Bleeding Heart - Chapter 3

[I do not own Glee or any of its characters.]

Over the next few weeks, Blaine pretended he didn't notice Kurt watching him like a hawk. As they got dressed for their final Glee performance of the year, however, the stakes were higher than ever, and part of him was glad Kurt took him to a quiet corner to "get their Zen on" as he had been calling it.

"This is Nationals, Blaine," Kurt said under his breath.

"I know," Blaine replied quietly, his jaw clenched. Sweat was glistening on his brow.

"Are you feeling ok?" he asked. Kurt's eyes flicked quickly to Blaine's chest and he hoped he didn't notice.

"I'm fine, Kurt, don't worry. It's just hot back here and I'm nervous, like everyone else. We're gonna be great. You're going to be wonderful," he breathed, pulling his hand and kissing him on his cheek.

Kurt blushed.

"Ok, well let's go break some legs, then," Kurt said excitedly as the group moved to take their places. As Kurt turned away, Blaine inwardly checked himself, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach. It was show time.

As they took the stage and began belting out their set, everyone moved together flawlessly. From the tips of their fingers to their toes to every spin across the floor, the New Directions exploded with a power befitting the title of National Champions. Every note was rounded, every move was sharp, and as they glided across the floor during their final number, Kurt stole a glance at Blaine, who was already beaming back at him, a smile plastered across his face. Assuming their closing position, the audience roared louder than it had all night, and they ran off stage in a manic glory, cheering, jumping and high-fiving each other as the curtains closed.

As everyone kept running down the catwalk backstage back to the dressing room, Blaine slowed down and let the others pass him, bending over to rest his hands on his knees and breathe. Kurt was behind him and watched as Blaine waved the others on, smiling, taking a few deep breaths. As Kurt scampered up next to Blaine, he ran his hand up his back and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"We did it!" Kurt whispered ecstatically. Blaine looked up at him and Kurt's stomach dropped when he saw that his smile had faded to something much more pained.

"Are you okay?" he asked seriously, pulling him over to the wall as the next group of performers shuffled past them to get to the stage.

"Yeah," he lied breathlessly, his eyes becoming heavy.

"No, you're not, tell me what you need," Kurt whispered frantically. Blaine swayed on the spot.

"Hold me," he whimpered, "Breathe, hurry-"

Kurt scrambled up next to him and pulled him in as tightly as he could, wrapping his arms around him and shushing in his ear. He could feel Blaine shaking against him.

"My heart," he breathed, "is racing," he whispered into his shoulder.

"I know, calm down, we're ok, you did great out there," Kurt replied softly, glad Blaine couldn't see his face wracked with worry.

After a few minutes standing in that position, breathing together, Blaine finally pulled away slowly and took Kurt's hand, smiling at him tiredly.

"Thank you, I'm sorry," he started, "I thought was gonna pass out for a second there."

"I know," Kurt replied, searching his face in the dark half-glow.

"I'm okay, just excited, we're good," he said, straightening up, that grin beaming in the dark.

"Okay, good" Kurt replied, kissing him lightly on the forehead. "Let's go find everyone, I think we might actually win this thing."

"I know!" Blaine laughed, as the stage manager shushed them fiercely, just now taking notice of them. They both bowed at the woman in the headset, and skipped back to their dressing room, back to their seats, never letting go of each other.

And they won.

Coming up...

Two years later, in New York, things get more complicated...