#huntlowweek

“Well,” Hunter hesitated before he began speaking rapidly. “We were in the human realm walking home from the store and it started to rain like super hard. So I put my jacket over us to keep us dry but I had to pull her closer to me so we’d both be covered and it all happened so fast and we were so close and it felt like time was frozen. And then she got even closer like her face was right by my face and then she closed her eyes and I thought she was blinking really slowly but then she... and then I was moving closer like I didn’t even know until we were so close we were almost... but I chickened out! I panicked. I was so sure but then all of a sudden I thought about it too much and err!” Hunter covered his face with a pillow and groaned loudly.

“Well at least you told her that you like her, right?” offered Gus. “That’s progress!” 

“Yeah, that is progress.” Hunter agreed with a small smile. After everything, he had managed to work up the nerve to tell Willow that he “liked her romantically”, as he had so awkwardly phrased it. It only took facing the end of the word for him to have the courage. He had blurted it out after flyer derby practice one day, which Willow said she loved but it was not the elaborate grand gesture Hunter believed she deserved and still wanted to give her. So there was more pressure on this next step.

“And she likes you...” Gus reminded him.

“Yeah, she likes me,” said Hunter with a smile, still finding the fact hard to believe.

“And she’s liked you for a long time,” confirmed Gus. “Probably ever since you kidnapped us.”

“Why do you always have to bring that up?”Hunter asked, sitting up and glaring at him.

“You make it too easy.” Gus shrugged, but his teasing eased Hunter for only a brief moment.

“But... just because she likes me doesn’t mean she wants to kiss me,” he sighed.

“I’ve been told I’m not allowed to comment on that.”

“What? Why? What has she told you?”

“She told me if I speak for her about this she’ll fill my socks with poison ivy,” said Gus. “But I’m sure she’ll still like you even if you’re a horrible kisser.”

“Why would you say that?”

---

Hunter changed only two more times before he finally left to meet Willow at the art gallery.

He was still getting used to the new flow the outings had when it was just them. There had been plenty before, of course, but Hunter would spend so much time worrying about staring or standing too close. But now there was a different type of pressure. Ever since he told her how he really felt about her… well, he still worried about these things. But at least now it was easier to explain if she noticed. Well, not really. He was still a mess around Willow. 

But the one important thing that changed was now they held hands alot more, and Hunter thought that was pretty cool.

“Oh, look at this one!” he said excitedly, grabbing her hand to bring her over to a large painting of a garden. Willow followed happily behind, lacing her fingers through his when they reached the display.

“It’s so beautiful,” admitted Willow with a content sigh.

“Yeah, it is.” agreed Hunter, his eyes drifting to the side. Willow knew he was talking about her and not the painting and she thought about letting him know that she knew to see his reaction. She decided against it so he could stare at her longer. He did that more now. Willow thought it was pretty cool.

Hunter got totally lost in the way the light found her. The way it bounced off her glasses and settled in her hair like a halo as she slowly moved her lips, listing every species of flower in the painting under her breath. Hunter was suddenly hyper aware of exactly how much attention he was paying to her lips. They had a light on them too, was she wearing lip gloss? Did she always wear lip gloss? He noticed the way they naturally curved into a smile, the way she pursed them when she forgot what flowers she had already listed and had to start over, the way… wait, was this a sign? 

Was this the moment? He looked around and saw they were the only ones in this section of the gallery. He knew Willow had been looking forward to this exhibit, it was special, it was just them, it checked all the boxes. He took a deep breath and leaned down.

“So which is your favorite flower?” she asked, giving him the perfect opportunity for him to say you, of course or some version of that. His version of flirting had a certain learning curve, but Willow found it extremely endearing. He was silent for a moment, Willow assumed because he was still putting the words together but then the silence became overwhelmingly long. 

She turned to see why he wasn’t answering her and saw his face beside hers; his eyes were tightly shut, his fists clenched at his sides, and his lips puckered as though he had eaten a piece of sour candy. He looked fairly unwell.

“Hunter, are you okay?” Willow asked, genuinely concerned.

“Um, yes yes of course I’m great,” he stuttered, standing up straight. “W-w-why wouldn’t I be? Do I not look okay?”

“Your face just looks kind of red,” said Willow. “And you’re sweaty, do you need to lay down? We don’t have to stay if you’re not feeling okay.”

“I’m fine, really I guess I’m just… nervous,” he sighed. 

“Nervous? About what?”

“The truth is I was... going to kiss you,” Hunter confessed as though he had been caught doing something he should be ashamed about.

“Oh.”

“I know, I know,” said Hunter, replying to the worst case scenario fashioned by his own mind rather than the girl in front of him. “It’s probably too soon, right? I just don’t know how long you’re supposed to wait before a first kiss and I thought it was a really nice night and I felt comfortable so I thought-.”

“Hunter, Hunter,” said Willow, putting her hand gently on the side of his face. “It’s okay, breathe.” She gave a gentle laugh as he did, counting his breaths and he gathered his thoughts. “You don’t have to feel so much pressure.”

“I know it’s just... there’s so many variables and options and moments and it’s a really important moment and I just don’t wanna mess it up.”

“That’s so sweet but what I meant is there's no pressure because it... wouldn’t really be a first kiss.”

“Oh,” said Hunter, surprised. “Oh, well yeah I don’t know why that’s surprising, I mean if yo- you’ve probably kissed people before, of course people would wanna kiss you! I don’t know why I-.”

“I haven’t kissed anyone else,” Willow said calmly, biting her lip as he once again unknowingly showered her with compliments.

“Oh.” Hunter said again. “Okay wait, sorry I’m confused.”

“Well,” Willow sighed, taking Hunter's hands in hers. “I mean it wouldn’t technically be our first kiss because you have kissed me before.”

“What?!” Hunter exclaimed, rightfully baffled. “Wait, do dreams count?”

“No,” Willow said with a soft giggle as she shook her head.

“Oh, wait then what do you mean?” Hunter asked. “Does kissing have different definitions?”

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s just the one,” she said sweetly, running her thumb over the back of his hand. “But um well...  It was before a lot of stuff with The Collector happened when we got back to the demon realm. When you went off with the coven heads to get King while I helped Luz and Amity with Eda. It was all happening so fast but when you left, you stopped suddenly and turned around. You ran back pulled me into a hug and told me to be careful and that you cared about me and then before you ran back ... you kissed me.`` As she recounted the tale, a few small flowers sprouted atop her head. 

“Like... really kissed you?”

She nodded

“Like... on the lips?” he asked somewhat bashfully.

“Big time.” Willow confirmed, trying hard to stop herself from getting totally lost in the memory. It had all happened so quickly yet it played back in her mind in slow motion: the way he gently placed his hands on her cheek and the soft way he looked into her eyes and the way his voice got low and serious and quivered slightly before he leaned down to pull her closer and the way her heart felt like it was going to fly out of her chest when he-

“And I don’t even remember it?!” Hunter practically shouted, his voice echoing in the empty gallery room. “Why don’t I remember it???”

Willow snapped out her daze and turned to the distressed Hunter in front of her. “Oh, well you got hit pretty hard on the head from what Darius told me and there’s a few gaps from that day. Like you said you didn’t remember how you got back to the Owl House, right?”

“Well yeah but I think I would remember something as important as our first kiss!” He exclaimed, worried his forgetfulness could offend her. 

“You don’t even remember saving the world, so I think it’s safe to say the importance of the memory isn’t a factor on whether you remember it or not.”

“I mean was it... okay?” he asked, taking his hand back so he could nervously rub them together, averting his eyes to the ground. 

“It was,” she said, rocking on her heels. “It was very okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“You want me to show you?”

Hunter froze. He didn’t expect to walk into this already falling behind. Any confidence he had before had completely vanished now. At least he didn’t have to worry that Willow didn’t want to kiss him, now he could worry about whether Willow regretted kissing him or not. He found himself in the odd position of being jealous of himself, how had that Hunter pulled it off and how was he supposed to compete with him?

“Ha ha, I uh...” Hunter tried to find the words. “I’m sorry, I just can’t believe I don’t remember it.”

“Well then, I guess you also don’t remember that I was mad at you.”

“What? Why?”

“Well after you kissed me I said ‘that better not be because you don’t plan on coming back’ and then your face turned red and you teleported away and I didn’t know if it was because you were overwhelmed or if I had gotten it right.”

“Yeah, that sounds like me,” he said. “I’m guessing I didn’t apologize, did I?”

“Well, kind of?” she said with a sigh. “When everything was finally over I was looking everywhere for you. I didn’t know if you were okay or if you had... anyway, I was calling your name and I couldn’t see very well because my glasses had gotten broken at some point. I was trying not to freak out but everything was so crazy and no one knew where you were but then... I heard you call my name back. Then I turned around and I saw you and you ran over to me and scooped me into your arms and squeezed me and spun me around. I was so happy to see you that I started crying and I said I was so glad you came back and then you wiped the tears from my eyes and said ‘me too’ and then... you kissed me again.” Willow recalled the sorry with a vibrant blush, her voice faded as though lost in a grand dream as more tiny flowers appeared in her hair.

Hunter was speechless. He was flabbergasted. But most of all he was upset. His eyes and jaw were open wide with surprise.

“I did that?” He said slowly, still feeling as though he had been listening to a retelling  of an iconic tale and not an account of his own actions. Willow merely sighed and nodded as Hunter’s fury grew. “But the last thing I remember is waking up in the Owl House and everyone said... I thought I knew...  but how can…we’ve kissed twice??? Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Well it’s a delicate thing to bring up,”  said Willow. “A lot was going on and things were moving quickly and I didn’t know if maybe your feelings had changed. I didn’t want you to feel pressured in case you were embarrassed or something.”

“Embarrassed? You thought I’d be embarrassed? Oh Titan, was I that bad of a kisser?” Hunter panicked, as he grabbed his hair with his hands.

“No no, I mean embarrassed about kissing me.” Willow explained as she brought his arms down, trying to reel him back.

“Why would I be embarrassed about kissing you? It's literally all I’ve been able to think about!”

“Well, yeah I know that now,” she said, thinking how silly everything was.”But when everything was over and you didn’t mention it I thought maybe you had done it out of nerves and weren’t really ready. I didn’t realize you had forgotten it until you told me that you liked me and I was like ‘well yeah, I sure hope so.’”

“You’ve gotta be kidding,” Hunter said in disbelief “This is a joke, right? One of those prank things that Gus likes?”

Willow shook her head.

“Well did you... like that I kissed you?” asked Hunter sheepishly. “Like, are sure the only reason you didn’t bring it up was because-.”

“Hunter,” said Willow simply. “I promise, it was wonderful. It was perfect and super romantic.”

“Well now I’ve done it,” he groaned. “That is super romantic! How in Titan’s name am I supposed to top that??”

“You don’t have to top anything! If you want-.”

“What if I’ve forgotten how to do it? No, I didn’t forget; I never knew how. Well, apparently I did for like a minute but I’m sure you’ll be able to tell the difference and then what if it’s worse because we’re not risking our lives? I mean, I’ve always worked best under pressure but this just doesn’t seem fair-.”

“Hunter, are you sure you don’t need to lay down?” Willow asked as she led him to a bench in front of a wildflower mural, but as they sat he continued to spiral.

“I had it all planned out and then Gus got into my head about ‘what if the plan didn’t go smoothly’ and so I thought of a back up and then he said I would just know the right moment and a lot of moments seemed right but then I thought what if an even more right moment came and I should’ve waited and it would’ve been-.”

“What moments?”

“Like the time we were all watching the stars and you held my hand the whole time and you put your head on my shoulder and I wanted to then but everyone was around and i didn’t know if you’d be okay with that and I hadn’t even told you I liked you yet and if you said no I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable and then you’d leave and you looked so pretty in the moonlight-.”

“Aw,” said Willow, resting her head on his shoulder as another flower appeared in her hair. “When else did you wanna kiss me?”

“Um, last week after I had dinner at your house and you walked me home and you were telling me about your Cosmic Frontier theories and you started quoting the scene from when Ivy and O’Bailey are looking for the power source and you said the line she says before they kiss and you paused and I thought that was you waiting for me- “

“I was.”

“-and it seemed perfect but then I remembered I had garlic on my dish and I didn’t have a mint or anything so I was worried my breath smelled bad and you wouldn’t tell me and you would have an awful time and would never wanna kiss me again. And then we were still pretty close to your house and I was paranoid your dads would see and I don’t know why but I’m weirdly scared of them.

“Well they adore you,” said WIllow, brushing a lose hair behind his ear as she allowed Hunter to burn himself out.

“So then I thought: ‘I should stop waiting for the moment and make my own moment, that way nothing can go wrong.’”

“You had something planned?”

“I was gonna fill some jars with fireflies and bring them to the gazebo you liked that had the vines around the sides. And we would sit on the steps and you’d say you were cold and I’d bring out the jacket I made for you and I dunno I'd say something cool when I helped you put it on and you’d be so impressed and and you’d wanna kiss me which I know sounds of-.”

“How can you plan on me being cold?”

“Well, because you’re always cold,” he said simply. “That’s why you were always asking to hold my hand, right? Cause you said yours were cold.”

“Well, that’s maaaaybe a little bit of a lie I’d say because I just wanted to hold your hand.” she laughed, taking his hand to prove her point. “So why haven’t we been to the gazebo?”

“Well, it turns out that while gazebos are fairly romantic tiny buildings, they’re also city property, so I’d need to make a reservation if I wanted to alter it in any way. So, I went down to city hall to fill out a form and actually in about two months-.”

He cut himself off, noticing the amount of flowers now occupying Willow’s hair. This had happened before, and he knew her powers were linked to her emotions but he just didn’t know exactly what she was feeling. He held his breath in case he was making her uncomfortable.

“Go on.” Willow prompted, rested her cheek on his shoulder, her eyes locked on him.

“I feel like I’m talking too much.”

“No no, keep going,” she said, wrapping her arms tighter around his arm. “Tell me about other times you wanted to kiss me.”

“Well, uh,” Hunter gulped. “Then there was about five minutes ago.”

“I remember that,” said Willow with a smile as she inched closer. “But I think that ones on me.”

“And then, that time when it was raining,” Hunter started, but found himself also drifting closer and his eyes felt heavy. He noticed at some point she had reapplied her lip gloss.

“I remember that time,” said Willow softly. “What about right-.”

But Willow never got her answer, as she was cut off by Hunter lips on hers. Unlike the two only she remembered, it was brief. He darted forward (it was easy since her face was already so close) and pressed his lips against her in a shaky fast kiss. It was more of a peck, technically, but just like the other two it left Willow speechless for a moment. She couldn’t think of a better interruption as flowers started violently sprouting all over her head.

Hunter pulled back and saw her looking at him with wide eyes and suddenly his galderstone heart was in his throat and he just knew his face was red again as he leaned back and covered his mouth with his hand, shocked by his boldness. 

“Oh my Titan! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted you! That was rude. That’s exactly what I was worried about, oh I-I can't believe I would just think to-.”

Willow pulled him back down by the collar of his shirt and cut him off by returning the favor, giving him a taste of his own medicine in a longer, slightly deeper kiss. He closed his eyes and instinctively brought up his hand to the side of her face to caress her cheek lost in a wonderful sense of deja vu as he kissed her back. 

“There,” she declared, trying to catch her breath as she released him, relishing in the same smitten expression slapped across his face as before. “Now we’re even.”

Hunter’s face was an absolute tomato. Willow giggled as he mouth spread into a big dopey grin. “Hehe, okay,” he giggled in a low, breathless voice before clearing his throat. “Um, well not technically. I’m pretty sure you’re still two ahead of me.”

“Well then, it looks like you have some catching up to do,” she said, leaning up to gently kiss the top of his nose. She hopped onto her feet and offered her hand to him to bring him off the bench. She laced their fingers together and Hunter felt as though he was floating rather than walking as she lead him to the next room.

“Oh, is it a competition now?” He asked playfully, raising his eyebrow.

Willow nodded and used their linked hands to bring him down to her and kiss his cheek and safely secured the lead. But she could tell that despite his competitive nature, Hunter wouldn’t mind coming in second for this. Willow smiled, sharing the thought.