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Coffee with Luz and Camilla has become a daily tradition. Every morning, Hunter wakes and starts the machine just the way that Camilla instructed. He is methodical, first, using the coffee pot to fill water exactly to the eight cup line, then taking the paper filter that reminds him a little of a flower and carefully adjusting it to line the top of the machine. With steady hands, he then scoops coffee with the measuring spoon nestled in the grounds, leveling it off for each of the four scoops. Finally, he plugs it in to the wall and flips the little red switch at the base of the machine. For around five minutes, Hunter sits at the table listening to the soft trickle and hum of the machine in the dark of the kitchen. Soft light makes its way through the window above the sink as the gurgle of the machine intensifies then quiets to a hiss.
At the sound of that hiss, Hunter rises and takes three mugs from the cabinet above the machine. Camilla’s favorite mug is large, cream colored, and sports a sleepy eyed bear. Luz tells him that this bear is an international icon named Barfield who hates Mondays and loves stealing picnic baskets. Hunter doesn’t understand, but Luz says that he would get it after being in the human realm long enough.
Luz’s mug is odd, shaped like an otter’s head instead of a mug. Hunter doesn’t like holding it, the peaks and valleys of the otter’s face feeling too weird.
Hunter’s favorite mug is by far the best of the bunch, a little larger at the rim than the base, a curved handle that fits his hand snuggly, a matte finish, and best of all, it is painted with little yellow flowers that Willow said reminded her of him their first morning in the Noceda residence. Luz then informed them that they were buttercups. Willow remarked that one of her favorite flowers from the demon realm looked just like them but blue, and that they tend to grow near palistrom trees. Hunter liked the mug mostly for how nice it felt to drink out of, but he especially liked that Willow liked the mug too.
Hunter sets each of their mugs down in front of their respective seats, the pours himself his first cup. When he hears Camilla’s alarm going off upstairs, he rises and fills her mug. She comes down promptly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Buenos dias, mijo,” she yawns, and Hunter hands her mug to her.
“Buenos dias, Camilla.”
“How are you feeling? Did you sleep well?”
“I slept well, but I’ve had this itch in my throat all morning.”
Camilla hums, and takes a sip of her coffee.
“It’s probably nothing, but let me know if you feel any worse, okay?”
“Yes, I will,” Hunter nods curtly.
For the next couple of minutes, Hunter and Camilla sit and slowly sip their coffees, every now and then Camilla commenting on things she's reading on her tablet that Hunter doesn't really understand. Soon enough, Luz shuffles into the kitchen and grabs her mug off the table.
“Buenos dias,” she yawns, in that moment the spitting image of her mother as she rubs the sleep out of her eyes.
Hunter hasn’t mentioned it to Camilla, but he’s pretty sure that most mornings Luz has been up long before either of them enter the kitchen. There have been nights that he’s stayed up late talking to her about Belos, the portal door, being a grimwalker, and anything else that weighs on the conscience, and in the morning when he wakes up, she’ll come in looking like she hasn’t gotten a wink of sleep. He feels especially guilty those mornings, because compared to her, he has been getting the best sleep of his life since coming to the human realm.
“Buenos dias, mija,” Camilla reaches out and cradles Luz’s cheek as she sits down. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Mmhmm,” Luz hums, faintly nodding.
“You both should sleep in more,” Camilla says taking in Luz’s tired appearance. “It’s summer! I can take my coffee alone sometimes.”
“Okay, mamá.”
Camilla sighs, then glances at the clock on the microwave, and sighs again.
“I’ve got to get ready for work,” she says, turning to leave, then turns back to the two teenagers, pointing a finger. “Don’t drink too much while I’m gone.”
“Yes, Camilla.”
“Okay, mamá.”
With that agreement, Camilla exits upstairs.
Luz and Hunter are silent as they sip their coffee. Hunter isn’t sure what to say, or if he even needs to say anything. He’s also not sure whether to look at Luz or literally anywhere else, so he keeps his eyes on his mug.
Luz called it his butter cup once, and he groaned but Willow laughed and it made his heart clench. He doesn’t mind too much anymore what stupid puns Luz or Gus make, just hearing Willow’s sweet giggle is enough to make him forgive any and all trespasses.
Hunter suddenly coughs, feeling that tickle in his throat grow intense.
“Shit, Hunter, you okay?” Luz’s brow furrows as Hunter continues hacking and wheezing.
He forces a thumbs up, and Luz relaxes just a little. Finally, whatever has been itching Hunter’s throat all morning dislodges and flies out of his mouth onto his sleeve. Hunter clears his throat one more time and takes a deep breath before grabbing a paper towel to wipe off whatever weird grimwalker mucus has been stuck in his throat. However, when he looks at the paper towel, he knows something is definitely wrong.
“Is that... a petal?”
“A what?!” Luz screeches, and Hunter hurriedly shushes her, slamming his free hand over her mouth for good measure.
Luz licks his hand and he immediately recoils.
“Ugh, what the fuck?” Hunter whines, wiping his hand on his pants. “Gross.”
“Dude, did you just cough up a petal? As in, like, a flower petal?”
“Yes, I did, can you please be quieter?”
“Okay, okay.” Luz closes her eyes and takes in a deep, calming breath, then opens her eyes again. “Let me see.”
Hunter opens the paper towel to show Luz the petal he just coughed up. It is small, rounded, and a soft blue in color. He’s also surprised to see that it’s practically dry.
“Oh... my... god,” Luz balks at the petal resting in the palm of Hunter’s hand. “Is this the first time?”
“What? Yeah, of course its the first time, dumbass. What- do you think I’ve been hiding the fact that I cough up flower petals?”
“No, it’s just- Oh, I can’t believe it.”
“Of course you can’t. It’s just another weird grimwalker thing and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“No, Hunter... I don’t think this is a grimwalker thing.”
“It sure looks like one to me! Here I am, the guy made of plants, coughing up flower petals!”
“No, no, no, Hunter. I’ve read about this before.” Luz’s lips begin to curl up into a smile as she strokes her chin. “I’m, like, basically an expert.”
“What? Where did you read about it? Can it be cured?”
“Ohoho, it can be cured alright.” Luz steeples her fingers. “You’ve just got to tell me...”
Hunter leans closer, waiting with baited breath for Luz to finish her thought. They are both so focused they don’t even notice Camilla reentering the kitchen.
“Who do you have a crush on?!” Luz explodes with excitement, and Hunter covers her mouth again.
“Oh!” Camilla’s exclamation finally makes her known to the teenagers, and she giggles sheepishly. “Oh, don’t mind me, just, off to work! Te quiero, mija-”
She hurriedly places a kiss on Luz’s forehead.
“-Be good, Hunter-” she pats him on the head, ruffling his hair a little. “- I’ll see you tonight. Thaw out the chicken for me, por favor. Chau!”
With that, she rushes out of the house, both teenagers too baffled to catch up and say anything back. Luz tears her eyes away from the doorway and locks her gaze on Hunter.
“Back to business- who?!”
“No one- what does that even have to do with me coughing up a petal anyway?”
“Oh you are going to love this,” Luz chuckles. “If you tell me who you have a crush on, we could have you cured as soon as today. Just tell me.”
“No. I’m not telling until you tell me why it’s important.”
“The same reason everything is important, bro: fanfiction.”
“Okay, I’m not telling. Instead, I’m gonna go get Willow-”
“Of course! Willow! She’ll be perfect to help.” Luz waggles her eyebrows.
Hunter feels sweat start beading up. “What? What could you possibly-”
“You have a crush on Willow, you have to tell her! It’s the only cure!”
Luz starts shaking Hunter by his shoulders, wildly going on about how to make the perfect confession. Hunter has a hard time catching his breath as everything feels like it might just be crashing down around him. Tell Willow? He couldn’t possibly- if she knew- Oh Titan, no way.
“Stop it! Stop! Quit making fun of me and tell me the cure!” Hunter shouts over Luz’s wedding planning.
“Hunter, I am dead serious right now. You know that I don’t joke when it comes to fanfiction.”
That is true, he’s seen it for himself. That time she found his Ruler’s Reach fanfiction on her laptop was excruciating.
“Okay, I believe you, but just tell me what’s happening to me.”
“Well, I don’t know what they call it in the demon realm, but here, it’s a fictional illness called Hanahaki disease.”
“What’s going to happen to me?”
“There’s a few different ways that people tend to write it, but the general idea is that if you don’t confess to the person you’re in love with and have them reciprocate, flowers will keep growing in your lungs until you choke on them and die.”
“Die?!” Hunter screams. “So, either I tell Willow or die?!”
“Tell Willow what?” Vee slithers into the kitchen, scratching her scalp as she takes a seat between Luz and Hunter.
“Fuck! Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” Hunter throws his hands up in exasperation.
“Okay,” Vee yawns. “Anyway, Amity told me to tell you that if you keep screaming she’s going to murder you twice cause no matter how mad she is she can’t kill Luz.”
“Aw, batata!” Luz coos.
“Wait, wait- So you’ve been hearing everything up there?” Hunter asks, hands clenching unconsciously.
“I woke up when Luz started screaming about a cure, and Amity was already awake.”
“What about Willow?” Hunter can feel another tickling in his chest at the thought of Willow hearing all of this.
“Oh, she’s still dead asleep. A griffin could be screeching and squawking on the bed right next to her and she wouldn’t wake up.”
Hunter sinks into his chair, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, you’ve got nothing to worry about, she’s blissfully unaware of your massive crush on her.” Vee tries to hide a grin while slinking over to the coffee pot.
Hunter groans. Perhaps letting the flowers take over would be fine, Willow likes flowers, right?
“Come on, Hunter, let’s leave Vee to her coffee in peace, and we can start planning.” Luz chuckles maniacally, dragging Hunter out of his seat and into the other room
***
After sitting through what felt like hours of Luz reading her favorite fanfics utilizing the Hanahaki trope out loud for “research,” Luz finally released Hunter to deal with the simple issue of confessing his love to his crush before he suffocates on flowers and dies. It’s clear that Luz wants Hunter to hurry, especially after the petals start getting coughed up in bunches instead of singularly. In the fanfics that Luz read, it took months to progress, so he should be safe for a while, but that doesn't change the discomfort that he's feeling currently.
Hunter holed himself up in the basement as soon as Luz dragged everyone except Willow out for a “very important, very secret, surprise errand.” Willow had been in the backyard working on the garden at the time, and Hunter is pretty sure she’s still unaware of anything that’s going on.
When she had woken up and tried to join him and Luz in the living room, she’d looked so sleepy and cute that it sent Hunter into a huge coughing fit. His face and lungs burned and he struggled to hide the petals falling out of his mouth. As a distraction, Luz told Willow that Camilla gave everyone permission to eat ice cream for breakfast, and to go grab a bowl before it was all gone. Somehow, it worked.
He cannot let it get that close again, so instead he has resigned himself to thinking everything through in the basement with a trashcan at the ready in case he has another coughing fit. Along with the petals growing in number, Hunter’s symptoms have accumulated; everything itches, he’s got a headache, and it takes everything in him not to fall asleep.
Despite his ailment, Hunter is hard at work brainstorming the perfect way to confess to Willow that will make her reciprocate his feelings. It is an impossible task. No amount of flowers, chocolates, or elaborate choreography could make a witch as brilliant and talented as Willow fall in love with whatever Hunter is.
“Dammit, Flap, what am I gonna do?”
Flapjack has been worriedly watching Hunter from his perch, head tilting back and forth as Hunter writes things down and scratches other things out.
Why not just tell? Flapjack chirps.
“It’s not good enough, Flap, she needs to like me back.”
Flapjack gives Hunter a look that he can’t understand, then flies off without a tweet. Hunter sighs then stares down at the many scrambled ideas that he has hacked together. He runs a hand through his hair, sighing once more.
“Hey, Hunter, I brought you some tea,” a sweet voice calls down the stairs. “Mind if I come down?”
Hunter scrambles to hide his brainstorming papers, stuffing them into the trashcan and then shoving the trashcan under the sewing table. A chirp and a buzz later, Willow begins to make her way down the steps, carefully holding two mugs, Hunter’s favorite and a light green one that Willow tends to favor, both of them full of warm tea.
“Clover says that Flapjack says its alright, so if you wanna be mad, be mad at them,” Willow giggles, then frowns a little as she takes in Hunter’s disheveled appearance. “Are you gonna be alright?"
“Who? Me? Of course! When am I ever not alright? I’m peachy keen!” Hunter tries to end his statement with a grin but it feels a little too toothy in hindsight.
Hunter notices the mug Willow is trying to hand to him and grabs it quickly, ignoring the little flutter in his heart when his fingers brush hers.
“Okayyy,” Willow chuckles halfheartedly, then takes a seat next to Hunter on the couch. “You sure you don’t want to tell me what’s going on?”
Hunter takes a deep breath in, closing his eyes to give himself a reprieve from the gut-wrenching sweetness that is Captain Willow Park worrying about him. He lets the breath out and opens his eyes.
“To be honest Willow, I’d love to tell you, but I need to deal with this myself first.”
“Alrighty, but just remember: you’ve got friends that can help you out.”
“Right. Friends.” Hunter nods and gives Willow a weak smile before sipping his tea.
There’s something magical to Hunter about the way the quiet feels around Willow. He’s spent plenty of time with everyone now, and he can say for sure that when things go quiet between him and Willow, it’s the most comfortable that he’s ever felt around another person. She doesn’t expect anything from him, whether they’re in her garden, watching the TV, or even when they’re just sitting drinking tea. He can look wherever he wants, move however he wants, and say or not say something whenever he wants. It’s just... perfect. Serene.
“I- I really appreciate this, Captain.”
“Of course! You know I love having tea-time with you!” Willow beams, her smile so big that it scrunches her eyes up and makes her freckled cheeks look even softer than they usually do. Hunter’s heart pangs. “You really seemed like you needed it this morning, anyway.”
“Oh- y-yeah, I did,” Hunter flushes, and fills his mouth with tea to prevent himself from saying more.
Now. Tell her now! Flapjack chirps, flying up to tug on Hunter’s forelock.
Flapjack’s excitement causes Clover to start acting up, too; Willow’s palisman begins to buzz dramatically and nuzzle herself against Willow’s cheek.
“Flap, stop, stop!”
“Clover? What are you talking about?”
“Flap, please-”
Hunter’s cough cuts him off, the excitement of Flapjack and Clover being too much for his current condition. He keeps coughing and this time there’s no hiding all the periwinkle petals flying out of his mouth.
“Oh my gosh! Hunter!” Willow reaches over to rub his back as Hunter coughs out the last of this batch of petals.
“I’m sorry, Willow. I didn’t know how to tell you. I know this is such a burden.”
“Hunter, it’s okay! Of course it’s not a burden! I had a feeling anyway,” Willow giggles a little, still continuing to rub soothing circles into Hunter’s spine.
Hunter’s wine colored eyes widen and heat floods his face.
“Really?” He whispers, awestruck at the beautiful, wonderful, endlessly kind witch in front of him.
“Of course, silly! You could’ve told me you had the mums, I would’ve made your tea sooner!”
“The... mums?”
“Yeah, my dad gets the mums all the time. That’s how I learned to make this so well!” she gestures to her tea.
“I’ve never had the mums before, how... how do you catch it again?”
“It’s just your body reacting to pollen, silly! Like an allergy but make it magic,” Willow giggles. “You’ve got them real bad, I wish you would’ve told me sooner! There’s nothing wrong with getting help for your sniffles.”
“Yeah, uh- It all feels sort of silly now.” Hunter scratches the back of his neck.
“It’s alright, just finish drinking your tea and I’ll make some more.”
“Thanks,” Hunter says, finishing off his cup and handing it to Willow, who smiles and takes it from him.
Willow stands, ready to head back up to the kitchen to prepare more tea when Hunter feels himself reach out to grab hold of her elbow.
“Willow, I-” He catches himself.
“Mmhmm?” Willow turns around to look Hunter in the eyes again, and that strange little part of him that reached out shrinks a little.
“I... just wanted to thank you.” Hunter says in place of continuing his original thought. “You’re a really good friend.”
“Aw! You’re a good friend, too, Hunter,” Willow says, reaching out to hold Hunter’s burning cheek for a moment before heading upstairs.
Hunter reaches up to touch where Willow’s hand just was, eyes glued on the stairs for many moments after Willow ascended with Clover following close behind. His mind is blank, with nothing but the image of her soft peridot eyes gazing down at him. A good friend. That’s... amazing.
Why didn’t you tell her? Flapjack tweets indignantly.
“I don’t need to yet.” is all that Hunter says in reply.