The rain was coming down hard in LA and Chris was sitting on his living room sofa staring intently at the screen of his laptop. At the moment, words failed him. He had been on a roll, words spilling out of him and onto the computer screen when it felt as if he'd run headlong into a brick wall. Things had been going so smooth. He sighed and slumped back on the sofa, eyes still on the screen. Sometimes it just happened and he'd been writing long enough to know that it was only temporary. He'd get that second wind soon enough.

Before Chris had much time to think about his writing though, the jarring ring of his phone caught his attention. He tore his eyes from the steady blinking of the cursor on the computer screen to search the mess on the coffee table for his phone. He found it under the newest script and barely glanced at the contact picture before answering it with a smile.

"I've been wondering when you'd call." He said, leaning back on the sofa, glad for the distraction. "Tell me, did you get sidetracked on the way home by another-"

"Chris?"

Chris froze and he suddenly felt cold in his warm home. He knew that voice and it wasn't the one that should be coming out of the speaker. What was more was the tone. He'd heard that tone before and it never delivered good news.

"What happened?" he breathed, already off the sofa and searching the coffee table frantically for his keys. "Where is he?" Chris' head was swimming as he caught snippets of what Joey was trying to tell him.

"Hit and run…"

"We didn't see them coming…"

"I don't know what's going on, but you need to get down here now man."

He stayed on the line long enough to get the name of the hospital before he dropped his phone into his lap. He hiccoughed softly and let his head thump against the steering wheel. He tried to steady his breathing, short gasps of air escaping his mouth, making him light headed. He sat up straight and jammed the key into the ignition. He could not cry. Crying would not help Darren or himself.

Chris pulled into a space in the car park and ran across the wet lot, wanting to spend as little time in the downpour as possible. He walked into the hospital lobby and shook hair from his face. Joey waved him over from the far side of the room and Chris hastily made his way over, dodging a wet floor sign and a coughing toddler.

"What's going on?" he asked the other man, swiping his glasses from his face to wipe the water droplets from the surface. After pushing his glasses back up on his nose he took Joey in. He looked terrible. His nose was red, eyes bloodshot and his damp shirt. His shirt. There was blood. Chris' knees buckled and he felt a strong, warm grip on his shoulders.

"Whoa, Chris." Joey held onto Chris tightly, waiting until he got his footing back. "Hey man." He ducked his head down shortly, catching Chris' eyes with his own. "Breathe."

Chris inhaled deeply, unaware that he'd stopped breathing. "I'm okay. I'm okay." He said, assuring himself more than Joey.

"And Darren's okay too." Joey added, calming Chris after the jarring sight of his boyfriend's blood staining his friend's shirt. "The doctor was just out here. Sounds like he's in good spirits. Asking if he has any visitors yet." He smiled even though it was a bit shaky.

"Come on. I haven't been in to see him." Joey kept his arm around Chris' shoulders as he led him down the hall to the elevators.

Darren was okay. Chris felt like he could really breathe. It wasn't bad. He was awake and sounding like himself. Already asking who was there to visit him in his hospital bed. He might be disappointed that Chris didn't bring him flowers. He still needed to be there, see Darren sitting up and talk to him. Tell him; remind him, how much he loved the other man. He was very grateful that Joey had called him. He furrowed his brow as he stepped inside the elevator with Joey, the doors closing behind them.

"You know, not that I'm very grateful that you called me," Chris said, keeping his eyes fixed on the shiny metal of the elevator doors as they made their way up to the third floor. He didn't trust himself not to collapse again at the sight of Joey's shirt. "Why did you call me?" he asked. "Out of all his friends, why was I special?"

Joey held up a finger as a sign for Chris to hold on. He shoved a hand into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled Darren's phone out of his pocket. He typed in the password, and handed it over to Chris who looked down at Darren's recent calls list. Babe was at the top of the list.

"Having you in my phone as Chris Colfer seems so formal." Darren said as he thumbed through the contact, turning in his seat as Chris leaned over to see what he was doing. "Hey, no, not yet. It's a surprise."

Chris huffed and laughed, shaking his head as he turned back to the television, fingers digging through the soft fur on Brian's neck as the cat snoozed in his lap.

"If we have to keep who we are to each other a secret from everyone we know and love, then I think that Siri at least should know about my love for you." Darren turned back to Chris, his smile spreading across his face.

Chris sighed softly. "I'm not any happier about that than you are." He said, muting the television. It seemed that since they'd started this… whatever it was, they were having more and more serious conversations.

"No, I know Chris." Darren set his phone down for a moment so he could reach out and take Chris' hand, ignoring the death glare that he got from Brian for interruption his nap. "I want to tell the world about us. And I know that you want to tell everyone too. I mean, if I was dating myself, I would tell random people on the street."

Chris rolled his eyes fondly and looked down at their intertwined fingers. He loved how they fit together and he would always get a kick out of his own pale skin next to Darren's caramel colour.

Darren became serious. "But with who we are and the lives we lead, I know that we can't do that." He whispered earnestly. He scooted closer to skin and brought his free hand up under Chris' chin, lifting his head to make Chris look at him. "One day I'll be able to tell everyone that I, Darren Criss, love you with all that I have to offer. Until that day though, only Siri and Brian will know." He smiled again and leaned in to kiss the fair skinned man next to him. Chris kissed back and smiled against Darren's lips. He was right. There was no need to be sad over their secret. He loved Darren. Loved everything that they had and shared together. Nothing could change that.

Darren pulled back from the kiss with a loud, playful smack and smiled widely. Chris laughed. He loved Darren's smile. It took up his whole face. He could see every tooth, the crinkle around the sparkling eyes and he fell even more in love. He pulled his hand from Darren's grasp and threw his arms around the curly haired man's shoulders, pulling him in for a short, tight hug.

"Okay, now what were you going to show me?" he asked as he pulled away, gently running his hands over Darren's chest, smoothing out the wrinkles on his shirt slightly.

Darren's eye widened and he clapped his hands together softly, breaking out of the trance of their moment. He picked his phone up from the sofa and pressed a button. "Siri, call Babe."

"I didn't know who I should call. I opened it up to find that as his last out going call and I figured his 'babe' should know." Joey motioned out into the hall as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open.

"I- um." Chris stammered, looking up at the other, lost for words. Joey cuffed Chris' shoulder comfortingly.

"Don't worry about it man. I know why you guys would keep it a secret. Media shit storm and all. But you know it's kinda hard to keep it from his roommate. I sort of figured that you two were involved. There's cat hair on all his clothes. Someone cleans the bathroom all the time. He has me watching Downtown Abbey. I catch shit." Joey smiled smugly at Chris and stopped at a door at the end of the hallway. "So, don't freak about that someone knows about you two. I'm happy that you two are so happy with each other. Plus, someone cleans up after us. I benefit from this relationship too." He opened the door and led the way inside the room.

Chris smiled and mumbled a quiet thanks.

"Joey!" their entrance was met with a boisterous greeting from Darren who was indeed sitting up in bed. He threw the arm that wasn't held in a sling out, obviously wanting a hug. Joey crossed the room in just a few steps and threw his arms around the other.

Chris chuckled as he slowly walked towards the bed, letting them have their reunion. They needed it, Joey was the one covered in Darren's blood. Instead he took Darren in, there were bumps and bruises, his happy face purpling on one side just under the bandage that was wound around his head, making his curls stick up in odd angles.

Darren winced under Joey's hug and they pulled apart. "Battle wounds man." Darren said, touching gently at his ribs under the gaudy green hospital gown. "And look at you." He looked over Joey's shirt. "Shit, did I do that?" he asked, plucking at the bright blue material as Joey settled himself down at the foot of the bed, getting comfortable.

"Yeah. This one over here nearly passed out when he saw it." Joey nodded to Chris who had stopped next to Darren, smiling widely down at his boyfriend, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Darren smiled up at Chris looking slightly surprised as if he'd barely noticed him in the room. His eyes left Chris' face and slid down over his body unashamedly making Chris blush as he checked out the brunette. Joey cleared his throat, reminding him that he was still in the room.

"How are you feeling?" Chris asked, perching himself lightly on the mattress next to Darren.

"Great actually. The pain meds are awesome, and I'm flying. Super excited to get out of dance class for the next month though. I'm going to love handing in this doctor's excuse once I'm back on campus."

"Wait, what?" Chris' eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Chris?" Joey whispered cautiously from behind Chris, a tentative hand coming up to his shoulder.

"Oh shit!" Darren exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up to the bandage as he thrust his good, left hand out at Chris. "I'm being rude. I'm Darren."