"Mom?"
"..."
"Can you buy me a box of pads? My period came."
"Uh I think you should check who you're calling because one: I'm a male, two: I'm not your mom, and three: I have some spare pads."
"Why on earth do you have pads?"
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Valentina had ended the call in panic. Was it too early for her to say that? Did he feel the same way?
Doubt began to settle in. She should've waited a while longer. Until they were more acquainted. She paced the living room in distress, tugging on the sleeves of her jacket. Blowing a breath out, she stopped and groaned. She shouldn't have said it.
The jangle of keys outside the door sounded and she froze. Okay act casual.
An excited bark came followed by a meow. Then the large form of Loki hurdling towards her made her laugh. The small fluffy cat jumped onto her face after she fell onto the floor. A wet tongue licked her face.
"You bad boy." She rubbed his head affectionately and he barked, getting off of her and running towards Hunter. He was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed across his chest. His wind tossed hair laid in a messy mop on top of his head and his eyes watched her with an intensity that made her feel warm.
Avoiding his gaze, Valentina cuddled Beanie to her chest. Beanie purred and rubbed her head against her chin. Her heart pounded as she continued to feel Hunter's gaze on the side of her face. Taking a deep breath she turned to him and smiled. "Thank you."
Hunter uncrossed his arms and stood up, face passive. "I'm always here." And the look he gave her held a promise.
"You hungry?" He asked as he casually made his way towards the kitchen.
"Yep!" Valentine leapt up at the mention of food, momentarily forgetting about those three little words.
As Hunter put the huge plate of spaghetti in from of her, she eyed it with hunger. Digging into the food, silence encased them as they satisfied their hungry stomach. Loki laid his head on Hunter's lap, peering up at him with sad brown eyes. Hunter looked down and gave him a small bite of pasta that wasn't covered with tomato sauce. Beanie had curled herself in Valentina's lap, her loud purrs vibrating through her lap.
As they ate, Hunter sneaked glances at the girl sitting across him. He watched as she eagerly spooned pasta into her mouth and licking away the tomato sauce that has made its way onto the corner of her mouth. He swallowed the pasta with a large gulp.
He hadn't forgot the three words she had told him over the phone. But he wasn't sure if she really meant it since she hadn't mentioned it ever since he got back. He was nervous to bring it up.
There was no doubt he really liked her but did he love her? Thinking back to her accident and the gut wrenching hopelessness he had felt, Hunter paused. He had never felt this strongly for anyone before. What he had said over the phone, about getting hit by a thousand trains to take her place, he had meant it.
The first time he picked up the phone, he knew that there was just something about her. Maybe it was the soft caress of her voice that struck something within him or the fact that she had called asking for pads without checking who the caller was. Most importantly it was the fact that unknowingly she had dragged him out of the delicate situation at home. She made him laugh and made him feel like he wasn't alone in the world.
So as Hunter watched the dark haired girl chowing down and casually throwing pieces of spaghetti at Loki, he came to a realization. He was utterly truly in love with her.
