“YES!”

Kurt nearly hit the ceiling with the calculator he threw up in the air when he did a little victory whoop.  Blaine and Wes had just texted him their semester GPA's and he had gotten the highest GPA between them all, and even though their courses were higher level and more specific, he still felt like it was worth the little celebratory dance he was doing in the living room.  He wasn't a complete idiot.  At the very least he could call himself book smart now… or at least dedicated.  It was the first time he felt like being a good student was worth something.  Back at McKinley, all being a good student would do was make you a target for bullies.  Well, more of a target anyhow.

He left his marks up on the computer screen so he could show them off to Wes and Blaine later and continued his day.  Both the other boys were still at school getting their final marks for the semester and tomorrow Kurt and Blaine were heading off to Connecticut for the holidays.  Kurt was elated, at least on the inside.  He couldn't wait to be out of the stale smelling apartment and outside where he felt comfortable again.  Even though it was winter and Shelby had warned him on the phone that the beach was covered in a thin sheet of packed snow and ice, it was still freedom to him.  

The suitcase he was bringing was already stuffed and he hadn't even finished packing.  Thankfully Wes was going to loan him a second piece of luggage so he could finish the process tonight.  Wes also had been keeping the gifts he had purchased online for Blaine and Shelby since Kurt had them sent to Wes' house so Blaine wouldn't intercept them.  Thank god he lived in an age of online shopping.

Getting to go away for the holidays also meant that Kurt didn't have to worry about baring his soul or whatever nonsense was expected of him during his counselling and group addiction meetings.  He was free to be a normal human being for awhile and not have to think about what motivated him to do this or why he thinks a certain way about that.  He could just be.

So when he heard the sounds of footsteps outside the door, Kurt uncharacteristically bounded towards the entryway, excited to brag about his marks and confirm that they could leave first thing tomorrow morning.  Romeo followed behind Kurt, as always, tail just wagging as incessantly as ever.

But when Blaine came through the door, Kurt could see that not everything was alright because Blaine's eyes were red and watering and he sniffled as soon as he got inside.  Sure he tried to give Kurt a smile, but it was definitely forced.

“Think the perfume section at the mall gave me a bit of a headache… mind if I nap for awhile?”

Kurt nodded, biting his tongue and hoping that was all that was affecting Blaine.

“You can gloat if you want…. I'll get you back next semester.”  Blaine said softly in regards to the marks, as he crawled into the bed with his clothes still on.

“Not fucking likely.”  Kurt responded smugly, pulling the blanket up with him as he got in alongside Blaine and curled up in his usual position.  He hadn't had a nap in awhile, so he was definitely going to take advantage of this opportunity.

But when Kurt woke up a couple hours later, it wasn't because Blaine was getting up, it was because Blaine was on fire to the touch.  Kurt pulled back despite an unconscious whimper of protest from Blaine and lifted a hand to Blaine's forehead to confirm what he already knew.  

Blaine had a fever,

“Shit.” Kurt mumbled to no one but himself and crawled out of the bed, going into the bathroom medicine cabinet to see if there was anything that might bring down the fever.  Nothing.

“Wes.  I need you to pick up some medicine.” Kurt announced as soon as Wes picked up the phone when he made a call out to him.

“Why….?”

“Blaine's got a fever and looks like shit.”

“Well then there's no way I'm coming over.”

“Come on Wes.”

“Absolutely not.  I'm under strict order to avoid the sick.”

“You're training to be a doctor for fuck's sake.  How the hell do you do that?!”

“During holidays. Special Orders.”

“What special fucking orders? I can't go to the store Wes.  I need you to get it.”

“Fine.  But I'm leaving it at the door.”

“Fuck.  Whatever.  Bring me the presents too.”

“You think you'll get to Connecticut still if he's sick?”

“I'll make him better.  Just you wait and see.”

“Alright, but I'm not going into your apartment until he's clean and it's sanitized.”

Kurt rolled his eyes as he got off the phone and moistened a cloth with cold water to press against Blaine's head in the meantime.  The man whined at the sudden coolness against his head, but the towelette soaked up his heat as rapidly as he absorbed the cold it provided him and soon Kurt had to moisten the cloth again.

By the time Wes texted Kurt that he had left a bag at the door, Kurt had moved a bucket of ice water beside the bed to hasten the recooling of the cloth.

True to his word, Wes was no where to be seen when Kurt opened the door, but he had made good on getting Kurt medicine, including some IB profin for the fever as well as a host of other medicines.  Attached to the bag was a note that warned: “Blaine can get loopy on Nyquil.  Have fun.”  In addition, his gifts and a pack of cigarettes were stacked outside of the door.  Maybe Wes wasn't such a dick after all.

Kurt had to get Blaine awake to take the medicine, which seemed easy in theory, but the kid was just out of it and definitely not with it.  Kurt had to nudge him several times over and say his name a dozen times before Blaine finally sat up and allowed Kurt to spoon him some Nyquil and give him some IB profin to swallow.  

“‘m oh… kay….”  Blaine drawled as he looked towards Kurt looking like he hadn't slept at all in days.  “We go…. to…. Con… Con…”

“Connecticut… when you're feeling better.”  Kurt sighed and helped Blaine drink water from the cup he had ready.   God, Kurt thought to himself, what kind of bug had Blaine gotten that had hit him so hard so fast?

“Mmm… oh… okay…”  Blaine settled back down as soon as Kurt placed the cup on the nightstand.  “You call… my mommy….”

Kurt snickered at the term of endearment, covering Blaine back up with the blanket and putting the cool compress back on his forehead as he left the room to call Shelby, convincing her that she didn't need to come and take care of them and they'd be off as soon as Blaine was feeling better.  It couldn't last that long - right?

Blaine's fever subsided a half hour after he took the medicine, but Wes was right, Blaine did get a little goofy when he was filled up with Nyquil.

“I want to kiss someone under the mistletoe this year…. Mom used to make me kiss grandma under the mistletoe when I was little… Have you ever kissed under the mistletoe?”  Blaine asked, his head settled on Kurt's chest for a change and looking up at him as they stayed cozy under the blanket.

Kurt smirked in amusement, “No.  Never.”

“Not even your grandma?”

“Not ever.”

If Kurt didn't know better, he might have said that Blaine was drunk on the Nyquil, but according the online medical sites he consulted from his phone, it was probably just a good mix of fever and codeine.

“Your skin is sooo soft Kurt….”  Blaine cooed as he spun his finger in a circle on the back of Kurt's hand.  “I want a blanket of Kurt skin.”

“Yes, because that's not creepy at all.”  Kurt said with an unappreciated roll of his eyes.

The next thing he knew, Blaine's hands were trying to creep into the sleeve of Kurt's hoodie though.  “All your skin is smooth….”

Kurt pulled his hand back and sighed, “Why isn't this shit making you sleepy?  Isn't it supposed to?”

All he got for a response was bright amber eyes and a cute little giggle, catching a glimpse of what Blaine must have been like as a child.  He did stay out of Kurt's sleeves though, much to Kurt's relief, and just went back to snuggling against Kurt's chest, hugging himself against Kurt and continuing to babble incessantly

“You know my step-brother?  I don't like him… I've only met him three times but I don't like him…. he brags and he's inappropriate… and he has no concept of personal space… and he's a male Rachel and you think he's cute.”

Kurt had only ever heard about the step-brother in passing, because of Blaine's limited relationship with him and because he lived on the other side of the country.  He snorted and shook his head at the boy in his arms, “I don't even know him Blaine.”

“But you're always singing along with him on TV and I can see you doing that duck lipped thing when he comes on which means you think he's hot and I hate it….”

On TV?  Kurt scrunched up his forehead and rolled his tongue along the inside of his lip ring, straining his mind as he tried to figure out what Blaine was talking about.  He didn't have to think long though, because Blaine supplied him with the memory as soon as he started humming the FreeCreditReports.com jingle.

“That's your step-brother?!” Kurt snapped, looking at Blaine in surprise.

“Yah… and I don't like him.  He tried to give me a raspberry the first time I met him and called me squirt….” Blaine huffed, looking put out by having to relive the memory.

Kurt just laughed, both at the face Blaine had made and by the new information.  “Of all things… why didn't you ever fucking tell me that was him?”

“‘Cause you'd want to meet him and have his babies.”

Another laugh and a shake of his head, “Hardly Blaine…. honestly…”

“But you puff out your lips…”  Blaine demonstrated, though Kurt really didn't think he went to that extreme of a pout when he was checking out Blaine's brother on TV.  Blaine just looked ridiculous… and admittedly, adorable.

“That doesn't mean I want to have his babies.  You do know that's not even possible right?”

Blaine harumphed and tucked his face back into Kurt's chest and mumbled, “I know that… I just mean you want him and not me.”

That was the precise moment when Kurt's heart seemed to stop and his skin went clammy.  When he recognized that this wasn't merely playful banter, but that Blaine actually seemed sincerely upset because he wanted Kurt's attention…. and Kurt hadn't even realized it up until then.  He sucked back a breath and tried to restart his heart, reminding himself that Blaine was just loopy… He was just….

Shit, couldn't Wes have used a better word in his note?  Loopy didn't tell Kurt whether Blaine was delirious or unrepressed or facetious…. all of which would mean very different things and Kurt couldn't stand to get all worked up if it was for nothing.

“Blaine… “  Kurt needed to figure this out so he could breathe and beat normally again, “... when you say ‘not me'... do you mean you're jealous…?”

“Yeah.”

Kurt's heart not only began beating, but it rose at the same time it fell.  “Why?”

“Mmm…. can we snuggle n' sleep now?”

Kurt winced a little.  Of course Blaine's mind drifted right at this exact moment.  “Blaine.  Tell me why?”

“‘cause I want to snuggle and dream….”

“No.  Not that.  Why are you jealous?”

The fact that the question seemed to catch Blaine off guard made Kurt more skeptical about the legitimacy of what he thought he was catching onto, but Blaine seemed to recall the statement and then murmured.

“Because I want to be the one you poof your lips out at.”

It shouldn't have been as funny as it was, but the fact that Blaine had said it with dead seriousness made Kurt laugh openly which made Blaine whine softly.

“Sorry… sorry… it was just… fuck… Blaine… you're not going to remember any of this tomorrow and… shit…”

“Yes I am… I was gonna tell you when I gave you your present for Christmas…. just felt like sayin' stuff now….”

Kurt pressed his lips together thoughtfully and brought a hand up to pet through Blaine's hair, just like Blaine did so often to soothe Kurt before they slept, “I guess we'll see in the morning….”

But come the morning, Blaine's fever was back and Kurt had to go through the whole process of getting him to sit up and take the medication again, and once again, he had to phone Shelby to let her know that Blaine was still feeling bad and it didn't look like they'd be there that day.

“Oh sweetie… are you sure you don't want me to come up there?”

Yes.  Please.  Take care of him.  Save me from this.  I don't like dealing with sick.

“No.  It's alright.  I know you need to get the house ready for all the relatives come on Christmas eve.  I'm sure he'll be fine by then.” Kurt responded, trying his best to sound upbeat.  

They spent the day mostly in bed, with Blaine sleeping through most of it and only getting up to lumber to the bathroom in what could have been sleepwalking for all Kurt knew.  Unlike the night before, Blaine wasn't talkative, and he only spoke to complain about how his “everything” hurt and that he could feel the air particles smacking him as they drifted around.  Kurt did his best to keep Blaine hydrated and even made a chicken broth which Blaine only took a few sips of being declaring himself too full for more.  His fever was off and on, and Kurt made sure to keep up with the medicine regime to reduce the pain he seemed to be experiencing.

When the sniffling got worse though, Kurt knew he had to do more.  

“Can I put some vapour cream on you?”

“Mmmmmm.”

That was consent enough for Kurt, who gently peeled off Blaine's shirt, the same one from yesterday still, and carefully applied the cream while Blaine snoozed under him.  Despite all the times he had been with other men, he had never stopped to touch another man's naked chest.  It was just never part of the act.  At most he would swipe a finger down a man's clothed chest to entice them into buying and then it was all business - either his face in their crotch or being bent over.  Foreplay wasn't something a whore could waste time on.

Blaine's chest was firm and strong without being overly muscular, and Kurt became absolutely fascinated by the short curls of hair on his chest - so different from his own.  He let them coil around the tips of his fingers and then spring back as he pulled his fingers away, just like the tails of pigs.

“Mmm… back now?”

Kurt blinked and lifted his hand away.  He didn't realize that Blaine had been awake for that. “Ah.. sure.  Roll over.”

Unlike the front of him, Blaine's back was smooth and as Kurt rubbed the cream over his back, Blaine moaned pleasurably.  Kurt didn't know why, but it made him blush - and getting a whore to blush was something every pimp joked about because it just wasn't suppose to happen.  

He got that done as quickly as he could manage and then he argued with a sleepy Blaine over putting a new shirt on.  Blaine insisted he didn't want to and Kurt just didn't know if he could handle having a shirtless man snuggle up to him like Blaine had been.  It was one thing to play off his morning wood, or Blaine's for that matter, but consciously being that intimate well…

Kurt couldn't help but inwardly shake his head at himself.  Only a whore would think that a naked chest was intimate while shared morning erections was a joke.  This was fine.  He could do this.

And if he couldn't… then he hoped Shelby or Wes could because he wasn't going to stick around if Blaine decided he could live without pants.