#oc: carter | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ihateoc · 9 months ago

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He's Fixed Now

(word count: 2,028) (shadow's friends like him)

Shadow lays on his side in bed, scrolling mindlessly on his phone while he ignores the bright sunlight pouring in through his window. It was well into the day now and the dark-haired man had no motivation to get out of bed.

"Shadow!" Bennett bursts into the room abruptly before cocking his head in confusion, "You're still in bed?" He walks over to the bed, sitting on the edge as he prods him, "Why aren't you up yet?"

"Because it's comfortable and I don't have anyone to kill," Shadow replies nonchalantly. He makes a show of stretching out across the sheets, grinning as he continues his little taunt, "And why should I get up when you're here to serve me breakfast?"

Bennett raises an eyebrow knowingly, "But you've been doing that for the past few days."

"Maybe I'm on vacation," The former mercenary retorts, the edges of his lips curving up in a smirk, "Besides, isn't that what normal people do? Take rests?"

"Erm, okay, but you've also been kind of cranky, too..." His words trail off when he notices the look of annoyance forming on Shadow's face.

"Am I not allowed to have mood swings?" Shadow hisses, sitting up in bed and furrowing his brow at Bennett, "You're acting like I'm a fucking robot."

Why was Bennett being so damn naggy today? Does that mean Ren will be around soon too? Man, now there's something worth getting out of bed for.

The softspoken man holds his hands up defensively before standing up from the bed, "Sorry, sorry. I'll leave you be," He leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

After Bennett's retreat, Shadow lets out a long sigh, ruffling his hands through his messy black hair. There was an emptiness gnawing at him. It wasn't the lack of assignments or the thrill of the kill he missed. It was having a purpose, something to focus on. He felt lost.

The following day, Shadow stays in bed until late in the afternoon again until there's a knock at the door. Without waiting for a response, his old friend, Carter, a skilled mercenary, enters the room wearing his usual attire of a black and red jacket, "Sorry to disturb you, sleeping beauty. But get the hell up. I need your help."

Shadow's eyes flicker open, focusing on the familiar figure, "Carter? What the fuck do you need my help for?" He questions, a challenging smirk playing on his lips as he pushes himself up into a sitting position.

"Need a new pair of shoes. You're coming with me. Get dressed. You have ten minutes," Carter states bluntly. Some things never change.

"Shopping? Really?" The dark-haired man groans, but a part of him perks up with interest. It was something to do, after all, "You're lucky I'm bored," He mutters as he throws his legs over the side of his bed, striding over to his closet to get changed.

Shadow gets ready and exits the apartment with Carter, who drags him to the mall. Fortunately, it's a relatively quiet day, something Shadow appreciates knowing how much Carter despises crowds.

"I just need a good pair of boots that'll hold up and won't stain with blood easily," The silver-haired man explains as he walks alongside Shadow.

"Messy kills lately?" Shadow teases, chuckling at his friend's familiar straightforwardness, "Well, looks like I'm your go-to guy for this kind of shit."

Carter can't resist heaving a sigh, his tone laced with annoyance as he scratches the back of his neck, "Yeah, Tenchi keeps sending me on horrible jobs. That guy is a pain."

"That's Tenchi for you. Always a goddamn pain in the ass," The former mercenary chuckles lightly, shaking his head with a small smirk curving his lips as he glances around.

Carter's annoyance is amusing to Shadow, but he can't help but feel envious of his friend being able to whine about such trivial things while he's stuck here in an idle loop. Damn, where does this stagnant feeling fit into his new laidback lifestyle?

"Yeah, you're lucky you're not working for him anymore. He's getting old now."

Shadow's smile falters for a moment before it resumes its cocky charm, "I wouldn't call myself lucky, Carter. Just trying something different."

They make their way to the shoe store, where Shadow assists Carter in finding a durable and well-fitting pair of boots. Exiting the store, Carter suggests, "Let's get lunch. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Shadow chuckles, clapping his friend's shoulder, "But you ain't hearing any complaints from me. I could eat."

The silver-haired man sits across from Shadow at a fast-food burger place, swallowing the food in his mouth before asking, "How's Ren doing? Haven't seen her in awhile."

Pausing briefly, Shadow's facade momentarily falling as he thinks about Ren, "She's fine," He replies, trying to keep his tone casual even as a flash of longing fills his maroon eyes, "Still the same old stubborn killer."

"Why do you call her killer?" Carter presses him with the same deadpan tone of voice he usually uses, "Never understood that. She's not like us."

A half-hearted laugh escapes his lips, setting his burger down on its wrapper, "You're right. She's not like us," His voice holds a hint of admiration as he continues, "She's better than us."

Calling Ren a killer was more about him acknowledging her abilities and strength rather than attributing the title to her actions. He admits that it does feel weird hearing it from someone else's mouth.

"Yeah, most people are," Carter remarks with a nonchalant shrug, "Bennett said you've been moping around a lot lately. Why?"

"Moping?" Shadow scoffs, leaning back in his chair, "Bennett is full of shit," He dismisses the suggestion with a wave, though the slight shift in his aura betrays him.

"Quit doing that stupid, stubborn, thing you always do," Carter warns him as if scolding a child, "I prefer the Shadow that never shuts the hell up. Tell me what's wrong."

Carter always had a way of cornering Shadow into honesty. Fine, yes, he's finding this 'normal life' thing hard to adjust to, but why does everyone else have to care so much about it?

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just..." A sigh escapes Shadow's lips as he rolls his maroon eyes. He leans forward on the table, crossing his arms over each other, "I guess... Adjusting is tougher than I thought it would be."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," He admits, looking down at the table, "I mean... I used to kill people for a living and now what? It's like everything was so clear-cut then. Hunt them, find them, end them. But now..." He shrugs one shoulder helplessly.

Why was this so hard for him to explain? How could there be such an empty void within him despite finally having his freedom?

"Now you have the choice to do anything you want. I guess that's pretty overwhelming for you, huh?" Carter wonders, hitting the nail on the head.

Shadow nods, "Yeah, guess ya could say that. It's ironic in a way. I thought life would be simpler without all the bloodshed and violence but turns out it's more complicated."

Carter shrugs casually as he reassures him, "There's no rush or anything. Just find something that makes you happy and keep doing it."

The dark-haired man raises an eyebrow, a small smirk playing on his lips, "That's some solid advice coming from you, Carter," He says teasingly before sobering up and adding a sincere, "Thanks."

Despite his constant sarcasm, Carter really does understand him, though he never took him for a wise person. Maybe he does just need to find something he enjoys doing and focus on that instead.

"Just remember, mercenary or not, you're an idiot."

Shadow lets out a bark of laughter, shaking his head, "You always know exactly what to say, Carter," He retorts with an amused glint in his eyes.

"But you're my idiot."

His laughter dies down to a soft chuckle, a sincere smile tugging at the corners of his lips, "Now that's the sweetest thing you've said to me in... Ever," He teases, not missing how rare Carter's words were.

The duo explore the mall for a few more hours before returning to Bennett's apartment. When they open the door, Shadow takes note of the colorful balloons and streamers that decorate the room and the group of friends who are watching him expectantly.

"Happy birthday, Shadow!" Bennett exclaims enthusiastically.

Shadow blinks slowly, surprise evident on his face as he takes in the situation, "Birthday? Wait, what?" He manages to sputter out before pointing at Bennett, "This isn't some sort of twisted joke, is it?"

A birthday party? For him? He's never celebrated one before and hell, knowing when his actual birthday is would be news to him. What has gotten into these people?

"It's not a joke," Ren reassures him as she approaches, handing him a bouquet of bright, assorted flowers while Bennett places a birthday hat on his head, "I know you don't know when your birthday is but we thought we might throw you an impromptu birthday party. To signify the start of your new life, you know?" She places a hand on his shoulder when she takes note of the look of unease on his face.

Shadow freezes, his maroon eyes darting between the hand on his shoulder and the bouquet of flowers in his hands, "Oh, well... Uh... This is-" For once in his life, he was at a loss for words. His gaze softens as he focuses on Ren, "This is really fuckin' sweet of you guys."

"Bennett mentioned how you were feeling down so we wanted to do something nice for you," She explains with a comforting smile.

"Well, doll," He begins, unsure of how to respond. His voice comes out lower than usual as he searches for the right words, "I'm... I appreciate it."

Nobody had ever done something like this for him before. Is this what it feels like to be cared about? He felt unusually warm and vulnerable.

Ren's eyes widen in surprise for a moment before she grabs a tissue from the table and hands it over to him. That's when he realizes that there's tears streaming down his cheeks. Not out of sadness, but out of happiness. But goddamn, when was the last time he had actually cried? When he was a kid maybe?

"Are you okay, Shadow?" She wonders, genuine concern lacing her voice.

"Uh, shit... Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Just-" He swiped at his cheeks clumsily with the tissue Ren had handed him, chuckling awkwardly, "Guess I'm not used to this kinda thing," He finally confesses.

Carter, who was still standing behind him, pats his back comfortingly while Ren squeezes his shoulder lightly.

"I guess you'll just have to get used to it, huh?" She muses with a teasing grin.

Shadow lets out a strangled laugh, at a loss for how to respond, "I suppose so," He says after a moment of silence, looking back at Ren with wide eyes.

What the hell was he supposed to say? The fact that they were genuinely excited for him was freaking him out, but in a good way.

"Oh, um, we got you a cake too!" Bennett speaks up as he gestures to the table where the dessert reads 'Happy birthday, Shadow!', "We weren't sure which flavor you liked so we picked strawberry."

The dark-haired man's eyes glisten at the sight of the cake. He clears his throat, trying to mask how choked up he was feeling right now, "Damn, uh, thanks, Bennett."

"We have candles for you to blow out, too. Come on," Ren grabs his hand, leading him over to the table to sit down in front of the cake.

Bennett lights the candles as they sing happy birthday, prompting him to blow out the candles and make a birthday wish.

"Can't believe I'm doing this," Shadow mumbles under his breath, standing still for a moment before blowing out the candles while thinking to himself, 'If this isn't some kind of trick... Then maybe for my wish, I just want more days like this with these guys.'

#OC #my ocs #my characters #my writing #hxh oc #hutner x hunter oc #oc: shadow #oc: carter #oc: bennett #oc: ren

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