Blaine felt like they stayed like that forever, Rachel whispering comforting things while she rocked him gently, Blaine letting out all the tears he didn't even realize he had been building up for what must have been years. By the time he had calmed down, her shoulder was soaked, not that she seemed too upset about the fact. "Sorry," he said apologetically, and she gave him a small smile.
"It happens to the best of us," she answered, her voice sincere in its sorrow for him. "Although, I have to admit standing for this long is slightly uncomfortable," she tried joking, and he let out a watery chuckle for her benefit before letting go of where his arms were wrapped tightly around her, something he hadn't even remembered doing.
"Sorry again," he said, and she just nodded, her fingers gently running through his hair in an act of solace.
"I know you probably don't want to hear this right now, but Kurt called me earlier to see if I've heard from you-"
"What did you say?" he asked, automatically on edge, becoming even more stressed when he saw her go rigid at his alarmed tone.
"I told him the truth," she responded. He didn't say anything, his brain too busy trying to figure out exactly how Kurt would react to whatever Rachel's version of the truth would be, and she continued talking. "You showed up here last night, you were upset, and I'm sure that you'll talk to him soon. Until then I think it's best if he doesn't show up."
Blaine looked at her now, his eyes wide. "How did he take that?"
"Not well," she admitted, chewing on her lip. "He said-well, he said some things that I'm sure aren't true, and then he snapped that he had to go to class so he'd talk to me later."
"So he's pissed," Blaine nodded, letting that information sink in on top of everything else. "Well, I didn't really expect any other reaction."
"It'd probably have been pretty naïve to think he'd be okay with you coming here instead of to him," Rachel concurred, sliding back into the other bar stool next to him. "I'm sure he'll come around once you explain everything though." Blaine let out a hollow laugh, pushing the now cold food around on the plate in front of him.
"Kurt's not you Rach," he reminded her. "You two may be eerily similar in a lot of ways, but you're-well, you're a lot nicer than he is." He could see out of the corner of his eye that she was blushing, but talking about Kurt was a good distraction from everything he had just unloaded on her. "Not that he isn't nice, at least, to the people he loves. But Kurt-Kurt can hold a grudge. And whether he takes it out on you or I, one of us is going to be under the wrath of Hummel until he feels he's not mad anymore."
"He won't stay mad at you if you tell him what's going on," she promised, picking up his plate and carrying it over to the sink.
"I just don't think I can tell him yet," Blaine finally said as she washed the dishes, his mind now back to everything that had happened, and he wasn't sure she had even heard him at first.
"You can tell him whenever you're ready," she finally spoke, turning off the water at the sink and shooting him a smile. He felt grateful for her presence, for her optimism, and for a second he let himself believe her words, that maybe she really could make everything okay again.
After Rachel changed out of her tear stained shirt, the two settled in on the couch, Rachel offering to forgo making him watch every movie Barbra was ever in and letting him choose what they watched. He debated between forcing her to watch Lord of the Rings, but after she crinkled her nose in disgust he suggested they throw in a season of Friends instead, to which she agreed.
"You know," she said, helping herself to some popcorn from the shared bowl in his lap, her head resting on his shoulder. They were already almost to the end of the second disc of the first season, and Blaine was glad he had chosen the comedy to distract from everything. "I was named after that Rachel."
"Really?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. He didn't really see her as Jennifer Aniston's character at all, though he supposed it was hard to name a baby after a fictional character.
"The show was brand new, probably only around these episodes when I was born, but my dads were already obsessed," she elaborated after a couple minutes.
"Imagine if their favorite character was Chandler," Blaine joked, and she let out a small laugh, making him smile as his arm found its way around her, letting her snuggle in a little closer.
"I'm just glad they didn't become addicted to some horrible little show that never even took off."
"At least when you've achieved your Broadway fame, it'll be a nice little anecdote all your fans can muse over," Blaine agreed, and he could feel her smile even without looking down to see it.
"Rachel?" a voice called from the front hall, and Rachel darted off the couch, shooting a small glance at Blaine before disappearing, Blaine feeling strangely uncomfortable without her by his side as the show continued on in front of him.
He heard her greet what he assumed was one of her fathers, though he had never actually met them. He once more felt bad for intruding in on their home, for taking advantage of a friend because he couldn't bring himself to talk to his boyfriend-Burt and Carole would take him in, though he was sure Burt wouldn't be completely comfortable with the idea of his son sleeping in the same house as his boyfriend, which was part of the determining factor in Blaine's decision to come to the Berry's.
He kept the TV on as he heard low mumblings from the hallway, feeling self-conscious as he realized she was undoubtedly filling in the details of why she wasn't in Glee and why Kurt's boyfriend was sitting on their living room couch. A few minutes later Rachel reappeared, and he tried to compose himself before she noticed anything was off, but clearly he didn't do so in enough time.
"It's fine Blaine, I told you they'd understand," she said, sitting next to him once more.
"I just don't want to be an imposition-"
"Blaine, they understand," Rachel said, her voice more firm now as she took his hand, and he shot her a wary glance. "Look, I'm sure that somewhere in your brain, you went over the basic facts of why you came here over Kurt's. And I'm also sure the fact that I have two gay dads came into play. It's not like they haven't each gone through this on their own. Why do you think I never visit family, or hear from grandparents?"
"I never really thought too much into it," Blaine answered honestly, shrugging as he tried to comprehend what she was saying.
"They'll want to talk to you, more than likely alone-" he tensed, and she squeezed his hand in comfort, "but I promise, they're on your side, and all three of us are here for whatever you need. Support, a place to stay, a calm and level head to listen to or to try and talk to your parents. Whatever. Just, don't feel like you're some huge problem in our house. You're not."
"Are you sure?" he asked, the guilt still swirling around in a pit of his stomach.
"I swear," she nodded. "Now, tell me what I missed while I was gone," she demanded, curling back into his side and covering them with a blanket as she focused on the TV, Blaine trying to do the same.
Rachel had been correct on both accounts-her dads were fine with Blaine staying there, but they also wanted to have a private conversation. She had disappeared up the stairs to her room, claiming she had homework to make up from their day off, while Blaine sat and explained everything that had happened. It was worse telling it a second time without Rachel there to remind him it was okay, but he couldn't just come into their home and not give a reason for it.
They had been kind, and Blaine was grateful when they offered to let him stay as long as he needed. "And if you need us to talk to your parents, or anything at all, just let us know," one of the Mr. Berry's had offered, but Blaine just shook his head.
"I just don't think it'd go over too well," he said quietly, and they nodded, understanding and empathetic.
"Well, for the time being," the other had said-and Blaine was going to have to figure out which was which if he was practically moving into their home now, "welcome to the Berry household. We do love houseguests," he promised, ruffling Blaine's hair as the first gathered him in a hug. This was something entirely different and new to him, parents that were affectionate. Burt and Carole had taken him in as best they could, but Burt wasn't exactly the touchy-feely type.
He lay in the guest bedroom later that night, tossing and turning in the unfamiliar room. It was a nicely decorated room, but it was almost too neat, too organized, and it felt stifling. He knew he had to sleep, even if the next day was a Saturday, there was too much to do. Rachel had mentioned having ballet, and Blaine was going to try and talk to Kurt-hopefully. He planned to at least, though he would really rather put that off as long as possible.
He flipped sides again, holding a pillow tight to him as he tried to lull himself to sleep, counting sheep, singing softly, nothing was working. He sat up, glaring at the clock that read almost two in the morning, and got out of the bed, walking almost silently across the room and creaking open the door.
Rachel's light was off, her door closed, but he had hope that maybe she was lying awake too, tossing and turning as much as he was. He could have texted her, seen if she responded, but his phone was across the room and now it seemed like an easier decision just to walk across the hallway. He opened her door quietly, slipping in and shutting it behind him before whispering her name.
"Rachel?" he called out, finding his way through the darkness towards her bed, sitting on the edge of it. She was sound asleep, looking completely peaceful, and he sighed heavily. Now he had no excuse to be awake, and he felt like kind of a creep for lurking on her in her sleep. "Rachel?" he said again, even quitter than the last time in a desperate chance that maybe she'd wake up and offer to talk, though he didn't really want to talk, he just wanted to be around someone. Just wanted to be around her, really.
She kind of mumbled, her words indistinguishable, but she was moving over on the bed, and it took him a minute to realize she had made room for him. He hesitated-it wasn't like it would be anything sexual, with both of them having boyfriends they cared about-before climbing in beside her, her body shifting closer to his once he settled in under the covers, throwing a leg over his waist as if to secure him from leaving her side. She mumbled again, though Blaine still didn't understand her and wondered briefly if maybe she talked in her sleep-it wouldn't have surprised him-before she pressed a small kiss to his shoulder. The action shook him for a second, startling him more than it probably should have, but then she stopped moving, clearly back into a deeper sleep once more, and he closed his eyes waiting for sleep to come to him.
It was mere minutes before he, too, fell asleep, feeling a lot more content now that Rachel was next to him again.