Behind the Mask (HunterTOH x Y/N)

(9) Watermelon!

You and Hunter had left the cave, though it seemed more like a maze. You had finally figured out how to cast that sleeping spell that Eda was talking about, so as of right now, the white beast was fast asleep in it's cave.

"Hey Hunt- do you mind if I call you that?" You began.

"Go right ahead." He shrugged his shoulders.

"I think we're lost." You chuckled a little.

"Man, I swear we've seen this tree before." He said, motioning to a snow covered tree with a single vine twisting up the trunk.

"You're probably right. But, we're far enough away from the cave, I'm sure we could just make a new camp right here!" You observed.

"What about your palisman? Where is he?" Hunter asked curiously.

"Oh, you mean... this guy?" You asked playfully, pulling him out of your cloak.

"So he really just follows you everywhere?" Hunter inquired.

"Pretty much!" You responded.

You both sat down next to some trees, and your stomach started growling. Your face turned a rosy pink in embarrassment, but Hunter just chuckled.

"We never ate breakfast, did we?" He asked, patting his own stomach.

"What even is there to eat out here?" You asked, looking around for any kind of food.

"I mean, you're The Owl Lady's daughter, surely you know all kinds of magic? Try some plant magic!" He suggested.

You drew a glowing, green circle in front of you, and slowly but surely, a plant sprouted out of the ground. You furrowed your brows and focused on the plant in front of you. 'Watermelon, watermelon.. give mama a watermelon...' You manifested.

The plant's growth went from zero to a hundred, because it quickly turned from a tiny sprout, to a giant watermelon. Hunter cheered silently, shaking his hands in the air. That's when you noticed, one of his gloves was missing.

"We left your other glove in the cave! I'm so so sorry, Hunter." You quickly apologized, not wanting him to snap on you again. His eyes widened, and shot straight to his un-gloved hand.

You could see him start to panic, which made you feel horrible. You took his gloved hand in yours, in hopes of calming him down, or showing some sort of comfort.

"I'm really sorry. Once we get back to town, I'll buy you a new set, I promise!" You assured him.

"No.. no you're okay. It's okay, it's fine! It's totally and completely fine. Heh heh... eh." He sounded pretty unsure, which raised your suspicion a bit. You looked up at his eyes and saw that they were staring at his other hand.

You did too, and when you saw his hand, you gasped. It was covered in scars, and they went from the tips of some of his fingers all the way to a little past his wrist.

"Is... is this why you wear gloves?" You asked him quietly, studying his hand. He nodded his head with guilt in his eyes. "Why do you hide them?" You curiously asked.

"Because they're ugly. Nobody needs to see how many times I've failed.." He replied in a low voice.

"Times you've failed..." You repeated what he said.

"You mean that Belos gave you these?" You asked, shocked with horror.

"Yeah, he did. Sometimes he would make me put my hand on a hot coal, sometimes he would take a knife and slice away, and sometimes he forced me to do it." His eyes filled with tears, but he clears his voice repeatedly to keep his voice from shaking.

"I hate them. I hate them so much, and I can't even use magic to make them go away, because they've already healed as much as they can! I'm a failure, at everything I do. That's why I was so terrified of Belos finding out about my staff. I just wish these stupid scars would go away."

Hunter spoke quickly, but you heard, and understood, every word clearly. You slowly started taking the glove off his other hand. "Is it okay if I..?" You asked gently. He nodded. You took it all the way off, to reveal a hand with about the same amount of scars, but in different places.

You held it up to your mouth, and started kissing all of his scars. Little by little, you made sure to get every single one.

"What- what are you-" Hunter was overwhelmed with emotion. Sad, disappointed, flustered, and even a little happy.

Nobody had ever treated him this way before, it was all new. He didn't know what to do while you kissed his hand repeatedly, so he just sat there patiently, watching you sweetly. With every kiss, a shiver went up his spine and his face got a little redder.

After a couple of minutes, you stopped, positive that you'd gotten every one. You looked up at Hunter to see him staring lovingly back at you, with a goofy smile plastered on his face.

Despite his calm and peaceful demeanor, his eyes soon began to fill with tears. But this time, they were happy tears. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling his body close to you. Now he was the one that was crying. He had his hands on your back, and you felt happy that you were being hugged by his hands, and not his gloves.

It was a strange thing to think, sure, but it meant something to you. And it meant something to him. He buried his head in the crook of your neck, and you did the same in his. You sat there like that for what could be hours, but neither of you cared.

You were both so touch-starved that you didn't give a shit. The longer you held each other, the more tired you both became. You could tell Hunter was getting tired, you could feel him drifting in and out of sleep on your shoulder.

"Thank you, Y/N." He whispered. If his mouth wasn't right next to your ear, you would never be able to hear what he said.

"For what? Losing your glove? Kissing your hand?" You laughed lightly.

"For treating me like a person."