The Sadie Hawkins Day dance hadn't been nearly as awful as Blaine had feared. He had fun dancing with Tina throughout the night and no one had batted an eye in their direction. Previous dances with Kurt had always earned him a few cold, uncomfortable stares, but tonight, even though everyone knew he was gay, there was none of that.

He was free to twirl Tina around without worry, to hug her and hold her close without fear of what those simple signs of affection might cause anyone else to do…because everyone expected a boy to dance with the girl. It was the social norm.

And Tina looked so happy, smiling warmly as he dipped her. A not so small, affection starved part of his brain said she'd probably let him kiss her, welcome it even. She'd been very open about having a crush on him and Blaine really did like her and it'd been so long since he'd enjoyed the simple comfort a kiss could bring….

A large hand landed on his back, making Blaine jumped and shaking him out of his reverie. "Hey," Sam said, clearly having finished performing his last song. "Can I cut in?"

Shaken by his own line of thought, Blaine released his hold on Tina and took a quick step back. "Yeah, of course, I'll just…."

But Sam didn't reach out for Tina. He simply smiled gently at her before turning and stepping toward Blaine, taking his hand, other arm looping around Blaine's waist. Blaine's freehand found purchase on Sam's shoulder and he followed in a bit of a daze as Sam steered them through a basic box step.

"Dude, you okay?" Sam bent his head forward to murmur quietly, unconcerned about how that might look in the way only Sam was.

"No," Blaine breathed, catching sight of a few puzzled, vaguely unhappy stares. "No. Jesus, I'll most kissed Tina!"

Sam nodded. "Did you want to? I mean, it kinda look like you did, but that confused me, so I came over…."

"Thank you for that," Blaine said, trying not to flinch as a hockey player scowled at him. "It wouldn't have been fair to her… To use her because I was feeling… How I'm feeling….."

"You're shaking," Sam replied, clearly concerned.

Taking a deep breath, Blaine closed his eyes. "I told you what happened the last time I went to the Sadie Hawkins dance. But tonight, because I was with Tina, looked at me funny. It's exhausting sometimes, having to fight just to be barely tolerated…and sometimes I feel so damn alone now and I miss being kissed and held just having someone… Dammit, people are giving us dirty looks just dancing. How is that fair?"

"It's not…" Sam began softly, then went stiff and glared past Blaine's head and snarled, "You even open your mouth, Dumas, and no one will ever find your body."

Dumas was one of the more vile members of the hockey team, but, to Blaine surprise, he obeyed Sam's order. Then again, Sam going into alpha male mode was a bit intimidating because it happened so rarely. Sam wasn't the type to resort to intimidation unless provoked.

"C'mon," Sam mumbled, suddenly shifting so his arm was around Blaine's shoulders and pulling him out of the gym. Standing by the door, Coach Bieste gave them a look and Sam simply said, "Choir room."

She looked them over and then nodded, letting them wander down the hall into the safety of their practice space.

Immediately, Sam tugged his jacket off and Blaine blinked. "What…?"

The large black jacket, Sam's body heat and scent clinging to it, was wrapped around Blaine in a smooth motion before Sam pulled him bodily against his chest, one hand rubbing soothing strokes up and down his spine.

It was then that Blaine realized he was still shuddering, full body tremors and his breath caught in his throat. Burying his face in the thin cotton covering Sam's shoulder, Blaine let his arms snap up around Sam, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and hanging on.

"I'm here, dude. I'm sorry. I should've known better…I'm sorry…."

Though this breakdown was more or less inevitable, the reaction caused by dancing with Sam hadn't helped… Still, it wasn't like Sam had done anything with malicious intent that he needed to apologize for.

Other people's malicious intents, that was the cause of Blaine's panic attack. Facing that sort of prejudice alone was just too much, especially given his history at the sort of dance. "Sometimes I feel so alone, Sam," he murmured into the taller boy's shirt. "Facing that sort of reaction just makes it worse."

"You're not alone, Blaine," Sam replied, still holding him as close as possible. "I won't let you be."

"Me too." Brittany's voice was soft and light, startling only because Blaine hadn't heard her approach. Before he could even attempt to disentangle himself from Sam, she molded herself against his back, soft breasts pressing into the space between his shoulder blades. Her cheek pressed gently against his and she reached around him to embrace Sam, trapping Blaine between their bodies. "Unicorns are supposed to smile with their eyes. You don't anymore and that's that."

"What can I…we do? Anything," Sam whispered. "Anything so you won't be sad or scared or lonely?"

Blaine was fairly sure that, if he asked, Sam would follow through with that offer because that was the type of guy Sam was. He was a friend who would do anything for a friend. There Was No Way, Blaine could actually ask him for….

"You should come home with us tonight," Brittany said, completely serious and without a hint of teasing. "My parents and brother are a UFO convention. Kisses and cuddles and sex always make me feel better. We could make you smile."

It took a long moment for Blaine to fully process what she had just said and, when he did, he decided it was some strange hallucination brought on by his Sadie Hawkins Day dance related breakdown. "What?" he asked, refusing to remove his face from the safety of Sam's shoulder.

One of her hands snaked between Blaine's body and Sam's, rubbing soothing circles against his belly. "This is one thing I know. You're my friend. I love you I want to make you happy. Sam loves you. He wants to make you happy. I know you don't want my lady kisses, but that's okay because it's not about that."

"It's about connection," Sam continued. "And feeling loved. I love you, dude. Let us…I mean, if you want… Human contact is important."

Sam and Brittany saw the world differently than most people. Sometimes it confused them and sometimes they confused the world, but this….

This is more than a little amazing. Taking the emotionally fraught, nebulous thing that was sexuality and interpersonal relationships and boiling it down to one idea.

Love was love and love was good.

That was all they needed to know.

Maybe it was a mild shock he was still trying to recuperate from, but Blaine thought their ideas sounded kind of brilliant.


Well, should I continue with this? Actually have them have a threesome or should I just leave it as is?