Arabella woke up for a little bit the next morning. Hunter had to get up and go to work since he had missed a couple days and Arabella woke up to say goodbye to him. But as soon as he was gone, she had fallen asleep for a couple more hours. The bed was just so warm and cozy and she had the blankets wrapped around her like a cocoon. When she did finally wake up, Arabella rolled out of bed, keeping the blanket around her tightly. She padded down the stairs and towards the living room, where she plopped down on the couch with all the animals surrounding her and she turned on her favorite movie, The Devil Wears Prada. It was a chilly, rainy day and she was happy to spend the day on the couch, watching movies with some tea and waiting for her man to get home.
"Alright. I'll see you later, Anna." Hunter said with a wave. "Be sure to come to me if you need help, okay? That's why I'm here." He walked to the wall and zipped up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He heard a giggle and he looked over to see Gwen slapping Tyler's arm, her face red from laughter. Hunter sighed a little bit and walked over. "Hey, Tyler. Hey, Gwen. How are you guys?" Hunter asked with a smile. Tyler's face went solemn.
"We're doing okay. How were your students?" Gwen asked, looking away a little. Hunter took a deep breath. What was going on?
"They were good. They never practice though, which frustrates me to no end." Hunter said with a nod. "I just wanted to tell you guys that you're both invited to come eat dinner tonight at the Reeds' house." Before they could protest, Hunter put on a serious face. "Guys, look. I insist. We're kind of celebrating something and we'd really like you guys to be there."
"Okay. We'll see you then." Tyler said quietly. Hunter nodded and then headed out to the car, quickly pulling out toward home.
Arabella stuck her hands out of the blanket for a few seconds to pet Jolie, who had just leaned up against her side. With a small smile, she turned back to her movie, hoping that Hunter would be home soon. It was always her favorite time of day, when Hunter came home and she got to hug him and tell him that she missed him. Arabella picked up her cup of tea and she took a small sip but when she heard a car pulling up, she squeaked happily and put her cup down. The dogs and Piggy ran to the chairs by the window and stared out of them, wagging their tails when they saw Hunter.
Hunter stepped inside, setting down a handful of grocery bags in the kitchen. He turned around and was almost knocked over by Arabella flying at him, knocking him into the counter. He grinned and leaned up against the counter, brushing her hair out of her face as her arms created a vice grip around his middle. Hunter kissed her gently on the lips. "I missed you, sweetheart." He said with a smile.
"I missed you too" Arabella said softly and she grinned up at him. She leaned into him a little bit more and planted light, feather kisses along his jaw. "Mmm..how was your day?" She asked softly between her kisses and she trailed her lips down to his neck, smiling a little bit. Arabella was neer going to get sick of this. No matter how old they got or how many kids they had, telling them that they were being gross, Arabella was always going to kiss Hunter when he got home and hold him tightly.
Hunter smiled. "It was good. I invited Tyler and Gwen over for dinner. They were being all couple-y today. You should have seen it." He took her hands and put them around his neck before standing up off the counter, holding her up a little. "We have...2 and a half hours before they get here." Hunter said, kissing her again. "Mmm...you're so pretty." Hunter said, waddling toward the couch. "How was your day?"
"Well, after you left, I fell asleep for a few more hours and then I came downstairs and watched a movie with a cup of tea. Basically, I did nothing" Arabella told him and she slipped down onto Hunter's lap when he sat down on the couch. She turned so that she was facing him, straddling him and she placed her hands on either side of his neck. "So, I had a fantastic day" She said with a giggle and she bit her lip. "So...maybe we'll figure out what's been bugging Tyler.."
"That was my hope." Hunter said, placing his hands on her thighs. "I didn't want to make it seem like an interrogation, so I invited Gwen too. I figure you can distract her for a little while andd then I can talk to Tyler. We'll get to the bottom of this." He nodded and then ran his hands up her sides and pulled her down to him, kissing her lightly on the chin. "You know, as much as I don't want you to, you should probably put on some actual clothes before they show up." He laughed a little and then moved his hands up, running his fingers through her hair.
"What? Your I'm fine in just your shirt" Arabella giggled and she ran her hands down his chest. "You're probably right, though. Maybe a shower would be a good idea too" She said and leaned into him, resting her forhead on his chest. "But that involves moving and I don't think I like that" She said with a little laugh and she tucked her arms between her and Hunter.
Hunter laughed a little and craned his head, placing small kisses around her ear. "Well, I am pretty sweaty from teaching today..." Hunter whispered into her ear, laughing a little at the feeling of her cuddled up on him like that. He wrapped an arm under her and stood, holding her close. "I was going to start dinner, but I think I like this idea a little bit better." Hunter said, heading toward the stairs.
"I like it too. Best idea I've heard in a long time. We can just get takeout and say that we cooked it" Arabella joked and she placed her hands on his chest, leaning into him and planting little kisses on his cheek. "How much time do we have? 2 hours?" She asked him and when they got up to the bedroom, she pulled away from him a little bit so that she was standing on the ground and she danced her fingers up his chest. Arabella grabbed the collar of his shirt and with a little smirk, she backed into the bathroom, taking him with her.
Hunter closed the door with his foot and tucked his fingers inside the hem of her shirt. "2 hours and 15 minutes to be specific." He said, pressing his lips to hers and running his hands up her back. "I think that you should help me with dinner tonight. It's also one of the best ideas I've ever heard." Hunter laughed a little and pulled away enough to take his shirt off. "I mean, assuming you're not too tired from doing nothing all day."
"Mmmm, well...doing nothing is very exhausting, but...I think I can manage" Arabella said softly and she grazed her fingers down his chest. "I just hope that you're not too tired from such a long day at work" She teased and she kissed him lightly. Arabella turned her back to him and she turned on the shower, letting the water heat up.
Hunter moved closer to her slid his arms around her. "Oh, I think I'll be okay. I've got a lot of endurance." Hunter whispered in to her ear as he grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head. It was a matter of moments later when he had his arms around her in the shower with the water pelting their skin. "You know, I feel like we save a lot of money this way. Showering together like this." Hunter said before pressing her against the wall and planting his lips to hers again.
"Well, that's clearly the only reason why I like to shower together like this" Arabella scoffed with sarcasm and she slipped her arms around his middle. She looked up at him happily though her eyelashes and she kissed his lips lightly. Just a tiny, tender, innocent kiss. "I kind of love you, stud" She said softly.
"Oh, NOW you tell me." Hunter said with a little laugh, pressing his lips to her cheek. "I kind of love you too, honey bunch."
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"Alright. As soon as the bread comes out of the oven and the pasta is done cooking, we'll be ready to eat. Gwen and Tyler should be here soo--Oh. Speaking of...." Hunter grinned when he heard a car pulling up and brushed his hands off on a towel. He put an arm around her waist and lead her to the door. He opened it and saw Tyler's blue car in the driveway, Tyler holding Gwen's door open.
"Awh! He's holding the door open for her!" Arabella gasped with a smile on her face. She watched as Tyler took Gwen's hand and helped her out of the car. Even from far away, she could see that his cheeks were bright red and she was grinning from ear to ear. "Oh my gods, Hunter..they are so beyond adorable" She squeaked. Gwen and Tyler walked towards the house and Gwen smiled at them.
"Hey, guys" She said and Arabella smiled back at her.
"Hey, Gwen. It's good to see you. It feels like it's be ages" Arabella giggled a little bit and she turned to Tyler who looked much more serious than she ever knew him to be. "Hey, Tyler.."
Hunter smiled a little bit at Gwen and then cleared his throat to break the tension. "Well, then! Let's get inside, so I can check on dinner." Hunter walked into the kitchen and checked on the bread and then saw that it was done, so he pulled it out and set it on the stove. "And the pasta is done. Good." Hunter said, moving it to a bowl. "Alright. Dinner is served!" Hunter said, setting the food on the table. "Sit. Sit. Please."
Arabella moved over to the table and she sat down, across from Tyler and Gwen. He was still looking very awkward and tense but Gwen looked like she was trying to make this work, which Arabella really liked. Arabella smiled up at Hunter as he sat down beside her and she picked up the bowl of pasta, putting a bit on her plate before passing it over to Gwen.
"Supper looks really incredible" Gwen said and she passed the bowl to Tyler once she filled up her plate.
"Thanks. I worked really hard on it" Arabella said.
"When she says that she worked really hard on it, she meant that Hunter worked really hard on it. Arabella ruins takeout" Tyler said and he glanced over at Arabella, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips. Arabella broke a piece of bread off of her slice and she tossed it at him, hitting him in the middle of his forehead.
"Hey, now, you two." Hunter said with a smile. "Keep it civil in my kitchen." He added some sauce to the pasta and then scooped some onto his fork. "How is your aunt doing, Gwen?" Hunter asked shoving the food into his mouth.
"She's doing alright. The rec center is starting to get busy, so she's been busy, but she always had this way of managing things." Gwen said, spreading butter on a piece of bread. "Oh, she saw that you took a couple days off. She wanted to see if you were okay." Hunter cleared his throat.
"I'm doing fine. Never better actually." Hunter said with a smile over at Arabella.
Arabella smiled at Hunter for a moment then took a bite of her pasta, happy that Tyler and Gwen had at least come over. Even if they didn't get to the bottom of all this, at least they were there. "I love your shirt, Gwen. Where did you get it?" Arabella asked, trying to make a bit of small talk and trying to get more comfortable with Gwen.
"Thanks!" Gwen said happily and she glanced down at her shirt, like she had forgotten what she was wearing. "I got it at Topshop the other day" She said with a little nod.
"Ouu..that means they have more!" Arabella giggled and she looked up at Hunter. "We're going shopping tomorrow" She said in a serious voice.
Hunter smiled and looked up at Tyler for a second. "Hey, Ellie. Didn't you bag up a bunch of your old clothes? Sorry! Clothes that you don't want anymore. Why don't you guys go up and see if she wants anything?" Hunter nodded. "After we eat, of course." Hunter said, taking a bite of bread.
Arabella grinned across the table at Gwen, who grinned back at Arabella. Both of the girls took a couple more bites of their food then put down their forks. "Well, I'm done" Arabella said, picking up her empty plate.
"Me too" Gwen said and she stood up with Arabella. Arabella kissed Hunter's cheek before leading Gwen into the kitchen, where they put the plates in the sink then walked up towards the spare room.
"A lot of my stuff should fit you. Some of it might be a bit too big but I can take it in for you in no time" Arabella said and she sat down on the floor, opening up one of the bags.
Hunter watched the two girls go upstairs before turning his eyes to Tyler. "It looks like things between you and Gwen are getting pretty serious." Hunter said with a nod. Tyler pushed his food around and then cleared his throat.
"I guess..." Hunter narrowed his eyes. "We've just been talking a lot. It's been nice." Hunter finished his food and stood.
"Tyler, I've been noticing that you've been feeling a little uncomfortable around me and I'm starting to worry about you, man. Just tell me what's going on." Hunter said, putting his dishes in the sink then turning to him. Tyler took a deep breath.
"Hunter, I don't mean to hurt you, but I've been talking to Gwen and she said that she had a student spot open up and I was wondering if I could...you know...switch." Hunter's jaw dropped a little.
"Yes! Of course that's fine! I was worried you were going to tell me you were doing drugs or something."
Arabella looked through the bag, passing a few things to Gwen, who looked like she was just beside herself. "Hmmm...this dress might be a bit big on you in the chest area but that'll be really easy to fix" Arabella said, passing it over to Gwen.
'This is really amazing, Arabella. You don't have to do this" Gwen said, looking at the navy blue dress in her hands.
"I was going to be getting rid of them anyway" Arabella shrugged. "I don't really wear them anymore and a lot of this stuff would look amazing on you" She said, looking up at her and giving her a small smile.
"Well...thanks" Gwen said, smiling back at her.
"Things seem to be going good with you and Tyler" Arabella commented and she looked over to see Gwen blush, which was something she hadn't really seen her do. Gwen nodded and pushed a piece of her long hair behind her ear. "I promise that I'm not going to be one of those crazy sisters who are really protective. Just...be kind to him. He's been through a lot" She said softly
Hunter laughed a little and clapped him on the back. "Dude, do what you gotta do. You're not going to hurt my feelings. It takes a lot more than wanting to go after a girl to hurt my feelings." Tyler laughed, looking a little nervous or maybe relieved.
"I didn't want you to think I was just abandoning you." Tyler said, putting his dishes in the sink. Hunter rolled his eyes.
"Come on. Even if you didn't tell me, it would have been okay." Hunter shook his head again. "Let's go check on the girls."
Arabella was sitting with her legs folded and she was sewing the back of a dress, listening to a story that Gwen was telling her when the guys walked in. She looked up from the dress with a happy look on her face when she saw Hunter. "Gwen looks amazing in pretty much everything I have here! It's amazing that most of it fits her pretty perfectly" she said.
"Well, it helps that you can sew things up like it's nothing" Gwen giggled and she held up a dress that Arabella had just taken in to fit Gwen. "I knew that Arabella was a good seamstress, but I had no idea that she is so incredible. She honestly sewed this dress in about 2 minutes"
"Gwen, you're making me blush.." Arabella said and she gave Hunter a little wink. Her sewing skills were something that she had worked at over the years but they were also something that came natural to her with her mother being Aphrodite and all.
Hunter smiled down at her and then looked at Gwen. "She does look pretty nice, doesn't she, Tyler?" Hunter said, shoving him not-so subtly toward Gwen. Tyler stumbled for a moment, but stood up straight when Gwen turned around, smoothing out the dress.
"Gwen, you look...great." Tyler said quietly before letting his cheeks turn a shade of rosy red. Gwen's did, too, and it seemed like both of them noticed the other blushing. Hunter shuffled over to Arabella and put an arm around her waist, kissing her temple and giving her a look that said, well done. we did a good job with these two.
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"You two should come around more often. Hunter always makes amazinf food but we never eat all of it, so...stop by anytime" Arabella laughed a little bit and she hugged Gwen before turning and giving Tyler a hug. He seemed to be feeling a lot better and he was starting to act like his normal self again. Seeing him like that was relieving a stress and a tension that Arabella had been feeling for a long time now and she was happy to have her little brother back.
"Arabella. I can't breathe" Tyler teased, patting her back and Arabella shrugged, giving him a good squeeze before letting go of him.
Hunter shook Tyler's hand then gave Gwen a hug before putting his arm back around Arabella. She smiled up at him, placing a quick kiss on his jaw before watching them head back to the car, Tyler opening the door for Gwen. Hunter smiled and laughed a little when Arabella squeaked and clung onto his shirt. 2 honks signaled a goodbye from Tyler and Hunter waved. They disappeared down the road and Hunter closed the door, immediately leaning up against it. "Now, what do we do?" Hunter asked, pulling his wife over to him.
Arabella smiled up at him and she shrugged a little bit. "Sit in the kitchen and pig out on left overs?" She giggled and she kissed him before walking into the kitchen with Hunter. Arabella walked over to the counter and she hopped up, sitting on the edge. She grabbed the bowl with the left over pasta and she took a bite of it. "Mmmm..this is so amazing, babe"
Hunter grabbed a piece of bread and bit off a chunk, chewing quietly. "You're a amazing." He said, bending down and kissing her lightly on the head. "Well, after we eat our weight in leftovers, would be against cuddling on the couch?" He asked with a little laugh.
"We are neer against cuddling" Arabella said with a smile and she kissed Hunter lightly before turning back to the pasta and taking a few small bites. "What did Tyler have to say? Clearly you got through to him while I was talking to Gwen since Tyler actually started to look me in the eye again" She said and she swirled some pasta on her fork then offered it to Hunter.
"It turns out," Hunter started before taking the bite of pasta and giving Arabella a quick kiss on the cheek, leaving a marinara sauce lip print on her skin. He swallowed before finishing. "He wanted to switch archery classes and he was nervous that it might hurt my feelings if he left my class and went to Gwen's." Hunter laughed a little. "I told him that I didn't care at all. He can do whatever he wants especially if it means going after Gwen." He tore off a piece of bread and offered it to Arabella. "I'm just glad he's not out doing drugs or something."
"I really like Gwen. She seems really...down to earth and totally perfect for Tyler" Arabella said and she took the piece of bread from it. She ripped it in half and she ate a piece, chewing slowly. "I just really hope that she doesn't hurt him or anything, you know? I understand that not every relationship lasts, I just don't want to find out that she cheated on him or something" Arabella said softly, shrugging a little bit.
Hunter nodded and sat down next to her. "Gwen seems like a really good girl. There was actually a guy that tried to hit on her at the rec center and she completely blew him off." Hunter nodded and put his head down on her. "She actually walked past him to Tyler. He was a pretty handsome looking guy, too." Hunter took her hand and kissed it. "Gwen and Tyler seem to really like each other. I wouldn't worry about it."
Arabella smiled up at Hunter and she kissed him lightly. She pulled away a little bit so that she could just look at him and graze her fingers across his cheeks. She kissed him one more time before hopping down from the counter. Arabella slid her hands into his and she pulled him towards the couch in the living room with her. All she really wanted to do was curl up with her husband and enjoy the rest of the night. She sat down on the couch and when Hunter sat down beside her, she leaned into him, curling up against his side and pressing her face into his neck. "You smell good" She giggled against his skin.
Hunter laughed and put his arm around her, pressing his lips to her cheek. "I smell like sweat and kitchen." Hunter put his forehead on hers. "You're probably just smelling yourself." He smiled and buried his face in her hair, placing kisses on the spot behind her ear. He pulled away and a little and put a hand on her leg. "So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Hunter asked quietly, dancing his fingers along her thigh. "I have a couple of students tomorrow, but that's done by 11, so we'll have the rest of the day."
"Mmm..sounds perfect" Arabella said and she yawned softly. She looked down at his hand on her leg and she shrugged a little bit. "I didn't really have any plans. My whole day is free" She said and she looked up at him. "Did you have anything in mind?" Arabella asked him and she reached behind them, grabbing the blanket and draping it over them.
Hunter adjusted the blanket over them, letting out a little yawn, mostly from how comfortable he was. "Oh, I don't know. I mean, we can have kids now...As far as I know you're not pregnant..." He tilted his head back and forth a moment. "I'm pretty sure you know where I'm going with this." He finally looked at her with a small smile on his face. "It's not like it's a chore, really."
Arabella grinned and she kissed his jaw lightly before resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. "Well, we better get a good sleep so that we can have lots of energy tomorrow" She teased with a little laugh and she put a hand on her stomach. "I'm so excited to be pregnant" Arabella sighed. "This whole waiting thing really sucks, though..."
Hunter nodded and slipped an arm around her and put his hand on top of hers. "Well, it won't be long, now." He said, placing a hand on her cheek, brushing her hair out of her face. "Soon enough we'll be chasing our kids all over the house. The sound of little feet on the floor." He kissed her lightly on the head. "It'll be perfect." He sighed and put his head on hers. "I'm sorry about...not...being able to uh...you know."
Arabella smiled a small smile. "Hunter...that's not your fault" She said softly and she drummed her fingers on his leg lightly. "And besides, we can have kids now so everything that happened before doesn't matter" Arabella finished and she yawned a little before cuddling into him and closing her eyes.
Hunter nodded and sighed softly. "Well, we'd be pregnant by now, though...." Hunter muttered, running his fingers up her side. "I just feel kind of bad, because we've been trying for almost two months and it's basically been a giant disappointment and a lot of unneeded worry and stress and I just wish we had checked first, but then I worry that you wouldn't have stayed with me and now I'm glad that everything has worked out, but I just wish that we had been able to sidestep this whole thing." He said all in one breath and he shook his head, trying to shake everything away.
"Hunter..." Arabella said and she turned to look up at him. She let out a little sigh and she kissed his chin lightly. "I would never have left you because of that, first of all. Second of all, I would say that it was a total disappointment. All of that trying was kind of fun" She finished with a little laugh and she locked eyes with him. "We're going to laugh about all of this one day. When we're old and grey, we'll look back on all of that and laugh because who else would not be able to have kids because a Greek goddess was pissed"
Hunter took a deep breath and then laughed a little. "You're right. I'll just try and...forget it. We're past it." He smiled softly. "Ellie, I really like you. We should get married sometime. Sound good?" Hunter said, leaning into her and placing his lips on hers. "We'll have it on a sandbar at camp. Oh, wait...We did that." Hunter laughed and pushed her back, moving his lips across her cheek.
Arabella laughed and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him closer to her. She looked up at him and she kissed him lightly before resting her head back on the couch. "That was a pretty incredible wedding, husband of mine" She said softly and she bit her lip. "It was everything that I ever wanted and the fact that you had surprised me with it just..made it all so much more amazing"
Hunter laughed and pressed his lips to hers again. "Well, you see what happens when you relax and stop being a control freak?" She smacked him and Hunter laughed again. "Think about it though. You had ideas. I ignored them while telling you it was done and then you had the best wedding ever. All because you managed to relax and because I called in a lot of favors." Hunter smiled and winked at her a little kissing her lightly on the nose.
"Well, thanks" Arabella softly and she closed her eyes when Hunter kissed her nose. "Maybe I should relax a bit more and stop being such a control freak" She said and she took a breath, as if she was thinking about it. "Nah" She giggled and she yawned, nuzzling into his neck.
Hunter laughed and put his arms around her. "Well, maybe I can convince you otherwise." He held her and leaned back so she was laying on top of him. "I know some pretty good ways to relax." He said, kissing her softly on the lips. He placed his hands on her back and softly massaged her spine as he kissed her. "This a good start, honey bunch?"
Arabella moaned and she nodded. "Mmm..this is a really good start" She whispered and she placed a few gentle kisses on his chest. Laying on the couch with Hunter like this was beyond amazing. She could see them resting on the couch like this on Christmas Eve, waiting for their kids to fall asleep or watching movies like that until they were old and grey. Arabella was looking forward to their life together with the kids and everything. She took a small breath and she closed her eyes, feeling very tired suddenly. "Goodnight, Hunter" She breathed softly, feeling herself drift off.
Hunter smiled and closed his eyes, running his fingers through her hair. "Good night, beautiful." He said, placing a small kiss on her hair. Hunter never anticipated falling this far in love, but he was glad he did. He couldn't imagine life without her now. At least, he didn't want to. He never wanted to.