Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt: Hunter x OC

Beach Date

The increasingly warm weather on the island of Xylo was a welcome reprieve from a particularly blustery winter, allowing the locals to venture forth from their cozy dwellings to enjoy the outdoors more. The Town Square was more active with events, the beach became increasingly dotted with people looking to enjoy the waves and sun, and the Tiki Bar was back to its usual bustle, including dejarik tournaments and the weekly karaoke night. Hunter was back to tying his hair up in a bun, utilizing a bandana out of either nostalgia or habit, and it was somewhat of a relief for him to don one of his looser tunic shirts and some blue shorts after being under the heavy butcher apron for a few hours.

He'd led Lyra down the steps to a long stretch of beach, carrying a bigger backpack than usual and making some sporadic conversation as they walked. She had unintentionally matched his outfit, partly at least, with a loose beige long-sleeved shirt and an olive green skirt that brushed her ankles. Her brown hair was left down, holding that slight bit of wave as always, and she'd switched to sandals from her usual boots. She watched quietly as he pulled a thin blanket out from the backpack and laid it across the sand, gesturing for her to sit. When he continued to produce more snacks, drinks, and treats than she thought his bag could hold, she couldn't resist a sheepish admission.

"I should have asked you what I could bring..."

"Nope," he said, finishing his spread. "You did all the dinner stuff. Now it's my turn."

"Oh, is that how this works?" she smiled. "Well then I'll have to start planning something good."

Hunter was silent, trying to simply be present and enjoy the moment but unable to rid himself of the nagging questions in the back of his mind from their earlier conversation with Wrecker. They settled into snacking and light chatter, observing the people walking by and occasionally laughing at a raucous outburst from the tiki bar down the beach. The sun was sinking low in the sky, painting everything with beautiful peach tones, and the sea birds floated on the breeze, hovering above the people below with sharp eyes for any food left unattended.

Their conversation was halting, with something unidentifiable beneath the surface, and Lyra's body language was growing increasingly awkward. Once the snacks were thoroughly decimated and the drinks turned into empty bottles, Hunter shoved everything back in the bag except the blanket they were sitting on, and he leaned back on his hands, shaking bangs out of his face as he stared into the distance. Lyra was sitting cross-legged, idly sifting the tiny grains of sand between her fingers just off the edge of the blanket, and they fell silent for a while, each full of thoughts that they didn't know how to share.

"I haven't seen a sunset like this in a while," Lyra offered after a few minutes.

"Yeah," he agreed, lifting his head a bit to enjoy the slow fade of colors across the sky. "They're different throughout the seasons here, it seems."

"Part of the charm."

"Mhm."

More silence.

"Where did you get the chocolate-covered fruit? I haven't been able to find that for ages..." she tried again.

"Omega brought it back from the agricultural island. I'm not usually much of a sweets person, I guess."

"Whaaaaat!"

"I know... No idea why not."

"Well we all have our flaws."

"Heh."

More silence.

Lyra shifted, leaning to her side to prop herself up on a hand, and accidentally laid her fingers over the back of Hunter's where they rested on the blanket behind her. She sat up again quickly, pulling her hand back and mumbling an apology, which seemed to make him further retreat into himself. The sound of a particularly boisterous karaoke singer reached their ears, drawing a little snicker from each and goading her into action.