Blaine walked in wearing a pair of very tight skinny jeans and a blue plaid shirt. “Chill, Kurt. I know for a fact about half of them will turn up late anyway.”

Sure enough, it was ten minutes after the arranged time when the doorbell rang. Blaine told Kurt to stay put as he ran to get the door. On his doorstep were three of the girls and a few of the guys.

“Hey guys, come on in,” Blaine said with a flourish of his arm, “Kurt’s in the living room.”

Kurt jumped when he heard the squeals of girls coming from the doorway, he looked over his shoulder to see them heading in their direction, so he stood up. He was greeted with a hug from a short girl with extremely long brown hair, which he returned hesitantly.

“Hi!” She said cheerfully as she released him, “I’m Gunvor, but you can call me Ginny.”

Kurt had barely gotten out a hello when a short Latina girl stuck her hand out, “Hi, I’m Chiara. We’ve heard so much about you.”

Blaine groaned from the hall, where he was standing with three guys. “Really, guys?”

A strawberry-blonde girl rolled her eyes, “Oh, c’mon Blaine. I’m sure he’s aware you swoon.” She turned back to Kurt with a broad smile, “I’m Hannah by the way. And those are the guys.” She pulled the tallest of them forward, “This is Jake, that’s Andrew, and gingy over there is Oliver.” The ginger haired boy on the end gave a shy wave, and Kurt couldn’t help but giggle.

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you all.”

“Please, the pleasure is all ours.” Hannah said with a wink. Just then the doorbell went off, and Blaine left to go get it. Kurt chatted with the girls as they waited to see who’d come in next.

“Oh, hey Lindsey!” Chiara said to a girl with shoulder-length girl that walked in.

“Hey!” She said back. Well, shouted back. Music was now blaring through Blaine’s run-down entertainment system, and Kurt assumed one of the guy’s turned it on. People began flooding in, each introducing themselves. Kurt tried to remember each of their names; Ella, Sydney, Morgan, Liz, Zoe, Orla and Bugs. He fell into easy conversation with all of them—either talking about art or music—which was a relief. What seemed like a very short period of time later, the music cut off. Kurt looked around the room, seeing Blaine standing over the stereo system.

“Kurt, we’ve got a bit of a problem.” He turned to a girl on his left—she must’ve arrived fairly recently because Kurt didn’t recognize her—and held his hand out. She placed a magazine in it and Kurt felt his stomach drop. Magazines were never a good sign. “Lydia was on her way here when she came across this.”

The magazine was handed to Kurt. The first thing he saw was a picture of him that was quite clearly the one they use in the playbooks for his shows. Above it was a headline that read Kurt Hummel—MIA. He groaned aloud before reading the caption under his picture.

Kurt Hummel reportedly taken from his home by a stranger who claims to be a childhood friend. His long-time boyfriend, Ellington Stone, reveals the details of the dreadful event on page 3.

Kurt immediately turned to page three, where the headline was repeated, and began to read the story. He handed the magazine back to Lydia with numb hands as he tried not to panic. Everything about the article made him feel sick. Not only did Ellington claim he had been ‘Taken unwillingly by a curly-haired fan who was clearly obsessed’, but he had also said that he had proposed to Kurt before hand… and received a positive answer in return. Kurt was suddenly hyper-aware of all the eyes on him. He tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat, but his voice still came out as barely a whisper.

“I… excuse me.”

He ran straight for his and Blaine’s bedroom, closing the door behind him and sliding down it. He heard Blaine’s footsteps, and then a knock. “Kurt? Kurt, can I come in?”

Kurt got up, and opened the door. He saw Blaine’s worried expression and lost it, breaking into tears and falling into his boyfriend’s arms.

“Why can’t we just be happy, Blaine?” He sobbed, “Why do they have to keep ruining it?”

Blaine stroked Kurt’s hair, trying to comfort him even if he felt the same way. “I don’t know, love. I don’t know.”

They stood there like that; Blaine stroking Kurt’s hair and Kurt crying into Blaine’s neck, for a while. Their friend’s presence was completely forgotten until Lydia approached with Chiara and Ginny, all of them looking nervous and uncertain.

“Blaine?” Lydia asked quietly, eyeing Kurt nervously.

“Yeah?”

“We were just wondering if there was anything we could do,” Chiara said, “None of us want to see this happen to you guys.”

Blaine sighed, “I don’t even know what to do at this point. Is it as easy as going to the media and denying it?”

“No.” Kurt’s voice was rough and he was still clinging to Blaine, but he sounded sure. “They want a story, Blaine. Telling them I’m living happily with my boyfriend in Seattle… that’s not a story. Not the kind they want, anyway.”

“So, basically, the only way you’re going to get this straightened out is if Ellington comes forward and admits to it.” Ginny said, crossing her arms and frowning.

“I don’t like this guy.” Lydia admitted.

“Who is he anyway?” Chiara asked. Kurt told her the complete truth; from the reason why he decided to date Ellington, to the near-rape incident on his couch, and finally Ellington’s declaration of love. The girls ‘oo’ed and ‘aw’ed at all the right places, but they all realized that getting a confession out of the man would be nothing short of impossible.

“I don’t know what to do, Blaine,” Kurt whispered softly. “I hate… I hate that he’s making you the bad guy. How could he say that I agreed to marry him?” He began to cry again, and Blaine stroked his hair gently.

“Shh, Kurt, don’t cry. It’ll be okay. I promise we’ll figure it out somehow. Why don’t we just… forget about it for tonight? Enjoy the party and worry about the rest tomorrow?”

Kurt stopped crying after a couple of minutes and agreed with Blaine. The girls informed them that no one else knew what was going on, and Kurt asked that they refrain from telling them tonight—he really did want to meet Blaine’s friends, and if everyone was feeling bad for him that wasn’t going to happen.

So they went back to the party, made a quick excuse and turned the music back on. The scenario was pushed to the back of Kurt’s mind thanks to the atmosphere of the room. Almost everyone was already drunk aside from Zoe, who assured them all that drinking was the last thing she wanted to do.

Kurt was chatting to Lindsey about what it was like performing on the Broadway stage—the two had clicked instantly when she’d brought up the fact she adored theatre—when Chiara said something absolutely vulgar.

“What in god’s name are you talking about?” Kurt asked, and she started to giggle uncontrollably.

“No—I didn’t mean it—like that.” She said through gasps of laughter. “Geez, Kurt. Getcha head outta the gutter.”

Kurt attempted to glare at the girl, but ended up laughing along with her.

“Oh my god, guys.” Liz said suddenly, “We have to play never have I ever!”

Many of the guys moaned, and Andrew spoke up from his place near the window, “We’re not in high school! We’re supposed to be adults. What kind of adults play never have I ever?”

“The coolest of adults. Plus, we’re in our twenties.” They continued to argue, but it was eventually decided that the game was to be played. Each person was given a plastic cup filled with vodka, except for Zoe who was given Root Beer, and they all sat down in the living room. Blaine was seated on the couch next to Bugs and Orla, leaving no space for Kurt. He frowned slightly and went to sit on the floor next to Blaine when he was pulled down into his lap.

“You’re fine here,” Blaine whispered, his lips brushing against Kurt’s ear and sending shiver’s down his spine.

“I’ll start, I’ll start!” Liz said happily. “Never have I ever gone to the UK.”

Kurt, Zoe, Ella, Sydney and Hannah all drank.

“Guh, I’m jealous of you all.”

“Never have I ever…” Hannah started before looking directly at Blaine, “paid tuition for a class I never attended.”

He groaned at the fact he was the only one to drink. “Never have I ever…” He looked at Kurt and smirked, “Had sex on the hood of a car.”

Kurt flushed in embarrassment and gaped at Blaine, who willingly took a sip of his own drink. Kurt continued to glare as he took a sip, but smirked at Blaine as he said his own statement.

“Never have I ever kissed a girl,” He paused, “and then dated her afterwards.”

All of the guys took a drink and all of the girls gaped at Blaine. “It was one time!” He whined, “I was drunk, and clearly not thinking straight.”

“On the contrary, dear, you were thinking quite straight.”

“Har har. You’re so funny Kurt.” Blaine deadpanned, tickling his boyfriend’s sides and smiling as Kurt writhed on his lap.

“Stop—stop! I’m—sorry!” He gasped through his laughter, and Blaine stilled his hands.

“Moving on,” Andrew said with an eye roll. “Never have I ever got it on on a kitchen counter.”

Half the guys, a few of the girls and Kurt and Blaine drank.

“Never have I ever sleeptalked.” Liz suggested. None of the guys drank, and only a few of the girls did.

“Kurt, drink.” Blaine said.

“I do not sleep talk.”

“You do too.” Blaine smiled, tapping his nose. “You say all sorts of stuff.”

“Liar.”

“I’m not lying! Some of it is quite vulgar, actually.”

“Blaine!”

“I’m being serious!” He defended, “You’ve always sleep talked, love. Ever since I’ve known you, anyway.” He wiggled his overly triangular eyebrows suggestively, and Kurt gaped at him.

“Blaine!”

“Yes, love?”

“You… what on—you’re kidding.”

They all laughed as Kurt turned beat red and admitted defeat, sipping his drink. The game continued for a while longer, only stopping when people were getting a bit too tipsy. The music was turned off at that point, and people started to journey home. Luckily no one drove out, so no one had to take the couch. After saying their final goodbyes, Kurt and Blaine settled on the couch. Well, Blaine settled on the couch. Kurt settled on his lap.

“You’re drunk.” Blaine stated as he brushed a few strands of hair out of Kurt’s half-closed eyes.

“Am not,” He slurred, “I’m just fine thank you.”

“You’re going to be so hung over tomorrow.” Kurt had started to kiss his neck sloppily, moving his way across Blaine’s jaw so he could kiss him soundly on the mouth.

Despite himself, Blaine deepened the kiss, pulling Kurt forward and slipping his tongue into his mouth. They kissed lazily for a while before Blaine lifted Kurt up and placed him on their bed, crawling in next to him after turning off the lights. The mess in the living room could be cleaned up tomorrow since Blaine didn’t have school anyway.

Kurt immediately curled into his side, sighing happily. “I love you, Blainey Bear.”

“Love you too, Kurtie Pie.” Blaine chuckled.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Blaine woke up first the next morning with a mild hangover. He knew that compared to the amount of alcohol Kurt had consumed, his would be mild. So he took the time to run down to the nearest Starbucks. He picked up Kurt’s usual, a Grande non-fat Mocha, and grabbed one of the oat bars he knew Kurt enjoyed so much.

Why he got back to his apartment Kurt was still asleep. Blaine crept into the kitchen to try and make some breakfast for him; even though he knew Kurt probably wouldn’t be feeling up to eating much. As he waited for the pan to heat up, Blaine chanced a look at the living room. It wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it’d be, but there were still cups all over and discarded bottles.

Once the pan was ready, Blaine got to work making scrambled eggs. He made them with Kurt’s favorite ingredients and lots of cheese, hoping they’d still be warm when he woke up.

Blaine was just putting the scrambled eggs on plates when he heard a groan from the bedroom and then the sounds of footsteps before a door slam closed. Blaine closed his eyes sympathetically at the sounds of Kurt dry-heaving, immediately going to the bathroom with a glass of water and two Advil’s.

“Kurt?” He knocked, but opened the door before receiving a response.

“Ugh, get out Blaine. I look like shit right now.”

Blaine placed the two pills and the glass down on the counter before walking over to Kurt and rubbing his back gently as he watched another round of dry-heaves take over him. Kurt looked positively miserable.

“Here,” He handed the pills to Kurt, who took them gratefully and swallowed them both down with a gulp of water. “You should drink the rest of that.” Blaine suggested when Kurt tried to hand the glass back to him.

He complied and chugged the glass quickly.

“You need to eat, too.” Kurt groaned. “Kurt, it’ll be better if you’ve got something in your stomach.”

“I hate you,” He mumbled as he stood and groggily followed Blaine into the kitchen, finding that he was actually quite hungry when he caught sight of the scrambled eggs and Starbucks cup. “I take that back, I love you.”

Blaine chuckled as he watched Kurt dig in to his eggs, moaning at the taste.

“Seriously, you’re so nice to me.”

Blaine laughed and leaned over to kiss Kurt’s forehead. “I love you, too.”

They ate in silence for a while longer before Kurt groaned and dropped his fork onto his plate. “How bad is the living room?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it’d be. A couple cups, a couple bottles, but fairly clean over all. For a party of art students it’s incredibly clean.”

“How much did I drink last night?” Kurt asked after drinking half his coffee cup, “I don’t even remember the last half of the night.”

“Really Kurtsie pie?” Blaine teased, “You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

“Oh god, what did I do?”

“Lets just say I didn’t know you were such an exhibitionist.”

Kurt flushed a bright red and hid his face in his arms. “And what, may I ask, was going through your mind when you let this happen?”

“Sorry, love, I couldn’t have stopped it if I tried.” Blaine tried to hold in his laughter, “You were very… persistent.”

“I’ve changed my mind again. I definitely hate you.”

“You seemed to love me last night.”

“I hate you.” Kurt repeated as he stood up, “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.”

He continued to sing-song the phrase as he walked into the living room. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn’t that bad, as Blaine has said.

“Blaine, could you bring a garbage bag in?”

He sighed dramatically even as he reached for the bag under the sink, “I suppose. But only because I’m the best boyfriend ever, right?”

Kurt rolled his eyes, reaching for the bag, but Blaine stepped back with a smirk. “Right?”

“Blaine Anderson you better give me that god damn garbage bag.”

“Or what?” Blaine asked as he side-stepped Kurt again. All those years in the Warblers were obviously paying off.

“Blaine,” Kurt whined. “Please?” He pouted, “Because you love me?”

Blaine couldn’t say no to that face, and so he handed the bag over to Kurt, who simply smiled and stuck his tongue out before getting to work. As they cleaned they would burst into song randomly. Everything from Broadway Lady Gaga was sung in the hour it took them to clean up. Kurt, who was usually a miserable mess when hung over, was in a great mood and he barely acknowledged the pounding in his head.

They settled down on the couch afterwards. Kurt curled up against Blaine with his head resting on Blaine’s shoulder.

“Kurt, I think… I think we need to start thinking about how to fix this thing with Ellington.”

Kurt sighed, wishing he could just stay in that happy bubble with Blaine. Why did life always have to get in the way? “What can we do, Blaine?”

“We could try going to the media.” Blaine suggested, “I know you said they wouldn’t want that kind of story, but we can try right?”

“I guess…”

“And if that doesn’t work I’ll go have a ‘chat’ with Ellington myself, okay?”

“Okay.”

*~*~*~*~*

Kurt and Blaine got dressed in their best casual-but-still-professional clothes and called a cab to take them to one of the news stations. Kurt had called in earlier and they had scheduled and interview for him right away. They took the cab downtown and quickly made their way past the paparazzi on the stairs.

“Mr. Hummel!” A woman wearing a red silk blouse tucked into a black pinstripe skirt. She walked swiftly over to them and held out her hand. “I’m Angela Cormike. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hi, please call me Kurt,” He told her with a pleasant smile.

“And who is this dashing young man?” She had turned to Blaine now and was smirking as she held out her hand daintily.

“I’m Blaine Anderson, his rumoured kidnapper.”

“Oh.”

“Shall we get started?” Kurt asked, and Angela nodded. She led them to a private office with a full wall that was just a window. She motioned for them to sit down on a very out of place looking couch as she sat down on the chair across from them. Kurt waited until she was watching and then grabbed Blaine’s hand, threading his own fingers in Blaine’s. He wanted her to know he was there because he wanted to be.

“So Mr. Hummel-“

“Kurt.”

“Kurt,” She corrected with a smile, “I’m assuming this interview is in regards to the recent articles that have been put out?”

“Yes.”

“So, should we start by getting your opinions on the situation, Kurt?”

“Sure.” He smiled sweetly. “I’d like to start off my saying that Blaine didn’t kidnap me, or charm me into coming here with him. I came willingly because I love him.”

“But you’ve been dating Mr. Stone for the past year and a half, am I correct?”

“I didn’t cheat on Ellington, if that’s what you’re implying.” Kurt deadpanned. “Blaine and I met in high school, and dated for about a year and a half before we drifted apart. With Blaine here and Seattle and my career taking off in New York it became harder and harder for us to spend time together. We never… well I never stopped loving him.”

“I didn’t stop loving you, Kurt.” Blaine assured him.

“So… Blaine came to see you in New York. Then what?”

“We connected again, just like many other couples that have distanced over time.”

“And where was Mr. Stone through out all this?” She questioned.

“Well, we were still dating. But I knew that the flame was never there. Not like I had believed it was. We were… well we were making out,” Kurt admitted with a cough, “And I accidently let Blaine’s name split. It wasn’t exactly the first time, and it always put Ellington on edge. Blaine walked in at the wrong time and Ellington ended up threatening him. I knew then that I had to stop lying to him. I tried to let him know as nicely as I possibly could. He didn’t take it well obviously.”

“So then you came here with Blaine?”

“There was a bit of a time gap, but yes. Eventually I asked if I could come to Seattle with him so he could continue going to school.”

“So… Ellington didn’t propose then?”

“No.”

“I see.” She said quietly. “Well, thank you for talking to me, Kurt. This will be a great story.”

They all stood and shook hands before Kurt and Blaine were led out. On the cab ride home, Kurt sighed miserably. “She’s not going to run it.”

“What? I thought it went well.”

“I’ve been dealing with the media for years Blaine, the look on her face showed the story wasn’t enough.”

Blaine’s heart bled at the look on his boyfriend’s face. He looked so defeated, and it honestly just wasn’t fair. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.” Kurt tried to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning Blaine ran down to the nearest news stand. A picture of him and Kurt caught his attention, but when he got a proper look at it his stomach dropped. He grabbed the magazine and handed it to the stand owner.

The man frowned at him. “You’re a real dick, you know that right?”

Blaine felt like he was going to cry as he silently paid for the magazine. Whispering a thank you to the glaring man, he scurried away as quickly as he could. He was dreading going back to his apartment, though. He didn’t know if he could bare seeing Kurt when he read the article. The picture on the front was bad enough; he could only imagine how bad the actual story was.

As he walked Blaine couldn’t help but wonder where and how they got the picture. He had a death grip on Kurt’s arm and looked angry, while Kurt looked frightened. He didn’t remember the event happening.

He walked gingerly into the apartment and was greeted by a smiling Kurt. His heart broke all over again.

“What’s wrong?” Kurt asked. Blaine silently handed over the magazine and Kurt frowned. He studied the picture and bit his lip. “I don’t remember this happening.”

“Neither do I.”

“How bad is the story?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t read it. But the guy at the stand hates me, so I assume it’s not good.”

Kurt opened to the page their story was on and read the article with growing dread. Somehow the reporter managed to turn his words around completely and made it seem like Blaine dropped Kurt after high school and then returned and wooed him into leaving Ellington, the perfect boyfriend. She completely left out the part where Kurt admitted to always loving Blaine, instead making it seem like he was in a haze from reuniting with his childhood love. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, and he wanted to laugh. Nothing could go right, could it? They couldn’t let them have this. They couldn’t let him be happy.

“I’m so sorry Kurt,” Blaine whispered from over his shoulder. He’d been reading the article at the same time.

“It’s not your fault.” He replied, but he could feel himself on the verge of tears. “I knew something like this would happen. It always does. I shouldn’t have gone to that stupid reporter.”

“I’m tempted to go to that stupid reporter and say some words of my own.”

“It’d just make everything worse; make the abusive-kidnapper part more believable.”

“What do we do, Kurt?”

“We go to Ellington, I suppose. I’m pretty sure I’ve still got his number.”

Blaine pulled Kurt close, kissing him gently. “Do you think it’ll work?”

“It’s worth a try.”

Kurt took out his iPhone and quickly selected Ellington from his contacts list. The line rang once before he heard Ellington’s voice on the other end of the line, “Hello?”

“Why are you doing this?” Kurt told himself he wasn’t going to break down, wasn’t going to cry… wasn’t going to be weak, but this was all too much for him. “Why can’t you just let me be happy, Ellington?”

“Kurt I don’t know what you’re-“

“Do you honestly think that I’ll come running back to you because of the media? And if I did, do you think I’d be happy?”

“You’re better off with me.” He said quickly.

“No, I’m not. Ellington, I love Blaine. I’ve always loved Blaine. I should never have led you on, and I feel terrible for doing it, but why do you have to do this?”

“Because I love you!” He shouted angrily. “I’ve loved you for a long time and then he shows up and takes you from me! He wasn’t there for you, Kurt! He left you! And when he wasn’t there, who was? Me!”

“You don’t understand, obviously.” Kurt fell back onto the couch, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “He didn’t leave me, and I didn’t leave him. We drifted, and we both regretted it. You need to accept that I can’t be with you and stop trying to ruin my life, okay? I’m sorry I led you on, I’m sorry that I was such a bitch about it all, but please let me just have this. Let me just have Blaine.”

“If I come out to the media I’m going to get constant hate. I don’t even like Blaine, why should I risk my entire image for him?”

“Because if you love me like you say you do you would do this one thing for me.” Kurt was crying, and Blaine couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed the phone from Kurt.

“Ellington? Hi, this is Blaine. Look, you hate me and I hate you. We both want Kurt, we both love Kurt and the truth is only one of us can have him. For some strange, amazing reason he chose me, and I’d seriously appreciate it if you could just accept that. Move on. You don’t have to like it, and you can continue to hate me all you want, but please don’t do this to Kurt. I honestly do love him and this is… this is killing him. He’s miserable and I don’t like it.” Blaine took a deep breath, “Please just let him be happy.”

“You want me to give up.” Ellington stated. “You want me to let him go.”

“Please. I know what it feels like to loose the man you love; I know what it feels like to loose Kurt. But I also would give up anything to make him happy, and if he chose you I would let him go. So please, just let him live his life with whomever he chooses to.”

There was a long pause and then a barely audible ‘fine’. “Really?” Blaine asked, heart beating quickly as a smile crept onto his face.

“Yeah, fine. Because I love Kurt. But you better fucking treat him right, Anderson, or I’m going to come find you.”

“Thank you, Ellington. Seriously, you can’t imagine how much this means to the both of us.”

“Whatever.”

“Oh, and I hope you’re able to find someone who loves you, too.” Blaine said before hanging up.

“First of all, that was the cheesiest line ever.” Kurt deadpanned, but a smile broke through and he hugged Blaine tightly, “And secondly, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Does this mean we’re going to be able to just… be happy now?”

“I hope so.”

“I love you,” Kurt repeated, pressing his lips firmly against Blaine’s.

“I love you, too.”

*~*~**~*~*

Blaine returned to the same newspaper stand the next day to find the same man looking at him sheepishly. “I’m sorry about what I said yesterday, kid. The magazine’s on the house.”

Blaine thanked him before half-running, half-skipping back to his apartment. He threw the door open and pulled Kurt into his arms. He spun them in a circle as he held Kurt tight. Ellington had gone to the media. It had been cleared up and all the paparazzi could talk about was the “big scandal” that had happened.

Blaine had to admit that it had been cleared up a lot easier, and quicker, than he had ever imagined. But then, thinking about what it was like to love someone, he knew that all Ellington needed was a poke in the right direction. But as they sat down to read the article all that was on their minds was finally, finally, finally we can just relax and enjoy being together.