"Mi togli il respiro," Blaine breathed.

Kurt's lips felt numb in the cooler air, his blue swirling eyes searching for something like insincerity in Blaine's gaze, but finding none. He smiled slowly, taking in Blaine's awe-struck face and wondering if his own heart had stopped beating in the near darkness. Kurt almost went to walk back to the inside of the apartment to turn on more lights but he realised the magic would morph into something more tangible and he wasn't ready for it to dissipate. Blaine looked on at Kurt's face and leant in closer to place kisses on Kurt's cheek and as Kurt angled his head to one side, exposing his neck, Blaine barely grazed his lips along the pale skin as if he didn't want to spoil what lay underneath his lips. The dull glow just over the mountain created a porcelain sheen over Kurt's skin and made him sigh. Kurt closed his eyes as a wave of pleasure threatened to overtake him and he fought to hold in a low moan.

"I know you want to take things slow," Blaine murmured over the delicate skin of his neck, "But I don't know..." He seemed to struggle to form words, so engrossed in what he was doing and Kurt didn't mind, loving what Blaine was making him feel. Despite the warning earlier and wanting to learn more about Blaine before he took more of a trusting step, the desire to feel and touch almost overwhelmed Kurt too and he keened as Blaine nibbled a little harder, making his back arch in pleasure.

"Oh," Kurt moaned and Blaine closed his eyes, letting his mouth taste as his fingers explored the soft skin that rested underneath Kurt's shirt. Blaine had been angled slightly higher over Kurt but at the moan he lowered his body to rest on him, his erection straining and Kurt moaned louder. It seemed to shake Blaine awake as if he had been dreaming and now was fully aware of his surroundings. He parted from Kurt, leaving a slither of air between their bodies, his lips red from kissing such perfection and Kurt opened his eyes and held in the moan that threatened to escape at the sight above him. Blaine looked so gloriously undone that he wanted to dress him only to undress him slowly and do it all over again. His shirt was open wide at the top revealing his little muscled chest but slightly protruding collarbone and his amber eyes shone in the dim light of the fading sunset. He looked amazing.

"I think maybe we need to stop," Blaine whispered, looking over Kurt's face, searching for any reason to continue but Kurt got his breath back and nodded. His brain kicked in, the edge of reason returning despite the promise of glory and he stood slowly as if to make the decision final.

"Maybe you're right," Kurt whispered. He took in the mountain before him and sighed in contentment, Blaine already wishing he had been so wrong instead. Kurt seemed to think of an idea and looked back to Blaine.

"How about a walk? The paths here are supposed to be fantastic and I'm not remotely tired after such a long nap."

Blaine smiled that the night wasn't over nor that he was banished to his own room and he got up, holding his hand out for Kurt to take. Kurt took it gently and smiled nervously, the romantic gesture not lost on him at all and making him melt slightly more than the kiss had done moments before.

Despite the late hour, the darkness of the streets, Kurt and Blaine could still work their way through the streets of Varenna, the cobbles and high steps leading them through narrow alleys separating houses and what appeared to be little art galleries. One particular walkway was lined with paintings of Lake Como and religious buildings nearby, the red handrail helping them to gain the correct footing as they walked up ragged and uneven stone. Daffodils and potted plants adorned small windows and Kurt instinctively grabbed Blaine's hand as they walked, not realising the significance for Blaine, who had never held anyone's hand since he had been a child crossing the street. Kurt looked this way and that, his mouth open at the simple beauty and Blaine smiled that he could still appreciate it all. A simple vacation, one without work and no one knowing who they were, gave them anonymity that they had missed in the hustle of New York life. In the evening heat they could still wear shorts and T-shirts and feeling the warm ghost of a breeze on their arms they came a little closer, arms brushing together and smiles shared as they took in the simplicity and wished for easier times when they returned. A few people taking night-time strolls themselves, nodded politely when they met Kurt and Blaine on the walkways and it felt nice to be a part of the community even for a short time.

Finding another walkway, this time closer to the lake itself, the path manicured and maintained, another red handrail guarding tourists from plummeting to the lake below, they walked along until they found a deserted alcove, a cube of stone with archways on each side overlooking the lake. They rested hands on the ledge of the cut away windows, boats that were docked on the calm waters blocking part of the view and watched, deserted now in the cooler evening.

"It's what you said before about beauty," Kurt whispered in the stillness, his posture remaining the same, his eyes on the water ahead. "It's all so simple, not manufactured, not posed or fake; just a true reflection of a culture and community. It's appreciated because it's not ruined. I don't really want to come here during the day when all the tourists will snap their cameras and come closer in search of beauty. I like it just the way it is now."

Blaine didn't know what to say; just looked at Kurt then through the window as if seeing it for the first time. He knew Kurt was right, that beauty was here simply because it was here and not designed that way. The older architecture, the simple houses, the narrow walkways all made Blaine think of simpler times before super fast travel and multiple choices. They stood in silence for a while, appreciating it and waiting. The time didn't drag, just stilled as they watched – nothing happened, no rivers crossed just things understood and known for what they were. Kurt turned slowly upon hearing Blaine's breathing change in the stillness and was a little shocked to find tears work their way slowly down his cheeks in the half-light.

"Blaine?"

Blaine couldn't speak, his head shook from side to side for a moment, his eyes never leaving the water until he felt a little more composed. He faced Kurt eventually.

"I feel a little like I've grown, I know that's silly," Blaine tried to say but it came out too quiet and rushed, Kurt barely understanding until Blaine repeated. Blaine couldn't really describe it but he felt overwhelmed and a little annoyed that he had begun to let himself fill with hate while beauty carried on in the world. How had Kurt managed to keep so sane and appreciate life for what it was? Why was Blaine always so tempted to push the truly great things in his life so far away?

"Do you know when you're at your most beautiful?" Kurt asked quietly after a while and Blaine, unable to answer just shook his head, wondering what Kurt was going to say. "When you sing, even when it's a sad song or self-deprecating something shines out of you and I know you for real, like everything else is washed away. You standing here, you know now too and I like the Blaine standing here: everything else stripped away and you're perfect, just the way you are now." Kurt looks at Blaine's eyes shining with unshed tears and they seem bigger somehow in the dim light of the water. He looks like a little lost boy standing there, looking to Kurt to be understood and taken care of. Kurt gives him a hug in the cube shaped alcove, alone and set apart from the lake. He parts from him slowly, untangling Blaine's arms that had clung around his back and now hang loosely along his waist. He places gentle kisses on his forehead and as Blaine closes his eyes, he kisses along his cheek and jaw finally resting his lips on the thin and precious skin of his eyelids. Blaine gasps at the sensation and feels himself melting, clinging closer, hoping that as Kurt takes him apart, he can start to build him up again and make him a little more whole.

Blaine doesn't know how long he stands there and is ministered to, the kisses along every inch of skin on his face until they are walking home and silently they let themselves into their apartment. Kurt walks them to the bedroom – the master bedroom adorned with a red duvet cover and pictures of hearts – and undresses Blaine just as carefully as the kisses just moments before. As every inch of skin is exposed, Kurt kisses every part as if he is rebuilding and appreciating what was lost before. Blaine feels himself grow hard at the gentle touches but it is beyond sex, he just concentrates on the feeling and he realises that Kurt is painting him with his lips, touching and making him come alive in ways he had never been before. He had come before but now he feels and is treasured. Completely naked he is walked slowly to the bed and lies down on his own, only to see Kurt start to undress slowly with no trace of awkwardness. Kurt is not ashamed of his own body like Blaine had supposed and the absence of arrogance from Blaine's eyes causes Kurt to smile that he too is adored simply for who he is. He feels around the bed for the thin sheets as he lifts them up for both of them to trickle underneath. The light from the hallway causes a sheen like moonlight to fall along the exposed shoulder and arm of Blaine and Kurt kisses it gently, smiling at the lovely warmth underneath his lips. They know it is just a nap, a beautiful way to end a perfect evening but lying there naked, unashamed and simply adoring they start to kiss, slowly and without desperation. Kurt knows Blaine can feel his hardness between them as it presses against his thigh but tonight isn't about sex, this is more. Blaine has never wanted someone as much as he wants Kurt but suddenly he wants to feel even more exposed than he already is. It's not about 'getting off'. The slow touches, the careful ministrations, the gentle kisses, prolong the glorious torture. Both hard and pressing on the other, they touch agonisingly slowly but with his eyes now open Blaine takes in the show of skin beneath his fingers. It's not about screwing his eyes shut and just allowing intense pleasure to take over, not like with Sebastian. He wants to see, wants to understand what is happening and know that Kurt is feeling it too.

And he is. His eyes shine bright, his smile beautiful as he is touched. Time seems to slow until they get a little closer and feel a little more. Touches get quicker, kisses wetter and lower and it's not quite enough. The careful ministrations get more needy and Kurt is suddenly desperate to feel. He moans loudly near Blaine's ear, which he thinks might just drive him over the edge and Blaine lowers his hand over Kurt's hardness. They have taken so long to treasure and adore, to kiss and touch that now they give each other permission to touch lower, to feel the strong muscles and contours of their bodies, they take and time speeds up, sensations threaten to overwhelm, moans loud, arching of backs and they come separately, eyes open, mouths wide, sighs of pleasure escaping.

Despite the stickiness and the sweat starting to prickle along their skin, they come closer, legs tangled together, hands roaming along each other's back. Blaine looks at Kurt, already sleepy but looking so happy and content that Blaine melts and he smiles, hoping that he can deserve the love etched on that sweet face.