"I'm fine, Blaine."

"Just let me help you." Blaine said quietly, putting his hands out.

"I'm. Fine. Blaine." Kurt saw the look on Blaine's face and added a bit more gently, "I promise. I am perfectly capable of getting out of bed myself."

"The doctor said—"

"To help me when I ask for it." Kurt slid easily out of the hospital bed. "If I feel like I need help, I'll ask you. It'd be very romantic if I felt as though I was going to pass out and you caught me."

Blaine rolled his eyes and took Kurt's hand. "Just around the floor once."

"You're worse than my dad." Kurt laughed squeezing his hand and leaning against him. It was his third day at the hospital and he was supposed to get up and walk around every four hours for a few minutes. He had also been taken off of the more powerful painkillers now and was more or less back on his regular medicinal regimen. That didn't stop Blaine from fussing over him every chance he got though. Kurt appreciated it but he really didn't want to be treated like a baby.

"I feel bad." Blaine admitted.

"If you feel that bad you could always get me a puppy."

Blaine grinned. "Or you could just pretend to be one."

Kurt stopped mid-step and slowly looked at him, eyes widening in horror. "Oh my god, Dad didn't."

"You jumped out a window and bit a mail man?" Blaine sounded incredibly excited as he said this, as if he'd been waiting for ages to finally bring it up. He probably had, too.

Kurt had more important thing to worry about, though. He was in shock. Why did his dad think he could go around and tell people embarrassing stories like that? He'd have rather Burt show Blaine his naked baby pictures than this. At least naked baby pictures were cute.

"Why is my life so terrible?" Kurt pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's adorable. As I've told you a million times, you're adorable." Blaine faced him.

No. Blaine was wrong. It was embarrassing. There was absolutely nothing adorable about jumping out of a window and biting a mail man.

"Oh, don't give me that puppy dog look."

Kurt reached out and punched his arm lightly. "You are not cute, Blaine Anderson."

Who was Kurt kidding? Of course he was cute. Blaine knew it too; he had to know he turned heads everywhere he went. He had this 'I'm cute/sexy/adorable/take-me-home' look about him. That was why Kurt refused to go out to any sort of gay bar with him. He didn't want his boyfriend getting picked up.

"Well, do you know what is cute? Puppies." Blaine kept on grinning. "Especially ones with bright blue eyes."

"I hate you." Kurt muttered, cheeks going red.

"Such a big word for someone so tiny." Blaine started up walking again, the silly grin still plastered on his perfect face.

"Wait for me!" Kurt grumbled, catching up to him. "And don't make any more dog references for the rest of the day… You met the quota."

"For now." Blaine agreed, wrapping his arm around Kurt's shoulder carefully. "You feeling okay? Need a break?"

"No." Kurt glared at him. "You aren't getting my extra mashed potatoes tonight now, I hope you know. I'm going to give them to Finn."

"If you'll withhold mashed potatoes over this, I hate to see what will make you withhold sex." Blaine looked incredibly amused.

Oh god. Kurt blushed again. He still blushed when he thought about sex with Blaine.

They had only had sex once, several weeks before Kurt's attack. Kurt had stayed the night in Blaine's apartment and it had happened. Blaine had, of course, been very patient and gentle with Kurt. He wasn't blushing because he hadn't enjoyed the sex or anything. He simply couldn't believe that he, Kurt Hummel, had had sex. To add to that, he had had sex with Blaine Anderson. It wasn't real. Sometimes Kurt wondered if he'd made it all up in his head. Maybe it had been a vivid dream.

"Kurt's getting all flustered." Blaine whispered in his ear.

"I really hate you." Kurt looked up at him, breathing a bit more heavily.

"No. You really love me."

"Damn you." Kurt whispered, heart pounding, as their eyes met. He watched his boyfriend's hand move to cup his face.

Another grin slowly spread across his face. "The way you—."

"Shut up!" Kurt smacked his shoulder as a doctor walked past. "Someone might hear you harassing me."

"You say this as you hit me."

"I enjoyed you better sulking." Kurt sighed and then pouted.

Blaine touched his bottom lip, eyes not leaving Kurt's. He bit his own lip and tilted his head slightly. He then asked, voice soft, "Have I told you how pretty your eyes are lately, Kurt?"

"No. And, for the record, I'll still be mad at you after you do."

Blaine leaned in and kissed him gently, stroking his cheek. Kurt's arms went around Blaine's waist and he closed his eyes, contently sighing into Blaine's lips. Blaine tried to pull away a few times, but Kurt wouldn't let him. He needed this. He needed to kiss Blaine, to feel Blaine's calloused fingers stroking his face, to feel all of the thousands of emotions put into that one simple kiss.

When Blaine finally pulled away, Kurt was panting slightly. His blue eyes opened and peered into Blaine's hazel ones. He swallowed and then spoke, voice a whisper. "Blaine…"

"Kurt?"

It was as if the two of them weren't just standing there in the corner of a hospital hall way. It was as if they were in Kurt's bedroom, the door closed, in an empty house. Before the attack, before everything changed.

Kurt pressed his forehead against Blaine's, frowning. He wished he could go back in time and stop everything from happening… but Blaine was here now and if he hadn't been attacked there would still be another three weeks before he'd see his boyfriend. At least he'd gotten Blaine out of the whole mess. "I miss being close to you."

"You go home tomorrow morning… we'll cuddle all day in your bed and watch whatever you want to. Even Teen Mom. I'll watch Teen Mom with you and I hate that show." Blaine whispered in an attempt to cheer him up.

Kurt nodded, shuffling closer to Blaine. He wanted nothing more than to go home now. If he'd been home now he would have even let Blaine watch ESPN. He could curl up, head resting on Blaine's lap, and feel Blaine's finger's running through his hair. As much as he hated his hair being messed with, he had become accustomed to it by this point. He didn't know how he would break Blaine of the habit. Perhaps they'd have to come up with an agreement. Blaine only did it before he fixed his hair, and after they were home would not be leaving again. If no one else saw his hair less than perfect, maybe he could handle it. Maybe. He could promise nothing, though.

"Let's go back to my room. You can watch the football game." Kurt said after pushing his thoughts away, feeling rather affectionate.

"What a turnaround from someone who was hitting me three minutes ago!" Blaine laughed, kissing his forehead. "We can head back but you can pick what we watch on TV."

"You've been complaining about my show choices since yesterday morning, Blaine. You better take this opportunity when it comes up because it won't happen a lot."

"Thank God. I've missed like three Buckeyes games and it isn't the same watching them online after the fact." Blaine seemed to move very quickly back towards the hospital room.

Kurt pouted again, not even trying to keep up. Blaine was a few feet ahead when he realized Kurt wasn't at his side, still having been babbling about football, and he turned to look at Kurt sheepishly.

"Yeah, you better give me that look." Kurt pretended to glare at him.

"Sorry. You really should have got me back to the room and then told me." He smiled at Kurt adorably.

Kurt grabbed Blaine's slightly smaller hand as soon as he was close enough to do so. "And you can have my extra mashed potatoes again, I guess. I only ask for them for you anyway."

"Has Christmas come early for me today or what? I get to eat now and watch football." Blaine held the hospital room door open for his boyfriend to walk through. They kept it closed because Kurt got rather freaked out any time some little kid would burst into his room which happened more often than he'd have thought it would.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just help me into bed, you buffoon." Kurt rolled his eyes.

Blaine carefully raised him up to the bed and then eagerly reached for the remote. "It's just starting even."

Oh, great, Kurt thought. He scooted over as far as he could on the bed and then patted the spot by him. "Lay with me?

Blaine nodded and got onto the bed, eyes not even leaving the screen. Kurt situated himself so his arm was draped against Blaine's waist and his head was rested on his chest. Almost immediately Blaine's hand went to his back rubbing small circles.

Kurt listened to the game and knew exactly what was going on—considering his dad used to play college football, he knew more about the sport than he'd ever admit. It was really weird, too, considering that his older stepbrother was now on the same team his dad had played for. Which also happened to be Blaine's favorite team. It was funny how things happened. Kurt wondered if Blaine even knew Burt used to play for the Buckeyes. He was pretty sure he didn't, and he was even surer he'd freak out when he found out.

"Does Finn play in games yet?" He asked, although he knew that Finn had yet to play in a game ever. Really, he just wanted to feel somewhat involved.

"No. He's not gotten much field time. He probably will next year." Blaine's fingers went to his hair. "You're not hurting your side, are you?"

Kurt looked up to see Blaine looking down at him. He felt himself smile as he shook his head. "I feel fine. I told you, I've not been in that much pain this time around. This cut was a lot smaller. I've also already told you about five million times that when it starts to hurt, I'll let you know."

Blaine pulled him closer, returning his attention to the screen. Kurt stroked Blaine's side absent mindedly as he listened to Blaine's heartbeat, smirking a bit when the beats sped up almost instantly after his finger's found a patch of Blaine's bare skin.

Shortly after half time, the door opened slowly. Blaine pulled his eyes from the screen to look at the door as Burt made his way in.

"Oh yay!" Kurt sat up straight, beaming. "The new issue of Vogue!"

"Be careful there, kid." Burt said anxiously, passing the magazine over. "I'm afraid you're going to pull stitches out or something."

Kurt sighed, becoming annoyed. Everyone was treating him like a baby. He knew everyone wanted to make sure he was okay, but he wished that they would trust him to know what his body could handle. At least the doctors didn't hover over him all the time. They knew that Kurt was perfectly fine sitting up, getting off of a bed by himself, going to the bathroom alone. It was his top goal to never end up in the hospital again. Not only did Kurt realize it made Blaine a complete wreck and his father a complete basket case, but it also made Kurt grumpy when people treated him this way. He opened the magazine to the first page.

"I've made you mad, haven't I?" Burt laughed.

"It's not funny." Kurt frowned. "I feel fine. I appreciate some babying but between the two of you, it's getting to be unbearable. I'm considering locking myself alone in my room when I get home just so I can remember what it's like to not have someone attached to my side."

Blaine looked rather wounded at that statement and Kurt wished he could take it back. That wasn't what he'd meant, really. He just wanted some independence. Apparently that was not a possibility when in the hospital.

"Fine then. Do you want to stay alone at the hospital tonight?" Burt asked.

"No!" The answer was instantaneous.

"Then quit whining. I'm sure Blaine would like sleep that wasn't in a hard chair and you could be a little more grateful." Burt grunted, taking a seat. He turned his own attention to the game and Kurt looked down at the magazine, tears stinging his eyes.

He felt Blaine rest his hand on Kurt's back, rubbing up and down. He sniffled quietly and some of the tears fell. Blaine pressed a kiss to the side of his head and whispered, "It's okay."

Kurt nodded and wiped his eyes, feeling very childish. "I'm sorry I'm g-grumpy." He sniffled a little louder as more tears spilled over. His father was right to try to put him in his place, but Kurt didn't like it very much.

"We know it's the Prednisone. It's okay." Blaine reassured him, pressing another kiss to the side of his boyfriend's head.

Kurt didn't deserve Blaine. He really didn't.

Blaine tugged him closer and whispered sweet nothings in his ear after Kurt was mean to him? Who else in the world was that amazing? That kind? It made Kurt begin to cry even more, burrowing his face in Blaine's chest. He hated this medicine. He hated it. He hated feeling like he had to depend on something like a stupid pill to function properly. He didn't know how long he'd have to be on the medicine, but he hoped it wasn't very long. He wasn't sure he could take being an asshole and gaining a pound a week much longer.

Blaine wiped Kurt's eyes and gave him a small smile. "Just take a nap. Maybe you'll feel better when you wake up."

"I feel like when you tell me to go to sleep you're sick of me." More tears filled Kurt's eyes. He really did feel that way sometimes. Everyone always wanted him to sleep. Was he that awful to be around?

"That's not it at all, Kurt." His voice was soft and sincere. "I know you always feel better after you've had some sleep. You're supposed to be getting a lot of rest. I'm afraid you're trying to jump into things too quickly. Your eyes are beginning to droop right now."

"I'm so freaking sick of this." He burrowed his face in the crook of Blaine's neck as he sniffled and try to stop his tears.

"Tomorrow you get to go home. Tomorrow will be better." Blaine whispered comfortingly. "Just get some rest, alright?"

That was the last thing Kurt remembered hearing before he fell into a comfortable sleep.

***WBUCT***

The ride home from the hospital went very differently the second time around. Kurt climbed into the back seat of the car himself, strategically placing himself in the middle so he could reach up and control the radio. Despite this, Burt still put it on John Mellencamp.

"No. Way. It is my car, Dad. I'm sorry you have a small truck that we will not all fit into, but I refuse to listen to this on the way home." Kurt said instantly when the car was filled with the familiar lyrics of Pink Houses. "No, no, no. Every time you listen to this song, someone runs over a cat."

Blaine laughed loudly, climbing into the back seat with him.

"Do you know how many times in my entire life I've had to listen to you sing songs that I don't like, Kurt?" Burt questioned.

"Not as many times as you're going to make it sound like." Kurt leaned forward and hit a button on the radio. Blaine tensed, afraid the big stretch would hurt his boyfriend, but it obviously didn't as Kurt relaxed against the back of the seat and mouthed the words to a Beyoncé song.

Burt let out a resigned sigh and did not change the station. Kurt let out a rather excited and loud yelp when Born This Way came on, prompting Burt to grunt and Blaine to arch his eyebrow. By the time Born This Way was over, they had thankfully made it home.

"Don't give me that look, Dad. You know you love Lady Gaga." Kurt scoffed as Burt helped him out of the car.

"I must have lost that memo." Burt grumbled, passing him the car keys.

Kurt walked on to the door by himself going "Lalala, want your bad romance!"

"I knew we shouldn't have let him eat that cheesecake before they discharged him. There is a reason I didn't let him eat a lot of sugar when he was little." Burt said quietly.

"Because he went around singing?" Blaine questioned.

"It's tolerable in moderation, I'll admit. And I'm glad he's—."

"Are you all coming in or not?" Kurt called from the door.

"Doctor said no yelling, Kurt Elijah!"

The response was instant and caused Burt to look between the two boys, very confused.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOUR MIDDLE NAME WASN'T ELIZABETH!" Blaine cried out as Kurt yelled, "DAAAAAD, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"

"He half believed me!" Kurt whined.

"I didn't believe you for one minute, you sneaky little liar!" Blaine exclaimed as he went into the house, following Kurt upstairs and leaving Blaine to wonder what in the world had just happened.

"Arrrrgh." Kurt plopped on his bed and pouted. "This isn't fair."

Blaine laughed loudly. "I never believed you. I just didn't have proof beyond a reasonable doubt which I now have."

Kurt sighed dejectedly and moved over, making room for Blaine on his bed. "I shouldn't be surprised. I'm a terrible liar, you know. You don't have to worry about me cheating on you. I'd walk right in and announce it to the entire room."

"There's always that, I suppose." Blaine laughed again, lying down beside him. "I forgot how comfortable this bed is."

Kurt scooted close to him, resting his head on Blaine's arm. "Did you ever have a dog, Blaine?"

Blaine put his arm around his boyfriend, nodding. "Yeah. He was mean though. He didn't like me very much. Actually, he bit me quite a few times."

"Can we get a dog when we move out?" Kurt's blue eyes blinked at him. He seemed to have forgotten his dad had promised him a dog and Blaine chose to not bring that up.

"You can have whatever you want, my love." He whispered, smiling. He fought back a yawn, because he hadn't gotten much sleep since Kurt had been admitted to the hospital. It was later on, when Kurt and his father were asleep, that Blaine would dwell on the fight in the garage and the intense guilt he still felt. Despite how many people told him it wasn't his fault, he didn't believe them.

Kurt nuzzled Blaine's arm as he continued to chatter away about dogs. "I want a dog named Kreacher."

"That will be the first thing we get then." He ruffled Kurt's hair. "Will he be nice to me?"

"Mhmm. And I also would like to know what you think about Sophia Lily?"

"Who is Sophia Lily?" Blaine arched his eyebrow, looking down at him.

"Well it's a name. A girl's name. Well, obviously a girl's name. Do you like it?"

Was Kurt… picking out the name for their first child? Is that what he was trying to get Blaine to agree to? His heart gave a little flutter of excitement. Or was it nerves?

He could see them bringing a little girl home to the perfect nursery. They would spend half of Blaine's paychecks dressing the little girl. Kurt's money would be used to pay the bills. They would have a nice big house with a swing, a dog, and the perfect little family. Only their daughter would definitely not be raised to act like Rachel Berry. Blaine wouldn't let that happen. Finally, Blaine spoke. "I like that name."

"When we have her, we'll call her Sophie." Kurt rolled so he was on top of Blaine, pressing his face close to Blaine's.

Their eyes met.

"What if we have a boy?" Blaine spoke the words, but he was too busy concentrating on how close they were. How he could smell the red apple jelly beans he'd eaten on the way home, how his blue eyes were twinkling, and how long it had been since they'd been this close, really been this close.

"We won't." Kurt leaned down, pressing his lips to Blaine's.

Blaine kissed back eagerly, arching involuntarily into him. Kurt moaned softly, deepening the kiss and tugging gently at Blaine's hair. Blaine slid his tongue into Kurt's mouth, exploring. God, he hadn't had a kiss like this in more than a month now. He'd left school what seemed likes ages ago and it was now just two weeks until Thanksgiving.

Blaine needed to be closer, he needed to kiss his gorgeous boyfriend and re-memorize everything about his perfect body. Kurt happily ran his tongue along Blaine's, his soft hand leaving Blaine's curls and going down his face and neck. Blaine moaned, the noise quite a bit louder and a lot more desperate than Kurt's moan had been. His hands rested on Kurt's lower back and he pressed even closer.

Suddenly Kurt jumped off of him as there was a knock on the door. Blaine's eyes widened in horror but he was too shocked to even sit up.

Please don't open the door, please don't open the door.

"I'm heading to the store to pick up some food. Do you boys want anything?" Burt asked through the door.

"No thanks!" Blaine was impressed with how casual his boyfriend's voice sounded. If Blaine had tried to answer he probably would have sounded like he'd swallowed a helium balloon.

"Alright well… I'll be back later then… Are you sure you don't want anything? We haven't been in two weeks."

"I'm sure! We'll call if we think of anything."

Please just leave. Don't open the door. My face will give away that I was totally making out with your son.

They waited until they heard footsteps and the door close. Both boys looked at each other. They heard Burt's truck engine. Kurt leaned forward, looking out the window. Seconds later, he crashed his lips against Blaine's, letting out an anguished groan. Blaine pulled Kurt back on top of him, holding the smaller boy close. Kurt's hand slid up the front of Blaine's t-shirt, causing the older boy to moan into the kiss.

Kurt pulled back to push Blaine's shirt off, but Blaine pulled him back down mumbling a "No." into his lips.

"He's gone." Kurt whimpered back into Blaine's lips.

Blaine pulled away from the kiss, breathing heavily. "You had surgery four days ago, Kurt. We can't get c-carried away."

"Shut up and kiss me." Kurt rolled onto his back, pulling Blaine on top of him.

"Kurt, this is a bad idea."

Bad Kurt. Bad, bad Kurt. Why are you doing this to me?

Kurt moved his head down, pressing kisses to Blaine's neck. Blaine was very sensitive about two places: his neck and his stomach. It had been an interesting day when Kurt had found that out, to say the least.

Blaine panted quietly, trying to find the common sense that he knew was buried in the back of his brain. Finally, he found it and pushed Kurt off. Not pushed. More like, gently moved.

Seconds later, Kurt had leaned back down and was gently sucking on Blaine's neck once more. Blaine let out a strangled moan, hands resting on Kurt's waist, and panted out Kurt's name.

He let out a strangled moan when Kurt began gently sucking on the skin. "K-Kurt…"

"Blaine?"

Blaine's eyes snapped open and he looked around. He had fallen asleep. He didn't remember falling asleep, of course. Exactly how much of that had been a dream?

Kurt was lying next to him, sprawled on his back and still wearing what he'd worn home from the hospital. He was fast asleep.

"Mmmhhwhaat?" Blaine struggled to sit up.

"No, don't get up." Carole whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I just wanted to let you know that Kurt's medicine is all set out on the counter and there is some money for food."

"Don't even remember falling asleep." Blaine mumbled, still half asleep

"I believe you fell asleep mumbling something about getting bitten by a dog. Kurt said it was very sudden. He tried to wake you up but Burt made him leave you alone. You needed the rest." Carole ruffled his hair. "Just call Burt or me if you boys need anything, okay?"

Blaine nodded, snuggling under the comforter. He was even in his pajamas. Kurt really must have been feeling better than they gave him credit for if he'd felt well enough to get Blaine dressed for bed.

He closed his eyes as Carole made her way to the door and quietly shut it. Blaine rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up. So Kurt hadn't brought up girl's names. It was so real though. He had thought it was. That really was upsetting. Why had that upset him? They were eighteen. They hardly needed to be discussing children. Children they may find themselves unable to adopt for the sheer fact that they were two boys.

Kurt shifted in his sleep, attempted to roll onto his side, and whined. Blaine eased him back onto his back. For now Kurt would just have to be his baby. "You can't lay on your side, love. You've got stitches, remember?"

Kurt, though asleep, nodded and shuffled closer. He muttered something quietly that sounded like "orange turtles." Blaine laughed quietly draped an arm around him and slid his hand up Kurt's shirt, stroking the younger boy's soft side.

Kurt let out a content noise and nuzzled him."Mmmh Blainey?"

Blaine snorted. "Yes, Kurty?" He felt a swat to his head. "Hey now! You can't hit me! That is harassment!" Two more swats. "You clearly don't have the love and respect for me that I have for you, Kurty."

"No. You're just annoying in the morning." Kurt let out a wide yawn, nose scrunching up. Blaine reached out to touch his nose. "No, you imbecile. Leave my nose alone!"

"But it's so cute." Blaine kissed the younger boy's cheek. "It's fun to mess with you when you're still half asleep."

"Blaine, you're a terrible nuisance in the morning." Kurt pushed himself slowly into a sitting position. "Did you sleep well?"

Yes, I did. And then your stepmother woke me up when I was making out with you in my dream. He thought about saying that, but instead he said, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"S'okay. I tried to wake you up but you kept calling me a very bad boy." He snorted and then tucked his legs underneath him and, looking carefully at Blaine. He reached his small hand out, touching his hair and taking a deep breath. Blaine reached over and touched Kurt's cheek with his calloused hand. Kurt closed his eyes, lips parting slightly. Blaine stared at Kurt for quite a while before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. Kurt returned the kiss, smiling.

Pull away. You can make out with him in your dreams all you want, but he's still really weak. He had surgery four days ago. Five days? It didn't matter. Four or five days. Blaine didn't care how much Kurt said he felt better. They shouldn't get into all that business. Not yet.

Luckily Kurt was the first to pull away. Blaine couldn't have done it himself. Especially after that dream. He was beginning to realize how sexually deprived he felt. It wasn't that he even necessarily wanted actual sex. A nice snog wouldn't hurt, though. But no. Not yet. It was a bad, bad idea. Real life Blaine would have more self-control that dream Blaine.

"What are you thinking about?" Kurt asked, head tilting to the side in that adorable way.

Making out with you. Well he definitely wasn't going to say that.

"That I need to get you your medicine." There. Good job. That was a very Blaine answer.

"This is true." Kurt put his hand on his side and winced. "It kind of aches today. The new one."

Blaine leaned over, kissing his forehead. "We'll change those bandages right after I get you some food and your medicine. Lay back."

"Can we watch a movie together?"

"Yeah. Decide which one you want to watch. I'll be right back." He left before his boyfriend could protest. He knew Kurt would have launched into a list of several movies he wanted to decide between and it would have been noon by the time he was able to go downstairs and get the medicine.

He hummed to himself as he made Kurt scrambled eggs and toast. Who said Kurt had to be the homely one who could cook? Blaine could cook breakfast foods very well and maybe it would impress Kurt. He'd never had the opportunity to actually cook breakfast for him. He actually hadn't really cooked in a long time unless you counted making spaghetti in his apartment. (And Blaine didn't count it.)

"You're cooking!"

Blaine spun around and pouted. "You were supposed to stay in bed! I was going to surprise you!"

"Those look so good. And it smells amazing." He kissed Blaine's cheek and padded to the other counter to get his medicine. He'd never actually gotten the medicine himself—nobody let him do anything himself any more— and looked down at all the pill bottles. "Which ones do I take in the morning?"

"The white ones."

"There are three different white ones, Blaine." Kurt snorted.

Blaine rolled his eyes, putting the eggs on two different plates. "The white ones in the big fat bottle. On the left." He watched Kurt unscrew the top and take out one. "And the blue one, and the Prednisone is in the other bottle. No, no. Right next to it."

"How many pills do they have me on?" Kurt muttered. "I never even paid attention."

Blaine frowned at Kurt, wishing he didn't have to take any of them. It wasn't fair. It made his stomach churn when he thought about Kurt being on that medicine and why he even needed it. "Five. If you don't count the Tylenol you have to take too… but I think the blue ones you stop taking next week. Here, drink the full glass." He had walked over to Kurt, a tall glass of water in his hand.

Kurt popped the three pills into his mouth and downed the entire glass of water as he was told. Blaine took the glass from him and led him to the kitchen table. "Oh, I get to sit at the table now? I don't know if I can handle this." Kurt said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Blaine refrained from sighing. That would be the Prednisone talking. Of all the medicines, that was the one he wanted Kurt off of the most. Unfortunately he was taking 50 mg of the medicine. That was the highest dosage anyone could take and it was a very powerful steroid. When the doctors did decide to take Kurt off of the medication, it would be a lengthy process in which his dosage would be slowly reduced over a long period of time. He hated this. He really hated it.

"Thank you for making eggs and toast." Kurt whispered several minutes later after some awkward silence. "It tastes really good."

Blaine gave him a smile. "You're welcome. I figured you were sick of Pop Tarts and Toaster Strudel."

"Toaster Strudel! That's what else you can have strawberries in!" Kurt exclaimed, smacking his hand on the table. "I knew there was something I was forgetting!"

"You're precious." Blaine laughed, ruffling his hair. "Are you done?"

"Done as I can be with this stupid medicine. I'll be the size of a house by the time they take me off of it." He bit his lip and looked at Blaine.

"What?" He reached over, grabbing Kurt's hand.

"Thank you again, Blaine… for… everything." Kurt looked down at the table and pushed his fork around. "I haven't forgotten what you did for me… and I'm really grateful you're here. I'm sorry I asked you to stay… I shouldn't have done that. It was extremely selfish of me. And it caused you all kinds of trouble." He put his hand over his face and shook his head. "You had to break out of a lease, quit two jobs, drop out of school, and deal with your parents… I'm so sorry."

Blaine pulled Kurt's chair closer to his and then maneuvered Kurt onto his own lap, holding his hands so he couldn't cover his face. "You are much more important to me than any of that. I wanted to do it, Kurt. If I had gone back to UK, I wouldn't even be able to focus because I'd have been worried you weren't okay. I needed to come back here as much as you needed me to come back here."

Kurt's arms went around his neck and he burrowed his face in the crook between Blaine's shoulder and neck. "You are the most amazing person ever, Blaine… don't let anyone tell you any differently." His voice was muffled, but Blaine understood every word.

"Kurt… w-when my dad said that… about you hardly being a boy…"

"I don't care about that." Kurt shrugged, looking back up. "He's just a jerk."

"Well I care and it's far from the truth. You're a very strong person, Kurt… and you're also very much a man… I'd know." Oh god, did he say that out loud?

Kurt's eyebrow rose up and he blushed, looking away. "I don't know how much of a man I was then… I was more like a baby."

That wasn't true. He'd been as nervous as anyone would be having sex for the first time. Blaine had been terrified himself all those weeks ago. Sure, he'd had sex before. With people he didn't know or care about. This was different. He was connecting with Kurt on a whole new level, expressing his love in a whole new way. Blaine had been terrified. What if he had hurt Kurt? What if he felt pressured? What if he didn't like it? Intimacy scared Blaine, in some ways, as much as it scared Kurt. "You weren't a baby. We were both nervous."

"You know... this is the first time we've even talked about it. We had sex the night before you went back to Kentucky in September. The next time you saw me was…" Kurt trailed off. He didn't need to say it. Blaine knew he was talking about being admitted to the hospital. Everything had changed that night and it seemed so long ago.

"I… I really…" Kurt sighed, looking conflicted. "Ever since that night I've been trying to think of how to put into words how it felt… being with you, that way… but none of the words seem good enough. So I haven't said anything. I'm sorry."

"No, I know how you feel." Blaine cuddled him, still sitting at the kitchen table with Kurt in his lap. "It was… surreal. Connecting with you that way."

"I think about it all the time." Kurt blushed again. "Well, before the hospital I did. And now that I'm feeling better I think about it too… a lot."

"Me too." Blaine smiled, happy to have Kurt in his arms. He was also glad to know that he wasn't the only one who thought (perhaps a little too much) about being intimate together.

"Can we again sometime?" Kurt's cheeks got even redder.

"Well I hope so!" Blaine laughed, pressing a kiss Kurt's forehead. "It's not really a one and done type of thing, Kurt."

"Good." Kurt laughed as well, looking a little relieved but still embarrassed. "That's very… good."

"Okay, let's get your bandages changed and then we'll watch a movie." Blaine stood, Kurt still in his arms.

Kurt wrapped his arms back around Blaine's neck, not protesting being carried.

Blaine sat Kurt down on the edge of the tub and thoroughly washed his hands. Kurt tugged his shirt off and watched Blaine wet one washcloth with soap and warm water while setting another on the sink. He then made the three steps to Kurt. "Hold these for me. I'm going to take the bandages off, alright?"

"Okay." Kurt nodded, watching. Instead of pulling the bandage away from Kurt's skin, Blaine gently pulled the skin away from the bandage. It caused much less pain than when his dad did it and Kurt was grateful. Blaine tossed the bandage into the trash and washed his hands again. "Dad doesn't wash his hands this much."

"I don't want to get your cut infected." Blaine whispered, taking the soapy washcloth from his boyfriend. He dabbed very gently at the incision and the surrounding area. "It's still completely closed up and doesn't look infected or anything."

"Good." Kurt was holding his arm up over his head to give Blaine better access to his side. He continued to watch Blaine work on his wound, wincing slightly when Blaine put the ointment on. "It burns."

"Sorry." He gave Kurt an apologetic look. "I know. But it will make sure it doesn't get infected."

This was one reason he didn't try to do Kurt's bandages regularly. He hated causing Kurt even the smallest amount of pain. In his opinion, the boy had had enough pain over the last month to last his entire life. He carefully covered the incision with a bandage, taping around outside the entire thing.

Blaine finished up and a wide smile spread across his face. "There we go. You can put your arm down now."

"You should be a doctor." Kurt said thoughtfully as he stood.

"It never really interested me." Blaine admitted, washing and drying his hands one final time. He really had considered it when he was fifteen or so. There were several things he didn't find appealing about it. First, his father was a doctor. Second, he would have to go to school much longer than he wanted. Third, his father was a doctor. Fourth, the hours sounded dreadful. And lastly, his father was a doctor. No. A career in medicine was most certainly not in Blaine's future. He didn't really know what exactly he wanted to do though. He had so many options. How was he even going to pay to go back to school without his parents? He would have to take out loans because he most certainly wouldn't qualify for financial aid. He would worry about it later. It would all work out.

"I'm going to be a clothing designer." Kurt made his way out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, plopping on the bed.

Blaine, of course, knew this. What else would Kurt do? Musical theater, perhaps. That seemed like more of a hobby for Kurt though as opposed to an actual career choice.

Taking a spot by Kurt on the bed, Blaine rested his head on the—his?—pillow. It was ten. He'd only been awake for an hour, but it felt like it had been much longer than that.

"I don't know what I want to do, though. About school." Kurt continued. "I know I wanted to go to New York or California… but I keep thinking about it and it doesn't… I don't know."

Blaine rolled onto his side, faced Kurt, and watched him intently. "It's far away from home."

"And you." Kurt sighed a bit. "There's no way I can go half way across the country without you, Blaine. I don't know how I'll handle it when I'm completely better and Dad makes you sleep in the guest room and that's just a room away. Do you want to go back to UK?"

"Yeah… I think so. I mean, I could probably be persuaded otherwise. I want to be close to you too, Kurt…"

The two sat in silence, just looking at each other.

"We'll figure something out." Kurt whispered, scooting closer. "I've kind of been thinking about Columbus. There's a school that has a fashion design program… and maybe if you went to UK… we could get a place together. Somewhere in the middle." His eyes, which had been looking at his hands, looked back up at Blaine. "I mean we both drove two hours to and from to see each other almost every day when I had to come back to McKinley last spring… if we lived in the middle of Lexington and Columbus it'd be, like, an hour and a half drive for both of us to get to school."

"I really like that idea." Blaine felt himself smiling. "I really, really, really like that idea, Kurt."

Kurt gave him an adorable grin. "Me too. We'll definitely need to look into that soon."