Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, do you really think I'd have let S4 happen?
When Blaine woke the next day, he wasn't surprised to hear the now familiar sound of water running in their attached bathroom. He rolled over, forcing his eyes open and steadily pulled himself out of his sleepiness, spotting Kurt's already made bed. He sighed and stretched as he got up, looking at his watch as he headed out the dorm door: 7:30. Groaning, Blaine rubbed his eyes; he could have slept a lot longer than he had. The only reason he hadn't was because of Kurt's whimpers that would fill the room at night. It took all Blaine's mental strength not to wake the other boy, it was only because he knew Kurt hadn't been sleeping much lately that he didn't.
The cold morning air swept through his thin t-shirt and trackies as he entered the kitchen and he couldn't help but wish he had pulled on a sweater or his dressing gown before he left. Eyes still slowly adjusting to the light, Blaine eventually found the coffee machine and he thankfully started making his and Kurt's usual cups. Then he could begin to function properly.
As he opened the cupboard to pull out the sugar and cinnamon, he was surprised to see another boy shuffle in. Blaine checked his watch, wondering if it was somehow later than he first thought but the face only showed a difference of five minutes since he first checked.
"Oh hey Blaine," yawned Nick, refilling the coffee maker and reaching for two spare mugs, "you're up early."
"I could say the same to you," replied Blaine, eyeing the shark slippers on the teen's feet which he knew didn't belong to him. "What are you doing up? It's not past eleven yet."
"Don't remind me, mornings should be a crime. And Jeff's ill so me and Trent switched rooms for the night so I could look after him- don't tell Kane though, he'd probably think we were doing something else."
"Huh? Oh.. OH! Uh, no, I won't tell him- is Jeff alright?"
"Yeah, it was probably just some food he ate that didn't agree with him. Whatever it was, he's slept it off now."
"So...if that's true, why are you up so early then?"
"I wanted to make him breakfast," said Nick simply, because obviously that explained everything.
"It's seven thirty-eight."
"Yes.."
"On a weekend."
"Correct.."
"As in, you could have slept in a lot longer."
"Are you okay Blaine? Maybe you should drink some of your coffee, the early morning seems to have addled your brain."
"I'm fine, just- well you must be really devoted if you choose to wake up this early just to make him food. You've never woken up on a weekend before at least ten o'clock."
"What can I say? Jeff's perfect and, after last night, he probably won't want to get up and trek down to the cafeteria for breakfast. And you might like to actually drink your coffees before they get too cold."
"Oh yeah! Thanks, I'd better go then. Tell Jeff I said for him to get better soon?"
"Of course," came the reply as Blaine left with a smile and headed back upstairs to deliver the warm liquid to Kurt.
When Blaine entered his dorm, he wasn't surprised to hear the shower had stopped running; it was usual for Kurt to spend a large amount of time in the bathroom after he'd stopped washing. He was slightly taken aback, however, by the thin figure slumped on Kurt's bed, hair still damp from his wash.
Blaine paused- should he wake Kurt up? He looked so peaceful as he slept now, as if his nightmares weren't currently plaguing his dreams and the curly haired teen couldn't help but watch the gentle rise and fall of the other boy's chest before he realised what he was doing. He looked away quickly, depositing Kurt's coffee on his bedside table- seriously, he probably shouldn't start watching people as they sleep. He might turn into Edward Cullen.
Stretching, he tiredly finished the rest of his hot drink, loving the familiar sensation as the caffeine awoke him and filled him with a warm heat. He loved his coffee, especially in the mornings. Noticing Kurt was still sleeping (Ok, Blaine may have still been watching Kurt through the corner of his eye, but if you asked him, he'd deny it), Blaine gave a gentle smile, although he knew Kurt wouldn't see it, and placed a light blanket over the other boy before he eventually pulled himself towards the shower.
When Kurt woke up, he was surprised to find his clothes a lot tighter than his usual pyjamas, a thicker material as well. He rolled onto his side, facing the room and immediately cringed from the dampness that had spread onto his pillow and Kurt investigatively ran his hand through his hair, confused when it came back cold and wet.
Then, as he finally realised it was his day clothes he was lying in, it clicked. He had woken up earlier than usual this morning, the result of yet another nightmare about Karofsky- he hoped the police would find him soon, then maybe he could begin to rest easier and without always keeping one eye open. The boy had washed and changed, creeping about so as not to awake his roommate, but, through the absence of his usual coffee and lack of sleep, he had ended up taking an unwanted nap on his bed. It surprised him that he hadn't dreamt at all, or not that he could remember. It was the first time he hadn't dreamt about Karofsky and the attack, why he hadn't though, he didn't know.
Swinging his legs off the bed and pushing away the foreign blanket (where had that come from?), he spotted a familiar cardboard cup on his bedside drawers, filled with an enticing black liquid. He smiled, he couldn't help but like Blaine doing this, it convinced him more of their friendship. He hadn't had many of them in ages since Karofsky and found it hard not to be doubtful when he did. Tentatively, he reached up and took a small sip, surprised when he found it was still warm.
"Morning, sleepyhead," a voice grinned and Kurt whipped his head up, almost spilling his coffee, "oh! Sorry Kurt! I didn't mean to startle you- you didn't burn yourself, did you? Is it even still warm?"
Kurt replied with a comforting smile, forcing his body to relax- or at least look it. He found his notebook and pen in his drawer and timidly began to write, still not used to talking like this, 'I'm fine...how are you?'
Blaine's grin, if possible, grew in size at this and Kurt knew he'd made the right choice in words, I'd he was honest, he was panicking in case Blaine read too deep into his question and thought he was prying even though it was near impossible to get that from the innocent reply.
"I'm good, I've only got two essays this week and barely and other homework- the teachers are being nice this week! Did you get much?" Blaine asked, making sure to add a follow up question. Now he had Kurt conversing with him, he wanted to try and get him to keep it up and earn more of his trust.
'Only a bit. Just a lot of catch up work because...well...I've never really covered most of the things you have...'
"Oh, yeah! I had that when I first came here, it's awful! Say, if you want any help with it, I'll happily lend a hand. I like to think I'm quite good at most subjects...although often what I like to think and reality are quite different..."
Looking up, Blaine was pleased to see the small smile still playing on Kurt's lips (not like Blaine was looking at them) and counted his offer a success.
"Anyway, um, breakfast isn't served until about 9:30 so..umm.. I'm sorry, I don't know where I'm going with this."
Before he realised what he was doing, Kurt smirked before slipping past Blaine to check his hair in the mirror. It was only when he was in there he understood what he had done and immediately his eyes widened. His heartbeat speeding up slightly although he managed to stop his breathing doing the same. Whilst Puck and Finn had been around, they had taught him some ways to calm himself and Kurt had learnt quickly, managing to take control of himself when he was losing it- either that, or it was that he recognized the signs really early now having it been almost a daily occurrence for ages. However, recently he hadn't had to use these newfound skills- he felt safer at Dalton than before, and, if you asked Blaine, there was definitely a difference in Kurt since when he first saw him.
"Kurt?" Blaine called from outside the door, too gentlemanly to enter even though it was wide open, "do you like scrambled eggs? I was going to go cook some in the kitchen."
Kurt froze, thinking. At first, he couldn't help wondering if it was an excuse to get him alone before he remembered they'd shared a room for over a week- Blaine could easily have hurt him in that time but he didn't, he had only offered kindness and support. Although he was unused to this sort of treatment, Kurt still felt a wave of embarrassment from expecting pain.
Timidly, Kurt nodded in reply. His father had told him he should have faith in others still, whilst it was difficult, Kurt had promised he would try. Having breakfast with Blaine was Kurt's way of testing him; he would be safe- he could easily get away if Blaine tried anything and they were in an open area. That already lowered the chances of him getting hurt- he should use the opportunity to try and be certain Blaine's intentions were just to get him as a friend and nor be his future bully. And so, he did.
When Kurt finally entered the kitchen (Blaine was already in there, having left to start cooking once Kurt had agreed), he was greeted by the warm smell of eggs, wafting out of the door and enticing him in. Making sure to leave the door wide open, Kurt entered and marvelled to see the room hadn't been destroyed- he had thought nobody in Windsor could cook, besides him of course.
"You can stop looking so cautious at any moment y'know," smiled Blaine although his back was still turned to Kurt, hovering over the stove. "I'm not going to hurt you and I doubt anyone else is up. Not that they'd want to hurt you either," he added hurriedly, turning around to see Kurt's face and decipher if he was panicking. He wasn't.
Instead, Kurt gave a tiny smile, half genuine, half faked: 'I know.' He crossed his fingers discreetly behind him as he held up the notebook in the other.
Blaine smiled knowingly again in response; of course Kurt didn't know, he himself had been beaten up before and still sometimes struggled to realise nobody wanted to hurt him at Dalton. However, that was why he stayed at this school, he was still too afraid to even attempt to conquer high school again and of Kurt managed to feel safe already, he was either extremely trusting, although his movements didn't agree with that theory, or he was lying. Yet Blaine could see that if Kurt was lying, it was well reasoned. So instead he changed the subject.
An hour or so later, both boys were back up in their room, each staring at Blaine's wall. Blaine wore a determined look of intent whilst Kurt's was softer, appearing to some as if he didn't care but inside, Kurt was scrutinizing the decoration, mentally producing the perfect plan whilst also just planning to follow what Blaine was doing. It'd be easier if he avoided overuse of his opinion as it was sure to annoy Blaine eventually; he'd invited him to help, not take over. As if Kurt had the courage to do that anyway.
"So are you still ready for this? It's fine if you want to study or something instead?"
Kurt shook his head, taking a deliberate step forward and matching Blaine's decided look to show he was ready.
"Great! Well..um, I was thinking I wanted to put these up," he told Kurt, pulling out three matching canvases, each a shade of dark red with quotes on- 'I intend to live forever, so far, so good' (Steven Wright), 'In three words I can sum up everything I've learnt about life: it goes on' (Robert Frost) and 'life must be lived as play' (Plato). In another hand, he held an ebony framed poster of Wicked. Casually, Blaine picked up the poster, looking at it and cocking his head as if he was thinking. He wasn't going to pretend he hadn't seen the way Kurt's eyes had lit up when he saw it. Blaine flipped the poster over in his hands, considering his plan before deciding just to go for it.
"Y'know.. I was just thinking, if I put all of this stuff up, it'll probably just look extremely overcrowded and that, in my opinion, is worse than it being underdressed. Say, I don't suppose..Well... Kurt, would you like it? It's new, and it'd most likely just end up going to Trent if not. That's what usually happens, but if you want it, I'd be pleased to give it to you?"
Kurt looked at Blaine, waiting for the catch and automatically questioning Blaine's intentions- why give it to him? He was a nobody and nobody's generally didn't get stuff like this handed to them for free.
"Please? You'd be doing me a massive favour..?" Blaine congratulated himself in his head, when trying to- he refused to call it manipulating- someone, it was often best to make it out as they were doing you the favour.
'A-are you sure? I don't want you to damage your friendship with Trent..' wrote Kurt.
Well that was easier than Blaine expected, "hey, what he doesn't know can't hurt him, besides, I like to think he's using me for more than the posters. My good looks being one," he joked, a wide grin spreading on his face as he held out the poster.
'Thankyou..thanks,' the porcelain boy wasn't used to people being nice and felt slightly overwhelmed by the kindness.
"Anytime! Now, about those canvases...could you possibly help with the hammer? The last time I handled one I kinda might have gave myself a black eye.."
"It was the twins' fault!" He added hurriedly as he saw a slight smirk appear on his roommate's face, "ssh!"
'Didn't say anything.. remember?' Kurt wrote, pointing to the paper as if to prove his point.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" he stopped as he saw Kurt grinning, "hey!"
Kurt merely smiled wider and picked up the hammer and a few screws. This should be interesting.