As the appointment drags on, Kurt can tell that Blaine isn’t comfortable. He sits stiffly on the edge of the bench, his gaze lowered and unwilling to meet Kurt’s own. He answers Kurt’s questions in monosyllables, and there are occasionally long stretches of silence where Kurt attempts to coax Blaine out of his shell through nonactivity. He knows it will take time. Time, and patience.

He wonders what exactly happened to the boy. Blaine won’t tell him, of course, and Kurt will not ask. It is his job to do the best he can with what he is given. It is not his business to pry into his patients’ lives. But he finds himself growing weary of Blaine’s curt responses and fidgeting hands. The boy has the hunched posture of someone intensely uneasy with his surroundings, even with Kurt’s deliberate attempt to give Blaine some semblance of power. It’s a small thing, sitting below him. It doesn’t cost Kurt much.

But nor does it seem to help Blaine.

He can see traces of bruising on the boy’s face. Domestic abuse? But Blaine does not seem to fit the profile of an abused child – and moreover, hadn’t his mother made this appointment? Perhaps he was just accident-prone. They are in the middle of yet another bout of silence, Blaine’s fingers twisting in his lap. His jaw is drawn tight.

Blaine doesn’t want help, and how can Kurt give it to him? How can he help this beaten, frightened boy when he will not admit to wanting help? He cannot take anything from Blaine by force. He cannot demand answers. He simply has to bide his time. If Blaine even comes back, that is.

He doesn’t know Blaine, but there is something about him that Kurt admires. Because Blaine bears the scars of one who has grown up far too fast. It’s nothing noticeable, not really, but he can see it. Perhaps it’s because he looks at Blaine and sees his own high school self – frightened out of his mind, but determined to defeat his demons on his own terms. Kurt scolds himself for projecting; for all he knows, Blaine is nothing like him.

Except at that moment, Blaine looks up and his eyes meet Kurt’s. There is a depth in his gaze, one that Kurt recognizes. Blaine’s eyes are full of guilt.

Kurt takes a deep breath and gets to his feet. “I’ll see you next week, Blaine.”