The day had been absurdly hot. The kind of hot Kurt and Blaine could see rising off the tarmac on which they'd been driving around all day in search of perfect back to school outfits. By the time a moonless night had fallen, they were too exhausted to move from the Hudson-Hummel's backyard adirondack porch swing.
"There really is nothing off the rack for the young fashionable man in Ohio", said Kurt, leaning his head onto the crook of Blaine's neck. Blaine shifted and put his arm around Kurt's shoulder and began slowly stroking the other boy's arm. Chuclking, Blaine pressed a kiss to Kurt's hair.
"Oh yeah? So where do you get yours?"
Kurt scoffed, "a true magician never reveals his secrets".
Blaine let his head fall back and laughed. Kurt smiled with the rise and fall of Blaine's chest to his cheek.
"So, the internet then", said Blaine.
Kurt smacked Blaine lightly, "this is serious, Blaine. I am a fashion icon and I can't have my boyfriend strutting around in those silly Ralph Lauren Polo shirts you insist on wearing all the time".
"You love the polo shirts" replied Blaine, letting his voice dip low and sultry. Kurt felt the heat rise from his neck.
He was about to reply when the back porch door screeched partially open and Burt stuck his head out,
"Hey guys, Finn, Carole and I are going to that Happy Garden Chinese place. You want anything?"
Kurt lifted his head off Blaine's shoulder and looked at him with a raised brow. He wasn't hungry himself, having eaten with Blaine few hours prior but he wondered ... Blaine shook his head.
"We ate already. Thanks Dad".
"Alright. We'll be back in twenty minutes. I'm trusting you two to behave yourselves".
"Yes, dad", said Kurt, rolling his eyes.
Burt turned to Blaine with a tilted head and a pointed look, "Blaine…?"
"Of course, sir."
Burt ducked back in mumbling under his breath , "When's the kid gonna stop calling me sir?"
Blaine chuckled a bit as Kurt settled back to his earlier position. They enjoyed each other's presence in silence as Blaine rubbed Kurt's arm soothingly. Kurt began tracing looping patterns on Blaine's chest.
"So…", Kurt broke the silence, "Maybe some of my clothes fit you."
Blaine guffawed, "That was your plan all along, wasn't it?"
Kurt said nothing. Blaine moved to stand up. For a second Kurt thought he was actually angry and was going to leave but then Blaine offered his hand. Kurt took it with a smile and led him inside, upstairs and into his room.
He sat Blaine down on his bed and dashed into his closet. Blaine just sat there, arms crossed, an amused expression playing on his features.
Kurt brought him a pair of red pants and then ran back into his closet and grabbed a black short sleeved button down and a purple one. He ran back in and came back with a denim shirt, suspenders and a bowtie.
Blaine grabbed Kurt's wrist before he could drown him in fabric, "Let me try these on first, okay?"
Kurt looked offended and began to open his mouth to protest but Blaine pressed a kiss to the inside of his wrist. Kurt gasped lightly and his cheeks began to rouge but he rolled his eyes and left the room so Blaine could change.
Kurt waited outside with his back to the door. He crossed his arms. Uncrossed them. Worried his lip with his thumb.
Blaine finally opened the door. Kurt turned around and what he saw made his eyebrows go up. Blaine had put on the red pants and double cuffed the bottom. They clung to him like a second skin. If that was tight then the black button down he'd chosen to wear had seeped into his skin because color aside, Kurt couldn't figure out where the seam between shirt and bicep was.
Kurt felt really hot. Kurt let his eyebrows drop as he leveled Blaine's mischievous gaze. He strode over to where Blaine stood and put his arms around his neck and pulled him close. He touched their foreheads together as Blaine settled his hands on Kurt's hips.
"You look good", Kurt said, low and breathy. He completed the distance between their mouths intending to kiss Blaine sweet and short but when he tried to pull back Blaine pressed further in and gripped his hips harder, pulling him back into the room.
Kurt decided he kind of liked this turn of events so he let Blaine press him to the wall and kiss him hungrily. He let himself get lost and become breathless to Blaine's kisses and his touch. One of Blaine's hands started migrating up to caress Kurt's neck while the other headed for Kurt's belt buckle. There was heat everywhere. Kurt's face, neck, mouth, hands… everything felt burning.
Suddenly, Kurt remembered that his family would be home any time soon. Suddenly, Kurt remembered he sort of really needed to breathe. He tried to pull back but Blaine's hand was there, holding his jaw in place with almost bruising force. He tried to push Blaine back by the shoulders but he couldn't get leverage and he didn't want to hurt Blaine.
Kurt felt the panic rise in his chest and his instincts kicked in. He bit down on Blaine's lip. At once, Blaine was halfway across the room.
Kurt touched his fingers to his lips and wiped off the blood he thought he'd felt there, "What the hell Blaine?"
When Kurt looked up from his hand at Blaine he almost screamed. Blaine stared at him, unblinking. His eyes, sclera and all had gone pitch black. Blaine's gaze was steady as he licked his bleeding lip with a predatory smile.
"Blaine", Kurt said, his voice thick with fear.
Blaine blinked and, quickly as it came, his eyes were back to normal. His eyebrows knit as he somehow managed to look both confused and scared.
"Fuck. I gotta go", Blaine said gruffly, grabbing his clothes, "I'll uh…"
He looked at Kurt. Kurt was immobilized, tears threatening to spill over at any moment. Blaine shook his head as if trying to clear it and left.
Kurt didn't move until he heard the front door slam shut and the sound of a retreating engine.
The tears came first. Kurt stood there, against the wall, not breathing at all. The tears fell with a sort of mechanism usually reserved for production lines. Some of them found their way into his open mouth. Then came a few shallow breaths and finally, he inhaled deeply. Kurt furiously wiped away at his tears and began pacing the room,
"What the hell?" he felt the words fall from his lips but he was hardly paying attention. His mind was on overdrive, "What even? What the hell just? I bit him but what the hell? What. The. Hell."
'I imagined it. I was freaked out because I couldn't breathe and my brain was lacking oxygen so for a second it looked like Blaine's eyes went black', Kurt thought, trying to make sense of what had just happened, 'but if it was my imagination why did he just leave like that? He's hiding something from me. What. The. Hell.'
The more Kurt thought about it, the less afraid and angrier he became. Blaine owed him an explanation. He took his phone out of his pocket but didn't call immediately. The image of Blaine's darkened eyes flashed in his mind's eye and he felt fear and nerves dance around in his stomach. He pushed them away and dialed Blaine's number. It rang once. Twice. He heard a buzzing sound from his night stand and his heart sank. Blaine had left his phone.
He cussed under his breath starting to feel a little desperate. He picked up Blaine's phone and dismissed his own missed call. Two smiling boys with their arms wrapped around each other looked up at him from Blaine's wallpaper. His eyes filled with tears again but he wouldn't let them spill. The lump in his throat felt enormous as he sat on the edge of his bed. He held his head in his hands and willed himself to calm down and figure out what to do.
Blaine wouldn't be home yet, he reasoned. He'd only left a few minutes ago so he couldn't call him there. Besides, it was past nine and it would be rude to call his home that late. What he really wanted to do was get in his car and go to Blaine and demand an explanation. But it was starting to get late and, truth be told, he was still really freaked out.
He took a deep breath and started to set about his nighttime routine, telling himself that it would bring him some comfort. In reality, he was just distracted by the questions chasing themselves around in his head more than his own doubts and insecurities. He was worried about Blaine. He picked up his own phone again and set an alarm. He left a message on Blaine's facebook too for good measure but he knew Blaine wasn't going to see it.
'Ugh, and I can't call or text him to see if he got home okay because he left his stupid phone' he thought angrily as he tried to settle himself down to sleep with both phones on his nightstand. He tried to sleep so he could be ready to face everything tomorrow but he just couldn't. He simply lay there with his eyes shut wondering what the hell would become of them. Nerves snaking around in his stomach, he tormented himself thinking that maybe this could end them.
When the alarm went off, and he opened his eyes, Kurt felt like he'd blinked and suddenly it was daylight again. His limbs felt heavy and his eyes swollen. He dressed quickly, thinking, 'oh whatever, all my clothes are fabulous anyway' and let his hair do whatever it wanted. His skin though. That took time. As he suspected, Blaine had bruised him. It was very light and barely there but he had to take the time to cover it up lest his father see and reach the wrong conclusion.
He skipped breakfast and left quickly, but not before dropping a kiss on his father's head as Burt drank his morning coffee. Kurt gave him a flimsy excuse about a morning sale at Neiman Marcus and got in his Navigator, directing it toward Elida and the Anderson residence.
He drove in silence. Kurt felt jittery. He looked down at his and Blaine's phones nestled in the cup holders and pressed the accelerator a bit past the legal speed limit. He was scared. A few tears streaked down his face but he cleaned them off and willed them away. He didn't want to be afraid of Blaine but he couldn't help it when he remembered what he looked like with his eyes all black and blood on his mouth. Then he remembered the first time Blaine told Kurt he loved him with a goofy smile. He put more pressure on the accelerator, 'fuck it—I'm already breaking the speed limit. Might as well do it right.'
When he pulled up to the imposing Anderson houme, he parked his car in its usual spot and sprang out quickly. He fixed his shirt and ran the doorbell. He bit his lip and looked down at his shoes while he waited, forcing himself to abstain from pressing the doorbell repeatedly.
After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the doorknob twist and the door opened. There was Blaine, in an old Dalton jersey and lounge pants with messy hair and a five o' clock shadow. Blaine looked as tired as Kurt felt. His eyebrows were raised in a concerned and remorseful expression. He looked every bit like the boy Kurt loved and nothing like the thing in his bedroom the former night. Kurt let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding.
Blaine stepped aside and let Kurt in wordlessly. He led Kurt into the kitchen. He gestured at the kitchen table, inviting him to sit. Kurt sat on one of the tall wooden chairs at the kitchen island and rested his crossed arms against the cool granite counter top.
"Do you want coffee?" asked Blaine with his back to Kurt, his voice low and raspy. He was fiddling with the fancy espresso machine as he spoke.
"Blaine" Kurt said firmly, willing him to turn around and face him. Blaine stopped moving but didn't face him. After a beat he kept preparing the coffee, shoulders tensed. Kurt sighed,
"We need to talk". He was trying to sound both firm and supportive.
Blaine stopped what he was doing once more, turned his head a bit and said, "I know".
He carried on making his coffee. It smelled strong and delicious and Kurt found himself relaxing the tiniest bit surrounded by the familiar aroma. A few minutes later, Blaine set down two cups of coffee, some steamed milk and sugar before Kurt. Blaine went around the island and sat on the chair next to Kurt but didn't face him. Blaine stirred milk and sugar into his coffee and Kurt followed his lead but didn't drink it. Kurt knew the expression on Blaine's face. He could almost hear Blaine's thoughts, 'keep it together Anderson, keep it together'.
Kurt watched Blaine intently as he took a sip from his coffee. Kurt shifted on the chair, facing him. Blaine set the mug down and finally turned to Kurt, sandwiching Kurt's knees between his own. It was a familiar gesture and Kurt relaxed a bit more. Blaine stared at his hands on his lap. Kurt couldn't take it anymore,
"So… elephant in the room. Let's talk about it."
Blaine smiled a little into his hands and looked up at Kurt. His smile fell instantly when he spotted the marks he'd left there. Blaine frowned and stretched his hand out to caress Kurt lightly, "Did I do that?"
Kurt responded by leaning in to the touch, showing Blaine that he trusted him. Kurt needed to be honest if they were going to get anywhere. He nodded without breaking eye contact.
Blaine took his hand back and frowned even harder, "I am so sorry, Kurt. Kurt I…"
Blaine covered his face with his hands and inhaled sharply. He let his hands drop a little and exhaled shakily. Kurt took both hands gently in his own. Blaine's hazel-green eyes shone bright with unshed tears.
"Kurt, I… I don't know what's happening to me" Blaine said, his voice breaking toward the end. He voice fell to a whisper when he added, "I'm so scared right now".
Kurt's heart nearly broke at the sight of Blaine falling apart like this. Blaine was the composed one with the reassuring smile and the ready advice. Blaine was buttoned blazers and perfectly tamed curls. This boy in front of Kurt was fragile and scared and lost and needed to be held.
So Kurt did just that. He put his arms around Blaine's shoulders and brought him in close. Blaine clutched at him like a lifeline and let his tears tumble and fall onto Kurt's shoulder.
A/N TIME! First off... Hi. I'm Bonnie. I like hugs, margaritas and Klaine. :)
Second. Demon!Blaine is hot. So I wrote something. The break line halfway through is because I'm writing this in parts. Every part gets posted on Scarves and Coffee as soon as it's written and revised. But every two parts make one chapter. I personally am partial to the S&C interface because it's very easy to use and read but I sometimes like to read fic on my kindle and the mobile site is really great for that. So, I'm putting it here too.
Third. The title is taken from the Atreyu song of the same name.
AND LAST! I don't want to waste my time writing a story that no one likes. So if you do like it, let me know and tell me what you like. And if you don't, let me know how I can make it better.