:)

"Okay, okay. Would you rather eat an unclean ass, or make out with a donkey?"

"Why are all of yours so gross?"

"That's the whole point of the game! You're supposed to provide the victim with two absolutely terrible scenarios and by forcing them to pick the one they see as less gross, you get a glimpse into their inner psyche."

"Is that really your reasoning?"

"If I say yes, will you answer the question?" Jeremiah rolled his eyes, and looked up from his sketchpad to see that Eli had stopped cleaning glasses and was instead staring at him wholeheartedly. The two were in Anderson's Loft with Jeremiah sitting at the bar and the younger man behind it. Two days after his withdrawal hit, all the drugs had worked their way out of Eli's system. Ecstatic at his ability to now eat solid foods, Eli had scarfed down three large burgers in eight minutes. He had promptly thrown them all back up again, earring another 24 hours on Jesse's strict liquid only diet.

Jeremiah would never admit it, but the brunet was slowly but surely growing on him. He had an uncanny habit of finding Jeremiah when he was alone like in the lounge after his shift or at the coffee shop on his day off. There was even one time when he had been leaving his apartment and the teenager had been leaning against a car a few feet away. He had been about to storm over and tell him to stop stalking him when Puck got out of the car and he remembered that they lived in the same complex. Sometimes they talked, sometimes Eli talked, and sometimes they just moved about in silence with Jeremiah doing what he needed accomplished and Eli openly staring.

As Eli picked up a new glass, the pleasure took a second to observe the man in front of him. All of the bruises that Eli had arrived with were nearly gone, and Puck had dragged him to a barber turning his unkempt mane into something much more respectable. He had put on a little weight that worked for him instead of against him, making him look and feel healthier than Jeremiah suspected he had been in a long time.

"Like what you see?" Jeremiah looked up to see Eli grinning at him. Jeremiah flushed and turned his attention back to his sketchbook, which earned a laugh from the room's other occupant. "Don't be embarrassed, Jer. I am pretty irresistible." Jeremiah scoffed.

"I'm pretty sure I've resisted you."

"You didn't the night we met." Jeremiah nearly snapped the pencil he was holding in two and he had to take a few deep breaths before he could meet the other male's eyes. Eli was staring at him, the grin he had been wearing before had burned down to a smile that only covered half of his face. "I know why you picked me that night."

"Anyone who understands how hookers work knows why I picked you that night." Eli chuckled and shook his head.

"It was because I look like Eric, right?" Jeremiah tensed and immediately mentally started a checklist of who could have said something. "And before you start accusing people," Eli continued. "No one told me. I was in here cleaning the other day when I heard him come in. I didn't know who he was and I didn't know what to do so my flight response kicked in and I hid under the table. You came in a little after and then Kurt and Wes and Blaine-"

"You were here for the entire conversation?"

"I heard everything." He admitted. "And when he left, I saw that I kinda looked like him and that especially in the dark I would have been a close enough match."

"I, um…I'm not sure what you want me to say."

"You don't have to say anything." He responded with a shrug. "You have a type. There's nothing wrong with that." The blond narrowed his eyes and arched an eyebrow.

"So does that mean you have one too?"

"Yep. Blonde hair, green eyes, perpetual bitch face."

"I do not have perpetual bitch face."

"Yes you do but you make it work." Eli confirmed earning a laugh in return.

"You're doing way more flirting than cleaning, which is what Puck is paying you for."

"Puck technically isn't paying me to do anything." Eli clarified, not even bothering to keep up the pretense of working hard anymore. "I work for food, boarding and protection from my former dealer. And don't pretend like you don't love it."

"I don't."

"Then I'll stop." He said simply. Jeremiah scoffed. "I'm serious! I will! I will stop flirting, I will stop stalking-"

"I knew you were following me."

"I will stop all of my non-platonic advances towards you…in exchange for a favor."

"…What do you want?"

"A kiss." Jeremiah rolled his eyes disbelieving.

"Really? After all this time, the only thing you want is a kiss?"

"You have fingered me, you have fucked me and I have sucked your dick." The younger male said walking around so that he was beside the pleasure. "The absolute least you can do is kiss me." Jeremiah pursed his lips as he thought it over before sighing and rising to his feet.

"One kiss?"

"Just. One.

"You tell no one."

"I will take it to my grave."

"We never bring this up again."

"Of course! That is, unless you beg me for mo-" The blonde didn't let him finish his statement before pressing him up against the bar counter and covering up the teen's mouth with his own. Eli had frozen in surprise before grabbing at Jeremiah's shirt and pulling him even closer. The blonde grinned into the kiss as he tugged at Eli's bottom lip with his teeth earing a whimper. Hands started to wander as Jeremiah worked one of his under Eli's shirt to rest at the base of his spine, one of the brunet's hands finding purchase in soft curls. Hips were aligned and grinded against as the two would pull off for air before diving back in.

"Jer, it's me! Pick up your phone! Jer, it's me! Pick up your phone! Jer, it's me! Pick up your phone!" Jeremiah jumped back at the sound of his phone going off in his pocket.

"Yeah?" He answered slightly out of breath. "Hey Thad. Yeah, I'm here. You're in the lounge? Yeah, I'll be right there. Okay. Bye." The blonde hung up before turning to look back at Eli who was in the exact same position that he had left him in: Eyes half-lidded, leaning back with his elbows on the counter and bent at the knees with his feet shoulder-length apart. He was biting his already swollen lips and his hair that only a little while ago had been so perfectly crafted and styled was now thoroughly mussed and messed up. Jeremiah couldn't resist leaning in for just one more quick peck as he grabbed his sketchbook from where it had fallen on the floor.

"I take it you enjoyed it?" Eli slowly nodded. "Then I guess I see you around." He said, already backing up towards the door before taking off at a sprint.

"Jeremiah, wait! You never answered my would you rather question!"

"Why didn't you tell me your cousin thought Blaine was your boyfriend?"

"What?"

"Your cousin. Blaine. Your apartment. Painting. Why didn't you tell me?

"Maybe because you've been avoiding me? How'd you even find out?"

"Trent and Wes."

"Those fuckers." Kurt said looking anywhere but at his pseudo-boyfriend, his gaze finally landing on a stuffed penguin between two leather-bound books. After a tearful goodbye at the airport, the pleasure had received a text message from Eric asking them to meet at the cafè. Kurt had arrived about an hour later, not even surprised to see Trevor serving from behind the bar. He entered Eric's office with the intention of making a joke about calling the cops only to have the doctor hit him with the one question he honestly hadn't been expecting.

Kurt sank into a chair and Eric seated himself on top of his desk, a few feet away. "I didn't intentionally hide this from you."

"But you didn't exactly tell me either."

"If I had called you as soon as it happened, would you have honestly picked up the phone?"

"Yes." Eric stressed. "I would've because I want to work out whatever's wrong in our relationship so that we can go back to being happy."

"Everything was great until you found out about Jer-"

"Exactly! Your ex-fiancé shouldn't have been kept a secret and it shouldn't have been a problem since you're both apparently over the relationship."

"Then why does it matter?"

"I don't…know. I don't know."

"Jeremiah isn't the only other person in our relationship." Kurt arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Blaine Anderson has found his way

"What are you saying?"

"We have a staff of forty people here and I am friends and know them all so personally that if something drastic and terrible happened and rendered them unconscious, I would be able to fill out their medical forms with complete confidence that I would get 98 percent correct." Eric said, carefully picking out each word. "But as their employer, I don't make house calls."

"Just because Blaine makes house calls-"

"Blaine does not make house calls." Eric interjected. "When we were still together, Jeremiah used to bitch about it all the time. He was always saying how it would be easier for everyone if Blaine just stopped by their places for work related things instead of making everyone go all the way to the Loft. As far as I know, you are the first and only person that Blaine can't seem to stay away from." Kurt narrowed his eyes and rose to his feet.

"I don't like what you're implying."

"I don't like the fact that my boyfriend's boss has a thing for my boyfriend."

"Blaine does not have a thing for me. I'm his employee."

"Who he wants to fuck."

"He's already done that!" Kurt gasped, upon realizing what he said and slapped his hand over his mouth. "That didn't come out right. Blaine likes to test the employees before he hires them so this was way back before I met you."

"I know all about the "initiation" process." Eric said pinching the bridge of his nose. "And I don't care about it. I care about the fact that your boss is walking around masquerading as "just a friend" and you are too blinded to see it." Kurt scoffed and started towards the door but an arm on his shoulder stopped him. "If you don't believe me, ask him yourself. If he says that he isn't in to you, I'll drop it and never bring it up again."

"And if he is?" Kurt asked. Eric shrugged.

"Then we figure out what to do next."

"Hey." Blaine looked up from where he had been signing checks to see Kurt poke his head through his office door. "Do you got a minute?"

"Um yeah, but it would have to be a really quick one because I've got a meeting with Artie and-"

"Did you tell Brody we were dating?" Blaine chocked on his spit at the accusation and Kurt shook his head. "I'm sorry. That was supposed to come out…a lot more subtle than that."

"I can assure you that I didn't go over to your apartment the other day with the intention of misleading your cousin." Blaine assured. "It literally just happened. Why the sudden rampage into my office?"

"You didn't answer my question." Blaine arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"No, I didn't tell Brody that we were dating," He said slowly. "Because we are not. Was I supposed to?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem?" Blaine asked prompting a sigh from the younger male as he sank down into a seat.

"Eric and I...we had an interesting talk this morning."

"About what?"

"Eric…Eric thinks that…" Blaine motioned for him to continue and the pleasure sighed. "Eric thinks that I should stop working as a pleasure." He lied, carefully watching the other male's expression, which besides for his eyebrows shooting into his hairline, hadn't changed.

"Really?" He finally asked. Kurt nodded in reply. "And how do you feel about that? About leaving?" Kurt shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Well you shouldn't leave just because he wants you to." Blaine started. "If you like working here and he can't accept that then he's clearly not a good match for you."

"Yeah, I know."

"Good." Blaine said confidently. "Besides, I thought he was okay with you working here. I don't remember Jeremiah ever complaining about Eric asking him to quit."

"Anyone can have a change a heart, right? Besides, it's not like this is the type of job someone does forever. It's a…right here right now, kinda job, ya know?" Blaine nodded in agreement and Kurt continued. "Also, there's this start-up website that looking for a new lead editor a few blocks over and I was thinking about looking into it. Maybe this is a sign, ya know?"

"What is it?" Kurt arched an eyebrow in confusion. "What's the name of the website?"

"The Monroe."

"I know the creator." Blaine said, starting to rummage through his drawers. "Will Schuester, right?" Kurt nodded. "Yeah. He's an old family friend. I could probably get you an interview."

"You don't have-"

"I want to." Blaine said, cutting him off. "Besides, if Will doesn't find the right person to fill that position, I'm never gonna hear the end of it so the least I can do is send him someone who I know is qualified and trustworthy." Blaine was still busy digging around in his desk that he missed the blush that started to spread across Kurt's face. "Here." He said, pulling out a small business card. "Just give him a call and tell him I suggested you." Kurt nodded and reached to take the card, only to find Blaine holding on tightly. "Whether you're working with me or working somewhere else, I just want you to be happy."

"Thank you…Blaine. I don't know what to say." Blaine smiled.

"Just promise not to forget us if you leave."

"You're not exactly the forgettable type, Mr. Anderson." Blaine laughed and finally released the card, Kurt stuffing it into his pocket. Blaine cleared his throat and the room's other occupant looked up to meet his eyes, the two of them maintain eye contact for a few tense seconds before Kurt broke it, staring intently at his feet. Blaine cleared his throat again.

"Kurt-"

"Hey Blaine, you in-" Both brunettes stood as Artie entered the room. "I'm sorry. I can come back if you're busy."

"No, it's fine. Blaine said that you guys had a meeting scheduled when I got here. I'll just leave." Kurt said, moving to stand only to have Artie shake his head.

"No. Stay. The more, the merrier." Kurt shot Blaine a look and the two of them slowly sank back into their seats. Artie nodded before taking a seat himself, his hands moving uncomfortably in his lap.

"Abrams?" Blaine said, stretching out the name. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Artie quickly assured. "I just…I just need a second."

"Well take as long as-"

"I slept with Alex." Artie's face went bright red at his own admission and he quickly went back to fiddling with his hands.

"Um, congratulations?" Kurt started, unable to find the problem. "You two are find of dating, right? This is what tends to happen in normal relationships."

"I've been working here," Artie continued. "For almost three years and I have slept with a lot of guys. A lot. Like a shit ton. And I thought that was enough, ya know? I figured I'd do this for a few years, get it all out my system, and then I'd eventually settle down with a pretty blonde with a large family and have four kids just like my parents. That's what was supposed to happen. Alex, was not supposed to happen. I was not supposed to date Alex. I was supposed to sleep with Alex, get it out of my system and then move on like always.

"But Alex wanted to go on dates and go to movies and get ice cream at a diner and do all of these things and I was fine with it because I figured that as soon as I slept with him, it would get the whole thing out my system, right? Right. But last night we had sex for the first time and it was fantastic and I woke up this morning and he was already up and just…staring at me with this stupidly adorable smile on his face and the only thing I wanted to do was to take him out to breakfast so that I could continue to see it." Blaine squinted at his employee, confused. Kurt was staring at him in shock.

"Artie, I'm a little lost as to why you sound so upset." Blaine started. "You sound to me like you're in a relationship and from what you've just said, it sounds like your first one in a while. I mean I know it's only been a few days and what you seem to be feeling is a little intense, but it's still great. This is the type of stuff you call home to your parents to celebrate about."

"He can't call home." Kurt interrupted. Blaine arched an eyebrow. "His parents don't know he's gay. He never came out to them." Blaine turned back to his employee to see him nodding in agreement. "Why didn't you ever tell them?"

"Up until tenth grade, I swore up and down that I was straight." Artie defended. "And then at a birthday party, we were playing a game of spin the bottle and it landed on this guy from my history class and everyone said we had to do it and so we did and I…fucking loved it and then we started sneaking around and hooking up and it was good until someone caught him kissing another guy and almost everyone in town ostracized them. I'm from a very small town and being cut off like that is…horrifying." By this point, Blaine had moved from behind his desk and both he and Kurt had wrapped an arm around him.

"He never ratted me out and I couldn't risk losing my family like he lost his." Artie's voice had now dropped to just above a whisper. "A few days after I moved out here, I heard about the job opening and I thought I could-"

"Sleep away your homosexuality?" Kurt offered. Artie scoffed and nodded.

"More or less. But after seeing Nick with his sister and definitely after last night…I realized I can't do that anymore. I don't want to do that anymore. I wanna be happy in a relationship whether it be with a girl or a guy. I wanna date Alex. And in order to do that…I have to tell my family the truth."

"Whatever you need us to do to help, we will." Blaine said, Kurt voicing his agreements. "Anything."

"In that case, I have a very important question." Artie said, chuckling. "Will you guys help me come out of the closet?" Kurt grinned, nodding.

"We would love to."

"Artie, you don't have to do this." Alex reassured as he fixed his boyfriend's tie for the 12 time within an hour. It would be fine and perfect for five minutes before Artie's roaming hands would once again twist their way into it, rending it either too tight and chocking him or too loose and falling off. "I don't care if your parents know about us or not."

"But I do." The brunette argued back. "I want them to know about you. Besides, I've been putting this off for too long anyway." Alex opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Trent tapping his shoulder.

"Camera's all set up." He said motioning to the TV behind him. Wes, Nick, Jeff, Thad, Jesse, Sam and Mike and were milling around Blaine's living room while Blaine and Kurt were running back and forth between there and the kitchen with various snacks and food. Artie had asked if he could Skype his parents using the flat screen and Blaine had quickly agreed. Artie then went on to ask all of the pleasures to be there for emotional support. Those who could show up had, and the others who couldn't had quickly assured that if need be they were only phone calls away. Artie nodded and walked over, Alex only steps behind.

"Okay, and you're sure that you guys can't be seen?" He asked when he reached the center of the sofa. Trent rolled his eyes and nodded.

"For the last time, yes dude. I adjusted the lens of the camera so that it will only focus on things that are within the span of the couch. If I'm standing right next to the sofa, your homophobic parents aren't gonna be able to see my very gay face." Artie stuck out his tongue and shoved his friend.

"I don't know that they're homophobic, okay?" Artie admitted. They never really said anything about the guy. Since my name never got said, as far as they were concerned we weren't involved and so it was never really brought up."

"It's gonna be fine." Mike said, patting his friend on the back. "Besides, even if the conversation does end up going south, you've got us and Alex now. We're your new family. And sometime your new family can love you a little better than your old one." Artie gave his co-worker and sad smile and nodded.

"Thanks Mike." He said pulling the other male into a hug and dropping his voice. "And you saw what happened with Nick's sister. You never know. They might come around." Mike, who had returned the hug, pulled back from it and shook his head.

"No. No they won't." Artie started to argue when the TV lit up, a picture of his parents appearing on the screen. Everyone quickly scattered to the sides of the couch, making themselves out of the sight of the webcam.

"We're not done discussing this, Mike." Artie declared earning only a shrug in response. With one last good luck kiss from Alex, Artie hit the answer button just as Blaine and Kurt slid from the kitchen and out of few beside Sam. A slightly middle-aged man and woman popped up on the monitor, the man sprouting gray hairs all over and his partner sporting major crow eyes and laugh lines. Both were waving enthusiastically.

"Artie!" The woman called. "Sweetheart! It's mommy! Can you see us?" Artie couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he sat down, waving in return.

"Hi mom. Yes I can see you both."

"How ya doing, son?" His dad asked out and Kurt noted how much Artie looked like his father from his hair to his face to how he was sitting, even right down to the fact that they were wearing almost the same exact tie. "California treating you well?"

"Yeah, dad I'm…I'm very happy here." The pleasure responded, eyes straying off to the side where Alex was sitting. The bank consultant blushed and got a few elbows in the side from those surrounding him. Artie turned his attention back to his parents on the screen.

"Are you eating? Honey, you look a little thin. Thomas, doesn't he look a little thin?" Artie's father shrugged.

"He's always been thin, Michelle. All of our kids have always been thin."

"Yes, okay, but doesn't he look really thin?"

"He looks the exact same size to me."

"That's not possible. I'm telling you Tom, he's not eating."

"Michelle, stop. You're attempting to smother him and he's not even here for you to do it properly."

"Asking him if he's eaten is smothering him?"

"You're micro-managing!"

"I'm concerned!"

"I can leave." Artie offered, his parents snapping out of their bickering to look at him. The three sat in silence for a few seconds before they all broke out in laughter, eventually dying down.

"I'm sorry honey." His mom finally said, looping her arm in her husband's. "You know I don't mean it, I just miss you is all. We both do! We haven't seen you in forever."

"I know, I know." Artie said. "I miss you guys too. I'm working on planning a visit home as soon as possible."

"Good." His dad said nodding. "Your younger brother is being a little shit-"

"Thomas, that is your son-"

"And I need you to come over here and sit on his head like you used to. And this time, we won't even ground you for it."

"We will definitely pencil it in the next time I'm home." Artie said, once more stealing a glance over to where his boyfriend was sitting. Alex threw him an enthusiastic thumbs up and the brunet let out a sigh and moved his gaze to the carpet beneath his shoes. "And as much as I'm looking forward to sitting on Jake, that's not what I wanted to talk to you both about today."

"Is it about the money thing?" His mom asked, suddenly very serious. "Have you heard back yet?"

"No, I won't hear about that for at least two more days. I wanted to talk about something else." His father shrugged.

"Well whatever it is, we're here for you. Nothing could ever change that." He said, his wife nodding in agreement. Artie forced a smile.

"Remember that in an hour." He said under his breath before clearing his throat, and raising his gaze up to the TV. "Do you guys remember the boy from down the street? The one who was found kissing that boy from a town over?"

"Yes, we remember."

"What about him?"

And just like that, everything that Artie had revealed earlier in Blaine's office and more came pouring out of his mouth. He confessed to kissing the guy at the party, to sneaking around to see him, to being too afraid to say anything when hell broke loose, to fleeing to California so he could "get it out of his system", to being too ashamed to visit home as often as he wanted to, to always refusing dates because he didn't want to risk anything, to going on dates with women he didn't even like simply to prove to himself that he did still like girls.

He cried as he talked about how he had spent one night in his apartment repeatedly dialing their number with the intention of telling them only to hang up on the first ring every time. He told them about how he had secretly blamed his empty bank account on himself and his devious acts. He told them about how he was overjoyed when he saw a girl check him out and how he wanted to die when a guy did it. He told them how his worst fear had finally come true and how he was now dating a guy who in a few days, had made him happier than he had been in relationships that had lasted months. How he was making him so happy that he no longer wanted to hide it.

Throughout his entire speech, both of his parents had been silent and still, his mother with tears falling down her face and his father maintaining a stoic expression the entire time.

"I'm sorry." Artie muttered, once everything had been said. "I'm sorry if you hate me, I'm sorry if I'm a disappointment and I'm sorry if you wish I had never called, but please…please don't shut me out. I cant-I can't not have you guys in my life. You mean too much to me and I can't not have my parents in my life.

"These few years that I've been away have been shit and I don't know what I would do if you guys completely cut me off. If you want…I'll stop. I'll stop completely. I'll stop seeing this guy, I'll come home, I'll marry Elizabeth from next door and we can pretend like this never happened. I'd choose you guys over this anytime, but please…please don't make me choose because I found a fucking fantastic guy and even if we don't end up together, I wanna say that I gave it an honest shot-"

"Artie." His father interrupted. "Artie, I'm sorry but you can't come home."

"What?" the brunet croaked.

"Yeah." His father confirmed. "You can't come home and marry Elizabeth from next door because she's too busy dating your sister." Artie, who had been seconds away from collapsing on the carpet, froze.

"I'm sorry, Eliza's doing what?"

"Eliza is dating little Elizabeth Canterberry from next door." His mother explained pulling out tissues and drying her eyes. "Yeah, they've been together about six, seven months now. Sorry to break it to you sweetheart, but you aren't the only bisexual in the family."

"Are, are people in town okay with this?"

"People in town do not know." His father said leaning forward. "We didn't want a repeat of last time and as far as we're concerned, it's none of their business. Besides, we were planning to move anyway. With both Jake and Eliza going off to college this year leaving us with an empty home, we figured it's about time to move out of this backwards ass place. To be honest, we probably would've left after that first incident but we didn't want to risk pulling you guys out of school, especially with you so close to graduating."

"So, you're okay with this?" Artie asked, running a hand through his hair and loosing his tie. "You're okay with me?"

"Son," His mother relented, "We love you and we will always love you whether or not you end up with a Mrs. Right or a Mr. Right. Just not multiple people. Even we aren't that liberal." Artie threw his head back and laughed.

"Understood." He said, new happy tears shinning in his eyes.

"So, what was that about this guy that you're seeing?" His mother asked. "You have to tell us everything! Is he there? Can we meet him? Are you in his house right now because I'm almost positive that you aren't in your apartment."

"Michelle! Smothering!

"I'm not! I'm parenting!"

"Two words for the exact same thing."

"Guys!" Artie interposed, regaining their attention once more. "No this is not his place, yes he is here," Artie glanced over to his boyfriend and shot him a hopeful look. Alex grinned and nodded. "And yes you can meet him." He held out his hand and Trent quickly pushed Alex towards him, the other male ending up flopping down beside him on the couch. He quickly straightened himself up, his entire face going red. Artie's mother giggled.

"Oh he's adorable." She said, causing the male in question to blush even harder. Artie leaned over to kiss him on the check.

"I know he is." Alex grinned and the two stared at each other before a throat clearing from the screen caught their attention.

"Artie," His father said mockingly. "I do believe when you are introducing your parents to your boyfriend for the first time, there should probably be an introduction involved." Artie glared at his father but there was no real heat behind it and after grasping his boyfriend's hand, he cleared his throat.

"Mom, dad, this is my boyfriend Alex Masters. Alex, these are my parents Michelle and Thomas Abrahms." Alex waved shyly with his free hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, ma'am, and you too sir."

"Oh look at that! He's got such good manners."

"Don't talk about him like he's not sitting right there, Michelle."

"I was just stating a fact! Oh Artie, you've simply got to bring him home for Christmas."

"Aren't you jumping the gun a little?"

"Not at all! Oh Thomas, this is literally perfect! We've been looking for a good excuse to fly out to Cali to visit for months and here it is! Clearly we're gonna have to bring a lot of food because Alex is looking a little underfed too."

"Michelle!"

"What? They just both look so thin!"

"There's nothing wrong with looking thin!"

"Guys!"

:)