BEING SICK

It was a commonly accepted rule amongst the New Directions - besides never allowing Mr. Schuester to rap again - to stay as far away as possible from Kurt whenever he was sick. While Rachel became a dramatic recluse and Sam a lovesick puppy whenever they were sick, Kurt became a person so cold his gaze could pierce the Antarctic Tundra. No one was safe from Kurts bitter lashes that only came about when he was under the weather, not even poor, unsuspecting Mrs. Pillsbury, whod made the mistake of patting Kurt on the shoulder during the Great Hummel Flu of 2010.

The New Directions were quick to warn Blaine about his new boyfriends wrath when it came to illness - a warning that he laughably shrugged off. Blaine learned the hard way that he shouldve heeded said warning - specifically on a December night during his junior year. Kurts stress over his NYADA application was almost palpable, and when he found himself suddenly coughing and sneezing at the end of every sentence his entire world turned on its axis. Blaine was honestly terrified of what his boyfriend had become, spending most of the week hiding from Kurt as best he could.

When Blaine was rudely awakened by a swift kick to his lower back, he immediately had his suspicions. Blaine sat up with a groan, noticing that Kurt had managed to hoard all of the blankets - his face clearly contorted into a look of discomfort. Blaine slumped back down onto the bed with a sigh, resigning himself to spend the rest of the night without blankets, knowing the effort would be a lost cause. With a sigh he attempted to lull himself back to sleep - hed be needing all the rest he could get. It was going to be a long week.

Blaine attempted to stave off Kurts wrath earlier that morning in the form of fresh brewed coffee, waiting for Kurt when he woke up. "Morning, darling," Blaine greeted as Kurt shuffled into the kitchen, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Kurts warm cheek. In response, Kurt gave Blaine an icy look - his porcelain skin marred by a grayish tinge and dark circles lined beneath his eyes. "Howre you feeling?" Blaine dared to ask, bracing himself for a violent reaction. Kurt simply kept his eyes straight ahead, eyes glazed over. Choosing not to push his luck, Blaine sat down at the table and returned to his breakfast while Kurt went about his usual routine in silence. Blaine had a feeling that Kurts over working himself at the diner would lead to him being rundown eventually, but it seemed that Kurts vocal run off against Elliot the night before was what finally did him in. Not only had Kurt lost the run off (though he vehemently begged to differ), but he had also earned himself what appeared to be a cold, and possibly a sore throat.

Blaines suspicions were confirmed when Kurt let out a series of coughs. "Where did you put the chamomile tea?" Kurt rasped out, confirming Blaines second suspicion about a sore throat. The annoyance in Kurts voice was incredibly evident, and so Blaine moved as quickly as he could to pull the box of chamomile tea from the cupboard above Kurts head. "Sit down and relax, Ill make you the tea," Blaine offered, placing a gentle hand at the small of Kurts back. "I dont need help," Kurt snapped, moving away from Blaines touch before falling into another coughing fit. Blaine, despite Kurts physical protest, ran his palm soothingly along Kurts back. Too preoccupied with attempting to reign in his coughs, Kurt simply ignored Blaines touch. Knowing better than to keep his palm lingering for too long, Blaine returned to his seat as Kurts coughing fit subsided.

Blaine risked speaking once more after Kurt had taken several drawn out sips of tea, the tension in his shoulders appearing to slowly dissipate. "If youre not feeling good maybe you should stay home from work?" Blaine dared to offer, keeping his voice quiet and at bay for fear of angering Kurt. "… Alright," Kurt replied after several moments of tense silence. Blaines eyes widened in shock at the casual, though delayed response - having expected a minor meltdown at the very least at Blaines suggestion. Perhaps Blaine didnt know his usually stubborn fiancé as well as he thought he did.

Knowing better than to question Kurts calm demeanor, Blaine continued eating his breakfast in silence, extending a hand of good will by making Kurt a fresh cup of honey and lemon tea, a remedy his mother would always whip up whenever any of the Anderson boys were sick. Not surprisingly, Kurt had absolutely no reaction as Blaine set down the tea beside him. A small smile played at Blaines lips as he noticed Kurt taking short sips of the tea once hed thought Blaine was out of eye and earshot, Blaine laughing quietly to himself as he headed out the door for a full day of luncheons and errands.

Blaine was relieved to find Kurt fast asleep on the couch when he finally returned home long after the sun had set. Kurt was comfortably curled up in a bundle of blankets, Long Island Mediums quiet drone serving as background noise. Blaine smiled fondly at his slumbering fiancé, whipping his phone out to snap a photo of Kurt drooling contently in his cocoon of blankets - saving the photo for possible future blackmail. Kurt stirred in his fortress as the shutter sound of Blaines phone disturbed his peaceful daze, but remained fast asleep as he rolled onto his stomach. Blaine released a soft laugh combined with a sigh of relief as he stepped forward, running a gentle hand soothingly along Kurts back and placing a soft kiss to Kurts warm forehead.

Blaine shuffled quietly into the kitchen, humming softly to himself as he pulled out the left over salmon from the previous nights dinner and began to prepare a quick salad for dinner. He was in the midst of humming the chorus of his latest obsession - Fancy - when the sound of blankets rustling alerted him to Kurts awakening. "Good morning, sleeping beauty," Blaine greeted as Kurt leaned against the counter weakly. Kurt let out a drawn out yawn in reply, his nose wrinkling in what Blaine would usually have considered an adorable fashion, had it been under different circumstances.

"What that smell?" Kurt asked in disdain, eyeing the salad warily. "Salmon salad, its almost done." Blaine returned to his previous task of slicing avocados, knowing that he was going to receive some king of negative reaction from Kurt either way. "I hate salmon. Why do you only make things I dont like?" Kurt complained, crossing his arms across his chest and contorting his face into a look of childish displeasure. "Sweetheart, youre the one who bought the salmon that we had yesterday," Blaine replied as calmly as he could, sarcasm still managing to seep its way into his words. Kurt let out an indignant huff before storming off to the bedroom, practically stomping his feet the entire way. Blaine rolled his eyes, finishing up with the avocado first, figuring it was best to give both himself and Kurt a few minutes to cool off. Setting the salad aside, Blaine made his way over to his and Kurts shared bedroom area of the loft, Kurt too busy examining himself closely in their full length mirror to notice Blaines presence, occupied with scrutinizing the dark circles under his eyes. "Cmon, Kurt, you have to eat something." Kurt frowned at Blaines insistence, never taking his eyes off the mirror. "I dont need to eat anything. Im fine," Kurt protested sharply.

Blaine finally had enough of Kurts forced negative attitude, groaning as he stepped towards his fiancé. "Alright, enough of all this negativity," Blaine said before lifting Kurts lithe frame into his arms - Kurt squealing in surprise as he was lifted into a bridal carry and lifted over to the bed. "Blaine, stop it!" Kurt demanded, kicking and flailing as he was set down on top of the bed mere seconds later. "No. Now Im going to hold you until I squeeze all the negativity out of you," Blaine stated matter-of-factly as he wrapped his arms firmly around Kurt. Kurt wriggled helplessly in Blaines arms, his body too weak to properly resist Blaines well intentioned embrace. "Stop it right now, Blaine," Kurt argued, wriggling angrily. "Not until youre back to the Kurt we all know and love," Blaine replied before beginning to press kisses along Kurts cheek and jaw, each kiss met with a protest or grunt or pout from Kurt.

"Youre going to get sick too if you keep doing that," Kurt reasoned, his protest met with a smacking, wet kiss to his lips. "Dont care. Now, hush and accept my love," Blaine teased, smiling widely as he pressed a smattering of kisses along Kurts nose. All it took was a few more moments of peppering loving kisses along Kurts jawline and a fair amount of wiggling on Kurts part before Kurt finally cracked and released a quiet giggle.

"I heard that!" Blaine exclaimed, relaxing his hold on Kurt, only to busy his fingers with tickling along Kurts sides. "Blaine, stop, I cant breathe!" Kurt protested, wriggling wildly in Blaines hold, his giggle evolving into full fledged laughter as he struggled to escape Blaines trap. "Not until you tell me you love me."

Kurt put up an honorable battle, but ultimately gave in as Blaine incorporated kisses to the most sensitive part of Kurts neck into his attack. "Alright, alright, I love you!" Kurt cried out, tears of laughter beginning to roll down his cheeks. Blaine finally ended his attack on Kurt, Kurts chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Feel better?" Blaine asked, wiping away the tears that stained Kurts cheeks. "Youre evil," Kurt responded, earning a hearty laugh from Blaine. "All is fair in love and war, my dear," Blaine replied, wrapping an arm around Kurts waist, kissing him softly. "Still evil," Kurt said with a sly smile, leaning in to steal a quick kiss from Blaine, Blaine chasing after the sweet taste of Kurts lips. "Nuh uh, no more kisses for you, my torturer."

Before Blaine could protest Kurts words, the older male managed to slide out of Blaines grasp, dashing as quickly as he could to the living room. Despite his lack of a head start, Blaine managed to catch up to Kurt, tackling his fiancé onto the couch, the two boys erupting into fits of giggles. "Alright, Ill spare you for now, but I expect a surplus of kisses once youre feeling better," Blaine proposed, Kurt nodding in agreement once his laughter had boiled down to hiccups. The two sealed their pact with one last kiss, comfortably rearranging themselves on the couch for an evening of cuddling, more Long Island Medium, and salmon salad. Blaine made a mental note to send out a mass message to the New Directions once Kurt had fallen asleep again. Somehow, he had managed to tame the Sickness Beast.

And two weeks later, when Blaine found himself bed bound by the cold hed contracted from Kurt, Kurt made sure to pay Blaine back for his missing kisses. With interest.