A/N thank you for the kind reviews & follows so far! To my knowledge there hasn't been a fic with an HIV plot before (although I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong!) so I hope I do the topic justice! As before, any discussions of treatment etc are simplified for fic purposes but I'm trying to stick to the main facts.
I'm going to start updating this on a Wednesday & Saturday rather than an as & when schedule so hopefully that'll help make it easier to keep up with the story! Mucho thanks & love to Raynesake who kindly cast her eye over the story & gave me some pointers (some small updates to existing chapters btw!) Go check her out Kelliot fic "Auditions" - it's glamtastic!
Without further ado, I present - chapter 5!
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CW: blood, brief mention of assault
It had been three days since Kurt & Blaine had left Dr Feldman's office with a stack of useful information. It had been three days since Kurt had trawled his usual online shopping haunts until he found matching pill caddies that he deemed appropriate enough for them. It had been three days since they'd both taken their first dose of medication and ironically "clinked" their coffee cups.
It had been two days since Kurt cleared a space for Blaine's remaining possessions in his closet and dresser. It had been two days since Blaine went back to classes and declined four different invitations for coffee. It had been two days since Blaine had watched Kurt flip off his assistant through the phone as she called for the third time to ask if he'd finished his article yet (the one he'd emailed to her four hours and 2 calls prior).
It had been one day since Kurt had walked in on Blaine getting changed after class and blushed profusely before slamming the door behind him. It had been one day since Kurt had heard Blaine vomiting in the bathroom. It had been one day since Blaine had denied vomiting in the bathroom and passed it off as a cough.
It had been 12 hours since Kurt had woken up next to Blaine and tightened his arms around him. It had been 11 hours since Blaine had woken up in Kurt's arms and quickly got out of bed without meeting his eye. It had been 10 hours since Blaine had left for class with barely a wave. It had been 9 hours since Kurt had called his boss and told her he'd be working from home today. It had been 8 hours since he'd first stared at the blank page on his screen. It had been 5 hours since he'd received a text from Blaine saying he'd be back later than expected. It had been 4 hours since Blaine had last responded to a text.
Kurt sighed and slammed his laptop shut. He got as far as "Fall trends - Pumpkin Spice and all things nice?" before his remaining brain cells refused to play nice. Fortunately he still had a week until his deadline so he wasn't worrying about it too much. He knew what he was worrying about but knew he shouldn't be worrying. Or was he not worrying enough? Grumbling to himself, Kurt headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
As he reached up to the shelf he noticed the pill caddies he'd bought. Blaine's yellow one still held this mornings tablets. Kurt felt an inexplicable rage run through him as he gripped the counter tightly. He took a few deep breaths and argued with himself. Maybe Blaine had extras with him and took them on his way to class. Or maybe he'd taken Kurt's by mistake - wait, had he taken his own pills this morning? Yes, he had. Kurt remembered because one got stuck on his tongue and he had to rinse with mouthwash twice to get the taste away. So why had Blaine not taken his own. Come to think of it - where was Blaine?
Kurt had just pulled his phone from his back pocket when he heard the front door being unlocked. He made his way out of the kitchen and watched as Blaine let himself in and went straight into the bedroom without even lifting his head. Kurt watched silently wondering what the fuck was going on.
He must have seen me - he walked right past me!Kurt thought to himself. Straightening himself up, Kurt followed Blaine's path to the bedroom where the closed door made him pause. Should he knock on his own door or just open it? He compromised and opened the door slowly with a gentle knock.
"Blaine? Are you okay?"
"Leave me alone Kurt." Came the sullen response. Blaine had his back to the door and was standing in front of the open closet, a pair of navy sweatpants in his hand.
"I will if that's what you want, I just…..I was worried about you that's all and you seem a little….out of sorts." Kurt took a small step closer to Blaine, his hands up in front of him as if he was approaching a wild animal.
"Can you just go. Please?"
"Okay. Have you eaten? I can make us some food if you're hungry? Or just a drink if you're not?"
"Why does no-one ever listen to me?!" Blaine yelled suddenly, slamming the closet door closed. "I'm so sick of this!"
"I'm just trying to help Blaine, what the fuck is your prob-what the hell happened to you?!" Blaine had turned to yell at Kurt again but all the words died in their throats as Kurt took in the man in front of him. "Blaine…."
"Don't Kurt….just…don't." Blaine backed away wrapping his arms around himself. Kurt stopped moving and took a moment to fully register what he was looking at.
One side of Blaine's face was bruised and grazed as if someone had been trying to sand his cheek. His eye was swollen and his lip had obviously been bleeding at some point. His forearm had a similar graze pattern to his face and the knuckles on his hand were skinned and bleeding. The hair on his head looked matted and there was a tell tale red mark peeking between the curls. Through a space in his ripped tshirt, Kurt could see more bruising on Blaine's chest. Kurt's heart was thrashing around in his chest as he tried not to imagine someone hurting Blaine.
"I…..I'll be right back." Kurt managed to mumble before he dashed into the bathroom to try and find the newly restocked first aid kit. One of his new online purchases, Kurt had made sure there were plenty of band aids, gloves, wipes and everything else for every possible scenario just in case either of them were injured so they could both be as protected as possible. Grasping his prize he made his way back through to the bedroom where Blaine was now sitting in the floor, his back resting against the closet, his shoulders moving with his sobs.
Without saying a word, Kurt sat himself down next to Blaine and put on a pair of rubber gloves. Blaine appeared to be resigned to his fate and too exhausted and sore to argue as he allowed Kurt to begin cleaning his wounds. Kurt started with his hand, gently cleaning the grazes to his knuckles and wiping away the blood and grit. Using a spare bag, he disposed of each used antiseptic wipe and bandaid wrapper as he made his way up Blaine's arm. When he reached Blaine's shoulder, Kurt gently hooked his fingers under Blaine's chin and tilted his face to meet his own.
"Hey you." He said quietly.
"Hey." Blaine's eyes were filled with tears as Kurt gently and carefully cleaned his face. They both flinched as Blaine's split lip was cleaned and the antiseptic clearly made itself known. Kurt's slender fingers made quick and delicate work of the graze on Blaine's cheek and as Kurt cleaned up the wound on Blaine's scalp he was glad he managed to get hold of some medical grade skin glue.
It took nearly 2 hours to slowly and fully clean Blaine's injuries and neither of them spoke again until Kurt had cleared away the used wipes and disposed of his them with his gloves. Kurt helped Blaine change into a clean tshirt and sweats before helping him into bed. Blaine didn't argue or comment when Kurt brought him a glass of water with his evening meds and two Advil or when Kurt climbed into bed and pulled Blaine into his arms.
"Aren't you going to yell at me? Or ask me what happened?" Blaine asked quietly, not really sure which option would be the better.
"No, I'm going to wait for you to tell me because honestly, I'm a little freaked out right now and I don't want us to fight and say something we don't mean and we can't take back." It was at that moment that Blaine noticed Kurt's hand shaking. He sat up and moved to face Kurt, crossing his legs beneath him.
"I don't want to fight with you either. But I think we need to talk." Kurt pulled himself up to sit, a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nothing good ever came from those words being said.
"I went back to the club. I know what you're going to say." Blaine held up a hand as Kurt's mouth opened. "Yes I'm obviously that stupid. I went back to confront the guy who did this to me. It didn't exactly go well." Blaine gestured to his face. "I got a text last night from a mutual acquaintance who said he'd be there tonight. I followed him out to the alley and he was with another guy so I yelled something to get their attention. I doubt it was very clever or witty as they barely looked at me before going back to what they were doing. Then I just blurted it out and the other guy just went really pale and ran off. That's when things get a bit foggy really. I remember him coming towards me and pushing me against the wall but I didn't put my hands out in time, hence the face!" Blaine avoided meeting Kurt's gaze and instead focussed on the cuff of his sweatpants, running his fingers over the material and stretching it a little.
"He punched me in the back a couple of times then grabbed me and punched me in the face. Then I fell when he pushed me against a dumpster - I guess that's how I cut my head. He didn't say much, just called me a few choice names and then disappeared." Blaine finally looked up at Kurt expecting to see anger or frustration or annoyance. Instead he saw a tear stained face filled with sadness and worry.
"I wish you'd told me what you were planning to do. I could have gone with you or talked you out if it or something."
"Or you could have ended up hurt too."
"Blaine…..I'm mad at you for putting yourself in harms way like that and I'm mad that you thought you could hide this from me. I….when I saw the blood…..I was so scared. It became real, like it was just this invisible thing until then." Kurt's breath shuddered as he tried to control his emotions. "You didn't take your meds this morning either." He whispered softly.
"Shit, I was so distracted I must have forgotten. Dammit." Blaine threw himself backward to lay down on the bed. "Ow!" He groaned as he carefully lifted his hand to his head. "Okay this day officially sucks."
"It's about to get worse." Kurt mumbled as Blaine's head popped up.
"What…what do you mean worse?" Blaine pushed himself up to sit. "What….what's…"
"I think it would be best tonight if I slept on the couch. Your face is still quite raw and it if bleeds during the night then…." Kurt's words trailed off as Blaine looked even more broken than before.
"Oh….I guess….I suppose that make sense. Sleeping and everything. But you stay, I'll stay on the couch. I should probably stay there for….a while. Things are just….yeah. I'm really sorry Kurt." Blaine left the room quietly, stopping only to collect a blanket from the top shelf of the closet before closing the door behind him.
Once he was alone, Kurt sobbed quietly. He felt like the worlds biggest jackass. Pulling the covers around him he tried to keep himself quiet as he allowed himself to feel the effects of this evening. He clenched and released his fists several times to try and release some of the pent up emotions. This was Blaine. Blaine who never deliberately hurt or upset anyone before. Blaine who was kind to a fault. Blaine who had the ability to make his heart beat faster just by smiling at him. Blaine who could have infected him whilst they slept. No, Kurt shook his head. Blaine would never have allowed that to happen - at least not deliberately. Kurt took a few cleansing breaths and tried to exhale the worries from his brain.
He knew what he had to do.
Kurt got out of bed and padded through to the living room where Blaine lay on the couch staring at the ceiling.
"I think I should find my own place tomorrow." He spoke to the room, trying to avoid looking at Kurt.
"I think you should shut up." Kurt responded as he walked over and knelt beside the couch. He took Blaine's ungrazed hand in his. "We're both idiots. We've been ignoring the elephant in the room and now it's trying to trample us."
"You've every right to be scared of me. I just call out of the blue and drop this bombshell on you and suddenly you're cleaning up my diseased blood because being infected once clearly wasn't enough of a lesson for me."
"Stop, what's happened leading up to this minute is done. We can't go back and change it so we might as well learn from it. I'll stop pretending everything is fine if you stop blaming yourself for everything." Kurt kissed Blaine's hand and stroked his knuckles with his thumb. "I think we really need to have a proper talk about what it is we're doing and what we each want and what we need to do to make that happen. But in the meantime, you need to come back to bed."
"But you said-"
"I know what I said but I'm also an idiot. I've got an idea that we can try tonight and then we can revisit things properly in the morning." Kurt stood and pulled Blaine to his feet. Making sure to avoid any of Blaine's cuts, Kurt wrapped him in a hug smiling a little when he felt the strong hands on his waist.
Kurt led Blaine back into the bedroom and set about creating a double ended sleeping space. By the time he was finished there were two pillows at each end of the bed and the covers had been re-arranged to fill the space between. Kurt pulled on a pair of socks and slipped an extra pillow case onto one of the pillows.
"In case your cheek oozes during the night there's an extra layer so it hopefully won't go through to the actual pillow. My feet are covered so there's very little chance of anything getting through." Kurt turned to face the younger man who was watching him with an amused look on his face.
"You're unbelievable sometimes. Thank you."
"It's nothing - besides neither of us are young enough to survive a night on a couch anymore without requiring a chiropractor in the morning!"
A/N- I hope you're enjoying the fic so far! The next chapter will be posted on Wednesday so please read, review, follow, favourite, share and love this!
