- Hunter's Web -

Yes, I'm pairing Hunter with Charlotte.
Is that crazy?
The mind is a very dangerous organ.

Is there a shipping name for those two that I'm unaware of?
HunLotte?
CharTer?
HunLey?

This pairing and story was a little something I wrote for my good friend, Farina and turned out to be something she and I liked which is why I'm posting.

Please, feel free to express all your thoughts and feelings about his one.

Chapter 1

"You need to come home." Was all he managed to say after an excruciating pause. I knew something was wrong the second his name appeared on my screen. We barely talked in the last couple of years. He wanted me to come home, be around family and settle down. People like me don't settle down, I thought as I made my way through the terminal to the baggage claim area.

When he said his name, a sharp pain crawled into my heart, slowly, it spread through my entire body as the memories kept flooding every single one of my veins. The lump down my throat got bigger as the man on the other line tried to speak. I knew what he was going to say, I knew exactly what happened, yet the pain just grew inside me.

As I stood there waiting for my suitcase, I thought about my hero. Growing up with him as a father was not ideal, but every time he came home I felt how much he loved us and how special he really was. My dad was always my hero, my best friend, my greatest motivator. He tried to come to all of my games, he was always one of the reasons I was so tough and ambitious, but something happened when my brother lost his way.

All the conversations we had, all the times he begged me to come home and try to talk some sense into him. It was hard not to feel guilty. It was hard thinking of all the times he reached out and I denied him, telling him that my baby brother was a big boy and he could take care of himself. My baby brother was gone now and the guilt was just there, burning in my heart.

After finally noticing my suitcase, I made my way to the exit and looked around the crowded airport. Walking around in a place like this with my dad was nearly impossible. Everyone loved him and wanted just a little taste of his foolish antics. And he always went along with it, always had time for the fans, it was who he was.

I was an Olympic gold medalist that no one knew. No one actually cared about volleyball, but I was one of the best and I loved every second of it. In those moments I was actually glad no one knew me. I just wanted to get it over with and go back to my life and my job. If only there was an easy way to face him, I thought on the way to his house. If only there was a way to avoid seeing the pain in his eyes.

As the taxi pulled up outside of the big house, I noticed my dad sitting outside right away. The man sitting next to him had his arm around his shoulder and it seemed like he was comforting him. I froze and everything around me was suddenly quiet. I watched as the tall man hugged my dad and walked over to his car. The sound of the car door startled me as I came back to earth.

There were no words needed as I walked over to where my dad was. He looked broken and tired. As he gathered me into his arms, I felt his racing heart. We stood there for a few minutes in each other's arms, as my baby brother's imagine snuck into my mind. We all had the same smile, I thought as I imagined him looking at us, with his juvenile smile. The tears burst out the second I heard my dad's quiet whimper.

No words could describe how painful it was to see and hear my dad cry. We all worshipped him, and Reid always wanted to be like him, but he wanted other things as well.

No matter how hard he tried, no matter how many talks my dad and I had with him or how many times he promised to get cleaned, Reid always had setbacks. He just couldn't get away from the drugs. Maybe I should've been here, maybe if we were together more often, he'd still be alive. I will never know.

I was afraid to look my dad in the eyes. I locked myself in the bedroom and watched the people come in and out of the house all day. My dad had many friends and they all cared for him, but I wasn't quite like him. I needed to be alone with my memories. I needed to be able to cry and I only ever cried alone.

The funeral was hard to bear and I was too emotional to even pay attention to all the people shaking my hand and offering kind words. My mom was a mess, my dad was devastated and my half brother and sister kept trying to comfort me, to no success. The guilt, the regret and all the time I've spent away from him were digging into my soul as I tried to keep all my emotions under control. All I could do was just hide behind my shades and sit quietly until I could lock myself in a room again.

When we came back home, I had to stay around because the house was filled with people, even though all I wanted was to lay in bed and just end this day. I sat at the corner with my 3 best friends from New York and begged for this day to end. My baby brother was gone and there was nothing anyone could say to make the pain go away, so what's the point.

Out of all the people in that big house, only one man caught my attention. It was the same man I saw when I arrived the other day. He never left my dad's side and he was basically the only one my dad talked to. I recognized most of the people that day, but that man, I had never seen him before. He seemed like he was protecting my dad for some reason and it brought a little smile to my face. It was nice to know that my dad had someone so close to him.

Later that night, a knock on my door made me hide the photo album quickly and all the Kleenex I had used. I wiped the tears from my face right before I opened the door to find my broken hearted dad outside. "Do you think we can talk for a little while?" He said as he looked straight into my eyes.

I looked away as soon as we locked eyes and fidgeted a little. "Sure, dad, come in."

I watched as he dragged his tired body and sat on my bed. Please don't start talking about Reid.

"Do you think you can stay here for a while?" He asked as he searched for my eyes.

"Dad…"

"I know things haven't been perfect between us in the past few years, but we can change that. I don't want to lose you too."

"Aww, dad…" I whispered as I wrapped my arm around his arm and rested my head on his shoulder. "You're never going to lose me, dad."

"So stay, with me. This house is too big for me. I miss you."

"Dad, I can't just move here. I have a life in New York, I have a job and friends. I mean I don't even have my clothes and my stuff here."

"You can have a life here too. You can take my credit card and get yourself a whole new wardrobe. You have a family here and I can get you any job you like. This is my city, I know people here."

"Dad, you know people everywhere, I don't know about this. Can I think about it?"

"Why do you have to think about it? David and Megan are afraid to ask you to stay because they feel like they barely know you. You've disconnected yourself from everyone except Reid. Can't we be a family again? I'm your father and I'm asking you to stay. Don't shut us out anymore, please."

The pain in his voice broke my heart. I knew he was right, I did shut them out at some point. Maybe I do need my family close to me. Maybe this is a second chance for our family. "Alright, dad. I'll stay for a while."

"Really?"

"Yes. You're right, I should be with my family now."

"Good, good." He exhaled. "You're a good kid."

A little chuckle escaped me as he kissed the top of my head. "You're not so bad yourself."

The next few days went by quickly. I made a lot of phone calls and arranged for a few important things to be sent to me. My boss was cool with my decision and said that whenever I come back, I'd have a job waiting for me. My friends took care of the lease to my apartment and supervised the packing crew I hired with my dad's credit card.

One morning, as I drank my coffee and looked at the pictures on the wall, I noticed something and ran upstairs to the photo album. When I found what I was looking for, called a cab and Googled a few locations. The first one that caught my eye was Architect of Ink. It was a little arrogant, I thought as a tattooed guy smoking a cigarette outside the studio checked me out bluntly as I walked in.

The place inside was very clean and smelled like flowers which was odd. A guy sitting on the computer with his back to me told me he'd be right with me. I smiled when I noticed a small part on the side of his hair was blond while the rest was black. It looked cool in a weird kind of way, but I liked it.

When he turned to face me, I found a good looking guy smiling at me, but his smile suggested he was a little arrogant. "Do I have to make an appointment?"

His mischievous eyes examined me from top to bottom as he crossed his arms on his chest and leaned back. "This might be your lucky day. I had a cancelation today. Do you know what you want or do you need to look at some books?"

"I know what I want." I said as I handed him the picture. "I want that exact thing."

It took him a few minutes before he looked up at me again and smiled. "I will need an hour or so, to prepare. You can wait here if you want. We have coffee and cookies if you want."

"I'll wait here, if that's okay."

"I'm Seth, by the way." He extended his hand.

"You're the architect?"

"Absolutely." He grinned.

"I'm Charlotte."

"Are you new here in town?" He asked as he sat at his desk and took out a few papers.

"I guess you could say that."

Suddenly the guy from outside walked in and took his car keys. "You okay here?" He asked Seth.

"Yeah, man. I'll call you if something comes up."

"Alright, I'm out."

I sat quietly while he worked on my tattoo and smiled to myself as I thought about that day my baby brother came home with this tattoo and we all laughed at him. He was so proud of himself for doing it and now sitting here waiting to do the same, I hoped he was smiling down at me. This is for you Reider. I got up and went over to where Seth was sitting. "Umm, can you write Reider in the middle there?"

"Reider?"

"Yes. R.E.I.D.E.R." I spelled out.

"Sure, no problem."

I went back to my seat and checked my phone. I wanted to tell my dad about it, but decided it was best to show him. About an hour in my waiting, a little girl suddenly walked in and put her bag pack on the floor next to Seth. Standing next to the architect quietly, she looked at his drawing for a few minutes. "What happened to the tiger guy?"

"He rescheduled. Something about his mother not feeling well."

"I'm getting a soda."

"Go do your homework."

"You're not the boss of me." She called from the other room.

Does this arrogant prick have a kid? I asked myself when she got back and sat next to me, turning the TV on. "Hi, I'm Aurora."

"I'm charlotte." I smiled.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Would you mind terribly if I watched? I love watching, but he says I need to ask for permission to be in the room. Not everyone likes it." She pointed at Seth.

"You like tattoos?"

"Very much." Her eyes lit. "But not on me. I just love the drawings and seeing the process."

"Well, you're a little young to have a tattoo." I chuckled.

"I don't think I will ever get one. My dad hates them."

"And yet he tattoos people for a living."

The little girl suddenly started laughing quietly. "Seth is not my dad."

"Oh."

"I just come here after school because my dad is working. Seth is my unofficial babysitter."

"Why unofficial?" I chuckled.

"My dad says Sethie is a tough guy and tough guys don't like being called babysitters."

"Gotcha."

"I like you. You're pretty."

"Thank you. You're pretty too."

"Thank you."

"Homework!" Seth said as he got up.

"I'll do it later. I want to watch and I did ask for permission."

"She did." I assured him. "I don't mind."

"It's because she looks all cute and innocent, right? Don't let her fool you, she uses those cute little puppy eyes to get her way all the time."

"Really?" I smiled at the little girl who was hiding her face behind the soda in her hand. "I guess I'm a sucker for puppy eyes, because it worked for her again."

"Alright, I'm all done, let's get you prepared. Did you have a place in mind?"

"Yes." I smiled and pointed to the side of my body.

"Cool. I'll get you something to cover yourself."

"There's no need, I can use my shirt."

"Alright then, this way." He gestured to one of the rooms.

Aurora was so quiet during the process that it made me smile. She seemed like a very smart kid with good manners. Seth seemed to like her a lot and I was beginning to wonder what kind of man would let his girl hang around a tattoo studio after school.

"Would you like a break?" The architect suddenly asked me.

"Sure. I'll take a few minutes."

"Can I get you something to drink?" Aurora asked as I sat down.

"Water would be great."

When she came back with the bottle, she stared at my half tattoo and asked. "What's a Reider?"

"It's a nickname. My brother's name is Reid and I used to call him Reider."

"You're Ric Flair's daughter!" She gasped.

"Shhh, keep it down, I don't want anyone to know."

"Sorry."

"Wait, how did you know?"

"I know your dad and I know Reid too. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry for your loss." She looked away.

"It's okay, Aurora." I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Do you like my tattoo?"

"I do, very much. People come here all the time to get a tattoo for someone they lost. I see it on their faces immediately, but you don't look so sad, that's why I asked."

"I'm very sad, but I don't like to show it."

"That's cool. I wish I could do that. When I'm sad everyone notices right away."

"Well, it's not always good to hide your true feelings."

"That's what my dad says all the time."

Suddenly we heard someone call her name and she jumped. "That's my dad, I guess I need to go now, but I'm here every day after school. You should come and hang out with us."

"Alright, maybe I will." I smiled. "Wait, Aurora, please don't say anything to anyone about me or the tattoo, okay?"

"Your secret is safe with me." She smiled back and waved.

"Thanks, kiddo. Take care."

"You too." She called and ran outside of the room.

A sudden urge made me shift and peek through the door when I heard laughing from outside. The man holding Aurora's hand was none other than my father's protector. The man who never left his side on the funeral day was handsome, I thought as I took a long look at him. He was tall and clearly fit as his tight shirt emphasized his chest muscles under the half zipped leather jacket.

Suddenly he looked up and our eyes met. Panicking, I shifted back and hid behind the door. I don't know why I did it, but when I peeked again a few seconds later, they were gone.

Thank you for reading.