It wasn't that Hunter particularly liked seeing Sebastian so miserable; on the contrary, he couldn't think of a whole lot of things he hated less. All he'd done for the past week was sleep, study, and eat. The biting, half-joking quips he'd become known for were pretty much extinct, and Hunter was sure he'd caught him staring at his phone numerous times for a text that would never come. It was so… not like Sebastian.

He wanted to wring Blaine's neck for causing all of this, dumping Sebastian the second he'd reconciled with his ex without so much as an apology or a proper goodbye. Hell, he'd been ready to hunt Anderson down as soon as Sebastian came back to their dorm with red eyes and the most pathetic expression Hunter could ever have imagined.. At the same time- and he felt like such an asshole for even thinking it- he wanted to thank the kid. Because now Hunter finally had a chance to make his move after two months of seeing Sebastian date someone who was just so fundamentally wrong for him.

(Of course, in his mind, Hunter thought Sebastian dating anyone who wasn't him was wrong, but that's beside the point.)

It's not like he had just randomly decided to ask Sebastian out. He'd been trying to think up the best way to do it for weeks, but as soon as he felt like it might be a good time, Sebastian returned to the dorm with the biggest smile on his face saying 'Blaine finally came around to his senses.' Right, or he was just using Sebastian to act as a rebound. But it's not like Hunter could say that, the only thing it would accomplish was piss Sebastian off, and God knows that was the last thing he Hunter wanted to do. But now he had a chance to actually do this right.

"Hey," he finally speaks up one day when he can't stand seeing that look on Sebastian's face anymore, "do you want to… go out this weekend?" And to his genuine surprise, Sebastian says yes.

To be honest, Hunter had prepared himself to hear 'no' enough times already that he was completely caught off guard.

And Hunter's never been one for nerves, but he can't help but feel queasy up until Saturday night, when he finds himself sitting across from Sebastian in some small café about fifteen minutes away from Dalton. Conversation had been light, but at least it was nice to hear Sebastian talk (and occasionally smile) for the first time in weeks without mentioning Blaine. He'd even switched his phone to silent halfway through the night and seemed focused solely on Hunter.

Even the ride back to Dalton after they were kicked out of the cafe at closing time had a much lighter feel about it than anything Sebastian had been giving off lately. Hunter had been anxious about the whole thing because a.) Sebastian was still getting over his first real breakup, and b.) this was the first time he'd ever done something like this with another guy. But he found himself slipping into comfort so easily, it was like he'd been preparing for this date all his life.

Pulling into an empty spot in the student parking lot, he couldn't help but grin at the look of pure content on Sebastian's face. And to know it was all his own doing? Well, Hunter just couldn't help but smile. Apparently it was infectious, since as soon as Sebastian turned towards him, he chuckled and smiled as well. "What're you so happy about, Clarington?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just glad you had a good time, that's all."

Sebastian looked at him for a moment before his grin grew. "Yeah, well, doing something other than sulking around our dorm all night is probably something I should have tried a while ago." He had to concede, which was true. He'd been so out of it the last couple of days; even if all they'd done was go out for a few hours, it was definitely a nice alternative. He let his grin falter down into a small yet genuine smile. "Thanks, Hunter."

In response, Hunter gave a nod of his head and felt proud of himself for actually managing to accomplish this without screwing it up. He'd had a fun time, Sebastian had a fun time…. Without a second's hesitation, he placed his hand against the back of Sebastian's headrest and leaned in, fully prepared to go for it and kiss Sebastian.

Sebastian put his hand up to stop him, and the shock of it all was what actually made Hunter quit what he was doing. Literally, he froze for a good couple of seconds before lowering himself back into his seat. He cleared his throat and brought his hand away from the headrest to rub at the back of his neck, trying to ignore the heat rising in his face. "Sorry, that was probably… presumptuous of me."

It looked like Sebastian still couldn't believe what Hunter had just been prepared to do, wide-eyed and shaking his head. "Yeah, you think? What the… hell, Clarington?" His voice didn't sound angry or anything like that, he seemed like he was completely and utterly confused.

Great. Now you'd gone and screwed this whole thing up, Hunter. He didn't know how he was supposed to fix that; it had been going so well up until now, too. "I just figured… I guess some people aren't alright with kissing on the first date, I wasn't thinking you'd be one of them, but—"

"Date?" If possible, Sebastian's expression grew even more incredulous and Hunter was sure by this point, his blush was obvious despite the lack of light around them. "You thought this was a date?"

Hunter didn't trust himself to speak without embarrassing himself further, so he did the only thing he could think of and nod. He watched Sebastian's features soften and he sunk back into his seat with a heavy sigh. "Look, if you're trying to catch me on the rebound for some pity sex, just say it. You don't have to bother with this whole dinner and date routine." Sebastian told him with a shrug.

"What? No, Sebastian, I don't…" Jesus Christ, since when does Hunter Clarington of all people get tongue-tied? Well, when Sebastian Smythe offers you sex, it's probably not all that easy to come up with a coherent answer. But he hadn't offered, not really. He'd asked if that's what Hunter had in mind, and that wasn't it at all. "I mean," okay, sure, maybe he'd woken up one too many mornings hard after dreaming about Sebastian moaning beneath him, but, "that's not what this was about."

Sebastian paused with his hand on the door handle and eyed Hunter warily. "O…kay? Then what up with taking me out and trying to stick your tongue down my throat?"

"I wasn't…." Damn it, Clarington. "Sebastian, when I asked you out, it was for an actual date. Like an 'I like you, you like me' sort of date. Well… I thought you liked me, that was probably just… stupid of me. I should have made that more clear."

He gave Sebastian a desperate look to say something, because otherwise he was sure he would keep rambling and just humiliate himself even more. But either Sebastian didn't take the hint or he was purposefully letting Hunter go on and on. Regardless, Hunter found the words slipping out of his mouth before he could even process them. "Blaine's an idiot for what he did." He didn't miss the way Sebastian's expression fell at the name, and he mentally slapped himself for even mentioning it. "Even if you… I was stupid. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed without making It more clear."

He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Ripping the keys out of the ignition, he let himself slip back into his seat even more and made a point not to look at Sebastian. "I'm sorry." He said for what felt like the twentieth time in as many minutes. "We can go back to the room and forget this whole thing. I just wanted you to have a good time. Seeing you act all miserable because of that douchebag wasn't right. He doesn't know what he gave up, it's his loss."

"Hunter."

"What?" He had been expecting Sebastian to laugh at him and call him an asshole for this entire night. At the very least, he figured he'd get chewed out for insulting his ex. What he did not expect however, was Sebastian wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and pulling him in close until their lips were pressed together in a kiss.

At first, he was caught off guard but soon recovered from that. It was innocent enough, just a quick kiss that Hunter managed to deepen before Sebastian pulled back. Then he had to lick his lips and keep his attention on Sebastian out of fear that he'd sunk into some sort of delusional episode

He wanted to scoff when he saw the familiar smirk appear on Sebastian's face. Had he done that just to get revenge for Hunter's stupid misconception. "So, you want to do this again sometime?" If Hunter thought he couldn't get any more surprised tonight, he was wrong.

"Do… what?"

"Do this again. You know, a second date? Or I guess it'd be a real first date so we'd both be in the know." Sebastian lowered his gaze to the floor of the car as he contemplated exactly what next time would be. At the same time, it was now Hunter's turn to look at Sebastian incredulously.

"You want a… second date? Or an actual date? I thought—"

"Why wouldn't I want to go out with the guy who likes me enough to not want me to keep sulking over some loser?" Oh, Hunter didn't think he'd ever loved a reference to Blaine more than the one Sebastian had just made. He blinked when he felt Sebastian's hand on top of his where it rested on the center console and he all once again, he was at a loss for words. "All you had to do was say 'Hey, Smythe, I'm taking you on a date' months ago and we wouldn't be having this problem, dumbass."

With a quick wink, he withdrew his hand (making a point to lightly trail his fingers on top of Hunter's hand before opening his door and sliding out. "You know where I live when you feel like asking."

This was to answer a prompt I received on Tumblr, and I just really enjoyed the way it turned out. So I figured, hey, why not post this over here? If you happened to like it you could always, you know, favorite it or review. Whichever, if you'd like. Either way, I at least hope you enjoyed it!