Kurt smiled as he stuck his key into the lock of his apartment and turned it. He had texted Blaine a couple times this afternoon but he hadn't replied, which usually means he got caught up perfecting something in one of the many practice rooms at NYADA. Kurt had taken Blaine's lack of response as an invitation to stop at the bodega on his way home and pick up a few things to make Blaine a nice dinner. Kurt figured he would be exhausted and would welcome the surprise of a warm meal on the table when he got home.
Kurt's smile got bigger when he realized that Blaine was already home. He was asleep on the couch with a blanket pulled over him. Poor thing must have worn himself out, Kurt mused to himself. He looks so cute when he's sleeping. Kurt tried to gently nudge the door shut behind him, but with all the grocery bags in his arms he slipped and it closed louder than he intended. Blaine flinched and opened his eyes.
"Kurt?" he mumbled hoarsely.
"Hey baby!" Kurt replied, setting down the bags on the kitchen table and walking over to Blaine. As he got closer he narrowed his eyes, studying Blaine's flushed cheeks and glassy eyes. "You okay?" he asked sitting down on the couch by Blaine's feet.
"Yeah I was just really tired so I came home after my last class to take a cat nap but I guess I slept a little longer than I meant to," Blaine explained, still half asleep. Kurt noticed him shiver and put a hand on his forehead.
"You feel a little warm, I'm going to go grab the thermometer okay?" Kurt kissed Blaine on the cheek noticing how warm that was too while Blaine nodded. Kurt came back into the living room and frowned, Blaine had already shimmied his way back down on the couch so the blankets were up to his chin and his eyes were closed again. "Can you open your mouth Blaine?"
"Mmhmm," Blaine murmured cracking one eye open and sniffing. "My throat kinda hurts."
"Yeah it sounds like it," Kurt clucked, putting the thermometer under Blaine's tongue and playing with a couple of curls that had worked their way out of Blaine's gel. Blaine shut his eyes again until the thermometer beeped.
"Fever?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded his head.
"101.3 baby. Why don't you go put some pajamas on and get into bed? I bought stuff to make chicken, veggies and rice but I bet I can turn that into some soup if you're hungry?" Kurt offered.
"Bed sounds good but no soup right now. My belly feels a little funny," Blaine said softly sitting up. As soon as his feet came out from under the blanket he shivered again.
"Want some crackers and peppermint tea then?" Kurt wondered, offering a hand to Blaine to help him get off the couch.
"That would be great, thanks Kurt. I'm so lucky I have you," Blaine almost whispered before coughing harshly into his elbow. He winced and sniffed again.
"I'm lucky to have you my love," Kurt crooned back, kissing Blaine on the forehead and gathering him into a hug. "I'm sorry you feel so lousy. You should have told me, I'd have come home sooner."
"I was okay. I'm glad you're here now though," Blaine smiled, heading into the bedroom. Kurt tucked all of the groceries away and put the teakettle on for Blaine. He grabbed a sleeve of saltines and a peppermint tea bag out of the cabinet and set it down on the counter. He then quietly walked towards the bedroom to check on Blaine, who he found standing in front of the sink in the half bathroom right off their bedroom with his head in the sink.
"What are you doing?" Kurt inquired, leaning up against the door. Blaine looked up at Kurt with big puppy dog eyes.
"Trying to get the gel out. It's giving me a headache," Blaine whined. Kurt walked over and eased Blaine's head back down into the sink. He turned the tap on and let the water warm up a little.
"Here, let me help," Kurt offered, as he cupped the water in his hands and massaged it into Blaine's scalp. Kurt was starting to get a little worried about how bad Blaine really felt. Usually he spent much more time assuring Kurt that he was fine before finally giving in to cough syrup and cuddles.
"Thanks," Blaine said, clearing his throat and picking his head up. "That feels better."
"Good," Kurt answered, wrapping Blaine's head in a towel. "I'm just going to go grab your tea and some Tylenol and I'll be right back, okay?"
"Okay," Blaine said, seeming to be kind of out of it. He almost looked like he was going to cry. Kurt's eyebrows knitted together in concern.
He walked back out into the kitchen and poured a mug full of water, dropping the tea bag in and adding a bit of honey. Kurt heard Blaine sneeze loudly from the bedroom. Sounds like it's going to be a long night, Kurt thought. He got the Tylenol from the cabinet next to the sink and scooped the crackers up off the counter. He shut the stove off before walking back into the bedroom.
"Here's 2 Tylenol," Kurt said, shaking them out of the bottle and placing them in Blaine's cold hands. Blaine swallowed them dry and grimaced. Kurt put the tea and crackers down on Blaine's nightstand before crawling into bed with him. Blaine didn't even look at the tea or crackers, he instinctively curled into Kurt, who put his arms protectively around the other man. After a minute it felt like Blaine was trembling. "Hey, Blaine? Blaine? What's the matter?"
Blaine pulled away just enough to look up at Kurt. His eyes were full tears. "I-I-I just really d-d-don't feel good," Blaine whimpered, looking away from Kurt as the tears started to fall, "a-a-and I didn't call you earlier b-b-because you've been so b-b-busy since school started and I d-d-didn't want to bother you." Blaine wiped the tears from his eyes while Kurt tilted his head to one side, frowning at Blaine.
"Blaine, you're never bothering me," Kurt started, but Blaine kept rambling.
"S-s-sometimes I just feel so a-a-alone here and it's hard and…" Blaine trailed off.
"I'm sorry I've been so busy but I love you, you could never ever bother me, no matter how busy I am," Kurt reached up to take over brushing the tears from Blaine's hot cheek.
"O-okay," Blaine sobbed, his whole body shaking now. Kurt couldn't tell if he was shaking because he was upset or because he was cold. Kurt tucked the blankets back up around his shoulders and ruffled his still damp hair before pressing a kiss to the top of Blaine's head.
"And it's hard for everyone when they first get here. It's a whole new city and a whole new school and a whole new batch of people. Learning to juggle it all is a lot, but I am always, always here for you Blaine," Kurt was rubbing circles into Blaine's spine in an attempt to calm him down when Blaine suddenly threw the covers off and dashed to the bathroom. Kurt followed closely behind to find Blaine wrenching into the toilet. Kurt was immediately on the floor next to him, rubbing his back again. He hated seeing Blaine so sick and not being able to do anything about it.
"Shhh it's okay, it's okay," Kurt soothed. Blaine put his cheek down on the edge of the toilet as Kurt reached up to flush it for him. Blaine reached out shakily to grab Kurt's hand and wove his fingers between his. Kurt leaned in to kiss Blaine's forehead. I think he feels warmer, Kurt thought to himself. From his spot on the floor he reached up to grab the thermometer off the back of the sink where he had put it. "Let me take your temperature again?"
Blaine opened his eyes and his mouth for Kurt, just staring at him while he waited for it to beep again. Kurt's heart melted looking at the sweat on Blaine's forehead, the circles underneath his glazed eyes, and the big red marks on his otherwise ivory face.
"102.1," Kurt muttered dejectedly. "You poor thing. How long have you felt sick?"
"Just since last night," Blaine mumbled. He was starting to sound congested. Kurt pouted in sympathy at his boyfriend and helped him get up and back into bed. He got an extra blanket from the closet and put it on top of Blaine before crawling in next to him again. Blaine again nestled right up to him.
"Tell me where it hurts so I can make it better," Kurt whispered, resting his chin on the top of Blaine's head.
"My head hurts, my throat hurts, my stomach hurts… my whole body aches," Blaine breathed into Kurt's chest. Before starting in on a coughing fit. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to cough all over you," Blaine apologized, trying to pull away but Kurt drew him closer.
"I'm your boyfriend, please, it's part of the job description to let you cough all over me when you feel crappy. Want me to put a movie on the iPad?" Kurt asked, reaching for him iPad off of his nightstand. He felt Blaine nod into him.
"Orange Is The New Black?" Blaine asked.
"You got it babe," Kurt answered, scrolling through the Netflix titles and kissing the top of Blaine's head once again. "Anything to make you feel better."
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