They pulled up in front of a tiny house on the outskirts of the town. It wasn't impressive in any way, but neat and cosy enough to feel welcoming. Sandy waved at the boys to not be shy and follow her, which they did, their step timid and uncertain. A light was on in the right-hand window, telling them that someone was home.

As soon as the front door creaked open before Sandy, a tall man with an annoyed expression and his hair cropped short jogged out of the room on the right. He was just about to say something when he caught a glimpse of the two figures standing behind her.

'San? What are you doing?'

There was a smattering of disapproval in his tone, in addition to his thick Southern drawl.

'Come on in, guys,' she said over her shoulder, before turning back to her husband (Kurt had noticed a wedding band on her finger before, and a matching one adorned the man's hand). 'Drew, don't freak out. I picked those two up on the way to town, and they have nowhere to stay tonight, so I thought I'd...'

'So you thought you'd let strangers into our home and not even ask what I think about it.' He crossed his arms over his chest, challenging.

'When you start paying the bills in our home, I'll let you have a say,' Sandy replied quietly.

At first Kurt and Blaine assumed she lowered her voice on their account, so that they wouldn't hear their private quarrels, but then they noticed a head of delicate fluffy curls peek from the doorway the man had emerged from. Large round green eyes were watching them from under a thick veil of dark lashes.

'Hayley, sweetie, didn't Daddy tuck you in yet?,' Sandy asked, her voice becoming cheerful and louder again as she kneeled next to her daughter.

The girl shook her head with a pout.

'I want a story and Daddy said you'll tell me when you get back,' Hayley said and raised her big eyes at Kurt and Blaine. 'What's your name?'

The boys exchanged a look, feeling awkward under the scrutiny of the toddler. Before either of them managed to answer, Sandy stepped in.

'This is Kurt and that's Blaine, they're going to stay with us tonight.'

Hayley nodded in response and furrowed her tiny brow.

'You can't sleep in my bed, because you're too big,' she said apologetically.

Any tension coming from the child's appearance melted away. Her father, though, was still clearly discontented about the unannounced presence in his house. He edged into the kitchen, throwing the others angry glances, while Sandy led the boys down the hall into the cramped and cluttered living room.

'The sofa's not much, but if you snuggle, you should be fine,' Sandy told them with a shy, maybe a little forced, smile as she shuffled off to fetch them pillows and blankets.

Kurt and Blaine sat carefully on the edge of the sofa, trying not to look around too inconspicuously. Neither of them had ever been in an English house, so the television set in one of the corners and the colourful plastic toys scattered around the floor seemed a little otherworldly. Absentmindedly, wishing for some familiarity in an entirely new situation, they huddled together on the couch, their hands clasping each other eagerly.

Hayley stayed with them in the room, seated cross-legged as she was picking up her toys from the floor. The dolls and teddy bears kept on slipping her grasp, though, as most of her attention was focused on the two strange boys in front of her. After a moment, her pixie-like voice broke the silence.

'Are you boyfriends?'

They froze, startled by the question. What was the right answer to that question in the outside world? In a conversation with a four-year-old at that? After a half-minute of hesitation, Kurt finally decided leaving it without answer was worse than the worst possible answer. Kids did have a tendency to press for explanation when given none.

'Yes,' he said.

Hayley's gaze stayed glued to him until she eventually nodded and looked down at her dolls. That afternoon she had been acting out a wedding between two of them. She raised her eyes again.

'Cool. Are you gonna get married?'

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a glance, looking quickly away in unease. How was it possible that this little girl, so innocent with her golden curls and her dolls, would take the situation in without a second thought? How was it possible that it didn't scare, confuse or disgust her? How was it possible that she was asking them about getting married? Were all English children so used to seeing two men get married? Or was there something that made Hayley different from other children?

'I- I don't know,' Kurt mumbled finally. 'We haven't really talked about this. Do you think we could? Get married?'

The girl just shrugged her small shoulders.

'Why not? Everyone loves a wedding.'

Both of the boys barely managed to hold back a chuckle. Their eyes met for a moment and they blushed, knowing without words what the other was thinking. That yes, they would love a wedding.

Sandy walked back into the room, interrupting their unexpected exchange, carrying a couple of pillows and blankets. Without a word, Kurt and Blaine hurried to help make their improvised bed on top of the couch. Meanwhile Hayley managed to gather all of her playthings and bid them goodnight, before turning around with a bounce of her curls.

'I hope we're not causing any problems,' Blaine said quietly when the child left.

'Not at all,' Sandy told him with an unconvincing smile. 'Drew's just- We have a different life experience, that's all. Anyway, feel at home. I put fresh towels for you in the bathroom, they're next to the sink.'

'Thank you,' Blaine said. 'We're really grateful.'

'What he said,' Kurt added. 'And also, can I give you a hug?'

Sandy barked out a laugh. 'Absolutely, come here, both of you.'

The embrace felt to them almost like that of a mother. Almost, not really, but under the circumstances it was close enough.

'Goodnight, boys, sleep tight,' she said, as she slipped out of the room.

'Goodnight.'

***

Sleep came to them without effort. It didn't bother them how close they had to be to fit onto the couch cushions that were certainly too narrow to accommodate two people comfortably. Blaine was quite happy using Kurt's chest as a pillow, feeling safe with one of his boyfriend's arms wrapped over his shoulders. They slept soundly and dreamlessly, exhausted physically and mentally far more than they had ever been before.

Early the next morning, Kurt woke up well-rested, but didn't dare move in order not to rouse Blaine, who was still snuggled to his side. Instead, he closed his eyes, for the moment content with where he was and who he was with. Only a few minutes later, two hushed voices drifted into the room from the hallway. They weren't intended to be heard, he could tell that, but the cardboard-thin walls of the house prevented any kind of secrecy.

'What did you even think, bringing them into the house?'

'Drew, please, let it go,' Sandy pleaded in a whisper. 'They didn't ask for it, they haven't done anything for me not to trust them. They are in a really bad place, can't you get that? Maybe no one else will help them after they leave here, I wanted them to be safe and cared for for one more night, is it really such a bad thing to do?'

Drew stayed quiet for a moment, the silence disturbed only by gentle clinks of crockery and cutlery. They'd moved on into the kitchen.

'No, great, you're good people, San, I know that. You don't have to drag the homeless home for me to know that.' He paused for a brief moment. 'But seriously, San, taking in a couple of homos? Is it really what you want our daughter to be exposed to?'

The response reached Kurt's ears as a low hiss and he couldn't make out the words.

'I don't know!,' Drew's voice sounded louder than earlier, but he immediately dropped it again. 'Maybe it's not contagious, maybe it is. Who the hell knows these things? And it's not just that they're fags, they're some cult freaks! You should know better than to trust their kind.'

'They're Amish, Drew, it's a denomination. And they just left their community. Guess why?' No reply came. ''Cause they didn't want to be treated like shit. Which is exactly what they can expect from you, now isn't it?'

Kurt heard Drew snort, and his insides clenched. After Hayley's immediate, unquestioning acceptance, her father's obvious intolerance was a hard blow. He wished he hadn't woken up, even though reason told him it was probably better if he knew from the start that the outside world was the same as the community; there were all kinds of people everywhere, and neither their religion, nor their way of life alone could make them superior to anyone else.

'Tell me just one thing, San,' Drew continued their conversation. 'If it wasn't just a night, if it was a week, or two weeks, would you have let them stay?'

'Yes.'

The answer came without a second's delay, firm and unwavering. Kurt would've expected Sandy to have to consider her response, and he felt touched that she didn't.

'You know that if they stayed longer, I wouldn't?,' Drew asked in a threatening voice.

'Now I do,' Sandy said after a beat. Judging by her voice, Drew didn't manage to scare her. She sounded just as confident as she was when she answered his previous question. 'And I'm beginning to wonder why I've let you stay this long.'

'Excuse me?' Drew's tone was full of offended disbelief. 'I am your husband, you are to respect me!' Words were spilling through his clenched teeth, making him sound rabid.

Kurt stifled a gasp; he hadn't intended – nor did he want – to overhear how their hosts' marriage fell apart, but he didn't have a choice. The slightest movement could be the one that would wake Blaine. And he needed the peace and tranquillity sleep gave him.

'You are my husband, so you should've earned my respect,' Sandy said and made a pause. 'When the boys get up, I'm going to drive them to the bus station, make sure they get on the right bus, give them my phone number, in case they ever need any help, and I'm gonna hug them and kiss them goodbye, because they are the kind of people I don't mind giving my time of day to. Unlike ungrateful, abusive, unemployed husbands. So when I'm back, I honestly hope you won't be here anymore.' Drew didn't even begin saying anything and Sandy's footsteps sounded in the hallway. 'Oh, and don't worry about Hayley, we're both going to see the boys off.'

Silence enveloped the house, and Kurt smiled to himself. He hated that they were the reason someone's long-time relationship suffered, but he couldn't help but think that Sandy was better off without that guy anyway.

***

By ten o'clock, they were holding on tightly to their bus tickets, with Sandy and Hayley accompanying them till the massive vehicle pulled up to let its passengers in. Both Kurt and Blaine had also a piece of paper with Sandy's phone number scrawled on it tucked into their pockets. That was when Sandy refused to accept any more thanks. She assured them that helping them was nothing short of a genuine pleasure.

Kurt hadn't told anyone that he'd overheard Sandy and Drew's fight, and for the time being he pretended not to know how much disturbance their arrival caused. Mostly, he'd hate for Blaine to find that out, knowing that he'd feel guilty. And there were already too many things Blaine was blaming himself for.

'I hope you'll find your dad soon, Kurt, and that he'll be worth risking so much for,' Sandy said as she hugged him, and then Blaine goodbye. 'Blaine, don't be afraid of the world. I'm sure you'll find your place in it.'

They smiled in thanks, before ascending the steps and disappearing in the bus. A moment later, they sank into their seats and watched Sandy and Hayley wave them goodbye.

And when they were left behind, the boys sighed in sync. Blaine leaned his head on Kurt's shoulder, trying to calm his heart which was pounding loudly in his chest. Kurt sent him a glance and a small smile, taking Blaine's hand into his own.

'Don't worry, it's going to be fine,' he said quietly.

'You can't know that. We're completely alone, we don't know where we're going really, and we have to count on the generosity and kindness of complete strangers, and I'm not sure there are too many people generous and kind enough to help us. And we have no guarantee your father is going to be willing to help us either.' Blaine's eyebrows pulled together in worry.

Kurt kissed his furrowed forehead gently.

'I don't know that, but I've got to believe it's going to work out. I may not have faith in God, but I do believe in people. Or at least, I believe that my father is a good person. I don't know why, I just feel that he is.'

'I'm sure he is,' Blaine told him firmly. 'He's your father, he couldn't be evil.'

'Well, there's one way to find out if we're right,' Kurt sighed. Even though he'd been waiting for this his whole life, the thought of meeting his father, the idea that he might have sacrificed a semblance of safety and home for someone who might not want to have anything to do with him terrified him beyond words.

But there was no going back now. They were out of the community, on their own, with their hopes and dreams, and a road slipping away under the bus wheels.