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99perfectly-imperfect99 · 1 year

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Forest Everless - TBB Hunter one shot

Okay sooo @jedipoodoo ingrained the idea of cottagecore/lumberjack Hunter in my brain and I haven’t been thinking straight since. SO… Because I’m swamped with WIPs and won’t be able to make a full on multipart fic about this in the very near future, I’ve whipped up this little one shot. This might become something bigger in the future though I can’t say for certain now.

This is by all means an AU happening in an Earth-like ambience with terrestrial creatures, featuring one of my OCs, and I hope you’ll all like it. Enjoy uwu I wrote this listening to the song Lake Everless by Vindsvept in case you want to give it a listen!

Rating: Gen, nothing intense for this blurb.

AO3 link

Word count: 2k

Pairing: Hunter x Original Female Character (Sarah Adhara)

Summary: Hunter seeks peace in the forest surrounding his house when his mind is clouded with burdens of his past.

Tags/warnings: mentions of war, allusions to PTSD, insomnia, and nightmares. Some angst followed by comfort, a bit of romance and kissing.

The damp soil sank whenever Hunter stepped on it. His pacing was slow; it could not–would not–be hurried by anyone or anything. He liked it that way. The need to get everywhere quickly, unseen, day after day, had brought upon him a restlessness he was only just beginning to recover from.

Hunter liked to take his time when he strode through the woods. He’d finally found a place to settle down, a place no war could tarnish, where the air had no residue of machine exhaust and the only background noises were the birds and the trees swaying. It was high autumn that chilly evening, his favorite season of the year. The cool weather allowed him to wear his preferred clothes: flannel shirts and thick brown pants. The cold air felt like it cleaned him inside when he breathed it in–the whole notion of cleansing was one he’d gotten from Sarah, something very important to her in her magic, but even a man like Hunter could make some sort of sense of it. He’d learned to, and he’d come to love it as well.

With his eyes trailed forward, Hunter could hear the rodents that ran not far away from him. He could make out the moss and fungi growing on nearby tree barks; in the distance, he even saw a great gray owl. He chuckled softly to himself thinking how Sarah would have lost it if she saw that owl. She loved owls with all her heart.

His smile faded when his respite seemed to be over. Walking like that often brought him peace, but Hunter couldn’t help but feel he was missing the presence of his brothers. No matter how much time went by, he’d still need Tech talking endlessly to him. Hunter never cared much for technicalities, he merely wanted to hear his brother speak to him. It calmed him. That would be contrasted by Wrecker’s never-ending enthusiasm, his bright ideas that could never be matched by anyone. Nobody could ever have Wrecker’s spirit. He did have a match in Echo, though, who in any case could neutralize Wrecker’s energy, keep it focused. Hunter knew he shouldn’t feel pain when thinking of them, after all, they were happy.

Crosshair was happy too, as Hunter told himself, if happiness was even an emotion Cross could feel. Hunter’s heart ached. In the old days, he’d say that to his youngest brother to tease, and it pained him to think those words in a more serious tone. If Crosshair truly wasn’t happy, how could Hunter forgive himself for letting him go?

Thud! Hunter dropped his leather bag of tools on the ground as soon as he arrived at his current working site. Not very far to the west were the sprouts of spruce he’d replanted just the day before. It was still early morning, and Hunter figured he had some time to use for his own leisure. That site was hoisted atop a cliff above a river between the mountains, a place that gave him one of the most wonderful views he’d ever seen.

He stood beside one of the trees, with his gloved hand on the damp bark, as he looked out at the view. The low clouds still lingered between the spruce trees; he could only make out a few treetops in his sight. Hunter had fallen in love with that kind of morning where it was cold, gray, even lonely. He always saved the warmth for when he returned to the cottage.

Thinking of his cottage, Hunter turned around and looked in the direction he came from. Sarah would be waking up right about now, feeling the cool side of the bed Hunter had left. Just as she’d be sitting up, processing the fact he was gone, at least three of the five dogs they’d adopted would hop onto the bed, happy to finally see her awake. The tabby cat Sarah had insisted on keeping would look down on the dogs, waiting for them to be finished pestering his human, until at last it would hop down from its preferred scratch to rub its head on her palm and purr the morning away. The cat would do that nearly every morning, but he’d exaggerate it if Hunter was around to assert its dominance–Hunter was never a cat person, and it showed in the way he got along with Sarah’s tabby.

The images in his head made him long for his home; Hunter decided he’d try to work quickly that morning. With resolve, Hunter took out his ax from the pack. He slung it over his shoulder and headed to the pile of logs he’d left the day before to take one and set it vertically over a large rock. Hunter took his stance in front of the rock and readied his ax to give it a precise swing, slicing the log straight down the middle.

He merely wished he could feel some of the weight leave his shoulders with every movement. It helped that not every log would be cut perfectly in half; years of being treated as an elite soldier made him appreciate the normality and simplicity of his new life. Log after log, Hunter’s mind drifted a bit further.

When he cut the first log, Hunter relived his first mission. For the second one, he saw the dark nights in Tipoca City. Then, he could have sworn he heard the hard clap of thunder beside him, but that was yet another trick of his mind. He kept seeing flashbacks with every movement of his ax, releasing the tension every time he struck a log, grunting it out of his system. Every time, he only felt he grew more restless. He was stuck, spiraling along his own cycle of thoughts and memories.

He put the ax down. Hunter never liked to work with a heavy mind, but he’d noticed the need for that sort of pause had become far more frequent. He sighed and rubbed a hand down his face to release the tension in his muscles, and before finishing rubbing his eyes, he heard the cracking of a branch nearby and darted his eyes open.

Hunter sighed in relief when he saw its orange fur and big eyes looking at him. That fox had gone to visit him many times before, sometimes even following him all the way back to the cottage in search of food. Hunter smiled serenely at the fox and went to pick his ax up to continue the job, soothed by the fox’s presence.

“I ought to think of a name for you,” Hunter said.

The fox sat. Its gaze was fixed on Hunter, both peaceful and expectant, following every one of his movements with the tilting of its head. Hunter let out a soft laugh.

“I don’t have any food on me, little one,” he said. “But I should thank you. You broke me out of some nasty thoughts there.”

As if understanding what Hunter was saying, the fox straightened and stood. It appeared as if the fox wanted to approach Hunter, but he noticed the fox looked past him. Its eyes briefly landed on something. Hunter looked over his shoulder and saw her short figure emerge from within the trees. Gods, she was breathtaking even in her effortless morning glow. Her hair was wavy from the braids she’d slept in, she wore one of Hunter’s sweaters that was enormous on her, but its light brown color made her look beautiful in the forest green hues. She wore her favorite boots, the warmer ones that always made her feel cozy.

As Sarah began to walk forward, the fox ran back off into the trees, leaving her visibly disappointed.

“I probably smell like cat,” she said.

Hunter smiled softly at her and dropped the ax. He walked towards his lover and took notice of the mug she held in her hands, a large brown one covered by a cream-colored tea towel secured with a string of light purple yarn, and he lingered on it before his eyes met hers.

“I brought you something,” Sarah spoke up again.

“My darling,” Hunter said softly, touched by the gesture, yet still concerned. “I’ve told you many times not to–”

“Not to be alone out in the forest?” She finished for him with a glint of mischief. “Who started it?”

Hunter chuckled. He’d never stop trying to protect that woman even if he wasn’t always consistent with his words and actions. Sarah then interrupted his thoughts by holding out the cup to him.

“It’s your favorite,” she told him.

Hunter picked up the scent of the warm beverage in her hands. He recognized the milk based lavender tea with a dash of honey, definitely one of his favorite things of life itself, and Sarah always gave a magical touch to it.

“It’s too early for lavender,” Hunter smiled in his usual manner.

“But you need to relax,” Sarah replied. Her concern was genuine, she could tell whenever Hunter was feeling tense.

He wouldn’t deny how well Sarah knew him. At a loss for words, Hunter took the mug and set it down on the rock he was working on and turned back to Sarah. His arms wrapped around her waist and embraced her figure to his before he bent down and kissed her. The kiss was as soft as the clouds among the treetops; it was loving and careful, fearful of ever letting go, grateful of her presence. Hunter’s palm delicately stroked Sarah’s cheek as they kissed, and in that forest, there was nothing sweeter or more innocent than their gentle kiss.

Sarah felt the emotion in his kiss. Hunter parted ever so slightly from her lips, gazing into her unique eyes with that raw love only he could ever show.

“I love you,” he whispered into the forest without even giving it a thought.

Sarah smiled at him. “You know I love you too.”

Hunter smiled with his exhale and couldn’t help but tighten his arms around her again and kiss her. Firmly, he held her waist and picked her up off her feet, adding more of his usual fire to the kiss. His passion for her was endless, but so was his gratitude for all she’d done for him, for merely staying with him.

After all that had happened, a deeply hidden part of Hunter still couldn’t believe she had chosen to stay with him.

When he set her back down, he looked lovingly into her eyes. She smiled as she took in his features: the deep brown of his eyes, the expression lines, the tips of hair on his beard beginning to announce themselves. Her cheeks reddened, unable to hide how much she thought he was the most beautiful man to ever walk the universe, but her euphoria faded into a more sincere, caring love.

“How long will you be out here today?” She asked him.

Hunter sighed softly. “The usual. Okay, love?”

She nodded softly and felt as Hunter’s hand on her tightened, bringing her eyes to look directly in his.

“Though…” he began. “I was kind of hoping you’d stay this time.”

Sarah smiled. “I’ll stay every time if you want me to.”

And that was why he loved her so damn much. She was always there, she always came through for him, and she always loved him so dearly. Hunter felt himself filled with that tenderness only she could give him, and he kissed her lips softly only to end up kissing all of her features. Her nose, her eyes, her rosy cheekbones, and then her lips again. The giggle she let out was musical, magical even.

“But you have to drink your tea,” she ordered. “I didn’t make it to go to waste.”

Hunter chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”

He unwrapped his arms from her, confident she’d remain there with him, and he reached to take a sip from the mug while Sarah took a seat on a nearby tree stump. Before he took his ax again to continue the day’s work, Hunter looked past Sarah over at the view he was admiring before that.

The cold autumn morning was indeed brighter and more beautiful now than ever.

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