For a moment, Kurt’s heart had stopped when Blaine uttered those three words. The words Kurt had wanted to hear from a boy. Sure, it was nice to hear it from Mercedes and his dad. But this was so very different. Mercedes and his father loved Kurt. Blaine was in love with Kurt. Blaine was all his and nobody was going to take him away. And, honestly, Kurt could see himself getting married to Blaine. He could see himself planning his own wedding. Pulling out that old trunk hidden beneath his bed. He could see himself stressing out and going insane but coming to the conclusion that it was all worth it when he stood in front of all of his friends and family and kissed Blaine. Married Blaine.

Suddenly, the question was coming out of Kurt’s mouth and he couldn’t stop himself. He needed to know and he was tired of waiting for an answer that Blaine promised. “Why have you been so distant lately whenever we…kiss?”

Blaine was lying next to Kurt, curled up a little with his face nuzzled into Kurt’s side. After Kurt had whispered that he loved Blaine, the older boy smiled before nuzzling close to Kurt. They stayed that way for a short amount of time until Kurt broke the silence with his question and Blaine blinked up a him, looking a little shocked at the sudden question. Within a few seconds though, that confused expression melted as he lowered his eyes to look down at Kurt’s chest for a moment before he sat up, eyes finding Kurt’s face once more.

“I promised you an answer, didn’t I?” Blaine asked with a little smile to which Kurt gave him a dangerous little glare. Blaine chuckled a little as he raised his hand to touch Kurt’s face, thumb lightly brushing over his cheek. Kurt couldn’t help but lean into the touch, closing his eyes.

“It’s not you, if that’s what you think,” Blaine muttered softly. “Well, it is you, but not in a bad way.”

Kurt opened his eyes to look up at Blaine, eyebrows drawing together. He gave a little tilt of the head, silently encouraging Blaine to go on.

“I don’t want to ruin what we have.”

“How can you possibly ruin what we have by being affectionate?” Kurt asked almost immediately.

Blaine worried his bottom lip between his teeth, turning his eyes away from Kurt. He shifted a little before looking at Kurt again, words coming out slow and careful. “I want…so much, Kurt. From you. And I don’t want to let myself lose control. I don’t want to freak you out or scare you away. I don’t--I don’t want to push you too far.”

It was like this weight was suddenly lifted off of Kurt’s shoulder as he listened to Blaine speak. So, the reason for his strange behavior was because of Kurt but not in the way he thought. It was actually the quite opposite. Blaine was being a gentleman which was unheard of with boys his age and that sent a wave of happiness through Kurt. He had the best boyfriend ever, it was official.

“Oh, honey,” Kurt said as he sat up to cup Blaine’s cheek. “Trust me, I don’t think anything you do is going to scare me away.” Because, really, Kurt was sure he wanted as much intimacy as Blaine did. They were both teenage boys and they both had hormones. And it was natural to want. And Kurt wanted. He really, really did. Slowly, Kurt leaned in to kiss Blaine softly on the lips. Blaine pressed into it lightly for a moment before pulling back to kiss along Kurt’s jaw making the younger boy giggle softly when Blaine’s lips brushed along his neck.

And suddenly, Kurt’s phone was buzzing on his nightstand making Blaine pull away with a frustrated little sigh. Kurt smiled softly, watching as his boyfriend fell back onto the bed muttering, “Cock blocking phone.”

Kurt snorted in laughter before reaching out and answering the phone without a glance to the caller ID.

“This is Kurt Hummel, how may I assist you?”

Blaine giggled beside him.

“Kurt. Hey, um. It’s Dave.”

Kurt blinked before pulling the phone away from his ear to look at the number he didn’t recognize. It wasn’t Finn or Puck pulling a prank on him. Kurt returned the phone to his ear. “Hi,” Kurt said carefully.

“Do you think maybe we can, like…I don’t know, meet up for coffee tomorrow or something to, uh, talk?” Kurt could feel the tension radiating off of Karofsky and through the phone.

Kurt nodded a little, even though Karofsky couldn’t see him. “Yeah. Sure. After school?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Alright, I’ll see you then.”

“O.K., cool. Um. Alright, bye,” he said a little awkwardly before the line went dead.

Blaine shifted a little on the bed before softly asking, “Who was that?”

“Karofsky…” Kurt said slowly, setting his phone aside. “He wants to meet up for coffee tomorrow...”

----

Kurt had to admit to himself that he was nervous as he sat in the practically empty coffee shop. He sat in a far corner by himself waiting for Karofsky to arrive just as they had planned. So far, he was twenty minutes late. With a small glance towards the coffee bar, Kurt caught Blaine simply staring at him from where he stood at the register. The older boy offered him an encouraging little smile and Kurt returned the smile weakly.

When Karofsky finally arrived the two boys sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, Karofsky fumbling with his phone and Kurt watching him closely. Karofsky, surprisingly, was the first to speak.

“I’m so sorry, Kurt,” he began weakly, “for everything I ever did to you. For all of the things I said and for pushing you around like that. I didn’t mean to--I mean--It was wasn’t right and…I’m just so sorry.”

Kurt simply watched in silence something twisting up in his throat. He was expecting an apology from Karofsky today, but he never really thought about how it might feel. This was something he had been waiting for and wanting for months and it was finally happening. The only other time that Kurt had seen Kaofsky in such a vulnerable state was the moment he had kissed Kurt. Actually, this time he looked and sounded so much more vulnerable. So much weaker.

“I know you are,” Kurt stated simply, keeping his voice from quivering. “And I accept your apology.” Kurt could have pushed Karofsky away. Told him he completely hated him and wished him the absolute worst, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. He understood the struggle that Karofsky was facing and he knew what hiding from the world was like. He understood that confusing. He didn’t agree with Karofksy’s way of dealing with his choices but he wouldn’t hate him for it.

“What?” Karofsky breathed, confused.

“I don’t agree with your way of coming to terms with your sexuality but I understand how you feel. And I know how hard it is coming to terms with something like this. But thank you for coming out here and apologizing like a civil human being.”

Karofksy tore his gaze from Kurt’s looking down at his phone, fumbling nervously with it. After a few moments, he nodded without looking up. “You’re welcome.” And then he looked up to smile at Kurt. This was the very first time Kurt had seen a genuine smile directed at him from this boy. This boy who had made Kurt’s life at McKinley a living hell. This boy who hated Kurt for being proud of who he was. This boy who had stolen Kurt’s first real kiss. None of that seemed to matter now because suddenly, all of that was in the past. It was forgiven, but definitely not forgotten.

With the minutes that followed, they talked about the attack. Karofksy asked Kurt how he was feeling and told him that the boys that had attacked Kurt had been turned in. They were now in juvenile hall and were no longer welcome back to McKinley High. Apparently, Karofksy knew the boys from the hockey team. The “puck heads” as some of the students liked to call them. Karofsky wasn’t necessarily friends with them considering the claimed he had betrayed them for the football team.

It should have felt awkward sitting here talking to Karofsky so casually. Laughing at little jokes the taller boy would make and not flinching every time Karofksy raised a hand to run it through his hair or rub at his face. It was comfortable here and Kurt almost felt that maybe, just maybe there was chance that he and Karofsky could be friends, if not, acquaintances.

Because for the first time ever Kurt Hummel and David Karofsky smiled at each other.