#seblainter

Sebastian looked worried as he pulled on Hunter's arm heavily and got him to get up and go inside

Hunter answered Blaine as they walked in. "I don't know," he said darkly, "What am I supposed to feel?"

Sebastian shook his head and patted Hunter's shoulder. "You are an...." he stopped himself before he said "idiot." He suddenly knew better, remembering when Reed had come out. "You are not supposed to feel any one thing."

Blaine smiled and nodded at his husband. "There's no book on this, Hunt. Trust me it's completely different for everyone when they come to this realization." He placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder again and squeezed, wanting him to know he was not alone and never would be.

They moved into the study near the front door and Sebastian guided them to the large leather sofa that they had dog piled on with Garrett not long ago. He looked at his best friend and said. "If you're at all not sure about this...I've known since the day we met."

Hunter looked at Sebastian and they shared the most honest look they'd ever exchanged. Hunter didn't have anything to say. Blaine cuddled in at Hunter's side, smiling at the two most important men in his life. "I've known too. It's nothing to be scared of, you know. Nothing truly needs to change. You're still you." Hunter's brow furrowed. "I guess so." He looked down in his lap and spoke, slurring a little. "But I've been living a lie..." Sebastian had to chuckle. "You're not a soap opera. You're just a...late bloomer. I think you should only sleep with men from now on to be bisexual.. Maybe when you're 88 then you can switch back..."

Hunter put his head in his hands.

Sebastian grimaced over Hunter's bent form at Blaine. He decided to shut up.

Blaine slapped Sebastian's shoulder playfully, shaking his head with a smile. "You haven't been living a lie, Hunter. You've been living your life. There's no time frame to work this all out and there've been enough people in your life making you believe there was something wrong with this life." Blaine sighed softly, playing with Hunter's hair as he looked over at Sebastian with a shrug. "There's nothing wrong with you, do you hear me?"

Hunter didn't say anything.

Sebastian got up, pacing to his big arm chair and he sat back in it, folding his long arms on his chest. "Your father is a douche. I hope you aren't thinking about him," he said, knowing his best friend well enough to know that he was.

Hunter didn't look up.

"You're not a fag. You're a bisexual guy who made a life style choice. And you can keep dating women, and you can date men if you want too, or just sleep with them. Whatever, Hunt. There's no fucking shame in any of it."

Blaine's eyes widened at the word choices and the way he said it but then sighed, taking one of Hunter's hands in his as he nodded. "I would have worded that a little bit differently...but he's right. This is your choice, how you want to live. I think it's good that you're not hiding this from yourself anymore, that you see it. But it only has to change what you want it to change. And there is no shame in it. Should Sebastian and I be ashamed? Living our life of sin?" Hunter shook his head. "Of course not." He looked down at Blaine's hand in his own. "I...I'm not ashamed." He didn't know what he was feeling, except that he was hazy and drunk and tired and...ashamed. Ashamed that it had taken him 44 years to come out and and ashamed that he had let some random stranger go down on him in a horribly weak moment. Sebastian studied him from his arm chair and leaned forward resting his arms on his knees. "Hunt. What...then why do you sound like you are?" He was frankly getting a little put off by the whole situation. 

Hunter looked up at Sebastian and a flare of anger went through him. "Don't tell me what I sound like. I told you I'm not ashamed."

Blaine didn't like where this was going, shaking his head just slightly at his husband. He had always been good at keeping the peace, because sometimes when two fiery personalities like theirs got together it didn't end up well. Blaine grabbed Hunter's chin gently and turned his face so that their eyes could meet, his own very gentle and understanding. "Maybe not of what you have realized. But maybe something else? What happened tonight?" There was something about it all that made him remember himself after Eli. How dirty it felt, letting someone he barely knew touch him.

Hunter leaned back in the sofa. "Sherry and I broke up," he said simply, looking in his lap again, his strong arms reaching up and combing his hands through his hair.

Sebastian's eyes grew wider and he sat up straighter.

Blaine nodded, turning so that he was facing Hunter more fully. When Hunter wasn't drunk and having a break down they could talk about his sexuality, but now there was something more pressing to think about. "What happened then? You went to the Bistro Lounge?"

Hunter covered his face with his hands. "Yes. And drank 7 scotches.”

Sebastian raised his eyebrows and stood up. "You want another?"

Blaine looked at Sebastian with a glare, shaking his head. "I don't think that'd be good, Sebastian." He turned back to Hunter, rubbing his back. "You were probably feeling down, huh? Abandoned?" Knowing that Sherry had left made that moment of weakness with Eli back in high school even more of a parallel as he watched Hunter.

Sebastian looked at Blaine. "Who says that she left him?" He looked at Hunter but then nodded. "Yeah, she left you, huh."

Hunter nodded, turning sideways and laying on the wide sofa, his legs tucked behind Blaine, an arm over his eyes. "Shhh...."

Sebastian looked at Blaine, tunning his own hands through his hair. "Maybe we break this down in the morning?"

Blaine nodded, looking down at Hunter with a sad look. He wanted so badly to make everything better for this man. To find him the right person, man or woman, who would make him happy. It killed him a little that he was going through this now. Blaine stood and grabbed a blanket that was on the couch, laying it over him gently. "I'll make your favorites in the morning." He tucked the blanket around Hunter and kissed his forehead.

"Wait." Sebastian came over and took Hunter's shoes off of him. "Take off your pants, champ. You can't sleep in those tight things." He pulled off Hunter's pants efficiently and Hunter just lay there, his arm across his eyes still. "Okay, now you can tuck him in." Sebastian threw the pants in the chair and crossed his arms, studying the the still beautiful shape of Hunter's bone structure and broad shoulders. He looked smaller tonight, though.

...

Blaine got up just a few hours later so that he would have plenty of time to cook up a feast. He was definitely the cook of the family, it was something that calmed him down and gave him a bit of pride. This was something he could do and do well. Of course, he hadn't planned this ahead of time so he had to run to the store to grab up what supplies he didn't have laying around. As soon as he was back though, he set to work. Eggs, pancakes, biscuits, and of course lots of bacon and sausage soon filled the kitchen and the smell filled the house. Blaine knew Hunter's love for meat so the bacon and sausage was made exactly to his liking, and he made more than four people could possibly eat. When the food got closer to done he started the coffee maker, the best of their beans ground up and soon the trickle of coffee filled the air as well.

Hunter woke slowly as the smell of coffee, bacon and sausage wafted through  the air. He turned his head and opened his eyes halfway and saw Sebastian in the armchair, reading his Sunday paper.

"Hey, Champ..." Sebastian said, not looking up.

Hunter closed his eyes again and shifted sideways on the comfortable sofa.

"Yes, that's bacon you smell, you animal."

Hunter croaked a reply at last. "Did I...oh shit. Oh god it wasn't a dream.” He squeezed his eyes shut tighter. “I let some random suck me in a bathroom stall last night.”

"Yup." Sebastian turned a page of the paper. "It's kinda fun, and you're single so stop angsting about it. You used to do it with women in your 20s all the time."

Hunter stared at the back page of the paper Sebastian was reading. "I'm not angsting."

"You are, too."

"I am not."

Blaine hummed to himself as he pulled the last of the bacon off the skillet, laying it on paper towel to let the grease soak up before quickly making three cups of coffee. Each was made to perfection for each person and Blaine had to balance carefully as he walked out with a tray into the study and smiled. "Good, you're awake." Blaine passed the coffees around before sitting down on the arm of Sebastian's chair. He didn't want to invade on Hunter's space when he was still laying down and just waking up. "How's your head?"

Hunter looked up and took the Portmeiron mug gratefully. He sat up and took a sip. "I'm fine. Didn't drink as much as I did at Dani and Santana's way back when." 

Sebastian kept reading but with one hand he handed over a pair of his sweatpants from behing his paper. 

Hunter put down his mug put the pants on before picking up his mug again and getting up slowly  He patted Blaine's shoulder. "Let's eat."

Sebastian put the paper down and leaned up to kiss Blaine's elbow before following Hunter into the kitchen. "He seems kind of okay..." he whispered to Blaine as he got up.

Blaine nodded, glad that he wasn't too bad off this morning before getting up himself. He bit his lips when Sebastian spoke though, eyeing Hunter on the way through to the kitchen. "I hope so, but I'm still worried. He had a break and time to sleep. I'm hoping it doesn't get worse when we talk." Blaine knew there was nothing to do but push ahead, following the other two men into the kitchen. "I may have gone a bit overboard..." He laughed lightly as they reached the loaded table, forcing his worry away for the moment.

Hunter's eyes widened a bit at the sumptuous breakfast. "Whoa, you outdid yourself," he said, sitting down and helping himself to some fruit.

Sebastian sat at the head of the table as usual and took some sausages for himself. "Yeah, this looks great, Babe." He took a sip of his coffee, leaning back in his chair and studying Hunter a bit. "So Sherry is an idiot, you know that, right?"

Blaine had started to put some pancakes on his plate when Sebastian spoke, dropping the fluffy cake before making it to his place as he stared at his husband, his mouth dropped open. "You are 44 years old and you still do not have any tact. How is that possible?"

Sebastian shrugged and got himself some pancakes. "Who needs tact? We're too old to beat around the bush."

Hunter was eating quietly.

Blaine shook his head and put more food on his plate before looking over at Hunter with gentle eyes. "He does have a point, even if he needs to learn how to speak to people. If she can't see what an amazing man and catch you are then she doesn't deserve you to begin with."

Hunter didn't look up, getting pancakes and bacon. He cut his pancakes before putting down his knife and fork finally and picking up his coffee, trying to make sense of it all in retrospect. "I guess not...but really B...don't sugar coat it. I'm not exactly marriage material. I have two almost grown kids and I'm not exactly the romantic type."

Blaine shook his head.  "That is so not true. Your daughters are beautiful and wonderful and honestly, if someone can't accept that you've had a life then again, they don't deserve to have you." 

Sebastian reached for the strawberries. "True. You need a Blaine type, though."

Blaine grabbed some blueberries to sprinkle over his pancakes, scrunching up his face as he did before giving his husband a dubious look. "A Blaine type?"

Sebastian looked at him over his coffee. "Yeah, like a romantic type who will take care of him. You don't have to be a romantic to get married, Hunt. You have this idea that you have to be some Romeo to be in a relationship. Did you ever think I'd grow up and get married and have 4 kids when we first met? Please. And now you have more choices, you can find a guy or a woman to put up with your shit."

Hunter looked at him with a furrowed brow. He was still reeling with what happened last night. "I guess. But maybe I'm not bi. Maybe I was just sad and stupid last night and experimented?"

Blaine smiled at his husband as he explained it, knowing he really couldn't deny that. This very conversation showed that Sebastian wasn't exactly romantic all the time himself, although he knew that he could be. The words from Hunter had his eyes worried a bit, exchanging a look with Sebastian before reaching across the table to cover Hunter's hand. "I...is that how you feel about it? Because Hunt...I mean Seb and I both mentioned last night...we've had our suspicions for awhile."

Hunter looked into Blaine's earnest eyes. "I don't know..." he said quietly. "Like...what does it even mean to be bi?"

Sebastian spoke up, leaning back in his chair, and looking at Hunter earnestly. "It's a spectrum, Hunt. You might be more straight than you are bi, but it doesn't matter, all the boxes and categories. Just stop trying to fit into any predetermined mold...like being the perfect husband or father. Just let yourself go a little."

Blaine added, "There's actually a really interesting scale that a scientist created. It's called the Kinsey Scale. Not everything is black, white, or grey, there's a lot of in-between there. And to be honest I'm not sure even his scale goes as deep as the reality of human sexuality is. The point of it all is though, maybe you won't be attracted to all men, or even all women, but just because you don't see every man as attractive doesn't mean you're straight. Just like not seeing some women as unattractive doesn't make you gay."

Hunter looked a bit vacant still. "Yeah, Seb told me all that ages ago. It still doesn't tell me where I stand."

Sebastian cocked an eyebrow as he helped himself to more syrup. "You want our take, after watching you all these years?"

Blaine took a bite of his pancakes as they talked, the blueberries a perfect match for this morning. He nodded with his husband's response, knowing that it came down to Hunter and how he worked through it but he and Seb had certainly been around him and saw enough to maybe be able to help with input. 

 Hunter's eyebrows raised and he looked at Sebastian with a sober and slightly annoyed expression. After a moment a thought occurred to him and he actually huffed out a chuckle. "That may be the first time in history you have asked me if I want your opinion, instead of shoving it down my throat."

"So. Many. Innuendos..." Sebastian grinned, clapping a hand over his mouth.

Blaine's head immediately dropped into his hands, a loud grown slipping out as he decided not to lift his head or join this conversation further. Just like always, the two idiots he calls husband and best friend ruined the moment.

Hunter shook his head. "Fuck you..." he said, reaching for more bacon. "Fine. Lay it on me." Then he paused. "Actually, not yet. I want Blaine's take first."

Blaine spoke into his hands, his words mumbled before lifting his head to look at Hunter with an exasperated look. "My take is that you never listen to anything that Seb says." It took him a moment to get his thoughts back on track, shaking his head to clear it. "Have you ever noticed you flirt with Sebastian? A lot, actually. It's cute, and shows how comfortable you are here. I think you let yourself be more you around him than most anyone else. Even maybe parts of yourself you haven't admitted to yourself. It's more than that though. It's the way for the longest time you denied being even slightly interested in men, as if you had to make sure everyone knew. You haven't been that way for a long time and well...I have noticed lingering eyes when we're out together. I definitely think there's an interest there, you've just never really let yourself pursue it."

Hunter sipped his coffee meditatively as listened, his eyes widening a bit at the mention of flirting and furrowing his brow at mention of his denial. "Huh," he said glancing out the window. Then he looked at Sebastian, finally ready to see what he had learned to trust from his best friend over the years. Unbridled truth.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows and avoided Hunter's eyes for a moment, looking down at his strawberries before glancing at Blaine, wondering exactly what to say. He looked down into his own coffee cup and raised it to his lips for a long sip before finally looking at Hunter and leaning back in his seat. "Yeah. He's right. You flirt with B, too. And I don't think..." he paused, knowing that Hunter could easily get pissed off based on what he said next. "And I don't have to be a Manhattan shrink to tell you that all your denial in high school was because of your dad. Maybe that stuff...sticks a little?" He looked at Blaine for help.

Blaine knew this was a touchy subject just as well as Sebastian did. He bit his bottom lip and messed with the food on his plate to figure out how to address it and help him out. "I mean, Seb and I both know how it can be when your parent...has certain opinions. I've heard enough to guess about some that your dad had..." Blaine bit his bottom lip, looking down at his lap in case Hunter was unhappy. "That kind of thing can be difficult. I, for example, had to figure out for myself that my sexuality wasn't something I could hide...even after my own dad wasn't so accepting."

Sebastian finished chewing a bit of pancake and leaned his chin in his hand. "Well you and Hunt are different - you wear your heart on your sleeve, so to speak, and Hunt is really private...so it makes sense that he wouldn't have thought this is who he is..." he said with a thoughtful expression, staring out the window and trying to analyze the situation like he might a business problem.

Hunter looked from Blaine to Sebastian - they'd reached a point in their friendship where any defensive pride was usually just used in jest, so this was not a time to make his father out to be anything else than what he really was. He studied Blaine with a serious expression. "Yeah, my dad called me fag once when I was...ten?" his eyes narrowed to remember his age. He found tears came to his eyes, to his surprise. "Because I told my parents I wanted to sing on Broadway," he added, looking into his coffee cup.

He continued bravely, forcing himself to look at both his friends. "But I really love women - how do I know last night wasn't just me being drunk and liking my cock being sucked by anyone? What if what you guys call flirtation is just affection because you're my best friends? Do I flirt with other guys?" He looked away to try to think if he did.

"Well, your father sounds like a lovely person." Blaine shook his head before he picked up his coffee and took a few sips as he thought about it, trying to figure out how to put it all into words. "That doesn't mean you're not bi. You can really love women and still find men attractive. Maybe you tend to favor relationships with women even." Blaine studied Hunter's face for a moment before shaking his head slightly. "No, you don't tend to flirt with others but I have to wonder if you don't because you're not comfortable about it more so than because you don't want to. I have seen you look at guys when we're out in the city. I can't tell you what you saw but...to me it looked like there could be an interest."

Sebastian nodded and sipped some orange juice thoughtfully before speaking up, his green eyes a bit amused as they trained on his best friend. "Blaine's right. The drunker you are, the more you leer at the asses of the masses..." he said with a smirk. But then he continued more seriously, studying the design of their white Wedgewood platter. "There's no shame in it Hunt...and I know you get that on some level...but at the same time, maybe you don't." He picked up his coffee and finally looked up at Hunter with uncharacteristic sincerity. "It's weird, you're not homophobic per say...but I think your dad made you kind of hate any bisexual side of you... and it is a damn shame." He glanced at Blain to see if what he was saying was making any sense.

Hunter's gaze followed Sebastian's, his handsome features neutral as he swallowed his own coffee and looked at Blaine over the rim of his cup.

Blaine nodded, looking forward to meet Hunters eyes with a gentle smile. "I have to agree. In a way I think you've come to feel that it's okay for others, it's okay for Seb and I, but not you. And so you have hidden it." Blaine nodded, stuck in his thoughts as he worked through it. "And I do think it would be a good thing to explore. Even if you don't find a man who is a good match, maybe it would help you feel better as you. It could make you happier just because it's not something you have to hide and fight." His eyes turned sad and he reached across the table to squeeze Hunter's hand. "I just want to see you happy, Hunt. I think it must be exhausting to try and fight something like this."

Hunter looked down as Blaine's words sank into him. He found he couldn't even look at him, instead looking up at Sebastian, he gave him a steady green gaze, a slight arch of his eyebrows and a wordless expression that said, "It's all good. We have your back."

Hunter glanced down again and forked at his pancakes to stall as he took it all in. "Huh. Well, okay I guess I'll think about it. And...maybe...I don't know...what do you think I should do next?" he said with a sincere question in his eyes as he looked up at Blaine again.

Blaine let Hunter think it all over, picking up his coffee to sip at it as he watched his friend carefully. He didn't want to scare him or push him, but that didn't mean he thought it was bad that Hunter was finally working through this. "Well, you were worried it just happened because you were drunk, right? Or sad?" Blaine looked over at Sebastian with a raised eyebrow and a question in his eyes before looking back at Hunter. "Maybe it would make sense to...try again? Try something more? Just so you can know whether it was a fluke or not."

Hunter's eyes widened a bit at Blaine's suggestion and he glanced over at Sebastian. His best friend shrugged slightly and then gave Hunter a wry half smile. "You know, we're always here for your experimentation, pal..." he said with a wider smile, batting his eyelashes at Hunter.

Hunter looked away, looking blankly at the table as his mind almost short circuited. He had no idea what to say or think in the face of Sebastian's...proposition? He looked a little dazed and then gathered his composure as he reached for his coffee again. "Ohhh...kay," he said tentatively, then he realized this could be a joke and he looked up at Blaine.

Blaine smiled at Sebastian when he spoke, shaking his head in amusement as he batted his eyelashes. There had always been something there between Sebastian and Hunter in particular and well...he wouldn't trust anyone else to treat Hunter right. Blaine looked back at Hunter when he felt his eyes on him, nodding his head. "We've actually...talked about it before. That was a serious offer."

Hunter's brow furrowed. "Seriously?"

Sebastian's face actually turned sincere. He shrugged again. "Yeah, I mean we've thought about how you might be kind of..." he paused and filtered himself so he wouldn't hurt Hunter's ego. "That your first homoerotic encounter might be...odd...after only being with women all these years. I mean what other gay men are you more comfortable with than us?" He smirked a bit before continuing more sincerely. "We could get a little liquored up, to help you get even more comfortable," he said in a persuasive tone.

Hunter's face was neutral as he took in Sebastian's words. The moment was starting to feel a little surreal. Sebastian had been joking about a threesome with Blaine and Hunter for literally decades. Was there really a side of him that was considering this? His eyes narrowed as he stared into his coffee, almost in a trance of his own.

Blaine nodded, not wanting to scare Hunter off after getting this far. "I wouldn't trust some random person to help you figure something like this out. I especially wouldn't trust someone not to hurt you." Blaine shrugged helplessly as he tried to think about how to put it to make it easier on the other man. "I think we just thought that you'd be comfortable here with us, you would be able to call all the shots. And I like to think we're not too bad of a choice in the looks department." Blaine forced out a chuckle to try and lighten the mood.

Hunter actually blushed lightly as he kept sipping his coffee. Sebastian smirked again and chuckled. "That's an understatement." He helped himself to more fruit. "We don' t need an answer now, Hunt - think about it and let us know...or not...whatever."

Garrett chose that moment to come bounding into the room. "BACON!" he yelled. "UNCLE HUNT!!!" he said even louder, hurtling himself into his favorite Uncle's arms.

Hunter's smile appeared instantly and he put his strong arms around the little boy, finding comfort there.

Garrett asked his fathers, "Why is Uncle Hunt here so early?

Sebastian replied with a smirk. "He spent the night, kiddo. He just needed a slumber party. And he might come back for another one sometime soon!" he said with chuckle.