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imabeautifulbutterfly · 3 years ago

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The Gym Membership - Part 8 (Hunter)

Summary: The family welcomes home Baby Iris, Hunter learns about the incident Zaina went through; Hunter and Zaina draw closer.

A/N: Hello Lovelies,

Okay so this is the last Hunter section for this story, next will be Tech. There will be a short hiatus, the next Gym Membership story will be back June 15, 2022. I may change the next posting, depending on what happens, but don’t worry Tech won’t keep you waiting long. After Tech will be Echo’s turn to have a story, followed by Crosshair.

This chapter still deals with a bit of a difficult situation, except instead of Domestic Violence, this chapter deals with Torture, Death and Hostage situation. If this is a trigger for anyone please don’t read.

Please note I do not know how a 911 operator centre works, this is just pure speculation.

Part 7 - Quick Summary: TW (Domestic Violence and Stabbing)

Zaina runs away from Rush as he rushes after her, she locks herself in the Mel & Wrecker’s bedroom and bathroom. R busts down the door to the bedroom, Z is on the phone with Hunter the entire time. As R is about to bust down the door, she can hear H running into the house. R threatens Z as he busted down the door to the bathroom. H arrives in time, tells R to leave Z alone. She notices R pulls a knife, she tries to protect H, ends up getting stabbed by R. H and R fight. Z and R get taken to the hospital, the family waits to hear if Z makes it out of surgery. H & Z are very affectionate after the near miss but don’t take it any further than a near kiss. Tech and H discuss his feelings for Z. R is arrested and carted away to prison never to be heard from again. Z and Crosshair have a brother sister moment. H realizes how close Z and Omega have gotten.

Thank you all for loving this story as much as you have.

Italics - flashback

Warnings: flirting, drinking, kissing, TW: hostage situation, discussions of miscarriage, discussions of death, discussions of torture, survivors guilt, I think that’s all of it, if I miss any please let me know.

AO3 Link | Words: 6,582 | PREVIOUS - -> NEXT

Gym Membership Master List | Main Master List

“Welcome home, baby girl” I announced as Echo, Omega and I held up the banner welcoming Iris. Mel and Wrecker chuckled at seeing the sign we all worked on, it looked like a three year old put it together but who cared.

“I can’t believe you guys did this, thank you. Zaina what time is your flight? Don’t you have to be leaving soon?” Mel questioned as she put down her bag, while pushing the stroller into the house, while Wrecker held Iris in her little car seat, as he put down his own bag by the foyer.

“Oh my flight’s not till later, plus, you honestly think I’d miss this cutie’s welcome home party!” I walked over and picked up Iris, holding her in my arms, I winced slightly, my wound was fully healed, but it still ached here and there. Echo and Tech grabbed their bags, while Hunter and Crosshair put away the baby stroller and car seat.

“Thanks guys for fixing the doors” Wrecker chuckled as he looked at his new front door, “How are you feeling?” He pulled me into a side hug.

“I’m doing good, better. I’m sorry about the damage”

“As long as it kept you safe vod’ika, you can destroy my house any day of the week” Wrecker whispered.

“Appreciate it, big guy”

Mel motioned for me to follow her upstairs, “Come on, Zaina, let’s put Iris in the crib” I nodded following her. Once we were in the room, she grabbed the blanket Hunter and I had bought Iris, using it to keep Iris warm “How are you feeling?” She asked as she glanced over to me, as I laid Iris down.

“Good, slightly sore but not bad, at least the wound is fully healed.”

“How long you gone for?”

“Two weeks, I start work in four, so that should give me plenty of time to sell my apartment and find one out here. Tech’s already sent me a few listings.”

“That’s ridiculous, you are going to stay with us, until you are ready.”

“I appreciate that but …”

“No, buts. I have a storage locker, we had it for when we were trying to figure out what would stay and what would go, when Wrecker and I moved in together. I was going to let it go, but just use it for now, and then once you find the right place then you can move. If you try to find something when you’re rushing or not ready, you’ll end up settling for something you don’t love. Plus that way you can figure out your routine.”

“I don’t want to put you guys out”

“Nonsense. If anything, we’ll be the ones putting you out with a crying baby”

“Oh don’t worry I have ear plugs”

Mel laughed, “That’s my girl. I wish I could go with you, help you pack”

“It’s okay, Omega really wanted to come too, but she’s in the middle of midterms, so Hunter is going to come with me, it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, Hunter” Mel lilted, “how’s that going?”

“Fine,” I answered, not quite understanding her question.

“Fine? You guys haven’t …”

“Haven’t … what?”

“Gone on a date”

I looked from Mel to Iris, back to Mel, “No.”

“I thought for sure once you got out of the hospital, he would’ve asked. You should have seen him, he was so worried about you, barely left your bedside.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “Well, don’t know what to tell you. We had that moment in the hospital bed, right after the doctor gave me the all clear, as you know two weeks ago. But after that, things have been …” I rubbed my forehead, “I don’t know, friendly. It’s almost as though we missed our moment and honestly, it sucks. Finally, meet a really good guy, a stand up guy, and missed my chance with him.”

“I don’t think we only get one chance. You know. I think you’ll have another chance. Just give it time.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Of course, I am. I’m a mom now, which means I’m always right”

I laughed at that, “I’ll make sure to tell Wreck”

“Oh, trust me, he knows.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hunter and I worked quietly as we packed up my living room, when I finally broke the silence that had seemed to settle upon us once we got to my place, “Too bad, O, couldn’t come, she really wanted to help”

“Yeah, but she needed to be in school, midterms, plus it’s not like we’re gonna be here for long.”

“True,” I walked over to one of the bookshelves that lined the living room wall. The first thing I noticed was an old picture frame, I had seen in a few months, I picked up the picture of my old crew from the dispatch office, my finger trailed over each of them. To know how much my life had changed since that day of the incident, made my throat tighten as a warm sensation began to bubble. I looked at my best friend, I missed seeing his face, missed his laugh, his bear hugs. I missed all of them.

“You okay?” Hunter rested his hand on my back, as I wiped some tears that had fallen on my cheek.

“Yeah, just …” I cleared my throat, “memories”

“Who are these guys?”

I glanced over to Hunter, his eyes focused on the picture in my hand, my eyes naturally followed his focus back to my old crew, I closed my eyes knowing it was time to tell him what really happened during the incident, what Mel and Wrecker already knew. For some reason, I needed to tell him, and I was finally ready to deal with all of it again, “This was my old dispatch crew, before … before things changed”

“You mean before you moved?”

I shook my head ‘no,’ Crosshair’s and my conversation came flooding back into my mind.

“We barely know each other”

“So then fix it”

“Wanna talk about it?”

I looked at Hunter, a smirk appearing on my lips, “Did we pack away the tumblers and the liquor?”

“I think there’s still some whiskey out and we have plastic cups.”

“That’ll do. I definitely need to be drinking when I tell you this.”

“We don’t have to…”

“No.” I reached out holding his hand, “I want you to know, it’s … it’s part of the reason why I went to see Mel to begin with, and a main reason as to why I’m moving.”

Hunter nodded, “Why don’t you sit on the couch, and I’ll grab the drinks”

I nodded, focusing back on the picture of my old crew, as Hunter sat down beside me passing me a cup. I took a deep breath, trying to remember what my therapist had said, memories can’t hurt me as long as I allow myself to heal. Hunter didn’t rush me, allowing me to take the time I needed to get comfortable.

“My old crew and I worked together for the past nine years, we worked well together, we were completely in-sync with each other to a T, we … We were a family. Sam” I pointed to the taller older guy of the group, “was my best friend, always there for me. Always knew how to make me laugh. How to help us relax.” I took a sip, “The red head, that’s Anna, she was our floor leader, had been doing the job for almost 15 years.”

“Wow, that’s amazing”

I nodded, “The blonde is Carlos, he and his husband had just adopted two twin boys when the picture was taken. The tall guy is Salem, used to be a surgeon back home, he was great at talking down victims and helping them till EMTs arrived.” Tears began to prick my eyes, I swallowed the lump that was forming, I took another sip, Hunter moved over closer to me. “The last girl was Aisha, she had gotten married a year before the picture was taken, and found out she was pregnant two weeks before …” my bottom lip began to quiver.

Hunter wrapped his arm around me, “Hey we don’t have to …”

“No” I took a deep inhale, “No, I want … No, I need to tell you this.” Hunter squeezed my shoulder, as he nodded.

“I’m here”

I placed my cup on the coffee table, “It was a typical day, nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing that raised any sort of red flags. We all got to work on time, got ourselves settled in, everything seemed fine” I kept my eyes focused on the picture, as I nibbled on my corner bottom lip, “we were handling our calls, when all of a sudden there was power outage. Anna called around trying to find out what happened, after all the last thing anyone wants is for 9-1-1 dispatch to go down. I mean the city has several offices around the city, usually there are either two or three offices per city, they aimed to not keep dispatch all in one building for that very reason and thankfully all our calls got rerouted, so regardless of what was happening in our building, emergency crews were still being directed out to those in need. However, we all knew something was wrong, especially when after twenty minutes we still had no power. About ten minutes later ‘repair crews’ showed up, wanting access to our floor, stating there had been some sort of faulty wiring or faulty connector on the floor that caused the power outage, as soon as I saw them, I knew … I should’ve said something, but I just knew there was something off about them. They all seemed way too nervous, way too over eager, too careful about their wording. You know?”

Hunter nodded, as his hand rubbed my back, “It happened so quickly, one second I was talking to Sam in the break room, the next there was the sound of gunfire filling the floor. It didn’t take long before we all realized what was happening as they became threatening each of us. They dragged all of us over to the main room, making sure we were all handcuffed, gagged, ankles tied together, as they forced us to sit on the floor. The leader, a guy named Cad Bane, he um … he was calm, eloquent, and did his best to be charming, at first. He wasn’t what you expect the leader of a group of armed men holding people hostage to behave. Anyway, he told us that our presence would only be detained until his demands were met, as long as we cooperated, there would be no need for violence.”

My hand began to shake as I began to remember how things progressed from bad to worse, “It was all going fine, he was in the middle of negotiations with the police force trying to secure the release of some gangster name Ziro the Hutt. When he decided things weren’t moving quickly enough for him, out of nowhere he grabbed Aisha, dragged her over to the phone he was using, and told the negotiator if they didn’t give him confirmation Ziro was moved in the next thirty minutes he would express his anger out on Aisha, and the only one to blame would be the negotiator.

I sat there … We sat there, watching in horror as none of us were able to move to help her. Despite the fact we were being … had been cooperative from the moment they stormed on to the floor, he simply didn’t care, we were all a means to an end for him, so when the timer ran out and he didn’t receive confirmation, he didn’t hold back from beating her within an inch of her life.” My bottom lip began to tremble as flashes of that day flew in my mind, “When I close my eyes I can still hear her screams with each hit she received, the silence that followed after he knocked unconscious, the gurgle she made as she tried to breathe through …” I shook my head, I didn’t need to go down that path again, “next, he grabbed Salem, told the negotiator this time he had twenty-five minutes before they did the same with him. Each time, they failed to meet his demands, they'd beat another one of us within an inch of our life. Finally it was just Sam and I, as we waited for our turn. We tried to break ourselves free, but each time we moved, one of the guards would come over and hit us. Cad and his guys, eventually moved to grab me, when Sam …” the tears were coming fast and strong now, “S-sam offered himself, he…” I wiped the tears trying to keep the picture clear before him, “h-he had a wife, t-two kids, he gave t-them up and sacrificed himself f-for me. He gave himself up for me, Hunter. They all … they all died on the floor of that dispatch centre. I …” I buried my face in my hands, as the picture fell to the floor “I-I survived. T-they all had families, kids, and yet, I … I survived. I-I s-should’ve …”

Hunter pulled me into his arms, my head braced against his shoulder, his head resting against my head, as he held me, “I-I should’ve … I should h-have f-fought harder to save them. They should be here, not me.” I clung on to his arm, “I-I should’ve saved Aisha. Protected her.” I felt his lips place a kiss on the crown of my head, “I was their last bargaining chip, they knew it was a lost cause, so instead they decided to take their time with me, my torture was slow, deliberate, and made a point to hit every possible nerve point, they took turns kicking me, beating me ... When Cad received confirmation Ziro was moved and on his way to the agreed upon rendezvous, everyone froze, none of them believed me, neither could I. Cad pulled them out of their shock, wrapping things up, as they left, they shot me in my lower abdomen, I guess they were hoping to not leave any survivors. They left us all to bleed out on the floor of the dispatch, I closed my eyes, just waiting for death, when darkness surrounded me, I thought for sure this was it, but instead I woke up in the hospital, my supervisor, Bail Organa, he told me what happened, informed me that I was the only one that survived. The doctors, paramedics, they all did their best for the rest of my crew, but … it … anyway, once I was cognizant enough, the doctor informed me the extent of my injuries, the damage I received from the beatings and from getting shot” I took in a deep breath, “ … the damage was so severe, the only way to stop the bleeding was to perform a hysterectomy. The doctor told me, I would never be able to have kids. Everyone else lost their life, and I walked away with barely a scratch.”

“That’s not true” Hunter mumbled into my hair.

“It is” I pulled back, looking into Hunter’s eyes, as mine welled up with tears again, “Look at me, I walked away, with barely a scratch.”

“It doesn’t mean you didn’t suffer, that you walked away scot free. You are an amazing woman, Zaina. You’re a fighter. What happened to you and to your crew, should never have happened. But you’re not alone; I …” Hunter took in a deep breath, as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, “I was in a similar situation back in Afghanistan. Surviving that hell is difficult, but you know what got me through it?”

I shook my head, “Having someone by my side.” Hunter’s hand cupped my cheek, as his eyes bore into mine, “Heather did her best to understand, especially on days that were bad. I’m here for you, and I'll do my best to understand.” Hunter pulled me into his chest as he rested against the couch, he placed a kiss on the top of my head, as his hand held my head against his chest, it was comforting on a level I never knew I needed, “You’re amazing, you know that? You’ve been dealing with all of this, and the entire time you’ve taken care of Mel, Wrecker, Omega, me, all of us. Even when you were dealing with Rush, you still tried to protect us, still tried to keep us safe. Your family would’ve been proud of you.” I sobbed uncontrollably, clenching onto Hunter’s shirt, making sure he wasn’t going to disappear on me, “I got you, I’m not leaving, sweetheart. Nothing can drag me away” Hunter wrapped his arms around me tighter, leaving another kiss on my head.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I felt a warmth underneath my hand, as a warm breath fanned over my face, I woke up to see a chest moving up and down. Arms were still wrapped around me, as snores echoed in my ears, I glanced up to see Hunter still asleep. His face looked so relaxed, peaceful, even his skull tattoo seemed relaxed. I moved my hand to gently trace his face and his tattoo. As my finger moved across his skin, my heart grew in affection for this man, he was so different, so completely unique from Rush. I felt his hand squeeze my waist, before he started to trail it up my side. A smile graced his lips, as my finger trailed down his cheek, eventually resting on his neck.

“Don’t stop” Hunter mumbled, “it feels nice” I chuckled, as I resumed tracing his features.

“You always look this good in the morning?”

“Only for special people” Hunter opened his half-lidded eyes, looking into mine as his smile grew.

“Thank you”

“For?”

“For last night. For listening.”

“I’m always here to listen. I …” I could feel Hunter take in a shuddering breath, I could also feel his heartbeat quicken under my cheek, “I meant what I said last night, I think you’re amazing. You …” I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, I felt as his hand moved up to my face, brushing my hair off my face, “You are the most incredible woman, I’ve met in a long time.'' He tucked my hair behind my ear, cupping the back of my head, “I wanted to mention this before, I …” Hunter took in a deep breath, “Will you go out to dinner with me?”

I couldn’t hide the smile on my face, “You mean like a date?”

Hunter chuckled, “Clearly, I didn’t do that right, if you have to ask for clarification”

I giggled, feeling Hunter’s chest jostle under me, “I just didn’t want to get my hopes up”

Hunter leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine, “Yes, like a date”

“Then yes” I closed my eyes, breathing in Hunter’s scent, Hunter’s breath fanned over my face, as his nose nudged mine. My hand trailed down his neck, resting against the nape of his neck, his lips grazed mine, I didn’t want to wait anymore as I closed the distance between us. He took his time, softly, gently, pressing his lips against mine. His hand pressed against the back of my head, tilting it to deepen the kiss, yet he didn’t rush me. He took his time, letting me get comfortable. I could spend hours, remembering his lips, how he felt under my hands, how he tasted. I felt safe in his arms, felt respected by his touch, felt I had control over the situation.

I pulled back a little, Hunter didn’t push, “You okay?” He asked as he rested his forehead against mine.

“Yeah, I … you make me feel safe, Hunter. If we had all the time in the world, I would love nothing more then to stay on this couch, and memorize your lips, but…”

“But we have an apartment to pack, and the moving guys will be here tomorrow at 7”

I nodded against his head, “I’m sorry”

“Nothing to apologize for; we have all the time in the world.”

“You might change your mind later on”

“Not possible. Like I mentioned weeks ago, I’m not letting you slip out of my grasp, unless you want me to.”

I chuckled, “See, saying things like that, makes me want to do nothing but kiss you ridiculously”

“Well then I’ll hold back till we get on the plane” he chuckled, “otherwise, I won’t be able to stop kissing you.”

I pulled back reluctantly, standing up looking at Hunter’s eyes, I leaned down, resting my hands on each side of his shoulders, and placed a kiss on his forehead, his hands trailed up my arms, and rested on my waist.

“The faster we pack, the faster we can call the moving company to come pick up your stuff, the sooner I can take you to dinner.”

“Oh really?” I tilted my head at him.

“Well the sooner we pack up, the sooner you’ll find out”

“Tease”

Hunter reached up, kissed my lips and squeezed my waist, he pulled back a smile on his lip, “I’ll make us breakfast.”

“Fine, I’m gonna take a shower, and brush this morning's breath away.”

“I like your morning breath”

“Say that now”

“I’ll say it every morning”

I smirked as I walked away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“You excited?” Mel asked as she peered in to my room, with Iris in her arms.

“Excited?” I asked feigning ignorance

“Don’t give me that, you’re going on your first date with Hunter right?”

I bit my bottom lip as I fixed my hair, a smile gracing my lips, “Yeah I am”

“See Iris, your mother knows everything, remember that, when you’re older and try to lie to me”

I chuckled “You trying to instill fear in the poor thing”

“No, but better she learns early on”

“Cyar’ika!”

“Yes, sweetie!” Mel shouted to Wrecker, Wreck boomed up the stairs two seconds later.

“Hey guys” Wrecker leaned against the door frame to my room, as his hand rested on her lower back, “I was going to grill us some steaks and vegetables, unless you guys want something different?”

“Well I’m going out for dinner, so I won’t be here”

“Going out with some people from the dispatch centre?” Wrecker asked

“Why do you need to know?” Mel teased

“She’s my vod’ika, I have a right to know, mesh’la”

“You’re adorable” Mel leaned up and placed a kiss on Wrecker’s lips. He pulled her in as his hands slid.

“Hey … uh, guys” I waved, “neither your baby in your arms nor I want to see this” I motioned to the two of them.

Wrecker pulled back, placing a kiss on her forehead, he turned to look at me with a smirk on his lips, “Vod’ika, how do you think we got Iris?”

Mel cracked up laughing at my scrunched up face, “Yeah, but I don’t need to see it or picture it” Iris started fussing in Mel’s arms, I chose to believe it was because she was in agreement with me.

“Oh looks like someone’s hungry. I’m gonna feed her, and steak and grilled veggies sounds perfect. Zai, have fun tonight” Mel teased as she headed over to the nursery.

“So … who you going out with?”

I finished putting on my makeup, “I’m going out with a friend”

“A friend? Really?”

“Yeah”

“Hmmm, by any chance is this friend about 5’11, dark brown hair, skull tattoo on half the side of his face, name begins with an H?”

I pursed my lips trying to hide my smile, “You know”

“Ha! I think everyone but Omega knows, and even then I think she knows.”

“Really? I was kind of hoping she didn’t find out, just in case it goes south”

“Trust me, that girl has been rooting for the two of you, since you got here.”

“What? No she hasn’t”

“Mel never told you?”

“No”

Wrecker chuckled, “God, love my soon-to-be-wife, man they’ve both been rooting for you two. Listen, just don’t worry about them, if it works great, if it doesn’t - it’ll be okay.”

“Thanks, Wreck. Now, I’m gotta get going.” I pressed a kiss to his cheek, as I passed him.

“Give my best to Hunter”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I walked into the restaurant, butterflies in my stomach. My eyes found Hunter pretty quickly, I watched him as he sat there in a dark blue suit, he had a cream dress shirt on, the first two buttons were left open, his hair was pulled back, accentuating his jaw line. I swallowed down my nervousness as Hunter’s eyes locked with mine, he didn't hesitate to stand as a giant smile graced his lips.

“Hi”

“Hey” I couldn’t help match his smile.

“You look great” he offered as he placed a kiss on my cheek.

“So do you” Hunter helped me into my seat, placing another kiss on the top of my head, he was so sweet and such a gentleman. He held my hand as we sat across from each other. I smirked, “You know, Wrecker told me something as I was leaving to meet you”

“Oh yeah, what?”

I cleared my throat, “Omega knows”

Hunter nodded, smiling, “I know”

“You do?”

“Do you think I could look this good on my own?” Hunter chuckled, motioning to himself.

“I think so” I smiled, my tongue peeking through my teeth, Hunter smirked, “How did she find out?”

“Overheard our conversation the other day”

“Ha, you’ll have to narrow that down a bit more, habibi”

Hunter tilted his head, “My Arabic is a little rusty, what does that mean?”

“What?”

“Habibi?”

“My love” I felt my face flush as his eyes filled with adoration as he looked at me.

Hunter’s smile beamed, matching the expression in his eyes, “I like it, sarad’ika”

“What does that mean?”

“Little flower”

I nodded, chuckling, “I like it”

“So … I gotta ask how are you and Mel cousins?”

I smirked, tilting my head at Hunter, “My father was Mel’s mother’s brother. He met my mother, who was attending university on an exchange program from Egypt. They ended up having a few classes together and before they knew it, they fell in love, eventually got married and had me. My mom taught me to speak Arabic, my father taught me to speak Spanish, and at home we spoke English with Arabic and Spanish sprinkled through.”

“Sarad’ika, you’re amazing”

“So are you, habibi. Now what conversation did Omega overhear?”

Hunter chuckled, “Remember, that day, you had a rough call, and called me during your break?”

“Yeah”

“Remember how I said, I couldn’t wait to hold you in my arms again, and then I paused …”

“Yeah, you got weird for like a second, and then you just asked me to dinner”

“I paused because Omega had walked into the room, and was grinning from ear to ear”

I bit my bottom lip, chuckling, “Well so much for keeping it on the down low”

“Yeah, but let’s face it, we really suck at keeping it under wraps”

“That’s true, I think everyone has told me to just go for it”

“Me too”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I leaned against Hunter as we walked out of the restaurant, laughing, his arm wrapped around my waist.

“I have to say, one of the things I love most, Sarad’ika, is how you make me feel when my arms are wrapped around you.”

“Oh yeah?” I looked at Hunter as we stood by my car, my arms wrapping around his waist, “And how do I make you feel?”

Hunter wrapped his arms around me pulling me in closer, “Like I can take on anything” Hunter smirked. He leaned down his nose nudging mine as his forehead rested against mine. Hunter began humming, he pulled me in closer as he swayed us. I rested my head on his chest as we started dancing in the parking lot.

I looked up at Hunter, a smile gracing my lips, “Habibi, you’re an amazing man. Always there for me. For Omega. For everyone. I do have one regret though”

Hunter smirked, “Oh yeah?” He leaned down press a kiss to my cheek, “What’s that?” He mumbled against my skin.

“Being distant from you those first few weeks” I tilted my head, as Hunter’s lips trailed just under my ear, “I was scared, and held back.”

Hunter paused and pulled back to look at me, “Did I scare you?”

“No” I reached up cupping his cheek, “No, never. I was scared to be vulnerable again, after Rush, the way he reacted; I always thought I was a good judge of character, that I had seen and heard enough of the ugliness that people do to others that it would never happen to me, but it did.”

“That’s not your fault, sarad’ika”

“I still should have seen it”

“Can’t see what someone doesn’t allow you to see. Rush didn’t allow you to see what he knew would drive you away.” Hunter reached up brushing my hair out of my face, “I want you to always feel you can talk to me, if anything I say or do makes you uncomfortable or nervous, tell me.” Hunter’s lips broke out into the biggest smile, I had yet to see on the man, “I want to be the man deserving of you, to be worthy to be called yours.”

I stood on my toes pressing my lips against his, Hunter took his time moving his lips against mine, it was as though he was afraid I’d disappear, I moved my hand to his hair, clenching it, pulling him closer, he pulled me closer, leaning me against my car, as he deepened the kiss.

“Ahem!”

We both stopped, I looked into Hunter’s eyes, trying to hide a giggle, “Please tell me that’s not who I think it is?” I whispered against his lips.

“It can’t be” he whispered back

We broke apart, turning to look at the person behind Hunter, I bit my lower lip, hiding my face in Hunter’s chest trying not to laugh, upon seeing the crosshair tattoo.

“Crosshair” Hunter stated.

“Hunter” Crosshair smirked, “enjoying the night air, I see”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh well see, I have a date.”

“You do?” I asked peering around Hunter, “Where is she, so I can warn her?”

“Ouch, rude” Crosshair chuckled, “At least, we won’t be making out in a public parking lot.” I raised an eyebrow at him questioning his statement, “Well … at least maybe … at least” he held his finger up, “I have the decency to wait till we’re in the car.”

“So who is it?”

“Ehhh, someone I met while waiting in line at the grocery store”

“Wow you sound really excited” Hunter teased

Crosshair shrugged, “I’ll probably keep them around for a week or two and then say goodbye”

I crossed my arms as I leaned back against my car, Hunter standing beside me, “You ever want to settle down?”

“Possibly, if I find the right girl, but as of right now, I haven’t. Anyway, I should go in, enjoy your night. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” Crosshair teased as he walked away.

“There’s very little you wouldn’t do, Cross”

Crosshair turned, walking backwards as he looked at me, winking, “My point exactly” a big grin appearing on his face, as he turned back heading in the direction of the restaurant.

“Well that was …” Hunter reached up rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah. Seriously, do you know who he’s going to see? I feel like she needs a warning”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Hunter turned to look at me, my lips began to feel tingly, thinking about our kiss from before.

“Hunter, before … um” I swallowed down the nervousness building up again, as my finger trailed over my lips, “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

Hunter nodded, eyeing me cautiously, “Did I overstep?”’

“No” I rested my hand on his chest, “No, not at all. I just think before we get carried away, again” my cheeks heated at the thought of Crosshair catching us not even ten minutes ago, “um, maybe we should talk.”

“Okay, sarad’ika. I have an idea, why don’t we drop off your car, and I can pick you up from Mel’s?”

“Not a good idea”

“Right, Mel and Wrecker, they’d definitely be nosy”

“Yup” I chuckled, “they would. I can just follow you”

“You sure?” I nodded, Hunter placed a kiss on my forehead, as he walked off to his car. Before long, I was following Hunter to a park near the lake. It was late, the moon was out, and the water looked amazing, reflecting diamonds as the water rippled.

“I didn’t know this was here” I called over to Hunter as he got out of his car, walking over to my side.

“Not many people do, I found it when I got back from Afghanistan, after …” Hunter swallowed as his arm wrapped around my waist, “after Heather.”

“You brought me here?”

“Best place to talk things out, not to mention, I wanted you to know about this place. In case you're ever looking for me, nine times out of ten, I’ll probably be here” Hunter offered placing a kiss on my head.

We took a seat on the bench, Hunter drew me in closer, warming me up from the night air as much as possible. I was glad I had a jacket on, it was getting colder.

“First time I came here” Hunter began filling the silence, “Omega was with Heather’s parents, they were looking after her while I arranged everything for Heather’s funeral. I think I sat on this bench for a good three hours, crying, looking at old photos, listening to her last voice message, and her last video message.”

“How long ago, did she pass away?”

“Eight years ago”

“I’m so sorry, habibi. What happened? If you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll understand”

Hunter tightened his hold on me, placing a kiss on my hairline, “You opened up to me, it’s only fair I open up too.” He rested his chin on my head, “She was working late one night, she was a social worker. She was just driving home …” Hunter’s voice cracked a little, I tightened my arms around his torso, “She apparently stopped for some groceries, and was just driving, when a … when an idiot, too drunk, and going too fast smashed into her head on.”

“Hunter, I am so sorry” I placed a kiss on his chest.

“I’m grateful that at least she didn’t suffer. They told me that she … she died on impact.” I glanced up to see Hunter’s cheeks streaked with tears, I shifted wiping the tears, “What killed me more than anything else, was not being able to be there for her, for Omega when it happened. As soon as I heard, my commander put me on the next flight back home. Omega was only seven at the time. She was angry at me for a while, angry that I wasn’t home, angry that I let her mom pass, angry about a lot of things. I couldn’t blame her.”

“I would never have guessed that, the way you two are now?”

“It took us a while to get there, but we did, and really her anger came from being scared I was going to disappear on her too.”

“I can understand that”

Hunter held my jaw, stroking my cheek with his thumb, “I never thought I’d be ready for this again, and I probably wouldn’t have been, had you never walked into my life.”

“I told you, if you keep talking like that, I’ll never want to stop kissing you” I teased.

Hunter nudged my nose, “Nothing stopping you” he teased back.

I shifted my head away, “Before we get carried away, again” I chuckled, “we need to talk.” Hunter nodded, as his eyes watched every inch of my face. “I …” I cleared my throat, “I don’t want to rush things between us, and I know that sends somewhat mixed signals between the kissing at my apartment and then at the parking lot. I trust you Hunter, I’ve never felt this safe with anyone before; and I don’t want us to rush something that could be really amazing.” Hunter let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes, as he rested his forehead against mine, “I’m sorry if …”

“No, sarad’ika, nothing to be sorry about. I am beyond relieved you said that” Hunter chuckled against my forehead.

I pulled back a little to look at him, “Okay, relief was not the response I was expecting” I chuckled, “Didn’t realize it was so uncomfortable…”

“What? No, oh god no; that’s not what I meant. Trust me, being this close to you” he nudged my nose with his, “is not uncomfortable, not in the slightest,” he placed a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose, “I …” Hunter cleared his throat, “I haven’t been um … this close with anyone in almost nine years, and I’m … nervous to tell you the truth.”

“Nine?”

“Well just before I left for my last deployment to Afghanistan”

“Oh! I get it.” I giggled, “Well if it helps, you must be working off muscle memory or something, because every time you kiss me, you get my toes curling.”

“Really?” I nodded, biting my lower lip, “That’s good to know. I’m happy to go as fast or as slow as you like”

“Thank you, and if you need to slow down or want to speed up, I’m happy to consider it as well. After all, we’re in this together, so we should decide these things together.”

“That sounds perfect, sarad’ika.” Hunter pulled me into his arms, “I don’t want you to feel pressured, just because everyone thinks this is a good idea, if you don’t feel you want to continue …”

I giggled in his arms, “Trying to get rid of me already?”

“Not at all, sweetheart; but I don’t want you to feel you have to stay with me, because everyone or Omega is wanting it.”

“How about this, if at any point, either one of us feel we need to take a step back, no pressure, we just talk it out.”

“Okay, and if we need to walk away, then no hard feelings”

“Of course not, I may not talk to you for a few weeks or months, until I can handle it again.”

“I understand. It’ll probably be the same for me”

“Are we telling Omega?”

“Maybe once we know this is a for sure thing”

“How about we tell everyone once it’s a for sure thing”

“Did you forget Crosshair saw us making out in the parking lot?”

“Oh, right” I giggled burying my face into Hunter’s chest, he chuckled as he pulled me into his side, “I forgot about that. Okay, so we just tell him not to say anything.”

Hunter laughed as he pulled out his phone, he had at least twenty missed texts from everyone, all asking about the kiss, “Pretty sure everyone knows about it” he chuckled as he put away his phone. “Guess that theory is out the door.”

“I have a better idea, habibi”

“Oh yeah?” His hand trailed up and down my arm, as I tightened my arms around him.

“Yeah, how about we just sit here and enjoy the moonlight, for a little bit, and then we can figure out what to do with everyone.”

“Sounds like a good plan, sarad’ika”

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