Blaine pressed his shaky fingers to the wood of Archers bedroom door, slowly moving his head closer to it, where he could make out the soft sounds of a high pitched voice ringing like a pretty bell. Raising a single brow, Blaine lowered his hand to the knob, twisting it just enough to put a crack at the edge of the door. "Sleepy kitten." He heard someone sing, the voice so melodic that a faint smile pulled at the corners of his lips. "Close your eyes." It wasnt often that he heard Archer sing, at least not since he was a little boy, but there were few sounds more breathtaking. Opening the door a little farther, Blaine peered down the steps to the white carpet, unable to see much else. "Not another peep-"

"Blaine?" A gentle voice murmured from behind him, and Blaine turned his head to his husband, who was still clutching the bloody towels they had used to clean Hunters skin. "What is it?" When Blaine nodded his head, Kurt arched his brows, his pink lips pursing. He looked unusually pale, the way he had since Blaine had raised his fist at the boy who looked like he was about to crumple.

Blaine shook his head, backing away from the door, and he held one hand out for him. "I wasnt going to bother them. Listen, sweetheart. Archer is singing to him."

Kurt blinked his blank eyes, "Singing?" He slowly padded over to his husband, pressing himself into the doorway. His eyes widened to the size of saucers when he heard the familiar tune. "Thats the lullaby I used to sing to Archer when he was a baby." When Blaine put his hand at Kurts waist, Kurt took another step forward, his huge eyes flickering around the room and finally landing on the bed, where Archer was stretched out beside of Hunter, tenderly stroking the short, sweaty hair off of his face. Hunter seemed to be stuck between wakefulness and dreaming, his eyes shut but his head whipping from side to side as he muttered incoherently. Kurt took a deep breath, leaning back into Blaines massaging hand. "I didnt think that Archer remembered the lullaby. I wonder what reminded him of it."

Blaine furrowed his brows when his son suddenly leaned over Hunters writhing form, the waterfall of black curls cascading over Hunters swollen cheeks and blackened neck. "Who do you think that boy is?" Twisting his neck toward his small, curious husband, he watched him intently look upon the couple on the bed. "I thought Archer wanted nothing to do with him."

Kurt gave him an inkling of a smile, shaking his head back and forth, "Archer is young, my love. His emotions are changing quickly. But he is also like you... too stubborn to admit it. I think he is experiencing his first love. Ive never seen him be this way with anyone else-"

"What if he gets hurt-?"

"But what if he doesnt?" Kurt quickly soothed, "Blaine, darling, the only one who was hurt tonight was Hunter... from your fist. What does it matter if Archers homecoming night wasnt very good? At least Hunter came for him. Ours was exactly the same. People were mean to you, but we had each other. Thats all that counts." Turning away from the pair on the bed, Kurt whispered to his husband, "My dear, I think you gave Hunter a bad hand. I dont see anything threatening about him." He placed his hand on Blaines wrist, tugging him up when Hunter groaned lowly, rolling onto his side as he grasped at an enflamed cut. "Someone hurt him, but all that mattered to him was getting to Archer. He must care for him. Blaine, I remember some very similar situations when we were their age-"

"This isnt about Karofsky." Blaine muttered, snapping the door shut behind them. "I dont know what happened to that boy, but its nothing like what happened to me-"

"How do you know?" Kurt almost sounded hurt, which made Blaines jaw drop. "You dont know anything about that boy, Blaine. How could you judge him so irrationally? This isnt like you. Its not like youre completely dissimilar from him. You didnt tell me anything about yourself! I couldnt ask you any questions-"

"You knew more about me than Archer does of Hunter." Blaine tried to keep his voice quiet, but he could feel himself losing control of the temper hed kept down for so long. "I talked to Finn about this boy, and he says that he knows almost nothing about him. He hasnt even met his parents. He doesnt let Dillon inside of his house. How could he be so secretive? What do you think hes hiding from our son?"

Even though he hadnt meant to upset him, and had only been admitting what was most logical for the sake of his son, his husbands eyes still swelled up with tears. He wildly shook his head, pushing away from Blaine, who quickly grabbed for him, "You have no right to be this way toward him! You kept your entire life from me for ten months, Blaine! You dont know what this boy is hiding, and I didnt know what you were hiding. But I know that you loved me all along, and I think that Hunter loves our Archer." He stumbled away from Blaine when he held his arms out, lifting his hands to block him. "Youve told me that my love for you has made you better. Why cant you let Archer have the same-?" He hiccupped, then covered his puffy mouth with his hand as he shook his head.

He whirled away from Blaine, hurrying out of the room with short, quick steps. Blaine was left with Kurts name on his lips, and then he whipped around as soon as he was out of his line of sight. "Shit." Blaine muttered lowly, leaning back against the door, which Archers light voice floated through.

"Not another peep. Hush, and rest your head on my heart. Listen to the thump, thump, thump." Blaine shut his eyes, remembering staring down at those big, blue eyes, which solemnly stared up at his parents, one of them softly singing to him and the other lovingly smiling. He remembered his pudgy baby, who used to clutch his hands with dimpled, squishy fingers, and he suddenly realized that he wasnt Daddys tiny, slobbery baby anymore.

"Hunner!" A tiny voice squealed, sounding more like a hungry, baby pig than a voracious, little boy. Hunter cocked his head toward the patter of feet across crunchy leaves, a low chuckle burbling out of him when his ecstatic playmate screamed, obviously terrorized when he swung his head around, catching him in his slanted eyes. "Stop it, Hunner! Youre not supposed to peek! Im telling Daddy!"

Hunters eyes widened when he saw an image, just a brief flash of color-he wasnt sure which-when the boy slowed down long enough for Hunter to focus his eyes on where the sounds his ears were picking up were coming from. It was the color that he expected running water to be, deep, nearly clear, but with a mellow tone to it. And just as quickly as it had come, the color was gone, and all he had was the sound of a clucking tongue. "Poor baby. Did Hunter cheat you out of a game of hide and seek? Why cant I be the one to do the scolding? Am I not harsh enough for your liking?"

The little boy was obviously very firm in his belief that Hunter needed to be thoroughly punished for his crime, and nearly made himself breathless with trying to explain how it had to be done. "Père, youre too nice to be mean! Hunner needs to be stuck up in a tree for the whole night! Then he will learn his lesson."

The boys père spoke with a voice bright with amusement, "Hunter spends so much time in the trees already, I dont believe that we would be punishing him, dear. But he would be awfully sad if he couldnt come down to get a bite of one of the cookies that just came out of the oven. Dont you think, though, that if Hunter says that he is sorry, then he could eat a cookie?"

The little boy huffed, disappointed that he couldnt swipe his crumbs onto Hunters feet. "I suppose he can have a cookie if he says hes sorry."

After his pére swished off to grab the plate of cookies, the little boy approached Hunter, giving him a whiff of his strawberry shampoo. He wobbled from his heels to his toes, unable to keep his balance on his short legs, so he placed his chubby hands on Hunters shoulder. Recognizing the smooth skin that was stretched over his pudgy palms, he grabbed for the tiny boy, making him squawk indignantly at him as he was lassoed around his wide waist and dragged even closer. "You! What is your name?" Hunter shouted, his voice much deeper than that of the other boys.

When the little boy quivered, but didnt respond, Hunter lowered his face over his, feeling his warm, shaky breath. Hunter kept his voice quiet so as to not alarm the little boy with his boisterousness, "I know you, dont I? I remember your hands. I remember your voice. So beautiful." Hunter raised his hands to the tiny boys trembling head, and he sank his fingers into piles of wild curls, like snakes that coiled around his fingers. "I know these curls. I loved you with your crazy hair, and now I love someone else with these same curls." The little boy quivered once more, so Hunter soothed, "Its okay. I just... Its been a long time. You dont remember me, do you? I think we knew each other when we were children." Realizing that this boy was still in the body of a child, Hunter cleared his throat, correcting himself, "Well... when I was a child. Years ago, I took something that I think belongs to you. A teddy bear. Did someone ever take a teddy bear from you?"

As Hunter sank onto his knees so he didnt have to bend over the short boy, the last size he remembered him as, he levered him over his knee, listening to him puff, "Daddy says that you took our teddy, Keegan, with you when you had to leave."

Hunters eyes flickered, his pupils slowly growing wider, "Where did I have to go, sweetheart? How old was I? Who is Daddy?" The tiny boy quieted himself as he continued to shake, so Hunter encouraged him with a few pats to his back. "Its okay, pretty boy. You can tell me anything, you know. I wont bring any harm to you. I love you."

He opened his mouth again, releasing a long breath of air, "Someone took you away from us a few months ago. Père is still very sad. He likes when you come to visit me when I sleep. He says that it gives me something to be excited about when I wake up, because I tell him all about you. I dont think Daddy likes to hear about my dreams. They make him cry."

Hunter creased his bottom lip, drawing the tiny boy closer and pecking kisses along the side of his head, "Listen, baby doll... I dont have your teddy with me now, but I promise to give him to you soon. Hes still in good shape. Im sorry I took him away from you. I never got the chance to tell you that. He misses you a lot. I do, too. I love you so much, beautiful. So very much."

The boy pressed his chubby face into Hunters neck, and Hunter was suddenly ashamed of the odor of cigarettes and cheap cologne that he must have inhaled. "Youve never asked questions before. Youve just come to play with me." As if alerted by something that Hunter couldnt see, the little boy clung much tighter to him, "Wait! Please dont go! I dont want you to leave anymore-"

Hunter shut his eyes. Maybe he was finally dying. Maybe his body had been stretched so far that it had snapped. Whatever was happening to him, though, all he wanted was for the only meaning to his short and uneventful life to be okay. "I have to go now, but tell your père to save a cookie for me, okay?"

The little boy nodded his head frantically, his hair slapping Hunters cheeks, "When will you come back for it?"

"Relax, sweet." Hunter said calmly, "Just close your eyes, and Ill always be there."

His voice became much squeakier and breathless, and Hunter heard him sniff around a bubble of snot. "You asked for my name and I never told you. Im-"

"Archer!" Hunter flung his body forward, his stomach coiling as his tense muscles stretched. Yelping, Hunter grabbed his seizing abdomen, which felt unbearably hot. Unable to relieve his pain with the touch of his rough fingers, Hunter threw his hands to the side, digging his nails into the fluffy mattress. He heard the threads of the sheets tearing apart, one by one. Panting, Hunter snapped his head to the side, muffling his shouts in a warm, flattened pillow. "Archer!"

Suddenly, a pair of hands cupped his cringing face, instantly soothing his sharp nerves. "Hunter." A soft voice breathed in his ear. Hunter felt a little body climb onto the bed beside of him, making the mattress rock and the blankets shift. "Its okay. Dont yell anymore. Youll scratch up your throat." The sweat dampened sheets peeled off of Hunters chest and stomach, and a warm cloth wiped over his throbbing skin. He hissed, his nostrils flaring and his mouth falling open. "There you are. Your cuts are still raw. Im going to remove the bandages so that they can get some air."

Hunter flipped up his wrinkled lids, blinking frantically to clear the fogginess in his head. "Wait." Hunter begged, feeling something sticky pull at his clammy skin. "Archer... come here. Just let me hold you. Take care of me by loving me." Pulling at Archers shoulders, Hunter ignored his murmurs that he was going to be in pain until he let him pay attention to his wounds properly, and he draped his rigid body over his pounding chest. "I feel better like this, my love."

Archer sighed heavily, his soft hands stretching up to Hunters jaw and caressing the hard lines of it. "I love you so much."

Hunters arms wound around the small of his back, and he rubbed a circle between his pointy shoulder blades, "Kitten... I know youve never had a boyfriend... but youve loved before, havent you?"

Archer took a moment to reply, his lashes fluttering against the underneath of Hunters jaw. His lips moved over his skin, mouthing the words before he said them aloud. "You werent my first kiss, Hunter. There was never another boyfriend... but there was another boy. He was there when I was young... only a baby, and then... one day, someone took him away from us. My parents told me later on that someone had killed him. Hes the reason why I dance. Someone took away his ability to move, so I want to honor him by taking advantage of what I have."

Hunter shut his eyes, his arms tightening on Archers slight body. He wished he had learned the name of the baby in his dream... or maybe it was all in his head, only a nightmare that would unfortunately never come true. "Thats what I thought youd say. When Im healed enough to stand, I want to take you somewhere, Archer."

"Anywhere." Archer sighed, his lashes batting over sleepy eyes. It was so late when he finally got the chance to lay down that Hunter stroked him into a comfortable lull, hoping he would drift off soon. It was his fault that hed had to keep his eyes peeled open for so long. "Id follow you anywhere."

Even though Hunter had already known this, he didnt want Archer to be everywhere with him, at least not with Karofsky. Never, he decided, would the most loving thing Hunter had ever met meet the thing that loved nothing.