Aiden froze for a second before processing his words because he wasn't expecting Hunter to actually agree. "Wait, really?!"
"Yeah. But only once Ow!--Hey, get off me!" Before Hunter could finish Aiden suddenly lunged at him.
"HUNTER, YOU SEXY, SAD, GLOOMY MAN, I LOVE YOU!!"
Hunter had never felt this much madness in his life until now. Aiden wrapped himself around him like a damn koala, squishing his face against Hunter's chest. His arms locked tight around Hunter's waist, and his legs nearly lifted off the ground as he held on for dear life.
Hunter's brain was completely blank. His heart stuttered, then slammed violently against his ribs. Full-blown panic mode activated.
"G-GET OFF ME!" He shoved Aiden away with his face burning and uneven breathing.
Aiden stumbled back but didn't stop smiling. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he tilted his head playfully. "Awww, what's wrong? Are you shy?"
"No, you're just annoying," Hunter scowled, gripping his arms tightly. His fingers itched to strangle this little menace.
Aiden smirked harder while his eyes flickering with amusement. "Right. So annoying that you agreed to take me home~."
Hunter gritted his teeth and glared down at him. Ignoring him, Hunter began to walk again. Aiden ran after him happily.
By now, the streets were already dark. Like a horror-movie opening-scene dark. Aiden squinted ahead, trying to pretend he was fine and not scared at all. Hunter walked in silence with a nonchalant face. Aiden desperately clinging to his side to protect himself.
Why are there no streetlights? Why is everything making weird creaky sounds??
He gulped in fear. "So…uh, y-you always take this creepy route?"
Hunter, walking calmly beside him with his hands in his pockets, looked over lazily. "Only when I want to be mugged."
"W-What?!" Aiden squeaked, spinning around at the faint rustling behind them.
"Just kidding," Hunter said dryly, but the smirk tugging at his lips was way too satisfied. He has always known how much Aiden was scared of the dark. "This is the only route to my place."
Aiden didn't answer this time because he was busy looking around. He just slid closer to Hunter and suddenly—his hand shot out and grasped Hunter's tightly.
Hunter looked down at their linked hands and raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were brave."
"Shut up and keep walking," Aiden hissed, eyes darting left and right. "I'm just being…safety-conscious."
Hunter didn't say anything but his smirk deepened. He could've pulled away…but he didn't. Their hands stayed clasped as they walked, fingers eventually settling in comfortably.
Aiden peeked at Hunter from the side, his lips twitching up in a shy grin. His hand is so warm…and big that it made him feel safe like always.
Meanwhile, Hunter kept his face neutral, but deep down, he was thinking. Damn it. Why is this idiot's hand so small and soft?
"Is it always this scary here at night?" Aiden asked after a while.
"Scary for scaredy cats," Hunter replied, then paused, a mischievous glint flashing in his eyes suddenly. His sneaky brain thought of something. "Actually, did I ever tell you about the ghost?"
Aiden stopped walking suddenly, his heart doing marathons in his chest. "W-What ghost?"
Hunter, who also stopped, looked back at his fearful gaze and tried to suppress his laugh. He began to walk, pulling Aiden with him.
"There was this old woman who used to live around here. Her son went insane one night and stabbed her in her sleep. After that–!"
"Stop—" Aiden immediately pressed himself closer to him, so close Hunter felt suffocated. Aiden whimpered in apprehension. "I said stop, Hunter."
Hunter pretended not to hear him. "Now she haunts these streets. People say, if you walk by here late enough, you can hear her dragging her leg behind her, whispering her son's name…"
"Nivhj!" Aiden made a sound that was definitely not human. "Nope. Nope. I don't wanna hear anymore! Shut up!!"
"Last guy who saw her said she reached out and tried to touch his—"
"HUNTER!!" Aiden clung to his arm now, both hands wrapped tight, practically trying to crawl into his hoodie. "Stop scaring me! I have a weak heart!"
Hunter shrugged innocently as if he wasn't clearly enjoying himself. "Just saying what I heard."
"Well, i-it's probably just rumors!" Aiden let out, trying to sound brave but his grip on Hunter's arm said otherwise.
"Sure," Hunter said with a straight face. "Until we hear the dragging leg."
"I swear I will scream so loud the real ghost will run away if you don't stop your bullshit right now!"
Hunter broke into a quiet chuckle. Aiden's pout was deep, his cheeks puffed up and flushed from fear, but his little hand never let go. And Hunter, despite himself, let him cling.
Neither of them said it, but that walk in the dark didn't feel so scary anymore.
"Angh! Go…deeper!"
They had only just turned the corner when a loud, wet gasp echoed from somewhere behind the wall near them. Then came a series of sharp clapping sounds, fast, rhythmic, indiscreet.
Aiden paused when he heard the unmistakable sound of a woman panting loudly.
"Ah—ahh! Don't stop!"
Aiden's entire soul left his body. Since the voice was muffled his dumb head mistaken it for something else. "G-GHOST Mmmughfff—!"
Before he could properly scream and run into the night like Scooby-Doo, Hunter quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and yanked him behind a nearby brick wall. Aiden squeaked, arms flailing like a startled chicken, but Hunter held him tight with one arm around his chest.
"Shhh!" Hunter hissed in his ear to calm him down or else he was sure Aiden is a second away from inviting that woman and her partner over to them.
Aiden, now pinned against Hunter, wide-eyed and trembling, could only listen. The clapping continued. Louder. Sloppier. Wilder. Followed by breathy giggles and a man's deep voice muttering something unintelligible.
The woman whimpered, "You're so deep…"
Aiden blinked rapidly as he tried to listen carefully and his whole face turned fire-engine red when he realised what was going on. He was stiff as a board in Hunter's arms, brain buffering like a broken video.
Meanwhile, Hunter's jaw ticked. Not because of the sex—he'd heard plenty of these alleyway concerts before. This neighborhood was rancid. But having Aiden this close, pressed against his chest, squirming and trying not to look up at him, while some X-rated audio blasted from just a few feet away?
Hunter was not okay.
He felt his ears go red. He could practically feel the heat rising to his scalp. Why the hell was this idiot so close? Why was he trembling like a frightened kitten in his arms? Why was his shampoo so sweet-smelling?
"H-Hunter…" Aiden whispered in a tiny voice, not daring to look up because he was too shy. "T-That's not…a ghost…is it?"
"No," Hunter snorted quietly and whispered back in a hushed voice. "That's Karen from two streets down and probably her boyfriend of the week."
"WHY DO YOU KNOW THAT—" Aiden started to squeal but was quickly muffled again by Hunter's hand.
"Shut up or they'll hear you!"
Behind the wall, they heard a small pause.
"Did you hear that?" the girl asked, breathless.
Aiden's soul tried to flee his body again.
"Probably a cat or something," the guy replied, clearly too busy to care. "Come on, baby, don't stop now…"
Then came the loudest, most indecent, spine-tingling moan Aiden had ever heard in his life. "OHHHHHHHHHHHH—"
Aiden physically tensed, knees buckled, and clutched Hunter's shirt with both hands, face buried into his chest like a child hiding from a monster.
Hunter blinked down at him. This was fine. Everything was fine. Definitely not overheating. He stared at the night sky and counted imaginary sheep to calm his own not so little friend in his pants which was too much excitement for his own good after holding Aiden so close.
Aiden finally whispered, voice nearly a whimper, "C-Can we go now? I think I lost a year of my life."
Hunter chuckled, low and breathy as if he wasn't fighting his own demons. "Yeah, come on. But you're never allowed to come in these streets alone."
Aiden pulled away slightly, still pink-faced and shaken. "T-That was traumatic."
They walked away, Aiden now hiding half behind Hunter like a child and muttering to himself, "I'm never watching a horror movie again. It's always breathing first, then—bam—sex ghosts."
Hunter rolled his eyes, but a smirk tugged at his lips. "You're the one who yelled 'ghost' at two people raw-dogging in an alley."
"I panicked!!"
Hunter laughed. And even though his neighborhood was still dark and scary and cursed, the atmosphere didn't feel so heavy anymore.
Aiden's hand found his again as if nothing had happened. And soon they arrived at Hunter's place.
The door creaked as Hunter slid his key into the lock and pushed it open. The hinges let out a low groan and a single dim bulb flickered to life above them, casting a weak yellowish glow that barely lit the cramped room. The air smelled faintly of iron and detergent, mixed with the metallic scent of the stove shoved into the corner.
Aiden practically bounced in happily. "Alright, Big Guy! Show me the dungeon—woah—" But the words died in his throat when he entered and took a look.
His eyes swept the room slowly, and his grin fell away like dust slipping from his fingers. It wasn't even that the place was small—it was pathetic. Smaller than a walk-in closet. There was a tiny steel bed pushed against the wall with a thin, wrinkled blanket. A lonely stove sat in one corner, looking more like it belonged in a camping kit than an actual home. There were no shelves, no chairs. Just a single hook nailed into the wall where Hunter's few clothes were neatly hung.
Hunter, who turned around to take off his shoes but frowned when he realized the usual hum of Aiden's voice was gone. Aiden was standing completely still. Hunter wondered why the idiot was silent and turned to look at him only to be left shook when he saw tears rolling down his cheeks.
Hunter's entire body tensed. "Shit—hey—what happened? Are you still scared or something?"
He moved quickly toward him. But Aiden only looked at him with that heart-wrenching expression, and threw himself forward and hugged him tight, his arms circling Hunter's waist and his face pressing into his chest like he was trying to disappear.
"Wh—Aiden?"
"I hate you," Aiden sniffled.
Hunter was completely lost for a moment. "What did I do?!"
"You—You live here?" Aiden sobbed harder. "All this time? In this?? And you work so much and you help everyone and…and you live in a place where my bathtub has more room than this!"
Hunter looked at him and something twisted in his chest. For some reason, this crying idiot made his eyes sting. He didn't know what to say, so instinctively, he lifted a hand and began rubbing Aiden's back gently, the same way he used to whenever Aiden fell or got scared during thunderstorms.
"It's okay," Hunter let out a sad smile. "I'm used to it."
Aiden shook his head against his chest and whispered, "You shouldn't have to be."
Hunter sighed faintly and teased, "You looking down on me now just 'cause you're rich?"
Aiden pulled back with a glare. "Don't be a smartass!"
Hunter smirked, but it quickly faded as Aiden took his hand stubbornly. "You're not staying here."
"What?" Hunter chuckled dumbfoundedly.
"Yes!" Aiden's cheeks were still red and his nose had gone all shiny from the crying, but his voice was determined. "You're coming with me. You'll live at my place. I'll feed you five times a day and you'll have a bed where your feet don't hang off the end, and I'll make you soup and bring you coffee and you'll not live in this sad little ghost apartment anymore."
Hunter stared at this pure little boy. He ruffled his hair and said. "Did you hit your head on the way in?"
"I wish I did," Aiden growled at him like a furious kitty. "So I could forget seeing you live like this! I'm serious, Hunter. I'm not letting you stay here. You'll get robbed. Or eaten by ghosts."
"I've lived here for months—"
"Ghosts are patient," Aiden interrupted with a sniff. "They wait until you're comfortable and then attack."
Hunter sighed heavily, trying to pull his hand back but Aiden's grip was iron-clad. He stared at the ridiculous little creature in front of him who was teary-eyed, sniffling, absolutely unreasonable…and so full of heart that it hurts.
And for the first time in a while…he didn't feel ashamed of this place. Because somehow, Aiden, with all his tears and ridiculous declarations made it feel a little less cold.