While Sam got the equipment ready, I walked into Hunter's room, sitting next to him.
"Hunter, Sam's going to get them out of your head, okay?" He nodded. "But she has to hook you up to a machine that will draw your blood and get rid of them, okay?" He met my eyes.
"Will it hurt?" I sighed.
"I don't know, Hunt, I don't know," I said. He whimpered in response. "But I will be right next to you the whole time, okay?" He nodded, and Sam appeared in the doorway.
"It's ready," she said, and I nodded, standing up.
"C'mon, Hunter. Let's get this done so they're not in your head anymore," I murmured, coaxing him to stand. He leaned on me as we walked to the room that Sam had set up. I sat him in the chair, and sat next to him, placing his left arm on the armrest, where Sam inserted a tube that led to the machine. He gripped my hand with his free one, whimpering in pain. I ran my thumb over his skin, trying my best to comfort him. Sam inserted another tube that fed out of the machine, then flipped it on. I watched the blood as it fed into the machine, stayed there for a few moments, then slid through the other tube, back into Hunter's veins. He hummed in fear, and I kissed his temple.
"Hunter, you don't have to watch if it scares you," I said. He watched the tubes, mesmerized, yet horrified at the same time. "Hunter, look at me," I said, resulting in him turning his head towards me. I lifted my hand to his cheek, rubbing my thumb over it. "We-Sam and I-are trying our best to get them out of your head, and if it scares you, you don't have to watch the machine. All it's doing it getting them out of your blood," I explained, and he nodded. I leaned over to kiss his forehead, and he gripped my hand.
∞--X--∞
Three hours later, the process was over. Sam removed the tubes and put bandages over the marks on his skin, and told me to keep a close eye on him for any lasting effects of the nanites. She showed me the vial holding the nanites, which was barely covered on the bottom with the tiny technology.
"The reduced Hunter might last for another fifteen minutes or so, but after that, he should be back to normal. It will gradually become apparent he's getting back to normal in the next fifteen minutes," Sam said, and I nodded, coaxing Hunter to stand up. "Call me down to your apartment if there's any complications, okay?" I nodded again, thanking her before heading to my apartment.
I opened the door, closing it after we got inside. Hunter sat on the bed, and I got a glass of water. I passed it to him, keeping my hand on it just in case it slipped. He drank it, and I smiled at him when he brought the glass down. He smiled at me, and I put the glass by the sink. I walked back, slipping off my boots. I kissed his forehead, sitting next to him. He entwined our fingers, and I leaned on his shoulder.
After a few minutes of talking, I had gone quiet. "Rai?" I heard, and looked at him. He was getting back to normal, since he'd only started calling me Rai after that mission when we first kissed.
"Yeah?"
He groaned, looking at his arm. "What happened?"
"We were on our way back from Waffles and you dropped your head, clutching it. We went to the infirmary and found out you are actually allergic to nanites," I explained.
"Like the time we found out you have a really bad reaction to poison ivy?" He questioned.
"Well, not really, because I didn't push you into it," I stated, looking at him.
"Hey! You fell into it after we staged that kiss. I had nothing to do with it," he said, playing innocent.
You guys deserve another flashback, since I'm putting you through all this not-knowing, which is the worst possible feeling. Anyways, it ensued as follows:
We'd been called up to Natasha's office, and she'd passed us the mission folders, smiling a little at us. "This mission, you two are going under as a dating couple." Hunter's face had twisted into something weird, and I'd gaped at her.
"So, like, I'd have to kiss Hunter?" I asked. She nodded.
"That's exactly what I mean."
"He's like a brother to me and you want me to kiss him?" I asked, and Hunter's face had untwisted as he caught on. Natasha had nodded again.
"Dismissed." I got up, going to my room. I changed into a tank top and jeans, shaking my head. I muttered under my breath. This was insane.
∞--X--∞
I'd recently gotten my license, so I'd driven us. The whole drive, however, I hadn't looked at Hunter once. It would only make later more awkward. Little did I know that in six years, I'd be dating him. Anyways, we'd spent a few minutes holding hands and walking through the park. Then we found a bench and sat down. I sighed, looking at the crowd. No one out of the ordinary. I'd perfected my mannerisms since my first mission, so I didn't go up to anybody and ask if they worked for the ELA. Or just consult any one up front. I was thinking about the color I'd wanted my truck painted when Hunter broke into my thoughts.
"So...what now?" He asked. I decided on aqua then looked at him. Aqua would be a huge upgrade from the horrible brown.
"I guess we get this over with," I muttered. He nodded, and I scooted closer to him. "This is going to be so awkward," I whispered before kissing him. We sat there for a few moments, until someone shouted, 'Get a room!' I'd startled, and Hunter had pulled away, pushing me backward a little. A little too much, and I fell off the bench, into a patch of poison ivy. I'd already began scratching when Hunter pulled me out of it.
"Sorry," he said. I nodded, accepting the apology before itching at the back of my shoulder again. I'd landed flat on my back in the ivy.
Soo...that's the story of the first staged kiss. First kiss ever between me and Hunter.
"Or how 'bout that time you spilled wine over your dress?" He asked.
"It was my first time," I complained.
"Then spilling it on my suit?" I laughed.
"That was for laughing at me," I said.