Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I don't own Blaine, or Kurt. (Which is probably for the best, all things equal.) No money is being made off of this work. It's a work of fiction, and it's going to potentially contain triggers for all sorts of squicky stuff. So please, if you're easily triggered by mentions of rape, suicide, depression, I won't be at all offended if you go find another story to read. I'd appreciate it, however, if you do read it, please review! The more reviews, the faster I post the next chapter. Also, I fixed a few continuity errors in the first chapter that conflicted with the interlude. No big deal, just had the breakup on Sunday in one, and Monday in the other. Fixed now.

Note: Someone commented the last chapter about Blaine being emotionless with what's happened. I think he's in shock, and not ready to think about what it's going to mean for him, but there's some hints here. Also, if I didn't make it clear enough in the last chapter, Blaine was almost back to the Hummel-Hudson house when he called Carole. Let's say halfway or so?

"Who was on the phone, sweetie?" Burt asked.

"Come talk to me in the kitchen," Carole said, casting a glance at Kurt, who was still bundled up in the blanket on the couch. "It's time to start grilling."

Burt frowned, but followed his wife into the kitchen, and onto the back patio, where they talked while finishing supper.

"Kurt, honey!" Carole called, poking her head inside the house some time later. "Can you set the table for four, please?" she asked.

Sighing, but not refusing, Kurt pushed himself up off the couch and set the table for four places. Apparently, Finn was coming back, without Rachel. He could handle that. He placed napkins, cutlery including multiple forks, plates on chargers, and nice glasses. Everything matched, and everything faced the same way. Satisfied, Kurt was about to go back to the couch when the doorbell rang. Another sigh, and he trudged over to the door to answer it.

Kurt's eyes lit up when he saw Blaine on the other side of the door. He threw the door open. "Blaine!" he exclaimed. "You're back? You weren't gone long, your dad let you come back? Is everything okay?" the last was asked as he took in the lack of sparkle in his boyfriend's eyes at his exuberant greeting.

"No," Blaine said quietly, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "My dad called me home to kick me out. He's going to provide me with more money than ever, but he doesn't want to see me. It's a high-finance exile, or something."

"Your dad what?" Kurt asked incredulously. "Wait. Was that you calling Carole?"

Blaine nodded. "While you were sleeping, she and I had a talk in the kitchen, and she invited me to stay the night again tonight, but then I called Dad, and he freaked out on me." He shuddered, remembering the short conversation.

"Where the fuck are you?"

"I'm at Kurt Hummel's house. Dad, he was attacked, he's not doing well. I'm going to stay here again."

"The hell you are! If your ass isn't home in an hour, you're going to regret it!"

"Dad, Kurt's house is over an hour from ours."

"Get your ass home!"

He'd hung up the phone, gathered his things as quickly as possible, said his goodbyes, and then broke several land speed records getting home, but to no avail.

"What are you going to do?" Kurt asked, breaking Blaine out of his remembrance. Kurt cradled Blaine's face in his hands, smiling sadly at his boyfriend.

"Well, tonight, Carole says I'm staying here. Tomorrow, I don't know."

"You're staying here, son," Burt said, stepping into the hall. "Carole told me about your predicament. As far as we're concerned, you're now a member of this household."

Blaine and Kurt's faces showed identical looks of disbelief. "What?" Kurt finally found his voice.

"Carole pointed out a few things," Burt said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's going to be hard for me to get used to, but she suggested that we let you stay here, Blaine, until you graduate high school and go off to live your life. No more hour commute to school for you, you're always over here anyway, so I won't have to enforce a curfew, as long as you boys finish your homework every night."

"Plus, I don't know if you know this, Blaine," Carole said, stepping out and putting an arm around her husband. "But when we thought Quinn was pregnant with Finn's baby, her parents kicked her out, and she lived with Finn and I for a short while. If I can extend that courtesy to a girl who turned out to be cheating on my son, I can extend it to a man who clearly loves my other son unconditionally."

Blaine couldn't shake the look of shock from his face. "I…I don't know what to say," he said. "Thank you."

"But Dad," Kurt said. "Finn and I graduate a year before Blaine. I thought you two were looking forward to having the house to yourselves…you won't kick him out when I graduate, will you?"

Carole smiled. "Not a chance. It's only one more year, honey, and if it means Blaine is safe and happy, then it's worth it. Besides, Finn is talking about staying here for a few years to run the tire shop, especially while your dad is in Washington. We would love to have Blaine here."

"I couldn't have said it better," Burt said. "Kurt, are you going to feel up to helping Blaine empty his car?"

"Where are we putting everything?" Kurt asked. He turned to Blaine. "How much did you bring?"

"Not really all that much. My clothes, my favorite pillow and blanket, my guitars, portable keyboard, laptop, school books that weren't in my locker, that sort of thing. Oh, and my hair gel."

"Of course, because we couldn't imagine a world in which Blaine didn't have a lifetime supply of hair gel," Kurt teased.

"To answer your question, Kurt, we'll put everything into the den for now. You're going to have to make some room in your closet, Kurt, but I'm sure you can figure it out. Carole said something about dry cleaning your out of season clothing and storing them in…something or other."

"Hermetically sealed bags," Kurt said. "Which is the only way they'll get to go into the basement. Wait. Blaine's sharing my room?"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to put him on the couch and have to tiptoe around while getting ready for work every morning," Burt said. "And the den is barely big enough to be called a den, much less a bedroom. Look, you're both adults. Or almost adults. And while I'd of course prefer it if nothing inappropriate happened in my house, Carole and I were up nearly half the night discussing the fact that you, Blaine and Finn aren't children anymore, and well…"

"We'd rather you boys had a safe place to do that which you're inevitably going to do," Carole said. "There, I said it. Now, supper's ready. You boys can empty Blaine's car later. I'm assuming you pulled up into the driveway for safety, Blaine, dear?" It might have been Lima, Ohio, but that didn't mean someone wouldn't want to break into a car filled with Blaine's belongings.

"I'm tucked in nice and close to the Navigator," Blaine said. He gave an exaggerated sigh, remembering. "The Navigator I still have to detail."

"Detail?" Burt asked as they walked into the dining room. "Why?"

"I…I uh…lost a bet," Blaine said. "A silly glee club bet on who would get into a fight two weeks ago. I lost, therefore I have to detail Kurt's car. I thought him breaking up with me would make the bet null and void, but he informed me that us getting back together effectively made the wager once again valid. So, tomorrow, while Kurt does whatever he's going to do to make my things mesh with his in his room, I'll be cleaning that humungous vehicle, inside and out." Blaine hated lying to Burt Hummel, but he knew that his boyfriend's father would just worry if he knew Kurt hadn't been driving the vehicle due to his injuries. The bet had actually been made, but the wager had merely been coffee.

"Let me guess," Burt said dryly, pulling out Carole's chair for her. "Kurt bet on Finn and Rachel." Who had had a minor disagreement two weeks previously. A loud minor disagreement.

"And I bet on the long shot, Mike and Tina," Blaine shook his head. "Sucker bet."

"Well, it sounds like you lost that one fair and square, son," Burt said to Blaine.

"Sounds fair to me," Kurt winked at Blaine, and squeezed his hand. He surveyed the dinner spread across the table. "This is incredible, Blaine," Kurt said. "And Dad, and Carole. I feel bad that I merely set the table." He served himself a small amount of everything.

"You did the only job we left for you," Carole smiled. "And you, you're spoiling this family, Blaine. First breakfast, now supper…and all delicious." She set her fork down. "So, boys, how was your day, before Blaine's father got involved?"

"Ugh, exhausting," Kurt said. "I don't really want to talk about it, except, you guys should know, the cops say if they catch the guy, they have enough to charge him."

"Really?" Burt asked. "But I thought there wasn't any evidence…"

"Well," Kurt smiled sheepishly. "Turns out your son is a little more intelligent than he gave himself credit for. I actually took pictures of the guy's truck and license plate with my phone. I didn't remember it. I turned the photos over to the cops, and they told me I'm not this guy's first target."

"That's horrible!" Carole exclaimed. "Well, wonderful that they can press charges, but horrible that he's gotten away with so much. Honey, for everyone's sake, I hope they catch him. And, can I just say, it's good to see you eating again. You lost far too much weight this last week." Which she had originally attributed to the break-up, but now she knew better.

"I'm on antibiotics," Kurt said. "I have to force myself to eat, even though I still don't have much of an appetite."

"We'll work you back up to it," Blaine promised. The rest of the meal passed in relative silence, and after clearing the table, Burt excused the boys to go empty Blaine's car, after which Blaine and Kurt settled onto the loveseat in the living room to watch a movie with Burt and Carole. Neither boy was particularly interested in watching, but both felt it was a sign of gratitude to the parents that they stayed.

Blaine didn't pay attention to the movie. He was wholly focused on Kurt leaning against him, on his arm around the other boy, trying to ignore the emotions welling up inside him. He'd been banished from the family, without so much as speaking to his mother, and it bothered him far more than he'd let on. It was positively Victorian, banishing the homosexual while still keeping their reputation pristine. Swallowing hard, Blaine mastered his emotions. This wasn't about him. All this did was give him more time to spend with Kurt. More time to take care of Kurt, to get Kurt over what had happened to him. He didn't have time to think about this. He had to take care of Kurt.

At the end of the movie, Burt stood and took Carole by the hand. "Well, Carole and I both have long days tomorrow, so we're going to turn in. Don't stay up too late tonight, boys."

"Yes, Dad," Kurt said, with just a hint of sarcasm.

"And if you see Finn, it's probably best if Burt and I explain it to him tomorrow," Carole said.

"And if you don't see Finn, he's probably grounded for missing curfew," Burt teased. He gave Kurt a hug, clapped Blaine on the shoulder, and followed his wife up the stairs.

As soon as they heard the parents' bedroom door close, Kurt looked at Blaine. "My room?" he asked softly. "Er…or should I say, our room?" The tension showed in his eyes.

Nodding, Blaine took Kurt's hand, and followed him up the stairs. "Don't be nervous," Blaine whispered as they closed the door behind them, turning Kurt to face him. "I'm not ever going to do anything you don't want. Are you worried about earlier?" He was relieved to have something to focus on other than his inner turmoil.

Kurt nodded. "I just…it was amazing, and incredible, and all that, but…"

"But you can't help but feeling it was wrong, too soon, or something?" Blaine asked. He tried to keep his tone gentle, but it was hard.

"No!" Kurt exclaimed softly, trying to keep his voice down. "That's not it at all." He sat down on the edge of the bed, laughing nervously. "I'm just…" he sighed.

"Kurt, you're going to have to help me out here. I failed elementary mind-reading three times, and they wouldn't approve the funding for a fourth try," Blaine said blithely.

"You…you what?" Kurt replayed the words in his head and started to laugh. "Elementary mind reading? Really? Where did you come up with that?"

"I thought that might loosen you up. It was something Wes said to me once, way back when. I always wanted a chance to use it. Now, seriously, though. You're going to have to tell me what you're thinking."

"I just…" Kurt looked down at his hands.

"Yes, we've established that you just….but what?"

"I don't want every time we're together to turn into a…you know."

Understanding dawned. "You don't want to lose the innocent cuddling just because we took another step," he said.

"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed. "And now that you're living here, and we're sharing a room, it's going to get even harder, and I don't want to lose what we had in favor of what we have, and I'm still not comfortable enough to reciprocate, and I feel like I took advantage of you earlier without giving anything back, and I don't know what to do!"

"What you're going to do is go cleanse and moisturize your skin. You're going to go through your normal nightly routine. Then you're going to put on your pajamas, crawl into bed with your also fully clothed boyfriend and you're going to cuddle. You're not going to worry about earlier, you're not going to worry about whether or not I feel cheated, I don't, you know, and you're just going to relax."

"How?" Kurt asked. "How do I relax? Seriously?"

"Just do as I said, and we'll figure out the rest as we go. Look, Kurt, I'm not going to lie. I had fun with you earlier. A lot. I would love to do that again, and more. But not until you're ready. I'm not going to push you, I'm not going to expect anything of you. I'm perfectly comfortable jerking off in your shower as necessary," he teased.

Kurt smiled slightly. "Well, if that's what floats your boat," he said. He went through his nightly routine by rote, then came back and crawled into bed beside Blaine. "Don't forget you have to detail the Nav tomorrow," he teased.

"Believe me, with you reminding me every hour, I won't be able to forget. You have a million things you can be doing while I'm taking care of that."

"Yup!" Kurt pulled his laptop over. "Moulin Rouge?" he asked, keying up the video.

"Only until you fall asleep. Then I'm putting on Harry Potter."

"Whatever you like, love," Kurt murmured. He snuggled into Blaine's chest, the laptop on his knees. They weren't half an hour into the movie before he was out cold, and Blaine closed the laptop, setting it on the floor under the bed, where it would be safe until morning. He pulled Kurt into his arms, and cradled his boyfriend's head to his shoulder.

Cuddled close, with nothing else to pull his attention but the soft shallow breathing of his boyfriend, the emotions finally hit Blaine. Tears streaked silently down his cheeks, crossing his chin to pool on the pillow beneath his head. He tried to keep his crying silent, he didn't want to disturb Kurt.

But the silent sobs wracked his body, and soon enough, Kurt woke up, disoriented. "Blaine?" he murmured, reaching up to stroke Blaine's tear-streaked cheek. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Shh, go back to sleep," Blaine whispered. "I'm just…having a bit of trouble processing."

Kurt struggled to sit up, turning on the low bedside lamp. "I can't sleep if you're crying," he said. "Talk to me." He switched positions with Blaine, pulling him so the shorter boy was laying against his chest, their arms loosely entangled across Blaine's body.

Blaine sighed. "Kurt, my dad kicked me out. Told me he didn't want to see my face, except when I come to my mother's birthday party, in two weeks, either by myself, or with a female date. I always knew being gay was unacceptable to my parents, but I never realized that he would practically disown me. Well, in my head I've been using the word banished…because I still have to appear 'normal' at family events. He sent my mother to my aunt's house, so she wouldn't have to be home when he gave me precisely half an hour to pack up my entire life and get it out of his house. He's so….strange, Kurt. I mean, he's depositing my allowance, and Dalton-equivalent room and board into my account so I have money. But he stood at the bottom of the stairs and told me I had half an hour to get my gear and get out. Then, he helped me load my car. I don't get it. And then you're acting like it's a lark, like it's great that we now get to live together and share a room. But I effectively lost my family today, Kurt, and I don't know how to handle it!"

"Shh," Kurt whispered, stroking Blaine's hair. He planted feather-light kisses all over his boyfriend's hair. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry I didn't think about what this would do to you. I'm sorry that I only saw the good side of all of this. I'm so sorry that I'm so shallow and self-centered."

Blaine wanted to tell him to stop making it all about himself. Instead, he buried his face in Kurt's neck and sucked gently at the skin, soothing himself.

"Blaine, wait." Kurt tugged gently at Blaine's curls, pulling the boy's head away from his neck. "Your parents want you to bring a female date to your mom's birthday?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"No," Kurt shook his head, sitting up and facing Blaine. "This is perfect. Absolutely perfect. Your parents want you to bring a female date. Which one would you like to take? Rachel, with the two gay days with ACLU connections, Santana, the Latina lesbian who will bitch them out if they make one negative comment, or Mercedes, my best black friend who again, won't let them get away with squat. You could take Britt, who wouldn't have a clue what was going on, Quinn, who is just a crowd pleaser, or Sugar, who would just really annoy them all, but I think Rachel, San, or 'Cedes would be the best."

"What about Tina?" Blaine had noticed that the Asian girl was the one Glee girl not mentioned. Not that he was seriously considering this plan. He would go solo.

"She's too in love with Mike for it to come across as genuine. Mercedes, while happy with Sam, is still my best girl, she'd do anything for me. Rachel's dating my brother, so I can blackmail her into it, plus you've been on a date with her. Santana…well, Santana will again do anything if it means a free meal and a chance to hate on some homophobes."

"While I would love to have Rachel throw her dads' ACLU connections in my parents' faces, I think it's best if I just go alone. I wouldn't want to add fuel to the fire, or make them think I might be 'acceptable' to them now."

"Well, it was a good idea while It lasted," Kurt sulked. "Are you sure I can't show up with you? I mean, sure they'd kick us out, but…"

"As proud as I am to be your boyfriend, as happy as I am to have you in my life, I'm going to protect you from this. It's not that I'm ashamed of you, don't think that. But you need to stay away from that dinner. Which means no, you, Rachel, and Mercedes can't just happen to show up. Besides, you can't afford any restaurant my parents would choose for this. It'll be exclusive, and probably shut down for the night except my mother's birthday party. Promise me you won't try to crash it."

"You know me too well," Kurt pouted. "Fine. But I reserve the right to have a sleepover with my favorite girls on that night."

Blaine sighed. "I'll probably want to see you after the disaster," he said. "But I understand."

Kurt smiled. "Alright. A sleepover in which I leave when I get the emergency call from my boyfriend who needs cuddles."

"Right. So I'm to call you when I'm on my way home from Westerville, and you'll sneak away from makeovers and facials to come home and cuddle me?"

"Absolutely," Kurt said firmly. "If you won't take one of my favorite girls to a fancier dinner than she's ever seen, then I'm going to have to spend the evening consoling us all. Of course, I could just have the girls over here, and you could crawl into bed between Rachel and I…no wait, that might be awkward, considering your history with her…"

"Oh, God, not this again," Blaine laughed, in spite of himself.

There were footsteps in the hall, and a light knock at the door. "Boys?" Carole asked softly. "Can you two keep it down?"

Kurt winced. "Sorry, Carole," he called quietly. He got up and walked over to the door, opening it. "Blaine's a little sad about everything that's happened. I was just trying to cheer him up by reminding him of some funny things."

Carole looked past Kurt and over to the bed, where Blaine was sitting up, clutching a pillow. "Are you okay, honey?" she asked. "Do you need a hug?" And just like that, she walked across the room in her dressing gown, settled onto her step-son's bed and drew her step-son's boyfriend into her arms, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," Blaine breathed, burying his face in her neck. "Carole, you give the best hugs."

"You know, you're not the first teenage boy to say that," Carole said. "But besides Kurt, you're the first one I ever believed was just in it for the hug." She released him and leaned back, studying him.

"Ew," Kurt said. "Not to say you aren't beautiful, Carole, but, ew."

Carole smiled. "Finn is friends with Noah Puckerman," she pointed out.

"Enough said," Blaine laughed. "But seriously, thank you, Carole. I needed that hug."

"Do you boys think you can keep it down?" Carole asked. "Finn isn't home yet, and I'd hate for him to find out about the new family dynamic this late at night. And right before I have to ground him." She stood and walked back across the room, pulling Kurt into her arms for a tight hug.

"We'll be quiet. I'm sorry," Kurt said. "And he's right. You do give great hugs. But I already knew that. Look Blaine, another bonus of moving in. Daily hugs from Carole."

"I'm looking forward to that," Blaine said sincerely.

"I'm trying to tell him all the great things about living here. In-house French tutoring, for one. Home cooked meals every night, for another…"

"I get it," Carole said. "Goodnight, boys. Don't wake us up again, or we will be talking about converting the den. It's small, but it'll do until you go off to college, Kurt."

"Yes, mom," Kurt said, then paused. He'd meant it in a teasing way, but now, he merely smiled. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, sweetheart. You too, Blaine." Carole walked back down the hall to the master bedroom.

Kurt shut the door and walked back over to the bed. "We have to be quiet," he whispered. "Which means we'll have to take to whispering in one another's ears, or sign language." He shut off the light, crawling back into bed and drawing Blaine into his arms.

"How about sleep?" Blaine whispered back.

"Okay," Kurt nodded. "Sleep sounds like a plan. I love you, Blaine Warbler Anderson."

"I love you too, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel," Blaine shot right back. The two cuddled together, under the covers, falling into a deep sleep soon after.

I just had to post something on Leap Day, because it'll be four more years before I have the chance to do that.

TO BE CONTINUED

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