As always,

THEMoDePo: Wow! I don't think it's perfect in the least, but it's so nice to hear that! Thank you so much, honey!

Guest: I'm really sorry you're not liking the fic that much anymore... I would like to say it's going to get interesting for you again but I don't think that's going to happen, because that is pretty much all I can do and it's my writing style anyway, long dialogs and everything, so... You will have to keep skipping the boring parts or stop reading altogether, because I think you're not going to like this new chapter at all, sorry!

Mildlifecrissis: OMG, thank you so much! I don't think it was perfect at all, but come on, you're the sweetest thing! Yeah, I guess Blaine had had a bit too much lately and lost control of himself when he was so close to losing Sam. Of course he only needed for Sam to make him understand that's how things are now, that he is only doing for him what Blaine himself is doing for Sam. And yeah, I got asked about some Coopbastian and it came out like that. Thank you so much, honey, really, reviews like that keep me going!

Darrinia: Cariñín! Glad I could keep the tension for you, then! :) I'm glad you liked the little Coopbastian moment I wrote just for you XD I'm sorry if I can't promise anything else for now. Un abrazo muy muy grande para ti también, eres un amor!

Me-Me157: You don't know how happy it makes me that I was able to keep you at the edge of your seat :) Blaine got himself fooled by his desire to make sure Sam was alright and he believed him when he promised not to put himself at risk for him, so that's why he got so angry. He just needed Sam to make him understand that he would have done the same (and that he has been doing it all the time). Thank you, honey!

GleeLover213: OMG, if you read it all in one go you must be pretty exhausted, bc it's long! XD I can't tell you about Sam reuniting with his family or not, that would be a major spoiler ;) Thank you so much for reading, liking and reviewing! :) Hope you're still interested!

Guest: I'm sorry you're not that satsfied with the last chapters. TBH, I don't think the other character have faded in importance, I think they were always like that. I love blam, I write for Blam and it's quite hard for me to focus in anyone which is not them, but I think this fic is probably the one I have done it the most. I don't think Blaine is such a whiny bitch as you say, but I can understand your POV (I don't think it's going to change, thought, because that's just the most I can do). Hope you are able to reconnect with the story in spite of its many faults!

A/N: I'm soooooo sorry for taking so long... :(

CHAPTER 27

Blaine decided to keep his eyes closed for a while after he woke up. He was feeling so warm and comfortable, after the previous awful days they had been forced to endure, that it was almost too good to be true. He was not lying on the floor anymore, but in what he supposed was the couch –someone, Sam more than probably, must have moved him while he slept– and even if he wasn't next to the fireplace anymore he was feeling warm for the first time in forever thanks to the fact that someone –again, probably Sam– had thrown a couple more blankets over him. And wait, was he wearing a woolen hat or was it just his imagination?

There were light noises and soft voices all around him and Blaine felt comforted by them, knowing all his friends were near. And the fact that they were keeping it down so as not to bother his sleep only helped to warm his heart even more. He didn't know what he had done to deserve having people as wonderful as them around him in a situation like that, but he would never stop being grateful. As grateful as he was about the person whose lap was holding his feet while keeping a hand over them to keep them warm, which instantly told him it was Cooper –the only one who knew how cold Blaine's feet always got when he was not feeling well.

He slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see it was still dark outside: maybe he hadn't slept that much, then. But what the hell was everybody doing awake?

"Well, look who decided to join the living again" Cooper said in a light tone when he noticed his opened eyes, tenderly squeezing his feet in a loving gesture.

The loud sound of a chair being dragged, running steps and couple of other noises Blaine wasn't able to identify filled the stillness of the room all of a sudden and, before he could react, Sam's lovely face and sweet smile entered his line of vision, making his heart flutter with love.

"Hey, sleeping beauty" Sam tenderly said as he knelt down next to the couch and cupped Blaine's cheek lovingly in his hand. "About time you came back"

"Oh, Sam, don't mind me, it's not like I've been building this house of cards for an hour" Puck mockingly protested, eliciting a few heartfelt laughs around them –as one of those sounds Blaine had heard was probably Sam bumping into the table in his rush to reach him and sending Puck's house of cards in every direction.

"I'm sorry" Sam apologized with an embarrassed chuckle before turning to Blaine again. "How are you feeling, babe?"

"Like I've been sleeping for a lifetime, it feels as if a truck went over me" Blaine honestly answered as he tried to have a stretch, just to discover that absolutely every muscle of his body seemed to hurt. "But it's still dark, so it couldn't be that long, right?"

"It's not still dark. It's dark again" Sam explained with a fond and amused smile as he started playing with the unruly curls on Blaine's forehead without even being aware he was doing it.

"What?" Blaine retorted in astonishment.

"Yeah, you've been sleeping for like… twenty hours, give and take" Cooper added from his place at Blaine's feet, also sporting a smile but way more sardonic than Sam's.

"It can't be possible" Blaine protested, turning to look at his boyfriend for confirmation.

"It is" Sam gently contradicted him, even if he rested a sweet kiss on his cheek to compensate. "Sorry that you woke up alone, by the way. I tried to stay with you, but by the ninth hour my back was already killing me and I had to move"

"Don't believe him, we had to physically remove him from your side" Puck intervened, eliciting a few laughs around him, including Blaine's, who actually could believe it. "Kicking and cursing and everything"

"Why do you have to be so exaggerated?" Sam protested with feigned annoyance before finally sitting down on the floor, next to Blaine's head to be closer to him and be able to caress his silky and wild hair. "I just wanted to be near in case you needed something, that's all"

"But why did you let me sleep for so long?" Blaine asked in a whiny voice that he wasn't able to stop even if he knew everybody in the room was listening –and probably internally laughing at him.

"And why not, did you need to be anywhere else?" Sam joked, even if he knew how much Blaine hated feeling weak –especially in front of the others–. "You were exhausted after the horrible days we've had lately, and still recovering from a very serious injury, don't forget that. Heck, your wound reopened a bit just yesterday. I think you really needed your sleep"

"We just let your body decide what you needed, as it seems to be more sensible than you" Cooper added, with a grin that showed how much he was enjoying his brother's embarrassment.

"Still…" Blaine tried to protest, but it seemed like no one was going to give him the option.

"Still nothing" Santana interrupted, not giving him the chance to protest anymore with her usual bitchy ways, even if they all could see she was really looking after Blaine. "You needed your sleep and you got it. Don't make me repeat it again or I will slap some sense into you, and you know I will"

"Yeah, I know" Blaine answered, at last letting a small smile break into his lips.

"Glad to see you listen to me" Santana responded with feigned strictness. "And now you also need to eat, so we're all going to have a nice dinner. Right, Unique?"

"Right away!" Unique answered as she hurried to get something ready with Trent's and Sugar's help.

"Am I wearing a hat?" Blaine asked as he drove his hand to scratch his forehead and found a woolen obstacle in his way.

"That was me" Sam answered in mild embarrassment.

"You don't say!" Cooper joked from his place.

"I heard once that we lose most of our inner heat through the head and you were shivering so badly that I didn't know what to do and it couldn't hurt, right?" Sam explained, trying not to blush at how silly it sounded now that he put it into words, but Blaine's sweet smile at him immediately made him feel better.

"You're so sweet" Blaine said while cupping Sam's face and attracting him to him so he could kiss those lips he loved so much.

They decided to stay and eat all together in the living room, because they had again taken advantage of the darkness to start a fire so they could keep the room as warm as possible. And even if they didn't admit it, they felt better in the company of others. As Sam had said, the last couple of days had been really hard for everyone: they had lost Artie, they had been close to losing Sam and Blaine and they were more than worn out. So taking comfort from the presence of the others was not so crazy, after all.

In spite of how exhausted he still felt, Blaine managed to eat enough to please both Sam and Cooper –and Blaine could have sworn even Sebastian seemed to be keeping an eye on his plate to check how much he was eating–, and by the time everyone was finishing their own plates, Blaine was already having a hard time keeping his eyes open in spite of how hard he was fighting to –after all, he had lost a whole day, he wanted to hang on with his loved ones for a while longer.

Sam immediately noticed, but not wanting to put all the focus on his boyfriend –as he knew that would immediately throw him on the defensive–, he preferred to change tactics.

"Ok, I think it's time to get some shut-eye, people" he announced while clearing his and Blaine's plate, winking his eye at everybody looking at him when he was sure Blaine couldn't see him. "If I hear one more yawn I swear I'm going to fall unconscious myself"

"You're right" Sebastian immediately agreed, getting the hint and already laying down. "I don't think I've ever been more tired"

"Really? Because I've been resting the whole day, I don't feel like…" Puck started to protest, oblivious to Sam's intentions, but a dark look and a clover on the back of his head from Sebastian immediately shut him up. "Although now that you mention it…"

"Come on, babe" Sam tenderly said as he went back to his boyfriend and pushed him down on the couch to tuck him in with all the care in the world as all the others started lying down themselves around the room. "I know you don't want to sleep any more but I'm sure you'll feel as good as new in the morning. And everybody else is doing it anyway, so…"

"Yeah, all of us are going to sleep now" Puck added with a more than obvious wink towards the others, which elicited for Sebastian to roll his eyes at him in frustration. Fortunately, Blaine didn't seem to notice as his attention was focused on something else.

"But…" Blaine started to protest when he saw Sam getting a blanket for himself and again sitting down next to the sofa.

"What?" Sam asked, noticing that Blaine looked troubled about something.

"I want to sleep with you" Blaine whispered as softly as he could so only Sam would hear, but apparently he was not successful.

"I think he said that he wants to sleep with Sam" Puck, who was lying the closest to them aside from Cooper, informed the rest of the youngsters with a smug smirk on his face, apparently very satisfied with himself when everybody laughed wholeheartedly at it –well, almost everyone.

"Thank you, Puck" Blaine sarcastically answered, his cheeks decorated with a dark crimson shade that only made him look all the more adorable to Sam's eyes –though the blond was not going to let himself fall for it this time.

"There is no way I'm moving you to the floor again, you're staying on that sofa where your body is comfortable enough to get the rest it needs" Sam sternly answered. There was nothing he wanted more than to sleep wrapped around Blaine's smaller form himself, but his boyfriend's wellbeing was more important than that.

"Then lie here with me" Blaine insisted, hoping it didn't sound too much as begging.

"It's too narrow for the both of us and you need a good sleep" Sam refused again, though he could feel his resistance starting to break at the prospect.

"You know I need you for that" Blaine insisted with a mischievous smile.

"Guys, we're still here, remember?" Puck intervened, apparently very amused at the situation.

"So? You're jealous or anything? Maybe you'd want me to sleep with you instead?" Blaine retorted more harshly than intended, a little annoyed at Puck's constant mocking, but his response didn't get the reaction he expected when everybody laughed again.

"No, thanks, I think I'll leave that honor to my good friend Sam" Puck answered, far from offended at Blaine's more than obvious annoyance.

"So?" Blaine ignored Puck's comment to turn to his boyfriend again, giving him his best version of puppy eyes that he knew Sam couldn't resist.

"I don't know, B…" Sam hesitated, so Blaine made sure to add a pitiful pout to his plea.

"Pretty please"

"Alright, I guess I'll just have to hold you real close…" Sam finally relented, already getting up from the floor to comply to his boyfriend's wishes –he was hurt after all, he was supposed to spoil him, right?

"Isn't this getting a bit too m-rated?" Unique joked at the scene.

"And just in front of your older brother, Blainey" Cooper protested good-naturedly from his position on the floor.

"Will you all just shut up?" Blaine complained, but the frown on his face was quickly replaced with a smile when Sam finally lay down behind him and closed his arms strongly around his upper body to spoon him, as promised. "I love you" Blaine whispered as he nestled more comfortably against Sam's chest with a contented sigh.

"We love you too!" Puck answered in a loud voice, again followed by a good round of laughs.

"If I wasn't so fucking tired and comfortable right now…" Blaine complained with a deep sigh, but he could hardly keep a smile out of his face. Yeah, his friends were really annoying, but he knew they only wanted for him to forget about everything and create a light atmosphere, and that was a way of taking care of him in their own twisted and exasperating way.

"I love you too" Sam whispered with a chuckle before resting a slow kiss behind his ear that made Blaine shiver.

His full stomach, the warmth of the room and the contentment that Sam's arms around him always gave him, soon lulled Blaine into a deep sleep again –a clear sign for Sam that he was not totally recovered yet–, and Sam waited until his breathing became deep and slow to talk.

"Ok, he's asleep, you can go back to whatever you were doing before supper" Sam announced on a soft voice, wanting for everyone to hear him but not to wake Blaine up.

"The things we do for your sweetheart…" Puck mockingly protested before he disentangled himself from his blanket and got up to go to the table again, where his cards were waiting for him.

"Thank you, guys" Sam honestly said with a smile. "It's the only way I could think of to get him to sleep without complaint"

"You don't have to thank us, Sam" Sebastian added with a warm smile as he followed Puck and Cooper to the table, "We all want him to get well"

Trying to keep it down so they wouldn't wake Blaine up, everybody spread out around the living room in different activities to keep themselves entertained until they got sleepy. Everybody except for the two young boys lying on the sofa, of course.

"Sam, you can get up now, he's not going to wake up" Cooper said when he noticed Sam, although very much awake, had yet to move.

"No, I… I'd rather just stay here" Sam answered, slightly blushing as he unconsciously reinforced his grip around Blaine. "I don't want to disturb him"

"He is still exhausted, he's not going to wake up" Cooper repeated, but even he could see that his words weren't going to change Sam's mind.

"I know but…"

"You want to stay there"

"Yeah" Sam confessed, his blush only getting more evident.

"You know, you can just say it" Cooper joked, although he was quite moved at how much that boy seemed to care about his brother. "No one here is going to judge you"

"At least not more than we already do" Puck added sarcastically.

"Ok, then I want to stay here… with him" Sam admitted with the ghost of a smile.

"I think he's just feeling guilty that we tricked little Blainey like that and is trying to compensate" Puck intervened while he started dealing the cards in his hand amongst the youngsters willing to play poker with him.

"Wait until he hears that we already decided to stay here for a couple of days so he can totally recover…" Sebastian added, eliciting a round of laughter amongst the youngsters that Sam was forced to shush before they woke Blaine up.

He couldn't help but to smile himself, knowing his friends were only pulling his leg but genuinely cared and wanted to help taking care of Blaine, that they loved him and wanted what was best for him, in spite of how much they liked torturing them about their relationship. After all, they had helped him trick him back to sleep, right?

"We're so mean to you, right?" Sam whispered with a chuckle in his boyfriend's ear even if he knew he couldn't hear him before resting the softest kiss on the side of his neck, relishing in the feeling of having Blaine's warm and relatively healthy body between his arms again, unaware of the fond smile Cooper was sending their way.

Blaine woke up the next morning about the same time as everybody else, happy to feel Sam's sturdy chest against his back and his strong arms around his torso, knowing he had been spooning and protecting him all night. He rested a kiss on Sam's forearm with a smile, feeling refreshed and stronger than he had felt ever since he got shot, what felt like a lifetime ago, even if it had been only a few days ago. But Blaine had always been strong and a fast healer, and he felt totally ready to resume their travelling at last.

"So are we leaving after breakfast?" he asked to no one in particular as they ate, and this time he was sitting to the table like everybody else, so he could easily see the looks most of them were exchanging as they tried to gather some time to answer.

"Leaving?" Sebastian repeated, trying to sound as if he didn't know what Blaine was talking about.

"To resume our trip. We're leaving today, aren't we?" Blaine insisted, looking quizzically at everybody until his eyes fell on his brother, knowing he was quickly becoming kind of a leader –both because of his age and his obvious charisma– and everybody would listen to him.

"I was thinking… maybe we don't have to leave today" Cooper answered, and he wasn't as good an actor as he thought because Blaine could clearly see it was not a spontaneous answer.

"Why not? The plan was to travel, right?"

"Sure, but I don't think there is any rush. I mean, we could stay here for a couple of days to have a rest, you know"

"If that's because of me…" Blaine tried to protest, starting to get worked up against what he felt was a trap –the guilty expressions on most faces told him they had already talked about it and made a decision. Without him.

"Not just you, Blaine, I think everybody could do with a little rest" Cooper answered, trying to take the focus out of his brother so he would be more easily convinced.

"Coop, I appreciate your worrying, but I'm alright, there's no need to put our plan on hold just for me"

"There's no need to rush it either, Blaine, and if we can have a couple of days to regain our strength and make sure we leave when we are ready…"

"But…"

"I totally agree with Cooper" Sam intervened.

"Yeah, it totally makes sense" Sebastian added with an exaggerated nod of his head.

"Totally" Marley agreed with a forced smile.

"You've already talked about this, right?" Blaine finally asked, looking accusingly at everybody.

"Well…" Cooper said with a careless shrug of his shoulders and a sarcastic grin.

"And nothing I say is going to change your decision"

"We voted"

"I didn't vote" Blaine protested with obvious indignation.

"It was quite unanimous, so your vote wouldn't have changed a thing anyway" Cooper explained, quite amused at his brother's annoyance.

"And you were a part of that?" Blaine asked while looking accusingly at Sam, who just looked down and shrugged his shoulders with guilt. "I can't believe it"

"Oh, please, he's just looking after you, don't blame him for being more reasonable than you or for having to act behind your back because you're so damned stubborn" Cooper tried to defend the blond; after all, and as the big brother who had had to babysit Blaine on countless occasions when he was a kid, no one knew how stubborn his brother could be more than he did.

"I just want to make sure you're alright before putting you in danger again" Sam explained, almost as if he was apologizing, and of course the tenderness of it was enough to break through Blaine's irritation.

"I know, love, I'm sorry" Blaine immediately apologized, his stubbornness immediately breaking as he took Sam's hand in his to approach it to his lips so he could kiss it in apology before turning to the others. "And thank you, guys. I just…"

"You're frustrated, we get it" Sebastian intervened in an understanding voice. "We know how much you hate not being in full shape and that you think you're a hindrance for everyone and are slowing us down. But it's not like that: you've helped us so much, you've taken care of us until now, so now we only want to return the favor"

"I personally just want to rest" Puck contradicted him with his usual smirk, but Blaine could see he was only trying to keep a light atmosphere so he laughed in spite of himself.

"I'm sorry again, everyone" Blaine apologized, squeezing Sam's hand, still in his, to let him know it was him whom he was apologizing the most. "I'll try to be patient"

"You better be" Cooper added, more seriously. "We have everything we need to spend here a couple of quiet days, except for maybe enough water, but we can easily get that in that pond we saw when were coming here. Let's take advantage of the situation and have a little rest, ok? We well know we've earned it"

After his little outburst, Blaine tried his best to behave and didn't protest anymore as everyone split around the house to find something to entertain themselves, even if he felt he was going crazy with boredom and frustration. Sam hadn't separated from him for a second, and Blaine wondered if he wanted to be near him just for the sake of it or it was his way of controlling he was not overdoing it. But since Blaine didn't have any intention of being away from him either, he accepted his company with open arms.

And that's how they were now, again on that damned couch –as some of the others had taken possession of the two rooms of the small building–. After lunch, and after spending half a day playing with Puck's cards, Sam suggested they should take a little nap so he sat down and motioned for Blaine to pillow his head on his legs while promising a nice massage on his scalp to help him sleep. And, of course, Blaine hadn't had the heart to refuse –both because he didn't want to contradict his boyfriend and because he would never say no to a head massage.

But what had seemed like a nice idea had turned into torture after only a few minutes. After spending more than a day sleeping, there was no way Blaine could close his eyes again, as wonderful and dedicated Sam's fingers felt between his curls. And it wasn't long before he started feeling so restless he thought he was going to go crazy.

"Ugh, I feel so restless" Blaine complained when he couldn't help it any longer. But come on, he had always had trouble to keep still for too long, and that's all he had been doing for days!

"I guess you're starting to recover your forces" Sam answered with a fond smile as he looked down at him, knowing how fidgety his boyfriend usually was –he was kind of amazed of how patient he had been after all, which only showed him all the more how serious his injury had really been.

"Let's have a walk" Blaine suggested out of the blue, and it sounded so surreal in their situation that Sam could only snigger at it.

"Yeah, right"

"Just to the pond Cooper mentioned. He said we needed water, right?"

"Are you serious?" Sam asked, his smile freezing in his lips at realizing Blaine was not joking.

"Of course! It can't be further away than ten or fifteen minutes at the most, right?" Blaine asked, jumping to sit up next to his boyfriend so the latter would see how serious and ready he was.

"Maybe, but… you sure you're up to it?"

"If I have to regain my shape I can't keep just resting, right? Now that I'm recovered, lying down all day isn't helping me"

"You're recovered?" Sam asked with a sarcastic tone.

"More or less" Blaine answered dismissively. "But the need to regain my strength is real"

"That might be true, you're right" Sam was forced to admit. After all, were they really expecting for Blaine to be able to have a full day's walking without any kind of training, after how seriously ill he had been? Besides, he was giving him those damned puppy eyes of his and he didn't have the heart to deny him any longer. "Ok, let's go. But you are telling your brother, don't get me involved in this"

"Are you afraid of him?" Blaine asked with a wide smile that Sam quickly reciprocated.

"Yeah" Sam joked as he let himself pulled to his feet by his boyfriend's insisting hand.

"Hey, guys" Blaine casually said as he poked his head round the door of the kitchen, where some of their friends –and Cooper– where trying to get something ready for that night. "Sam and I are going to that pond Cooper mentioned to get some water. We'll be back in no time" he said in a rush and tried to escape before anyone could protest, but of course his brother was having none of that.

"Just stop right there, young man" Blaine winced in spite of himself when he heard his big brother's stern voice behind him, as he had obviously followed him. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I told you, we're just going…" Blaine tried to answer, but Cooper didn't let him finish.

"I heard what you said" Cooper protested. "I was just wondering if you both have just lost your mind"

"We only want to have a little walk, Coop" Blaine said, and he was giving his brother such an amazing version of his trademark puppy eyes and pitiful pout that Sam had to fight hard not to laugh. "And you said we needed the water, if we don't go someone else will have to"

"Blaine, I don't think it's safe for you to just go and have a walk outside" Cooper answered, in a more reasonable tone. "Not yet"

"We will be quick and we will keep our eyes open all the time"

"Still…"

"Come on, Cooper" Sam decided to help his boyfriend. After all, Blaine was right: if they didn't go someone else would have to anyway, and Blaine really deserved a break from the torture it was for him having to rest all the time. "We haven't seen a single walker since we came here and, as Blaine said, we will be careful"

Cooper let the air out in a long and deep sigh that immediately told Blaine he had won that round, but he refrained himself from doing any comments in case his brother changed his mind.

"Well, I don't like the idea, but I guess I can't stop you" Cooper said after a full minute of internal debate, understanding –in spite of himself– his brother's need to move and to have a moment with his still very new boyfriend –if they thought he didn't know that's what they really wanted... And Sam was right, they didn't seem to be any walkers around after all–. "And we really need that water"

"Thanks, Coop, you're the best" Blaine said with a smile and an honest quick hug.

"We'll get some water and be back immediately" Sam promised, understanding perfectly the older man's worries, as he took some of their canteens and bottles lying around so they could have them filled.

"I'll go with you, you might need some help" Jake said as he hurried to put on his jacket, oblivious to the glance the couple exchanged.

"Oh, don't bother, we'll manage" Blaine politely declined.

"Oh, it's not a bother" Jake answered.

"We don't need any help, really"

"The more the better, right?"

"Look, what Blaine is so politely trying to say is that I want a romantic walk with my boyfriend and you're not invited" Sam intervened in a joking tone that made the younger Puckerman blush.

"Why didn't you say so before!" Jake protested, blushing even more furiously at the laughter he had elicited with his naiveté.

"I thought it was obvious" Blaine said with a fond smile for his ingenious friend before strengthening his grip on Sam's hand and pulling him to the door.

"Don't go too far away and be careful, you two" Cooper warned them in a serious tone while opening the door for them.

"We will" Blaine promised as he unconsciously touched the weapon on the waistband of his trousers.

Blaine smiled as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to swallow all the fresh air he could muster. It was not as if he had been deprived of it for too long –after all, it had been only two days ago when they had made it to the farm after a very hard trip in the open–, but he felt it was the first time he got to enjoy it in years. And the way Sam's fingers entwined with their own only made it more special.

"You look happy" Sam commented, and Blaine opened his eyes to look at his boyfriend's smiling face.

"I am" Blaine agreed with a reciprocating smile. "I know it's silly and strange in a time like this, but…"

"It's not" Sam immediately contradicted him with all the tenderness in the world. "I'm glad to see you like this, and to be able to still share these little moments with you, even in a world like this. Frankly, is all I need to have hope"

"You're amazing, Sam" Blaine said in complete awe at his boyfriend's contagious optimism.

"And you have seen nothing yet" Sam joked as he got something from his pocket and showed it to the curly-haired boy. "You want a piece of candy?"

"Where the hell did you get this?" Blaine asked in utter happiness, as if there was something he had, that was sweet teeth –and Sam apparently knew that.

"At the kitchen. I was going to offer them to everyone, but then I noticed they were cherry-flavored, your favorite, and I so love spoiling you…"

"You really do" Blaine said in a adoring tone as he took the offered candy from Sam's hand and deposited a quick peck on his waiting lips. "You're the best boyfriend ever, you know?"

"Actually that couldn't be farther away from the truth after…" Sam lamented with a repentant sigh, but Blaine didn't need him to finish to know what he was talking about.

"I don't even want to hear it" he interrupted his boyfriend, almost offended himself that Sam didn't know how great he was just because he had made a mistake at the beginning and it had taken him some time to admit his feelings. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"Of course not" Sam answered with a chuckle at his ridiculous boyfriend.

"Then when I say you're the best boyfriend ever you have to accept it"

"Alright" Sam surrendered with a grateful smile.

"Here" Blaine said as he mischievously tried to leave the wrapping of his candy on Sam's hand.

"Why are you giving me this?" the blond mockingly protested.

"Where am I supposed to leave it?" Blaine asked, trying to look innocent.

"What are you, five?" Sam retorted, amused at the situation and his boyfriend's childish and adorable antics.

"Come on, weren't you supposed to spoil me?" Blaine protested with a pout that made Sam cave in even if he knew it was fake.

"Geez, give it to me, you spoilt brat" Sam exclaimed as he took the wrapping and put it in his pocket next to his to get rid of them later.

"You're so sweet"

"And patient!"

"That too" Blaine said with a chuckle as he took Sam's hand in his and entwined their fingers together.

Sam looked at his boyfriend as the latter lifted his face towards the sun to let its rays shower his face, even closing his eyes to feel it better, and the blond could only smile fondly at him, feeling he could keep falling in love with him over and over again.

"Oh, this feels so good" Blaine said with a contented sigh.

"I know" Sam acknowledged while letting go of Blaine's hand just so he could put his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders instead.

"It almost feels unreal, you know?"

"You mean as if the world hadn't ended and we were just taking a walk?"

"Yeah" Blaine agreed with a sad smile. "Can we just pretend that everything is normal for a while?"

"And that we are just a couple enjoying their love under the sun?" Sam answered, only half joking.

"Yeah"

"We can do that"

Blaine smiled gratefully at his boyfriend, who was always ready to do whatever it took to make him feel better, and then he stretched his neck to lovingly kiss Sam's cheek, eliciting for the blond to grin goofily at him.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked after a couple of minutes of comfortable silence, because even though Blaine hadn't still shown any signs of getting tired, it was very hard for Sam to forget he was still not completely recovered.

"I'm feeling better" Blaine answered with a wide smile, and for once Sam could tell he was being honest. "I still feel kind of tired, but I can hold my own weight now and the wound hardly hurts anymore"

"You don't know how happy it makes me to hear that…" Sam said while squeezing Blaine's body more strongly to his side, his heart feeling a twinge of pain at the remainder of how close he had been to losing him. "And I'm sure you just need a couple more days to feel just as good as new"

"You think so?"

"Blaine, you're the strongest person I know, of course I think so"

"Thanks, sweetie" Blaine answered, blushing slightly at the appraisal. "And how is your shoulder?"

"Much better too. Barely hurts anymore" Sam answered, even rotating it a bit to demonstrate how much better it was.

"So it still does"

"But barely"

"Oh my God, we look like two old men with all our infirmities" Blaine joked with a chuckle that elicited a heartfelt laugh from his boyfriend.

"You're much too beautiful to look like an old man" Sam contradicted him, very proud of himself at the way Blaine's face softened at his words.

"Oh please, you should see yourself right now" Blaine answered as he stopped in front of Sam for a second, devotion filling his impossibly huge eyes as his fingers idly played with the blond's hair. "Most gorgeous man ever"

Without any warning, Sam suddenly grabbed Blaine's arms and started pushing him backwards until he effectively trapped him between a tree and his own body, the empty canteens falling all around them, forgotten. And before Blaine could even utter a word, Sam's lips were on his in an urgent and desperate way that aroused him and amused him at the same time.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Blaine asked with a smile when Sam finally gave him the option to speak after a couple of minutes of frantic kissing.

"What does it look like?" Sam cockily replied, moving his loving ministrations to Blaine's soft neck, taking his time to rediscover his unique taste after so much time without being able to.

"And do you think this is the right time for this?" Blaine insisted even if he unconsciously let his head fall back to give Sam's perfect lips better access to his neck, even loudly moaning when Sam expertly sucked on a particularly sweet spot.

"Come on, you are so hot and we haven't done anything for so long…" Sam pleaded as he roughly lifted Blaine from the floor and urged him to close his legs around his waist, using the tree behind the brunet's back for better leverage before savagely attacking his mouth again.

"Well, forgive me for being unable to satisfy your needs while on the brink of death" Blaine joked against his lips while his arms moved more closely around Sam's neck in a desperate attempt to bring their bodies closer, even if that wasn't physically possible.

"You know what I mean" Sam chuckled when he stopped for a second just to look at Blaine's face. "We haven't been intimate since before I told you I love you"

"I know" Blaine admitted with a sigh.

"Heck, we've hardly even kissed since then"

"I know"

"It's like we've had sex before, but never really made love"

"It was always making love to me" Blaine confessed with a little smile that melted Sam's heart.

"You're right" he agreed just before kissing him more tenderly this time, taking his time to savor Blaine's lips as if he was doing it for the first time. "That doesn't change the fact that we haven't made love in so long, and I soooo need you…" Sam continued as he playfully bit that sweet spot on Blaine's neck that he knew so well, hoping he could tear down the last of his defenses. "You don't know how much you turn me on"

"I want you too, you don't know how much, but come on, you know we can't do it here" Blaine tried to reason with him, but Sam's tongue and lips on the crook of his neck were starting to break his resolution.

"I don't think anybody would see us, you know?" Sam replied against Blaine's skin.

"How about any walkers around? Because I have to tell you, I don't feel like running with my pants around my ankles, you know?"

The silliness and surrealism of that thought made them both roar with a laughter that they weren't able to stop for a couple of minutes. In fact, they laughed so much that their bellies hurt and they lost all their forces, so Sam was forced to leave Blaine to stand on his own feet again at the risk they both ended on the floor, but even that wasn't enough to break their embrace and Blaine rested his cheek on Sam's shoulder as he tried to stop the giggles.

"I know you're right, but…" Sam tried to argue when he got control of himself again, but Blaine interrupted him when he lifted his face from the blond's shoulder to look at him.

"We'll find the right time, I promise" Blaine assured him, reinforcing his words with a kiss to the tip of Sam's nose. "Because I love you so much"

"I love you too" Sam answered before giving his boyfriend one last long and tender kiss and offering him a hand. "Shall we get going?"

"Yes, or my brother will come look for us" Blaine joked as he bent down to retrieve the canteens from the floor without letting go of Sam's warm hand. "See? If a walker wouldn't catch us, Cooper would definitely do. And yeah, my brother is cool and everything, but I don't feel like him walking at us while having sex"

"Making love" Sam mockingly corrected him, eliciting a heartfelt laugh from the shorter boy.

"That wouldn't make much of a difference to him" Blaine added, this time him being the one to make Sam laugh.

"Yeah, probably. Damn it, I hate it when you're right"

Still laughing about their silly conversation, they finished picking up the scattered canteens and bottles and resumed their way to the pond, knowing they couldn't lose any more time if they didn't want to make Cooper and the others worry about them.

But they hadn't walked more than a few yards, still laughing and fooling around while holding hands and sharing tender looks, lost in their own little world, when a noise of some dry leaves being stepped on caught their attention. But unfortunately they weren't quick enough to react and, before they knew it, a man holding a rifle appeared in front of them and stopped them in their tracks, while different noises behind them and on their sides told them they were surrounded.

"Looks, guys, looks like we managed to hunt a nice pair of preys" the man said, looking maliciously at the surprised and frightened boys.

A/N: Ok, so I'm really really sorry about taking so long (life and myself kind of got in the way!) and, on top of that, giving you such a silly and insignificant chapter without any action. I wasn't going to finish it here, but it was already so long that I was forced to. And well, I needed to give Blaine a little rest anyway, so... But well, at least, and as you can see, lots of actions coming now! Thank you for being so patient and understanding! And yeah, you guessed, I'm not happy with this chapter, so I'll try doing better in the next one!