The next morning, Blaine woke up to the sun shining into his eyes. Sluggishly, he blinked them open, squinting at the window only a few feet away before shielding them with his hand and rolling onto his other side. It took his still sleep-addled brain a few moments to realize that the glimpse he'd just caught of the room he was in definitely didn't belong to his dorm room at Dalton.

With a jolt, he sat up, immediately wide awake again. He breathed a sigh of relief when he remembered the previous evening, the photos on the mantlepiece to his left telling him that he was at Kurt's. A happy flush colored his cheeks as the memory and the feeling of Kurt curled into his side and purring came back to the front of his mind. He was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly jumped off of the couch when Burt's voice suddenly rang through the living room.

"You sure aren't the fastest in the morning, kiddo."

When Blaine whirled around, a hand over his racing heart, he was met with Burt's head thrown back in laughter.

"Sorry," Blaine stammered, blushing bright red. He had to be quite the picture, sitting there on Burt's couch, in Kurt's pajamas and a confused look on his face, hair wild. Oh god.

The moment the thought crossed Blaine's mind, his hand immediately shot up to verify his terrifying assumption. And indeed, instead of meeting hard, gelled down curls it almost vanished in a soft, fluffy Afro. Oh no.

Burt chuckled at the sight. "You might need to see a brush, kid. That is, if it wouldn't vanish in those curls."

Blushing even more, Blaine tried his best to flatten his hair with his hands. He really needed to find a bathroom and preferably some of Kurt's styling products before Kurt could come down and see him like this. Somehow he'd managed to avoid that frightening scenario so far by getting up at ungodly hours and disappearing into the bathroom long before Kurt even so much as turned around in his sleep. Before he could jump off of the couch and race around in search for the right door or beg Burt for directions though, a soft, sleep-warm voice filled the room, sending shivers down Blaine's spine.

"Dad? What is going- Blaine?" Kurt stood in the doorway, eyes wide in surprise, his tail flicking around his pajama-clad legs, his ears twitching and the nails of his right hand digging into the wood he was supporting himself against. The pajamas were nothing like Blaine had ever seen him wear, not the silky, elegant blue sleepwear he always slept in at Dalton. Instead, they were a playful light blue and covered in tiny cartoon mice and Blaine was immediately sure that it was a gift from Burt. Just as he was sure that Burt had laughed at his own joke for hours while wrapping them up. Either way, Kurt looked even more adorable than Blaine had ever thought anyone could be and they were both turning scarlet when their eyes met, Kurt's expression making it clear that he had just now recalled what had happened the evening before.

Burt looked between them, a grin spreading on his face. "Well, I don't want to intrude," he announced. "So I think I'm just gonna be in the kitchen making breakfast." Kurt threw him a skeptical look, momentarily forgetting about his embarrassment over his worry for their kitchen. "Just kidding, son. We'll just eat cereals, okay?" Kurt rolled his eyes, letting out a long-suffering sigh, but Blaine could tell by the way the corner of his mouth twitched up, forming a tiny dimple in his cheek, that he was amused by rather than mad at his father's lack of cooking skills.

Winking at him, Burt disappeared into the hallway, poking his head back in just when Blaine thought they were alone, preparing himself for the awkward conversation that was sure to come. "And no funny business, kids!"

"Dad!" Kurt cried indignantly, looking like he might make true on the cookie threat he'd thrown around the day before when Burt headed back into the kitchen, laughing to himself.

"He'll never let that joke go, will he?" Blaine asked, his lips twitching up in a fond smile of his own.

"Oh, he will once that's actually a real possibility," Kurt uttered under his breath, both of them freezing when the meaning behind his words registered.

"I- I mean," Kurt stuttered, his face becoming so red Blaine wanted to sit him down on the couch before he could faint, his tail twitching madly behind him. "Not- not that I suppose we'll ever get there, I shouldn't have assu-"

"Kurt!" Blaine laughed softly, patting the seat next to him, for the moment forgetting all about how awful and sleep-rumpled he had to look. "It's fine. Come here."

With an unsure smile, Kurt crossed the room, carefully sinking down on the couch and looking over at Blaine hesitantly.

"Kurt." Blaine rolled his eyes before gently pulling Kurt closer to him, letting his hand linger on Kurt's arm rather than pulling away. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"But Blaine I literally fell asleep on you and I pur-" Blaine cut him off by gently pressing a finger to his lips, smiling softly.

"You stop right there, Kurt. First of all, I don't mind. We were both sleepy and it had been a long day. And second, I love it when you purr. In fact, I loved everything about yesterday evening so if I didn't do anything too embarrassing, I hoped it could go down as rather perfect in our books."

"We have books now?" Kurt mumbled around the finger still pressed ever so softly to his lips, his face lighting up in a beautiful smile that caused Blaine's heart to stutter in his chest.

"Of course we do," he chuckled, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Kurt's still smiling lips when he pulled his finger away. It was barely a peck but it made him feel like floating, all warm and happy and fuzzy and he just wanted to grab Kurt and dance around the room with him forever.

"So you really don't mind?" Kurt asked, his radiant smile dimming a bit as he threw Blaine an unsure look when they pulled away and stopped grinning at each other like idiots for a moment.

"Of course not." Blaine rolled his eyes fondly. "I mean it when I say I really, really like everything about you. I think it's very endearing when you're all cat-like."

Kurt lowered his head, biting his bottom lip. Blaine didn't even have to ask what was going through his mind.

"Kurt," he said, taking his soft hands in his own and waiting patiently until Kurt looked up at him again. "I know kids at your old school gave you hell for being a hybrid, but I assure you no one at Dalton minds, least of all me. You're allowed to be yourself around us and you don't have to hide any side of yourself. I know you're still uncomfortable with your more cat-like mannerisms and that it will take time to fully get over that. I just want you to know that you never, never have to feel ashamed around any of us, okay? Especially not me."

"I know," Kurt sighed, leaning his head against Blaine's shoulder. "Rationally, I'm aware that you're not the neanderthals I had to deal with at my old school. But I guess old habits die hard. It feels weird because it's also a lot about letting go and losing control and we both know I'm not good with that." Blaine chuckled. If the nearly military order Kurt's every possession was placed in in their dorm room was any indication, then Blaine had to agree with that. Not to mention the horrified look he'd gotten from him when he'd suggested studying history on Math Thursday.

They just sat in silence for a few minutes, holding each other close and reveling in the intimacy of the position when suddenly, Kurt cleared his throat awkwardly, burying his head into Blaine's shoulder some more.

"Can I ask you something?" His voice was so quiet it barely carried to Blaine's ears, sounding hesitant and small and unsure like Blaine never wanted to hear it ever again, not when directed at him at least.

"Of course, Kurt. You can ask me anything," he hurried to reassure him, gently rubbing soothing circles into his back.

"I just don't want to upset you," Kurt mumbled, sitting up and shyly looking at Blaine for a second before he continued. "And you really don't have to answer if the question makes you uncomfortable..."

"Kurt," Blaine laughed nervously, wondering where this was going. "Just get it over with."

"Okay," Kurt said, taking a deep breath. "Why do you sound like you know exactly what I've been going through? Are you just that empathic or..." He didn't finish the sentence, not daring to ask for such private information directly. He could be wrong, after all. God, he hoped he was wrong.

Blaine swallowed harshly, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. The expression on his face made Kurt immediately curl up into himself, his hand nervously playing with the hem of his pajama pants.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, it wasn't my place, I-" Kurt stopped rambling and looked up from his knees when Blaine's hand landed on his shoulder, warm and reassuring as always, unlike the look in his eyes that made him seem so vulnerable and so much younger.

"It's okay, Kurt," he said slowly, his smile not reaching his eyes. "I want you to know. It's just... difficult to talk about."
"What happened?" Kurt breathed, not sure he wanted to know what would have had to happen to put that careful look into the eyes of someone as outgoing and vibrant as Blaine.

"I- my old school wasn't exactly a very... accepting place. And, well, it didn't go over well with most of the other students when I came out. So when I asked a friend of mine, the only other gay guy I knew, to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me... let it suffice to say they beat the living crap out of us after." Blaine took a deep breath when he was finished, closing his eyes and clenching his fists into the fabric of the couch. It still hurt to think about it. Not just the memory of the physical pain, but all that unnecessary hatred, the screams of his friend, the way no one had cared.

"Blaine," Kurt whispered, shock evident in his voice as he scrambled over to pull Blaine into his arms.

"It's okay now," Blaine murmured into Kurt's chest, melting against him. "My parents sent me to Dalton when the school board wouldn't do anything to punish the culprits even after I got out of the hospital. Things have been better since then."

Kurt just sighed into the mess of curls on Blaine's head, so so very mad at the people who had done this, the people who had let it happen, the people who should have done something to punish that crime. But he knew that raging about it to a very vulnerable Blaine right now wouldn't help anything but only upset him more. Kurt hadn't been quite there but he'd been close enough to know that he really shouldn't be surprised that no one had done anything.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," he whispered instead, pressing a firm kiss to Blaine's head and caressing his back.

"I'm fine, Kurt. I'm fine," Blaine repeated, for himself as much as for Kurt's sake. They sat like that for a bit, Burt still mysteriously busy with the cereal, when suddenly, Blaine shot up in his seat, a hand coming up to his hair.

"Oh god," he whimpered, averting his eyes and looking about ready to jump off the couch and sprint out of the room.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, more than a little bit confused by the abrupt change in atmosphere.

"I- oh my God, I'm so sorry, I really should-" Blaine interrupted himself, gesturing wildly with his hands and taking a few steps towards the door before turning around, cheeks bright red. "Where do you keep your hair products?" he asked sheepishly, shifting on his feet.

"Blaine!" Kurt burst out laughing, clutching his sides and almost falling off the couch.

"What?" Blaine gave back, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout. He didn't appreciate being made fun of because of his hair.

"I- God, I thought you were going through some traumatizing memory or something and all this is about is your admittedly worrying hair gel addiction?" Kurt giggled, the sparkle in his eyes telling Blaine that he wasn't actually laughing at him so much as at his antics.

"'Worrying hair gel addiction'? Excuse me, have you seen my hair?" Blaine asked disbelievingly, pulling one of the curls sticking out wildly in front of his face for evidence.

"Yes, I'm looking at it right now," Kurt smiled, turning to face Blaine and crossing his arms over the couch's backrest, his chin coming to rest on his entwined hands. "And I think it's adorable."

"It's not adorable, it looks like a crow's nest," Blaine whined, but he couldn't suppress the smile stretching his lips at the warm look in Kurt's eyes.

"It does not," Kurt protested, shaking his head. Blaine just huffed and glanced over at the door, trying to judge how quickly he could get out of this argument and get his hands on something to tame his hair with.

"Let's make a deal." Blaine's attention immediately was drawn back to Kurt. "First of all, we're going to ask my dad if he'd allow you to stay the whole weekend" - Blaine offered Kurt a radiant smile in return, the very idea sounding heavenly to his ears - "and second: I won't hold back with the purring and all the other cat-like stuff if you" - he pointed at Blaine, his expression switching from uncomfortable to serious - "won't gel your hair. All weekend."

Blaine gave himself quite a bit of credit for hesitating even a second before crossing the few feet between them with long strides, coming to stand right before Kurt, ignoring his outstretched hand as he leaned down, breathing ‘Deal' against his lips before brushing his own against them in the most fleeting of sealing kisses.

"Boys!" came Burt's voice from the kitchen in this very instant. "Breakfast's ready!"

They opened their eyes, giggling giddily as they rested their foreheads against each other before making their way over to the kitchen.