They made their way back to the campsite in silence as Carson focused on the ground and not on the soft hand that was holding his. He couldn't believe that he had let himself get so carried away back there; couldn't believe that he'd let Kurt kiss him when he knew, deep down, that if Kurt had any idea what he'd been up to lately, he'd never put his lips or any other body part on him again. It had felt deceitful and wrong, and it had taken almost superhuman strength to ask Kurt to stop, but Carson knew it had to be done, no matter how tempting it may have been to just submit and let Kurt cover him.

God, Carson, snap the fuck out of it already, would you? It's your birthday weekend. At least TRY to have fun and stop moping around.

He gave himself a mental shake as Kurt led him to a log and finally let go of his hand. The absence of Kurt's skin against his seemed to help him focus, and he cleared his throat as he sat down.

"So," he said as brightly as he could manage. "By my estimation, we have only a couple more hours of being sixteen. It's been a hell of a year, hasn't it?"

"It has," Kurt agreed, nodding at him with a smile. "To say the least."

"So what are we doing to celebrate such a momentous occasion?" asked Carson. "Please tell me you have some sort of recreational drug in that bag of yours."

"Well, no," Kurt admitted, biting his lip. "Not really, unless you count beer. I didn't think of it."

Carson gave an overly dramatic sigh and leaned back on his log. "Well, hell, Kurt, what did you think we would do out here all weekend?"

Kurt blushed furiously at these words, and Carson felt his own face heating up as he thought about what they'd just been doing underneath a tree not ten minutes before.

"Sorry," said Kurt with a shrug, looking down at the fire and clearly trying to hide his burning face.

"I'm just screwing with you," Carson assured him, pausing at his horrible choice of words. "Hand over one of those beers, would you?"

Kurt obliged, looking relieved at the change of subject as he got up and retrieved two bottles out of a bag. He handed one to Carson and dragged his duffel bag with him as he sat back down with his own beer.

"I actually do know something we could do right now," he said cheerfully as he opened the bottle and took a swig. "I can give you your birthday present."

"Now? It's not our birthday yet, technically," said Carson, hiding a grin as he thought about the present for Kurt he'd brought along in his own bag. It was a beautiful silver ring with stars engraved on it, along with a similarly designed belt. They'd come from one of Kurt's favorite online stores and had been the first expensive things Carson had actually purchased with his newfound wealth. He just hoped that Kurt wouldn't think too hard about how he could have possibly gotten it.

"I know it isn't, but I'm too excited. I can't wait," Kurt replied. He unzipped his bag and rooted around in it until he found what he was looking for, producing a long, thin package neatly wrapped in royal blue wrapping paper and topped with a yellow bow. He gave it a fond look before handing it over with a proud smile that almost melted Carson's heart into a puddle. Carson took it and held up a finger as he got up and headed in the direction of his own bag.

"Just a second," he said, unzipping it and reaching into the secret compartment where he'd hidden the present. "I've got something for you, too... ah, there it is," he beamed as his fingers closed around it. He carried it back over to the fire and handed it to Kurt, who took it with a look of supreme curiosity. Carson couldn't blame him. The wrapping looked pretty damn good, if he did say so himself. It should have. He'd paid Malerie five quid to do it for him, after all. He'd never been any damn good at wrapping presents.

"I'm intrigued," said Kurt, running his fingers delicately over the package. "When did you learn how to wrap so well?"

"I didn't," admitted Carson. "I got Malerie to do it because I wanted it to look like a present and not a bunch of wadded up newspapers."

"Can't blame you there," Kurt said cheekily, and Carson threw a stick at him.

"Shut up," he laughed. "Ok, do you want to go first, or should I?"

"You go," replied Kurt eagerly, getting up off his log and joining Carson on his, the nearness of his body making Carson's heart skip a beat. "You're older. Age before beauty and all that."

"You're a real charmer, anyone ever tell you that?" mumbled Carson as Kurt gave him a cheeky grin and took a long sip from his beer.

"All the time," quipped Kurt without missing a beat. "Go on, open it."

Carson turned his attention to his present, delicately undoing the wrapping with careful fingers. He always took care when opening presents from Kurt, because he felt like even the paper was a gorgeous work of art and he didn't want to destroy Kurt's work any more than he absolutely had to. He managed to undo the paper with minimal damage and shook it gently until a thin, wooden box slid out onto his hand. He set the wrapping aside and gently opened the box, sucking in a breath at the sight of the gorgeous fountain pen resting inside on a bed of velvet. It was a beautiful shade of blue with silver trim, and Carson could see his own name engraved on it in matching silver letting. He stroked it with his finger, not wanting to disturb the presentation.

"Kurt," he breathed. "It's beautiful."

"Oh, I'm so glad you like it!" Kurt exclaimed, throwing his arms around Carson's waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. "The ink is blue, too. A writer should always have a proper pen, don't you think?"

Carson smiled and placed his arm around Kurt's shoulder, pulling him just a tiny bit closer. "Thank you, Kurt. I love it. It really is beautiful." Just like you, he added mentally as he looked at him, marveling at the way the fire illuminated his face and made him look even more radiant, if such a thing were possible.

Kurt smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek, and Carson was grateful that it was too dark for his resulting blush to be noticeable. "Happy birthday," Kurt whispered, and Carson swallowed as he looked down at the pen, brushing it gently with his finger.

"Open yours," he said at last, patting Kurt on the shoulder and looking pointedly down at the gift in Kurt's lap. "I think I did pretty damn well this year, if I do say so."

"Oooh," Kurt squealed, letting go of Carson and wiggling his fingers excitedly over his own gift. He grinned at Carson and then set to work, his nimble fingers making quick but careful work of the wrapping paper until a white paper box sat in his lap. He opened it gently, almost reverently, like he wanted to prolong the moment, and let out a shriek of joy when he brushed aside the tissue paper and saw what was inside.

"Carson!" he exclaimed breathlessly, lifting out the belt and gawking at it in awe. "Oh my god, it's perfect! I've been eyeing this for months, but I was waiting for it to go on sale!"

"I know," Carson said with a grin. "Open the other box."

Kurt rooted around inside the gift box and retrieved the smaller box nestled among the tissue, popping it open and sucking in a breath when he saw the ring inside.

"Oh my... Carson," he breathed, taking the ring out of its box and slipping it onto his finger. He held his hand out and admired it for a second before locking eyes with Carson, his face positively lit up with joy. "Carsey, it's... I don't know what to say."

"So you like it?" asked Carson, the unwavering smile on his twin's face answering his question for him even before Kurt said anything.

"Like it? I love it!" Kurt insisted, tackling Carson in a tight hug. "I just... my god, Carson, these must have cost... how did you...?"

"Oh... I have my ways," Carson said vaguely.

Kurt pulled back from the hug a little and looked at him carefully, biting his lip. "But these are so expensive, and you couldn't have stolen them. They must have cost you so much."

"Well, it was worth it," Carson replied simply. "Just for the look on your face."

"But-"

"Kurt, it was just... just money I'd been saving for the baby and all," Carson said firmly, feeling guilty for lying to him even though what he'd said wasn't entirely false. "Really, it's no big deal. I wanted to get you something awesome, so I did."

Kurt looked at him warily for a second before smiling again, pulling Carson back into the hug and kissing him gently on the ear. "Well, I love them. And you. Thank you."

"You're welcome," answered Carson, allowing himself a brief moment of happiness while being locked into his twin's embrace. He let himself return the hug, rubbing circles into Kurt's back and trying to push aside the nagging guilt he still felt in the pit of his stomach. "I love you, too."

The rest of the evening was rather pleasant, all things considered, especially once Kurt broke out the marshmallows and the boys roasted them over their fire.

"You know," observed Carson as he stuffed melted bits of marshmallow into his mouth and licked his fingers, "I never noticed before, but melted marshmallow looks an awful lot like-"

"Do NOT finish that sentence," Kurt warned. Unlike Carson, he was being as neat as possible with his marshmallows, taking the tiniest of bites to avoid any spillage onto his clothes. "I want to be able to enjoy eating them for the foreseeable future, so get your damn mind out of the gutter."

"Jizz," Carson finished anyway, giving Kurt an evil grin. "It looks an awful lot like jizz."

"Carson!" Kurt shrieked through a mouthful of marshmallow. He grabbed a raw one out of the bag and threw it in Carson's direction, where it hit him on the shoulder and bounced onto the ground.

"Ok, you did not just throw food at me," Carson declared. He stuffed the last of his treat into his mouth and picked the raw marshmallow up off the ground, dusting the dirt off of it and bouncing it in his hand. "You do realize, of course, that this means it's on."

"You asked for it," Kurt said simply, licking his fingers clean and dusting his hands off. Carson aimed and threw the marshmallow right back at him. It hit Kurt's hair and stayed there for a few seconds before sliding off, which sent Carson into a fit of giggles.

"Uuuugh, my hair!" Kurt squeaked, brushing his fingers over the affected area and glaring at Carson. "You're the worst," he said, grabbing another marshmallow and throwing it at him, harder this time.

"You're the one who cast the first marshmallow!" Carson retorted, reaching into the bag and grabbing a handful. He stood up and started pelting Kurt with them one by one as Kurt got up from his log and grabbed the bag in his hand.

"The hell is wrong with you?" shrieked Kurt as a marshmallow hit him on the nose. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to waste perfectly good sugar?"

"Nope. Fuck the police," Carson said gleefully, throwing another marshmallow and grinning. Kurt reached into the bag and threw another right back at him. They kept at this for several minutes, chasing each other around their small campsite with joyful shrieks and pelting each other until the marshmallow bag was empty and they stood facing each other in a bizarre sort of standoff. Carson held the lone remaining marshmallow in his hand and raises his eyebrows at Kurt mischievously.

"We can either declare a cease-fire right now and you can admit that I won, or I can throw this at you," Carson said with an evil smile, bouncing the marshmallow in his hand. "Either way, you lose."

"You did not win," Kurt insisted, crossing his arms.

"Really?" asked Carson, still grinning. "Because it sort of feels like I did. Especially since you have marshmallow in your hair again."

Kurt's hands flew to his hair, picking the rogue marshmallow out of it and glaring at Carson. "You throw that at me and I will kill you."

"Oh, Kurtsie," Carson said with a shake of his head. "No you won't."

"Yes, I will."

"Really?" said Carson as he aimed the marshmallow and threw it with precision. It bounced off Kurt's chest, and Kurt lunged at Carson, tackling him to the ground and pinning him there underneath him.

"Think you're tough stuff, don't you?" he said, his weight settling down on top of Carson and causing Carson to flush over his whole body.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Carson declared, grabbing Kurt and flipping them over with surprising ease. He stared down into Kurt's face, which was just as flushed as his own felt at the moment, and wondered how much harm it would do to just lean down and kiss him. Just kiss him, and... possibly nibble a little on that beautiful jaw...

NO, Carson. No. That's one thing you absolutely should NOT do.

A tiny beeping noise interrupted his thoughts, and Kurt wrestled one arm free of Carson's grip and glanced at his watch, from which the sound was originating.

"Hey, Carson, guess what? We're seventeen," Kurt said with a smile, sounding as relieved as Carson felt. They both sat up and looked at each other awkwardly before Carson finally took a hold of himself.

"Happy birthday," he said, smiling back at Kurt, whose look of relief grew even more intense.

"Happy birthday," Kurt replied as he let out a deep breath.

Kurt opened his eyes slowly the next morning, feeling disoriented and confused at first as to why he was laying on something that definitely did not feel like his bed, until he remembered that it wasn't. He yawned and sat up in his sleeping bag, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the blinding sunlight shining onto the sides of the tent.

"Hey Carson, what time is it?" he asked with another yawn, brushing his hand over his face tiredly. He didn't remember going to bed, but then, he'd had a few more beers in him before the night was out. That probably explained why he felt so stiff and creaky at the moment. That, and the fact that the tent and sleeping bag did almost nothing to cushion the hard ground beneath him.

"Carson?" he asked again, reaching his arm over to his twin's sleeping bag and feeling around. He felt only fabric and no body, and he frowned as he realized that Carson wasn't in there.

"Uuugh, Carson, where did you go?" he mumbled to himself grumpily as he reached for his phone. "You know I panic when I'm alone in this thing."

"Keep your hair on, I'm right here," said a voice on the other side of the tent, and Kurt looked up as the zippered flap opened and Carson crawled inside, flopping onto his sleeping bag and looking pleased with himself.

"Where'd you go?" asked Kurt.

"To have a pee, is that alright with you?" answered Carson cheekily. "Or should I have asked permission?"

"Sorry," Kurt apologized, patting him gently on the shoulder. "I have the early morning grumps."

"It's half past twelve, actually, but you were buzzed to hell last night," Carson replied. "I'm actually surprised you're up right now. Thought you'd sleep all day. You hungry?"

Kurt nodded, realizing that his stomach was making definite growling noises in demand for sustenance. "Yes," he replied.

Carson nodded back at him, crawling out of the tent and disappearing for a few minutes. When he returned, it was with a plastic container of cereal, a spoon, and a box of apple juice, which he handed to Kurt as he sat back down on his sleeping bag. Kurt took them gratefully and began to eat, feeling ten times better as soon as he started swallowing the food.

"So, what are we doing today?" he asked as he took a sip of juice through the tiny straw.

"Funny you should ask that," replied Carson, his face full of mischief that made Kurt instantly suspicious.

"Why?" asked Kurt, steeling himself for whatever Carson seemed to have cooked up in his head.

"Well, while I was out in the woods just now, I picked up a little something," replied Carson, reaching into the pocket of his hoodie and taking out the empty marshmallow bag from the night before. Only, Kurt realized as he peered closely at it, it wasn't quite so empty anymore. Something had been placed inside that definitely wasn't marshmallows. In fact, it looked an awful lot like...

"Carson, are those shrooms?" Kurt exclaimed, looking suspiciously at the bag. Carson nodded proudly.

"Yes. Yes, they are," he replied with a grin. "I noticed them last night when I was under the tree, but it was too dark to see them clearly. I had to wait until it was light out to be sure. But yeah, these things are the good stuff. You want to try them? Since we didn't bring anything?"

Kurt looked at them curiously, considering the prospect. "I don't know, how do you know they aren't poisonous?" he asked warily.

"Trust me, Kurt, I did my research," Carson assured him. "I would never offer them to you if I wasn't a hundred percent sure they were safe."

"Well..." Kurt murmured as he looked down at the bag. "Don't you want to go hiking or something first?"

"We can totally do that on these!" Carson insisted. "Think how much more intense it will be. Come on, it'll be fun."

"You seem awfully sure of that," Kurt said as he spooned the last of his cereal into his mouth. "Have you ever even done mushrooms before?"

"Well, no," Carson admitted. "But there's a first time for everything. So, are we doing this or what?"

Kurt sighed in defeat. He was kind of curious about what kind of an effect the mushrooms would have, and if Carson was so sure they were safe, well... He supposed it would be sort of adventurous.

"Ok," he agreed. "Just let me get dressed first, ok?"

"Ok," said Carson. He collected Kurt's trash and crawled out of the tent while Kurt busied himself putting on shorts and a T-shirt. He figured that comfortable clothes were going to be a necessity that day.

"Ok," he said, exiting the tent and wincing as his lower back protested the act of standing fully upright. "So, how do we do this?"

"We eat them, obviously," Carson replied, pressing some mushroom and a square of chocolate into Kurt's hand.

"What's the chocolate for?" asked Kurt.

"Kurt, these things probably taste like rancid ass and onions," Carson said patiently. "Trust me, you're going to want the chocolate."

"Is this the right, erm... dose?" asked Kurt, looking warily down at his hand. "Seems a bit small."

"It is, but we've never tripped before," Carson pointed out. "Better to be safe than sorry, since we're out here in the middle of East Jesus, Nowhere."

"True," agreed Kurt. "Are you going to go first?"

Carson looked down at his own hand, looking unsure. "Um, how about... how about we do it at the same time?" he suggested cautiously. Kurt nodded in agreement.

"Ok, then. On the count of three?"

"Yes."

"One..." Kurt began counting. "Two... two and a half... three!"

Both twins quickly consumed the contents of their hands, and Kurt could actually feel his facial muscles contorting in an ugly grimace at the awful taste. If it tasted that shitty even with the chocolate, he didn't want to know what it tasted like alone. He swallowed as fast as possible, feeling nauseous as his face refused to stop expressing its displeasure at what he'd just put his taste buds through. Apparently, Carson didn't find the taste any more appealing than he did.

"Ugh," his twin groaned as he made a horrible face. "Ugh, this shit is fucked. This trip better be fucking worth it."

"How long till we feel anything?" asked Kurt.

Carson shrugged. "Not sure. About an hour, maybe? You might take a bit longer because you just ate."

"Great," mumbled Kurt.

"Why don't we set off walking, then?" suggested Carson. "I filled the backpack with water and stuff. By the time we get deep enough in the woods it should kick in."

"Ok," agreed Kurt. He watched his twin hoist the backpack onto his shoulders and followed him as he started walking, curious if Carson's estimations for the amount of time it would take to start feeling effects were accurate.

Sure enough, as they followed along their well-known hiking path, Kurt could soon see that Carson was slowing down. He didn't feel many effects himself yet, but Carson clearly did, judging by the way he tripped over his own feet and fell backwards into Kurt, who quickly caught him and prevented him from toppling over onto his back.

"Kurt," Carson said, a sloppy grin spreading over his face as Kurt removed the backpack and settled him against a nearby tree that overlooked a small lake. "Kurt, I see colors. Kinda."

"Oh?" replied Kurt as he settled down beside Carson and took a closer look at him. His twin was sweating slightly, his eyes quickly losing a lot of their blue as his pupils dilated considerably.

"Yeah," Carson breathed. "The trees, Kurt, they're just so... they're so green." He turned to Kurt and grinned, catching his bottom lip between his teeth as if he were sharing a naughty secret. "Green. And... wow, your eyes, they're... they're blue. Blue. Blue, blue, blue. Bluuuuuue. Did you ever think about that word? Blue? It sounds so weird. Like... it's such a pretty color but it has such a stupid name. They should call it... they should call it, like... um... I don't know. But something. Why are your eyes so blue, Kurt? Were they always that blue?"

"I... I'm not sure," answered Kurt, only half paying attention to anything Carson was saying because he could feel it now. He could feel his body slowly succumbing to the effects of the drug, and it felt... not bad, exactly, but definitely weird. Like it was on the verge of being amazing, but hadn't quite gotten there yet. He felt so warm, and he could feel every one of his senses heightening, becoming more and more intense. Every color was vibrant, every smell was so strong it could have knocked him over if he wasn't already sitting down. Every touch... He felt Carson's hand brush his own and gasped at the intensity of the feeling, his nerve endings on fire.

"Hello darkness, my old friend," Carson sang quietly under his breath after being quiet for a while, and Kurt silently wondered why he'd never noticed how beautiful his twin's singing voice was before as he fell deeper and deeper under the mushrooms' spell. "I've come to talk with you again..."

Kurt patted his stomach, wondering if it really felt sick right then or if he was just imagining it. He felt a brief wave of nausea that passed quickly, and then it was like the world exploded into a symphony of colors in an endless kaleidoscope that changed depending on which direction he looked in.

"You know," Kurt murmured as Carson continued humming to himself. "I never told anyone this, but you are so good at.. at... freckles," he mumbled, reaching toward Carson's face and stroking at a patch of freckles on his nose.

"Freckles," Carson repeated, bursting out with a guffaw of laughter. "Freckles!"

Kurt giggled along with him, not quite understanding why it was funny, but knowing without a shadow of a doubt that freckles were suddenly the most hilarious thing that ever existed. "Freckles," he squeaked, his stomach heaving with laughter as he lolled against the tree. Carson lost his balance completely and collapsed right into Kurt's lap, laughing so hard he had to gasp for air in between convulsions.

"Freckles," he repeated to himself. "Oh god... hey... hey, Kurt... Kurt, look!" he exclaimed, pointing up at the sliver of sky they could see through the trees. "The sky is blue just like your beautiful eyes, Kurt!"

"It is blue," Kurt said with awe as he looked up at it, the colors of the trees and sky blending together in a whirl of intense color.

"Remember... remember the time we came here with Dad?" asked Carson suddenly. "When we were six or whatever? He was just going to take you and Seth, but... you made him take me too? Remember?"

Kurt nodded, focusing on the color wheel in front of him. "Mmm."

"And I got scared because Dad said if I pulled any shit he would leave me in the woods," Carson continued quietly, almost talking to himself now. "I thought he really would, and I didn't know how to fish and I got scared I would starve if I had to live in the woods."

"Huh?" murmured Kurt, trying to focus on Carson's words, which sounded like a far away echo to him. He couldn't remember anything about what Carson was saying. Had that really happened?

"I slept in the car the last night, just in case," whispered Carson. "I thought he couldn't leave me there if I was already in the... in the car." Kurt couldn't be entirely sure, but he thought he heard a slight quiver in Carson's voice, like he wanted to cry but was trying not to.

"He wouldn't have," Kurt declared firmly. "I wouldn't have let him."

"I know," replied Carson. He suddenly snorted and reached his arms out toward the sky. "I feel like a crayon!" he squealed, and Kurt giggled.

"Hey!" Carson shouted, sitting up suddenly and making Kurt jump. "You know... you know what we should do? You know what we should do? We should just... get up and just... just go. Just take off our clothes, and go swimming!"

"But the lake is cold," Kurt said.

"But, Kurt... the water is blue," Carson whispered as if he were sharing top secret government information. "Blue."

"Oh my god," Kurt replied. "It is."

"I know!" exclaimed Carson. He stood up on wobbly feet and started clumsily removing his shirt and pants, and Kurt felt himself get even warmer at the sight of so much tempting flesh being revealed in front of him. Carson stood before him completely naked and held out his hands in invitation. "Kurtsie, come on!" he begged. Kurt let him pull him up, and Carson grinned widely as he watched Kurt fumble with his own clothes.

How the fuck do buttons work again? he wondered to himself as he tried in vain to undo his shorts before throwing caution to the wind and just pulling them down without unbuttoning them. Soon enough he was just as naked as Carson, and then there was a hand grabbing his and pulling him toward the water.

"Come on!" squealed Carson, and Kurt giggled in agreement as they held hands and waded out into the freezing water.

"Cold!" Kurt shrieked as the water slowly hit every inch of his exposed skin. "Cold, cold, cold, cooooold!"

"Here, Kurt, I'll keep you warm," Carson said, wrapping his arms around him, and Kurt instantly felt his body heat up despite the fact that it was submerged in icy water. The nearness of Carson's body had never felt so heightened before. So vivid. Like he was actually an extension of Kurt's own body. Kurt gripped Carson's arms and looked him in the eyes, which were almost black by now as they looked back at him with a look that Kurt hadn't seen in a while. It was hungry, almost lustful, and yet, there was a softness to it as well. Kurt shivered, unsure whether it was because of the look in Carson's eyes or the water.

"Warm now?" asked Carson.

Kurt moved his hands in answer, trailing them down Carson's back and stopping just above the swell of his ass. He didn't know if it was the drugs making him lose all inhibition or what, but all he knew was that he was naked, and Carson was naked, and they were wet and pressed up against each other, and he was just bursting with desire. He wanted to touch Carson, wanted Carson to touch him. He wanted to be as close as physically possible. He surged his lips forward, crashing them against Carson's in a kiss so hungry and intense that he felt like he was going to fly up out of his body at any second. Colors swirled behind his closed eyes as Carson returned the kiss eagerly, their tongues clashing and teeth biting as their hands roamed desperately. Kurt felt himself grow hard against Carson's own obvious arousal, and he thrust his hips into him without any preamble, the electric tingle running through his body making him cry out in need.

Carson seemed to have lost any of the inhibitions he had the previous night as he moved his own hips against Kurt's, the two of them rutting desperately against each other as their lips devoured anything they could reach. Kurt tilted his head back as Carson sucked at his neck, and his orgasm hit him with no warning whatsoever. He cried out as he came, the feeling almost too intense for him to handle. He felt a twitching and a flood of warmth against him as Carson followed him over the edge, his teeth scraping against Kurt's neck as he rode it out.

They stood there for a moment, still in the freezing water, still holding onto each other needily as they came down from their climaxes.

"Warm now," Kurt finally replied, and Carson's face broke into a grin as his chest heaved with labored breaths. He leaned in and kissed Kurt softly on the lips, the touch sweet and loving the way Kurt always remembered it being before.

"You're so beautiful," he said softly, and somehow Kurt knew that it wasn't really the drugs doing the talking right then.

The rest of the weekend passed by in a blur. Literally. Carson knew that the effects of mushrooms lasted for hours, but he wasn't really prepared for it to last well into the night. He barely remembered much from the whole day. He knew that he had seen a lot of colors and felt a lot of intense things, and that when he was sober he was going to regret what had happened in the water, but at the time, he just didn't care. The mushrooms had effectively erased any and all inhibitions that he might have had, or any self-control he had to keep Kurt at a distance. All that had mattered was being as close to him as possible.

That can't happen again, he scolded himself that night as he lay inside of Kurt's sleeping bag with him, his arms wrapped protectively around his sleeping twin to help keep him warm. He could feel Kurt's heart beating against his own, in perfect synch, actually, and it felt so vivid that he wondered for a moment if the drugs were still causing lingering effects.

Kurt stirred slightly in his sleep, letting out a breathy sigh against Carson's neck, and Carson held him closer glancing at his peaceful, angelic face. Kurt always looked so adorable when he was sleeping, his upturned nose twitching slightly and his long eyelashes fanning out like the hair of an angel. He was so beautiful, and Carson loved him so much.

Which was why, he reminded himself, he needed to be more careful. No more slip-ups like today. Kurt deserved so much better, and if Carson really loved him, he needed to give him that.

Although, he supposed it couldn't hurt to give him just a tiny kiss on the forehead if Kurt was asleep anyway.

Love you, Kurtsie.