Behind the Mask (HunterTOH x Y/N)

(12) Poisonous Berries

After calming down from your nightmare unknowingly, you started to question Hunter.

"So, was I sleep-talking super loud or something? Was I sleep-yelling?" You asked with a laugh.

"No, you were kinda just mumbling to yourself. I'm surprised I even noticed something was wrong." He shrugged his shoulders, unaware of the mistake he'd just made.

"So, you noticed I was having a nightmare. You didn't wake up to me freaking out?" You asked him with a serious face.

"Well- well I mean, kinda..? I mean, It's not like I didn't even go to sleep! Pfft, what kind of a dummy wouldn't... sleep?" Again, you got to witness Hunter and his horrible lying skills.

"Hey, did you even go to sleep earlier? Or did you just lay on your back and stare at the ceiling for a few hours?" Hunter's eyes widened, and you knew you hit the bullseye.

He sighed in defeat after noticing your confident expression. "Okay, how are you always exactly right?" He asked you, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Why didn't you go to sleep?" You asked him.

"I don't know, it's just hard sometimes." He explained reluctantly.

"Mhm? Do you know why it's hard? And don't try to lie to me." You put your finger in his face like a mother to her child.

"It's dumb, really, don't worry about it." He said quietly. You didn't plan on dropping the subject, especially when you wanted to help him so badly.

"Hunter, just tell me what it is! Do you have insomnia? Are you not allowed to sleep back in the castle? What's up?!-"

"I said don't worry about it!" He snapped, pulling his arm away from you and standing up to leave. You stood up to follow him, and tried to take his hand.

He slapped your hand away and looked at you with tired eyes. "Leave it alone. I know you think that you can help solve all of my problems, but some problems aren't meant to be solved! Some problems don't need to be solved.

He walked further away, but you grabbed his arm and tugged on it. "You can't just leave! Where will you even go?" In the blink of an eye, he threw you on the ground and was now staring at his hands in horror.

You stayed there, mostly from shock, but a little from fear. He looked back and forth between his hands and your pained face. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes, but he looked away from you before you could see it.

He muttered an "I'm sorry." Before teleporting away. You sat there, in the cold snow, with tears unknowingly sliding down your cheeks. You attempted to calm yourself down, but it didn't work very well.

"What was it.. 5 things I can smell? Or.. feel? Shit. What was it?!" You yelled at yourself, and then slowly crawled back under the tent, crying yourself to sleep.

The next morning, you woke up to Jax, pecking you in the face. You sat up, rubbing your swollen eyes before having your routine conversation with Jax.

He screeched. "He left last night, buddy." You replied, hanging your head low.

He squealed in confusion.

"Because I made a mistake. I tried to force him to tell me something that he didn't want to tell me." You mumbled the last part.

A few more screeches and replies and you were ready to go hunting for breakfast. You'd thought about looking for Hunter, but decided that him leaving was for the best. It was obviously what he wanted, and you had accepted that.

"You ready to fly now, bud? I'm just about ready to go home." You tiredly asked your palisman.

He shook his head with a little chuckle, and you mumbled to yourself angrily.

"Of course he doesn't, I bet he doesn't even want to be my palisman."

You started looking for the berry bush that you and Hunter ate from last night, and successfully found it. 'I thought it was further that way, but I guess not!' You proudly picked a berry from it, and tossed it into your mouth.

"Stop! Spit it out!" A voice from behind you yelled. Without even looking to see who it was, you quickly spat out the presumably poisonous berries.

You turned around, only to be met with Hunter himself. Only his eyes were puffy too, and his eye bags were heavier than they were yesterday.

"You look like a mess." You both said in unison.

A moment of empty laughs disintegrated when you remembered the events on last night. "I'm sorry." You said honestly. "Where did you go last night?" You asked him.

"Oh, I just hid behind a few bushes a little ways away from the tent." He replied. You blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"So you... heard me.. crying?" You asked him awkwardly. He nodded his head slowly, but then brought it back up to continue talking.

"I.. not to make it weird, but I cried with you. I knew I shouldn't have left the second I did. I knew I shouldn't have pushed you down the second I did it. I- I thought you would never forgive me, so I ran." He sniffled slightly, and you walked up to him, looking up slightly to meet his eyes.

You leaned up to the right side of his face, and he expected you to whisper something in his ear, but instead he felt a soft kiss on his cheek. You stepped back slightly, both of you blushing like tomatoes.

"That was.. that was random. Sorry abo-" He pulled you into a hug, and you leaned your head in the crook of his neck with a goofy smile.

While still hugging, he began to explain. "I don't know if it's a mental illness, or just a problem that I have, but if I don't feel safe, I can't sleep. And the weird thing is, I should definitely feel safe in my room, deep inside the castle, where nobody could ever hurt me, but when I fell asleep the night we started camping, that was the first time that I've gotten sleep in a while. I think it had something to do with you being there.." He spoke hesitantly.

"But I was with you last night, why couldn't you sleep then?" You asked.

"Well, there are tons of dangers of sleeping out in the wild, but I think my main reason of restlessness..."

"I don't want you to get hurt because I couldn't protect you."