“Isn't it going to be weird spending Christmas with Jeff's family after everything that happened?” Kurt asked Nick as he sat opposite him on his bed, a plate of pizza between them. The boys were already on Christmas break, and Nick had asked Kurt to stay at his house the day before he went away with his family.

“Not really,” Nick said, swallowing his mouthful of food. “I mean, we're still friends, and our families are really close. We do this every Christmas so it's kind of just...routine, I guess.”

“Well, consider me jealous.” Kurt smiled, picking up a slice of pizza and taking a bite from it.

“Don't be,” Nick laughed. “It's you that I'm going to be thinking about.”

“Sap,” Kurt giggled. “It's kind of weird how we're both spending Christmas with our exes though…” He wondered aloud, continuing to eat his food.

“Well, when you put it like that it just sounds creepy.” Nick said, laughing.

Nick and Kurt cuddled up in bed with a movie not too long later, eventually falling asleep in each others arms. Kurt managed to get about two hours of sleep before he woke up, sweating from having a nightmare. He didn't scream this time, so Nick was still sound asleep, and he didn't want to bother his boyfriend by waking him up. He carefully climbed out of bed and tip-toed downstairs, feeling uncomfortable just wondering around Nick's house as he'd never been there before.

Sitting on the sofa, Kurt pulled his phone out and searched through his contacts until he found Blaine's name. He hit the call button and grasped the phone to his ear, waiting for the nineteen year old to pick up.

“‘Lo?” Blaine mumbled, having clearly been asleep moments before.

“I'm sorry,” Kurt said. “I didn't mean to wake you up, I -”

“Kurt?” Blaine said, voice hoarse. There was shuffling on the other end of the line before Blaine spoke up again. “What's wrong?”

“I had a nightmare,” Kurt admitted quietly, pulling his knees up to his chest. “It wasn't as intense as they have been at times but I just…”

“It's okay,” Blaine replied. “Where are you?”

“I'm at Nick's house,” Kurt said, burying his face between his knees and mumbling into the phone, “I think that's why I had the nightmare. I've never been to Nick's house before, let alone stayed the night and it's...foreign to me.”

Blaine's heart fluttered at the fact that Kurt was staying at Nick's house but decided to talk to him about what was wrong instead of his own boyfriend. “Was it the same dream as usual?”

“Yeah. I woke up before...the end, but I still just,” Kurt swallowed, lifting his head and wiping at his eyes as they suddenly teared up. “I hate it.” He said, beginning to cry a little.

“Hey,” Blaine said sadly, wishing he could hug Kurt through the phone. “It's okay ba - it's not real, Kurt. You're okay.” He comforted, mentally slapping himself for almost letting the word ‘baby' slip out.

“I don't know what to do,” Kurt sobbed, keeping his face tucked between his knees so that he didnt make too much noise. “I can't go back to bed, I know I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep but I...help me.” He cried, his voice breaking a little.

“Go back to bed,” Blaine said softly. “Even if you can't sleep, you'll be with Nick and he makes you feel safe, right?”

“I guess.” Kurt said. He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of the hoodie he was wearing and breathed in the scent, only then realising that it was Blaine's hoodie he was wearing. Kurt probably should have felt more guilty than he did about the scent of the hoodie calming him down in that moment, but he didn't care. He felt sick and tired, and would probably do anything to calm down.

“Call me in the morning and let me know how you feel, okay?”

“But you're flying in tomorrow…”

“Yeah, but I'm not going to be here until late afternoon and you know I'll drive myself crazy wondering if you're okay.”

“Okay…” Kurt said. “And Blaine?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” Kurt replied gratefully, a little sniffle escaping him.

“You're welcome.” Blaine said, smiling through the phone. He hung up the phone before making his way back to bed - Kurt being the last thing on his mind as he drifted to sleep.

“Kurt?” Nick's sleepy voice came from the doorway of the living room.

“Hi.” Kurt said, turning to face his boyfriend despite his cheeks still being wet and his eyes still being red rimmed.

“What's wrong?” Nick asked, making his way over to the chestnut haired teen.

“I had a nightmare.”

“And you had to call Blaine about that?” Nick asked, practically seething with jealousy. “You couldn't just talk to me?”

“I didn't wanna wake you up.” Kurt said, wiping his eyes.

“But it was okay to wake Blaine up?”

“Nick -”

“It's always going to be him, isn't it?” Nick said in an accusatory tone. “It's always going to be him that you run to when you need to talk to someone, or you need comforting. No matter how long we're together or how crazy I am about you, you're never going to feel the same way about me as you do about him.”

“That's not fair,” Kurt replied, tears leaving his eyes once again. “He was the first person I ever fell in love with, the first person that ever fell in love with me. I'm more comfortable with him than I am with anybody, you know that.”

“That isn't the point, Kurt. The point is that you should be comfortable with me and you should be able to talk to me when you're upset.”

“I'm sorry, okay?” Kurt cried. “I can't help it if he makes me feel safe and comfortable, he just does.”

“You can't just cry and apologise, Kurt,” Nick said, causing more tears to leave Kurt's eyes. “It doesn't matter how sorry you are, it's never going to change.”

“Why are you being so mean to me?” Kurt asked, wiping his eyes frantically.

Nick just shook his head, getting off the sofa, making his way upstairs and leaving a distraught Kurt on the sofa. Kurt buried his face in his arms and cried harder, sobs and hiccups escaping his body as a never ending stream of tears left his eyes.

He was in the same position when the sun began to rise and only then did he move, lying down on the sofa and staring blankly at the wall. His eyes were red from crying and not sleeping and his throat felt like it had been scratched by a kitten with extremely sharp claws.

He completely ignored Nick when he came downstairs and asked Kurt if he wanted any breakfast. Eating wasn't something Kurt felt like doing, and he didn't particularly feel like talking to Nick either. The sixteen year old continued to stare into space, even when Nick finished his breakfast and made his way into the living room. The most he moved was when Nick wanted to sit down, and all he did then was pull his knees up to his chest where he was lying across the sofa.

“Kurt,” Nick said a few hours later, shaking the boy gently as if he was asleep. “Your dad is here.”

Kurt sat up, standing up and following Nick out of the living room. He took his bag from Nick and the two boys were left facing each other awkwardly, neither of them knowing what to do. Nick moved forward slowly, wrapping his arms around Kurt's neck. The chestnut haired teen buried his face in Nick's shoulder, wrapping his arms around his waist. They pulled apart quickly, Nick opening the door for Kurt and watching him walk to his dads car - still dressed in pyjama bottoms and Blaine's hoodie, his backpack clutched in his hand.

“What happened to you?” Burt asked when Kurt entered the car, noticing his messy hair and red eyes.

“I don't wanna talk about it,” Kurt mumbled, his voice croaky as he leaned against the car window. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the time. 3:30. Blaine's flight hadn't arrived yet, and no matter how much of a bad person it made him, Kurt needed him. “Can we pick Blaine up from the airport?”

Blaine almost missed Kurt when he made his way through the airport. He wasn't expecting him and, well...he didn't exactly look himself. He was enveloped in a hug before he got to ask what was going on - Kurt burying his face in the jacket he was wearing. Blaine looked up at Burt, who shrugged in reply to the look he received, before gently wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist.

“I need you.” Kurt mumbled, tightening his grip on the nineteen year old.

Kurt cuddled up to Blaine the entire way back to his house, refusing to leave his side even when they made their way inside. Burt announced that he had to go to work and that the boys could help themselves to anything they wanted. Blaine made his way into the kitchen and sat down at the table, only to get a lapful of sad teenage boy.

“What's wrong?” Blaine asked, wrapping his arms around Kurt's body and rubbing his back soothingly.

“Nick and I had a fight,” Kurt croaked out, hiding his face in Blaine's neck. “After I called you, he came into the living room and he got mad at me for talking to you instead of him...he was horrible to me.”

“Why did he get mad at you?”

“He said that I always run to you when I'm upset and I should be comfortable enough with him to talk to him.”

“Are you not comfortable with him?” Blaine asked.

“I am. I can't help it if I always talk to you, it just feels natural. I know that he's right, I do run to you when I'm upset but he...he was so mean about it. He made it seem like I'm some kind of stray puppy that follows you around everywhere, and he practically called me a cry baby.”

“What? Why?” Blaine said incredulously.

“He didn't say those exact words, but he said that I can't just cry and apologise, which is pretty much the same thing...It's not even the fight that I'm upset about, it's the fact that he really hurt my feelings. He knew that I had just had a nightmare, too, and it didn't stop him.”

“You're not a cry baby, Kurt,” Blaine said. “I don't care if he's your boyfriend, don't listen to him, okay?”

Kurt nodded, burying his face in Blaine's shoulder. “I feel like crap. I haven't slept since I called you.”

“I can tell. Your voice sounds horrible and I know it's not just from crying.”

“I really don't want to sleep,” Kurt admitted. “I don't particularly want to stay awake either but I just…”

“I get it.” Blaine smiled, just as there was a knock on the door. Kurt climbed off of his lap and took ahold of his hand, not wanting to leave Blaine even to walk to the door, but only once he opened the door did he realise what a bad idea that was.

“Of course,” Nick laughed, shaking his head. “Of course you went running back to him.”

“What do you want?” Kurt asked tiredly.

“I came to apologise but like always, he's with you.”

“Wow, jealous much?” Blaine said before he could stop himself.

“He is here because you were a jerk to me last night and I had nobody else to talk to.” Kurt replied, ignoring Blaine's remark.

“Oh, come on, stop playing the damsel in distress, Kurt. There are plenty of people you could've turned to - Jeff, Quinn, Wes, anybody.”

“Don't talk to him like that,” Blaine cut in. “I don't care if you have a problem with me but don't you dare take it out on him. He's your boyfriend, not your slave. He's allowed to be friends with whoever he wants to be and he's allowed to talk to whoever he wants to - you don't control him.”

“Don't act like you wouldn't jump at the chance to get him back.”

“I'm not denying that I still love him and that I'd give anything to be with him, but when have I ever tried to come between the two of you?”

Kurt was stunned into silence. Usually he'd moan at Blaine for not letting him fight his own battles, but he actually kind of liked that Blaine was sticking up for him. Well, it was that and the fact that he'd just said that he was in love with him still.

“That doesn't mean you don't want to.”

“I don't,” Blaine replied earnestly. “I don't want to come between you two because I love him and I want him to be happy. No matter how much I miss him, I would never deliberately try and split him up from someone who made him happy. That's what true love is, Nick. Trying to control your boyfriend, stopping him from seeing his friends and making him feel like crap about himself isn't true love - see the difference between our friendship and your relationship?”

“And breaking his heart multiple times is true love, I suppose?”

“Yes, I made mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes, but I have never - not once - made him feel like rubbish about himself. I have never tried to stop him from being friends with somebody just because I was jealous of them.”

“Guys, stop.” Kurt said weakly, only to be ignored by the two boys.

“I'm not jealous of you.”

“You fought with him because he's more comfortable with me than he is with you, that sounds like jealousy to me.”

“Please stop fighting.” Kurt pleaded, again being ignored.

“I fought with him because I'm sick of him acting like the entire world revolves around you, it's annoying. All it is with him is Blaine this, Blaine that, Blaine's flying in today, I talked to Blaine last night, Blaine blah blah blah blah -” SLAP.

“Blaine!” Kurt all but screamed.

Nick brought a hand up to his cheek, shocked that Blaine had actually hit him. Blaine, however, was still filled with rage as he grabbed the collar of Nick's shirt and pulled him closer, ignoring Kurt's shouts of “get off him!”

“Say one more nasty thing about him and I swear to god -”

“What is going on here!?” Burt's voice boomed from behind Nick.

Blaine released the sixteen year old's shirt and stepped backwards as if surrendering. Nick turned around and made his way back to his car as Burt shoved Blaine inside the house, following behind him.

“What has gotten into you?” Burt asked, receiving no answer from Blaine. “Kurt?” He said, facing his son.

“I...he was sticking up for me, I tried to stop them from arguing but they wouldn't listen to me and then Blaine just...hit him.”

“I didn't mean to,” Blaine said, looking up at Burt with guilt in his eyes. “He was just being such a jerk and saying nasty things about Kurt and I...I lost my temper. I've never hit anybody in my life, I have no idea where that came from.”

Burt sighed, understanding what happened. “You were angry.”

“Yeah but I hit him,” Blaine replied. “I hit a sixteen year old.”

“Look...I'm not exactly happy that this happened, but it did, and there's nothing that can be done about it now, okay?” Burt said, going into the living room.

Blaine turned to face Kurt, looking extremely guilty. “I -”

“You idiot,” Kurt said, and Blaine was about to apologise when he was enveloped in a hug. “You're such an idiot.”

“I'm confused…I thought you were mad at me.”

Kurt pulled back, smiling at the nineteen year old with tears in his eyes. “How could I possibly be mad at somebody who loves me that much?”

Blaine smiled slightly, still kind of confused about the whole situation.

“I'm sorry, still,” He said. “I shouldn't have hit him.”

Kurt shrugged with a teasing smile. “He deserved it.”

Blaine shook his head with laughter, leading Kurt into the living room and sitting next to him on the sofa, unable to stop himself from glancing at him every now and then.