I apologize for missing last week. Believe me, its not because I didnt want to write. My computer is with Apple getting fixed, I definitely dont have time to write at school, and my ipad is being used to write nonsense for my masters course. Not writing is actually stressing me out because its a source of stress relief for me. I also feel the need to make updates in a timely manner and missing the previous week (when Im already used to updating more than once a week with other fics), makes me feel like Im not meeting my own standards.

That being said, I didnt get as many reviews on the last chapter (overall between sites), so Im thinking my readership has dropped anyhow. Hopefully those of you who are hanging tight with will forgive me for my current state of sucking. Love you all.

Kurt had a difficult time focusing on his writing when, beside him, making a queasy gurgling noise, was the aqueous blob of Dr. Ryan. The first time Kurt had seen him in his liquid state, it had been awe inspiring, and he finally understood how people might perceive himself with his wings given how cool it was to see someone literally melt before his eyes. The second time, Kurt still thought it was nifty, but didnt pay it as much mind.

By the fifth time, this time, it was irritating. Not because of the fact that Dr. Ryan could melt, but because of what he did when he was in his slimey state.

"You misspelled oblivious." Spoke the lips that floated on top of the pasty beige and brown goo set on the table beside Kurts computer, eyeballs drifting beside them and pointing in the direction of the screen.

"Yeah… thanks." Kurt grumbled, backspacing to fix the word and losing his train of thought in the process.

"I cant believe people will actually buy and read this nonsense."

"Its fashion…" Kurt uttered by way of an explanation, gazing vacantly at the monitor as he forgot what he was about to type.

"Its no wonder magazines and newspapers are written for a sixth grade reading level. Its all dribble."

Bringing his thumb and middle finger up to the bridge of his nose, Kurt wished that by pinching there, as he was he, could alleviate the throbbing ache growing in his temples. Dr. Ryan needed to reduce himself to his amalgamous form for a couple hours a day in order to be able to relax. Apparently it took more work to keep himself solid than it was to keep him liquid, and, for whatever reason, he like to hang out in the library when he was in that form.

Which meant that when Kurt was trying to keep up with his fashion blog, Dr. Ryan was right there, giving Kurt his two cents even though Kurt would happily pay him to be left alone. He had Blaine to check his word over before he posted it anyhow. He didnt need a third person, who clearly didnt appreciate his work, much less the fashion industry.

Kurt rolled his lower lip in between his teeth at the thought of Blaine, nibbling lightly along his already swollen and kiss bruised flesh. It was probably all in his head, but he was sure he could still taste Blaine on his mouth - all cuminic and buttery despite the fact that Blaine had brushed his teeth just before their morning make out session. He hadnt, however, shaved the stubble off his face, leaving Kurt with red, prickled skin and a blush whenever he saw someone looking at him like they knew exactly why his cheeks and jaw looked like they did.

Making out had become something of an addiction. As soon as he woke up in the morning, Kurt was sneaking off to Blaines room to wake him up with his lips. They kissed until their lips went numb and then they just laid beside one another, staring with sap filled eyes at the other until one of them broke the silence by giggling.

Then they were back at it.

Eventually theyd drag themselves apart, shower and get ready for the day, before meeting back up in the cafeteria where they played footsie under the tables and were the target of annoyed groans by those around them who seemed to be tired of their lovesick behaviour already. It didnt stop them though. Their senses were attuned to one another and each other only. Nothing was going to penetrate that.

At least until Isabelle smacked Kurt with the latest issue of Vogue on her latest visit to the compound.

"Youre ignoring the blog! You need to write that thing or Ill have to take you off the site!"

So Kurt made a decided effort to separate himself from Blaine each afternoon to research and write on the blog, while Blaine filled up his afternoon with crime fighting runs to nearby towns and cities.

Kurt had made a new costume for Blaine, one that was more functional than that old one. It was much less flashy, but much more appropriate for what Blaine could do, plus Kurt had worked in kevlar to add a layer of protection in the outfit.

"Im going to need a new name…" Blaine had grunted as he stood still while Kurt pinned and made adjustments on the costume around him.

"Invest in a thesaurus if youre planning another homage to a superhero in your comic books…" Kurt suggested before biting down on a pin as he went about adjust a different pin into the grey material of Blaines pants.

"No.. I think you guys were all right before. I need to come up with something uniquely me…. is this all going to be so drab colored?"

Kurt didnt answer immediately, having to wait until he could pull the pin from his mouth. "The jacket will be a burgundy brown."

"You really hated my last costume huh?"

"It had a cape Blaine. Didnt you ever watch The Incredibles? Capes are a bad idea."

"You actually watched a superhero show?!"

"No. I watched an animated feature. Its different."

"Kurt Hummel watched a superhero show… wait until I tell everyone…"

Looking upwards from where he was kneeling, Kurt shot Blaine his best glare, complete with wrinkled up nose and furrowed brows. The look was apparently enough to draw down Blaines smile, which flatlined as his eyes went wide. "... or I wont."

"Damn right you wont."

"So tell me about the features of this Kurt Hummel original."

It was a good change of topic as Kurt rambled on about the layer of protection he had in the fabric which was still thin enough that Blaine would be able to do all his jumps and tumbles and karate with ease. He still had a mask around his eyes, even though he had been publicly outed as a metahuman now, just because Kurt thought it made his gorgeous caramel eyes pop. The jacket was both for function, with small pockets on the inside for Blaine to store a variety of necessities, and lined arms for keeping warm when Kurt carried Blaine while flying, and for style - a veritable knockoff of a Christian Dior jacket that Kurt had always loved.

Throughout his explanation, Blaine just smiled and nodded, looking at Kurt with that now familiar twinkle in his eyes. It was the kind of look that made Kurt blush brightly whenever he saw it, and he had just learned to glance away when he picked up on it in public to avoid people thinking that Blaine had just said something suggestive - as April had implied on more than one occasion when it had happened before.

"You sure you dont want to come? You dont need to write everyday…" Blaine had asked him before he left on this particular afternoon after they had pried themselves off one another in Kurts bed.

"My feathers are still growing back.. I only have quills." Kurt had murmured as he stared at Blaines lips hungrily.

"You have lots of other capabilities Kurt." Blaine had countered.

"Its okay. You have fun with the rest of the guys. Its good for us to have some time apart anyhow… makes me appreciate you all the more when youre back."

Eventually Kurts feathers would grow back though, and eventually hed have to tell Blaine the truth. He didnt want to fight anymore. As it was he still woke up in sweat slicked sheets with his heart racing uncontrollably as his unconscious mind went back to the day he was beaten. He had failed as a crime fighter, and he didnt have the heart to jump back into that life. He had only survived by dumb luck and Blaine being there in the nick of time. One wrong move or one minute later and he would have been a corpse on the ground that would have been recovered by the government and used as an example of what happens to metahumans. His dad would have to live with the images theyd put on TV forever, and hed never have been able to tell Blaine how he felt.

He couldnt risk it again.

So he wrote instead, hoping to improve that particular ability so that he could make a living at it one day. It was a sensical path after all - hed be able to do it from home, could communicate digitally, and keep his own hours. If Blaine insisted on crime fighting wherever they ended up, Kurt could sleep with him during the day and write at night when he went out. Their lives could align.

"I really dont think every young modern man needs a striped tie."

Dr. Ryans voice broke Kurt out of his trance. He rolled his eyes and gave his head a small shake. "You know you dont have to read what Im writing."

"Believe me. Its for your own benefit that I help you."

Kurt needed his own laptop.

"You know what? I think Ive got some writers block…" Kurt uttered as he saved what he had and exited out of the program. "... think Ill get a snack."

He left the pile of goop that comprised Dr. Ryan without another word, not even stopping to push his chair back in as he left in haste and went to the cafeteria. Kurt was going to have to find a different time to write because he certainly wasnt going to be able to tolerate having Dr. Ryan look over his shoulder, or under it as the case was.

The cafeteria had a few occupants, one of which was Adam who waved Kurt over once Kurt had grabbed a premade salad. Adam had been nice enough about the whole karaoke night incident, being gentlemanly enough to congratulate Kurt on his new relationship status and even going so far as to tell Blaine that he got one hell of a catch. Kurt knew that Adam liked him a fair bit more than he liked Adam, and was grateful that Adam was mature enough about his feelings to not make it an issue. Kurt needed friends, and Adam knew what it was like to have to hide physical features that outed one as a metahuman.

"Let me guess. Dr. Ryan." Adam said with a short chuckle as Kurt sat across from him.

"Yeah…" Kurt tipped his head to the side. "How did you know?"

"Ive tried writing letters to my family from the library a couple times when he was there. Absolutely infuriating."

They laughed, talked for a moment longer about Dr. Ryan, and then Adam told Kurt about his family back in England. He was the youngest of seven, and all were close in age. He spoke with delight at how he had always had playmates at home, and also how the older siblings would also be like little parents. When Adam began to change at puberty, it was his older siblings that had hid him. At first from his parents, and then at school. They had fitted him with shoes that clipped onto the hooves he had formed, helped tape his tail down each day, and buffed down his horns so they hid under carefully styled hair. It was so familiar to Kurt, and it made him think of his dad and how he had helped him with his wings each morning,.

"Heard anything yet from your father?" Adam asked when he noticed Kurt had gone into his own world of thought.

Kurt shook his head. Holly had gone out to his dads auto shop under the guise of needing an oil change and left him with some information on how to contact Kurt through an email they had set up for him at the compound. Apparently he was quite relieved to hear that Kurt was alright after what he had seen on the news about the attack, but also upset that Kurt had been engaged in that risky business to begin with.

"Must be worried about being watched Ill bet." Adam noted, clearly trying to put Kurt at ease, "Took awhile before my family were able to contact me."

Kurt nodded stiffly, looking down at his hands which he had woven together by the fingers. "I give him too much stress…"

"Not your fault though. Hell know that."

It was small comfort, and until Kurt actually got a message from his dad, it was a thought that would nag him in the back of his mind. Thankfully, with his budding romance, his mind was preoccupied now most of the time with the most indecent of thoughts. If Kurt thought his fantasies about Blaine when they werent together were blush-worthy, they were nothing compared to the images that slid through his brain now when they were lip locked.

One of the benefits of the compound was its size and amenities. Once Kurt finished up lunch with Adam, he was able to work out in a weight room, then catch up on some shows in the common room, and finally relax in the spa room which had a sizable hot tub. Whatever or whomever funded the league, Kurt needed to make sure he thanked them for all the creature comforts available if and when he ever got the chance.

Blaine returned later that same evening, laughing down the corridors with the others that had gone on the trip out with him, including Sebastian whose smile reminded Kurts of a snake. That boy looked at Blaine much too much for Kurts liking, and Kurt wished he could read emotions the way Blaine could because he was sure hed be able to read whatever emotions lined up with malicious man whore over Sebastian.

Thankfully, Blaine became oblivious to Sebastian the instant he saw Kurt down the hall, and before the minute they met back up was up, they were scurrying off to Kurts room to refamiliarize their lips until it was time for bed.

That was the point when Kurt would take care of all the dirty thoughts that had accumulated in his mind throughout the day, tossing their sum product into the wastebasket on a kleenex and curling up to sleep.

Except that particular night he couldnt. He heard the faint sounds of whimpering and crying, and knew exactly where they were coming from once he attuned his senses to pinpoint the source. It wasnt the first time he had heard Blaine having a nightmare, but it was the first time he had heard it since they had declared themselves an item, and so Kurt found himself sneaking into Blaines room and kneeling by the bedside to gently pat Blaine on the shoulders to rouse him. He looked adorable in his weathered Batman pajamas, well faded and used, making him look even more compact than he already was curled up in the fetal position with the occasional little kick out at the blankets that had gathered at the end of the bed.

"Blaine... wake up... nightmare... Oh!"

Fear gripped Kurt and he gripped Blaine by the shoulder without meaning to as it swept through him to his core, making his spine tense and his limbs shiver. He didnt know why he was afraid, he just knew it was all consuming and the urge to curl up into his own ball on the floor was overwhelming. He couldnt focus his eyes, nor stop his heart from trying to escape his chest, all he could do was utter the smallest of squeaks.

Then, as quickly as it had taken him, the fear and panic left, and his body relaxed and drooped, so exhausted by the rapid change in his system. Blaine was sitting up now, and Kurt wasnt sure how he had missed that in the moment, but his eyes were wide and set on Kurt, as were his hands to each of Kurts shoulders.

"Im so sorry... so sorry Kurt. I didnt mean to... my dream..."

Kurt understood right away. Whatever Blaine had been dreaming about, the fear within it had projected onto Kurt.

"Its okay..." Kurt stammered, inwardly telling his heart to settle down as the last reminder of the scare to his body. "... but are you okay?"

Blaine nodded dejectedly, looking down to his lap as his hands fell off Kurts shoulders, "Yeah... just... nightmares sometimes..."

Kurt crept up, sitting beside Blaine in the bed and slinging an arm around his waist. "Hey. Its alright. I get them too."

To that, Blaine nodded again. "I know. Ive heard you... since the attack..."

Kurt swallowed hard. It was one thing to know that you had nightmares, it was another thing entirely to know that someone else knew you had them. He felt like some secret of his had been exposed, and yet, with Blaine he expected it. "Am I noisy?"

Blaine shook his head. "No... I mean, you were right after the attack. Now you cry out a lot... but it settles down." His head bounced up again, locking his eyes back on Kurt. "Im sorry. I didnt mean for you to feel that... I-"

"Hey, hey..." Kurt cooed, reaching up to brush his hand through Blaines freed curls, purposely putting the information about his own nightmare behavior to the back of his mind for the moment. Blaine was the priority right then. ".. its okay. I get it. You didnt mean to."

"Its not okay Kurt... I dont even like doing it to people who deserve it, let alone people I care about. Its why when you were crying and hurt I didnt make you feel calm and content... I could have you know... but theres a line... and if I cross it, for even the most well meaning of things, how could I ever expect you to trust me again? How could you ever know for sure what youre feeling is really what you do feel and not what Im making you feel..."

It was just like something out of one of Blaines comic books - which Kurt would never admit that he had been reading while Blaine had been at school when he had been really bored. Some self proclaimed, fundamental axiom. Like Batman refusing to kill the Joker no matter what kind of harm he caused, no matter what he destroyed, or who he killed. Killing the Joker would make Batman as bad as the villains he fought, and would take justice out of the hands of the people. Part of Kurt understood Blaines reasoning, the other part just wondered if there was a need for such a principle in the real world.

"Im okay Blaine, and I trust you... Do you want to talk about your dream?" Kurt finally settled on saying, his hand moving down from Blaines curls to rub small circles on his back over his cotton pajamas.

Blaine was quick to shake his head no, looking back at his lap. "I... I will tell you Kurt... just... not now... would you... stay and cuddle me?"

Just as quickly as Blaines head had looked to his lap, it was up again, eyes pleading for Kurt to stay. Kurt glanced around the small room, fitted with the identical single sized bed Kurt had in his own room that he had to negotiate with each evening to fit himself and his wings into, though the latter always ended up erupting over the room by the time he awoke. Two people in a single bed... one of them who had wings, well... what was Kurt supposed to say if he was being logical?

"Of course."

Blaine beamed like no one else could and crawled back into the bed, pressing himself back against the wall and holding an arm open for Kurt to crawl into. "Ive always wanted to cuddle into your wings."

Kurt rolled his eyes playfully, carefully wedging himself on what was left of the bed with his wings between them both. He could feel Blaine wrapping an arm over them, almost able to reach for Kurts waist, and then he was quiet, breathing in the scent of Kurts quills and promptly coughing thereafter.

"Okay... I might get smothered like this... maybe when we have a bigger bed." Blaine admitted, prompting Kurt to laugh and blush with the mention of them getting a shared bed one day. He rolled himself over, giving permission for his wings to hang off the bed for that night only, and wrapped his arms around Blaines waist as Blaine turned towards the wall to be the little spoon.

"Mmm... I could get used to this." Blaine murmured, wiggling back against Kurt who had to grit his teeth. The last thing he needed was to get an erection when he was trying to make Blaine feel like he was safe and secure.

"Here... best of both worlds..." Kurt whispered, bringing his higher wing up and over Blaine as a blanket. It disgusted Kurt to see his own wings in their current unfeathered state, but Blaine seemed to still like them, and he was trying to soothe Blaine after all.

"Oh... yeah..."

Blaine curled himself up in the offered wing, sighing blissfully towards the wall as Kurt adjusted his hip into a position where he might be able to sleep comfortably for a time. It was made difficult though by Blaines own shifting, which increasingly was against Kurt.

"Oh!"

Kurt bit down on his lower lip so as not to break the skin, but to try and hold back the fury of red in his face that Blaine couldnt even see. So much pressure against him, so much Blaine right there, and, well, the inevitable occurred.

"Sorry..."

Blaine chuckled gently, "Honestly, Im just glad to know youre not build like a bird down there too."

"Whats that supposed to mean?" Kurt cocked an eyebrow and looked down at himself, trying to will away the erection in his pants. Now was not the time.

"Male birds arent exactly equipped the same way humans are. They -"

"Lalala." Kurt broke in. He didnt want to hear it. It was bad enough that he was forever being compared to birds and angels, but he didnt want to know all their nitty gritty details. As far as Kurt was concerned, he was a winged human with his own set of qualities that didnt need to be contrasted against other species.

Blaine chuckled again at Kurts reaction, turning his head over his shoulder to share a toothy grin. "Im just saying... its okay."

Again Kurt was inclined to roll his eyes, not bothering to ask Blaine why he had been concerned about whether or not he was "equipped", and if he wasnt, if that was going to be okay with Blaine. Certainly his feather fetish couldnt extend to that level of accommodation.

"Good night Blaine."

"Night Kurt."

It took awhile for Kurt to fall asleep. He listened to Blaines breaths become softer and more prolonged, and then felt, with absolute enthral, Blaines body soft against his own. If this was what sleeping beside someone was like, Kurt could certainly get used to it, though a larger bed was certainly in order.

When morning did come, Kurt found himself face to face with Blaine, who was staring at him with the most dopey grin imaginable. Surely he couldnt have been watching Kurt sleep, but then...

"Morning beautiful."

Kurt groaned and brought a hand up to hide his face, "No. Im all disheveled and have stubble and morning breath..."

"And you still take my breath away." Blaine uttered, reaching up with a hand of his own to pull away Kurts and kiss him until dreams were forgotten and his lips were raw.

It was Kurt who plucked them apart, citing the need for a good shower and a fix to his growling stomach. The compound had communal bathrooms, much to Kurts disgust, but at least the showers were big and cleaned regularly. The last time Kurt had been in a communal shower was when his dad had the bright idea to take him camping and Kurt had been sickened by the large clumps of hair, nail clippings, and other remnants of people who had showered before him in the showers at the campsite. Needless to say, it was the first and last trip Burt had taken Kurt on that didnt include room service.

They showered in adjacent stalls, Blaine singing as he cleaned himself with Kurt occasionally chiming in. Bubbles littered the ground around his toes, which Kurt also spent some time filing down the nails of, along with his fingernails, lest they grow too long into talons. He didnt need any other reason to be compared to a bird. When he came out, a good while after Blaine had finished, steam swept out along with him and towards Blaine who was already dressed and hair gelled, waiting for Kurt as he leaned against the wall opposite the shower.

Kurt tried not to look surprised, though he knew Blaine would probably see the yellow and pink around him that would give him away, and tightened his grip on the towel around his waist. "Need something?"

"Yeah. My boyfriend." Blaine chirruped, eyeing Kurt up and down without any subtlety. He looked hungry at first, like he was going to pounce Kurt and eat him up, but then his eyes widened and he took a couple steps towards Kurt with those saucer eyes locked on his wings.

"What... is it?" Kurt queried, turning his head to try and look at what Blaine was.

"Feathers... but..." Blaine pointed and Kurt brought that part of his wing up into his sights.

Black feathers.

"Oh... I... dont know?" Kurt uttered. The feathering was slight, the first of any to show in the regrowth.

"When they came in the first time were they black?"

Kurt shook his head. He remembered when he got his first feathers - white as snow.

"Well... maybe its just a rogue one... like your first gray hair."

"Blaine Anderson..." Kurt tucked his wing back into place. "... You have another thing coming if you think I will allow my hair to go gray."

Blaine smiled up at Kurt, but Kurt knew he wasnt convincing. He didnt know why having a black feather would upset him... but it was. He might not have liked his white feathers, but at least they were familiar.

"Guys!" Another metahuman burst into the doors, prompting Kurt to yelp and ensure his towel was still securely around his hips. "You need to come check the news! Now!"

With that, the door swung back and forth as the guy, Kurt thought his name was Nick, rushed back out. He could hear him yelling down the corridors, and could also hear the murmurings of all the metahumans in range of his ears in the compound moving towards the common room. One look towards Blaine, and a shared raised eyebrow, and both of them were heading out with Kurt taking a detour to throw on some clothing in his room while Blaine went ahead.

The common room was packed. There were some forty metahumans living at or visiting the compound currently, and they were all in the room, eyes glued to the television. Kurt stepped in quietly, joining Blaines side who was also just as entranced by the screen.

"... the resolution was passed today by only one vote, and while it is a temporary measure, it has clearly identified the pro-meta and anti-meta nations. Immediately after the vote, anti-meta nations accused pro-meta nations of harboring metahumans and using them as anti-war deterrents. Meanwhile, pro-meta nations are calling into question human rights and whether or not metahumans should be given the same human rights as their evolutionary parents. The real surprise today though was the video posted on what is being called an anti-human website, The Metahuman Alliance, in which their leader called the resolution an act of war against metahumans and called upon all metahumans to rise up against the human countries that voted for the resolution. Already were seeing protests in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta..."

Images flashed over the screen. Originally politicians in suits arguing at the United Nations convention, and then images of protesters, carrying signs that ranged from the benign "We have rights too!" to the more shocking "Death to humans!". Then there was the real chaos. Reports on human hostages being taken by metahumans in different cities and of different nations with one singular demand - human rights for all humans, meta or not. Some of the hostage taking was professional, others... not so much. There were already people dying, images of bodies with a metahuman who could control fire laughing over them in the Middle East. In China, a metahuman who could shoot spikes out of her hands had struck down a whole gathering of women at a church before being taken down by the military. Even the countries that had voted against the resolution were affected. Just north of the border, in Toronto, a boy no older than Kurt was tossing spheres of green into the street which exploded on impact. The world had succumbed to insanity.

"Oh my god Blaine..." Kurt whispered, eyes just as stuck on the screen now. It was horrible what he was looking at, but he couldnt seem to tear himself away. The only other part of him that moved, aside from his lips, was his hand which sought out Blaines and squeezed it tightly.

"Therell be no point in fighting crime now." Sebastian said calmly, a couple people away from Kurt and Blaine. "Were going to be fighting to stay alive."