It was a few weeks after new years had passed. Blaine worked every day except Sundays so he and Kurt didn't get to see each other unless he dropped by the store which also turned out to be briefly as January was a busy month.

It also meant no kissing, hugging or holding hands. Even when they were on the phone they had to be careful as Blaine's father had taken up the incredible idea of working at home as he mostly was doing reports over the gone year.

It wasn't that Blaine and his father had any encounters. They actually didn't talk at all. When Blaine got up to go to work in the morning his father was already in his study, and mostly he was still in there when Blaine came home, or he was in the living room.

Blaine didn't complain. He merely adjusted to going to work, coming home, eating in the kitchen and going directly to his room for either reading, playing or sleeping. The less contact, the less trouble.

It was Friday night and he watch said 9:30. Blaine had only just finished his shower after having been at the store until 7:30 to help unpack and organize the new records and get a hold of the booking of the gone year.

He was flat-out exhausted to say the least. An agonizing headache had been in charge of his entire body since 5 o'clock and his hands suffered from several paper cuts induced by cardboard boxes. Not to mention that he single-handed had been the one to carry the boxes from the backroom and out to their respective spots in the store. The shop might seem small to people, but when carrying heavy boxes filled with fragile vinyl it quickly turned into an arena.

To make it all even better his guitar was a string short after a woman didn't keep track of her toddler; the poor guy tripped and grabbed for anything close to avoid his stunt - the neck of Blaine's guitar being the lucky support. Admittedly he had known that it was closing in on him having to change the entire set to be on the safe side of things, he had just hoped he could wait at least a few weeks; especially since he did more working than playing these days.

All in all Blaine's day had been so crappy that he was on the verge of wishing for a virus of some sort to hit him, only so he could avoid having to face people, and the real world, for the next few days while he got back in charge of himself.

When he came home Ms. Johnson had left him food in the fridge and a note that his father wouldn't be home until the middle of the night because of some sort of important training course he had to be present at. So the day could have been worse after all; he could have been forced to deal with his father too. The last thing he had brain capacity to stand at the moment.

Now he was sitting on the couch, showered and ready for bed, but forcing himself to keep his eyes open as he had only jus gotten through his dinner. The late night news were rolling over the TV and Blaine had more or less given up on staying awake when the doorbell rang.

His eyes rolled around in his head as he grunted dissatisfied but convinced himself to go and at least check who it was. He dragged his feet down the hall and opened the door.

"Kurt? What are you doing?"

By first look he hadn't seen anyone through the matted glass of the windows in the door, so he had opened the door where he found Kurt on the doorstep. He was down on one knee and his face was glowing yellowish from the vague light bulb over their heads. His cheeks were frostbitten and he was shaking a little.

"Oh yes. I have something for you!" Kurt burst out like he had forgot his purpose of even being there. He fumbled around in his pockets on shaky knees, Blaine staring at him in a mix of confusion and adoration.

From somewhere inside his jacket Kurt produced a purple plastic ring with a black plastic star on the top.

"A promise ring… a promise of the future, you know. Of us finding a future together. Somehow. A promise of me - taking you out to show you the world." Kurt was absolutely glowing and his voice was a little twitchy as he made the promise.

"Get up, silly." Blaine nodded. He was in awe. This was incredible - a promise ring.

That was something boys gave to their girlfriends to get into their pants; but Kurt didn't need that. Kurt had already been in his pants, and everywhere else on his body, and he could do whatever he wanted with him.

This was true. Possibly the only sincere promise ring ever given in all of Ohio.

Kurt stumbled to his feet with a little estranged look creeping over his face.

"This is amazing. You are amazing!" Blaine wished he could throw his arms around his neck and kiss him, so he hurried to drag him inside the hall to slam the door for whatever curious looks could be observing them.

"It's nothing special. It's just from a -" Kurt started explaining but was cut off by Blaine's lips clasping against his.

"It is special. It's cute and I love it," Blaine declared with his forehead resting against Kurt's, unable and unwilling to hide the smile that had wiped away the sleepiness that had been in control of his everything only minutes before.

"It's just from a gumball machine. It's nothing like the beautiful bracelet you gave me; but I saw it and then I spent all my coins on getting it for you. I have a load of bouncing balls and plastic insects in a bag on my desk now," Kurt said sort of embarrassedly.

"Did I ever tell you that you are incredibly adorable? This is the most adorable thing in the world," Blaine assured him ecstatically, pulling him closer and kissing all over his face.

"Come with your hand," Kurt demanded when he finally got himself wiggled out of Blaine's grip. He placed the ring on Blaine's left little finger. It was nearly too small, but he insisted that it should fit, so they made it fit.

As Blaine stood admiring his new accessory Kurt panicked and remembered that he had a bag of stuff on the front step and hurried to get it in.

Kurt explained how he, Finn and Rachel had been to the diner in town where he had seen the ring in the gumball machine. When he finally had got the ring he had put all the other toys in a bag and asked Finn to take them home while he ran to Blaine's house himself, even though Blaine was pretty sure that the bag seemed like he had already planned to go there for some reason.

They only entered Blaine's room when he remembered that his body was a minute away from collapsing, which suddenly seemed completely unfair now that he was actually allowed to kiss and cuddle Kurt as much as he liked.

Kurt dropped his bag in its usual spot next to the chair by the desk before he put on a very serious, though mysterious, expression.

"Sit down and close your eyes," he inquired and indicated for Blaine to take seat on the bed. Blaine's curiosity sense jumped to toes and he considered briefly to ask what for, but that would be pretty pointless, so instead he nodded in agreement and sat down before he closed his eyes.

"Just don't do anything that hurts, please. I am just ac - ooooh."

His eyes were still closed, but he could clearly feel that Kurt had put something around his neck. It was cold on his skin and a little heavy on the front. He wanted to rush his eyes open to examine the object, but he didn't want to take the satisfaction from Kurt.

As soon as Kurt had locked the chain he traced gentle kisses up and down his neck, with his hands only lightly placed on his arms.

"Okay, you can open now," Kurt whispered in his ear, a feeling of contained excitement oozing out of him.

Blaine opened and immediately let his hand rush to the pendants of the silver chain that had been closed around his neck. In his hand he held a miniature guitar, a star and a peace symbol shaped as a heart - just like the ones on Kurt's bracelet.

"Wow. I… you didn't have to do that. That must have been so expensive." Yeah. Good idea, Blaine - address the price tag before the actual item, he thought.

Kurt crawled to sit on his knees on the floor between Blaine's legs.

"Yes. I should. I wanted to. You gave me this wonderful gift that I hope I won't have to take off ever in my life, and here I am bringing you some ridiculous bubblegum piece of plastic that you won't even be able to wear in public - but this you can always wear as long as you keep it under your shirt," Kurt explained and made the necklace drop down the collar of Blaine's t-shirt.

"Yeah. But as long as I'm with you I don't wanna keep it under my shirt," he said and pulled it back out.

"Also, because I love you and you deserve to be coated in beautiful things," Kurt stated.

"I have an idea," Blaine said, something hitting him out of nowhere. He opened the chain and let the purple ring slide down over it.

"There. Now I'll always be wearing the ring too. Just not in the same way," he declared and let the necklace fall back into place. Kurt rose to his knees and locked his arms around his waist. Blaine let his forehead rest against Kurt's where he remembered how much he needed to fall back on his pillow and sleep without having to worry about getting up the next day.

The floral fragrance of Kurt's hair smoothed its way into his nose and overpowered his brain, making his head feel light and his eyelids heavy. He felt himself swaying, but didn't have the power to do something about it, so instead he tightened his grip around Kurt's shoulders.

"Sweetie, you're falling asleep. Let's get you up to bed," Kurt cooed and carefully got to his feet and helped Blaine to lie down. He laid on his side so he could watch as Kurt changed into pajamas too, feeling himself drifting in and out of sleep, but the second Kurt crawled under the covers and put his arm around him he fell asleep. Hard.

When Blaine woke up there was still an hour until he had to get up for woke so he had no idea why he was already awake, until he realized that Kurt was boiling next to him. The boy was curled up to a ball in his arms and his skin felt like it was red hot.

He ran his fingers through Kurt's hair that was moist from sweat and there was no doubt that he had a strong fever. He considered for a moment to wake him up and ask him if he wanted to go home, but instead he decided to let him sleep. If he wanted to go home he would say so when he woke up by himself; there was no reason to disturb him.

Blaine pulled the covers down from his shoulders and shuffled to firm his grip around Kurt's torso so he could drag him a little closer. He wasn't sure how to treat a sick person, but he guessed that if one was having a fever the best to do would to try and get it to cool off.

He stayed with his arms around Kurt who every now and then coughed so Blaine was certain that he would wake up, but he didn't. As soon as the clock hit 9 he kissed Kurt on the forehead and tiptoed to the hall so he could call the record store and turn in sick. If Kurt didn't want to go home he should have the chance of staying, and there was no way Blaine would let him be alone like that.

It was hard to lie but he definitely thought that it was worth it, so he got it over with quickly before he returned to his room. Kurt was still fast asleep, and still unbelievably hot, so Blaine opened a window before slipping back into the bed.

Kurt was lying on his front on the other side of the bed, so Blaine thought he wouldn't get too close to him. He didn't want to cross his lines if he wasn't comfortable about him being close. He laid down on his side and observed Kurt's back rise and fall as he breathed, a rising urge in his fingers to run his fingers up and down his spine, but settled for gazing at him while listening to his breathing.

It was around 1 when Blaine woke up again. Kurt was still asleep so he figured that he probably needed it. He went to the kitchen to get a glass of water for when he would eventually wake up. That was all he could remember from when he had been sick and his mom had nursed him as a kid; water. He would need water.

He felt useless. The last time he had been sick himself had been during the summer where Linda had taken care of him and he hadn't done anything but sleep, other than that he knew nothing about nursing anyone.

"Hey baby. Shouldn't you be at work?" Kurt's voice was rasp and tired when he turned around to look at Blaine. His eyes were red and he looked like he hadn't slept for days. Even though Blaine already knew he was sick a pang of concern rushed through him. He felt like scooping him into his arms and rock him back and forth while singing to him.

"No, it's okay. I called in sick. You can go back to sleep if you want. I'm not going anywhere," Blaine cooed and rushed to lie closer but still keeping a foot between them.

"Oh honey, are you sick? Why didn't you wake me up?" Kurt panicked and started to get up. Blaine hurried to put an arm over him so he couldn't get up, not sure what to do if he suddenly started to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Kurt. You are the one who's sick. You have such a crazy fever. I stayed home to take care of you," he explained as softly as possible, watching as Kurt's expression went from confused through sad to affectionate.

"You didn't need to do that, love. Thank you." Kurt moved over to rest his forehead against Blaine's ribs, his hands folded against his chest. He placed a barely noticeable peck on Blaine's side before he started coughing again, desperate to kill it with his hand.

"I guess I am a little ill," he admitted with a grimace. Blaine rubbed his hand down his back, feeling that he was still incredibly hot so he did his best to maneuver the covers away from his body. He slid down to lie next to Kurt so that their noses nearly met, making it easier for them to keep up a conversation.

"How are you feeling?" Blaine asked, hoping that he wasn't being too oversensitive about it.

"Horrible. Like I've been hit by a train, honestly." Kurt's eyes rolled a little, but eventually he caught up some control of them and sent a strained smile at Blaine.

"I'm sorry. Do you want to go home? I can take you if you want. I have no idea how to take care of someone who's sick…" he nervously blabbered out.

"Can I stay here? I'd much rather be with you. You don't need to take care of me or anything, I'll be fine. I just… I will need your voice and your touch," Kurt said weakly, resembling a sick child more than someone who was nearly an adult.

"Of course you can stay. I'm not gonna leave you until you're better. I promise," Blaine assured him and let a hand run over his hair.

"I got you some water. I don't know… I just guessed you'd be thirsty when you woke up," he said, a little embarrassed that a simple glass of water was all he could produce for him.

Kurt accepted the glass Blaine offered him and gulped down the entire thing before he let Blaine put it back to the nightstand he had got it from.

"You are way too good to me," Kurt mumbled hoarsely and folded his arm around Blaine's waist. His cheek was burning against his chest, and Blaine was feeling so hot that he almost feared that he was catching a fever too, but he didn't want him to move away so didn't mention anything. Instead he stroke his hand over his damp hair a few times before he realized that Kurt was back to sleep.

Blaine watched him for a bit, well-knowing that if Kurt woke up and needed something there was no chance that he would wake up Blaine to get help or support.

Blaine tiptoed out of the bed and down the stairs. Kurt was still fast asleep, and it was already late afternoon, so he thought he should go find some food, wondering what Kurt could possibly eat in that state.

"Oh… hi. I didn't know you were here," Blaine mumbled as he entered the kitchen where he found Ms. Johnson cleaning off the cupboards. She turned and smiled warmly at him.

"Oh I'm always here, honey. Shouldn't you be at the store today?" She asked and threw a sponge into a bucket of soap and water.

Blaine dumped down on one of the kitchen stools to rest his elbows on the counter, his chin resting dozy in his hands.

"Yeah. I should. But Kurt had a fever so I called in sick. Couldn't leave him alone like that," he shrugged and hid a yawn in his palm.

Of course Kurt was capable of being alone, even when he was sick; but he deserved someone to take care of him.

"You are struck hard, boy." She smiled at him before she went for the fridge and grabbed out a pot.

"Yeah. I guess I am," Blaine nodded, not even wanting to deny it. It was nice that she knew, that he didn't have to hide the fact that another boy was lying in his bed - that Kurt was lying in his bed.

He watched as she put the pot on the stove and started heating whatever it was containing.

Blaine rested his forehead against his knuckles and realized how drained of energy he was. He had been so focused n watching Kurt that he hadn't rested himself.

"I'll tell your father that you're having a virus. That way he won't come to your room and he won't tell you to see a doctor. Kurt should be safe in your room then." Ms. Johnson smiled maternally at him and put a bowl of soup in front of him.

"Eat. Then you can bring Kurt some too. The boy is so skinny he looks like he's never ever seen food," she chuckled, before she returned to cleaning the cabinets.

Blaine ate in silence and she filled a bowl for Kurt before starting to clean Blaine's.

"Thank you. So much. For everything you do for us. It's really… nice." Blaine felt that it wasn't really enough. How could anyone ever really thank someone enough for putting their job on the line to protect their relationship?

"Who would I be to stand in the way of young love?" she grinned before she nodded towards the door.

"You better get back up. Can't have him waking up to find the bed empty." Ms. Johnson winked at him and he sent her a crooked smile in gratitude, turned around and headed back upstairs.

"Hey baby. There you are -" Kurt mumbled and squeezed Blaine's pillow as he entered the room. He crossed the floor and put the bowl of soup on the nightstand before he climbed back into the bed.

Kurt immediately moved closer to rest his cheek against Blaine's chest, his arms wrapping around his waist.

"You should sit up. Ms. Johnson made you soup," Blaine cooed, letting a warm palm over Kurt's cool forehead. He was still a bit clammy, but had turned cold, so Blaine pulled the covers a little tighter around his shoulders.

"That is so sweet of her. She's so considerate," Kurt rasped and struggled his way to sit up and Blaine made sure he had enough pillows in his back.

Kurt started eating slowly while Blaine traced gentle patterns over his back and down his arm. He thought that he looked so incredibly weak, but somehow managed to keep up his amazing glow.

Suddenly it hit Blaine how thankful he was that Kurt hadn't seen him being sick in the commune over the summer. He had been so confused about everything, and as awful as he felt he had still been craving Kurt's presence, but now he was happy that he hadn't been there - he prayed that Kurt would never get to see him as the mess he dissolved into when he got sick.

"Are you feeling any better?" Blaine asked softly. Kurt curled up against him and dragged Blaine's arm around him after having put the bowl back to the nightstand.

"Yeah. A little bit. I hate being sick; but it's so lovely to have you taking care of me," he muttered into Blaine's chest, placing gentle kisses on the fabric of his t-shirt.

"Good. I think the fever is starting to wear off," Blaine cooed and squeezed a little tighter, making Kurt express a weak moan.

They stayed in bed doing nothing but lying close and talking. Blaine traced patterns around Kurt's skin where he wasn't covered by his shirt to calm down his stressed out body. Kurt asked him about music; songs, bands and instruments, and Blaine asked him about art and nature. It nearly felt like those steamy summer nights they had snuck to be alone under a blanket in the meditation room.

"I miss the summer," Blaine said, not expecting Kurt to understand what he even meant by that.

Kurt shifted a bit to lie on his back so he could look up at Blaine from his spot on the pillow next to Blaine's thigh.

"I miss it too. But it's January. Soon spring will come to us and the world will look so much brighter," Kurt said, somewhat baffled by the sudden revelation.

"No. I mean… I miss last summer. Our summer. When we were free and didn't have to worry about who or what or why. When I didn't have to lie about sleeping next to you…"

Blaine hadn't even seen until now how much it bothered him that they always needed to sneak around. Sure, it was somewhat easier to be alone at Blaine's house because his father never was home, but they still needed to be careful because some days he would just appear.

When they were outside they couldn't hold each other walking down the street, not even at the record store - the only place they were really able to not sneak around was at Kurt's house; but there they had Finn and his dad hovering over them all the time, and Blaine couldn't shake off the feeling that they saw and heard everything he and Kurt said and did when they were at his house.

"I wish I had been brave enough to kiss you then. In front of everyone. You deserve to be kissed in front of everyone." Blaine was sad that he had been so long on realizing all he really wanted and needed was Kurt. He had been so stupid.

"It goes the way it goes. I am sure there's a reason for it. I wanna kiss you no matter how many or how few people may or may not be looking - but it's okay so long as we know each other's love it doesn't matter what people know or think," Kurt stated. His fingers were running up and down Blaine's thigh, letting the fabric of his pajamas tickle his skin lightly.

"You're right. As always; you are right. I wish I could see the world the way you do," Blaine crooned and ran his fingers through Kurt's hair.

Kurt was looking up at him with a pensive gaze. Like he was pondering over something he had just remembered.

"I thought about kissing you - back then. All the time. What it would feel like, how your lips and tongue would feel and how you would taste. Where you would place your hands and if your kiss would be soft or forceful. From the first time I saw you on the bus. I needed to feel it." Kurt smiled lightly up at him, seeming as if he was sliding into reminiscing.

Blaine was surprised. He thought that Kurt had been so absorbed in other things that stuff like kissing boys wouldn't really be of any importance to him.

"Why didn't you do it? I wish you would have done it. There were so many chances. Maybe then it wouldn't have taken me so long," Blaine burst out. If that had been the way things had happened, maybe the world had been different now.

"You weren't ready. Think about it; if some boy you had only just met started kissing you back then, how would you have reacted? You would have freaked out." Kurt didn't sound judgmental, or even sad at the fact that his boyfriend had once felt that way. Instead he was soft and smiling.

"But… you weren't just some boy, some stranger; you were Kurt. You are Kurt. And even back then I dreamed about kissing you; feeling your lips and tongue against mine - I was just afraid to admit it."

Once again Blaine felt ashamed of his ignorance. It was completely irrational how he had kept telling himself that it was nothing when it had been so obvious. Even his mom who had never seen him with Kurt had known, and now Mrs. Johnson knew it even when they had been so discrete around the house.

"You admitted it to me every day. You just didn't know. The way you sent me glances when you thought I wasn't looking, and the way you made sure to always sit close to me," Kurt grinned and sat up so he could wrap his arms around Blaine's one and rested his head on his shoulder. Blaine freed his arm so he could hold around Kurt, shy over how everyone had known before he had himself.

"Well, I hope my kissing lived up to your expectations," Blaine declared, blushing by the thought of how he could kiss Kurt all the time.

"Oh it didn't. It doesn't - it's so much better. My imagination really failed me on that one," he assured him, cheeks flushed and his eyes sparkling.

Blaine couldn't stop his eyes from darting towards Kurt's lips. They looked so red, and full, and moist in the darkness of the room. If he hadn't been sick he would…

Blaine moved around to cup Kurt's face in one hand and the other at the base of his neck, his fingers gently sliding into his hair. Kurt's lips were rough and dry against his own, and he tasted like the soup he had just ate, but his kiss was just as soft as it used to be, and as always a whirlwind spread in Blaine's belly.

"Mhm, just as breathtaking as always," Blaine moaned against his lips before he moved away.

"Stardust, I don't want you to get sick," Kurt complained with a worried look in his eyes and furrowed brows.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take for kissing you," Blaine chuckled and buried his face in the dent of Kurt's neck. Kurt pulled him in closer to a deep hug, held him fast and hummed quietly in his ear.

They broke apart and Kurt yawned followed by a whimper.

"Go lie back down. I don't want you to hurt or anything. I won't go, I swear," Blaine crooned and brushed his hand down his cheek with a worried look.

"I'm fine, just a little sore," Kurt assured him.

"Humor me then," Blaine begged, afraid the fever had made his muscles way too sore and now he wouldn't admit it.

"Okay then," Kurt finally muttered and rolled his eyes. He kissed Blaine's jaw with a gentle hand on his cheek before he moved to make himself comfortable.

"I was thinking - are you still like… do you still hate Puck?" Kurt asked carefully as he fell back on the mattress, suddenly very focused on watching his fingers twist around each other.

Blaine hadn't expected that. It had been weeks since New Years and neither of them had mentioned the miserable event once. It seemed as if they had made an unspoken deal that it was to be forgotten - or even better; it never happened.

"I… I don't hate him. I just don't want his tongue in my boyfriend's mouth, that's all," Blaine snapped, unexpectedly sharp. He felt his own features go cold and watched Kurt's face turn sad.

"I'm sorry. I really am. It wasn't even that good - I mean, Puck was but…"

"Seriously? You wanna tell me about it? So he's a better kisser than me? Thanks, Kurt, really -" Blaine hissed, shocked at how rude he was, but even more shocked that Kurt actually wanted to tell him the details of how good of a kisser Puck was.

"No. That wasn't… that's not what I was going to say," Kurt muttered, his voice weak under his breath.

"He was good. But all in all it was all awful. I wanted to throw up because I felt so guilty. It was like kissing Finn - like kissing my brother. I am so sorry, Blaine."

The tone of his voice was heartbreaking. He really was incredibly sorry, and Blaine couldn't be sure if it was just the virus going through him and making him moody but he closed his eyes and inhaled heavily the way he always did when he was trying to avoid crying.

Blaine wanted to apologize, wanted to say that he was sorry for being such an ass about it. They had discussed it and he knew that there wasn't anything with him and Puck, so that should be enough. He just couldn't help the boiling feeling inside of him as Kurt had opened the subject.

Why couldn't Kurt just yell at him? He needed him to scream and shout at him that he should stop being a jerk about it. Tell him to stop being so childish and irrational, but instead he should be adult about it and settle for Kurt's statement that it had been like kissing his brother. He should be just as angry at Blaine as Blaine was himself.

Not lie there under the covers being sad, and beautiful, and crushed. Which only made Blaine hate himself even more because he had put that face on him.

"Bottom line is - I don't hate him, okay?" Blaine forced out, fighting to sound softer, but somehow it was like he sounded even harsher than he had done before.

"Okay," Kurt replied high pitched, and curled up on his side with his back on Blaine.

That was the worst. Kurt had never turned his back on him. Ever. He had never thought he ever would. Now he had, and it was all his fault - because he was being jealous; and for no reason.

He slid back down on his own pillow, pulling his knees as much up as he possibly could and closed his eyes. All he could do now was wait for the fire inside him to cool down, and hopefully his cramping brain would relax too.

He wanted to stretch his arm out and let his fingers down Kurt's back; caress him and let him know that he wasn't mad at him, but it was like some magnetic force inside him stopped him every time his brain signaled for his arm to move.

He opened his eyes again, because he realized that he couldn't even hear Kurt breathing. He watched his back move as he inhaled and exhaled, the only movements he did at all. The way he was coiled up he reminded Blaine of an abandoned kitten.

"Do you hate me now?" Blaine asked carefully, realizing how dark the room had got while they had been lying there without speaking.

Kurt shook his head, not as much as uttering a sound.

Blaine moved over the mattress, folding his arm around Kurt's waist, his hand searching for Kurt's as he pressed light kisses on his shoulder. Kurt fumbled to let his hand slide into Blaine's and squeezed it hard, his entire arm shaking from the flexing of the muscles.

He turned around and revealed his eyes red and moist and buried his nose in the crook of Blaine's neck, kissing his collarbone and not letting his grip of his hand ease up.

"I could never hate you. Do you understand that? Never!" Kurt wailed into his chest, almost punching their hands against his shoulder.

Blaine forced his hand out of Kurt's and pulled him closer, his hands running up and down his back to calm him down.

"You're my Stardust. I could never hate you," Kurt moaned, seeming as if he was trying to avoid hyperventilating.

"Good. I love you, I was douche, okay, just calm down. Shhhh," Blaine hummed into his hair, and kissed his forehead, feeling Kurt's muscles slowly ease up in his embrace.