Blaine awoke to a warm breeze against the skin of his back. He opened his eyes slowly, attempting to take in his surroundings.

He was lying on his stomach on a deep, plush bed of...something - moss, perhaps? - covered in a soft fabric. The room he was in seemed to be made of wood, but there was something about it that he had never seen before. Slowly, he realized that the walls seemed to be crafted from a single, unbroken piece of wood, unfinished but smooth. The room was round, and the floor was covered in ever-decreasing rings, as if it were constructed from one enormous log. There were round, glassless windows circling the room, and it smelled of green leaves and fresh wood.

Blaine heard faint movement off to one side, and he angled his head slightly toward it. Kurt was standing with his back to him, wearing form-fitting breeches and nothing else at all. He was doing something at what appeared to be a wooden table growing out of the floor. Blaine remained silent, enjoying the view.

Blaine had a few muddled memories of Kurt gently urging small sips of water and bites of something foodlike on him, and pressing his warm body against him as he drifted in and out of dreams. He also faintly remembered Kurt wrapping his arms around him and filling him with soft, cool light. Which would explain how utterly wonderful Blaine felt. It wasn't quite the same as how he'd felt after waking up at the inn in V'auda, though. This felt mellower by far, and Blaine had no desire to get up out of the bed where he lay.

He felt a smile creep across his face as Kurt bent over to pick something up from a basket on the floor. God, he had missed watching him.

And then he remembered that he had missed it because he hadn't been with Kurt.

He'd been with Sir. And Madame. And Milord.

He had let them take him, let them control him. They half-starved him and tried to make him have sex with two of them, including a woman, and they had been planning to sell him.

God, if Kurt hadn't-

Oh.

Wow.

Kurt loved him.

He hadn't been dreaming that part, had he?

He was pretty sure he hadn't been, but he was struck with a very sharp sense of uncertainty about what exactly had been real and what hadn't. Being under compulsion had felt like a dream, and breaking free from it had still kind of felt like a dream because he'd been so weak and dizzy...

Blaine wasn't aware of the panicked whimper that he emitted until Kurt turned around abruptly, a wedge of melon in one hand and a knife in the other.

His initial soft expression quickly shifted into one of concern.

"Blaine? Are you..."

"I love you," Blaine croaked desperately, his heart seeming to come to an abrupt halt in his chest as he waited for a response.

Kurt's face broke into a wide smile. He turned briefly to deposit the fruit and knife back on the table, and then walked over to Blaine, kneeling by the side of the bed. He took Blaine's hand in his.

"I love you too," he answered, gazing into Blaine's eyes with an expression that obliterated any possible cause for doubt.

They both moved into the kiss at the same time, each reaching out to cup the cheek of the other, the sweetness of it making them sigh and melt closer together.

When they pulled back, they kept their hands on one another's cheeks. Blaine smiled, feeling somehow shy.

"I was worried for a moment that I might have dreamt it."

Kurt didn't need to ask what he was referring to. "It was real," he confirmed, stroking Blaine's chin with his thumb. "And it still is."

Blaine swallowed.

"Kurt, I...I knew what he was going to do. Sir. Or whatever his name actually is. I just felt so lost and sad and..."

"Blaine. I know."

"I just...I'm so sor-"

"Blaine." Kurt held his gaze, his thumb brushing across Blaine's lips. "We should talk about it, and we will talk about it. But now...I was so scared, Blaine, but I found you. And you broke the compulsion. And...and now you know that I love you. Can we just...celebrate for right now? Maybe just love each other and put the rest of it on hold?"

Blaine smiled. "That sounds really nice, Kurt."

Kurt leaned in to kiss him again, pulling back with a soft laugh when he heard Blaine's stomach rumble loudly.

"Come on. I was just about to wake you up anyway, so you can get some actual food in your system."

Blaine moaned. "But...couldn't you just bring it over here? This bed feels so good."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him as he rose to his feet. "Blaine, the table is literally ten paces away. You have been lying in that bed since yesterday. Now get up or I will throw this painstakingly hand-picked selection of cheeses out the window."

Blaine quickly pushed himself into a sitting position. "Cheese?"

Kurt laughed and walked over to a group of hooks on the wall, pulling down a lightweight robe and tossing it to Blaine. "Yes. Cheese. I knew you would be in the mood for more than fruit and leaves after your ordeal."

Blaine stood up, suddenly processing the fact that he was naked. He looked down at himself and then smirked at Kurt.

Kurt threw his hands up. "The more exposed skin there is, the faster I am able to heal you. It was purely in the interest of medicine."

"I'm sure it was," Blaine answered smugly, pulling on the robe.

"I take no responsibility for any...indecorous thoughts that may have occurred during the process."

"Oh no?" Blaine asked, moving to sit next to Kurt at the table.

"No. That would be entirely your fault. For looking so...well..."

"Indecorous?"

"I was going to say delicious." Kurt bit into a piece of melon slowly, holding Blaine's gaze as he licked juice from his fingers.

Blaine felt himself blush slightly. Kurt was being so...playful. Blaine decided that it suited him very well.

"Eat!" Kurt urged, gesturing to the bounty spread across the table.

Kurt had outdone himself. The table was laden with sliced melon and berries, various cheeses, tender salad leaves and a large, crusty loaf of fresh bread. Kurt poured Blaine a cup of water from a large jug while Blaine ripped a large chunk of bread from the loaf.

They ate in silence for a few moments, Blaine feeling like he was tasting food for the first time in years. The fruit was sweet and succulent and perfectly ripe, and Kurt had chosen the best assortment of cheeses Blaine had ever had, which was especially impressive since he never ate it himself.

"You're too good to me," Blaine sighed, gazing at Kurt.

"Says the man who rescued me from slavery and saved my life," replied Kurt with a small smile.

"I could say the same of you. Except that you've saved my life far more often."

Kurt laughed. "After the first time, I hardly think it makes sense to keep track."

Blaine just smiled back at him fondly while he chewed, drinking in every bit of him.

"You're amazing, Kurt," he murmured softly. Kurt flushed a little as he returned Blaine's smile.

"I knew you were powerful, I could sense it the first time I ever saw you. But I never could have imagined how powerful. You just...you're amazing."

Kurt reached over and took Blaine's hand gently in his own.

"Power never comes to any good without heart, Blaine. And you are pure heart. It's...you're so brave. You saved me."

"You saved me too, Kurt."

Kurt shook his head. "I've rescued you from time to time. You saved me. I'm not talking about Dronyen. Or the verbena, or even the slavery. I'm talking about..." Kurt moved their joined hands to place Blaine's palm against his chest, covering Blaine's hand with his own, allowing him to feel Kurt's beating heart.

"Even if I'd managed to escape on my own, Blaine, without you I...I don't know what I would have become."

Blaine opened his mouth in protest, not moving his hand from Kurt's heart. He closed it when he couldn't find the words. Their eyes stayed locked for a long time.

"You...your heart is beating so fast," Blaine finally said so softly it was almost a whisper. "Is that...is it because you're a Sidhe?"

"No," Kurt answered just as softly. "It's because I'm this close to you. And because you're touching me."

Blaine swallowed. "Kurt, I...I think I've had enough to eat for right now."

Kurt nodded. "So have I."

They stood up together, their hands falling from Kurt's chest and lacing together, and moved toward the bed.

Kurt climbed into the bed and pulled Blaine down beside him. "I missed you so much," he whispered, pulling Blaine close and kissing him. Blaine let his hand slide down the smooth, soft skin of Kurt's back, throwing his leg across Kurt's hip. Blaine's robe began to slide back, and Kurt lifted Blaine's arm gently to ease it off of him completely.

As Kurt's hand moved to his hip, Blaine jerked.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked softly.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I just...I can't believe I let her touch me like this."

"Her?" Kurt asked sharply, staring at Blaine in shock. "You mean that...that woman?" He said the word as if it were offensive to even imagine her calling herself such a thing.

Blaine looked back at him nervously. "Yes. Kurt, I'm sorry, I-"

"No," Kurt said quickly, his expression softening. "No, Blaine, you didn't do anything wrong. I...I shouldn't be surprised, a large part of compulsion is de-conditioning entrenched inclinations. I just...I want to tear the wench apart with my bare hands. I want to tear all three of them apart. Gods, I can't believe they got away!"

Blaine sighed. "I'm sorry, we weren't going to talk about this. I just..."

"Blaine. Stop apologizing. You did nothing wrong."

"Yes I did, Kurt. I let him..."

"You were vulnerable and you had a moment of weakness. You were a person with a heart. That is your only crime. If anyone is to blame, Blaine, it's me."

Blaine gaped at him, stunned. "What? Kurt, no. I left you at the cafe, I didn't give you a chance to-"

"I should have followed you. I should have come after you right then and there. Well, no. What I should have done was never give you cause to leave in the first place. I should have told you everything and not been such a coward."

"You're not a coward," Blaine insisted, stroking Kurt's cheek. "You're the strongest person I've ever met."

Kurt swallowed. "Blaine, I'm not. I...I still can't even let myself consider staying with you because it terrifies me too much."

Kurt had begun to shake. Blaine pulled him closer.

Blaine wanted so much to respond, but he was holding his breath. Because this was as close as Kurt had ever come to actually contemplating a life with him. The admission felt so delicate Blaine was afraid it might tear in half if he so much as let a whisper of breath touch it.

"I'm not...just a normal Sidhe, Blaine." Now his voice was shaking too.

"I kind of figured that out, Kurt," Blaine said softly, breathing out.

"If I belonged to a different caste, I could just go with you. Even then it would be terrifying because your life is so much shorter than mine, and I don't know how I'm ever going to survive losing you, and it seems so much less painful to just lose you now, even though I'm not sure how I'm going to survive that either..."

He was clutching Blaine tightly now, and his skin had gone even paler than it usually was.

"It's all right, Kurt," Blaine soothed. "It's all right to be scared. I'm here. I'm right here."

Kurt drew a deep, shaky breath, and squeezed Blaine even tighter.

"But, Kurt, if it were me..." Blaine ventured tentatively. "If I could either lose you now or lose you years from now, I would take the years. I would take every second I could get. I...I know it isn't fair. But the only thing in the world that I know I want is you."

"It's...it's about more than what I want, Blaine," Kurt said in a small voice.

"What else, then?" Blaine asked gently.

"I...Blaine, I just got you back. I don't want to ruin it. If I promise that I'll tell you soon, can we just-"

"Love each other and put the rest of it on hold?" Blaine supplied gently. "Of course. That was the plan, wasn't it? I'm sorry, I-"

"Blaine!"

"Oh! I'm sorry! I mean, no, I'm just...I'm sorry that I keep saying I'm sorry!"

Kurt laughed, loosening his ferocious grip on Blaine slightly. He tilted his head to meet his eyes.

"I love you," he said, and that was all it took. Blaine's lips found his, and they became lost in one another's bodies.

Blaine unlaced Kurt's breeches and peeled them off, grabbing him around the ass and pulling their bodies flush against each other. They slid together for a few moments before Kurt pulled back, pushing Blaine down onto his back and straddling him.

"I don't care who else has touched you, Blaine. You're perfect and I love you and you're mine. Will you let me show you?"

Blaine simply stared at Kurt straddling him, naked and aroused and glowing with slight perspiration, and nodded.

Kurt began kissing Blaine's neck softly, moving his lips across the sensitive flesh of his throat while his hands gently caressed Blaine's chest. Blaine moaned softly while Kurt slowly worked his way downward, both mouth and hands progressing ever lower.

When he reached Blaine's stomach, Kurt skimmed his fingertips up and down his legs, the lightest touch imaginable, making Blaine shiver. He moved his mouth to Blaine's erection, teasing it lightly with his tongue before crawling up the length of Blaine's body. Kurt paused to kiss Blaine delicately on the lips before moving his mouth to Blaine's ear.

Kurt traced the shape of Blaine's ear with the tip of his tongue before whispering "Blaine, would you please turn over and close your eyes," and kissing his earlobe.

Breathing heavily, Blaine complied. He felt Kurt move away from the bed and then return.

He felt Kurt's lips against his ear again, and he shuddered at the erotic rush that the tickle of his breath sent through his entire body.

"Tell me if you don't like this, but I-"

"I'll like it," Blaine gasped out. "Anything you want to do, Kurt...I'll like it."

Kurt smiled against his ear. "All right. Just lie there. Keep your eyes closed. Let me take care of you."

Blaine expelled something between a whimper and a sigh as he felt the familiar drizzle of tingling liquid across his back. Kurt straddled him, and Blaine could feel the strain of Kurt's erection against the crack of his ass. He shifted slightly and groaned at the sensation just as Kurt began to massage his shoulders.

It was undeniably erotic, but also just...really relaxing. Kurt kneaded the muscles of his neck, shoulders and biceps and then moved down his back, the oil not only heightening the sensation of Kurt's touch but seeming to speed the relaxation of his muscles as well.

When he reached Blaine's tailbone, Kurt lifted himself from his seat on Blaine's ass and moved his oil-slicked hands there instead. He kneaded the cheeks and began pressing light kisses to them as well, and Blaine sighed with pleasure.

He felt Kurt shift off of him, and then felt a gentle nudge at his hip.

"Blaine," Kurt said softly. "Would you lift...?"

Blaine lifted his hips and allowed Kurt to stack pillows beneath them, his heart beginning to pound as he contemplated where this might be leading.

He felt Kurt settle in between his thighs, gently pushing his legs further apart with his hands.

And then he felt Kurt's hands on his ass again, and hot breath mingling with cool air as Kurt spread him open.

"Oh, God," Blaine whimpered, and felt himself shamelessly arching up toward Kurt's mouth.

This seemed to be all the encouragement Kurt needed, because he spread Blaine's cheeks even further, and then the slick tip of an oiled tongue was teasing Blaine's entrance.

Blaine bucked slightly, and even though Kurt's hands were holding him gently in place, the movement caused Kurt's tongue to dip slightly inside. Blaine gripped the bed coverings and cried out.

Kurt began darting his tongue in and out, moving it from side to side to begin stretching Blaine slightly. Blaine was writhing beneath him, alternating between grinding into the pillows underneath him and arching into the wet heat of Kurt's tongue.

And then Kurt's tongue was more deeply inside of him than he had ever thought possible. Certainly deeper than it was possible for any human tongue to penetrate, and it was so close...so close to the spot Blaine wanted it to reach, and just the thought, the mere idea of being licked there made him squirm uncontrollably.

"Kurt," he gasped out, Please. I want you...I want you to make love to me."

Kurt pulled his tongue out of Blaine, and Blaine began shifting in order to turn over.

"I want to see you," he said softly. Kurt moved so as to allow Blaine to re-situate himself.

Kurt moved his fingers to Blaine's entrance to continue opening him up, and Blaine groaned with relief when the slender fingertips grazed the spot inside where he'd been yearning for contact.

When Kurt finally thrust into him, it was with "I love you" breathed against Blaine's lips. Blaine kissed him and then breathed the same words back.

They made love slowly, losing eye contact only long enough to kiss softly, making noises that were sometimes words, but mostly fell into gibberish when they realized there was nothing they could say to capture what they were feeling. At least nothing breathy and succinct and obtainable through a haze of pleasure.

There was "I love you," of course, and they did say that, and one another's names, and the names of deities. But nothing that wasn't Kurt or Blaine or love or divinity had any place between them as their hips rocked together and they stared into each other's eyes, so deep that they almost left their bodies while simultaneously letting their bodies take over completely.

The buildup was so slow that they didn't notice precisely when soft pleasure turned to heavy passion, but their breath became more ragged and their bodies became sweatier and Blaine was thrusting his hips up roughly to meet each of Kurt's pounding thrusts into him and they were yelling instead of moaning and their eyes were barely in focus.

And they never broke their gaze, neither lost sight of the other man's eyes, tethering them to one another as they rode out the crashing waves of their release.

There was a brief moment afterward, when Kurt collapsed onto Blaine and they both just worked on trying not to forget how to breathe, but as soon as they moved onto their sides to face one another their eyes were locked again.

"Kurt?" he said it in a whisper, not wanting anything to shatter the perfect calm that had settled around them.

"Yes?" Also a whisper. He stroked Blaine's arm gently.

"How do you say I Love You in your language?"

Kurt said it.

Blaine's eyes prickled with tears, but he kept them trained on Kurt. "That's beautiful. I wish I could say it too."

"I think you say it perfectly, Blaine," Kurt replied, wiping a tear from his cheek.