When they got home later that night, the boys stopped by a department store and bought some white curtains for their window. Kurt felt significantly better knowing that nobody could see into their apartment anymore and felt a lot safer being left in a room by himself. He still wasnt entirely sure hed be able to deal with being left alone in the apartment, but the curtains gave him and extra level of security that he so desperately needed.

Kurts Monday classes had been cancelled due to his professor being sick, and he knew he couldnt ask Blaine to take him into work again after the mess hed caused last time. He considered calling Wes to see if he minded Kurt tagging along with him for a day, but he decided that it would just be weird if he did.

Blaine noticed the change in Kurts demeanor the second they arrived on their street. He seemed a lot more wary and uncomfortable, and he began to fiddle with his hands a lot. He had no idea what was going on with Kurt, and he knew that hed probably get pushed away if he tried to ask him what was wrong.

Kurt was awake before Blaine the next morning and made his way into the living room, checking his emails on his laptop. Blaine followed soon after and pressed a kiss to Kurts cheek before crossing the room to open the curtains. Brightness suddenly poured into the room and Kurt was up in an instant, pulling them closed again.

"Kurt, you cant leave the curtains closed all day. Its practically pitch black in here."

"I dont care," Kurt replied defensively. "I dont want them open."

"God, what is wrong with you recently?!" Blaine snapped.

Tears welled up in Kurts eyes immediately and he took a step back from Blaine. "I cant help it."

"Youve been like this for nearly a week now, Kurt. You wont tell me whats going on or why you feel so freaking uncomfortable here, so how am I supposed to react? Am I supposed to make sure Im with you every second of the day from now on, hold you when you have nightmares and tell you that nothing is wrong with you when I have no idea why youre so scared?"

"Blaine..." Kurt said, his voice cracking as a tear left his eye.

"No, Kurt," Blaine replied. "You dont get to make me feel guilty about this. Youre my boyfriend, my partner. We live together for crying out loud! Why wont you just tell me whats going on?!"

"I...I cant." Kurt said brokenly.

"Right," Blaine said with a humourless laugh. "Well, let me know when youve decided to trust me." And with that, he began to storm off to the bedroom.

"I do trust you!" Kurt cried.

"Save it, Kurt." Blaine said, entering the bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

Kurt sat down on the window bench and buried his face in his hands, finally letting himself properly cry. When Blaine emerged from the bedroom and headed for the front door, Kurt got up and stood in the way, rendering Blaine unable to leave the apartment.

"Move out of the way, Kurt." Blaine sighed.

"Blaine, please -"

"Move, Kurt."

"Blaine." Kurt sobbed.

"For crying out loud, get out of the way!" Blaine all but screamed.

Kurt finally moved, watching Blaine as he left the apartment before completely breaking down. He sat down on the floor and curled himself into a ball, sobbing loudly and openly until he was unable to cry any longer.

He eventually moved to the sofa and hugged a cushion to his chest, leaning his head against the top of the sofa. While he sat there, he seriously considered never moving again. Blaine hated him, there was a psychotic man who wanted to kill him and he was too paranoid to even open the curtains, so why not?

Kurt didnt move from the sofa when there was a knock at the door. He had a fair idea who it was, but he honestly couldnt care less if it was Mr Anderson or somebody else.

"You cant hide from me!" Mr Andersons voice boomed from outside.

Kurt just sat there, staring aimlessly into space while Blaines father repeatedly knocked aggressively on the door. He heard some rustling and suddenly the apartment door was opening, but he still didnt move.

"You havent carried out my orders." He said accusingly, slowly making his way towards Kurt.

"Screw you." Came the monotonic reply from Kurt as he kept his head rested on the back of the sofa.

"Well, if I cant get rid of you by telling you to leave Blaine, I guess Ill have to use other methods."

Kurts neck was suddenly being grasped tightly in Mr Andersons hand for the second time, only this time he was more firm with his grip.

"Get off me." Kurt choked out, his voice strained.

Mr Anderson let out a laugh. "Not likely."

Kurt made sure the man gripping onto him wasnt paying any attention to anything but his face and slid his hand under the pillow next to him until he got ahold of his phone, glancing carefully to the side until he could dial Blaines number, praying that he would pick up.

Blaine decided to skip work completely, figuring he could just call in sick, and went to the gym instead. He knew he had some stuff in his locker that he could change into, so he wouldnt have to worry about ruining his clothes and getting them sweaty. He quickly got changed and put his gloves on before making his way over to the punching bag.

He wasnt angry at Kurt, he was just annoyed that he didnt trust him enough to tell him why he was so scared and uncomfortable recently. He was angry at himself. He was mad at himself for snapping when he told himself that it was the one thing he would never do, and he ended up taking that out on Kurt.

His train of thought - and punching - was interrupted by his phone ringing. He stopped, making his way over to the bench where his bag was and removed his gloves. Kurt. He answered the phone despite how hard he was panting from the boxing.

"Kurt, Im so -"

"Why are you even with Blaine?" Mr Anderson asked, releasing Kurt suddenly and ignoring the way he doubled over and began to choke on nothing. "Is it the money? Because you know that all comes from me."

"Im with him because I love him." Kurt choked out, clutching his stomach as he continued to sputter. Tears were welling up in his eyes and rolling down his face at no accord and his face was bright red from lack of oxygen.

"Love," Mr Anderson laughed. "Like you know what love is," And suddenly he was gripping Kurts throat again, even harder than he had been before. Kurt let out a strangled cry, more tears rolling down his face. "Love doesnt exist, take my word for it."

"Youre hurting me." Kurt cried. He knew that Mr Anderson didnt care, but hed noticed that Blaine had answered his phone and he was trying to show him what was happening without actually speaking to him. He made the mistake of glancing sideways again, and was caught in the act.

"You idiot!" He hissed, picking his phone up and throwing it at the wall on the other side of the room as he strangled Kurt even harder.

Blaine was already out of the gym and running home by the time the phone cut off. He didnt bother changing his clothes, and he left everything except his phone and keys in the gym. He didnt stop running once, no matter how out of breath he was, no matter how many times he almost got hit by cars when he ran across the road.

He finally made it home and saw that the door was already open, so he ran inside as fast as he could to find Kurt on the floor, coughing up blood while his father pulled on his hair roughly.

"Get off of him!" Blaine screamed, running over and pushing Mr Anderson off of Kurt, sending him toppling over. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Im teaching him a lesson." Mr Anderson replied, making his way back over to the injured boy.

"Lay one more finger on him, I dare you." Blaine said in a threatening tone.

Mr Anderson reached out a hand, as if he was going to yank Kurts hair again, only to be stopped when Blaine punched him in the face.

"Blaine," Kurt heaved. "Stop."

Blaine looked down at his weak boyfriend and helped him up into a seated position, cradling him against his chest. Taking a closer look at the nineteen year old, Blaine saw that he had blood smeared around his mouth from where hed choked it up and his left eye was swelling shut, a purpling bruise appearing around it.

"Kurt," Blaine said brokenly. "My beautiful, beautiful Kurt...what has he done to you?" He asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

Kurt was still gasping for air, clutching onto Blaine for all he was worth while Mr Anderson attempted to regain strength. The older man had blood trickling from his nose and he was curled over on the floor, panting from being hit with so much force.

Blaine pulled his phone from his pocket and called the police and an ambulance, holding Kurt close to him until they arrived. Funnily enough, Mr Anderson didnt attempt to escape, and only fought back once the police arrived.

Kurt sputtered out a little more blood when he tried to stand up, almost collapsing until Blaine held him steady. They took him out to the ambulance and gave him an oxygen mask while he was checked over by a doctor.

"You should be okay to stay at home," The doctor said. "Just try and take it easy. The police will want you to go down and make statements, just give it a couple of days until youre feeling up to going out."

Kurt nodded, his head resting against Blaines shoulder as he gradually regained his breath. He shut his eyes and held onto his boyfriend, wishing they were back in Pennsylvania where nobody could hurt him.

"Is that why you were feeling so unsafe?" Blaine asked as he and Kurt cuddled up on the sofa a while later. Blaine had cleared up Kurts shattered phone, promising to buy him a new one on the weekend, and cleaned up the blood that was on their living room floor, trying not to picture Kurt coughing it up all over again.

"Yes." Kurt said. His voice was extremely croaky from being strangled and from all of the coughing hed done. It was deep and scratchy, and the sound of it made him want to cry.

"Why didnt you tell me?" He asked. "Or at least call the police?"

"He threatened me," Kurt replied. "There were so many times I almost told you, but I was so scared."

"What did he say to you?"

"He strangled me and said that I had to break up with you or hed do worse than just strangle me."

"But you still didnt break up with me," Blaine pointed out. "You say you were scared, but..."

"I couldnt," Kurt said, tearing up a little. "I couldnt break up with you. When you came home from work on Wednesday, I was acting weird because I didnt know what to do. But then I had that stupid nightmare and you didnt care that I didnt explain what was going on, you were just there for me. I couldnt break up with you because youre the only person thats ever protected me like that and you mean more to me than anything. I just didnt tell you because I was scared that if I did then hed hurt you as well."

"God, youre such an idiot," Blaine said without venom. He buried his face in Kurts hair and shut his eyes as tears welled up. "He couldve killed you, Kurt. All because you refused to break up with me."

"It wouldve been worth it," Kurt admitted. "I would go through anything if it meant being with you."

"Youre so stupid," Blaine said, tears falling from his eyes. "Youre so, so stupid."

"I seem to remember a certain somebody risking his life for me fifteen years ago," Kurt said. "I guess love makes us do stupid things."

Blaine looked down at Kurt, unable to stop the tears that were falling as he gently cupped his cheek and leaned their foreheads against one another. "Im so glad youre okay. I dont know what Id do without you."

"Probably live on take-out and watch really bad reality TV all day." Kurt said, eliciting a chuckle from Blaine.

"God, I love you." He said quietly, his voice breaking.

"I love you too." Kurt replied, looking at Blaine adoringly.

"How do you feel?" Blaine asked.

"Like I got strangled."

"Please dont joke about this." Blaine frowned.

"I dont know how else to deal with it," Kurt admitted. "I can cry and scream that its not fair, that I didnt deserve any of this, but its not going to change anything. So whats the point?"

"Do you have any idea how much I want to kill him right now?" Blaine asked. "Ive never, ever hated anyone before. Ive never wanted to physically rip someones face off and use it as a target before in my life."

"I know. But hes getting punished."

Blaine sighed, wrapping his arms around Kurt and holding him tight. "Im not gonna let anybody hurt you ever again, I promise you."

"Are you gonna fight them off with your awesome ninja skills?" Kurt teased, eliciting a chuckle from Blaine.

"Obviously," He replied, rolling his eyes as he pulled back from the hug. "They wont even see it coming."

"Youre such a dork." Kurt laughed.

"Tell me something I dont know." Blaine chuckled. Kurt shook his head with laughter and cuddled up to Blaines side. "Know what were going to do now?"

"No I do not," Kurt replied. "Enlighten me."

"Were going to go take a nice warm bath together, get into the comfiest pyjamas we own and cuddle back up on the sofa with as many blankets and cushions as we can find while we watch the best movie we can find."

"That sounds perfect." Kurt smiled, pressing a small kiss to Blaines mouth.

Kurt was drowning. Not literally, but thats what it felt like. It felt like something was slowly seeping into him, filling up his lungs and cutting off his air supply.

There was a tight grip around his throat. He tried screaming for help, but nothing came out. He tried to fight the offender off, but he was kicking the air.

He felt himself sinking. Slowly falling lower and lower as it became a harder mission to breathe and find air. He screwed his eyes shut, the suffocating feeling washing over him as the darkness overtook.

He was gone.

Kurt shot up in bed, screaming loudly. He was quickly enveloped in Blaines warm embrace, and soft shushing noises filled the silence of the bedroom as he sunk into Blaines arms and cried into his shirt.

"Youre okay," Blaine said in a comforting tone, carding his fingers through Kurts hair as the nineteen year old soaked his shirt in tears. "Youre okay. He cant hurt you anymore, baby. Im right here, Ive got you."

Kurt fisted his hand into the soft material of Blaines shirt, his sobs leaving his body too fast and too hard for him to control. He suddenly heard a soft voice, singing quietly into his ear.

Nothings gonna harm you, not while Im around
Nothings gonna harm you, no sir, not while Im around
Demons are prowling everywhere
Nowadays
Ill send em howling
I dont care, Ive got ways
No ones gonna hurt you
No ones gonna dare
Others can desert you
No worries
Whistle, Ill be there

Kurts sobs slowly faded, his breath evening out as he listened to Blaines calming voice, his head resting against the soothing patter-patter of Blaines heartbeat.

Demonsll charm you with a smile
For a while
But in time
Nothing can harm you
Not while Im around
Being close and being clever
Aint like being true
I dont need to, I would never
Hide a thing from you
Like some
Demonsll charm you with a smile
For a while
But in time
Nothing can harm you
Not while Im around

Kurt slowly lifted his head from where it was snuggled against Blaines chest, looking up at his boyfriend through vitreous blue eyes. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly, whispering a small, broken "thank you" in his ear.

"I meant every single word," Blaine replied, rubbing his back soothingly. "Im not gonna let anybody hurt you ever again."

"I wish Id just told you," Kurt admitted. "None of this wouldve happened if I did."

"Kurt, he threatened you," Blaine pointed out. "Its completely understandable that you didnt tell me; I probably wouldve done the same thing. Besides, if you had told me this still couldve happened."

"I hate feeling unsafe."

"You are safe," Blaine assured him, holding him close. "He cant get to you anymore."

Kurt just nodded, feeling safe in Blaines embrace.

Three days later, Kurt and Blaine were making their way down to the police station to give their statements about what happened. Kurt was a lot more nervous than Blaine, but he felt security in the fact that he was doing it so that Mr Anderson couldnt hurt him ever again.

"Kurt Hummel?" Kurt took a deep breath, turning to face Blaine.

"Youll be okay," Blaine assured him, pressing a kiss to his lips. "I love you."

Kurt nodded, following the police officer. He was taken to a small room that contained nothing but a table and two chairs, and a small device on the table that would record Kurts statement. He sat down on a chair and nervously fiddled with his trembling hands.

"If you need to stop at any time, just let me know. I completely understand that this is a lot for you to deal with." The police officer said gently, obviously recognising Kurts nerves. The officer turned on the recording device and began asking questions.

"When we questioned Mr Anderson, he said that the first time he showed up at your apartment was on the 5th of February, is this true?"

"Yes." Kurt replied simply.

"He said that he went there because he wanted to wish his son, Blaine, happy birthday, is this true?"

"I...he just said that he wanted his son back, but even when Blaine asked him to go away because he didnt want to see him he refused."

"Was he aggressive about it?"

"He wasnt really...aggressive, but he was sort of...rude about it." The officer stopped to write some notes down, and Kurt felt more uncomfortable than he did when he was answering the questions.

"Mr Anderson said that the next time he showed up at your apartment was on the 9th of February, is this true?"

"Yes."

"He said that he came this time to question what your intentions were with his son, is this true?"

"No," Kurt replied, wanting to scream that he was a liar but knowing that it would just make things worse. "He came over even after Blaine told him that hed call the police if he came back, and when I tried to stop him from coming into the apartment he pushed his way inside."

"What did he do when he got into your apartment?"

"He..." Kurt swallowed, closing his eyes as memories of that day came back. "H-he told me that I had to break up with Blaine because I was the only thing in the way of him getting his son back."

"And what was your reaction to this?"

"I told him I wouldnt break up with Blaine. And I also said that Blaine didnt want to be near him again anyway. He told me that Id regret it if I didnt do as he said, but I told him again that I wouldnt break up with Blaine so he- he..."

"Do you need to take a break?" The officer asked gently.

Kurt shook his head in reply. "He strangled me and said that if I didnt break up with Blaine that it wouldnt be the worst that hed do to me, and he told me not to tell Blaine what had happened."

"How did he know that Blaine wouldnt be home at that time during the day?"

"I...I think he was stalking our apartment...or, well...us."

"Why do you think that?"

"We went to the gym the night before and I felt like something was...wrong. Blaine said that he heard noises and whenever he looked around there was nothing there. When I got home, after I showered, I sat by the window and I saw a black car that Id never seen before outside, and I saw it the next morning too. The windows of the car were tinted so I couldnt see anything inside, but if he was in there he wouldve been able to see everything that happened in the main area of our apartment as we have a big, open window and we didnt have any curtains at the time."

"So you think that he was watching the apartment to see when Blaine left the house each morning so that he knew when he wouldnt be home?"

"Yes."

"Okay..." The officer muttered, jotting down some more notes before looking back up. "Mr Anderson said the only other time that he visited your apartment was the 14th of February, is this correct?"

"As far as I know." Kurt replied honestly.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Me and Blaine went away from Friday until Sunday night, and the last time he came he found a way to get into the apartment without me opening the door, so for all I know he couldve gone inside."

"Okay...When he showed up on the 14th of February, what happened?"

"I...I was sitting on my sofa and when he knocked on my door I had a feeling it was him so I didnt get up to answer it. I dont know how, but he unlocked the door and let himself in. I was upset because Id just had an argument with Blaine so I didnt do anything and he strangled me again, a lot harder than before, and he kept saying things like I was only with Blaine for his money and I didnt really know what love was. I had my phone under a pillow on the sofa so I reached out and I called Blaine on it but after a few minutes he noticed and threw my phone against the wall.

He dragged me off of the sofa by my neck and basically threw me onto the floor. I started spluttering at that point and blood was coming up. He pushed me over and he...he started hitting me and telling me that I needed to be taught a lesson. He got off me and I pulled myself up a bit but I fell back down from where I was coughing so much and he grabbed me by the back of my hair and yanked my head back, thats when Blaine got home."

"Mr Anderson said that Blaine started to repeatedly punch him in the face, is this true?"

"Things were kind of fuzzy at that point because I couldnt breathe properly, I know that Blaine hit him once but he was holding me after that so he cant have hit him repeatedly. I just remember seeing him on the floor with a bloody nose while Blaine was calling the police."

"Okay...well with the evidence we have at the moment it sounds a lot like attempted murder -"

"Oh my god." Kurt muttered, his eyes filling with tears as he began to shake harder.

"Its okay," The officer said gently. "It looks like hes going to be serving quite a few years at the moment, so youre safe."

"Blaine wont get into trouble will he?" Kurt asked, a tear falling from his eye. "He only hit him to protect me. He tried to grab me so Blaine hit him before he could get ahold of me. He isnt a violent person."

"Blaine will be fine," The officer assured him. "His father probably wouldve done anything at that point so what Blaine did was basically self defense."

"Okay." Kurt nodded.

"I hope that it never does, but if anything like this happens again - if you notice sketchy behaviour or if somebody threatens you - call the police straight away, okay? I know that its scary, especially with a threat, but were here to protect you."

Kurt nodded, a few more tears falling that he wiped away instantly, his breath shaky. "I was just scared that he was going to take it out on Blaine if I told anymore...it wouldnt be the first time hed abused him."

The officer smiled gently. "Thats why were here; to make sure nobody hurts you." Kurt nodded in reply. "Would you like some water before you go?"

"Yes please." Kurt said shakily, trying to stop himself from crying. The officer pulled out what appeared to be a walky-talky and said something into it, and a few moments later another officer was coming in with a small cup of water. "Thank you." Kurt said, taking the water and drinking it.

"Well be in touch soon." The officer said when Kurt was finished.

"Thank you." Kurt said as he was lead out of the room and back to Blaine. As soon as he saw him he ran into his arms, hugging him tight.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded against his shoulder. "I just really needed a hug."

"Blaine Anderson?"

"I have to go," Blaine said. "I promise Ill give you an extra big hug afterwards, okay?"

"Okay," Kurt replied, pressing his lips to Blaines cheek. "I love you."

Blaine smiled, following the officer into the room that Kurt had previously been in. He sat down at the small table while the officer sat opposite him and switched on the recording device.

"When we questioned Mr Anderson, your father, he said that the first time he visited your apartment was on the 5th of February to wish you a happy birthday, is this true?"

"He showed up on the 5th of February, yes, but it wasnt to wish me a happy birthday. I ran off when I opened the door and saw him, so I dont know what he said at first, but when I came back out I told him to go away and he basically refused until I shut the door."

"Mr Anderson said that the next time he showed up was Wednesday the 9th of February, but you werent there. He said that the only other time he visited your apartment was Monday the 14th of February, is this true?"

"Assuming Kurt told me everything that happened, yes."

"What do you recall happening on Monday?"

"I had an argument with Kurt in the morning, so I went to the gym to blow off some steam. I heard my phone ringing so I answered it and I was about to apologise to him but I could hear somebody that definitely wasnt Kurt speaking and I heard Kurt saying that he was hurting him and I heard my d-" Blaine froze, unable to get the word out of his mouth. "Him scream at Kurt and then the line went dead so I ran home and when I got there the door was open and Kurt was bent over on the floor coughing up blood. I shouted at him to get away from Kurt and I ran over and pushed him away from him because he had his hair gripped in his hand and he was yanking Kurts head back even though he was spluttering blood everywhere. He got back up and I...I was angry, so I dared him to touch Kurt again, even though I probably shouldnt have. But he reached out for Kurt, so I...I punched him in the face and helped Kurt sit up. I held him in my arms and called the police."

"Mr Anderson told us that you hit him repeatedly, but both Kurts story and your story match that you only hit him once."

"Im not a violent person. I box, but its because I got bullied for being gay when I was younger, so I did it for self defense. I hit him once to get him away with Kurt, but Id never start a fight with him - or anyone."

"Kurt mentioned something about seeing a black car outside the apartment too, he thinks that Mr Anderson was stalking your apartment. Did you see anything that you found odd?"

"When we were walking home from the gym last Tuesday, Kurt said that he felt like someone was watching us. I didnt believe him at first but then I started hearing noises like there was somebody else near us but I didnt see anything, so I thought that was kind of weird. Kurt pointed out the black car to me but I didnt really think much about it until now."

"Okay..." The officer mumbled, writing something down before switching off the recording device. "Well, I dont really have any more questions for you as you werent as involved with what happened and youve already told me everything that you saw. As I already told Kurt, it looks a lot like attempted murder at the moment, but it seems as if he lied about everything that happened except the dates that he appeared at your apartment and he was potentially stalking you, and if you take into account his history with abuse, its likely that hell go down even if its not for attempted murder."

"Wow..."

"Yeah," The police officer chuckled. "But, thats a good thing."

"I guess...I just cant believe Im related to that man."

"Just because hes the man that made you, doesnt mean hes your father."

Blaine smiled at the police officer. "Thank you, for everything."

"Its my job," The officer shrugged. "Well be in contact soon to let you know whats happening."

"Okay." Blaine replied, allowing himself to be lead out of the room and back to his boyfriend.

"How are you feeling?" Blaine asked, holding Kurt against his chest as they cuddled close on the sofa. Cooper was sitting on the window bench, scrolling through his phone. Hed insisted that he stay on their sofa for a while as Kurt was dealing with being attacked and Blaine was dealing with a lot of childhood memories that hed repressed, and he claimed to not trust them on their own.

"Im just glad its over," Kurt replied. "I know the whole purpose was to find out exactly what happened so that he can give time for what he did, but I was dreading it. I hated sitting in that tiny room, reliving every single second of what that man did to me."

"I know," Blaine whispered, pressing his lips to the top of his head. "I promise you hes not going to get away with it. Do you know how much they have against him? He lied to the police, he may have been stalking us, he has previous encounters with abuse and he may go down for attempted murder. Theres no way he isnt going to prison."

"Speaking of stalking," Cooper said, glancing out the window. "I think theyre looking through the car right now."

"I really hope they dont come over here," Kurt whined. "I cant deal with more police today...or ever."

"They have no reason to." Blaine replied.

"I just want to forget that all of this is happening. That anything ever happened to begin with." Kurt said.

"I wish I knew how to help you," Blaine admitted. "I hate seeing you so down."

"I hate being down," Kurt agreed. "But Ill be okay. When all of this is finally over...Ill be okay." He said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself instead of Blaine.

Blaine said nothing, he just turned to face him, lifting his head up gently by his chin and pressing their lips together. Kurt sighed a little, kissing Blaine back with more force and passion, finally feeling like he was being pieced back together.

Cooper turned around from there he was looking out of the window to find the boys lost in their own little world. Kurt had his arms wrapped loosely around Blaines neck and Blaines hands were tangled in Kurts hair while they kissed slowly, but deeply. Cooper shook his head with silent laughter, quietly making his way into the kitchen to give them some space.

They stayed like that for a large period of time, neither one willing to move from their comfortable spots in each others arms. Kurt eventually pulled away and rested his head on Blaines shoulder, loving the feeling of the thirty year olds hands in his hair as he drifted to sleep.