Hidden away in the quiet of the basement, Hunter occupied the large, intricately designed desk that Blaine had loaned him from the living room, claiming that it did nothing but clutter up the room since he hadnt put his work documents in it, anyway. Hunter had gladly received the desk, using it to stow away many of his paintings, and all of the notes hed taken for the sake of accuracy in his story. Because Archer had taken the day to shop with his pére for his wedding attire, Hunter had retreated to the basement to finish up some of his homework. With his new engagement to Archer, and almost none of their wedding planned out, Hunter had felt that the wisest decision for him to make was to drop out of McKinley and switch over to online classes, so that he could take them during his leisure time, and would be able to devote more of himself to his soon-to-be husband. The sooner that he completed high school, the better.

Of course, plotting points on a graph and measuring the distances of the lines became very tedious after what felt like his hundredth time of doing it, so hed opened the document that held his story. He scrolled down to where he left off, and had just tapped in one word when his bedroom door flew open.

His brows shot up as he rolled away from the desk, looking at his small fiancé, who thumped down the stairs. "Hunter! Youll never guess what Ive found." Archer jumped off of the last step, curls bouncing wildly, as he held up a few printed pages. "This could be it, Hunter. This could be our future-" When he raised his head, the beaming smile on his face slowly slid down. He took a step back, head lowering. "Oh... Im sorry. I didnt know you were writing. Daddy told me that you were down here... I should have knocked-"

"Honey," Hunter said gently, as Archer started to retreat. "Come here. You dont have to knock at your own door. You havent messed anything up. I was hardly writing, anyway. I cant seem to mold this scene the way I want it to be. Give me a kiss... Maybe that will start my brain up."

Archer hesitantly padded closer, as if Hunter was a minefield that would explode at the smallest disturbance. Hunter extended his arms, drawing Archer closer to himself and folding him over his lap. He kissed him warmly, and then leaned back again, rubbing his fingers over Archers pale cheeks. "See? No harm done." He brushed his fingers through Archers hair when he uncomfortably squirmed, "Its okay, beautiful. Writers are awfully private creatures, but I dont mind your company. Now, lets see what you had to show me."

"Oh." Archer held up the papers, as if he had forgotten them when his head became so set on finding an escape route. "Look at this, Hunter. I was searching for apartments on the ride home, and I found this one. I think that this one could be good for us. See all of the space it has?" Archer pointed to a small, square picture of its layout, "You could have the office for your writing and painting. And it isnt very far from the shops in the city. Theres a dance studio just down the road. If we have children, theres a playground behind it, next to the community pool. Its only six hundred dollars per month if we rent it, and my parents said that they could help us get started on the payments. Besides, look at the street address. Its not very far from my parents home. We couldnt get much better than this, Hunter. Do you like it?"

Archer clasped his hands tightly, waiting hopefully for Hunters answer. Hunter furrowed his brows at the papers, picking them up from Archers lap and bringing them closer to his squinted eyes. "Yes... I do. I like it, Archer. But... kitten, you told me a few months ago that we were going to stay in Ohio. That was what we agreed on."

The smile fell from Archers face once more. He looped an arm around Hunters neck, scooting back so he could meet his eyes. "But, Hunter... I meant that I would stay here as long as you had to care for your dad. Your dad... well, he isnt here anymore. Now I want to go back." His eyes flitted nervously when Hunter frowned, turning his head to the side. "Hunter... you couldnt really want to stay in Ohio. There are more job opportunities for me in Paris. I want to be close to my parents, when they go back." He rubbed a hand over the side of Hunters neck, "Hunter, I grew up in Paris. Thats my home."

Hunter quirked his brows. He grasped Archers hand in his, kissing his knuckles. "Well... Ohio is my home, sweetheart. This isnt a one-sided relationship, and I want to stay here."

Archer looked like hed been slapped by those words. Pushing out his bottom lip, he shook his head at Hunter, who slowly released him as he slid onto his knee. He started to say something, but then held a hand up to his mouth. Standing, Archer placed one of his hands on the desk, his knuckles drained of color as he curled it into a ball. "Whats in Ohio?" His voice was wispy, and Hunter barely made out what he said, had he not been reading his lips. When Hunter merely shook his head, as if he didnt know how to answer him, Archer swallowed thickly, "Hunter... we cant compromise between two continents. I wont live separately from my own husband. One of us is going to have to put his foot down..." Archers eyes suddenly became teary, and he backed away from Hunter when he held his hand out. He bumped into the desk, making it shudder. "One of us is going to have to be selfish, and I dont want it to be you, Hunter."

Fleeing from the room, Archer thudded back up the stairs, leaving Hunter to throatily groan as he leaned over his desk. He buried his face in his hands, wondering if he could ever stop hiding.

Two hours later, Hunter had the majority of his homework done, and was just finishing calculating the numbers for the last graph. Hed given up on trying to write his story, unable to get out of the foul mood that prevented him from doing anything productive. Typing numbers into his calculator, Hunter barely glanced up when he heard someone knocking at the door. He knew that it wasnt Archer, simply because of the loudness of the knock. "Come in." He called, inputting the numbers into his computer. He was about to submit them, but turned around, instead, staring at Blaine as he thumped down the stairs. Although Blaine looked unassuming, Hunter still screwed up his face in a grimace. "How is Archer?"

Blaine nonchalantly shrugged, "He left. Hes out with Kurt and Keegan. Theyre picking up groceries." Shuffling across the room, Blaine sat down on the end of the bed and peered at the screen, "Divide the sum of the plot points by two." When Hunter ruffled one of his brows, Blaine merely raised and dropped a shoulder, "An odd talent of mine. I think I got it from my dad. He was good with numbers."

Hunter calculated in the division and reentered the answer, finding that it came up as correct. Before he could say anything, Blaine stretched his legs out and leaned his head back, looking around the bedroom. Hunter pretended not to be on edge about his presence, moving onto the next problem. Suddenly, a dark form appeared at his side. Blaine slowly shut the laptop, making Hunter push his lips to one side of his face. "Blaine, you dont have to give me a lecture. I know that I screwed up. Ill apologize to him as soon as he comes home."

Blaine cocked a brow, lowering to his knees beside of Hunter, who spun to face him. "Im not here to lecture. I just want to talk." His large hand swallowed Hunters wrist, and he slowly stood him upright. "Come on. Youve been trapped down here all day. You need some fresh air."

Hunter dragged his feet, "Blaine, Im really not in the mood. I have a lot to think about."

"Dont we all." Blaine said under his breath, pulling Hunter up the stairs. Hunter creased his lips downward at the sound of mumbling. "Theres something I want you to see."

Hunter walked around the corner, going into the living room with Blaine, who gestured to the TV. Staring at the flickering screen, Hunter felt his mouth soften when he heard a gentle voice singing a lullaby. The camera, which had been pointing at the ground, suddenly tilted upward, catching Kurts small form as he stood over a crib. Kurt didnt look much younger than he did now, if only a little thinner. Swiping his hair off of his face, Kurt sang a melodic lullaby as he bent to scoop up a brown haired baby. The baby kicked his stubby feet, his fists batting at Kurts smiling face.

Kurts blue eyes abruptly flicked up to the camera, and he switched over to English. "Hunter is being especially fussy tonight. Pick up Archer before he notices all of the attention on Hunter."

The man behind the camera chuckled, setting it down. The back of Blaine appeared, and he also bent over the crib, cooing to the squirming bundle of blankets that he picked up. "Beautiful baby." He muttered, kissing Archers white forehead. "Fussy kitten, go to sleep. Do you want your teddy bear?"

Glancing away from the TV, Hunter sought out the couch, and he sat down hard on the arm of it. On the screen, Blaine picked up a teddy bear and wiggled it in front of Archer, who grabbed for it and squished it to his round face.

The camera became fuzzy, before the screen went black. Blaine flicked the TV off, and then turned toward Hunter, who blinked his startled eyes. "When you think about it, where you live isnt that important, as long as youre with the ones you love. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. I nearly lost Kurt because of it. Do you think that I wanted to go to Paris? No... not even a little. It seemed to be above me." Blaine lowered his head, his voice quieting, "I never wanted you to fear the world. When you were a baby, we tried to show you everything. I never wanted this life for you."

Hunter helplessly held up his hands, "I was a blind man who lived in a cellar. What do you want from me, Blaine? Im terrified to go somewhere bigger. Ive always been used to having my surroundings memorized. It was the only way to stop me from getting hurt."

"Youre not blind anymore." Blaine sat down beside of Hunter, "Hunter, you have so much talent that I want the world to see. I want you to be appreciated. Dont make the same mistakes that I did. I let Karofsky control every aspect of my life... but I want you to move on faster than I did. I want you to be strong, and overcome everything. Thats how we raised you to be. If you really want to stay here, thats fine. Thats something you need to work out with Archer, as his fiancé. But I never want to think that fear is holding you back from anything."

When Blaine turned away, Hunter sat very still. But then he opened his mouth, blurting, "Blaine? I dont know if Ill be a good husband for Archer." Blaine turned back around, one brow raised. Hunter pathetically mumbled, "Ive never had anyone show me how to not be selfish. Ive always fended for myself. I dont know how to care for someone else. And... it seems that my selfishness is the reason that Archer and I fight. I dont know how to make Archer happy."

Blaine sighed deeply, his broad shoulders lowering. He shook his head, returning to Hunter and taking his face in his hands. He raised it so he could meet Hunters eyes. "Hunter, your worries arent an isolated case. Every husband worries about being good enough. Ive been married to Kurt for nearly sixteen years, and every day I still think to myself of what I could do to make him happier. Youre new to this. Dont be so hard on yourself. Every day, youll learn something new about Archer. Youll figure out how to love him almost perfectly. But I think thats the wonderful thing about marriage. Youre never going to be up to the standard you think you need to be at. But that just means that you can be human with him... you can provoke him and irk him and tease him. Let Prince Charming have the boring conversations and serious facial expressions. Archer wants you to be Hunter, and the Hunter that we all know isnt scared of anything."

Hunters eyes flitted over Blaines face, as Blaine pushed his glasses farther up his nose. Hunter scrunched up his face when Blaine started grooming his fingers though Hunters spiky hair. "Blaine, Im not a baby anymore."

Blaine jerked his hands back, a sheepish smile covering his face. "Sorry... its what I used to do when you would throw your tantrums. It calmed you down."

Leaning closer to Blaine, Hunter rested his head against his thrumming chest. Blaine placed his hand on the back of Hunters head. "I love you, Blaine."

"Love you, too." Blaine assured him, clutching him tighter against his warm body. "You arent a baby anymore. Youve become a handsome, young man." Laughing throatily as tears slipped from his eyes, he flicked Hunters ear, "You and Archer werent supposed to grow up that fast."

Hunter clung to his wide neck, "Ill always be your little boy, Blaine." He suddenly chuckled, sniffling against Blaines scratchy neck, "I could really go for a sandwich right now... like the kind that you used to make. I eat when Im emotional."

"You get that from Kurt." Blaine knocked Hunter from his lap, "But you can go get the sandwich yourself, since youre all grown up."

Hunter laughed with Blaine, sinking back onto his lap as they hugged each other. He had never felt close to anyone like this before, except for Archer. It felt like the interaction that he should have been having with his dad all along. He somehow knew that, unlike Karofsky, Blaine would always seek him out, even when Hunter didnt want to be found.