Blaine stopped dead as he registered his words, and felt himself blush as everyone stared at him except for Brittany, who kept eating her cheesecake as if nothing concerned her at all.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to...it just...I'm sorry."

This evening had just been too much, and now he had screwed up royally and wasn't even able to form a complete sentence.

"Blaine," Santana said, her voice just a nuance more authoritative than before. "Go get the wine."

Blaine tried to get himself together, fearing that the effort must be visible to everyone.

"Yes, Mi – Um. Yes."

He went to get the wine, glad to be away for a moment. He could still hear Kurt ask incredulously,

"Wait, you're in the scene?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" Santana asked, apparently amused, though Blaine couldn't see her face.

He went back with the wine, fetched glasses and poured, taking comfort in the simple task. He looked at nobody, and though he was aware of Kurt glancing at him with concern, he didn't meet his eyes. He took his time, clearing the kitchen a little as he poured. Objects were just safer than people at the moment, though he did not dare take too much time until he took his place at the table. After all, there were two Doms in the room, and he still did not know how much he had screwed up.

It didn't seem too bad, though. When he finally came back to the table, Santana and Kurt were both laughing, apparently reminiscing about old times and how they'd both come into the scene.

"...Elliot," Kurt was saying. "He's the owner of the club I'm member of, Defiance."

"No way!" Santana said. "'Guyliner-wearing Elliot 'Starchild' Gilbert a Dom? But he let Rachel and myself walk all over him!"

"Only for a short time, which is remarkable, you have to admit. Anyway, he said he knew how to pick his battles."

Blaine couldn't really concentrate on the conversation; he was still too shaken. Santana had found out she was a Domme apparently through an ex-girlfriend called Dani, but hadn't trained and joined a club until much later. Blaine didn't really care. He was fidgeting on his chair, unable to keep still. When he reached for his glass, he noticed his hand was shaking, and so he sat on his hands to avoid anyone else noticing.

But he couldn't fool Kurt for long. Suddenly, he felt his Dom's hand on his knee, and forced himself to look at him.

"Do you want to kneel, sweetheart?" Kurt asked, and Blaine could have started sobbing from relief. Gratefully, he nodded and slid from his chair to the floor beside Kurt.

"Wow, you two are pretty intense, aren't you?" Santana remarked, and Kurt answered,"Not usually, no. It's just been an intense weekend."

Blaine stopped listening. He leaned his head against Kurt's knee, felt his hand in his hair, and everything finally started to feel right again.

…...

Kurt couldn't quite believe it. Santana a Domme? Well, he could believe it, actually. He could definitely see it, and wondered how he had missed the signs. But still – what else did he not know about people he had known for years? What surprise would come next?

He had worried about Blaine, and wished he had somehow been able to react faster and keep Santana and Brittany from barging in like that. In the end, though, he was glad he knew it now. It could only be good for them to know more people in the lifestyle, especially for Blaine, who had no real relations to anyone except Sebastian, who didn't count because he was an ex and not really involved anymore. Kurt hoped that maybe Blaine would befriend Brittany. He needed another sub he could talk to.

Now, with Blaine finally allowed to kneel, everything seemed fine. Brittany soon joined Blaine on the floor, trying to feed him with bits of cheesecake.

Kurt and Santana talked about their subs, what they liked, what they didn't.

It was fun, it was interesting and informative. After a while, he could hear Blaine and Brittany laughing together, and soon Blaine was 'there' again enough that he even suggested a movie to watch, and really watched it, even though he still kept close to Kurt, seeking constant physical contact.

They hadn't stated it explicitly, but by now it was clear that Blaine was, again, staying the night. There was no way Kurt would send him home alone, and it really was time that Blaine kept some clothes here instead of bringing a bag each weekend that never lasted until Monday.

So, when Santana and Brittany finally left, they stayed curled up on the couch, Kurt completely neglecting his duties as host to walk his guests to the door. He just waved in their general direction and never let go of Blaine.

When they were gone, he asked softly," Are you okay?"

Blaine hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I'm fine, I think. It was a weird day. Too much up and down. But it was fun towards the end, and I'm kind of glad they were here. If you're not mad at me, that is."

"Why should I be mad at you?"

"Because I kind of blurted out that Santana's a Domme? I didn't mean to, really. I meant to talk to you in private about what I had seen, so that you could make a decision about whether to approach them about it. But then...it just came out, I'm sorry."

Kurt grinned. "No worries, sweetheart, I know you're just too well behaved to call a Domme anything other than 'Mistress'. I admit that I was embarrassed for a moment, but that was mostly because I've known her for years and never noticed. If you don't feel you need to be punished, then everything's fine. This is good, really. Imagine, we're in the same group of friends, we can cover for each other in front of Rachel or Mercedes or Sam if anyone should let something slip. And today was nice."

He cleared his throat and turned away for a moment. It was tempting just let things rest there, but he had worries of his own. Blaine had shook his head about needing to be punished, so everything was clear on that front, but Kurt had things he felt he needed to apologize for.

"Actually," he said. "I was wondering if you were mad at me. I should have reacted more quickly, should have found a way to keep them away. It was the worst possible day for an impromptu visit, and I apologize."

Blaine nodded. "Thank you. I won't deny there were times today – a lot of times – that I wished you had just decided to not open the door. But that was just me being – well, sensitive, I guess. As you said, everything turned out for the best."

"You had every reason to be sensitive, if that's what you were. And that's not all. There's something else."

"Should I maybe get the crop for you, Sir?" Blaine teased, and Kurt swatted him playfully.

"Don't be impertinent. I mean it, though. Before, when we talked, when you requested to be flogged...I feel like I didn't really show you my appreciation of your trust. And that I was able to regain it. I feel really, really honored by it. So thank you for that."

…...

Blaine smiled and leaned in to kiss Kurt. It was a leap for him today, taking the initiative like this in his current state of mind, which was just coming out of being as submissive as he had rarely, if ever, experienced before. But he sensed that Kurt needed this, that for Kurt as well it had been an intense weekend and a weird day, and that even a Dom needed affirmation every now and then. So he made it a real kiss, tender and passionate, pouring in every bit of feeling about this weekend and how they had managed to turn it around, and their relationship in general. It wouldn't lead to anything. They were both too tired and worn out, and Blaine really just looked forward to falling asleep in Kurt's arms, but it was nice to just make out for a bit without wishing for anything more.

When they came up from the kiss, they were lying on the couch, Blaine on top of Kurt, burying his face in his neck.

He lifted his head and said, "I love you, remember? So you can just put 'I trust you' into default mode. Take it for granted until I say otherwise."

Kurt was looking considerably happier now, but he still shook his head as he said, "I could never take your trust for granted, Blaine. But thank you."

Blaine sat up, remembering something. "Oh! I wanted to ask you...today, with Brittany, I realized how nice it is to have another sub to talk to. I've never had that before. And Brittany is great, but...well, I don't think we really share a perspective most of the time. So...remember when you asked me to meet Chandler? I thought that maybe I would like to."

"That's great! Would you like me to call him for you?"

"That would be nice, Sir. I'd feel kind of awkward calling him myself, seeing I don't really know him."

They went to sleep, thankfully together again in Kurt's bed, and when Blaine woke up early on Monday morning, he felt like himself again. Which in this case meant somewhat grumpy, because it was Monday and way too early and he wouldn't see Kurt again for nearly a week because the distance between their apartments was too great to just drive to and fro all the time.

He wasn't quite ready to let the weekend go just yet. In front of him lay an incredibly boring day of teacher's conferences, which wasn't really what he had thought of when he had decided to become a teacher. He wanted something more than the marks from yesterday's paddling to remind him, to tether him to Kurt.

So, when Kurt asked him how he was with a little concern in his tone, he told him exactly that.

Kurt's delighted grin surprised him. "You're only around adults today, right? Then I might have an idea for that. Go shower quickly, but don't get dressed yet. Come back and bend over the bed."

Blaine did as he was told, intrigued and a little frightened, and yelped when Kurt pushed a lubed-up finger inside him. Another finger joined the first one, and Blaine was half-hard in no time and whimpered in disappointment when a moment later, the fingers were pulled out again.

Then, he felt something cold and blunt pressing against his hole, and then slowly inside.

He had a little trouble focusing on Kurt's words when he said, "This is a butt plug. It doesn't vibrate or anything, so you don't have to be scared. But you will feel it. When you sit, when you move, all the time. I want you to wear it to work today, and call me on your lunch break."