Blaine kicked his legs above him, crossing them at the ankles, while he folded his arms under his head, tilting it ever so slightly so he could see Kurt, who was brushing invisible dust off of his pale green dress. He held their book in the lee of his thighs, spread just enough that he could slip the book between them. As he groomed himself, running his hands through his hair and pinching his cheeks, Blaine quietly observed, never reaching out to touch, even though he wanted to, but staring so closely at each laugh line by his lips or eyes that he knew exactly how many there were and how deep each crease was. Kurt was a beautiful thing to study, not a flaw on a single finger, with his round eyes and curved lips, and the small button of a nose that sat in the middle of his face. As Blaine simply ogled, he saw just how much Kurt took after his mom, from her plump lips to the shape of her eyes, but also what he took after his dad, the shade of his hair and the length of his lashes, and the color of those striking, blue eyes that glinted like a transparent glass that was just hit by a ray of sunshine.

When he realized that he had been made the subject of Blaines attention, Kurt lowered his hands, which hed been combing through his dark blond locks. He gave Blaine a humored smile, his lips flickering somewhere between embarrassed and flattered that Blaine was looking after him so keenly. "You have a funny way of showing people that you like them, Blaine Anderson." Kurt murmured, scooting closer to Blaine so his hip rested against Blaines, which was pressed to the ground. Blaine blinked up at him, slowly lowering and then lifting his lashes, which made Kurt giggle, a titter that sounded something like discomfort, but also amusement. "What is it? Why do you stare like that?"

"I just think youre beautiful." Blaine said softly, and Kurts pale cheeks colored the red of roses. Finally holding his hand out for Kurt, he placed it on his knee, feeling his wrinkled skin stretch as he folded his legs beneath him. "I like looking at you because it reminds me of why Im so happy."

Kurts cheeks darkened even more, the heat spreading up to the roots of his hair and down the sides of his neck, disappearing beneath the bodice of his dress. "Oh." He said, curling up into an even smaller ball. "Blaine, thats so..." Blaine, who never openly expressed his feelings with ease, must have thrown Kurt off guard, because, for once, he was absolutely speechless. This was an event to be marked on a calendar, because Blaine knew that it would never happen again. "Thats so sweet of you." Bending over Blaines head, which was touching the scratchy grass, he pressed a kiss to his cheek, the pop of his lips so noisy that Blaine helplessly blinked again. "Thank you." Turning away from Blaine, Kurt picked up their book, flipping to the page that theyd left off, "Lets read more of our story. Ive been looking forward to finding out what happens between the frog and the princess all morning!"

Blaine stretched his body out even longer, one of his bare feet brushing a flower that theyd planted. He quickly recoiled from it so he didnt accidentally squish it. Dropping his chin to Kurts knee, Blaine looked over the picture on that page, seeing the frog and the princess idly chatting by the pond. When Kurt pressed his finger to one of the words, he followed it as he read each sentence, "The frog looked upon the princess with a gaping mouth, so startled by her question that it took him a moment to get his footing. He didnt know what to say to her to explain the events that hed been through in the recent weeks, so he settled for telling her most of the truth, that there were such things as trolls that lived under bridges, and ogres that tied gnomes to trees and left them there for days, if only for a laugh at their screeches for help. He told her that the world wasnt all that it seemed outside of a castle window, which the princess had been contained behind for all her life. She had not a clue of the unmentionable creatures that plagued the forests, as shed lived a sheltered life within the walls that her parents had built around her. He told her that there was evil in this world, and that he himself was a representative of it and its friends, but she didnt believe him about that, refuting that she saw no evil in him, only the good that had led him into offering her a friend and a place to stay when she was so alone and lost."

Kurt smiled at that last phrase, putting in his own comment, which Blaine knew he would eventually do, "I think shes starting to like him, Blaine." He murmured, making Blaine grin at how enthusiastic he was for their oncoming relationship. Getting back to the story, Kurt continued after he turned the page, "The frog told her that there was more to him than what was to meet the eye, and the princess didnt know what that meant, so she questioned it, just as she did everything else. He said that every person is more than what is on the outside, that even she is like that. She accepted the answer, but wasnt naïve enough to take it for the face he had put on it. Like everything else he had told her, there seemed to be more, but she decided not to push what he clearly didnt want to offer, when she was so grateful for what hed given her already. Over that day, the princess decided, as she took walks around the woods that bordered the pond, always with the frogs watchful eye on her, and as she explored the areas where animals-or these new creatures-seemed to have passed through before by the intriguing footprints theyd left behind, she came to realize that this was a good place for her, so she told the frog that she would stay for longer, but not forever."

"The princess remained with the frog for the weeks that followed, the two of them becoming closer each day that they woke up beside of each other, the frog always wading at the edge of the pond, staring at the princess as her eyes fluttered apart, her blond head so close to his green one. He could see that this wasnt a place she was meant to be, as her golden head slowly browned with dirt, and her dress tore, and her hands became red with the stains of the berries that she consumed for each meal. But she seemed happy here, just as he was, but only because she was with him now. He still longed to be back in town, a normal person again, while she seemed to long to be what he was, a lowly frog that had escaped the rigorous demands that it took to be a human. It was sad in a sense, and nearly ironic, but neither of them thought about the dreadful circumstances either of them were in when they were around each other, only when they were apart." Kurt turned another page, and he noisily gasped at what the picture revealed, the princess holding the frog in her hands as she pecked his green lips with her pink ones.

His voice sped up, obviously because this was what hed wanted out of the entire book, the moment when they admitted that they were in love with each other. "One day, the princess returned to the lake with a handful of wild flowers, one of which-the only yellow flower in the bunch-she set on the surface of the water when she knelt beside of it. As the water rippled, trying to hold onto the flower as tightly as it could, the frog appeared at the surface, both amused and pleased by the gift she had presented him. She told him that it was to show how much she appreciated his friendship, and then she took another, a red one, from the bouquet, and she placed it on his head, smiling down at him when the silky petals tickled his scaly skin. She said that this one was to express how she loved him, how it had happened over their time together, that she had fallen for the frog who had become her only friend. The frog was amazed by these words, and before he could even work up the courage to reply, she held out her hands for him, laughing when his slimy body splatted onto her palms. She lifted him to her face, pressing a light kiss to his green mouth, and she started to set him back into the water, but before she could, the frogs green skin started to discolor, becoming a sickly gray, which made her worry that he was hurt. She asked him what was wrong, but he didnt answer her, and she watched his thin legs and arms stretch out, his muscles thickening, his body becoming much firmer."

Kurts small mouth fell open when he turned another page, revealing a picture of the frog back in his human form, laying limply in front of the princess, who was just as alarmed as Kurt. "The frogs neck lengthened, and his head became much more square, with defined lines and sharp edges, his eyes pulling back into his head, and his ears sticking out. A few tufts of sandy hair sprouted from the top of his head, and fell across the nape of his neck, hung over his ears, and smothered the pair of eyebrows that had grown above his eyelids. The man that laid before her was very different from the frog hed once been, a handsome boy who looked about her age, young enough to be a teenager, but was probably old enough to be of an independent age. The princess gazed at the man at her lap, studying the full, red lips, and those almond shaped eyes that were a deep, chestnut color, and that tawny skin that had a hint of greenness underneath the golden tan. Suddenly, the man rolled over, groaning as he did so, as if he was in pain, which made her jump back. She screamed at him to get away, but those brown eyes flashed up to her face, and she recognized so much of her friend in them. He begged her not to worry, that it was really him, and he sat up to kiss her again. His lips were still damp from the water that had touched them, and the buzz that burned her lips was the same as when she had kissed the frog. He told her that he loved her, too, and that it was a curse, only to be broken by true loves kiss, that had been cast on him by one of those awful creatures hed warned of. They kissed once more, and then they stood up, and they walked back to town hand in hand. The princess ran to her parents, telling them of her ventures, which, of course, they didnt believe. But both of them were more than ecstatic to find out the man that had saved their daughter. The peasant and the princess were married at once, and the two of them went off together, settling in a small cottage in the woods, and going back to that lake every day."

Kurt made a low sound of pleasure as he closed their book, his eyes falling shut, which gave Blaine the chance to lean closer to him, pressing their lips together. Those blue eyes popped open again, and he giggled at Blaine, who launched to his feet and tore over to a tree, lunging onto the first branch, only to realize that hed just gotten himself stuck, a victim to whatever Kurt decided to do to him, because he was too scared to jump down. While Kurt climbed up beside of him and tried to tickle him to tears, Blaine just had to take it like a man, all because he had a fear of falling.

There was a time in Blaines life when all was good in his small, but perfect, world, when he thought back to the California beaches, when he and his family had just moved there. The waters drifted steadily, slapping the soft skin under his chin, but never sporadically bursting up into high waves that dunked him under. But months had passed since his family had lived in California, nearly as long as a year, and one of his children had already been pulled down by a strong current that Blaine couldnt have blocked even if he drained himself of all the strength and energy he had. He had tried so hard to save him, but Blaine had found out from a very young age that there were things much more powerful than him. He was twenty two now, the same age as his husband, who had recently celebrated his birthday, as well as their anniversary, only a few weeks ago.

The outside world had changed with the constantly shifting seasons, and now a warmth hung in the air, only shooed away late in the night when the last reminder of the bitter winter crept in and pushed the inevitable summer away. It was a childish fight between the heat and the chill, Blaine thought begrudgingly, as he privately wished that it would just stay a stagnant temperature, not teasing him any longer with the winter that had just been kicked aside. Even though he shivered through the frigid air and huffed out a white fog, part of him missed the way the cold made his ashen skin prickle, and the wispy hairs at the nape of his neck stand on end. It was the first week of June now, just a few days before, nearly three years ago, Karofsky had been incarcerated into prison, and days before both of his children had been born. Archer was turning three years old, but Hunter wasnt.

"Yeah..." Blaine mumbled into the phone, snapping himself out of the blurred void that he had felt himself slipping into. "No... I get it. Its not a problem." Flicking his eyes up from his shoes that he was scuffing across the kitchen floor when, from the living room, Archer screamed loudly enough to shake the entire house, he watched Keegan fall back onto the floor and hold Archer above his head, blowing air and spit onto his pudgy neck. He swallowed thickly, turning his back on the crack in the door that led out to the living room, and he rearranged a few pictures that Archer had doodled, then wanted hung on the fridge. Replacing his phone on his ear, Blaine held it there with his shoulder, using both of his hands to flip around the order of pictures, from the first one Archer had created, a few lines and circles that were supposed to be his family, to the last one, which was another couple of circles and lines that made up a flower. "Coop... listen... Ive just... Ive got a lot going on right now."

Switching the phone to his other ear when the one it was pinned to right now started to ache from Coopers blaring voice yelling through it, Blaine opened one of the fridge doors and pulled out a pop can. "I know... I know." Cooper sighed heavily, and Blaine furrowed his brows at the sound of a loudspeaker announcing something in the background. "Thats why I think youll be so excited for the surprise Ive got planned out for you."

Blaine cracked the top of the pop can, lifting it to his lips but pausing before he took a sip because he felt something tug at his pants. Lowering his eyes to the curly head staring back up at him, he bent to scoop his son up when he flung his arms up. He rested Archer on his shoulder, bending his head toward him when he grabbed two fistfuls of his hair and yanked. "Surprise?" Blaine rolled his eyes, carrying Archer back into the living room, where he set him on Keegans chest. "Baby, can you do Daddy a favor and stay with Uncle Keegan?" He said away from the phone, smiling at the pouty face that Archer gave him, much to his expectation. "Daddy will play later, sweetheart. Im on the phone." Taking the phone back up to his face, Blaine walked across the room, idly straightening a few picture frames. "Coop... I really dont want a surprise right now. I have work to get done."

"Are you sure you dont want a surprise?" Cooper said, a taunt to his voice, which meant that Blaine would probably hear it whether he wanted to or not, just by the way Cooper was acting about it. Cooper couldnt keep from blurting gossip even if it meant to save his life. "Are you really, really sure?"

Blaine stupidly bit the bait, "Alright... but only because you wont shut up about it. What is it, Cooper? I have to get back to Wes about this promotional thing he asked me to work on over the weekend." Throwing himself down on the arm of a couch, Blaine looked down at Archer, who was tugging on his uncles cheeks as Keegan made funny faces at him.

"Alicia and I are in Paris!" Cooper shouted, and Blaine choked on the drink of pop hed just taken. Throwing his hand up to his throat, Blaine felt his jaw drop, but no noise came out. From the floor, Keegans turquoise eyes flashed over to him, something very concerned in them until Archer patted his face again. He stuck his tongue out at Archer, then quickly drew it back in when Archer pinched it between two of his fingers. "Blaine? Arent you going to say anything? Alicia and I are dragging after that long flight... but were so eager to see Archer that we decided to stop by for a visit. Were... Were taking him home, Blaine." When Blaine still didnt say anything, he cleared his throat, "I... uh... I wanted to thank you again for these last three years. We really appreciate you looking after him. I... um... I know that it was a lot to ask of you." Blaine suddenly strangled himself on a breath that got stuck in his throat, so he quickly removed his clenched hand from his neck, a rough sound bursting out of him. Cooper cleared his throat again, "We... uh... We just got out to the car. Well be there in fifteen minutes. I cant wait to see you, little brother!"

Blaine held out his hand at nothing, as if he could somehow grab Cooper and stop him from moving. "Cooper, wait!" He yelled into the phone, only to hear the tone of the dropped call, so he threw it down onto the couch, his hand flying up to his head as soon as it was empty. "Dammit!" He helplessly barked, his other hand thumping the couch, which made the little boy still wrestling his uncle jump with alarm. Keegan immediately gathered Archer into his arms, swiftly sitting up and staring at Blaine with huge eyes. At the look that Blaine gave him, Keegan nodded his head and got to his feet.

He set Archer back down, patting his bottom a few times, "Go upstairs and find your père, okay?" When Archer only slinked off a few inches but then stopped and twisted around, checking on his uncle once more, Keegan nodded his head. "Everythings okay, precious." As soon as Archer wobbled up enough stairs that they were out of his line of sight, Blaine tossed his hands up to his face, keeping them there until Keegan came to his side, pulling them off. "Blaine... what is it? Whats going on?"

Blaine shook his head, still not really sure of what was happening himself, "He didnt even warn me." Abruptly jolting back up to his feet because he couldnt hold still, he paced in front of Keegan like a caged animal, "He said hell fucking be here in twenty minutes! How am I supposed to-?" After the words were out of his mouth, Blaine finally realized exactly what was going on, that his brother, who had given him his most prized possession, was coming back to collect it, after three years of letting Blaine watch over it more protectively than he had anything else in the world, except his own husband. He whipped back around to Keegan, slowly reaching out, even though he wasnt sure what he was grabbing for, "What do I do, Keegan-?"

"Blaine, dear?" Kurts soft voice floated down the stairs, followed by the quiet pad of his feet, which were covered in thin socks. His husband had spent the morning upstairs, peacefully knitting in the room that had been set aside for all of his sewing kits and ribbons and bows. Blaine had only been in there a few times, even though Kurt was more than welcoming to visitors-especially Archer, who he knitted most of the clothes for-because he knew that Kurt also used the space for private conversations with his family in Ohio and his aunt, who he liked to catch up on every going on inside their home. But he mostly didnt go in there because there was something so perfectly alluring about his husband when he was curled up in his favorite room of the house, sticking his tongue out as his fingers nimbly threaded needles and weaved the strings through and over and under each other. After hed become laughably tangled in a pile of thread that Kurt had been working on when hed picked his husband up and pinned him to the wall, he tried to not go in there anymore, too embarrassed at the sight of that pink thread that hadnt come close to running out yet. It brought back too many memories of him yanking his pants up as Kurt giggled at him, unwrapping yarn from his legs and arms.

Glancing up at the stairway, where Kurt stood on the bottom step, one of his hands holding onto Archers and the other grasping a small shirt that had a piece of string swinging off of it, Blaine frowned, mirroring Kurts expression that rapidly changed from being startled to something like disappointment, as if he had somehow read Blaines mind. "Blaine?" He murmured again, reaching down to lift Archer, who had stretched his arms up to him. "What is it, my love? Archer just ran to get me."

Blaine turned his head to Keegan, who was of no help when he returned the lost look that Blaine was giving him. Returning his attention to Kurt, Blaine walked across the room, helping his husband off the last stair. He took Archer back into his arms, tucking him under his chin, where he happily cuddled into Blaines collarbone as he looped himself around his shoulders like a baby koala. Unable to say anything to Kurt, who was still gazing at him with a pair of worried eyes, Blaine cast his eyes down to his baby, bouncing him a few times. "Archer... can you listen to Daddy for a minute?" Kneeling to the floor, Blaine put his baby on the edge of the couch, watching him swing his legs back and forth, kicking his heels against the steel frame. He put his hands on Archers knees, stilling his legs. "Archer-" Blaine cut himself off, jerking his face away as he felt his cheeks become hot. He didnt know how he could look his son in the eye and explain the last three years to him in less than twenty minutes, something that should have been done as soon as Archer was old enough to understand. Blaine hadnt believed him at the time, but now he knew that Keegan was right, like he usually was.

Noticing how Blaine raised his hands to his face and smeared away invisible tears, Kurt bowed over his husband, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Blaine... darling... what could have you being this way?" When Kurt rubbed a small circle into Blaines shirt, Blaine recoiled from his husbands touch, sure that he would fall apart if someone tried to comfort him right now. He jolted to his feet faster than he ever had before, backing away from his family, two of them gaping at him like he had just grown antennae.

"Im sorry..." He whispered, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I need a minute." Keeping his eyes on his husband because he couldnt look at Archer, Blaine felt himself back into the stairs, nearly stumbling onto his butt. Kurt widened his eyes, having not seen his husband in such an erratic state since their senior year of high school. Blaine spun around to the stairs, taking them two at a time. As soon as he got to the top floor, he charged over to their bedroom, which he shut himself into. Letting out a horrible sound, he covered his face with his hands, blacking out the golden world around him, which was painted a dark yellow because of the setting sun that hit their bedroom at the perfect angle to make it the shade of a valuable gold, unlike his murky eyes. "Shit!" He growled, suddenly whirling around and whacking the door frame, his fist just inches from the open space that the door had just been. He heard a soft gasp from the person who had entered at the wrong time, nearly getting hit with a hardened hand, and he staggered away from his husband, who had a hand pressed to his chest as if he was trying to make his thumping heart settle. "Kurt-" He muttered, blindly outstretching his arms for his husband, who instantly hurried into them, letting himself be closed up in Blaines vicelike grip.

Burrowing under Blaines jacket, Kurt wildly shook his head, his damp eyes squeezing shut. Under the weight of his eyelids, a few tears slid off of his lashes, painting thin lines down his white cheeks. "Is it true?" He pleaded, wrapping his fingers around Blaines biceps. "Blaine, please... I must know. Tell me it isnt true." All Blaine had to offer him was a weak frown that wavered on his lips, making Kurt cry out before he clamped a hand over his pink lips. "Why wouldnt he have called weeks ago? Even a month? B-Blaine... this cant be. How will we ever say goodbye? How can we-?" Kurt stopped talking the moment that the sound of crunching gravel echoed through their window, and he spun around on his heel, rushing out of Blaines arms and pressing himself to the glass that separated him from the outside. "Blaine! Its him! What do we-?"

Blaine held up his hand, as if he was trying to grab all of Kurts words and close them up in his fist, "Kurt... sweetheart... please. We have to stay calm... for Archers sake. He cant see us like this. Itll upset him all the more." Reaching out for Kurt, Blaine collected his hand in the middle of his palm, squeezing it tightly as he headed for the door. "Can you... start...?" He stopped in front of Archers bedroom door, which was decorated in more pieces of paper that hed scribbled on, and he grabbed the handle, twisting it. As he had hoped, Kurt comprehended what hed been trying to tell him, and he nodded his head, holding in another wave of tears that flooded the rims of his eyes.

Blaine quickly turned his back on his husband, not wanting to see him walk over to the closet, which he was going to start taking apart. At the sound of a knock on the door, he stomped back down the stairs, passing by Keegan, who was rocking Archer in his arms. "Im coming!" He shouted, going over to the door and throwing it open, almost wincing at the sight of his brothers grinning face on the other side. Alicia was standing behind him, playing with the ends of her blond hair, which shed grown down to her waist. Blaine could see Archers smile on her face as she looked at him, her huge eyes bright and gleaming. "Coop..."

He didnt get the word out before his brother mauled him down, swinging him off the ground and shaking him like a ragdoll. "Blainey!" Cooper yelled, setting him back down but keeping his arms around him. "Ive missed you like crazy! Look at you! Youre so different!" His mouth fell open as he passed his eyes over Blaine, who self-consciously crossed his arms over his stomach. Grabbing Blaines arm, he squeezed the straining muscles, "Youve beefed up, little brother!"

"Is that what they call it?" Blaine mumbled, letting his arm fall back to his side as soon as Cooper dropped it. Watching Cooper walk by him so he could give himself a tour of Blaines house, Blaine pursed his lips when his brother paused on Keegan, who Blaine almost wished had hidden himself. Keegan gave Cooper an awkward look, tightening his grip on the baby, who shyly turned away from the visitors and buried his face in Keegans shirt.

Coopers jaw dropped again, and he stretched his arms out for the baby, who had poked his nose out, only to shoot a glare at the man he didnt know. "Is this... Archer?" He murmured, his arms lowering again when he realized that Archer wasnt ready to see him. "Alicia... look... hes gorgeous." Slowly approaching Keegan, Cooper made a gesture with his arms, silently asking if he could hold Archer. Although Blaine was trying to pin Keegan in place with the daggers he was throwing at him from his eyes, Keegan helplessly gave up the baby, holding him away from his body so Cooper could bundle him up. Archer fussed at him, vigorously kicking his tiny feet and shaking his balled up fists, but Cooper ignored that, cradling him in the crook of his arm. As his face turned as red as a cherry, Archer turned his head to Blaine, reaching out for him. Blaine felt that he could do nothing but stuff his hands in his pockets, snapping his eyes down to the floor as if he hadnt even noticed. "Hi, Archer." Cooper said to the baby, who was still refusing to so much as glance at the new man. "You dont know me... but Im your daddy-"

When Archer sniffed at that, as if he was rejecting the nonsense this man was telling him, Blaine stepped forward, holding his arms out for Archer. "Coop," he said quietly, drawing his brothers attention up to him. "Can I have Archer... please?" Hed never had to ask for his own son before, so it felt a little degrading to have to wait for Cooper to pass him over. "I just... I need a minute alone with him." Not giving Cooper a chance to reply, Blaine pressed the baby to his shoulder, feeling a slobbery mouth cover the shell of his ear as Archer sucked on it. Slowly drifting into the kitchen, Blaine shut the door behind himself, then turned around and went to the counter, sitting Archer on top of it. When Archer held his arms up again, Blaine wrapped his hands in his own, lowering them to his sides once more. Looking over his babys freckled face, he touched one rosy cheek, smoothing his thumb over a wrinkle that had creased his chubby face when he became so fretful. "Hey, baby..." Blaine whispered, bending down to kiss the tip of his pointed nose. "What are you thinking about, little beauty?"

Archer stuck his arms out again, so Blaine finally let him lasso him in his short arms and legs, drawing the two of them even closer. Taking a shaky breath, Blaine ran his fingers through a curl that had gotten tangled around another, "Such pretty curls. Do you know how lovely you are to Daddy? Can you give Daddy a smile?" At the request, Archer spread the toothiest smile across his face, a look that made Blaine chuckle. "I love your smiles. You know that? And you know what else? I love you. Daddy loves you so much, you perfect, little thing. I dont know how I got so lucky to have an Archer like you in my life."

Reaching up for Blaines face, Archer squished his cheeks between his dimpled palms, making Blaines lips pucker in a way that amused him into a fit of laughter. "Daddy looks silly." He teased, kicking his legs back and forth again. "Im the best Archer there is, Daddy!" Lifting his hands above his head, Archer squealed when Blaine pressed his fingers into his sides, playfully tickling him.

"You are, pretty boy." Blaine muttered, pinching his sons swinging feet between his fingers. "Absolutely the best Archer there ever was." Pressing another kiss to Archers dark brow, Blaine felt the short hairs tickle his lips. "Archer? Look at me. You know how much I adore you, sweetheart. With my entire heart and even more. But... as happy as we are together... sometimes things happen... and people cant be near each other anymore. That doesnt change the fact that they love each other. It just means they cant see each other every day. And..." He inhaled sharply, raising his hand to his forehead, which pounded with an oncoming headache. "And... its like when your père left us for a little while. Do you remember that? You couldnt see him at all... but he still called you. You liked when he talked to you on the phone, baby doll. And then he came home."

Archer bobbed his chin, the point of Blaines words not sinking in quite yet as he kept that blank look on his face. "It was nice when he came home, Daddy. You remember when he came home? All of us were happy! But I was happiest because I found him first!"

Blaine nodded his head, holding his son a little tighter. "Archer... my perfect, little baby... theres something you need to know. Something I should have told you a long time ago. Im not..." He swallowed, trying to control the shake to his voice before he spoke again. "Arch... Im not... your daddy. That man out there... hes your daddy. Im... his brother. Im your uncle." At the startled look that suddenly overwhelmed Archers face, Blaine quickly put in, "Sweetheart... your daddy gave you to me... on the day that you were born. He had to leave for a while... He told me to take care of you. Archer... please-" His eyes misted over as Archer kept that alarmed look on his face, blocking his view of the baby. "Archer... this doesnt change how much I love you. Baby... please... look at me-"

His blue eyes flickered back up to Blaines face, both of them slightly narrowed, "Did he come here for me?" He mumbled, and when Blaine tilted his head just an inch, his brows pushed together, drawing a thin line between the two of them. "And then hell go away... and I wont see him anymore?"

Blaine shook his head, his grip tightening ever so slightly, "No... honey. He... Hes here to take you with him. Youll go home with him, baby. You can take all of your toys with you... and hell have a nice room for you. Thatll be the home you can keep forever, sweet. You wont have to move around anymore. It must have been hard... getting shuffled around with us so much. But... with him... youll have a safe, permanent home to live in. Youll be starting school soon... You can make friends with everyone in your class. Itll be good, honey. And Ill still see you sometimes. Youll be okay with him-"

Behind him, the door clicked open, so he glanced over his shoulder at his husband, who was staring at them through a pair of red rimmed eyes. Kurt took one look at Archer and let out another sob, so Blaine peeled off of the counter and hurried over to him, collecting him in his arms. "Its okay." He hushed his husband, gently rubbing circles on his back. "Its okay. Kurt... come here." Kurt balled up a handful of his shirt, while Blaine grabbed fistfuls of his thin, pink dress, nearly ripping the fragile material. It was a beautiful dress, full length with drop shoulders and a single adornment of a tiny rose on the bodice, that Kurt had made himself, so Blaine felt guilty when he heard something tear, giving way to soft, pale skin that his palm brushed. Looking over the top of Kurts head at Archer, who was nervously tapping his legs, Blaine turned back to him, holding one arm out as he brought his husband over to him. The three of them huddled around each other, wrapped up so tightly that he thought theyd never be able to let go, even if they wanted to, but at the sound of the door opening again, Blaine twisted his neck so he could see who had come in.

Alicia appeared around the edge of the door, followed by Cooper, who offered them a meek smile, "Hey... I got his bags packed into the car. Are you ready to go, little buddy? Well get your room all set up tomorrow. Ill play some games with you." Cooper walked a few steps forward, pausing when Archer whipped away from him, pinching Blaines arm with his stubby fingers. "Arch... I promise, it wont be so bad. Well get to know each other, okay? Its time to go, little guy. Weve got another flight back to California."

Archer tried to lasso Blaine up again, but Blaine stepped back from him, knowing that if he touched him, hed give in and snatch him up, then carry him off to somewhere that Cooper couldnt get to them. Noisily puffing through his tight lips, Archer screeched when Cooper made a grab for him. Kurt quickly covered his ears, his eyes falling shut. He smacked Coopers chest a few times, refusing to listen to Coopers murmurs that he had to calm down, that it would be okay, that he would be happy in his new home. While Kurt remained in that same position, Blaine took a step toward them as they walked through the kitchen door, following the sounds of his babys screams. Helplessly going after them, Blaine shoved through the kitchen door, seeing Archer wriggling over Coopers shoulder as Cooper struggled to hold onto him. He batted his fists at Blaine, his squeals getting even louder when they got to the front door. "Daddy! Daddy! I want Daddy!"

When the door opened, his entire face puckered up like hed just sucked on a lemon, his cheeks so red they looked like they would shoot out flames. "Daddy!" He begged, making Blaine blow out heavily through his teeth. Watching Alicia close the door behind them, after giving Blaine an apologetic look, Blaine backed up again, still eyeing them through the window as Cooper opened the back door of his car, lowering a kicking Archer into his seat. Cooper murmured one last thing before he shut the door, then went around to his side of the car. Gritting his teeth, Blaine went forward again as he heard the engine to the car start up, and he threw the door open, letting it smash into the wall. Through the dim window, he could see Archer still frantically struggling to get out of his seat. Blaine heard himself whisper his name.

He made a move to run after their car, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him, and he whipped around to Keegan, who was holding him back from making an idiotic move. Stilling his entire body, Blaine fell back on Keegan, another figure catching the corner of his eye. He spun around to Kurt, who rushed out of the house, his hands coming up to his face when he realized that the car had sped away. He cried into his palms, his knees weakening beneath him and giving out. Before Kurt could collapse to the ground, Blaine went over to him, gathering him against his strong chest, where his heart was rapidly beating. Kurt snuggled into his shirt, his sobs muffled by the thick fabric, which instantly became damp with his saliva and tears. Blaine didnt tell him that it was okay that time, and simply bundled him up tighter, looking back at his empty house, where something was missing. His empty, empty house.

It was sometime around the middle of the day, before or after noon he didnt know, but just when the sun had reached its highest peak above his head when Hunter shoved open the heavy door to his room. Because he hadnt left in the most recent days, a wall of dust replaced where the hard wood had once sat, choking him up as he hauled himself off of the creaky stairs and onto the crunchy grass. It probably would have also blinded him to the few streaks of light that crept through the transparent leaves of the trees, had he not already been, he thought ironically, something that, despite how sad it really was, made him grin remorsefully. This was why he hated going outside. Following the footsteps that hed pressed into the ground a long time ago, Hunter traced the blurs of brightness that his foggy eyes could make out, wondering what that light was shining so intensely down upon. It was probably beautiful now, what with the season changing into heat, which meant that flowers would bloom and bunnies would hop. Hunter really hated going outside.

Heaving himself onto the porch, Hunter raised his hand, now not having to stretch his arm so taut in order to reach the handle. He was getting taller, now big enough to touch the tops of his dressers without having to stand on something, and now reaching the top half of Karofskys thighs. He didnt know if, along with stretching out and narrowing at his hips, the rest of him had changed at all. He could feel more definition around his face, which had all of the baby fat sucked out of it, and instead had sharp lines and jagged edges to it now. He remembered when he had first seen himself, when hed been following his daddy around and pestering him, simply because that was what the bored version of himself preferred to do. His daddy had walked into the bathroom so he could take some kind of medicine, probably for the headache that Hunter had most likely given him, and then hed glanced into the mirror, not for very long, but for enough time that Hunter had found himself gaping at the second daddy he had inside of the mirror. As a small child, such a notion as simple as a reflection had fascinated him endlessly, so hed asked his daddy where the other Hunter was.

His daddy had laughed when he realized what Hunter was talking about, and hed scooped him up and showed him the mirror, letting him smack the face of the other Hunter, then become very frustrated when the other Hunter didnt react to anything he was doing to bother him, which then made the other Hunter very aggravated. At the expression that the other Hunter finally gave him, Hunter had been so happy that the other Hunter was able to communicate with him. Hed felt very stupid when he found out what a mirror really did, but it did give him a head above Archer, who, after seeing himself for the first time in the mirror, became very scared that there was another Archer who copied his every movement, and then avoided mirrors for another few weeks after that, until their daddy had sat him down and explained, just as he did for Hunter.

Bringing himself back to the present as he pushed inside the home that he no longer lived in but used to stock up the items in his own room, he slowed his footsteps down as soon as he heard the muffled groans of the TV, which meant that Karofsky had the day off work. He shuffled into the small living room, where he could hear Karofsky puffing on one of those sticks. Hunter took another step forward, flinching at the noise of a loose nail sliding through a rotted piece of wood. He almost wished he had turned back while he still could and then returned later to raid Karofskys kitchen. "Hunter?" Karofsky muttered, his voice gravelly from lack of use and the smoke that burned the inside of his throat. "That you?"

Hunter decided that it was best to expose himself, since hed already been caught, so he took a few steps forward, appearing around the side of the couch. "What are you doing, Hunt?" He grumbled, pushing himself off the couch as he flipped off the TV, which had been talking about what seemed to be a crime about a man who had been murdered. "Are you hungry? I have some leftovers... if you want to eat. I made a few sandwiches last night."

Putting a hand on his stomach, Hunter pressed in, feeling every rib brush over his palm. He probably did need to eat. He nodded his head, following Karofsky into the kitchen when he rose to his feet, doing a massive stretch before he went into the other room. While Karofsky opened the fridge door and dug through the few things on the inside, Hunter pressed his back to the counter, hearing Karofsky pull out a plate of what was probably a pile of soggy sandwiches by now. "Hey, Hunt..." Karofsky muttered, picking up one of the sandwiches and holding it out to Hunter. "I wanted to ask you about something. What do you think... of starting school... this coming fall? I dont have... the materials to teach you here, or else I would. I could drive you to your classes every day... and pick you up at noon. Youd go to a place called McKinley... Thats where I went. At least... for my last four years of school."

"I dont want to go to school." Hunter said around the huge bite hed just taken of the stale sandwich. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he let his arms fall to his sides, taking the sandwich with them. "I dont want to go anywhere else." Although he hadnt wanted to, Hunter had gotten used to being on his own, living the way he wanted to in that small room. He knew that if he attempted to be social again, it would inevitably fail because he simply wasnt good at being around other people anymore. All that his parents had taught him about manners and being a good friend was forgotten, since most of those social graces took a person being able to see in order to do them. "No one will like me because Im different."

Karofsky scoffed at that, closing the fridge door again. Hunter wondered if he was very well liked in school, or if he had dealt with the same problems with believing he wouldnt get along with anyone, no matter how he tried. "Hunter, you dont have to give a damn what anyone else thinks. Believe me... I know. Im going to be tough on you because I had to go through this shit... and now you do, too. The next thirteen years of your life are going to suck. Youre going to hate them. But thats just a part of life. Just... get through them, and then you can live like me... working at a dead end job with a boss that blabbers anything and everything just to piss you off. We all end up living like that, Hunter. At least... in this town, we do."

As if he didnt want to speak any more on the subject, Karofsky left the room, the door slamming shut behind him. By himself once more, Hunter abandoned the crusty sandwich on the counter, knowing that if he ate any more of it, hed spend the night vomiting into the toilet. He went over to the pantry, grabbing for the handle and shoving the door to the side. Reaching in, he grabbed a plastic bag, then started picking through the chips and cereals, grabbing handfuls of anything he could and stuffing them into his bag. He knew that Karofsky didnt mind when he took his things, as long as he didnt rob him of everything he owned, but part of him still worried that one chip too many could have his bottom red and sore. He closed the pantry again, then turned around, trying to figure out what else he could take. Anything from the fridge would probably spoil, so he left that alone, and instead went over to one of the drawers, sliding it open.

In the last few months, Hunter had started swiping things that werent necessarily food, but small things that Karofsky hadnt noticed were missing yet. He took by the ones and twos, never hoarding more than he could get by with. These things that he took werent things he intended to be able to return in case Karofsky asked him to hand them over, since, after time and time again of flinging them across his room, they eventually bent and broke, so he had to be cautious about the way he went about handling the actual thievery. Putting his hand inside the drawer, he grabbed exactly two knives, feeling one of the sharp edges press into his knuckles, which made him hiss as he deposited them into his bag. He tied it off, then made to get out of there as quickly as he could, speeding up his steps on his way out. Luckily, Karofsky didnt try to stop him like he had when Hunter had come in, and instead ignored him in favor of the TV, which he used to drown out the real world.

Throwing open the front door, Hunter ran across the lawn, feeling like Karofsky was right at his heels, when he was really still lounging on the couch. He got to his cellar a minute later, and he yanked up the door, closing it behind himself as he vanished inside. Down here, no one could ever find him, so he instantly relaxed, checking over each of his paintings to make sure they were still hung in the places theyd been before he turned his back on them. He went over to the one easel that hed let himself destroy, simply because he had nothing else he could throw these sharp blades at, since they bounced off the walls and ricocheted back to him, and since paper was just too precious of a thing to ruin. He needed every piece he could get his hands on.

Opening his bag, Hunter pulled out both of the knives, one in each hand, and he dropped the rest of his things onto his bed. He held his hands high, aiming his body at the easel that was across from him, waiting for two more puncture wounds. Bringing his arms back, he threw them forward, the knives flying from his fingers, both of them landing in some part of the easel, which shook a few times as it tried not to tip over from the force that it had been whacked with. Smiling at how good his aim had gotten, he walked over to the easel, tracing it from each side, down to the middle, and measuring how far his knives were from the center target. While one of them had strayed off to the edge, the other was nearly on point, just a hair away from the middle of the board. He pulled the knives back out, doing his best to patch up the tears hed made by folding the paper in on itself, and then he stepped back again, letting his wrists flick in the direction of the easel, the knives going forward once more.

One day, he had decided, he was going to need to defend himself against Karofsky, and he knew that a mere slash on his arm wouldnt be enough to stop him from hurting him again, so he needed to do more damage. That thought made him turn away from the knives, and he went over to what he had come to understand might have been a gun, and he picked it up from the spot that hed left it. One day, he might even have to kill Karofsky, if he let the dormant volcano that he was right now build up enough lava that, when he would inexorably erupt, he could try to kill Hunter. What he didnt know was that Hunter had, not his strength, as he so often claimed, but his daddys strength, which meant that he wouldnt go down without a fight. It was just a matter of who would pull the trigger first.