The next morning, when Kurt woke up, he realized quickly that he had, in fact, been a pillow the entire night. Blaine was still asleep, his forehead and curls damp with sweat from their combined body heat, and he had his arms and legs wrapped tightly around Kurt like a tiny koala would hug a eucalyptus branch. Kurt smiled down at him and reached up a hand, beginning to pet at his curls once again, combing through them gently.

A few minutes later, Blaine began to stir, making tiny moaning sounds as he stretched.

Kurt stopped petting him, and Blaine whined, cuddling back into Kurt's chest.

"Why'd you stop?" he mumbled. "Liked that."

"I can keep going," Kurt offered, returning his hand to the top of Blaine's head. He petted for a few minutes before letting his fingers dive deeper, scratching at his scalp.

Blaine, who had been humming softly at the hair pets, moaned loudly when he felt him move closer to his scalp. "Ohhhhhhhh my God… That's amazing, Kurt."

"I'm glad you like it."

In response, Blaine turned his head just a little, pressing kisses against Kurt's chest, over his shirt. He never kissed the same spot twice, and the more Kurt scratched, the higher up he moved, soon pressing kisses against the collar of Kurt's T-shirt, then against his bare collar bone, and eventually his neck.

When the kissing became too much, Kurt let his hand drop away from Blaine's curls and instead cup his cheek beside his ear, drawing it up his neck and across his jawline to his lips. They kissed one another for several minutes, lips and tongues exploring and finding new ways to love one another, discovering how the other tasted, how their mouth felt against their own. Of course, the answer for both of them was heaven. Perfect. Exactly what I've been looking for.

They pulled back when they were both short of breath, and they just stared at one another for a few moments, processing what had just happened. "You are an amazing kisser, Kurt," Blaine breathed when he felt like he could speak again. "You're like a magician."

Kurt blushed brightly. "Thanks. I, uh, I've never really done that before."

Blane's eyes grew wide. "You've never made out before?"

"No. I've never-at least not formally anyway-had a boyfriend to, uh, to make out with."

"How could anyone not want you?"

"Just not that attractive I guess."

"No. That's not it. You're perfect, Kurt. Absolutely breathtaking and sexier than any other man I've seen."

Apparently, this blush is never going away. "Thanks," he said again.

Blaine beamed. "Welcome. Now, I'm going to go and brush my teeth. I'm sure my morning breath is terrible."

Kurt watched him go, not commenting even though he wanted to. I think you tasted perfect; I didn't even give a second thought to the fact we both just woke up.

When Blaine was finished in the bathroom, Kurt took his turn, using a bit of mouthwash, too, and applying a quick moisturizer to his face. When he emerged, he found Blaine sitting on the edge of the bed, fiddling with his phone. "What do we have going on today?" Kurt asked curiously, going to his own side of the bed and grabbing his phone.

"Well, we have the day off. We're driving to Baltimore, Maryland, today because that's where our next gig is, but it's not until tomorrow. So, basically, we have the day to goof off." He grinned. "We get to play 8X10 tomorrow. Have you ever heard of it?"

"No. But I'm excited to go." He hesitated, not sure if he wanted to show Blaine just how nerdy he was. Glancing down at his hands, however, he saw the small heart forming beside his soulmark, and he bucked up the courage. "Blaine?"

"Yeah."

"When we get up tomorrow, can we sing Good Morning, Baltimore?"

"I wouldn't miss it."

Kurt didn't hold back his biggest cheesy smile at that, glad that Blaine was on board, too. "When do we leave?"

Glancing at the clock, Blaine said, "In like an hour and a half, I think. We have to be out by checkout time."

"Gotcha."

"Wanna go get coffee?" Blaine asked. "Somewhere that's not the lobby? I can't stand hotel coffee, even at The Four Seasons."

"Sure," Kurt replied. "Just let me change."

The boys had a nice morning together. They found a Starbucks nearby and got coffees then walked around, just chatting and enjoying the beautiful morning. It was still chilly, but with coffee heating their hands and warm jackets on, they were fine. David trailed them all morning, but they didn't mind. They felt safe that way, and he was far enough back that they were still on their own.

Arriving back at the hotel, the boys had just enough time to pack up their bags and head back down to the bus before it was time to go. The drive to Baltimore was about as long as the drive between New York and Pittsburgh, and the time passed quickly. The two of them played a Broadway board game with Nick, Jeff, and Sebastian. Elliot begged off, saying he was going to work on some lyrics for a song idea he'd had the night before, and Eli refused to play if Kurt was involved. So, he sat by the window once again, earbuds firmly in his ears, and sulked. It was a fun time, and Kurt got to know a few of the other bandmates who were really quite nice, not that he'd expected anything else.

They arrived at their new hotel in the early afternoon, and they were quickly checked in by security before they were permitted to go to their rooms. Once again, Kurt and Blaine roomed together, and once again, there was only one bed. But Kurt didn't feel weird about it this time. In fact, he was looking forward to another night of snuggling with Blaine, petting his hair, and listening to him breathe. He was getting used to the closeness with Blaine, actually. In fact, he craved it.

The afternoon passed quickly as well. Blaine had an acoustic guitar brought up to their room, and he practiced some songs from the band's set for a while. Kurt sat in the chair in the corner of the room and watched him, a notebook and pencil in his lap. He'd told Blaine that he was going to work on his lyrics, but so far, he hadn't written a word. He was too distracted by the perfect voice coming from the man across the room.

At seven, the band and Kurt met their manager in one of the hotel's party rooms for a meeting and pizza. As they went down the elevator to the lowest level of the hotel, Blaine prepped Kurt for meeting their manager, William Schuester.

"Honestly, I think he's a good dude. He just makes some poor choices sometimes," Blaine told him. "And, he's not always the most open-minded. Like, he supports all of us being gay and has no problem with it, but he's…" Blaine paused. "I think not open-minded is maybe the best way to describe it."

Kurt nodded. He was a little bit nervous about meeting the man, but it had to be done. Sooner rather than later, actually, would probably be the best. He and Blaine appeared like they might be...well, stuck with one another. And, Blaine needed to tell William about his "breakup" with Eli. Kurt knew that, even though Blaine wasn't saying it, he was nervous to tell Will about it. SO, he was determined to stay close to Blaine for the evening to help to keep him calm.

When they left the elevator, they heard a voice behind them. "My God. Are the two of you like fucking glued together? Why can't you be separated for even a second?"

"I swear I'm going to kill him. I swear…" Blaine muttered under his breath, his fists clenching at his sides.

Kurt rubbed a soothing hand up and down Blaine's arm. "It's okay," he murmured. "He doesn't bother me." That's a lie. But Blaine doesn't need to get himself in trouble right now.

"You're a saint. Honestly," Blane breathed. He threw open the door to the meeting room and stalked inside, not even bothering to greet the rest of the band or their manager. He walked across the room and sat down in a chair, patting the one next to him for Kurt.

"Just gonna ignore me?" Eli asked, walking into the room behind them. "I mean, I asked you a fucking question. The least you could do is answer me. I am part of your band, after all. Or maybe you don't care about that anymore either."

"Eli," Nick warned him, raising a brow. "Don't start a fucking fight right now. We're supposed to be celebrating the success of the Legends Festival, not arguing over Kurt!"

"So, that's your name," the manager said, approaching the end of the table where Kurt was sitting. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll explain everything in a few minutes," Blaine said shortly. "First, though, I want to talk about something else."

"Which is?"

Blaine looked around the table at the rest of the band. "All in favor of kicking Eli out of the band?"

The other four boys stared at him, unsure if he was kidding or not. "Um…"

"No. No. That is not a conversation we're having," Will declared. "We've been over this. We're not kicking anyone out of the group. You're all in this together." He turned around, sure that this was over. Grabbing the pizza boxes that were on a small table behind him, along with the plates and napkins, Will slapped them down on the table. "Eat up, boys." He turned to Kurt with a smile. "Even though I still don't know why you're here, I'm sure there's enough for you, too."

Everyone grabbed their pizza and some drinks, and there was small talk around the table as everyone ate. Will kept eyeing Kurt, but the boy ignored him in favor of chatting softly with Blaine and answering some of the questions Nick and Jeff asked him.

When it seemed that everyone was finished eating, Will grabbed a notebook and pen that he produced from a chair and set them on the table. "Okay, boys. Let's get down to business. Let's talk Legends Festival."

"First, you need to find out why he's here," Eli said, pointing across the table at Kurt. "I think it's pretty suspicious that he just showed up out of nowhere and is hanging all over Blaine. I suspect blackmail."

Everyone at the table rolled their eyes. "I can promise you," Sebastian said dryly, "there's no blackmail."

"How can you be sure?"

All eyes turned to Blaine, and he sighed heavily.

Under the table, Kurt grabbed onto Blaine's hand. He squeezed it a few times reassuringly as if to say, "You can do this."

Blaine glanced at him, giving him a tiny smile before turning back to face Will. "The first thing that you should know, Will, is that the farce between me and Eli is over. We're not fake dating; we're not pretending anymore. I'm done with that."

"But-"

"No. That's it. As far as why Kurt is here, I invited him. He's a really sweet guy. We spent hours talking at Marie's after the Legends Festival, and he was just an absolute sweetheart. He's from the same place I was pre-fame, he's had my brother as a professor at Dalton, and he's interested in writing and creating music." Plus, he's my fucking soulmate. Back off, Eli.

"So…" Will began, unsure of the best way to ask the question he wanted to ask. "So, we're just inviting fans along on tour?"

Blaine sighed. "Um, no. Kurt's not just a fan. He's-" He glanced at Kurt, wondering if he was ready to tell the truth yet. But he saw the almost imperceptible shake of Kurt's head, and he sighed. "He's different. He's not just a traditional fan. I wouldn't just invite anyone along and trust just anyone. But believe me… Kurt's not just a fan. So, you don't need to worry. I'm not gonna pick up anyone else." Ever.

"You can't share how he's, um, different?" Will asked.

"No. No, I can't."

"So, you're lying then," Eli said.

Blaine growled, lurching up from his seat. "Hopefully you don't need me for anything else, because I'm leaving." He grabbed Kurt's hand, tugging him up, too. "Come on. Let's go back to our room."

"Blaine! Sit back down!" Will demanded. "We need to talk about the festival."

"It was great. I loved everyone there except for Eli. I heard lots of positive comments from everyone who performed, and we sold more tickets this year than any other year so far. Done."

"No. No. That's-"

"Bye!" Blaine called, leading Kurt by the hand out of the meeting room and back to the elevator. When they were safely inside, he turned to Kurt. "God, I am so sorry you had to be witness to all of that. I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn't know it was going to be that bad. I seriously have to do something about Eli… I can't-"

"It's okay," Kurt cut in before Blaine could go off on a tirade about his fellow bandmate. "I knew it would get dicey. I'm alright."

"It shouldn't have, though," Blaine grumped. "Eli is just… He's a jackass. And, Will feeds him by not letting us talk straight to him about what the hell he's doing. Maybe he would have figured out what he was doing and stopped by now if we were allowed to just tell him what he was doing."

"Maybe. But it doesn't matter. Everything will be fine," Kurt reassured him.

They returned to their room together, and Blaine made a beeline for his guitar. He picked it up and strummed a few chords, sighing. "Playing always makes me feel better."

Kurt smiled at him. "I can only imagine. Writing and playing do that for me, too."

"Wait…" Blaine looked at him curiously. "You play… I'd forgotten." He glanced down at the guitar then back up at Kurt, a strange smile on his face.

"Yeah. Some. I do most of my composing on the guitar like I told you."

"Will you play for me?" Blaine asked, holding the guitar out toward Kurt. "I'd love to hear you. Maybe you could… Maybe you could sing for me?"

"Oh, I don't know… I mean, you're a famous singer. Why would you want to hear little old me?"

"Kurt… Can I ask you something serious?"

"Of course."

"Are you going to be...affected...by my status as a singer forever? I don't want to have that divide between us. I want us to be on the same level, neither one above the other. Because if we're going to be...together…forever, as it would appear, I don't want you to feel like I have anything to hold over you. We're just us, our jobs or interests shouldn't weigh in on our dynamic."

Biting his lip, Kurt nodded. "I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have said that."

Rounding the bed, Blaine approached him and wrapped his arms around Kurt's middle. "Don't apologize. We're learning together, growing together. We just need to talk to one another, communicate what we need from each other."

Kurt nodded. His arms naturally wound around Blaine's neck, and when the other man leaned in for a quick kiss, he reciprocated, pressing his lips gently to Blaine's. The kiss was sweet, not needy or heated, and when they pulled back, Kurt pressed his forehead gently against Blaine's, whispering, "If you really want to hear me sing, I will."

"Please?"

Letting go of Blaine, Kurt moved to the other side of the bed and picked up the guitar. "What should I play?"

"Anything!" Blaine exclaimed, settling down on the end of the bed near Kurt. "Anything at all. An original or anything else."

"Have you heard any original songs by Ben Platt? There's one that I love especially. In fact…" He smiled. "I know the perfect one." Settling down on the bed, Kurt balanced the guitar on his knee and strummed a few chords. Then, he glanced at Blaine. "These words are for you." He started strumming, and a few moments later, his clear, strong voice breaking into the silence in the room. He sang through the first verse, but it was when he got to the first chorus that Blaine really woke up and paid attention.

"I don't think you have to leave

If to change is what you need

You can change right next to me

When you're high, I'll take the lows

You can ebb and I can flow

And we'll take it slow

And grow as we go

Grow as we go"

He's right, Blaine realized. In fact, we actually said that just a few moments ago. He's so sweet.

As Kurt sang, he looked into Blaine's eyes, trying to convey what he was thinking and feeling to the man on the other end of the bed.

"You won't be the only one

I am unfinished, I've got so much left to learn
I don't know how this river runs
But I'd like the company through every twist and turn

Ooh, who said it's true
That the growing only happens on your own?
They don't know me and you"

It was a little bit surreal, Kurt realized as he sang, to be able to sing to a famous singer, someone who, a few days ago, he'd only watched on stage. Now, he was kissing him, hugging him, calming him. He continued on, excited for the bridge which, in his opinion, had the best lyrics in the whole song.

"I don't know who we'll become

I can't promise it's not written in the stars

But I believe that when it's done

We're gonna see that it was better

That we grew up together"

He finished out the final chorus strong, happy to see Blaine smiling at him. He must have liked it, he thought as he strummed the final chord, setting the guitar aside and turning toward the singer. "So, what did you think?"

"Kurt, you were phenomenal! So amazing. Your voice… I've never heard anything like it. It was beautiful. So, so wonderful."

Kurt felt his face blush brightly. "Thank you."

"Seriously. So, so good."

There were a few beats of silence between them. Then, Kurt said, "What now?"

"Actually, I'd love to just relax and watch TV. I know that sounds silly, but I almost never get to watch anything."

"That's not silly at all. What do you want to watch?" Kurt asked, sitting back against the pillows and grabbing the remote from the nightstand.

"Anything at all," Blaine replied, crawling up the bed to cuddle up against Kurt, just as he'd done the night before, sighing happily. "I love this," he whispered.

Kurt brought his hand up to pet Blaine's head momentarily. "Me, too," he whispered.

They ended up watching the Game Show Network, giggling at the ridiculous Family Feud answers and trying to beat each other at guessing the Wheel of Fortune answers before the contestants on the show. And, with the soft glow of the TV still glowing, the two of them fell asleep wrapped up together, and they slept soundly.

The next morning, Blaine woke up first, and he moved from Kurt's chest to the nearby pillow to watch the other man sleep. Kurt had an arm tucked beneath his head, his elbow crooked out to the side. His mouth was open just a little, and when Blaine listened closely, he could hear Kurt snoring ever so slightly. How adorable, he thought.

After not too long, Kurt stirred, opening his eyes and blinking slowly at Blaine, getting the blurriness out of his eyes. "Good morning," he said, his voice was husky and deep, quite different than how he normally spoke, and the sound of his voice stirred something deep in Blaine's stomach, sending his blood rushing south.

"Good morning," he managed to say, smiling softly. "How did you sleep?"

"Really well. You?"

"Amazing. And, I've had an amazing morning watching you sleep," he replied, smiling.

Kurt didn't know what to say, but he blushed. "I would really like to take a shower," Kurt told him finally. "Would you mind if I jump in really quickly? I'm sure you have to get going."

"I have a few hours. Go ahead."

Hopping up, Kurt took a quick shower, enjoying the soft, warm rain from the showerhead on the ceiling. The Four Seasons hotels are insanely nice, Kurt thought to himself. Who would have ever guessed that I would ever get to spend the night in a Four Seasons room? When he left the bathroom, dressed in a nice, tight pair of jeans and a dark t-shirt, he found Blaine sitting on the bed, staring at his phone. "What's up?" he asked, coming over to sit beside him.

"I just got a message from Nick. He's not feeling well, and he wants to bow out of the show tonight. He's apparently throwing up." He glanced up with nervous eyes. "Would you-Would you be able to fill in for him?"

"Me?" Kurt's eyes grew to twice their size, nearly popping out of his head. "You want me to play in the band tonight?"

"After last night and what I saw you do, I would be an idiot not to ask you."

"But...in the band? Are you sure?"

"Kurt," Blaine told him, scooting closer to him and wrapping him in a side hug, "I'm not pressuring you. If you don't want to or would be too nervous, you don't have to. But I think you'd be wonderful, and I wanted to give you the option."

"I- I-"

"Take a minute," Blaine urged. "Think it over. Talk it out if you need to."

Kurt nodded, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Do I want to be in the band? Do I want to play? Will I have enough time to practice? What if I mess up? What about the rest of the band? Just ask Blaine. "Okay. Will I have enough time to practice with you? What will the rest of the band think?"

"If you want, we can head to the venue now and practice all day. And, no one will say anything because you are saving our asses."

"Ooookay," Kurt agreed slowly. "I'll try."

"You're wonderful!" Blaine replied, hopping up and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "I'll let the guys know, and we'll get going. Okay?"

"Okay."

"You're the best!"

Kurt grinned, but all he could think was I hope I don't screw this up...