He'd spent the better part of the day with Blaine spread out beneath him, making little noises like breathless music at every press of Kurt's lips. He wondered if it could be an addiction; those sounds, the warmth in his veins, the awareness of how good he was making Blaine feel. Every jolt of pleasure in his Sub's body reverberated through his own, heady and satisfying like nothing had ever truly been till now.

He was fairly certain he could be happy just making Blaine feel good for the rest of his life.

They emerged for dinner on Saturday night, kiss-swollen and dishevelled despite Kurt's last-minute attempt to fix his hair and straighten Blaine's shirt. Burt had taken one look at them and huffed a quiet, knowing laugh, shaking his head as he slid into his seat at the table and earning a violent blush from Kurt.

It wasn't until he turned and pressed a twenty into Carole's outstretched palm that Kurt straightened in his own seat, outraged.

"You took bets?"

"You couldn'ta held out just one more day?" Burt asked teasingly.

Blaine tried to hide his snicker, ducking his head and pressing his grin into his palm.

"I love you, too," Kurt huffed quietly, ignoring his father's chuckles.

The conversation faded in and out as they ate, changing subjects from school to the weather to the tire store, and Kurt breathed a quiet, grateful sigh at the fact that their relationship hadn't come up again. It was one thing for his Dad to know about what he and Blaine were doing, it was another thing entirely to talk about it over dinner.

By the time they'd finished washing up, the mood had gone from mildly awkward to perfectly relaxed, and Kurt rocked his hips against the sink, humming quietly as he put down the last plate.

"We'll be out tomorrow," Carole said gently, resting a hand on his back as she reached past to pick up the plate and dry it. "Your father is taking me to that big travelling marketplace, they're stopping out past Westerville so we're going to make a day of it."

"Uhuh," Kurt drawled, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"So we'll be gone," she added. "All day."

Kurt turned, resting a hand on the kitchen counter as he eyed her carefully, eyebrow quirked.

She smiled and reached out to pat his cheek. "Have a good day, sweetie."

"Subtle," he said, squeezing her shoulder affectionately as he brushed past. "But thank you."

She covered his hand with hers for a moment before it slipped away, and he wandered back out to find his boyfriend and his father transfixed by a football game.

He smiled at them fondly, leaning against the doorframe.

"Come on, pick it up," Burt cursed at the TV, scowling. "I tell ya, they're just not playing like they used to."

Blaine nodded in agreement, mouth twitching at the side in disappointment. "Last year was beautiful, I wish they'd just find that energy again."

Kurt's brow lifted, and he filed the information away in his head. Blaine likes football.

After a moment he shot them a parting glance and wandered back up to his room, content to read and let Blaine enjoy the game. A part of him felt the small internal tug the moment he sat on the bed, Blaine should be here, but he knew it was just his blood stirring for more of him. After a day spent covering Blaine's body with his own and exploring every inch of his mouth, all he could think about was more.

He tried not to wonder for too long what it'd be like, if they weren't made to be driven by their bodies and their blood. Would he still want Blaine this badly?

It only took a flicker of memory to remind him; the honey-brown in Blaine's eyes when he looked at him, his face when he woke up in the morning, the mess of curls pressed against Kurt's chest. The way he ducked his head when he laughed.

Yes. I would.

There was a quiet knock at the door before Blaine slipped inside and pressed it shut behind him, tilting his head. "You left?"

Kurt smiled at him sleepily. "You looked like you were having fun."

Blaine crawled across the bedspread on his hands and knees, craning to kiss at the corner of Kurt's mouth. "Thank you."

"Mmm," Kurt hummed, dropping his book in favour of pressing both hands to Blaine's cheeks and shifting to kiss him back properly.

He pulled away with a tiny nip to Blaine's top lip. "We should-"

"Uhuh." Blaine rushed in again, balancing on his knee as he slid their mouths together for another kiss, only pulling away when he felt the vibration of Kurt's laugh.

"What?" he asked, smiling back.

"I was going to say," Kurt went on, eyes dropping to Blaine's mouth and flicking back up again, devilish and dark. "We should get changed for bed, before we lose track of time."

"Ah." Blaine shifted back sheepishly, and Kurt couldn't help but grin at this expression.

Scooting to the edge of the bed, he rolled to nudge at Blaine's shoulder.

"So we don't have to later," he clarified, and chuckled when Blaine perked up instantly.

Even with separate showers and their individual skincare routines, they were both back in bed inside of twenty minutes, draped on their sides and exchanging soft, slow kisses. Kurt pressed his hand over Blaine's heart through his tank top, fingers stroking against skin and soft cotton fabric.

"They're going out tomorrow, all day," Kurt said, lifting his hand up to brush loose curls away from Blaine's forehead as he studied his face.

His black eye had healed, and the cut to his lip had left no scar. Unblemished and still flushed from the heat of his shower, Blaine stared back at him through seemingly mesmerised eyes, deep like black coffee in the dim light.

"All day tomorrow," he parroted back softly, distracted as his fingers traced over Kurt's lips.

"Blaine," Kurt dipped his head on the pillow, trying to catch his eyes. "It's just going to be us here."

Blaine narrowed his eyes for a moment, and they widened just as quickly when he realised what Kurt was asking. "Oh."

Kurt tilted his head, watching him with fond amusement.

"I mean, but, it doesn't-" Blaine said, wetting his lips. He let out a nervous laugh. "It doesn't mean anything has to happen."

"No, it doesn't," Kurt confirmed. "Not if we don't want it to."

Blaine met his eyes and held them. After a long pause, he croaked quietly; "Do you?"

Kurt thought about it for a moment, gaze unfocused and drifting over the wall past Blaine's shoulder. More than anything he knew he never wanted to lie; the compulsion to protect was too strong. But it didn't help that it was seated quietly alongside the near-constant compulsion to peel Blaine's clothing from his body and make him speak another language using only his tongue.

"Yes."

Mouth falling open in surprise, Blaine blinked at him rapidly. "Oh."

"You… don't?" Kurt guessed carefully, trying to hide the note of disappointment in his voice.

"No, I do - I mean - there's-"

"Shhh," Kurt leaned in, pressing a reassuring kiss to the corner of his mouth and stroking hands through his hair. "It's okay."

Blaine let out a rush of breath, eyes falling closed. He smiled softly, almost sadly, as he spoke. "I never thought anybody would… want to. With me," he confessed quietly.

"Why?" Kurt asked. He rocked back a fraction, surprised at the volume of his voice and how fast he'd felt the upset rise inside.

Why didn't Blaine think anybody would want him?

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, realising Blaine was still startled at his outburst. "I just don't understand. I mean, I know Subs are prone to doubt, you told me that. But you're - you're-"

"Small?" Blaine asked, voice empty and frustrated. "Invisible."

"Beautiful. Oh my god, Blaine, no," Kurt pressed in, drawing Blaine against his body with both arms and kissing him deeply, trying to roll them back.

"Mmf-" Blaine mumbled into his mouth, breaking away and bracing himself so they wouldn't tip over. "No, don't."

Kurt blinked, stunned. "You don't want me to?"

"Just, if you lie on top of me right now, my brain is going to short-circuit and I need to be able to think straight," Blaine said, smiling and resting their foreheads together.

"Oh," Kurt said, feeling suddenly sheepish himself.

"I just don't know if I can," Blaine began again. "I feel like if you… see me like that. Or if it's not what you expected. You won't…"

"What?" Kurt asked, worried.

"You'll regret everything."

Kurt let his head drop down onto the pillow, drawing Blaine back down onto his side in front of him. "You remember when you tried to take off the bracelet?"

Blaine blinked at him, eyelids dipping slowly under the attention of Kurt's fingers massaging into his hair. "Yes."

"This is just like that," he assured him gently, adding more pressure and watching Blaine's slow blinks grow gradually heavier. "You're mine. Nothing's going to change that."

With a soft sigh, Blaine closed his eyes, murmuring. "But what if-"

"No," Kurt cut him off gently. "We can take our time. We have so much time. And tomorrow we can lie here all day, and it doesn't have to be anything."

Another soft, contented sound fell from Blaine's lips, and Kurt leaned in to press two short, soft kisses to them quickly.

He wondered absently if he could find the right spot, the right touch, to make Blaine purr.

"I love you," Blaine mumbled, eyes still closed, breath evening out as sleep carried him down.

Kurt's fingers stopped. "What did you say?"

Blaine didn't answer.

Oh my god.

"Blaine?"

Still nothing.

Kurt seized a long, frustrated breath, rolling back onto his side of the bed and fisting at the blanket.

After a moment caught up in his own private tantrum, he let his head tip on the pillow to gaze at Blaine's sleeping face. With a soft smile, Kurt twisted carefully, curling closer. He slid an arm around Blaine's waist to rub at his back, inching his cheek across the pillows until he could feel Blaine's breath on his lips.

"I want you to hear it," he whispered. "I can't say it now, okay? I need you to hear it when I say it the first time."

Blaine didn't respond, but it didn't matter. Kurt was perfectly content to lie still and soak in the warmth of him as he drifted off to sleep.

He woke again to darkness and the feeling of a body pressing urgently against his, the sudden jolt of nervous pleasure from his hips riding in waves up to his brain. It took him a moment of half-awake blinking in the dark to realise that Blaine was hard, curled tightly against his chest, and moaning softly.

Kurt tried to lift his head, to reach for the lamp, only to feel a sharp bump as Blaine's crown knocked his chin and slapped his jaw painfully shut.

"Ow, Blaine!" he whispered roughly. "Are you-?"

With another soft moan, Blaine pressed in tighter, hands groping blindly at his body, hips rocking slowly against Kurt's thigh.

Kurt's eyes widened, and he settled his hand on Blaine's bicep. "Blaine? You're dreaming, wake up," he said.

When Blaine didn't wake, Kurt shook a little harder, and the movement died down for a moment to stillness.

"Hmm?"

"You were dreaming," Kurt said gently, unable to keep the worry from his tone.

"Mmmh," Blaine mumbled before he pressed his lips to Kurt's throat, and snuggled down again.

Kurt sighed, weaving fingers into the hair at the base of Blaine's neck and stroking there, eyes wandering over the room. Something was wrong.

All the nights they'd spent in bed, and this hadn't happened before. They'd both ushered quietly apart in the mornings when either of them woke up hard, happy to let it go unspoken. But this was different. Blaine was dreaming and clinging to him so desperately, and Kurt couldn't help but feel the painful longing underneath it.

He extracted himself carefully, rolling Blaine back and ignoring the sharp sting in his veins at the sound of Blaine's soft, helpless whimper when he let go and slipped out of bed.

As quietly as he could manage, he tip-toed across the room, gathering his computer and sliding out the door.

While the laptop booted up on the dining table, he made himself a warm glass of milk, rolling his shoulders and sighing softly in the silence of the kitchen.

He should have done this a week ago. If not for himself, at least, for Blaine's sake.

The sheer font of information available to him made him rock back on his stool, overwhelmed at the seemingly endless sources. He browsed quickly, flicking in and out of different health sites and educational pages until he came to one that caught his eye.

SubCare International: Teaching Doms About Sub Nature. He clicked on the first few pages, scanning the information slowly as he sipped his drink.

By the time he glanced at the clock again, two hours had passed, and his milk had gone cold where he'd abandoned it on a coaster.

He cleaned up quickly, pressing his laptop shut and tucking it under his arm as he scaled back up the stairs and pushed into his room.

Blaine was curled up in a ball and had worked his way across the bed in his sleep, face drawn in visible discomfort.

When the claim is still new, loss of contact at vulnerable stages can be uncomfortable for both parties, often resulting in sleeplessness or nightmares.

Kurt slid the laptop onto his desk and padded over to the bed, drawing back the blankets and lowering himself down. He groped in the dark, finding Blaine's waist and pulling him back tight to his chest. He pressed an open kiss to the exposed line of his neck, feeling the tension wash away like a tide.

As he settled down, he fanned his hand out over Blaine's belly possessively, resting his cheek against his shoulder. A slow-creeping warmth spread through his veins as his body drank in the physical contact. The relief was palpable, too real, and in light of the new information swimming around in his head, soothing in an entirely new way.

They were made for each other. They were meant to hold each other. It was their nature, at the very core. Blaine was his.

But the dreams were another problem entirely. If what the site had laid out was accurate, just bringing up the subject had kick-started Blaine's hormones, and the only thing that would satisfy them now was more. More touch, more contact, more of Kurt holding on to him and giving his body what it needed.

But Blaine was afraid.

Kurt tipped his head back, resting on his pillow and slipping his fingers under the edge of Blaine's singlet to stroke gently over warm skin. Blaine murmured in his sleep; just a soft, indecipherable sound of contentment, and Kurt smiled.

He lay awake in silence for another hour, sweeping small touches over Blaine's chest, pressing gentle kisses into his neck, his shoulder, his hair. Loved, Kurt thought, holding him closer. Please, please, I need you to feel loved.

When Kurt woke up again, he didn't remember having fallen to sleep. Blaine was already awake, boneless and warm in his arms, and he tipped back to look up when he sensed Kurt had stirred.

"Morning."

"Morning," Kurt said softly, dipping to kiss his nose and grinning as Blaine's face scrunched up with laughter.

It wasn't until after they'd climbed out of bed an hour later, showered and dressed, that Kurt remembered his research from the previous night, and Blaine's feverish dream.

A Sub's body knows what it needs before they do, consciously. Sex dreams, stress dreams and nightmares are regular precursors to desires, tension or fears, spurred by the self-doubt that all Subs are burdened with.

His eyes were unfocused as he thought about it, paying little attention to the movie they were watching. Instead, his gaze dropped absently to the curl of Blaine's legs across the bedspread as his mind wandered. He dragged his eyes over the swell of Blaine's hip and his ass in his sweatpants, the exposed skin of his back revealing small dimples that drove Kurt absolutely crazy the instant when he realised what they were.

My hands would fit there.

The movie played on, and Blaine kept still throughout, curled on his side and content to rest his head on Kurt's thigh right above his knee.

Kurt shifted carefully, too warm and only getting worse every time he noticed another part of Blaine he hadn't really looked at before. He brushed fingers through Blaine's hair, coaxing him back until his head tipped completely and he gazed up at him in surprise.

Dipping down, Kurt dragged their mouths together slowly, sweet and familiar, sucking lightly on Blaine's tongue before he pulled back.

Blaine blinked up at him, smiling still and perfectly relaxed. "What is it?" he asked.

"You woke up during the night, last night," Kurt began carefully. "Do you remember? You were dreaming."

After a pause, Blaine blushed, eyes lowering in embarrassment. "I didn't realise I'd… oh god-"

"No, it's okay," Kurt said quickly. "I… did some research. I want to know - what to do, when you need me to."

Fixing him with warm, adoring eyes, Blaine shifted in his lap. "You did?"

"I did," Kurt confirmed. "But I'm getting mixed messages and I don't want to… pressure you. But your body's telling me one thing and you're…"

Blaine wet his lips carefully, eyes narrowing. "I want to," he said softly.

Kurt seized a sharp breath at the admission.

"But," Blaine added quickly. "I don't… know if I can."

Kurt curled down to kiss him again quickly. "I have an idea," he said.

"Oh?"

"Slow," Kurt elaborated. "Very slow. And you say stop the moment you want to, and we stop."

Thinking for a moment, Blaine lifted himself up and sat still with his back to Kurt as he considered. When he turned again, there was a different expression on his features, something new and unnamable that made Kurt shiver.

Shifting to his hands and knees, Blaine crawled very slowly over the bedspread, keeping his eyes low. His lips were still parted, full and trembling as he stilled at Kurt's side and rocked back on his thighs.

"Tell me what to do," he whispered, leaning in.

Kurt held back the moan that threatened to slip out of him at Blaine's words, kissing him back in sharp, needy bursts as he reached out and found Blaine's waist, pulling him into his lap.

Blaine had always been strong and broad-shouldered, but Kurt was still bigger; a fact that seemed to send both of them quietly mad with arousal when it became more obvious.

Kurt fought the shudder that rippled through his entire body at the contact, the settling weight on his thighs, having Blaine there and his. He couldn't stop his hands from sliding over Blaine's back, palming at his shoulder blades through his shirt and raking down possessively. He couldn't stop his fingers from dipping into the dimples at the base of his spine and teasing over his sides in long sweeps.

The rush of quiet, punctuated, breathless noises that Blaine made under his attention only seemed to fuel the pounding blood in his veins, the ache that he felt in his bones. Mine.

Too fast, too soon, slow down, his head warned him quickly. He stilled his hands, catching his breath and resting his head against Blaine's chest for a moment as the hammer of his blood gradually slowed down with him.

He fought the instinct to tug at the hem of Blaine's shirt, to pull at his sweatpants, remembering Blaine's only request. Tell me what to do.

Kurt's hands fell back to rest on Blaine's thighs where they were spread either side of him.

"Take off your shirt," he instructed softly. He knew the voice was his, but it was calmer than he'd ever heard it before; deeper, and carrying a strange sense of power. He could hear the affection in it, too, a strong current under the command.

Blaine slipped his shirt off quickly, so fast Kurt wondered if he'd even thought twice about obeying.

With Blaine's skin bare and smooth in front of him, Kurt felt suddenly dizzy in the head-spinning rush of too many things he wanted to do to him all at once.

There was time for all of it later, he reminded himself, shivering with excitement at the thought of exploring, of taking his time to slowly make Blaine come undone.

His fingers trailed lightly up Blaine's biceps, cupping his shoulders and drawing him in as he pressed his lips to his breastbone. Blaine moaned at the contact, shifting in his lap and letting his head fall back.

"Does it feel good?" Kurt murmured against his skin.

"Yes, oh," Blaine's voice was barely audible, lost in breathless panting as Kurt swirled his tongue around a nipple and scraped his teeth over it. Blaine whined, writhing from the sensation.

"Shh," Kurt said soothingly, arms curling around his shoulders to hold him still, working his lips and mouth across each nipple in turn until they were hard against his tongue.

Blaine simply took it, every stroke of Kurt's tongue and squeeze of his hands, straining not to cry out or roll his hips for more friction until he was told.

When Kurt pulled back, he let his gaze drift over Blaine's body, revelling in the undeniable thrills that every red mark sent rocketing through his veins.

Blaine swayed in his arms, lightheaded and blinking, seemingly amazed at what had just happened.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked.

"Mmm," he hummed. "I've never felt … anything like that."

"Me neither," Kurt admitted with a soft laugh, squeezing at his hips. "Slowly," he insisted again, sliding his hands down over the swell of Blaine's ass and drawing him in tighter, locking their hips together.

Blaine whimpered, dropping his head down onto Kurt's shoulder as his body bowed. "Kurt."

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, hands still squeezing lightly.

"No, god, oh," Blaine mumbled into his shoulder. "Please, just… I need you to."

That would be his brain catching up with his body, Kurt thought, and kissed the side of his head softly.

Blaine writhed against him at every scrape and every lingering press of fingers, losing himself, moaning when Kurt slipped both hands into his sweatpants to stroke over the curves of him as he sucked pattens into the muscle of his shoulder.

"Blaine," he said, voice so broken it was barely audible. He swept his fingers over the hem of Blaine's sweats. "I want you to push these down your hips."

At any other point he would have been stunned at the lack of hesitation, but Blaine's hands pulled back, tucking into the edges of the elastic and drawing them down over smooth, tan skin.

Kurt's hand on Blaine's spine bowed his body the other way, and he rose up again only to be met with Kurt's mouth, desperate and hungry.

Kurt pulled away again, letting his gaze fall between them to where Blaine's cock was hard and curved up to his belly, leaking and flushed dark. He bit back a moan at the sight, hand moving on instinct and curling around the base. The contact was electric, and Blaine arched in his arms, crying out as Kurt's hand swept up and down.

Pressing his forehead to Blaine's chest, he closed his eyes, hand pumping slowly, his body working purely on the thrumming control that burned in his veins. Every choked-off, exquisite noise from above him sent fireworks into his nerves, fuelled by the awareness that he was doing this, he was making Blaine feel this way, and it was enough to distract him from the ache and pulse of his own painfully hard cock, trapped in his pants under Blaine's weight.

Kurt's hand slowed to a smooth rhythm, thumb stroking up a prominent vein and over the head, spreading slick moisture down the length of Blaine's cock and earning him a babbling string of words that were mostly his name.

Blaine was close, Kurt could feel it ringing in his ears and drowning out everything else.

"Shh," he whispered softly, pressing his lips to Blaine's chest messily between words. "Blaine," another kiss, "Blaine, look at me."

Rocking forward, Blaine met his eyes, mouth open around silent noises that had dimmed at Kurt's command.

Kurt used the hand on Blaine's back to tip him forward, close enough to share the same breath as he squeezed his fist lightly.

"Kurt," Blaine moaned around quick, hitched breaths.

"Shh, baby," Kurt squeezed again, eyes dark and fixed on Blaine's breathtaking features as he fell apart. "Come for me."

Blaine shuddered, hands fisting Kurt's shirt desperately as his body coiled tight and he spilled over Kurt's fist in long, thick stripes, letting out an endless stream of broken sound.

Kurt felt his own body draw tight at the sharp, intense flare low in his spine, and he clutched at Blaine's waist, eyes slamming shut as he buried his face in Blaine's chest and came with a choked cry.

He barely remembered the languid, rolling kisses they'd shared in the aftermath, brain swimming in soundlessness as Blaine collapsed against his body. He panted against the side of Blaine's head where his cheek was pressed tightly, trying to figure out how words worked, trying to remember his own name.

Their breathing slowed as they both began to come down, ignoring the sticky mess between their bodies, content to simply be weightless and wrapped around each other.

"Blaine?"

Blaine stirred against him, grunting softly as he lifted himself up. "Mm?"

"Are you- was that-?"

Blaine cut him off with a messy kiss as he pressed in, rocking them back into the headboard.

Kurt settled into it, wrapping himself up in Blaine's body and sinking down in the warm, perfect feeling of having his Sub safe, and spent, and utterly contented in his arms.