Chapter 14

Aiden looked up at him and the sight of his face made Hunter gulp. Aiden's lower lip trembled, his eyes were watery and glassy which made his expression all the more pitiful. 

"Why are you yelling at me, huh?!" Aiden's voice wobbled, and his brows furrowing deeply as tears welled up. "It's your fault I got stuck here in the first place!"

Hunter's breath was still heavy from running. He bent down to Aiden's position. "My fault? How the hell is this my fault?"

Aiden's cheeks puffed up as he clenched his fists tighter. He raised a hand and punched Hunter's shoulder, though it felt more like a soft boop than an actual hit. "You should've come sooner!" 

Hunter stared at him in anger. "Oh, I'm sorry, next time I'll just develop superhuman speed so I can teleport to your dumb ass whenever you get lost in the woods!"

Aiden ignored his sarcasm and huffed dramatically. "Why did you even come? You should just go back to your precious Casen." He sniffled and turned his head away, his jaw clenching. "Just leave me here to die."

Hunter shook his head and let out an exhausted sigh. Aiden will be the death of him one day. "Aiden, for the love of—You are not dying."

"How do you know?" Aiden sniffled again. This time his chest heaved and big sobs broke out of his throat. "Maybe…I–I lost too much blood. Maybe a wild animal will get me." He peeked at Hunter through his lashes. "Maybe I'll freeze to death, and then you'll feel guilty for the rest of your life."

Hunter gave him a blank stare. "You just scraped your knee, not got stabbed in a gang fight."

Aiden gasped as if he had been personally insulted. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and his sobs increased. "Wow. Y-You really don't care about me anymore, huh?" His brows knitted together, his lips pressing into a trembling line. "You didn't even…even ask if I was okay!" His glassy eyes overflowing with tears. "You only scold me now! You hate me, don't you?! I'm crying and..and you're not–not even t-trying to calm me down.." 

Hunter inhaled sharply, shutting his eyes for a second. He was going to lose his mind.

Aiden sobbed again, wiping his cheek aggressively. His ears were burning red, his nose scrunched up, his lips pushing into the biggest, most ridiculous pout Hunter had ever seen. And hearing those crying, Hunter was losing it. 

Aiden tried to stop his crying but the harder he tried to swallow back his sobs, the more they came crashing down like an unstoppable wave. The emotions he was trying to endure all this time broke out and he couldn't hold them longer. His breath shuddered and his vision blurred with hot tears. His whole body trembled and hands clenched into tight fists against his lap.

"Aiden..." Hunter's voice was soft and Aiden barely registered it. His hiccups and sniffles drowned out everything else. His lip wobbled, and he clenched his teeth, trying to hold in the pathetic noises bubbling up from his throat. But it was no use. 

"I—I can't stop—" Aiden whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut. "I don't know why I'm crying so much, I just—I just feel so—" His words cut off as another sob shook his body.

Hunter sighed. He had seen Aiden like this before, completely overwhelmed with emotions too big for his body to contain. And he knew exactly what to do. Without a word, Hunter reached out and placed his hand in front of Aiden's lips. An old trick he has always used in the past to calm Aiden down. 

"Just bite it. It'll help you calm down faster." 

Aiden's wide, tear-soaked eyes flickered up to meet Hunter's. He knew what this was. It was their thing. The one weird, stupid thing that always worked on him.

And right now, he needs it more than anything. He hesitated for only a second before latching onto Hunter's hand.

His teeth sank into the soft skin at the base of Hunter's palm, not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough to feel it. His hot breath brushed against Hunter's fingers as he nibbled around the flesh. Hunter stayed completely still, letting Aiden use him however he needed like always. 

Aiden's sobs grew quieter, his trembling easing as he focused on the warmth of Hunter's skin between his teeth. His hot breaths came out shaky and tickled Hunter's palm making him suck in a breath. His entire body, which was wound up so tight, slowly began to relax.

Hunter who was watching him closely asked slowly. "Better?"

Aiden didn't answer immediately. He just stayed like that, lips pressed against Hunter's hand. His cheeks were still flushed but his sniffles softened as he slowly pulled away. His teeth left faint indentations on Hunter's palm.

"A little," Aiden mumbled, wiping his eyes aggressively. His voice was hoarse from crying.

Hunter smirked slightly, rubbing his thumb over the faint teeth marks. "A little is good too."

"You're so weird for letting me do that everytime." Aiden shyly let out. 

"You're weirder for needing to do it every time," Hunter shot back smoothly.

Aiden felt ashamed and looked away, but Hunter noticed his pink cheeks anyway. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" 

Aiden turned his back at him dramatically. "I won't tell you."

"Why?"

"You don't care anyway," Aiden grumbled. 

Hunter just stared at him. "Are you actually serious right now?"

Aiden huffed and refused to meet his gaze. Hunter let out a deep, long sigh. He stood up and dusted off his knees. "Alright, fine. Get up. We're leaving before it gets dark." 

Aiden remained seated and ignored him. 

Hunter's eye twitched. "Get. Up."

Aiden threw his hands in the air. "If I could get up, would I still be sitting here like an idiot?" He wiggled his foot slightly. "My legs feel numb, dummy!"

Hunter ran a hand down his face. "Of course they do," he muttered under his breath.

After a moment, he crouched down, turning his back to Aiden. "Get on."

"What?" Aiden let out in shock. 

"I said get on my back." Hunter repeated tiredly. 

Aiden's eyes widened slightly, and then his face flushed, cheeks, ears, everything turning a soft shade of pink. "N-No, I don't—"

"Aiden." 

Aiden clenched his hands into tiny fists and shook his head aggressively. "I don't want your help."

Hunter clenched his jaw and looked back at him. "Then what the hell do you need? You're injured."

"So what?" Aiden was still angry with him about earlier. "Go back to Casen. You don't have to help me."

Hunter growled, his patience finally snapping. "Casen isn't my problem right now! You are!"

Aiden flinched slightly, his lips pressing together. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The only sound was the rustling of leaves around them. Aiden felt like crying again and Hunter noticed it on time. He can't handle another outburst of Aiden. 

So, Hunter softened his voice. He reached out and placed his hand on Aiden's arm, squeezing it gently. "Aiden. Please, listen to me, alright? See, it's getting dark. And it's a jungle. You don't want to get hurt really bad, do you now?" 

Aiden listened to him silently. Hunter's soft tone landed straight to his senses. He bit his lip, his brows furrowing slightly in that way he did whenever he was debating with himself. Then, with a long, dramatic sigh, he finally grumbled. 

"Fine."

Hunter smirked internally.

Because no matter how stubborn Aiden was, Hunter would always win in the end.