#and beCAUSE i can't just. sit on the floor i'm sitting criss-cross and the wet. is on. the inside bend of my knees

[keeps-ache]

the heels of my pants are wet !!

[sakebytheriver]

In for a penny in for a pound as they say. Hope you all enjoy this beast of a fanfiction, with equal parts hurt/comfort and fluff

And yes, I did steal the book idea from raystel_ on Instagram, thank you for asking

Search for the snipet 😘

He was running through the emperor's mind, his breathing heavy and labored as if he'd been doing it for hours, he kept tripping over broken Golden Guard masks falling and clawing his way back to his feet, images of a blond man smiling, laughing over his shoulder, being stabbed, bleeding to death flashing in every direction and then he fell into the heap of masks until he was burried in them unable to breathe.

But just as chaotic and racing as it had been a second ago, things slowed to a stop, his breathing evened out, and his body felt relaxed and peaceful. He didn't know exactly where he was. The world was fuzzy, his vision white on the edges, but he was wrapped up in someone's arms. One second, it felt like Willow, the next it felt like someone else, someone he didn't know, but he felt like he loved her.

He looked into Willow's eyes as she spoke, "You're not allowed to go back now, human."

"Wouldn't dream of it, witch." As he leaned in to kiss her, she changed into the other woman, he got lost in her smile, the world around him went dark and with a jerk he woke up in a cold sweat on the floor of the Noceda household surrounded by his friends and silence.

His heavy breathing was the only sound in the room, he looked around to find everyone in the same places he'd left them the night before when they'd all appeared on Mrs. Noceda's doorstep sopping wet. She'd been a very nice host in his opinion and even acquiesced their request to all sleep in the living room together on blankets and sleeping bags laid out on the floor. Hunter had fallen asleep with his left side against the couch, Gus to his right laid out on his back with Willow on the younger boy's other side, her arm resting on Gus' chest, their hands intertwined. Willow rested on her left side while Amity behind rested on her right side, the two girls' backs touching with Luz facing Amity the two wrapped in each other's arms, foreheads touching.

He felt his breathing relax as he realized what just happened was a nightmare. He was safe in the human realm, for now at least.

He stood up slowly, careful not to disturb anyone and quietly walked down the hall to the back door, moving as slow as possible, praying the door wouldn't creak. As he slipped out into the fresh air, he felt most of his tension fall away, and he let himself slide down the side of the house to sit on the hardwood of the back porch. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back, just taking in the quiet noises of a human world night. After a minute alone, the door slipped open again, and a warm body slid down the side of the house to rest with their shoulder pressed against his. He let them both sit in silence for a moment before cracking open his eyes to see Luz sitting next to him her head down, looking at her hands, twisting in her criss crossed legs.

"I heard you when you woke up. I- I haven't been able to sleep at all tonight. I just can't stop thinking..." she trailed off, unable to say the words outloud. "Bad dream?" She asked, turning to look Hunter in the eye.

"Yeah, something like that." He looked away from her out at the woods behind the house. "I think... I think I know the man that Bel- that he made me to replace. I've always had these dreams, they felt like someone else's memories, but I never really thought about it, because everyone has weird dreams, right?" He let out self pitying laugh. "But now after- after everything we saw. He called me Caleb when he saw Flapjack and Caleb was the fake name Flapjack told me to use for Flyer Derby. I think... I- I'm his... brother, and this is going to sound insane, but I kinda really wish I could have met Caleb."

The silence that stretched between them after he finished was heavy but not overbearing.

Luz spoke soft and slow still keeping her eyes on her hands in her lap, "I don't think I could ever possibly know exactly what you're going through, but I do know what it's like to lose someone you can barely remember." She looked up into his eyes, "My dad died when I was so young, I've been alive more years now without him than I ever had with him and my memories of him they feel like dreams I can't quite hold on to, and yet I still feel his absence in everything I do. Caleb might not have been your father, but he's probably the closest thing to one you have, it's only natural to want to know more about what he was like and if you want I'll even help you find out."

"... I don't know how you do that."

"Do what?"

"Just, be you. All you do is try to help people, and you do every single time."

Luz looked away, furrowing her brow, "Yeah, well, sometimes I help the wrong people."

"Phillip?"

"Phillip."

"You can't blame yourself for that, you know."

"And you can't torture yourself over how you came to exist."

The two kids stared each other down for a minute in a tense silence before, in the same instant, they both broke out into wide grins and devolved into a fit of joint laughter.

After the laughter died down and the silence around them was comfortable, Hunter spoke again, "Think we'll take each other's advice?"

"Probably not." Luz said, and the two chuckled. "But we should."

"Yeah, I know." Hunter sighed and let his head fall back against the wall of the house and stared up at the stars in the sky. Luz copied his position, and the two sat together listening to crickets and each other's breathing watching the stars.

"Hey, Hunter? I'm glad I met you."

"I'm glad I met you too, Luz."

_____________________________________

The next morning, everyone was trying their best to act like they hadn't just escaped from the worst day of their lives. Luz was currently regailing Amity and Willow with stories about all of the human things she had in her bedroom. At first, she had started it half-heartedly as just a way to try and distract Amity from the way the young witch had started picking her nails down to the root, but after Willow had knowingly interjected with a few key questions the human had soon lost herself in explaining her favorite things jumping from topic to topic. Explaining TV shows and movies she loved along with what merchandise she'd bought from them jumping around the room to pick up different items. Amity had long abandoned, picking at her hands, happy to just watch her girlfriend bounce about with a lovesick expression, and Willow sat back watching both of them content that she had successfully gotten both of them to relax.

Hunter was in the laundry room with a basket that had been given to him by Mrs. Noceda, with the instructions to see if he could find some in his own size. With the door open, he could hear both Luz's excited rambling and the quiet conversation of Mrs. Noceda and Vee as they were cleaning up breakfast in the kitchen. With his head buried in the laundry basket, he didn't notice Gus slipping through the door until he heard it click as it closed. He looked up to see Gus standing with his hands behind his back, leaning against the closed door, biting his lip, and looking at Hunter like he wanted to say something.

"Gus? What's up?" Hunter asked, confused at Gus' expression.

Gus looked down at his feet before moving away from the door to stand next to Hunter. He looked up into Hunter's eyes before he spoke.

"I need to talk to you about something," he started, and Hunter felt his heart begin to race. "Remember during the fight when I used Graye's glass on the Emperor? I kinda saw a lot of his memories, and I learned some stuff... about you." Gus said, wringing his hands together.

Hunter felt like he couldn't breathe, every muscle in his body had tensed up, and he did his best to school his face into the blank emotionless expression he would use when Belos would reprimand him.

"Oh?" Hunter spoke the single syllable, doing his best to keep his voice even.

"I- I know that you're a Grimwalker, and I think I know about the guy you came from. Like a lot about him. Like who he was and... how he died and-" Gus cut himself off when he saw Hunter's jaw twitch finally taking in how much tension his words had caused in the other boy. "I just felt like I needed to tell you."

Hunter nodded rigidly, "Okay, you told me." He turned back to the basket of clothes picking through it without seeing any of the items inside, just hoping Gus would walk away, but he didn't.

"Hunter?" Gus said softly, placing his hand gently on his shoulder. "I hope you know that none of this changes how I or any of the others feel about you. You're my friend, our friend, and just because we're made of different organic materials isn't going to change that."

Hunter let his shoulders relax, and his head fall down, closing his eyes as he chuckled at Gus' phrasing despite himself. He looked at Gus from the corner of his eye.

"You sure about that?" He tried to keep his tone light, but Gus could hear the desparation behind the question.

"Of course," Gus grinned. "We're totally besties now anyways, we've got a secret handshake there's no way you're ever getting rid of me." He nudged Hunter playfully with his elbow.

Hunter laughed more relieved to hear Gus say that than he thought he would.

"Also, I know a lot about the guy you came from now, so if you ever want to know anything."

"I will, but not yet." Gus nodded.

"You should tell her, you know."

"What?" Hunter asked confused.

"I promise, she'll feel the exact same way as I do. I just think it would probably be better if she heard it from you instead of me." Gus continued, "Besides she might even be into it, there's this book series called Galderstone Heart, she had the biggest crush on the main guy. She'll deny it if you ask her, but I think she still has a poster of him somewhere in her room." The mischievous smirk on Gus' face only grew the more he talked, the blush thay had taken over Hunter's face and ears told him that the other boy had realized he was referring to Willow. Hunter liked to pretend he was good at hiding what he was thinking and feeling, but Gus, and pretty much everyone else, could see the way he would look at Willow, he knew what was going on in his head.

"I- I don't- what are you-" Hunter stuttered and Gus just chuckled, clapping the other boy on the back before he turned to walk out of the laundry room.

"Seriously though, I promise you telling her won't change her opinion of you." Gus said over his shoulder before opening the laundry room door and leaving Hunter alone the sounds of everyone else's voices once again filling the space around him.

He watched as Gus walked back into Luz's room to sit next to Willow on Luz's bed. The way her eyes lit up as she smiled at the younger witch made Hunter's stomach flip. Objectively, he knew Gus was right and that telling Willow probably wouldn't change anything, but he still found himself terrified at the idea.

_____________________________________

For lunch, Mrs. Noceda had suggested the kids go out onto the back porch and eat in the sun. The rain from the night before felt like a different world as Willow sat on the outdoor furniture watching with Amity as Luz and Vee taught Hunter and Gus how to play a human sport called soccer, or as Luz and Mrs. Noceda had insisted with rolling eyes and matching mocking tones "football, but you know Americans." Distantly she couldn't stop herself from thinking about how different their lives were less than 24 hours ago and when she glanced over at Amity smiling and blushing lightly at her girlfriend, she felt like she could barely recognize the girl who'd spent years treating her like a pariah.

Willow shook her head slightly, trying to banish thoughts like that from her head. Amity had apologized, the two of them were friends again and Amity was trying to be better, she was better. Willow just had to let go of her hangups about their past. She looked back up at her friends playing on the grass to watch as Hunter purposefully tripped up Luz, his own teammate, to let Gus kick the ball into the goal and score a point. Vee and Gus clasped hands as they jumped up and down excitedly while Luz chewed Hunter out playfully. Willow couldn't help smiling at the way he rolled his eyes at the human girl smiling at Gus' excitement instead.

"That was sweet of him," Amity's voice snapped Willow out of her staring. She could feel her cheeks heat up a little feeling like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't have.

"Yeah, I think he's kinda starting to see Gus as like a little brother. It's adorable. Have you seen their handshake?" Willow said, turning to face Amity with a smile.

Amity mimicked her movements, turning towards Willow and placing her elbow on the table setting her chin on her palm. "The one where they headbump?" Willow nodded. "Total dorks."

Just as she said it, the boys did the handshake. Amity and Willow looked at each other and burst into laughter, as they were catching their breath the two witches saw as Luz excitedly asked to do the handshake with Gus and Hunter too, dragging Vee into it as well.

"And there's my dork." Amity said fondly.

Willow chuckled, "Yeah, well, you picked a good one."

"I'm beginning to think you did too." Amity smirked at Willow.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Willow asked confused look taking over her face.

"Willow, come on, I know we haven't been close in a while, but I see the way you are around him."

"Amity, what are you talking about?"

"Willow, you like Hunter." Amity whispered across the table, placing her hand on the side of her mouth so the other wouldn't see her lips.

Willow reeled back her cheeks lighting up, "Wha- No, I- well he-" she let her expression drop and she leaned back in to speak to Amity in hushed tones. "Ok, maybe I like him a little bit, but it's not like I'm going to do anything about it."

Amity looked at Willow like she insane, "What why not? He 100% feels the same way."

"No, he doesn't." Willow said, shaking her head.

"Willow, yes, he does." Amity smiled.

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does."

"No, he doesn't."

"Ye-"

"Amity!" Willow snapped, slamming her hands down on the table and standing from her chair. "Stop it."

The plant witch's outburst stunned Amity to silence and even caught the attention of the group on the grass. Willow looked around, instantly regretting the outburst as embarrassment flooded through her body. She picked up her empty water glass and walked as quickly and casually as she could through the door back into the house.

Amity turned her attention to the other four and made eye contact with Luz. She gestured for the others to stay as she got up and followed Willow back into the house.

She approached Willow from behind as the other girl was filling her glass with water from the sink. Willow turned off the water and spoke without turning around.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just it's hard sometimes to do the fun friend teasing thing with you after... after everything." Willow sighed, leaning on her hands against the sink.

Amity looked down at her hands, cringing as she remembered all the unfortunately many times she'd teased Willow in a very much not fun friend kind of way. She walked slowly to Willow's side, coming to stand right next to her and leaned against the counter with her hip.

"Willow, I'm so sorry for the things I did to you, there's no way I'll ever make up for them. I wish there was, but I know the memories will probably always hurt you. If it makes you feel any better, they hurt me too. I was a terrible person and I could justify it any way I want, but I don't wanna do that, not with you." Amity figdeted with her hands, "I can promise you that I will never be that person again, though. I love you, Willow. You're my best friend, and even if I was teasing you a little bit, I wasn't lying. He really does like you."

Willow looked up at Amity, expression skeptical.

"I swear, ask Gus or Luz or even Vee or Mrs. Noceda, you know what you could probably ask that human who came by in the morning with those letters for the house, and they'd all tell you that boy is crazy about you." Amity said, gripping Willow's shoulders and turning her to face her, Willow kept her head down pouting slightly and Amity moved her head down to make eye contact with her gently forcing Willow to acknowledge her as she spoke.

"You're being serious?" Willow asked her voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course I am!" Amity shook her gently, and Willow laughed softly. "And he'd be insane if he wasn't."

"Thanks, Amity. I'm still sorry I snapped at you."

"No, I'm sorry for... well for you feeling like you had to snap at me in the first place."

Willow smiled at the other witch and wrapped her in a hug that Amity instantly reciprocated. The two made their way back to the porch and sat back in their seats. At their return Hunter jogged up to the porch and leaned against the railing to speak to Willow.

"Hey, you alright?"

Willow shot a quick glance at Amity who glanced right back at her eyebrow raised before they both turned back to the blond.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Amity and I just have this history I'd rather not talk about."

"Well, if you ever do want to talk, I'm here." As he spoke a light blush colored his cheeks and when Willow smiled at his words it grew even brighter.

"Thanks, Hunter. It was real sweet of you to check up on me." Willow couldn't help the swooping feeling in her stomach as she watched his eyes grow and his ears turn red.

"Of course, always, captain." He said before quickly turning on his heel and rushing back to the others. Willow couldn't hear what they were saying but she could tell from their body language Hunter was getting teased.

"Not a word." Willow said keeping her eyes on the group in front of her.

"I didn't say anything," Amity said holding up her hands in mock surrender. "I just think it's wild how you're still into the same pathetic wet cat type as you were when we were kids."

"Well, how lucky for you that your girlfriend also likes that type."

The two turned to look at each other with matching smirks before they both devolved into full body laughter they couldn't control.

_____________________________________

After dinner Luz and Amity had broken off alone to the living room Luz sitting in the armchair with Amity sitting in her lap. The two whispering and giggling until Mrs. Noceda pointedly brought Gus, Hunter, and Vee to sit with her on the couch turning on the TV to her favorite telenovela explaining the show and catching Luz up on what she missed while in the demon realm.

Willow had slipped outside right after she'd finished eating with the excuse that she wanted to catch the sunset. She had walked all the way up to the edge of the forest and sat down on a little boulder just taking in the nature of a different world wondering if there were any plants out there the Boiling Isles shared, she sat there long after the sun went down content to sit in the dark and listen to the local fauna. Hunter walked out of the bathroom about to rejoin the group in the living room, but his eyes caught sight of Willow alone outside in the dark through the window on the back door. He took a quick glance at the group in the living room to see them all otherwise distracted and slipped out the back door.

As he walked up to her he couldn't help thinking about how this was the first time he'd ever seen with her hair down and that she looked beautiful even when she was wearing an ill-fitting borrowed T-shirt and yoga pants from Mrs. Noceda.

He smiled as he slid into place on the boulder next to her, their sides forced to touch from the awkward size of it. "Hey, captain."

She turned to him with a grin, "Hey, Caleb."

His smile fell when she said the name and he turned away from her with a guilty look. As she noticed his expression her smile disappeared as well.

"Hunter?"

"Willow, there's something I need to tell you." He said keeping his eyes down at his wringing hands. Willow's expression softened.

"I think I know what you're about to say." Hunter's head snapped up and he looked at her shocked.

"You know I'm a grimwalker?"

Willow's face fell into a look of surprise, before something in her snapped and she grabbed Hunter's shoulders pulling the two of them closer together to look at his features, "Oh my Titan that's incredible. I've read books about Grimwalkers," as she spoke she moved her hands from his shoulders to grab his arm and pulled it up close to her face to study more of him, "But I've never seen one in person before, although you don't exactly look like what they're supposed to look like- Oh wait! There's a way they can look different, but I forget exactly-" she cut herself off when she looked back up to his face and realized just how close they currently were, their noses almost touching. Her eyes widened, and her mouth slipped open as his wide eyes stared into hers, bright red blush covering his face and ears.

"You can use someone's remains to make a copy of them." He said softly.

"That's right!" She said before realizing exactly what that meant. She cringed as everything finally caught up with her and she let go of Hunter quickly moving away from him, her face on fire. "I'm sorry that was all really weird and not how I should have reacted at all. It's just I used to read this book series- it's not important right now." She cringed at herself before turning away from him to look down at her feet.

Hunter had yet to take his eyes off of Willow from the moment she'd stopped touching him, of all the ways he thought she would react this was absolutely not how he saw the moment going. As he watched her bite her lip at her feet, the red of her blush highlighting the freckles over the bridge of her nose, he couldn't help the slow smile that grew on his face. She was always surprising him from the moment she ripped him out of the sky to play a sport to how she defended him when the coven scouts had invaded hexside to this moment. If he could count on one thing it was that Willow Park would surprise him and he realized just how much he never wanted her to stop.

"It's okay, I'm honestly kinda relieved that was your reaction. I mean it's not everyday you find out one of your friends isn't real." He let out a breathy chuckle looking down as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Willow snapped up at his words pouting at him. "Hunter, look at me. Look me in the eyes." She leaned in a little as he looked up to meet her gaze. "Do you see the green in them?"

"Yes, of course." He said furrowing his brow.

"How could you see it if you weren't real?" She raised her eyebrows at him as his expression fell.

"Willow that's not-" he was cut off by her lightly thumping him in the middle of his forehead. "Ow." He said more out of surprise than pain rubbing his forehead.

"Did you feel that?"

"Willow-"

"Yes or no?"

"Yes." He rolled his eyes and then she shoved her wrist under his nose, his eyes crossed to stare at it while his cheeks lit up red.

"I put on Mrs. Noceda's perfume earlier, can you smell it?"

He looked into her eyes while her wrist still rested right under his nose so close he could feel her warmth, "Yes, I can." She smiled and moved her wrist away, he was almost disappointed.

"Now I don't have anything here for taste, but I know you've eaten before so you remember what food tastes like, right?" She smiled at him and raised her eyebrow waiting for his response.

"Yes, I remember what food tastes like." He smiled back at her.

"Now how could you do all that if you weren't real?"

"Willow, I just meant-"

"I know what you meant, Hunter, but here's the thing we're all just copies of the people we came from. You just happen to have one set of DNA when most of us have two. It doesn't change anything, you're still my friend." She smiled at him and he couldn't help but match it.

"Gus said you'd say that."

"You told Gus before me?" And he couldn't help it he fell apart laughing at the way her face had fallen into an adorable pout.

"I didn't he just found out using Graye's glass."

"Oh yeah that happened," she said in realization. After everything that had happened the past day, it was a memory that felt like years ago. "You know you said earlier if I want to talk to you I can, well, that offer goes both ways, you know?" She nudged him with her elbow and he smiled back at her.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Hunter remembered how this conversation began. "Wait, you had no idea I was a grimwalker. What did you think I was going to say?" At his question, Willow's cheeks lit up, and her eyes widened, she looked away, avoiding his eyes awkwardly.

"Oh, that was nothing. Don't worry about it," she said fidgeting with her hair.

As he watched her a memory flashed through his mind, a memory that wasn't his. It was the witch from his dream the night before. She was sitting in Willow's postion, but she was facing him with a smirk.

"Don't worry about it, blondie." Her raspy voice hit his ear, sounding playful.

For some reason he couldn't tell you if you asked him why, Hunter moved and spoke with the version of him from the memory playing in his head. He put his hand down on the boulder behind Willow leaning in close to her as he spoke. She turned to look at him blush covering her cheeks. He stopped just before the tips of their noses could touch.

"What if I want to worry about it?" The words spilled from Hunter's lips the same as they did from the man in his memory. The witch in his memory smiled and looked down at his lips and somehow he knew she wanted him to kiss her.

"Then you should do something about it." She said right before the man he was in his mind leaned in to her.

As he looked at Willow in front of him, his own eyes fell to her lips watching their movement as she spoke, "It's just I thought- I mean, well Amity said..." she cut herself off swallowing, her eyes darted to his lips before going right back up to his eyes, but the movement was enough for Hunter to catch and the feeling of knowing the witch wanted to kiss him in his memories sparked at the forefront of his mind. He decided to try and be as confident the man in his memory was.

"Willow? Can I kiss you?" He asked letting his eyes slip to her lips for a moment before going back to hers. He was expecting the sharp gasp she let out, but he wasn't expecting the small nod she gave right after. Another surprise from Willow Park, he smiled softly before leaning in to close the short distance left between them. Their lips brushed together slow and soft, her hand came up to cup his scarred cheek and he could feel her fingers lightly rubbing the scar, before they could really lose themselves in the kiss a loud cheer rang out in the quiet night.

"Woo!" Gus yelled from the porch. Willow and Hunter broke away from the kiss looking over their shoulders to see Gus, Luz, Amity, and Vee standing on the porch with Mrs. Noceda not so subtly peeking through the window.

"Yeah, go Willow!" Luz cheered cupping her hands around her mouth. Amity and Vee were both giggling at the behavior of the other two. Amity and Willow made eye contact and Amity shot her a wink.

Willow laughed turning her head away from them in embarrassment her cheeks on fire. Hunter stuck his tongue out at them, his face equally as red. He turned to look at Willow all of his confidence from before evaporated at the sight of her smiling up at him.

He had actually just kissed her and he'd actually been able to ask her before he did it without his voice cracking or stuttering once, he couldn't believe he was able to do that just a second ago when right now as she was simply just looking at him he felt like he couldn't breathe let alone speak or move.

"I feel like now's the time when one of us asks the other out on a date." Willow said.

Hunter tried to speak, he opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a jilted, "Uh."

Willow pursed her lips together to stop herself from laughing, "Or maybe I should just ask you to be my boyfriend now, what do you think?" Hunter squeaked and cringed at his inability to speak to her. "Should I take that as a yes?" He nodded and she giggled taking his face between her hands and pulling him into another kiss even as she heard the teens on the porch screaming once more, this time she didn't pull away.