TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER HAS ATTEMPTED RAPE IN IT. This scene is showed, not just mentioned. It involves one of the main characters. IF THIS IS SOMETHING YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ, DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER. The event will briefly be mentioned in Chapter 17. I will be moving the rating of the story up as a result of this chapter.
...
"Did you see that? I'm pretty sure those two people were having sex under the stairs." Adrian hissed, trying to keep up with Blaine the next night. It was Thursday, the day of the GSA Welcome Back party, and unfortunately Adrian hadn't been successful in talking Blaine out of attending.
It wasn't for lack of trying, though. Adrian had suggested a Netflix Night, going to see a movie, playing soccer, even going sightseeing. Eventually he'd given up, stating that next time he got to choose what they did.
"That's why we're walking quickly past." Blaine grabbed his arm. "Ew. That's so gross."
"Yeah well we aren't getting lucky. At least someone is." Adrian retorted. "Although, seriously, out in public? That's just… ugh."
"Public sex is, like, the best sex." Blaine protested.
"You've had sex in public?"
"Yep. Well, I've done things in movie theaters. I've actually done the deed in a Gap fitting room."
Adrian snorted loudly.
"The other one… Kurt would kill me if I said where, so sorry. But, trust me. It's awesome. The adrenaline rush." Blaine grinned. "You should try it sometime."
"Yeah… Thanks but no thanks. I guess I'm boring in bed. Not that I've been in anyone's bed but my own in, like, three months."
"Hey, you weren't dating anybody three months ago!" Blaine gave him a confused look. "Was that around when AJ was pissed at you?"
"Shh."
"You are withholding information. That's not cool." Blaine whined.
Adrian shrugged and cringed, seeing the apartment number the party was at. "Just so we are clear if I go into this party—."
"Which you are."
"Then I get to pick what we do for fun next time. No. The next two times."
"Fine."
"And if there are drugs, we're out."
"That goes without saying."
"I really don't have a great feeling about this." Adrian said for the fourth time that day.
"It'll be fine. Don't be a worrywart. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Have you ever watched Law and Order SVU?" Adrian hissed as Blaine opened the door. "At least five victims have said that before going into a party and they usually don't walk out alive."
"We'll be fine. Trust me." Blaine grinned and grabbed two beers. "Want one?"
"No thanks." Adrian took both of them. "And I thought you weren't drinking?"
"It's just one."
"Don't go off and leave me. Okay?"
"I won't." Blaine promised, opening his beer and taking a drink.
…
Blaine giggled, feeling very warm. He didn't mean to get drunk but he had definitely passed tipsy.
He felt Preston's hand slide up his leg, resting on his crotch.
Blaine gasped, arching. He then felt a hot mouth on his own, another hand on his cheek just like Kurt's would always do. It didn't taste like Kurt, but that was okay. He could look past that; he could pretend.
Kurt.
Blaine kissed back eagerly, hands tugging at Preston's hair. In the back of his mind it was like he knew it wasn't Kurt, but he was so drunk that all he could think was Kurt.
Preston moaned into the kiss, sliding his tongue along Blaine's. Blaine shivered and whimpered, grinding his crotch against Preston's hand which was still palming his now… yep, it was an erection. He was definitely horny.
He always had been a lightweight when it came to alcohol.
"Make that noise again." Preston growled in his ear.
Blaine's eyes snapped open. Because it wasn't Kurt. And this was wrong.
He had to get out of there.
He wasn't going back to fooling around with random guys.
He had Kurt. Well, he used to have Kurt… He would have him again. They'd promised.
Plus, Blaine was way too drunk to consent to sex anyway. Only a real creep would have been trying to get in his pants right then.
He had to get out.
Blaine pushed himself into a sitting position, shaking. "I have to… I have to go."
"Don't go. We're just getting started."
"Did you get me… dru… drunk on purpose?" Blaine asked, feeling like he was fifteen and losing his virginity all over again. Why had he taken that second and third drink? Why had he let Preston drag him away from Adrian? "Is that why you invited me… to this?"
He tried to speak clearly, but everything was fuzzy and the room was threatening to—yep, it was tilting. He just needed to get out of the bedroom, into the party, where Adrian was. Adrian would get him home safely. Adrian would take care of him. Preston…. Preston wouldn't. He had to get out.
"You just need to relax. It will all be fine. It'll be over soon. You know you want it." Preston grabbed his hand, causing Blaine to stumble and fall, hitting his head on the coffee table.
"No!" Blaine said, voice loud and firm. He winced as he touched his head. "Don't touch me!"
"Calm down." Preston got off of the couch, bending down by him after undoing his pants. "You're fine. If you work with me here, I might even date you after."
"Get off of me! I don't want to date you. I don't even like you." Blaine's voice was still loud. Or maybe it was just because he was drunk. He stared at the floor, trying to will his legs to work. He had to get up, get out, get to his cell phone, call Wes, and never leave his house again. Most importantly he had to find Adrian so they could get the hell out of here.
"That's fine. We don't have to be in a relationship. I just want to make you feel good."
"You're a creep!" Blaine hissed as Preston tried to crawl over him.
"Stop over reacting."
"No, no, no." Blaine shook his head as Preston touched his leg. "Get off, get off, get off."
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Unless somebody hears. Then I might have to." Preston roughly pushed Blaine into a laying position, nearly slamming his head into the corner of the coffee table again.
"Let me go." Blaine whimpered, trying to sit up. "Please, let me g—no." He let out a pitiful whine as Preston's hand slipped into his jeans and boxers. He thought he'd been panicking before, but now… now he really was. "I said no! Stop! Please stop! Get your hands out of boxers!"
"Would you shut up and relax?" Preston growled, forcing him back now.
"Get off of me!" Blaine tried to kick, but Preston had prevented him from doing so. "Please, let me go—"
Preston bent down, forcing a kiss on Blaine's lips. Blaine hated himself for arching into Preston's hand. He didn't want to. It was instinct.
Blaine shuddered when Preston's tongue slipped into his mouth and then surprised himself by biting Preston.
"Stop it!" Preston growled, pulling back quickly.
Blaine took his chance, forcefully pushing the taller boy off of him and shakily standing. "Fuck you! Fuck you!"
"Oh, calm down. Someone like you would be lucky to have someone like me!" Preston sneered, grabbing Blaine's wrist. "Get back here."
"Let me go." Blaine said, looking right into Preston's eyes. For however drunk he was, this was definitely sobering him up—and fast.
"No. Just have another drink."
"Get your disgusting hand off of me!" Blaine shouted. "So help me God, I will call the motherfucking police and have your ass thrown into jail for assault if you do not let me go right now! Don't touch me!"
Preston gripped his wrist even tighter before pushing Blaine back, away from him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"You trying to sexually assault me is what's wrong with me!" Blaine exclaimed, grabbing his wallet.
"Calm down. It's not that big of a deal. It's just sex."
"Don't ever speak to me again. If you so much as walk towards me, I'll call the police." Blaine grabbed his keys and ran out of the apartment, past all of the people, tripping as he got to the second flight of stairs. He fell down three stairs before gripping the banister, and then he just stayed how he was—legs akimbo, gripping the banister, blood sticky in his hair, and now a swollen lip. Had that happened? Yes. Yes, it had happened. He was okay. Was he okay? No. Not really.
He had to get out.
He could hear Adrian shouting something at Preston, could hear a door slamming after some more choice words were yelled. And then he heard running.
"Blaine!" Adrian yelled, running down the first flight of stairs. On the second he stopped himself, two stairs in, before dropping down next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Don't touch me!"
"Calm down. It's just me. I'm going to help you." Adrian wrapped his hand around Blaine's wrist slowly. "Let go of the rail."
Blaine let go of it, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't speak, didn't open his eyes, he only flinched when Adrian wrapped an arm around his waist.
"Come on. Help me out here. I'm going to help you up." Adrian whispered, looking behind him to make sure they were still alone. "You're okay."
Blaine burst into noisy tears, burying his face in Adrian's chest.
"I won't let anything happen to you." Adrian promised, helping Blaine down the first stair.
"I gotta… gotta go home."
"I'll get you home. Let's go to my car—"
"N-No!" Blaine shook his head.
"It's five minutes away. I'm not letting you walk."
"No!" Blaine said, voice forceful.
"Okay. Okay." Adrian sat him on the lowest stair and pulled out his phone. "AJ? Are you home? Can I talk to Wes? It's important…. Hey… Something happened. I'm not sure exactly but he ran out of the bedroom… I think… He won't let me get him…"
Blaine didn't look up until as Adrian kneeled by him.
"Wes wants to talk to you, Blaine." He spoke, voice much gentler.
Blaine took the phone, hands shaking. "C-C-Come get me."
"Blaine, what happened?"
"H-He wouldn't s-stop and uhm… I just... Didn't want… "
"Blaine, did he rape you?"
"He w-was going to try." Blaine collapsed into sobs. "I n-need you to c-come. Please, Wes. Please."
"I'll be right there, Blaine. Just sit with Adrian outside, okay?"
"I'm going to l-live in your basement for-forever okay?"
"That's cool. I'll get a finished one." Wes said, attempting to joke but still sounding concerned. "Do you want to stay on the phone when I drive?"
"C-Can I?" Blaine asked Adrian.
Adrian, who could hear Wes on the phone because the volume was up all the way, nodded. "Of course."
"Yes." Blaine began to cry again, covering his face. He felt Adrian's hand on his upper back, rubbing in small circles.
"I know it's hard right now but things are going to get easier, Blaine." Wes promised.
Blaine lowered his hand as Adrian sat down by him and then leaned over, burying his face in Adrian's chest and beginning to cry again.
"You're okay. You're okay." Adrian murmured, ruffling his hair. "It's over. Wes will be here soon."
Blaine looked up when he heard a car speed up and a car door slam.
"Where is he?" Wes demanded after actually entering the building, phone still connected to the call and gripped tightly in his hand.
Adrian's eyes widened in shock.
"Where is the douche bag who did it?" Wes repeated.
"H-Hey." Blaine sniffled, drawing attention to himself.
Wes' expression softened and he helped Blaine up and into a sitting position. "Hey, boo."
Blaine clutched Wes' arm, sniffing again.
"I've got you." Wes said, frowning. The asshole wasn't important right now. He needed to get Blaine out of there. He could see it—Blaine was about to have a breakdown. He probably would have already if it weren't for Adrian being there.
"He used me." Blaine whimpered miserably. "He didn't want to be my friend or help me, Wes."
Wes eased Blaine into the passenger seat of the car, keeping his hand over Blaine's head so he didn't hurt himself. "I'm sorry, Blaine."
"He's pretty drunk so I wouldn't leave him alone." Adrian said gently, coming over to the car. "And he's bleeding. You may want to get it cleaned up."
"Thank you for staying with him. I appreciate it." Wes said very seriously, looking him in the eyes.
"It's no problem." Adrian said, watching Blaine buckle his seatbelt. "He… He's really drunk. He had a lot to drink and I was talking to someone else and he got away and…"
"It's not your fault." Wes said as Blaine leaned his head against the window, covering his face with his hands.
"Have him call me tomorrow alright?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah. Of course." Wes frowned. "Thanks again, Adrian. A lot."
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." Adrian scowled. "But get him out of here."
Wes nodded, getting into his car. Blaine didn't look up, crying into his hands.
Wes watched Adrian approach the apartment complex as he started the key.
"Don't get yourself arrested." Wes murmured before backing out of the parking lot and speeding towards their house.
…
Blaine ran into their house, past AJ, and ran into his room.
Wes ran after him, slamming the front door shut and tiptoeing into his bedroom. He was lying face down on the bed, crying into his pillow. "Blaine…"
"H-He k-kissed me a-and I thought it w-was Kurt and then h-he tried to have s-sex but I said n-no and he tried to push me d-down and I hit my he-head and then…" His face screwed up. "The things he s-said to m-me… I can't… I…"
Wes sat on the bed, rubbing his back.
"I hope I br-broke his nose!" Blaine cried, wiping his eyes.
Wes leaned over, wrapping his arm around Blaine in a hug. "I'm sorry everything is tough, Blainers."
Blaine watery hiccoughed into his shoulder, clutching his shirt. "C-Can you sl-sleep in here tonight? I'm d-drunk."
"I'm not leaving." Wes said.
"I'm scared, Wes." Blaine choked out. "I'm scared."
"Nobody is coming near you." Wes reassured him. "Nobody."
"I'm so stupid. I'm so fucking stupid." Blaine stood, stumbling to the bathroom. He sank down by the toilet, vomiting into it.
Wes sat behind him, rubbing his back.
"Is everything okay?" AJ poked her head in.
"It's fine." Wes responded, carding his fingers through Blaine's loose curls.
Blaine began to cry, just as he always did when he threw up. Not that he needed the extra push.
"He's not fine. He's bleeding." AJ pushed the door open, moving past Wes and kneeling down. "Hey, honey."
"He's really upset right now." Wes warned, stepping back.
"Go get him some Sprite." AJ instructed, rubbing her hand up and down his back. "You're okay, Blaine. Get it all out. You'll feel better."
"N-No I won't." Blaine cried. "I miss him."
"Miss who?"
Blaine scooted away. "K-Kurt."
"Who is Kurt?"
"M-My ex." Blaine sobbed.
"You're… oh, honey." Suddenly everything over the past several weeks clicked. She wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, honey. It's okay."
Wes came back in with a Sprite, surprised to see Blaine crying into AJ's chest. Usually he tried to maintain or fake composure in front of people he wasn't close with.
"Shh, shh, shh." AJ soothed, rocking him and stroking his hair with one hand. "Shh, honey. It's okay."
"I-I-I'm sorry." Blaine cried.
Wes kneeled down. "Want some Sprite for your stomach?"
He wiped his eyes, pulling back and nodding.
Wes opened the can and handed it to Blaine.
"I'm sorry." Blaine whimpered.
"Stop apologizing." Wes sighed.
"I miss him s-s-so much." Blaine sobbed.
"Blaine…" Wes said, looking pained. "I can call him."
"No! He can't f-find out about this ever."
"Can you get me some soap, a warm wet rag, and some peroxide?" AJ asked Wes.
Wes nodded, going off towards the bigger bathroom.
"Do you need to throw up, Blaine?" AJ asked gently.
Blaine shook his head, wiping his eyes and trying his hardest to quit crying.
"I'm going to get your head cleaned up."
Blaine tried to stand, wincing.
"What hurts?" She asked, standing and coaxing him back into a sitting position.
"My leg." Blaine wiped his eyes before tugging up his pants leg. He cringed when he saw blood—more than he'd expected. "Fuck."
"I'll clean that first. I don't think it's bad enough that you need to go to a doctor but it does need be cleaned so it doesn't get infected."
Wes walked in, eyes widening. "Shit."
"This will be easier if you sit on the side of the tub." AJ instructed, helping Blaine up again. "Still don't need to throw up?"
"No. I'm fine." Blaine whispered, sitting on the edge of the tub and tugging his shoe off.
AJ turned the water on, filling a cup Wes held out. "It may hurt a bit. I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Blaine looked at Wes, who was watching with a sad expression. "I'm fine, Wes."
"If you say so." Wes spoke in a gentle voice.
"Do we have any bigger bandages?" AJ asked Wes as she slowly poured the water in the cup over Blaine's knee.
"I think so." Wes nodded, this time pulling a box out of the cabinet in that bathroom. "Yeah."
"Good." AJ smiled at Blaine. "Just a bad scrape. Look."
Blaine nodded, not able to smile back.
She cleaned his knee off with soap and water before drying it, glancing up at Wes. "You can handle putting a bandage on it while I get his head, right?"
"Yep." Wes squeezed in the small space with them, bending and putting Neosporin and a bandage over Blaine's knee. Blaine had his head tilted back as AJ cleaned the cut on his head.
"Can I borrow the Neosporin in a minute? It will probably be better for his head now that I think about it. His hair is really dark. I'd hate to mess it up." AJ looked back at him.
Wes nodded, sitting it next to the peroxide.
"Okay. All good, Blaine. You can tilt your head back up." AJ smiled before putting some Neosporin on his wound. "The blood made it look worse than it was too. I think you're just fine."
"Thank you." Blaine made eye contact, sniffling a bit. "Really… Really."
"Also, you're a brat for not telling me you're gay." She teased.
"Oh God." Blaine covered his face.
"Adrian kept hinting but I thought he was delusional." She squeezed his shoulder. "Do you care if I text him and let him know you're okay? He's worried."
"Please do." Blaine slowly stood.
"Do you want a snack? Anything?"
"No but thank you. I kind of just want to go to sleep." Blaine forced a pitiful smile.
"I'll get him to bed." Wes said, holding the door open for Blaine. "Ready?"
"Yes." Blaine nodded, making his way to his room and fighting a new batch of tears.
Why was he being so goddamn stupid lately?
…
"Is he asleep?" AJ hesitantly walked into Blaine's room an hour later.
Wes, who was in bed with Blaine with Blaine's head on his chest, looked away from the book he was holding over his head to read. "Yeah. Fell asleep about half an hour ago."
"What happened? Adrian is really worried. He's afraid Blaine might have a concussion. He fell on concrete stairs."
"No, he hit his head on a coffee table corner. That's why he was bleeding. He just got the split lip and scraped knee from the stairs." Wes whispered, setting the book down. "Tell Adrian he's doing okay."
"Why did he… hit his head on a coffee table? He was really upset. Was he… raped?"
"No."
AJ looked relieved. "Are you sure he's… okay? His head?"
"I think he's upset and drunk. I'm almost positive. I'll stay up, though. Wake him up every few hours." Wes promised.
"If he needs anything, you can wake me."
Wes nodded once. "Will do."
"Alright. Good night." AJ hesitated. "You're a good friend."
"I know." Wes gave a playful smirk. "Makes bitches love me."
Blaine reached up, punching him half-heartedly in the shoulder.
"You had to ruin it, Wes." AJ shook her head and went out of the room.
Wes closed his book and sat it on the bed and ran his hand up and down Blaine's back a few times, trying to coax him back to sleep.
Blaine relaxed, curling against Wes. "Wes?"
"Yeah, Blainers?"
"Sorry for getting blood on your shirt."
Wes rolled his eyes. "Blaine?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
Blaine forced a smile. "Thanks for taking care of me."
"I'll always take care of you, Blaine."
"I know." Blaine closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
Wes grabbed his phone, texting David. He couldn't tell David what had happened, of course. He could, however, set up a time for the three of them to get together. He had a feeling Blaine was going to need some David time.
***LTC***
"Hello? Hello?" Alec waved his hand in front of Kurt's.
Kurt looked up, blue eyes widening.
"Hey. You okay?" Alec asked.
"Fine." Kurt pulled his headphones out and turned the music player on his iPhone off. "Hey, how's Eric doing?"
Alec shook his head, dropping down in his usual seat. Several days had passed since Eric had been diagnosed with active Tuberculosis. From what they figured, Eric had been exposed to it doing rounds the year before in Ohio but upon getting sick the first time over the summer, his immune system was down and the TB had kicked into gear.
It hadn't been going well for Eric, either. He'd spent a day and a half in a form of quarantine in the hospital, away from other patients and even Alec, because he'd been feeling bad enough that he couldn't care for himself and because he was too contagious to be around Alec.
Kurt wasn't too sure of details. He didn't know how clear Alec was on them. What he understood was for at least a few days, Eric had to stay locked up in one room with minimal interaction with Alec. He wouldn't be allowed out in public for weeks, and likely wouldn't be allowed to work for months. Which wasn't surprising, considering he was a doctor.
No matter what the specifics, it didn't sound fun. It didn't look fun, either, judging by the dark circles under Alec's eyes.
"If he's awake, he's in the bathroom puking. Otherwise, he's sleeping and coughing up his lungs." Alec rubbed his face. "It sucks because I can't even really be around him to try to make him feel better because he's contagious but if he's had it this long, you'd think if I was going to get it that it'd have happened already."
Kurt frowned.
"I can't even go into the guest bedroom. That's where he's sleeping."
"At least he isn't in quarantine anymore." Kurt pointed out.
"I guess but I'll be glad when the medicine has worked long enough that I can really be around him and take care of him."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. I feel so bad for the poor thing. He'll have a few good hours in the day when he's acting normal but the rest of it he'll lay on the couch looking miserable… That's when he's not puking or sleeping, of course."
"Shouldn't he be better by now?"
"Ha. It's not the TB making him this sick. It's the medicine. That's the kicker." Alec shook his head.
"Can they change it?"
"This is the third one they're trying to start him on. You have to do it in rounds or something, I don't know, and we can't even get the first round done because his body rejected the first two kinds entirely and this one just… I don't want to talk about it. It makes me want to cry." Alec looked down. "Sorry. I don't mean to be rude. I'm just overwhelmed. I've missed this class five times so my grade is automatically going to be deducted that many percentage points and I don't know what I'm going to do."
"Don't cry." Kurt said as tears filled Alec's eyes.
"I'm really overwhelmed and it'd be fine if he couldn't tell but he can and I mentioned taking a semester off and he got so mad but it's like, I'm not going to get good grades because I'm busy trying to keep up with the house, his medicines, soon his doctor visits, and my homework, my portfolio, my pieces. And that internship called—the one I really wanted—but I had to turn it down because I just can't." Alec wiped his eyes and took three deep breaths.
"I don't have class Tuesdays. Maybe I can come and keep an eye on him and you can work in the studio?"
"I can't have you in that apartment until he's been through his first round of medicine. He's still contagious." Alec sniffled. "But thank you. I appreciate it. He would too if he knew."
"Someone needs to help you." Kurt whispered.
"I don't trust anyone to take care of him." Alec let out a hollow laugh. "I don't even trust myself to take care of him. He keeps having to tell me I'm doing a great job when, honestly, I think I kind of suck."
"I'm sure you're doing a good job."
Alec shook his head, wiping his eyes again. "I'm just overwhelmed. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You can talk to me about it." Kurt looked down. "Do you think you might take time off school?"
"I don't want to make Eric feel bad." Alec sighed. "I don't know what to do… about anything. I feel childish and selfish even complaining right now when he's home feeling so bad."
"You're not complaining…" Kurt bit his lip. "You should talk about how you feel. Otherwise it'll be worse."
"I just want him to feel better." Tears filled his eyes again and he wiped them.
"He's going to be okay." Kurt promised. "TB isn't deadly. It sucks but he's going to get better."
"That's what his dad keeps saying. His parents call me every day to see how he's doing." Alec took another deep breath, calming himself down. "This kind of makes me want to have the wedding sooner."
Kurt gave him a sad smile.
"I told him that and he pulled the pillow and his covers over his head." Alec let out a laugh—a real one.
Kurt laughed too. "Does he want to wait?"
"He wants a summer wedding." Alec explained. "He doesn't care about anything else, just a summer wedding. You should come… You can bring Blaaaaine."
Kurt looked down.
"Hey, what's with that?"
"He hasn't answered my calls in two days. It's not like him… If he can't talk, he always at least texts me and says so." Kurt frowned. "I hope I didn't do anything or say anything. I've tried to go over all of our conversations in my head and I can't think of anything I did wrong."
"He just… quit answering?"
"Yeah. But I don't think anything happened to him. Wes has been on Facebook and if something had, he'd have told me. Or texted me." Kurt bit his lip. "I think he would, at least…"
"Maybe he's been too busy to respond. It is law school." Alec pointed out. "Sometimes, around exams, I'd go three days without even a text from Eric."
"I feel bad talking about this when you're worried about Eric being sick." Kurt waved his hand. "I'm sure you're right."
"Don't stress. Is he the kind of person to just stop talking?"
"We don't have the best communication in the world." Kurt admitted. "But usually there's some sign. Unless he just decided to…"
"No, no, no. Don't go making up scenarios in your head." Alec said. "Seriously. That will lead you nowhere good."
"You're right." Kurt nodded. You're very right. He's probably just busy."
"I'm sure he is." Alec smiled.
"Come to my car after class with me. I made you and Eric cookies."
"Aww, Kurt!" Alec smiled. "Thank you!"
Kurt smiled as their professor walked in. "You're welcome."
"God, if they're chocolate chip Eric will probably leave me and marry you."
"They are." Kurt laughed.
"Guess I'll be at your summer wedding." Alec laughed too. "I don't think you could handle Eric. He's very weird."
"Have you met Blaine?"
***LTC***
"Hey, Blaine."
Blaine, who was on his lunch break at his internship, looked up when Adrian dropped into a seat by him. It was the day after the party and he'd managed to go a whole three hours at work without running into Adrian. Apparently Adrian had other plans, though, as he'd obviously taken his lunch early to sit with Blaine.
"What happened to your face?" Blaine asked, surveying a cut and bruise on Adrian's cheek.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Adrian countered.
Blaine looked down.
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about." Adrian said after looking around to make sure nobody had come outside behind them.
Blaine didn't speak.
"That guy was a creep." Adrian sighed. "I'm sorry I let you get away with him."
"It wasn't your job to babysit me." Blaine mumbled.
"No but I still feel partially responsible." Adrian made eye contact when Blaine looked up.
"Thank you for sitting with me until Wes got there… I don't know why I was so freaked out. I should have just let you take me home." Blaine let out a long sigh.
"You were traumatized. I probably would have done the same thing." Adrian said gently.
"You went back in, didn't you?" Blaine glanced at Adrian's cheek again.
"Uhm, no. Not into his apartment at least." Adrian said, scratching his other cheek nervously. His knuckles were bruised.
"You seriously went back in and…"
"Technically, I waited for him to come out." Adrian mumbled. "If he decided to press charges, I didn't want them to add breaking and entering… as in breaking his face."
Blaine looked at him, surprised.
"What he did wasn't right." Adrian scowled. "I didn't even think about it beforehand but I'm not sorry. I don't care if he presses charges."
"If he presses charges on you, I'm pressing charges against him for sexual assault and assault." Blaine pointed to the top of his head which had a small yet painful gash. He then pulled his lip down a bit, showing Adrian where it was split inside his mouth. "My knee is scraped too."
"Fucking asshole." Adrian scowled again.
"Thank you." Blaine whispered, looking at him. "It… It means a lot to me that you came out after me and… and uh… calmed me down and stayed with me. That you didn't try to just force me into your car or anything."
"I never would have done that." Adrian shook his head.
"It was just… really nice." Blaine swallowed hard. "So, thank you. Very much."
"Anytime." Adrian whispered.
"Well I hope it doesn't have to happen again." Blaine attempted to joke but his eyes got suddenly watery.
"It's okay."
"I think it's just… everything sucks. And I completely ignored Kurt's call this morning just because I don't know how to talk to him after what happened and I… I'm still kind of shaken up." Blaine let out another long sigh. "I'm feeling really emotional right now. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. It's going to be okay. Everything will be okay." Adrian looked him in the eyes. "You'll be alright."
"You're a really good friend, Adrian." Blaine made sure nobody else was around before wiping his eyes. "And a good person."
"Oh my God, don't start to cry." Adrian reached over, hugging Blaine. "Do you need to go home? I can finish your work."
"No. I'm fine. I'm fine." Blaine pulled back, wiping his eyes again. "I hope you know how much I appreciate what you did. I can't even properly put how I feel into words but… but uhm… I'm glad you were with me. And I hope you know I'd have done the same for you in a heartbeat."
"I do know that." Adrian whispered. "And I know you appreciate it. So don't worry about that. I mean if you want to repay me, don't stoop low enough to go to a Digimon Convention."
Blaine let out a loud laugh before sniffling. "You judge me so hard."
"Only a little hard." Adrian grinned as a lawyer passed them. "Oh, God. I bet that sounded really bad out of context."
"It did." The lawyer said before heading to her car.
"Everyone thinks we're together." Adrian laughed. "They ask me all the time. First it was just the secretaries and interns but now lawyers have started asking."
Blaine laughed. "They ask me too. I don't even know how they know we're both gay."
"The HRC sticker on the window of your car was kind of your giveaway." Adrian snorted. "I just got pulled into it by popular demand."
Blaine laughed again, wiping his eyes "Sorry but I think you mean association."
"I don't. People want me to be gay. It's the only way they can write off how attractive I am."
"Oh my God. That is so vain."
"I just wanted to make you laugh."
Blaine smiled, looking down.
"You could repay me by sharing your Hershey bar with me." Adrian grinned.
Blaine laughed, opening his candy bar and breaking half of it off for Adrian. "Deal."
"Why thank you." Adrian chirped before popping some into his mouth.
"Did you get any of the homework done?"
"Ha no." Adrian shook his head, only speaking after swallowing his food. "I did, however, rediscover the gay movie portion of Netflix. That's what I did all day yesterday before we met up. There was one that was particularly… interesting. I'm not going to tell you what it was called, though, because then you'll watch it and judge me."
"Probably." Blaine laughed a bit, glancing down at his watch. They still had time left.
Adrian took a sip of his water, not speaking.
"We still meeting tonight? I can't meet tomorrow because Burt will be here." Blaine asked.
"Oh, I forgot. Of course, that's fine." Adrian nodded. "I'm just glad you reminded me. Were we going to right after this?"
"If it's okay. We can later, though." Blaine shrugged.
"After is good." Adrian shrugged also before looking at his watch. "We should go back in before people start to think we're going at it out here."
Blaine wadded his bag up, tossing it in the trashcan.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I guess I am." He looked at Adrian. "Thanks for asking… again."
"Anytime." Adrian nudged him. "C'mon. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to leave."
"And then we will then embark on various schooling adventures." Blaine pointed out. "Studying. Note taking. Not watching television… much."
Adrian let out along sigh. "Law school is so time consuming."
"I know." Blaine groaned. "I know."
…
"Hey, bud! How are you?"
Blaine, who was sitting in a small diner and looking at a textbook, stood and plastered a smile on his face although the last thing he felt like doing was smiling. "Hey, Burt. I'm good. How are you?"
"Oh, you aren't good." Burt pulled back to look at him. "What happened to your lip?" He glanced down, noticing Blaine was in shorts. "And your knee?"
"It's just a scrape. I fell."
It wasn't an outright lie, Blaine thought to himself. Maybe he shouldn't have worn the shorts. It wasn't even summer anymore, but his jeans had kept rubbing against his knee the wrong way and he didn't have any more clean work pants.
Burt surveyed him.
"I've had a rough few days is all." Blaine said. "But really, it's fine. I'm good, I'm fine."
"If you insist." Burt sat across from him, smiling. "How is school going?"
"Great. I'm top in my class still… The part time job is going okay, too." Blaine chewed on his lip. "Has Kurt… mentioned anything?"
"Like you two getting back together?" Burt sat up a little straighter.
"Uh… not so much." Blaine shook his head.
"Well, what would he have mentioned?"
"I-I've been really… I was pretty distant with him yesterday and today." Blaine admitted.
"Why's that?"
"I don't know." Blaine looked at the ceiling, willing himself not to cry.
"Are you mad at him?"
"Yes and no. It's more of the fact that I'm mad at myself for things."
"The past few days?"
"The past two years." Blaine wiped his eyes. "I feel like I royally messed stuff up and this past week has been emotionally exhausting. Talking to him just… I don't know. I'm scared of what's going to happen in the future."
"What do you want to happen?" Burt asked. "Can I ask?"
"I miss Kurt so much." Blaine admitted. "And I want to fix things. Really fix them. But it's so hard to do that when…"
"When he broke your heart?"
Blaine nodded.
"You've had it rough with relationships, kid. Sometimes you gotta decide if the reward is better than the risk. Personally, I think you two make a damn good couple. Most relationships go through break ups. Carole and I went through a break up. Sometimes taking time apart makes things better in the long run." Burt said. "I'm Kurt's father. You know my position on this and I'm not here to tell you to get back with him now or next week or next year."
Blaine nodded.
"But I care a hell of a lot about you too, Blaine. You and Kurt were happy. You've got things that could use some improvement but when you got together you were kids. The relationship needs to evolve into an adult one, that's what I think is you guys' problem. But maybe the question you should ask yourself is this: Do you think you two are meant to be?"
Blaine hesitated. "Yes."
"Do you think you two have a true love?"
Blaine bit his lip. "Yes."
"Then stop worrying." Burt leaned over the table, shaking Blaine's shoulder and grinning. "It's gonna be okay."
Blaine took a deep breath.
"Take all the time you two need to work it out but… It'll work itself out." Burt sat back down.
"I didn't know you and Carole broke up." Blaine said after a few moments of silence.
"Well we did. It was this ordeal between Kurt and Finn. The important thing isn't the break up. The important thing is getting back together."
Blaine nodded.
"Don't worry." Burt repeated. "I promise it'll work out. I wouldn't steer you wrong, would I?"
"No." Blaine smiled a bit.
"I hope your week gets better, kid. If it makes you feel better, it's Saturday. New week is right around the corner."
"Yeah." Blaine nodded. He then smiled, a real one. "Are you hungry?"
"Not so much. I am eager to see your school, though." Burt smiled back.
"It's really close." Blaine stood, going to pay for his drink. "Want to walk?"
"Sure." Burt nodded.
Blaine led him out of the diner, holding the door open. "I can't believe how big Melody has gotten. I feel like she'll be as tall as me soon."
"Oh yeah. She had a big growth spurt." Burt grinned.
"I bet she keeps you and Carole busy." Burt smiled.
"You'll have no idea until you have a child. She's more rambunctious than Kurt ever was, but apparently Finn was worse… which I can't picture because I love Mel, but she has her days when she's a wild child." Burt chuckled. "So this Harvard Law School?"
"Yeah." Blaine nodded, taking him into the large building.
"Just one building?"
"Yeah. Harvard University has more." Blaine explained. "But when you think about it, it's not really that big of a school."
"The building looks huge."
"Well there are only 1,900 students enrolled each year. We really don't even have that many professors. 109 full time, 33 visiting, and less than a hundred lecturers." Blaine shrugged. "It's only one building but they go more for quality here." Blaine halted outside of a room.
"What's going on?"
"Mock trial." Blaine pointed, keeping his voice low.
Burt peeked, watching interestedly. "You do that?"
"Yep. That'll be me Monday."
"They have a jury and everything!"
"Oh yeah. It's not just presentations. Honestly I hate presentations. The mock trials are so much easier." Blaine said. "Those are kind of fun."
"Those kids look terrified."
"They're first years, I'm sure. It's probably their first one." Blaine began walking again, pointing out various rooms, pictures on the walls, and even some instructors as they walked.
"I'm surprised everyone isn't wearing suits and dresses." Burt said.
"We don't really have a dress code." Blaine shrugged. "On Mock Trial days we're expected to wear what we'd wear on the job so we'll wear suits. But on regular class days guys usually wear khakis or jeans and a polo or semi dressy shirt. Some girls dress strictly professional and some dress nice but not dressed up. Pretty much as long as you aren't in sweats and a t-shirt, you're good."
Burt nodded. "You like it here?"
"I do." Blaine nodded. "It's kind of surreal."
"You're where you're supposed to be." Burt smiled.
"I hope it didn't cost me everything else." Blaine admitted.
"Don't worry." Burt repeated. "It's gonna be okay."
Blaine nodded.
"Now show me where you go to eat around here." Burt grinned before he gave Blaine a one armed hug. "We can continue this conversation over burgers and fries."
…
"Blaine? How did you find out where I…?" Kurt looked at Blaine, confused.
"Can I please, uhm, come in?" Blaine asked, looking exhausted.
He'd been fine, really. After Burt had left he'd gone about his day as usual, studying for Monday's classes, taking Winnie for a walk, even joining Wes for Chinese food for dinner.
He kept replaying Burt's words, though. To not worry, that everything would be okay.
By time seven that night came around, he knew he had to see Kurt. To apologize for not answering his phone calls Thursday, Friday, or Saturday when everything happened with Preston. Also to try to see for himself that what Burt was saying was right—that they really would be okay. That he and Kurt weren't living in denial or in a fantasy, thinking they'd be able to work stuff out and start over again at some point.
As upset as he was about Thursday night's events, as much as he wanted to tell Kurt right then, he felt some form of calm sweep through him when he saw Kurt. As if he knew it really would be alright, just by looking at him.
The relief didn't last long, though. It was replaced with nerves as he realized why he was here. To apologize, but also to tell Kurt what had happened. At first he didn't want Kurt to know but… they were working on communication. And, really, Blaine needed Kurt to know this. Needed Kurt to know how disgusting he felt, how he'd randomly start crying thinking of Preston's hands on him, the look in his eyes.
Kurt immediately moved from the doorway, holding the door open. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry I haven't been answering you." Blaine blurted. "Truthfully, something happened and I didn't know how to talk to you. But I'm sorry and I hope you're not mad."
"What happened?" Kurt asked, stomach dropping.
"Somebody tried to force me to… to…" Blaine couldn't finish.
"Blaine?" Kurt asked sharply. "Who did what?"
"It's fine. It's fine." Blaine said quickly.
"It's not fine. You're upset." Kurt pulled him further into the house and shut the door. "Come on. We'll go on the balcony. Quinn's a light sleeper and I don't want to wake her."
Blaine nodded numbly, watching Kurt lock the door and then lead him through his apartment. "It looks nice."
"As good as a student apartment can look in New York City, I guess." Kurt pulled apart a sliding door and waved Blaine through it. "What happened?"
Blaine sat on the ground of the balcony, not looking at Kurt as he sat. It was easier that way.
"This… This guy, he's a year older and I thought he was being nice… Like, we went to a few seminars and I guess I'm stupid but I got really drunk and we were kissing, but I mean, I don't know. It was like I thought it was you and then I tried to get away when I realized it wasn't but he kept forcing and trying."
Blaine looked at Kurt, seeing unshed tears in his eyes.
"And I was pleading with him to let me go. He said I wanted it, that if I cooperated he'd date me." Blaine took a deep breath. Those words felt dirty in his mouth.
Something flashed in Kurt's face—pure anger.
"And I tried being loud, thinking he'd let me go, but he said if someone heard he'd hu-hurt me."
Kurt stood, fist clenched.
"I ended up getting away and I just… I'm really u-upset." Blaine bit his lip hard. "I feel disgusting."
Kurt rushed forward and bent again, pulling Blaine into a tight hug. "No, sweetie. Never. No."
"How could I put myself in the position for something like that to happen? He was touching me and I kept saying—I kept saying no and he kept trying. I was really afraid he was going to just… rape me." Blaine's arms went around Kurt and he buried his head in Kurt's shoulder.
How was it when he didn't have Kurt, that he needed him the most? Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something.
"I'm sorry I was ignoring you, Kurt. I just… I keep getting upset about it and I…" Blaine pulled back.
"Don't apologize."
"I need to, though. Because I don't want to look like I don't want you or need you. I just feel like I let you down."
"You didn't let me down." Kurt whispered, kissing the top of his head.
"And I think I need you. I know I need you."
"I'm right here."
Blaine hugged Kurt, tears spilling over.
"Even if we aren't together, you're still my best friend." Kurt whispered. "And I'm always going to be here for you no matter what you need."
"You're mine too." Blaine choked. "But sometimes that isn't enough. Sometimes I need more and I can't… I can't have it and that sucks because I did this to myself."
Kurt pulled back, surveying him.
"I always want to see you, Kurt. I always want to talk to you. I miss you so much."
"You've talked to me."
"It's not the same. I miss how we used to be and I hate to think I messed it—us—up. I messed us up."
"Shh, Blaine."
"I did." Blaine's lip started to tremble. "I was selfish going to Harvard. I was selfish not seeing you more, not making sure you were handling things okay. I'm so sorry, Kurt."
"We've both been selfish, Blaine." Kurt touched Blaine's cheek. "We both have done things wrong."
"I shouldn't have left you the way I did. We should have talked about it before I applied. I should have told you when I found out I was accepted, not in April. You should have been involved much sooner than you were. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Blaine bit his lip. "I'm sorry I hurt you."
"I'm sorry I hurt you too."
Blaine nodded. "I know. It's okay."
Kurt hugged him again, stroking his messy hair.
"Everything sucks without you." Blaine mumbled into Kurt's shoulder.
"Everything sucks without you too." Kurt fought tears. Tears for Blaine—that he'd gone through that, which Kurt hadn't been there, that he hadn't felt like he could talk to Kurt about it. That he felt disgusting. That he'd been put in that position at all.
Blaine's grip on Kurt tightened and his own shoulders started to shake.
"You're okay. It's okay." Kurt whispered, rubbing his back. "I've got you. It's okay. I'm right here, babe."
Blaine pulled back and kissed Kurt, touching his face.
Kurt kissed back, pulling him close.
"I'm sorry." Blaine pulled away.
"Hey, stop." Kurt whispered. "Stop."
Blaine nodded, tears spilling over once more.
"You're having a rough week but it's okay." Kurt wiped under his eyes. "You've got so many people in your corner. Everything is going to be fine. Everybody has bad weeks, Blaine."
"This one has completely sucked." Blaine choked.
"Let's talk about it." Kurt, who had been more kneeling with his arms around Blaine, sat on the ground.
"It's just everything right now. After the wedding… we almost, you know… and that wasn't bad! But now I'm really confused because all these feelings have rushed up and I need to take things slow but all I desperately want is to be with you again and it physically hurts."
"I feel the same way. I have since the wedding." Kurt scooted closer, grabbing his hand.
"And then the party… and I feel so dirty. I've just got all of these feelings going on right now and I can't handle feeling so many different ways and then I just… want it all to stop."
"To stop?" Kurt echoed.
"Feelings this way. I want things how they were before I moved to Cambridge, Kurt. I miss you so much."
"I miss you too. Every minute of every single day, Blaine."
"Things happen and I have to stop myself from telling you because we're not together."
"I know." Kurt nodded. "Me too."
"I don't want to be apart."
"I don't either."
"I'm so tired of this. I'm so tired of it."
Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine once more.
"This week sucks." Blaine moaned.
"Shh." Kurt whispered. "It will get better."
"You're so beautiful." Blaine sat up straight.
Kurt smiled a bit.
"I don't think I told you that enough. You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Especially when you smile. I know you hate your smile but I love it."
Kurt's smile grew, and grew even more when Blaine in turn smiled.
They both looked up when Quinn appeared in the doorway.
"Hi, Quinn." Blaine said, wiping his eyes.
"You look so different." Quinn said, smiling at him. "What are you two doing out here?"
"I didn't want to wake you." Kurt admitted.
"It's freezing. You can come in." She yawned a bit. "I'll be fine."
"Okay. Thanks." Kurt smiled.
"It was good to see you, Blaine." Quinn smiled once again before disappearing back into the apartment.
Kurt stood, holding his hand out to help Blaine up.
Blaine stood, shivering a bit. "I didn't notice how cold it was until she pointed it out."
"I'll get us some blankets." Kurt led Blaine into the apartment, pulling the comforter off of his bed and another smaller blanket out of the top of his closet.
Blaine, who was sitting on the couch, looked up when he came in.
"Here." Kurt handed him the comforter.
"Thanks." Blaine laid it over him, watching Kurt sit not on the couch but on the love seat. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
"Nothing more important than you."
Blaine looked down, fighting a smile.
"I don't want to tonight but we need to pick a day that we're going to have this talk, Blaine." Kurt kept his voice gentle.
"I know." Blaine relaxed against the pillows. "I want to start working on us."
"Me too. Really working on us. We kind of suck at the just friends thing."
"I don't really have free time for two weeks… I really didn't have time to come today but I just… needed to see you." Blaine looked back up.
"Then we'll aim for some time in the next month." Kurt nodded, watching him.
"I'll come here."
"We can meet half way."
"I'd rather do it in private that we have time and won't be interrupted."
"I can come to Cambridge." Kurt said.
"No. You took off school to go to a horrible woman's funeral. It's my turn to drive."
"You drove here today."
"I want to come here."
Kurt nodded. "Okay. If you're sure that's what you want."
"It is." Blaine relaxed against the pillows again, feeling calm for the first time since Preston's hands had been on him, since cutting his head and falling down the stairs. He barely even realized Kurt moving him into a laying position until Kurt had tucked the blanket around him. And then he was asleep.
…
"You didn't have to take me out to breakfast, you know." Blaine said, following Kurt into the small restaurant early the next morning.
"The way to your heart is your stomach, isn't it?" Kurt smiled.
"This is you being worried. I know you." Blaine pointed out.
"Okay, I'm a little worried." Kurt took a seat at a nearby table.
Blaine sat across from him. "I… uh… I'm okay. I mean, I will be. And I feel a lot better after last night, so thank you."
Kurt nodded. "I'm glad you came to talk to me. You know I'm always here for you, Blaine. No matter what the situation. Try as I might, I have a soft spot for you. You could bring a dead body to my apartment and I'd probably bury it for you."
"You don't have to worry about that." Blaine reassured him, actually laughing. "But it means a lot… I think…"
Kurt smiled. He'd made Blaine laugh. This was off to a good start.
"I haven't had breakfast out since… Well, the last time we did." Blaine confessed. "I don't know why but getting breakfast out is better than lunch or dinner."
"Coffee." Kurt said knowingly, just as their waitress brought their coffee. "That's why."
Blaine grinned before ordering.
"Don't." Kurt said after ordering his food.
"What?" Blaine asked, preparing to take the lid off of his cup.
"Let me. You'll get frustrated because you can't get the lid back off. That ruins your whole hour." Kurt reached over, pulling Blaine's cup over to him.
"It doesn't ruin my hour." Blaine huffed.
"It does so. I don't know what it is but you'll never be able to put lids on these cups."
"Sometimes it works. I just get bad lids."
"You get bad lids four times out of five?"
"Yes." Blaine nodded.
Kurt shook his head, smiling. It really was the little things.
"Do you still have your watch?"
"Of course I do." Kurt looked surprised. "I still wear it almost every day."
Blaine smiled.
"Did you keep everything?" Kurt asked hesitantly.
"Almost everything." Blaine took a drink of his coffee. "I returned the ring."
Kurt chewed on his lip, not knowing what to say.
Blaine stood, moving to sit next to Kurt instead of across from him. Old habits really did die hard when it came to Kurt, Blaine was quickly discovering.
"I—"
"I want you to know that you are the best thing that ever happened to me and that I'm… I'm not going to let you go. I mean that with every fiber of my being, Kurt." Blaine interrupted before he could apologize.
Kurt looked down.
"Growing up is hard." Blaine sighed a bit.
"It's necessary for progression."
Blaine nodded, looking thoughtful.
"Can we do ourselves a favor and only talk about positive things?" Kurt questioned, hesitantly. He didn't want to come off demanding. He just wanted—needed—Blaine to leave happy. He would worry regardless, but he'd really worried if Blaine left upset.
"Yeah." Blaine nodded once again.
"How is your dog?"
"She's adorable." Blaine smiled. "She still doesn't like men, really. She's gotten used to Wes. The only other guy that's ever over is Adrian. Sometimes she'll let him rub her belly then she's off to hide until he leaves." Blaine laughed a bit.
"Aww." Kurt smiled. "Is she trained?"
"Sort of. Wes, AJ, and I all try to work with her. If we had more free time we'd be farther along but she's fine how she is. She does make me miss Kreacher sometimes, though. I'm kind of sad he was already asleep when I got here."
"He likes to hide in my closet… and yes, dog hair gets on my clothes. I feel bad for him being stuck in New York, though. At least in Lima he had the back yard." Kurt admitted.
"I'm sure they have dog parks."
"Oh, they do. And I'll take him on actual walks too. Sometimes Rachel or Alec will go with me." Kurt smiled. "When we get back to my apartment, you can say bye to him."
Blaine thanked the waitress as she brought their food before returning his attention to Kurt. "Do you remember that night we had together when we hadn't been dating very long? We went to that party and it was horrible, so we stayed outside and didn't realize how long we'd been out there until the sun had started to come up?"
"Yeah. I remember thinking it was a good thing I told Dad and Carole that I'd be staying over with Mercedes."
"And I remember thinking it was good I stayed between David and Wes' houses so much. Their parents never questioned if I didn't show up." Blaine laughed. "That was a good night."
"And then we got breakfast." Kurt's smile grew. "Maybe that's why you like getting breakfast so much?"
"It really could be." Blaine admitted.
"Do you remember the very first time we went grocery shopping for our apartment? I don't think I really knew you until I saw how much junk food you tried to sneak into the cart." Kurt shook his head.
"That was horrible. I started to wonder if we were going to have to have separate cabinets." Blaine let out a loud laugh.
"I think we adjusted to sharing kitchen space well. The bathroom, however…"
Blaine shook his head. "No, because your stuff is always everywhere."
Is, not was, Kurt thought to himself with a small thrill of excitement running through him.
"Half of it you don't even need." Blaine continued. "I'm sure you'd look the same without all of the creams and moisturizers and whatever else it is you keep stockpiled—I saw your boxes in the bathroom, by the way. Did you really buy that much stuff and bring it to New York with you?"
"Stuff is so much more expensive here. You don't understand." Kurt laughed. "It was really a smart choice."
"It'd be smarter if you didn't use it at all."
Kurt shook his head.
"It literally takes you an hour to get ready for bed, Kurt."
"You never complained when you were talking about how soft my skin was."
"Is." Blaine corrected. "It still is."
Kurt bit his lip, fighting another smile.
Blaine ate some of his eggs, falling silent.
"This food is really good." Kurt said after a few moments. "Your bacon is better, though."
"Well your eggs are better." Blaine smiled.
"I guess the general consensus is we make amazing breakfast worthy of being sold in New York."
"But only when we're together." Blaine nodded.
"Tell me the truth."
Blaine braced himself.
"Is my dad harassing you?"
Blaine laughed and shook his head.
"How about Friday when he was visiting? Did he pester you about us?"
"No. I'm actually the one who brought us up." Blaine took another bite of his food.
"Really?" Kurt looked surprised.
"Yeah." Blaine smiled. "He told me not to worry and that everything would be fine."
Kurt smiled. "Well, he's driving me nuts."
"I bet. He always looks like he's dying to ask me a million questions but he's holding back. I figured you and Carole told him not to." Blaine laughed again.
"That would be correct." Kurt took a bite of his food, falling silent.
"What do you have to do today?" Blaine asked after a few moments of silence.
"I was going to check on Alec and make sure things are going okay. Then I've got some homework to work on. Well, a lot of homework really. But it won't be unmanageable. You?"
"Once I make it back, Adrian and I are going to have a study session. We're always either studying, preparing for a mock trial, or working on stuff for the law firm. I'm getting tired again thinking about it."
Kurt laughed. "I know the feeling. Just imagine how it'll be when we have real jobs."
"That inheritance is looking really nice about now." Blaine joked. "Maybe I should just drop out of law school."
"You would be bored out of your mind."
"I would." Blaine agreed.
"I like being busy. It takes my mind off of things."
"I can relate to that." Blaine chewed on his lip, staring at his coffee cup intently.
Kurt's stomach twisted. Blaine didn't look happy; he had to think of something to cheer him up. Blaine couldn't leave upset. He couldn't.
He reached forward, on instinct, and put his hand over Blaine's.
Blaine looked up, corner of his lips turning upwards in a smile. He then turned his hand over, lacing their fingers together.
"You're going to be okay." Kurt whispered in his ear before kissing the top of Blaine's head.
"I know. I've got you." Blaine whispered back, kissing Kurt's cheek.
Kurt's face broke into a smile.
…
"Thanks for letting me sleep over." Blaine leaned against his car three hours later, watching Kurt carefully.
"You don't have to thank me. Thank you for coming to see me." Kurt stood in front of him, head tilting. "Do you feel better?"
"So much better." Blaine responded, looking sincere.
They hadn't done much between getting to Blaine's car and their breakfast. Really, they'd just sat together and talked. Not about anything, really. More about everything. Nothing serious, to keep the light mood. It seemed to have helped Blaine's spirits, though, and Kurt was glad for that.
Kurt smiled, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "Good."
"Thanks for that too." Blaine bit his lip. "You… Well, we… We are getting together to…"
"Yes." Kurt nodded, not letting him finish. "Yeah."
Blaine smiled. "Okay. Great. That's great."
Kurt's smile grew and he kissed Blaine's cheek. "Just get through your mock trials and then come up here."
Blaine nodded this time. "We'll lay everything out on the table and start… being us again."
Kurt took a deep breath, an overwhelming feeling rushing through his body. Being us again.
"And we won't mess us up ever again." Blaine finished.
"No." Kurt shook his head and wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck.
Blaine slid his arms around Kurt's thin waist, pulling him closer and taking in his scent.
"I'm so glad you came to see me. I'm not glad of the circumstances but… but…" Kurt mumbled into Blaine's shoulder.
"I know. I know. Me too." Blaine said, tightening his grip. "I hate having to leave."
"I hate it too. So much." Kurt hugged him. "But we'll get better at this. We have to."
Blaine nodded and pulled back from the hug. "I should go. I already had to push back meeting Adrian for school work twice."
"Will he get mad?"
"No." Blaine shook his head. "I still don't want to keep him waiting."
Kurt nodded and hugged him again. "Call me tonight so I know you're still doing okay. Alright?"
"How late is too late?"
"Just call." Kurt whispered. "I'll answer no matter what I'm doing or what time it is."
Blaine smiled and nodded. "Thanks again, Kurt. I feel… so much better about… about what happened after talking it through with you. I… I think it's what I needed."
"You don't have to thank me for being there for you but you are most welcome." Kurt gave him a tight squeeze. "Drive safe."
"I always do. You're the one that doesn't."
Kurt laughed a bit. "I guess that's true but still… Be careful."
"I will." Blaine promised.
"And take care of yourself." Kurt pulled away from the hug but gripped his hand tightly. "Talk when you're upset about… that. To Wes or David or me. Anybody. And don't forget to eat and sleep."
"Okay, Dad." Blaine laughed this time.
"I care about you so much." Kurt looked him in the eyes. "I wish I could be there to keep an eye on you myself. I hate how rough things have been for you."
"I'm fine. I'm trying to be fine." Blaine frowned a bit. "You're making a world of difference."
Kurt kissed his cheek. "Go on. Get back to Cambridge. Tell Wes I said hello."
Blaine opened his driver side door, eyes still on Kurt.
"I love you, Blaine." Kurt smiled.
"I love you too, Kurt." Blaine said, trying his hardest to not look at Kurt with heart eyes.
Kurt laughed and stepped back. "Go. Really. We'll see each other soon. Really, really soon."
Blaine got into the seat, not closing the door. "Promise me that we'll have this talk and be okay."
"We will. We could have it now but you've got to meet Adrian in five hours and sometimes it takes that long to get to your house in traffic." Kurt bit his lip.
"Promise me you won't find somebody else in the next two weeks?"
"You're the only one there'll ever be. Don't worry." Kurt stepped closer. "I promise you."
Blaine smiled.
"Don't you find anyone else either. I'm the one that should be worried. My gay friend is engaged and yours is single." Kurt teased.
"There's nothing there. I promise." Blaine made eye contact.
"I'm teasing." Kurt reassured him. "But, really... Don't worry."
Blaine nodded. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too but we'll see each other really soon." Kurt leaned down, kissing his cheek. "Be careful, Blaine."
"You too…. You're not driving." Blaine shook his head.
Kurt giggled. "I'll be careful walking to the elevator."
Blaine waved and began to pull his door shut. "Bye, Kurt."
"Bye, Blaine." Kurt smiled and waved.
The circumstances behind Blaine's visit hadn't been good. In fact, they'd been horrible.
However he couldn't help but feel like they got a little closer each and every time they spent time together. He wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.