Chapter 10

As much as Blaine was glad to be away from his family, he dreaded his return to McKinley. Fortunately the first morning of classes flew by without any hassle. On his way to third period English Blaine's day took a turn for the worse. He didn't realise what was happening at first when several jocks approached him in the hallway. His vision became blurred by the wave of ice and red food die. Kurt had warned him about the slushie facials but he thought his reputation may have protected him somewhat. He was wrong.

"Welcome to glee club, faggot," one of them called out.

Blaine could feel it dripping down his face and shirt, stinging and freezing his skin, but he wiped most of the slushie out of his eyes and before anyone knew what he was doing, he had the guy who called out pinned against the lockers, his arm twisted behind his back. He held it far enough to hurt but not far enough to dislocate his shoulder, Natasha had taught him some tricks over the years but his guy wasn't worth it.

The other jocks pulled Blaine off their friend and shoved him into the lockers opposite. Blaine braced himself for more retaliation but Kurt's concerned face in the crowd of gathered onlookers made him take the high road and walk away from the jocks, but not before taking one last swing at the boy closest to him.

Kurt caught up to him as he stormed off and allowed himself to be led into the nearest bathroom.

"I've copped a fair amount of slushies over the years. I've gotten pretty good at cleaning them up," Kurt guided him over to the sink and started mopping the ice off Blaine's shirt. "It's sort of a glee club tradition."

Blaine chuckled humourlessly, "Interesting tradition."

"It's not one we particularly enjoy," Kurt grabbed another piece of paper towel to clean Blaine's neck and face.

"It stings more than I thought it would," Blaine whined. "I thought it'd just be cold and wet but it's like really cold and it stings a lot."

"I know," Kurt said sympathetically.

"You're really good at this," Blaine gestured towards Kurt's hands. "I hope it's not from all the practise you've had to have."

"It is," Kurt shrugged. "But it gave me a chance to make raincoats fashionable."

Kurt dabbed the paper towel gently around Blaine's face, being especially careful around the piercings on his eyebrow and lip.

"I probably would have stayed and either beat them up or let them beat me up if I hadn't seen you there," Blaine said quietly, avoiding Kurt's eyes.

"It's a good thing I was there then." Blaine's hand had found its way to the small of Kurt's back and was slowly moving further down. Kurt reached one hand back to gently nudge Blaine's hand further up his back.

Blaine stepped away from Kurt and scowled at the floor, leaning against another sink. "I'm sorry, Kurt. I'm not good at talking about things and I just – you have a really nice butt and I get distracted easily and – shit, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Blaine," Kurt soothed. "It's okay."

"It's not," Blaine shook his head. "But –uh– thanks."

Kurt decided by the awkward look on Blaine's face that a conversation change was needed. "The only way to get it out of your hair is to run it under the sink."

Blaine looked suspicious at first but leant his head forward and let Kurt's hands show him where to rest his head beneath the faucet.

Blaine enjoyed the sensation of Kurt's fingers gently massaging his scalp, removing all traces of slushie. He was mad at himself for making things uncomfortable for Kurt, and even madder that what he said was true – he wouldn't have given up on fighting those jocks if it wasn't for Kurt. He was proud of himself for opening up slightly but frustrated he couldn't say anything more.

"You realise you're missing English class for me?" Blaine asked.

"I don't mind," Kurt said simply as he finished washing ice out of Blaine's hair with his practised fingers. "I think that's all of it out."

Blaine stood up and ran a hand through his wet hair. "Thanks, Kurt," he smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Any time," Kurt smiled back.

Blaine slipped his hand into Kurt's and laced their fingers together, he was better with physical gestures than with words. Kurt squeezed his hand comfortingly and looked up at Blaine's face. He was looking at their hands, his face full of thought and his teeth chewing slightly on his bottom lip.

Kurt leant his head into Blaine's shoulder and felt the other boy rest his head down on top of his own. Actions spoke a thousand words, and their current actions communicated the perfect balance of comfort, caring and concern that both boys needed.

They stayed in the bathroom, hidden from the world, until the bell signalling the start of the next period rang. Blaine brushed his lips against Kurt's in a fleeting goodbye kiss before leaving for his next class.

OoOoOoO

Blaine sat next to the tall Asian guy (whose name he'd found out was Mike) in their maths class. Mike looked slightly surprised at first, Blaine normally sat by himself in the back, but Mike gathered himself and smiled friendlily at Blaine.

"Hey Blaine," he said.

"Hi," Blaine replied, going through the social normalities. "Do you know if there's a boxing club or team or something here?"

"I don't think so," Mike said, thinking, "I could ask Coach Beiste about it for you if you wanted though?"

"Don't worry about it, thanks though," Blaine wasn't too disappointed, at least he'd tried.

"There are football, hockey, rugby and swim teams if you're into any of them," Mike suggested.

"Not really a fan of team sports," he shrugged. "And I'm not really that athletic either."

"That's too bad," Mike said then returned to his classwork. Blaine looked down at today's assignment as well, he was already taking the advanced maths class but it was still incredibly easy for him – just another perk of the Stark brains.

They worked in silence until Mike spoke again, "I heard about your slushie this morning, that sucks but we've all had them."

"I know," he nodded.

"The first one's always the worst, it's colder than you thought."

"It stung more too," Blaine agreed. "But Kurt was there to clean me up so it wasn't too bad."

"What's going on with you two anyway?" Mike asked curiously. "Everyone can tell there's something there."

"Well, um…" Blaine trailed off awkwardly, he didn't really know how to explain what was going on with him and Kurt. They sort of seemed like more than friends but knowing Blaine he would find a way to screw it up, or he would move too fast and scare Kurt off.

"Don't worry," Mike sensed Blaine's hesitation. "It's not my place to ask."

"No, it's okay," he didn't want Mike to feel bad about bringing it up, he was trying to make friends. "I just don't know really know where we stand at the moment."

Mike nodded and changed the subject. He glanced down at Blaine's work to see that he had already finished, while he himself still had a couple more questions to go. "You finished already?" Blaine looked at his work and nodded. "Wow."

Blaine shrugged. "I've always been good at maths," he hesitated before continuing, "it's an inherited trait."

"Lucky, I'm mediocre at best," Mike complained.

"I could help if you want," Blaine offered.

"I may have to take you up on that some time."

OoOoOoO

With Regionals approaching, the glee club meetings were happening daily and the bossy one who Blaine thought was named Rachel kept mentioning writing original songs for the competition. Blaine didn't really care what they sang, he still wasn't completely comfortable about performing for a big audience.

He spent most of Monday's rehearsal sitting beside Kurt in the back row, barely paying any attention to what was going on and tapping his tongue ring against his teeth. He never really said much anyway so he didn't think anyone would notice his disinterest.

Kurt did notice how distracted he was and spoke to him after the practise.

"You were really quiet in there, is everything okay?" he asked timidly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Blaine said unconvincingly.

Kurt pursed his lips, he didn't want to push Blaine but he could tell something was wrong. "You were doing that thing with your tongue stud and your teeth, you only do that when you're really bored or you're worrying about something."

Blaine sighed at the look on Kurt's face. "I'm fine, it doesn't matter."

"It does matter," Kurt insisted. "Is it about your weekend? Or getting slushied this morning?"

Blaine shrugged, avoiding Kurt's eyes, and mumbled, "both I guess."

"Do you want to ta–"

"No, just drop it," Blaine scowled at the floor and walked off to his locker. Kurt hesitated before following him.

"Okay, I'll drop it, but if you ever want to talk–"

"I know."

"So what do you think about Rachel's party?" Kurt changed to subject.

"What party?" Blaine took the bait.

"You really weren't paying attention were you?" Blaine glared at him. "Rachel's having a party this weekend, she thinks it'll help her song writing."

"It sounds alright," Blaine shrugged. "Maybe not the Rachel part, but parties are fun. You thinking of going?"

"Yeah I am," Kurt nodded. "Are you?"

"Maybe," he said indecisively.

"It'll be fun," Kurt tried to persuade him. "Everyone in glee's going."

"That's not really a convincing point," Blaine chuckled.

"I'll be there?" Kurt played to Blaine's weakness.

"That," he smirked, "is much better."

"So you'll come?"

"I'll think about it."

Kurt grinned, it was close enough. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

"I don't have anything planned. Do you want to come over?" Blaine invited.

"Sure," Kurt smiled.

As Kurt drove, they made small talk and Blaine couldn't help but think about how much had changed between them since the first time Kurt came over. When they first practised for their duet Blaine would barely have called Kurt a friend, now he was considering calling him his boyfriend. The car ride over had been awkward and nearly silent the first time but now they could find things to talk about easily. The main difference, Blaine realised, was the way he felt about Kurt. He was crazy about Kurt, he genuinely enjoyed spending time with him and the physical relationship they were starting to have was better than anything either of them had ever experienced.

Blaine had had other boyfriends before, and they had satisfied him physically but never shared anything close to what Kurt gave him emotionally and intellectually. It was almost too good to be true, having a friend who actually liked him for who he is and not who his father is, and having that friend be a boy was also gay and liked him in that way.

They pulled into the driveway and Blaine reached for Kurt's hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

"Let's go inside," Blaine tried to keep the suggestiveness out of his voice.

"Is your Mom here?" Kurt enquired nervously.

"She's asleep, she's working early tomorrow." At the wary expression on Kurt's face Blaine tried to reassure him, "she's a heavy sleeper, don't worry about it."

Kurt nodded, not completely convinced but enough to follow Blaine inside and sit down beside him on the couch. Blaine smiled when he felt Kurt's warmth beside him and Kurt couldn't help smiling along. Blaine's smile was so beautiful and rare it was contagious to Kurt.

"So how was New York?" Kurt asked.

"It was fine, I still think it would have been better with you there," Blaine's tone remained casual but his hand was tracing its way up Kurt's thigh in a way that suggested he didn't invite Kurt over for small talk.

"It probably would have been kind of awkward, considering your parents have no idea who I am," Kurt smiled teasingly.

"I'm sure we can fix that quite easily," Blaine smirked.

"How would you introduce me?" Kurt's curiosity got the better of him. "Like, are we – are we dating?"

"If you want to be," Blaine grinned and kissed Kurt's lips gently. "I would introduce you as my beautiful, charming and witty boyfriend Kurt Hummel."

Kurt blushed and smiled, looking down at Blaine's hand still tracing shapes on his thigh. "I like the sound of that."

Blaine leaned his body closer to Kurt and gently pecked his lips against each of Kurt's blushing cheeks. "You're so damn cute when you blush," he whispered, trailing kisses down Kurt's jaw before reaching his lips again.

Kurt deepened the kiss, opening his mouth and bringing their bodies closer together. He ran one hand down Blaine's back and tangled the other in his hair, thankful the gel in Blaine's hair got washed out with the slushie.

Kurt's tongue lingered on Blaine's lip ring and he moved his lips down Blaine's neck, filling his nose with Blaine's scent and familiarising himself with it.

Blaine's hands were not idle, sliding down Kurt's back to untuck his button-up then fumbling to unbutton it from the bottom up.

Blaine started tugging on the hem of his own t-shirt and Kurt pulled back for a moment to help him remove it, flinging it haphazardly onto the floor.

Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt, bringing their bare chests together and enjoying the feeling of closeness between them. Kurt slid his hands over Blaine's back as the other boy started kissing and sucking on his neck in a way that made Kurt let out a small contented moan.

Blaine flinched as Kurt's hands found the scar on the left side of his ribs. Not wanting to bring attention to it he gently directed Kurt's hands lower down his back and continued with his teasing of Kurt's neck, sucking and nipping just hard enough to leave a mark.

They were vaguely aware of the sound of a door opening but too distracted as they shifted to bring their bodies closer together. Kurt's whimper of enjoyment as Blaine rolled his tongue stud over the mark he was leaving caused a gasp, not from Blaine, but from Meredith. Kurt raised his head and saw Blaine's mother for the first time. She had one hand over her mouth in awkwardness and shock and she was in her pyjamas, her hair tousled with sleep.

Kurt slipped out from underneath Blaine's arms and pulled his shirt closed over his chest, blushing and trying to look as apologetic as possible. Blaine had no such shame and stretched out on the couch, sliding an arm around Kurt's shoulder and smirking.

"Mom, this is Kurt," Blaine introduced, "my beautiful, charming and witty boyfriend."

"Hello Kurt," Meredith said friendlily, finding the situation just as awkward as Kurt was.

"Hello Ms Anderson," he replied respectfully.

Meredith shook her head to clear it, "I'm going back to sleep, please don't wake me again." It was times like these that Blaine was glad his mother was never strict on him.

The door had barely closed behind his mother before Blaine had his lips back on Kurt's neck.

"Wait, Blaine, stop," Kurt pushed him gently away.

Blaine looked up at his boyfriend with his big puppy-dog eyes. "What?"

"Your Mom kind of killed the mood, sorry," Kurt said quietly.

"I could try to bring it back?" Blaine offered, trailing his fingers up Kurt's abdomen.

"No, it's okay… if that's okay with you?"

"It's fine," Blaine nodded. "I don't want to do anything you don't want to."

"Good," Kurt smiled. "You've already made a good enough mark I think anyway."

Blaine admired his handiwork on Kurt's neck, grinning. "Sometimes I can make them into shapes."

Kurt chuckled and shook his head, "Of course you can."

"It's a talent," Blaine smirked.

"It's definitely not your only talent." Blaine quirked an eyebrow at his boyfriend, who looked down, then back up when he realised that Blaine was still shirtless. "We're going to have to do this more often."

"My thoughts exactly," he grinned.

"But maybe without the little 'interruption'?" Kurt laughed

"I really thought she'd sleep through it, she's normally a pretty heavy sleeper," Blaine glanced to the door that lead to his mother's bedroom. "She sleeps through if I'm playing guitar or boxing or whatever at night."

"You're a boxer?"

"Sort of," Blaine shrugged. "I took it up to learn to defend myself after… uh, a while ago." He avoided looking at Kurt, as close as they'd become he still wasn't ready to talk about why he had his scar and the reason he took up boxing.

Kurt was tempted to ask, but didn't want to push Blaine any further. "I knew those muscles came from something," he smirked, running his finger gently up and down the other boy's bicep.

Blaine shivered slightly and his face split into a grin.