The following morning Thad and I both head back to Hunter's. Thad is worried sick about Jeff, and I'm just worried in general. I don't bother to call first, and we only knock once before inviting ourselves.

"Hunter?" I call, looking around, "It's Sebastian and Thad. Are you home?"

"Hunter went out," we hear Jeff respond from the other room, "You can come in, though."

I follow Thad into the main room and he immediately heads over to Jeff, "How are you feeling?"

Jeff gives Thad a weak smile, "A little bit better, thanks. Of course I'm still in a lot of pain, but everything considered, I'm doing great."

He smiles, kneeling down beside him, "Can you turn over a little bit so I can take a look at it?"

Jeff nods, turning slowly onto his back.

Thad carefully removes the bandages, looking closely at Jeff's stitches, "Hmm, looks okay, but I guess it hasn't been too long."

Jeff turns his head to take a look at himself, "Oh God, that is so much worse when I actually see it."

Thad quickly covers it back up, petting Jeff's back. Jeff smiles up at him, "This might sound a little bit weird, and it's not that I'm uncomfortable or anything, but who are you?"

He smiles, "Haha, sorry. I'm like your doctor, for now, I guess. I'm Thad, I think you know that. But um, I'm Hunter's boyfriend's," he nudges to me, "Friend slash roommate. It sounds like a mouthful."

Jeff smirks, "Fair enough. I'm Jeff. To be fully honest, I don't know Hunter from a whole in the wall, but I guess we're pretty tight now."

"Speaking of which," I ask, entering the conversation, "Where is he?"

The blond shrugs, "Not sure. He said that he had some errands to run and that he shouldn't be out long."

"How long ago was that?"

"A good hour, he should be home any minute."

I nod, taking a seat on the couch, "Okay. Thank you."

We spend the rest of the afternoon hanging around Hunter's apartment and taking care of Jeff. Hunter doesn't show up until late, so we get pretty comfortable even though we don't live here.

Hunter finally shows up around six o'clock that night, surprised to see us. Jeff looks over at him, "Hey, so much for not too long."

Hunter rolls his eyes, greeting me with a kiss on the cheek, "You know how it is, kiddo."

Now it's Jeff's turn to roll his eyes, "Why do you always call me that? I can't be much younger than you are."

Hunter raises an eyebrow, "Doubt it. How old are you?"

"17, you?"

Hunter grins playfully, "I've got four years on you, kiddo."

Jeff grunts with disappointment. Hunter turns to Thad and I, "How long have you guys been here, anyway?"

Thad looks almost guilty for a second, "A while now. Since noon, maybe."

Hunter looks a little bit surprised, but not at all bothered, "Oh, um great. Good to know Jeff wasn't alone."

I walk over to Hunter, giving him a hug, "So where were you all day, babe?"

He kisses me briefly on the lips, "I had some business to attend to, nothing major."

I frown slightly, "What kind of business?"

"Nothing important." He mutters irritably, walking away from me.

I sigh, "Hey! We need to talk about this."

He rolls his eyes, "Sebastian, there's nothing to talk about."

"Yes, there is."

"No, there isn't!"

"Goddamnit, Hunter!" I turn and walk out the back door, not caring if I make a scene.

He follows me outside, grabbing me by the arm, "Seriously? Don't do this, Bas, what the fuck is your problem?"

I pull away from him, "You know what my problem is, Hunter! I don't know where the hell you are all the time, who you're with, what trouble you could be getting into..."

"You're not my fucking mother! It's not your goddamn business!"

I bite my lip, holding back tears, "You said you loved me. I said I loved you, and unlike you, I meant it! I care about what you're doing, I worry about you. All the time! And if you can't deal with that, just let me walk away!"

He grabs me roughly around the shoulders, "Just calm the fuck down, okay? I meant it when I said that I loved you, too, so don't you dare start with the accusations! I'm trying to keep you safe, you fucking idiot! I don't want you to get involved with what I do!"

I try to pull away, but his grip is too strong and I eventually give in, tears leaking from my eyes. His grip quickly changing from bone crushing to affectionate. He lets out a sigh, stroking my hair, "I...I'm sorry." he mutters, a hint of pain in his voice.

I wrap my arms around his neck, "Me too. I didn't mean to lose my temper..."

"It's not your fault," he replies, "You just wanted to talk, and I wouldn't let you."

I shrug, "I don't know..."

He kisses me on the cheek, "It's okay, babe."

I pull away from him a little bit, "But is it? We really haven't solved anything..."

He takes my hand comfortingly, "Sure we have. Not out fundamental problem, but we're established some other important things."

I sigh, "Like what?"

He smiles, "Like we're not giving up on each other. And even if we didn't fix anything, we made it through our first fight without too much damage. It's an easier world to live in if you can appreciate the small stuff."

I let a faint grin pass across my features, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But still, please, just tell me what you're doing. I'm not going to make you take me with you, but I need to know."

"Fine," he replies sternly, "But only if you can promise me you won't get mad about what I do, and not try to stop me from doing them."

I hesitate, really thinking about my options, "Fine. But can I stay the night?"

He nods, "I'd love it if you did. Maybe keep Thad over too, actually. He can take care of Jeff so we can finally get some one on one time." He winks, leading me back into the house.