No one has to know| hunter x reader

Why not me?- Mi

He missed you.

His chest ached and constricted the more he thought about it. The hammering of his heart against his ribs seemed never-ending, the cold feeling of guilt and sorrow plagued his every waking move.

The emperor's coven, his home, felt more like a prison with every day that passed. Every inch of the castle he'd go by would send him unwillingly hurtling towards memories that featured nothing but you. A secret touch there and a hushed whisper here, his heart ached at the thought. The castle no longer felt like a home. Though he wondered, had it ever?

Or had it been you who made it his home?

Meals that he'd once shared with you in the privacy of his room now lay untouched at the door as memories would claw their way to the centre of his thoughts. With his appetite now non-existent, he felt he was shedding weight by the day.

Though his stomach growled and his tired body ached for food, the mere pang of loneliness that came with eating by himself was enough to deter him.

He remembered the daily fight to eat his food in peace. The laughter and bubbly feeling that'd encircle him as he fought to keep his plate from your ravenous hands. You'd claim to hate everything on your plate, though loved everything on his. (There were no differences between them)

He'd remember how you'd sneak on his patrols, only tagging along to be a menace and once when the guards had their backs turned, you sneakily lifted his mask no further than his nose and placed a soft kiss against his own.

He remembered pretending to hate it, frantically tugging his mask to cover his reddened cheeks and fleeing, hoping to hide his beating heart from you.

He could never hide from you.

His room, once a haven of peace and safety now felt dull and grey without you there to light it up. He avoided it like the plague, throwing himself into his work to avoid the confronting feelings being in his room brought forth. A confusing mix of resentment, grief and jealousy would course through him, shocking him like lightning. It was too much, he wasn't equipped to handle things like that.

So he prolonged the inevitability of sleep.

Visions of unruly bed hair and soft smiles illuminated by the early morning sun infested his mind behind his closed eyes. They played within him torturing him softly.

However, if he allowed himself to sleep, a different vision would play. Still, one of you, though the soft smiles were replaced with hard lines and a cool steely glare as you parted from him.

'I'm not happy there, I know you're not either' You'd said, the bitterness in your voice shattering his heart with each truth told.

His heart continued to break. With your being no longer beside him he was forced to think, forced to listen to your words. Was the emperor truly like you said? Had he been blinded all along by a forced sense of familial comfort?

With every bone in his body, he ached for you to be here, ached for someone to talk to, ached to tell someone about this. Without your presence, he became acutely aware of the isolation he faced.

You'd been his tether, a gentle hand to keep him steady when he was at his rockiest. Things that'd felt impossible to vocalise you'd understand with nothing but a look, you were so finely in tune with him that he wondered if your souls were intertwined.

Regret passed over him like a thousand needles.

He should've taken your hand, he should've followed you with your pleading eyes and gentle smiles. He wished he'd have swallowed his pride.