Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt: Hunter x OC

Graffiti

"You really don't need to be doing this," Omega said quietly, her face downcast as she dipped her rag in the small, soapy bucket of water. "I'm the one who messed up." She continued rubbing at the carelessly spray painted stucco wall, watching the bright colors slowly fade beneath the cleaning solvent.

"We all mess up," Lyra answered soothingly, scrubbing in circles with her own brush. "You never 'arrive'. Or you might feel like you do, and then something swipes your legs out from under you or you do something stupid again." She chuckled, glancing at the girl to see if her words were helpful or discouraging. "But you're smart and kind, and your heart is in the right place. That's what matters."

"This didn't seem so smart or kind."

"Well, you clearly have the right perspective now, so I think you can chalk it up to a lesson learned and move on."

"Hm."

They cleaned in silence for a while, side by side in front of the small, flat wall of one of the square island homes on the outside of the Town Square. A barely-recognizable (and wildly crass)artistic rendition of Sy Snootles was slowly disappearing as they chipped away at it little by little.

"Sometimes we beat ourselves up because we feel like it makes up for it," Lyra offered, and Omega nodded in response, rubbing her hair out of her face for a moment before continuing her task.

"I just don't get how I can simultaneously know that it's stupid and yet get carried right along in it."

"It's hard to go against the flow."

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm not exactly one who has ever really fit in anywhere though."

"I think your brothers would disagree," Lyra suggested, touching her elbow in a brief pause. A slight warmth appeared on Omega's face, and she nodded again, pressing her lips together as she stepped back to look at their progress.

"It all happened so fast," she said, looking at the colorful vandalism that she'd been coerced into the night before. "And I don't know where the idea even came from, but suddenly we were all just... Ugh."

"Can I offer an old lady sentiment that might help in future situations?"

Omega laughed, returning to her scrubbing, "You're not an old lady."

"Alright, well... Just remember this. Nothing good happens after midnight."

They shared a quiet chuckle, each nodding with their own understanding of the adage as they continued their cleaning in silence.

Hunter sighed from where he was leaning against the building across the street, having approached to check on Omega but pausing as he sensed a sort of intimacy occurring between the two. He'd hung back, listening to their words as best he could to ensure he wasn't interrupting something important. A deep gratitude settled in his heart as he heard Lyra's gentle encouragement, and he shifted from one foot to the other, unsure if he should even make an appearance at this point. But he did have something he wanted to say to Omega, and the sooner the better, as he felt bad for the way he'd reacted when he'd found out about her ill-fated shenanigans.

She probably wouldn't have shared it with him in the first place, but Omega had arrived at their cabin in the wee hours of the morning, sniffling so loudly as she headed for bed that Hunter had to investigate. She'd been overwhelmed with remorse, partly because of her participation in unsavory activities, but mostly because when they had finished spray painting the side of the house, a few of the kids had thrown the paint cans at the wall in triumph. Their shortsighted actions had resulted in the homeowner coming out to see what the fuss was, and his appearance had solidified her realization that this sort of thing was not what she wanted to be about.