Hunter thinks about his life. Season 3 spoilers.
Hunter lay in his bed and listened to the sounds of the house. He heard a soft murmuring coming from his foster parents' bedroom. It always made him smile that they tried to be so discreet when he was home. Judging from the way they always found to make physical contact with each other, be it a soft brush of a finger to a cheek, or a quick kiss when they thought he wasn't looking, he knew they loved each other deeply. Sometimes the sexual tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. It was days like that, when he knew they wanted to have time alone together, that he would suddenly tell them he was going to go get a soda or visit grandma Debbie for some lemon bars. He could hear his foster fathers laugh as they grabbed for each other as soon as the door closed behind him. He loved that they'd thought they pulled one over on him. He chuckled to himself. They should only know.
Hunter listened as Ben teased Michael that maybe he should have a bowl of oatmeal instead of the donut they both knew he would eat instead.
"We'll eat as soon as Hunter gets up."
Ben would say as he took the donut from his lover and put back in the box.
"You know we always eat breakfast together."
Hunter loved hearing that part the most. It was amazing to him how quickly he was made to feel part of a real family, not only by Ben and Michael, but also Grandma Debbie and Uncle Vic. He was accepted by Ben's family too. Going fishing with Grandpa John and helping Grandma Jenny collect wood so they could have a warm fire going in the fireplace at night. It was a great life now, but it hadn't always been that way.
His real mother never bothered to give him breakfast or any other meal for that matter. If he couldn't find the scraps that his mother managed to finagle with one of her "poor me" stories, he would have his first meal at the shelter for the homeless down the block from his apartment complex. The man that ran the shelter knew his mother, so it was never questioned when he came in for his only real meal of the day. He would just grab a plate and sit by himself. It was amazing to him at times that he didn't miss her at all.
The sound of the dishes being set out on the table for breakfast brought him back to reality, and he smiled as he wondered how long he should make Michael wait today. He chuckled softly as he heard Michael whine that he was starving. And he had to bury his face in his pillow to hide the sound of his laughter when he heard Michael ask Ben for the third time...
"How long can a kid sleep?"
Ben would say the same thing every morning.
"We don't eat until we are all together."
They would let him sleep for at least another fifteen minutes before Michael would finally persuade Ben to check on him and make sure he was OK. Hunter knew it was a ruse to get Ben to wake him up. Having never left the Pitts, there was no way in hell that he had contracted the Ebola Virus as Michael had once suggested. Once the threat of some exotic illness had been brought up, Ben was never able to hold Michael back much longer. Hunter laughed and decided to have pity on Michael, and got up to join his new family for breakfast.
"It's about time you got up!" Michael grumbled at him.
"Yeah, I thought I was going to have to tie him to the chair to keep him out of the donut box."
Ben laughed as he gave Michael a quick hug.
"HMMM...maybe I should have tried harder to get another donut." Michael laughed as Ben's face turned red.
"Michael, shhhhhhhh...not in front of the child."
Hunter laughed nervously and said, "A trick I had once could probably show you two a thing or two about bondage."
Michael and Ben would widen their eyes in pretend shock before rushing him, tackling him to the ground, and tickling him. This is how most mornings started for him now. He would throw out information from his past and they would always do or say something that would let him know that they would never judge him for any of it. They were constantly telling him what a good person he was, that his life as a former hustler didn't make them care for him any less. He was at a point in his life now where he almost believed them ... Almost being the key word.
Ben placed Hunter's meds in front of him, handing him a glass of water as he proceeded to take his own. This was another thing that made him feel grateful for his new unique family. Neither Michael nor Ben ever blamed him for having unprotected sex or for getting himself infected. The help of his foster fathers and his therapist had helped him to accept his status and to see that he had done what he had to do to survive. The reality was that tricks paid more to have unprotected sex. The risk was worth it because on those really cold nights he could afford to stay in one of the cheap motels. They were really disgusting, but they were warm and that was all that counted.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Want to come to the store with me today?"
"Nah, I'm going to see Grandma Debbie. She wants me to test some new cookie recipe that Uncle Vic came up with the other day."
Hunter smiled as he saw the quick look that passed between his foster fathers.
"Are you sure? 'Cause if you don't want to go to the store with Michael, you could always stay home and hang with me?"
Hunter looked at Ben and knew that he meant what he said. He would love to hang out with Ben but there would be plenty of other days for that, so he declined the invitation. He almost laughed out loud when he saw Michael release the breath he had been holding. He suspected that the house would start rocking as soon as the door closed behind him. And that was just fine with him.