When he was sure Blaine was going to be alright for the moment Kurt loaded the grilled chicken wraps he had been making on a big plate and placed them in the middle of the kitchen table. After setting three regular plates on the table he put the fourth one back into the cupboard and took out two soup plates. He didn’t want Blaine to be the only one at the table who didn’t get solid food. Blaine was staring at the empty plate that had been set in front of him as though it was a particularly challenging puzzle he had to solve.

“Let’s see if the others are ready for dinner, shall we?” Kurt asked, opening the kitchen door and leaning out so he could glance into the living room. Upon seeing that his parents and Finn seemed to be done discussing the situation he called them to dinner.

“It looks lovely, Kurt.” Carole complimented Kurt when she entered the kitchen before turning to Blaine and smiling warmly.

“Hello, dear. I’m Carole.” She seemed to be uncertain whether or not to approach him for a moment and settled on giving him space for now. “I’m Kurt’s step mom. I’m sorry Finn was so loud earlier, he was caught off guard. I’m very glad you’re here with us tonight though.”

She sat down on her usual spot on the opposite side of the table from Blaine. When Finn and Burt joined them, both sat down on either side of Carole, so that Finn ended up sitting next to Blaine.

“Sorry for the yelling.” He said awkwardly, not looking at Blaine but staring at his plate instead.

“Start eating, the food’s getting cold.” Kurt ordered, interrupting the slightly uncomfortable silence. The remaining Hummel-Hudson’s reached for the wraps while Kurt was busy placing the pot with the chicken soup on the table before taking a seat at Blaine’s other side.

He scooped two spoons full of soup into Blaine’s plate before serving himself the same thing. “Okay, careful, it’s still hot.” He warned the other boy.

Blaine didn’t reach for his spoon.

Kurt didn’t quite know what to say, he had a sinking feeling that maybe Blaine thought the soup wasn’t meant for him or that Kurt had just given it to him as a joke of some sorts.

He settled for simply asking “You don’t like soup?”

Blaine’s eyes shot up. “It smells very good.” He whispered as though that would answer Kurt’s question.

“You don’t have to eat it, if you really don’t want to, but you know you can, right?” Kurt asked softly.

“I-… I can have some of this?” Blaine asked, hope thick in his voice.

Kurt nodded, taking a spoon full from his own plate hoping to set an example for Blaine.

Blaine tentatively took the spoon in hand and experimentally dipped it into the soup. He guided a small spoonful to his mouth, his eyes fixed on Kurt waiting for a reaction. Kurt just smiled at him and looked down into his own plate, focusing on his food only occasionally sneaking a glance at Blaine eating from the corner of his eyes.

“Dude”, Finn said from across the table. “He’s so skinny, you should feed him some proper food! Here, have a wrap!” He held a wrap in front of Blaine’s face, causing Blaine to flinch back from the sudden invasion of his personal space. His eyes went wide when he saw what was being held out in front of him.

“No!” Kurt called, both Finn and Blaine looked up at him startled. Kurt snatched the wrap from Finn’s hand and placed it back on Finn’s plate. “He can’t have anything solid, he can’t stomach that yet. Just eat your dinner and mind your own business.” It sounded a lot harsher than he had intended it to, but he had explicit orders to not let Blaine have more than he could digest, which at the moment wouldn’t be very much.

“Kurt’s right Finn”, Carole jumped in, backing Kurt up. He didn’t pay attention to what she explained to Finn though, because Blaine looked utterly crestfallen at the sight of his now empty plate. 

An hour later Kurt was making up the guest bed for Blaine, mentally kicking himself. He should have taken more time to explain to the other boy exactly why he couldn’t have any more food at the moment. He obviously hadn’t entirely understood or otherwise he wouldn’t have looked so sad, would he?

Blaine was in the next room, brushing his teeth again, he had looked delighted when Kurt had suggested he do that again before going to bed.

Kurt heard the soft footfall of socked feet approach the room and turned to see Blaine nervously wringing his hands. “May I use the … the toilet?”

Kurt was dumbfounded. “Yeah, yes. Yes, definitely, of course you can.” He stuttered, shaking his head to clear it. “Whenever you want.” He said, just to make sure there was no misunderstanding. “Erm… use as much toiletpaper as you like” Kurt added awkwardly.

“Thank you!” Blaine gasped before hurrying back to the bathroom as fast as his weak legs would carry him, leaving Kurt alone to wonder what this request had been about and whether Blaine hadn’t always been allowed to… No, he wouldn’t go there. The day had been too long and straining already.

Kurt was glad he seemed to have regained some strength after having dinner and taking the medication Carole had picked up at the pharmacy for him. The bed was ready when Blaine returned once more.

“Can I slee-… could… Where may I sleep, Kurt?” He asked, very quietly.

“Here, I just made up the bed for you.” Kurt kept his voice as cheery as he could. “Do you wanna lie down? It’s been a really long day, I’ll go to bed soon as well.” He pulled back the blanket for Blaine, gesturing for him to crawl in.

Slowly, never taking his eyes off Kurt Blaine sat himself down on the mattress.

“How do I please you?” Blaine asked, looking up at Kurt carefully.

The nauseas feeling that had been rising up in Kurt’s stomach off and on all day as back full force.

“You don’t have to please me, Blaine. I just want you to have a good night’s rest, okay?” He pulled the blanket up, gently guiding Blaine into a horizontal position, tucking him in gently.

“If you need anything in the night, anything at all, no matter what, don’t hesitate to call for me, okay? My room is on the upper floor, but I’ll keep my door open, so if you call for me I should be able to hear you, okay?” Kurt explained as patiently and with as much emphasis as he would to a child suffering from nightmares

Blaine nodded, eyes darting nervously to Kurt’s hands that were still holding onto Blaine’s blanket.

Kurt sighed deeply. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Try and sleep well.”

He got up slowly and walked out the door, leaving it open just a crack before heading to his own room.

Exhausted, Kurt lay on the bed, hugging one of his pillows to his chest as hard as he could, letting silent tears roll down his cheeks. Sleep wouldn’t come. He watched his alarm clock go from 9 pm to 11 pm without drifting off once. His mind was full of horrifying images of Blaine, the slaves at the market, Blaine being whipped, the trader and his syringe…

There was an urgent knock on his door. He ignored it, he knew it was Finn by the way his knuckles pounded against the wood. “Kurt?”

“Kurt, Kurt, come on please!”

“Please go away, Finn, I don’t wanna talk right now.” Kurt said quietly. Finn opened the door anyway.

“No, dude you gotta get up! I think I did something awful.”

“You did, Finn, you really shouldn’t have yelled at him, he was terrified and-“ He stopped when he saw how pale Finn looked.

“It’s Blaine.” Finn said.

“What happened?” Kurt’s eyes widened and he was on his feet pushing past Finn and running down the stairs within seconds.

Author’s note: Reviews make my day :)