I belong to you,
Yes, I belong to you.

I know you're everything,
You're all I'll ever need,
I know you're eveything to me.

You caught my soul when I was struggling to breathe.
You made me whole.

Chapter 14:

Kurt opened the front door and found Santana standing there. He opened his mouth to say hello, but she pushed past him and walked inside. Kurt raised an eyerow and shut the door, then turned and looked at her.

"Oh, just ask me, Hummel," she said, rolling her dark eyes.

Kurt sighed. "Blaine's in the kitchen," he told her. "He'll want to know, too."

Kurt walked towards the kitchen and Santana followed. Blaine looked up when they walked in. He didn't smile.

"Hey," he greeted Santana. "How'd it go with Brittany?"

"See, that's what I like about Anderson," Santana said, grinning, "how he's always so blunt and straight to the point. Now that I think about it, that's the only straight thing about him, isn't it?"

Kurt knew she was using her biting humour to avoid the question, which probably meant it hadn't gone well. She sat down beside Blaine and Kurt sat the other side of him.

"What happened?" Blaine asked.

Santana sighed. "I told her how I felt and that I was totally out and not hiding it any more and basically the gist of it is that she said she can't just leave Artie—that she won't leave him." She shrugged, like it didn't bother her, but her face indicated otherwise. "It's whatever," she said. "Plenty more fish in the sea, right? Whatever the hell that means.."

"Artie is the wheelchair guy, right?" Blaine said, like he was trying to remember correctly.

"Yeah, the one you and Puckerman used to throw down the back staircase every other day," Santana informed him.

Kurt frowned. Blaine looked uncomfortable. He didn't like talking about, or being reminded of his bullying days.

"Yeah, yeah, Anderson," Santana said, rolling her eyes, "don't give me that look. I know you're a reformed man or whatever. I'm just sayin'."

Kurt sighed. "You'll find someone, Santana."

"Yeah, well, maybe I've already found someone. Maybe I don't want to find anyone else. Maybe I'm just going to be alone for the rest of my life, because I can never have what I want."

Kurt stayed silent, but Blaine sighed quietly and looked at her.

"Been there," he mumbled.

Both Kurt and Santana gave him a quizzical look. He shrugged.

"Well, kind of," he said. "I know what it's like to want someone you can't have."

"Who?" Santana asked and Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Him," Blaine said, smiling a little and giving Kurt a small nudge.

"Please," Santana said with a snort. "You have him every frickin' night, sometimes more than once a night. Don't think I don't hear you, those walls are paper thin."

"I don't mean sex," Blaine said, chuckling. "I just mean that Kurt and I were..we had some sort of a relationship before I came out. We never really established just what we were back then, but I sort of loved him and he was trying to get me to be myself and to try to be honest and I couldn't do it and then when I finally came out, I didn't have him any more. Not in the ways I'd had him before and for a long time I thought that was it, y'know? He was leaving and I was never going to have him with me again, but things change, Santana. It's just that sometimes you have to make things change."

Kurt looked at him in surprise.

"How?" Santana asked.

"Do what feels right," Blaine told her. "I was going to leave. I was getting out of here and never coming back and I was totally ready to do it, but every time I shut my eyes all I could see was this set of blue eyes and I couldn't not do anything about it, or I was just going to keep seeing them for the rest of my life and I couldn't deal with that, so I showed up outside his door," Blaine smiled, "and it's the best decision I've ever made. Don't sit around, Santana. Do something about it."

Kurt gave him a soft smile.

"Anderson," Santana said, grimacing. "All those years of evil doing could have been put to good use. You're not bad at the old advice giving, not bad at all."

Blaine smiled this time.

"So, what are you guys up to for the day?" Santana asked.

"Blaine's mom is coming over," Kurt told her and Blaine's smile dissipated.

Santana looked at him. "Not looking forward to that?"

Blaine shrugged. "I don't know what to think," he told her. "I don't know if she's trying to handle it, or trying to convince me to do what they want."

Santana gave him a nod. "Only one way to find out, right?"

"Cheese."

Blaine looked up from the shopping cart, into which Kurt was flinging food items. "Huh?"

"It's right beside you, baby," Kurt told him, gesturing behind him. "The cheese," he added.

Blaine shook his head and looked behind him at all the different cheeses in the refrigerator. He turned back to Kurt.

"What kind?"

"What kind does your mom like best?" Kurt asked.

Blaine didn't remember. Did his mom even like cheese? He gave Kurt a shrug. Kurt rolled his eyes, but gave him a sympathetic smile. He gave Blaine a gentle pat on the back as he went around him to look at the cheeses. Blaine looked back down at the list resting on top of the loaf of bread in the cart.

"Well, well, well," a voice said behind him, "look who's back in town!"

Blaine swung around and found Kenny Puckerman standing there, still in his leather jacket, grinning wildly. Kurt turned, too and scowled.

"Great," he muttered.

"What do you want?" Blaine asked, coldly.

"Some cheese, if that's okay with you," Kenny informed him, still smiling.

He walked around the shopping cart and stood next to Kurt. He bent and picked up a block of cheese, then faced them again.

"So, you two are still a thing," he said, matter-of-factly.

"If by 'a thing' you mean 'romantically involved', or 'together', or 'a couple', then yes, we are," Kurt said, folding his arms.

Kenny nodded and dropped his block of cheese into the small carrier basket on his arm. "Cute," he said, with a sneer. He looked to Blaine. "You look better than the last time I saw you," he told him. "I mean, you're not harrassing the staff at Breadstix, or crying into your own sleeve, because your hot ass boyfriend left you all by yourself." Kenny's dark eyes were on Kurt then. "You're still the hottest piece of action in this town, Hummel."

"Well, luckily we don't live in this town any more, so the title is no longer mine," Kurt said, flatly.

"Title's still yours," Blaine told him, with a smile. "Doesn't matter where you are."

Kurt rolled his eyes and gave Blaine a small nudge.

"How precious," Kenny said, sarcastically.

Blaine looked at him. "Speaking of precious," he began, "are you and Dave Karofsky still as adorable as ever? Did you ever get him that white-gold wedding band?"

Blaine watched as Kenny's smile faded. "Funny, Anderson," he deadpanned. "I haven't seen Karofsky since graduation. And trust me, there's no love lost there."

"Aw, no wedding?"

Kenny glared at him, then looked at Kurt. He smiled again. "So, Hummel," he said, sweetly. "Ready to dump the dwarf and see what it's like to be with a real gay guy? I mean, Blaine's pretty gay, but let's face it, he's been with girls his whole life. I've definitely never touched a girl. Do you want to know how many notches I've got on my bedpost, Hummel?"

"Definitely not," Kurt apprised him. "That is information I could do without, Kenneth, thank you very much. Blaine and I need to get going. Come on, honey."

Blaine began pushing the cart after Kurt.

"God, Anderson," Kenny said, chuckling, "you are so totally whipped."

Kurt hadn't heard him, so he was a few paces ahead. Blaine hung back a bit and ave Kenny a broad grin.

"Only when he's feeling especially frisky, Kenny," Blaine told him with a wink.

Kenny's smile disippated again and he gave Blaine a scowl.

"Blaine!"

Blaine looked up at Kurt, who was beckoning him.

"Later, Kenny," Blaine said, still smiling, then went and joined Kurt, slipping his arm around his waist when he got there.

It was nice knowing he still had something that made other people envy him.

"Come here," Kurt said.

Blaine dropped his shaking hands from the bow tie and went towards his boyfriend. Kurt smiled and helped him do it up.

"You're shaking," he told Blaine. "It'll be okay."

Blaine nodded, but he wasn't even close to being convinced.

"This is a good thing, you know?" Kurt said. "She's obviously trying, Blaine. That's a pretty big thing. I mean, last time we were in the same room as your mom, she was trying to convince you you were straight and acting like I wasn't even there. This signals potential, Blaine."

"I guess," Blaine said, a little breathlessly. "And if it goes horribly wrong?"

Kurt touched his cheek and he shivered at the touch. "Then we do exactly what we've done from the beginning," Kurt told him, smiling still. "We push forward, we get through it together. We keep on loving each other. Deal?"

"Deal," Blaine told him, then pulled him forward for a kiss, because Kurt could keep him floating, even when he knew he was so close to drowning. Kurt would always save him.

Kurt watched as Blaine opened the front door, his chest rising and falling quickly. The door opened all the way and Blaine's mom stood there, looking as nervous as Blaine looked. She was dressed in dark colours, her eyes a little tired looking.

"Hi, mom," Blaine managed and he stood back to allow his mother inside. Blaine shut the door when she came in. "Um, I guess I never really introduced you guys.." Blaine trailed off, biting his bottom lip.

Kurt stepped forward and extended a hand.

"Kurt Hummel," he told her with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs Anderson."

Blaine's mom eyed Kurt's outstretched hand for what seemed like a long time, but she never took it. She raised her eyes to Kurt's face and said, "Deborah."

Kurt dropped his hand and saw Blaine's face scrunch up with worry. Kurt smiled, brightly. "Well, it's nice to meet you," he told her. "You wanted to talk.. We could go to the kitchen?" he offered.

Blaine moved forward. "Right," he said. "Yes, let's do, um, that."

Kurt followed him into the kitchen, Deborah Anderson following behind him. Blaine sat down and Kurt eyed him, wondering where would be ebst for him to sit, even though he was in his own house. Blaine knew his mother better than Kurt did and he didn't want to do anything that would harm them. Blaine's eyes flashed from Kurt to the seat next to him and Kurt gave him a smile, then went and sat down. Blaine grabbed his hand under the table, and entwined their fingers. Blaine's mom sat at the head of the table, next to Blaine.

"Can I get you anything, Mrs Anderson?" Kurt asked, politely. "Some coffee? Tea?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, almost robotically.

A few moments of silence passed and then Blaine cleared his throat.

"Mom," he said, quietly. "Did you want to talk about anything in particular? I mean, I know you said you would meet Kurt and stuff, but I didn't really think about what would happen after you'd, um, met."

Blaine was squeezing a bit too hard on Kurt's hand, so he twisted his fingers and then moved his hand to lay on top of Blaine's. He ran his thumb across his knuckles, hoping to reassure him a little.

"I need to tell you something important, Blaine," Mrs Anderson said, her hazel eyes flicking to Kurt momentarily.

Blaine shrugged. "So just tell me," he said. "Whatever it is, I'll just end up tellign Kurt anyway, so you may as well just say it."

She looked uncertain, then sighed and looked down at her hands. "I left your father."

Blaine went still. Had he heard her correctly?

"I'm sorry?" he managed.

"You know how you said he was sleeping with..other girls?" she asked. Blaine nodded. "Well, he was. Is. And I had always known, of course, but tos ee something like that first hand was a little...too much. So, I left."

Blaine remembered the day he had seen his father outside the Lima Bean with some red-head. He shuddered slightly.

"For good?" he asked. "You're.. Really?"

"For good," his mom confirmed. She seemed so much better now than she had been before Blaine had left for New York. It was kind of nice to see her acting like her old self again, even though she felt a bit like a stranger to him.

"Wow," was all he could say. Then, "So where are you staying?"

"Oh, I'll go to Fiona's," she told Blaine. "I.." She paused, looked at Kurt for a moment, then flicked her eyes back to look at Blaine. "It wasn't pleasant not being able to speak with you, Blaine. You're my son, even if the company you keep is.. Well." She stopped again and Blaine's heart beat sped up. "Even if I don't altogether understand your choices," she corrected. "I'd like for us to stay in contact, if you'd like that, too."

Blaine's stomach did a small flip. "I would," he said, quietly, "but I need to know that you're going to try to accept me—us. Kurt and I. I understand that you're struggling with this, but I can't have you in my life for real if you're going to speak only to me and ignore the fact that Kurt is an integral part of me."

Blaine's mom looked conflicted for a moment, then she nodded, quickly. "Of course," she said and she looked at Kurt properly. "I can't.. I can't make any promises a-about being able to-to understand, or even approve completely, but if you're...if you're important to Blaine, I can t-try."

Blaine smiled. She was actually speaking to Kurt and not just about him.

"I'd like that," Kurt told her, smiling. "I know it would mean a lot to Blaine if you did, right, babe?"

Blaine smiled back at Kurt and he could feel his mother going slightly rigid at the term of endearment, but he ignored it, she would get used to it.

"Absolutely," Blaine said, nodding. "I.. I missed you, mom."

Deborah Anderson looked at her son and smiled, properly, her pearly wite teeth on show. Her eyes, which matched Blaine's, shone. "I missed you, too, sweetheart. I—I'm sorry. About everything. It's.." She paused and searched for the correct words. "It's difficult to come to terms with, Blaine, that's all and I'm not sure what I believe, or if this is the best thing for me to do—to condone...this, but you.. You're happy? With.. With K-Kurt?"

"Never been happier," Blaine said, instantly.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you truly happy, Blaine," she told him and Blaine could tell this was difficult for her. "I'm not saying I...that I..."

"I know," Blaine said. "But thank you for giving it a chance. I know you'll understand better soon, mom. Kurt is the best person I know and we love each other. A lot. And I hope you'll see that and..and maybe understand a little better."

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She looked exhausted. "I'll try, Blaine. That's all I can..do. Try."

"Thank you."

Blaine looked up at Kurt's words and so did his mom. Kurt was smiling at her.

"Thank you for giving him hope," he said. "He needed this. For you to tell him you still love him regardless of who he loves. He..he needed you to try for him. He's been hurting a lot. So, just..thank you."

"I can't promise anything," Blaine's mom told Kurt.

"I know," Kurt said, with a nod, "but the fact that you're trying means a lot and I know it would break him if it all fell through, but," Kurt said, looking at Blaine, "we won't let that happen, right?"

Blaine smiled, heart swelling in his chest. "No," he said, "we won't."

"Mrs Anderson," Kurt said, a fter a few moments.

Blaine mom looked up at him expectantly.

"Where will you be spoending Christmas?"

She looked about as taken aback as Blaine felt. "Oh!" she said. "Well, I.. I hadn't really thought about it.

"My dad and his new wife are on their honeymoon, so it'll just be myself, Blaine and my step-brother Finn. You're welcome to join us."

Blaine gaped at Kurt. He knew Kurt was nervous, but that he was doing this for Blaine, because he knew he would appreciate it.

"Well, I'm not sure.." she said.

"That's okay," Blaine said. "You can call me, let me know. You don't have to answer right away."

"Well," she said again. "Ah—thank you for your kind o-offer," she said, looking directly at Kurt again.

"No problem," Kurt responded, happily. "We'd love to have you."

Blaine's mom smiled—smiled—and Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand and Blaine squeezed back, because for the first time in a long, long time, things felt like they could get better.