I'm sorry that this took longer than a week to upload. School is sucking up so much of my time and by the time I'm finished writing all the paragraphs and essays for my classes, I have no inspiration left in me. But thanks so very much for sticking with this story! I can't promise weekly updates, but I'm doing my best. Unfortunately, school needs to come first.
There's lots of intimate and emotional Kurt and Blaine action in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Chapter 4
Wednesday and Thursday go very much like Monday. Kurt and Blaine both have school in the morning, and then head to the library in the evening. There's definitely a shift in their relationship though and they both feel it. There's an underlying feeling of closeness and trust. Like they can tell each other anything. They both haven't had it easy, and being able to rely on each other is the best feeling.
On Friday night, Blaine and Kurt are sitting in Blaine's room listening to music and playing Sorry. They'd already chatted with Blaine's grandmother for a while, played frisbee, and eaten dinner. Now they're just relaxing, laughing at silly things and having a good time.
After about half an hour of playing the game, Kurt wins. He's so excited that he shoots his fisted hands into the air and rolls onto his back in victory. He cries out a little when he unexpectedly lands on a wound that had been reopened this morning when Karofsky had shoved him into a pointy metal lock on one of the lockers. He'd had to change his shirt after that one.
Blaine immediately stops pouting from his loss when he hears Kurt's pained whimper and is by Kurt's side in an instant, helping the boy to sit, "Kurt? What happened?" He asks, his eyes trailing down Kurt's body to see if he can find the culprit.
"N-nothing," Kurt cringes, trying not to move his back so the fabric on his shirt won't rub. He can tell that the thin scab has rubbed off.
"Is it your head? What did you do?" Blaine asks, not for one second believing that it's nothing.
"Blaine..." Kurt whimpers, leaning his side against Blaine's body, which causes his shirt to rub against the scab again. He grimaces.
"What is it Kurt? What's the matter?" Blaine asks, getting more worried.
"My back, it r-really h-h-hurts," Kurt utters shakily before he starts softly crying, "And I-I," He gasps for breath, "I don't kn-now w-what to do-o." He feels like he's six again and he's just fallen off his bike and scraped his knee and is crying for his mom to fix it. He hates for Blaine to see him like this, but he's so sick of putting on a brave face for everyone.
"Shhh, Kurt," Blaine pushes a strand of hair away from Kurt's forehead, trying to calm him with the gentle gesture, "What's the matter with your back? Can I see it?"
Kurt hiccups, "Th-the football p-players," He fists his hands in Blaine's shirt, squeezing his eyes shut.
Blaine's heart rate begins to speed up and he suddenly feels angry. He hates them so much right now for what they're doing to Kurt. He wants to leave right now and hunt them down to teach them a lesson. And maybe he would have tried if it wasn't for the crying boy in his arms who needs him.
Kurt's quiet tears start to subside and soon, he's just sniffling. Kurt pulls away and immediately starts apologizing.
Blaine cuts him off, "Kurt, stop it. You haven't done anything worthy of an apology. I want to help you. You don't have to be sorry."
Kurt looks down, embarrassed.
Blaine touches Kurt's arm gently, "Can I see your back?"
"It's-It's really bad Blaine. I don't think you should."
"Kurt, if it's really bad you should go see a doctor."
Kurt's head whips up, "No Blaine! I can't!" Kurt says frantically, "My dad will find out I-"
"Okay, okay," Blaine holds his hands up, "But at least let me see. It might need to be cleaned or something."
Kurt stares at Blaine for a moment before finally nodding. If it is infected, he needs to put antibiotic ointment on asap. Blaine is the only one who knows about the cuts on his back. This is his only option. He turns around so his back is facing Blaine and sits cross-legged.
Blaine slowly lifts Kurt's shirt up so he can see the bottom half of Kurt's back and gasps. It's so much worse than he had thought. Almost Kurt's whole back is purple and yellow and there's dried blood in some places. There are two bigger cuts and multiple small ones. There's also blood trickling out of one of the bigger cuts that looks fresh enough to have happened today.
Blaine stands up and hurries to the bathroom, pulling out a first aid kit. He feels a bit light-headed. He's breathing heavily and the tears he's blinking back are making his throat hurt from the pressure. He forces them back though. Kurt needs him right now.
The more he cleans the wounds, the more he feels the pressure building up behind his eyes. When he's finished with the bottom half of Kurt's back and he lifts the shirt higher to see the top half, he can't hold it in anymore. A loud sob escapes him and he drops Kurt's shirt, putting his face in his hands.
"Blaine," Kurt turns around quickly to find Blaine with his face hidden in his hands, shaking with sobs. Kurt is immediately at his side, rubbing his back. He certainly hadn't expected this.
"Kurt," Blaine says, still crying hard, "How can they do this to you? They're h-h-horrible."
"It's okay Blaine, It's okay." Kurt soothes, still rubbing Blaine's back.
Blaine's face whips up and he stares at Kurt, tears making their way down his face, "No it's not! no it's not! You're perfect Kurt! You're like an angel! How can they hurt an angel?"
Kurt's breath hitches.
Blaine gulps heavily, wiping angrily at his tears, "Why are you saying this is okay? It's not! It's not and it won't ever be!"
"I know Blaine, shhh. I know. This is just the way it is. I'm used to it." Kurt feels his eyes start watering. He's never seen Blaine like this before. So out of control.
"That's stupid Kurt. This whole city is stupid." Blaine spits, his tears starting to subside and anger replacing them.
"I know Blaine, but we'll get out of it someday. We'll go somewhere where we are excepted and can be ourselves freely and we'll do great things with our life and we'll show everyone here that we're worth it and we're bigger than this life."
Blaine sniffles and looks up at Kurt with big eyes, "We will?"
"Of course we will," Kurt smiles, "There's a place for us, Blaine, and we just have to be patient."
Blaine sighs and pulls Kurt in for a hug, "You're so amazing Kurt. How are you so amazing?" He pulls away, whipping his eyes with a tissue.
Kurt laughs to lighten the mood, "I just have faith that we can get through all this. It's only a small milestone and one day, we'll look back and realize that this has shaped us to be as successful as I'm positive we will be. We will both come out of this stronger than ever."
"You really are an angel," Blaine whispers.
"And you Blaine, have a whole, wonderful life ahead of you."
"So do you. Here, I need to finish cleaning your back." Blaine motions for Kurt to turn around.
"No Blaine, it's okay. You really don't have to."
"Yes I do Kurt. The cuts might get infected otherwise." Blaine insists.
Kurt sighs, turning around once again.
Blaine finishes Kurt's back, still sad and angry, but feeling better after Kurt's soothing words.
When he's finished, Kurt thanks him gently and excuses himself to the bathroom.
Blaine lets out a shaky breath and closes his eyes, trying to erase the image of Kurt's back for now so he doesn't have nightmares. It's hard to do though. It brings back memories of when he was in the same situation. Maybe not this bad because he'd fled before it got worse, but he knows what Kurt is going through.
Kurt comes back in, smiling brightly, trying to forget about what had happened for now. He loves that he and Blaine can have serious conversations like that, but at the end of the day, he just wants to be happy.
"What should we do next? Makeovers?" Kurt asks, sitting down on the bed next to Blaine, "I, for one, would love to get ahold of those bushy eyebrows of yours and have my wicked way with them."
Blaine's eyes widen, "What? You didn't say anything about that! I-I-"
Kurt laughs, "I'm just kidding Blaine, relax."
"Whew," Blaine wipes his forehead with the back of his hand dramatically.
Kurt shoves him playfully, rolling his eyes, "Well, we could play another game, watch Tangled, talk, drool over hot celebrities..." Kurt trails off, his eyebrow raised in question.
Blaine waggles his eyebrows, "The last one?"
Kurt laughs and grabs Blaine's laptop. They search the internet for all of their celebrity crushes, laughing and adding comments when appropriate. After a good twenty minutes, they get bored and switch to watching funny gifs and videos. After forty minutes of almost constant laughing, they decide to be done with that and watch Tangled.
Kurt leaps off the bed and claps his hands, "I'm so excited! You're going to love this movie Blaine."
Blaine smiles at how cute Kurt is when he's excited and inserts the DVD into his laptop.
Kurt opens his overnight bag and pulls out a bag of trail mix, some dried fruit, a bag of dark chocolate covered açai berries, and a jar of Nutella.
Blaine raises his eyebrows at the assortment, "Very creative. I was expecting a bag of chips or something."
Kurt scoffs, "Chips are gross. They're greasy and loaded with PHO."
Blaine laughs, "Well, I think your choices are perfect. Although isn't Nutella unhealthy?"
"It's my guilty pleasure," Kurt replies, taking out two spoons from his bag and setting them next to the jar.
"Kurt Hummel has a guilty pleasure?" Blaine asks smirking, "Who would have thought?"
"Everyone has a guilty pleasure Blaine."
"Hmm, touché." Blaine replies, stacking four pillows up against the headboard and pulling back his blankets, patting the bed beside him. Kurt sits down on the bed next to Blaine and leans against the pillows, noticing how his back already feels better.
Blaine places his laptop on a risen tray at their feet before leaning back as well so they're sitting side by side, their feet stretched out in front of them.
"You ready?" Blaine asks, the cursor over the 'play' button.
"definitely," Kurt nods.
The movie begins and Kurt finds himself singing quietly to the songs. He knows every one by heart and can't help it. They're seriously addicting.
They eat snacks, laughing, and of course it isn't a movie with Kurt without the boy's snarky comments. Blaine loves it.
Halfway through the film, Blaine begins getting drowsy. He rests his head on Kurt's shoulder, hoping the other boy doesn't mind.
Kurt is surprised at first, but the feeling of a warm weight on his shoulder brings a smile to his face. He likes being close to Blaine. It makes him feel comfortable and safe.
The movie is almost over when Kurt hears light snoring coming from Blaine. He smiles, shimmying down a little to get comfier. Blaine shifts until he's lying down as well with his head resting on top of Kurt's shoulder and his palm lying face down over Kurt's chest.
Kurt is startled at the position at first, but then he remembers that Blaine's asleep and obviously thinks Kurt's just a pillow. We'll, he isn't about to wake the boy up. That would just be cruel.
Kurt sighs with content and burrows deeper into the memory foam. He's definitely stealing this bed.
The movie ends and Kurt maneuvers the tray with his feet until he can reach it and the laptop and he places both on Blaine's bedside table.
He's about to wake Blaine up to tell him they should get ready for bed, but Blaine makes a cute little sleepy sound and burrows deeper into Kurt's side, and Kurt doesn't have the heart to wake him.
Instead, he switches off the bedside lamp and closes his eyes, enjoying the warmth that Blaine's body provides.
Blaine wakes up sometime in the middle of the night. He barely opens his eyes, hoping to immediately fall back asleep. He nuzzles his face into his pillow, making a contented sigh, before he realizes this is not a pillow. This is a human. He leaps out of the bed with a surprised grunt, causing the body to stir. Blaine grabs his phone and shines it across the room, lighting up the person's face, "Kurt..." He sighs before climbing back on his bed, "You scared me. I woke up and there was someone in my bed and…jeez…"
Kurt yawns, not awake enough to really think straight, "Yeah, sorry. You fell asleep on my shoulder and I didn't have the heart to wake you."
"I'm sorry," Blaine apologizes, turning off his phone and returning it to the bedside table.
"No, don't apologize. You're actually quite comfortable and warm," Kurt rests his arm over his face, covering his eyes, "Between you and this bed, I feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud that is floating in heaven."
Blaine laughs and flops onto his back, leaving a foot or so between him and Kurt, "I could say the same about you. I honestly thought you were a big, fluffy pillow."
Kurt smacks Blaine's shoulder gently, "Is that a fat joke?"
"Of course not! You are perfectly in shape. Not a bit of fat anywhere to be seen." Blaine says, pulling the covers around him and resting his hands on his chest.
"You're such a dork," Kurt laughs softly, yawning, "What time is it?"
"Hmmm," Blaine hums, opening his eyes to check his phone, "2:10. It's still the middle of the night. Maybe we should sleep."
Kurt pouts in the dark, "But then I won't get to spend as much time with you."
"I'll be right here the entire time," Blaine says, shrugging and snuggling deeper under the covers.
"You know what I mean, Blaine," Kurt rolls his eyes, "I want to spent time with you when we're both conscious. That's the whole point of this sleepover."
"Well in that case," Blaine leaps out of bed, taking the covers with him, "I'm hungry. Let's go raid the freezer for ice cream."
Kurt sits up giggling, "Can we at least change into pajamas first? These jeans are feeling incredibly stiff."
Blaine switches on his light, groaning and squinting his eyes in the blinding bright.
Kurt heads to the bathroom while peaking between his fingers, mumbling for Blaine to use the dimmer next time.
When he gets back to Blaine's room, Blaine is already in his Harry Potter pajama pants and a T-shirt with periodic table printed on it.
Kurt has on a set of silk pajamas that are white with gray pinstripes. He's never worn them, but when Blaine asked him to sleepover, he'd taken emergency trip to the mall.
"Nice pajamas," Blaine comments, "I didn't know people still wore matching top and bottoms."
Kurt blushes, "It's fashion Blaine."
"Of course." Blaine smiles, motioning for Kurt to follow him.
Because the hallway is dark and they don't want to wake Blaine's grandmother by running into a wall or falling down the stairs, Blaine uses his phone as a light. When they arrive at the steps, Blaine reaches back and takes a hold of Kurt's hand.
Kurt blushes, but doesn't let go.
Blaine guides the boy downstairs through the dark with just his dim flashlight, letting go when they make it to the bottom. He flips on the kitchen light and opens the freezer, pulling out a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream. His mouth waters and he grins at Kurt.
"Ooo, my favorite!" Kurt gets down two bowls, but Blaine stops him, putting them back in the cupboard, "Blaine? Why did you do that? Don't we need those?" Kurt asks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Blaine just smiles and takes two spoons out of the silverware drawer, grabbing Kurt's hand again and leading him upstairs, this time in the dark since Blaine doesn't have enough hands to hold up his phone.
When they enter Blaine's room, Blaine let's go of Kurt's hand and closes the door before running and leaping onto his bed, the ice cream landing in the center.
Kurt giggles, following Blaine onto the bed and taking one of the spoons Blaine hands him.
"Bowls are overrated," Blaine states, finally answering Kurt's question, "And it tastes better this way." He opens the lid to the container of mint ice cream and dives in.
They eat the ice cream, giggling and joking around. If it had been with anyone else, Kurt never would have eaten anything that someone else's slobber was touching, but this is Blaine.
When there's only one spoonful left, Blaine and Kurt both dove their spoons in, each trying to get the last bite. Blaine's spoon reaches the ice-cream first and he scoops it up.
Kurt pouts and folds his arms childishly.
But instead of devouring it himself, Blaine takes his spoon and brings it up to Kurt's lips.
Kurt, surprised, opens his mouth and lets Blaine feed him the last spoonful of ice cream.
Blaine laughs, relieving the awkward tension that had settled around them, and throws the empty container in the trash, rubbing his hands together to warm them up, "Now what? That definitely woke me up."
Kurt swallows and licks the side of his finger where he had spilled, "We can go for a late night stroll," He suggests, "It might be a little chilly, but it'll still be fun."
"Why not," Blaine grins, getting off his bed and pulling on a sweatshirt, "Why did we change into our pajamas if we're going outside?"
Kurt climbs off the bed as well, "I wasn't planning this. Why does it matter? It'll be fun!"
"Yeah, It's not like anyone will be out there at this hour. We should leave a note for grams, just in case she wakes up and finds the house empty."
Blaine rips out a page from his Calculus notebook and scribbles a quick note before placing it on his bed. Both boys each pull on a pair of socks and make their way downstairs.
They start walking around the block, talking and laughing. Half way around, Kurt shivers and pulls his jacket closer against his neck, "Okay...that's cold." The wind had picked up and It's starting to feel a bit spooky.
Blaine moves closer to Kurt, wrapping an arm around Kurt's shoulders and rubbing the boy's arms, "Nothing warmer than body heat."
Kurt smiles and blushes lightly, leaning into Blaine's body, "You're a really great friend Blaine. I'm so glad I met you, even if it wasn't under the best circumstances."
Blaine smiles warmly, "You too. You're the only real friend I've ever had. I mean, there were some kids in elementary and middle-school, but not like this."
Hearing Blaine say this makes Kurt's heart swell, "So um...what are your plans? For the future I mean."
"Future as in tomorrow? Or in forty years?"
Kurt shrugs, "Maybe like…what are your plans for post-highschool?"
Blaine lets out a slow breath, "I don't know. I mean, I've thought about it and I want to go to college, but I don't know what to do there. I love books. I wan't to do something that involves books, but I just don't know what."
"You're really smart Blaine. You can get into any college you want to. You can do anything you want to." Kurt says softly before adding, "Unless you want to be a model. 5''4' won't get you very far in that industry.
Blaine laughs, nudging Kurt's arm playfully.
"No, but in all seriousness Blaine, you really are truly a good guy. You are so willing to learn and that mindset can get you anywhere you want to go."
Despite the chilly wind, Blaine's body swells with warmth, "Thanks Kurt, that really means a lot coming from you. I just don't even know where to begin. It's all so overwhelming. There are too many choices. How do I make up my mind?"
"Well for one thing, you don't have to make up your mind right now. But just think about what you love to do. You love books, so what can you do that involves books? Make a list and then narrow it down. And since college is something you're considering, you can visit campuses and talk to people who can guide you in the right direction."
Blaine nods, "That's actually really smart. I never thought of that," Blaine decides that tomorrow, he'll make a list of colleges that sound interesting to visit.
"What about you? What is your passion?"
Kurt glances at Blaine, "I've never told anyone this before."
Blaine nods his head, waiting.
Kurt takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, "I want to be an architect. I have a whole sketchbook filled with designs and layouts hidden under my bed and I just really, really want to do that for a living. I'm hoping to get into Cornell University in New York. They have a great architecture program."
"Wow. That's amazing Kurt," Blaine says, "I never would have guessed. But why do you hide it?"
Kurt shrugs, "I don't know. I think I've just gotten into the habit of hiding myself from my dad and everyone around me that I just...I just hide everything now."
Blaine nods understandingly, "Will you show me your sketchbook sometime?"
"Maybe," Kurt smirks, "If you're a good boy."
"When am I ever not a good boy?" Blaine asks playfully.
"Hmm...maybe that time when you drenched me with filthy water." Kurt says lightly.
"Oh come on Kurt...that was forever ago!" Blaine whines
"Or three days ago," Kurt shoots back.
"I don't see the point in bringing it up. It just makes us quarrel." Blaine states matter of factly.
"All I'm asking for is an apology."
Blaine sighs dramatically, "Fine! If this is what it takes for you to drop it and move on, I'm deeply sorry Kurt for splashing a couple drops of water on your face. Will you forgive me?"
"It was more than a couple drops, but yes, I forgive you."
"Good. Now lets never bring it up again, deal?"
Kurt hums, "Deal." They shake hands to seal it.
"So what are you doing tomorrow?" Blaine asks as they round the corner onto Blaine's street.
"I don't think we can hang out. My dad is going to start getting suspicious." Kurt replies sadly.
Blaine sighs, "He's going to be home all day?"
"Sometimes he works at the shop on Saturdays. Usually from after lunch until 5ish."
"Can we do something then? If he does, I mean."
"I really want to, but I can't be sure he'll be gone. I can text you tomorrow though."
"Okay," Blaine smiles, hopeful. They arrive at Blaine's house and quietly sneak in, scurrying to Blaine's room.
Kurt takes off his jacket and Blaine his sweater before they both crawl onto Blaine's bed.
"What now?" Blaine asks, taking off his socks.
"We could watch another movie until we fall asleep," Kurt suggests, pulling off his own socks and burying under the covers so he's half lying, half sitting, "If we're going to hang out tomorrow we should at least get a few hours of sleep. It's already 4:10."
Blaine slides off his bed and walks over to his movie collection, "500 Days of Summer, Notting Hill, Spider Man, Aladdin, The Proposa-"
"Ooooo let's watch The Proposal!" Kurt claps excitedly, "That movie never fails to make me laugh."
Blaine pops it in and hurries under the warm covers next to Kurt, imitating the other boy's position. Blaine presses play, turns out the lights, and grabs the jar of Nutella and a spoon.
He takes a sizable spoonful of the hazelnut cream out of the jar and licks it off the spoon.
"You gonna share?" Kurt asks, an eyebrow raised.
Blaine laughs, putting the spoon in the jar and pulling it out again, this time holding the spoon out in front of Kurt's mouth.
Kurt opens wide and allows Blaine to stick the spoon in his mouth. He sucks off all the Nutella before pulling away, "What is it with you and feeding me? Is it some kind of weird fetish I should know about?"
Blaine shrugs, "I don't know. It's fun."
"You're weird."
Blaine eats another spoonful of Nutella and then feeds Kurt some more. He does that until they've had enough, and then snuggles deeper under the covers.
Kurt follows suit until they're both lying completely on their backs, a couple of inches between them, watching the movie.
Kurt's right; the movie makes both of them laugh and it's the perfect choice.
Halfway through, their arms brush against each other and Blaine turns to Kurt, "Can I cuddle you?" he blurts out.
Kurt looks at him with a weird expression.
"Okay, that sounded weird," Blaine apologizes, "I just meant that I love cuddling, but I don't have anyone to cuddle with and I really miss it. It feels so nice to have someone right there next to me. It makes me feel like I matter or something. And I just thought that, well, you said you like the feeling of being hugged, and cuddling is kind of like hugging so maybe you wouldn't mind."
Silence.
"I'm sorry," Blaine apologizes when Kurt doesn't say anything, "I shouldn't- that was weird. Pretend I never opened my mouth."
"Um no," Kurt finally says, "We can cuddle. It's just...I've never cuddled before. Well, maybe forever ago with my mom, but...I don't really know...how."
"There isn't really any right or wrong way to do it Kurt, you just...do what's comfortable." Blaine scoots closer to Kurt and pulls the boy in, wrapping his arms around him a little awkwardly. Kurt hesitantly drapes his arm over Blaine's torso and rests his head on the boy's shoulder.
It's a little awkward for Kurt at first because he's never cuddled before, but after a few minutes, he relaxes. It actually feels really good. Like Blaine said, It makes Kurt feel like he matters.
"This is okay?" Blaine asks, not wanting to make Kurt feel uncomfortable.
"Yeah. It feels really nice." Kurt assures him.
The movie keeps playing softly and Kurt smiles, feeling content.
His smile fades, however, when he feels a drop of water fall on his cheek. He lifts his head to look at Blaine. The boy is obviously trying to hold back tears, his face scrunched up painfully and a few already leaking out the corners of his eyes.
"Blaine?" Kurt whispers, not knowing what else to say.
Blaine rolls slightly away from Kurt to hide his face in his hands, embarrassed.
"Blaine, what is it?" Kurt rubs softy over Blaine's back, remembering when Blaine had done the same for him that day in the library.
Blaine sniffles, keeping himself turned away from Kurt.
Kurt sits up, placing his hand on Blaine's arm and gently pulling.
When Blaine resists, Kurt stops, "Blaine, why are you so upset? Please tell me. You know you can trust me." He says gently.
Silence.
"You saw me crying before we even met and I cried on your shoulder the second time we met. I think we're past the point of being embarrassed because we're upset."
Silence.
"Blaine, please. I want to help you. That's what best friends are for." Kurt gently tugs on Blaine's arm again and this time Blaine doesn't resist.
"Will you tell my why you're upset?" Kurt asks, his hand still resting on Blaine's arm.
Blaine is quiet for a moment before he speaks, so quietly Kurt has to strain to hear, "It's so hard Kurt. It's so hard knowing that my parents hate me. That they didn't care enough when their son disappears to come looking for me. What if I was kidnapped? How did they know that I ran away? They don't even fucking care what happens to me," Blaine says, trying to sound angry, but just sounding so small that Kurt eyes start to water. More tears trickle down Blaine's face, "What's so fucked up is that they used to love me. They cuddled me and played games with me and told me that I was special and that they would never stop loving me. They lied Kurt and it hurts so fucking much. I can't even…I-I-"Kurt leans down and pulls Blaine into a tight hug.
Blaine hugs back just as tightly, letting his tears flow for the second time that night.
"I'm sorry Blaine, I'm so sorry. I hate that they did that to you because you're the same special boy that they loved. There is nothing different about you. They're just too selfish and prejudice to appreciate what an amazing, selfless, caring, smart person you are. They are missing out on the best thing that's ever happened to them."
Blaine sniffles, "Thank you Kurt."
Kurt turns off the movie and puts the laptop on the floor before crawling back under the covers and pulling Blaine into his arms.
Maybe best friends don't cuddle, but Kurt doesn't care. They both need the comfort.
They fall asleep like that. Surrounded by the scent and feel and sound of each other.