
"Have you managed to find a job yet, Hunter?" Matthew asked, looking at Hunter and raising and eyebrow. He was determined to find something wrong with Hunter. Something to make him look like an idiot. Arabella sighed, trying not to think of her Dad or what he was saying. She looked over at Tyler and he walked over to her.
"The basement is going to be amazing, Bell" Tyler said softly, looking into the salad. Arabella looked at him and she smiled. Every time she looked at him, it kind of blew her away a little bit. He had grown up so much in the past few years. He was taller than her now and he was starting to fill out a little bit.
"You're welcome to our house anytime, Ty. If Dad is giving you a hard time and you want to get away for a weekend or something, our home is open for you" She said in a low voice, looking into his eyes. Tyler nodded and smiled softly at her.
"No, I haven't, sir." Hunter said, turning back to the stove. He held his hand over the grill and sighed. "No, not yet." He said under his breath before turning the heat up a little. "It's been about a month since I became a legal person. I had to fill out some paperwork. Finding out my last name. I grew up at camp. I don't know if I told you that. Umm...Part of that time since then has been getting her moved in and we spent some time at the beach house. I helped fix that up a little. Sanded the floors. Did some painting. Past that it's been a lot of paperwork." He said with a chuckle. "I'll have to explore my options a little. I'm not sure how many companies want archery and knife fighting on their employees' resumes, you know?" He said before holding his hand over the stove again. It was ready.
Arabella finished up the salad and looked at Hunter with a raised eyebrow. She didn't want her dad to start picking at him about the knife fighting and the archery. That would have been very bad. Arabella walked past him with the salad in one hand and she grazed his arm with her other hand. She placed the salad in the middle of the table then walked back to help Hunter with the plates.
"Wonderful. My daughter is living with an unemployed man whose only skill is knife fighting" Matthew muttered in an audible voice and he sat down at the table.
"Knife fighting? That sounds so cool! Arabella told me that she was terrible at it.." Tyler said, his voice trailing off slightly. He had always been really interested in the weapons but Arabella could never really tell him much about it. She would start talking about knife fighting but the conversation would soon turn into a conversation about her hot teacher.
Hunter smiled at Tyler's enthusiasm before setting the steaks on the grill with a loud sizzle. He watched them closely as he tried to continue the conversation. "And archery." He added to the end of Matthew's sentence, hiding a smile again. He looked into the reflection of a pan hanging about the stove to see Matthew glaring at him. "Maybe, I'll see if I can teach archery somewhere." He said with a nod. "You know the city pretty well, Mr. Foster. With your real estate dealings. Do you know anywhere that would want an archery teacher? I doubt knife fighting lessons will go off well at the local rec center." He asked as he flipped the steaks.
"No, Hunter. No one wants anything like that" Matthew said curtly and he kept his eyes on Hunter, glaring at him. He knew that there were lots of summer camps and after school programs that would love to have Hunter teaching them and being with the kids. But Matthew wasn't about to tell him that.
"Hunter could be a cook. You won't believe how amazing his steaks are. They're almost too good to be true" Arabella said, looking up at Hunter with a big smile. She was trying to make this supper go smoothly, but it wasn't helping too much. Matthew seemed to be determined to hate him.
"What are your intentions with my daughter?" Matthew asked bluntly, making Arabella cough in surprise and look at her dad with wide eyes. It seemed like Matthew had been waiting to ask this question.
Hunter's eyes widened and his smiled dropped. He had never expected such a blunt question. "Uh...well," Hunter started as he turned the steaks. He stared at the reflection of Matthew in the pan again. Hunter could tell that he seemed proudly and defiantly satisfied with his question that had given Hunter pause. "I love your daughter." He said with a nod. He turned around and took a quick glance at Tyler who seemed painfully familiar with this situation. "My hope is to spend every waking moment with her. I have never felt so strongly about anything as I do about her." He leaned on the counter and stared at the ground. "My 'intentions' with your daughter then are to make her happy and to do anything within my power to do that." Hunter said, finally. He looked at Arabella and smiled for a moment before turning back to the steaks.
Arabella looked up at Hunter, her a smile spreading across her lips again. It took everything she had not to throw herself at Hunter and start kissing him. She cleared her throat, trying to find something to take the conversation away from Hunter's intentions. "Did Hunter tell you about his cars, Daddy?" she asked lightly, looking over at her father. Matthew looked like he was thinking over Hunter's words, trying to pick out something that would be bad or could be taken in a bad way. He looked at Arabella and shook his head in response. "Well, he got these amazing cars and he did some really awesome work on them. Tell him" she said, looking back at Hunter and nudging him lightly. She hoped that cars would be a decent conversation topic.
Hunter took the two rare steaks off the stove and set them on a plate. He took a deep breath before returning his attention to the conversation going on behind him. "Well, as part of my inheritance I was left this huge collection of cars." He said, trying not to look at Tyler. "I called a friend from camp and the two of us fixed up a couple of them. I actually gave one to Ellie. Just as a...a thank you, I guess." He said with a pensive nod. He shook his head and turned back to the steaks, flipping his one more time and pressing Matthew's slightly. "They're almost ready." He said with a nod just as the oven beeped. "Oh. Those must be the breadsticks." He said with a smile. He pulled them out, closing the door with his foot before using a spatula and pushing them into a basket and placing them on the table.
"Cool! I want a car so bad" Tyler said with a little sigh and he looked at the breadsticks that Hunter placed on the table. Arabella looked at Hunter, who seemed to be avoiding anyone's eyes for some reason then walked over to the table and picked up a breadstick.
"How long have you been driving?" Matthew asked Hunter, looking up at him. The steak smelled amazing but he didn't really want to admit that. Arabella walked back to Hunter with the breadstick in her hands and pulled out fours plates and four glasses. She got out her bottle of Pepsi and set it down on the counter, wishing that she could get out some rum too. That might make the rest of the supper bearable.
"Umm...a month, I think." He said with a nod. He smiled at Arabella. "I was taught by the best." He said, kissing Arabella on the cheek. Hunter took his steak off and put it on the plate before pressing Matthew's for a moment or two, finishing its cooking. He took it off and set it on the plate with the others. He picked it up with one hand and slipped his other arm around Arabella's waist. "Alright. Food is served. These two are the rare ones. I'll take the mystery one. And this one is yours, sir." He said, divvying out the steaks. He set the plate down on the table and took his seat, conveniently across from Matthew.
Matthew looked down at his steak for a moment before taking a bite. It was delicious, some of the best steak that he had ever had. Matthew tried to find something wrong with it, but he couldn't. He ate some of Arabella's salad and he looked over at her with a rare smile "Your salad is amazing" he said to her softly and she grinned.
"Thanks, Daddy" Arabella said before taking a bite of her steak.
"This is the most delicious steak I have ever had. It is so much better than the steak that we get from the take out place" Tyler said, looking up at Hunter with admiration "Have you practiced your archery much since you left the camp?" he asked Hunter.
"Didn't that Chad say that he was good at archery?" Matthew said pointedly, looking at Arabella.
Hunter ignored Matthew's previous statement. "I haven't really had a chance, actually." He said with a nod. "Except for the uh...What was it?" He asked, turning to Arabella. "A Laistrygonian? The one I killed in your office." He said with a nod, taking a bite of salad. "Great salad, Ellie." He said before clearing his throat. "That reminds me though. Can I have my pendant, real quick?" He said, brushing his hands off on his pants. Arabella handed him the pendant and he summoned the bow from it. He pulled out his pendant and pressed the bow to it. "Ήφαιστο και τον Άρη, με ευλογήσει και να μαγέψει το μενταγιόν με την ουσία αυτού του όπλου. Σας....Uhh...What was it? Oh. ευχαριστώ, ω θεοί." The bow glowed and then transferred into his new pendant. He handed his pendant back to Arabella and went back to eating. "Sorry. My Ancient Greek is a little rusty." He said, spreading butter on one of the breadsticks.
Tyler was looking at Hunter with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. Arabella looked over at him and she slipped the pendant back around her neck. "Tyler, close your mouth. You tongue is getting dusty"
"That is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Tyler said excitedly, nearly bouncing out of his seat. Arabella smiled softly and she held the pendant in her hands, rubbing it with her thumb. She looked over at Matthew, who was eating his steak and clearly ignoring Hunter.
"Show off" Matthew muttered under his breath and he took a bite from his steak.
"My Ancient Greek was always rusty" Arabella teased, trying to ignore what her father was saying.
"You didn't have Chiron teaching you for 10 years." Hunter said with a chuckle. He bit into the breadstick and nodded. "Is the food okay?" He asked, glancing at Matthew who was grimacing while he ate. "I taught myself how to cook, so it could be a little iffy." He said with a shrug. He looked at Matthew expecting the criticism.
Matthew looked down at his steak, chewing carefully. It was amazing steak. He let out a sigh and he looked up at Hunter, glaring at him a little bit then turned to Arabella, his expression turning into a small smile "The salad is incredible" he said.
"Thanks, Dad" Arabella sighed and she finished up her food. She grabbed Tyler's empty plate and walked over to put them in the sink.
"You taught yourself? That was amazing!" Tyler said, totally in awe. Hunter was his new hero at this point and he didn't think that there was anything that Hunter could do wrong, really. Arabella smiled over at Tyler and poured herself a glass of Pepsi.
"What are your long term plans, Hunter? For your life? With my daughter?" Matthew asked. Arabella looked at Matthew with wide eyes and poured a splash of rum into her Pepsi.
"Daddy, please..." She said, her cheeks pink.
Hunter casually stood up from the table. "I don't know." He said, grabbing Arabella's glass. He walked over to the sink and poured it out before pouring another glass of plain Pepsi. "I mean...I guess I never thought about it. Getting a job will probably be the next thing on my agenda. Support your daughter. I try not to think too far ahead. You start getting bogged down by details and disappointments. You forget to see what's really important." He said, taking Arabella's hand and kissing it lightly.
Arabella huffed when he dumped her drink and she looked up at Hunter with a slightly annoyed look on her face. But then he was kissing her hand and she could feel her stomach doing flips. Resisting the urge to kiss him, Arabella turned to Tyler "Come on, Ty, I want to show you something!" she said and walked over to Tyler. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him off to the back door and outside. They walked around the house a little bit and Tyler turned to look at her with a confused look on his face.
"What did you want to show me?" Tyler asked, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Nothing, I just wanted to get out of that house" Arabella teased and nudged Tyler. He rolled his eyes and took a breath.
"I'm really happy for you, Bell. This house is amazing and Hunter is great" Tyler said, looking down at her. Arabella smiled up at him.
"Hunter is pretty great, isn't he?" Arabella said in a soft voice and Tyler nodded. "I just want Dad to see that, you know?"
"Dad will come around. Just give him some time. He has nothing to pick at anymore. He's going to like Hunter" Tyler said with a nod and Arabella grinned up at him.
"Here's hoping.." Arabella giggled and Tyler smiled down at her. They stood outside for a little while, looking around at the woods and the ocean. Soon enough though, Arabella was shivering in the night breeze. So they walked back into the house and towards the living room. Her eyes landed on Hunter and her father, who were sitting together and....laughing? They looked like they were getting along perfectly. "Uhm, hi...Hunter.." Arabella said in a cautious voice, like if she said too much, this moment would end.
Hunter turned around and smiled at Arabella. "Hey, Ellie." He said with a chuckle. "Your dad and I were just talking about this joke his old boss told him. What was it a penguin with a...what? A mustache?" Hunter stood up and walked to the other side of the couch. "Well, this duck. He walks...You know what? You tell it, Mr. Foster." He said with a nod as he slipped an arm casually around Arabella's waist. Matthew wiped his eye and stood up as well.
"No, no, no." He said, shaking his head. "I'll save it for next time." He said, taking deep breaths. "Well, Tyler? Shall we go?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Arabella looked at Tyler and raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged at her then nodded at Matthew "Yeah, that sounds good, Dad" he said and walked towards the door with Matthew. Arabella looked up at Hunter with a questioning look on her face before following her Tyler and Matthew.
Matthew extended his hand, shaking Hunter's strongly. "It was good to talk to you, Hunter" he said and Arabella looked at Hunter again with wide eyes. Was this really happening? She hugged Tyler and Matthew and watched as they walked out to the car. She really didn't know how to wrap her mind around what she had walked in on. Arabella turned to look up at Hunter again.
"What was that about?" she asked, a small smile spreading across her lips.
Hunter shrugged. "What was what about?" He asked with a smile. "Oh, you mean that thing with your dad?" She nodded. "We just talked. We actually have a fair amount in common." He said with a nod. She eyed him suspiciously. He walked over and put the dishes in the sink. "I poisoned him. I said that I would give him the antidote if he pretended to like me."
"Oh, okay. That makes sense" Arabella teased and she picked up her glass of Pepsi, taking a quick sip. She put it down and walked over to Hunter and wrapped her arms around his neck. Seeing her dad laughing with Hunter was special, it meant a lot to her. She wanted them to get along and it felt great to know that her dad liked him and approved of him. "Well, whatever you did...thanks" she said softly and kissed his jaw.
Hunter smiled against her lips and put his hands on her hips. "Mmm...Didn't I tell you that your dad was going to like me?" He said, kissing her cheek. "Mmm...So now that we have the rest of the night to ourselves..." He asked, brushing his lips down to her neck. "What are we going to do?"
Arabella grazed her hands from his neck and down to his arms. She leaned into him with a small smile on her face and she bit her lip "I could think of a few things" she said softly and squeezed his biceps lightly. Arabella giggled and she turned with Hunter so that she was leaning against the counter and Hunter was standing in front of her "What did you want to do tonight?"
"I think it's less of a matter of what..." He said, brushing his lips up to hers. "And more a matter of where." He laughed to himself and kissed to her ear before nibbling lightly on her earlobe. He wrapped an arm around her waist and swept her into his arms, burying his face into her neck. Tonight was going to be a good night.
Arabella giggled and she wrapped her arms around him, lightly rubbing the nape of his neck "Well, we have a whole house filled with places to pick from" she teased and pulled herself closer to him. Arabella was blissful like this. She didn't think that life could get much better than this. She scratched her nails down his back lightly and she snaked her hands up his chest, under his shirt. This was perfect. This was easy with Hunter.
"Sorry guys, I just forgot to ask-oh my god!" Tyler's voice came from the doorway and Arabella squeaked in surprise, pulling her hands out from under Hunter's shirt.
Hunter blushed and quickly set her down. "Tyler." He said, clearing his throat. "What can I do for you?" He asked with a sigh. It seemed like being interrupted was becoming a habit for them. Tyler studied the ground.
"Uh...I was wondering if you wanted me to come by tomorrow. Or after that. Or when did you..." He asked quietly and obviously awkwardly.
"Umm...How about the day after next? That work? I'll pick you up or Ellie will. We'll figure it out." Hunter said a little quickly. "Okay. Call Ellie's phone if you have a question." He said before quickly ushering Tyler out the door. He locked and hurried back to the kitchen where he lifted Arabella onto the counter and started kissing her. "If we get interrupted one more time..." He said quietly against her skin. He brushed his hands onto her legs and up her skirt a little, gently squeezing her thighs.
"I swear, it's a miracle that anything happens between us at all" Arabella whispered and she hook her legs around his waist, pulling him closer to him. Her heart started racing when he squeezed her thighs and she prayed to whatever god was listening, asking to not be interrupted again. Her fingers grazed up his shirt again, starting off where she had left off. She brushed her lips away from his and along his jaw, up to his ear and nibbling on his ear lobe lightly. "So, do you know where you want to go, yet?" she giggled.
"Mmm...why fix what ain't broke, right?" He said, pushing her further onto the counter. He breathed on her neck before biting gently on the skin there. He felt all of the tension that he had felt during the dinner and during the hospital visit and during the entire day slip out of his mind. Hunter ran his hands up her sides, letting his hands linger upon the revealed skin on her stomach before cradling her face in his hands, placing soft kisses all over her face and neck.
Arabella gasped lightly as he kissed her. Her whole body felt like it was on hyper-sensitivity mode and everytime he touched her or kissed her sent shock waves through her whole body. Goose bumps rose on every inch of her skin. Arabella placed her hands on his hips, digging her fingernails into his skin lightly. "You are the best man I have ever met, Hunter" she whispered with a smile.
"We're a match, then." He said, before lifting her up and supporting her with his hands wrapped around her. He walked into the living room and putting her back on the couch, moving on top of her. "Because you're the best woman I have ever met." He said, smiling against her lips as he placed a hand gently on her cheek and, with his other arm, held him self up on his elbow.