I am so sorry.

angst; soulmate + canon divergence au where the last words your soulmate says are tattooed on your wrist/the last words your soulmate said to you before you died

•••

Hunter tried to get over his feelings for Willow. He tried so hard.

He couldn't.

Every time he tried, something about her always drew him back in. Her laugh, her smile, the way her hair bounced when she was playing flyer derby.

He just couldn't stop loving her.

Opposites attract, right? The cruel, downright evil, magically powerless golden guard and the caring, kindhearted, very powerful rebel.

Titan, he loved her too much.

His eyes trailed her retreating figure, behind a poorly constructed barricade preventing a raid at the Owl House to take place.

Then, with no one looking, he checked his wrist, looking at those words imprinted on there. His soulmate's final words.

"I always did love you."

He would throw away his entire life with his soulmate to spend just a day with Willow.

He knew that the Emperor's Coven and the Oracle Coven chose soulmates, based on the best fit. No doubt Hunter had some worthless rich witch. He didn't want that, he wanted Willow.

-

"Sir, Golden Guard!" Steve stood at attention, ready to give orders to the other scouts.

"Tell your scouts to attack. Don't let them kill anyone there." He ordered.

Steve nodded and repeated it to the scouts, and Hunter lifted his head past the tree their camps hid behind.

He saw Willow, growing and tending to plants that reinforced the small barricade of chairs and tables.

How happy she looked, he fell even harder.

He was so distracted, he failed to notice a scout prepare to fire.

"I bet that girl will make fine rat meat." The scout muttered, and aimed.

Hunter heard this, spun around, and tackled the scout. However they managed to still hit Willow with magic.

"Steve, execute this scout immediately." Hunter ordered, pissed, and teleported.

Steve looked very confused by that order.

---

"Captain?" His mask was lying to the side, and he was trying his best to heal her.

She was fatally injured, though. Nothing was working.

"Hunter... Is that you?" Despite being so out of it, Willow recognized the voice.

In pain, she adjusted herself slightly, and Hunter kept her close to him.

"It's me." He answered her, and watched slight relief settle into her face.

"I was hoping you'd come. You're good at flying." It seemed like an effort to get these words out, and Hunter could feel his own heart breaking.

"I'm... not on your side, Willow. I'm the Golden Guard."

"Oh. Does it matter? You're still... here." She looked at him, the light in her eyes slowly fading.

Hunter was at a loss for words.

"Hunter..." She paused. "I always did love you."

She lightly smiled, and her breathing stopped. She slumped over, and Hunter started shaking and crying.

"No, titan no! No no!" He was experiencing so many emotions at once.

Despair, hurt, anger, hopelessness.

"Out of everyone, why? Why her? It should be me!" He was sobbing, the tears wouldn't stop.

Very gently, He moved Willow's deceased body onto the ground in front of him. Then, he took of his cloak and cleaned away blood and dirt off of her, before laying his cloak to rest on top of her.

"Hey, blondie—" Eda started, a comforting tone in her voice.

Hunter cut off her sentence. "I'm not leaving her."

"Well it's your fault she's dead!" Amity spoke for the first time since she arrived.

"I ordered my scouts not to fire! Why did you guys leave her undefended?"

Amity didn't get a chance to answer.

"Boots, Blondie, stop." Eda looked at Hunter. "Go order the mission you're doing off. We need time to mourn."

Hunter nodded, and teleported off.

---

"So, you mean to tell me that you ordered an entire, successful operation off because some girl died?" Belos was critical of the move when Hunter explained.

"Uncle please,they gave us time to bury Severine, we should do the same—"

"Silence. I found out recently that you knew this girl, she appears in your posts on penstagram quite often." Belos looked down at Hunter.

Hunter froze, how did Belos find out about it?

"Adrian Graye showed me." Belos answered the unasked question. "And it appeared you had romantic feelings for her."

He sounded so disgusted that Hunter flinched.

"You know, we had a deal with the Blights. Your soulmate was supposed to be one of their kids, but the Oracles were insistent to switch it up last second. I assume you know who it was by now." Belos smirked. "And that can't do. I'm sure my next grimwalker will be much more competent."

Suddenly, Belos became a monster, and a tendril made of dead palisman corpses shot through Hunter's abdomen and went right through him.

"Goodnight, Hunter." Belos said, those hideous, cruel words being the last thing Hunter heard.

•••
next chapter is some very nice fluff

anyways I like this picture because they're holding hands, and the way hunter looks at her concerned and him protectively leaning over her just aafjsdgjfshs