When Kurt and Blaine were nudged off to bed by Burt, who deemed that it was getting very late for two little boys who had a big day of adventure ahead of them, neither of them were very sleepy. But Blaine supposed that could be because Kurt hadnt drank his mug of warm milk yet, and Blaines head just hadnt hit the pillow. If there was a bed in front of him, Blaine was going to sleep on it. As Kurt carefully waddled down the stairs, his hand was clasped in Blaines, his other full of his mug, which he was trying very hard not to spill. They arrived downstairs a minute later, and Blaine blindly walked in a straight line to the bed, falling face first onto the mattress. Hed had a long day of climbing rough and scratchy trees. He felt like he deserved to sink into a fluffy mattress and snore through the night, but Kurt didnt seem to think so.

He plopped beside of Blaine, making both of them bounce, as he sipped the top of his drink, and then he held it out to Blaine, who suddenly realized how thirsty he was when he smelled the sweet milk. As Blaine took big gulps of the refreshing drink, Kurt toyed with the blankets and pillows, lifting the sheets and tucking the pillows under them, which made Blaine raise his brows. After he plumped the pillows enough to make them stand up, Kurt made a satisfied noise at the makeshift fort hed created. Blaine was starting to think that Kurt really liked living in his own tiny houses. Without a word of explanation, Kurt peeled the sheets up and crawled underneath, letting them swing down behind him. Suddenly, all Blaine could see was a tiny bump where Kurt was sitting.

"What are you doing?" Blaine asked, lifting the sheets just a few inches and poking his head underneath. He saw Kurt sitting in the center of the fort, simply grooming himself as if it wasnt strange that hed built a tent during the middle of the night. When Kurt finished brushing off his nightgown, he turned to Blaine and gave him a winning smile.

"Come under here!" Kurt squeaked, patting the spot beside of him. "I want to read more of our story. Do you see it on the dresser?" Twisting around, Blaine carelessly grabbed for the book that was sitting on the nightstand, and he brought it in with him as he crawled into the small fort. Behind him, he heard the door crack open, and heavy footsteps on the stairs. Realizing that if Burt came down right now, hed get a good look at Blaines butt, he quickly scrambled under and let the flap of blanket fall to the mattress, closing him off from view.

"Kurt," Burts gravelly voice echoed through the room, and Kurt perked up at the sound, pushing the blankets out just enough for Burt to see in and for them to see out. Bending over their fort, Burt looked in at the two boys, and he shook his head with a roll of his eyes. He grinned at both of them, reaching in to smooth a hair off his sons forehead. "I thought I heard voices down here. Kurt, you know what I said. Its time for bed. Its too late for you boys to be up and laughing."

Kurt puckered his lip at his dad, a face that meant they would definitely get their way, "Please, Daddy. One more chapter. I even drank my warm milk, so Ill be sleepy very soon!" When Burt shook his head again, Kurt held out the book as if he was trying to show his dad what a good book it was based on the image on the cover. "But, Daddy, this is the best part! The princess decided to be with the frog, and he might even tell her that he loves her in this chapter-"

Burt held up one hand, cutting his son off before he rattled off the entire book to him, "Okay, honey. But just one chapter. And dont think this is going to be a regular thing... you cant always win with those big eyes of yours. You are just like your mom in that way... she expects to get her way no matter what anyone says."

"Thank you, Daddy!" Kurt, who was pleased with the way things had gone, settled back into the fort, but not before holding his arms up so he could hug and kiss his dad. "I love you." At that, Burt chuckled, peeling away from Kurt and leaning toward Blaine, also wrapping him up.

"Youre a spoiled, little thing, thats for sure." Burt pressed another kiss to Kurts temple, gathering the blanket that skirted around their fort and laying it over their laps. "I love you, too, baby. And you, Blaine. Ill see you in the morning. Im going to finish the game and then Ill be heading in, too." Releasing a loud yawn that made Kurt frown, Burt rubbed his bleary eyes, "Or maybe Ill just get the recap tomorrow. You two do exhaust me."

Smiling as his dad turned away and lumbered up the stairs, Kurt blew him a kiss when he looked back one last time, and then he returned his attention to Blaine when his dad shut the door behind himself. He took the book from him, watching Blaine lay back in the small amount of space he had, his head hitting the pillow. Feeling a soft yawn slip through his lips at the sight of Blaines sleepiness, Kurt opened their book to the next chapter, greeted by a sweet picture of the princess holding the frog in her hands, smiles on both of their faces. "The princess hoped she wasnt as crazy as she felt, but she knew that she probably was when she told the frog that she couldnt believe that he was there. The frog had nothing to say to that, but only gave her a small smile as he wondered why she had returned so abruptly. If he had been expecting to see her, he would have thought it might have taken longer for her to decide to come back. But since the princess had obviously made a private agreement with herself to not tell him where she came from or what she did in her young life, he made a deal with himself to not press for answers. He certainly would have been hypocritical to take but not give."

Flipping to the next page, Kurt glanced up at Blaine before he went on, and he smiled because his golden eyes were shut, but he could tell that he wasnt yet asleep because his chest was rising and dropping much too quickly. And, when Blaine slept, he slept very deeply, which meant he usually snored and grunted in ways that sometimes scared Kurt awake. Laying one light hand on Blaines chest, Kurt stroked small shapes with his fingertips, slowly lulling Blaine to sleep. His voice became much softer as he read the next page, "The princess and the frog talked until the sun came up over the tops of the trees, both of them laughing and enjoying each others company. Neither understood why the princess had come back, but while she was there, they were going to take advantage of the conversations that felt too brief. The frog hadnt spoken to anyone in so long because there was no one around, and the princess had no one to talk to, even though everyone was right outside of her door. When the sky lightened, it put a pause to their discussions when the princess realized how long she had been away from home, and how very hungry she was. Unfortunately, the frog had nothing to offer her because he could only catch flies, so the princess went about gathering some berries."

"Once she had her fill, the princess thought about going home, because she was sure that she could not live in the woods like a wild animal. But the frog pleaded with her to give him just a few more hours, at the most, so the princess sat down with him again. She figured that if she had at least gotten away this time, she could enjoy the freedom while it was there, because she knew that her parents would double the guards as soon as she returned. With more time on her hands to spend with the frog, she brought up the question that she knew was ridiculous, but had been bothering her all along. She asked him how a frog could speak, which was a question he had no intentions of answering." Getting to the end of the short chapter when it had just gotten to the good part, Kurt pouted because he knew he couldnt disobey his dad and keep reading, but just when he was about to turn the page to get a hint as to what might happen, he heard a very noisy snort that startled him so much that he nearly tipped backwards. "Oh!" He cried, looking down at Blaine, whose head was turned into the pillow and arms were stretched out on either side of him. His mouth was hanging open as his lashes beat his cheeks, a look of absolute disconnection from the real world, because if Blaine knew that he was making a face like that in front of Kurt, he would have keeled over from humiliation.

But Kurt simply giggled at the way Blaine snored, pushing away the tent that hed made for himself. He dragged Blaines body up to the pillows that hadnt been used for the fort, and he pulled the blankets over him, tucking himself under in the process. Dropping his head onto Blaines shoulder, Kurt stared up at his face, which was even handsome as he let out the most horrifying sounds. "You sound like a frog, sweet prince." Kurt whispered in his ear, gasping when Blaine suddenly drew in one of his arms, limply laying it across Kurts back. Realizing that he would most likely be stuck like this for the rest of the night because once Blaine found a spot to lay down, he never moved after that, Kurt turned over, trying to make the position as comfortable as it could be. He laid his lashes on his cheeks when he had finally snuggled in, safe in Blaines arms for the rest of the night, even though Blaine was so out of it that he probably didnt even know what he was holding.

In France, the season changed from brisk fall to the coldest winter outside of the window, but inside their home, very little changed. It was now the end of January, just days before Blaines twenty second birthday came around, and the snow had frosted the edges of the windows, but the rooms inside were warm. Over the past few months, Keegan had turned one year older, to twenty five, which was a day not happy, but a day when he had shut himself in his bedroom, as Kurt said he did every time he aged a year. It was a day that Keegan mourned because he hadnt known the love of his life long enough to see either of them age, as theyd both stayed seventeen from the day they met to the day he died. Keegan had only let Archer in so the baby could hug him, and Kurt had spent a few hours behind the shut door with him. Even though he hadnt wanted to intrude, Blaine had helplessly pressed his ear to the door when Kurt had spent more than two hours in there, and hed heard quiet murmurs from Kurts lips as Keegan sobbed.

When night fell, Kurt had softly called for Blaine, and hed pushed through the door and found Kurt resting on the bed, his hands stroking Keegan, who had collapsed onto his lap after hed cried himself to sleep. Keegan had awoke the next morning, and hed appeared with red rimmed eyes and swollen lips, but after a shower and breakfast, hed returned to his quiet self, and things had gone back to normal. Blaine had silently pitied the man, but hadnt sympathized with him simply because he didnt want to put himself in Keegans shoes. A life without Kurt would hardly be a life at all, as Keegan must have felt about Everett, but, like Keegan, Blaine supposed he would have kept going on, possibly just for Keegan, since he could slowly feel Archer slipping through the cracks of his fingers.

At the start of December, Finn and Puck had had a very small wedding at Carole and Burts home, just as Kurt and Blaine had. Besides what Burt had told them after the event, they only found out about the ceremony by a very matter-of-fact invitation that was to be expected of the two men who had less of a talent for fashion in both of their bodies than Kurt did in his littlest finger. Even Blaine, who Kurt had started to rub off on, could tell them that grass green was just not a good color for a wedding. But Blaine hadnt let his family return to Ohio because there was too much of a risk, at least after all of the goings on during their last visit. On the day of the wedding, Kurt had sulked around the house with his shoulders dropped, an evident sign that he missed his family, who hed never spent this much time away from. Blaine could understand Kurts frowns about the people who had become his own family over the past few years, but Blaine had not given in on his decision to keep them locked up in France, the safest place for them to be right now.

Thinking of Finn and Puck, who had called them from their plane to let them know that they were traveling down to a bunch of mountains in a southern state, Blaine figured that they ought to have been getting back from their honeymoon by now. Theyd taken a late honeymoon to give Finn time to finish up his semester at the acting school, and theyd decided to go over his winter break before he went back for his spring classes. Puck had taken a job at Burts garage, fixing up cars because he was good with his hands, but not selling them because he was bad with numbers. Things had changed in a very short amount of time with everyone, including Burt and Carole, who were slowly nearing their retirement ages. Burt had just turned fifty five, and Carole was close behind him at forty nine. Life was a short thing, with even shorter months, and Blaine had days until he turned twenty two. And then Kurt would follow him soon after, and before Archers third birthday, he would be gone.

The date had been confirmed just weeks ago, when Cooper had called, failed to get through to Blaine, who had been near his phone but had refused to answer, and then left a voicemail. The call had been crackly, and Cooper had been huffing and puffing as if hed been running, and hed told Blaine that hed just finished shooting a scene in which he had to do his own stunts. Blaine had thought about closing his phone when he lost interest in Coopers acting career, but the mention of Archers name had reclaimed it. He said that he would fly to France about a week before Archers birthday, and then he would take his baby back to California with him, where Archer would live a dully normal life with his mom and dad, and soon forget about his two uncles who lived halfway across the world. They would be the distant uncles, just as Blaine had feared. He apologized for putting his son off on Blaine and Kurt, who probably had better things to do than raise some kid who wasnt even theirs, and then hed ended the call.

When his thoughts turned sour, as they often did, Blaine shut the laptop that had been resting on his legs, and he reached up to rub his crinkled face. After finally taking time to talk to Wes about what was going on, hed started working for the company hed left months ago, sometimes getting documents that Wes sent about potential stars. Blaine had to go through each of the videos Wes attached to the files, picking out any talent that he saw, and let him know what he thought. And on lazy days, which were many at the recording studio, the Warblers would Skype with him, squealing for him to come back, that they missed him, which always made Blaines eyes misty after he closed the laptop. He wished he could go back to the family he had, blood or no, but with Karofsky so near, Blaine didnt dare make the first move and risk getting his mighty queen knocked over by Karofskys meek pawn.

Today, Blaine had been tasked with fixing a few pages on the recording studios website, but he couldnt focus on taking out old advertisements that had expired weeks ago when his husband sat just across from him, idly knitting a small bib for an infant who didnt exist. Blaine knew what was on his mind as he remained oblivious to what he was really making, and that made Blaine frown. Unknown to Kurt, Blaine had secretly visited more than one website for nearby orphanages, but after scrolling through all of the names and all of the faces, hed given up in exasperation because he realized that Kurt was right. He wasnt ready for this. Kurt, who knew his husband better than Blaine knew himself, glimpsed up at the frustrated noise he let out, and he watched him with a pair of big eyes as he sank into the puffy couch. Frowning at the grimace that was stretched across Blaines usually emotionless face, Kurt put his yarn beside of him, and then he lifted to his feet.

As Kurt grew older, Blaine noticed that things had changed about him, in a more subtle way than how Blaine had changed. But his husband was different than the young and naïve eighteen year old hed come across nearly four years ago. When Kurt was a teenager, he was very shy about things he wasnt now, especially men, and he held himself in a very innocent and sheltered way. He used to be a little ditzy, Blaine remembered, and didnt quite understand things that someone who knew the world would. Now, Blaine saw his husband in a very changed way, as wise and mature, with a responsibility to care for his family, including a little one. But one thing had always stayed the same about his Kurt, that he was the strongest person Blaine had ever known, to endure with the same light heart he always had during the time when he had recently lost his mom, to handling a careless and wrecked Blaine without a blink of his eye. He hadnt even backed down to Karofsky, who Blaine had easily bowed down to because he had once been scared. Over the past four years, Blaine had realized that he would never have to fear again.

Kurt padded over to his husband on the tips of his toes, moving as lightly as a breeze of air. Getting the attention of Archer, who had been placed on the floor with his duck and bunny toys, Kurt smiled down at his son when he batted at his legs. When Kurt passed him, Archer returned his slightly furrowed gaze to the duck and bunny, who had been bickering with each other about who had the prettier color, the pink bunny or the yellow duck. Swishing over to Blaines side, Kurt grinned when his husband automatically held his arms open, catching Kurt around his waist and whirling him around so he could plop him onto his lap. Kurt giggled at the playful affection, looping his arms around Blaines neck, and the two of them silently nuzzled closer to each other. After four years of falling in love with each other all over again, they had practically made their own language in which they could communicate with blinks of their eyes and curves of their lips.

"Hi." Kurt whispered in Blaines dark ear, his lips brushing the shell, as he tangled his fingers in the fuzzy curls at Blaines nape. Blaine responded with his own muttered greeting, rocking his husband back and forth. Kurt knew, no matter how stressed Blaine might be, exactly how to make him relax, which was just what Blaine did as he held his husband in his arms. Alerted by his parents soft laughter as they cuddled each other, Archer popped his head up from his dolls, abandoning both of them on the floor so he could dart over to their legs and try to climb up Kurts dress. Blaine, who knew how much his husband liked that silver dress-and how much he liked it because of how it fit Kurts form-gently shook his sons hands off the dress so that he didnt pull and stretch it anymore, and he bent down so he could scoop him up. Placing him halfway on Kurts legs and halfway on his own, Blaine wrapped his arms around him and bounced the leg that Archer was sitting on up and down, making his son jiggle and wobble.

Making bubbles of both of his cheeks, Archer swung his hands up to Kurts face, which was in a surprised expression because he hadnt been expecting the baby to grab him, "Pretty Père!" He cooed, pressing a sloppy kiss to Kurts cheek. Blaine chuckled at his husband, who happily accepted the kiss, even though his cheek was slobbery now.

"How sweet, Archer!" Kurt cupped Archers face in his own hands, bending down to peck the tip of his nose. "Youre a pretty baby, lovely." After receiving the compliment, Archer dropped into a crawling position, his hands and knees resting on his parents laps. Then he pushed himself up to a shaky stand, his hands grabbing fistfuls of Blaines shirt. Blaine quickly pulled the baby entirely on his lap so his little feet wouldnt push down on Kurt and bruise his thighs.

Holding Archers waist in his hands, Blaine pushed the baby back and forth, making him laugh when Blaine let go only for a second, but grabbed him up before he could fall off of his lap. "Archer, honey," Blaine said when he finally stilled Archers swinging body, "look at me." Archer, who had been twisted slightly away and ogling the squirrel that was climbing up a tree outside of the window, whipped back around, his eyes huge as if he was startled by the serious tone of Blaines voice. He knew that Blaine only used that tone when something was wrong, and it had never been at him before.

Worried that hed made his parents mad, which hed never done before, Archer leaned closer to Blaine, sliding his hands up to his hair and grabbing a few curls. "Are you mad at Archer, Daddy? I love you." Pressing a kiss to Blaines forehead, Archer backed away again when Blaine softly chortled, shaking his head.

"No, baby... Daddys not angry with you." Closing one hand around Archers dimpled knee, Blaine gently stroked the folds of baby fat that had wrinkled when he stood up. "Archer... you know that you can tell Daddy anything, dont you? Anything at all." When Archer bobbed his head, making his dark curls bounce on his shoulders, Blaine raised his hand to his face and stroked one off of his cheek, "Baby... are you truly happy? Daddy only wants the best for you... so can you tell me if youre not?"

Archer didnt seem to understand where the questions had come from, his small head tilting to the side, but then he clamped his hands on Blaines face again and gave him a bright smile. "Im this happy, Daddy." Pulling up the corners of Blaines lips, Archer showed him exactly how happy he was, but then a slow frown took over his mouth, "I just miss Hunner a lot... thats all." Blaine started to pull his son closer to himself, but Archer tugged away before he could, and he poked at the floor before sliding off. "Daddy, can I have a sandwich?"

Blaine smiled at his son as he skipped toward the kitchen, and he patted Kurts thigh, letting him know that he wanted up. Kurt rose to his feet and followed Archer, opening the kitchen door for him. "Yeah, baby... Ill make you a sandwich. But you can only have half of it now because dinner will be in just an hour!" Walking over to the doorway, where Archer still stood, he nudged him on his bottom to make him go into the kitchen, but Archer wouldnt move until he had snatched Blaines hand in his. "What kind do you want, baby doll? We still have some of the cheese that you really like... do you want a cheese sandwich?"

"Peanut butter and jelly!" Archer cried, finally hopping a few feet away from him when Blaine left his side so he could collect the bread from the pantry. Going over to Kurts side, Archer watched with his big eyes as Blaine prepared his sandwich, even cutting it into different shapes and sizes, like a circle and triangle. "Daddy, guess what?" He said to Blaines back, and Blaine glanced over his shoulder, giving Archer a small smile.

"What, sweetheart?" He looked back at the bread only for a second so he could spread the peanut butter onto the pieces, but then he quickly turned his gaze back to Archer when he started wiggling his butt.

"Père taught me a new song!" Holding his hands up for Kurt, who laid his in Archers, Archer swayed them back and forth. "And then he showed me how to dance to it. Père, sing our song for Daddy!"

Kurt giggled at their very excitable son, and he knelt down to his knees, putting himself at eye level with the crazy baby. "Okay! Okay! Now... how does it go again?" Tapping his lip as he always did when he was thinking of something, Kurt laughed even harder when Archer squealed at him, upset that hed even joked about forgetting their song. "Are you ready to dance, my love?" At Archers quick nod, Kurt parted his lips and sang to the happy baby, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star... how I wonder what you are?" Archer spun around in a circle as Kurt finished that lyric, making Blaine snicker at the clumsy baby. Kurt flashed his blue eyes up to Blaines face, giving him a funny smile as he went on to the next few words. "Up above the world so high... like a diamond in the sky."

Reaching up as far as he could, Archer opened his mouth very wide and yelled at the ceiling, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star... how I wonder what you are!" When he finished shouting, Archer threw his hands back down as if he was exhausted, and he puffed for air. "That was so much fun, Père!"

Kurt pulled the baby in for a tight hug, "That was so good, darling! Youre a wonderful dancer. Blaine, wasnt he amazing?"

Blaine grinned at the baby when he looked at him expectantly, and he reached down to scrub his hair, "Good job, honey." Patting Archers hand, Blaine turned back to the sandwich he was working on, and then he shook his head as he let out a heavy sigh. Hearing Kurt and Archer continue cheering behind him, Blaine looked over his shoulder one last time, drifting over his beautiful husband who was smiling in the most charming way, and pausing on the little boy who looked absolutely delighted to show off his talent to his proud parents.

Blaine pressed his lips together when he felt them tingle, and he reached up to his eyes that suddenly felt very hot, catching a drop of water that was hanging onto one of his lashes. "I love you so much." He said, still staring at the baby, but when Archer didnt respond to him and only kept cooing over Kurt, he figured that it must have just been a thought in his head. Blaine wanted to tell him that he loved him and his dancing, but he choked on the words because a bubble of tears was in the way.

He suddenly realized how quiet the house would be without Archer around to plead with Kurt to sing for him or stomp on the floor as he danced. Blaine had never put much thought into that childish song before, as hed never really heard it much-at least, not as much as any little kid should-but if it was Archers favorite song, then Blaine decided that it would be his, too. Blaine wondered if Kurt would sing it for him, as well, after Archer was gone.

Hunter screamed at the ceiling. Down here, no one could hear him, no matter how he yelled or shouted. He screamed until his throat burned, but he still didnt stop because there was no one down here for him to speak to. What was the use in hanging on to a silent sound? Because he couldnt see the sun or the moon, he didnt know if it was morning or night when he jerked awake to the same nightmare he always had. It had first appeared where his dreams should have been the night after hed found the gun, and it had gone away for a while-when Karofsky had made his best attempts to be kind, but usually failed-but then it started recurring, over and over, sleep after sleep. And Hunter should have been scared to close his eyes, as most children typically trembled at the thought of facing their worst fears, had it not been his only time to see his long lost family.

"Hunter," a soft voice always murmured in his ear at the start of every dream. "Look at you, silly boy! You have formula smeared all over your cheeks! Let me kiss it off of you, little one." As the airy voice went on, it slowly faded away until it was almost silent, making Hunter turn his head in the direction it had floated off to. Down a black hallway that stretched as far as the eye could see-as intimidatingly long as the hallways that Hunter had first taught himself to toddle down when he was learning to walk-Hunter could only see his père, who was holding his delicate hands out for him as if he wanted to scoop him up and hold him so close. Even though it was definitely his père, there was something different about him, something that Hunter couldnt quite pinpoint. There was a maturity in the way he held his head so high, and a confidence in how his small shoulders were pushed back, a graceful image from the ends of his hair to the tips of his toes. He looked as if he had seen the things of the world that Hunter had. His face was much thinner than it used to be, the roundness gone from his cheeks, and his chin perfectly pointed. And his hair was done in the same fashion hed told him that he wore it before Hunter was born, the neat style in which not one hair had fallen out of place, not like the slightly messy way he wore it after he had children.

As his père stood with his arms outstretched for Hunter, his daddy suddenly appeared from thin air beside of his husband, instantly reaching for him. The differences in his daddy were much more obvious, that he simply looked aged in a way that nearly frightened Hunter. While the lines on his face werent quite indents before, Hunter could make out every crinkle and dip on his daddys face now, from the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes, to the worry lines on his forehead. His daddys curls were much tamer than they used to be, pushed back off his forehead, where they used to droop. His daddy, who had wrapped an arm around his husband and taken one of his open hands, gave Hunter a kind smile, "Youre taller than me now, Hunter. Good thing I still have my little Archer." Blinking a few times at Hunter as he slowly pushed himself up to a standing position, his daddy turned his head away when a weepy frown pulled his lips down. "Youre such a handsome man now. Look at you."

Before Hunter could cast his eyes down at his body, which his clothes had suddenly stretched very tightly over, another boy walked over to his parents, his snowy skin glowing against the black background. Realizing that it was his Archer, just a very different version of him, Hunter took a step toward him, only to get a sardonic smirk out of his best friend. Archer was the most changed of them all, several feet taller than hed once been, but still shorter than their daddy, who was the shortest man Hunter had ever met. He didnt look quite five feet tall, with stubby legs and a thick torso. He looked a little bit chubby around his legs and stomach, with a face as round as an orange. His chin wasnt hardly defined at all, while his cheeks stuck out like they did when hed just started teething. Freckles splattered every part of him, a trail of them across his forehead, and a pathway across his nose that connected one cheek to the other. His blue eyes that reminded Hunter of the ocean at midnight sparkled with humor, shaded both by his thick lashes and the few curls that laid across his cheeks.

"Archer!" Hunter cried, but then he clamped a hand over his mouth because of his shock about how deep and gruff his voice was, like his daddys voice. When he got a brief flash of his hand when it came up to his face, he was shocked by how long it was, with slender fingers and a light dusting of brown hair on his knuckles. "Archer, whats happening to me? Why am I older?" Looking back up at Archer for answers, he gasped when he saw the suddenly distressed look on his face, his blue eyes even bigger than normal. It was like hed just now recognized that it was really him. "Archer?"

Whipping around when a rough voice called his name from behind him, Hunter jerked back from Karofsky, who had grabbed for his arm, "Go away! I hate you! Leave me with my family!"

A wide smirk yanked at Karofskys thin lips, and Hunters eyes widened when the man suddenly started changing in front of him, his shaved hair growing out to short spikes. "You cant leave me. Were meant to be together... Youre my son. You have my eyes, Hunter, and my spirit. Youre a fighter, just like I am. Has that man you call your dad fought for anything? I gave him everything he has! You and I are exactly the same. No matter how much you try to leave, Ill always have a piece of you... and youll have all of me."

Hunter closed his eyes only for a second to rewet them after gaping for so long, and when he opened them again, he found himself staring back at him. He realized, as he looked at himself in the invisible mirror, that he was very tall, as his daddy had said. If he was close to him, Hunter would have towered at least two feet over Archer. Hunter had a very chiseled face, with a strong jaw and high cheekbones. While his cheeks were thin, his lips were so wide that they took up most of the lower half of his face, frowning just above a sharp chin. His nose was long and straight, between two narrowed eyes that were a deep brown. Above those were two high, arched brows, three shades lighter than his hair. He had a small forehead, where one piece of hair always hung, the rest of it spiked up on top of his head. When he looked down, Hunter saw that he had his uncles body type, a slim waist and broad shoulders, and two muscular thighs.

Furrowing his brows when his other image balled up his powerful fists, Hunter flicked his eyes back up to his face, and he watched from the back of his head as the other Hunter lunged at him, wrapping his strong hands around his neck. "I love you!" He shrieked at him-

And that was when Hunters eyes snapped open, his hands flying up to his throat, all of which felt just as soft as it did before hed fallen asleep. The screaming started soon after, every time the nightmare occurred, helpless hollering because Hunter didnt know what else to do. Like in his dream, he was trapped in a dark hallway with no way out, but with no family there to hold his hands and pull him into the light. Hunter was just trapped in this dingy, cold, cave-like home hed made for himself. When Hunter finally closed his mouth and shut his screaming up, he whispered through a hoarse voice that nobody heard, "Im in here. Im in here. Daddy... Père... Arch. Anybody... please."

Like always, no one came for him. Hunter could feel himself growing older in this small room that was slowly becoming too cramped for him as he crowded himself with unfinished paintings and pieces of paper hed torn out of his notebook when he wasnt satisfied with an entry. And somewhere out there, his family was aging, too, and one day, Archer would be all grown up. And he would do all the things that Hunter had once wanted to do with him, the things that he heard his parents talk about, like kissing each other when they were both very pleased with the other, and comforting each other when one was down, and marrying each other when they both fell completely and utterly in love, no matter the distance or time they were apart. Hunter remembered when his père had vanished to France, and he remembered when his parents had gotten back together. As he thought of his parents, it dawned on him that he hadnt heard Archers voice, something that hadnt rang in his ears for over a year. It was a relief that even his dreams wouldnt give to him. But if he screamed any more, he would have no voice to tell Archer that he loved him, if he ever came across him again, and ask if he would tell him the same.