Warm Feelings

Blaine arrived back home a while after the sunlight began to invade the sky, announcing the start of a new day. Trying to be as silent he could, he climbed the fire staircase exit and entered his room through the large window.

The room was still dark, but a small light was coming from outside, making it possible for Blaine to take a good look around. He searched for the pale figure of his new roommate, and a cocky smile formed on the boy's lips when he finally found him. Kurt was curled up on the old futon as the bed remained free, waiting for Blaine just like he had demanded the previous night.

"Such an obedient little boy," Blaine murmured to himself, ignoring the fact that Kurt was noticeably taller than him.

Crossing the room towards his bed, Blaine couldn't resist and quietly approached the pale boy lying on the futon. As soon as he got closer to the other boy, Blaine's cocky smile faded away. Even with his eyes closed, Kurt looked even more fragile than he had looked yesterday. He obviously had been crying; the dark circles around his eyes made that pretty clear. He also looked paler.

Somehow, Blaine could see that Kurt was broken. Not only did the physical evidence show that he was hurt, but there was something beyond that; something that Blaine couldn't really put a finger on, but it seemed surprisingly familiar to him.

Blaine didn't understand why his heart tightened a bit as he kneeled beside Kurt and brushed his chestnut hair off of his face. He wanted see the boy's features and decipher his pain, as if seeing Kurt's amazingly long eyelashes still wet with tears or his soft pink lips parted slightly could somehow help Blaine discover the reason why the blue eyed boy was suffering.

Impulsively Blaine traced Kurt's cheek lightly with a trembling touch of his hands. He didn't know why he was doing that, but as soon as his calloused fingers made contact with the other boy's slightly cold but unbelievably soft skin, a warm and unfamiliar feeling overtook Blaine's body.

Feeling warmth spread through him made Blaine realize what he had been doing. He jerked away from the touch and fell to the ground, panting and confused by his own actions. What was wrong with him? What was he was doing? He had been touching some other person while they had been sleeping like some sort of freak.

Shaking his head and blaming the alcohol that he had ingested earlier for his odd behavior, Blaine striped off his jacket and his black V-neck T-Shirt and threw on a pair of worn plaid pajama bottoms and a shirt he'd had since he was fifteen. He didn't bother to brush his teeth and instead buried himself in the covers of the single bed. The sheets felt cold in contact with his olive skin but the unwanted warm feeling that was spreading through Blaine's chest prevented him from shivering.

"It's just the alcohol…" The boy murmured to himself, trying to make the feeling go away. "Just the alcohol…"

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Boys! Boys! It's time to wake up!" Walter yelled, knocking on the door of the boys' room. It had only been a few hours since Blaine had returned that night and the boy was exhausted.

"Humf…" Blaine muttered, covering his head with his pillow.

"Boys! It's time for breakfast!" Walter announced, opening the door. He was holding a spoon and wearing a baby-blue apron.

"What's with the apron?" Kurt asked, his voice still a little rough from sleep. His vision was still adjusting yet he could already see Walter, looking unexpectedly like a housewife.

"I'm making pancakes!" Walter said excitedly as Blaine grunted, "hummletfsleep", which probably meant, "Let me sleep."

"C'mon sleepy head." Walter said, trying to take the pillow off of Blaine's head. "I made pancakes! Chocolate pancakes!" he offered.

Walter's chocolate pancakes used to be Blaine's favorite. The boy used to always wake up early just to see his dad making them. His favorite had been the star shaped ones. Blaine really loved those.

"C'mon Blaine…" Walter pleaded before giving up. His son had put another pillow over his head and murmured something that sounded like "levmalone" but most likely meant "leave me alone."

"Let him sleep. I'll eat his share." Kurt said, standing up and stretching out a bit. He wasn't really hungry, but Walter really seemed excited about the pancakes and unlike Blaine, Kurt didn't want to break the older man's heart.

"You can eat?" Walter inquired, looking surprised.

"Yes, Walter I can eat." Kurt answered, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. He couldn't really blame Walter for the comment. The man was just assuming what anyone else would have in the same situation.

"Alright then." Walter nodded, still a little disappointed with his son's lack of interest in his pancakes. He had worked so hard making those pancakes just to please Blaine. It had been his attempt at trying to make his son smile in any other way besides that cocky and arrogant one that lately seemed to be glued to the boy's lips.
"Wait!" Blaine shouted, jumping off of the mattress. His curls had fallen above his forehead and his face was a little flustered. He looks kinda cute, Kurt thought.

"No one eats my chocolate pancakes, especially not you, ice queen." He said before closing his eyes and massaging his temples with his hands. The hangover was beginning to kick in.

And the cuteness is gone, Kurt thought before throwing a bitchy glare in Blaine's direction.

"So you couldn't even speak seconds ago, but you have the energy to insult me?" Kurt snorted, before Blaine flashed him a mocking smile.

"What I can say? You bring out the best of me." Blaine said, teasingly.

"Boys!" Walter hissed. "There are enough pancakes for everyone! There is no need to argue…" He assured the boys before turning his back on them, trying to hide the goofy smile on his face. He was happy, even with all the confusion in his life. For the first time in years, Walter had gotten the opportunity to have a family breakfast.

And he missed having someone to talk in the morning besides that figure of the cat sitting in the middle of the dining table.

"You made little faces on them? Really Walter? We're not five anymore." Blaine pointed out as he sat on the table and looked at the pancakes on his plate.

"Well I think they're cute. Thanks Walter" Kurt said, cracking a small smile in Walter direction causing Blaine to roll his eyes.

"At least someone here recognizes my talent." Walter said playfully, placing another cherry on top of Kurt's pancake.

"Apple-polisher." Blaine mouthed, before taking a piece of his pancake and putting it in his mouth.

Kurt childishly stuck his tongue out. Suddenly, a loud bell echoed in the apartment. Kurt and Walter become tense and Blaine flinched with the noise, his head aching.

"Who could it be this early in the morning?" Walter wondered tone before receiving a panicked look from Kurt. The boy was beginning to hyperventilate, thinking that it could be the police coming to get him. Sure, yesterday he was ready to die in order to prove his humanity but now things were different. He had to find out what happened to his dad and also how he had been built. He didn't want to die anymore.

Walter took off his apron and softly squeezed Kurt's shoulder in assurance before he left to answer the door. Blaine noticed the tension filling the air and the terrified expression on Kurt's face. What was happening? Why did everyone suddenly seem so tense and scared?

Walter sighed, relieved at the sight of a ginger girl with a big and goofy smile.

"It's just Penny." He announced, causing Kurt to let go of a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"Who's Penny?" Blaine asked, seeing obvious relief stamped across Kurt's face.

"Walter's partner." Kurt answered.

A squeal coming from the living room caught the boys' attention.

"Walter!" The ginger girl squealed, wrapping her arms around the taller man's neck. She was carrying some shopping bags with her making the hug a little awkward.

"H-hi Penelope…" Walter said, being caught off guard with Penny's sudden display of affection.

"Don't call me Penelope, only my mother calls me that! Its Penny silly!" she said, softly punching Walter's shoulder.

"So… you didn't notice anything different about me?" She asked.

Walter took a good look at her. Her freckles still were there, her hair color was the same; her big puppy eyes were also the same. But there was something different about her. She seemed younger and even more na�ve…

"You have bangs now!" Walter exclaimed, noticing the strands of her red hair covering her forehead.

"I look even prettier now don't I?" She asked, running her fingers through her hair.
"You look even younger! Now my partner looks like a high school girl!" Walter exclaimed. He didn't think that Penny could look more na�ve and young than she already looked with her puppy eyes and heart shaped lips, but apparently he was wrong, with bangs she looked even more young and even more sweet.

"Are you saying I don't look pretty?" Penny said, slightly hurt. He mother had said that she looked pretty. Why was Walter saying that she didn't?

"You do look pretty Penny, really, you do." the older man assured her, blushing a little as he tried make up for his words. "But you also look like a young naive girl. How are we going catch the bad guys if they want hug you as he try arrest them?" He concluded, trying to make his point without hurting her.

"Well, I'll just use my ninja moves then." The girl said, assuming an almost comic position as she tried to imitate the moves that she had seen during her last Bruce Lee marathon.

"This isn't helping with the too cute thing Penny…" Walter sighed. He could help but laugh. Penny was too sweet. Even his natural crankiness couldn't last around her.

"Where's Kurt?" she asked, stopping to look around. She considered cleaning the place, seeing as it was a complete mess. She had always had a thing for cleaning, after all.

"In the kitchen." Walter said. The ginger girl flew into the kitchen.

"Kurt!" she squealed as she threw her arms up in the air. She then looked beside him and noticed Blaine sitting there. "And you… Who are you?"

"Blaine." The hazel-eyes boy murmured, scared of the ginger girl's enthusiasm.

"Walter's younger son?" She asked, surprised. Blaine didn't look like he had in the picture she had seen at all.

"I've already seen a picture of you and I have to admit, I was expecting a dapper boy wearing a bowtie… but you still look good sweetie."

"I do?" Blaine asked raising an eyebrow. No one besides his one night stands or Quinn ever said that he looked good. Everyone who knew him before he had changed his style would always looked at him and give him a pitiful look and wonder what had happened to the younger, dapper boy.

"Of course you do, you have a really James Dean style! Believe it or not, I was a bad girl when I was a teenager too." she told them, remembering her times of leather jackets and motorcycles.

"You were?" Walter inquired in disbelief as he entered the room. Penny, the sweet girl that still lived with her parents and probably dreamed of fairytales had been a bad girl? That was something Walter could not imagine.

"I was! With the whole leather jacket thing, you know, short skirts, high boots… I even had a piercing! But I'm not going to tell where!" She said, playfully.

"PENNY!" Walter hissed, blushing furiously.

"It was in my belly, silly! Where did you think I would put a piercing!" She mocked, and he blushed into an even deeper shade of red.

"Walter, you pervert..." Blaine teased, shaking his head in a playfully reprehensive gesture.
"I-I didn't think in... I-I…" The older man flustered even more before Kurt interrupted his disgraceful attempt of a good explanation.

"Penny you cut your hair!" He remarked, making the ginger girl blush adorably.

"You noticed!" She squealed before winking at the android. "I look cute don't I?"

"You look completely adorable!" Kurt assured her, before noticing the shopping bags that the girl held in her arms.

"What are those?" He asked her.

"Well I couldn't resist, so I bought you some clothes… You know, I assumed you would need some so..." She said, handing Kurt the bags.

Kurt looked into the bags and his eyes widened. Saying "some clothes" was an understatement. Penny didn't buy just simple clothes; she got him expensive clothes from the best brands and designers.

"Penny! T-those are… are…"

"Alexander McQueen? Of course sweetie, only the best." She told him, happy with Kurt's reaction. She had taken a good look at his old closet at Burt's house. The house had been cleaned and everything had been packed as evidence, but Penny noticed that Kurt only wore the best, the most fashionable clothes available, from the best designers. She couldn't just buy him a pair of pants from Wal-Mart if she truly wanted to please him.

"How did you figure out my size?" Kurt asked. All of those clothes were outfits that he had already planned on buying online. And they were all right sizes! Penny had to be an angel; she was some kind of fairy godmother. That could be the only explanation for such kindness.

"I have an eye for those things!" The ginger girl assured him. Kurt got up and wrapped his arms around Penny's waist.

"Thank you Penny!" Kurt cried as he hugged the girl. He was feeling close to happiness for the first time since his father's death. And it wasn't because of all those expensive clothes, sure, that made him really happy too, but what really made his heart warm up was seeing someone actually care about him; that made him feel less alone and loved again.

"I am so happy you're happy!" Penny breathed, returning Kurt's hug. He felt a little cold, but she didn't care. She just wanted squeeze the boy tightly in her arms. She had wanted to give him a hug since the moment that she found him, crying over his dad's dead body, and now she could finally give him some comfort.

"There's just too much fluffiness here for me. First the smiling pancakes and now this. What's next, are we all are gonna sing and ride unicorns and fly through a rainbow?" Blaine snorted, feeling a little jealous of Kurt. He couldn't even remember the last time that someone wanted to hug him like that.

"Be quiet Blaine! We all know that deep down you still have a heart, so don't ruin the moment!" Walter said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, it's time for me to go to work. Do you need a ride to school, Blaine?" Walter asked his son, stuffing things into his briefcase.

"What? Why isn't the ice queen going to school?" Blaine asked. Kurt couldn't have graduated already, he was younger than Blaine!

"I was homeschooled so I don't go to school." Kurt informed them, walking out of the bathroom, wearing one of his new outfits. He was wearing knee high boots, a dark tight pair of skinny jeans and a very elegant long sleeved shirt that was a deep shade of gray that contrasted perfectly with the skin of his neck, now exposed. Blaine would never admit the fact that Kurt looked hot, really hot.

"That explains a lot." Blaine snorted, making the offensive comment in an attempt to take his eyes off of Kurt's perfect legs.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Kurt inquired. He was sitting on the red couch beside Penny.

"Boys…" Walter said. He really couldn't understand why those two could not get along. There was always this tension between them and the federal agent couldn't find a reason for all that hostility.

"Blaine you are going to need a ride or not? And don't try to fool me by skipping school. I will call the principal later to know if you showed up there." Walter told his son.

Hearing the authoritarian tone in Walter words made Blaine feel anger boil in his stomach. Who did Walter think he was? He hadn't been there for the past ten years and now he wanted play the part of 'the father of the year'? No one bossed Blaine around.

"I mean it Blaine. Your mother spoke with me about your behavior and those kinds of things will not be allowed while you live under my roof…" Walter began to say before Blaine interrupted him.

"And what are you going to do if I skip school? How are you going to control my behavior Walter? Ground me?" The boy inquired. "Being forced to live in this place is enough punishment!" Blaine cried. No matter how many smiling pancakes Walter had made or how many lectures he had given wouldn't change the fact that Walter was just a strange, a man and that he didn't know a thing about Blaine.

Blaine stood in front of his dad and looked fixedly into the older man's eyes. He looked so much like an adult, and seeing that made Walter's heart break.

Sure, Blaine's words had been as sharp as knifes, but that wasn't what hurt Walter the most. What really ripped the older man's heart was to see how much Blaine already looked like a man. And Walter didn't even have a chance to witness his son growing up. The little boy who used to look up to meet his eyes with a look of pure admiration wasn't there anymore. Standing in front of him was a young man and the only feelings left in his eyes were anger and resentment.

"Blaine, you can't talk to me like this…I'm you dad!" Walter rustled, trying his best to do so in a warning tone.

"Oh now, you want to be my dad. Where were you for the last ten years?" Blaine shouted, turning his back to Walter.

"Where are you going?" Walter hissed, seeing his son leave the room.

"To school. Apparently if I don't go to that hell where everyone mocks me for being a goddamn fag, my daddy is going to ground me!" Blaine hissed ironically. School was a hell. It had been like that since a jock had outed him to everyone during his junior year. Soon after that most of the guys who used to be his "friends" turned their backs on him. Blaine was beaten and thrown in dumpsters on a daily basis. It didn't stop until he began to act ruthless and respond to his tormentors' violence with the same viciousness that they had used towards him.

"F-fag? Why would they call you that?" Walter asked, shocked.

"Because that's what I am Walter, a fucking fag, a fairy, a cocksucker!" the boy cried, calling himself the names that had haunted him so much in the past, surprising everyone in the living room.

"But of course you don't know that. How would you?" Blaine said in a hurt tone. He was giving voice to all of the pain locked in his heart. His dad's abandonment and the bullying of those he had once thought to be his friends. Everyone would always turn their backs on him. He would always be left alone.

Blaine glared at Walter sharply one last time before turning his back at his dad and slamming the door shut. He ran through the hallway, not looking back as he punched in Quinn's number on his cellphone, not really caring about the tears that were streaming down his face.

"Q? I don't feel like going to school today… what you think about doing something fun instead?" He said, trying to mask the cracking tone in his voice as he stepped into the elevator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Walter…" Penny murmured, placing a comforting hand on the older man's shoulder. He stood frozen, staring at the door and still shocked by his son's outburst.

"Walter…" The ginger girl murmured again, this time bringing him back to reality.

"Don't, just-don't." Walter muttered, shaking his head. He knew that she was going to say something comforting; something to make him feel better. But he didn't want words to comfort him or looks of pity. He knew that he deserved every single word that Blaine had said to him. He hadn't been there for his son when he was being bullied, mocked, and picked on… He didn't even know about his son sexuality! How he could call himself a father?

"Let's go to work. We still need to analyze the evidence gathered from Kurt's house." Walter said his voice cracking as he tried to remain strong. He wouldn't break down. Right now, he had to focus on his work. He would fix things with Blaine later.

"Sure, if that's what you want" Penny murmured as she stood up.

"Are you going to be okay alone, Kurt?" She asked the blue eyed boy who was still seated on the red couch.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just clean this place up a bit." He before looking at Penny and mouthing, take care of him, to her.

She nodded before grabbing her things and following Walter, who was too lost in his owns thoughts to say goodbye to Kurt, out the door.

Kurt remained shocked after the whole Blaine scene. So that jerk was gay? And he had been bullied. Well, perhaps he does have a reason to be such an asshole after all, he thought. He then decided that it was none of his business weather Blaine was gay or not.

He then decided that it was time he did something productive around here. He would clean the place.

Kurt walked around the apartment, looking for a broom, cleaning supplies and garbage bags. The first thing he got rid of was the box of Chinese food. He then organized the coffee table, throwing away all the empty food containers in the trash can and then dusting the picture frames.

Next, he went to the kitchen where he washed the dishes and cleaned the mess that Walter had made cooking the pancakes. Kurt was tempted to throw away that horrible figure of a cat that was placed in the middle of Walter's dinner table, but assuming that it had some emotional value to the older man, he didn't and instead he just scrubbed it a little.

Kurt worked really hard trying to keep his mind busy in order to not think about how Blaine had been hurt and the pain in the boy's eyes. Somehow, all those insults seemed familiar to him, but it was impossible for Kurt to imagine. He had never gone to school. He barely left home. His dad would always make some excuse to keep him at home and the only few times he would go out was at night and to places far from Lima.

"Maybe someone would recognize me." Kurt considered as he swept the floor.

But then he remembered Walter's words. "You can't be Kurt Hummel. Kurt Hummel died ten years ago." and a shiver ran down his spine but unlike a normal shiver, this cold sensation lasted causing Kurt to feel really cold.

It was winter and the Walter's kitchen was a little chilly, but not enough to make him suddenly feel so cold like that.

It was really strange, his temperature feel so low. Sure, His skin always felt a little colder than others people, but not like that. He wished his dad was there, Burt would found a way to make him feel better, he always did. But his dad wasn't there anymore and Kurt was losing more and more body heat as the seconds passed by. A strange dizziness also began to take over him, making him feel even worse as everything in front of him turned in a confusing blur.

Everything was spinning and his legs weren't cooperating, but he still managed make his way to the thermostat and increase the heat.

He put the heat to the maximum temperature it could go to, but he still felt cold, unbearably cold.

Falling to his knees, Kurt embraced himself, trying to keep himself warm. He was trembling and the noise of his teeth gritting echoed in the room. His skin was colder than ice and even the tips of his fingers were turning purple.

Kurt needed heat and warmth and he needed it urgently.

Going back to his room, Kurt threw his weight onto Blaine's bed, curling up under the covers. He didn't have time to put his futon on the floor, or strength left to do it. All his muscles felt sore, twisting involuntary under his skin in a failed attempt to keep his body warm.

In his last seconds of conscious, Kurt clenched onto the sheets under him, smelling the musky smell coming from the mattresses.
It was Blaine's smell which was a mix of coffee and nicotine that awoke a strangely comforting feeling in the android's chest, keeping him slightly warmer as the darkness of unconsciousness filled his mind.

TBC...