Neither boy really knew what to say as they made their way to the boarding rooms. They both had a million thoughts running through their heads, and all of them were too tangled to know where to even start.

"Is my roommate going to be okay with having to share his room?" Kurt asked, worried that the other boy might be upset.

"David's really cool," Blaine said with a smile, thinking about his friend. "He's actually been a little lonely since Jack moved out."

"Why'd he move out?" Kurt asked.

"His family moved overseas, and he had the option to finish out school here or go with them, he chose to go," Blaine explained. Then, a little sparkle came into his eyes, and he asked, "Do you think you'll try out for the Warblers? Your voice is amazing!"

"I'm not sure," Kurt said. He really wanted to, though.

"Why not?" Blaine asked, shocked by Kurt's answer. "I'm sure Wes is chomping at the bit to have a countertenor in our group. It would open up so many possibilities for us."

"Really?" Kurt asked incredulously.

"What would make you think we wouldn't want you to join?" Blaine asked, wondering why his soulmate's confidence was so low. It surprised him that his beautiful soulmate wouldn't think of himself as talented.

"My old glee club never utilized my voice," Kurt explained. "I was only there to harmonize for Kween Rachel Berry. My director never thought my voice was anything special, and I guess I just let myself believe that."

Blaine stopped Kurt right there in the hallway and turned to face him. "Your voice is amazing!" He was so matter-of-fact about it, trying to relay to Kurt exactly how he was feeling. Then, softly, he began to sing, never pulling his hand from Kurt's.

"Sweet creature
Had another talk about where it's going wrong
But we're still young
We don't know where we're going
But we know where we belong

And oh we started
Two hearts in one home
It's hard when we argue
We're both stubborn
I know, but oh"

Blaine nodded to Kurt to take the chorus.

"Sweet creature, sweet creature
Wherever I go, you bring me home
Sweet creature, sweet creature
When I run out of road, you bring me home"

Several of the Warblers, including the three members of the council, were on their way to lunch and had come into the hallway where the boys were singing. They were amazed by Kurt's voice, now able to hear it by itself and not harmonizing with all of them. They were even more impressed with his voice than they had been in the senior commons.

The next two verses, both boys sang, Blaine harmonizing with Kurt.

"Sweet creature
We're running through the garden
Oh, where nothing bothered us
But we're still young
I always think about you and how we don't speak enough

And oh we started
Two hearts in one home
I know, it's hard when we argue
We're both stubborn
I know, but oh"

By the time the two boys said the words, "I know," all of the Warblers were in the hallway and were thoroughly enjoying the show. Once again, Kurt took the chorus alone.

"Sweet creature, sweet creature
Wherever I go, you bring me home
Sweet creature, sweet creature
When I run out of road, you bring me home"

Blaine didn't sing the rest of the song. He was in awe of Kurt's range and the clarity of his voice. The original had nothing on his soulmate's version, and Blaine was sort of obsessed with Harry Styles.

"Your voice is stunning," Blaine said breathily.

"I second that," a voice called from behind them.

Kurt whipped around, and his face instantaneously turned scarlet. Blaine knew that Kurt would have run away again had he not been holding his hand. Blaine tightened his grip and whispered in his ear, "You're safe here, Kurt. These guys will never hurt you." He straightened up and announced, "Kurt, meet the Warblers. Warblers, officially meet Kurt Hummel, Dalton's newest student and boarder. D, meet your new roommate!" He smiled broadly at his classmate.

"No sh—joke, really?" a tall black boy said, stepping forward to shake Kurt's hand and meet him properly. "I'm David. Please tell me you'll join the Warblers? I'm sure there will have to be an official ruling. But, with that performance, I'm pretty sure you're in.

"Seriously?" Kurt asked.

"Told you," Blaine replied cheekily.

"David's right," another boy said as he came forward to meet Kurt. "I'm Wes, and it would be so amazing to have you as part of the group! Thad, what do we formally need to do now?"

The other Warblers were all talking, but Kurt couldn't hear what they were saying. "They want me?" he thought. "I don't understand. Are they playing some joke? Surely Blaine wouldn't let them do something like that. Unless he's in on it. No, he can't be. Fuck all of you assholes for making me think these thoughts!" Kurt took a deep breath, trying his best to drown out all of the negative thoughts flying around in his head.

"Blaine," he heard someone say, though it sounded like the speaker was underwater, "take him into our room. It looks like he's having some kind of flashback or something. I used to get them all the time."

Kurt felt himself being led into a room and sat down on a bed.

"Can you try to match your breathing to mine?" the voice asked him. The boy, David, then made big, exaggerated breaths. After a couple of minutes, Kurt's breathing had evened out, and he opened his eyes.

"You okay?" David asked.

"I think so," Kurt answered. "I'm sorry I caused a scene. I just got stuck in my head."

"There's no need to apologize," Blaine said, Kurt's hand still firmly in his. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You're safe here."

"I'm wondering, maybe, if that's why that happened?" Kurt wondered aloud. "At McKinley, I was constantly keeping my guard up. I always had to be on my toes because if I wasn't, any number of things would happen."

"Things like what?" David asked, curious to learn more about the boy who would be rooming with him.

"Name-calling," Kurt began. "Lots and lots of name-calling. The dumpster tosses died down after Noah and I became friends, but none of the rest of the bullying did. I'd get hit with a slushie at least once a day. And the locker checks happened multiple times a day." Kurt's voice was a whisper by the end of his explanation.

"Where were all of the adults?" Blaine asked, outraged.

"They didn't care," Kurt answered him. He turned toward his soulmate and noticed unshed tears in Blaine's eyes, though he couldn't decide if they were from what he had said or a more personal reason.

"Nothing like that will ever happen to you here, Kurt," David promised, knowing why Blaine was so upset and wanting to give him a moment to compose himself. "This school is amazing. Before I came here, I was at a public school in Tennessee, and there was a lot of prejudice towards African Americans. The names they called me hurt, but nothing hurt worse than the beating I got. One day, I had to talk to the preacher's daughter about an English assignment we were supposed to be working on together. She was the prettiest girl in the school, and some of my classmates weren't thrilled about her talking to a boy of color. So, they cornered me after school that day and beat me up, worse than I'd ever been beaten up before. After I recovered, my parents pulled me out of school, and thankfully, they were able to find new jobs in Columbia."

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," Kurt said, sympathetic to his new roommates plight.

"Thanks," David said. "Well, I'll give you two a little bit to talk. I gather your dad is finishing up the transfer paperwork?"

"Yeah," Kurt replied. He had forgotten momentarily that his dad was waiting on him.

"I'd say you have 30 minutes from when he started for him to get all of the way through it," David said. "Then, he'll either come looking for you, or you'll have to meet him back down there." With a wink, he left the room, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

"I'm sorry I got so angry," Blaine said. "I'll explain more about why I had that reaction later if that's alright? I don't want to take up what little time we have right now with a sad story."

"That's fine," Kurt said, smiling shyly at his soulmate. "Can I...um…" He wasn't sure how to ask for what he wanted, but he knew he wanted to ask for it.

"Kurt," Blaine said, "you can ask me anything."

"Could I see your mark?" the boy asked after a couple of moments, deciding to just go with a direct approach.

"Of course," Blaine answered and took off his blazer and unbuttoned his left cuff. He rolled up the long, white sleeve to reveal a red puzzle piece that looked like it would fit inside Kurt's mark perfectly.

"They'd go together if they were touching," Kurt whispered.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked.

Kurt rolled up the sleeve of his sweater and showed his mark to Blaine. Both boys felt an urge to put them together, though neither one knew why. There was never a 'pull' that had been described by either of their parents. Kurt remembered that his father had told him that by touching their marks, they could talk about anything they wanted to on their skin. Burt hadn't said anything about a deep desire or heavy longing to touch them, though. It almost felt like there were magnets beneath their skin, begging to connect.

"I can't tell if the want to put our marks together or kiss you is stronger," Blaine blurted out, not able to hold his feelings in anymore.

"Can we do both?" Kurt asked, almost whimpering. "Please?"

Blaine held his wrist out to Kurt, taking the initiative on that part, wanting to give Kurt the reins on the kiss. Both their marks and the boys' lips touched each other at the exact same time.

A/N: The song used is "Sweet Creature" by Harry Styles.