Chapter 5: All Is Fair In Love And War

Blaine had to be restrained to his hospital bed after trying to get up at least twenty times. The nurses promised they would take care of Kurt, but he had to see that Kurt was okay. He had to know that Kurt was going to be around another day to smile at him and make him feel things he'd never felt before.

Tears streamed down Blaine's face as he pulled at the handcuffs which were holding him to the bed. Both of his wrists and the ankle that wasn't broken were cuffed to the hospital bed rails. "Kurt!" he kept calling. He couldn't bear the image of his best and only friend dying. Of course his mind jumped to the worst case scenario. "Kurt!" he whimpered, finally sinking back down against his bed. He was exhausted and he didn't want to fight any longer, so he closed his eyes. Before long, he was asleep.

Hours later, he woke up to see an unusually pale, albeit beautiful, face smiling at him. "Kurt—"

"Shh, don't worry," Kurt soothed him, gently pushing him back down against the bed until he calmed down. Blaine was grinning broadly at him, but his smile fell when he tried to reach for Kurt's hand and remembered the hand cuffs. He looked at Kurt with sad eyes. Kurt understood and moved his own hand to hold Blaine's, not caring about the awkward angle. "How are you feeling?" Kurt asked softly, brushing his thumb over Blaine's knuckles.

"Better now that you're here," Blaine admitted, smiling shyly. "Are you okay? I could've sworn I saw you… disappearing…"

"It's the pain killers they gave you," Kurt said with a nervous shake of his head. He couldn't let Blaine know the truth, not yet. "They make you see things. Like dreams."

Blaine just nodded, unable to think hard enough to argue that claim. "I don't want you to disappear. Please don't ever go away," he murmured, squeezing Kurt's hand. Kurt smiled ruefully at him, shaking his head.

"I can't promise that… But know that I never want to leave you. Please remember that." Blaine looked at him, the sorrow and heartbreak immediately evident in his eyes. Then he just sighed, like he'd expected as much; like he was used to being abandoned.

"Okay," he said quietly. Kurt nodded sadly, leaning down to kiss Blaine's hand. Blaine gestured silently with his fingers to his lips, wanting for Kurt to kiss them. Kurt couldn't say no. He leaned over even further and pressed a light, loving, warm kiss to Blaine's cold lips. Blaine let Kurt take control, a few tears falling down his face as he kissed Kurt. Kurt used both hands to cup Blaine's face, putting his all into the kiss.

"I love you," Kurt whispered, and he was certain this time.

"I love you, too—"

"No, you don't," Kurt said with a distressed half-smile. "You only think you do because I'm helping you."

"No, Kurt—I really do… I love you," Blaine insisted, frowning when Kurt pulled away. "Kurt…"

"Maybe you'll love me one day," Kurt said, and he couldn't stop himself from feeling hopeful. "But you don't; not now. You think you do, but it's all in your mind."

Blaine looked like he wanted to protest, so Kurt pressed their lips together again, kissing him breathless. That effectively distracted Blaine, and that train of thought was lost by the time they broke apart for a second time.

"I don't want to be in these handcuffs," Blaine said miserably, looking at Kurt with pleading eyes. "They hurt my wrists and my ankle. Can you get me out of them?" he asked hopefully.

"I'll ask the nurse—"

"No! She's the one who said I was crazy and needed to be restrained," Blaine muttered. "Just… please. I think the key is just outside the room, hanging on a hook."

Kurt bit his lip, hating the way Blaine looked so miserable. He eventually nodded, even though he was probably breaking the rules. Kurt walked casually out of the hospital room, smiling to himself when he saw that no one was around. He quickly and subtly grabbed the key labeled "Handcuffs 305" and stuffed it in his pocket. Then he returned to Blaine and quickly unlocked the cuffs. Blaine smiled gratefully and rubbed his raw wrists, wincing at the pain.

"Hospitals are supposed to make you feel better; not hurt you more," he grumbled as Kurt brought him a cool, damp rag from the attached bathroom. Blaine wrapped the rag around his wrists. His ankle wasn't hurting quite as bad, so he didn't worry about it, but his wrists were raw and red from the thrashing he'd done to attempt an escape. "Thank you…" Blaine smiled.

"Anytime," Kurt nodded.

"So you're sure you're feeling okay? You fell…" Blaine reached his hand out to cup Kurt's unusually pale face. "You look sick."

"I…" Kurt trailed off, putting his hand lightly over Blaine's on his cheek. "I'm not hurt," he assured his friend. "Just… a little tired, I guess. Don't worry about me… The doctors said you can probably leave by tomorrow—"

"What if I don't want to go home?" Blaine questioned.

"I don't…" Kurt trailed off again. "Where do you want to go?"

"Wherever you are," Blaine admitted, blushing. "Kurt, I haven't felt safe in that house since I was fourteen, when I came out. We were never the best family before that, but the admission made it all worse. The point is, I don't want to go back," he said, his voice cracking.

"Blaine…" Kurt looked at Blaine sadly, taking Blaine's hand into his from where their hands were on Kurt's cheek. "You can stay with me," he blurted out without thinking. Then it was too late to take back the offer, because Blaine's eyes lit up hopefully.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Kurt nodded, smiling with a little too much enthusiasm as he squeezed Blaine's hand. "We'll go to your house to get your stuff while your parents aren't home, and then we'll go to my apartment."

"So, I get to meet your parents?" Blaine asked excitedly, smiling at Kurt.

"No," Kurt choked out, his voice strained as he tried not to cry. "I live alone. My parents are… gone."

"Gone?"

"Gone," Kurt confirmed vaguely, biting his lip. He hoped Blaine didn't ask any more questions about his parents, because it was still a painful subject. He missed his father and his step-mother. He missed his step-brother, too, but he mostly thought about his dad and how it must have killed him to lose his last memory of Elizabeth.

"Okay," Blaine said. He could tell that Kurt didn't want to talk about it, so he left it alone. He knew as well as anyone what it was like to have parental issues. "So you'll really let me stay with you?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Of course," Kurt smiled, glad that the issue wasn't pressed further. "

"I can't wait."

The next day, Kurt helped Blaine get situated on his crutches before Blaine started hobbling out to the car. Kurt helped him into the passenger seat before climbing into the driver seat and starting the car. They drove to Blaine's house, because Blaine knew that his parents would be at work until seven or eight that night. It was only four by the time Kurt and Blaine pulled into the Anderson driveway.

"Do you want me to come in and help you pack?" Kurt asked him.

"I can do it," Blaine insisted unconvincingly.

"Blaine, you can barely walk," Kurt argued, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'm helping you. Let's go." Blaine sighed and they made their way inside the house together. "This is a nice place…" Kurt observed, looking around the main floor.

"Yeah, it looks that way, doesn't it?" Blaine whispered to himself ruefully. "Not very homey, if you ask me," he said louder, getting Kurt's attention. Kurt looked at him with a sad smile and Blaine propped his crutches up against the dining room table before wrapping his arms around Kurt in a tight hug, counting on Kurt to keep him steady. Kurt accepted the hug easily, wrapping his arms around Blaine's slim figure. Blaine cried silently as he leaned on Kurt. "They don't care about me, Kurt," he whispered.

"But I do," he returned in a whisper, rubbing Blaine's back. But Blaine winced at the action, causing Kurt to freeze. "What's wrong?"

"My back… He hit me with his belt last week… The metal part," he added quietly. Kurt hated how Blaine could talk about what his father did in such a nonchalant way, like it wasn't a big deal. "I'm fine," he mumbled into Kurt's shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get you upstairs," Kurt said, hugging his waist as he helped Blaine up the stairs and into his room. Despite Blaine's protests, Kurt laid him down on his mattress on his stomach. "Let me see your back…" Kurt said quietly, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"No," Blaine said. He didn't want Kurt to see him, frail and too skinny and bruised. Broken.

"Please?"

"No—"

"Blaine, I just want to help," Kurt said quietly.

"I don't want you to see," Blaine choked out, closing his eyes and crying silent tears as he lay with his head sideways on his pillow. "I'm afraid if I let you see everything, you'll run away. You'll be disgusted and you won't want to go through the trouble of fixing someone as broken as me…"

"You aren't broken," Kurt said fiercely, surprising Blaine. Kurt moved to lie down beside Blaine, wrapping his arm around Blaine's waist. "Blaine, I could never think that of you. Whatever you've been hiding isn't your fault, and it couldn't possibly make me think any less of you. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, but—"

"Do you trust me?" Kurt repeated more forcefully, and all Blaine could do was nod. It was amazing to him how Kurt could be so fierce and slightly intimidating while still being so gentle and kind and loving to Blaine.

"I trust you," Blaine whispered.

"Then let me see."

"Okay…"

Kurt smiled slightly and urged Blaine to sit up. He did. Then he carefully removed Blaine's t-shirt, trying his hardest not to gasp when he saw the bruises and cuts covering his torso. Some were fairly new, and others were fading into scars. Most of the bruises had faded on his chest, but there was a bit of bruising along his ribcage. "Oh, Blaine…" he breathed out, shaking his head.

"I don't want pity," Blaine snapped, pulling his blanket up around him. Unshed tears pooled in his eyes as he looked at Kurt's eyes, which were filled with sadness.

"Blaine, that's not it…" Kurt shook his head again. "I just can't believe anyone would ever want to hurt someone as sweet and wonderful as you…" Blaine blushed, his anger slipping away. But he kept the blanket in place. Kurt reached out and gently eased the blanket away from Blaine, revealing his frail figure.

"You wanted to see my back," Blaine reminded him. Kurt nodded and Blaine, shaking, lied down on his stomach for Kurt to see. Kurt covered his mouth and let his tears fall freely now as he looked at Blaine's back. There were bruises, cuts, and welts all over the tan skin. And Kurt could see the slight outlining of Blaine's spine, though the injuries were his biggest concern at the moment. "It's okay if you think it's disgusting… I looked at it in the mirror and it's pretty bad…" Blaine mumbled, swiping at his damp eyes violently to rid them of tears.

"You're not disgusting," Kurt insisted, shaking his head. "I'm just going to get a wet rag and the first aid kit. I'll clean these cuts and wrap you up so you won't be quite so sore."

Blaine just nodded and stayed still while Kurt went to get the rag and first aid kit. For some reason, Blaine thought about earlier that day before Kurt had passed out in the hospital room. Blaine remembered seeing Kurt's skin turn almost transparent. It was like he was disappearing into thin air. Then he was back again as quickly as he'd faded. But he'd looked ill, and he'd still been oddly pale, even for Kurt, when he came to Blaine's room later on.

It all made Blaine wonder. He'd thought from the start that perhaps it was all too good to be true; that Kurt was a dream he'd made up in his head for his own comfort. He was lonely, after all. Could he have possibly dreamt someone who was so real, though? He didn't think that was possible. So Kurt had to be real. But humans didn't just randomly start disappearing. So… if Kurt wasn't human, then what was he?

His thoughts were interrupted when Kurt reentered the room. Blaine turned his head to look at his friend, smiling softly when Kurt did. He couldn't believe how much he'd come to care for Kurt, despite only knowing him for a little over twenty-four hours.

"Hi," Kurt said, holding several first aid supplies. "I figured we'd stock up and bring some extra stuff to my place."

"Okay," Blaine nodded, sighing as he relaxed, as much as he could, into the mattress. He watched as Kurt sat on the bed and started treating each wound individually and with tender care. Blaine stayed silent as he watched Kurt's face, noting each movement of his jaw as he concentrated on taking care of Blaine. He couldn't help but be reminded how stunning Kurt was.

"All done," Kurt said after a few minutes.

"Thank you," Blaine said, smiling. Then he remembered something. "I lost my glasses," he told Kurt. "I mean, those ones were broken anyway, but I think I lost them when I fell off the ladder. I need a new pair."

"We can go buy you a new pair," Kurt offered instantly, shrugging with a half smile. He didn't smile as brightly as he normally would because he couldn't help but picture Blaine's beatings now. He remembered seeing Blaine's dad start to hit him with his belt, but he hadn't known that it was so bad until Blaine had shown him. Kurt shook his head to clear those thoughts, though. "Do you need a new pair tonight? We can go tomorrow if you want."

Blaine nodded. "I can get through the day without them. I usually can't see through them anyway because the guys at school break them, so it's no big deal. We'll just go after Glee practice. You wanted to audition, right?" he asked, perking up as he carefully pushed himself into a sitting position. He faced Kurt and smiled. Once he sat up, Kurt started to wrap a soft bandage around Blaine's torso to shield the tender wounds from any further harm. He finished the job quickly and carefully. "It'd be nice to have an actual friend in the club for once."

"I'd love to join," Kurt smiled more now. "What's the director's name?" he asked, wondering if it was the same as when he'd competed against that team in sectionals the year before.

"Mr. Shuester," Blaine told him. "He's great, I think. But he can't seem to shake his obsession with Journey," Blaine said under his breath, scrunching up his face like he was confused. But he shook his head and continued his train of thought. "We also have another guy who is like a co-director. That's Mr. Hudson, but we all call him Finn."

Kurt's breath caught in his throat but he didn't let on that he was taken aback. So his step-brother was co-directing the Glee Club at McKinley. He hadn't really anticipated that. He'd never watched over Blaine in Glee because he knew there wasn't anyone in there that would hurt him. Now he wished he had, because he wasn't really sure what he was going to do if he ran into Finn around the school.

He hadn't realized that Blaine had started to ramble about how fun Glee Club was and, despite having no really close relationships with the other members, he felt safe there. Kurt only heard the very end of his ramblings. "…and Glee is really the only thing I like about school. I like my classes well enough, but the kids always push me around so the school day is hell except for Glee. Then practice is Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I'd really love to have you there," he finished.

Kurt looked at him with a small smile. "Of course," he nodded. "I'll join. So I just come to practice after school and audition?"

"That's it," Blaine nodded excitedly.

"I'll be there," Kurt said with a kiss to Blaine's lips. He wasn't even thinking about it; it just felt natural. But it took Blaine by surprise.

After kissing back for a second or two, Blaine pulled away, breathless. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

Kurt blushed. "I-I don't know… I just wanted to kiss you."

"I'm glad you did," Blaine said bashfully. Then he glanced at the clock. His eyes widened. "My parents will be home in a half hour. We should go. I'll pack my things and… you can help me, if you want, or you can help yourself to some food downstairs. We've got plenty of food, but I can't cook so I usually just have snacks." Blaine smiled enthusiastically at Kurt, but the fact that Blaine hardly ate worried him. He guessed that the only full meal Blaine got each day was lunch at school, but what about the weekends? That must be why he's so skinny… "Kurt?" Blaine asked curiously, breaking him out of his thoughts. Kurt nodded and snapped out of it, looking at Blaine.

"Right. I'll go make some dinner for us, okay? How does Mac 'n' Cheese sound?"

"That sounds great," Blaine said with wide eyes. He wasn't used to someone making dinner for him. He wasn't used to having someone take care of him at all, really.

Kurt smiled and hugged Blaine gently before kissing his forehead and leaving the room. Blaine got busy packing while Kurt made them some dinner. But Kurt was distracted. He realized that there was still so much about Blaine that he didn't know, and it scared him. How was he supposed to protect Blaine if he didn't even know about everything that he was supposed to protect him from?

Once he finished making dinner, he brought a bowl up to Blaine, smiling when he saw that Blaine had an entire suitcase packed along with a backpack. He also noticed that Blaine had put his shirt back on after Kurt had left the room. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Despite the circumstances, he found that he'd enjoyed seeing Blaine shirtless and feeling the heat radiating off of Blaine's skin. "You've been busy," he said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to hurry since my parents are due home soon," Blaine shrugged, smiling at his friend as they sat next to each other on the bed. "You're the best," he told Kurt with a smile as he was handed his bowl of cheesy noodles. Kurt hardly touched his own food as he watched Blaine stuff his face like he hadn't eaten in days. The thought—the very plausible thought—made Kurt's stomach churn with worry. He finished his own food quickly before setting it on the nightstand and leaning his head on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine turned his head to look at Kurt. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kurt said with a half shrug. He hugged Blaine's middle loosely, mindful of the injuries on his back and ribs. "We should get going soon."

Blaine nodded just as he finished eating. He put his bowl next to Kurt's and turned to hug Kurt tightly, nuzzling his face into Kurt's shoulder. "Yeah… We should, I guess. But I want to kiss you again…" he whispered.

"We'll have more privacy at my place," Kurt reminded him, and Blaine smiled at the thought.

"Okay. Let's go." Kurt helped Blaine to his feet and grabbed Blaine's crutches before helping the boy down the stairs. Then he made a second trip to carry Blaine's bags downstairs and out to Blaine's car. When he came back inside, he let Blaine sling an arm over Kurt's shoulders because he knew he didn't like using the crutches. Kurt carried the crutches for him, walking towards the door slowly but surely.

Blaine froze when he heard a car door slam outside in their driveway. "My dad's home," he whispered shakily. "H-He's home early. Which means he's probably drunk because he never leaves work early…" He looked at Kurt with wide and terrified eyes. "You have to go. He'll hurt you…" He looked around quickly, spotting the back door. "Go out the back door," he told Kurt desperately. Kurt shook his head, pulling Blaine into his arms and kissing his forehead.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promised I wouldn't let him hurt you and I intend on keeping that promise."

"But—"

"No," Kurt said. "I'm staying. You're the one with the crippled ankle, remember?" Blaine nodded stiffly, giving in. He had unshed tears in his eyes but he didn't let them fall. He refused to let his dad know that he was afraid.

But the tears couldn't be stopped when the front door was flung open with a bang.

A/N: Woop-dee-doo, here's a cliffhanger for you. Sorry, that was a bad rhyme. And a bad cliffhanger :O Don't worry! I kind of have the next chapter planned out so it'll be posted soon. It won't be too bad, I hope.

Review please :)