Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt: Hunter x OC

Surrender and Dread

The water crashed over the rocks with a steady, soothing roar as Luci reclined beside the river, lifting her water bottle to her lips before tossing it aside and stretching out luxuriously where they'd strewn their towels over the flat stones on the bank. Hunter gazed at the waters, swirling in blue and green hues, then allowed his eyes to drift over her. She folded her arms over her face to block the sun, peeking out at him with one squinty eye.

"It's not fair that you can get into shape so fast," she said with a smile, letting out a low whistle as Hunter took his shirt off and rested with his hands behind him. "I mean, are you kidding me? Look at you." He glanced down, noticing that his soldier physique had indeed returned at a rapid rate, although this was no surprise to him, considering his engineering. The various workouts that they had enjoyed together had challenged him in new ways, allowing him to develop not only his strength and stamina, but his agility, flexibility, and stability as well. It helped that they were always outdoors, too, so his rich brown skin was a deeper tone than it ever had been during the years spent wearing blacks every waking moment.

"Sorry," he said, as unapologetically as he could. She laughed, shaking her head and burying it further beneath her arms. "It's all your fault anyway," he continued, grinning as she swatted blindly at him.

"I regret nothing," she grumbled, lifting one toned leg and flexing her foot back and forth. She'd worn nothing but a swimsuit for their hike, leaving him speechless at her free-spirited comfort in virtually any situation. "But I also have earned a good, solid 'I told you so' about the dancing. It took, what, like six lessons and you've got all kinds of lustful eyes on you now?" Hunter groaned, rolling his eyes in thorough disbelief, but she continued with a mockingly insistent look on her face, "You might not see it, but I do. But don't worry, I'll fight em off. I told you I was scrappy."

"Thank you." His sincerity was laced with sarcasm, and she loved every minute of it, lowering her leg back down and touching his foot with hers on the way.

"You gonna help me with the next series of dance classes?"

"It didn't sound like you needed a partner for those..." Hunter said, voice constricting a little.

"Not at the studio," she said with a smirk. "But maybe I can practice on you at home so I can get the best choreography for the students... Somethin real spicy."

"You didn't get enough practice in your traveling dance troupe? That sounded... similar..."

"Oh it was," Luci agreed, biting her lip at the thought. "You wouldn't believe some of the politicians I entertained... It's amazing how so many people, all wildly different on the outside, can be reduced to most of the same basic urges."

"You love toying with people, don't you..."

"Not toying with them," she corrected quickly, a tinge of indignation in her soft, light voice. "That sounds mean. I love people in all their shapes and sizes. It's just fun that, at the simplest level, we're pretty much all the same." She paused, considering her own philosophy. "But the differences add all the color and flavor! So being able to see both in each person – the common humanity as well as the amazing diversity – makes life a really interesting ride! No pun intended," she added with a wink. "But yeah, my... insight... did get me a lot of tips and repeat customers. So everyone was happy."

"Well that's good."

"Did I tell you about my Holonet correspondent job?" she asked, sitting up to face him more fully and adjusting her swimsuit top.

"I don't think so..." he murmured, furrowing his brow. She'd told him a lot, to be honest, and there were so many stories of random career endeavors and impulsive adventures that he was starting to feel lost in it all. She had a number of tattoos, each with its own tale of meaning (or debauchery), and she'd been across the galaxy almost as much as he had, it seemed, although under very different circumstances. There were more people in her life than he could remember, all referred to with fondness and specific names that he promptly forgot. And she seemed to have more luck than the average individual, having skirted some very precarious situations a number of times. It was getting to the point where he was fairly certain he couldn't be surprised by anything from her anymore, and somehow that was comforting in itself.