Author notes: I was struck with inspiration. This was supposed to be a rewrite of the infamous vapo-rape scene from "Diva." But with Klaine instead of Blina, because frankly...Tina creeped me out and it would have been much more appropriate and cute with Kurt doing it instead. So lets just pretend for a moment that Kurt was there during Diva week, shall we ;) Honestly, I have wanted to write something like this ever since I first saw that scene. And when I rewatched the episode tonight, I thought..."What the hell. Might as well get it out of your system." Then it took on a life of it's own and this is the result. The title sucks, but I couldn't come up with anything better.
When Blaine had convinced Kurt to fly home a whole week before the Schuester wedding, this was not what he thought would happen. After the call he'd made on Thanksgiving and Blaine's surprise visit at Christmas, they were almost back to their old friendship, they even flirted a bit and Kurt knew he was close to forgiving Blaine completely. The plan was to hang out at the shop with his dad during the day and then see Blaine after school. It turned out they were having a "Diva" theme that week in Glee club which was perfect timing, seeing as Kurt was the king of sass and could definitely give Blaine some pointers. Which he did. Not that Blaine needed much help in that department; they could both be huge divas when the mood struck them. Kurt even went as far as styling Blaine for the group number they were doing to start them off, which somehow resulted in Kurt turning Blaine into a walking wet dream; wearing leather and guyliner with his curls free in all of his glam rock glory. And fuck – Kurt knew he wouldn't be forgetting that mental image anytime soon.
Why do I do these things to myself?
Another thing that would definitely stick in his memory was Blaine channeling his inner Freddie Mercury the following Wednesday – again wearing leather from top to bottom.
What was it with the damn leather all of a sudden?!
He suspected Blaine had chosen that outfit on purpose just to rile him up. Because sure, even though Kurt had been the one to start that particular clothing trend last Monday, Blaine was the one who had continued it - despite it not being his usual style at all - and Kurt was sure it had less to do with a performance outfit and more to do with the heated stares Kurt had not so subtly been sending his way during the Beyonce song. He scowled a bit when Blaine sent a knowing smirk his way as he kicked the piano bench behind and away from himself full force. Oh, no doubt he knew what that leather did to Kurt. The bastard. Still Kurt couldn't help but smile fondly as he sat next to Will and Emma and watched his former lover knock it out of the park. As far as he was concerned, Blaine had it in the bag. There was no way anyone could beat the energy coming off of him in waves. Blaine was in complete Diva mode and it was glorious.
That being said, Kurt knows Blaine isn't feeling well, that his health has been failing rapidly during the week, which just made his performance of Don't Stop Me Now that much more impressive since he wasn't even at full capacity. His ex has been trying to hide it from him, but Kurt knows. Because Kurt knows Blaine. He also knows the boy is never gonna acknowledge he is sick until he crashes and burns - and with one look at Blaine pulling up at Hummel's Tires and Lube on that Friday, Kurt knows it has finally caught up with him. He watches Blaine stagger out of the car and sneeze into his sleeve and decides enough is enough. As he walks out to meet Blaine halfway he takes a second to shout to his dad who is in the back of the shop that he is leaving for a while, but will probably be back for dinner, which gets a thumbs up from Burt.
"Hey you." Blaine greets him while swaying a little on the spot, voice rough and eyes bleary. Seriously, how is he still standing?
"Don't 'Hey you' me." Kurt says as he gently grabs Blaine's arm, turns him around and walks him back to his car, stopping by the passenger door. "In you go, I am taking you home."
"What? But we have movie reservations." Blaine looks adorably confused and Kurt has to refrain from petting him.
"You're sick, Blaine. And in no condition to go out."
"I'm not sick." Blaine protests and then coughs violently. Kurt gives him an incredulous look. "Okay, maybe I'm a little bit sick."
"Understatement of the year." Kurt rolls his eyes and opens the door. "I am gonna assume your parents aren't home as usual?" Blaine just nods as Kurt helps him get situated. "Alright, I am gonna take care of you."
"You don't have to do that." Blaine insists. "Don't wanna be a hassle." He sneezes and Kurt hands him some tissues.
"It's not a problem." Kurt says as he gets in the car as well. "I want to."
"Really?" Blaine asks hopefully.
"Of course, silly." Kurt smiles and the smile he gets from Blaine in return can probably be seen from the moon.
Kurt decides to stop by the pharmacy for some cough drops, nighttime cold medicine and vapor rub. From the look and sound of Blaine, he is gonna need it. He's looking worse by the minute and seems to be zoning in and out. Kurt isn't surprised to find Blaine slumped over in his seat more asleep than awake when he exits the store, plastic bag with supplies in hand.
"Hey sleepyhead." He greets him and Blaine perks up a bit.
"Whazz that?" He slurs and points to the bag in Kurt's hand.
"This is medication for you." Kurt says. "Knowing your parents, they won't have any of this stuff at the house."
"You shouldn't have." Blaine mumbles. "I'm not that bad." The statement is followed by another sneeze and coughing fit though, rendering what he's just said pointless.
"Do you hear yourself?" Kurt sighs and hands him a few cough drops. "It's your favorite, raspberry flavored." Blaine smiles gratefully and takes them. "Face it, Blaine. You...are...sick. And you need rest."
"Can't rest, can't sleeeeeep." Blaine whines. Honest to God, whines like a 3 year old and rests his head against the window. "Stupid cough keeping me up. So tired." And wow, if toddler Blaine is making an appearance, then he must be feeling worse than Kurt thought.
"I figured. You have been looking like a zombie all week." Kurt says. "Which is why I got you this." He hands him the medication.
"What is it?" Blaine inquires.
"Nighttime cold medicine." And Kurt knows what is gonna come out of Blaine's mouth before he says it.
"Kurt, no." Blaine pushes his hand and the meds away. "Don't want it. You know what that stuff does to me."
Yes, Kurt knows. And that is exactly why he had bought it. The first time Blaine had tried it, it had scared both of them shitless when he had fallen into a dead like sleep and Kurt hadn't been able to wake him up for 10 hours. He had made a frantic call to Carole that day in complete panic mode, but she had calmed him down and explained that it was normal and that some people just reacted strongly to the sedatives in it. Frankly, with the way Blaine's body responded to even the slightest bit of alcohol, Kurt shouldn't have been surprised. The guy was to put it mildly...a lightweight. Blaine hadn't liked being incapacitated like that, but right now what Blaine needed most was to sleep, undisturbed.
"Yes, I know exactly what it does to you, which is why I got it, you need rest to heal." Kurt says. "Now take it. We are almost at your house and then we can get you to bed." He gives Blaine his signature 'Don't argue with me about this' look - which works, probably because Blaine is too tired to argue. Instead he takes the medication, but grumbles all the while.
By the time they reach the Anderson home Blaine is already feeling the effects of the medicine. He is drowsy, yawning all the time and his speech is even more slurred than it was before. Kurt has to poke him on and off to make sure he doesn't pass out in the car, since he knows there is no waking him once he drifts off and he doubts he can carry him.
"Why ya wan take care of me?" Blaine slurs as the car rolls to a complete stop in the driveway. "I hurt you. You don't even like me anymore." He opens the door and almost face-plants on the ground. "Ouch." Blaine whines again, but then he laughs and makes no attempt to get up. "Kurt," he says all seriously. "These cough drops tastes like my hair gel." Two seconds later he's in a fit of giggles rolling around on the stone covered driveway clutching his belly, his laugh sounding deeper because he is so stuffed up. Great, Kurt thinks. Here comes the drunk stage.
Of course Kurt knows Blaine isn't really drunk, but the medication has a very similar effect on him. He gets all emotional, yet giggly and doesn't seem to have any filter, but it only lasts a very short while until the drowsiness knocks him out. Kurt knows he doesn't have a lot of time to get Blaine to bed before that happens. He gets out of the car, locks it and walks over to where Blaine is sprawled out on his back. "The sky is so pretty, Kurt." He sighs. "So pretty and blue like your eyes. I love your eyes." Warmth spreads in the center of Kurt's chest and he shakes his head, focusing on the task at hand.
"That's great." He tries to divert. "You know what else is pretty, Blaine?"
"What?" Blaine asks intrigued.
"Your room." Kurt smiles at Blaine's comically wide eyes.
"It is?" Blaine asks in wonder. Gosh, it is like talking to a naive child. Blaine is sky high right now.
"Yes, wanna go take a look at it?" Blaine nods and Kurt reaches down to pull him up.
Blaine goes willingly, following Kurt with so much trust in his eyes, that Kurt can't look into them, it will break him. They walk hand in hand through the house, Blaine babbling mostly nonsense. Every now and then he will zero in on Kurt though and tell him how beautiful he is and Kurt blushes, but doesn't comment. When they get to the stairs the fatigue has mostly taken over and Kurt more of less has to drag Blaine up to the first floor, then carry him bridal style to his room. And wow, the dance classes and all the working out he'd been doing at NYADA has really paid off because Blaine feels light as a feather, his face in the crook of Kurt's neck. He can feel Blaine mumble something against his skin as they enter the bedroom but can't make out what it is. Then suddenly Blaine's lips are mouthing at Kurt's throat and he has to quickly put him down on the bed to avoid Blaine kissing him. At least he is pretty sure that is what Blaine had been trying to do. He isn't prepared to see all the pictures of them still on Blaine's nightstand, although maybe he should have been. Kurt feels a sharp stab in his heart at that, feelings he has tried very hard to bury is resurfacing, but he pushes them down and turns around to help Blaine get comfortable. Blaine more or less lets himself fall down like dead weight on his side, then he rolls onto his back to stare at Kurt with half-lidded eyes. Kurt sits down next to him and rests a hand on his forehead, trying to feel his temperature. Blaine is hot, but not too hot. "How are you feeling?" He asks.
"Mmmm...slee'y..." Blaine mumbles and then cuddles into the hand that Kurt still hasn't removed from his face. "Sleep Blaine. And you will feel better in the morning." Kurt smiles affectionately as he bends down to place a kiss to Blaine's curls. Blaine smiles, then yawns once, twice, before he lets out a barely audible whisper. "Mmm, I love you." Then he falls silent, his breaths deep and even but a bit labored and lips slightly parted. Blaine is finally asleep. And Kurt squeezes his eyes shut tightly, trying not to let the tears escape. Those three words cut him deep because he knows deep down that he still returns the sentiment. He lets his hand slide down to cup Blaine cheek for only a second, then takes a deep steadying breath and gets up from the bed to search for the supplies. He has to do something about Blaine's labored breathing before it gets worse. The vapor rub will help.
He has already decided beforehand that he isn't gonna undress Blaine, there are limits despite their history. Instead he crawls up to straddle Blaine's legs and lean down to open his shirt. One button at a time Blaine's tiny but muscled chest is revealed and Kurt has to suck in a breath. He is still so gorgeous. He ignores the feeling of want and grabs the tub of vapor rub from the nightstand instead, opens it and dips two fingers in it before applying it gently and smearing it all over Blaine's chest. He savors the feel of the soft warm skin underneath his fingertips and Blaine seems to respond to his touch even in sleep, because he smacks his lips, mumbles a bit and then he breathes a sigh of Kurt's name, so low Kurt isn't even sure he really heard it.
This time he does let the tears fall. And for a minute he just sits there; his tears wetting Blaine's shirt as he tries to get himself under control. Then he cuddles up next to Blaine, rests his head on his chest, watching it rise and fall before he closes his eyes. I love you too, Blaine Anderson.
Kurt never makes it home for dinner that night. But it's worth it, because that is the night he finally forgives the sins of the past and later at the wedding, when Blaine is all healed up and healthy, Kurt fully reacquaints himself with the body of the only man who will ever own his heart.