Trigger warning: There will be a lot of discussion about very heavy topics (sexual assault and the aftermath). I tried to do full research for the things I have not and could never have specifically experienced including studying first-hand accounts at length. I like accuracy and I hope I was able to capture it to the extent that I am able for your reading pleasure.

Original characters are used to fill roles where no canon characters would fit and I promise they are not central features. This is primarily a story about Kurt and Blaine as a couple and overcoming something that has torn many strong couples before them apart.

All chapter titles are titles of a song, and I would love very much if you don't think the song fits if you could suggest one that you think does. You never know, I might replace the current title with your suggestion!

Story originally published on Archive of Our Own (AO3) under the same name.

Chapter 1 - I Will Possess Your Heart

Song By: Death Cab for Cutie

Who Would Sing it: The OCs

It was a wonder how school always managed to start on the hottest day of the year. Even if it wasn't officially the hottest day, it would no doubt feel like it was. Even back when Kurt and Blaine had first started school as cute little tots in the 90s they'd known this fact. It was also a fact that schools did not have adequate air conditioning. This was true even now at NYADA. Blaine held his hand out expectantly as Kurt pulled off his scarf. As nice as it looked it was just making him sweat. Not something Blaine would complain about either way, of course, but clearly Kurt was uncomfortable. With a knowing smile on his face he tucked the thing into his bag and took hold of Kurt's hand. Then they pushed in through the front doors.

This time, the school doors were a gateway to another new world. They had both experienced popularity to some degree before - as Warblers and at NYADA - but this something much more grand. Somewhere between spring and autumn semester they had become idols.

Blaine's fingers maneuvered their way between Kurt's as another person smiled and waved and stared at them. "They are so staring at you," he teased. It had been a long while since he'd gotten Kurt to blush and he'd been trying very hard to recreate that coyness his fiancé had back when they had both been at Dalton. Kurt was far too experienced now though. He couldn't act shy if his life depended on it. Well, for Blaine at least.

Sure enough this comment, despite earning him a kiss, was devoid of any blushing. "Of course. Not just me though." Kurt started to trace a finger along Blaine's chin before pointing to their left. There was a girl who seemed to have been frozen in time, wide eyed and slack jawed and entirely focused on Blaine. She had to have been one of the new students because Kurt had definitely never seen her before. He was at least vaguely familiar with pretty much everyone. Nine classes a semester did mean he spent a lot of time here last year. Plus the girl almost made him had to take a double take to make sure she wasn't Rachel. Despite her wardrobe, she was much too short. And her nose was too tiny for her face. "Hi," he greeted her. She didn't respond. To him at least.

"Is there anything we can help you with?" Blaine asked. His voice was kind and understanding. He remembered his first day at Dalton. Starry eyed and alone with no Kurt to show him around and introduce him to people who could become his friends, people that he would at least know so he wasn't completely lost in a sea. This girl strongly resembled fourteen year old Blaine-the-Freshman in the middle of spring fresh off his transfer.

"Oh, no, not really, I just. Hi. I'm Felicia!" Her hand extended out specifically to Blaine. Kurt couldn't help but smile. Blaine had always been a bit of a ladies man. Especially in those skin tight pants of his. Surprisingly, though, the matchy outfits and Blaine's little bow tie didn't seem to make things obvious enough for the girls. Though Kurt couldn't blame anyone for getting lost in those beautiful dark eyes. Then Blaine made it worse every time he spoke.

"Felicia, nice to meet you. I'm Blaine. This is Kurt, my fiancé." Blaine had picked up on it too. His handshake was quick before nudging her hand toward Kurt's. This time it was Felicia who made sure the handshake lasted less than a second.

"Hi." The awkwardness hung in the air like an overripe cherry. Kurt shifted his weight so that it leaned more towards Blaine and returned the fingers of his left hand to the spaces between those of Blaine's right. He made sure his ring caught the sunlight that was coming into the halls. The girl's eyes were attracted to it just for a moment before returning to Blaine's eyes.

Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand. They were both too nice to tell Felicia to get lost. She seemed sweet enough. Aside from playing up the schoolgirl look, she had two tightly braided pigtails to round out her innocent appearance. The girl licked her lips and fidgeted for a moment. "Do you need help finding your classes?" Kurt offered. "We have a bit of time before ours. This is a small school, we could show you the way. Once you've been here for a week you tend to know where everything is. It's not like the size of Ohio State or anything like that."

"How big is Ohio State?" Felicia asked.

"Giant," Blaine responded. "Something around 60,000 students now is it?"

"Wow, that's big. My state uni has half that." The silence returned between them as the joke was mangled beyond repair. Plus the girl was still staring at Blaine. Kurt was really itching to turn and give him another kiss but that would be childish of him. Not to mention rather socially inept and rude. He'd grown far too much in recent years to be acting like a jealous little girl now.

"So, class, did you need help?" Kurt spoke up again.

"Oh! Yeah, that'd be great. I need to find the dance studio for…"

"The required Freshman dance class for all musical theater majors?"

"That's the one!"

"Good luck in that," Blaine laughed as he started walking. Kurt kept right at his side. Felicia fell in on the other. "Just remember: It's hard for a reason. It's one of those weeding classes meant to get people out of the program early if it turns out this isn't the program for them."

"So did you have it?"

"Yeah, we both did. Both left top in the class too."

"Like you were first he was second or what?"

"I started at NYADA a semester before Blaine," Kurt clarified. "He was one of Tibideaux's top picks for last fall." He walked very close to Blaine, making sure their bodies brushed against each other as much as possible. "This man has the most phenomenal voice. And his acting isn't half bad either."

"Well, this man is my hero," Blaine half-cooed back. "Don't let his sweet smile fool you either. He saved someone last year from being bashed. It is absolutely amazing how lucky I am."

"It really is." Kurt tilted his head very briefly to rest against Blaine's shoulder. Felicia's nose wrinkle up as she passed un-uttered judgements over them. Well, over Kurt.

"So! You seem really popular around here," Felicia said. Their hands darted up to wave at another person who was passing. Someone that had never really talked to them before but had definitely decided it was worth their time to send them a friendly smile, so they returned the favor with a wave. As Blaine had pointed out, a lot of the guys seemed particularly interested in Kurt while the girls mostly appeared content to fawn over them as a pair. If stereotypes were true then they were probably wondering why all the nice guys were gay. "Uhm, how long have you been dating?"

"We met in September of 2010 and we've been engaged for a year and a half," Kurt was quick to say. The question of dating was a bit messier because of the clear fact that they'd had a pretty deep relationship before they got together the first time and their temporary break up and that their relationship hadn't even lessened in its intensity while they were separated (even if Kurt had tried his hardest to make it do just that). Not to mention Kurt wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to once again remind the girl that Blaine wasn't just not on the market but that he wasn't even remotely ever going to be in her arena. It really was for the best she figured that out fast. After another dirty look it became transparently clear he wasn't hitting it off very well with the girl. She didn't even hide how she gritted her teeth together in frustration with his mere existence.

"Well, that's a real shame for all the boys and girls around here, isn't it?" she finally said. Clearly it was an attempt at a joke. Now was Kurt's turn to roll his eyes and clench his jaw.

"Just the boys," Blaine told her bluntly as he squeezed Kurt's hand again. "We're both gay." Felicia just shrugged her shoulder.

"The girls can still be disappointed."

"I suppose they can be. Anyway, this is your dance studio. I'd tell you to have a good time but seeing as odds are pretty good the professor will do everything she can to make sure you don't so...break a leg?"

"Thanks." Felicia actually backed herself into the studio so she could keep her eyes on Blaine. Kurt waited until she finally turned to look at the class before pulling his fiancé down the hall.

"That was a bit creepy."

"Creepier than papa-paparazzi," Kurt agreed. "That girl really can't take a hint."

"I wonder if we'd have to dress in drag to get her to figure it out."

"Just you, Blaine." Kurt spun on his toes and wrapped his arms around him. "Mr. Ladies Man."

"Hey hey, what about you? How many times have you had to spell it out for your male customers?"

"Guests. And most of them are tourists who probably haven't seen very many proud gay men before. Like Dave, they are all star struck and hoping that first one is the one so they don't have to keep looking in a small town where their chances are slim."

"Hm, why does that sound familiar?" Kurt pressed a kiss on Blaine's lips.

"Sometimes he is the one. But, too bad for them, I already found mine. They're just going to have to look somewhere else. Now, we're going to be late if we don't get a move on." As quickly as their embrace had begun, it ended, and they were off. "Lets see, after lunch today I have three wonderful hours of piano lessons while you're in jazz and then...I'm free for the evening."

"But I still have theory tonight from six to nine."

"Right! That is tonight. Hm. Well. I suppose it doesn't hurt to get some extra practice in, get a head start on things if I can. I'll be in our usual studio?"

"Then we'll grab dinner after? Or maybe we should just head straight on home, hm?" Still no blush but he did at least get a little shoulder shove action and he could see Kurt's eyes darting around in an almost shy manner.

Their schedules were much messier this semester but in some ways that was a good thing. The loft was all theirs and while they'd been doing much better this time around Kurt was still struggling with the constant Blaine. It wasn't that he was doing anything wrong. Everything was absolutely romantic and dreamy, as always. The moment when Blaine had found out that Kurt was a hopeless romantic type really had sealed Kurt's fate. Even when they were still 'just friends' Blaine had already been playing with the little moments and really all bets were off after that first performance on the steps outside of McKinley. Blaine knew all of the ways to get straight to the center of Kurt's heart and it was clear that he loved the trip.

What was frustrating was how hard it was to reciprocate those gestures. Blaine was very much on top of them which left very little room for Kurt to romance him back. The only time he managed to get the upper hand was when he stopped to grab flowers on the way home from work if he got out early enough. They could really have far worse problems than that. So he was going to continue to suck it up because he would put up with all of that to wake up every morning to see Blaine with nothing more covering his body than the tray that held Kurt's breakfast. Of course clothes were very much optional now that they had no roommates.

"By the way," Kurt whispered. "You aren't the only lucky person in this relationship." Before Blaine could retaliate one of their "Stage Fighting II" classmates waved them on into their studio. They'd both agreed that since Stage Fighting was one of the best classes they'd taken they had to go back for more. This term touted a focus on unarmed combat. It even mentioned they might meet a professional wrestler. Not Kurt and Blaine's usual cup of tea but it certainly didn't hurt check something like that out at least once. Professional wrestlers were actors too after all.

A lot of the same people from the previous semester were there mixed with a couple of somewhat new faces. No one was completely new though that was to be expected with a level two class. It was interesting to note, however, that all the students in this class appeared to be male.

The boys were all gathered in a corner of the room, gossiping in a manner that would make girls do a double take. "I heard Riley's single again," someone said. "And you know what happens when she's on the market!" Surprisingly one of the reasons Kurt preferred hanging out with girls was because they actually gossiped less than boys. Or at least they gossiped about things that Kurt cared to keep up with. The guys were always talking about which lady was single, which ones were easy, and what had gone down on the latest popular multiplayer RPG the night before. Blaine was interested in one out of three of those so he fared better than Kurt on principle. Plus Blaine always seemed to be better at giving the boys advice on girls where as Kurt was the great mind when it came to helping girls with their boy problems. He was sure that was just because of who they'd always spent their time around. Even swapping childhood stories it was clear Kurt had been more inclined to hang out with the girls from a young age.

"I heard she's single because she gave her boyfriend AIDS," another boy said. "Shame. She's hot too. I was hoping to catch her at that party this weekend. Not now of course."

"Hopefully she doesn't go," a third said. "I can't tell up from down when I'm drunk and I don't want to get that." There was a roll of laughter in the room. Like this was some joke.

"Hey, it's not funny," Kurt found himself scolding. "That's a serious disease. And she wouldn't have given him AIDS. It'd be HIV."

"Whatever. She only got it because she's a slut," he heard.

"Not everyone who sleeps with more than one person is some kind of slut."

"Like you'd understand. Have either of you ever even slept with anyone besides each other?" Blaine glanced down to his shoes and Kurt trained his eyes on his engagement ring. Even if he hadn't gone 'all the way' with that stupid thieving sexy Santa he'd gotten close enough to it to feel like he'd been dropped in the middle of a barnyard every time he thought about his one near-sexual encounter that wasn't Blaine. It was worse because that was the kind of encounter that earned people nasty labels. Thank goodness very few people knew about it. Of course they didn't talk about Eli now that he was completely in the past.

"Oh-ho!" someone laughed. "Looks like they do know a thing or two." The guys were just trying to have a little fun, it was clear enough in their voices. These guys weren't really the types to be trying to hurt them. It was still highly inappropriate.

"So who's the cheater and who's the forgiver?" Most of these guys had already gone through several girlfriends while being at NYADA. A lot of them still talked about how they weren't ready to settle down and commit to one girl despite really loving their girlfriend.

"That was a long time ago and it's not important anymore," Kurt stated in a firm voice. The room grew quiet. It was even more awkward than the conversation with Felicia. Everyone had just assumed there had never been any problems between the two of them. Since Blaine had been here neither had shown any signs of having interests in anyone else. They had especially shown no signs of any past cheating. Kurt noticed Blaine's shoulders tensing up and he reached over to squeeze his fiancé's hand. It was important for everyone to see that despite whatever happened they had worked through it and while it still stung they were a pair and they were going to be getting married. The same could be very possible for the rest of them. They just had to find the right person.

"Hey, no harm no foul, right?" a big guy in the back offered. His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the wall but just at a quick glance Kurt could tell he was as big as Finn had been. Maybe bigger. "You guys are still together so someone is clearly the forgiving type yeah?" Kurt could feel his skin prickling. He wrapped his arm around Blaine's waist. This man was staring right at him. Almost without blinking. "But you're wrong about Riley. She'll sleep with anyone who'll have her. Girl has no morals. Watch out. If either of you are bi she'll definitely steal you away too. Hell you don't even have to be bi. She'll find a way. If you're a guy, watch out." Every word he spoke was sent straight at Kurt's eyes like bullets. He could feel the goosebumps prickling up on his arms.

"Ok class!" their teacher paraded in. "Alright, you've all had me before so you know what I'm going to say. Warm up! While you do my new TA is going to introduce himself. Unless you already have, Austin?"

"Sorta," the giant said. Kurt was frozen as he straightened himself out to full height. Definitely bigger than Finn. Was that humanly possible? As Austin walked in his direction Kurt figured he only had a few inches on Finn, from what he remembered, comparing his own eye level. The reason he looked so massive was the extra large size of the muscles in his arms. This guy looked like he lived in a gym. "Hey. I'm Austin Peters. Uhm. I got my bachelors last spring, now I'm specializing in all this physical stuff." He paused for laughter but only got a couple of chuckles. He was definitely well on his way to being a teacher already. Rule number one seemed to be that they all had to make very bad jokes. "I'm helping out with fight choreography on an off-broadway revival of Pirates of Penzance that comes out in January. I expect to see you all there to see what real fake fighting looks like in action. In the meantime, why is no one warming up yet? Come on, don't let your teacher down."

All the boys lined up to go through the usual warm up routine. Their professor stood at the front and kept an eye on the whole class while Mr. Giant walked the lines to make sure everyone was in good form. Kurt held his breath when Austin paused beside him. He leaned over. His hand came down to rest heavily on Kurt's shoulder. The other settled on his back. Then Austin corrected his posture. Suddenly Kurt felt like he needed to shower. No, that was presumptuous of him. Having a guy stare into his soul didn't mean that said guy was then going to start hitting on him. He was just doing his job. Assisting with the teaching.

With the help of some very deep breathing Kurt was able to get through the class without causing a scene. Austin was just big and awkward, just like Finn had been. That was all.