#dadrius fic

[oryoucouldhavemine]

Hunter and Darius reunite after the Draining Day Ceremony

Hurt/Comfort, 2.3k words

I have no memory of writing this but apparently i wrote it two months ago and just straight up never posted it so enjoy everybody

[liv-uwo]

My sad gay ass when I see a found family story

[welcometogrouchland]

I feel like for the first few years of guardianship Darius and Hunter really struggle to figure out how to refer to each other.

Like it's easier for Hunter, he pretty quickly settles on "guardian" for explaining their relationship to other people and just referring to Darius by name when talking to the man himself. Overtime the phrasing gradually warms, becoming "foster parent" and eventually, once Hunter's already an adult old enough to move out, "Dad".

(Sidenote: he doesn't move out til he's in his mid to late twenties, bc he's under no obligation too, Darius low-key doesn't want him too, and the two of them want to make up for lost time in a sense, since Hunter only had 2 years of legal dependency on Darius before aging out of the system. Darius adopts Hunter retroactively as an adult)

Darius on the other hand has a real conundrum on his hands for those first few years. He has a lot of options! But "ward" is too formal and makes it sound like Darius picked him up off the street like after his parents were murdered, "apprentice/student" isn't really accurate considering the focus of Darius and Hunter's relationship has less to do with Hunter learning magic and more to do with Hunter being housed and fed. "Kid" and "foster son" are there...but...

Look, Darius isn't going to refer to Hunter more familiarly than Hunter refers to him! He's not gonna make it WEIRD. He's not a dad, because Hunter doesn't want/need him to be (and also parenthood is scary <3). Darius doesn't know the first thing about being a dad, despite how his friend group teases him.

Eda and Eberwolf are the two who are worst about it. They torture him with how 'fatherly' he's allegedly being (allegations Darius will DENY til his GRAVE!!!) And Eda specifically compares his journey to hers, saying it always starts off with you referring to them as your apprentice (again, Darius doesn't plan on doing that), as your roommate (...kinda weird in Darius' opinion? But okay Eda), or even your pet (????HELLO???). But eventually, they always become your dumb kid when you least expect it.

She's had a couple cups of appleblood by this point, but Darius knows on some level she's right and he's steadfastly ignoring that fact, even as Eber continues to refer to Hunter as his "cub" (kinda cute but Darius doesn't know how Hunter would feel being compared to an animal). The only people who are even remotely reasonable about all this (besides Lilith who's a bit disinterested in kid talk) is Raine and Alador, who both sort of neutrally, a bit awkwardly refer to Hunter as Darius' Boy.

Darius referring to Hunter as "my boy" is funnily enough what sticks the longest before it evolves to son boy. Hunter's crushing it at a derby match? Darius is whooping and cheering, yelling "THAT'S MY BOY!!!" At the other parents in the stands. Hunter is doing something dangerous or inadvisable where others can see him? "Darius, your boy-" "AHH! MY BOY". Hunter, a year into his stay with Darius finally comes clean about everything to do with him being a grimwalker, and is afraid that he's going to go back to seeing him as just an inferior replacement for Darius' beloved mentor? Darius (who has just had to process some of the most bonkers, emotionally heavy information in his life) gently, hesitantly puts a hand on his shoulder (the 'good' one Hunter doesn't mind people touching), and says that Hunter's much more than that. He's Darius' Boy and he's not going to kick him out or get angry or love him any less for things out of his control. It's good. They're good.

Like I said, it evolves over time and 'boy' becomes somewhat obsolete as the two get caught up in the joy of finally feeling able to explicitly refer to each other as family. But unlike "guardian" or "ward" the word never gets fully retired. Even when Hunter is 30 and is arguing that he's more of a man than a boy now, he is still getting referred to by Darius as "his boy", the way some parents never really stop calling their adult kids baby or kiddo (Camila and Eda respectively btw).

Hunter makes one of those corny matching shirt sets at some point for a father's Day gift when he's 17/18, where the two shirts say "if lost, return Boy to me" (Darius) and "I'm Boy" (Hunter). Hunter mostly did it so he could own a funny shirt that says "I'm boy". Darius openly weeps upon seeing them. Like Oh my Titan he's boy. He's my boy. Oh wow

[kipkoh]

Effortlessly My Baby by Kohpon on AO3

The boy behind the mask did not exist. He was nothing but a shell, a pawn to be used in a cruel man’s dangerous game. That was the only reason he was alive, the only reason he was allowed to take up space in a world that otherwise would refuse him, discarding him as if he were nothing more than a broken toy. The boy behind the mask was not worth anyone’s attention, worth anyone’s love, and he had been conditioned to believe that as fact since the day he was born.

And yet it wasn’t true. Despite all odds, there would always be at least one person in the world who considered him more than deserving of their love, whose heart he had burrowed himself so far into that it would be impossible to disentangle himself. No matter how long it took, how difficult of a task it would be, Darius would make sure to change his mind because even if no one else in the world loved him, Darius would. That was the only fact Hunter needed to believe.

[thousand-winters]

Success!!! 🎉 Happy birthday, Reigen, you give me an amount of feelings only shrimps should be able to feel.

[kolapon-art]

🧵darius & hunter (dadrius week day 3: secrets)

🧵5.2k words 🧵Hunter visits the place Belos died and everything goes wrong (or despite Darius' warnings, Hunter goes back to the ruins of the castle and loses himself in bad memories as soon as he sees whats left of the throneroom)

@sergeantsporks

[neoncherryblossom]

Day 5: Grimwalkers

@sergeantsporks

“Okay so… Eberwolf- his incisors and… yeah back teeth too, they’re just a little wider than what a witches felt like. He has less canines in his mouth than most, but they seem to possess the same strength and size.” Despite himself, Darius couldn’t help but snort, jotting down what Hunter said with a pen he materialized with a swirl of purple goo. “Back teeth? You know that the front teeth are called incisors but you don’t know what the back teeth are called?” Eberwolf huffed amusingly as Hunter shot Darius a look, his face lighting up a bit. “Fine! It’s not like they're my notes or anything but- sure! His molars are just a bit wider than a witches', happy?” “Very,” he said, smirking. “And what else have you found out Inspector?” Or: There are many different teeth types across the Boiling Isles. How do Hunter's look?

[possibly-a-table-or-just-gay]

I Had All And Then Most Of You, Some And Now None Of You

"This is a horrible idea."

Alador shifted awkwardly on his feet, mumbling to himself. What in Titan's name was he doing here?! He should be at the house, with his kids. Not standing on his exes doorstep like a stray dog. He wasn't a teenager anymore. It was about time he fucking accepted that already.

Fuck it.

Chapter: 1 2

________________________

Dumb little fic that wouldn't leave my head, my moots are already well acquainted with it (sorry besties). This was my first time writing fanfic so just please be nice lmao.

Thank you @theninjabozo & @genderlessjacky for helping me with this, ye are the best.

________________________

"This is a horrible idea."

Alador shifted awkwardly on his feet, mumbling to himself. What in Titan's name was he doing here?! He should be at the house, with his kids. Not standing on his exes doorstep like a stray dog. He wasn't a teenager anymore. It was about time he fucking accepted that already.

Fuck it.

He slammed his palm against the ornate doorbell, the sharp ding ringing in his ears.

Immediately the instant regret hit him like a ton of bricks. Guilt and shame rising up in his gut, he swiveled on his heel and began legging it down the driveway. It wasn't too late. He could leave now, whatever was left of his self-respect still intact.

Until he heard the door handle turning and saw the light from inside cast his shadow in front of him. His breath hitched in his throat, his entire body screeching to a halt.

"Alador?"

He turned around to face the speaker like he was waiting for an endless berating, wringing his hands.

Standing in the doorway was Darius Deamonne. He was dressed in a luxurious looking bathrobe, clearly not expecting company at this hour. His face was creased into a confused frown, not that Alador could blame him.

The accused felt his face flush and stammered to explain himself.

"Uh, um H-hi-"

Darius' expression softened for a split second. Titan, this was low, even for Alador's standards. Ah well, no going back now.

/

It was just past midnight. Hunter had gone up to bed. Whether he managed to sleep or not was up for debate, but with how he had dragged himself up the stairs, yawning and stumbling, Darius was willing to bet  the little prince was out cold.

With Eberwolf retiring to their room down the hall early, Darius was left alone downstairs. Normally he valued beauty sleep above all else, however tonight he couldn't bring himself to turn in for the night.

Leaning against the kitchen island, aimlessly scrolling through Pentstagram, the ringing of the doorbell dragged him out of his thoughts. Mother Titan, he thought he told that short pig thing trying to sell him cheap waistcoats to get lost. No advertiser had the right to rock up at his door at this time, surely.

Grumbling, he wrenched open the front door, words of annoyance his tongue. They caught at the back of his throat however, when it was not a ludicrously irritating salesman greeting him.

"Alador?"

Darius saw the guilty look in his past lover's eyes, the ashamed way he forced himself to meet his gaze. Alador's entire body shook as he scrambled to find an excuse.

Glancing up at the overcast sky, a tell-tale sign of bad weather, he huffed a sigh through his nose.

Darius didn't do pity, but he wasn't cruel.

Turning around he gestured over his shoulder for the witch on his doorstep to follow him. Upon seeing in the corner of his eye Alador standing stock-still in shock, he reached behind him and yanked the man inside by his wrist, just as the pitter-patter of boiling rain started to fall.

/

"You can sit."

Alador gingerly perched himself on the lush purple couch, not sure if he was entirely welcome.

"Do you still drink coffee?"

Darius looked his guest up and down, noting the deep eye bags and tired posture.

"Nevermind, looks like you've had enough of that to last a lifetime."

Alador's cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment but he didn't deny it.

Setting two freshly brewed mugs of goreberry tea on the coffee table, Darius took a seat opposite Alador. After sipping their tea in silence for a few minutes, he decided to cut to the question that hung over the living room like a dark cloud.

"What are you doing here, Alador?"

Darius asked, in the gentlest voice he could muster.��

His guest squirmed uncomfortably, his eyes darting across the room as if he could find a dignified excuse on the picture frames decorating the walls.

"I um, I didn't- I dont- I- "

He looked down at his feet, avoiding Darius' eyes.

"I didn't want to be alone... again..."

/

Darius frowned.

"Don't you have a wife?"

Alador laughed hoarsely.

"Yeah, she's dead to me now. I'm done with her bullshit."

He kept his eyes focused on the floor.

"I spent most of my marriage in the workshop. I worked there, I slept there. I don't even know my kids anymore. I've wasted my life attached to that woman."

"......"

"In the end, it was my choice, wasn't it though? I could have stood up to my parents, could have grown a backbone. Could have stayed with you."

Darius felt his throat block up, like the wad of emotion he had thoroughly stamped down for twenty years had taken a physical form.

"I don't deserve it. Whatever they've given me is more than I earned. I never saw them grow up. Never saw them change, become independent. I'm not worth their forgiveness."

A tear rolled its way down Aladors face and as much as he tried to quell them, they kept coming.

Darius awkwardly stood. Tears were never his strong suit. He sat down next to his old sweetheart, murmuring soft words of comfort.

Alador laughed again, if you could even call it that.

"And here I am, a grown man, crying in his exes living room. Titan Darius, I'm sorry I- "

"I don't need your apology."

The words came out harsher than intended, but there they were.

Darius sighed.

"Are you okay?"

It was a pointless question, but one that needed asking anyway.

"No, not really."

Darius wrapped his arm around Alador's shoulders, Alador just barely rested his head on Darius' chest and for a second they were teenagers again, not knowing who they were, where they were going but naively clinging onto the hope they'd do it together.

/

"I'd better leave. I've taken up too much of your time and energy already."

Darius firmly shook his head.

"No. It's pouring rain outside. I can't send you home in this weather."

And I can't send you home to an empty bed.

That last part went unsaid for the sake of dignity but Darius knew from the twist in the pit of his stomach it was true.

Reaching forward and grasping Alador's hand- Titan why had it been so long since he'd done that? -he lead the man up the staircase.

Something made him completely bypass the guest room and lead Alador further down the hall, arriving at the door to his own bedroom. He turned the door handle as slowly and quietly as he could, praying to the Titan Eber was asleep. If they heard this he would never hear the end of it.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'll be back in a minute"

Alador didn't make a sound, just kind of looked stunned, like he was a bird that had just discovered glass the hard way.

Darius softly padded downstairs with the intention of grabbing a glass of water but instead found himself sitting on the arm of the couch, feeling the weight of the impulsive decision he'd just made.

Was he actually doing this? It wasn't too late, he could go back on it now and-

No. Alador needed this, and even though he would never admit it to himself, Darius wanted it too.

Making his way up those stairs again, he took a deep breath, and stepped over the threshold into his bedroom.

Alador was asleep, his breathing heavy and slow as he was curled up under the covers. Darius climbed in the other side, with his back to the other witch.

And well, he wouldn't ever say it, but something about... this made that night the best he'd ever slept.

/

"It's getting dark."

They had been there for hours, talking about nothing. It didn't matter, they were young and in love. Nothing mattered because they were together, the entirety of the Boiling Isles could have been ablaze but all they cared about was that his head was in Alador's lap, the breeze that tousled Alador's hair was warm and they were the only people in the world.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I think- I think I love you."

Darius felt his face grow warm.

"You don't mean that."

"I do. I think so anyway."

Darius laughed, which made Alador grin.

"Yeah, that's so reassuring."

"Do you think- Do you think when we're older, we'll get married?"

"... do you want that?"

"... I don't know."

"Neither do I. But do you know what I do know?"

"What?"

"I know that I love you."

He reached his hand up and gently held  Alador's blushing face, moving one of his fluffy locks behind his ear and before either of them knew it, they were kissing and they were the only people in the world again.

/

Darius awoke, that familiar feeling already settling in his stomach. Disappointment. He should be used to it by now, it had been decades, but every time those stupid memories floated to the surface, every time reality came round to break the fantasy, the emptiness always felt as fresh as all those years ago.

Groaning, he turned over to face the empty sheets but-

Oh.

Right.

He wasn't sure how he managed to get so lost in his head to not notice the arms wrapped around his torso, or the soft slow breathing against his chest.

Rolling onto his back as quietly as possible as to not wake the witch sleeping at his side, Darius closed his eyes, trying to ground himself back to reality again. Taking deep slow breaths through his nose, he absently combed his fingers through Alador's fluffy mane.

He heard the thumps and bumps of people moving around downstairs and let them melt into the background, focusing on the little slice of comfort he was in right now, until he remembered-

"FUCK."

Darius sat bolt upright, throwing the duvet off himself and practically flying out of the bed.

"Shit. Fuckfuckfuckfuck Mother Titan- Mother-fucking-Titan-"

Alador clumsily sat up, squinting sleepily.

"Dare? What's..."

Scrambling to find his slippers, Darius almost didn't notice Alador using the old stupid nickname he used to make a huge show of pretending to not like. Almost. He let it slide, for the time being they had bigger problems to deal with.

"Well, Alador, it seems both of us forgot it was a weekday, which means I have a very eager kid waiting for me to drop him to school at this exact moment."

"... Ah."

"And what happened last night was very irresponsible and impulsive and there is a time and a date to explain that to Hunter, but that time is not now."

Grabbing several coat hangers out of his closet, he leaned back to give Alador his final message.

"So if you could keep quiet and pretend you're not here for a second, that'd be great."

"Uh-"

He slammed the door after him, leaving Alador sitting up in the bed, his brain taking a moment to process what just happened, before-

"SHIT I NEED TO GET THE KIDS TO SCHOOL-"

__________________________

@non-bee-knees probably not as angsty as you were hoping, but I hope you liked it!

It'll probably be up on ao3 as soon as I understand how it works lmao-

[drabbles-of-writing]

Pretending Not to See Your Ghost

AO3

Chapters: 1, 2

Summary: Darius has begun to notice a  few...𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 between Hunter and his old mentor. From  appearance, to speech, to the smallest of characteristics, he always  swears he'll blink, and his mentor will be standing right where Hunter  once was, as though nothing had ever changed.

But he's sure it's only a coincidence.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Penstagram, unfortunately, had become more of an eyesore than it used to be.

The Emperor clearly had no understanding of technology, and it became evident to many Coven members that places like Penstagram were practically free-range to do pretty much whatever they wanted. Of course, plenty still used it to find the locations of wild witches, but for quick communications or revealing faces, barely anyone batted an eye. There would be no punishments for it.

Darius tried to use Penstagram for normal things. Occasional pictures, deleting DMs he very much did not want to see, passively aggressively shit-talking his coworkers, and shooting a few quick, non-incriminating messages between himself, Eberwolf, and Raine when needed be.

And then there was Hunter’s account.

He’d only followed it to keep an eye on him. He knew the intricacies of what was and wasn’t allowed on Penstagram, but Hunter might not have. He found it ludicrous to suggest the kid would blurt Coven secrets on his account, but he was still paranoid. The boy thought sunlight was optional on functional growth, he didn’t know what else he’d assumed about life.

Much to his increasing migraine, most of Hunter’s posts were about Flapjack. His profile picture was of his own face, covering only one of his scars, in his Golden Guard attire.

Darius had nearly gotten a heart attack before he saw just how many people assumed Hunter was a fake account. Or some otherwise young child dressing up to pretend as the Golden Guard. He suspected the fact that most of Hunter’s posts were blurry disasters (that, to his credit, did exclude anything else that could be directly linked back to him or the Coven) did quite a bit to aid in this doubt.

No one would find his account on accident, it was far too obscure, and never tagged properly. Darius still monitored it, of course, but he was a little more at ease, figuring they were all in the clear. Even if he wanted to take the boy by the shoulders and plead him to be at least semi-functional with technology.

Then, as though Hunter had sensed Darius staring in dismay at his most recent failure of a post, the boy himself poked his head in through his office door.

“Uh, Darius?” Hunter asked, unsure, and Darius jerked his head up. 

He tried not to feel that old ping of nervousness when Hunter was slipping off his mask before he was fully in the office. Everyone knew Hunter’s face in the Coven, this was a normal, good thing. This was not something he had to be wary about others seeing.

“Don’t you have work to be doing?” Darius raised a brow, though he did set his scroll down. 

“Uh, well, y-yes, I was just doing that!” Hunter said quickly, and when Darius glanced down, he saw him holding his scroll up to his chest, walking over to his desk. “But then I started getting some messages, and I just wanted to…I wanted to see if these would be of interest?”

Darius, brow still raised, held out his hand. Hunter willingly handed it over without a second thought, Titan below this kid really needed to learn how to be a teenager, and Darius took a look at whatever he was talking about.

It was a DM, with what looked like a conversation between two hex-bots. Darius raised a brow, scrolling up—nope, that was Hunter’s texting. Good grief, it was atrocious.

The other one was a bot, at least. A very obvious one, in fact.

LIke.fabriCS? to muhc woRk ? CLICK HERE!

Hunter seemed to have been trying to respond to the bot, interrogating it about details. To which it fell apart into incoherent, insane texts.

“Hunter, this is a scam.” He deadpanned, though he supposed he could only be so exasperated. The kid had no phone, of course he didn’t know about people trying to hex scrolls.

“Gus said that, too.” Hunter frowned, ears pressing back. “He told me not to click a link?” He added, frowning, face scrunched up. 

“The underlined words. Of which he is correct.” Darius said, deciding not to ask who that was as he handed the phone back. “You’d get hexed.”

“Are you sure?” Hunter sounded truly disappointed, looking down at his scroll screen. “I thought more fabrics would be nice, ‘cause you have your own…”

“I have money to get more, just borrow mine.” Darius sighed, pressing his fingers to his forehead. He tried not to feel too twisted up when Hunter looked at him with pure shock. “In the future, just don’t talk to any messages you get that aren’t from your friends.”

“But how could I get hexed through some…underlined words?” Hunter squinted at his scroll, holding his phone up to his face.

“It’s a link, Hunter.”

“Like a chain?”

“Titan’s sake,” Darius groaned, dropping his face into his hand, “it’s like teaching an old man.”

“I’m not old!”

(“You’re such an old man.” Darius snickered, looking from the crystal ball to the face smooshed up against it.

“Hey!” Jasper barked, finally tearing away from it to send a pouting glare, of which Darius could only barely restrain a laugh. “I’m not old! I’m practically your age!”

“Oh, so now you’re my age?” Darius scoffed, rolling his eyes and leaning back, smug. “Is that why you hate being called ‘sir?’”

“I’m as spry as a fox-spitter, I’ll have you know.” Jasper huffed, placing a proud hand to his chest. “These crystal thingies are just needlessly complicated.”

“It’s only kind-of new tech.”

“It’s confusing, is what it is. I’m convinced you’re just messing with me.”)

“Figure of speech,” Darius waved it off, sure his mouth was pulling at an uncomfortable angle, “just be more careful in the future. Titan’s sake, you don’t need to fret about getting your own things.” He rolled his eyes. “I have more than enough to share. I already gave you a scroll.”

“Well…yeah.” Hunter hunched his shoulders a tad, looking from his scroll to Darius. “I-I just…you already got me the scroll, so…you’ve gotten me enough.”

“I’ll say when I’ve gotten you enough. This is not even close to the limit.” Darius said, firmly, if only because it made him feel…odd. This didn’t sound the least bit like a spoiled brat. “Now, scurry back to that important work you were having with your friends on Penstagram.”

“Acquaintances.” Hunter reminded, more of a grumble, than anything, neatly tucking his scroll underneath his cloak and into a pocket.

“No, they’re not. Run along.” Darius waved his hand, going back to pretending he was working on his own papers. “I’m sure teenagers like you have much to talk about.”

“I’m…working on that.” Hunter hummed, frowned so thoughtfully like he was solving some secret that it had Darius snorting, watching him turn away and pull his mask back down again.

Hunter’s fingers lingered, he noticed, over the nose. The tips scraping down slightly, pausing as though thinking something over. It was so painfully familiar he half expected to see a tangle of uncombed, wild hair when Hunter turned back to him.

But it was only his normal, somewhat-combed hair. Of course it was.

“Um, thank you.” Hunter mumbled, nodding jerkily. “For-for the assistance.”

“Happy to help.” Darius said, and if anyone said he sounded softer, they were a liar. “You can continue checking-in sometime in the future.”

It sort of slipped out. Not that he didn’t mean it, but he hadn’t really thought about saying it. The words were simply out there before he could think much. Though, he couldn’t really find himself regretting it when Hunter perked up, just the tiniest bit more interested.

Perhaps that should’ve been harder to tell, with his movements so subtle and face covered. But Darius liked to think himself an expert in such mannerisms.

“Thank you.” Hunter repeated, sounding suspiciously genuine, bringing his hood up. His small strand of hair still hung free, uncovered as he pulled open Darius’s door.

It looked a lot like Jasper’s, he noticed. There was always that one strand of hair poking free, refusing to obey the chaos of the rest of his mane. Hanging right in front of his face, bothering him to hell and back.

Then, Hunter was out the door, and Darius was alone in his office.

He shook off the weight on his chest, though it lingered like fog, and reshuffled his papers.

Perhaps he should do some real work.

[kihteyu]

Effortlessly My Baby

Close ups under cut

[tiniestofturtles]

I think the only way I can cope with TOH ending is by writing a multi chapter Darius centric au fic 😔😔😔

[fairytales-and-folklore]

• Title: Birds Of A Feather • Author: fairytalesandfolklore • Fandom: The Owl House • Pairing: Hunter | The Golden Guard/Willow Park

The following Saturday night, Hunter comes waltzing into the living room dressed in a hand-stitched '80's era shoulder pad bedecked orange and yellow floral patterned suit jacket, complete with a comically large bright yellow bowtie, and Darius nearly spits tea all over his gratuitously overpriced purple silk pajamas. "So…what do you think?" Hunter asks, spinning on the heel of his matching red sneakers to give Darius the full effect. Of course, Darius's first instinct (after cringing hard enough to risk permanent injury to his face muscles) is to offer to take Hunter on an emergency shopping trip, or at the very least, tailor something for him to wear from his own closet…but the look on Hunter's face, so excited for his first-ever Grom, so proud of this thing he made with his own two hands, eyes sparkling with anticipation as he eagerly awaits Darius's approval, makes him bite his tongue. Darius relaxes his features, lips curving into a fond smile as he replies, "You look very handsome, Little Prince," and Hunter beams back at him with one of those gap-toothed grins that's been growing less and less rare by the day.

Read on AO3!

[gremlinshenanigans]

Day 1: Father’s day

First day! Survived the exams, now to write in the break.

@sergeantsporks

Darius grumbled, dropping the report onto his desk.

Another item on the never ending list of things that needed fixing after the destruction Belos had caused. It was getting harder and harder to keep up with, evident by the pile forming on and around his desk.

So much for paperwork being easier.

He’d taken a more background role in the rebuilding of the Boiling Isles, right as Hexside opened up again. The plan was that he’d be able to support Hunter and spend more time with him, if he wasn’t constantly busy. It hadn’t worked out exactly as expected.

Not that Hunter seemed to mind. The kid was more self-sufficient than half of the people Darius worked with. He could leave for a month and Hunter would live.

That wasn’t the plan, though, nor did Darius want it to be. He wanted to be there for Hunter, help him get used to school, to his new life. That’s why he’d taken him in. The current workload wasn’t helping, but he was managing.

I hope.

Darius sighed. No use wasting time thinking. He reached for his own list of urgent affairs, only to find nothing. Where had he put it now? He sorted through the pile, once, twice. Nothing. He checked under the desk. Not there either.

Darius cursed the paper. How could he have lost it? Where could he have lost it? He did another sweep of the desk pile, mentally going through what he’d been doing that day. Woke up, ate breakfast, Hunter went to school, work, work, more work, lunch—

There it was. He’d taken it with him during lunch and likely left it in the dining room. With even more grumbling, he went to retrieve it.

As he exited the office, he saw Hunter, just outside Darius’ room, clutching something. Hunter’s eyes widened, and he straightened up at the sight of Darius, shoving whatever he was holding behind his back. He gave Darius an awkward smile.

“Darius! Done with work already?”

Darius squinted at him, and crossed his arms.

“Not yet, unfortunately. Still have some reports to get through.”

Hunter nodded, eyes flicking between Darius and his own room.

“What are you up to?” Darius asked, breaking the silence. Hunter’s eyes locked on him.

“Me? Nothing! Nothing, uh, homework! I have homework, I should go do that, really, bye!”

He ran past Darius, leaving no time for him to speak. He slammed the doors shut, then opened them for a second to wish Darius luck, before closing them just as quickly.

What is going on?

                                                      ---

Darius lifted his eye mask, just enough to peek at the clock. Five more minutes. He sighed, and took the eye mask off. No use trying to go back to sleep now.

Despite that, Darius refused to get up. He wasn’t about to give up what little rest he had. Work had piled up even more in the past few days. It seemed like everyone on the Isles needed his input.

“Should have skipped being a coven head…” he muttered.

On top of all that, Hunter had been acting strange since Darius caught him in the hallway. Stranger than usual. He barely talked to Darius after school. Instead, he would rush into his room, and would stay there the whole day. Darius only saw him during meals, and even then Hunter was in a hurry to get back.

At first, Darius thought little of it. School had just started, of course Hunter was busy, and what little they talked was nothing out of the ordinary.

Then he avoided Darius more and more.

Now, Darius couldn’t help but rack his brain for anything he could have done. Had he been too harsh? Had he looked angry? Nothing stood out. Hunter didn’t seem scared of him, but why was he avoiding him then?

The alarm screamed.

Darius groaned, and reached to shut it off. So much for using the time to rest. He got up, stretched, and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

The door to his room slowly opened. Darius blinked, stopping in place. Hunter stood there, carefully balancing a tray in one arm, holding the door open with the other.

“Oh! You’re already up“—Hunter gripped the tray more properly— “made you breakfast!”

Darius carefully folded the blanket in his arms and set it aside. This was…new.

“Like breakfast, in bed! You don’t have to get up to eat,” Hunter continued, and set the tray down on Darius’ half-made bed. He stepped back, grinning.

“Thank you, Hunter…”

Darius eyed the food. Griffin eggs, exactly how he had shown him. Little prince did a pretty good job, from what he could see. Only question was…why? He glanced at Hunter.

Hunter watched him like a hawk, shifting from foot to foot. The longer Darius studied the meal, the more his grin fell.

Focus, you’ll worry him more.

“I could make something else!” he piped up.

Too late.

“No need, these look great. You’ve become quite the cook, little prince.” Darius picked up the tray, putting on a smile. “How about we eat these downstairs? I’d rather not sleep on eggs later.”

Hunter nodded, his smile returning, and Darius ushered him down the stairs, towards the kitchen and dining area.

Darius set the tray down, while Hunter got started on setting the table. For only one person, Darius noted. Hunter grabbed the plate from the tray, placing it between the utensils. He gave it one last look over and nodded, pleased with how it looked.

“All done!”

“You don’t plan on eating?”

“I’ve had breakfast already. You can eat, I’ll be right back.”

Hunter skipped out the door and up the stairs. Darius watched him go before slowly sitting down to eat.

What will he do now?

Taking a bite, he found his first judgment of the meal had been correct. Hunter’s cooking had improved a lot since he had moved in.

Footsteps warned him of Hunter’s return and he looked at the doors. Hunter walked in, holding a packet wrapped in decorative paper. He held it up in front of himself.

“Surprise! Happy Father’s day!”

Darius nearly chocked on the eggs.

That’s today?

He got me a gift?

Hunter placed the packet in front of Darius, and pulled back. He watched intently as Darius picked up the packet.

“Should I open it?”

Hunter gave him a few quick nods. Darius turned it around a few times, well aware of Hunter hovering at his side. Finding no obvious starting point, Darius resorted to carefully tearing the paper.

Underneath it all was a shirt, a similar style to the ones he wore around the house. Even the size was correct.

So that’s why he was in my room.

On the front of the shirt was a collage of different materials, sown onto the shirt in the shapes of letters. It read “Best Dad”, with a little ‘#1’ next to it. Patches of abominations, and sewing equipment decorated the sleeves.

“Hunter, this is amazing. Did you make this?”

Hunter nodded, a shy smile on his face. “Luz, Gus and Willow helped! It took a while to make everything, and the materials, and…you like it?”

Darius’ eyes stung, and he hugged the shirt to his chest.

Best dad.

His dad.

‘Hunter, I love it.” He reached out to ruffle Hunter’s hair. “Thank you.”

Hunter beamed, and launched into the history of making the shirt, all the details, from the materials to the stitches used. Darius chuckled, sitting down to continue his special breakfast, listening to Hunter’s every word.

[rachel-of-autumnbow]

It's December again and I remembered this the owl house two-shot I wrote last year about Hunter and Darius that's still super cute.

Probably grammar mistakes. Super soft and fluff aside the bit of ansty Hunter. Enjoy!

[kipkoh]

(Human AU / Normal Canon Character Swap)

Darius loved his son- the boy was the light of his life, and he would do everything in his power to make sure that Hunter would always be safe and loved, right where he belonged at his fathers side. However, when Darius wakes up one day to find that his once human son was seemingly no longer human, ears pointed and eyes strikingly magenta, he’s forced to wonder if the boy living with him now was truly his son or an imposter wearing the face of his beloved child.

Read on AO3

[thousand-winters]

Little sad Darius I commissioned from @/javidibujaxd on IG for my fic The stars too, they tell of spring returning