A/N: Sorry again for the wait, but I think I've just had a pretty productive weekend. I've finished this chapter, started on the next one and come up with some plotlines I'd like to continue with. Hopefully, this means I'll be getting chapters up faster but I've said that before and not really had much success, so please just bear with me.
As usual, I own nothing.
Kurt was worried. It had been four hours and Blaine still hadn't called. Obviously, the Andersons were having a very important conversation that really couldn't be rushed, but Kurt was going insane. He had tried not thinking about it. He finished his homework, checked all of his different email accounts, completed his night time skin care regimens and tried to watch a movie, but fifteen minutes into Breakfast at Tiffany's, he had given up and resigned himself to staring at his frustratingly silent phone for the rest of the night.
But that had been three hours ago. And Kurt was about to pull out his perfectly coiffed hair if he didn't hear something soon.
Kurt sighed and turned off his bedside light. Maybe he should try to get some rest. His phone was set loud enough that he would wake up if Blaine called, and really, in his current state of exhaustion, Kurt wouldn't be much help to anyone. So he grabbed his phone and closed his eyes.
Unfortunately, Kurt had always had something of an overactive imagination, which was only exacerbated by the dark. By the time midnight rolled around, Kurt's imagination had taken him to some dark places. He tried to convince himself that Blaine had forgotten to call, or that he was being a gentleman and didn't want to call Kurt this late. But Blaine had promised. And in all the time Kurt had known him, Blaine had never broken a promise. So the only reason he hadn't called yet had to be because he couldn't call.
Kurt took a deep breath and tried not to follow that train of thought again. Blaine would call. Blaine had to call. Everything would be okay.
Kurt had almost deluded himself into believing that everything had gone swimmingly at the Anderson residence and the three of them were roasting marshmallows over a fire when he heard the loud screech of tires outside followed by frantic banging on his front door just moments later. Immediately, Kurt's heart plummeted as he launched himself out of bed and ran to the door. Ignoring his father's half-asleep grumbles, Kurt flung the door open and instantly had his arms full of a panicked Blaine.
"I didn't know where else to go," Blaine sobbed into Kurt's shoulder.
"Shhh…Blaine," Kurt whispered as he squeezed his boyfriend tightly. "It's okay. I've got you. Everything's okay."
Blaine just clung tightly to Kurt and choked out words like sorry and please and Kurt.
"Blaine, baby, what's wrong?" Kurt asked, trying to keep the frantic edge out of his voice. "Are you hurt? Can you tell me what happened after I left?"
Kurt's questions only made Blaine sob harder, so Kurt decided to drop the subject for the time being and just concentrate on calming Blaine down.
"Shhh…it's okay. We don't have to talk about it now. You're fine, you're safe. I'm here. Everything will be fine."
Kurt heard a loud cough behind him.
"Kurt?"
Burt stood awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs watching the scene in front of him. "What's going on here?"
At the sound of Burt's voice, Blaine immediately pulled back and tried to collect himself.
"I'm really sorry Mr. Hummel," Blaine said shakily, his red-rimmed eyes glued to the floor. "This was completely inappropriate –"
"Blaine!" Kurt interjected, reaching out to stop Blaine from retreating towards the door.
"–and I know it's late. I shouldn't have come. I'm so sorry. I can assure you it won't happen again. I'm really sorry. I'll just – I should go."
"Stop."
Blaine froze with his hand on the doorknob.
"You're not going anywhere," Burt continued. "You're clearly in no shape to be driving and it's late. Come in. I'll grab some blankets and an extra pillow. You're staying here tonight."
"No, really sir I can't –"
"Yes you can and you will." Burt's words had a tone of finality. "You can stay in Kurt's room but the door stays open, and no funny business. I'm trusting you kids, alright?"
Kurt just rolled his eyes and blushed as Blaine quietly tried to hide his fresh wave of tears.
"Thank you, sir."
"Don't mention it," Burt replied as he made his way back from the linen closet. "And Blaine?" he said as he handed Blaine the bedclothes. "Call me Burt."
Blaine met Burt's gaze for the first time that night, his eyes portraying a mixture of gratitude, relief and sorrow that pulled hard on Burt's heartstrings. Not trusting himself to speak, Blaine just nodded slowly and gave his best attempt at a smile, which ended up looking more like grimace.
"Why don't you go on up to Kurt's room and get settled, alright? He'll be up in a minute."
Blaine just nodded again and silently made his way upstairs.
Kurt let out a shaky breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as his dad turned to him.
"Kurt, what the hell is going on?"
"I don't know Dad," Kurt began as he folded his arms tightly around his chest in a feeble attempt to stop the tears he could feel coming. "He sort of came out a second time to his parents tonight and they were weirdly calm about it. I knew I shouldn't have left him alone. I should have stayed with him. I've never seen him like this Dad. I'm really worried about him and I have no idea how to help –"
Kurt was cut off as his father pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Kurt let his body go slack as he tried to soak up all of his father's strength and pull himself together for Blaine.
"Hey," Burt said gently, "I'm sure you'll do just fine. Just be there for him. Let him know that he's got people who care about him, alright? And that includes me and Carole and Finn."
"Really?" Kurt asked with a mixture of awe and disbelief as he gently extricated himself from Burt's iron grip.
"Of course," Burt replied. "It's easy to see how much you care about Blaine. And if he's that important to you…well that makes him family. And anyone that messes with this family better be ready to take us all on. No one pushes the Hummels around."
Kurt threw himself into another hug and buried his face in his father's chest.
"Thanks, Dad," Kurt choked out past his tears. "And not just for tonight. Thank you for everything. For loving me no matter what and for always being there for me. I think I've taken that for granted sometimes, but I realize that not everyone is as lucky as I am. So, thanks."
"Hey," Burt coughed as he tried to hide his own tears. "Just doin' my job kiddo."
"I should probably go check on Blaine…see if he's okay."
"Yeah," Burt said clapping his son on the back as he released him from the hug. "You tell him to get some rest, alright?"
"I will."
"Goodnight son."
"Goodnight Dad."
As Burt headed back down the hall, Kurt took a moment to collect himself, and then headed upstairs, not really knowing what he would find once he reached his room. With a deep breath, Kurt slowly entered his room, noting that the lights were still off.
"Blaine?" he asked softly as he turned on the lights.
Blaine sat motionless on the floor with a vacant look in his eyes. He was clutching the pillow and blankets in his hands so tightly that his knuckles had turned white and his arms were shaking slightly.
"Blaine?" Kurt repeated. When his boyfriend remained silent, Kurt gently pried the bedding from his grip. "Here, let me help you."
Kurt carefully set up a makeshift bed for Blaine as the other boy stayed frozen in place. Once that had been done, Kurt realized that Blaine was still wearing his clothes from earlier in the day. Kurt grabbed a pair of flannel pants and an old T-shirt from his drawer and cautiously reached out to Blaine, pulling him into a standing position.
"You can wear these tonight," Kurt said, holding out the clothes for Blaine to take. Blaine nodded, but made no motion to take the clothes. Realizing that Blaine wasn't able to do it himself, Kurt placed the pajamas on his bed and tentatively began unbuttoning Blaine's shirt. This really wasn't how Kurt had imagined his first time undressing Blaine would go. He could see his hands shaking and fumbling with each button. Blaine continued to stand, but let his eyes follow Kurt, not really seeing.
"You know," Kurt began in an effort to hide his obvious nerves, "you should consider yourself pretty special. I don't let just anyone wear my clothes."
Kurt looked up after finishing with the last button and saw the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at Blaine's lips. Feeling a little bit better, Kurt slid Blaine's shirt off of his shoulders and quickly slid the T-shirt on before he could really let himself look at Blaine's body. Then, Kurt continued with Blaine's jeans, inwardly kicking himself at the blush that was spreading across his entire face. He changed Blaine's pants as quickly as possible, painstakingly avoiding looking at anything but the clothing. Once Blaine was completely changed, Kurt guided him to his own bed and affectionately tucked him in. Kurt placed one lingering kiss to Blaine's forehead and lightly caressed his cheek before turning to make his way to the blankets set up on the floor.
But before he could go very far, Kurt felt Blaine's hand grip his wrist tightly. Kurt turned around to see Blaine staring back at him with pleading eyes.
"Would it be okay if – do you think you could just…hold me?" Blaine whispered. "Just for a little bit?"
"Of course," Kurt whispered back with a tender smile. He climbed into the bed and after a few moments of shifting around, the boys settled comfortably, chest to chest, with Blaine's face buried in the crook of Kurt's neck and Kurt's arms wrapped snugly around Blaine's waist.
Kurt could feel Blaine's entire body tensed and his breathing ragged as he tried to ward off more tears. After a moment, Kurt realized that Blaine would never get any sleep this way and if there was one thing he needed right now, it was rest. So Kurt began rubbing soothing circles into Blaine's back and started to softly sing the first song that came to mind.
There's a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us somewhere.
Kurt felt Blaine's breathing hitch, but it seemed that he was finally starting to unwind so Kurt continued.
There's a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time to spare,
Time to learn, time to care
Some day, somewhere
We'll find a new way of living
We'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere.
There's a place for us
A time and place for us
Kurt gently tugged Blaine's arm from behind his own waist and laced their fingers together.
Hold my hand and we're halfway there
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
Kurt felt a tear on his neck as he brought his and Blaine's interlaced fingers to rest between their bodies – right above Kurt's heart.
Somehow
Some day
Somewhere
Kurt placed a tender kiss on Blaine's forehead and Blaine let out a shuddering sigh as he finally allowed himself to relax into Kurt's embrace. The boys stayed like that, just listening to the sound of each other's heartbeats as they slowly drifted off to sleep. Just as Kurt fell into that surreal state between awake and dreaming, he felt Blaine's lips move against his neck and heard a soft whisper.
"I think I might be in love with you."
A little more awake now, Kurt couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He waited a moment for Blaine's breathing to even out before gently kissing the top of his boyfriend's head and whispering a confession of his own.
"I think I might be in love with you too."
A/N: So there you go. The song is Somewhere from West Side Story.
As always, I would love to hear what you thought of the chapter. I am also open to taking suggestions as to where you'd like the story to go. I generally base plotlines on songs I'd like to see the characters singing so if there are any songs you'd like to see, let me know and maybe I'll work them in!
