The Source of Our Power: Chapter 10

"Blaine, faster!" Kurt's breath was hot on his ear.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Kurt."

"You are not. You're holding back. Come on!"

"Kurt, I don't want to-"

"Come on!"

Blaine took a deep breath and surged forward, Kurt's grip tightening around him as he did.

"Blaine, there!"

"What...you can't mean there?"

"Yes. Right there. Come on!"

"I'm not going to fit!"

"You'll be fine."

"Kurt..."

"Blaine, your body can move in ways the rest of us can only dream about. You've got this. Now go!"

Blaine bit his lip and leaned to the right, guiding the motorcycle toward the tiny gap in the crumbling stone wall that bordered the forest they were traveling beside. Behind them the van was closing in fast, and he and Kurt were very clearly outnumbered. Finding way to put some distance between themselves and the Hellions hot on their tail was the only immediate solution.

"Hold on!" Blaine's throat was sore from yelling to be heard.

Kurt tightened his arms around Blaine's waist even more, his hips flush against Blaine's ass. Blaine swallowed hard, switching the bike to its proper setting for off-roading seconds before leaving the pavement. The loud mechanical whir of the tread readjusting itself was slightly audible over the quiet purr of the engine and the loud thrum of the wind in their ears. The bike leapt slightly as it hit the dirt, and the gap was so narrow, and god – what if they couldn't-

Blaine gritted his teeth as he took aim, holding as steady as possible over the uneven terrain, trying not to even think about what would happen if Kurt had miscalculated and they couldn't make it through. He pressed his legs in hard against the frame of the vehicle, and prayed that Kurt was doing the same.

The van was even closer, and Blaine heard an alarmingly loud bang, a bullet whizzing past them and hitting a tree with a loud crack. Blaine didn't spare a moment to react to the noise or what it signified, didn't allow himself even a nanosecond to wonder how on earth the Hellions had gotten ahold of guns (or why they were driving a van, for that matter). Instead he slammed down the accelerator, focusing his entire concentration to that one tiny finite gap that maybe, if he was very, very lucky, he could manage to get himself and Kurt through without getting killed...

Kurt's hold grew impossibly tighter and Blaine willed himself not to close his eyes as they shot through the narrow opening. Blaine felt a sharp flash of pain on his outer calf followed by the sensation of cool air on the skin of his leg. He felt Kurt go slightly lax behind him, his grip loosening ever-so-slightly.

They were through.

Blaine allowed himself only the barest second to relax before registering that the danger had not left them. They were hurtling down a tiny, thin, and badly overgrown dirt path through the trees, and as they heard a sickening smash of metal against stone behind them, their way suddenly grew quite a bit darker. The Hellions, with obvious disregard for both the state of their vehicle and their own hides, had smashed the van into the wall, handily destroying both headlights in the process. Regardless of the obvious intensity of the impact, it was only a few seconds before the sounds of shouting and the mindless firing of guns filled the air, the demons extracting themselves from the ruined vehicle and proceeding to follow them on foot.

Blaine concentrated on maintaining control of the bike as he thought. The solar cells would be almost depleted soon, and he hadn't replaced the back-up unit in almost a week. Kurt definitely had an extra battery with him, but it would mean stopping long enough to change the batteries out.

The bike was fairly quiet, but not entirely silent. They would have to put a fair amount of distance between themselves and the Hellions before Blaine could cut the engine without alerting the demons to their whereabouts.

Not wanting to yell, Blaine reached down with one hand and gave Kurt's clasped hands a brief squeeze. Kurt took the hint and wrapped his arms around Blaine more securely.

Blaine took a deep breath and flicked the turbo switch. The bike very nearly flew forward as its speed increased exponentially. Concentrating hard, Blaine hurtled them forth into the night.

"What do you mean you don't have a battery pack?" Blaine whispered harshly as he walked his now-depleted motorcycle down the path.

"Do you honestly want me to repeat myself, or are you just asking for dramatic effect?" Kurt snapped.

"But you always have an extra battery pack on you!"

"Well, there wasn't enough room in my bag for the battery and my water bottle, Blaine. I thought you replaced it this morning. You should have replaced it this morning."

Blaine sighed miserably. "I forgot."

"Clearly."

"All right, well I suppose we can-"

Kurt looked up. "It's a full moon tonight," he observed.

"Um...Kurt, we kind of have a situation here. Maybe we could stay on-topic?"

Kurt looked back at Blaine and rolled his eyes. "The moonlight should be strong enough to give us a decent recharge. We'll just have to lay low for a bit and hope they don't sniff us out."

Blaine glanced up at the moon through the branches above them and then back at Kurt. "Moonlight can recharge it? How is that even possible?"

Kurt shrugged. "The solar cells are very powerful." He curled his lips into a slight smirk. "And it is possible that my father just might have charmed the cells to take a lunar charge. But you didn't hear it from me."

Blaine smiled. "Your father is kind of amazing."

Kurt beamed back at him and shrugged. "Yeah."

It didn't take long for them to find a tiny clearing with enough exposure to the moon to allow the bike to charge, but secluded enough to (hopefully) keep them safe from discovery. Blaine knew he could fight if he needed to, but nine large demons armed with rifles were definitely more than he could handle on his own. Once the bike recharged, they could hopefully rejoin Rachel and Mercedes and coordinate a more realistic plan of attack.

Kurt sat down on a patch of soft moss and leaned back against a large boulder. He patted the ground next to himself. Blaine smiled and sat down next to him.

They were quiet for awhile, listening for sounds of the demons that had pursued them. Blaine hoped they would give up the chase, giving Kurt and himself the opportunity to find the others and regroup before facing them again. But he held himself at the ready just in case.

"How's your shoulder?" He whispered to Kurt. Kurt laughed softly.

"For the fiftieth time, Blaine, it's fine. Lauren knows what she's doing. She fixed me right up."

Blaine smiled sheepishly, and leaned his head back against the boulder. "I know. I just...I don't want you patrolling with me if you're hurt."

"Blaine, I told you, I'm-"

"And I don't want you getting hurt again because of me."

Kurt sighed and reached out, stroking Blaine's cheek softly. Blaine sighed and leaned into the contact before Kurt blinked and pulled his hand back quickly.

"You...I just..." Kurt turned his gaze to his hands, his cheeks slightly pink. He picked up a pebble from the ground beneath his knees, and began turning it around in his hands.

"It wasn't your fault, Blaine. If I get hurt on the job, it isn't your fault," Kurt said firmly, his eyes trained on the pebble. It was pale orange, shot with a band of mottled gray. It really was quite pretty.

"But it's my job to keep you safe," Blaine argued softly, gazing at Kurt's pebble as well.

Kurt looked at him. "And it's my job to keep you safe. You need to understand that, Blaine. It's why the Council still pairs Slayers with Watchers. We're a team. We need each other, and we both know what we're signing up for." Kurt sighed, his face shifting into a sad smile. "Even if you didn't exactly have any choice in the matter."

Blaine smiled back. "Maybe not. But it was my choice to stay with you. I can't imagine being with anyone else."

Kurt dropped his gaze back to the pebble in his hands. Neither of them said anything for a few moments, Kurt watching his pebble and Blaine watching Kurt's long fingers as the spun the little rock in tight, deft patterns. His eyes flickered to Kurt's face when he began to speak.

"I never did check in with you properly about your conversation with Angelus. How was it?"

"It was...illuminating. But I doubt he told me anything you didn't already know."

Kurt shook his head. "I don't imagine so. I'm sorry you weren't able to get answers sooner, but I really thought they should come from him, and he's difficult to get ahold of at the best of times."

"How long have you known him?" Blaine asked, resting the side of his head against the boulder again.

Kurt looked up at him.

"I've always known him. He's always kind of just...been there. He's saved my life on more occasions that I'd care to count. I never know when he'll swoop in. He's like my extremely flammable guardian angel." Kurt chuckled softly.

"He's always watched over you," Blaine whispered. Kurt looked at him and nodded. "He said he's done the same for me. Because I'm his family. But your family...well, you..."

"Cursed him?"

Blaine shrugged nervously in affirmation.

"Yes, well, I don't know that he has any particular allegiance to the Kalderashes, though he does owe us a few times over despite the curse." Blaine raised his eyebrows at the trace of bitterness in Kurt's tone. "But the Summers...Well, you know about Buffy Summers, of course."

Blaine nodded. "The last lone Slayer."

"Did you know about...her history with Angel?"

Blaine simply stared at him.

"They were lovers," Kurt provided.

Blaine swallowed, unsure of why exactly that information made his throat go dry. "Oh."

"It was complicated, from what I gather – they could never truly be together, as the one time they tried they ended up breaking the curse and releasing Angelus and the world almost ended, but they loved each other. And they were...with each other in one sense or another, although never completely, never really together, until the day that she died."

"That...that's so sad," Blaine whispered, his eyes shining.

Kurt turned to face him, leaning his head back against the boulder to mirror Blaine's position. "I know. And he promised to watch after her children, and their children...I don't know if she meant to ask him to look after all her descendents, but he seemed to take that as a given. And now...well, I'm the last one."

"Maybe not," Blaine argued. "You could have children one day." Kurt gave a short laugh.

"Not if I have to stay in the Mid States, Blaine. You know it's illegal for those of us who have chosen the homosexual lifestyle to raise children here. And even if I do raise children one day, it's unlikely that they'd be of my bloodline." Kurt sighed. "Besides," he added, "I don't know if I could live with myself if I chose to bring a child into this world."

"Don't say that," Blaine admonished softly. "The world needs children."

"Does it?" Kurt asked sadly, gazing back down at his pebble. "The world has more children that it can reasonably take care of. If I do raise children...I think it would be one of those that have been orphaned or abandoned. I wouldn't take pains to create a new child, when there are so many without love in the world already."

Kurt looked back at Blaine, and his eyes were brimming with emotion. With grief and compassion and an acceptance of the world as it was without resignation to its failings. His eyes were so intense that Blaine could feel Kurt's gaze rippling all the way down to his soul.

And he didn't think. He couldn't. Blaine's body moved as if of it's own accord. Because one moment he was staring at Kurt, and the next moment his eyes were closed and he was pulling Kurt close and his lips were soft and warm and slightly dry against his own.

He didn't think as he threaded his fingers gently through Kurt's hair, didn't think as he tilted his head and parted his lips to deepen the kiss, and when his brain finally did re-engage, set and ready to panic, he didn't even take pause. Because in that moment it became entirely clear that Kurt was kissing him back.

Kurt wasn't merely kissing him back, Kurt was clutching Blaine's face with one hand, his other snaking around Blaine's waist, and Blaine allowed Kurt to slowly lower him to the ground, parting his knees to allow Kurt to settle between them.

Kurt pulled back slightly, panting. "Blaine..." he whispered hoarsely, and hearing Kurt say his name like that only made Blaine surge toward him and kiss him even harder. Kurt began melting into him, the warmth of his body pressing Blaine into the cool grass beneath him. Blaine felt his mind drift, his conscious thoughts begin to dissolve into a mist of pleasure and comfort and absolute serenity.

Which was probably why he didn't react quickly enough when Kurt grew slightly stiff in his arms, and then tore himself off of Blaine, sitting bolt upright and staring at him with an utterly bewildering mixture of lust, confusion and horror.

"Oh, fuck. Blaine, I'm...I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have...I wasn't thinking, I just...fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

Kurt rubbed his hands across his face hard, continuing to swear under his breath.

Blaine propped himself up on his elbows. "Kurt, it's okay. I was the one...I mean, I started it. I thought...I thought you liked it."

Kurt's hands dropped into his lap and he stared at Blaine incredulously. "Of course I liked it, Blaine, that isn't the point. The point is that our relationship is important, boundaries are important, and we can't do this. We can't work together if we're going to do this."

Blaine's eyes went wide. He scrambled into a sitting position, desperately reaching for Kurt's hand. Kurt pulled it away with a harsh gasp.

"No...Kurt, I want to stay with you. I want you to be my Watcher. I honestly don't think I could stand to work with anyone else. Please. We can...it doesn't have to be one or the other, Kurt. We can be more to each other too, we can-"

"Blaine, we can't," Kurt said fiercely. "We can't have it both ways, it doesn't work that way."

Blaine gave him an incredulous look. "What are you talking about? There aren't any rules against it – there have been Slayers that have married their Watchers, Kurt."

Kurt shook his head. "That's different. That's...we can't jeopardize our professional relationship over a physical attraction, Blaine. I've just been alone for a fair while, and I'm sure you have too, and it's only natural that this kind of thing could happen. But it's just an attraction, Blaine. It's not enough to risk everything for."

Blaine couldn't even blink. He swallowed hard. "Just an attraction," he echoed hollowly.

Kurt looked at him, his eyes softening. "Well, what else could it be?" He asked pointedly.

Blaine didn't answer. He couldn't answer. He felt like he'd been punched in the chest repeatedly. He felt like he was about to start crying, and he didn't even know why. Words felt small and flimsy and pathetic and he couldn't even begin to imagine how to use them to express anything. He just continued to stare at Kurt.

"Look, Blaine," Kurt continued, leaning back against the boulder and sighing. He didn't have his little pebble anymore – he must have dropped it while he was kissing Blaine – so he merely stared at his hands instead. "You...I've been training you pretty hard and you haven't had much of a social life outside of work. You should...you should get out more. Meet some people. Date. You need to know that I'm not your only option, even if it feels that way."

Blaine shook his head. "No," he whispered. "It's not...that's not it. That's not why I like you, Kurt."

Kurt bit his lip. "Blaine, it's just-"

He stopped abruptly at a faint sound in the distance. Both boys sat up a bit straighter.

The growled cursing and graceless clomping through the underbrush was still a ways off, but moving unmistakably in their direction.

"Do you think it's charged enough?" Blaine whispered.

"I think so. Enough to get us back into Lima, anyhow." Kurt quickly jumped to his feet.

Blaine simply stared at Kurt's figure moving toward the bike for a moment and sighed. He cast his gaze to the ground for a moment and something caught his eye.

It was the little pebble Kurt had been toying with.

Casting a quick glance toward Kurt, who was checking the charge levels on the solar cells on Blaine's bike, Blaine slipped the stone into his pocket before standing up and moving to join him.

Dave ducked just in time to miss the large ceramic jug being hurled at his head.

"Is there actually anything you can't fuck up?" Quinn demanded. "Really. Because I'd like to know."

"You know, if you'd stop being such a bitch and listen to me for five se- fuck!" Dave clutched the back of his head where a plate had just slammed into him, landing on the hard concrete floor and shattering noisily.

"Listen to you?" Tina intoned. "The last time we listened to you, that little fucking boy Slayer plucked the Summers boy right out of our hands, you ugly cretin. And then you go creep around his house without even consulting us first-"

Dave managed to dodge a second plate from Tina, though Quinn's sugar bowl clipped him in the chin. Dave caught it before it hit the floor and threw it back at her.

Quinn's eyes widened in shock as she ducked to miss the heirloom. She glared up at him.

"What exactly do you not understand here, Dave? You're out. Everything you touch turns to sunlight and ashes. If it weren't for you screwing up all our plans-"

"But that guy. The one at the house. I'm pretty sure I know who it is. It's-"

"Was it Spike or Angel?" Tina asked, sounding bored. She dropped the last few plates, and moved to stand beside Quinn.

"Uh...Angel. But how did you know that?"

Tina and Quinn glanced at one another and giggled softly. "Oh, Dave. This is the Summers boy we're talking about here. Don't you do your homework? Talk to other vampires? Listen when Tina and I have conversations?"

Dave scratched the back of his neck. "Uh...no?"

"Well, then that's another thing we can add to the list of things that make you an idiot. Trust me, Dave, those two skulk around the Summers' like panting dogs, waiting to rut up against anything the Summers women spit out. Of course now that he's seen you, Angel probably won't leave the perimeter for the next decade. So thank you for making everything about this that much more difficult. I'm sure the boss will be staking us any day now."

Dave glared at Quinn but glanced up the basement stairs before responding. A soft chuckle drifted down from the landing, and Quinn and Tina both froze.

"Yes, Dave, I think it's probably best if you let me take it from here," Jesse said smugly as he descended the stairs. "In fact, I probably should have-"

Jesse broke off in an undignified shriek as Tina lunged at him hungrily.

"Back off!" He snapped, regaining his composure just in time to thrust his palm toward her, creating an invisible barrier. Tina clawed at it furiously.

"Fuck, Dave, you can't even bring dinner without fucking it up! Seriously? A warlock?"

"He isn't dinner," Dave started to explain.

"Then why did you bother bringing him?" Quinn hissed. "The old woman that lived here was all skin and bones. And she was disgusting - I think she had a blood disease or something. We haven't had a decent meal in days."

"And he'll be sure to make sure that you get one before the night is through, isn't that right, Dave?" Jesse asked smoothly.

Dave sighed and shrugged. "Yeah. I...I wasn't trying to be a fang-tease or anything, guys, he just...he told me if I brought him to you you'd take me back maybe. It's a lot harder to get guys to follow me places without you around."

"Oh how sweet," Tina cooed. "And here I thought you just loved us for our minds, Dave. So what's this smarmy little fleshpot got that would make us want you back anyway?"

"We're all working for the same cause," Jesse answered. Quinn laughed.

"Sweetheart, I'm just working for fresh blood and pretty shoes. Whatever cause you might think I'm invested in-"

"Oh? So you aren't trying to get ahold of the Summers boy? You don't want to ensure that he's available for the ritual?"

Quinn's eyes narrowed. "What's your angle, blood puppet?"

Jesse smiled. "Does it matter?"

Tina laughed sharply. "Of course it matters. Are you asking us to just blindly trust you or something? How could you possibly benefit from the ritual?"

Jesse's smile turned cool. "I've been promised some things of value. Look, all you need to know is that we have the same boss. And she's not pleased with your performance thus far." Jesse removed his ear-clip and held the phone out to Quinn as she rolled her eyes in response. "Here. Call her if you don't believe me. I'm sure she'd just love to hear from you – she's been wondering why you've been out of touch for so long, actually."

Quinn eyed the phone with disgust. "So let's say you are telling the truth. What do you need us for? And why drag Mr. Universe back into it?" she gestured vaguely toward Dave.

"Well. I was hoping you would ask," Jesse answered, pausing dramatically to meet each of their eyes in turn. "I've been inside the Summers boy's house. I have his trust. Or at least...I have the trust of someone that can help us get to him. But I'll need your help. All three of you."

The three vampires stared at him for a long moment. Finally, Quinn sighed. "Fine. But can we please get something to eat first? And...see if you can find a scarf or something. Your neck is fucking distracting."

Jesse laughed triumphantly. "But of course. Shall we?" He motioned for the three to precede him up the stairs.

Tina rolled her eyes. "I really want to kill him," she muttered to Quinn.

Quinn smirked. "Shhh. Let's just get the kid. I'm sure the boss won't care what we do with the mouthy warlock after that."

Both women smiled sweetly at Jesse as they brushed past him and made their way up the stairs, Dave giving Jesse a pointed look as he followed. Jesse simply smiled in return, and gave Dave a nod before ascending the staircase behind them.

"Hello?"

"Is this Blaine?"

"Um, yes. Who..."

"This is Jeremiah. We...um...we met the other day? At your house?"

"Oh. Of course. How are you doing?"

"Fine. I was actually calling to see if you wanted to...uh, get together sometime?"

"Oh. You mean like..."

"Just dinner. Or..or coffee. Something like that. It doesn't have to be a-"

"Sure."

"What?"

"I'd love to."

"Oh. Well...um...great. Are you free tomorrow?"

"I don't know, I can che- actually? I think I've earned a night off. Tomorrow sounds great. Maybe around 7?"

"Wow. I mean...yeah. Sounds great. I...uh...I'll pick you up at 7."

Jeremiah tapped his ear-clip to disconnect the call, and exhaled mightily, sinking down into the dining room chair he had been pacing around.

"Well?" Jesse asked, walking into the room with two steaming mugs and nudging him gently.

"He said yes."

Jesse gave him a smug smile and sat down across from him, handing Jeremiah one of the mugs of coffee in his hands. "Of course he did. I told you he liked you."

"Yeah...I just...I don't know if I should have let you talk me into this, Jesse. I mean, Kurt-"

Jesse waved a hand dismissively. "Kurt's fine with it. He told me so himself."

Jeremiah looked a bit skeptical. "He did? I just thought...I mean, things between he and I ended kind of...well, you know."

Jesse chuckled. "That was practically eons ago, Jerry. You guys seem to get along fine now."

Jeremiah traced the rim of his coffee cup. "Yeah, I just...after what happened, I mean...going out with his Slayer and all seems a little below the belt, don't you think? Maybe I should call him, just to make sure."

"Jeremiah." Jesse's tone was serious. "Don't call Kurt." Jeremiah looked up and met his eyes, swallowing his mouthful of coffee very slowly.

"I..." Jeremiah's eyes took on a glazed quality for a brief moment, and then he blinked rapidly, clearing them. "Yeah. That was a stupid idea. I won't call Kurt." Jeremiah fidgeted a bit, and then broke into a wide grin. "God, he is cute though, isn't he? And he seems so nice...fuck, Jesse, I can't wait for tomorrow night!"

Jesse sipped at his coffee and looked back at Jeremiah. "Neither can I," he said with a wink, a smile crawling across his lips.