The moment Hunter stepped through the door, he found himself attacked by a smaller body ramming into his chest. After nearly all of his air was ripped out of his body, Hunter managed to chuckle and hug the smaller women back.

"Well, it has been a minute since I have seen you, huh?" Hunter asked, pulling her away from his body gently to get a better look at her face. "Isn't that right, Layla."

Layla smacked Hunter across the chest before pulling him into another hug. The hug was barely a second and was followed by her smacking his chest a second time.

"Don't you Layla me. I haven't seen you in almost two months!" She complained, the small pout looking especially cute on her heart-shaped face. Even after growing so much since the first years he knew her, Hunter still couldn't get the image of the small girl out of his brain. He had to frequently check himself so he wouldn't get overprotective, which would simply make her upset. "You need to figure out other ways to meet up with us other than the Saturdays of your games. It is not alright to-"

Layla could have gone on for hours, but Sean decided to spare them from that experience by wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and kissing her cheek.

"Layla, I think he gets it." He said, sending me a discreet wink. Layla huffed with her hand fisted in front of her.

"No, but he is always working too much, now he won't even come and see us. I-" While Layla continued to ramble, Sean expertly walked her away from the front door and took her away to a separate part of their house. Audrey, who hadn't yet walked, chuckled from behind Hunter. Being reminded of her presence, Hunter jolted and moved further towards the living room.

Kian came in from behind her and let out an exaggerated sigh while peeling off his sweat-filled shoes.

"Gosh, that was an intense game." Kian commented, wiping his forehead as if to remove the sweat there. He had stopped sweating almost an hour ago yet he seemed to be imagining it now. Hunter rolled his eyes with a chuckled taking off his own shoes and walking into the living room.

As Hunter stepped away from the foyer, he heard Audrey yelling at Kian loudly.

"There isn't even anything on your face, why are you complaining?" She asked him, probably waving her hands around excitedly like she usually did. "You barely did anything during the game anyway."

As Kian tried to explain himself, Hunter walked into the living room where Damien, Conner, and Luke were already waiting. The first thing that hit Hunter was the wide smile that spread across Luke's face. Conner stood up, pulling Hunter into a short hug and grinning when they parted. His jaw that had been clean-shaven when they had gone to high school was now covered in a trimmed beard. He wasn't as lean as he used to be, but he also carried more muscle on his frame.

Conner moved away when his husband impatiently swatted at his arm, wanting to get to Hunter. Conner rolled his arms fondly but moved aside to let Luke get to him. Luke and Hunter shared a look and then Hunter was pulling Luke into a hug, smiling at the familiar feel of the smaller man's body.

Hunter had known Luke for a long time as well, and unlike many of the men that Hunter knew, Luke had gone through several pregnancies. Yet, his body now felt almost the same as it had before the first kid. The nostalgia, from being around so many old friends, was bringing a calm smile onto Hunter's face.

The two pulled back and Luke gripped onto Hunter's arms with a light smile. Hunter's hand instinctively went down to Luke's stomach, knowing the under the soft fat a baby was quickly growing. Luke didn't even react to the touch, far too accustomed to having others' hands on his clothed stomach.

Luke laughed softly, his mind processing how he and his husband had greeted their long term friend.

"Gosh, we're all so much. We act as if we haven't seen you in years when it has only been a couple of months." The two of them and the others nearby laughed at Luke's words. "How have you been? Have you been taking any time at all for yourself or just working 24/7?"

Hunter snorted, unwilling to admit the accuracy in what Luke had said.

"I'm fine, really." He replied, giving them another one of his boxed and automatic answers. The smile on Luke's face faltered slightly and Hunter rushed to change the subject. "So, how are the kids?"

A bright smile light up Conner's face, and Luke looked back at his husband as if he knew the expression that would be on his face.

"Well, they're rowdier than before of course, growing in size and number." Luke shot an accusatory look back at Conner who simply raised his large hands in surrender. "Had to get my older sister to babysit. She is the only babysitter we've ever had that understood why we have so many, and why I am able to have any in the first place."

Hunter laughed loudly at that, remembering the stories of utterly confused babysitters dealing with children that looked like both of their male parents. From what Hunter remembered, one especially bold one asked Conner had slept with Conner's sister and had a kid with her before he met Luke.

The complicated situation regarding Luke's pregnancies and the creative ways that he and Conner worked to hide them is as funny as it was stressful. The world still isn't ready for all of that the Auxilio could tell them, and that included their male pregnancies, so Luke and Conner hid it.

It was always hardest when Luke reached the second half of the pregnancies, but the current assumption of most of his non-Auxilio friends is that Luke is yo-yo dieting and unable to get back to his pre-college weight. Luke's friends that know of this have been coming up with a variety of exercise programs that Luke can name as the thing to help him keep the weight off. But, until his dedicated Dicamotus time is up, he will have to continue to lie about his health state.

"I have been going to a bar more often, you know, taking time to relax." Hunter mentioned, thinking it would help to cheer Luke up a bit. Kian, who had taken one of the seats on the couch, snorted loudly,

"So you've started drinking more. Is that supposed to make Luke feel better about your health?" Kian asked teasingly, getting a sharp glare from Hunter. Audrey, always eager to disagree with Kian over something, went to defend Hunter.

"Hey, he was trying to give an example of something he is doing as a leisure activity, something other than work." Audrey argued suddenly, her hand crossing in front of her. "I get what he was trying to say."

Hunter had to turn around and give Audrey a fist bump just for that. Kian made a fake gagging motion but Hunter knew he was just jealous. Luke shook his head at the four of them before turning back to Hunter.

"I know it might sound weird but it is a way of me pulling away from work." Hunter told them honestly, only to receive some disbelieving looks from those around him. "I'm telling the truth! Look, I was really busy not too long ago, but instead of just moving through the work I actually gave some work to other people so I could get to the bar."

The immense surprise on his friends' faces attests to how much Hunter had been working before. He ignores the looks, continuing to argue his case.

"There is actually this bartender there that I talk to every time I go. He is really nice and funny and we have some really nice conversations." Hunter adds, an idea coming to him.

Talking about how much he socialized with River would definitely help him convince his friends that he was alright. It would show that not only was he taking time for himself, but he was also free enough to make new friends. So, he started to lay it on thick, giving as many positive details about his budding new friendship as possible.

"I'm always making dumb jokes in front of him and he laughs at, like, all of them. He is actually trying to get me to order other types of drinks, but I keep telling him that I love the Whiskey and Gin too much. He said he would've thought I was addicted to it if I didn't only get like one cup when I go, so he thinks I'm just basic. Of course, I told him that a smart guy can't be basic. So he said I was a basic nerd."

The startled laughs that erupted from those around him brought a brief scowl onto Hunter's face. Why were they suddenly laughing at him, these were true stories. But he was so pleased talking about River that he couldn't even dwell on why he was upset in the first place. So, he continued to blabber.

"I mean, that was so rude. So I said that he was a basic bartender and when he asked what that meant I said he was just really suave and he blushed and I laughed because it was cute and—"

Hunter cut himself off when he saw the gigantic smiles planted on everyone's faces. The looks seriously creeped him out and he moved back to get away from the odd people. Of course, that only made their grins grow wider so it was pretty fruitless. Hunter thought about asking what they were grinning about but, surprisingly, Damien spoke first.

"You like him, don't you?" Damien's question wasn't really a question. No question was said with as much confidence as Damien's words seemed to have. Hunter went a bit pale before a layer of pink grew on both sides of his face. He quickly raised his hands up to cover it and tried to pretend that it was just an act of frustration, but everyone had already seen it.

"Oh my God, I'm so happy!" Layla cheered before talk of Hunter's possible bisexuality ensued around the room. Hunter sank to the floor, his face still in his hands while his mind whirled. He had frozen a bit the moment the subject came up. He wasn't gay, he wasn't even bi. He knew that he wasn't into men and was only be open to transgender women, so why was this even a discussion. But, he hadn't denied it. He hadn't said no.

"I'm not into guys!" He yelled, voice carrying over the group. The happy chatter died down, and Hunter got a variety of reactions. One that stuck out was Conner's, a warning clear on his face. "No offence to you guys but I'm not and I never have been."

Audrey bit her lips hesitantly before she let the words slip out of her mouth.

"Then why did you wait so long to deny it?" She asked, pointing out the one thing on everyone's mind. Luke put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head, turning to look back at Hunter.

"Don't push him, guys. He can figure this all out on his own." Luke told them, while his dark eyes peered into Hunter's. The two orbs went unfocused for a moment before Luke came back to where they were. "Hunter, just . . . be open about it, alright. Try not to focus too much on what you thought your sexuality was before or on what it may be now. Either way, it doesn't define who you are, and it never has."

The room was quiet as Hunter let the words seep into his fearful mind. It was true that, without having realized it, he had let his sexuality be attached to his identity, despite the fact that he never dated anyways. Hunter suspected that Luke had communicated with the "angels" that Auxilio were famous for contacting. Hunter, being the one person in the friend group that wasn't one, he never truly understood how that relationship worked. All he understood was that angels told them stuff and they tried to tell it to other people. But that really wasn't Hunter's story to explain.

What Hunter could say, though, was that the idea of having a crush on River was really changing how he saw everything. While he wished he could certainly say "No, I have no feelings for River," he couldn't deny how the statement made him feel.

It felt true. It felt right. Hunter wasn't known to feel anything at all when it came to romance, and this sure wasn't just some friendly thing.

Hunter would like to figure out what it is and fast. Hopefully, the sooner he organized everything he felt, the sooner he could get the steady burning heat in his chest to stop coming up anytime he thought about the shorter man.