I am SO sorry it's been so long since my last update. Life got away with me and I didn't even realize it had been almost a week. Here we are, though, the next chapter. My brain is so scattered, I have so many story ideas running around. It is hard to concentrate! Enjoy!
. . . . . . . . .
Blaine met them in the parking lot and opened his arms to welcome Kurt.
"Sweetheart," Blaine said against Kurt's warm neck. "Are you okay?"
"Now I am," Kurt told him softly. "I don't know what it is, Blaine, but you make me feel safe. Please let me stay with you."
Blaine leaned back. "You never have to ask to stay with me. You are always welcome, it is as much your home as it is mine."
"Thank you," Kurt murmured. He already stopped shivering and he knew deep down that he was where he was supposed to be.
Burt helped them with Kurt's bags and made sure Kurt was settled before he headed out. He demanded that Kurt text him and call him the next day to let him know how he was doing. Kurt agreed, still plastered to Blaine's side. Finally, they were tucked into bed next to each other. It was four in the morning and they were exhausted.
Kurt was settled on Blaine's chest, thinking much harder than he should as tired as he was.
"Blaine?"
"Yes?"
"Will you Claim me?"
Blaine froze. "What?"
. . . . . . . . . .
"I asked if you will claim me," Kurt repeated, his face turning red. This wasn't the reaction he had been hoping for. Blaine had always seemed so eager about the topic.
Blaine closed his eyes, demanding his body settle down and cooperate with him. "Kurt, you are going to be the death of me," he muttered.
"What do you mean?" Kurt asked. He was surprised Blaine hadn't jumped on the idea. Was it him? Was it because Sebastian had touched him. Tears sprang into his eyes. "You don't want me, do you?"
Blaine was shocked to see the tears and rejection sparkle in Kurt's expressive eyes. "Kurt, no, it is not that at all. Trust me, I want you. Very, very badly," Blaine assured him.
Kurt smiled through his tears. "Should I get undressed?" he asked, moving his hands to unbutton his shirt.
Blaine stilled his hand with his own, clasping it tightly. "No, don't get undressed. I might not be able to resist you if I see all that beautiful… perfect… porcelain skin," Blaine said, his words slowing and his erection growing at the thought of seeing his Soulmate naked. Come on, dammit, he thought. I can show more control than this. Boobs, he thought trying to picture those masses of flesh. Bouncing, jiggling, boobs. His stomach twisted and his erection died. "Kurt, I can't Claim you yet. The timing isn't right," he said calmly.
Kurt looked hurt again. "I don't understand, Blaine. How could the time be anymore right? I need you, I need the protection that your Claiming will give me," he said emphatically, his eyes pleading with Blaine to understand.
Blaine's heart clenched. He wanted so much to give Kurt what he needed. But he had made enough mistakes. He wasn't going to make one that could end up being the biggest mistake he'd ever made. "Kurt, I understand that, I really do. I want to give you that safety, but not this way. You have just been through something horrific. Something I can't even fathom. I am so proud of you for fighting and trying to get free. If we make love, though, it will be because of what happened. Not because you are ready and you want to. I am not going to let Sebastian take our first time from us. I will protect you with every ounce of strength I have, Kurt. And when the time is right, when you are ready, then we will go through with the Claiming. And not one second before then. Alright?" Blaine said. "Please know that I do want you." He gave a short, humorless laugh. "I want you so damn bad it hurts. When you want me that bad, then you will know it's time."
Kurt stared at him, his tears calmed. He saw the fire behind Blaine's eyes, the feeling behind his words. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. Will you kiss me goodnight?"
Blaine could deny this boy nothing, especially with that gorgeous look of hope in those enchanting eyes. Nodding, he leaned forward. Certain he could contain his urges, he softly kissed Kurt.
Kurt moaned the instant their lips met. Blaine's mouth was hot, soft, demanding yet giving. Kurt could drown in the magic of Blaine's lips. He couldn't resist opening his mouth, offering his tongue. Blaine echoed his moan and captured Kurt's tongue, sucking it into his mouth, massaging it with his own tongue.
Kurt whimpered, his body on fire. He needed more, he needed Blaine. He began tugging Blaine's arm, directing him to straddle him. Blaine cooperated and hovered over Kurt, not wanting to squish him with his full weight. He held Kurt's beautiful face between his hands, tracing his thumbs over the perfect cheekbones.
His body was on fire. Blaine was holding him so gently, so lovingly as they kissed, their tongues massaging and sucking on one another. Blaine took him by the chin to tilt his head more to one side. Instantly, Kurt was transported back to the cabin, Sebastian forcing him to kiss, his hand hard on Kurt's chin.
"No, no, no!" Kurt cried, yanking his face away.
"Kurt, baby, what's wrong?" Blaine sat up, looking Kurt over for signs of injury.
"Make it go away, Blaine, please make it go away!" Kurt sobbed, tears streaking down his pale face.
"Of course I will, sweetie. Make what go away?" Blaine had an idea, but he wanted Kurt to name it so it wouldn't be a hidden fear.
"Make Sebastian go away. I don't want the memories in my head," Kurt begged. He wanted Blaine off of him, but at the same he wanted the picture of Blaine to replace the ugliness that was Sebastian.
"Kurt, don't rush it, honey. Give yourself time," Blaine said, his heart breaking for his Soulmate. Pushing intimacy after such a traumatic event couldn't be healthy. He could understand the desire to replace the bad memory with a good one, but it had only been a couple days.
"Please, Blaine," Kurt pleaded. He leaned up and smashed his lips onto Blaine's. Grabbing his Soulmate's face, he laid down, slanting his head to slot their lips together better.
Blaine gave in but was determined to take it slow and gentle. He moved his lips slowly over Kurt's, breathing him in, licking gently at his bottom lip. Blaine could never get enough of that bottom lip. He decided to replace Kurt's memory and hopefully get Kurt's mind off the topic of his kidnapping all together.
Slowly, Blaine began to lower his weight onto Kurt's body, kissing him deeply, tangling their tongues together. Kurt let out a delicious whimper, pulling Blaine closer, nipping at Blaine's lips and chin.
Blaine settled their bodies together and joined their hands. He had never experimented with Joining and being intimate, but he knew it could only do good for them both. Leaning his head back, Blaine traced Kurt's beautiful mouth with his tongue. Kurt moaned, chasing his mouth and slamming their lips back together.
Their mouths were joined, tongues swirling, their bodies perfectly aligned, hands and Marks clasped together. Something happened in that moment, like a bubble of warm air encapsulated them, separating them from the rest of the world. As if under a spell, their lips moved languidly against each other, their voices rising, a wordless song filling the air around them. Love rose up, filling the empty spaces, taking over fears, erasing the misconceptions of domination and submission, replacing negativity with the purity that only love can bring.
Kurt and Blaine knew nothing in the moment but each other, every cell of their beings were sewn together, their souls aligned for all eternity. The kiss was perfection, each movement fed into the need for one another, the taste of each other becoming a hunger that needed to be fulfilled.
The kiss lasted for endless minutes, their sense of time disappearing as they fed each other. When their lips finally separated, as the bubble surrounding them dissipated, they were different people.
Blaine rested his forehead on Kurt's, their breathing harsh as though they had been running.
"Oh my god," Blaine breathed, feeling as though his soul had been taken apart and rebuilt, now joined with Kurt's. He wasn't whole on his own now. He was half of Kurt as he knew Kurt was now half of him.
"What was that?" Kurt gasped. He hadn't been in love with Blaine before. But now? Now he wanted to live every second joined with this man next to him. He was joined with him. He knew that he and Blaine were now one.
Blaine had no idea what had happened, but when he opened his mouth to answer, different words came out than he intended. "We have Claimed one another," he announced, more sure of his answer than his own name.
"We did, didn't we," Kurt mused. When Blaine spoke the words, the feeling of rightness and truth echoed in Kurt's soul. He held up his wrist and wasn't surprised to see his padlock fully closed. "Look, Blaine," he said and showed him the new development.
Like Kurt, he wasn't surprised to see the padlock closed, it was a symbol of a full Claiming. Kurt had held nothing back from him. Their Marks were now open to one another. Blaine closed his eyes and mentally reached out to Kurt. He felt peace, contentment, happiness, and love? He opened his eyes and stared at Kurt.
"I feel you," he whispered, amazed.
Kurt concentrated and felt Blaine's astonishment, his pure bliss, his undying love and devotion for Kurt.
"I feel you," Kurt echoed, his smile stretched across his face.
"Kurt, I feel love from you," Blaine said hesitantly. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin the evening, but he had wanted Kurt's love for so long. Was it real? Was it simply a product of the Claiming?
"That is because I love you, Blaine," Kurt replied simply.
"How, though? You didn't love me," Blaine paused looking at the clock. It had been around four in the morning when they had gotten in bed. "Oh my god. Kurt, it's almost six thirty."
Kurt giggled. "No wonder my lips are so sore," he said happily. "We were kissing for over two hours." Kurt felt something pushing against him. Doubt? Unhappiness? "Blaine, what's wrong?"
"I have been waiting for you to love me since the moment we met, Kurt. Now, we not only magically managed to Claim without sex, but you now love me when you didn't just a short time ago. I am scared that this isn't real, that it is all because of the Claiming," Blaine said.
Kurt sighed. "You're ruining my buzz, Blaine," he said then winked at him. "Blaine, something happened, something otherworldly, magical, like you said. I felt like I was being opened up and all of my insecurities and worries were taken away, like soul surgery. Like the universe wanted me to see the real you, your soul, your pure love for me. I was able to let go of it all and see you and of course, I fell in love with you. It is the easiest, thing to do. I think it took more out of me to not love you. Now that I love you, everything in me feels right. Don't you feel the same way?"
"You love me?" Blaine whispered.
Kurt gave him the most beautiful smile, his blue green eyes sparkling with joy. "Blaine Devon Anderson, I love you. I will always love you."
"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, I love you, too. Every day for all eternity," Blaine said, tears streaming down his face. He felt lucky. No, what he felt was far beyond that trivial notion. He was blessed. Fate had gifted him in a way he had never expected. But still, there were questions. "I'm going to call my grandfather in the morning, well, in a couple hours. I don't understand how we were able to Claim without being intimate."
Kurt rubbed at the tiny wrinkle between Blaine's triangular eyebrows. "You worry too much, my Blaine," he said with a smile. "We will figure this out, but please, whatever you do, do not doubt my love for you. I was blocking it out, but now I am wide open, just for you."
"I love you so much," Blaine said, completely in awe of his Soulmate.
"I love you, too. Are you tired?" Kurt asked.
Blaine questioned his body and mind for a moment. Shaking his head, he answered. "Not even a little bit. I feel…"
"Energized? Like you just downed an energy drink?" Kurt offered. "I feel that way, too. How about some coffee?"
For the next several hours, they sat on the couch, Kurt snuggled so deeply into Blaine's side that he may as well have been sitting on his lap. There wasn't much conversation between the two. They were concentrated on each other, learning how to deal with the onslaught of emotions and sensations they were receiving from each other.
Kurt thought about the love he now felt for Blaine. When he had told Blaine that it was more work to not love him, it was the absolute truth and Kurt hadn't realized it until that moment. Loving Blaine was as easy as breathing and just as essential.
Around eleven that morning, Blaine dialed his grandfather and put him on speaker phone. After introducing Kurt and the necessary niceties – including an embarrassing amount of personal questions for Kurt – he described what had happened, down to the last, intimate details. Kurt blushed prettily, but he wasn't bothered sharing what had gone on that morning. It felt completely normal and right to speak of their love.
"So, my first question is how did we invoke the Claiming when we weren't being intimate?" Blaine asked. He was scared to death that he was going to find out Kurt's love for him was fake, a cruel side effect of the Claiming.
"It is not completely unheard of Blaine Devon. I have seen it happen a couple of times over the years. And you were being intimate. Kissing and Joining put you in the position to open you two up to receive one another. Your love is deep and true. Your souls knew it was there and it helped clean out the crap during the Claiming. Look it up on the internet, you'll find all sorts of stories pertaining to people's experiences with the Claiming," his grandfather suggested.
Kurt grinned at his Soulmate. His grandfather called him Blaine Devon. It was adorable.
"I'll do that. My other question is pertaining to my own insecurities. Kurt wasn't in love with me, you know all about that," Blaine said, sending Kurt an apologetic smile. "But now he does. I have to know if it's real. I'm so happy, but I need to know if what he is feeling is a projection of the Claiming or how he actually feels," he finished.
Kurt frowned and picked up Blaine's hand, giving it a squeeze. "I do love you, Blaine," he insisted. "I explained it to you. It's like all the fear, doubt, and submission issues were washed away. My natural state is to love you. So I am," Kurt said. He didn't doubt for one second that his love was true. Surprising, yes. False? Never.
"Kurt has the right of it, Blaine Devon. The way you Joined and opened yourselves up to being vulnerable helped the Claiming sort through the trash inside you. Then it simply pointed you two in the right direction. Toward each other. Just because you didn't Claim through intercourse doesn't make it any less real," his grandfather told him.
"Sir, I have a question," Kurt said. "When we do finally consummate our relationship," he began, his face burning red. He was glad Blaine's grandfather was on the phone and not in the room with them. "Will anything happen? Since we are already Claimed… I guess I was just wondering if it was going to be different for us."
"First, Kurt Elizabeth, don't call me 'sir'. Call me Grandpa, just like Blaine Devon does," Grandpa said. "As for the consummation. I am not too certain. I would look it up online, like I mentioned earlier. There at least you could find others who've had the same experience as you."
Kurt grinned when Grandpa called him by his first and middle name. He didn't have many experiences with grandparents, but he could see himself and Grandpa becoming close. He would love to get to know the man who had supported Blaine since day one.
"Blaine Devon, I can hear you thinking all the way over here. Do not waste your time and energy worrying about the love issue. See how life plays out. You will know if Kurt's love is false. But I guarantee it is true. As true as my love for your grandmother," Grandpa said.
Blaine visibly relaxed. His grandparents loved each other and were so devoted to each other, it inspired him to seek that kind of love and relationship with Kurt.
They both thanked Grandpa and hung up the phone after promising to visit soon. Kurt made them a light brunch and they sat down to eat. Jeff called Kurt and they planned to have dinner together that night. Blaine contacted Wes and he and Layla promised to The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning and researching Claiming experiences. There were a surprising number of Soulmates who had Claimed without physical intimacy. Some stories even told how one party hadn't felt as strongly as their Soulmate. The Claiming had opened them up and freed them to love without reservation.
During dinner that night, Kurt and Blaine shared their story again. Jeff listened with hearts in his eyes, thrilled for his friends. He even clapped his hands, bouncing up and down when Kurt admitted that he loved Blaine. Nick shared his and Jeff's Claiming which was the typical story. But the feelings they had, the way the Claiming felt was very similar to Kurt and Blaine's experience.
They congregated in the living room and soon Blaine drug out his guitar. Kurt dreamily watched his Soulmate play, soothed by Blaine's calm voice as he sang.
When he finished the song, the others clapped for him. Blaine turned to Wes and gave him a look.
"Did you find one?" he asked mysteriously.
Wes grinned. "I did. I put it in the back end of the parking lot so it wouldn't be seen," he answered.
"Excellent," Blaine said, rubbing his hands. "Let's go."
Kurt was intrigued, but went along with the rest, grabbing a light sweater before leaving. The six of them walked to the far side of the parking lot where a rusted barrel stood.
"What are we doing here?" Kurt finally asked, confused.
"I am taking a step toward making up what I did to you," Blaine announced. "I know that a lot has happened since then, but I want you to know that I haven't forgotten how I treated you, what I said, and the Dom orders. I will not be repeating my mistakes and this is the first step." He pulled a folded, familiar notebook from his back pocket. It was the rules and punishments book.
Wes held up lighter fluid and matches. "Would you like to do the honors, Kurt?"
Kurt grinned so wide, his teeth showed as he nodded. He ripped the pages out of the notebook and threw the in the metal barrel. Then he drowned the pages with lighter fluid. Striking a match, he met Blaine's encouraging gaze and threw the match into the barrel. Instantly the papers and notebook remains caught fire.
Kurt was watching, the smile never leaving his face. As it burned, Blaine began strumming his guitar. He began to sing and Kurt melted at the words.
Look into my eyes – you will see
What you mean to me.
Search your heart, search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more.
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.
You know it's true:
Everything I do, I do it for you.
Look into your heart – you will find
There's nothin' there to hide.
Take me as I am, take my life.
I would give it all, I would sacrifice.
Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more
You know it's true:
Everything I do, I do it for you, oh, yeah.
There's no love like your love
And no other could give more love.
There's nowhere unless you're there
All the time, all the way, yeah.
Look into your heart, baby...
Oh, you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more.
Yeah, I would fight for you, I'd lie for you,
Walk the wire for you, yeah, I'd die for you.
You know it's true:
Everything I do, oh, I do it for you.
Everything I do, darling.
You will see it's true.
You will see it's true.
Yeah!
Search your heart and your soul
You can't tell it's not worth dying for
I'll be there
I'd walk the fire for you
I'd die for you
Oh, yeah.
I'm going all the time, all the way.
Kurt applauded loudly before going and pulling Blaine into a passionate kiss. He clasped the hand Blaine had his Mark on and squeezed their Marks together. They were once more plunged into a world all of their own. It ended just as quickly as it began, Kurt beaming at Blaine.
"I love you, Blaine."
"I love you, too, Kurt," Blaine said, leaning forward to kiss his Soulmate once more.
. . . . . . . . . . .
I know most will think I dropped Klaine into loving quicker than I should. I've been planning this for a while. Kurt won't be ready for intimacy for a time while he heals from his ordeal. But now they are Claimed, their Marks are open, and now they can work on building their love now that it exists. Please review! I love them all. (Everything I do, I do it For You: Bryan Adams) While they are in a fluffy stage right now, don't count on it lasting. :)