"So, what did you do to invoke 'the fury'?"

Blaine snorted lightly, "I'm sorry, the what?"

"It's what he calls his fist. Told me that one last year." Kurt let a small smile flash at the shorter boy. "What'd you supposedly do?"

"He knocked into Brittany, so I shoved him off. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do." Blaine's eyes lowered into what Kurt was rapidly likening to that of a kicked puppy, one that he knew he would always have to do something in order to keep it off of the other boy's face.

"It wasn't, it was brave and noble. Two things that don't always go together in this school. Just, do me a favour, please be careful." The warning bell for the next period rang out as Kurt stood, offering a hand to Blaine that he took. And Kurt definitely did not hold his soft hand longer than necessary. 

"Can I ask you something?" Blaine shifted from foot to foot, fiddling with his purple bowtie, standing out stark against the jet black polo and purple chinos. He looked nervous, amber eyes darting from Kurt's face to his feet and back again.

"Yeah." God he just had to get rid of that kicked-puppy look.

 "I know you said that I needed someone in my corner if this carries on, but why you?"

 Kurt frowned, "what do you mean?"

 "I mean why did you intervene? I...I don't get it. You're, you're you and I'm... I guess I just want to know what made you stop him. Other than hating yourself." 

"Because I know what he's capable of, and that's something you never want to find out Blaine, trust me." Kurt shuffled uncomfortably under Blaine's earnest gaze. "What did you think would happen?"

"I don't know, no one really seems to notice when something happens. Not even - " His mouth snapped shut quickly and moved his gaze down to their feet. Kurt idly noticed how small Blaine could make himself look, and how it stirred an odd protective need inside of him; something he only felt towards Beth and Quinn. Blinking quickly Kurt shoved that to the furthest part of his mind, in a box labelled 'do not touch, don't ruin him'.

"Glee club don't do anything do they?" Kurt pushed down the anger that roared up at the thought of them standing back and watching it all happen again. After all, his bullying stared "light" and escalated and hardly any of them noticed. Tina would be the one who helped him clean off after a slushy, or a dumpster dive or locker shove. Quinn took it upon herself to start walking to classes with him, arms linked, asking him to go shopping with her and Beth, eventually letting him cry into her stomach on her bed about not being able to handle it anymore. Puck started hanging around the garage more and more. Other than that, nothing.

"Puck, Tina and Mike try, they do...but they can't always be there. I've had worse anyway, I can handle it."

"I never said you couldn't handle it, just said they didn't notice or help." Kurt ran a hand through the front of his hair in frustration. Why the hell did he care so much what happened to Blaine? He could have walked away after a quick 'you okay?' and left it at that. But he couldn't stop himself from spending those forty-five minutes left of second period sitting in near silence with the other boy.

"Thank you." Blaine's quiet voice pulled him out of his brooding.

"What?"

"For stopping him from hitting me. I, er, I kind of froze."

"Don't mention it." Kurt gave him a small smile, nodded and turned to make his way down the bleachers with the other skanks, stopped and turned back to face Blaine, "do me a favour?" 

Blaine's eyebrows shot up, (who knew triangular eyebrows could be so hot?), before he nodded looking slightly bewildered. "If something else happens, anything, you can always come and find me; I'll take your mind of it all for a while or something."

Blaine blinked. "How?"

Kurt would like to blame this on Puck's influence but the truth is his brain-to-mouth filter apparently only lasts so long in Blaine Anderson's presence, so instead of the "just because you don't want to talk about it doesn't mean you don't want a distraction" it turned into "I know plenty different ways to distract you." Followed by a smirk and wink. 

It wasn't until he was heading down the bleachers, lighting his cigarette that he realised just how blunt and forward he'd been with Blaine. Shit, shit, shit, hadn't he already decided that Blaine was a no-go? You are not allowed to ruin him Hummel!

Kurt was still muttering darkly to himself when he reached the bleachers, the other four girls already there. Mack and Quinn were slumped across the couch smoking, Ronnie and Sheila down the other end scowling over at the Cheerleaders practising.

Kurt threw himself down on the arm of the sofa by Quinn, resting his arm behind her head. Mack spared him a nod, getting up to go and join the other two girls in their jeering. Quinn eyed him as he moved to take Mack's spot, leaning forward, supporting his forearms on his knees, angrily puffing on his cigarette.

"Okay, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing." 

"You're down to your filter Kurt. You're gonna burn yourself if you don't put it out soon."

Kurt blinked slowly, looking down to the butt in between his right index and middle fingers, ash piling up on the end and all the way down to the filter. He dropped it and crushed it rather brutally under his boot. "He's being picked on Q."

"Like you."

Kurt looked over to the other quickly, confirming they were out of earshot. "Yeah, like me...I think anyway."

"You okay?" Quinn handed him another cigarette, which he put in between his lips and cupped his hands around so that she could light it for him. He took a deep inhale of the nicotine before he answered. 

"Why wouldn't I be? It's not happening to me again is it?"

"Kurt." 

"Q, I'm fine, I just..." another inhale, blowing out a series of smoke rings, "I told him if it happened again I would be there if he needed someone."

"Okay...."

"I don't know what made me say it."

Quinn snorted. "Yeah you do, it's not a bad thing Kurt. Just because we're like, like this now, doesn't mean we have to be dicks to everyone."

"We are dicks to everyone."

Quinn elbowed him sharply in the ribs, ignoring his glare, she stole his cigarette. "We're not dicks to Tina."

"Tina's too nice to be mean to. So is Brittany."

"Exactly, look, I haven't spoken to Bowtie, but I do see how he looks at you, and no matter how much you say you're not staring I also see how you look at him. You and I both know we don't give a shit about the skanks, I mean, I like this look, I really do...I feel comfortable in it, but as far as who's got my back it's only you and Puck. And I'm pretty sure they know I've only got yours and his. We are in this to keep people away from us, it just so happens that both of us pull of the badass look to a T."

Kurt glanced over to the other girls, smoking together down the other end of the bleachers. She was right, this was only part of the plan to get through their last year of high school in one piece, the changes in their personal appearances started long before the start of this year, long before their knowledge of the skanks. They changed their looks slowly, piece by piece, Kurt still wore designer items - they were just distressed items now. They only hung around the skanks because they figured there was a better chance of getting people to back off with more numbers.

"I can't be a dick to him. He looks like a kicked puppy Q, a neglected kicked puppy and it's not fair for him to look at me like that. I'm meant to be an ass, there are very few people in this world that I help no questions asked, but I need to help him."

"I know." Quinn nudged his shoulder with her nose, before standing and pulling him with her, "okay look, you've got two options. One, ignore everything you told him and carry on like you were before today. Or two, help him. Be there like I know you want to be. I'm not saying declare your undying love for him and his perky ass - shut up you know it's true, dat ass is impressive - I'm just saying do what you said you would. Let him come to you if he decides he needs you. Then you don't have to panic about approaching him if he's not gay and pissing him off. Bat-shit crazy by the way, he is just as gay if not gayer than you."

The rest of the school day passed in a blur, Kurt actually went to the remaining lessons of the day but he didn't take much in. He just wanted to see if he had any other classes with Blaine. Lit was the only other one - another AP course.

By the end of the day he'd made his mind up about Blaine, if the other boy came to him or he saw/heard about him bullied he'd step up. If not he would get on with his life as it was - spending all his time and energy on remaining untouchable and getting the Hell out of dodge.

At his locker he blanked Rachel when she attempted to recruit him back to Glee in order to have her numbers for sectionals. Finn awkwardly standing behind her nodding along blindly to everything she said. He grabbed the things he needed for tonight and swapped the bits in his bag around before walking past his step-brother and his girlfriend to get to his car and pick up Beth.

Throwing the oversized denim shirt he was using a jacket into his passenger seat along with his bag he waited for Quinn to get to her car a few spots down from him to get Beth's car seat. He was watching the other students milling around through his sunglasses, mildly amused at how they all kept their distance from him, when he spotted Blaine walking to his car. Blaine must have seen him for his steps faltered for a minute before he offered a shy half smile and nod then carried on to a car just past Kurt's Navigator.

It aggravated Kurt how a tiny little smile and appreciative nod could cause him smile slightly in response. He was still smiling to himself, though it wasn't really a smile, more of a slight quirk of right hand corner of his mouth. It barely even counted.

 He was so busy trying to figure the meanings behind a God damned smile that he didn't notice Quinn until she kicked his shin, arms full of the car seat.

 "Shit! What the Hell is it with you and hitting me?" Glaring at his so called BFF Kurt grabbed the seat and turned to secure to his back passenger side.

 "To be fair, I did call your name a bunch of times, kicking you's just faster and more effective." A light shrug accompanied her explanation; it didn't make Kurt feel better about his smarting shin though. But he decided to ignore it for now when he turned back to see Quinn playing with one of her necklaces and the hem of her ripped denim waistcoat.

 "Hey, listen when you leave, ring Puck." Quinn lifted an eyebrow. "He wants to take you out tonight before you come back to mine. Don't worry about how late you get back, you have a key. We think you'll need him to take your mind off everything before seeing Beth." Q nodded but bit her lip so added, "and for the love of the Giant Spaghetti Monster, do not tell me if it's sexual. I do not need or want that image in my head." He dropped a quick kiss to her forehead as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, squeezed her shoulders in response before gently pushing her away.

 "Okay, I'm going." Another squeeze and she turned back to her own car leaving Kurt to climb into his own and collect Beth.

Beth's reactions to seeing him pick her up on the odd days neither of her parents could, never failed to bring a blinding smile to Kurt's face. Back in the Hell that was last year, when he began to get closer to Puck, he would sometimes bring her to the garage with him, holding her over the hoods of the cars Kurt worked on and telling her that when she got her own car only Uncle Kurt or Burt was allowed to touch it if daddy couldn't.

 When Puck told Q once she began to hang out with him more often outside of Glee that Beth loved Kurt she began to bring her along on their outings. Whether it was going shopping, out to coffee or Breadstix for a meal. Sometimes they went out without her, mainly on the days when Puck had her to himself for his "daddy-daughter bonding dude" but it soon became clear that Kurt was her favourite person behind her parents. 

As it was the second she saw him walking over to where she was banging around in a toy kitchen feeding her Teddy some plastic pizza, she dropped it and threw her arms into the air making grabby-hands at him and squealing. Since she was only just starting to talk 'Kurt' was a bit beyond her at the moment. It didn't stop her from trying though as she happily chanted "Urh!" in his ear when he swung her up into his arms.

"Hello Sunshine, you fancy coming home with me today? That sound fun?" He reached over to pluck her bear up before heading over the reception to collect her things and sign out. "Looks like it's gonna be just us two tonight Beth, mommy and daddy are going on a date!"

Whether or not she was completely listening to him didn't seem to matter to either teen or baby seeing as while Kurt grabbed her bag from a member of staff, flashed an ID and signed her out, Beth babbled away in a mixture of English and her own language. Kurt made appropriate humming noises and comments throughout her little speech.

Beth continued to babble happily at him in gibberish and baby squeaks as they made the short journey back to his house, several cars were on his drive when they reached his house but at least his spot was empty. He figured Finn must have some friends round and resolved himself to sticking to his room and the kitchen tonight. At least he had almost everything he would need to keep an eighteen month old occupied in his room, he'd only need to venture in the living room once to grab the box of toys his dad and Carole kept.

They said they felt mean not having anything strictly baby friendly in the house for her when she was over, and seeing as she spent as she spent almost as much time over here as she did at either of her parents' homes it seemed like a bright idea.

Somehow unlocking the front door juggling Beth, both of their bags and jackets, Kurt kicked the door shut and quickly carried her upstairs, past the quite music and laughing voices he heard in the front room, to dump their bits by his desk and removing both of their shoes before returning back downstairs with Beth in his arms to get some toys a drink. The laughing got louder as he reached the front room, causing Beth to lift her head from his should and try to see what was happening. 

From what Kurt could gather from all the laughing, Mike was attempting to teach Finn how to dance, with Artie shouting out pointers while stuffing Doritos in his mouth. Kurt sniggered as he watched his T-Rex of a brother try not to catch the Asian dancer in the head with a stray arm.

Beth let out a shrill giggle as Mike grabbed at Finn to stop him and start again, causing three heads to snap towards them. "See dude, even Beth knows you need to relax more!" Mike winked at the baby and nodded to Kurt. 

Kurt sniggered again, placing Beth down and letting her grab onto one of his fingers as she wobbled forwards. "We're just going grab Beth's toys then let you get back to....whatever the Hell that was."

 "Booty camp bro, Mr Schue said we need to up our dancing this year." 

Kurt raised an eyebrow at his step-brother, fighting back another laugh. Mike ran his hands through his hair, up this close the poor boy looked close to tears, "Good luck with that."

Beth tugged impatiently on his hand, dragging him towards the toy chest beside the flat screen. Rather than have her pull everything out to look at in here, Kurt grabbed the whole thing, tucking it under one arm, mentally thanking all of his new found muscle mass from last year as well as the fact that it wasn't heavy to begin with. Taking Beth's hand again he led her into the Kitchen to get them both a drink. Setting the chest down on the island and then lifting Beth into his arms he opened the fridge door so she could look.

"Do you want Juice sweetie?" 

"'dat!" Kurt picked up the carton of apple juice that Beth was poking at. Laughing Kurt dropped a kiss to her curls and grabbed the bottle, using his socked foot to slam the door closed.

"Shit!" Blaine was standing in the doorway with a look of shock on his face. Kurt clutched Beth tighter, who luckily for him didn't try to repeat what he said, and tried to calm his heart. "Jesus Blaine!" Deciding it would be safer for both of them if he put her down Kurt placed Beth next to her toys on the island and busied himself making her juice. 

"Sorry, um Finn said I could get a drink..." His voice went up at the end like a question. Kurt rolled his eyes at how nervous Blaine seemed again and handed him a glass. "I didn't know you...lived here?"

"Finn's my step-brother. There's stuff in the fridge, help yourself..." Kurt eyes the other boy while he finished screwing on the lid to Beth's sippy cup and made himself a glass. "Okay, seriously?" Blaine jumped. "That! I'm not going to bite you Blaine, why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not!" 

"Really? Cause the fact that you have your back to me and you're twitching more than Tweak from South Park says otherwise." Kurt picked Beth back up, and narrowed his eyes at the gelled boy.

"Sorry, um I just - " Blaine snapped his mouth shut and blushed.

Kurt sighed and put Beth down on the floor where she clutched her cup, drinking her juice slowly while watching the two boys with wide green eyes. "I meant what I said; if you need someone in your corner I'll be there. You don't have to act like I'm about to snap and eat you."

 Blaine blushed again, offering a shy smile as Kurt drained his glass, placed it by the sink and went to pick up the chest, hand offered to the toddler. "She's cute," stopping as he passed Blaine, Kurt looked down to where Beth was grinning at the other boy, clearly deciding that he wasn't a stranger anymore, "is she..."

"Quinn and Puck. I'm just her favourite uncle. You going to say hello to Blaine Beth?"

 Grinning wider Beth offered a wave, which Blaine returned before Kurt turned to start shepherding Beth slowly up the stairs to his room and as such completely missed the look Blaine gave him.

 The younger boy bit his lip, red beginning to fade from his cheeks as he eyed the taller boy helping the baby up the steps. Shaking his head Blaine snuck another look to see them reach the top before the little girl tore off towards a room, Kurt laughing loudly and calling for her to "be careful Beth honey!" and headed back into the front room to help Mike with Finn trying to ignore the butterflies until he was back in his own home.