Kurt made it to Dalton fifteen minutes before Dalton's ten o'clock curfew. Luck was on his side when three Crathern boys, non-Warblers, were standing outside laughing and smoking cigarettes. The doors to dorm houses locked immediately after they were shut, for security purposes, no matter what time of day it was.

"Hey can you let me in?" Kurt asked to no one in particular.

"Yeah sure," said a tall, bulky kid with sandy brown hair.

"Wait, you don't live here," mentioned a second, carrot topped boy.

"I know," answered Kurt, trying not to sound impatient.

"So, curfews in, like, fifteen minutes…" prodded Carrot Top with an attitude.

"Dude, chill. He goes to school here, he's a Warbler. I've seen him around with Anderson," said Sandy Hair.

Anderson? Kurt thought. Oh! Blaine. Kurt wasn't going to correct Sandy Hair and tell him that he transferred months ago in case he changed his mind. "Can I go in?" he asked.

"Yeah sure. What's your name again? I know I've seen you around here." Sandy Hair popped his key in the door and opened the door.

"Thanks. It's Kurt."

"A little late for Warbler practice, aren't you?" Carrot Top asked suspiciously.

"They're rehearsing this late?" Kurt asked confusedly. "Sorry. I'm not a Warbler anymore, so I don't know their rehearsal schedule. But I am looking for Blaine. Thanks for letting me in." He stepped in and immediately started running for the Warbler room. He could hear them singing the closer he got, but wasn't paying attention to what they were singing. His only thought was Blaine.

This double doors to the Warbler room were open as usual and Kurt stopped once he got to the threshold. They were all huddled around a piano, breaking apart in four part harmony with Blaine singing lead to a song that Kurt didn't recognize, but arrived just in time to hear the last lyric.

"…happily ever after," Blaine sang.

Kurt didn't know what to do to get their attention. Clap? Cough? Knock? He did the first thing that came to his mind. "Blaine," he called out when it got quiet.

The faces of every Warbler turned his way with varying expressions. "Kurt?" Blaine said in surprise, but didn't move.

"Hi. Sorry to interrupt, but can I steal your lead singer?"

"Dude, take him! He's the reason we're here this late," Nick urged.

Blaine noticed that Kurt wasn't smiling, but looked nervous. He could see his chest was moving like Kurt was breathing short, fast breaths. "Sure… um. Thanks for doing this for me guys," he said to his fellow Warblers. He rounded the piano and headed for Kurt. "What are you doing here?" Blaine whispered when he got closer.

"I had to talk to you. In person. Can we go somewhere to talk in private?" he whispered back.

"Yeah. We can go to my room." Blaine was confused and still in a little shock that Kurt showed up out of the blue. Especially after the conversation they had earlier. He was also worried that Kurt heard the song because it was supposed to be a surprise when it was finished. They got to the staircase that lead up to the dorm rooms when Blaine looked over, not knowing what else to say. "I could get in so much trouble if you're caught leaving. Curfew's in, ten minutes." Blaine realized that it sounded like he wasn't happy to see Kurt. Despite how he looked outwardly, Blaine was elated to see Kurt. He felt Kurt showing up, although unexpected, was a good thing. He hoped he wasn't wrong.

Kurt stopped walking at the top of the first stairwell. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked pitifully. He began to doubt that his impulsive act of driving at night to the one he loves and confessing his feelings, now seemed a bit over dramatic and had too much of a movie feel to it.

Blaine took in Kurt's sad expression and grabbed his hand, looking down when his thumb hit the bracelet. He smiled when he saw Kurt was still wearing it. "Don't go. I'm sorry. I'm glad you're here. It just took me by surprise is all." He smiled happily in a widely overdrawn smile. "See? Happy. Why are you here anyway? Again- happy- but intrigued."

Kurt looked frantic. He didn't know what to say. Where do I start? Kurt thought. What do I want to say? Kurt suddenly, without thinking, dropped Blaine's hand and grabbed his face with both hands. He kissed Blaine desperately, pressing his lips to Blaine's hard. He whimpered before parting his lips and feeling Blaine's tongue touch his first.

Blaine's arms snaked around Kurt's waist and his hand clutched to his back, feeling like holding him close would never be close enough. He stumbled backwards as Kurt pushed them both to the other side of the stairwell. "Urmph!" Blaine cried into Kurt's mouth. He both lost his breath when his back hit the wall with force and his head hit the wall in the same spot he hit it earlier at the coffee shop.

Kurt let him go. "Oh my god! I did it again, didn't I?"

Blaine rubbed the back of his head. "I don't think I've ever incurred this much injury with you." He smiled and chuckled for a second, remembering the scratch marks on his back from almost a month ago. "Well, except maybe once."

Kurt was too busy trying to look at Blaine's head to see if it was bleeding.

"Round two?" Blaine asked.

"Huh?"

"Well round one was earlier today." He turned his eyes down. "Did you need another go at it to confirm there's still something between us?"

The words stung Kurt a little. He knew Blaine had every right to be bothered by what Kurt did earlier. "No. I know there's still something between us. I mean, at least there is for me. I'd understand if you didn't feel the same."

Blaine saw various boys start to walk up the stairs and knew that it was almost the ten o'clock curfew time. "Come on. We have to continue this is my room. I don't know how you'll get back out, but we'll figure something out." He took Kurt's hand again and they made their way to the second floor dorm rooms.

Once Blaine shut the door, he half expected to be attacked by Kurt's lips again, but instead, when he turned around, he was faced with Kurt's back to him and looking out the window. Kurt's arms were crossed across his chest and his breath was shaking. Kurt was sure he's start crying the second he started talking.

Blaine crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist from behind and rested his chin on Kurt's shoulder. "So, why are you here?" he asked softly. It startled him when Kurt spun himself around quickly and out of Blaine's arms. Blaine could see the tears already welling in Kurt's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I am so sorry. Really really sorry." His breath hitched. "I'm the worst kind of person. What was I thinking? I don't deserve you. You're amazing and I'm an idiot."

"-Wait," Blaine interjected. "Can you be a bit more specific because I have no idea what you're talking about or where this is coming from."

Kurt took a deep, shaky breath. "Zach kissed me." Blaine was about to gasp when he realized just how jealous that news made him, but Kurt interupted him. "Not in real life… I dreamt it."

Still not over the idea of Zach kissing Kurt, Blaine made a face. "Awesome. He's in your dreams now."

"No. That's not what I wanted to say." He sighed and covered his face. "God, I don't even know where to start."

Blaine brought his hands up to Kurt's and gently pried his hands from his face. "Maybe we need to start off by sitting because I don't think I can hear something like 'Zach kissed me' and not get dizzy." They sat down on Blaine's bed and faced each other. "Why don't we start from the day Thad sent you that clip on your phone. I know it's far back, but…"

"I don't want to talk about that. I don't want to talk about anything that has to do with that damn clip or movie."

"Did you watch it?"

"No."

Blaine sighed a sigh of relief. "Good. I didn't want you to have that in your head."

"I didn't need to see proof that you did it, when you admited to it. Also, it hurts too much to think of you with someone else. Which makes what I asked of you that much worse."

"You mean earlier today?"

"Yes."

"You're upset because you wanted us to see other people for a while?"

"Yes."

"And you drove here at night fifteen minutes before curfew to tell me…?" Blaine trailed off.

"I was wrong. You wanted to hear it and you're hearing it now. I'm wrong for asking you to wait for me. I told you that I was upset because you treated me like I was nothing and then I went right ahead and treat you the same. Like you were disposable. Except I took it a step further and told you I loved you in the same breath. It was incredibly selfish of me."

"It was."

Kurt looked in Blaine eyes and took in his expression. He was calm and unapologetic. He already knew everything Kurt was confessing. "I'm sorry."

"What I don't understand is how you could tell me that I'm your everything and there was no one else, but me, and then say that you wanted to see if there was something there with Zach. If there was no one else, then that should have been your answer right there. If you loved me and only me, then that meant you had no feelings for Zach. You told me one thing and contradicted yourself in the same sentence. You told me you loved me and then added a "but" to the sentence like it didn't have the same magnitude as before. Like, "I love you, BUT you're not good enough to give a second chance too yet." Or, "I love you, BUT not enough to want just you. I want to see if I can have this guy too." Do, you know how that made me feel? I used to feel like you and I were on a level that no one could touch us. Today I felt like I had to stand on my tip-toes to reach what you have with Zach. I'm not first anymore. I feel like I'm the side dish that you can pick up and put down whenever you want because I'll fall for it every time."

"I know!" Kurt cried. "I'm so so so so sorry. I didn't even realize what I was doing until Mercedes slapped some sense into me. I'll never be more sorry, Blaine. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" Kurt sobbed.

"Shh! You need to quiet down a little. If someone hears you, I'll get in trouble."

Kurt tried to breath to calm his crying. His breath kept catching and Blaine moved closer and rubbed his back. "Why did you agree to it then?" Kurt asked between breaths.

Blaine got up and walked to his mini fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He handed it to Kurt and sat back down next to him. Kurt opened the bottle and Blaine thought carefully about his answer while Kurt gulped a third of the bottle. He ran his fingers through Kurt's soft tufts. "Because it's what you wanted. Have I ever denied you anything you wanted?" Kurt looked pained and Blaine saw that his explanation didn't help the situation and knew that it only reaffirmed Kurt's feeling of being selfish. He thought for a second and tried again. "Because you're the most moral and compassionate person I've ever met. I knew that once you knew what you were asking of me, that you'd come around and admit that it was wrong. I told you in the coffee shop that you'd be telling me you were wrong. I wasn't being sarcastic. I really believed that you would be having this conversation with me. I just didn't know it'd be the same day."

"How could you call me moral and compassionate when I've done nothing, but treat you as awful as you made me feel?"

Blaine got up again and kissed Kurt softly on the forehead. He walked over to his desk side trash can and rummaged through the various crumpled up pieces of paper and pulled out a disc. Kurt never took his eyes off Blaine. He brought the disc back over to Kurt and handed it to him. "…Because everyone makes mistakes."

Kurt took the disc. "Is this?" Kurt asked, not needing to say the part about it being the disc that contains the entire forty-five minute video of James and Blaine. Blaine nodded once. "We don't need this in our lives anymore," he said before snapping the disc in half. Blaine smiled and brought the trash can over for Kurt to throw the broken pieces away. When Blaine rejoined Kurt on the bed, Kurt took Blaine's hands in his. "I really need you to know that I forgave you the second Trent told me what happened, but what I couldn't do was forget. I couldn't stop picturing the two of you together."

"And now?"

"Now I can't stop picturing us. Us holding hands; us laughing; us kissing and holding each other close. I just… I want that back so badly." He paused, not looking at Blaine, but staring off to the side, thinking. "Remember what you said yesterday? You asked if we could skip all this? If that's what you want. If that's what's going to get us back to where we were, then I want it too."

"No," Blaine said immediately. "You were right to negate that. We can't skip it. This is what's going to make us stronger. This is what's going to show everyone, us included, that nothing an touch us. If we can get through this, together, and come out stronger and just as happy, if not happier, than before… we're golden, Kurt. You and me, what we have… we're a precious metal, touched by Midas."

Kurt started to cry again. "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Acting like I'm so perfect." He Kurt got up and started pacing. "I'm not! I treated you like I could use and lose you whenever another guy came around. I'm. I'm. I'm selfish and I don't deserve you!" Kurt collapsed on the floor and covered his face again. He can't distract me. I can't let him forgive me that easily. What I did was awful and I deserve to be punished, Kurt thought and cried harder into his palms.

Kurt didn't know when, but Blaine showed up on the floor, kneeling in front of him. "What's to deserve? I love you and you love me. Shouldn't love deserve love? Shouldn't love get what it wants?" It broke Kurt's heart to see the face in front of him.

Blaine's face had paled in color with blotch marks on his cheeks. His eyes were red and puffy. Kurt could see the streaks on his face from where he was crying. In short, he was a mess. Kurt was a mess, he knew that without looking in a mirror.

They stared at one another without talking for quite some time. This was a moment they needed. They were broken. These silent moments were what they needed to feel like they were healing. Neither one knew what to do or say, so they remained on the floor staring at each other's tear stained faces.

Blaine was the one to move first. He slowly moved his hand up to Kurt's cheek and cupped his face.

Kurt was so tired of crying; tired of hurting; tired of wishing for this moment. He closed his eyes and rested in Blaine's palm. A few moments passed and he opened his eyes to the feel of Blaine stroking Kurt's cheek with his thumb.

Blaine took his hand back and after waiting a beat, Kurt leapt into Blaine's arms, enveloping Blaine in his own. They both exhaled a collective sigh and held tight. Blaine sniffled as he tucked his chin on Kurt's shoulder and rubbed his back.

"Blaine," Kurt whimpered. "Blaine, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."

Blaine pulled away from Kurt and held him by the shoulders, looking deeply into his eyes. "Stop doing that. Stop blaming yourself. You didn't cause this. Not alone. Both of us made mistakes." There were tears welling up in Blaine's eyes.

"I don't know what to do or where to go from here." Kurt was having a hard time breathing again. His breaths were catching in his throat. "I miss you! That's all I ever do and I can't get away from it. I miss you when we're broken up and I missed you when we were together. I'm drowning in you and you're not even around."

"Kurt, stop, please," Blaine begged through clenched teeth, his voice shaking. "I can't do this. I can't see you hurting anymore." He scratched his head. "We've been through so much in the past month- the past six months. But we've been through me cheating and you second guessing what you want, but it still comes down to this. This goddamned distance. No matter what we do, or what happens, or how we feel, all we do is miss each other. We could be in the same room and I'll still miss the feel of your skin. When we're apart I miss the smell of your cologne and the lotions you put on your face. Fuck, even when we're touching, I can't shake the feeling that can't get close enough. I'm tired of feeling like this."

The tears returned and flowed quickly from Kurt's eyes. He didn't understand what Blaine was trying to say. Every moment up until this one, Kurt was positive that Blaine wanted nothing more than to have Kurt back. He wanted me back. I was so sure of it. He can't do this. Has he changed his mind? "What do you want from me?" Kurt sobbed.

Blaine's face twisted seeing Kurt in so much pain. "Don't- just don't cry." Blaine grabbed Kurt's face and pressed his lips to the crying boy in his arms. Kurt grabbed hold of Blaine immediately and held tight. Blaine backed him down to the floor, deepening the kiss with every movement in his body. He pressed himself to Kurt, pinning the boy to the cold floor completely.

They're mouths opened instinctually and each let the other probe his mouth with their tongue. Their hands grasped desperately at anything they could reach, close never being close enough. Blaine moaned into the fragile boy's mouth and Kurt responded with a whimper.

"Blaine," Kurt said in between kisses. "Take me back." Blaine captured his mouth once more. "I need you." He moaned as Blaine aggressively nipped at his neck and sucked onto his now salty skin. "Uhng. Blaine." Kurt grabbed Blaine by the shoulders and pushed him away. "Say it. Say you'll take me back."

Breathing heavily, Blaine's face softened. He reached a hand up to wipe away the stray tears that stained Kurt's face. "I've never wanted anything like I wanted you. If I couldn't have you in my life, I fear that I'll never want anything more than the way I want you now." He shook his head. "I love you more than I could love anyone or anything ever."

Kurt's lip trembled. "Blaine."

Blaine down onto Kurt's face. His beautiful face with his ice blue eyes, perfect skin, and pouty lips. Blaine had a dreamily look in his honey eyes and a smile tugging at his lips. "I always loved the sound of my name on your lips." He kissed Kurt chastely.

"Blaine," Kurt whispered, craning his neck for another kiss. "Blaine. Blaine. Blaine."

Their lips touched, but just barely. "Kurt." Kiss. "My love." Another kiss.

Kurt entwined his fingers in Blaine's curls and brought Blaine's face down to his own. Both boys sighed a collective breath through their noses as if to signify a long awaited "at last."