Kurt stretched his arms over his head, fighting back a yawn as he reclined comfortably on one of the wide full-length lounge chairs by the pool.

After getting up from a long and much earned nap, Blaine had dragged Kurt to the kitchen and the couple had made enough breakfast for five. Afterwards, Blaine had plopped himself on one of the island stools, safely out of the way while he watched Kurt bake cookies. If a significant portion of the batter didnt make it past Blaines taste testing, well, there was no one around to comment.

Kurts phone had been blissfully silent all morning, no doubt due to his protective assistant.  Blaine appreciated the gesture but at the same time worried that completely disappearing for the day like that would cause problems for his boyfriend.

"I make clothes, Blaine," Kurt had told him, laughing. "Im not a trauma surgeon.  Despite what some of my clients may think, no one is going die if Im inaccessible for one day.  And I happen to be very aware of where my priorities lie," he added smiling intently.  Blaine had blushed slightly at that and didnt ask about work anymore.

Neither man was in any hurry to get to the talk.  Instead, they discussed what theyd been doing the last several weeks, simply catching up with each others lives. Blaine had been out working with Wes quite a bit and needed to be brought up to speed on some fairly vital office gossip.

Though he regretted with ever fiber of his being the pain hed caused his boyfriend, Blaine was nearly as torn to hear that in maintaining his disappearing act, hed missed out on the intern photographer whod firmly groped Santanas ass.  Unlike Blaine, whod initially had a difficult time truly comprehending Kurts mandate regarding unwanted sexual attention, Santana had no problem embracing the concept.  But her years as a hotel whore had left their mark, and now that she no longer had to endure such activity with a sexy smile, she tended to react...strongly to illicit contact.

Apparently, the photographer had grabbed her by the collar, thinking he had a solid grip on the model, pushing her against a wall and groping a handful her ass.  That plan was instantly thwarted when Santana jerked back and triggered the quick- release catch Kurt built into all the slave collars he created, freeing herself from his hold. The Latina had spun around and had the intern in a headlock in seconds, loudly ripping into him in Spanish all the while.

"Oh god, is she in trouble?" Blaine asked, though hed had the misfortune to work with that photographer before and the image of the man getting a much-needed ass kicking at the hands of his petite friend amused him.

"Shell be fine," Kurt assured him.  "That wasnt even the big deal.  Fortunately, she stopped at the headlock, so it didnt really count as an act of aggression. No, the real action started when Dani went back there to see what all the fuss was about."

Blaine dropped his head to the counter, smacking it gently into marble a few times. "So, is Wes prepping us for the law suit, then?"

"Nope.  The guy signed the standard agreement for my interns that includes, in bold, the rules about handling my models.  And really, can you imagine Dani on a witness stand?"

Blaine chuckled at the thought.  "So, he dropped it? Just like that?"

"Mostly, yeah. He agreed to disappear quietly and I agreed not to black-ball him from the fashion world, though I did warn him it was really best that he not put me down as a reference." 

Sucked for that guy. Blaine hadnt liked him, but his work had potential.  And as a new grad, securing an internship at Hummel Designs had been a rare opportunity.  Not that Blaine sympathized. The asshole had tried to molest his best friend. The career-making opportunity was wasted on someone who made such poor choices.

After lunch the couple watched TV for a while, eventually grabbing a bottle of wine and making their way out to the pool. Kurt hadnt stayed in the water long, opting to hang out on the shaded lounge chair while Blaine made an ass of himself on the water slide and did some laps.

Now the sun was beginning to set and Blaine was showering and changing in the mudroom. It had been a good day, Kurt reflected as he gazed distantly into his wine glass. The best he could remember in a while.

He heard footsteps, looking up to see a dry and jean-clad Blaine strolling over. Apparently hed decided it was far too much trouble to put on a shirt.  Kurt sighed at the beauty walking towards him. The man really was impossibly good looking.

Blaine smiled at Kurt as he sauntered up, basking in the appreciative gleam and loving smile directed at him.  Blaine always enjoyed the way Kurts eyes lit up when he saw him, but he never really understood how much he needed to see it until it was gone. Clichè, of course.  But after walking into Kurts studio yesterday to that remote, guarded expression, hed learned what heartbreak felt like. And he was never taking those warm gazes for granted again.

Blaine dropped into Kurts chair, draping his body over the taller mans.  He wrapped his arm around Kurts waist and rested his head on his chest, sighing in contentment.  Kurt began rubbing soft, relaxing circles on the delightfully bare skin of Blaines warm back while the slave watched the colorfully lit waves in the pool shift and roll in the fading light. They stayed that way for a while, just enjoying the peace of being in each others company.

"I graduated from junior high with a 4.2 grade point average," Blaine spoke softly into the silence.  "I had one of those honor classes, you know?  Some form of math I think, that bumps you over a 4.0 if you get an A." 

Kurt sucked in his breath, saying nothing. Blaine had never discussed his pre-slave life with him before.  Never.  He said he was taught at the rookery that his life began there, harshly trained to answer any question about his past with Omaha Rookery. 

Kurt continued to rub along Blaines tense back, supporting without interrupting.  Blaine was quiet after that and Kurt wondered if that was all he was going to say.

Eventually, though, Blaine continued.  "For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a performer.  I sang.  I played guitar, piano, even some violin for our little chorus group.  I was so excited when I started high school because they had a specialty concert choir, and even though they didnt often take freshman, I was absolutely determined to get in.  And I made it, too.  The Choraleers, they were called."

He snuggled closer to Kurts body, tears beginning to fall silently.  He swallowed.  "A few weeks before...before everything changed, audition flyers went up for the school play. West Side Story."  He snorted a wet laugh.  "I signed up right away to try out for Tony.  I didnt care that freshmen never got leading roles, I was going to be the exception." 

"You would have made a great Tony," Kurt murmured to him.  "Perfect, in some respects." 

"Yeah, I think so, too."  Blaine replied, a hint of humor tinting his voice.  "I know for a fact that I nailed the audition."

He paused to wipe some of the tears off his face before continuing, hoping to get this out without completely breaking down.  "I remember I was walking down the hallway to class when one of the guidance counselors said they needed to see me for a minute.  I went to his office and two acquisition officers were already there waiting for me.  They cuffed my hands behind my back and half dragged me out the closest emergency exit as soon as the class bell rang.  I dont think anyone even saw them." 

Kurt sat up, wrapping Blaines shivering form in his arms, pulling him up completely onto his body.  Blaine wasnt crying anymore, eyes red-rimmed and distant, lost to past phantoms.  Hed dreamed about those officers for years, nightmares where they were ten feet tall and carried smoldering staffs.

"There was a van parked across the street.  Plain white, like you always see in movies. They took me in there and pushed me to my knees, stretching me out over this long frame and locking my wrists in cuffs.  Then that IRS woman was there, talking to me while they cut my shirt off, telling me that my parents had tax debts and theyd sold me to pay them off.  I didnt believe her at first.  I couldnt believe they were capable of that.  They loved me; I never had reason to doubt it.  Then I wasnt thinking about anything at all because one of the agents gagged me while the other one pressed this searing hot metal against my back, holding it there forever.  It burned, so bad.  Worse than anything Id ever felt in my life, well at that point in my life, anyway.   I screamed and screamed, struggling to get away from it. But I couldnt and he didnt stop." 

Kurt was crying now, holding Blaine close against him. He rubbed his fingers over the slightly raised characters on Blaines back, permanently etched into his tan skin.

"The smell of burning flesh, its awful, and it lingered in the van for the whole journey.  God, that trip was horrible.   They didnt let me off that frame for a long time, and when they finally did I got my first experience with slave lock.  They hooked me to a bolt in the side of the van.  It was humiliating, being bound like that with a cheap plastic leash and a collar.  And theres nothing you can do about it.  They even left me alone in there while they went to get dinner and I just curled up on the floor, hands tied, back throbbing. There was nothing I could do." 

"Jesus, Blaine," Kurt whispered.  Blaine sat up, looking at Kurts devastated expression, his eyes red with tears.  Blaine had honestly expected hed end up hysterical when he finally opened himself up to those memories.  But here, safe in Kurts arms, he felt like he could deal.  He was sad of course, and a part of him was still so very angry, but the feeling of rightness overwhelmed all the darker emotions.  It was in the past, and shouldnt have power over him any more.

Blaine leaned forward and kissed Kurt gently, wiping delicately at the tears with a thumb.  "Hey, you dont need to cry. Its okay, love," Blaine told him softly. That there was someone in the world he could share this with, who could grieve with him for his lost life and keep him grounded and safe, that made it okay.

Kurt reached out a shaky hand for his wine glass, gulping it down.  Blaine raised an eyebrow at the gesture.  "Did that help?"  He asked curiously. His voice was rough from crying, but still held a hint of amusement.

"Not really. Theres not enough wine in the world to help with what you just told me." 

"I know," Blaine agreed.  He smiled faintly. "But its over now.  It happened, I survived.  And now I have you.  Sometimes I feel like the universe finally decided it owed me for all the hell it put me through, so it sent me you.  And for the record, I accept the universes apology." 

Kurt eyes sparked with tears again. "Damn it, Blaine. Id just managed to stop crying and then you say something like that." 

Blaine smiled at him, completely at peace.  Talking about it had been easier then hed thought.  It gave him the strength to tell Kurt the last part.

"My friend Nate kissed me during my fifteenth birthday party. My first kiss.  It was strange, you know, like all the weird impulses Id been feeling just came together into a moment of perfect clarity."

"Yeah?" Kurt asked.  It hadnt been like that for him.  Hed pretty much known since the hormones kicked in which way the wind was blowing.  And of course, Dave had made Kurts first kiss the wrong kind of memorable.  "Howd that work out for you?" He asked Blaine curiously, dismissing his own past.

"I was surprised at first, then just turned on."  Blaine blushed.  "I decided I needed more information so I got a bunch of magazines, solely for the purpose of investigation, of course."  He glanced up at Kurt, seeing his boyfriends eyes bright with amusement.

"Of course.  You had to, for Science.  And what did all your thorough research lead you to conclude?" Kurt was picturing a young Blaine with a stack full of dirty magazines taking studious notes.

"I realized that boys are totally hot and vaginas are flat out scary," Blaine told him seriously.  "I decided they looked like furry Venus flytraps and the thought of sticking my dick in one completely freaked me out."  Kurt laughed outright at that.

Blaine grinned back briefly, then admitted the last part.  "In retrospect, it might not have been for the best to share the new revelation with my parents, though.  I came out to them a week or so before I was taken."

Kurt took a second to absorb that. "Fucking son of a bitch assholes!"  He exploded, a moment later.  Blaine jerked back, momentarily alarmed by the words and tone.  He watched Kurt warily for second, waiting for his boyfriend to calm down a little before he settled back in against him.

Kurt didnt cuss much, usually just in his head, but there just werent enough words vile enough to convey how he felt.   "They sold you because you were gay.  Like, hey son, you like boys?  Well, at least I can make a profit off you."  It was bad enough when parents disowned their gay kids.  But this was a whole new level of awful.  What kind of people were okay selling their child into freaking slavery because of who he was born to love?

Kurt had known that Blaines parents had sold him for some kind of tax write-off.  Coopers private investigator had explained the whole sordid thing to them over lunch one day.  But he hadnt known the rest of it.  Seeing that hed upset his lover, Kurt took a few deep breaths, calming down and placing an arm gently back around him.  Blaine allowed himself to be tugged back, snuggling close once more.

"I happen to agree with all that," Blaine agreed softly.  "But it happened a long time ago, and its nothing I can change.  And things are so different now.  I have you, Burt and Carol who all but adopted me, Finn and Rachel, that crazy Kitten chick who taught me to be dangerous, Wes, the list goes on." 

Blaine sat back up to refill Kurts wine glass but didnt hand it back, taking a sip thoughtfully.  "Its the domino effect, you know?  If I hadnt been taken away, Id never have met Santana, and shed have died a sex slave in that damn hotel, and she and Dani would never have met and fallen in love.  I may never have met you.  Its a chain reaction.  Like all these bad things had to happen to me so the good things could follow." 

"Youre the most amazing person Ive ever met," Kurt told him, overwhelmed with love and awe for his resilient boyfriend.

Blaine set down the wine and took Kurts hands.  "I feel the same way about you, you know.  You shared more then your heart with me, Kurt.   You shared your life, your family and friends.  You created this whole little world for me where I could be a person.  You give me room to be myself, to make my own choices, and the protection I need when I cant."  Blaine leaned his forehead against Kurts.  "I love you." 

"I love you, too," Kurt replied fervently.

After a moment, Blaine gently disentangled himself.  He pulled away, dragging one of the lawn chairs over so he could sit next to his boyfriend instead of on top of him.

"Seeing Cooper, it opened up all these feelings, bad ones.  I thought Id gotten over them but I guess I just repressed it all.  I was remembering my childhood and I just...I couldnt handle it. So I didnt."

"Was that the healthiest choice?" Kurt asked carefully.

"No," Blaine replied, chuckling softly.  "I knew it then, too.  And I knew youd want me to talk about Cooper and everything.  How I was handling seeing him after all this time.  And then Id have to feel and remember all the things I had locked away."

Blaine leaned forward to squeeze Kurts hand.  "So I decided I needed to avoid you for a bit.  Just until I thought things through and could get a handle on all of it."

Kurts eyes filled with understanding.  He squeezed back, reassuringly.

Blaine sniffed slightly.  "So, thats really it.  I was avoiding you so I didnt have to think.  I kept thinking, one more day, then Ill be ready.  And days became weeks without me really realizing it.  Then Mount Saint Santana exploded on me and I realized just how badly Id screwed up." 

"Its okay, Blaine," Kurt reassured.  "I get it. But I wouldve understood, given you some space if you had just told me that."  Blaine cocked an eyebrow in challenge.

"Okay, I wouldve given you space for a little while, anyway," Kurt amended. He smiled self depreciatingly.  Kurt was a compulsive fixer; he wouldnt have been able to leave something like that alone to fester.

Blaine suddenly felt a strong urge to take a break from the heavy talk.  Hed had about as much drama as he could handle for the moment.  Glancing about for a distraction, Blaine gazed landed briefly on the calm water.  He cocked his head, looking Kurt over appraisingly.

"You look..." Blaine paused, eyeing his boyfriend.

"I look what?" Kurt asked warily.  He recognized the gleam in Blaines eye.  It meant his boyfriend was up to no good.

"You look way too...dry." 

Kurt was up in a flash and running for the house.  "Dont you dare, Blaine!"  He hollered over his shoulder.

He screeched when a laughing Blaine caught up with him, shifting him up into a firemans carry.  All those pretty muscles werent nearly as impressive when they were keeping him bent over Blaines shoulder, Kurt decided.

"Put me down!  Put me down right now!"  Kurt wriggled and struggled in the hold.  Hed just about managed to get free when Blaine shifted, catching him in his arms, bride-style.

Grinning for all he was worth, Blaine stepped over the edge of the pool, submerging them both in the sun-warmed water.  Kurt surfaced a moment later, sputtering angrily.

"Oh, cmon.  That was funny," Blaine told his boyfriend. Kurts gaze turned murderous.  Blaine cautiously swam backwards, deciding Kurt needed a little distance right then.  "Now baby, remember, you love me." 

Kurt gave him his fiercest scowl. Blaine treaded water, waiting. "Okay fine, I love you. For better and for worse."

Blaine smile threatened to split his face. "Oh, babe, its definitely for better.  And as soon as we get inside, Ill prove it to you." 

Kurt swam over to him.  "In a minute.  Right now we are so trying the romantic underwater kiss thing."

"Im pretty sure that doesnt really wo...", Blaines words were cut off as Kurt grabbed a handful of curls and dragged him underwater with him.

Blaine was right, Kurt decided as he swam towards the underwater stairs, slightly waterlogged.  His boyfriend grinned across the water at him, easily keeping pace.  Blaine really was okay.  And also right about the underwater kiss, Kurt admitted reluctantly.  It totally didnt feel as good as it looked in the movies.  Less romance and more trying not to drown.  Blaine tugged his soggy boyfriend out of the pool and the two dripping men made their way inside to make new memories.