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Hunter was not used to getting sick. Back when he lived in the castle, he didn’t get out much. Whenever he did, it was always while wearing a mask.
After living in the Human Realm for a short period of time, however, he had been introduced to the wonderful concept of human illnesses. Most of them didn’t exist in the Boiling Isles, and the other witches staying at the Noceda household were rarely affected by them.
The first time Hunter was infected by the common cold, he thought he was dying. But by the time they were back in the Boiling Isles and starting their new year at Hexside, Hunter was well-versed in human sickness. That did not make it easier when he experienced his first bout of seasonal allergies.
He spent a majority of the school day coughing and sneezing. Half of his classmates thought he was dying. Somehow, that was the least of his problems.
He walked out the front doors of Hexside with Luz and Amity beside him. He always walked home with Amity, and as her girlfriend, Luz occasionally was a plus-one.
Hunter rubbed his nose furiously, willing it to stop sniffling. Luz and Amity talked about something he had tuned out of a few minutes ago.
“Hunter!”
The shout of his name brought him back into the moment. The voice was instantly recognizable.
Willow came into view, jogging through the courtyard and towards her friends. Her shoes tracked dirt through the white and blue tiles.
Luz and Amity waved, and Willow greeted the duo before turning her attention directly to Hunter. Her hands were hidden behind her back.
Hunter tried to wipe his snot off on his pants as discreetly as he could.
“I have something for you,” she said, breathless.
Before he could even speak, Willow opened up her hands to him and revealed a pile of red flowers. She practically shoved the bunch into his chest, beaming with anticipation.
Confused, he gently took the bouquet from her. Luz and Amity peered at them from over his shoulders, whispering something he couldn’t make out to each other.
Red carnations, he noted internally. Bright and fragrant and fluffy. Hunter’s mind filtered through his flower knowledge - of which he had an abundance from studying botany on and off campus.
There were multiple meanings of a red carnation that he knew of. Love, admiration, affection. Every option could make his cheeks flush the same color as the flowers.
His thoughts were interrupted. “These sprouted earlier. They smell pretty good, I think,” Willow told him.
Right. She was being thoughtful. She knew about his growing interest in plant magic. He shook his fantasies of love and admiration out of his head.
“I hope you like them,” she added.
Her cheeks flushed a beautiful pink as she waited for his response. Hunter felt his heart flutter at the sight.
“I like anything you grow,” he replied. Blood rushed to his face and up to his ears the moment he realized what he had said. “I…I mean, you know…you’re very talented!” He sputtered, grip on the carnations tightening. He laughed nervously.
Willow giggled. She tugged at her skirt sheepishly. “Thanks.”
They stood there for a moment, just staring at each other. Hunter could feel Amity and Luz’s silent judgment, but he elected to ignore it in favor of grinning at Willow.
Soon enough, she was gone. She apologized for not being able to stay longer, waved goodbye, and then flew away.
As soon as she left, Hunter sneezed. Amity sighed and Luz hummed in contemplation.
“So, uhh…” Luz started, “What does she think is wrong with you?”
Hunter rolled his eyes and prepared for the oncoming interrogation. “She knows it’s a human thing,” he grumbled.
“Maybe you should tell her.”
Hunter scoffed. “It’s not a big deal.”
“He’s pretty sentimental about these,” Amity explained, poking at the flowers. Hunter immediately snatched the bouquet away.
“He’s been keeping all the flowers that Willow gives him. His room is full of them,” she continued. “He’s hiding it from our dads.”
Hunter’s face went from pink to tomato red. “Amity!”
“Oh my gosh, really?” Luz exclaimed, leaning forward to tap Hunter’s shoulders in excitement. “Hunter, that’s so sweet!”
Hunter did not humor either of them with a response. He hopped on his staff and flew away as Luz and Amity called out for him from the ground.
At the Blight Manor, Hunter and Flapjack touched down onto the grass outside. He wasted no time walking inside with his newly received gift from Willow.
He had taken a few steps through the front hall before he heard the front doors open behind him. He cursed himself for teaching Luz how to fly that quickly.
He shouted a greeting for Alador and Darius before rushing upstairs, and didn’t bother to check if Luz and Amity were following him. He flung his bedroom door open and tossed his school bag onto his bed.
Petals lay scattered on the floor. Leaves adorned his desk and potted plants sat neatly on his windowsill. Flapjack took his place in a nest amongst the piles of flowers, chirping happily.
If anyone asked, his room was not a mess. It was perfectly organized, and he liked it this way.
He contemplated where to put the carnations. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to think.
Luz whistled through the doorway. “Ooh.” She stepped over a few blossoms as she walked in. “You’ve been busy.”
“Ha ha,” Hunter deadpanned. “Very funny, Luz.”
“No, I’m not judging! I mean…” She considered her words carefully as Amity walked in behind her. She tapped her chin in thought. “You know, I’ve done some silly stuff for Amity,” she decided.
Hunter ignored the implications behind her words. He groaned, arms falling to his sides in exasperation. “It’s not silly, I’m being considerate! These are gifts from a friend.”
Luz and Amity shared a look. Hunter hated it because their girlfriend-to-girlfriend communication was not something he could comprehend.
“Maaaybe Willow is trying to send you some signals,” Luz suggested.
“Willow might like you,” Amity added.
“Get out of my room before I start screaming at the top of my lungs.”
Amity seemed familiar with that particular threat and urged Luz out of the room.
Hunter exhaled and fell into his bed.
The following days were not so kind to him. He was forbidden from going to school, though he was positive he couldn’t get any other students sick. Still, Darius insisted that he stay in bed and try to recover.
He spent most of his time studying and talking to Flapjack. He only took breaks to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom, before shoving his face back into his textbook or trying to manipulate the plants in his room with his magic.
He was working very, very hard on that.
He could ask for help from Willow; honestly, he probably should. But a silly little voice in the back of his mind told him he had to impress her. And so, the only help he had was from books, Flapjack, and confusing Penstagram messages from Luz.
He sat at the edge of his bed, flexing the petals of a tulip on the floor. He used his free hand to wipe stray tears from his eyes — from both the exhaustion and from his sickness.
Then there was a knock at his door.
Or, he thought it was his door. As the knocking continued, his ears flicked up and down. The sound was coming from behind him.
He turned around to see Willow standing outside his window. She smiled sheepishly and waved.
He yelped, dropping his concentration with the flower. Flapjack had woken from his nap on the windowsill, tapping at the glass in excitement. Hunter could hear the faint buzzing from Clover outside.
He fumbled towards his window and opened it.
“... Hello?” was the only response he could muster with his sick brain.
Flapjack and Clover met each other halfway. They cuddled up to each other affectionately. Hunter looked down from his room onto the grass below. Willow was holding herself up with thick, tall vines.
“Amity told me you were sick,” she explained.
Of course she did.
Hunter struggled to find the words to explain his confusion. “Why did you come through the window?”
Willow hesitated. “Mr. Blight didn’t let me in.” She tapped idly on the windowsill.
He considered her answer and decided that made sense. The only physical interaction he was allowed recently was from his family.
Willow interrupted the silence by rummaging through her bag. “I brought you some things!”
She pulled out a small, yellow potion. Then, she gently handed it to Hunter. “I made this. It should taste good. My dad helped me.”
She didn’t specify what it was, exactly, but Hunter guessed it was to help with his sickness. He nodded in gratitude. He was painfully aware of how red his cheeks were getting.
“And this,” she continued.
She conjured a flower into her hands. It was so smooth, it was almost as if it appeared out of thin air.
Hunter recognized it as a lotus flower; it was white with pink tips. He funneled through the flower language in his head.
“Purity,” he said, absentmindedly.
Purity, strength, rebirth. It was a touching sentiment from Willow.
Her eyes widened. “You know what it means?”
“Yeah,” he replied. He curled his hair around a finger, feeling shy. “I’ve been studying…”
“Oh!” her fingers tapped against the wood of the windowsill. “How long?”
“A couple months, I guess.”
“Oh.”
Was that the wrong thing to say? Willow avoided his gaze and bit her lip. Clover buzzed in confusion.
“I didn’t know you knew flower language,” she finally said, voice low.
The gears in his head finally began to turn. “I didn’t know you meant all the things they said.”
He wasn’t exactly sure if that was true. He was throwing his thoughts to the wall and hoping they stuck.
Her gaze flickered to the inside of his bedroom, adorned in all her flowers. “But you kept all of them,” she pointed out.
“They mean a lot to me,” he confessed.
They stared at each other for a moment.
Willow inhaled, shakily, before smiling up at him. “We’re both really silly.”
“I guess so,” he whispered.
He fiddled with the lotus in his fingers. He was so nervous — more nervous than he should be, considering the way Willow was looking at him. Flapjack poked at him, but he ignored it.
“Luz said coming through the window would be romantic,” she admitted.
Hunter groaned and brought a hand to his cheek, hoping it would cover his embarrassment. “Oh, Titan…”
She giggled at that. “Can I kiss you?”
Hunter immediately coughed and then choked on the air.
Willow panicked, attempting to apologize, but he held his hand up to stop her.
He sucked in a breath, desperately trying to fill his lungs again. “Yes! Yes?” he steadied his breathing, “Yes. We can do that. Kiss.”
He had never kissed anyone before. He didn’t know how to.
But that was okay. Willow made things easier. Spring allergies be damned.
She leaned in, slowly, and he mirrored her. He could feel himself shaking, and his face was hot , but he urged himself to keep going. At the very least, he could also see the red spreading up to Willow’s cheeks.
He was unsure of when he should close his eyes. He knew that was what happened when people kissed, though. When he felt their breath mingle together, he allowed them to slip close.
The kiss was tentative. Her lips ghosted his ever so softly.
And yet, the warmth connecting them together almost overwhelmed him. She smelt like lavender and tasted like honey. He knew he must have smelled like some awful amalgamation of floral scents, but he was too dazed to care.
It only lasted for a second before they both pulled away.
And Hunter would absolutely remember how Willow looked after their first kiss. Pupils dilated, face pink, and rose petals sprouting wildly out of her hair.
He didn’t have to think very hard to know the meaning of that one. But he did gasp softly, amazed at her beauty and absolutely awed by her powerful connection to plant magic.
He brought his hand to her hair, petting the top of the petals gently. That was when she finally let herself grin wildly, happiness seeping from her being.
Hunter wanted to say something. Or kiss her again.
Instead, he swiftly covered his nose before sneezing. They both laughed.