I'm really really sorry this chapter was so long in coming! But I had to parallel it with the posting of Kiss so they'd be up at the same time. In the meantime, I have been working on this fic and I've only got one and a half chapters left of it to write! I don't even know how I managed to do that with ten WIP's, but I have. So this story will actually be completed pretty soon :)

And now that I've told you that it's paralleled in Kiss, you all know what's coming this chapter. My apologies for ruining it. To make up for it, I'll post again in a few days :)

Kurt woke slowly, blinking furiously against the harsh sunlight before deciding it was much easier to just shut his eyes and ignore it. After all, there was no reason to wake up, he could just stay snuggled into his warm bed and ignore the sun in his face.

Then he realized his bed didn't face the sun.

Then he realized there was a pair of arms around his waist and his head was resting on something that, while being as warm and comfortable as a pillow, was distinctly not a pillow.

Kurt decided opening his eyes again was probably a good idea at this point. When they finally focused, he lifted his head slightly, and immediately burnt the image in front of him into his mind forever.

Blaine was still fast asleep, his head turned slightly away from the invading sunlight. His face was completely relaxed, his breathing light and gentle and Kurt absolutely could not pull his eyes away from his boyfriend. After all, he knew Blaine wasn't perfect, not by a long shot. But seeing him lying there, his hair a messy halo around his head, Kurt could easily stare at him all day and not get bored.

But that was only one option. The other was to wake Blaine so they could spend some time together before the rest of the Warblers invaded their day. And suddenly that seemed much more appealing than simply staring.

Lifting one hand from Blaine's chest, he gently traced his fingers down his boyfriend's cheek. Blaine murmured something in his sleep, shifting away from Kurt's fingers. Biting back the urge to chuckle, Kurt leant down and pressed his lips against Blaine's temple, running his other hand across Blaine's jawline.

Pulling away, Kurt watched Blaine's eyes flicker open, blinking a couple of times before lifting his head slightly. "Hi," he murmured, his voice rough with sleep.

"Hi," Kurt replied, watching Blaine yawn. "Sleep well?"

"Mm." Blaine still looked a little out of it, but was waking up a lot quicker than Kurt usually did. "You?"

Kurt thought about it for a second and realized he had. "Yeah. Better than usual actually."

Blaine was awake enough to smirk - something Kurt found highly unfair. "Glad you were comfortable. And I certainly approved of the wake up."

Kurt felt the blush forming and buried his head into Blaine's chest again. He felt Blaine laugh, running his hands over Kurt's back. "I like this idea. We don't need to be up for a bit longer and I want to take full advantage of 'cuddly Kurt'."

He knew his blush was in full force but Blaine's arms were wrapping around him tighter and he couldn't quite bring himself to care. Kurt snuggled in closer, twisting his legs in with Blaine's and resting his hands on Blaine's chest. Blaine ducked his head down to kiss Kurt on top of his head, sighing happily.

There was silence for a few moments before Blaine spoke. "I need to talk to you about something," he murmured. His tone wasn't bad, but Kurt still stiffened, pulling away from Blaine's grasp and sitting up against the wall.

"What is it?" he asked, looking down into his boyfriend's face.

Blaine smiled reassuringly, propping himself up on his elbows. "It's not a bad thing, I promise. I just want to know whether you remember what you said when you were falling asleep last night."

Kurt only needed to think for a few seconds before it came back to him in full force.

I told Blaine I love him.

The look on his face must have reflected his inner panic as Blaine sat up, pulling him into his arms. "Hey, hey it's fine. Relax, okay? I said it wasn't bad."

"But it is!" Kurt burst out, unable to stop the torrent of words. "I mean, yes it's true but I didn't want it to be said that way, I wanted something meaningful and -"

Blaine lifted a hand, pressing it to Kurt's lips gently. "Stop. Trust me, it was meaningful. Considering we were cuddling together in the same bed for the first time, I'm definitely going to remember it. But if it makes you feel better, I'll wait to say the words until sometime we can deem as 'perfect', okay?"

Kurt shook his head, smiling. "You're so corny. But yes." Blaine leant in and kissed his forehead. Kurt immediately found himself thinking of a much better place those lips could be - namely against his own - and his face flushed. Blaine paused, a couple of inches from his face and scrutinized him.

"What's on your mind?" he asked, his voice slightly teasing, and it was obvious that Blaine knew and he might have even been thinking the same because his eyes just darted down to Kurt's lips...

A loud hammering on the door made Kurt almost jump out of Blaine's lap. Blaine held him tighter, rolling his eyes. "What?" he called out.

"Sorry, guys. I wouldn't interrupt if it wasn't important.. can I come in?"

Jeff's voice sounded slightly panicked and Kurt frowned. "Sure, come in."

The door opened and Jeff poked his head in, looking across at the two boys without batting an eyelid. Probably because he and Nick were used to getting themselves in the same position... and probably because he was biting his lip and looking worried.

"Jeff, what's wrong?" Kurt unwrapped his arms from Blaine and turned to face Jeff fully.

"Nick's sick."

Kurt was off the bed in an instant, Blaine following quickly behind. "What kind of sick?" Blaine asked, rummaging in his bag for something.

"I don't know. He woke up in the middle of the night saying his stomach hurt and he felt dizzy. I was going to get you then but he convinced me not to and then fell asleep again. But I woke up this morning to him throwing up in the bathroom." Jeff was wringing his hands together and Kurt pulled the boy into a hug. He had always been closer to Jeff than any other Warbler - excluding Blaine of course - and hated seeing the boy so worried.

Blaine stood, holding a box of tablets. "Okay, it sounds like it's either an allergy of some kind, sea sickness or food poisoning - and heaven forbid, because we've all been eating the same food. Does he have any allergies?"

Jeff shook his head as the three left the room, making their way along the corridor. "But I did notice the sea was kind of rough when we woke up."

"That could mean we potentially have others who aren't well." Blaine popped a couple of the tablets and gave them to Kurt. "Take these to Nick, I'll go check on everybody else."

The three boys parted ways, Jeff leading the way into his and Nick's room. Nick was slumped in the bathroom, his face pale and Jeff immediately knelt next to him, brushing his hair off his forehead. "How are you feeling, babe?"

Nick just shook his head. Kurt grabbed a glass and filled it with water. "Blaine gave us these, he said they should help," Jeff continued. But before he could hand them over, Nick's face grew paler and he ducked his head over the toilet again.

Kurt was instantly backing out of the room. "I'm really sorry, and I hope you feel better but Jeff, I can't do vomit."

Jeff nodded, rubbing Nick's back. "Go, I'll call if we need anything."

Kurt bolted, slamming the door. Yes, he felt bad for abandoning the boy when he wasn't well, but he had Jeff. And since Kurt was a sympathetic vomiter, he figured Jeff wouldn't want to end up with two sick people anyway. Heading back down to his and Blaine's room, he found his boyfriend was still out. Grabbing some clothes, Kurt headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day and do his moisturizing routine. As he was finishing up, he heard Blaine enter the room and quickly stepped out to meet him.

"So Nick isn't the only one," Blaine announced, tossing the box back into his bag. "Thad and Cameron are both throwing up and David's just feeling dizzy. Wes and Jessica are both fine, they've already gone down for breakfast and are more than happy to just spend the day onboard while everybody recovers."

Kurt shook his head. "I didn't even realize until I looked out the window, and I guess last night must've been worse. I can't believe it's knocked everybody out of commission like that."

Blaine bit his lip. "I hope it doesn't ruin the cruise for them."

His boyfriend looked guilty and Kurt shook his head, wrapping his arms around him. "You can't be blamed for the weather, you know that. You've given them medication, they just need to throw up a bit more and sleep it off, it'll all be good."

Blaine hummed in agreement, resting his head on Kurt's shoulder. His boyfriend was still shirtless and Kurt felt the heat where his hands were resting on Blaine's back. He pulled away quickly, swallowing roughly. "Um, well why don't you go and get dressed and we'll have breakfast."

Kurt thought Blaine would be confused about his sudden change of demeanor. Instead, his boyfriend just gave him a look, smiling slightly, before grabbing his clothes and heading into the bathroom. Kurt watched him go, shaking his head. It's like he knows everything that's going on in my head... so why doesn't he do anything about it?

Before Kurt's mind could go overboard and start obsessing over whether Blaine actually wanted to take things further - and even that sounded wrong in his mind, it's not like he wanted sex or anything - Blaine left the bathroom, running his fingers through his messy hair. "Ready to go?"

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Wes and Jessica were on their way out as the two boys headed in. Blaine quickly filled them in on the status of everybody else before they headed up to the top deck. And now it was just him and Blaine. As they ate, there was occasional conversation, and it certainly wasn't awkward because Kurt couldn't remember the last time he had felt awkward around Blaine. But the tension in the room was so thick. Any time Blaine brushed up against his arm accidentally, or their legs touched together, Kurt would find himself drifting off into thoughts of what he and Blaine could be doing... and then jerking himself back whenever Blaine asked a question or said something.

Kurt knew he was obvious, and Blaine just continued to give that soft smile of his and repeat his question and Kurt could tell he was just waiting for Kurt to either explain what was going on - not that he needed to, Blaine was a freaking mind reader or something - or for him to explode.

Exploding looked like the most likely action right now.

"So, what do you want to do with the day?" Blaine stretched his arms above his head before lowering them, one arm magically appearing around Kurt's waist.

Kurt snorted. "Smooth," he quipped, Blaine simply winking in reply. "Well, we don't really need to make plans, do we? Why don't we just go for a walk and see what ends up happening?"

Oh wow, that could be taken really badly, Kurt realized a moment later. But Blaine just smiled again and stood, offering him a hand. "That sounds fine to me. Shall we?"

Kurt took the hand offered to him, standing and linking their fingers together. And even after sleeping in the same bed and cuddling all the time, the simple touch of fingertips still made Kurt's heart flutter. He could feel Blaine's pulse, beating against his own wrist as they walked, and it just reminded him that the heart causing that pulse belonged to him.

Call it cliche, but Kurt never wanted these kinds of feelings to go away. Even when their relationship eventuated beyond the touch of fingers - and Kurt was planning on making that happen soon, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep from kissing Blaine after all - he didn't want to lose the way his heart skipped a beat every time he saw his boyfriend, the smile that crossed both of their faces when they met up again after being apart. Kurt wanted their relationship to stay romantic forever.

"Hey."

Kurt snapped out of his musing, realizing that Blaine had led him to the far side of the deck that Kurt hadn't seen yet. Rather than being an open area with lots of lounge chairs like the other deck, this was more quiet and secluded, as if it were made for a couple. Kurt imagined that Blaine's parents probably spent their time here, and realizing that Blaine had brought him here was doing all sorts of things to Kurt's mind that it probably shouldn't be.

Blaine tugged on his hand lightly, turning Kurt to face him. "What's going on up there?" He tapped Kurt's forehead lightly with his free hand and Kurt chuckled.

"Just - just thinking." Please, just ask what about! Then we can talk about it and I don't have to sit here trying to figure out what to do!

But of course Blaine didn't. He simply smiled, lowering his hand to wrap around Kurt's waist, drawing him closer. "You think a lot," he teased, dropping Kurt's other hand to pull him in properly. "I just want to hold you for awhile, is that okay?"

Kurt would have raised an eyebrow if his head hadn't been resting against Blaine's shoulder, rendering the gesture ineffective. Let me think, my wonderful and near-perfect boyfriend wants to 'just hold me' for awhile and I should have an objection?

Blaine seemed to take his silence as an answer, tightening his hold around Kurt's waist. Kurt trailed his hands through Blaine's curls lightly, eliciting a satisfied hum from his boyfriend. "You're gorgeous," he murmured before he could stop himself.

"Mm. So are you," Blaine whispered back, nuzzling his head into Kurt's neck. Kurt sighed happily, wondering at how in the space of six months, his life had gone from being the victim of a confused homosexual bully to standing here with his boyfriend, feeling like the most important person in the world - or at least in the eyes of Blaine Anderson. Which was good, because Blaine was certainly the most important person to Kurt at this moment.

And Kurt wanted to show him that.

Untangling one of his hands from Blaine's hair, he moved it around until he was cupping his boyfriend's chin and lifted it up so their eyes were meeting again. "I love you," he whispered.

And Blaine just gave that smile again, but finally, Kurt understood. Blaine wanted this too, but he wanted it to be something that Kurt had given him. Every other kiss Kurt had experienced had been taken from him, this time it was his gift to give freely.

So Kurt leant in and kissed him.

They stood together as time whirled on around them, caught in a single perfect moment. And Kurt knew right there and then that he could never love another like he did Blaine. They were meant for each other.

As they broke away from the kiss, Blaine leant their foreheads together, staring into Kurt's eyes. "I love you too, Kurt."

Kurt stared at him for a few more seconds before tilting his head, moving back in to kiss Blaine again softly. This time, he allowed his lips to part slightly, taking in the taste of Blaine and committing it to memory. There was nothing about this moment that he could even begin to put into words, so he didn't try. He just kept kissing Blaine, knowing it spoke everything that he needed to say.

All those years that Blaine had heard people talking about 'walking on cloud nine;' now he could finally appreciate it for himself. Ever since Kurt had kissed him that afternoon, the smile hadn't left his face and had grown every time one of them had leant in for another kiss, knowing they could do this whenever they wanted now. The rest of their day had been spent in a state of complete relaxation - talking, cuddling, wandering around hand-in-hand and, of course, a lot more kissing.

Even heading down to check on his invalid friends - alone; he had discovered that Kurt didn't handle vomit well and had had left him on the top deck - couldn't dampen Blaine's mood. Knocking quietly on the first door, he opened it to see Jeff flipping through a magazine. Nick was sprawled on the bed, his head in Jeff's lap with the other boy gently stroking his hair.

"He hasn't thrown up for a few hours," Jeff reported quietly. "I think the worst of it is over, he's still very pale but if he sleeps it off, I think he'll be better by morning."

Blaine knelt next to the bed, taking a closer look at Nick. The boy was pale but he was looking better and Blaine agreed with Jeff's assessment.

"So, how's the day been?"

Blaine couldn't hide his smile and Jeff noticed instantly. "Something happened. Spill!"

"Kurt might have kissed me." Blaine shrugged, attempting to look nonchalant despite the grin spreading across his face at being able to say the words out loud for the first time.

Jeff covered his mouth, obviously trying not to squeal and wake his boyfriend. "That's great, Blaine! I'm so happy for you guys."

Blaine didn't miss the way Jeff's eyes dropped to Nick a second later. "Have you guys -?"

Jeff shook his head. "Nick's still working through some stuff from his past. I'm leaving that ball in his court."

"But you want to."

"Of course." Jeff smiled, running his fingers through Nick's hair again. "He's gorgeous, and he's mine. Why wouldn't I want to?"

Blaine chatted with the other Warbler for a couple of minutes before heading off to check on the other Warblers. The verdict was the same in the other rooms - nobody was throwing up anymore and all thought they'd be better by morning.

As Blaine walked back down the hallway, he thought about his conversation with Jeff. He didn't know much about Nick's past, only that he never went home to see his family, but the same sentiments were there as with Kurt.

Blaine had been dying to kiss Kurt for not only the entire day, but ever since they had started dating. He knew Kurt's past history with kissing people and being kissed, and he knew that the moment he shared a kiss with someone special, it would be a hugely defining moment for his boyfriend. And it needed to be on Kurt's terms, when Kurt was 100% ready. And Blaine had been willing to wait.

It wasn't like Blaine had been thinking from experience either. His only kiss was a drunken one he didn't even remember, and when Kurt had finally made that moment happen it was life changing for Blaine as well. The smile returned to his face as he reminisced, and it was only widened when he reached the top deck and heard the sound of his boyfriend's voice being carried across to him.

"Maybe I'm amazed at the way

You love me all the time,

Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you,"

Blaine shook his head, his smile only growing wider. He walked over to Kurt, wrapping his arms around his waist as Kurt continued to sing. This is my boyfriend and he's amazing and I love him.

"Maybe I'm amazed at the way,

You pulled me out of time,

And hung me on a line,

Maybe I'm amazed at the way

I really need you."

Kurt trailed off, letting the final notes linger before turning in Blaine's arms. "Hey there."

"Hi," Blaine murmured. As much as he wanted to continue kissing Kurt, he needed to know what was going on. "Any particular reason behind that song choice?"

Kurt ducked his head, but Blaine immediately grabbed his chin gently. "Hey, no hiding from me. I love you, no matter what you say."

The words had the desired effect. Kurt blushed, but spoke. "I'm just afraid that we've fallen too hard. I mean, we're in high school. How many high school relationships actually last outside of school? And then we have college and we may go to different colleges or even different states and long distance relationships work on TV and movies but could we really -"

This time Blaine did kiss him, but it was more to stop the rambling coming out of his boyfriend's mouth. "Don't you think I've already thought about all this, baby? It scares me too, more than I've ever let on."

Blaine led Kurt over to one of the seats, sitting down and pulling him into his lap. Kurt immediately curled his head into Blaine's chest as he continued talking. "I don't know what will happen. Ten years down the track, we both might have found other people and be very happy without being together -"

"I don't think I could."

Blaine paused, blinking a couple of times. Kurt's voice was muffled, but he knew what he had heard. "Neither," he admitted hesitantly. "So maybe we will still be together. But what matters is that we're together now, okay? We're going to take this thing one day and one step at a time and do everything we can to make this work because this is what we've both fought for, for so long."

Kurt hummed in agreement, still nestled into his chest. "Damn straight."

Blaine laughed. "There's my Kurt." He glanced down at his boyfriend who didn't respond. "Tired, babe?"

"Mm," Kurt mumbled quietly.

Now that he thought about it, Blaine realized he was pretty tired as well. "Okay, let's get to the room." He paused, still staring at the prone figure curled up in his lap. "Can you walk or do you want me to carry you."

There was no reply, and Blaine realized Kurt had fallen asleep. Moving carefully, Blaine scooped Kurt into his arms and stood, amazed at how light his boyfriend was. Kurt immediately buried his head back into Blaine's shoulder in his sleep as the boy took slow even steps to get back to the room.

It was only when he got to his door that he realized that it was shut. As he deliberated for a few seconds whether to put Kurt down, a quiet voice spoke up. "Here, let me."

Jessica stepped forward and opened the door. Blaine nodded his thanks, moving into the room and placing Kurt gently on the bed. He knew his boyfriend would flip in the morning when he realized he had forgotten his moisturizing routine, but Blaine didn't have the heart to wake him.

Turning around, Blaine saw Jessica was still standing in the doorway. "Can I talk to you?" she murmured quietly. Blaine nodded, walking back out of the room and closing the door gently behind him.

"Look, I've been talking with Wes a lot about you and Kurt." Jessica looked down at her feet, playing with strands of her hair. "And I guess when I first met you guys, I didn't really know how to act. You're honestly the first openly gay people I've ever met, and seeing you so affectionate around each other - well, I didn't know what to think."

Blaine nodded. He had always know that Jessica had trouble being herself around him and Kurt - Kurt noticed it a lot more than he did though.

"But I just want you to know that it's nothing to do with homophobia. I didn't have an issue with what you two are doing. It was just... just different, is all."

"I understand."

Jessica looked up, surprised. "You do?"

Blaine smiled reassuringly. "Maybe not first hand, but I know what you're trying to say. That's how my Dad was when I first came out."

"I'm sorry. Have things - gotten better?"

Blaine shook his head. "No. Not really. But that's not what we're discussing. You said you've been talking to Wes?"

"Yeah." Jessica flicked her hair back, straightening up. "He showed me that you guys aren't that different from me and him. And something just sort of made sense and ... well, now I don't even know why there was an issue. I just thought you should know, and I wanted to apologize for the way I've been acting, especially to Kurt."

"I think he'll appreciate that. And I do too. Thank you, Jessica."

The girl surprised Blaine by pulling him into a quick hug. "Pass on the message for me?"

"Of course. Only if you pass on one for me though." Jessica cocked her head, listening. "Tell Wes that Blaine said; 'It's happened'." He placed extra emphasis on the first word, knowing that Wes would understand what he was talking about straight away.

Jessica looked confused, but agreed to pass it on anyway. Bidding him goodnight, she headed off down the hallway, leaving Blaine wondering whether life could get any more perfect. Then he remembered the sleeping boyfriend in the room, and grinned. Maybe it can.

Opening the door quietly, Blaine saw Kurt had curled himself into a ball, facing the wall. Smiling fondly at his boyfriend, Blaine quickly got changed and turned off the lights. Climbing in by the foot of the bed, Blaine moved up so he was facing Kurt. He slipped an arm around Kurt's waist, who moved into the touch, resting his head against Blaine's chest again.

Blaine let his head fall back against the pillow, allowing the events of the day to run through his head. He wasn't sure whether the day itself could have gotten much better, but he knew that life had many other perfect days in store for him and Kurt - whether they were together or apart. And Blaine hoped with his whole heart that they would stay together, because he loved this boy more than he knew he was capable of.

Again, sorry this was so long in coming! But there'll be more very soon, I promise :)