AN: Hello all! Just a couple quick things before the chapter.
I posted chapter 14 of this story when ff dot net was having technical issues so no email ever went out about it, because of that some of you may have missed it. I would definitely go read that chapter before this one!
Also, this is the last chapter of this fic though I am working on an epilogue.
A huge shout out to my wonderful beta theatrevicki who not only is the best beta ever, she really help shape this chapter with some polt suggestions.
I hope you have all enjoyed reading this as much as I have had writing it! xo
"Take a lover that looks at you like maybe you are magic." - Frida Kahlo
Blaine squeezed his eyes shut and clung to Kurt as they fell. His stomach plummeted as they did and his body tensed, ready for a fatal impact at any moment.
They hit the ground hard, the force separating him from Kurt as he bounced and rolled off him. When Blaine finally stilled, he couldn't even move. At least he didn't want to. He hurt from head to toe, his chest ached, his head pounded, and he was afraid he'd broken something in that fall.
He lay there for a moment, eyes still closed, just breathing, until he realized he wasn't sure if he heard anyone else breathing near him.
"Kurt!" Blaine sat up quickly, any pain forgotten. He looked across the dark room to see Kurt rolling from his back to his side, curling in on himself and moaning. Blaine got up and ran to him. "Where are you hurt? What hurts the most? Can you open your eyes?"
Kurt's eyes blinked open and he looked up at Blaine for a moment before a smile graced his beautiful face. "Blaine, I'm fine." He sat up slowly, looking around himself and wincing. Blaine kept his eyes on him.
"We're back."
"What?"
"Blaine, look at where we are!"
Blaine looked; the room was dark and rain pelted against the windows, but there was pale moonlight streaming through the thin curtains and a very recognizable full-length mirror nearby. "The third floor of Callaway Place." Blaine breathed.
"Thank god." Kurt got to his feet, only a little wobbly, and reached down to pull Blaine up with both hands. They stood hand in hand as Kurt grinned at him. "We lived. We're back."
Blaine was having a harder time catching up to things. His mind had been so muddled the whole time they were away – before that even – he felt like he'd been living in an increasingly dense cloud since he came back to Callaway Place.
"Blaine?" Kurt's hand smoothed down Blaine's cheek and then tipped his chin to look at him, "Are you okay?" Kurt's blue eyes shone brightly and he bit his lip in worry.
"I'm okay. I'm better than okay I feel, I feel… actually my body feels awful," Blaine said with a tired laugh, "But my mind is fine. Awake, alert, all here. You don't have to worry."
Kurt nodded slowly, studying Blaine's face, then he smiled slightly and leaned in for a kiss. Blaine was more than happy to oblige, all he wanted was to go somewhere safe and warm and hold Kurt and kiss him until their lips were sore and their eyes were drooping. Which probably wouldn't take all that long, Blaine was exhausted.
When Kurt pulled back, he looked on the verge of breaking down. "I could have lost you in so many different ways."
"You didn't."
"My head knows that, my heart is still catching up."
Blaine pressed his lips against Kurt's again briefly and then to the corner of his mouth and his cheek until he lifted his face up to plant a kiss squarely on Kurt's forehead. Kurt chuckled and was smiling again when Blaine met his eyes.
"I love you so much," Kurt said in a hushed breath.
Blaine's smile slipped.
"Blaine?"
"You do? You really do? Because we seem to be out of danger now and if anything you said was just because of the heat of the moment-"
"Stop. Stop talking." Kurt hushed, "Don't be ridiculous. I love you. I've loved you since we were kids."
"Oh." Blaine ducked his head and blushed, and then he blushed harder when he remembered what Kurt had said about loving how Blaine blushed at everything. He looked up through his eyelashes at Kurt, "You know I love you too."
"I do know that."
"With all my heart."
"Blaine." Kurt was crying now, but he was smiling too. "Can we maybe… get out of here?"
Blaine nodded and looked past Kurt's shoulder at the third floor mirror. He drew in a startled breath and Kurt turned to look. The mirror was shattered, pieces of glass piled on the floor in front of it. Though 'pieces' was a generous description for the glass, it was ground as fine a dust and lying in a mound at the mirror's feet.
"Well, finally destroying the mirror wasn't difficult at all," Kurt said; there was a beat of silence before they both broke into laughter, clinging to each other and crying a bit, drained and thankful and giddy with relief.
Once they'd calmed, they walked downstairs arm in arm and stopped at the portrait of Saffron Callaway. It had changed. It was duller now, the colors faded and Saffron didn't look as intimidating or as clear, it just looked like a normal portrait of some normal woman who died decades ago.
Still, Blaine lifted it down from the wall. "I'm going to burn it."
"Okay." Kurt didn't argue. They went downstairs to the parlor and Kurt started a fire in the fireplace as Blaine took the painting out of the frame, and then broke the frame apart before tossing it all into the flames.
They watched it burn, Kurt clinging to Blaine's hand and standing close. Blaine looked down at his free hand, his glass hand, the light of the flames flickering off it. He lifted it up and turned it front to back, he wiggled his reflective fingers.
"Does it hurt?" Kurt asked softly as if he'd just now noticed Blaine's hand was still made of glass, which was obviously not true; Blaine wondered if Kurt had been afraid to mention it.
"It feels… I don't know. It hurt when it was happening, a lot, but now… I don't know. It doesn't feel right, but it doesn't necessarily hurt."
Kurt nodded and wrapped his arms around Blaine from the side, leaning his chin on Blaine's shoulder.
"The fingers aren't sharp like Saffron's." Blaine continued to inspect his hand, "I wonder if she did that herself. Still, it's kind of garish and grotesque isn't it?"
Kurt reached across him to hold on to Blaine's glass hand, pulling it in until he could place a soft kiss on his palm. "If it is part of you, then I love it too."
"And you say I'm the cheesy one." Blaine wanted to cry in relief that Kurt didn't think it was disgusting, "Do you think there could be a magical way to fix it?"
"I don't know, maybe? Saffron thought so. We can look into it. If you aren't done with magic after all of this."
Blaine shrugged not knowing how to answer that. Using magic back in the fairy realm had been exhilarating, up until the moment when he realized he was going to have to use it against someone. He hated what he had to do to Saffron.
Kurt smiled softly at him.
"If magic doesn't work, you'll have to help me pick out some stylish gloves."
Kurt's smile grew. "I can do that."
They sat by the fire until it had completely consumed Saffron's portrait, and then they made sure it was safely out before leaving Callaway Place, Kurt taking the driver's seat when Blaine couldn't keep his eyes open. They went back to their room at the White Pine Cone Inn – had it really only been a couple of days since they were here last? It felt much longer. Blaine collapsed onto the bed immediately, sprawled out on his stomach and hugging a pillow to his face. He probably would have fallen asleep right there on top of the covers if Kurt hadn't started to tug at him.
"We are both muddy and gross and I will not sleep in a bed covered in dirt."
"We slept in dirt back in the fairy realm," Blaine mumbled into the pillow, but he knew this was an argument he wasn't going to win.
"And now we are in Bluespruce and we have a shower," Kurt said. When Blaine still didn't budge, Kurt's voice took on a sing-song tone, "If you get up now, we can shower together."
Blaine lifted his head at that. A warm shower sounded amazing, but a warm shower with Kurt? That was irresistible. He got up from the bed, but found that, as excited as he was with the prospect of showering with Kurt, it was going to be difficult; he could hardly stand. Blaine leaned against the wall of the bathroom while Kurt adjusted the water to get the perfect temperature.
Kurt pulled off his soiled jacket and shirt, he slipped off his shoes and pants and then turned back to Blaine who was still just leaning against the wall and wearily watching him.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Tired."
Kurt nodded and walked up to him, pulling the hem of his shirt up and waiting for Blaine to lift his arms before pulling it all the way off. "Quick shower and then I promise you can sleep." His eyes lingered on Blaine's bruised chest. "You must hurt all over."
Blaine shrugged, which actually hurt a little.
Kurt helped him get out of his shoes and pants, everything he pulled off was filthy, and Blaine thought absentmindedly that he would probably throw it all away. He really was exhausted because he barely even registered Kurt pulling off their underwear until he took Blaine by the hand and started leading him to the shower.
"Wait," Blaine blinked down at his glass hand, it felt stiff and uncomfortable. "Do you think I can I get this wet? Should I put it in a plastic bag like a cast?"
He looked up at Kurt to see tears brimming in his eyes, but he put on a brave smile, "It's glass. Glass can get wet, right?"
Blaine nodded and allowed Kurt to maneuver him into the shower and under the hot spray of water.
Blaine felt his shoulders relax and his muscles loosen under the warm cascade of the shower, he watched mud and water swirl down the drain and felt like most of his fear and worry was swirling away with it. Then, there were strong fingers in his hair massaging his scalp and he sighed and smiled up at Kurt as he shampooed his hair.
"Feels good." Blaine moaned and then leaned his forehead down on Kurt's shoulder, letting him work his curls into a lather and rinse them out. Kurt tenderly began washing Blaine's skin, soapy washcloth gently gilding over Blaine, taking special care to be easy on his chest. Blaine watched his every move with heavy eyes, not able to express the gratitude and love he felt towards this sweet, tender man.
Kurt hurriedly washed himself when he was done with Blaine, smiling at him as water streamed down his gorgeous body. They stepped out of the shower and Blaine dried off with a soft towel and then found a soft pair of pajama bottoms in the bedroom, forgoing the shirt in favor of toppling down in bed that much sooner. He shuffled under the comforter and glanced up and Kurt, who was also clad in pajamas and looking down at him with his lips pursed and his eyebrows drawn.
Blaine lifted up his good hand towards Kurt to pull him down to the bed, his glass hand tucked close to his body. He was going to have to worry about that problem later; if he thought too much right now, he'd break down and he honestly didn't have the energy for that.
"What's wrong?" Blaine asked when Kurt didn't take his offered hand.
"Should I take you to the doctor? Or get you food?"
"Kurt, I'm just tired."
"But-"
"I know there are things that need to be done and discussed-" Blaine yawned, "But can't we please rest first?" He opened and closed his hand again, wordlessly asking Kurt to take it.
Kurt's lips quirked up in a small smile and he took Blaine's hand, allowing himself to be pulled into bed. He laughed and immediately snuggled close to Blaine, wrapping him in his arms and burying his face in the curve of Blaine's neck. Blaine could only sigh in contentment thinking back to how stiff and formal Kurt had been with him when they'd first met face-to-face in New York. He drifted to sleep with the scent of Kurt's shampoo around him and Kurt's body warmly pressed against his own.
Blaine woke up sometime later to the room's phone ringing. The sun was streaming through the window as Kurt rolled over to answer the call, and there was a hushed one-sided conversation about extending their stay before Blaine fell asleep again. When he awoke next, thick curtains had been drawn over the window to shut out the light and Kurt was awake, leaning on his side watching Blaine with rapt attention.
"Are you watching me sleep?" Blaine's voice was rough with drowsiness and Kurt smiled at the sound of it.
"Just a little." He began running his fingertips up and down Blaine's arm. "Are you awake now? I thought you might sleep all day. I was debating whether or not to wake you up and feed you."
"What time is it?"
"Three in the afternoon."
Blaine's stomach did feel empty and he realized he hadn't eaten anything since before they were pulled into the fairy world. That could explain why, after sleeping for over twelve hours, he was still tired. His body was probably weak with hunger. "Yeah, food. Food is good."
Kurt hopped out of bed and went to the little round table in the corner of the room, "I have fresh fruit and a turkey sub and pasta salad and some baked potato left, but I ate most of it already."
"How?" Blaine lifted himself up until his back was against the headboard, and his stomach growled as the aroma of food drifted towards him "Where did this come from?"
Kurt turned around to look at him, a wide smile on his face, "I ordered it on my phone, Blaine. You've been asleep for a long time."
"Oh." Blaine noticed Kurt was still in his pajamas but his hair was styled and there was a collection of books out by Kurt's side of the bed – and god Kurt had his own side of the bed, what a lovely thought! – and a little reading lamp on. Kurt obviously hadn't slept as long as Blaine had.
"You could have woken me."
"I was going to, just so you could eat. But honestly, Blaine, you were so out of it when we first got here, I knew you needed the rest."
"You're wonderful. And that sub sandwich sounds perfect." Blaine's stomach growled again. Blaine moved to get up, but Kurt ordered him to stay in bed and brought him a plate with the sandwich, some chips and a bottle of water, which Blaine downed quickly.
"You're reading magic books," Blaine said between hurried bites, food had never been so welcome.
Kurt had slid back into bed next to him, fingers tracing patterns on the fabric of Blaine's pajama pants.
"My book and Saffron's journal were lost to the fairy realm."
"Are you… trying to get them back?"
Kurt looked up to meet Blaine's eyes. "No. I am not messing with any of that."
Blaine nodded, feeling relieved, "I'm sorry about your mother's magic book, I should have never brought it there, or your mirror."
"Blaine, it's fine. The book helped us, and well…" Kurt looked down again and was quiet for a long moment, "You got out safe, that's all I really care about." Kurt's voice was soft and on the verge of tears.
Blaine swallowed his bite and put his plate to the side, his chest feeling heavy, "Please don't cry."
Kurt met his eyes again, blinking away tears and smiling, "I'm not crying. Not really."
Blaine reached towards him with both hands before quickly tucking his left hand partially under his thigh; he cupped Kurt's face with his good hand, thumbing softly across his cheek, and then leaned in to kiss him. "I love you," he whispered between kisses and Kurt looped his arms around Blaine.
"I love you too."
"I will never tire of hearing you say that."
"You know what I'll never tire of?" Kurt asked with a smirk and a quirked eyebrow, "This."
He kissed Blaine again, gently pressing him down onto the mattress, his lips warm and soft.
Kurt's hands smoothed up and down Blaine's sides, leaving goosebumps in their wake as his lips set fire to Blaine's skin, his lips, his neck, down down until Kurt was kissing just above his waistband.
"Are you too tired?," Kurt stopped kissing to look up at him with eyes so dark the blue was just a thin ring around his pupils.
Blaine hitched out a breath, "N-no." He was rested, fed, and already eager under his pajama pants.
Kurt's smile grew and then he ducked his head almost bashfully as he started to pull down Blaine's pajamas. Blaine shimmied out of them, Kurt's lips finding his thighs and working their way up.
"Wait," Blaine breathed, his voice trembling.
Kurt looked up in concern.
"I want to see you, face to face."
"Anything you want." Kurt crawled up Blaine's body, straddling his hips and pulling off his shirt. Blaine watched him, letting his good hand reach up to smooth along Kurt's chest and abdomen to the elastic of his waistband.
"You can touch me with both hands, Blaine," Kurt said, his voice soft and a little needy.
"I…" Blaine's glass hand was still tucked by his side. "I'm a little scared too."
Kurt leaned down to kiss Blaine, lips sliding and tongue tasting, and he pulled back far enough to whisper, "You don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with. I just wanted to let you know it wouldn't bother me. I'm not scared of it."
Blaine's throat was scratchy with tears.
"Okay?" Kurt asked.
"Okay."
Kurt slipped out of his pants and underwear after that, both of them still kissing and moving against each other. Blaine would have been happy if things had gone the same as they had last time, just moving against one another until they found release, but when Kurt's hand slipped under him and he raised a questioning eyebrow, Blaine could only nod eagerly.
They had to use lotion, which wasn't ideal, but luckily Blaine had a condom in his wallet. Kurt got up to fetch it, teasing Blaine about his intentions in having a condom on hand at all times.
There were smiles and laughter and moans of pleasure as Kurt prepared him, and when it was finally time for Kurt to move inside of him, Blaine could only arch his neck back and wrap his legs around Kurt's waist, praising any deities that existed that Kurt Hummel loved him and wanted him.
Their first time together had been everything, but somehow, this time was even more. Probably because this time Kurt, between grunts and incomprehensible mumblings, was the one to lean down – his lips puffing warm breath against Blaine's ear – as he moaned out his declaration of love.
"I love you, I love you, I love you."
Over and over until Kurt couldn't even speak anymore and Blaine's hands came up, both flesh and glass, to hold Kurt close as he trembled and panted and came with a cry. Kurt's fist around Blaine pumped a few more times before Blaine followed suit, Kurt's name a whisper on his lips.
They practically melted into each other, curling around one another's sweat-slick bodies until Kurt started shivering and Blaine reached awkwardly around him to pull the comforter over them. Still, Kurt clung to him, face buried against Blaine's chest. He heard his sniffling.
"Are you crying?"
Kurt looked up and his eyes were damp.
"Oh god Kurt, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm just feeling a little… overwhelmed."
Blaine's expression must have shown his concern because Kurt hurried on to explain.
"A good overwhelmed, a really really good overwhelmed. I've never… I just didn't know it could be like that."
"Like what?"
"I didn't know being in love would make such a big difference."
Blaine could feel his eyes crinkling he was smiling so big. He brushed hair off Kurt's forehead with his fingertips, "I've loved you for so long Kurt, you were my first love."
"And you mine."
Blaine yawned, amazed that he could still be tired, but Kurt was warm and comforting against him and his fingers were trailing up and down Blaine's back and everything was perfect. Nearly. If he didn't think of anything outside this little bubble of contentment he and Kurt had created, then everything was perfect.
They were quiet for a while, just enjoying each other's nearness, when Blaine's eye caught the pile of books on Kurt's lampstand.
"What do you already need magic books for?" He hoped his voice sounded casual, and that Kurt's flipping through the books had been casual – that Kurt wasn't anticipating any problems.
"Blaine, your use of magic saved us back in the fairy realm. You aren't still against magic are you?"
Blaine shook his head, "No." He wasn't against it, but he wasn't about to start learning how to use magic himself. He couldn't shake what Saffron had said about him, that he was the first Callaway in over a hundred years to be enough like Saffron to take her place.
It made him feel sick. No, if he was anything like Saffron, he was going to avoid using magic from now on. He wouldn't say that to Kurt, though; he didn't want to worry him.
"I'm only looking through these books to see if I can find something…" Kurt licked his lips and looked nervous, "Something to help your hand."
Blaine had his left hand tucked partially under his thigh, he lifted it up now. "I care less about my hand than I do about Helen." Blaine's stomach twisted, the things he'd been trying not to think about since they escaped Saffron were starting to creep in on him.
"Helen?" Kurt prompted, sitting up on an elbow to look at him better.
"We just left her there, I mean I don't see what else we could have done," Blaine's mouth felt dry, his chest heavy with guilt, "But she… she deserved better."
Kurt nodded solemnly, "We can work on both things, Blaine. Your hand and maybe a way to help Helen."
Blaine just nodded. Kurt could work on those things – he hoped Kurt would – but not him. He was too dangerous. Anyone who was like Saffron had to be dangerous, right?
Kurt kissed him and they lay next to each other for a while longer, Blaine finally getting what he wanted, to hold Kurt and kiss him until his lips were numb. Eventually though, they got up to eat a little more and Blaine found Kurt had plugged in his phone to charge. Blaine picked it up to see several missed calls from Andrew. Crap! He'd left Andrew high and dry again. And he even had a call from his mother and two missed calls from Cooper.
Which was odd really.
"As much as I would rather stay in a sex induced bliss bubble with you," Blaine said, and Kurt snorted out a laugh, "I think I need to make some phone calls."
Kurt sighed, "Agreed, I should call work and my dad. I usually call him a couple times a week and he and I haven't spoken since you came pouring though a magic mirror and flipping my life upside down."
"In a good way."
"Yes, of course!" Kurt kissed him with a loud smack and got up to retrieve his own phone, and Blaine watched him with a smile on his face. God he was so in love, Kurt scrounging around looking for his mislaid underwear was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.
Blaine slipped on a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt before going outside to make his calls, leaving Kurt some privacy to talk to his father and Nathan Britton. Blaine smiled when he found that he wasn't even jealous of Nathan anymore. Kurt loved him, what did Nathan Britton matter?
Nether his mom nor Cooper picked up, but he did get in touch with Andrew, who seemed relieved that Blaine was okay, but he didn't want too many details as to what was going on.
"Is it over? That's all I need to know." Andrew asked, "Whatever is going on with that house? I stopped by this morning looking for you and it felt… different."
Blaine was surprised by that, "Different how?"
"You should go back and see for yourself, but it felt… normal."
"Normal?"
"And Callaway Place has never felt normal."
Blaine took that information in; he knew he was going to have to go back there, to his Aunt's house, to his house. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. "All the mirrors are broken." Blaine said, "Um… I could use a hand cleaning the place up a bit."
"All the… what did you do?"
"I thought you didn't want to know."
"Yeah, yeah. You're right about that. Let me know when you're ready to get to work, I can bring my truck to cart away the rubbish."
"Thanks, Andrew, really. Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah kid." Andrew repeated, "You know I'm here for you."
Blaine sighed as he hung up, running his glass hand through his hair, he would need to get a glove for that quickly. There was no way to explain to anyone how his skin had turned to glass – he didn't want to explain it. He didn't want to think about it. He hoped Kurt would find a way to fix it but… Blaine took a deep breath... as long at Kurt didn't hate it, he could live with it if he had to.
Blaine walked back into the hotel room just as Kurt was finishing his phone call.
"I have to go back to Callaway Place-"
"I have to get back to New York-"
Blaine and Kurt said at the same moment.
Blaine blinked. New York. Of course. Kurt had to get back to New York – to his job. To his home. Kurt lived in New York and Blaine… Blaine was unsure where he lived. California or Maine, but it wasn't New York.
"Why?" Kurt asked, raising from the bed where he'd been sitting.
"Why go back to Callaway Place?"
"Yes."
"It's… it's my aunt's home and it's my responsibility now and I need to make sure it is safe."
"It should be," Kurt said, thinking it over. "Any dark magic that was there is probably gone now. Snuffed out with Saffron."
Blaine grimaced and his stomach tightened at the mention of Saffron, and he sat back down at the end of the bed, playing with the edge of the comforter, and Kurt came to sit next to him.
"I was hoping you'd come back to New York with me…" Kurt said softly, "For a little while at least."
Blaine's heart leaped in his chest and he looked up to meet Kurt's eyes. "I would love to."
Kurt smiled sadly, "But?"
"But let me get things squared away here first. The house needs a fresh coat of paint and all the broken mirrors swept out of it. And... I have to decide if I'm going to sell it. And once you get back to New York, you'll be catching up on work, right?"
"Yeah." Kurt shrugged as if he didn't want to admit that Blaine was right.
"So I'm going to come see you in New York as soon as I tie everything up here. Deal?"
"It's just… don't want this to be over. I mean I do… the bad, horrible, terrifying parts… but it's so sudden. We were just in a magical fairy realm Blaine, and now you're talking about getting on with life as if nothing happened? And… and what was all of this for? How can life be the same now?"
"It isn't," Blaine said simply as a smile tugged on his lips, "It's completely different now because… well, we got each other out of this, didn't we?"
"Blaine."
"And that's worth everything to me."
"God, you are so sappy."
Blaine bumped shoulders with him, "And you love it."
"I really do." Kurt smiled, "I love you."
"I love you too."
Blaine leaned in for the kiss, wanting to just leave his responsibilities behind and follow Kurt to New York right then. But he couldn't do that. He'd come here for a reason, and he felt like he owed Helen even more now.
"I'll come back to Callaway Place with you," Kurt said, breaking the kiss, "Just to make sure nothing there is… dangerous. I wouldn't be able to get a flight out until tomorrow anyway.
"Okay," Blaine quickly agreed, he wanted to put off saying goodbye to Kurt for as long as possible. "Could we maybe go shopping for this first?" Blaine lifted his glass hand and wiggled the fingers. The sight still made his stomach lurch and he'd feel better with it covered up.
"Shopping? You think I'm going to turn down shopping?" Kurt winked at him, "Never."
_
Blaine wondered what was wrong with their planning skills as they pulled up to Callaway Place that evening. They seemed to always arrive as the sun was setting. He looked down at his left hand, which was now covered in a thin black leather glove. He'd have to tell people he'd been injured, burned maybe, and that's why he kept it covered. Kurt must have caught on to his thoughts because he reached for the gloved hand, lacing his fingers with Blaine's.
"You okay?"
"Yes. Fine."
Kurt smiled encouragingly at him and nodded towards the mansion.
Blaine's shoulders were tense and his heart beating a little faster than it should as soon as they walked into the house, but then – Blaine relaxed. It was immediate; the change in the atmosphere was almost palpable. It hadn't felt this good to be at Callaway Place since his first summer here with Aunt Helen. It didn't feel heavy or dark or even magical. It felt… it felt like Aunt Helen's home.
"Oh. Wow," Kurt said, looking around. "Yeah… this is… good."
"What is?"
"Can you feel it? I don't think I realized how much dark magic was in the air until now because it's… gone."
"It feels light now. Weightless."
Kurt nodded, he turned to look down at the crystal doorknob of the front door, "Still whispers of magic here though."
"Good magic?"
"Yes."
Good, that was fine. Blaine didn't have a problem with good magic, what Kurt had was good magic. Blaine just wasn't going to mess with it himself.
They walked around the first floor, Blaine making plans; sweeping out the glass, discarding or selling the frames – since Kurt assured him that without the glass they were completely magic-less – he'd have to vacuum the carpets thoroughly. Blaine knew this was all good. Saffron's dark magic seemed to be gone, and he was developing a plan for the house in the back of his mind… the historical society might want it… but still he felt anxious, unsettled. He felt off in his own skin.
Kurt had been right, this was all happening suddenly. Kurt was about to leave for New York and then Blaine would be left with Callaway Place and maybe Saffron's dark magic was gone, but what about Blaine's dark magic? What if there was something in Blaine's DNA that made him like Saffron? The first time he used magic, he'd killed someone, even if it had been self-defense. What if he was on a slippery slope to becoming a person who hurt others with magic? He already had the creepy glass hand, what if he was the next Callaway villain?
Blaine let go of Kurt's hand, stuffing both of his hands into his pockets as they made their way upstairs. Kurt gave him a look but didn't say anything about it.
The thing was Blaine needed Kurt. He loved Kurt, but he also needed him. He needed his goodness to balance out whatever was inside Blaine that made him like Saffron. And Kurt was about to go back to New York. What if he got to New York and away from all of this confusion and decided he didn't want Blaine after all? What if he remembered what a mess Blaine had made of things in the first place when he chose to stop talking to Kurt?
Blaine was spiraling. He knew he did this sometimes. Got so stuck in his head that he stopped being reasonable. But even though he knew it was happening, he couldn't stop it.
He walked into his bedroom and saw the glass mirror pieces on the floor.
"What if the mirrors keep coming back?" He said suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"Like this one. I broke it six years ago and the glass just keeps coming back? What if this place is still cursed? What if it is as cursed as I am?"
"Wha-"
"Kurt, what am I going to do?"
"Blaine cal-"
"I don't want magic. I don't want to be like Saffron. I… I don't want to hurt anyone."
"Okay, you woul-"
Blaine waited for Kurt to continue, biting his own tongue not to interrupt him this time. But Kurt stopped talking and was looking behind Blaine's shoulder as a smile spread across his face.
Blaine turned to see what he was staring at and his breath caught in his throat. The mirror. The mirror above the mantle, the one he'd covered with a sheet his first summer in Bluespruce, the one he'd spent countless hours talking to Kurt through, the one he'd so recklessly thrown a book at in anger, the one that had been broken for six years – the shattered pieces reappearing on the carpet time and time again.
It was whole.
It was unbroken. The only mirror in Callaway Place gleaming and intact.
"What's happening?" Blaine asked nervously.
Kurt just took a step towards the mirror, still smiling sweetly. "Blaine… it was you."
"What… what was me?"
"This mirror is different than the other mirrors here. They all broke because of Saffron's magic, but you broke this one and you kept bringing the mirror pieces back."
"I didn't."
"Not physically." Kurt explained, "With your magic."
"I don't understand."
"Blaine, just now, you put this mirror back together; as you were freaking out, the pieces just... fit themselves back in place."
"But… how?"
Kurt laughed softly in amazement and reached for Blaine's hand. "Did you regret it? Did you regret breaking this mirror?"
"Immediately."
"And that's why the pieces wouldn't go away; before you even knew you had magic, you were trying to repair the mistake you made."
"I-" Blaine opened his mouth and shut it again not knowing what to say, "So it has dark magic in it now?"
Kurt's smile turned into a frown and his eyebrows bunched up, "Of course not. Why would you think that?"
"Because my magic has to be dark magic."
"What on earth are you talking about."
"Saffron said I was like her, enough so that the fairies would have taken me in her place. That… that can't be a good thing."
Kurt's eyes grew round, "Oh my god, Blaine."
"I shouldn't have anything to do with mag-"
"No! Stop." Kurt was smiling again, "You're ridiculous." He started laughing and Blaine couldn't understand what was funny about any of this. "Blaine. Never in my life have I met someone less likely to be evil. You are… you aren't dark, your magic isn't dark. You are good. You are the best person I've ever known." Kurt sighed as his laughter died down. "Seriously, Blaine, that's not how you are like Saffron."
"Then how?"
"I don't know? Because you're both passionate? Because you're both determined? Because you both have strong magic? Hell, because you both have freakishly gorgeous golden eyes? It could be anything, but it is not because you are dark, Blaine. Please believe me."
"But the fairy magic was willing to take me in her place, and my hand…"
"I get the impression the fairies are kind of dicks, Blaine." Kurt said seriously, "I'm not saying they deserved Saffron, but honestly, if they were willing to take someone who is as good, and kind and gentle as you…" Kurt walked up to him as he spoke, "Then they're dicks." Kurt brushed his knuckles down Blaine's cheek. "Do you love me?"
"God yes, Kurt."
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Then take my word on this. You are not some dangerous dark witch. I promise you."
Blaine nodded, a knot forming in his throat.
"Come here." Kurt tugged on his hand until they were both standing in front of the mirror.
"Not everyone with magic is a diviner, they can't all hear magic the way I do, but I think if you really listen, you could hear this; your magic created it after all."
"What are you talking about?"
"Close your eyes."
Blaine followed Kurt's instructions.
"Steady your breathing."
Blaine nodded and concentrated on his breathing.
"Now listen."
Blaine took a deep breath and listened with all of his might.
"What do you hear?"
"Is that… laughter?"
"Yes, what else?"
"It's…" Blaine's eyes snapped open and his heart swelled as he heard laughter and the distant joyous conversation of two young boys from the mirror. "Kurt. That's us."
"Yes."
"It's us as kids."
"It is."
"But how?" Blaine's mind was running a mile a minute; he could hardly keep up with what was happening.
Kurt took Blaine's hand and laid it over his heart, "When powerful magic meets powerful emotions, magic sometimes gets imbedded in an object. Your magic, Blaine, our friendship… our love. It made that magic; you took a happy, beautiful memory from our past and infused it into this mirror."
Blaine swallowed, taking that all in.
"Now, please try to stand there and tell me it is dark magic." Kurt's eyes were shining and Blaine could only shake his head.
"Do you believe me?"
"Yes." Blaine finally answered before crashing their lips together, the laughter and joyfulness from a lifetime of friendship ringing around them.
Kurt was the one to call the White Pine Cone Inn and cancel their reservation for that evening. Blaine was the one to pull Kurt onto the canopied bed of his childhood room and start lavishing Kurt's skin with kisses.
There was nothing to fear in Callaway Place anymore, and only new good memories to make there.
Kurt was naked and sedated and happy, Blaine's almost overly warm body curled around his. Kurt was combing through Blaine's hair, brushing the curls out to a soft fuzzy mess and staring up at the silk canopy as Blaine breathed heavily in sleep. Kurt was about to drift off himself when the ringtone of Blaine's phone startled him. It didn't wake Blaine, though; Blaine slept like a log. Kurt reached over him to the nightstand to see the name 'Cooper' appear on the caller ID.
"Blaine. Blaine." Kurt shook his shoulder.
"Hmm."
"Blaine, your brother is calling."
"Hm? Oh. On the phone?"
"No, Blaine, telepathically. Yes, on the phone." He handed the phone to Blaine and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Umh, Cooper?" Blaine answered the phone groggily and Kurt caught himself smiling at Blaine like a fool.
Blaine got out of bed with a yawn, "I'll take it in the hall," he whispered to Kurt, "You go back to sleep."
Blaine stopped on his way to the door, "You don't have to be short with me Cooper, I did try to call you and mom back this afternoon."
Kurt hugged his knees to his chest and watched as Blaine's face morphed from tired to confused to… to something Kurt couldn't quiet read.
Blaine didn't make it to the hall, too consumed by what Cooper was saying, "What do you… I don't understand."
Blaine's face went a little pale and Kurt's stomach tightened with worry.
"Oh my god. No. Yes. Of course. I'll be on the next flight to L.A."
Blaine was turning around in a circle as if he wasn't sure what he was looking for. "No, you… you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Okay. Yeah. See you soon."
There was a pause and Blaine glanced furtively at Kurt, his cheeks growing pink, "Yes, Cooper, love you too," he said hurriedly before hanging up, and despite Kurt's worry, he suddenly had the urge to meet Blaine's family and know everything about them.
"What's wrong?" Kurt said, getting out of bed and grabbing Blaine's suitcase from underneath, as that seemed what Blaine was looking for.
They both started folding Blaine's clothing and packing it.
"I have to get home. Right away."
"Okay, I'll pack for you if you need to go book a flight, but Blaine, can you tell me what's going on?"
Blaine paused in his movements and looked up at Kurt with wide eyes. "Aunt Helen hasn't put a coherent sentence together in six years."
"Okay..."
Blaine's lips twitched up in a tentative smile. "And now she is talking about fairies and magic books and Kurt, she's asking for me."
"You mean…"
"I think… I think she's back."
Kurt dropped the shirt he was folding and threw his arms around Blaine "Oh thank god!" Kurt didn't understand it, and he was shoving the fact that Blaine was going to California when Kurt had to get back to New York to the back of his mind. Because what mattered now was the smile on Blaine's face and the fact that his aunt may actually be recovering.
Everything else would have to work itself out. As Kurt held Blaine in his arms, he had to believe it would – because this was certain, Kurt loved Blaine and Blaine loved him and now that Kurt had Blaine back in his life, he was going never to let him go again.
