Reality Check - A Huntric/Goldric Based Fic

Sleeping With The Enemy (CHP 6)

So don't kick while we're dragging you home, quietly reciting your loyalty oath, knife at your throat, uncomfortable close to the enemy.

-Tv Girl

(...this plot was made sometime around CBAT era, okay?)

Birds are incredibly difficult. 

Flapjack would perch on his should and chirp into his ear. Whenever Hunter wore his favorite sweater to the campfire, Flapjack would nestle up in the breast pocket and slightly flutter his wings. It was extremely adorable when it wasn't unnerving. 

Edric was a help where he could be. Neither had very much experience on birds and it showed... HARD. They had to secretly buy bird food in the middle of the night. Since Edric did not trust Hunter with his car, he was the one making all the midnight runs. Hunter could always see how tired Edric was and it was kind of funny to him. He stayed up WAYYY too late all the time, but he never really thought about how other people go about their sleep schedules. Apparently not the same way he always had.

Edric really enjoyed the company of the cardinal and Hunter. After the whole... incident in the rain, Edric was incredibly relieved that Hunter was able to forgive him. He did NOT enjoy waking up to either grab more food from the nearby town or giving the food to Flapjack. It took out so much energy. Even camp took out his energy at this point. Who fucking thought that teaching twelve-year-olds how to save money would be tiring? He sure didn't. 

That didn't matter. He was enjoying himself, regardless of the sleep he lost. He and Hunter would have late night talks and would occasionally binge random Netflix series. It was peaceful in its own chaotic and crazy way.

Eleven o'clock. They'd stayed up late AGAIN. Well, late for Edric, at least. Ed yawned, crawling into his bottom bunk. "I'm going to bed, Hunter. I don't think I can stay up any longer." 

"Suit yourself." He shrugged, pulling out his phone to watch TikToks while lying on the floor.

Edric laid in silence for a few minutes, shifting uncomfortably underneath the covers. 

TikTok audios blared through his head, specifically CBAT. He knew the sound was popular, but he didn't realize the sound was that repetitive. How had that poor girl lasted through over two years of that? He had already taken enough after maybe two minutes. 

"Hunter! I'm TRYING to sleep. Can you please turn the volume down, at least?"

Purely out of spite, the volume was adjusted much higher, blasting through the room and resounding off the wall. He continued to scroll, CBAT only continuing to play. 

"HUNTER. Turn. It. Off."

"Make. Me." 

Those two words sent the entire summer to follow into motion. This is what was really considered the first point, the first time their relationship would never turn back to what it was before.

Edric took his advice and jumped out of bed. He slapped Hunter's phone out of his hand, causing CBAT to go onto a loop. Before Hunter could protest to such a harsh motion, he pushed Hunter down to the ground and straddled his legs on top of his chest. Hunter flushed with a bit of shy embarrassment and rage. Edric grabbed his wrists and pinned him against the floor, staring intensely into Hunter's eyes. 

"Will you-"

Edric never finished his sentence, so Hunter never knew what Edric was about to ask of him. The door slammed open. There stood a blonde with a slicked back half ponytail and cat pajama pants.

"HEY, CAN, YOU GUYS Turn off the..." Amity started but slowly dawdled off, glancing in between her brother and the blonde on the floor. 

"Edric. GET. OFF." Hunter harshly whispered, and Ed fell off, hitting his back on the old, rickety wooden floors. 

Both boy's faces turned tomato red as they both stared at Amity in shock and fear. 

"..You know what? Continue doing uh.... whatever you were doing before? Just please, keep the CBAT down... No one else should ever have to walk in on this." She turned back around and slammed the door behind. 

Both stared at the door then turned to each other. But after what just happened, they couldn't bear to look each other in the eyes. 

"I'm... We uh... should go to bed." 

"That sounds like a really good idea right now..." 

Both boys crawled into their respective bunks and stared at the wall or ceiling, heart racing.  What in the hell just happened?

Why did they both feel more  flustered than angry?

Why didn't either of them really wanted any of that to stop?

739 Words.