"Dad?" Hunter shut the door behind himself, clenching his teeth when the wind caught it and slammed it into the wall. "Shit." He grabbed at his chest, which had been thrumming exceptionally faster since hed pulled onto the gravelly road. The smell of cigarettes and whiskey coated his nostrils. "Dad?" He shrugged out of his coat, folding it over his arm, as he crept into the living room. Besides the humming voices on the TV, the house was deathly silent, making Hunters eyes sway back and forth as he sought out Karofskys bulky form. "Dad!" Hunter, having memorized Karofskys schedule a long time ago, knew that he didnt work today. It was the weekend, a time that his boss didnt let him come in to melt under the pressure of the football game rush, when Karofsky could barely teeter himself upright on the slow nights. "Dad, are you alright? Its freezing in here."

Hunter slunk onto the carpet in the living room, discarding his coat on a nearby couch. His stomach roiled as another call to Karofsky went unanswered. Suddenly, when he stepped forward, the toe of his shoe bumped into a solid object. He jumped back, startled, and swore loudly when he discovered that his dad had collapsed onto the floor. "Dad!" He flung himself onto his knees, balling up the front of his dads sweaty shirt. Rings of moisture seeped into the fabric, where the bottoms of bottles had rested against him. He shook his dad firmly, letting out a noisy gasp as his dad burbled, his head tipping back. A throaty burp churned out of his drooling mouth. "Dad, get up! Right now!" Scrunching his eyes up, Hunter made a broken noise as he raised his right hand, slapping it across his dads face so sharply that his palm stung. He cursed again, sucking on the irritated skin.

Carelessly dropping his dads body, Hunter crawled away from him. His brain was reeling from the shock of returning to the real world after a week of his most blissful fantasies becoming so actualized that he could almost taste them. Through the blur of coming back to himself, coming back to Karofsky, he reminded himself of what he had done as a child, and he dragged the phone by its cord. He shakily pressed buttons on the receiver, and then held up the phone to his ear.

He immediately started blathering into the other line, becoming aware only after the second sentence out of his mouth that a dial tone was playing. Tears sprang from his eyes as Karofsky violently hacked, his shuddering body rolling closer to Hunter, who pulled his knees up to his chest. "Help... My dad needs help. Hes going to die-" Biting down on the inside of his cheek when a monotone voice interrupted him about their line being disconnected, Hunter chucked the phone against a wall, hearing the thin plastic crack. "Fuck! You forgot to pay the phone bill again!"

Earlier that morning, as he left Archers home with a few kisses and a couple of loving words to reassure him that they would see each other again, hed forgotten his cell phone on the dresser in his bedroom. He had no other way of getting an ambulance to their house. He smothered his scrunched face with his hands, snuffling through his snotty nose.

Hearing another choking sound from Karofsky, Hunter lowered his hands, and he cautiously scooted closer to him, as if he was a stove about to burn him. He plunked his dads head into his lap, feeling his meaty, clammy hands swallow his. "Why do you do these things?" Hunter breathed, leaning over to kiss his dads cold cheek. "I have to get you to a hospital. I wont let you die like this. It would hurt your pride." Grabbing his dads flabby arms, Hunter yanked him upward, feeling his body heave as bile shot up his throat. "Dont throw up on me. Come on, get up. Get up now." Hunter hauled himself to his feet, peeling his dads limp body off of the floor. His knees weakened under the two hundred pounds of dead weight that leaned against him. Grunting, Hunter repositioned Karofsky, using all of his strength to fling most of his upper body over his hunched back.

Hunter staggered back out of the door, wobbling over the slippery slush, as he supported both himself and his overweight dad. He grabbed onto the hood of the car, dragging himself around it and flinging Karofsky unceremoniously into the passenger seat. He instantly bent over, hands on his knees, as he caught his breath.

"Some kids have dads who take care of them." Hunter muttered to himself, walking around to the drivers seat and opening the door with more force than necessary. "Not me, though. I have a dad whos a drunk. I have a dad who my fiancé cant meet. I have a dad who any children of mine cant know about. I hope theyre better than either of us is. Itd be best if they took everything after Archer, wouldnt it, Dad?" Hunter knew he sounded crazy, rambling to himself, but he had to keep his mind occupied as he tried to figure out the inside of the car, which hed never driven before. On his worst days, he couldnt even kick his leg over the motorcycle, and would miss by several inches.

Just as his fingers brushed over something that jingled like a set of keys, his dad sank off of the window that Hunter had propped him against, and fell heavily over Hunters lap. Hunter scrambled to push him upright, "Stay over there! I have to concentrate! You smell like alcohol, you dumb fuck. Youre never having a drink again."

After a week of holding himself together, Hunter almost felt offended by the slew of bad language that was streaming from his pursed mouth. He slammed his foot down on the pedals, feeling the car jerk backwards. He put his foot on the other, immediately stopping it from moving. Karofsky rocked forward, and then was pushed back up, quietly groaning about the ache in his head. Raising his foot, Hunter set it on the other pedal, this time much more slowly. "I hope that hurt, you piece of shit."

Hunters stomach churned as the front of the car lowered onto the rocky pavement of the road, and he snapped his foot out to jerk the car to a stop. The abrupt movement caused Karofsky to tip to the side, his large head clunking on Hunters boney shoulder. "Get off!" Hunter barked, shrugging his dad off and feeling him tumble into the thin gap behind his shoulder. Because the car was closed in, he had no way of hearing rumbling engines, or spitting gravel, coming from other cars that were traveling toward him. He moved his hand over the cold metal of his door, searching for a button to roll down his window. His finger tapped a button that made something click, but before he could find out what he had done, his dad burped into the back of his shirt, spattering him in hot mucus. "Dad! Thats disgusting!" He shifted away from the wet spot on his shirt, shuddering as it peeled off of his moist skin.

In his urgency to get away from the splash of bile, he unconsciously raised his foot from the brake. He became aware of the car sliding forward at the pace of a snail a second too late, when an ear piercing screech made his head whip around. He immediately spun the car to the left, even though he didnt know exactly what he was trying to plow away from. His eyes widened when the car jolted off of the road, one of the tires swinging over a deep ditch and making the car lean forward. Hunters chest smacked the steering wheel, and he heard something crack into the glass. "Dad-" he choked, his eyes blurring with frenzied tears that slid down his cheeks at such a rapid rate that he couldnt have stopped them. Reaching out for his dad, he grabbed him around his shoulders and pulled him into his chest, feeling his head thud against his shoulder. He mindlessly stroked at Karofskys short, sweaty hair, "Dad... its okay. Ive got you. Please dont die-"

Hunters words were cut off as a bubble of tears drifted up his tight throat and spilled from his eyes. Sobs broke from his mouth as he tried to comfort his dad, who he could feel slipping away from him, his breath becoming shaky, and his body trembling like an old man on his death bed, trying to cling to those last seconds of life. Burying his face in his dads grimy neck, Hunter tasted salt as he pressed kisses there, whispering over and over, "Dad... Dad... dont leave me. Please dont go."

As Hunter held onto his dad, he drifted back to his fiancé, who was one of the most prominent figures in his mind. Part of him wished that he had just stayed in bed with Archer that morning. That would have been easy. But, no matter how many curse words he shouted, or bitter remarks he made, some piece of him would always love his dad, and would never be able to leave him to fend for himself. He remembered when Karofsky had given him his teddy bear, and Hunters cries softened as he wished he could have his daddy back.

Archer lounged on his stomach, head resting on the back of one hand, his feet sticking up in the air and kicking to an irregular rhythm. He flipped through channels on his TV, seeing flashes of each show as he passed them by. Put all together, the short scenes made an entertaining show that had a halfhearted smile quirking at his lips. He stopped on a black and white movie, finding interest in the sight of a curly haired woman collapsing into a sleek mans narrow arms. She held a hand up to her forehead, mumbling to him about how she couldnt stand it if he left the country without her. While his parents cleaned up the scraps of a long week with their family, Archer found himself bored without Hunter, who he wasnt sure when he would next see. At best, he would show up at their door tomorrow, but all Archer was guaranteed was for him to return for the New Year.

He impatiently toyed with the ends of his curly hair, willing this break to end already, so that he could see Hunter every day at school. He was struck by that thought, that he had left school with a man who he couldnt even claim to anyone else as his boyfriend, and would be returning with that same man as his fiancé. Of course, because of their ages, the lot of their classmates would be ruthless about displaying their disapproval of the young couple. As soon as word got out, students would run home to their parents and wag their tongues, and teachers would sigh heavily, as if the love shared between the newly formed couple was a burden that they themselves had to bear. Soon enough, the entire town of Lima would be turned against them, and think them bad influences on their peers, and those younger than them. Not only were they gay, but they were also sixteen years old, and born, or adopted, by questionable, gay parents.

Archer didnt feel very different, at least with his relationship to Hunter. No matter the fuss that his engagement would cause, he still felt outside of it, because he knew that they both had hurtles to jump over individually before they could think of becoming a union. On the screen, the woman wept into a costly handkerchief, bordered with lacy frills, and embroidered with her initials. The skinny man waved at her from the door of a small plane, only big enough to hold himself and the pilot. Archer wondered where he was going, and then decided he didnt care enough to find out, and clicked the TV off. All he knew was his concern for the poor woman, who the seemingly unfeeling man had left behind without shedding a tear. During his absence, she would soon find a man better for her, who wouldnt take off and leave her behind, no matter how good a future this new destination held for him.

As he twiddled his thumbs in consideration of what he wanted to do, or if he should go disturb his parents-thinking better of it when he figured that he could leave them to themselves, and let them enjoy the time his daddy had off work-he whipped around to his phone, which started vibrating beside of his hip. He stretched his arm down to it, glancing at the unknown number on the blinking screen. He clicked the call off, assuming it to be yet another college contacting him about some large sum of money to get him, or his parents powerful name, into the school. As long as his parents were none the wiser that he had been rejecting calls of in-demand colleges since theyd started flooding his phone line, hed be safe to never answer one of them and be stuck on the phone with some advisor who rattled off some of the perks of going to the college they were advertising for. After taking ten of those calls, Archer had learned that ten different colleges across France all offered the best food around, and had professors who would all take time out of their schedules for their students, and were located in some of the most picturesque places in the country. What his parents didnt know wouldnt hurt them.

Almost as soon as he set the phone down, the screen lit up again, and the same number flashed out at him. He frowned, having never seen a college so persistent, or annoying. He cut the line off once more, and then stuck his phone under the blankets, hoping that he wouldnt notice if there was another call. After a moment of waiting, and knowing that if they called back, he might pick up and yell at them to stop bothering him, he sighed when he realized that they had given up. That was when his head spun around to his dresser, where he heard something else buzzing. "What is going on?" He murmured, slowly sliding off of his bed and cautiously approaching his vanity. He furrowed his brows at Hunters phone, which had the same number on the screen. He quickly picked it up, and finally held the phone up to his ear. "Um... hello?"

He bit his bottom lip when a raspy voice choked out, "Archer...  Archer, honey-"

"Hunter?" Archer interrupted suddenly, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. "Hunter... you left your phone. Where are you? Whats going on? Your voice sounds rough-"

"Hush." Hunter said, making Archer inhale unsteadily as he realized that he was already panicking without reason to. "Archer, dont freak out. Ill tell you right now that Im alright. Im at a hospital. I was in a car accident-"

A cold feeling rushed through Archer, who staggered backward and held onto one of the bedposts. His knuckles turned a ghostly white with the strength that he clutched it with. "In a car accident?" He blurted, without being able to hold his tongue. "Hunter, are you okay? What happened?"

"Im on the phone that the hospital gave me. I cant talk for long." Hunter said away from the phone, as if he was looking at someone who was telling him how many minutes he had left. "Come down here as soon as you can. I have to go. Love you." Without another word, he clicked the line off, leaving Archer with a gaping mouth as he pressed the phone so close to his ear that the sound of the dead line seemed to ring inside of his head.

Snapping out of it with a quiet gasp, Archer pocketed the phone, and then launched off of his bed. He forgot that he hadnt brushed his unusually frizzy curls, and that he was still wearing his sweats that hed dressed in last night, as he tore up the stairs. Slamming through the door, Archer met the eyes of his parents, who had been sitting on the couch together and drinking the last of the wine, but were now whirled around to face him. "Hunter was in a car accident!" He yelped, watching his pére press a hand to his chest as he carefully lifted himself from his husbands lap. "I need to go see him at the hospital."

His parents knew better than to waste time asking questions that would soon be answered, and they hurried off of the couch, whisking his shuddering form out the door. The world seemed to move around Archer as his daddy stuffed him into the backseat. He gripped the edges of it with tense fingers, feeling his face throb as it tried to pinch in tears. Despite how quickly his dad sped up, until he was driving ten miles per hour over the speed limit, the car couldnt have moved fast enough for Archer. Luckily, Lima was a small town, and the hospital was only ten minutes away, and they rolled into the parking lot in record time. Without waiting for his parents, Archer struggled out of his seat and ran through the doors, almost mauling down a moseying nurse, who had been shuffling through a folder of papers. He threw himself at the desk, meeting the alarmed eyes of the woman who was working, and he blurted, "I need to see a man... his last name is Karofsky."

The woman flicked her eyes away from Archer, steadily tapping at the keyboard. She moved her fingers much too slowly for Archers liking. By the time she pulled up the recent arrival, his parents had entered the hospital, and Archer felt his daddys strong hand at his quivering back. She arched a suspicious brow at the three of them, "The doctors are allowing only one visitor for both of them. Only one of you can go up."

"Me." Archer said, without consulting his parents. "Im his fiancé. Please... which room is he in?"

The woman met his anxious eyes, seeming unfazed by his demands, "Which one?"

Archer rocked away from the counter, his mouth hanging open as he realized that another person had been in the car with Hunter, another person who was undoubtedly his dad. Sickly leaning against the counter, Archer looked back at his parents, who blinked at him, unknowing of the turmoil that was wreaking havoc on his stomach. Hunter had seemed very alert when he was on the phone with Archer, which meant that he was fine. Archer didnt know the situation of his dad, and he assumed that Hunter didnt, either. Time and again, hed been given strict orders to never do anything reckless that could cause him to stumble into the same vicinity as Karofsky. Pinned to a bed by cords and machines, Karofsky couldnt be that dangerous, could he? When the woman impatiently urged him to make his decision, Archer clenched his teeth and breathed through them, "The elder... please. Give me the room of the elder-"

The woman kept typing, while his daddys grip on his shoulder tightened, "The elder? Archer, who was in the car with Hunter? Who are you going to see?"

Liquid burned the corners of his eyes, so he refused to meet his daddys concerned gaze, "No one you would know, Daddy. Theres someone else I need to check on. Wait for me down here, please." After the woman muttered the number of the room, Archer slipped out of his daddys grip, trudging toward the elevators. He knew he had just done something wrong, something that would be a trial on his and Hunters engagement, if he ever found out about it. Hunters dad was a man he wasnt intended to meet, someone Hunter had planned to keep him away from, for reasons he both knew and didnt know about.

Sniffling, Archer pressed a button to go up, and the elevator doors immediately slid apart. He stepped inside, feeling himself be boxed in as he traveled up to the eighth floor. When the doors opened, he found himself faced with a young nurse, whom he made a guilty face at as he slunk by her. He counted the steps it took to get him to the room, smelling the latex and mashed up food. As soon as his eyes flickered over the door with the name David Karofsky written on a white board that was pinned on it, he faltered, and stood with trembling, frozen limbs. He didnt know what this man would look like, how aware of his surroundings he would be, or even if he would smell good enough for Archer to stand being in the same room as him.

Raising his clammy hand, Archer knocked lightly and listened for a response, almost wishing for a call for him to go away. But there was nothing, so Archer laid his hand on the knob and opened the door. The room was dark and colorless, and only the sound of a liquid dribbling made it evident that it hadnt been abandoned. Archer dragged his feet farther into the room, his huge eyes peering around the corner. He found a flat, white bed, attached to a pile of intricate machinery, all pumping or buzzing or churning something into a large form that was splayed across every corner of the bed. To Archers surprise, Karofsky vaguely resembled the man he had pictured in his head. There were obvious similarities between him and his son, who was just as tall, but built like a wiry cat, instead of a bulky bulldog. Although Karofsky was paler than Hunter, their faces were nearly identical. He had his sons full lips, and his narrow, long nose. Their winged eyebrows were the same shape, and about the same thickness, and the hair on their heads was the same, dark brown color. Karofsky wasnt an entirely ugly man, as Archer had expected him to be, but had clearly ruined his good looks by overeating and indulging on alcohol.

Archer jumped back when Karofsky suddenly rolled onto his back, flashing a pair of bleary, brown eyes at his face. When he realized that Karofsky was too out of his mind to even notice his presence, he stepped forward, concentrating on those brown eyes, which were like Hunters in every way, except the emotion behind them. Hunter had always had very bright eyes, like tiny fires in the middle of his face. His eyes held an intelligence to them that was matched by few men, and he was very observant, despite not being able to see through them. Karofskys eyes, on the other hand, werent mean or cruel as Archer had deliberated that they would be, but sad. "Um... hi." Archer said lamely, shuffling over to the wide man, who could have been imposing and intimidating, had he been with his wits. He slowly knelt beside of the bed, leaving himself on his haunches so he could bolt at any time. He felt Karofskys eyes follow his small face. "Do you know who you are?"

Karofsky nodded his head, but remained wordless. Archer swallowed thickly, glad that Karofsky was at least lively enough to recognize questions, and give logical answers. "Um... you probably want to know who I am. I cant tell you... because of prior complications. But I can make you a deal. I want to ask you some questions. If you cooperate, Ill tell you anything you want to know."

Cocking his head at Archer, he leaned back into the flat mattress, as his meaty hand stretched out for Archers face. He held still, despite all of his senses screaming at him to move back. "You look like him." He whispered through a drowsy voice, running his greasy finger along Archers high cheekbone.

Archer ignored the statement, passing it off as a comment of craziness. He lowered his lashes as Karofsky thumbed at his translucent eyelid, "Karofsky... can you tell me something about Hunter?" The man twitched at the mention of his son, a reaction that made Archer wearily smile. It was clear from the worried look on his face that Karofsky loved his son, and had simply never learned how to love the right way. "When did you... get Hunter? How long have you had him for yourself?" Karofsky stared blankly at him, obviously not understanding the questions, so Archer reworded, "Have you had him since his birth?"

Karofsky shook his head, "No, I didnt. It wasnt long after his birth that I got him, but it was enough time for him to make his home with another family."

Archer puzzled over that, his brows puckering, before he thought idly that their voices even sounded alike, both gruff and deep, like sandpaper on the ears. He swallowed around a bubble of saliva, "Can you tell me who had him before you did?"

Karofskys eyes flipped up to the ceiling as he mulled that over, and then he shook his head again, "No. His stepmom never told me who she gave Hunter to."

"Could you tell me her name... her and the woman who birthed Hunter?"

Karofsky pursed his lips tightly, staring steadily at Archers watery face. For the last time, he shook his head, "I-I cant remember-"

"Please, Karofsky." Archer urged, knowing that if he couldnt come up with these names, his investigation would be halted.

He scratched the top of his head, where his hair had started thinning, "Santana... something. Santana Lopez, maybe. Its been a long time since Ive thought of her. Hunters mom was Brittany. Her last name isnt coming to me."

Archer could have gone on with this man, questioning him on why he beat his son, why he got Hunter back in the first place if only to torture him, what had gone wrong in his own life. But he had what he needed, and he knew that too many questions would have been pushing his luck. He wanted to be there and gone in such a short timespan that Karofsky forgot about all of this in the morning. Settling on his heels, he whispered, "Is there anything you want to know, Karofsky?"

Karofsky was too far-gone to question Archer on what he was to his son, and instead settled for something that he could wrap his rolling head around, "Is my son okay?"

Rising to his feet, Archer nodded slowly. He reached down so he could drag the thin blankets up to Karofskys chest. "Hunters fine, Karofsky. Hes fine." Karofsky grabbed at his freckled hand, but Archer drew it back, letting it fall to his side. He opened his mouth to tell him something else, and then thought better of it, turning away and fleeing from the room. As soon as he shut the door behind himself, he leaned against it heavily, even though he felt lighter than air. He brought himself upright, standing as if he wasnt pushed down by a weight. He had his answers, and they were exactly what he had thought they would be.

He straightened up when a doctor rolled a cart right in front of his feet, and he left Karofskys room, striding away with purpose. Figuring that Hunter couldnt have been too far if their injuries were similar, Archer wandered aimlessly in one direction, as he searched for Hunters name. Only a couple of doors down, he found his name sketched across a white board, so he paused in front of that one. Without knocking, he slid through a small gap he had pushed between the door and the wall. He shuffled into a room that had its lights flipped on. This room was much smaller, with none of the purring machinery that was in Karofskys. Instead, there was only a window with a bench sitting under it, and a table beside of a flat bed. Hunter was propped upright, with only a busted lip that was starting to darken at the edge, and a wrapped arm folded against his stomach.

Despite how minor the injuries, Archer still made an awful sound and scurried over to his fiancé. Although he couldnt see him, Hunter extended his good arm, somehow knowing that it was Archer. Archer flung his arms around Hunters neck, careful to touch his skin, in case there were internal damages he didnt know about. "Are you okay?" Archer pleaded, grabbing his fiancés face and checking him over. "What happened?"

Hunter shook his head, "Give me a kiss." Tilting his chin up, Hunter waited for Archer to smear wet kisses over his lips, his face smothered in a cloud of curls. After Archer drew back up, Hunter tugged him down onto the edge of the bed, keeping his hand squeezed tightly in his. "Im okay, sweetheart... really. You dont need to examine me. The doctors already did a thorough job of that." At the rough tone of his voice, Archer could tell that Hunter hadnt wanted to be prodded and poked in places he knew fingers were never supposed to be. "I have a broken arm. My lip is stinging, but it will heal. They told me that I could get out of here as soon as someone would come to take me, but they have to keep my dad. I dont know the extent of it, but they said that their main concerns were with the state he was in before the accident." Even though Archer had seen Karofsky, he didnt know what had happened to cause Hunter to try to drive him somewhere. At his silence, Hunter explained further, "When I went home, I found my dad on the floor. He wasnt breathing steadily, and his skin was cold. I left my phone at your house, and ours was disconnected. I didnt have any other option than to drive him to the hospital myself. Before I even got out of my driveway, another car sped by and slammed into my dads side. The car is totaled. My dads probably going to lose his job over this, since we cant afford to get it repaired, and he has no other way to get to work. The other driver... he was fine. He was driving a truck. I dont think any injuries came to him."

Archer was surprised by the matter-of-factly way that Hunter spoke of the car accident, as if hed been strolling through the park and had accidentally stubbed his toe, instead. Flickering his fretful eyes over Hunters face, he felt himself heave the breath that had swelled in his throat, as he pressed another kiss to Hunters wide mouth. "I was so scared that youd been hurt badly." He admitted, running his fingers over the bloodied spot on his bottom lip. "Werent you, Hunter?"

Hunter shook his head, winding an arm around Archers waist, "No... not really. At first, I was. I didnt know what was happening. But, after all of the... damage... had settled, I realized that I hadnt been hurt. I was mostly frightened for my dad. Hes in bad shape, Archer." Archer knew that Hunter wasnt just referring to the accident. A frown creased Archers bottom lip, and he considered how very similar Hunter looked to his dad, although much skinner, and maybe an inch shorter. Both of them were very handsome men, and Archer thought that before Karofsky let himself go, he probably looked even more akin to Hunter when he was his age. The wavering grimace deepened as he realized that he had betrayed Hunters trust in him, for a secret he was going to have to keep safe for a very long time. It had taken him months to become this close to Hunter, and if it got out that he had seen his dad, nothing would ever be the same between them, and they would be even more distant than they had been when they first met. He flushed, embarrassed, when Hunter scraped his nail over Archers cheek, "Why are you being quiet with me? I want you to talk more. I know that youre with me if you do."

Bowing over Hunter, Archer leaned his furrowed forehead against his. He made a sobbing noise, even though no tears came, and Hunter gently hushed him, bundling him closer with a steel arm, "Hey... no, dont cry. Im right here, honey. I know I was being stupid. I should have thought of some other way. I was so panicked that I forgot myself." He moved his head to the side, swiping his lips over Archers wet noise, "Ill never put you through anything like that again. Im so sorry, Archer. I know that I wasnt only endangering myself... I was putting you, and your heart, in harms way. If anything had happened to me-"

"I dont want to think about that." Archer begged, nipping at the lobe of Hunters ear. "Please... dont ever do that again." Relaxing under his fiancés smoothing hand, he buried his face in Hunters neck, "Lets go home. I want to go home. My parents are waiting to see you downstairs."

Hunter nodded, holding up one of his hands, "Help me up, and then well go home."

Peeling the cool sheets off of Hunter, Archer blushed furiously when he got a good look at his bare legs, taut with muscle and striped with old scars. Thick, coarse hair was matted over his legs, but Archer noticed a few splotchy bruises from the pressure put on them during the accident. Twisting around, he sought out Hunters clothes, which had been folded into a neat pile and discarded onto the table. He scooped them up and returned them to his fiancé, who lazily reclined onto the back of his bed as Archer busily dressed him. After he tugged the zipper to his jacket up, he gripped Hunters hands tightly and hauled him to a hunched, standing position.

Archer guided Hunter over to the elevators, wobbling as his fiancé propped his unsteady form on Archers small shoulder. He noticed Hunter briefly falter by his dads door, and then he continued on, without a flick of his eyes. It was clear to Archer that he was trying to keep him from comprehending that this was his dads door, unaware that Archer had already been inside of it. They stepped into an elevator with another young man, who was resting against the wall and tapping his fingers on his leg. When the doors slid open, Archer dragged Hunter onto the tiled floor, careful to make sure his feet didnt slip. The two of them appeared around the corner, facing a large lobby that was still void of people. Archers heart quivered with his relief that he didnt have to have anything more to do with the hospital, and that his fiancé was coming home with them.

His parents, who had been sitting in two chairs by a glass wall, promptly stood when the two of them entered the room. Letting go of his husbands arm, his pére scampered over to the two of them and touched Hunters face. "Oh, your poor lip. I have a salve that you can spread on it. And your arm! Hunter, how could you do this to me? You know that I worry myself sick over you."

Hunter chuckled at his admonishing, easing his prickling body against his chest, "I know you do, Kurt. Will you accept my apology?" Pushing his lip out when his pére stuck his hands on his hips, Hunter pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, "Ive already made up for it ten times over. My butt has seen the light of day far too many times today." He seemed to sense when a tiny smile cracked onto his lips, as he snuggled him closer, "This hasnt ruined my good looks, has it?"

His daddy wrapped his arm around Hunter, drawing his weight off of Archers staggering body, "Lets go home, Hunter. Dont ever pull a stunt like that again, or Ill have the mind to throttle you."

Later that evening, after Archer stepped out of a scalding shower that melted away his overwhelming thoughts and left him feeling fresh, but sensitive to his pajamas sliding over his burning skin, he found Hunter sprawled to every corner of his bed. Before they left the hospital, a doctor had pulled him aside and had given him a numbing medicine that Hunter was supposed to take with a meal. He advised that although Hunter wasnt feeling the sting of a broken arm then, he would certainly be as grouchy as a bear if he rolled over during the night and slept on it. He claimed that it was best for both Hunter and anyone staying with him, and had admitted that Hunter was one of the worst patients he had ever had the misfortune to meet. He told Archer to keep him out of trouble, because if he ever came back to the hospital, hed kicked him back out on his butt.

His pére had quickly fixed up a filling, but gentle, dinner for Hunter, and hed brought down a chilled, spring pea soup, so that it would go down easily. Hunter had gobbled up every drop of the thick soup, and then finished it off by gulping down his pill with a drink of water. Within fifteen minutes, Hunter had grown drowsy, his lids lowering over his dim eyes, and his mouth sinking. As his pére returned for the empty bowl, Hunter had lazily complimented his cooking, telling him that he made the best food he had ever tasted, and then hed smacked his fingers to his lips. His pére had blushed at the ridiculous praises of the simple meal hed put together, while Archer had bit back giggles, knowing that, even though hed never seen Hunter drunk, his personality would probably resemble something like this.

Now Hunter was snoozing peacefully, his head tucked into a pillow as his snores filtered through the room. Archer strode over to the side of the bed, dragging the blankets higher up to Hunters chin. "Youll be okay." He reassured him, whirling away from his fiancé and sinking into the chair at his desk. Opening his laptop, he stared for a moment at his screensaver, which was a picture of him sitting on the swing in his grandparents backyard, Hunters feet resting on either side of him. A red glow shone from the setting sun behind them, illuminating Hunters standing form in rich gold. He clicked on one of the icons, opening the internet. With a few taps of his mouse, he pulled up a page of all of the residents of Lima, Ohio. The site wouldnt give him very specific information, but it would give him what he needed, which was more than he had a day ago.

Picking at one of the keys as he stared blankly at the screen, he pondered over what Karofsky had told him, trying to recall the names hed been given. Suddenly, he heard Hunter grunt behind him, shifting onto his side-fortunately, the one that didnt have the broken arm-and he turned to look at him. Without another moment of hesitation, he typed quietly at the keys, and then he clicked to do a search of all of the names. Luckily, Lima was a small city with less than fifty thousand people, so the number of people with Karofskys name was a slim one. He chose the tiny picture given of Karofsky, and loaded a larger page of information on him. He chewed his lip as he gazed at a mug shot of Karofsky, one of him leaning against a white, concrete wall marked with lines. His eyes were hollow and angry, and his mouth was sunken. He was clearly younger in the picture, and not wrinkled with the worry lines he had now.

He scrolled down the page, finding Karofskys birthdate, which informed him that he was only a year older than his parents. He saw that Karofsky had gone to school at McKinley, but no other schooling was given. It seemed that he had gone the same year as his parents. Wondering if they had known each other, he went a few lines down the page and jolted with alarm when his police record appeared. The details given were brief, but something he noted for later as the words kidnap... drug abuse... and underage drinking came up. Was the kidnapping referring to Hunter? Archer considered that it probably wasnt, because if the police knew about it, they would have taken him away by now.

He returned to the home screen, punching in the other name that Karofsky had given to him. Immediately, a single woman popped up on the screen, since her name was so rare to be given to anyone from anywhere in Ohio. He hovered the mouse over her, hesitating because he knew that this was the woman who had singlehandedly ruined Hunters life. He clicked on her name, and found himself staring at a stunning woman with dark skin, and deep brown hair and eyes. Moving his mouse down, he looked over her information, and he scribbled down her phone number on a spare sheet of paper he had laying nearby. Not much else was offered about her.

Going back to the home screen one last time, he tapped in the first name of the woman Karofsky had Hunter with, and three different women flashed into his eyes. He ruled the first one out because her last name was Brittany, leaving him with a red haired woman, and a blond. Sliding the mouse over the blond womans picture, he clicked on her, and frowned as he saw her information listed as the day she was born and the day that she died. She was only a few years older than him when sickness had taken her life. He knew, without a doubt, that this woman had been Hunters mom. He studied the grainy picture of her, noticing that Hunter favored his dad, who was the handsomer of the parents. This womans blond hair was stringy and thin, pulled into a tight ponytail that made her forehead appear two inches too long. Her face, thin and narrow, reminded him of an arrow, with two squinty eyes in the center, and an upturned nose. Her mouth was pale, two narrow slivers of skin in her unhealthily pale skin. In no way would Archer have called this woman pretty, and saw very little, or nothing at all, of Hunter in her.

He exited out of that website, and he opened another, copying the number into the search bar. Without Santanas name given with this result he came up with, he found the address that was attached to the phone number. An unknown amount of time had passed since Santana had moved out to Elida, a smaller city than even Lima, which he could get to within twenty minutes. He wrote down the address, and then pocketed the slip of paper as he stood up. Shrugging into his coat, he walked over to the staircase, sparing one last glance at Hunter. He slept deeply, his head hidden under a plump pillow.

He tiptoed up the squeaky stairs, wishing that he had taken a bedroom on the first floor. Sliding through the door, he shut it with a soft click behind himself, as he pulled out his phone and searched for specific directions to her house. He set his hand on the doorknob, twisting it slightly as he squinted his eyes at his loading phone. Suddenly, he dropped his hand when he heard light footsteps padding across the floor. He flinched, knowing that, whoever was behind him, he would get an earful for trying to get out. Not even his pére could help him anymore, as Archer had overused his excuses of why he had to leave so late, as Hunter was tucked away in his bed that night. He rotated around at the echo of his fiancés croaky voice, "What are you doing, Archer?"

Archer would have rather gotten a lecture from his daddy, who was at least a reasonable man who never raised his voice. Having never gotten into many fights with Hunter, he trembled with dread of what he was to expect from his overprotective fiancé. "Um... nothing."

Hunter rolled his eyes, scrubbing his wild hair with a heavy palm. "Do you think Im stupid?" The harsh tone of his fiancés voice made Archer flinch, ducking his head as Hunter plowed toward him on a pair of strong legs. He gasped, startled, as Hunter pinched his nape between two of his fingers, and dragged him away from the door. "Where were you going? I think I have the right to know where my fiancé was running off to in the middle of the night."

Even though Hunter hadnt grabbed him firmly enough to hurt him, he still rubbed at the reddened area, "Dont yank on me like that, Hunter-"

Hunter scoffed, drawing away from Archer with a shake of his head, "I cant start a marriage off like this. Not with you going off to some place that you cant tell me anything about. Its another man, isnt it? Youre running off with him the way that you used to with me-"

Hunter didnt finish his sentence before Archer raised his hand and slapped him across the cheek, a loud crack that was followed by a deathly silence. It took several seconds for him to collect his voice to speak, "How dare you accuse me of cheating? Ive never given you any reason to believe that there was anyone else-"

He gestured impatiently with his hand, obviously pointing out the situation that they were in now. "What am I supposed to think of this, Archer? What could you want outside of this home at this hour of the night?" When Archer stumbled backwards, he grabbed for his front, and his hand encountered the piece of paper that was crushed in Archers sweaty fist. His sharp eyes flicked down to it, and he snatched it effortlessly from Archers hand. "What is this?"

"N-Nothing-" Archer could have come up with a better answer, but he couldnt bring himself to take advantage of Hunters blindness. Besides, with his fiancés temper at the height it was, Archer found himself drawing a blank in every way except what could get him to calm down.

"Tell me whats on this paper right now-"

Abruptly, Hunter whipped around at a stir that hed heard seconds before Archer, who hesitantly tore his wide gaze from his fiancés thrumming chest to the top of the stairs, where his sleepy parents had appeared. His pére was rubbing at his eyes, while his daddy held onto his hand, his troubled eyes flashing between the couple on the floor below them. "Guys, whats going on? Its the middle of the night."

Hunter didnt say anything to the pair of them, so Archer spoke up in a quivering voice, "I-Im sorry, Daddy. I got up to get a glass of water. I stubbed my toe on the table. I must have been complaining too loudly."

His daddy gave him an unbelieving look, "Why are you wearing your coat?"

"I was cold." Archer said lamely, and his daddy opened his mouth to question him further, but when he noticed his husband yawn, he turned back to him and nudged him off to bed.

"Okay." His daddy shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "Just... go back to bed. Its late. Hunter needs his rest. Well see you in the morning."

As soon as they went back around the corner, Hunter snatched his arm and pulled at him until he followed his quick steps down the stairs. "Hunter, stop! Youre scaring me!" Archer begged, trying to jerk his arm free. Sensing the fear in his fiancés voice, Hunter loosened his grip, but he kept speeding down the stairs. "Im not cheating on you! I left because... because..." his voice drifted off when Hunter turned back to him, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Hunter wiped at them, smearing a silvery trail across his face. Archer softened his tone, his words slowing down as his own eyes became moist, "Hunter, I would never cheat on you. I love you... I promise. I thought you trusted me more than that."

Hunter blew out through his teeth, his shaking hand coming to the back of his head and knotting through his thick, tangled curls. "I do. I do. I never suspected it. I just... heard you typing on your computer. And then you left the room. You left me down here. It was an irrational moment... I thought you were abandoning me. Im so terrified of being left again. I dont want to lose you." Lowering onto the bed, Hunter took Archer against his chest, feeling the weight of his forehead leaning between his collarbones. "Please, dont hurt me. I wouldnt be able to take it from you. Youre the meaning of my life. I might not mean much to you... but youre everything to me. I have nothing outside of you."

Archer sobbed weakly, kissing at Hunters warm, stubbly neck, "N-No. No. I love you, Hunter. Youre my everything, too. I wasnt trying to hurt you. I just... I wanted to help you." Hunter shook his head, not understanding, so Archer said in one breath, "I was going to your stepmoms house. When I went into the hospital, the secretary told me about your dad. I saw him, and he admitted that you werent his all along-" Archer inhaled sharply when Hunters hand tightened like a vise on his sensitive skin, and he pressed himself into his strong grip. "Hunter... please, this hurts."

Hunter released Archer with a sound of distress, "Shit... Im sorry. I-wait... what? Archer, what did you say? You saw my dad?"

Archer cried out as Hunter jolted from beneath him, making him tumble face first onto the bed, which he clung to with a pair of trembling hands. Peering up at his fiancé through blurry eyes, he hiccupped, "Nothing happened. I asked him questions-Hunter, you did come from a different family!"

Hunters flat response was like a kick to his stomach, "It doesnt matter now."

"What do you mean, it doesnt matter?"

Pacing the room like a caged animal, Hunter furiously flung his hand down on a dresser. The clap of skin against wood made Archer jump. "It doesnt matter! Not if its going to drive you to pull these crazy stunts. I have you now! Im fine with that. But you will not get yourself tangled up in my past." To prove his point, Hunter ripped the paper into tiny shreds, flinging them at the floor when Archer reached out desperately. "You disobeyed me! I gave you one rule, Archer. Stay away from my dad. I didnt think you so low to use a car accident to pry information out of him. Hes sick, Archer! He doesnt know what hes talking about! Besides... what about you? You could have been hurt! I get that you hate any kind of damned rules that are set, but what you did was childish. As your fiancé, and your future husband, I expect you to have some amount of respect for me. Im putting my foot down right now." He pointed at the flakes of paper, "Ive known my stepmoms name for years. I could have found her if I wanted to. But I didnt. Whether or not there is another family, I still have my birth dad. As many horrible things as hes done to me, hes still my dad, and he needs me. Thats why I never left. Youve done nothing but put yourself in danger, if my dad remembers you."

Archer stared up at Hunter after he cut himself off from continuing, mouthing words, but unable to say any of them. Finally, with a few more shakes of his head, Hunter thundered out of the room and shut himself into the bathroom. Weakly slipping down the side of the bed, Archer sat on his knees, burying his soaked face in his arms. He cried for so long that he shouldnt have had any tears left, but somehow they just kept coming. He felt a variety of waves of emotion, all flooding him at once. Sick to his stomach with guilt, first and foremost, Archer battled between fits of anger at himself, and moments of confusion that Hunter didnt want to pursue this lead that Archer had gained, unless he was completely convinced that the statement was just a crazy mans ramblings. He wished he could take back today, and start from the very beginning. But, instead, he remained sobbing on the floor, unable to do much else, since he didnt know how long it would take for Hunter to stop seething. He wished he could get up the nerve to apologize to Hunter, and to stop pitying himself when hed brought this all on to himself, but he was too scared to even lift his head and glance at the bathroom door. After this, Hunter would easily have a right to walk out on him, and never come back to this relationship. The thought filled Archer with an unbearable pain, and he wept even more tears.

After what felt like a long time, Archer stiffened at the sound of the bathroom door creaking open. He remained perfectly still, not wanting to be the one to instigate the confrontation. When a hand lightly brushed over his back, he startled and pressed himself deeper into the mattress. Hunter immediately withdrew his touch. "I hurt you." He heard him breathe, a twinge of remorse in his voice, as he cautiously reached out and smoothed his fingers over the back of Archers head and down to his neck. "Oh, Archer... I didnt-I was beside of myself. Ive never..." he stopped speaking, slowly massaging circles into the skin that had stopped aching a long time ago. "Theres no way that I can make up for this. I swore to myself that I would never hurt you." Hunter snorted back tears, as his hand lowered to Archers back and stroked lightly at his cold skin. "Ill never forgive myself for that. I pulled at your hair, and I was too rough at your neck. Youre scared of me now. Im so sorry, Archer. I dont know what came over me."

Archer listened to Hunters weak, huffing noises as he cried over the mistakes hed made, and he hesitantly let go of the bed, turning around to face Hunter. It was clear that Hunter hadnt meant to inflict harm onto his skin, and really hadnt, except for a few snug pinches of his fingers from instant reactions to the moment. He hadnt consciously raised his hand against Archer. He didnt think he had it in him to hit him out of anger. Slowly scooting closer to Hunter, Archer looked at his fiancé, his bent form, head in his hand, as he muttered about how he wanted nothing more than to take back the discomfort hed caused Archer. "I-Its okay." Archer peeped, watching Hunter raise his head and twitch his eyes from side to side, trying to understand Archer without being able to read his expression. "You didnt mean to. You wouldnt hurt me intentionally."

Hunter quickly shook his head, a broken noise blurting from his sticky lips. "I hate myself for what I did-"

"Hunter, no." Archer begged, cupping his fiancés flushed face in his hands. "It was just a couple of pinches. Im okay. I forgive you. I just... I want your hands to be gentle with me from now on." Nodding his head, Hunter sat hard on the ground when Archer crawled toward him, melting into his chest. He lowered his snotty face to Archers hair, breathing in the sweet perfume that had started to fade away as the night dragged on. He smelled the must of sweat and salt beneath it. "I didnt mean to hurt you, either. Please, dont leave me. I wont do anything like it again-"

"I know." Hunter breathed, his hand swallowing the back of Archers head and rubbing at the formerly sore places. "I know. I understand why you did it. I took some time to think about it, and I know I havent been telling you all that I should. You had every right to be curious, and want to ask questions. All I need from you is to not go behind my back anymore. I told you to stay away from my dad to keep you safe. If he ever did anything to you-" He choked, unable to get the rest of his sentence out.

Archer could tell that the air between them was different now, and there was forced distance that he himself had wedged there with his own hands. He had never resented anyone more than he did himself. His shallow breath started to deepen as he lay across Hunters lap, feeling his hand smooth his damp hair. Closing his eyes against the material of Hunters shirt, he whispered, "My parents have never fought like this, Hunter. They havent."

"I know, angel."

Hunters acknowledgement of the explosion that had just occurred between them made it that much more real. Archer wrapped his small hands around Hunters wrists, holding on as if Hunter would disappear if he let go. "Do you think were meant to be together, Hunter?"

There was a moment of agonizing silence in which Hunter didnt reply. Archer could tell that the cogs in his brain were rotating. Finally, Hunter muttered into his hair, "Im aware that Im not making you as happy as you should be. I thought I was ready for a relationship. I think... I have too much baggage. You have big dreams, and a bright future ahead of you. As long as I have my dad, I have too many responsibilities outside of making you feel constantly loved. My life is dark, Archer. Yours will always be light, as long as you dont step into mine." As tears spilled from between Archers creased lids, he nudged a kiss onto his cheekbone, "I love you, kitten... but I cant love you with all of me right now."

"Please, dont leave me-"

Hunter sniffled, slowly removing himself from under Archer, "Go and do what you want with your life. Whatever you do, do it in a way that pleases you in ways that I never could. I have to stay with my dad. Our lives are too different, Archer." He paused to make a weak sound, "When youre ready, find a man who makes you comfortable... who has the means to care for you. Ill always be your first love, Archer. I promise."

Archer turned his mouth up to Hunters, desperately kissing him, "I dont want to be comfortable, Hunter. I want to be happy. Please, dont go. I promise Ill never deceive you again. I was stupid. Dont leave me over this-"

Hunter swallowed thickly, "Its not just this, Archer. I cant leave my dad anymore. He doesnt have the ability to care for himself. I need to be there for him. I cant move out of Lima with you. I cant follow you. And I dont want to put you through the stress of not knowing if Im ever not okay because of something my dad has done. Live your life to the fullest. I dont want you to keep running after me, when I cant stop and wait for you." He pressed a lasting, warm kiss to Archers dry mouth, and then pulled up, rubbing his nose on Archers. "Youre a beautiful boy. Any good man would be lucky to snatch you up."

Archer gave one last, hoarse attempt to reason with Hunter, "Hunter, be selfish. Keep me for yourself! Make me live alone while you care for your dad-" As Hunter slowly rose to his feet, using his good hand to lift himself, Archers voice became screechy, "Hunter, no. Dont do this! Dont make me live without you!" Hunter stepped back, making his decision clear to Archer, who flung himself back onto the bed and sobbed so violently that his entire body shook as if he was cold. "At least give me one more time with you-"

Archer hated the pathetic words of begging that were streaming from his mouth, as he knew that it would just cut him deeper when Hunter grunted, "No... I cant be with you again. If I get inside of you one more time, Ill never be able to leave you alone." He bent and took Archers mouth in a hot, open kiss, prodding his tongue at Archers. Archer grabbed the back of his head, twisting it to give him a better angle to kiss at. With a sucking noise, Hunter pulled up, his face surprisingly wiped clean of emotion. The remnants of tears were glued to his cheeks. "Ill always love you, Archer."

Archer flinched every time he heard his foot come down on the floor, and he watched helplessly as his ex-fiancé ascended the stairs, limping a little on his bruised legs. When the door shut behind his dark figure, the reality of being left behind hit Archer in the stomach. A horrific scream belted from Archers lips as he threw himself down to the floor, crying with abandon over his loss. He collapsed into a limp pile on the carpet, shrieking until he didnt have the voice to produce any more sound. Suddenly, he was snapped out of his loneliness by a pair of hands grabbing his shoulders and hauling him upright. Through his crinkled eyes, he saw his daddys wild face, as he swiftly brushed his hair back. "Honey! Honey!" He begged, shaking Archer to get him out of his stunned state. "Archer, Daddys here. Daddys got you."

Melting into his dads muscular shoulder, Archer hid his face in his neck, peering out at his pére, who was sitting on his knees by them, hands at his mouth as he shook his head at the messy state that Archer had been left in. "Daddy, hes gone." Archer bit down on his dads shoulder, feeling him breathe unsteadily as he rocked his son back and forth. "He left me. Hes not coming back."

"Hush..." his daddy whispered into his ear, cuddling him tighter to his chest. He didnt know what to do for his son to appease the situation. "Daddys right here, sweetheart. I wont let you go."

His pére stretched his hand out and fingered at his hair, but remained silent as he kept stroking Archer. Squeezing his eyes shut, Archer tried to block out the world in his daddys arms, but before he could really get a hold of what was happening, he found himself passing through blackness.