Author's Notes: An Exquisite design


Artie unwrapped the foil packaging from his poptarts. "You know what sucks, Eugene?" He wheeled around his lab, angrily.

The coffee machine beeped and Eugene calmly poured Artie coffee. "THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE A TAPED RECORDING OF THE PERSON THAT TRAVELLED WITH GUNTER?"

"Why the hell don't airports keep recordings that are older than 3 years? That doesn't make sense!" Artie cried in frustration before grabbing the mug Eugene handled him.

The robot titled his head, crossing his arms above his chest. "ACTUALLY IT DOES. IF THEY KEPT ALL THE RECORDINGS, THEY WOULD END UP WITH A COLOSSAL FOOTAGE DATABASE THAT WOULD EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN AND WELL, KIND OF POINTLESS."

"Well, it wouldn't be pointless for us!" Artie scoffed. "Because guess what? We have no idea who travelled with Gunter!" He bit into his poptart and took a sip of the coffee before making a face "And seriously, how can you be so calm about this?"

Eugene shrugged. "I JUST TRUST YOU. I KNOW YOU'LL FIND A WAY OF IDENTIFYING MR. MYTERIOUS TRAVELLER," The robot said, as if it was truly that simple.

Overwhelmed by such blind faith, Artie blushed. "'Genie, you just make me want to hug you sometimes, you know that?"

"I HAVE THAT EFFECT ON PEOPLE," Eugene said smugly, and Artie was pretty sure if that metallic bastard could, he would be smirking right now.

*******************

Blaine took his usual spot at the back of his seventh period English class; a class he couldn't wait to end. The stress of the day was already getting him down; he was done with his finals, but they were brutal and now more than anything Blaine just wanted go home, away from the uncaring and underpaid teachers, the brainless classmates and stupid jocks that still called him a fag behind his back.

If he only hadn't promised Kurt he wouldn't skip classes…

He cringed at his own thoughts. He was actually sticking around in this oppressive and intellectually offensive atmosphere because he had promised someone? Oh God, what freakish force had possessed him and where was the real Blaine Anderson? He looked around, as if in doing so he could find an explanation for what was happening to him… and why he had butterflies in his stomach.

The world must have somehow changed, or at least it felt like that for Blaine, though, looking around, apparently only for him. Everyone kept doing what they always did, looking bored and tired while the teacher continued to talk endlessly. Quinn kept sucking on her lip piercing, probably thinking about the pack of cigarettes she had hid away in her locker, as always.

Blaine considered throwing a note at her, but just then his phone buzzed. It was text from Kurt.

I think Tina's a homophobe - Kurt

Blaine inhaled sharply.

He was aware that Tina was one of the few friends Kurt had and Blaine also knew too well how it felt when people you once thought as friends turned their backs on you over something you don't have any control over, as if you're some sort of freak that chooses to be ostracized.

Did she say something to you?! I swear to God Kurt if she did or said anything...He typed quickly, clenching his jaw. He could already feel his blood boiling up.

Blaine wouldn't let people's hate and ignorance turn Kurt into the same bitter, untrusting, self-destructive asshole he had become after years of putting up with Lima's closed minded jerks. He would do everything in his power to protect Kurt from that, to keep him just like he is, someone that actually believed he could walk around wearing a kilt in Lima, Ohio, without being humiliated by homophobes.

Kurt's answer took long enough to make Blaine consider grabbing his things and getting out of there. He didn't even care if the principal gave him a detention or called Walter, damn, Figgins could call the fucking Pope if he wanted, it wouldn't keep Blaine from being there for Kurt if the he needed him.

She didn't say anything…But she just had this look on her face as if she pitied me or as if I was some sort of sick person -Kurt.

A humorless, bitter laugh broke through Blaine's lips.

He made a small sound. A scoff. Like he was blowing it off. But really, he felt like he was being eviscerated. Who did Tina think she is? What he and Kurt shared was not something to pity. It wasn't something soiled or dirty, quite the opposite actually. She should be envious of what they had, because a closed minded person, someone whose heart was contained by hate and prejudice would never experience such a pure and unique thing.

He looked up and Quinn's eyes were on him. She was frowning, not understanding why her best friend suddenly seemed so upset. She mouthed an "is everything alright?" making Blaine's stomach wrap itself in knots. In times like this he'd realize the fact that he was just so damn lucky that he had someone like Quinn in his life. Someone who didn't look at him differently when he came out and that remained his friend through all the pain and loss.

Blaine would never forget how, while everyone remained motionless watching Ted beat him up, Quinn stood up for him. How she threw herself between them, pushing Ted away and practically daring him to hit a pregnant woman. She helped Blaine stand up and dragged him to the girl's bathroom where she cleaned the blood and tears off his face, promising that everything would be alright.

And even when everything didn't turn out alright and, with the help of his teammates and his couch, Ted made up a story which spread through the school, saying that Blaine had been harassing him for weeks and that he had touched Ted inappropriately, causing Ted's violent outburst, Quinn stuck to his side. And when Blaine refused to talk about it or press charges in fear of his parents' reaction and began to be treated by the whole school like some sort of gay sexual predator, Quinn was there to snap at anyone who said mean things about her best friend.

She never left his side and once he began to skip P.E classes, as he was not willing to use the locker room where every boy thought he some pervert that wanted their dicks, she skipped with him. They spent hours on the grassy slope next to the bleachers that quickly, with time, became their place.

Blaine wished everyone who was out of the closet had the luck of having someone like Quinn in their lives. But unfortunately it didn't seem to be like that for Kurt seeing that his only friend apparently was a homophobe.

Blaine took a long breath through his nose and typed again.

"There's nothing wrong with you Kurt and if this Tina girl thinks otherwise then she doesn't deserve having you as her friend - Blaine."

Kurt could make new friends. The gang had liked him, and even Puck seemed to not hate him. And that was something, coming from Puck. That prick usually hated everybody, including himself.

"I guess you're right - Kurt."

"As usual ;) –Blaine" He responded, trying to brighten up the mood.

"A little full of yourself, don't you think? - Kurt"

The corners of Blaine's lips tugged up in a smirk and he quickly typed his reply before Mr. Andrews shot him another severe glare.

"You know you like it ;) -Blaine"

*******************

"So guys, what are we gonna do next?" Penny asked; tapping her fingers on the table as the waitress placed a chicken burger in front of her. Artie and Walter looked at her book with exasperated expressions on their faces.

They were in a small diner, blocks away from the FDTC building. It was one of those old-fashioned places that had a bell on the door that rang every time someone walked in and smelled like burgers and homemade pie. It was Penny's favorite place and whenever she came here she stuck to her favorites, a chicken burger and a slice of cinnamon apple pie with ice-cream.

"Maybe you could hack Avalon's system again for more information on Gunter?" Walter suggested, looking pointedly at Artie.

Artie rolled his eyes "If only it was that easy…" he sighed dramatically, before taking a sip of his chocolate milkshake.

"What? You already did it once…" Walter said, leaning on the table.

"Yeah, and after that every single hacker in the country tried to prove that they were just as good as me by doing the same thing and forcing Avalon to develop a system almost as good as the pentagon's," Artie explained.

"So you're saying you can't do it?" Penny asked, raising an eyebrow as she held her burger with both hands.

"Maybe," Artie murmured without looking up from his apple pie. "But it could take me months…"

Penny narrowed her eyes, titling her head slightly. "What if you tried to hack the system using one of Avalon's computers?"

Artie made a face. "Well theoretically speaking… yes, it would be easier to hack the system using one of their computers, but I really doubt they're going to let me near one of their computers," He scoffed.

"Maybe you won't have to…" Penny murmured, thousands of thoughts running inside of her head.

"What do you mean?" Walter inquired, seeing the look on his partner's face.

"Would you be able to design a malware in order of controlling one of Avalon's computers?" Penny asked Artie, the corner of her pink lips tugged in a smirk.

"Maybe…" Artie answered tentatively not really following Penny's line of thought.

"So do it! And Walter and I will make sure one of Avalon's computers gets infected with the malware." Penny grinned, delighted by her own intelligence.

Artie leaned forward, intrigued. "And how are you guys going to do that?"

"Great question, how ARE we going to do that?" Walter crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at his partner.

"I'll tell you how!" Penny smiled, battling her eyelashes. "Fabulously dressed, because you and I are going to the Avalon's Annual Charity Ball," She said with finality, as if it totally settled the matter.

"You mean the children's cancer aid one?" Walter asked, clenching the table cloth.

"The very same." Penny replied grinning widely. "They'll be selling their newest robot models for ridiculous sums, and, kind hearted as they are, the money raised goes to National Children's Cancer Foundation. It's being hosted in one their central headquarters and representatives from FDTC are always invited, a way to show their interest in fighting illegal forms of technology by collab-ing with us."

Walter thought a moment, as if it was actually considering Penny's ideas. "But it's our boss who goes to this kind of thing…"

Penny shrugged dismissively. "Oh Walt, it'll be easy to convince boss to let us go in his place, he hates this kind of formality." She looked pointedly at Artie. "But you have to come up with the best malware you've ever designed. If Walter and I get caught trying to infect Avalon's system, we may end up on jail. Are you sure you can do that, Artie?"

Artie leaned back in his wheel chair, running his fingers through his brown hair. "Well, when you put like that…" he trailed off nervously.

"Artie," Penny replied, her voice laden with unsaid warnings.

"Alright! Alright!" Artie sighed looking flustered. "I can do it!"

Penny crossed her arms over her chest and put her best bad cop face on. "Are you sure?" They couldn't take risks. If an alarm rang and they were caught trying to invade Avalon's systems, they wouldn't only get fired, but go to jail.

Artie took a deep breath. "Yes, I am!" He said, almost screaming it, desperately to show confidence in his words.

"Great!" Penny squealed, clapping her hands together. She was practically bouncing on her toes.

Walter leaned against his chair looking, at Penny but still not completely convinced by the ginger's plan. "Are you sure boss is going to allow us to go in his place?"

Penny smiled brightly. "Oh Walter, he'll be willing! Just wait and see."

*******************

"No! For the thousandth time, you two can't go to the Charity Ball," Johnson said, glaring at Penny and Walter with tired eyes.

Penny scooted herself forward. "But boss-"

"Why do you want to go to this ball?" Johnson asked with a tired sigh. "It's boring! It's full of a bunch of pretentious bastards who think that they're better than everyone else because they donate less than .000001 % of their money to charity once a year," He said, scrubbing his chin and rolling his eyes.

"That's exactly why we want to go!" Penny interjected.

Johnson frowned and sat back in his chair. "Because you actually like pretentious bastards who think they're better than everyone else?" he asked, raising his left eyebrow.

"No!" Penny smiled sweetly. "Because we want save you from hours of having to put up with those people!" She offered hopefully.

Johnson narrowed his small eyes. "And why would you two do that?"

Penny elbowed Walter, who sighed. "Because we really admire you, boss. You're an inspiring leader and a great man," he recited what Penny had made him memorize earlier, and she nodded at each word while giving their boss a thumbs up.

Johnson crossed his arms above his chest, unimpressed by their words. "What's the real reason you two want to go to this ball?"

"I told you he was going to say no…" Walter murmured. In response, Penny elbowed him again.

"Alright boss, I'll tell you the truth," She said, stepping forward and making Walter gasp.

"Penny, no-" Walter grabbed her arm.

"I need to say it, Walter…" She kept going, disengaging herself from the man's grip.

Walter reached out for her again. "But Penny-"

"I never went to any of my school dances," Penny said, catching everyone by surprise.

"What?" Walter and Johnson said in union, both frowning at the ginger woman.

"It's the truth. I-I never went to a dance. I had some hard times during high school and I never truly managed to overcome the bullying and harassment until I graduated. I just didn't want to go to prom and have pig blood thrown on me or whatever," Penny said, and then looked at her partner. "And I told Walter that, and he said that if I wanted to put on a pretty dress and drink some horrible punch, he would find a way to make it happen… so here we are."

Johnson looked at Penny, and then looked down. "I can't believe I'm saying this…" he sighed, and rubbed his hand on his forehead. "But okay, you two can represent the FDTC at Avalon's Charity ball," he said, causing Penny to squeal.

"Really?" Penny cried, clasping her hands together.

"Yeah, yeah… Now get out of here before I regret making this decision," Johnson grunted, motioning to the door.

"Boss, you're the best! The best!" Penny chuckled as Walter pulled her out of the office before she ruined everything by trying to hug Johnson.

"See? I told you he would let us go!" Penny cheered, bumping her fists on Walter's arm.

Walter bit his lower lip and then looked down at her. "That was a pretty good story you told there." He took a slow breath. "It sounded almost as if it was actually true."

Penny put a lock of her ginger hair behind her ear. "It's because it is the truth. No one wants to take the freaky slut to prom," She said quietly, before letting out a kind of bitter laugh that was so unlike her that it broke Walter's heart a little. "I guess I was only good enough for abandoned parking lots and the back of empty movie theaters."

Walter felt his stomach knotting, he felt sick. Penny wasn't a freak or something to be ashamed of. And it didn't matter if she had slept with hundreds of guys. That didn't reduce her worth or make her less special. That didn't change the fact that her smile was the brightest smile Walter had ever seen, and that her laugh was so contagious that not even his grumpy fa�ade could last around her.

"I would," Walter said quietly.

"What?" Penny looked up at her partner. "What did you say?"

Walter blushed. "I said that I-I would've taken you to prom, and I wouldn't care about what other people said because I know you would be the best prom date ever."

Penny look down, blushing, and then up again. Her brown eyes were wide and a bright smile curled onto her lips. "Thank you Walter," she murmured, hooking their arms together. "And well, I guess you'll have your chance then!" she chuckled, making Walter smile. "Now let's go to my mom's store."

"To your mom's store?" Walter raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, my family owns a dress store!" She said, pulling Walter towards the elevator. "Time to get ourselves some fabulous clothes!"


*******************
"SO HOW WAS LUNCH WITH WALTER AND PENNY? DID YOU GUYS COME UP WITH SOMETHING?" Eugene said as soon as he noticed Artie entering the lab.

Artie groaned. "Yes we have a plan and it involves me designing a malware, in a miniscule amount of time, capable of infecting Avalon industry's system without being noticed."

Eugene couldn't really smile, so he grabbed a paper and drew a smiley face and held it up for Artie. "YOU CAN DO IT," he said so convincingly and with such optimism that he almost convinced Artie himself, almost.

"I hope so Genie, I really hope so…" He sighed tiredly. "Oh! Along with designing this awesome malware, I also have to find a way of disguising the device with the malware as jewelry so Penny can wear it during Avalon's Annual Charity Ball. How about that? Artie Abrams, Hacker and Jewelry Maker," He said sarcastically, grunting and taking off his glasses to massage his temples.

"I CAN DO THAT FOR YOU," Eugene offered. "BUT I NEED TO KNOW THE COLOR AND THE MODEL OF PENNY'S DRESS SO I CAN DESIGN AN APROPRIATE PIECE."

Artie opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you know how to make jewelry."

"MY FORMER OWNER WAS A JEWELRY DESIGENER. I DREW AND MADE MOST OF THE PIECES FOR HIM," Eugene said, sitting in front of his laptop and opening a new tab on his browser. He quickly typed what seemed to be a familiar url and then turned the laptop towards Artie, showing him a page filled with images of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry Artie ever seen.

"You designed all these?" Artie gasped, grabbing the laptop and placing it in his lap. They were truly amazing. There were brushed-gold and platinum engraved jewelry accented with gemstones like diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies.

"YEAH, I DID," Eugene answered quietly.

Artie knitted his eyebrows together as he went through pages and pages filled with breathtaking jewelry. They were just so elaborate, so delicate. If Artie didn't know Eugene's gentle and kind nature, he certainly would not have been able to wrap his head around the fact that a robot as heavy and stout as Eugene was capable of making such precious and detailed little pieces of art. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" He murmured, looking up at his friend.

"BECAUSE HE ALSO MADE ME DO OTHERS THINGS, THINGS I'D RATHER NOT TALK ABOUT," Eugene said, wrapping his metallic arms around himself as if he could protect himself from the memories of the things he was forced to do for his previous owner.

Artie bit his lip. "Are you sure you want to make this jewelry then? We can find another way…"

"I DON'T MIND… I ALWAYS LIKED MAKING JEWLERY, EVEN IF THEY WERE NEVER RECOGNIZED AS MY WORK." The robot shrugged before making some excuse about getting coffee and walking away from the lab, leaving Artie behind with a sick, empty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

For the last time, Artie looked at the laptop's screen and at the pictures of the wonderful pieces Eugene had created. Every single one of them was being offered for exorbitant prices and all carried the signature of someone who didn't have half of Eugene's talent but whose condition as human had given him the right to abuse and taking advantage of Eugene in god knows how many ways for years.

Everything suddenly seemed so unfair.

Why was it that someone as kind and as considerate as Eugene had been forced to put up with that kind of shit for years? And how come others just like him were being forced to live in even worse conditions right now, being obligated to do all kinds of things while Artie, just for having a heart beat and a DNA code, could just sit there and complain about not having enough time to design a malware he was complete capable of doing.

Artie slammed the laptop shut, barely managing to breathe through the lumps in his throat.

In times like these he really just hated the fucked up world he lived in.

*******************

"Hey there," Kurt greeted Blaine with a smile as soon as the boy entered Walter's kitchen.

"Hey," the tired expression on Blaine's face brightened up almost immediately as he laid his eyes on Kurt, who was for some reason wearing an apron. Not that Blaine minded. In fact, he wouldn't be bothered at all if Kurt greeted him dressed only in that apron and nothing else.

"I like the apron," Blaine teased before sitting down. "I mean, I never thought I would be into this wife-y thing, but seriously, keep the apron."

Kurt rolled his eyes, placing one of his hands on his hips. "Seriously Blaine? You're really going down that hetero-normative path?" He held out a spoon accusatorily. "And by the way, why do I have to be the wife?"

"Oh honey, don't worry. If you want, I can be the wife." Blaine leaned forward, a grin forming in the corners of his lips. "I am pretty versatile…" he winked, feeling amused by the blush that quickly spread across Kurt's face as the android's mouth assumed an "o" shape.

"B-Blaine!" Kurt stuttered, turning around to hide his embarrassment. "I can't believe you just said that!" he murmured, grabbing a bowl and pouring sugar in it.

Blaine had to muffle his laugh with his hands. Even the back of Kurt's neck was overtaken by a distinct shade of red.

Still blushing and with his jaw clenched, Kurt pulled the refrigerator door open. "You're so not getting cookies…" He trailed, off grabbing the milk and glancing at Blaine with sharp eyes.

"Are you going to deny me cookies?" Blaine twisted his perfect lips into an exaggerated pout, batting his ridiculously long eyes lashes dramatically. "Really?"

Kurt met the pout with his best attempt at an evil face. "Oh yeah, no cookies for you sir." He had to turn around in order to not chuckle at Blaine's attempt at making puppy eyes.

Blaine stood up with a smirk, and approached Kurt, placing both hands on the android's sides. "And there's nothing I can do to make you change your mind?" he whispered in a low voice, causing shivers to run down Kurt's spine.

Kurt bit his lip, and to Blaine's surprise turned around to meet his eyes. "Maybe I can think of something…" the android whispered, or practically purred.

Blaine held his breath; his hazel eyes widened just enough and fixed on Kurt's lips. "You can?" he whispered, watching the way the android's lips parted the tiniest bit.

"A thing or two…" Kurt said, positioning his arms on Blaine's shoulders and causing the older boy to lean in a little. "Like what?" Blaine breathed, intoxicated by Kurt.

"How about if you clean the bathroom?!" Kurt stepped away, pushing Blaine back. "It could really use a good cleaning," he said once more, grabbing the bowl and trying his best to keep a straight face as Blaine glared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Tease," Blaine groaned as he supported himself against the table, arms crossed over his chest.

Kurt looked over his shoulder and winked teasingly. "You know you love it."

Blaine was about to retort with some snarky comment when the apartment's door burst open.

"Boooooooooooys!" Penny called, carrying a ridiculous amount of shopping bags in her arms while Walter followed her, hiding behind a stack of boxes that he desperately tried to keep balanced.

"Oh my God." Blaine sighed, supporting himself on the wall. "You didn't buy Kurt more clothes, did you?" He really hoped she hadn't. Kurt already had enough clothes. They barely fit their shared commode and there was no way Blaine was giving up another one of his drawers for Kurt. Well unless he got to makeout with him in exchange. He could always negotiate in exchange of a makeout sessions.

"What?" Kurt stepped in, eyes shining with excitement. "Who bought me clothes?"

Penny bit her lip. "Sorry dear, but these aren't for you. These are for Walter and me," She explained, lunching her shoulders.

Blaine frowned. "And since when do you two go shopping together?"

"Is not like that," Walter cut in, falling onto the couch tiredly. "We're going to a Charity Ball to represent our company and these are the clothes we borrowed from Penny's mom's store," He explained, grabbing one of the bags. "Well this one's mine, the rest is all Penny's. She insisted on bringing every single dress and matching shoes she saw in front of her."

Penny stuck her tongue out at her partner. "We're going to a Ball, Walter! What do you expect me to do, just pick any dress without the second opinion of a specialist?"

Walter sighed resignedly. "I feel like I'm going to regret this, but what're you talking about, Penelope?"

"Oh, I think she's talking about me… I'm the specialist…" Kurt raised his hand, taking off his apron and putting it aside.

Blaine glared at him. "And what makes you the specialist?"

"Honey, have you seen how fabulously he dresses?" Penny retorted as Kurt smiled smugly.

"Thank you, finally someone recognizes my talents." He blew her a kiss before sitting down comfortably on the couch. "Now go and put these on so I can give you my opinion."

"Oh my god, not again," Walter groaned, burying his face in his palms. "Do I need to be here? I already saw you in all of these dresses and in some of them twice!"

"Of course you do!" Kurt cut in, and Penny nodded in agreement as she glared at her partner with her arms crossed. "You're my companion, I need your opinion," she stated.

If only Walter could say no to Penny... He sighed and ran his fingers through his curly hair. He gave up. "Alright, alright, but I already told you that I like the blue one better."

"Oh, blue is good color!" Kurt pointed out. "It matches your skin."

"Well I'm not anyone's companion or a specialist, so if you need me I'll be in my room." Blaine excused himself and pointed to the hallway, but before he could walk away someone gripped of his leather jacket.

"Oh young man, you're staying," Walter grumbled.

"Wait- Why?" Blaine cried. "Unless Penny's considering on getting some piercings or wants to borrow a leather jacket, there's no reason for me to stay."

Walter thought for a moment, but then he shook his head. "I don't have a reason to make you stay, but I'm your father, and if I'm being forced to endure hours of this, I'm not doing it alone, so sit down and think of this as some sort of father-son bonding experience."

"Watching Penny try on millions of different gowns?" Blaine snorted. "What kind of father-son bonding experience is that? What happened to going fishing, hunting, bowling for God's sake! I like bowling! Why can't we go bowling?"

"But Blaine, I could really use a second opinion!" Penny pouted.

"Another one?" Blaine motioned to Kurt and Walter.

Penny shrugged. "A third opinion then…But I would be really happy if you stuck with us and helped me choose my dress!"

Blaine kept his arms crossed and had an unconvinced expression on.

"C'mon!" Penny cried. "Don't make use my puppy eyes on you!" She warned.

"I would listen to her if I was you," Kurt advised "No one can resist Penny's puppy dog eyes and after she has used them against you there's no way you'll be able to say no to her again, ever."

Blaine snorted. "It can't be that convincing."

But it turned out it was, and minutes later Blaine found himself sitting on a couch, squeezed between a tired Walter and a overexcited Kurt, as the three of them watched Penny trying on what seemed to be an infinitude of gowns.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Blaine mumbled. Who would've known that Penny's puppy dog eyes were actually that good? Not even a real puppy could pull off such puppy dog eyes, how that was even possible?

"Well me either," Walter murmured, yawning. "But hey! Now we have something in common. Best bonding time ever," he joked, causing Blaine to smile. He actually smilied at something his father said instead of rolling his eyes as usual.

"I'd still rather be bowling."

*******************

Weeks went by and Artie worked on the malware, and at each passing day he grew more and more stressed.

He was overloaded. Artie had never designed a malware so cautiously before, so he quickly became obsessed. The pressure was just too big. He had to make it perfect, inconspicuous to Avalon's security system, so Penny could infect one of Avalon's computers without being caught and he had to make it in less than two weeks.

Sleepless nights, tons of coffee and little to no food for days practically turned Artie into a zombie. He could barely keep his eyes open on the last day as they finished the project and Eugene put the final touches on the malware device's disguise. But he tried. Artie really did, because there were only a few things that had amazed him as much as watching Eugene working.

Eugene had designed the most elegant jewelry Artie had ever seen; a pear-shaped fake Sapphire cluster ring. Its lines and contours were so enthralling, so clean, but at same time so carefully elaborate with such fineness that even someone like Artie could tell that the ring had a kind of singular beauty that real jewelry out there lacked.

The hacker just didn't know a word sophisticated enough to describe the piece, and it looked so real. Using relatively cheap materials, Eugene was able to make the perfect disguise for the small device containing the malware which was now hidden inside of the fake Sapphire. It was truly amazing.

"You should sell this after we're done," Artie murmured, holding the ring against the light. "It's perfect."

"AND WHAT WOULD THE PRODUCT'S DESCRIPTION BE? A SOPHISTICATED RING WITH AN EXQUISITE DESGIN AND MALICIOUS SOFTWARE CAPABLE OF STEALING INFORMATION FROM HUGE COMPANIES?" Eugene teased, taking the ring out of Artie's hands and carefully placing it in a small box covered with red velvet.

"Well describing that way, I think we'd sell it in minutes…" Artie laughed, before his doorbell's ring echoed throughout his apartment. "It must be Walter, he said he would drop by to get Penny's ring. She's getting ready for the Ball with Kurt's help," Artie explained as he grabbed the little box and wheeled towards the front door.

*******************

"I have the ring!" Walter announced breathlessly, holding up the small red box as he stumbled inside of his apartment.

"Oh my God, Walter! Do you know what time it is?" Penny cried, arms crossed above her chest, red lips pressed in thin line. She looked absolutely stunning in the long navy blue asymmetrical dress, with small detailed stitching across the shoulder and snaking down the side with the same stitching along the base.

"I know, I know, I got stuck in traffic!" Walter apologized, handing the ring box to Kurt who also held an impatient expression just as Penny did.

"Maybe if you had headed to Artie's sooner as we asked you to, you wouldn't have ended up stuck in the traffic," the android sneered.

"I know and I'm sorry!" Walter pleaded, under Penny and Kurt's judgmental eyes.

Surprisingly it was Blaine who came to his rescue, giving Walter his tuxedo. "Here! Go get ready before these two kill you," he said as Penny and Kurt kept glaring at the older man.

"Thank you," Walter mouthed, disappearing in the hallway towards his room.

"I am so nervous," Penny murmured, fighting the urge to bite her freshly polished nails. "I'll get sweaty and gross and I'm going to ruin my make-up."

"Calm down, you're gorgeous. Your make up is water-proof and you guys are going to be just great," Kurt assured her, applying a little bit of hairspray to hold Penny's hairstyle in place, a side-parted, loose updo with side-swept bangs.

"You don't understand Kurt, this is going to be a disaster!" Penny babbled nervously, the ginger woman was shaking. "I mean we're late, and I'm not used to these kinds of shoes… Oh my god, what if I fall on my face?!"

"Penny, you're not going to fall on your face, and you're looking beautiful so stop freaking out," Blaine assured her, not having to look up from his phone to know that Penny was stunning. She already looked great the day she chose the gown and she wasn't even wearing make-up or had her hair styled.

"Can someone help me with this bowtie?" Walter called from his room. "It's been 15 years since I last wore one of these!"

Kurt shot Blaine a look, but the boy remained immobile on the couch, eyes glued to his cell phone and his feet on the coffee table.

Blaine looked up, feeling Kurt's eyes on him. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Well, go help your dad! I'm finishing Penny's hairstyle!" the android demanded, a hair clip between his teeth.

"Who said I know how to help him?" Blaine retorted, still not moving from the couch.

Penny rolled her eyes. "Honey, we saw the pictures…"

Blaine leaned forward, hazel eyes wide. "Which pictures?"

Kurt made a face. "The ones of you from you junior year, when you dressed as if you were in some 50's sitcom."

"What?" Blaine gasped and stood up, blushing. "How? Where-where did you find those pictures? I thought I had gotten rid of them, all of them."

"Well, your father kept some of them," Penny cut in, placing her hands on her hips. "And you can ask him where while you help him with his damn bowtie!" she cried, pointing towards Walter's room.

Grunting something neither Penny, nor Kurt managed to understand, Blaine ran towards his father's bedroom.

Penny made an indignant noise. "I don't get why he's so ashamed of those pictures, he looked cute."

"It's the whole bad-boy attitude," Kurt dismissed. "Apparently you can't be fashionable if you're an underdog," he teased, making Penny chuckle.

"There," He breathed, letting go of the woman's ginger locks. "Now you are looking flawless," he said, taking a step back to admire his work.

"You really think so?" Penny bit her lip.

"You're breathtaking Penny, breathtaking." He smiled, astonished "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go do something about Walter's curls. There's no way I'll let him brush them all to the side," he said, grabbing his comb and hairspray and running to help Walter.

The doorbell rang.

Penny looked up. "Who could it be at this hour?" she wondered, but didn't move. She didn't know if she was supposed to.

It rang again.

"Can you get that for me, Penny?" Walter called from his bedroom.

"Alright, I got it Walt." Penny crossed the living room, the sound of her high heels echoing inside of the apartment.

She opened the door and her eyes met a pair of icy blue ones.

A woman with short, dark hair, red lips and high cheek bones was standing at the door, carrying what seemed to be a box of Chinese food and staring at Penny, apparently not pleased by what she was seeing. She had her icy blue eyes slightly narrowed, analyzing the young Penny from head to toe.

"C-can I help you?" Penny murmured, feeling suddenly self-consciously under the woman's stare.

"I'm Barbara," the woman said as if that was a good enough explanation, as if that was supposed to mean something to Penny.

"So, Barbra-"

"Barbara," The woman corrected.

"Alright Barbara, what can I do for you?"

"I'm Walter's ex-wife and Blaine's mother, and I'm here to see them," Barbara said, crossing her arms above her chest, giving a clear signal of annoyance.

"Oh boy…" Penny murmured.

This was going to be a long night.