Kurt and Blaine were in Blaine's car in the school parking lot come Monday. Kurt was stalling. He couldn't help it. He had to stall. He was so damn nervous about walking through those doors and seeing all the people who had pretty much seen him at one of his weakest points. Blaine just kept his broken hand on Kurt's thigh, attempting to calm him down.

"It's gonna be okay, Kurt," Blaine said, trying his best to reassure him. "Karofsky's gone. No one else is even going to say anything against you, not after what happened last week."

Kurt nodded shakily. Blaine was right. Karofsky was gone. Kurt still didn't know exactly what happened to him, only that he wasn't allowed within so many yard of McKinley High or so many yards of either Kurt or Blaine. Both of their parents pressed charges, Kurt just didn't know what the outcome was. Either Karofsky was in a juvenile detention center or some alternate education program, or…whatever. It really didn't matter to him at this point, he just knew that he was gone and that was good enough for him. He'd end up asking his father more about it later.

But still. The people inside would be staring. He'd be able to feel their gazes on his back, boring into his flesh. He was terrified people were going to ask him all these questions and he wasn't going to have any answers for them.

"Kurt? We've only got ten minutes before class," Blaine said.

"I know, I- I know. Okay. Yeah…let's go," Kurt stuttered. He swallowed hard and opened the car door.

Kurt steeled himself as he pushed open the doors to the school.

Well, he definitely guessed the staring part correctly. People kept glancing at him and Blaine, whispering behind their hands to their friends. Kurt simply took a deep breath and once he felt Blaine's hand settle, warm and steady, on his lower back, his feet propelled him forward to his locker.

"Okay?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded his head. Blaine went over to his own locker to get his books.

A hand landed on Kurt's shoulder. Even though the touch was gentle and obviously not meant in harm, he still gasped harshly and jumped away. When he turned around, he saw Santana standing there looking horrified.

"I'm sorry," she said instantly, shaking her head. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, no," Kurt interrupted her, "it's okay. I'm just…jumpy. Don't worry about it."

She eyed him carefully. Kurt didn't see it, but behind him, Blaine was staring at Santana, motioning with his hand for the universal signal meaning 'don't do it, don't talk about'.

"I just wanted to give you this," Santana said. In her hand she held a perfect little daffodil. "I got it at the flower shop this morning. Blaine told me you'd be coming back to school today and…yeah. You don't…I just…"

Kurt smiled and took the proffered flower. He held it delicately in his hand. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "It's beautiful."

Santana grinned in return and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad you're okay," she said quietly. Then she turned around and walked off in the direction of her class.

Kurt stood there at his locker, truly dumbfounded. It was such a simple gesture, the flower. But for some reason right now it was almost bringing tears to his eyes.

"It's very pretty," he heard Blaine say from behind him.

He nodded. For some reason, Blaine was the only person who could stand anywhere near him without initially freaking him out. It was like Kurt knew his presence, so if Blaine snuck up on him or caught him off guard somehow, he didn't flinch or jump like he did with anyone else. He placed the flower in the small pencil holder he had situated on the inside of his locker door. It was near his courage collage. It looked lovely.

"We should get to class," Blaine reminded him.

"Yeah," Kurt said with a smile.

The flower made him feel like…maybe things would be okay.

This whole flinching problem was getting worse, flower or no flower.

By Thursday, he felt like he was going to crack. Puck clapped him on the shoulder when he sat down in Glee club and he literally flew out of his chair and into Blaine's lap, accidentally crushing his boyfriend's broken wrist into his chest. Blaine hissed loudly and his face scrunched up in pain.

"I'm sorry!" Kurt said quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Kurt it's fine. Really, I'm okay," Blaine replied.

Kurt scrambled back into his seat, his face turning red.

"Sorry, dude. I was just gonna say hey," Puck apologized.

"It's okay," Kurt said.

No one said anything about it. Kurt hated himself. He hated himself for being so damn scared all the time. He was always on edge. Even though he knew Karofsky was very far away and would not be coming back, he couldn't help but think that either he or someone else was going to be just around the corner or just behind him. He couldn't help but think that someone else was going to knock him unconscious.

On their way home (Blaine insisted he be the one to drive them this entire week), Kurt broached the subject. Well, sort of.

"I'm really sorry about your hand," he said.

"My hand is fine, Kurt, stop worrying about it."

They were quiet for a few more minutes until Kurt spoke again.

"I don't know why it's like this," he admitted, staring out the window. "I don't know why it keeps getting worse."

"Actually, I don't know why you weren't more like this before."

Kurt's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he turned his head towards Blaine. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I was like that for about a month or so after I transferred to Dalton after the whole shoving me in a closet incident. With as much as you've been physically bullied I'm wondering why it's only happening just now," Blaine clarified, his eyes never leaving the road.

"You…it was like this for you too? You were just…jumpy and…"

"And flinching at every little thing? Yeah. It isn't uncommon at all. At least, that's what my therapist told me. She said it was natural for me to be on edge. Then again, I ended up retaliating with rage and yelling at everyone who scared me. At least you don't do that."

"Yeah, there is that," Kurt agreed. "But how…when did it stop? Like, what made it stop?"

"Time," Blaine said simply. "Time gives you the opportunity to realize that there's nothing to be afraid of."

Kurt nodded. "I hope it stops soon. I hate it."

"I know," Blaine replied softly, still staring at the road while reaching over to grab Kurt's hand. "It'll get better."

And so it did. Slowly but surely things were getting back to normal. He went to class and he ate lunch with his friends and he sang in Glee. He went shopping with Mercedes and Tina, occasionally Santana or Rachel would tag along. Blaine took him out on dates and he did homework and spent time with his family. Eventually he realized that, at least at McKinley, he didn't really have anything to be afraid of.

Weeks later, Kurt's family was sitting at the dinner table when he finally asked about the fate of Karofsky.

"No one told you, dude?" Finn asked around a mouth full of chicken.

"I wasn't exactly in the right mind to want to know, honestly," Kurt replied, dabbing at the corners of his mouth with a napkin.

Finn kind of looked at their parents out of the corner of his eye. "Well…after you…left, I guess, Coach Sylvester went down to the principal's office where we took Karofsky. She asked us all to leave, even Figgins, so we stood in that waiting room thing. But, you know, it's glass so we could see everything. He was just sitting in a chair and she got down in front of him with this…really scary look on her face and said a bunch of stuff. We still don't know what she said though. He looked kind of…rattled I guess, by the end of it. The police came and took him away."

"What happened after that?" Kurt asked.

"He was put in juvy," Burt said. "He'll be there until the court case is over with. Since two parties are accusing him of the same crimes, and since this isn't counted as his first offense when you include him getting expelled the first time, it's looking pretty good for us. What'll probably happen is that he'll be sent to some kind of alternate school and the restraining orders that are there now will still stand."

"So…we don't really know what will happen," Kurt said as a statement, not at all a question.

"Trials just take a long time, sweetheart," Carole said soothingly. "But we're pretty sure that's how things will pan out."

Kurt nodded. What he really wanted to know was…what exactly had Sue Sylvester said to him?

Little did Kurt know, while he was overcoming his issues revolving around the Karofsky incident and the aftermath, Blaine was having his own set of troubles. One day, when he walked into the choir room for class, Blaine was laying down on the risers. He had shoved a few chairs out of the way and he was fast asleep, using his bag as a pillow. Mr. Schue was bent over the piano looking at some sheet music when Kurt approached him.

"Mr. Schue?" Kurt asked quietly. "What's wrong with Blaine?"

"Oh," Mr. Schue said, turning his attention to Kurt. "I forgot he was even in here. He came in here after his French class and asked if he could lie down."

"He's been in here for two class periods?" Kurt asked, truly confused now. "Did he say anything else?"

Mr. Schue shrugged. "He just said he was tired. I told him he could go to the nurse but he said he didn't want to sleep through Glee class so I told him I'd wake him. But you can do that, since you're here now."

"Yeah," Kurt said, his voice trailing off a bit. "Thanks."

Kurt moved over to where Blaine was asleep and sat on the riser below him. He noticed Blaine's eyebrows were furrowed and he was frowning, the signs of an unpleasant dream. He placed his hand gently on his boyfriend's shoulder and leaned down close to his ear.

"Blaine," he said as loud as he dared. "Time to wake up."

Blaine did not stir. Kurt was quite confused. Why was Blaine so tired? He was always…himself around Kurt. He was always happy, smiling, affectionate Blaine. But now, as he looked at his face more closely, he could see dark circles forming beneath his eyes. He looked slightly paler than usual as well. Kurt brought his hand up and began carding his fingers through Blaine's hair.

"Blaine," he said with more force.

Blaine instantly jerked away from Kurt's touch. He didn't back into a corner or anything, but the reaction was obvious.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked in a sleepy haze. "Is it time to sing?"

Kurt watched Blaine through questioning eyes as the other boy sat up and rubbed at his face. Blaine's eyes were bloodshot. He actually looked kind of ill.

"No," Kurt said finally. "It's time for you to go home and get some rest."

Blaine blinked his eyes a couple times, as if trying to get them to open wider. "No, I'm fine. It's time for Glee."

"Blaine-"

"Please…don't."

Kurt worried his lip between his teeth but eventually backed away and sat in a chair. Blaine pulled up another chair and sat next to him, yawning as he did so.

A few minutes into class, Blaine began acting like his old self again. He was laughing and smiling at Mr. Schue's bad jokes. He was singing and dancing along with everyone else. But Kurt could still see those dark circles under his eyes and it really worried him.

Even when they climbed into Kurt's car after school, Blaine still kept up his act. But now, Kurt could finally see just how hard he was trying.

"Blaine. Stop."

Blaine's jaw snapped shut and his smile fell instantly. "I'm…not doing anything."

"Yes you are."

"But I-"

"Why were you asleep in the choir room?" Kurt asked, not bothering to play this game of cat and mouse.

Blaine shrugged and turned to stare out the window. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night."

"Why not?"

"It was just one of those nights."

"What do you mean 'those nights'?"

"Just one of those nights where you can't sleep," Blaine attempted to clarify.

Blaine refused to answer anymore questions after that. When Kurt pulled into Blaine's driveway, instead of just letting Blaine out of the car, he turned off the ignition and climbed out as well.

"What're you doing?" Blaine asked hesitantly.

"I just figured we could hang out," Kurt replied, hoping his attempt at nonchalance was working. "Not to mention we could try out that new espresso machine you mentioned your parents buying the other day."

Blaine swallowed audibly. "Yeah. Okay." He led the way inside and up to his room. Kurt watched as his boyfriend paused a few seconds before opening the bedroom door.

Well. He could see the reason for his hesitance immediately. Now, Blaine was nowhere near as organized as he was, Kurt had always known that. But this was new.

The room looked a disaster. Dirty clothes and clean clothes alike, it looked, we scattered everywhere. His bed was not made, books were haphazardly tossed on the floor, dirty dishes were piled up on his low bureau and his night stands, and sheet music and school assignments littered the room. Kurt didn't know if the floor still existed. Blaine's laptop was open on his bed, surrounded by piles of CDs and his guitar and keyboard were both in the middle of the room. It looked like Blaine had put them to constant use.

"I…sorry for the mess. The uh…maid hasn't been here in a while."

"I thought you told me that the maid didn't clean your room."

Blaine froze in the middle of tossing his book bag onto the bed. "Right. I…I've just been…"

"Not sleeping, apparently."

Blaine didn't move, except to turn around and face away from Kurt.

"Looks like you've been doing everything but sleeping," Kurt added.

Blaine remained still. Kurt didn't know exactly how to approach the conversation that obviously needed to be had. How had he not noticed this change in his boyfriend? How had he not seen him struggling? He saw Blaine every single day in school and he saw him on the weekends too. He seemed to sleep just fine whenever he stayed at Kurt's house for the night.

"Blaine," Kurt said quietly, walking up behind him, attempting not to trip on a pair of jeans. "What is going on?"

Kurt looked on sadly as Blaine simply shook his head.

"Here," Kurt shoved the book bag and CDs out of the way, put his hands on Blaine's shoulders and forced him to turn around and sit down on the bed. "Now talk to me. Please."

Blaine took a deep, shuddering breath before speaking. "I just wanted to take care of you," he said brokenly.

Kurt almost started crying at the defeated, anguished look on his boyfriend's face. "But Blaine, I don't need to be taken care of."

"You did," Blaine said at once, "after you got out of the hospital. You were all scared and jittery. I was there once; I was the only one who could help you."

"I haven't been like that for weeks though, that's all past. Things are getting better."

Blaine leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and pressing his forehead into his palms. "I know. I know. And now I…fuck. I can't…"

"Stop it," Kurt said, seating himself close to Blaine. He began rubbing gentle circles onto Blaine's back. "Start from the beginning."

Blaine gave a jerky nod and lifted his head, refusing to look at Kurt.

"When…after you got out of the hospital…things changed. I was…not sleeping well. I was having these awful nightmares about everything that happened. I kept dreaming about that day and…and I kept dreaming about you never waking up. It was horrible. And then when you started having…problems, I guess, I put all of my energy into helping you and making you feel safe. I guess since I had that to focus on, sleeping was easier. I'd come home and just collapse and I wouldn't have any nightmares. But since I…since you don't need that anymore…the nightmares are back. And I hate them." Blaine took a deep breath and wiped stubbornly at his eyes, attempting to subdue the tears. "In them, you always…you either bleed to death on the floor or you don't ever wake up. And I'm stuck in this shit world without you. People quit being my friend because they blame me for everything that happened to you. My parents won't talk to me. Karofsky's still around for some demented reason and he's always laughing at me or beating me. It's fucking terrible and I always wake up screaming or crying like…like a child."

Kurt didn't say anything. He just kept rubbing circles on Blaine's back and staring at the floor. Good god. He had to keep his lips tight just to keep from crying out.

"So I just…tried to stop sleeping. Well, first I tried to take a sleeping pill that would knock me out. But that was worse because I never woke up until morning so it's like I was trapped in hell. But now I just…stay awake until about four or so and doze off and on until my alarm goes off. Except for these past two days. I just stayed awake, trying to do whatever I could to keep myself busy," he gestured to the room. "Hence the mess."

"What about when you stay the night with me? I've never heard you get up or wake up crying or anything."

Blaine swallowed hard. "I pretty much just lay there and listen to you breathe for hours. Kind of…creepy now that I say that out loud. I fall asleep eventually but…when I'm sleeping next to you, I don't have any nightmares."

Kurt nodded and took Blaine's face in his hands, making him turn to look at him. "Why didn't you tell me? This isn't like the anger issue thing from your past. This is something I could have helped you with."

Blaine's face distorted into the most awful look and tears fell without obstruction. The poor boy collapsed into Kurt's open arms and he just…he just cried. He was crying loudly. He was clawing his way closer, climbing into Kurt's lap, winding his arms around Kurt's waist and clutching the back of Kurt's shirt in his hands. Blaine's face was buried in the crook of Kurt's neck and Kurt could feel the tears and Blaine's hot breath on his skin. He could do nothing but hold on just as tightly and press a hand to the back of his boyfriend's head, rocking him gently as he sobbed. Blaine was crying like he had years of tears suppressed and he was muttering 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' over and over again in between harsh, stuttering breaths. 'I love you', he kept saying, 'I'm sorry, I love you'.

Kurt said nothing. He just held Blaine close until he heard the sobs dying down and Blaine's breathing turned into those awful hiccups he used to get whenever he cried into his father's shirt every night after his mother died. When Blaine had finally calmed down enough to pull back, Kurt almost began crying at the mere sight of his face. Blaine's eyes were red and swollen and his cheeks were drenched in tears. His lips were parted slightly and he was sucking in small breaths.

"I w-wanted to tell you," Blaine said, his chest still jumping and his throat making him stutter. "B-but I didn't w-want to seem weak. And you were s-so strong and I…I couldn't…"

"Blaine," Kurt said miserably, "you don't ever have to be like that around me. You've seen me at, literally, my worst. You don't have to try and put up some brave front. Didn't I tell you that I'd love you, no matter your faults? That I'd love you no matter your past? That I'd love you no matter what?"

Blaine nodded his head, still shaking a little. "I know, I know. But people…can lie."

"I'm not lying when I say that. Not me."

Blaine looked up at Kurt with his sad, swollen eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Kurt said with a small smile. He wrapped his arms around Blaine once more and kissed his cheek. They just stayed there like that for a few minutes, just holding each other. Kurt breathed in the scent of Blaine's hair and Blaine smiled against Kurt's ear.

"You need to stop this no sleeping thing, though. It's unhealthy," Kurt said, pulling away slightly, his hands on Blaine's arms.

"I know," Blaine said dejectedly. "I just don't know how to…to make them stop."

"Well you said it yourself. You don't have them when you sleep next to me."

"I can't sleep with you every night. It's not really a practical solution."

Kurt was silent and thought for a minute. "What if we call each other every night, right before we're about to go to bed? And we just talk until neither of us can stay awake anymore. That way, it'll kind of be like we're together."

"We can…try it."

So they agreed on that. Kurt stayed at Blaine's house for another few hours. Blaine offered to show him the espresso machine, but Kurt said the last thing Blaine needed right now was caffeine, so he declined. Kurt left when Blaine's parents got home and that night, just as they'd planned, Kurt called Blaine when he crawled into bed.

"I need to get you a…me-shaped pillow or something," Kurt was saying.

Blaine laughed on the other end of the phone. "I don't think they make Kurt Hummel shaped pillows. But I'll look into it, just to be sure."

"If this doesn't work, I want you to tell me."

"I will," Blaine said, lowering his voice.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Good."

They continued talking for another hour and a half or so. Kurt could still hear Blaine talking about something or another when he finally couldn't stay awake anymore. His phone was still in his hand when he fell into a deep sleep. Blaine ended the call when Kurt stopped responding.

"Well?" Kurt inquired as soon as Blaine climbed into his car the next morning. "Did you sleep?"

Blaine rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I slept. Until I woke up at five, screaming something. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't.

Kurt nodded and turned on the radio. "Sounds like progress to me."

"I guess."

"Well you did sleep, which is more than you've been doing these last few days."

Blaine shrugged and let his head rest against the window. "We can keep trying."

"We will," Kurt assured him, letting his hand rest on Blaine's knee.

"Can we get coffee?" Blaine asked.

"Do you even have to ask?"

Blaine shrugged again. Kurt was a little bit sad. He hated seeing Blaine like this, he hated it. But he'd rather have Blaine being…true, he supposed, rather than trying to put up some kind of front. He was glad that Blaine was just being honest around him. It made him feel sort of special.

"You know, you don't have to act all…fake happy at school. The other kids won't mind," Kurt pointed out.

"There would be questions, though," Blaine countered.

"So? Just say you haven't been sleeping well and I'll tell them to shut up and not talk about it." Kurt looked over at Blaine quickly, but he caught the small smile that turned up the corners of his lips.

"You're an angel."

"I try. I'll get the coffee, you stay here," Kurt said as they pulled into the coffee shop parking lot.

When he returned with the coffee, Blaine guzzled it down instantly. Kurt looked on in horror.

"Wasn't that hot?"

"Scalding. But I need caffeine," Blaine explained.

"Should I…go get you another one?"

"No, this should last me until lunch."

When they arrived at McKinley, Blaine's eyes still looked heavy and tired. They walked in through the front doors, hand in hand, just like usual. The day seemed to progress very, very slowly. It pained Kurt to see Blaine without that usual spark in his eye. No questions were asked until lunch time though.

"Are you okay, dude?" Finn asked, pulling up a chair and sitting at their usual table.

"Yeah. Just tired," Blaine replied, pushing the tater tots around on his plate with a fork. Kurt was currently retrieving him more coffee.

"You sure? You kinda…look like crap," Finn continued.

"Just not sleeping well," Blaine replied dully.

"You look like death warmed over," Quinn stated. "Are you sick?"

"He's fine. He's just tired. Leave it alone," Kurt said as soon as he returned to the table, handing Blaine a large cup of coffee.

"But dude-"

"Finn," Kurt said forcefully, "leave it alone."

Blaine sighed heavily and Kurt's hand began rubbing his back. No one commented after that.

However, when it was time for Glee club, Mr. Schue was not so hesitant to ask questions.

"Blaine, you look awful. Do you need to go to the nurse and lie down?" their teacher asked.

"No. Thank you, though," Blaine said as he sat down in his usual chair.

"You really look like you could use the rest," Mr. Schue continued.

"Really, I'm okay."

"Okay is the last thing you look right now."

"Mr. Schue!" Kurt said, rushing in to find their teacher interrogating his boyfriend.

"Kurt, maybe you should take Blaine home."

"He's fine. He's just tired," Kurt said quickly.

"He looks really sick."

Kurt dropped his bag, grabbed Mr. Schue's arm, and pulled the man into his own office.

"Look. I mean no disrespect, but please stop it. Blaine's having a rough time right now and he doesn't need a bunch of people asking him questions or telling him he looks like crap. He's not sleeping well, that's all. He just wants to get through the day without a cross-examination."

"Kurt, he looks ill."

"Yes, I know. It's from lack of sleep. We're working on it."

Mr. Schue looked at his student with pity. Kurt hated pity. "Sometimes teenagers can't fix everything by themselves."

"I know that. And if nothing works, I'll make sure he gets help. Just…right now, please, leave the situation be."

And that was that. No one asked any more or less of Blaine. No one questioned him, though Kurt did see a few people shooting him pitying looks. Brittany even brought him a teddy bear.

"Kurt can spray it with his perfume," Brittany had said. "I do it for Artie so it smells like me and he can sleep with it so it's like he's sleeping with me."

The day after that, Blaine admitted to Kurt that the teddy bear actually did help. A little.

That weekend, Blaine was staying the night at Kurt's again and they were cuddling in his bed.

"You smell so nice," Blaine said, spooning the younger boy. "With your shampoo and your lotion and that weird stuff you moisturize your face with."

"Don't you want to be the little spoon? After this week, it seems like you need to be the one being cuddled," Kurt noted.

Blaine shook his head slowly, his nose nuzzling into Kurt's hair. "No. I just want to hold you. And feel you next to me. And know that you're really here."

Kurt cuddled closer into Blaine's chest. "I'll always be here," he said softly, loving the way Blaine's warm breath felt on his neck. "I want to stay awake with you."

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want to. We can just stay up and talk until you get sleepy."

"I'll be awake for hours, though."

"That's okay. Or…we could…you know…"

He felt Blaine laugh against his skin. "I don't have the energy right now for sex."

"I'm just saying," Kurt protested. "It's an option. Maybe it would tire you out."

"I'm plenty tired. But I can't rely on orgasms from you to make me go to sleep since it won't be a constant solution."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

Blaine pressed a kiss into Kurt's hair. "If I wasn't so exhausted, you know I'd be all over you right now."

Kurt giggled into the night. "I know you would."

They stayed awake, Kurt true to his word, attempting not to fall asleep until Blaine did first. They spoke for hours, confessing little secrets beneath the sheets and sharing sweet, slow kisses in the dark. They reveled in each other's warmth and comfort. Kurt's fingers traced little patterns on Blaine's knuckles and arms. He was glad that Blaine finally had his cast removed so that he could feel the skin on his left arm. Blaine had his hand pressed firmly against Kurt's chest, right above his heart. The night was precious and quiet. When Kurt finally heard Blaine's breathing become steady, slow, and even, he allowed himself to smile and fall asleep.

A few hours later though, he felt Blaine jerk suddenly awake and sit straight up.

"Blaine?" he mumbled, rubbing a bit of sleep out of his eyes.

"I'm fine," Blaine said, his statement contradicted by his loud, heavy breathing. "Go back to sleep."

When he felt Blaine attempt to pull the blankets away from his body to get up, Kurt sat up as well and grabbed Blaine's arm. "Wait."

"I'm just going to the bathroom."

"You said you didn't have nightmares when you slept next to me."

"I usually don't," Blaine said. "It's only happened once before. And it wasn't as bad as they usually are. At least I'm not screaming."

Kurt fell back into the pillows, releasing his hold on Blaine's arm. "What if we can't fix this?"

"We can."

"What if this is something that's too much for us? What if you need actual…help?"

He heard Blaine sigh softly. "I don't want it to come to that. I don't want to be…"

"What?"

Blaine lay back down next to Kurt. "I don't want to be some…nut case."

"You're not a nut case," Kurt said swiftly. "You're having nightmares because of a traumatic experience. You're not crazy."

"I just want it all to stop," Blaine admitted, his chest tight. "I want to have good dreams again. Like the ones that I had before all of this."

Kurt rolled over onto his side so that he could cuddle up to Blaine and rest his head on his boyfriend's chest. "What did you used to dream about?"

He heard Blaine swallow above him and felt the other boy's arm settle around his waist. "You. Me. Us. In…in the future."

"Yeah?"

"We always have this really nice apartment," Blaine continued. "We're in New York and…and you've always got this sewing machine and you're making all these clothes. I'm sitting on the sofa reading the entertainment section of the newspaper, hoping to find my name."

"That sounds really nice," Kurt said.

"Every time I turn the page, you pause and you look over at me and smile. I…I've always had this thing about your smile," Blaine confessed, kissing the smooth skin on Kurt's forehead. "It makes my heart beat really fast when you smile at me."

He felt Kurt smile against his chest so, of course, he too smiled. "Maybe…that's the problem," Blaine said suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…whenever I lay down to go to sleep, I get so damn scared that I'm going to have these nightmares. So all this horrible stuff is going through my mind and I'm terrified. When before…I always used to think about happy things before I went to sleep. I'd think about you and I'd think about us and…maybe if I started doing that again, the nightmares would stop. Or lessen. Anything would be better than the way it is now."

Kurt snuggled closer. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea."

They fall asleep, Kurt still in Blaine's arms.

They woke up in the exact same position.

"Oh god, my arm is so numb," Blaine said immediately, pulling his arm out from under Kurt to shake the blood back into his extremity.

Kurt sat up, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. He turned to look at Blaine and smiled. He actually looked a little better. Granted, the circles were still under his eyes, but he looked better rested than he had in a long time.

"Did you sleep better?"

Blaine paused, thought to himself and grinned. "Yeah. I did, actually. I had a dream that we had a puppy."

"Oh god, what kind?"

"One of those little ratty looking things. It was awful. Maybe it was still a nightmare," Blaine said seriously.

"Oh shut up," Kurt said, smacking Blaine in the face with a pillow.

"Ah! I'm just saying, it was an ugly little thing!" Blaine argued.

"Better an ugly, ratty dog, than my dead body!"

"Yeah. That's true," Blaine agreed, sitting up as well

Kurt smiled happily and kissed Blaine's stubbly cheek. He lifted his hand and gently caressed the rough bit of hair on his boyfriend's face.

"You look so much older when you let your beard grow out. It's…kind of sexy."

Blaine ruffled his own hair and brought his hand up to rub at his eyes. "Into older men, are you?"

"No. But…I don't know. You just look so…unkempt. With your hair all messy and your face all scruffy. It's different. But it's…nice."

"Ah, well maybe one day I will use my scruff powers to my advantage and completely ravish you."

Kurt snorted and shoved the covers off. "You don't need scruff powers to ravish me."

"No?"

"No. Your regular Blaine powers do that just fine."

"Good to know."