It was another two weeks until Blaine finally plucked up the courage to resign from his job. He had been playing every night at the Diner despite still working at his old job and he was exhausted but happy nonetheless. Nothing could beat the feeling of the applause he would get after every set. The crowd didn't have to pay attention to Blaine as really he wasn't playing a gig, he was meant to be background music for the paying customers. So to be met with rounds of applause after most of his songs was a magical feeling for Blaine and he was sure it would never get old to him. On the stage was where he belonged and just by looking over to where Kurt stood each night behind the bar, grinning at Blaine enthusiastically, he knew his boyfriend agreed wholeheartedly.

Blaine had worried that he wouldn't be able to think of enough material to play every single night of the week without the regular customers getting bored of the same old thing. So he was surprised when customers would come up to him and request songs that he had already sung at least twice before. He was over the moon at the notion of people actually wanting to hear him sing even if they'd already heard it numerous times before. Blaine sure as hell didn't get bored of playing the same numbers and if the crowd was also happy then it was a bonus.

The first night Blaine had officially played at the Diner, 3 days after his audition, Kurt had eyed him appreciately throughout the entire night which caused nervous butterflies to errupt in Blaine's stomach which had nothing to do with stage fright. Kurt had all but dragged him back to his apartment that night which led Blaine to believe that Kurt really enjoyed the idea of musician-Blaine.

So all in all, Blaine's life was looking pretty dandy recently. His boyfriend was the hottest piece of arse to walk the planet, his new job made him feel accepted and wanted, and he was the happiest he had ever been.

He just had to break the news to his father and the reason he had waited two weeks to do so was because he wanted to enjoy the bliss whilst he could. He knew that the time was now however and the way Kurt was raising an unimpressed eyebrow at him from across the bar only spurred him on.

"Why are you still sat there?" Kurt asked as he came over, wiping down the bar top with a damp cloth. It was Blaine's lunch break and as usual he had ventured over to his boyfriend's work (his work too, Blaine remembered) for food and comfort. His father was still giving him a hard time and it took all of Blaine's strength to not punch the older man and tell him exactly what he thought of his shitty job. But Blaine had to handle it maturely and somehow he thought punching his father was hardly mature.

"I don't want to face him" Blaine whined, keeping his eyes down and twisting his hands together nervously. Kurt dropped the cloth and placed both of his hands on top of Blaine's, holding them comfortingly. Blaine glanced up and found Kurt's face close to his.

"It's going to be fine B, seriously if anything happens then just walk out of there," Kurt smiled encouragingly, "What's the worst he can do?"

"I don't want to think about it" Blaine muttered to himself bitterly. He felt lips being pressed to his forehead which did in fact cheer him up a little bit.

"You're amazing Blaine, you're going to go there right now and tell him that you're finally doing what you love and you wish to resign," Kurt paused and his smile turned into a smirk, "And then you're going to come back here because I get off early today and we're going to go celebrate...sound good?"

Blaine gulped at Kurt's suggestive tone and found himself nodding before he could even process it.

"Good boy, now go, I have every faith in you"

Blaine leant up to kiss his boyfriend quickly, muttering a thank you to his lips before rushing out of the Diner. He was so nervous that his stomach was bubbling and he feared that he may throw up. But he had to do this, if not for himself than definitely for Kurt who just wanted him to be happy. And didn't Blaine want himself to be happy also? That's why he had been prolonging it, to continue being happy. So surely it would be better to get it out of the way now so that he would have nothing whatsoever bringing him down. Blaine had no right to deny himself the utmost happiness he knew he would get from leaving his father's firm.

Not to mention the celebrating Kurt had promised him after he had left.

Blaine tried to tell himself that the celebration wasn't what spurred him on faster towards his office but who was he kidding? He craved Kurt like an addict to drugs and if he had to face up to his fears to receive his fix than he was more than willing.

His heart was pounding in his chest uncomfortably the entire elevator ride up to his (and his father's) floor and by the time the doors slid open, Blaine was pretty sure he was going to have a heart attack. It was ridiculous really, having an irrational fear of his father and Blaine tried telling himself that he was being stupid, that all he had to do was inform his father that he wouldn't be returning and then walk out. Blaine tried to ignore the voice in his head telling him that he was once again disappointing his father. He replaced those thoughts with ones of Kurt who would be so proud of Blaine for standing up for himself at last, for accepting happiness into his life.

Blaine smiled to himself and knocked on his father's door, entering after he heard his father's low voice.

His father was sat behind his desk, hands perched on the keyboard of his computer. He looked up when Blaine walked in and his face automatically turned into a frown which crushed Blaine's confidence a little bit.

"Did you forget how to do your job?" His father asked bitterly, returning his attention to the computer. Blaine swallowed down his anger at the words and told himself to just get straight to the point. There was no point getting angry over something he would never have to put up with again.

"I want to hand in my resignation" Blaine said, pulling out a letter from his jacket pocket which he had wrote the previous week with Kurt's help. He dropped it onto his father's desk before crossing his arms across his chest. He tried to convey determination, if there was one thing his father despised than it was Blaine being confident.

Blaine was silently stunned when his father started to laugh, low and humorless at him. Out of all of the reactions that had haunted Blaine's thoughts, he never expected that one. He stood his ground however and simply raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand which part of that was funny?" Blaine said coolly. The laughter emitting from his father soon came to a stop and they stared each other down across the desk. After a few moments of silence, his father stood and rounded the desk and it took all of Blaine's strength to not step back from him.

"The whole notion of you thinking you can just walk away from this firm is simply hilarious Blaine," His father frowned, his voice thick with venom as he added, "You are utterly useless so what gives you the impression anywhere else will want you?"

Anger bled through Blaine's veins as he stepped closer to his father, their faces closer then Blaine ever wanted them to be. He had had enough of his father's unkind words constantly putting him down. He was done with his father treating him like shit when Blaine knew he was so much better then the older man.

"If you must know, I already have a new job...I'm working as a musician at a Diner across the street and I'm the most happy I've been and for once in my life Dad I'm not letting you ruin that for me" Blaine snarled, putting on emphasis on the word that so clearly made his father sick.

"Music is hardly a profession Blaine, I give you a month until you come crawling back to work a real man's job...let me guess, the twink that works there encouraged you into this?" His father smirked as he noticed the obvious fury that flooded Blaine's face.

"His name is Kurt and he wants me to be happy which is more than I can say for my so-called family," Blaine breathed out shakily before standing back again, "I'm done here...I have nothing else to say except thank you for making these past years of my life terrible"

His father scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, raising a thick eyebrow at him.

"If I recall, I actually gave you a paying job and a house to live in, you ungrateful shit" He cursed.

"You can have the house back, I'll find somewhere else to live so that I can deny that I ever knew my father"

Blaine knew he had to get out of the office before he felt the full effects of claustrophobia. He hated being under his father's hateful glare and he really had no reason to be there anymore. He turned around and walked over to the door, thankful that his legs didn't shake and give away how scared he was. He couldn't believe he had just stood up to his father, the man who he had constantly tried to impress throughout his life but to no avail.

"You really don't want to do this Blaine, I promise you"

His fathers cold voice hit him with force and he stopped in his tracks, letting the words run through his thoughts. He didn't like the tone of his father's voice and it did nothing to calm him. But he had gotten this far and there was no turning back now. He exhaled slowly and didn't bother turning around before saying his exiting words.

"I really do, goodbye Mr. Anderson"

Blaine felt exhilarated as he slammed the door shut behind him and leant against it momentarily, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. He knew he should be angry at his father's words, for once again putting Blaine down and telling him he was useless. But for once his father's cruelty had simply washed over him as soon as he had escaped the office. He didn't have to care about it anymore, the words didn't have to stick to him every single day because he would not be returning to the office ever again. And if that meant that he wouldn't ever see his father again then Blaine wasn't complaining about it. He already lost his mother so he might as well be rid of his father too. Blaine didn't need hurtful people in his life, especially if they were supposed to be his family.

When he finally opened his eyes he found the whole office staring at him. He blushed and quickly walked over to his own room, closing the door but not without noticing a fair few employees grinning at him positively. It warmed Blaine to know that some of his fellow workers cared enough to be happy that he had finally stuck up to his father. However the thought that the whole office had clearly over heard the conversation between the two men encouraged Blaine to quickly pack his things and leave. He wanted rid of the workplace as soon as possible so he picked up an old paper box and started to pile the minimal amount of items that were his into it. He sent Kurt a quick text to tell him he was on his way before leaving the office without another look back.

Blaine spotted Kurt immediately leaning against the lamppost on the corner outside of the Diner. His heart sped up when Kurt noticed him and grinned, giving him a small wave. He crossed the street and walked over to his boyfriend who leant over to kiss his cheek.

"How did it go?" He asked, taking Blaine's box out of his arms to carry it on his left side whilst holding Blaine's hand with his right. His hand was soft, warm and reassuring in Blaine's grip and he squeezed lightly, tucking himside more into Kurt's side as they walked down the street.

"Well, I made it out without getting punched so I'd take that as a good sign," Blaine joked, turning serious under Kurt's unamused glare however, "It was okay, I told him I was resigning, he said some horrible things to me which was expected, he threatened me and then I walked out"

"How did he threaten you?" Kurt asked, concern clear in his voice. Blaine squeezed his hand again before bringing it up to his lips to kiss.

"He just promised me that I didn't want to do this in his strict tone that he used on me when I was like, ten or something, so I just told him that I really did and walked out" Blaine sighed, looking up to Kurt who had a fearful expression on his face, confusing Blaine slightly.

"Hey, it's okay Kurt, don't worry about it" Blaine soothed, stopping Kurt in the middle of the pavement and standing in front of him to make eye contact.

"What if he does something to you? He doesn't sound the most pleasant of people and I wasn't even in the room and that threat sounds pretty heavy" Kurt mumbled, looking down at his feet and shuffling slightly. It sort of broke Blaine's heart because he wasn't used to seeing Kurt unsettled like that, and it was more reason to hate his father for being the reason he was seeing it now.

"Kurt," Blaine began, lifting Kurt's chin up with his available hand, "He's an arsehole and he doesn't deserve to be in our thoughts, he was just trying to scare me into submission again like he always does...what could he seriously do to me?"

Blaine didn't want to mention the fact that he would probably have to move out of his house in case he returned one day to find the locks changed and his things out on the street. He decided to save that for a later time when Kurt wasn't already freaked out. Instead, he leant forward and kissed Kurt's forehead, the tip of his nose, both cheeks and finally placing one on his lips. The corners of Kurt's mouth tugged up and Blaine grinned.

"Now cheer up because I'm pretty sure you said something about celebrating"

---

Blaine soon found out exactly what his father could do to him and it reminded him coldly that he would always be under the power of William Anderson.

The first day of Blaine's freedom found him walking through the city leisurely. It had been a while since he had the time to be able to just walk around and do nothing. He always had work during the day and he spent the majority of the rest of his time at the Diner in the evenings or at Kurt's any time else. He now had a lot of free time as he didn't have to spend nine hours stuck in an office anymore. All of his work at the Diner was in the evenings and today Kurt was working the morning shift so Blaine had decided to get to know the city once again before meeting Kurt for lunch.

Being so wrapped up in his work and his problems had left him forgetting how beautiful the city truly was. Sure, he dreamt about moving to New York or LA to live as a musician but he knew that he didn't live in the worst place in the world. Ohio was home after all even if bad memories resided there with him.

Thinking of home brought Blaine back to his current situation. He knew he had to find a new place to live as he wasn't sure when his father would take back the apartment. He had told Kurt who had offered for Blaine to move in with him but Blaine didn't want his father to be the cause of the couple moving too fast and ending in arguments. It would be exactly what his father wanted and Blaine couldn't allow that. Blaine did have a lot of money saved so finding an apartment wouldn't be too hard, he was even thinking of putting his things into storage and doing a little bit of travelling before he found a new home. He was sure Matt wouldn't mind giving him the time off and Kurt might even want to accompany him.

Blaine was picturing the two of them back packing around Europe when he found himself back at the Diner. He checked his watch and saw it was half 11 so decided he might aswell sit in and grab a cup of coffee whilst he waited for Kurt to finish his shift. Blaine smiled to himself as he stepped into the Diner and was greeted by a couple of regular custmers that watched him each evening. He was pretty sure he'd never get over how amazing it felt to be appreciated.

The first thing that told Blaine something was wrong was the fact that Kurt wasn't behind the bar. He still had 45 minutes left of his shift and he wouldn't have left early, he loved talking to the people at the Diner too much. The second thing that told Blaine something was wrong was the fact that Rachel was sat on one of the stools up at the bar. Her head snapped up when the door opened and she spotted Blaine straight away, grabbing her bag and rushing over to him.

"Blaine! I've been trying to call you all morning, where have you been?" Rachel all but shouted, grabbing a hold of Blaine's arm and tugging him back out of the Diner. Blaine was so confused that he allowed himself to be pulled halfway down the street before he answered.

"I've been out on a walk...I left my phone at home, Rach what's going on? Why isn't Kurt at work?" Blaine asked, stopping in his tracks and making Rachel fall back slightly. He put a hand on her waist to steady her as she started to flail her hands about, clearly distressed.

"You have to come to our apartment-"

"Where's Kurt?" Blaine cut in, dread filling his body at Rachel's frightened expression. Her eyes widend and she began to tug him down the street again.

"Rachel stop," Blaine demanded, "Tell me where Kurt is"

Rachel bit her lip as tears filled her eyes. Blaine instantly felt bad and pulled her into a hug. He ran his hand up and down her back to try and comfort her but it didn't stop her sobs. She was starting to scare Blaine and he just wanted to know where Kurt was and if he was okay.

"Rachel I understand that you're upset but I need to know where Kurt is, you need to tell me what's happened" Blaine urged, holding Rachel back by her shoulders so he could inspect her face. She sniffed and wiped her tears away, the scared expression never leaving her face however. She met his eyes with remorse and Blaine's heart sunk in his chest.

"K-Kurt...he's at the apartment, Blaine he was attacked this morning"

---

Blaine didn't wait for the elevator when Rachel finally opened the front door to the apartment block. He raced up the stairs leaving Rachel behind and barely noticed how out of breath he was when he pushed open Kurt's front door and ran in.

"Kurt?" Blaine called, hearing a soft groan coming from the living room. He rushed in and found Kurt spread out across the sofa with a blanket covering his body. Blaine's stomach flipped uncomfortably and he almost threw up at the sight of his boyfriend's usually impeccable face.

The skin on Kurt's face was tinged with the purples and yellows of bruises. There was a cut above his left eyebrow and his lip had been split open violently, leaving a deep gash. Blaine could see that Kurt had the beginings of a black eye which meant he had been hit pretty badly in the nose. He wanted to check to make sure it wasn't broken but he assumed that if it was then Rachel would have taken Kurt to the hospital.

The worst part of it all however was how utterly defeated Kurt looked whilst snuggled under the blanket and Blaine had to suppress the urge to check if his boyfriend had any other injuries to other parts of his body.

"Oh, baby" Blaine whispered as his eyes met Kurt's frightened gaze. He dropped down to his knees in front of the sofa and found Kurt's hand under the blanket.

"Blaine" Kurt mumbled weakly, his voice thick with emotion causing Blaine's eyes to prickle. He was speechless with worry and rage and was conflicted between holding Kurt in the safety of his arms for the rest of his life or roaming the streets and murdering whoever did this to his lover.

Rachel finally entered the apartment and found the two boys staring into each others eyes in such a heartbreaking manor that she stayed put in the hallway, just watching them. Blaine noticed her out of the corner of his eye and he snapped his gaze to her, suddenly more furious than before.

"How the hell did this happen? Tell me everything Rachel, I mean it" He snarled, fully aware that it wasn't Rachel's fault but needing to express his anger somehow. He felt Kurt squeeze his hand weakly to calm him down and all thoughts left Blaine's head other than to protect Kurt. He started to run his fingers through Kurt's hair comfortingly as Rachel stepped into the room.

"I-I don't know exactly, h-he left for work like normal and half an hour later he came back in and collapsed and-" Rachel stopped and Blaine glanced at her to see she had broken down again, crying into her hands.

"Rach" Kurt whispered, motioning her over to them. She came over and sat next to Blaine on the floor. Blaine let go of Kurt's hand to tangle his fingers with Rachel, keeping his other hand in Kurt's hair.

"Kurt, who did this to you?" Blaine asked softly as Kurt looked back to him. He looked so sad that Blaine wanted to bundle his boyfriend in his arms and never let go but he was too worried that his torso would have more injuries and he would cause Kurt pain.

"I-I don't know who they were," He mumbled weakly, "They came up to me as I was about to go into work"

"Did they say anything? Can you remember what they looked like?" Blaine urged, trying to get as much information out of Kurt so that he could go to the police about it afterwards.

"B-Blaine..." Kurt started, his voice trailing off and sending a shot of ice through Blaine's bloodstream.

"Kurt...what did they say?" Blaine asked more forcefully, holding Kurt's gaze and not allowing him to look away. Kurt swallowed nervously and shut his eyes tightly.

"T-they told me that if I was ever seen with y-you again then they'd k-kill me" Kurt choked out, his eyes instantly filling with tears and soon both he and Rachel were sobbing. Blaine froze as dread filled his entire being.

Kurt had been attacked because of him. Someone had threatened to kill his boyfriend and it was all because he was with Blaine.

"Kurt...what did they look like?" Blaine whispered, running the back of his fingers down Kurt's cheek as gently as possible. It took a few seconds for Kurt to hold back his sobs so that he could speak but Blaine waited as patiently as he could.

"T-they were both really muscley, one had d-dark brown hair and a tattoo on his arm a-and the other had-"

"No hair and bright blue eyes" Blaine stated as his worst nightmares came true.

Blaine knew who had done this to Kurt and that was the moment when Blaine realised his father would always control him. He would always have the power to bend Blaine to his will and it made the younger Anderson sick with repulsion.

"Oh God, Kurt" Blaine cried, tears finally escaping his own eyes. He felt Rachel's hand on his back trying to soothe him but to no avail.

The two men Kurt had described were his fathers right hand men...John Wood and Jacob Smith. The two men in the office that hated Blaine out of loyalty to their boss. It could only mean that Blaine's father had set the two on Kurt to try and teach Blaine a lesson for growing a backbone and leaving the firm and his fathers grasp. Blaine wanted to scream and kick things but he felt too utterly defeated to do so. He knew what this meant for him, what it meant for his and Kurt's relationship which had barely even started yet. It could have been something amazing...it already was something amazing. But now, how was Blaine supposed to allow it to continue when he knew Kurt was at risk because of him. His father would stop at nothing to get what he wanted and though Blaine didn't think he would actually kill Kurt, he knew that his father would do a lot of damage to him. And Blaine couldn't have that. He loved Kurt too much to let harm come to him, especially if it was because of Blaine.

He knew what he had to do, it was just doing it that would be the difficult part.

"Rach...Can you give me a moment alone with Kurt please?" Blaine mumbled, not taking his eyes off of Kurt's face which grew fearful, as if he knew what Blaine was about to do.

"Of course" Rachel nodded before standing up and pressing kisses to both his and Kurt's heads. She left the room and Blaine waited until he heard her bedroom door shut before he started to talk.

"Kurt-"

"Don't do this Blaine" Kurt whispered, confirming Blaine's suspicions and causing his heart to break slightly.

"I can't let this happen again Kurt, I can't give them a reason to hurt you" Blaine choked out, clutching Kurt's hand in his own as tears fell down his face. Kurt was shaking his head at Blaine's words, his face showing pain though Blaine didn't know if it was physical or emotional.

"Don't leave me...we can sort this out together...it's going to be fine Blaine just please don't leave me" Kurt sobbed, bringing his other hand up to cup Blaine's cheek desperately. Blaine saw the bruises and cuts on Kurt's hand and knew that he was doing the right thing. He couldn't risk it happening again, he was going to protect Kurt and if that meant never seeing him again then he'd do it.

"Don't you get it? My father did this Kurt...he's manipulative and scheming and he'll stop at nothing and I love you too much for him to hurt you again, I have to protect you" Blaine said, not stopping to blush at the fact he just admitted to Kurt he loved him. The situation wasn't one in which Blaine had hoped to tell Kurt about his feelings but he figured it was the last time he'd be able to. Blaine needed Kurt to know that he loved him, he couldn't leave and spend his life in fear that Kurt thought it was because Blaine didn't want to be with him.

"Blaine please, please stay with me, I'll do anything" Kurt begged, his sobs loud and broken as he clung to Blaine with as much effort as he could muster in his condition. Blaine knew he had to get out of there quickly before he did something silly like give Kurt exactly what he wanted. A few more seconds looking at Kurt could easily have Blaine forgetting everything and simply running away with the boy. But he knew he couldn't...he had to be responsible and it killed him to do so.

"I'm so sorry this has happened Kurt...you mean so much to me and you've changed my life so much since I met you, I'm forever grateful for everything you've done" Blaine whispered, closing his eyes before trying to stand up. Kurt pulled him back down and quickly scrambled up into a sitting position, wincing as pain shot through his body.

Kurt pressed his lips to Blaine's desperately and Blaine sobbed against his lovers mouth as his tongue slid against Kurt's messily, not wanting to ever be apart from him but knowing he had to. He knew this had to be the last kiss between the two, the last touch and by the way Kurt was clinging to him, Blaine could tell he knew also. He could feel Kurt trying to tug him onto the sofa but he knew that if he crawled on top of Kurt then he wouldn't ever leave. He would stay exactly where he belonged, in the sanctuary of Kurt's hold.

"I have to go" Blaine mumbled against Kurt's lips as they finally slowed down. Kurt nodded, his crying more gentle now, utterly defeated. Blaine swallowed back the lump in his throat at the sight and pressed kisses all over Kurt's face.

"Please" Kurt whispered one last attempt to make Blaine stay, holding onto his hand tightly as Blaine stood up. Blaine couldn't find any words to make the situation feel okay so he simply squeezed Kurt's hand one last time before dropping it. He turned and walked out of the front door without a glance back at his one chance of happiness who was wailing broken sobs, his heart splintered.