The helicopter landed at the airfield and the boys got off, Blaine jumping down and the co-pilot handing Kurt down to him. His knee seemed to be healed for the most part, but they were not taking any chances. Once they had both gotten their balance back from the turbulent ride, the boys turned to the field and saw Kurt's Navigator parked there and two boys waiting.

Coming across at a run were Finn and Puck, gathering the boys into big hugs and twirling them around in an enthusiastic greeting. Blaine and Kurt turned to wave at the pilot, thankful once more that Mr. Warner was so generous.

The luggage was packed in the back of the SUV and they were on the road back to their house in Philomath. As sad as it was to say goodbye to the summer and all their private time, Blaine and Kurt were also happy to be getting back to see their friends and family and to start their new life in college. They sat in the back seat, letting Finn drive and Puck in the passenger seat. The music was loud, the conversation endless, and by the time they got to the house, Kurt was tired again. Blaine seemed to weather the storm a bit better and hopped out of the vehicle, holding his hand out to help Kurt. With Finn and Puck, they made their way up the long staircase to their suite and set the suitcases down.

"Thanks, guys, for all your help, we appreciate it," Kurt said, hugging his brother one more time. He had heard all the family gossip, along with everything that was going on with their friends from New Directions, on the way from the airfield and were ready for some peace and quiet. Finn could tell his brother was trying to be polite, so he herded an enthusiastic Puck back down the stairs to play a bit of basketball until lunch.

Alone at last, Blaine sat on the bed and scooted over to the center, patting the space beside him. Kurt joined him and heaved a huge sigh of relief. It had been a long morning. They had gotten out of bed at five, feeding the goats for the last time. They took JayJay, the flying squirrel, up to the cook house for Shannon to take care of. The little guy was about ready to rejoin the rest of the flying squirrels near the camp now, but he still had a little to learn first....like how to get his own food. Lenore had a plan for that, and the boys were willing to let her try.

Then it was a big breakfast with Mr. Warner and Cooper, who had been hanging around the last few days, knowing it might be a while before he saw his brother again. Blaine had been fine saying goodbye to everyone until he came to Cooper, and the flood of tears came. Coop said he would be visiting at the house in Philomath within the next month, so Blaine could calm down, but it didn't work and Kurt had to hold his hand the entire flight.

Before leaving Philomath last time, the boys had purchased new furniture. Some from flea markets, some new from stores, and some from antique or second hand shops. They hadn't seen any of it actually in the rooms because it didn't arrive until after they had left, so Kurt was hoping they had made good choices, ones that went well together. Kurt looked around. He had left detailed instructions for Finn and Puck, but it looked like they had paid them no heed and just threw things in there wherever they fit. At least the linen on the bed was fresh and the curtains were up.

After lying in the bed for a few minutes, they got up to see what the adjacent room might look like now. Kurt let out a whistle as he walked through the double doors. There was a new upright piano against one wall and a library of sheet music in the bookcase behind it. One wall had bookshelves with CDs and a stereo system, but the part that caught Kurt's eye was the beautiful drafting table in the center of the room, angled so the sun came in the window and bathed the surface in soft light. Kurt walked across the floor, marveling at the beautiful room. He walked over to the French doors and opened them to the small patio. Walking out, he immediately smelled the flowers. All along the edges of the balcony were big terracotta planters, each one with a Stargazer Lily in it. Kurt turned to Blaine, who was holding back not sure if Kurt would like them.

"Oh, Blaine...this is just wonderful. Thank you," he said with a sunny smile. Blaine grinned at him, happy the little surprise was so well received.

"Oh, that was a long flight, Kurt. Shall we rest for a while before starting dinner? Your folks are due in about four and Finn said he's picking them up from the airport," Blaine said.

"It will be so good to see them, Blaine. I miss Dad. I miss Carole, too, but my dad and I were all we had in the world for so long, it's hard to be without him. Plus, I can hardly wait to tell them we're engaged!

Finn had left to go pick Burt and Carole up at the airport while Blaine and Kurt were busy rearranging their furniture and then getting the guest room ready. The house had come with some furniture, and the guest room had a bed, nightstands, two dressers, two wing chairs and a little table in between. It opened onto the garden, as did all the rooms on this side of the house, kitchen included. It was done in shades of gray and beige with warm chocolate and accents of forest green. Kurt couldn't have designed it better himself.

Dinner was ready...a simple soup and salad that Kurt and Blaine had put together that afternoon. It was rather warm out, bordering on hot, so the couple was in the back yard, lounging under the trees in the huge hammock together. Blaine was wearing running shorts and no shirt, barefoot. He lay back in the hammock, his head and shoulders on the pile of pillows they had brought out. Beside him was a small redwood table with a pitcher of pink lemonade. Kurt had squeezed the lemons just a few minutes ago, adding sugar and ice and finally strained some crushed raspberries into the pitcher to make it pink. He garnished it with mint leaves picked from the garden. Blaine poured himself a tall glass, taking long slow swallows of the sour drink with just the right amount of sweetness. He smiled when Kurt returned with a plate of almond-poppy seed muffins slathered with butter and fresh from the over.

"Oh, Kurt, those smell heavenly!" Blaine crowed, appreciating Kurt so much right now. He was dressed in aqua blue Bermuda shorts, a pale mint green sleeveless fitted shirt, suspenders and was also barefoot. Setting the muffins down, he sat next to Blaine and flipped his legs up on the hammock and soon they were cuddled close together on the pillows.

Puck strolled into the backyard, grinning when he saw the lemonade and muffins.

"Can I have some?" he asked, sitting down on a chaise lounge and putting his feet up.

"Of course. That's your gramma's muffin recipe, you know," Kurt smiled. Puck nodded his head. He missed his gramma and was saving money to bring her out for a visit.

"So, your folks are due here pretty soon, eh? They don't know you two are engaged, do they?" Puck asked, eying the boys in the hammock.

"No, we wanted to tell them in person," Kurt said. He couldn't help but look over at Blaine, who had ducked his head and was blushing just a little. He looked up at Kurt, the love showing all over his face and then over at Puck. Puck just grinned. He had been one of Kurt's closest friends since kindergarten and seeing him this happy was just amazing.

Before they could say anything more, the back door opened and Burt walked into the yard, followed by Carole and Finn. Finn had his arm around his mom like he was never going to let her go and leaned over to place a kiss on her head every once in a while.

"Dad!" Kurt shouted and scrambled to get out of the hammock to go and hug his father. With Blaine's help, he made it without tipping them both over and stood up to throw his arms around his dad.

Burt was thrilled to see his son. He held him close, burying his face in Kurt's sweet smelling embrace. Burt missed the scent of vanilla and jasmine. He chuckled a little, letting Kurt go. He held his arms for a minute, then slid his hands down past Kurt's elbows, wrists and stopped at his hands, giving them a squeeze. He was looking in Kurt's face, seeing his son smile when he realized he was wearing a ring on his left hand. Burt looked down to see a white gold band with tiny sapphires and stars carved in it. His eyes got wide and he stared at the ring, holding Kurt's hand in front of his face.

A quick glance over to Blaine and he got a glimpse of a platinum ring with interwoven gold ribbons. He looked back at Kurt.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us, Kurt?"

There was a moment of Kurt taking in a big breath, his prepared speech completely forgotten. Blaine stepped up in back of Kurt, his arms going around Kurt's waist and pulling him close. He kissed his cheek and smiled up at Burt.

"I asked Kurt to marry me. He said 'yes'." Blaine's face was a study in ecstasy. He turned to look at Kurt, his eyes sparkling and the sunshine in his smile beaming out. Kurt looked back the same way, and they were lost in their own little world for a moment. They might have stood there for hours, just staring into each other's eyes, but Finn came up to congratulate them and Carole was right behind. Puck and Finn knew the boys had rings, but had held back saying anything until Kurt and Blaine made the decision to tell everyone.

The happy gathering all sat down, Kurt poured lemonade and passed out muffins while they all talked about what was going on in their lives. It finally came around again that the boys were engaged and Carole asked when they had planned the wedding.

"Well, it isn't planned yet. We need to see about the legal aspects of it and make arrangements first, then think about how we want to proceed," Blaine answered.

"Kurt, Blaine. I know you might have thought that my picking up and moving everything to Washington was just a whim. I want you to know that it wasn't. Carole and I talked about it for months and we just kept coming to the same conclusion: we wanted to be closer to you three. It was too hard to stay in that backwater town, knowing that the people there had a certain mindset. I only wish I had gotten the courage to move you away from there sooner, Kurt. Things might have happened a lot differently if I had. Like no bullying, and what you had to endure for so many years. I'm sorry, son," Burt said.

Kurt took his father's hand.

"Dad, I don't blame you for the things that happened to me. I know there are gay kids everywhere and they all have to deal with the way society is structured, how they think. If we had moved away, I would never have the amazing friends I have today. It might be the diversity that made me cling to them more, made them closer to me. And if it hadn't been for the incident on the night of that school dance, I might never have met Blaine. I do not want to even think about that, not ever. If it took that horrible experience for me to have Blaine in my life, then thank goodness it happened."

Burt hugged his son again.

"Well, I moved to Washington instead of Oregon because same-sex marriage is legal there. As college students, both you and Blaine are therefore legal residents of Washington so you can get married there. I'm not saying you should rush into this, not at all. You are both so young, but when the time comes you can get married in Washington," Burt said, wiping a few tears away.

"Thank you, Dad," Kurt said, smiling and gripping Burt's hand tightly.

"Thank you, Burt," Blaine said and hugged the man who would soon be his father-in-law.

"We are talking about having the wedding next summer, actually," Kurt said. Burt's eyes opened wide, but he didn't say anything. Carole smiled at the boys and took another sip of her lemonade. They changed the subject and talked on, relaxing under the trees until evening when they went back in the house to escape the mosquitoes and fix dinner.

~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Oregon State University.

Kurt stood in the hallway waiting his turn to see his advisor. He had sort of met him before – via email soon after being accepted at Oregon State. Dr. Forsythe seemed to be a rather popular person judging from the line of people waiting outside his office. Several students were sitting on the benches, but Kurt was standing – leaning heavily on the wall and his cane. His knee was indeed better, but it had not regained all the strength he'd lost and after a long day of walking across campus it was very sore.

One more student was ushered into the inner office of the advisor by an assistant and Kurt pushed himself away from the wall to move forward in line when his knee gave out. He was in the brace, but it didn't help if the knee collapsed all together. Kurt went down hard, hitting the floor with a resounding smack, hitting his head hard on the marble bench beside him. He was out cold.

He came to slowly, opening his eyes to see the concerned face of a blond-haired boy with big brown eyes. The boy had tears in his eyes and looked very young, and Kurt's head was in his lap.

"Are you okay? Please say you're okay!" the boy said, holding Kurt's hand and patting it gently. He was sitting on the floor beside him, legs folded into a pretzel as he tried to stroke Kurt's face. Kurt shook his head, only to be stopped by the boy.

"No! Don't do that, you might have a concussion. Help is on the way and in the mean time you should lie still," the boy said.

"Ah...what happened?" Kurt asked.

"Well, you were standing in line to see Dr. Forsythe and I think something happened to your...knee? Anyway, you started to fall and grabbed your knee and then you hit your head. I have a clean handkerchief on the place where you hit it, but the brace you had on your knee was twisted. I was afraid to take it off at first, but it looked like it was making your leg worse, so..." the boy looked down at the floor. "I hope I did the right thing."

Kurt was still dizzy, but his head was clearing quickly. He reached for his cell phone. He hadn't used it since the beginning to summer, but had charged it and had it turned back on before school started.

"Ah...I can't seem to find my phone..." Kurt said.

"Oh! I took it. I dialed the first number and they didn't answer, so I kept dialing until I got someone. His name is Finn and he said he's your brother? He's on his way now."

Kurt sighed in relief. Finn would help him. He was pretty sure he was fine, just a bump on the head and his knee hurt, but he wasn't sure if he could walk. He turned his head to see his brace sitting on the floor a ways away. He tried to sit up.

"Here, let me help you," the boy said. Kurt sat up, leaning against the blond boy for support, and looked around him. There were about two dozen people standing around and Kurt blushed. He was beginning to believe he was accident prone.

"Thank you...ah...I don't know your name," he said.

"Jeff. Jeff Sterling, I'm in the music program here. I was waiting for Dr. Forsythe, too. Say, are you sure you're okay? You have a pretty good sized lump on your head," he observed. Kurt's hand went to where his head hurt and felt a huge goose-egg.

There was a commotion in the office and a large man with a neatly trimmed beard, dressed in a Brooks Brother's suit came out of the office. He was very nicely dressed and carried himself with confidence, an air of masculinity and no-nonsense surrounding him. He surveyed what was going on outside his office door.

"Here, someone help this poor kid into my office. Set him on the sofa in the outer office, you there! Come help" he said, pointing to a big guy walking down the hall. "Jeff, gather his things and we'll get him comfortable," the professor directed.

Kurt was soon resting on the sofa in his advisor's office, his knee swelling and his head hurting. Jeff stayed by his side, Kurt leaning against him, as he occasionally looked out into the hallway to see if Finn had appeared.

"Now, young man, can you tell me who you are and why you were lying on the floor in front of my office?" Dr. Forsythe asked, peering into Kurt's face.

"I'm Kurt Hummel. You are my advisor and I came for the early class scheduling today. I needed your signature to take a sophomore level class and while I was standing there, my knee sort of decided to quit working. I'm sorry, I didn't want to cause a scene," Kurt apologized. "I had surgery on my knee and it's still a little weak, and I've been walking a lot today."

"No problem. We can call someone for you, or if you need to go to the hospital, I can arrange for you to be taken there..." the advisor offered.

Kurt shook his head. "My brother is on his way. This boy...Jeff?...found the number in my phone and called. I'll be fine once Finn comes. Thank you. Oh, and I need to get your signature for taking that sophomore class...?" Kurt looked up expectantly with a shy smile on his face.

Dr. Forsythe burst out in laughter.

"Well, Kurt Hummel, I know it's hard to wait in line on scheduling day, but this is the most ingenious way to get to the head of the line I've ever seen."

Kurt looked stricken. He hadn't thought of it like that – he was only worried he wouldn't get the signature before the class filled up. His eyes were huge as he looked at his advisor, his face flushed with red in his embarrassment. He wanted with all his heart to be back in the Oregon wilderness right now.

Dr. Forsythe saw his embarrassment and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"I'm just kidding, Mr. Hummel. Let me see your paper and I'll get you that signature. I read your transcript and I see no problem with your taking a class of that level."

Jeff grinned at Kurt. He was still sitting on the end of the sofa, supporting Kurt and waiting for his brother to appear.

Dr, Forsythe returned with the signed paper just as Finn and Blaine rounded the corner, both practically running. Kurt called out to them and they entered the outer office, Blaine pale and running to Kurt's side.

"Kurt, are you okay, baby?" Blaine blurted out, "What happened? Finn was with me when he got a strange call and someone said you'd been hurt?" Blaine put his arms around Kurt.

"I'm okay, I think. My knee just decided not to work and I fell. I hit my head, but I think I'm fine," he said, but he sounded a little groggy. Finn was feeling his skull and found the huge lump.

"Whoa, you must have hit it hard, this goose-egg is huge!"

Blaine felt it and pressed a kiss to Kurt's temple.

"He fell against the marble bench," Jeff said, still sitting with Kurt's head in his lap.

"I just need some help getting my brace back on and getting out to the car." Kurt said.

Blaine looked around for the brace and gently picked up his leg, sliding the brace underneath it. He was buckling the straps when Jeff took a breath and looked at the two boys.

"Ah, are you both his brothers, because you don't look anything alike," he said.

Kurt jerked around and stared at the blond for a minute, then started to laugh.

"No, Finn is my brother. His mom married my dad a few years ago. Blaine is my fiancé," Kurt corrected him, a smirk on his face.

The look on Jeff's face was priceless. They could see he was a bit embarrassed, but Kurt put his hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled at him.

"It's okay, but I do want to thank you so much for all your help, Jeff. I hope we have some classes together." Jeff smiled back, then glanced over at Blaine to see a less than welcoming expression on his face.

"I need to get to an appointment. I hope you feel better, Kurt," he said, extricating himself from the beautiful boy he had been holding. "If you need anything, I am a sophomore this year and I can give you a hand if you feel a bit out of your element," Jeff said. He stopped and took a business card out of his pocket. He scratched the name off the front with his pen and turned it over, writing his number on the back then handed it to Kurt. "Please call me just to let me know you're okay." With a wave, Jeff turned on his heel to walk down the hallway.

Kurt didn't notice the look Blaine was giving the blond boy. He was trying to get his books together and Finn was helping him find his cane. By the time Blaine looked back, Kurt was trying to stand. His knee was obviously not going to take his weight, so Finn simply picked his brother up and walked down the hall with him. Blaine carried his things and they all got in the Navigator.

"Do we need to see a doctor do you think?" Blaine asked, but Kurt refused. He just wanted to drop off his paperwork at the scheduler's office and go home. Fin offered to do that and they were back at the house in good time.

Sitting on the sofa, a cold compress on his knee to reduce the swelling, Kurt was leaning back on a pile of pillows. He dozed off for a while, tired from all the hurry-scurry of scheduling day. He'd gotten all of his classes set up he hoped and was just waiting for Blaine and Finn to get back. They'd taken Kurt's paperwork with them and turned it all in today after dropping him off to rest his knee.

"Kurt!" a voice sounded from the front door and suddenly Kurt had a lap full of boyfriend.

"Ah...hello, Blaine," he said, startled. "Did you get it all done?"

"Yes, the three musketeers are signed, sealed, and registered! Oh...I need to tell you something, though," Blaine said, a small frown on his face. "I couldn't get you into the freshman English Lit class, so I picked a different general ed class. I tried to call, but...." his eyes went over to where Kurt's cell was plugged into it's charger on the kitchen countertop. Kurt had switched it off.

"That's okay, what did you get me?"

"Ah, you're gonna think I'm nuts, but it's a beginning drafting class. It counts as a math credit and an art credit, so I figured you couldn't go wrong. Plus, I know you love to draw and you do have the drafting table in the office upstairs. Is that okay?" Blaine asked, giving Kurt his patented sad-puppy look.

"Of course it's okay, sweetheart. Thank you for dealing with all of that for me. I feel lazy just napping while you go do all the work, though," Kurt whined.

"Well, let's see if I can think of some way for you to make it up to me. Hmmmm...." Blaine said, pretending to contemplate all the alternatives. He was trying valiantly to stop from grinning, and hid his face in Kurt's shoulder so his fiance didn't see it. Kurt scooted over a little on the sofa and spread his legs so Blaine fit between them. He put his arms around the warm boy lying on his chest and kissed his ear – a very loud smack! - and Blaine recoiled with a surprised frown on his face.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"Oh, sorry. I was just kissing your ear, you used to like that," Kurt tried not to grin.

"Hrrrmmpppff," Blaine growled.

"I'm sorry, honey, c'mere and just lie down on my shoulder," Kurt soothed. He put his arms closer around Blaine and gave him tiny kisses all along his jawline and up once again to his ear. He could feel the shivers go down Blaine's back as he nibbled his neck. Then he leaned a bit closer and stuck his very wet tongue in Blaine's ear.

"Yeeeoooohhh!" Blaine squealed, rubbing his ear and looking at Kurt with a disgusted face. "Really, Kurt? What is up with you today?"

"Ah...bored?" Kurt answered. He was holding tightly to Blaine's arms so he couldn't get away.

"Well, we're going to have to think of something for you to do that isn't boring, aren't we?" Blaine said, lying back down, his ear on Kurt's chest so he couldn't put his tongue back in it.

Kurt smiled at that thought. He feathered his fingers down the sides of Blaine's shirt, touching him with a very delicate hand, then increasing his pressure until Blaine was giggling. He was terribly ticklish. Kurt tickled him lightly for a few minutes, then turned his tickling fingers to gentle stroking, sliding his hands under Blaine's shirt. Blaine scooted up so he could kiss Kurt and proceeded to turn him to mush, his warm, soft lips moving against Kurt's. They kissed for quite a while before the heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Burt standing there.

"I hate to interrupt, but lunch is ready, boys. We'll be in the dining room," Burt said, rolling his eyes at the couple on the sofa, and left the room to go find his lunch.

Kurt's knee was doing okay by this time, still a little swollen but doing fine. Blaine helped him buckle the brace back on and got him standing. They entered the dining room and everyone else was sitting at the table. Puck had a huge grin on his face and was staring at Finn. Finn and Kurt's parents sat next to each other and chairs were being pulled over to accommodate everyone was soon sitting at the table. It was a pleasant talk, about what classes they were taking, how difficult football was going to be with most of the senior class last year graduated and gone.

Lunch over, Finn wanted to show Burt and Carole the campus and to meet the football coach, so they headed out to do that. Puck went along, thinking if he could make good grades at the community college, he might be able to start classes in the spring. Kurt and Blaine went up to their room to watch a movie and talk about their schedules.

"So, we got freshman algebra together and for the science credit I saw you wrote down biology. I got us in those together. Oh, and Finn will be in the algebra class with us, too. I really thought about taking that drafting class, but I need to do the English class to get it out of the way so I can take Public Speaking next semester -because that is part of my major. Then you are doing Individual Voice and Aural Skills. I'm doing Forest Ecosystems and Orientation to Fisheries and Wildlife. I needed one more general ed class, so I signed up for pottery. Wow, this all sounds so intimidating!" Blaine said.

"Yeah. We'll get through it, Blaine. I know it sounds just about impossible, but you know I have your back, right? We can do it." Kurt sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than he was Blaine.

"Classes start in less than two weeks. We need to figure out a few things...I did go to the burser's office and our financial aid stuff is all done, our checks for tuition have been received and I think everything is set. I set both schedules up so we go to classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then study time in the library or here on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Oh, and you were right, you need to find someone to play piano for you one day a week for your vocal lab. I can do it, but you might be able to find someone better than me. I only learned on Lenore's mom's piano and while I can read music, I'm not anywhere close to a concert pianist," Blaine said.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Kurt said, smiling at Blaine. "Now, can we get to something a bit more serious?"

"More serious than our classes and schedules?"

"Yes. Much more important, Blaine. We need to talk it over, we need to do experiments, we need to collaborate on this, you know," Kurt grinned, running one finger down Blaine's jawbone before he leaned in to kiss him.

"Talk, collaborate on what exactly?" Blane asked, closing his eyes for a brief few moments before cupping his hand around Kurt's cheek and kissing the corner of his mouth.

"On what we plan to do with this afternoon while everyone is out of the house, of course," Kurt answered, unbuttoning Blaine's baby blue shirt and pulling the hem from where it was tucked in to his waistband.

Kurt had most of Blaine's clothes off and Blaine had succeeded in leaving a wicked love bite on Kurt's hipbone when Kurt's phone rang. He rolled his eyes and looked to see who it was.

"Hello, this is Kurt," he said.

"Kurt? This is Dr. Forsythe. I was calling to see if you made it home and were doing alright now?" he asked.

"Oh, how kind of you to check up on me. Yes, I'm okay. I just twisted the knee, but the swelling is minimal and the pain is about gone. It was so nice of you to call," Kurt said, a small smile on his lips as Blaine traced the veins up his arm while he waited.

"You took a nasty spill, can't have my students all in pieces the first day of class. Interferes with the flogging, you know," the man laughed. Kurt smiled.

"Ah, no, certainly not," Kurt said.

"As long as you're okay. I see you're in my Individual Voice class. I will see you on Tuesday, Mr. Hummel. Be prepared to sweat," Dr. Forsythe said.

"I look forward to it, Sir. And thank you again," Kurt said.

"Who was that?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt's smiling face.

"Dr. Forsythe. He was just checking up on me. I fell in front of his office. He called to make sure I was okay so he could...and I quote...'Flog me'. Wow. I had heard he was a formidable force in the music department, but that was unexpected," Kurt commented.

"Yeah..." Blaine flushed. The thought of flogging Kurt posed an interesting picture.

"So, this whole flogging thing....Would we need handcuffs and a whip? Oh, one of those dragon-tail whips?" Blaine wondered aloud, running his finger along the bare flesh that showed above Kurt's jeans.

Kurt jumped and turned to look at Blaine.

"What the hell?" he said, incredulous. "Blaine Devon Anderson! Do you honestly think I would entertain such an idea? Really?? Because if you come near me with any of those accouterments, be prepared for war, mister," Kurt's voice got dangerously low and his eyes were mere slits.

"Well, I would start out with a blindfold, of course," Blaine went on. He was grinning as Kurt sputtered, and all he got in response this time was a growl.

Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt, kissing his cheek very gently and tracing the line of his jaw down to his neck. He kissed Kurt's neck in the place that Kurt could not resist and heard a sharp intake of breath and a low moan. He kissed along to Kurt's Adam's apple, then back with his warm tongue leaving a streak of shivers.

"Kurt?" he whispered.

"MmmmmHhhmmm?"

"You know I would never hit you, don't you? Not even in play. And the only time I did, I have regretted every day since. No, your skin is too beautiful to risk marking it up, and besides...I love you and hurt is not part of that. Okay?" Blaine asked.

"Okay, Blaine. I'm sorry I over reacted. I do love you, too, and I think that we respect each other and know our boundaries. I'm sorry, I don't always know when you're kidding," Kurt went on, but Blaine put a finger to his lips and then kissed him. Kurt reciprocated by running his tongue over Blaine's lips and soon they were tangled together under the covers in their shared bed, in their new house, waiting for their new lives. And life looked pretty good right now.