Blaine watched her for a few moments from his place by the door frame. Just home from school, his bag heavy with books to study for a test tomorrow, he already felt a little overwhelmed at starting his sophomore year of high school. He was just about to plonk his bag down and kick his shoes off to grab a drink when he heard the music filtering from the kitchen.

He recognised the song as one his mum had listened to a lot recently but it was slightly different. This version was sung by a woman and was much slower, the violins sounding sweet and adding to the words of the song.

Don't let go

Never give up

It's such a wonderful life

He walked slowly to where the sound was drifting from and saw his mother dancing. She was completely oblivious to her surroundings, the beginnings of the dinner around her on the kitchen surfaces. An onion was in the middle of being chopped, the knife in her hand as she twirled around, her skirt billowing out, her eyes closed. She sang along quietly, even when Kylie reached the high notes and Blaine watched in absolute silence, stunned by her happiness and smiling at her beauty. He knew it was a little strange to think of your mum as beautiful but he didn't care. In that moment, a most perfect moment, she was everything beautiful and he didn't want to disturb her. Eventually, in the middle of a twirl as the song finished, she opened her eyes and laughed as she caught sight of Blaine watching her by the door.

"Blaine!" she exclaimed, "How long have you been watching me?" She giggled and walked towards him but catching sight of the knife in her hands, seemed to remember what she had been doing before the dancing. "Oh dinner," she said laughing still and going back to the chopping board. "Did you have a nice day at school?" And Blaine sat down at the kitchen table, relayed the details about his day and smiled that he was home and loved.

Blaine watched Kurt now, completely oblivious to his surroundings, just like that day nearly three years ago now. Blaine was in sweat pants and a T-shirt having just come out of the shower, his hair still wet and curly. Kurt was starting dinner for them and singing along to Capital Cities and only one word could be used to describe his movements around the kitchen – he was doing a boogie. His eyes closed, his hips moving from side to side, his voice ringing out in happiness, Blaine could only smile at the similarities between his mum and Kurt.

I could show you love
In a tidal wave of mystery
You'll still be standing next to me

I could lift you up
I could show you what you want to see
And take you where you want to be

"Blaine!" Kurt suddenly screeched, his eyes wide and his chest heaving. "You scared the hell out of me!"

Blaine laughed and came forward.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist watching you for a moment," he said, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist in order to calm his raging heartbeat. He kissed him slowly until Kurt visibly relaxed and murmured.

"Mmm," Kurt said, "You taste all warm and clean. It makes me want to ruin you, cover you in food and lick it off." His eyes were closed in pleasure so he nearly missed Blaine's wide darkening eyes until he opened them in the silence. There was a heartbeat of silence, a flicker of realisation and Blaine lunged forward, kissing him ferociously and pressing forward until Kurt's back rested on the kitchen counter. Blaine kissed along the expanse of pale skin on Kurt's neck, breathing in the scent of warm food that was now bubbling slightly on the stove. He hummed, causing a vibration and a shiver along Kurt's spine, as their eyes closed, the sensation of comfort and warmth overwhelming them.

"I can never get enough of you," Blaine whispered along his neck, "I sometimes think I could drown in you and be perfectly happy. I think of you in class, I think of you when I sing...." He started to ramble, his words whispered, rushed and heard as mutterings along Kurt's neck. Kurt smiled at Blaine's words, took what was said, rubbed along Blaine's strong back muscles and moaned rather loudly, the noise going straight to Blaine's hardness which was rutting along Kurt's thigh. Neither noticed the steam or the food starting to spill over the sides of the pan, as Blaine lifted Kurt effortlessly onto the kitchen counter, his hands locked on his hips. Looking up at Kurt with his golden orbs swirling with love and amazement that Kurt was his, Kurt smiled down at him, so happy just where he was.

"You're mine..." Blaine whispered, almost like a question, almost like he didn't believe it.

"Always yours."

At that Blaine lifted Kurt who wrapped his legs around Blaine's waist as he was carried to Kurt's bedroom, the food left and burning. He placed him gently underneath him on the bed and smiled down at the little bit of sauce that had found its way onto his nose. Blaine wiped at it gently, Kurt looking up in awe at Blaine's honey coloured eyes. He used to see rivers of water there, worry and fear and guilt, but now only happiness resided there and it was beautiful.

They kissed for what felt like hours, slowly coming undone until every inch had been explored and Kurt felt overwhelmed with sensation – touching, licking, feeling, hearing. It seemed necessary, when Blaine had felt like he had been close to the edge for so long, for Kurt to touch him there and watch his back arch and his moan escape, his eyes shut tight against the intense pleasure as he came. The mess ignored, Blaine stroked along Kurt's exposed skin and he swallowed his moan with his kisses until Kurt came undone too and lay back completely sated, his skin on fire, his body tingling. They showered together, cleaning each other and kissing the clean skin as soon as bubbles disappeared. They laughed about their day, sang little lines of songs they had heard and came back into the kitchen to find Santana trying to remove the spoon from the charred mess that remained on the stove.

Putting their dressing gowns on and giggling before they realised Santana was there, she turned, the spoon in her hand black and crusted and her eyebrows raised.

"Wanky," she said smirking, "Everything is now understood." And she chucked the remains of the dinner away and picked up a take-out menu, getting ready to order. Kurt laughed at Blaine's slightly shocked face and hugged his side as they turned on the television and settled for a cosy night in with Santana.

Kurt had been worried when he had introduced Santana to Blaine. He knew that Santana ate some people alive, tested them out, watched and waited and sought out any flaw to pick a person apart and laugh and mock them. But she was different with Blaine. She watched and waited, saw how he reacted with Kurt and would smile when she thought no one was looking. She never knew what caused Blaine's nervous behaviour and his quiet nature but sometimes she would watch him discuss singing with Kurt in the kitchen and she could see Blaine's battle with himself. He clearly loved performing and wanted to be perfectly understood through song but he would hold back, Santana could tell, and refuse to share his gift as much as he should and it only made her want to know the reason.

She got her opportunity one day after classes had finished for the day and Blaine made his way over to see Kurt to find Santana the only one in the apartment. He had text Blaine to say he was on his way and that he should wait and have coffee, make himself comfortable. He did and found Santana watching him nervously use the machine and he turned around, leaning on the kitchen counter.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"I'm trying to figure you out," she said, looking at him carefully, "I thought I'd discovered the secret but I've only guessed that there is a secret and that something holds you back. You have a darkness about you."

Blaine sat down at the kitchen table opposite Santana, his eyes remaining on hers but a sadness pervading him and making him suddenly look to the door in the hope that Kurt might magically appear and save him.

"You want to know?" he asked quietly.

"If you want to tell me," Santana said, "I'm guessing that Kurt already knows, maybe even Rachel?"

"No Rachel doesn't know everything. She knows my mum and Cooper died in a car crash but she doesn't know everything."

Santana watched him in silence.

"I said something to distract my mum while she was driving in the rain; she turned around to face me in surprise and when she turned back around, she skidded in the rain and the car crashed. She was killed instantly, Cooper later died in hospital. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt."

Blaine's eyes filled but he held Santana's gaze as he watched her eyes fill too.

"What did you say to distract her?" she whispered, almost afraid of what Blaine would say.

"Some stupid remark about a guy on stage, my first admission that I found guys attractive and not girls."

Santana let the tears spill over and thinking of her own trouble with her abuela she got up quickly to stand over Blaine and hug him close as his tears fell too. It didn't feel awkward, so unused to giving affection Santana only brought him closer, his head falling just below her chest. She kissed the top of his head and Kurt stood by the door, his mouth open in shock.

He came forward and Blaine and Santana looked up at the sudden rustling noise.

She reluctantly let him go and wiped fiercely at her eyes and shook her head at Kurt as if he had asked a question and she couldn't answer. She walked away to her space behind the curtain and Kurt came closer, looking down at Blaine's tear streaked face and wiping them away as Blaine smiled up at him, his brown eyes swirling with unshed tears.

"I've never seen Santana like that," Kurt whispered as if his very belief system had been shaken. He didn't need to ask what Blaine had said, he merely kissed his cheek sweetly and they discussed their days and future assignments. They started dinner, as Santana's voice trickled out from behind her curtain on the phone to someone. Rachel joined them later and Santana left her room to sit and eat quietly.

"What's wrong with you?" Rachel asked a little shocked at her silence.

"Nothing," Santana said her face shining, her eyes darting over to Kurt and Blaine, "I just had a really good conversation with my abuela, everything will be ok." She kept it brief but Rachel smiled in understanding. Kurt and Blaine understood so much more and smiled, Kurt stroking her hand as it rested on the table next to him.

Something clicked with Santana and Blaine that evening. An unbreakable bond, that even Kurt didn't fully comprehend. He would find them engrossed in conversation by the fridge if Blaine had wandered out to get some milk in the middle of the night, or they would go for coffee without the others if Kurt was busy. They would laugh and whisper, give advice and share so much but Blaine would come back to Kurt, whisper in his ear and tell him everything too unless it was breaking Santana's confidence and Kurt understood. Blaine soon became her most unlikely best friend and Kurt would smile to see them together, pleased that someone else knew just how special and amazing Blaine really was.