Friends with Benefits? (Hunter)

Aeva tossed and turned before sitting straight up in bed, her red hair in knots around her head. Her arms instinctively went up and out in a stretched and when her fingers tapped something - or someone she paused. Her sleepy eyes were now wide open and she looked to her left to see the body of a man. Fuck. What the fuck happened this time and who's bed was she in? Avea was pretty sure that the night before she hadn't drunk any alcohol, in fact, the night before she remembered clearly. She'd gotten into a fight with Maddy, the first one in awhile, and she'd texted Hunter, practically begging for him to let her come over. She always asked or at least told him when she was coming over even though they'd been regularly hooking up for weeks now. However this time was different, much like their first hook up. This time it was because Maddy had driven her past the point of crazy and she desperately needed a distraction. Hunter. The first time they had hooked up, that had been what she was using Hunter as, a distraction and to her, he seemed to not care. However, they'd seemed to turn into something a bit more than casual work acquaintances, yet they were not dating which was fine. Aeva wasn't exactly the dating type anyways. Though, she did enjoy being his friend with benefits and getting to enjoy him in the fullest way.

Rolling over a bit, Aeva could see his face peeking out from under the duvet. She bent over and planted her lips to his cheek. Their entire "relationship" was weird and definitely not something some random person would understand but they understood each other and Aeva actually liked their friendship. It wasn't often that she found someone with a similar humour to hers to hang out with and frankly, Hunter wasn't bad looking either. Though, she couldn't go so far as to say she liked him because if she did then the friends with benefits thing would no longer work. However, Aeva wasn't one to be tied down, therefore she could never look to date Hunter and she hoped he felt the same. Merlin knows she didn't need him liking her because she couldn't return his feelings. It was too early in the morning for those thoughts and with that thought, Aeva hopped out of Hunter's bed and helped herself to his shower. Luckily, she'd left a whole shit load of clothes at his house after their hookups and left in his clothes do to hers being not as clean. She was sort of grateful to see that it looked like he had washed them and she grabbed some to change into after her shower. It took her for-fucking-ever to figure out how to work Hunter's shower and at this point, she was sure he'd be awake soon, however she'd never actually stayed at his house before, well except for the night her drunken self was confined to the couch, so she didn't know when he'd wake up.

Aeva's shower literally lasted all of five minutes and then she was done and clean feeling. One deep breath and she could smell Hunter, however it wasn't him. It was his body wash on her. She ran her fingers through her wet hair to tame it a bit, however she left it a bit wild in hopes that Hunter actually liked it that way. When she exited Hunter's bathroom, he was still snuggled up in the duvet, fast asleep and she sighed before she let herself out of his room. She thought about waking him up in the nicest way she could think of for a guy, but quickly decided against it because she was unsure of how Hunter would react. Instead, she stuck with making them breakfast. Aeva remembered her issues with Hunter's lack of ingredients from the last time so she decided to avoid that situation and make a classic breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon and orange juice. As soon as Aeva finished and set the food on Hunter's shitty table, she saw him emerge and the dogs shift from whatever position they'd been in. "Don't get used to this," she said taking a seat and eating a piece of bacon. "I don't usually cook for people, I barely cook for myself." She chuckled a bit as she watched him. She could tell he was exhausted and she didn't blame him. The Ministry really gave them the runaround and frankly, it was quite irritating. However it was the job she'd signed up for meaning she was really more than happy to live in constant soreness and exhaustion.

Normally, Hunter was a light sleeper. But it had been a particularly labor intensive week of training at work, so when he felt his bed stir beside him, he was aware of it but didn’t even bother turning his head. It was just Aeva letting herself out – she’d done it before, she didn’t need his help. In any case, that meant it was probably still some ridiculous hour of the night, which meant there was no reason not to go back to sleep. So when he heard Aeva close the door behind her, Hunter rolled over and drifted off again. When he woke up again, actually opening his eyes this time, it felt almost as though he hadn’t even slept a whole hour more. Groaning, he sat up, swinging his feet off the bed. His eyes drifted to the clock, which told him that he’d slept much later than usual. Which meant that Alaska had probably torn up half the living room by now. She was a bit particular, and diverting from her usual routine normally resulted in her lashing out in some destructive way. The truth was, if Hunter wasn’t able to repair things magically, he’d never be able to keep Alaska. Hunter  stood up, grabbing a tee shirt from a drawer and pulling it over his head on the way to the door.  He reached for the handle, turning it – and then froze.

The moment Hunter cracked the door, he realized that he wasn’t the only person in his apartment. He could distinctly hear someone in the kitchen, pulling plates out of the cupboard, moving pans around. Aeva hadn’t been getting up in the middle of the night to let herself out. She’d gotten  up in the morning, to make breakfast. Shit.  Hunter sighed, pressing his forehead into the door for a minute while mulling over his own stupidity – he should have made sure she left before he fell asleep – before stepping out of his bedroom. The first time Hunter had walked out to see Aeva making breakfast was strange. But this was stranger, and though he wasn’t one to feel awkward in any situation, this one definitely made him feel like he needed to be slightly more guarded. Aeva had never stayed the night before.  He stopped just outside of the doorway, his eyes following Aeva’s frame a bit cautiously. She seemed far too relaxed. ”You stayed the night?” At least she was wearing her own clothes. Wait, was her hair wet? It was. ”Did you shower?” he asked her, furrowing his brow. She’d stayed the night in his bed, helped herself to his shower, and was making breakfast as though this was all normal. Only it wasn’t normal. Though he’d been getting the feeling for a while that he’d have to talk to Aeva eventually – to make sure that she wasn’t reading this differently than him – now he was sure that he had to. Because all of a sudden, it sure as hell seemed like they weren’t on the same page.

Don’t get used to it? He wasn’t planning on it. ”Yeah, you either,” he replied, crossing the room and taking a seat at the table – though, he’d said it half to himself so he wasn’t sure if she’d heard it or not. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to hear it. Because the thing was, Hunter liked what he had with Aeva. And he liked Aeva. And in a way, he didn’t want to lose her. In some ways, he’d grown a bit attached to her, truthfully. But leading her on would be wrong, if she thought this could be something more than what it was. At least she’d made bacon. Hunter popped a piece in his mouth, chewing it to distract himself from the fact that Aeva shouldn’t even be there. ”I can’t believe I slept in so late,” he said as he chewed, his eyes glancing at the clock on the microwave. Hunter hardly ever slept past seven – mostly from years of being up before dawn to help with work on the farm. Then, he’d dreaded the moment when Jack’s pillow would collide with his face, meaning he had to get up. Now, he’d much prefer it to his alarm clock, because it would mean that Jack was still alive to throw a pillow at him every morning. But that wasn’t the case.

Aeva wasn't a fan of Hunter's apartment. It was small and usually it was under stocked of groceries - or at least the shit that wasn't incredibly bad for you. Hunter seemed to live off of frozen shit and high amounts of carbohydrates and fats and while she understood it was fast and easy she also didn't understand. They often got into conversations about it and every time they ended up saying the same shit. Hunter just seemed like a person who cared about what his body digested, what fueled his body and gave him energy. But he didn't. Hunter cared about what was fast and easy, not nutritional value. Which was why she rarely cooked for him. Aeva felt ten times better after she had showered and a thousand times better after she'd begun coking. Her stomach growled and as she fried the bacon, she even tossed a few pieces to Alaska and whatever the fuck the other dog's name was; she was sure Hunter wouldn't have minded anyways. Aeva had found that she'd gotten too comfortable in Hunter's kitchen and even his apartment and it was sort of a terrifying feeling. Aeva was not one for committed relationships and even though their relationship was more along the lines of friends with benefits, she still felt the need to tell him - just in case he had feelings for her.

Aeva wasn't exactly one to crush dreams but if Hunter had feelings for her, she needed to crush them; plain and simple. She couldn't have a relationship of any sort. Sex was all she wanted. Just sex. Hunter was her distraction. He was her distraction from Maddy, from her niece or nephew and from the stress of work and training. Merlin knows training was ridiculous and this past week had felt even more intensive than usual resulting in her becoming more angsty, more needy and more exhausted. Thus it also resulted in her sleeping with Hunter a lot more this past week since they'd begun whatever this is in October. She felt a bit strange being there, his eyes on her as she made breakfast for the two of them. However she was no longer making breakfast for them because she had finished and was now sitting at the shitty table waiting for him to come over and sit with her. "Yeah," she replied to his question, "I must have fallen asleep. I guess I'm a lot more exhausted than I thought." She bit off a piece of bacon as she watched his brow furrow. "Yep," she admitted again, "I felt disgusting." Was he really going to play twenty questions with her or was he going to eat his bacon? She watched him as she ate, noticing that he didn't seem relaxed and in her opinion he should feel relaxed in his apartment, especially since she was never relaxed in her own room. "Seriously, don't think too much of this."

"I definitely won't," Aeva replied with a smirk barely able to hear what he'd said. In fact, she hoped that he'd actually spoken and that she wasn't just imagining it. Finally, he crossed the room and took a seat at the table - the very shitty table. "Your body is tired," she said, "it was bound to happen." If her week had been filled with intensive training then she could only imagine what Hunter's had been like, especially since he'd started before her making him farther along than her. She watched as he ate a piece of bacon and she mimicked his movement, doing the same. Her stomach clenched and she felt a bit nervous as she thought about telling him about how she was not the type for commitments. Aeva took a large breath and exhaled deeply. "Hunter," she said her voice breaking a bit more than she wanted it to. She looked up to him, her fingers tapping lightly only the table for a moment before coming to a pause. "Nevermind," she said shaking her head, "it's nothing." But it was something - it was something big and Hunter needed to know but Aeva had no clue how to tell him. "Look Hunter," Aeva stated a bit more firmly this time deciding to go ahead and tell him, "I'm not sure what this means to you, but to me it's just sex and I really would like it to stay that way." She ate another piece of bacon to calm her nerves a bit because the more she spoke the more she wondered whether or not she was lying to herself about not liking Hunter. "I'm not one for commitment and frankly, I have a lot going on currently with my sister and all."

More exhausted than she thought. Hunter let his gaze linger on her for a long moment while he chewed his piece of bacon. It was plausible, because in reality Hunter was more exhausted than he’d ever been in his life.  But just because it was plausible didn’t mean it was the only reason Aeva hadn’t left. His mind wandered for a moment, looking for anything he might have said or done that would give her the wrong impression, Aside from sleeping with her, obviously. But then again, he had let Aeva in a bit further than anyone else he’d met so far, since leaving school. And he’d be lying to himself to say he didn’t enjoy her company at least half as much as her – well, company. The difference was that he talked to Aeva. Aeva knew him, to an extent. Maybe that in itself was enough to make her think there was more to what was going on between them. Hunter didn’t reply to any of her answers, but he did feel his jaw relax when she added that she wasn’t planning on getting used to anything.

”I guess,” he replied, finally feeling capable of picking up his fork to take a bite of his scrambled eggs. Hesitantly, he lowered the guard he’d thrown up as the conversation seemed like it was going to move onto something normal. ”Still, I don’t like sleeping so late. It feels like I’ve wasted half of my day already.” Even though it was only… what, not even ten? Hunter was usually up by seven. Which meant he’d wasted nearly three hours already. He glanced down as Rex wandered over and plopped down at his feet, but lifted his gaze again when he heard Aeva take a deep breath. The kind that you took when you were about to say something that you didn’t want to say. Fuck, Hunter thought to himself as Aeva’s voice broke a bit saying his name. As though she hadn’t gotten his attention already. He met her eyes, but his expression became guarded of its own accord. Not that she’d said it yet – but it was the way most people would start that conversation, if they wanted to have it. When she changed her mind, it only solidified what he was sure she wanted to say in his mind. And the truth was that he really didn’t want her to say it. Because that would mean that he’d have to back off entirely, and he’d be lying to himself to say that wouldn’t disappoint him.

Maybe it would’ve been smarter to say something himself, but didn’t want to bring it up if, somehow, it wasn’t what she was going to say. Even if she had feelings for him, his fucked up conscience could probably file it away in the back of his mind so long as she never said so out loud. So instead, he just stared at her expectantly, because there was no way she wasn’t going to try to continue. And of course, she did continue. And apparently, that was the direction this conversation was going. The moment the first sentence was out of her mouth, he was interrupting her. ”Aeva, listen, that isn’t – “ It took him a minute to comprehend the rest of her sentence, ”Wait, what?” Wow. Well, that went better than expected, and Hunter felt no shame in the sense of relief that washed over him. ”Oh, thank God,” he said, releasing a breath and letting his head drop into his hands. ”I thought you were taking that in a completely different direction.” But she hadn’t. Thank God. ”You actually thought that I – Aeva, you’re the one in my apartment, using my shower, making me breakfast. I was worried that you –“ Finally, a real grin broke out on his face, and he had to hold back his laughter about the whole situation as she pointed out that she wasn’t one for commitment. ”Well, that makes two of us, then.” But his grin faded a bit as he met her eyes. ”But since we’re getting this out of the way, officially, you should know that you won’t ever have to worry about that with me.” He paused before continuing. ”But you should also know that I like having you around. Just – you know, don’t confuse the two, okay?”

Auror training had been the downfall of both of them recently or at least it had been Aeva's downfall. She wasn't sure what had been Hunter's downfall but obviously if he slept in then it had to be something. He seemingly held his gaze on her for awhile as he chewed a piece of bacon which caused her to have to look away because had she not - she would have become uncomfortable for the first time around Hunter. By the way Hunter had reacted she had known it was a mistake, if anything she should have slept on the couch but damn - did he really have to make it all so obvious that she was not welcome to stay overnight? Aeva wasn't the type for relationship things or settling down and as long as Hunter and her had known each other and been hooking up she would have assumed that he knew this. From what she knew of Hunter he also wasn't one for relationships or settling down either and she assumed that that was one of the reasons the two of them got along so well, though she wasn't entirely sure. She was sure that Hunter could get along with anyone who agreed to be a hook up partner and nothing else.

It speaks, she thought, almost aloud before she stopped herself. For a moment there she had almost forgotten what Hunter's voice sounded like because he was so quiet - looking like a rabbit munching on bacon."You guess?" Aeva said, her voice a bit muffled as she was really uncertain what to say. The morning was filled with a bunch of awkward silence, awkward silence that made her feel sort of unwelcome. She shrugged, "That's understandable." She was sure she'd feel the same way if she didn't love her sleep. Of course on work days she had to be up and out the door before sunrise but on her off-days? Aeva was lucky if she left the bed before the sun was at it's peak. The girl was a mess really. She was the kind of mess that brought hurricanes and tornadoes with her. She was the kind of mess that everyone just used for fun and then tossed her off once they were done. She was more broken than the outside showed, mended together by different men every night. Hunter was her current mend, however it felt different, it felt real like Aeva was actually being mended for good and she had to end it. It was a great feeling, one that would likely end in heartbreak if she didn't set it straight. Even if she was starting to like him - and she wasn't - she would never allow it to become something more than a friends with benefits relationship.

She brought figurative rain with her where ever she wandered. With Christophe it had been a tsunami, a complete disaster, He had hurt her, used her and dumped her - for what? For a bit of fun? A play toy? Aeva didn't want to be used like that again and that was why she'd changed herself. She'd hardened herself, she'd hardened her heart. Aeva had become cold - the real definition of a monster. Figuratively, she hid under children's beds and scared the shit out of them. She had done it with Maddy. She was a walking time bomb, someone that could potentially blow up and harm everyone in her path at any given moment. Hunter had defused her but after today? After today she would be a grenade once more. A grenade in the middle of a tornado, a disaster walking. He spoke and she blocked him out because she had needs, she had words that he needed to hear. And then she confused him, which wasn't shocking. She had hoped she hadn't completely crushed him, yet at the same time if she had then maybe it would be better this way. However, when he seemed to be thankful and dropped his head into his hands, she assumed that he was just like her and wanted the same. "Did you think I was going to confess my love to you or some shit?" Aeva let out a small laugh, a sign that her thoughts had now lightened up, that she was back to being Aeva even if he never knew that she had changed for a moment. "I like you but not in that way." She grinned to him as he too explained what he was feeling because this was plain ridiculous. It was ridiculous to think that someone like Hunter and Aeva could love deeply enough to be together in a way that wasn't Her eyes met his and her smile turned into something a bit more serious, much like his did. "Great," the girl nodded, "yeah, I definitely won't. I'm not capable of being something more. It's just not me, I'm not someone who settles." Now that they got that out of the way, maybe they could finally eat breakfast.