They say the easiest thing to do,
is to love the fact I have you,
God sent angels from above,
and I caught the one I love.

No, I can't believe I caught you,
no, I can't believe you are all mine.

I caught my angel.

Chapter 10:

Kurt, Blaine, Santana, Finn and Rachel sat in the airport, waiting for Burt and Carole to pick them up. They were sipping bad, vending machine coffee and Finn was eating a bag of Doritos. Kurt watched him in disgust, as he took a handful and shoveled them into his mouth. Blaine chuckled beside him.

"Just think," he told Kurt, "in a few days, he's going to be your step-brother."

Kurt glowered. "Don't remind me."

"It feels weird, doesn't it?" Blaine asked. "Being back here?"

"I'm not sure 'weird' is the right word," Kurt said, carefully, "but it's certainly interesting."

"Hey, listen, I was thinking," Blaine said, a little quieter now, "what's the deal with the sleeping arrangements?"

Kurt shook his head. "God, Blaine," he said, laughing quietly. "I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't imagine my dad would have much of a problem with letting us stay in my old room. I mean, we stayed there even before we started living together."

Blaine nodded and stayed silent for a minute, then he said, "He must know, right? That we're having sex? I mean, he has to know. We're living together and—"

Kurt laughed. "Are you nervous of my dad?"

Blaine shrugged. "Not nervous. Just..unhinged."

Kurt stifled his laugh, because Blaine was pouting at him. He really didn't have anything to worry about. Kurt guessed it was because he was still thinking in the mindset that his own father had given him, but Burt wasn't like that.

"Blaine," Kurt said, turning to look at him. "Baby. Relax. My dad loves you."

Blaine still looked unsure, so Kurt shifted a little and laid a hand over his, ignoring the fact that they were back in Ohio and that they could risk seeing someone they knew. Right now, it didn't matter what others thought, he needed to make sure Blaine was okay.

"Look," Kurt began and Blaine looked up into his eyes. "We're not kids any more, Blaine. Of course he knows what goes on when we close that bedroom door back home—"

"Sometimes you don't even close it," Santana pointed out, sitting down across from Blaine, apparently having heard that last statement.

Kurt glared at her, meaningfully, trying to get across to her that he was busy consoling Blaine, who, despite trying to cover it up, was actually really nervous about coming back to Lima, the place where it had all gone so wrong.

"Listen, he knows," Kurt told Blaine. "Don't worry about it. It's going to be absolutely fine, I promise."

Blaine turned his hand over beneath Kurt's and entwined their fingers. He looked up into his eyes again and said, "I really love you, you know." He leaned a little closer and went on, quieter this time, "You.. You just really mean a lot to me. You know that, right?"

Kurt tilted his head sideways and looked at him. "I know," he said, carefully. "Are you okay? Nothing's wrong?"

Blaine sighed, quietly. "Tell you about it later?" he asked.

Kurt gave his hand a squeeze. "Whenever you're ready."

"Thank you."

"Hey, don't thank me," Kurt said, smiling. His phone started buzzing then, in his pocket. "That'll be my dad," he muttered, pulling his phone out and hitting the receive call button. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kurt," Burt said on the other end. "I just got here, Carole's following. Come to the front entrance."

"Okay, five minutes, dad."

He stood up and said, "My dad's here."

Blaine was a little taken aback when Burt Hummel let Kurt go, then took Blaine into a tight embrace.

"It's great to see you, kid," Burt said, finally letting go.

"You, too, Mr H—Burt," Blaine corrected himself. "It's—Congratulations. On the wedding and everything."

"Thanks," Burt said, beaming at him. He looked around at Carole, Finn, Rachel and Santana lifting their bags into Carole's car. "We'd better get your stuff in the car."

After they had packed all their bags into Burt's trunk, Blaine slid into the back seat. Kurt placed a bag on the front seat, shut the door, then slid in next to Blaine. The buckled their seat belts and Burt climbed into the driver's seat and buckled his.

"Good to go?" he asked them, looking at them through the rear view mirror.

Blaine nodded and Kurt said, "Yep," and Burt started to drive.

It was strange being back in Ohio. It made Blaine feel younger, less confident. His stomach felt heavy and he felt cold as he looked out at the familiar roads and houses and stores and other buildings. Ohio should have held so many fond memories for him, but all he felt there was grief and a sadness in his heart.

Blaine was knocked from his reverie when he felt a warmth on his left hand. He looked from Kurt's hand in his own, up to Kurt's face.

"Okay?" Kurt asked him.

"It's just, um—I was just thinking about.." He trailed off, unable to finish that sentence, because he wasn't sure what he wanted to say.

"I know," Kurt said. "It is sort of weird being back here."

Kurt understood. Kurt always understood.

Carole and Finn took Rachel and Santana home, while Burt, Kurt and Blaine went back to the Hummel home. Carole had moved in soon after Blaine had left Ohio to be with Kurt in New York, so Finn had the spare bedroom upstairs. Blaine was still a little worried about the sleeping arrangements, Kurt could see it in his eyes, so he asked Burt about it.

"Hey, dad," he said and Burt turned to look at him. "Blaine and I are cool down in my room, right?"

Blaine gaped at him, but he ignored that and kept looking at Burt, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Burt said, taking his cap off and holding it in his hands.

"Okay, no way," Kurt said, shaking his head. "We're not doing a sex talk with my boyfriend standing right there, I am not fifteen. We've been living together for over a year, dad, we don't need—"

"Kurt," Burt said, looking amused. "I wasn't going to say nothing like that, not what you're thinkin' anyhow. Look, you're both adults. You live together. The pace of your relationship is none of my business."

"Oh my God," Kurt said, mortified. He couldn't look at Blaine.

"But," Burt said, "you gotta respect me, so no funny business—"

"Oh my God," Kurt repeated.

"—under my roof, okay?" Burt asked, looking back and forth between Kurt and Blaine.

To Kurt's surprise, Blaine stepped forward next to him. "Of course," he said. "Nothing like that will, um, happen. Thanks for..well, everything and I'll just..stop..talking now."

Kurt looked at him, quirking one eyebrow, but Blaine was just blushing down at his feet. Kurt shook his head and looked at Burt. "What he said," he told him. "We'll go put our things away, now and then I'm going to shower off all the embarrassment I am currently covered in. Come on, Blaine."

"Hey, Kurt," Blaine said from Kurt's bed.

"Hmm?" Kurt sounded from the bathroom.

"I've been thinking—"

"Makes a nice change," Kurt teased, walking to the door, with just a towel around him.

Blaine swallowed and tore his eyes away. "I was thinking," he said again, "about what your dad said."

"Oh, God," Kurt chuckled, crossing the room to look in his suitcase. "You know, baby, don't even worry about that, because—"

"I sort of wanted to abide by his rules."

Kurt's eyes were on him, then, mouth hanging slightly. "Blaine," he said, finally, "it's not like we've never...here."

Blaine shrugged. It wasn't that they had sex every single day, or anything, it was just that being in bed, alone, with Kurt was something he didn't really trust himself with, but he wanted to follow the rules set out.

"It's just that your dad's been so nice and—"

"It's cute that you want to do this," Kurt told him, dropping his towel, "but honestly, Blaine, he won't even know. You and I—"

"It wouldn't feel right," Blaine protested.

Kurt looked conflicted. And naked. Very naked. "But we're here until New Year's," he said, sounding like a child deprived of his favourite toy.

Blaine couldn't help laughing. Kurt was scowling at him. "I'm sorry," Blaine said, still laughing. "It's just that you seem so offended that I am depriving you of my coc—"

"Stop right there, Blaine Anderson," Kurt cut in, but he was smiling a little. "You don't get to say words like that while I'm naked and forbidden to touch you for a whole ten days."

"You are awfully naked right now," Blaine said, studiously. "I hope you're not going to make a habit of it, because I don't know how long I'm going to be able to stick to these rules if you are."

"Maybe I'll just never put clothes on, then," Kurt said. "Does it make you want me more?" he asked, rotating his hips a little.

Blaine stood up quickly, smiling, then went into the bathroom and shut the door, before he changed his mind about the whole thing.

"Blaine Anderson, if I hear you—"

"What?" Blaine shouted out. "I can't hear you, I'm masturbating."

"Asshole!" Kurt shouted back and Blaine laughed and fiddled with the dial on the shower. He loved teasing Kurt, but really, he wasn't sure just how long he would be able to keep his word on the ten day celibacy front.

"Friday is going to be amazing," Kurt grinned later that night, as he checked off his list for the wedding "I'm so excited!"

"You make it sound like it's your wedding," Finn said, sounding bewildered.

Kurt rolled his eyes and Blaine smiled. "You guys are going to be, like, brothers, now," Blaine said and he was awarded with a look of disapproval from Kurt. "That's cool, right?"

"Yeah," Finn shrugged, eyes on the TV. "Kurt's a cool guy."

"He's okay," Blaine said, smirking.

Finn stood up and stretched, arms in the air. He made a loud groaning sound, then said, "I'm going to bed. 'Night, Kurt, Blaine."

They said good night and Finn left the room. Kurt looked at Blaine.

"Wanna head down?" Blaine asked, smiling.

"It's not even midnight," Kurt told Blaine. "And it's not like we can do anything to pass the time." He gave Blaine a meaningful look.

Blaine laughed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "We can talk," he offered. "You do remember talking, right, Kurt? It comes before the sex. Like, before we had sex, we talked and we survived. Imagine that."

"Actually, you and I had sex before we talked," Kurt argued.

Blaine chuckled. He had a point. "Okay, I'll give you that," he said. "But I actually wanted to talk to you about something. If you can bear to join me without the promise of sex, that is."

"Well, I don't know," Kurt teased, then grabbed Blaine's hand and pulled him up off the couch. "Come on, let's go say goodnight to my dad and we can talk for as long as you want."

Blaine was in bed before Kurt, because while he had become accustomed to performing a skin care routine every night, Kurt's regime still lasted far longer than Blaine's did.

"It's weird sleeping with clothes on," Blaine told Kurt.

"We do sleep with clothes on sometimes, Blaine," Kurt replied, smiling at him through the mirror.

He stood up and changed into pyjamas, then switched off the light and climbed into his old bed, next to Blaine.

"Well, this is familiar," Kurt said, coming up closer to him.

"No, you need to be a lot more rigid and not touching me," Blaine said, entwining their fingers. "And I need to be miserable and afraid and cowardly and—"

Kurt silenced him by pressing their lips together. "What did you want to talk about?"

Kurt felt Blaine taking a deep breath, then exhaling. "Okay," Blaine said, quietly. "You know how I got that call from my dad a while back and how I was worried about what that would mean and all that stuff?"

Kurt nodded, then remembered that Blaine couldn't see him in what little light was slipping through the windows at the top of the room. "Yeah."

"I was thinking about going to see him—them. My parents. What do you think?"

Kurt paused and thought about it and he could almost feel Blaine anticipating an answer next to him. Kurt just wasn't sure. Blaine had been doing relatively well and this could set him back, but if he really felt that strongly about it..

"Why?" Kurt asked. "I'm not saying you shouldn't. I'm just wondering what you would say."

Blaine shifted next to him, turning to face him in the darkness. "I don't even know," Blaine confessed. "I just feel like it's something I need to do, you know? It's probably a terrible idea."

"If you feel like you need to do it, you should do it," Kurt said, reaching across to find Blaine's face in the dark. "I'd come with you, if that was what you wanted."

Blaine sighed. "I'm not sure," he told Kurt. "I don't know if it's a good idea. I keep telling myself that it doesn't bother me that they want nothing to do with me, but—"

"I know," Kurt assured him. "I know it hurts you."

"You do?"

"Of course," Kurt nodded again. "I see you getting down about it sometimes. I think you should do it. Maybe it'll be bad, but it could also put your mind at ease. I'll come, I'll be there for you. If you don't want me there, I'll be right here when you get back. Either way, you've still got me at the end of it all. And you've got Santana and Rachel and Finn and my dad and Carole. We're here for you."

Blaine was silent, but he pulled Kurt closer to him. After a while, he spoke. "You think I should? What if it makes things worse?"

"Then we come back here and you cry, or do whatever you need to get it out of your system and I'll be here for you. You're not getting rid of me, you know," he said, smiling. "Then we'll just go home and keep living and we'll get through it together, right?"

Blaine nodded against Kurt's shoulder. "What's the plan for tomorrow?" he asked, quietly.

"Well, I was thinking about going down to the place they're having the reception. Just to look it over. But we can definitely work around whatever you need to do."

Blaine was quiet again. Kurt stayed quiet, too, because he knew he needed time to think. He wanted to just wrap him up in his arms and hold him when he got like this.

"I think I'll go by myself," he told Kurt after a few heartbeats. "I'm grateful that you're willing to come, but I think I need to separate the two: You and them. I need to do what I need to do there and then come back to you, you know? Is that stupid? Does it even make sense?"

"It makes sense," Kurt assured him. "It's not stupid at all. I could drop you off on the way?"

"Yeah," Blaine said. "That'd be great."

"And then I'll pick you up whenever you're ready. My dad has my car—and probably yours—at the garage."

Blaine kissed him, unexpectedly, but Kurt wasn't complaining. He didn't try to take things any further, because he knew Blaine felt strongly about following Burt's rules. He knew why, too. He knew that he was doing this to respect Kurt's father, because of how he treated him. His own father was nothing like Burt, so he didn't deserve his respect. Burt did and Kurt knew that was how Blaine was thinking.

"I love you, you know," Blaine told him, quietly, breath warm on Kurt's lips. "Thank you for understanding all this and for pretending, even if you don't. It means the world to me—you mean the world to me. If this goes horribly wrong, screw it. I've still got you."

"You've always got me," Kurt told him, heart racing in his chest, because he loved when Blaine spoke like that. "And I love you, too."

Blaine kissed him lightly again, then leaned back and said, "I'm sorry I won't sleep with you. Believe me when I say it's not because of lack of sex appeal. You're beautiful." Kurt's heard skipped a beat in his chest and he wanted to squeeze Blaine tight and hold on to him forever. "Okay, ouch, strong grip," Blaine said, laughing, when Kurt did just that. "I love you, but I'm smaller than you are, remember?"

"Blaine Anderson," Kurt said, loosening his grip, "did you just call me fat?"

Blaine laced his arms around Kurt's waist and said, "Not likely, is it?"

"Too thin?" Kurt asked, as Blaine placed a butterfly kiss to his smiling lips.

"No," Blaine told him. "Perfect."

Kurt chuckled and closed his eyes and simply breathed Blaine's familiar scent in. It was so familiar being there with him, where they had first slept together. It was better now, because they didn't have that strained relationship, not possibility of one leaving the other hanging over them.

They were real. They were solid. They were in love. They were...

"Sometimes I don't really believe I have you," Blaine whispered in the darkness. "I think back and I wonder how I managed to end up with someone like you. I don't know what I'd do without you, Kurt. I can't believe we're real."

"Well, we are," Kurt promised.

"Forever?" Blaine uttered.

"Forever."

They were forever.