"I Got Your Back"

Prompt: "Can you write one where Blaine constantly asks Kurt for piggyback rides because he loves the size difference and Kurt pretends to be annoyed but he secretly loves it? You write the best fluff and I just *A*"

Note: Well, first of all, thank you 3 Also, I changed up the prompt just a bit, but I hope you like it anyway. It ended up kind of angsty and the whole thing sort of ran away with itself, but hopefully it isn't too bad :)

"Mommy, can I go play at Kurt's house?" asked a little seven-year-old Blaine, looking up at his mother with shining, pleading eyes. How could she say no?

"Of course, honey. Just tell Mr. Hummel that you need to be home in one hour."

"Okay, mommy! Love you, bye!" he squealed before running out the back door. Emily watched with a smile as her son opened the gate connecting the two families' yards and knocked excitedly on the Hummels' back door. Once she saw that he was safely inside, she returned to her reading.

"Kuuuurt," Blaine called, ringing the doorbell. "It's me, Blaine!"

Just as he was about to press the doorbell button again, Mr. Hummel opened the door. Blaine grinned at him. "Hi, Mr. Hummel! Is Kurt here? My mommy said I have to be home in one hour, okay? Can I play with Kurt today?"

Burt chuckled fondly, moving aside so Blaine could come inside. "He's up in his room, sport. Have fun!" he called, but Blaine was already half-way up the stairs. For such a tiny kid, he sure was quick.

Blaine knocked on Kurt's door out of politeness. As usual, Kurt called out, "Come in, Blaine," and laughed. "You don't have to knock." Blaine always knocked anyway, but he grinned and opened the door.

"Hi, Kurt! Whatch'ya doin'?" he drawled, hopping up on Kurt's bed to sit cross-legged beside his friend.

Kurt looked over at the excited boy and grinned. "I'm making a present for my mom. It's mother's day tomorrow!"

Blaine's eyes widened, awe-filled and curious. "Really? Can I make something for my mom, too?"

Kurt laughed. "Of course, silly. I'm making a card. Daddy has to write the names but I do the rest."

"Okay!"

And, just like that, they got started. Kurt's card had too much glitter—"It's not that much, Blaine."—and Blaine's had too many star stickers—"You took all the glitter so I took all the stars."—but they both had a blast. They cleaned up the mess, sweeping it off of the bed and into the garbage can, just like Burt told them, and then ran downstairs to show Burt their cards.

"Do you think mom will love it?" Kurt asked. "Do you think it'll make her feel better?"

Burt smiled softly, patting his son's shoulder lovingly. "I think it's perfect, bud. You should put it in a safe place so you can surprise her tomorrow!"

Kurt grinned and hugged his dad. Burt didn't even care that he got glitter on his flannel.

"What about mine, Mr. Hummel? Will it make my mommy happy, too?"

Burt inspected it carefully and smiled. "I think she'll love it, Blaine. You did a great job."

Blaine's entire face lit up with his smile and he threw his arms around the man who was like a second father to him.

After that, they put their cards in a safe hiding place and ran outside to play in the backyard. They played tag and then Kurt set up his tea set. They sat down together and giggled as they pretended to talk to the stuffed animals. Then Blaine had an idea. He grabbed one of the teddy bears and hoisted it up on his shoulders running around and making airplane noises.

Kurt laughed, delighted, and followed suit, grabbing a stuffed pig and lifting it onto his shoulders. They ran around in circles until they were so exhausted that they collapsed to the grass, giggling and smiling at each other. "That was fun," Kurt said, still breathless with laughter.

Blaine nodded enthusiastically. "You know what would be lots more fun?"

"What?"

"You could give me a piggyback ride!" he suggested, proud of himself for coming up with such a fun idea.

Kurt seemed to consider it for a few seconds before he nodded and stood up. "Okay. Hop on!"

Blaine laughed happily and stood on a chair so he could climb onto Kurt's back, holding on tight. Kurt held his knees up while Blaine clung to his shoulders, squealing with joy as Kurt ran around the backyard. He almost lost his balance a few times, but Blaine just laughed harder, grinning the whole time.

When Kurt couldn't hold him up anymore, Blaine sat on the grass and Kurt lied down beside him. When Blaine noticed that Kurt was still laughing, he grinned and turned to lie down on his stomach, kicking his feet up in the air and laughing with his best friend.

"That," Blaine started, "was awesome."

Kurt nodded in agreement, poking Blaine's shoulder. "You," he said, "are heavy. "

Blaine laughed. "Hey, no I'm not! Meany head."

Kurt stuck his tongue out at him and then they both burst into giggles once more.

Oh, it was good to have a best friend.

Around age ten, the piggyback rides stopped. It wasn't until they were fourteen that Blaine even brought it up again. They were still best friends, and they still talked about everything, so Blaine figured he might as well ask. But why was he so nervous?

"Kurt?" he asked one day while they were doing homework in Blaine's room. "Um, do you remember when we used to… well, when you used to give my piggyback rides?"

Kurt glanced up briefly from his math homework, making a vague noise of affirmation.

Blaine gulped, wringing his hands in his lap. "Well, um, do you think it'd be weird if we did that again?"

Kurt looked at him oddly, and Blaine's heart sank. "You're kidding. Blaine, we haven't done that since fifth grade. Why bring it up now?"

"I just… I thought it might be fun. Don't you remember how we always laughed so hard after? You said it was fun."

Kurt seemed to consider it for a moment, before he finally shrugged. "I guess it couldn't hurt. I don't know if I can still carry you around like that, though," he said teasingly.

Blaine laughed, relieved that Kurt wasn't judging him for this. "Of course you can. I'm the smallest guy on the wrestling team. I'm like a paperweight."

Kurt snorted. "All right. Just let me finish these last two questions on the homework and we can go outside."

Blaine's heart pounded excitedly in his chest and he had to look away to hide his smile. Truth be told, maybe he had some… ulterior motives. He would never admit it out loud—especially since he didn't know if Kurt was even gay—but he'd had a crush on his best friend for quite some time now. Kurt was smart, funny, clever, and yes, absolutely adorable. How could he not have any sort of feelings for him?

And this piggyback ride was just an excuse to be close to Kurt, wrap his arms around him, and not be judged for it. Maybe it wasn't the most romantic of situations, but it was something.

Once Kurt finished his math homework, they went downstairs and out the back door. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do. Blaine almost could've sworn he saw Kurt blushing, but maybe it was just wishful thinking.

After a few minutes of awkwardly trying to climb up on Kurt's back, Blaine had an idea. "What if I stand on the porch step and then climb on? Remember how we used to use your little chairs for a lift?"

Kurt smiled softly, remembering a happy memory, and nodded. "Yeah. That's a good idea."

Once Blaine was securely hoisted up on Kurt's back—Blaine hugging Kurt's shoulders while Kurt held his knees—and Kurt gained his balance, it was like they were little kids again. Kurt ran around in circles and they laughed gleefully the whole time.

Despite Kurt's occasional wobbly step, Blaine had never felt safer. He smiled, closed his eyes, and rested his head on Kurt's shoulder. He wished it wasn't so hard to tell Kurt about his crush. He just wanted to put it all out there and maybe even get the chance to hear Kurt say he felt the same way. But it was too terrifying, the idea of losing Kurt because of a crush.

So, for now, he was happy to let Kurt hold him, even to the smallest extent. He was content to have Kurt as his best friend, because that was better than losing him forever.

He would be happy so long as he had Kurt in his life.

They were fifteen, almost sixteen, when Kurt found out about Blaine's crush.

Blaine had been talking to his mom when Kurt walked in the back door—it was practically his house, too, and he knew he was welcome—and overheard them. As soon as Blaine realized that Kurt had heard all about his undying crush, tears stung his eyes and he ran up to his room, locking the door behind him.

Startled, Kurt stared at Emily in confusion for a moment. She nodded towards the stairs and Kurt instantly ran after his friend. It broke his heart to hear the boy's sobs coming from inside his room, and he tried to doorknob, to no avail. "Blaine? Can you please open the door? I think we need to talk."

"You can just go ahead and stop being my friend now," Blaine sobbed. "I know you want to. You don't have to spare my feelings."

"Blaine…" Kurt felt tears in his own eyes. "Blaine, no, I'll always be your friend. I swear I will. This doesn't change anything."

"It changes everything!" Blaine cried.

"It doesn't change the fact that you're still my best friend. And you always will be."

He heard the sobbing die down somewhat before Blaine opened the door. Kurt immediately threw his arms around the boy. Blaine clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder. "I was so scared of losing you."

"You don't have to be scared," Kurt promised. "I'm not going anywhere."

They stood there for a long time until Blaine eventually calmed down. Blaine stepped back just slightly. "So… You don't like me back." It wasn't a question. "Just… not like that."

Kurt shook his head sadly, rubbing Blaine's shoulder soothingly. "No. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Blaine said, looking down. "I… I understand."

Kurt didn't know what to say after that, so he didn't say anything. Blaine understood that, too, even though it deepened the slow-building crack in his heart.

They sat on the floor up against the wall, Kurt still holding Blaine close. Blaine fell asleep after a while, cuddled up against his chest. Smiling fondly, Kurt shifted until Blaine was draped over his back and then stood up, carrying Blaine to his bed.

Blaine was right. He didn't feel the same way about him. But looking at Blaine sleeping peacefully and looking so lovely, he thought that maybe someday he would. Just maybe.

It was when they were seventeen, at the beginning of their senior year, that Kurt had a confession of his own to make… however involuntarily.

Kurt had only recently come out, and the bullying had, as expected, gotten much worse. One jock especially seemed hell-bent on torturing his days, and sometimes even his nights in the form of nightmares. David Karofsky.

It'd been three weeks, and Kurt was sick of it. So, one day, after Karofsky knocked his books out of his hands, he steeled himself and chased after the bulky boy. "Hey!"

Karofsky ignored him, and Kurt followed him into the locker room. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Well, I don't want to talk," Karofsky spat.

"You gave up that choice when you decided to make me a part of whatever it is you're going through! And I'm tired of the harassment! You don't scare me, Karofsky."

"Is that your way of hitting on me?" he said dumbly, glaring at Kurt.

Kurt scoffed. "Right, like I would go for someone like you. You're not my type."

"Oh, is that right?" Karofsky stepped in closer, towering over him. Kurt didn't back down.

"Yeah, I don't dig on sweaty guys who'll be bald before they're thirty!"

"Don't push me," he growled dangerously.

"Oh, are you gonna hit me? Go ahead! You can't punch the gay out of me any more than I can punch the ignoramus out of you—"

He was cut off by Karofsky's lips pressed against his as the taller boy grabbed his shoulders and pushed him against the lockers. Kurt struggled to escape his grip for several seconds, letting out a muffled scream as the locker hinges dug painfully into his back. At last, he was able to push Karofsky off of him, shouting in one breath as soon as he did. "I love Blaine!" Breathing deeply, he stared at Karofsky with fearful eyes. "N-Not you." Karofsky tried to reach for him, eyes wide, and Kurt slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me."

Anger flared in the jock's eyes and he stepped into Kurt's personal space again. Kurt flinched. "If you tell anyone about this, you're dead."

Kurt's heart was still pounding long after Karofsky stalked out of the room. It skipped a beat when he saw who was standing in the doorway in his place.

"Blaine…"

"You… you love me?"

"I… Yeah, I…" Tears filled his eyes and he started sobbing just as Blaine reached him and pulled him into his arms. Kurt clung to him, trembling terribly. "He… he kissed me."

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't do anything to stop him."

Kurt shook his head. "It's okay. I don't w-want him to h-hurt you."

"Shh, it's okay," Blaine soothed as Kurt's breathing started to stutter again. "I've got you. He's gone. It's okay."

Kurt nodded against his chest, holding him tightly. "Can you take me home?" he whispered.

"Of course."

Blaine drove him home and guided him to the couch. Burt was at the shop working, so the house was silent except for Kurt's quiet sniffling. Blaine started a movie and let Kurt lean against him as they sat on the couch. After a while, he realized Kurt was asleep. He smiled softly and hoisted Kurt up on his back, carrying him upstairs to his room. Perhaps it was his turn to do the piggybacking.

Once Kurt was sleeping soundly in his bed, Blaine sat on the mattress beside him, carding his fingers through Kurt's hair. "I love you, too," he whispered. "Just so you know."

And if Kurt cuddled closer to him in his sleep, well, he'd blame that on the chilly temperature of the bedroom. And if Blaine slid under the covers and wrapped his arms around Kurt, well… he had to warm up somehow, didn't he?

(And if Burt found them cuddled up together like that when he got home, rolled his eyes, and said, "Finally," then who could blame him?)