Chapter 11
Blaine paused outside his apartment door and listened. There was… giggling. He unlocked the front door and stepped in to find Rachel and Kurt commiserating on the couch.
"Blaine!" Rachel said, spotting him first and popping off the couch.
"Rachel. You're here," he stated, hoping his surprise didn't come off as rude.
"Kurt invited me," she said as she approached him and kissed Blaine on the check. She must have been drinking. She always started kissing when she drank. But it wasn't too much. She went for both cheeks when she was really drunk, sometimes even a peck on the lips. It got awkward.
There was a load "Hi, Blaine!" from the other side o the room. Blaine pegged Rachel with a look.
"Did you get Kurt drunk? You know what his hangovers are like."
Rachel waved a dismissive hand. "He's only had wine. It's not that bad with wine. Join us."
She latched onto his arm and led him over to the couch, and sat down between herself and Kurt. "We've been talking about you."
"Rachel!" Kurt snapped at her with a squeak. He turned bright red.
"But we're not going to tell you about what," Rachel added with a wink. Kurt was still flushed, and when Blaine glanced at him, Kurt avoided eye contact.
Rachel took over the conversation with Blaine half paying attention and Kurt still sipping his wine but silent. Eventually, when she reached some sort of conclusion, she stood, saying, "Well, I guess I should go."
"Are you alright for that?"
"Oh, yes. I only had two glasses and the last was an hour ago— plus, I'm taking the subway."
"Rachel?"
"Hmm?"
"The bottle is empty."
"I suppose it is."
"It's not like a normal-sized bottle. It's a big bottle of cheap wine—"
"Hey!"
"— That is now empty, and you only had two glasses."
"Oh."
Just then the both looked over to see Kurt standing from the couch and teetering unevenly. He let out a little laugh then put a hand to his head. "My head feels funny!" he said, loudly. He took a step forward, but that step forward was into the coffee table. He stumbled and barely caught himself from falling over.
Blaine rushed over to his side and slung an arm around his shoulders. "Okay, time to lay down. Bye, Rachel."
"Bye, Rachel," Kurt mimicked and waved sloppily. Rachel waved back and let herself out. Kurt turned his attention to Blaine, who was taking on more and more of his weight as he slumped more and more. "I'm fine."
Blaine chuckled. "You're not going to be fine in a little while. You have a very quick drunk to hangover time."
"Hmm," Kurt hummed, his head bobbing up and down.
"And wine makes you sleepy. Especially with how much you had," Blaine said. He started hauling Kurt toward the bedroom. Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder.
As Blaine eased Kurt sitting onto the bed, but the moment he let go, Kurt plopped back down onto the pillows. Blaine scooped Kurt's legs onto the mattress.
"Take a nap. I'm going to make some soup for when you wake up, okay?"
"Hmm… you should take your shirt off again," Kurt said, then rolled over.
Blaine chocked on his own breathing, but he thought he figured out what Rachel and Kurt had been talking about. He closed the bedroom door carefully and Kurt was already snoring quietly.
…
Two hours later, Kurt trudged out of the bedroom in a zombie march.
"Hey," Blaine said from the couch.
Kurt groaned in response.
"Yeah, yeah, sit down. There's ginger ale and Advil right here..."
Kurt sat unceremoniously down on the couch. His hair was stuck up on one side and his clothes were wrinkled. If he had been in his right mind he would have been terrified to be seen like this, even in his own home.
"Ginger Ale?" Kurt asked with squinted eyes.
"You hate it except when you were hung over," Blaine said. He took the glass of the table and carefully pressed it into Kurt's hand, making sure that Kurt had a firm grip on it before letting go.
Kurt took a sip and then made an oddly pleased expression.
"Take the Advil. I'm going to get us some soup."
Kurt didn't respond, but Blaine saw him do it as he stood up. A few moments later he was coming back into the living room with two bowls balanced in his hands. He set them down on the coffee table and then sat back down next to Kurt.
"Here you go… tomato rice soup. Hang over food."
Kurt sighed heavily. "I will take your word for it. You've been right so far." Kurt cradled the bowl in his hands and took a spoon Blaine held out for him and dug in. Blaine guessed that meant he was pleased. Blaine rubbed a comforting hand over Kurt's back then started on his own meal.
Kurt finished in almost record time… Blaine knew that when his lightweight husband was hung over, he tended to give up all decorum.
"There's more in the kitchen," Blaine volunteered.
"Thank you," Kurt said, "for taking care of me"
"It's not a problem," Blaine said.
"It's just…" Kurt craned his head back against the top of the couch and closed his eyes, placing a hand over his eyes to block out extra light. "Sometimes, like now, I feel like a burden… and you are just always there, taking care of me, making me food, dealing with my drama… and I don't do anything for you in return."
"Kurt, you're still healing—"
"But I feel it regardless," Kurt said, loud and snappish then winced at his own noise.
"Okay, okay," Blaine said, deferring the point. He took a long breath and then said, "Maybe, I am not the best person to talk to about all of this… Maybe I'm too involved, too close this all, but the doctor wanted you to go to a therapist, do you think you want to do that?"
Kurt was quiet for a moment, eyes still covered.
"I think I do."
"Okay. I'll make the appointment."
…
The rest of the night was a little less eased than the previous had been, but they curled up together in their shared bed nonetheless. It was hard to admit one needed help. Kurt that he needed more than everyday interactions to fit back into everyday life. Blaine that he couldn't be the sole person to help Kurt get better.
…
"How do you feel you've been readjusting?" Dr. Karen Mura asked. He had only known her for about twenty minutes now, but she had a pretty comforting presence. He thought it would be weird talking to a complete stranger about his life, but considering most people, including the man he was living with and considering how much his friends had changed, were basically strangers any way, he acclimated to it pretty quickly.
"Depends on the day," Kurt said around an awkward laugh.
Karen just tilted her head in a little way that Kurt had already picked up that meant she wanted a real answer out of him.
"It was hard, at first, and I guess it still is, but it's getting better. I mean, Blaine is great… but I still feel disassociated from my whole life. "
"You said that you've mostly been with Blaine in your apartment?"
"Yes."
"I think you need to interact with more people, Kurt. Yes, you will still feel out of place, but you need to be more assimilated with who you are now. Plus, it might help trigger some memories if your experiences with Blaine haven't."
Kurt nodded and the conversation continued on what strategies he could use to cope and rework his life.
"We've talked about him a lot, but we never talked about him directly. How do you feel about Blaine?"
"I—" Kurt started and then he paused.
"Just say what you feel or what you think. It won't get back to him."
"I can see why I married him… I just wish…"
"Yes?"
"Never mind."
"Kurt," Karen said, imploring him to continue.
"Is our time up yet?"
Aki- Well, so, thank you for all the reviews and support. I just found out that my story has been requested to be made into a pdf at .com and I gave my permission, so you will be able to find it there when they get around to making it.
A few good things have happened to be lately, one in my personal life and one in my writing life, so I am walking on air at the moment.
Again, with school, I will try (and have been succeeding) at updating every two weeks. My mid-term break is coming up, so perhaps I can get a few faster chapters out, but no promises.
You can also find me at .com
