A/N: This is complete fluff. No, really, I have no excuse. Takes place early on in Kurt's stay at Dalton Academy.
For my beta, who was having a bad week.
The first thing Kurt heard was Blaine gasping. There was a hiccup, another gasp, and then wheezing. Kurt's mind filled with images of Blaine being kicked or hit and lying on the floor, waiting for the next punch. He cleared the two rooms between them, banging against the door jamb as he careened into Blaine and Wes' room.
"Blaine!"
The empty space on the floor threw him for a second until he heard the wheezing again. His eyes narrowed, sweeping the room. There he was. Blaine was curled around his knees on the bed, two other boys curled around him.
Kurt rushed to his side. It took him a minute before he could extract Blaine from the pile of limbs. "Blaine?" He was shaking. The fine tremors seemed to dig into Kurt too. He had to clench his teeth to keep them from chattering together. "Blaine?" he tried again. "What did you do to him?"
The other boys were watching Kurt as if he were some kind of alien. Kurt glared them down as he tried to wrap a comforting arm around Blaine. "It'll be okay."
"Oh my god, Kurt," Blaine, as if only just now realizing his presence, latched on to Kurt like he was part marmoset. He buried his face into Kurt's neck and Kurt could feel the wetness there. Kurt's stomach turned over. Blaine promised they would be safe at Dalton. "I am so glad you're here." The words puffed against his skin, and Kurt's stomach lurched for an entirely different reason. "Wes and David are completely evil. You have to save me."
Kurt looked up then, realizing something was amiss. "Blaine?"
"It's awful. My brain is bleeding, Kurt."
The other boys ventured closer then, sensing the change in mood. "Mr. Anderson," David intoned while Blaine shrieked, launching out of Kurt's lap and out the room after a much faster and longer-limbed David. David held a small sheath of papers over his head as he yelled something about Neo and the Matrix (Kurt doubted it was the styling product, no matter the state of Blaine's hair).
Kurt smiled, trying to feign the light-hearted happiness that had sent Blaine rushing out of the room. He refused to pluck at the pleats in his dress pants or smooth a hand down his tie, an unfortunate nervous tic he had picked up from Blaine. Instead, he smiled brightly and looked Wes in the eye. "What were you guys doing?" The "to him" remained silent this time.
Wes' smile was wide as he looked out in the direction the other two had run. "My sister sent me a flip book as a joke."
Two pairs of thundering feet came echoing back to them, David easily beating Blaine. The taller boy dropped onto the bed and Blaine jumped on him, scrambling for the flip book in his hand. "Give it, David. I have to show Kurt. Kurt, you have to see this," Blaine giggled over his shoulder even as he was straining to reach David's outstretched hand. "David!" Blaine made some kind of move that was clearly not cricket and, when David curled up like a pill bug to protect his vulnerable middle, Blaine plucked the book out of his grasp.
"C'mere, Kurt," Blaine hip-checked David until he made room on the bed for all four of them. As a group, they watched in mock seriousness as Blaine related the tragic fate of the mythical stick figure people. There was a moment of stillness, the other three gentlemen waiting to see his reaction. Kurt swallowed, his lips pursing as if around a lemon, but all it took was the upward tic of one of Blaine's eyebrows and Kurt was lost. He snorted in spite of himself. That was all it took. The group dissolved into laughter. Each tried to prop up his fellows, but then someone would retell the punch line and then they were lost all over again.
It wasn't until later that Kurt found himself curled face-to-face with Blaine as David and Wes mock fought above them and used their prone bodies as shields. Blaine's face was flushed, spots of color high on his cheeks. Kurt could feel his own face burning, but he didn't care. He wrapped an arm around his sore stomach and smiled back at beautiful, beautiful Blaine.
"Hey Kurt," Blaine whispered.
"Yeah," Kurt's eyes were already slipping down, his head tilting to the side.
"Do you know why the stick people became extinct?" Kurt's eyes shot open even as the giggles returned.
"You are dead, Anderson," he pushed Blaine flat on the bed.
"Friction!" Blaine crowed before Kurt was able to sneak under Blaine's shirt and find Blaine's weakness. His full body jerks dislodged Wes and David, who were only too happy to help Kurt deliver Blaine's punishment.
"Uncle," Blaine gasped. They ignored him. "No, seriously guys. Mercy!" Blaine almost managed to wiggle out from under them, but Wes caught him and dragged him back into the middle. "I'll pee my pants," Blaine threatened. As one, they let him go. Which was when the hall monitor came in to yell at them about the noise.
"Sorry," Kurt mumbled with the rest of the boys. He snuck a glance at Blaine's too innocent face next to him. Blaine looked like he was ready to loose the smile that melted hall monitors and adults alike. Kurt pinched him before he could launch his offensive. The hall monitor turned on Blaine then, reading him the riot act about respect for other students' need to study. Blaine glared at Kurt as best as he could while still looking appropriately contrite. Kurt simply raised his eyebrows. Blaine was going to kill them. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see David bite his curling lip and Wes blink hard at the ceiling. Kurt couldn't wait.