It was three in the morning. Pitch black outside and starting to rain.
Blaine Anderson was oblivious to this as he lay buried under a heavy duvet, fast asleep and curled up in a tight ball. He had a small smile on his peaceful face, most probably due to the dreams he was having. "Kurt" he mumbled, letting out a sigh and pulling the duvet tighter around him. All of a sudden - You make me, feel like I live in a teenage dream - Blaine jolted awake as his phone started blaring with music "Humpgh" he said, struggling to sit up while clumsily reaching for the lamp sitting on his bedside table.
The light that flooded his room hurt his eyes and he winced, scrambling for his phone. The small LED screen on the front of the cell stated that it was Kurt that had interrupted his dreams, he pressed the talk button. "Kurt?" Blaine asked, scratching his head in confusion 'man, I know he's had trouble sleeping but common courtesy would have him wa-' the sound coming from the other end of the phone line interrupted Blaine's thoughts immediately. Kurt was most definitely crying, a quite snuffling that sounded like it belonged to a small child, and this crying was accompanied with a slight rattling noise, Kurt's phone shaking along with his slender hands. Blaine, fully alert now, opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, and what could he do to help? When Kurt said "I'm sorry it's so late, I…I had another one Blaine. It was…terrifying. I don't want to be alone. Can you come over? Please?" He sounded absolutely defeated. "Of course Kurt, I'll be there as fast as I can, maybe you should wake your dad though, or-"
"No. I want you"
Blaine sure wasn't going to argue with that, so he assured Kurt once more he was on his way, quickly pulled on yesterday's sweatpants (Kurt winced every time he saw them, but Blaine was pretty sure he would let them pass this morning) and a sweatshirt, sneaked down the hallway and out the front door and sprinted for his car. It was a thirty minute drive to Kurt's place, and Blaine didn't want to waste a second.
Kurt had only been at Dalton for a couple of months, but Blaine had made a connection with him like none other he had shared with anyone else before. He saw a lot of himself in Kurt, or at least, a lot of who he used to be.
When Kurt first arrived at Dalton, he was scared. Not in a very obvious way, he was still as opinionated and eccentric as ever, but Blaine noticed the little things he did. Such as flinching slightly when they walked down the corridors together, and someone would make a sudden movement in his direction, and the way he would close up a little when meeting new classmates and professors. He was scared. Because unlike his first few years at McKinley he had nothing to hide behind, when he started there he was 'Kurt Hummel, I dress in a way you may call flamboyant, I call fashionably. And why yes! I do like show tunes! But I am not gay, I am most definitely straight' and although many people saw right through this cover, he at least had something to hide behind to shield himself from their assumptions and impressions. At Dalton he felt vulnerable; everyone already knew he was gay. However, there was one major difference he overlooked; At McKinley, being gay defined him, nobody would look past it, but at Dalton it didn't make a difference, because everyone there knew it didn't matter.
Blaine helped him to realize this and as Kurt settled in and made new friends, the fear disappeared. He came out of his shell even more so than he probably ever did at McKinley, and Blaine was glad. Seeing Kurt happy made him happy, simple as that.
But just a few weeks back, as their winter holidays grew closer, Kurt grew visibly anxious again. He secluded himself into his room, staying in there all afternoon just reading or studying. He looked constantly exhausted, like he hadn't slept in days. So Blaine confronted him, he knocked on Kurt's door late one night, as expected Kurt was awake, drinking coffee and finishing end of semester work. It wasn't unusual for Blaine to come visit him in the night; they often would sneak to each other's rooms and talk, but Kurt was jumpy, he cleared his stuff away and sat on the edge of his bed, staring up at Blaine expectantly.
"Kurt" Blaine said gently "Please tell me what's wrong"
Kurt looked down at his feet, feigning confusion "I'm fine"
"Bullshit"
Kurt's eyebrows rose up under his fringe
"Excuse me?"
"Kurt, please don't insult my intelligence. I know you well enough to know you're worrying over something" He sat down on the bad next to Kurt and gently rested his hand on his knee, it was trembling "Look at me" Kurt complied and Blaine was shocked to see tears gathering in the corner of his eyes "Please tell me Kurt...maybe I can help?"
Kurt sighed and looked down into his lap "It's just….I don't want to go home" He took a deep breath, and whispered "It's Karofsky"
At his name Kurt's eyes dimmed and Blaine's face darkened.
"He hasn't…called you or anything? Threatened you?"
"No. Nothing like that. It's partly the knowing that when I go home I'll be closer to him, and also…."
Kurt swallowed and a tear slid down his cheek
"…I've been having these nightmares"
Blaine pulled up outside the Hummel residence at around quarter to four, he could see a crack of light coming from Kurt's room, sneaking through a crack in the curtains. He sneaked across the yard and lightly tapped on his window. Kurt pulled back the curtain to open it for him fumbling with the latches due to his shaking hands, his eyes were red and swollen and his face tear stained, Blaine felt a pang in his chest just looking at him. Kurt finally managed to get the window open, "Thanks for coming" he murmured, helping Blaine climb through the window.
"Oh Kurt" Blaine said, stepping forward and pulling him into a gentle embrace, Kurt stiffened for a second, then relaxed, burrowing his face into Blaine's shoulder "Of course I came"
The two boys sat cross-legged, facing each other on Kurt's bed. Kurt was looking down at his hands, which were still trembling, Blaine reached forward and took them in his, smiled a small reassuring smile at him and said "Tell me about it" Kurt took a deep breath in, let it out slowly, and begun;
"Well, I told you right before we left Dalton for the winter break that I'd been having these….nightmares. I thought they would go away when I got home, and they were just – I don't know, nervous anticipation? See, I was so worried about seeing him - Karofsky" he actually shuddered involuntarily when he spoke Dave's name "But they didn't stop. They got worse…. It always starts off the same; I'm running down this long dark street in the pouring rain, I can't see anyone but I know that somebody's chasing me, I turn a corner and stop to catch my breath, and after a while I hear footsteps so I begin to run again, and of course, I run straight to a dead end and so he…" his voice wavered and he trailed off, his eyes filled with tears again and he blinked them away, letting them run down his flushed cheeks "…it always ends differently. Sometimes he just stands there and screams at me, other times he beats me up and leaves me there but tonight…oh God, Blaine, it was just so realistic! He- he had a knife…and he killed me…"
Blaine stared at Kurt and his heart ached. He wanted to do something to take all these years of torment from him and let him feel safe again. He wanted to say something that would help him forget every time someone ever hurt him, mentally and physically. He wanted to make him happy.
"…and I know it was just a nightmare, and Karofsky isn't actually going to hurt me again, and I'm being stupid…it's just so hard to brush it off when you wake up in the morning and you spent all night with the one person you fear the most telling you what you- who you are is wrong and making you pay for it…"
Blaine reached forward and softly wiped a tear from Kurt's cheek, then leaned forward and gently kissed him on the corner of his mouth. His lips were soft and salty from tears and Blaine lingered in the moment, memorising the way he smelt, the way he tasted and the feeling of lightness he was suddenly filled with, he pulled away slowly and regretfully, gazing straight into Kurt's eyes which were wide with shock.
"Did that feel wrong to you?"
"N-no"
"That's because it wasn't. Nothing about the way we feel or act, who we are, is wrong, Kurt. It's Karofsky, and everyone else that has ever had a problem with it, they are the wrong ones, and these dreams you've been having, well they're just that. Dreams."
Kurt nodded, and then, to Blaine's surprise broke out a huge grin.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing…. it's just…y-you…kissed me"
"I did"
They sat in silence for a moment, Kurt awkward and Blaine amused.
"Kurt?"
"Yes Blaine?"
"Do you want me to kiss you again?"
"Yes Blaine" he replied, with a shy smile dancing over his lips.
Blaine gently reached up and caressed Kurt's cheek, before slowly leaning forward for a second kiss.
Only, it was more than that…the way their lips met, connecting like they were always supposed to, rhythmically alternating between soft on light brushes of lip and deep and hungry kisses, accompanied with slight flicks of tongue and the occasional gentle bite of another's lip, Blaine's hands gently holding Kurt's waist, Kurt's arms limply draped around Blaine's neck, Blaine resisting the urge to pull Kurt's hips up against his, to feel his heat, to press up hard against him, Kurt longing for Blaine to push him back until he was lying back-to-mattress, to lie over him, to feel his warmth and weight against his body. It was as if every inch of skin in the room was physically aching to be touched. Yes, this was certainly more than just a kiss, this was nothing less than what each boy had inadvertently been longing for, but…
"Blaine?" Kurt gasped amongst kisses.
"Mmm?"
"I- " kiss "-hate to say-" kiss "-this-" long, lingering kiss.
"-really, really hate to say this, but I know you have a long drive home, and Dad and Carol will be up soon, so-" one last kiss "-I think we may need to…stop"
Blaine sighed and looked longingly at Kurt's lips, before pulling away.
"Yeah….you're right. This was…."
His voice trailed away as he was unable to find the words to describe the feeling that accompanied your dreams coming true.
"Yeah" Kurt agreed.
"Another time?" Blaine suggested with a playful smile, slowly getting off the bed, smoothing out his rumpled shirt.
"Oh, definitely" Kurt watched Blaine walk towards the window and sighed. How he longed for him to stay, just an hour more…another wistful sigh and he hopped off the bad and joined Blaine by the window.
"Kurt, all of…this…aside…are you okay now?"
"Yeah…" Kurt replied slowly, then "Yes" more surely "I suppose I was just over-reacting…being silly-"
"No" Blaine interrupted, shaking his head "You had every right to be as scared as you were. Just know that nothing in your dreams can hurt you…and, as long as I'm around, nothing in the real world will either. I won't let it"
He spoke with such a convincing sureness, that Kurt had no choice but to believe him, so he smiled gratefully
"Thank-you" he whispered.
He helped Blaine clamber through the window once more, the exchanged one more kiss and then he was gone…swallowed by the fading darkness.
Kurt closed the window slowly behind him, letting the events of the last hour wash over him, filling him with warmth and near overwhelming happiness. He turned and look at his bed. Sheets still tangled, duvet still lying crumpled on the floor.
His smile faltered slightly.
Fine or not…Kurt didn't think he would attempt to get back to sleep. One nightmare was enough, and he didn't want to risk another.