Kurt called Burt in the taxi cab on the way home from Smythe Industries. B was sitting by the door and Kurt was leaning against him, letting B's solid body support Kurt's exhausted one. Burt was upset that Kurt had moved forwards and done something so risky, but he also seemed very relieved that B was alright.
Burt said he was going to send Kurt some legal information proving that B was rightfully theirs, as a precaution if Kurt needed it in the future. Kurt didn't really like the idea of owning B - he was so much his own person that it didn't seem right - but if it meant no-one could get their hands on him again, then Kurt would accept the papers and store them for safekeeping.
Kurt also texted his director, who had called and texted him all evening after Kurt had just disappeared from work. Kurt explained that there had been a family emergency and that he'd need the next day off as well. After that, Kurt pillowed his head against B's shoulder and let B rub a hand comfortingly up and down his arm.
When they got back to the apartment, Kurt lugged himself upstairs. He was so tired he thought he could pass out.
"Are you okay?" B asked as Kurt unlocked the front door with shaky hands.
"Today has been long and awful," Kurt said as they entered the apartment and he closed the door behind them. "I don't know what to think or what to do with everything we've learned." He reached for B's hand and walked them both over to the couch. Hecollapsed on it and tugged B down with him. B smiled at him and lay over Kurt's body with his head resting on Kurt's chest.
"We need to talk about today," Kurt said as he carded his fingers through B's curls and sighed in the pure relief of just being home. "And about you… spontaneously shutting down." Kurt shivered at the memory.
"I can't stop thinking about Blaine Anderson," B said quietly.
"That too," Kurt said, trying to hold back a yawn.
B looked up at him, his chin resting on Kurt's chest. "I think you need to sleep. We can talk in the morning."
"But it's important," Kurt protested.
B scooted up so he could press a kiss against Kurt's neck, making him shudder pleasantly. "So are you. I thought today that I would never see you again. Let's just rest and start to worry again tomorrow?" B's eye met Kurt's. They'd given B back his clothes and eye patch, and Kurt ran his finger softly down the fabric of the patch to the smooth skin of B's cheek.
"I can't argue with that," Kurt said. "Come on." He shifted to get up and B rolled off of him. Kurt took his hand again and led him to his bedroom. Kurt started taking off his shirt and slipping off his pants, too tired to worry about undressing in front of B. He pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and flopped back on his bed. B joined him, stripped to a tank and his underwear. They curled together under the covers and Kurt wrapped his arms protectively around B.
Kurt had come too close to losing B today, and he could never let that happen again. He felt sick thinking about it. He also felt awful thinking about Blaine Anderson, some beautiful, tragic man that B had been based on. Life could be so cruel at times, but still Kurt couldn't help but feel grateful that he had B, even if it was something terrible that had caused B to be created.
Kurt fell into a deep sleep wrapped around B. Kurt's body and mind were worn out from the day, and he would have slept straight through to daylight if he hadn't been woken up in the early hours of the morning by a shout of fear.
Kurt sat straight up in bed, his heart pounding.
He looked over to B, who was sitting up next to him, trembling, clearly having just woken from a nightmare.
Kurt put an arm around B's back. "Hey, it's okay," he said softly, hoping to comfort him.
"It's not okay," B said. "That stupid dream, over and over." He shook harder and Kurt squeezed him in a hug. "Did… Did Sebastian ever tell you how Blaine Anderson was injured?" B asked, looking at Kurt with a lost expression.
"He never said," Kurt whispered.
"Maybe we should… I just wonder…"
"B? What is it?" Kurt asked, rubbing B's back softly.
"What if these dreams aren't my memories? What if they are his? Besides that one time when I was worried about you, I'm always human in them."
"I…" Kurt stopped, not knowing what to say. How would that be possible? It would mean that… part of Blaine's mind was in B? Kurt didn't know if he liked that idea or not, but it would explain a lot of things. "Things happened to you before we got you, though," Kurt finally said. "I mean, you were stolen and dumped… They could be your memories."
"Which is better, do you think?" B asked, calming down a little and lacing his fingers with Kurt's. "That something bad happened to me or that I have the memories of something bad happening to a dead man?"
Kurt licked his lips worriedly and then brushed the tears off of B's cheek. "Either sounds terrible," Kurt said. "I'm so sorry."
B smiled weakly. "My life is good. I know how fortunate I am that you and Burt took me in and treat me the way you do. I don't mean to complain… I just think… I want to know what happened. To me. To him. Maybe it would help?"
"Okay," Kurt said. "We'll start looking. I bet we can find some information on Blaine Anderson, and maybe Dr. Lemaire knows something about you."
B nodded. "Thank you," he said softly. He leaned in to kiss Kurt, and Kurt wrapped his arms around him. B lingered and Kurt smiled, parting his lips and letting B deepen the kiss.
B surged in, tipping Kurt backwards until he lay on his back with B over him. Kurt realized just how naked he was without a shirt on when B's fingertips trailed gently down his side, raising goosebumps and making Kurt shiver all over. Kurt's hands drifted down to the hem of B's shirt until they were able to slide underneath, spreading over B's back and rucking up his tank.
B gasped and Kurt whispered, "Is this okay?"
"Yes," B answered breathily, and Kurt pulled the tank over B's head until B could lean over him, their skin touching chest to chest.
B kept kissing, pressing his lips against any part of Kurt he could reach, his mouth, his jaw, his neck and shoulders. Kurt let out a moan as he felt himself respond to B's touch. He shifted his hips up involuntarily and was greeted by the pleasant surprise of B hard in his underwear.
Kurt had given that some thought before. He knew that Blaine… had the necessary parts, but he never knew if B would be able to respond like this. Kurt wasn't sure how far either of them wanted to go tonight, but it was nice to know there were possibilities.
He held B tight, and moved to find B's lips again. B groaned as they kissed, thrusting down just enough to build friction as they slid together.
"God, B," Kurt called out as heat pooled in his stomach. He wanted B so much that he couldn't even find the words to express it.
They continued to cling to each other, B grinding down as Kurt thrust up, their skin sliding together, damp with Kurt's sweat. They still had B's underwear and Kurt's pajamas between them, but for now, this was enough. Kurt panted and B kissed him open-mouthed and needily. After a few minutes of this, Kurt was arching up and shouting B's name as he came.
B trembled against him and groaned, deep and throaty and gorgeous, until he reached his climax as well. Then they both collapsed back down, panting and kissing lazily. B was heavy on top of him, and Kurt liked the weight of it, grounding him and holding him safe.
"I… I love you, B," Kurt whispered into the darkness of the room, and B lifted his head from where it was buried into Kurt's neck. He stared down at Kurt, no eye patch and his good eye crinkled with a smile.
"You love me?" B asked softly, and his voice was so happy and hopeful that Kurt couldn't help but giggle.
"So much, B."
"I love you too, Kurt. More than I knew I could."
Kurt just grinned as he pulled B down for another kiss. Kurt was messy and wanted to clean up and kept telling himself he was about to get up and do that, but instead he fell back asleep with B over him, feeling loose and content.
Kurt woke up with a smile and turned over to his side to reach for B, but he wasn't there. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with his palm as he looked at the empty side of the bed. Sunlight was streaming through the window, but B wasn't there.
He got up, stripping off his pants from the night before and taking a much needed shower. Afterwards, he slipped on some comfy clothes and headed out to living room, smiling when he saw B in the kitchen and smelled coffee in the air.
"You're up early," Kurt said, and B turned from the counter where he was sipping some coffee, something Kurt wasn't sure he'd seen him do before, and reading the newspaper.
"I was restless. Sorry," B answered with a smile.
"No it's fine." Kurt went to the cupboards and grabbed a bowl and spoon, deciding this was a good morning for cereal.
"Should we talk about yesterday?" Kurt asked after he poured a bowl of Rice Krispies and was leaning up against the counter, across from B.
"You mean about being kidnapped? Or finding out about Blaine? Or my shutting off for no apparent reason?"
Kurt's heart tightened in his chest. "Which of those things is bothering you the most?"
B grinned down into his mug of coffee, and Kurt relaxed a little. "Probably the Blaine Anderson thing… I can't get him out of my head… I just... I want to know what happened to him, but I'm scared to find out."
Kurt nodded in understanding.
"The most pressing thing might be to find out why I shut down like that, though."
"That really scared me," Kurt confessed, not meeting B's gaze.
B put his mug down on the counter and walked towards him, leaning up to kiss Kurt's forehead. Kurt smiled and put down his bowl so he could cup B's face with his hands and kiss him back. He tasted like coffee.
"Last night was amazing, by the way. It was more than anything I could ever have hoped for," B said with a sweet blush. "I should have said that first thing."
"It's okay that you're preoccupied." Kurt smiled as B leaned into him and Kurt's stomach flip-flopped. "But last night really was… amazing."
B blushed brighter, and Kurt just wanted to live in this moment, where they were happy and B was safe. He didn't want to learn more about Blaine Anderson or the awful thing that had to have happened to him. He didn't want to think about how Blaine Anderson must be missed by his family and friends. He didn't want to think about B passing out in the lab the day before, he just wanted things to be good and happy and easier than this. But Kurt's life had never been easy, and he knew they had to get through this together. They'd come out the other side stronger for it.
"I think we should call Dr. Lemaire," Kurt said. "See if he can find out what happened to you yesterday. Just to make sure it doesn't happen again."
"Yeah, okay," B said, and he kissed Kurt again.
Dr. Lemaire was more than happy to hear from them, especially so soon. He arranged to meet them at the Smythe Tower that afternoon.
"How will Sebastian feel about that?" B asked the doctor. They had him on speakerphone and Kurt was listening in, but mostly watching B in concern.
"He said I had to look into this on my own time," the doctor answered. "He never said we couldn't use his lab."
B wasn't sure if that made it okay, but Dr. Lemaire assured him that they wouldn't run into Sebastian. B was still worried about it though. During the entire subway ride, Kurt watched him fidget and bite his lip.
"Don't you want to see Sebastian because he… scares you?" Kurt asked when he couldn't keep the thought to himself any longer.
"No," B said, looking up. "It's because I don't want to see that broken look in his eyes again. I don't want to upset him or remind him of the friend he lost."
As upsetting as the circumstances were, Kurt couldn't help but smile at that, and fall even harder for B and his tender heart.
Dr. Lemaire was as excited as Kurt had ever seen him. He wanted to do tests to measure brain waves and power input in B's thought drives. B said he was willing to do whatever the doctor wanted.
"As long as it doesn't hurt him," Kurt added.
Dr. Lemaire assured him that it wouldn't hurt B at all, and started to hook him up to a machine that would measure his thoughts to see if B's brain reacted like a human's. Much like an EEG scan, with small circular sensors to place all over his head.
Kurt watched as B sat on a table and let Dr. Lemaire prepare him.
"Have you been having any more headaches?" Dr. Lemaire asked, and B glanced quickly at Kurt before answering.
"Yes. A slight headache, off and on today."
"You didn't mention that," Kurt said, reaching for his hand.
"I don't want to worry you, especially after yesterday."
"I'll be more worried thinking you are keeping things from me, B," Kurt said, squeezing his hand. "I mean… You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It is up to you, but I could help."
Dr. Lemaire pressed on the last sensor and moved away to check the machine.
"I know. I just feel like…" B sighed and let the sentence trail off.
Kurt just swiped his thumb slowly over B's hand and waited. B would talk if he wanted to.
"I don't ever want to see you the way you were yesterday," B said, glancing down. "I never want to worry you like that again."
"Oh, B," Kurt whispered.
Dr. Lemaire came back over, wheeling the machine with him. "Now, this needle here is going to record your thought waves," he explained, pointing out a needle that hung over an electric pad. "It goes up and down and marks your activity."
"What do I do?" B asked.
"Just answer a few questions for me."
Dr. Lemaire went through a series of questions and Kurt and B watched the needle twitch and write and bob. Dr. Lemaire seemed to get less excited as they went on.
"What does all that mean?" B asked as the doctor finished asking him a question about how he liked New York compared to Ohio.
"So far you haven't registered anything over a 5," the doctor said, tapping the screen. "Most android thoughts fall between a 2 and a 4, but many can make it to a 5. Hitting a 5 means you are advanced… but we already knew that."
"You were hoping for more," B said, and Kurt could see the disappointment in B's face.
"Oui. I was, yes."
B nodded and closed his eyes tiredly.
"Can we have a moment?" Kurt asked, and Dr. Lemaire walked away to give them some privacy.
"It's okay, B," Kurt said softly. "These tests don't define who you are."
"They kind of do, though," B answered, looking up at him sadly. "I wanted to prove… I don't know, that I am more than just a droid, like you are always saying. I'm scared that-" He stopped abruptly and looked away as tears filled his eyes.
"B. What is it? What are you scared of?"
"That we'll find out I am just an advanced machine. Nothing more." B's voice wavered and was so quiet Kurt had to lean forward to hear him. "And you... And you won't love me anymore."
Kurt's heart was flooded with emotion. Did B really think they would have come this far only to find something that would make Kurt not love him anymore? Had last night not shown B how much he cared for him? It hurt to think that B felt so vulnerable.
"Never, B," Kurt said, leaning forward and pressing a short kiss to his lips. "That couldn't happen. Nothing we learn here could ever change how I feel about you."
B looked at him hopefully. "Really?"
"Of course," Kurt said, enjoying the way B's cheeks flushed as they gazed at each other.
"Je n'en crois pas mes yeux!"
Kurt looked up to see that Dr. Lemaire had moved closer again and was looking at the readings from the machine with a smile on his face.
"Look at this!" the doctor pointed.
Kurt looked at the readout and it took a second for him to realize the needle had jumped up and down dramatically. "Wait… What does that mean?" Kurt asked.
"He reached an 8," tHe doctor said and then smiled at B. "You reached an 8."
"I…" B scrunched up his brows. "How?"
Dr. Lemaire looked at them both. "I think it's him." He nodded towards Kurt. "Your numbers steadily grew as you two were talking, and when he kissed you, it jumped to an 8. Anything over 6 is… is comparable to human thought." The doctor was so excited he started chattering away in French, and even though Kurt could speak some French himself, he wasn't listening. His heart was in his throat and he felt on the verge of tears. He turned to B, who was staring at him with wide eyes.
"How?" B rasped out.
"I don't know the how," Dr. Lemaire said, "Right now, we are still working on the what."
B swallowed as his eyes filled with tears. "So this means…?"
"It means you think like a human," Kurt said, holding his hands. "Which, of course, I already knew," he beamed.
B let out a short relieved laugh, wiping at his eyes, and for the first time, Kurt realized that as confident as he was in B and the fact that he wasn't just another droid, B might have had some doubts in himself.
"B," Kurt said. "You have proof now."
"I just don't understand… How…."
"It has to have something to do with Monsieur Blaine." Dr. Lemaire seemed to be talking to himself as he looked over his machine. "I've never seen a droid react like this."
B rubbed his head and looked up at Kurt. "Do you think it's because of Blaine?"
"I think it's because you're you," Kurt said, kissing him again. "Do you have a headache?"
"I get one every time I think about the Andersons."
Kurt was going to respond to that, but Dr. Lemaire called out in surprise before Kurt had a chance.
"Mon Dieu!" Kurt glanced over to him. "The needle is up to a 9!" the doctor said excitedly.
"Kurt… I think-" B's voice was strained, and as Kurt looked back at him, he toppled over, head hitting the table with a clang.
"B!" Kurt shouted, his hands running over B's body, up to his neck where he tried in vain to switch him back on. "No, B, no! Dr. Lemaire!" Kurt called but the doctor was looking at his readings. "Dr. Lemaire!"
The doctor tore himself away from the machine and hurried over, helping to turn B onto his back so he was lying on the table.
"What do we do?" Kurt asked frantically. B had just shut off again and Kurt couldn't wake him. What would they do if B didn't wake up on his own?
The doctor shook his head and reached for a tool to open the panel in B's neck. "Maybe if we can fix what was giving him the headache…" He said as he worked.
With a gasp, B opened his eye again and abruptly sat up, making the doctor and Kurt step back.
"B?" Kurt reached out for his hand and B took it, pulling him closer. "Are you alright?" Kurt's voice wobbled, and B looked at him with fearful eyes.
"I'm…" He reached up at started tugging sensors off of his head. "I want to go home."
"Okay. Okay," Kurt said, helping him by gently peeling off sensors. "Doctor?" he called, turning towards Dr. Lemaire, and the doctor shut off his machine and started to help.
"I'm sorry that happened again, young man," he said, talking to B. "I know this must be very frightening for you."
"It's like… dying," B said, and Kurt glanced up at his face even as his heart clenched.
"I am glad it happened while you were connected to the machine, though. The more information we have, the better I can help you."
"What did your machine say?" B asked.
"You spiked to a 10 and then abruptly down to a 1 before you... passed out."
"And what does that mean?" Kurt asked as the last of the sensors was removed.
"I'm not sure," Dr. Lemaire said with a distracted look in his eyes, "But I have something I need to look into."
B stood up from the table and Kurt held his elbow ready in case he wavered or fell.
"I would say to be alert about these headaches, as they seem to come before you shut off. Keep a log of them, what you were doing before they come, etc." the doctor said. "We need more data."
"I know what to tweak to help the headache go away once he gets one," Kurt said, realizing the panel in B's neck was still open and shutting it again, watching the edges meld back into B's neck and look like skin. "Is it okay if I do that?"
"Yes, yes. That is good. Just keep a record of what you do."
"Alright," Kurt nodded, before smiling back at B. He wasn't sure he wanted to leave. They still didn't know what was wrong with B, but he seemed so very ready to go home that Kurt wouldn't argue. "Ready to go?"
"Yes," B said eagerly.
B was quiet the whole trip home. Kurt held his hand on the subway, and B never pulled away, but he still seemed distant.
"I was thinking we could order dinner from that pizza place you love?" B didn't eat much because he didn't really have to eat at all, but he did love Cigar's pizza, and Kurt was trying to get him out from under the cloud that was silently hovering over him.
"Okay," B said, and gave Kurt a small smile.
They ate pizza and watched TV, B leaning up against him. When they went to bed, Kurt wasn't sure if B would come to his room or not. He wanted him to, but they hadn't really talked about it. He was relieved when, without a word, B followed him in and pulled off his vest and shirt. "Is this okay?" he asked, holding the polo in his hands. "That I sleep here?"
"I want you here if you want to be here," Kurt answered.
B nodded. "I always want to be with you."
It was the sweetest thing B could have said, and Kurt smiled and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a kiss. "We don't have to go back to Dr. Lemaire if you don't want to. Or we can. Whatever you want to do about all this, I will follow your lead, okay?"
"I want to go back, of course I do."
"You just… You seemed upset."
B sighed. "I guess I am, but I hope that… Maybe we can find out what is going on, and then put it all behind us. I don't know how else to move on."
"Whatever you want," Kurt nodded, arms still around B's shoulders. All Kurt wanted was to make B feel better and keep him safe. Things were hard before Sebastian Smythe came into their lives, before the name Blaine Anderson seemed to haunt them, before these headaches. The problem of how to tell people he was dating an android seemed so simple and insignificant now. Kurt wished they could go back to that.
B brushed his thumb over Kurt's cheek. "Hey… Are you alright?"
Kurt nodded.
"Thank you. For coming after me yesterday, for letting me look for answers…"
"B, you don't have to thank me for those things."
"And thank you," B smiled and continued. "For… For last night. I never thought I would have that with anyone, least of all you…" He blushed and Kurt smiled.
"You know, that doesn't have to stay a one time thing…" Kurt said teasingly. "In fact, I hope it won't."
"I love you," B said softly, and then gave him a grin as he leaned in for a kiss.
