A/N: I thought I'd just share that this was inspired by something that actually happened to me and a show on BBC1 called Earthflight in the UK which I urge everyone to check out because it's spectacular.
Meow!
Kurt groaned as the call melted into his dreams. Grumbling, he tried to shift and slip back into dreams, but found himself held into place by Blaine. His arms were around his chest, hugging him close in his sleep, tightening protectively as Kurt shifted. With a small smile, Kurt found himself slipping back to sleep.
Meow!
This time, he couldn't ignore the noise. Unwilling, Kurt opened his eyes and blinked, getting used to the light. It was mid-afternoon. On the coffee table in front of him was a mess of empty coffee cups, notes and textbooks. Blaine had come over to study but, instead, they'd fallen asleep on the sofa.
Meow!
Sitting up, Kurt frowned and looked down. By his feet was next doors cat, Patches - so named by his eight year old over because of the patches of grey against the white of his fluffy coat. Kurt wasn't particularly fond of cats, but Carole adored them. Unable to have a cat of her own (Finn was allergic), she'd adopted Patches as sort of her own and Kurt had seen her treating him with nibbles and tickles behind the ear many times. Patches was a regular guest in their household, so that wasn't why Kurt's eyes were widening.
At the cat's feet was a dead sparrow.
Resisiting the urge not to scream, Kurt glared at the cat and hissed, "Monster."
Pacthes purred proudly, happy his success had been noted in some form by someone.
Sighing, Kurt leant forwards to rescue the poor bird. But, just as he reached for it, Patches meowed again and scooped the sparrow up in his mouth. For a moment, the two stared at each other, before the cat trotted off.
"Oh, no."
Kurt leapt from his seat and chased after the cat, who decided it was a good time to play hide'n'seek under the dining room table. He knelt and tried to calmly coax Patches to him, but the cat happily ignored him and began playing with his new toy. Clenching his first, Kurt kept trying. He'd given up the calm approach and was yelling when Blaine, groggy from sleep, found him.
"Kurt, what are you doing?"
"Next door's cat has a dead bird," he grunted, before crawling under the table after it.
Between them, Blaine and Kurt spent half an hour trying to trap the cat and tease the sparrow from his mouth. It was Blaine who had the idea of food. At the smell, Patches instantly forgot about the bird as he gobbled down piece after piece of cheese chunks.
"What now?" he asked.
Kurt scrunched up his nose, surveying the dead bird as Patches slept off his 'treat'. "I think we should bury it."
Blaine agreed and they set out sorting out the funeral. While his boyfriend dug a hole in the garden, Kurt found a small shoe box and lined it with tissue paper the colour of the sky. Gently, he laid the bird inside before placing the lid on top. On a piece of paper, he wrote a quick note that he glued to the lid before carrying it out to Blaine.
" 'RIP Pavorriti – may you ever rest in the sky'," he read, smiling softly as he looked up at Kurt. "That's beautiful."
They laid the shoe box coffin in the hole and Kurt watched as Blaine covered it with dry earth. He could feel himself shivering, despite the warm May sun. The burial brought up bad memories – but that was good, he reasoned. If he hadn't remembered them then, it would have worried him. It would have meant he'd forgotten her. Kurt never wanted to do that. She was the only one who had fully understood him.
"Kurt?"
He looked up to find Blaine holding out his hand. Kurt grasped it, thankful.
"Shall I feed you strawberries while we watch a film?"
Kurt smiled, nodding as they crossed back to the house. He was very aware of the hand in his, of its secure grip and reassuring weight. It was moments like this that reminded him that, while his mother may have understood him fully, Blaine understood him best. That's all Kurt needed right then.
With Blaine by his side, Kurt knew he could do whatever he wanted. With Blaine by his side, he could fly as high as a bird. With Blaine by his side, Kurt wouldn't get caught or hurt by a cat.