The silence seemed to drag on for hours as Blaine stared at his hands. He wondered whether he should say something else but then what else could he say? He picked at a bit of loose skin by his nail before realising the potential fall out if he bled so he then tried to smooth the skin back down. He wondered whether Kurt was waiting for him to say something else or whether Kurt was trying to wrap his head around the information.

"I should….go." Blaine broke the silence and began to stand up when he suddenly found himself with a lap full of his ex-boyfriend.

"Don't go, stay with me. Blaine, you can't go back out there and you can't do this alone. Stay." Kurt straddled Blaines lap and wrapped his arms around his friends neck burying his face against his shoulder.

"Kurt, I…."

"Blaine please," Kurt pulled back to hold Blaine's gaze. "We can deal with this together, I'm not gonna let you walk out of here with nowhere else to go and no-one else to turn to. You're my best friend and I love you, so stay. Please stay with me?"

Blaine ran his hands across Kurt's back and looked into those expressive blue eyes. He thought about how he was such a burden on everyone and how Kurt probably just felt guilty for breaking up with him but then those eyes……those eyes had always held the truth of Kurt's feelings and right now they were begging him. Blaine opened his mouth a couple of times but no words came out. He sighed and nodded and Kurt hugged him so tight. Oh those hugs, how he'd missed those hugs. Blaine hadn't been held like that since……and that's when he broke.

Kurt gasped as sobs wracked the younger man's body and held him even tighter. His heart broke and in that moment he knew he'd do anything for Blaine. Blaine had been his best friend, his lover, his first…well everything! How could he have ever been so stupid as to walk away from all that history. 18 months and it was still as raw as it had felt that night. Kurt held Blaine tightly and stroked his hair as he cried and he wondered whether Blaine had allowed himself to do so before now. He had no idea how long they stayed in this position but eventually Blaine's sobs subsided and faded into quiet sniffles.

"Sorry, I guess I needed that." Blaine leant back against the couch with a small smile.

"You never have to apologise to me B. I should be apologising to you! If I hadn't been so stupid and ended things the way I did and left you alone with no-one then you wouldn't have had to change schools and you wouldn't have gone out and-" this time it was Blaine's finger on Kurt's lips.

"It's not your fault."

"But it's not yours either!"

"The only one to blame for this is the guy who had unprotected sex with me and didn't disclose his status. Guess I should have restocked my wallet with condoms." Blaine attempted to joke to lighten the mood but the pain in Kurt's face told him it didn't land. "Look, I don't blame you for this. I didn't call you to make you feel bad, I just…."

"Didn't have anyone else." Kurt finished. "And for that I will take at least some responsibility. We always said we'd be friends no matter what and I didn't fulfil that. You'll always be my best friend Blaine, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you but I want to make it up to you now if you'll let me." Kurt cupped Blaine's face gently as he nodded.

"Could I crash here for a couple of days? Just until I find somewhere else to go. My parents left me with nothing and I can't face another night in the streets." Blaine admitted quietly.

"No." Blaine's head whipped up. "You'll stay here with me for as long as you need to and you're not sleeping on the couch." Kurt stated. Blaine shook his head a little but Kurt cut him off. "You called me for help, let me help. You need somewhere safe and warm and you need someone in your corner. We'll need to speak to your doctor and find out if you need to be on any meds and if there's any lifestyle changes we should be aware of."

"We?" Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"Yes "we". I'm helping you whether you want me to or not." Kurt nodded emphatically folding his arms across his chest. "And I'm not getting off your lap until you agree." He smirked.

"Okay, okay." Blaine laughed softly. "Kurt, thank you for your offer. I would be eternally grateful to accept your help. Thank you." The men hugged each other again both feeling a weight being lifted from them.

"One thing though." Blaine began as he pulled back, "would you mind if I took a shower? I've been sleeping in the park for 4 days and I could really do with a wash." Kurt smiled kindly and pressed a soft kiss to Blaine's forehead.

"Of course, you know where everything is so help yourself. Go get freshened up and I'll leave some fresh pyjamas on the bed for you." Kurt stood up and pulled Blaine to his feet. "I'll make us some food too."

"Thanks. Kurt, can we keep this between us for now? The whole positive thing? I'm still trying to wrap my own head around it and I'm not sure I'm ready for anyone else except you to know yet." Blaine tugged on his sleeves nervously.

"Of course, it's your business to share not mine. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me but I promise you, I won't say a word to anyone." Kurt rubbed his hands against Blaine's arms as they both smiled at each other.

"Thanks, well, I should…shower."

"Yeah of course. Take your time."

Kurt watched as Blaine retreated into the bathroom. He waited until the door closed fully and the water was running before he dropped back into the couch.

What the fuck was happening! Kurt knew Blaine had been cut from NYADA - the gossip mill could rival the most persistent of paparazzi - but he never imagined that things could have affected him so badly. Sure Kurt avoided the subject of Blaine with his friends because he didn't want them to feel like they had to choose sides but now……now it seemed as though they had chosen a side and that side was him. Poor Blaine! How could they do that to him?! Blaine who had given up his friends and school to be with Kurt at McKinley, Blaine who had always put everyone else above himself, been there when Tina was Carrie'd at prom, been there when Sam was trying to get his modelling off the ground, been there when Rachel dropped out of college to star in a show - Blaine had been there for everyone, why was no-one there for Blaine?

Why hadn't he been there for Blaine? Kurt thought back on all the times Blaine had been his rock, his shoulder to cry on, his cheerleader, his stalwart, his everything. Kurt had never forgiven himself for breaking things off with Blaine. He hadn't meant for that fight to get so out of hand but as soon as he'd said out loud that he wasn't sure he wanted to get married he knew that was the truth. The real truth was that he'd wanted a longer engagement, more time for them to settle into what it really meant to be living together, planning a life together, being grown ups! It had all been moving too fast with no time to just enjoy each other. Then he'd blurted it out and hurt the one person he loved more than anything.

After the break up Kurt had thrown himself into his work. He was still attending NYADA but had been taken on as a part-time member of staff at Vogue. Kurt was in his final year of college with some evening classes from design school under his belt and an offer of a full-time position at the magazine after graduation. Isabelle had seen his potential and jumped at the chance to make sure Kurt stayed with her team. It was the best way to avoid thinking about difficult things too much - be so busy and occupied that your brain doesn't have a chance to think about what it's missing.

But now it knew. It knew exactly what had been missing and it was screaming at Kurt. Running his hands down his face, Kurt sighed and headed through to the bedroom to find the promised night clothes for Blaine. He silently reprimanded himself for being so self-indulgent. Now wasn't the time for his sorrows, he needed to help Blaine. He needed to show Blaine that he had someone who was willing to support and fight for him just as Blaine had done for everyone else.

Hearing the water stop, Kurt jolted himself out of his inner monologue and focussed on gathering the pyjamas. He turned around and came face to face with Blaine. A wet, dripping, naked Blaine. Okay so he had a towel around his waist but Kurt's helpful brain reminded him of what was under that towel.

"Wow!" He breathed

"Sorry, I didn't realise you'd be in here." Blaine blushed, wrapping his arms around himself.

"No, sorry, I just….I forgot how…" Kurt stuttered, the blush rising from his neck to fill his whole face. "You look really good."

"Oh, um, thanks?"

"Sorry, sorry! I'm an idiot! You're going through something and I'm leering at you like I haven't eaten in weeks!" Kurt covered his face briefly with his hand before handing over the pyjamas. "Here, I think these should fit you and I've got some sweatpants that you can wear in the morning. I can get your other clothes washed for you so you don't need to keep using mine. I'll uh, just go and, um, food! I'll make us some food!" And with that Kurt fled the room before he could embarrass himself even more.

Blaine chuckled a little, secretly pleased that he could still have such an effect on Kurt but his slight smile vanished when he realised that he'd probably never have that kind of attention from anyone ever again. Not now that he was tainted. Kurt was acting on old memories, not the current man he was. Blaine moved to sit on the edge of Kurt's bed dropping his head into his hands. How could anyone ever love him again? He didn't even know if he liked himself anymore so how could he expect anyone else to do so? How was he ever going to get a job or be with anyone ever again? He'd have to share his status and then he'd have all the associated stigma to deal with.

"Is cheese okay? I thought I still had chicken but-Blaine?" Kurt stood in the doorway holding a plate of sandwiches and two bottles of water. He quickly put them on his nightstand and dropped to his knees in front of Blaine who was now crying. "Blaine? Hey, don't cry."

Kurt reached up and wiped the tears but they were quickly replaced by new ones. The sadness etched across Blaine's face made Kurt's heart clench. Kurt stood and pulled Blaine to his feet. He carefully helped the younger man into the pyjama top and fastened the buttons. Reaching for the pyjama pants, Kurt gently pulled on the towel letting it fall to the floor beside them. He lifted Blaine's feet and tugged the fabric softly until the waistband was nestled in his hips making not to stare. Pulling back the covers, Kurt helped Blaine into bed before pulling off his tshirt and climbing in beside him. He wrapped his arms around the small frame of his friend and leant back against the headboard.

They both stayed silent as the tender interaction between them ran through their heads. As Blaine's breathing evened out and his body relaxed, Kurt carefully reached over to the plate on the nightstand beside the bed and ate one of the sandwiches. As he chewed he thought back to the pamphlets his dad had given him all those years ago. He remembered looking them over and the myths and facts of HIV sprung to mind. He wondered if any medical advances had been made since he last gave it any thought.

As he finished his sandwich, Kurt gazed down at the man in his arms. It had been so long since they'd fallen asleep like this and Kurt had missed it so much. Even underneath the scent of Kurt's own shower gel there was still something the smelt undeniably Blaine-like. He stroked Blaine's drying curls, brushing a couple of stray ones back to where he thought they should be. He looked over the olive skin nestled against his chest, the triangular eyebrows which framed the longest eyelashes he'd ever seen on anyone, the slight stubble along his jaw which appeared sharper than he remembered. Blaine's shoulders looked a little broader than the last time they'd been in each other's company, his biceps a little more defined. Kurt found himself wondering whether this was natural or whether Blaine had started working out, was he doing well at school? Kurt realised just how much he'd missed. He wished it hadn't taken circumstances like this for them to be like this again. Like what? What were they? Kurt knew he loved Blaine, always had, always would. He'd lost count of the times he'd hovered over Blaine's name in his contacts, typed a text and then deleted it. From the second their relationship had ended Kurt had wanted it back. But now was not the time. This was more important. Blaine needed his help, he needed a friend.

Kurt Hummel could be a friend.

Even if he wanted so much more.