Blaine's head throbbed and he was pretty sure his skull was too tight around his brain, but for the first time in days he didn't feel foggy and confused, and his body seemed to be beating back whatever had taken him over.  Under him, Kurt was sleeping, well, napping more like it.  Blaine was vaguely aware that it had been Kurt taking care him him based on the flashes of memory he had in which Kurt was there giving him medicine, cooling his head, feeding him, holding water to his lips, and even, he realized with a blush, changing his clothing.  He knew that he had screwed up his great vacation plans by getting sick. which in turn meant he had screwed up Kurt's vacation from the city.  To top that off, Blaine was well aware, thanks to his parents and Wes informing him in the past, that he was a big baby when he was sick and no doubt he had exhausted Kurt with his neediness.

He lifted his head up and off Kurt, wincing at how heavy and sore it felt, but pushing himself to do it anyhow and looked to Kurt's face to make sure he hadn't woken him.  Pink strands of hair fell across Kurt's eyes, still shut as he slept soundly and Blaine smiled softly at the sight.  Usually he looked down at Kurt sleeping on his chest, so this view was different, yet still the same in that it was beautiful.  Kurt really had no idea how gorgeous he was.

As soon as Blaine sat back on his heels though, the bed creaked and Kurt's eyes snapped open and looked directly at him.  In a flash Kurt had sat up and was face to face with him, one hand set on Blaine's forehead.  “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…”  Blaine said quietly, his voice strained as his own stared straight into Kurt's, swimming in the cerulean blue depths and getting lost quickly.  

“Good… feels like your fever finally broke….”  Kurt glanced back at the clock, breaking the eye contact before looking back, “And I slept through giving you more medicine so it looks like the fever has really passed….”

“I'm sorry Kurt.  I didn't mean to get sick.  We can go right away if you want and -” Blaine immediately started babbling his apology but Kurt's hand moved to cup over his mouth and silenced him.

“Would you just shut up and lay back down so I can bring you some food… if your stomach is up to it?”

Blaine nodded slowly, still aware of the numb feeling in his head and Kurt released his mouth, leaving the bed and the room.  While he had the chance, Blaine went to the washroom, looking at the pile of garbage that had accumulated in the wastebasket there during his downtime.  Kleenex galore, mixed with empty blister packs of ibuprofen and an empty bottle of Nyquil.  Oh shit.  Nyquil.

He crawled back up onto the bed when he returned and pulled the blankets over him, still feeling chilly.  Where did Kurt get Nyquil?  Shit, shit, shit…

A tray was presented to Blaine, soup, sandwiches, and glasses of orange juice atop it.  Kurt settled in beside Blaine and took his own servings, eating quietly and glancing over at Blaine periodically who was eating slowly.  Apparently his stomach had shrunk a bit in the past few days.

“Did… Wes tell you about Nyquil?” Blaine asked, looking worriedly at Kurt once he'd finished his soup.

Kurt nodded, “He's the one who got it for me.  Said it made you loopy.  That term seems mostly correct…”

Blaine groaned and turned his face away.  “What did I say?”

“Mostly nonsense… eat your sandwich.”

Blaine pursed his lips a little, trying to decipher Kurt's tone as he took small bites of the sandwich.  

“Kurt… please tell me.  Wes calls it the Blaine Truth Serum….”

He heard a small snicker and then a hand gently petting his back, “Finish your sandwich and we'll get you cleaned up.  The bed sheets really need changing too.  You have some insane fever sweating.”

Blaine sighed and continued to eat.  So Kurt wasn't going to tell him.  At least not now.  Or maybe he was going to use whatever information he obtained from Blaine to blackmail him somehow… or tease him.  Wes had garnered a lot of information from a Nyquil drunk Blaine that he had taunted him with over the years and until now, Blaine hadn't touched the stuff in a long time.

Once he was finished the sandwich and his orange juice, Kurt took the tray away and ordered him to shower while he tidied up.  Blaine, of course, complied, also making the effort to shave away the beard growth that had overtaken his face.  When he got back to the bedroom, the sheets, pillowcases, and blankets had been changed and a fresh glass of water had been set on the night table.  He could hear the shower running in the main bathroom, telling him that Kurt was also getting cleaned up.

“Wes!  Why the hell did you give Kurt Nyquil for me!” Blaine said as soon as he heard Wes pick up the phone as he made the call.

Laughter, then, “Because I figured it was the only way to make you admit you like him dumbass.”

“Oh my god Wes… I don't even remember what I said… IF I said anything…. why would you do this to me?” Blaine's heart started racing as he listened with one ear to ensure the shower was still going.

“Because at your current speed you wouldn't have made a move for years and I don't have that kind of time.”

“What the hell does that mean Wes?  And for your information, I had wonderfully laid out plans to tell him properly on Christmas!”

“Right.  Which you would have postponed after a panic attack, and then again and again… And I need you two to start dating already so we can double date with my new girlfriend.”

“What?  When did this happen?!”

“About a month ago… and you'll meet her at your New Years Eve party.”

“What New Years Eve party?”

“The one I sent out invitations for last week.  Don't worry.  I'll supply the appetizers.”

Blaine groaned and flopped back on the bed.  He seriously had the worst best friend in the world. “How many people did you invite?”

“Just some old Warbler buddies and their significant others.  You'll definitely want to make sure you have things figured out with Kurt by then because otherwise you'll only have Romeo to smooth with when the ball drops.”

Damnit.  “Wes.  I hate you.”

“You love me!  Anyhow!  Talk to you soon!”

The phone clicked off and Blaine sighed, burying his face in the pillow as he rolled over to let out a cry of frustration.  He needed to not get sick ever again.  No.  Skip that.  He needed to invent a time machine so he could go back in time and stop himself from getting sick.

“Blaine?”

A hand gently touched his shoulder and he turned around to look up at Kurt, sitting on the bed with wet locks of hair dripping down over the fresh hoodie he had on.  

“It's okay… did you know Wes invited a bunch of people here for New Years Eve?”

Kurt blinked a few times and then a smirk crossed his face, “No.  He's kind of an ass hey?”

Blaine chuckled, “Yeah….”

“He wouldn't even come inside the apartment to deliver the medicine.  Said he was under orders not to get sick during vacation and won't return until the place is totally free of germs.”

Blaine shook his head, “I swear he's gone mad… says he has a new girlfriend and… wait.  How did you deal with Romeo?”

“I asked the guy down the hall.  He was okay with helping once I said I was agoraphobic… Thankfully I didn't have to explain anything more than that.”

“No… I'm sorry I left you with me and him to worry about.  You could have called my mom you know…”

He got an eyeroll as a response to that and Blaine couldn't help but smile.  Kurt was kind of cute when it was clear he thought Blaine was being a dork.

“About what I said….”

Kurt shook his head, “It's okay Blaine.  You were fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Kurt nodded, “Don't worry about it.  Worry about being fine for the next twenty four hours so you can pass my health inspection and take my ass to Connecticut.”

Blaine exhaled in relief, “Yeah… of course.  Anything.  You deserve it.”

“Oh please.”  Kurt stood up and went to open the curtains, letting in an unwelcome blast of sunlight, “You've been taking care of me and dealing with my shit for months.  A few days doesn't fucking matter.  I still owe you shittonnes more.”

“Still…”  

“Stop.”  Kurt turned to face him.  “It's okay to let me take care of you.  I'm not a kid Blaine.  Fuck.  I'm older for you for god's sake.  Let me be useful.”

Blaine swallowed, barely squeaking out an “Alright.”

For the rest of the day, Blaine was waited on hand and foot, even when he insisted he was okay to do things on his own.  Kurt fed him, read to him, made sure he was blanketed at all times, and even made him take a nap.  By the next morning, Blaine was much better - and definitely ready to get out.

Their bags were packed and they were soon in a cab to the train station where Blaine paid extra to give them extra leg room and avoid the stress that he knew Kurt felt when there were too many people around.  The whole process was stressful for Kurt; Blaine could see it in the way he moved and looked at everything, but Kurt's desire to get to Shelby's home must have been great enough for him to push through the anxiety and within a couple hours Shelby was picking them up at the closest station in Connecticut with big hugs for both of them.

“My boys!  I'm so glad you're okay baby boy!  And Kurt!  Thank you so much for taking care of him!  You both look so good!  Oh I missed you so much!”

Blaine groaned, “Mom, we saw you last month at Thanksgiving….”

“And it was too long.”  She said simply, helping Kurt with his luggage and shooing them into the car.  

Blaine took the backseat, letting his mother and Kurt talk, mostly about his courses and how he did, as he just watched Kurt.  God he was beautiful.  How was he going to tell him?  Maybe he should keep quiet.  Damn.  Wes was right.

He hated when Wes was right.

Rachel wasn't at the house when they got there, and Shelby noted that she had some special agent meetings in the city still that were delaying her.  Blaine's dad and step-dad was there though, along with his maternal grandma and grandpa, who declared Blaine to be as “cute as a button still” and who both looked at Kurt warily.

“Why does he have all that metal in his face?” His grandpa whispered over to Blaine once Kurt and Shelby left to go work on dinner in the kitchen.  

“It's part of his style.”  Blaine offered simply, really not in the mood to try and contest the traditional worldviews his grandparents had.

“He should be afraid of magnets.” His grandmother chipped in, her fingers busily involved in her current knitting project.

“Please just be nice.” Blaine sighed, glancing over at his dad for help, who gave him a shrug.  His dad had never been good at dealing with his ex-in-laws, especially since he had come out.

Both grandparents huffed at Blaine's words, muttering under their breaths.  

“Cooper's coming.”  Blaine's dad spoke up, changing the subject.

Blaine groaned though.  Even though the change of subject was welcome, it wasn't to a topic he particularly liked.  “Shoot me now.”

“Oh he's not that bad - and he likes you.  Says he always wanted a kid brother like you.”

“He gave me a wet willy the last time I saw him Dad.  He's ten years older than me and the man gave me a wet willy.”

“Whassa wet willy?” Blaine's grandma chirped, “That one of those gay things?”

Both Blaine and his father groaned in unison, palms covering their faces.