As soon as Badger rounded the corner, it took all of Kurt's strength to keep his knees from buckling out from beneath him.

This was it. It was over. They'd get kicked out of camp for sure after this. Kurt knew it. Jackal and Badger knew it. But Kurt had a feeling that at this point they didn't care. Threatening Kurt was already past the point of no return. All that was left to determine was how bad the damage would be.

There Kurt was, standing in his underwear and t-shirt, feeling entirely helpless and trying his best to not let the tears fall. He'd been through this before- the ignorance, the searing hatred for just being who he was. He knew that there were more people like his high school bully in the world, but he hadn't expected to run into them here. And he knew that Jackal didn't like him from day one, but he had convinced himself that it was for any number of other reasons, anything that would spare him from being just another ill-bred homophobe.

"Badger, this guy here's a queer. He was watching me undress- probably got off on it too, the sicko. What do you think we should do about that?"

Badger looked over his shoulder at Kurt, "I dunno, Jackal. I hate a homo as much as the next guy, but you'll get kicked out if you touch him."

Jackal addressed Badger, but never let his eyes leave Kurt, "I know that, dumbass. But I can't stand another day in that cabin with this freak. I'd rather beat the gay out of him and get kicked out than stay here and have him leering at me every day for two weeks."

Badger shrugged then, actually shrugged at his friend who was going to beat the living crap out of Kurt. "Do what you want then. I'll see you back home I guess." And with that, he was gone.

Jackal closed in then, smiling cruelly and raising his fist as Kurt's back rammed into the pipe behind him. He closed his eyes, bracing for the blow.

There it was.

The door.

Was Badger back?

Did he change his mind about beating on Kurt?

Blaine rounded the corner, a towel draped over one arm and his toiletry bag in the other. He froze, taking in the scene laid out before him.

There was Kurt, obviously cornered and terrified, and Jackal, who had his fist raised but had halted because of Blaine's unexpected arrival. Kurt hesitantly opened one eye.

It happened so fast Kurt barely had time to process it. One second this big burly man was towering over him, and the next second...he was gone.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

Blaine had hauled Jackal out of the shower stall and pressed him up against the opposing wall, one arm pressed against his neck and the other against his chest. Kurt could only see the back of his head now, but the look of fear in Jackal's eyes told him he never wanted to be on the receiving end of whatever look Blaine was giving him.

"N-nothing. We were just talking." Jackal stuttered, still looking down at Blaine with absolute terror.

"Just talking? That's not what it looked like. You got a problem with Kurt that we should tell the staff about? Because you know they're going to find out about this. You're out of here, Jackal- go pack your shit. Your ignorance is not welcome here."

He released Jackal then, watching him with hardened eyes as the other man gathered his things and left the bathroom, still draped in his towel.

The moment the door clicked closed, Kurt couldn't stand a moment longer. His knees gave way and he collapsed to the tile floor of the stall, tears falling freely.

Blaine appeared at his side. "Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down next to Kurt and placing a hand on his knee.

Kurt couldn't stop the tears, and rather than try to respond, he turned and buried his face in Blaine's chest. In some back part of his mind, he knew this was against one touching rule or another, but he didn't care. Blaine tensed for a moment at the unexpected contact, but then relaxed and moved his arms to wrap around Kurt, instinctively rubbing small circles on his back the way his mother used to when he was upset.

How long they sat like that, Kurt didn't know. He cried until he couldn't cry anymore, Blaine holding him all the while and whispering reassuring words into his hair.

Kurt didn't see the few tears that fell down Blaine's own cheeks.

Eventually, Kurt stilled, only the occasional sniff sounding from where he'd buried his face. Blaine took the opportunity to discreetly dry his eyes.

"I'm s-sorry." Kurt managed, lifting his head and wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

Blaine looked shocked, "Sorry? Sorry for what? Kurt, that Neanderthal was going to...I don't even want to think about what he was going to do if I hadn't walked in when I did."

Kurt blinked at him a few times, his eyes red and his complexion blotchy from the tears. "I'm sorry you had to step in- I should have been able to handle it by myself. Then I went and sobbed all over you, which isn't exactly super funtimes."

Blaine pulled Kurt close then, much to the surprise of both men, and wrapped both arms around him tightly.

"I don't care about any of that. I'm just glad you're safe."

Kurt relaxed into the hug, feeling at ease for the first time since entering the bathroom. He was safe, and it was Blaine he had to thank for it. Blaine with his strong arms and head full of curls and a smell that was somewhere between fresh soil and honey.

They broke apart after a moment, sharing a small smile.

Then realization struck as Kurt realized they were on the floor of the bathroom.

And he was hugging Blaine.

And he was in his underwear.

A flush broke out on Kurt's skin, and Blaine seemed to realize what was going on at the same moment. He chuckled, attempting to break the tension, before rising to his feet.

"Did you still want to shower?" he asked, nodding to Kurt's supplies which had been laid out. "I think we're a bit past free time by now, but once we go talk to Moose I'm sure he'll understand."

Kurt nodded. Especially after being in such close proximity to Jackal, he was eager to scrub the feeling of fear-born sweat and tears off of himself.

Blaine helped him to his feet, and Kurt couldn't help but flash back to their very first meeting, when Rachel had tackled him to the ground in the parking lot. Blaine released his hand perhaps a bit slower than last time, moving from the stall and to where his things had dropped to the floor.

Kurt closed the shower curtain, finished getting undressed and turned on the water, purposely scalding his skin.

Surprisingly, Blaine took the stall immediately next to him, but they carried on little conversation as they showered.

When they were finished and dressed, Kurt decided to drop his things off at Blaine's cabin for the time being rather than potentially run into Jackal again. He'd had enough confrontation for one day.