Blaine wakes up in a strange bed the next morning, blinking his eyes against the dull sunlight. The mattress is soft, softer than the one he's used to in Cooper's apartment, but it feels scratchy in a way new mattresses do. He looks at the alarm clock on the bedside table, noticing it's only half past six, and then stretches his arms, pushing himself into a sitting position. He feels tired – he doesn't sleep well in an unfamiliar setting with his too loud thoughts – but it's nothing a cup of coffee won't fix.

The previous day had been quiet. After Rachel had left, saying that she had to get ready for her show, Blaine had, without knowing what else to do, checked the windows and doors of the apartment, Kurt trailing nervously behind him. The doors and windows are all tightly locked, there's a doorman on the ground floor and the apartment doesn't even seem to have any places where an assailant could hide, so Blaine figures that Kurt will at least be safe in his own apartment. Blaine knows his inspection was most likely pointless – they are on the ninth floor, after all! – and didn't do anything to calm Kurt's nerves, but he felt he had to do it anyways. He can almost hear Wes saying better safe than sorry in his head, and at least the inspection made it look like he knows what he's doing. Even if he doesn't, not really.

He had sat in the living room for the rest of the day, writing down things he needed to buy himself now that he was staying in New York, imagining different scenarios and what he needed to prepare for, trying to make sense of things on paper. Kurt had sat in the armchair opposite him, his shoulders tense, drawing sketches and sighing continuously, both of them trying to get used to a new presence in their lives.

It had been no wonder that they'd both gone to bed early, awkwardly saying goodnight in the hallway before closing the doors behind themselves. Kurt's own bedroom is right next to the guest room, and Blaine is a light sleeper, always has been. It was almost a hindrance when he was boarding at Dalton or living with Cooper, and Blaine can't even remember the number of times he woke up to footsteps outside his door or to hushed conversations in the hallway – but maybe this time it's an advantage. If something happens to Kurt during the night, Blaine can immediately hear it, no matter how asleep he is.

Despite that Blaine had lied awake in his bed for several hours, listening to the apartment hum around him and the night life of New York City buzz outside the guest room window. Now, in the morning, the buzz is a little louder, but the hum of the apartment seems quieter, drowned under the morning light.

Blaine finally gets up from the bed with a sigh and pads quietly to the kitchen. Kurt isn't awake yet, but the door to his bedroom is ajar, and Blaine almost wants to take a peek, see what the quick-witted and collected Kurt Hummel looks like when he's sleeping – but he does realize how creepy that would be, and the last thing both of them need right now is a new dose of creepiness.

Blaine takes an apple from the bowl on the kitchen counter and bites on it. The longest conversation he and Kurt had had last night had surprisingly been about the cost of living. Blaine is naturally paid for his bodyguard job (it's not a lot, but he doesn't even want to be paid that much), and they had agreed that some of Blaine's salary would go to Kurt's account since Blaine is living under Kurt's roof and eating his food. Blaine had insisted that he doesn't want to be a burden; Kurt had only given a thin smile and called Wes to let him know.

Normally Blaine would go for a long run in the morning, but he can't leave the apartment. He can't leave Kurt alone. It's still relatively dark outside – the sun is shining through thick clouds, and Blaine is looking out of the kitchen window, wondering if it'll rain today as well, when he hears a loud yawn behind him. He turns around to see Kurt shuffling into the kitchen wearing a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, scratching his head and looking like he's half asleep.

Until he lifts his head, sees Blaine, and gives a startled yelp.

Blaine jumps a little in surprise and immediately takes a calming step towards Kurt, worried that something is wrong.

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Kurt gasps out, holding his hand against his chest, as if he's trying to calm his heart. "I completely forgot that I'm not living alone right now."

Blaine shrugs. "It's alright. It's probably going to take some getting used to." He himself had half expected to be woken up by Cooper banging his door and yelling that he should drag his curly head out of bed.

Kurt rubs his eyes. "Have you been up for a long time?"

"No, just got up. I was going to make some coffee. Do you want some?" Blaine asks, taking a step towards the coffee maker.

"I can make it!" Kurt offers immediately, and Blaine stops, raising his eyebrows. "If you... Could you maybe pick up today's mail?" Kurt bites his lip, suddenly looking unsure.

Blaine doesn't understand it at first, but then something clicks in his brain (mail means letters), and he nods, trying to look comforting. "Sure, Mr. Hummel."

Kurt makes a face when he hears the name but doesn't say anything. Blaine leaves his half-eaten apple on the counter and walks to the front door. He picks up the thick pile of mail, and when he comes back to the kitchen Kurt's expensive-looking coffee machine is already humming quietly.

"What's in the mail?" Kurt asks, his back to Blaine, and Blaine can hear the almost unnoticeable tinge of fear and uncertainty in his voice. He quickly flips through the pile of letters and papers, but there's nothing but magazines, a few bills and two letters with their senders' names. He wants to smile, to reach out a comforting hand, or just to say I'm so sorry this is happening to you – but he doesn't. If he did, he would immediately feel too much and right now feeling too much is not an option.

Instead he puts the mail on the table and simply says, "Nothing worrisome."

When Kurt gives him a small smile over his shoulder, he almost mirrors it before he realizes what he's doing and stops himself. Across the kitchen Kurt’s shoulders sag, looking disappointed, and Blaine doesn't know why.

-

They go out that day. Kurt insists that Blaine deserves new beddings for the guest room bed, and he has to pick up some things for himself and buy groceries. He doesn't even know what kind of food Blaine eats, if he's allergic to something or if he's – god forbid – a vegan, and honestly, Kurt has had enough of vegan food after being Rachel's roommate for four years.

Kurt might have been the one who said he needed a bodyguard, but he's not exactly in love with the idea of someone following him everywhere, not at all. He tries to accept the situation, though, tries to accept that what little was left of his privacy after the letter is now taken up by the round-the-clock presence of a bodyguard. All morning he'd tried to see past the curtain on Blaine's face, tried to make him smile again, but Blaine stays stubbornly professional, not letting any of his personality show through. When they step out of the building they fall into step immediately, and all Kurt can think about is how comfortable it all would be if Blaine wasn't so distant, if his eyes weren't so annoyingly alert and if he wasn't glancing around all the damn time. But then again, maybe he should be grateful: all of this just means that Blaine is taking his job seriously.

A part of Kurt still wishes Blaine wasn't so serious. It keeps reminding him of the situation, of the stupid anonymous letters and of the feeling of his privacy being violated, and Kurt would rather leave it behind, keep going and get on with his life.

They swing by the police station first, Kurt giving his statement about the letters and confirming everything Wes has already told them. It's a bit unpleasant – Kurt can't remember the last time he had to deal with the police, and while the officer taking his statement is nice enough, it's still another reminder of the situation. Blaine waits for him in the lobby, giving a few explanatory answers to the officer when they're about to leave, and then they can finally get out of the depressingly blue and grey building and Kurt can focus on more pleasant things.

Like shopping. Shopping is always pleasant.

They buy the beddings first, Blaine insisting that whatever color Kurt chooses is fine. Kurt almost wants to yell at him, tell him to say what his favorite color is, but he doesn't. That would be awkward, and he doesn't want to be rude. Blaine seems to be an unexpected enigma right now, and Kurt can't read his face anymore, but he still wants Blaine to be his bodyguard. Even when Blaine's distant and agreeing to everything, he's still better company than some sulky and bulky Kevin Costner.

In the end Kurt chooses light brown sheets. It's a neutral color and the shirt Blaine is wearing today is brown, so he must at least find that color somewhat appealing. When they are leaving the store Blaine offers to carry the bag because of course he's not just an enigma, but a gentlemanly one as well.

Figures.

When Kurt gives in and lets Blaine take the bag from him, Blaine opens his mouth, and Kurt can tell by the look on his face that he's probably going to tell a joke or perhaps say something silly. Kurt doesn't know how he can tell it, but something in Blaine's eyebrows and cheekbones looks goofy and ridiculous, and Kurt holds his breath, silently keeping his fingers crossed – until the moment passes, Blaine furrows his brows and just closes his mouth, not saying anything. It shouldn't feel as disappointing as it does.

They have lunch in a small café that Kurt adores, and Kurt keeps trying to make conversation, recommending different dishes and asking what Blaine thinks about New York, but the answers Blaine gives are so depressingly short that he gives up quite quickly. They both just focus on their foods for a long while after that. Whenever someone walks by too close to their table Kurt can see Blaine's eyes flashing, noticing everything and calculating every possible risk. It's a little disconcerting, and Kurt tries to ignore it, tries to forget that Blaine isn't an acquaintance or an assistant.

But when Blaine's eyes flash for the umpteenth time, Kurt can't ignore it anymore. He's about to roll his eyes and say something possibly biting, politeness be damned – when he suddenly sees Blaine's eyes soften, staring at something over Kurt's shoulder. The curtain over his face has slipped away, quietly and quickly, and for a moment Kurt can see just Blaine, his kind small smile and calm eyes, the ones that caught Kurt's attention a few days ago.

It's... definitely a surprise. A good one.

Heart beating too loudly in his chest Kurt follows Blaine's gaze and sees a group of school kids, some of them still in their uniforms, laughing and talking near the restrooms. One of the kids, a boy with almost yellow hair, is saying something to one of the waitresses, a woman who looks so much like the boy that she must be his mother. The other kids are obviously waiting for their friend, reading the menu together and giggling at silly foreign words.

Kurt turns back to look at Blaine, and Blaine has such a wistful expression on his face, something that seems so completely Blaine, not Bodyguard-Blaine, that Kurt feels his heart skip a beat or two, feels the corners of his own mouth tug upwards.

Blaine seems to notice that Kurt is staring, and he quickly snaps out of his daze, burying his gaze in his food and tensing his shoulders. Bodyguard-Blaine is back before Kurt even manages to open his mouth, but damn it, he's not going to give up so easily.

"So have you always been a bodyguard?" he asks with fake nonchalance.

Blaine looks up, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Did you go to some impressive school for amateur bodyguards or something like that?" Kurt continues, popping one of his French fries to his mouth.

Blaine's mouth tightens like he's trying to suppress a laugh. Kurt calls that a victory, but an even bigger victory is Blaine's soft answer.

"No, I was actually studying to become a teacher about eight or nine months ago."

Kurt raises his eyebrows, genuinely surprised. "Teaching?" He thinks for a moment, imagining Blaine in a classroom full of loud kids, trying to calm them down and teaching them all about mathematics and history and... It isn't actually that hard to imagine. Not hard at all. "Huh. I can actually see you as a teacher."

Blaine gives a tight-lipped smile, curtain staying in place. "Thanks, but I didn't get my degree."

"What happened then? What made a bright-eyed future teacher change his career and become a bodyguard for an annoyingly outspoken costume designer?" Kurt asks, trying to ease the tension that has suddenly fallen over their table. He's curious, he honestly is – he wants to see the man behind the curtain again, the explanation behind the enigma, wants to rip that stupid curtain away from Blaine's face.

Blaine averts his eyes, shrugging like it's not a big deal, even though it obviously is. "Just... things happened. Life happened."

That's the last thing he says about the matter, and Kurt doesn't have the heart to continue interrogating him. He's not Rachel after all. They finish their lunch in silence, pay for their food (naturally Blaine tries to insist on paying Kurt's meal as well, and this time Kurt does roll his eyes), and continue shopping. Blaine steers Kurt away from crowds, watches out for anyone who might possess a possible threat, and Kurt lets him. It's surreal, but this is kind of what Kurt asked Blaine to do when he agreed to be his bodyguard, and it's not like Kurt could stop him anyway. At least it's better than seeing the almost painful amount of regret in Blaine's eyes when he talked about his past.

A few hours later they're picking up a new external hard-drive for Kurt – he had given his old one to Finn who had complained that his computer didn't have enough space – when Blaine suddenly stops, making Kurt almost bump into him. Blaine hasn't stopped like this before, and Kurt immediately feels something awful drop into the bottom of his stomach. Is Blaine seeing someone potentially dangerous or what? Why else would he just stop like that? What is happening? Oh god, Kurt hates feeling like this, hates it, why can't he just go back to his normal life, why –

And then Blaine looks at Kurt and seems to realize what he's done.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Hummel, I didn't mean to scare you," he starts, taking another bag from Kurt. He's been very stealthily doing that all day, carrying everything like he's some sort of a, well, assistant, and Kurt rolls his eyes every time. "I wasn't – I mean there isn't..."

"It's okay, Blaine," Kurt sighs, trying to calm his heartbeat. He looks ahead to see why Blaine stopped – there's nothing there, nothing except a bookstore Kurt has sometimes visited, and...

Oh.

"You know, Blaine, we can go to the shops you want to visit as well," he says, hoping that Blaine gets his meaning and doesn't think he's being condescending.

Blaine looks towards the bookstore and furrows his brows a little. "I was just thinking that I could pick up some new books."

Kurt remembers the previous night, Blaine sitting on the sofa and looking like he had nothing to do, while Kurt himself started a few new sketches. "Sure! I haven't been to a bookstore in ages, so let's go!" he exclaims, agreeing immediately, partly because Blaine's finally showing some initiative, some other emotion than distance and bodyguard-iness again. It's another victory, and Kurt's not going to ignore it.

They spend a surprisingly long time in the bookstore. Kurt can't remember the last time he read an actual book, so he buys a few paperbacks, and only one of them is about fashion. That is progress right there. Blaine, on the other hand, goes through the shelves meticulously, reading blurbs and browsing pages, his eyes following the words in fervent concentration. He only glances at the non-fiction section when Kurt picks out his fashion book. Blaine seems to be all about fiction – he runs his fingers over book covers, widens his eyes when he sees an interesting book, touches the words on the pages like they're delicate yet masterful works of art, and maybe to Blaine they are. Kurt has never been much of a reader; he can appreciate books or good stories and he reads every now and then, but he's not a bookworm, never has been. The way Blaine looks at books is passionate and excited, all of his curtains gone, and Kurt knows he made the right choice in coming to the store when Blaine flashes him a small thankful smile and ends up buying ten books.

They finally leave the store and try to find a taxi (because there's no way Kurt is going to let Blaine drag all of their bags all the way back to the apartment), and the curtain slips back over Blaine's face, his features becoming distant and professional once again, but this time Kurt doesn't mind. He has seen that the Blaine he first met is still there, lurking behind the curtain, and that's enough for today. That's enough to convince him that maybe this bodyguard thing might work after all.

When they have to walk through a crowd and there's no way to go round it, Blaine moves even closer to Kurt, their hands almost touching, and Kurt tries to ignore the tiny sparks that run up his arm every time he feels the back of Blaine's hand brushing against his own.

-

After putting the groceries away Kurt notices Blaine sitting in an almost awkwardly polite position on the sofa, browsing through his new books. There's no way he could be comfortable sitting like that, so Kurt approaches him and coughs softly to get his attention. Blaine looks up from his book, and even his expression is the epitome of politeness.

"I know this is my apartment, but right now you're living here as well," Kurt points out. Blaine raises his eyebrows, so Kurt continues, "I'm just saying that you can, um, relax. As long as you don't get dirt on those sofa cushions, because they were rather expensive, okay?"

Blaine smiles, polite and distant. "Alright. Did you need something, Mr. Hummel, or...?"

"Oh, no, nothing. I think I'm going to go do some work, if that's okay."

"Sure. Give me a shout if you need anything."

Some usually silent part of Kurt wants to say I already need you to be – but he doesn't quite know what he needs Blaine to be. Just himself? Not so overly polite if it’s not who he really is? And who is Kurt to make demands like that anyway? He nods and retreats to his office, not closing the door behind him.

He checks his e-mail first. He has a new message from Finn, written like Finn has forgotten to turn the CapsLock off, screaming about bodyguards and "HOW COOL IS THAT, IS HE LIKE ARNOLD SWARZENEGER?" Obviously Kurt's dad has mentioned something to Finn. Kurt writes a short answer, saying that he'll call his family when he has more time, and spends the next thirty minutes going through the rest of his messages. The director of his new show likes his sketches but wants to know if one of the costumes will be suitable for acrobatic dancing, and Kurt has to take a look at his sketches to make a few small changes so that the actor wearing it won't stumble in the middle of his dancing.

When his inbox is mercifully empty, he stretches his shoulders and turns to look at the door. The apartment is quiet, almost too quiet for his liking. He gets up and pads silently to the hallway. Blaine is still sitting on the sofa, but he has retrieved his own laptop at some point and is currently balancing both the laptop and one of his books on his lap, completely focused on the pages in front of him. The laptop is open, and Kurt can make out the outlines of an e-mail on the screen. The most important thing, however, is the way Blaine's sitting. He has lifted his socked feet on the sofa and has his whole body curled into the corner, leaning his cheek comfortably against the back rest.

"Do you mind if put some music on?" Kurt asks, feeling a little sorry for disturbing Blaine.

Blaine lifts his head and looks at Kurt over his shoulder. "No, of course not. Just... you're not going to turn it too loud, are you?"

"No, I just work better when I have some sort of noise in the background." Kurt had noticed it after moving to his first own apartment – he has nothing against silence or being alone, he's quite used to it by now, but when he's working he likes to hear something, some soft noises in the background, some reminder of life outside his own head. It helps him focus on his sketches.

Maybe that's also the reason why having Blaine suddenly in his apartment isn't as weird as it could be.

"Okay." Blaine nods and goes back to his book, his cheek dropping back against the backrest, so Kurt returns to his office. He puts his iPod on shuffle and lets the first notes of Your Song drift quietly through the apartment. He had promised to do some preliminary sketches for a director he has worked with before, to help the director see more clearly what the characters could look like. It's a period piece, so he starts going through the books on his shelves, looking at fashion from the right era and making notes about the things he needs to remember.

Kurt is humming to the music when he suddenly notices that his humming sounds more like a duet than a solo and stops to listen. Blaine is also humming, almost half-singing along to the chorus (I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind), the sound muffled by the space between the living room and the office, but Kurt can still hear how soft and tender his voice sounds.

Kurt smiles and continues humming himself, dueting with Blaine until the song fades out, and sketching a few experimental lines on his notepad.

-

Kurt doesn't even realize that he's fallen asleep until he startles awake, blinking his eyes against the darkness. The last thing he remembers are the peaceful notes of some piano piece he has on his iPod and trying to keep his eyes open. Apparently he failed in his endeavors. He didn't sleep well last night, too stressed about everything, so his mind must be trying to catch up on some rest.

When he becomes more aware of his surroundings, he notices that the lights have been turned off and someone has pulled the curtains in front of the window, leaving the room in pleasant darkness. He was sitting on the small sofa he has in his office before nodding off, but somehow he's now lying on it in a comfortable position, an old quilt draped carefully over him. His notepad is closed on the desk, and his iPod isn't playing music anymore. He feels sleepy and warm and more relaxed than he has in days, but there's no way he could have managed to do all that by himself before falling asleep.

He turns his head and sees that there's a post-it note taped to the wall over the sofa. He reaches out and snags the note, squinting his eyes to read what's written on it through the darkness and his sleep-muddled mind. The handwriting is clear and cursive, and eventually Kurt's brain manages to make out what the words actually mean.

Don't freak out – you looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you. Goodnight!

Blaine

Of course it was Blaine, Blaine with his soft voice and kind eyes that he tries to hide for some stupid reason, and Kurt smiles to himself when he looks around the room and sees how precise Blaine has been in everything – how Kurt's pencil is placed carefully next to his notepad and how the curtains have been drawn so that the nightly lights of New York City won't disturb his sleep.

He pulls the quilt tighter around himself and decides to go back to sleep, still clutching the post-it note in his hand and feeling surprisingly safe.

Maybe he was right before. Maybe this bodyguard thing will work after all.