A/N: Hello! Thank you so much for reading, and a big thanks to those who reviewed!

As always, dreams, flashbacks, thoughts, and lyrics in italics. Whiteboard writing and texts in bold. I'm writing this while sick at home, so I apologize for any mistakes.

Warnings for: self-harm, rape, language, violence

Enjoy, and please review!

-/-

    “Kurt!” Burt Hummel says as Kurt walks into his home. Kurt smiles and sighs happily, loving being back in his rightful living space. He hugs his father, who smiles at him hopefully. “I missed you, buddy.”

    I missed you, too, dad, Kurt writes on his whiteboard. He sees his dad's smile lessen, and Kurt assumes it's because his dad had hoped that Kurt would talk to him. So… what's this surprise you have planned for me? Kurt writes. He both loves and hates surprises, but he's really enthusiastic to get to know this one. His dad doesn't surprise him with things that often.

    “Well, you know how I had to miss friday night dinner last week?” Burt asks, with a twinkle in his eye. Kurt nods, so Burt proceeds. “Well, I didn't actually have to pick up extra shifts at the shop… I was actually going on a date!”

    Kurt smiles at his dad, but inside he's a little hurt. Why did his dad have to miss their special Friday night dinners to go on a date that he could have done any other day of the week? Of course he's happy that his dad got to go on a date and is happy, but why did he have to sacrifice his and Kurt's special dinners? He knows how much those dinners mean to Kurt.

    Kurt hides his feelings the best he can and smiles up at his father. That's great, dad. His father hugs him again, and Kurt feels terrible for being disappointed at his dad's actions last week. He hasn't seen his dad this happy in a long time. God, Kurt, just be happy for him. You're always such a horrible son, always thinking about yourself, Kurt's mind supplies him with self-deprecating thoughts.

    “And guess what else?” Burt says, excitedly. After Kurt gives him a questioning glance, he says, “Carole is here for family dinner! She's been so excited to meet you! And she has a son your age, maybe you know him? His name is Finn.”

    Oh no. Kurt does know Finn. He guess Finn is an okay guy, but throughout most of Kurt's freshman year he'd had a painfully obvious crush on Finn Hudson. He hadn't acted on it, of course. Finn was so obviously straight it hurt. Plus, Karofsky would have actually murdered Kurt. On more than one occasion, Kurt found himself daydreaming of Finn riding up on a white horse saving Kurt from the venomous hands of Karofsky. He'd always hoped that Finn would be his knight in shining armor one day. Of course that changed when he'd overheard Finn talking to Mike about how confused he was as to why Kurt wasn't talking. Mike tried explaining that there must be a reason Kurt didn't talk, but Finn just thought it was weird.

    Kurt felt a little sick to his stomach every time he saw Finn after that.

    And now, Finn, and his mother, were sitting in his kitchen ready to eat his mother's special Friday night dinner with them. Kurt felt like he was going to throw up, but he put on a brave face for his father and walked into the kitchen. Carole looked up at him and smiled. Finn, meanwhile, just looked at the meatloaf hungrily, barely registering that Kurt had walked into the room.

    Carole looked nice enough. She bore a smile that seemed welcoming to Kurt, but he still didn't know if he trusted her. He jumped back a little when she stood up, anxious for the dinner that was about to come. “You must be Kurt. I've heard so much about you. All great, I promise. I'm Carole, and you probably know my son, Finn.” Carole holds her hand out for Kurt to shake, which he promptly does. Finn looks up for a second and then goes right back to drooling over the food set out on the table.

    It's very nice to meet you, Kurt writes, smiling timidly at Carole. He sees her smile recede a little at seeing him write on his board, but Kurt doesn't make much of it. It's not like anyone would really be happy to be in the presence of some freakish fag who doesn't talk.

    Everyone sits down and soon dinner is in full swing. “How is Dalton, Kurt? Those other boys treating you right?” Burt asks, fatherly protectiveness showing through. Kurt nods and pushes his peas around on his plate. He really doesn't want to talk about Dalton. Not when he just doesn't want to think about anyone else but himself and his dad and his mother, who's essence seems to be slowly fading from their Friday night dinner the longer Finn and Carole sit at the table.

    “Why did you transfer to Dalton, Kurt? Finn goes to McKinley and he likes it just fine,” Carole says, giving Kurt a pointed glare. Kurt shrinks back in his seat.

    Kurt's dad, who doesn't seem to notice that Kurt is uncomfortable, says, “McKinley just wasn't offering the kind of protection Dalton offers. Kurt didn't feel safe there and Dalton has a no-tolerance bullying policy. Kurt and I both felt it would be beneficial for him to stay at Dalton instead of McKinley.”

    “Oh, well, don't you think that's a little dramatic?” Carole says, looking judgmentally at Kurt, who just looks down at his plate of food. He then scribbles something out on his whiteboard.

    I didn't want to go to Dalton. I think it's too expensive and I can live with being at McKinley, but my dad didn't want me to go somewhere I didn't feel accepted. Burt smiles proudly at his son, glad at the way Kurt handled the situation. Maybe Kurt is getting something out of going to this school, after all, he thinks to himself.

    “Oh, sure,” Finn says, from his seat next to his mother. “You probably just wanted to fuck all the guys there. Karofsky,” Kurt flinches at the name, “says he saw you screwing, like, three guys under the bleachers one day.”

    Kurt wants to cry. He doesn't know why Karofsky would say things like that if he'd wanted to keep Kurt all to himself, but it hurt all the same. Carole nods after scolding Finn for his language. “Burt, really, you can't say that Kurt isn't being a little overdramatic. I mean, how long is it that you said he hasn't talked to you for? One year, two years?”

    “Three years,” Burt whispers, looking like a deer caught in headlights. He doesn't know what to do. On one hand, he;s really starting to develop feelings for Carole, but on the other, his son, Kurt is being incriminated by these two people he's invited into their home. Burt does think Kurt can be a little dramatic though. He knows that there's a reason Kurt doesn't talk, but without knowing that reason, Burt doesn't know what to think.

    Kurt looks up at his dad, who looks sadly at Kurt. “Maybe you could help us understand, Kurt? Why you don't talk, I mean. Carole's got a point. It would make you seem less dramatic,” Burt says, feelings conflicted.

    Kurt is shocked at what he's just heard his dad say. He never would have thought that his father, who he had been through thick and thin with, would betray him like this. He feels tears prick his vision, and stands up to leave. “Wait, Kurt,” Carole says, from her seat. “I didn't mean to make you--” She doesn't get to finish her sentence though, as Kurt is already rushing down the stairs to his bedroom.

    “I didn't mean to make him so upset,” Carole says, scowling at her unfinished meatloaf. “If he would just communicate, though. It just frustrates me.” She moves closer to Burt and puts a hand on his shoulder. “I can see how much it hurts you when he doesn't talk, and it just seems like he's being so problematic by staying silent when he knows it hurts those he loves most.”

    “It does hurt me, but we have to be patient, Carole. You saw what he did back there. Confronting him like that isn't going to help solve anything,” Burt says, shaking his head. “I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I think it's best you leave.”

    “But, honey, I was just trying to help. He can't stay silent forever,” Carole says, standing up and putting a hand on Burt's shoulder. “I think we should march into his room and tell him that his behavior is unacceptable and we won't take it any longer.”

    “No. What I think is best is that you leave. I'm sorry, Carole; I know you were trying to help. I'll call you later. Maybe we can reschedule this some time,” Burt says, leading Carole and her son to the front door. He gives Carole a kiss on the cheek and then wishes Finn the best before they leave.

    Burt feels terrible. He desperately wishes Kurt would talk, and he appreciates Carole trying to fix the situation. Burt doesn't know how to get his son to open up to him, but he desperately wishes he did. All he knows is that he has to be patient with Kurt. Let the boy come to him, and then wait until he's comfortable with talking and explaining things. Burt loves his son dearly and will do anything to get the Kurt he knows back.

-/-

    Kurt rushes down the stairs and jumps into his bed, burying his face in his pillow, tears falling down his cheeks. He sends out a quick text to Blaine, saying Call me, please. I know I won't talk to you and it will be weird, but I need to hear your voice. Please.

    Kurt knows it could be dangerous for him to open up to Blaine. Letting another person in and having that person hurt him would kill Kurt. He wouldn't be able to handle the pain, and he would do the unthinkable. He just needs to hear Blaine's soothing voice, needs to know that he's not alone. He knew the dinner with Carole and Finn was a bad idea. Finn had probably told Carole how much of a freak he was, making her lash out to him at dinner. Kurt didn't understand why it was a problem that he didn't talk. He knew that he was hurting his dad, but he was a terrible son anyway. Who would want a fag for a son? Kurt's mind supplies for him, and he knows that the answer is no one. That's why Burt is talking to Carole. He wants a normal son, one that's not so feminine and girly and broken. Burt wants a son like Finn, or so Kurt thinks.

    The boy is broken out of his thoughts by his phone vibrating next to him. He quickly picks it up after seeing that it's Blaine. Blaine, who heard Kurt's quiet sobs, says, “Kurt? What's wrong? Okay, you won't answer that…” Blaine doesn't know what to say without asking a question, a little flustered. He's never had a phone conversation with someone who refuses to talk.  “Um… I'm assuming something went wrong during dinner…”

    Kurt nods even though he knows Blaine can't see him. He starts crying harder at Blaine's words, giving Blaine the answer that yes, something went wrong during dinner. “Um… I'm going to sing to you, now, Kurt.” Blaine doesn't know if singing to Kurt is a good choice, but he's going to do it anyway. Blaine's voice usually calm's Kurt down, so he decides that singing would be a solution to Kurt's tears.

    The power lines went out

    And I am all alone

    But I don't really care at all

    Not answering my phone

    Kurt listens intently to Blaine's melodic voice flowing through his phone, glad he has Blaine to help him. He closes his eyes and lets Blaine's voice flow over him like a wave, washing away all of his sadness. As Blaine proceeds with the song, Kurt's tears stop. He's so grateful to Blaine, and he wishes he'd have the courage to talk to him. But Kurt can't. Kurt wishes he could talk to Blaine and tell the boy how he feels, how he's slowly developing feelings for Blaine. But Kurt knows Blaine would never like him back. He's too broken, to fragile, to weird for anyone to love him

    As Blaine finishes the song, he can't help but feel his heart swell as he notices Kurt is no longer crying. He wishes the boy would talk to him and open up more, but Blaine knows he has to be patient with Kurt. Blaine's  crush is definitely more than a crush now that he's gotten to know Kurt better. Blaine's not in love or anything, but he hopes Kurt will open up soon so he can confess his feelings. He also hopes that maybe Kurt returns those feelings, even though it's a long shot.

-/-

    Kurt is reliving an incident that happened his junior year this time. He's surrounded by Karofsky and his goons, and they're kicking and punching whatever area of Kurt's body they can find. He cries out as Karofsky gets in a hard kick to his skull.

    “Please, stop,” Kurt croaks through tears of pain. He knows that pleading isn't going to get him anywhere, but he doesn't know what else to do.

    Karofsky laughs and spits in his face. “Stop!” He commands his group of neanderthals who look up at him confused. Kurt thinks that maybe he's actually listened to his pleas for once. When Karofsky hauls him up by the scruff of his shirt and shoves him into the nearby bathroom, Kurt knows that what he's got coming for him is much worse than anything the group of boys could have done.

    “Oh, dear god, please no!” Kurt screams, trying to get out of Karofsky's grasp. The bigger boy just laughs and shoves Kurt down onto his knees, pulling his clothes off with him. Karofsky pulls Kurt's wrists back and pulls his hair so that he's forced to bring his face next to the bigger boy's. “You're hurting me! Stop!” Kurt pleads again, hoping that someone will come into the bathroom and save him.

    Kurt waits, helpless, as Karofsky unzips his pants and enters Kurt with one hard thrust.

    “Kurt! Kurt... “ Karofsky says, sounding somewhat alarmed, which confuses Kurt. “Kurt! Wake up!” Why would Karofsky be telling me to wake up? Kurt thinks, still succumbed to his nightmare.

    Meanwhile, Burt desperately tries to get his son to wake up. He'd woken up, hearing a shout of “You're hurting me! Stop!” and immediately ran down to his son's room, believing an intruder was in their house hurting his precious Kurt.

    When Burt reaches his son's room and realizes Kurt is in the midst of a nightmare, he doesn't know what to do. Kurt hasn't had a nightmare in front of Burt since his mother died. Burt ends up nudging Kurt's shoulders, trying to wake the boy up. “Kurt!” Burt yells, hoping that Kurt can hear him through his tormenting dream. “Wake up!”

    It takes Burt ten minutes to finally get Kurt awake, but when the boy does wake up, his eyes dart around the room and Burt can tell that Kurt is still trapped within the realm of his nightmare. Kurt's eyes land on Burt, and he quickly scurries away from his father, falling off the bed and landing on his butt on the other side. “Don't hurt me,” Kurt says, looking up at his father, whom he just sees as a looming figure. Burt's heart breaks as he hears his son's words. Kurt's eyes are big and scared, looking up at Burt with trepidation.

    Burt takes a small victory in the fact that Kurt talked to him, even though it was to say what he did. He walks over to where Kurt is sitting on the floor, kneeling down next to his son. He puts his hand on Kurt's shoulder, who violently flinches away from his father. “Don't touch me!” he exclaims, eyes wide with fright.

    “Kurt, it's me. Your dad,” Burt says, hoping he's doing the right thing in this situation. “You're at your house, safe. I'm not going to hurt you.” Burt sighs in relief as he sees recognition overlap the fear in Kurt's eyes.

    “Daddy?” Kurt asks, crawling over to his father, who has a lone tear falling down his cheek. He nods at Kurt, who gets up to sit in his father's lap, clinging to his nightshirt so hard his knuckles turn white.

    Burt kisses his son's forehead, grasping Kurt in a fierce hug. “I'm here,” Burt says, whispering calm words into Kurt's ears. “It's okay; everything will be alright.”

    “Don't let them hurt me, daddy,” Kurt says, burying his face in his dad's chest. He revels in the protective hold of his father, hoping Burt doesn't ever have to let go. Burt wraps his arms tighter around his son, more tears flowing down his cheeks.

    “I won't let them hurt you, Kurt. I won't ever let them hurt you again,” Burt knows who his son is talking about, having seen the bruises on Kurt's back which led to him taking action against Kurt's bullies. “I love you, Kurt,” he says, laying Kurt down on his bed.

    “I love you too, Daddy,” Kurt says, closing his eyes and falling asleep once more.

-/-

    The next day, Kurt wakes up feeling the opposite of refreshed. As opposed to what happened with Blaine, Kurt remembers everything of what happened the night before, including talking to his father.

    Shit, he thinks to him, knowing his father is going to confront him about what happened that night. He gets up and takes his time in doing his morning routine, brushing his teeth and combing out his hair slower than he usually would. He wants to hold off the upcoming conversation for as long as possible, not wanting to have to face his father's disappointment when he realizes Kurt still isn't going to talk to him, no matter that he'd spoken words in a moment of vulnerability.

    He walks up the stairs slowly, dragging his feet. He hears his dad whistling in the kitchen and smells coffee, so he knows he can't avoid having this conversation. He walks into the kitchen, avoiding looking anywhere near his father, who immediately stops whistling when he sees Kurt. He pours Kurt a cup of coffee, mixing in the cream and sugar in it the way he knows his son likes. He gives Kurt his cup, who nods in thanks, and then sits down at the table himself.

    “You spoke to me last night,” Burt says, looking at his son inquisitively. Kurt nods, looking down at his coffee to avoid looking at his father. “Are you going to do it again?” Kurt shakes his head no and Burt sighs. “It's okay,” he reassures Kurt, seeing his son's guilty expression. “You just take your time.” Burt hopes that Kurt talking to him last night means that Kurt is on the road to recovering from his traumatic past, but he's not so sure.

    Thank you for helping me, Kurt writes, looking up at the loving eyes of his father for the first time that morning. He really is thankful to his father. If Burt hadn't intervened at the time he did, Kurt would have relived one of the worst rapes he'd ever recieved from Karofsky.

    “Of course I helped you, buddy. I'm your dad and I love you. I couldn't just sit back and watch you have a nightmare without trying to help,” Burt says, looking at his son incredulously. He can't believe that Kurt thinks he needs to thank him for his actions. He was just doing what any good, loving father would do. “Do you wanna talk about what happened in your nightmare?”

    Kurt shakes his head but knows his father deserves an explanation. He knows he can't tell his dad about the sexual assault, but Burt already knows about the bullying. Just Karofsky and his goons; it's no big deal, Kurt writes out, watching his father for a reaction. Burt gets angry; how can Kurt think what happened to him wasn't a big deal? How can he brush it off like that?

    “Kurt, what happened to you was not your fault,” Burt says after seeing the guilt in his son's eyes. “You are a strong, young man, and what happened to you was no fault of your own. It's disgusting and degrading what those boys thought was okay to do to you.”

    Kurt nods, feeling tears spring to his eyes. I love you, Dad, he writes out, reaching to give his dad a hug.

    “I love you too, Kurt. I love you too.”

-/-

    It's not until Kurt sees Blaine the next day after getting back from his house that he has a revelation. If I'd talked to my dad after a nightmare, what if I had talked to Blaine too? It wasn't uncommon for Kurt to not remember his nightmares and what happened after them, so he was afraid that he had talked to Blaine. Not to mention that Blaine is probably going to want to talk about what happened Friday night.

    He walked into his room, Blaine sitting on his bed reading some Harry Potter book. When Blaine hears the door open he looks up and gives Kurt a curious glance. He sets his book aside and says to Kurt, “Hi, Kurt. How was your weekend?” Blaine asks, already knowing how Friday was but hoping the rest of Kurt's weekend went okay. Kurt shrugs, sitting down on his bed. “Can we talk about Friday?”

    Blaine was very happy that Kurt had reached out to him on Friday. He was glad that the boy felt comfortable enough around him to reach for comfort in the form of Blaine's voice. Blaine knows how getting things of your chest feels and how much less stressful everything is once it's been done, and he hopes Kurt will inform him of what happened.

    My dad missed last week's Friday night dinner to go on a date. That alone made me upset because Friday night dinners were a tradition started by my mom, and the fact that he would ditch one to go out on a date hurts. He invited Carole, the person he went out with last week, over for dinner. Carole had a son who went to my old school. He's okay, I guess, but he's always been really confused about my silence and doesn't understand it. He and Carole tried forcing words out of me, and I couldn't handle it. I'm sorry if I annoyed you, Kurt squeezes all of the letters on his whiteboard, barely having enough room for the last few words. He watches for Blaine's reaction as he reads. At first, Blaine is sad, but then his expression turns angry.

    “They had no right to do that!” Blaine exclaims, walking over to Kurt's bed. “They should be ashamed of themselves, trying to force you into something like that!” Kurt is happy that Blaine is defending him, but he also doesn't understand why. He doesn't believe that he's worth it. “I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to call me,” Blaine says, patting Kurt on the shoulder.

    Kurt nods, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. Blaine, I have a question, he writes out on his board. Blaine acknowledges his writing and nods, telling Kurt to continue. On Saturday, I had a nightmare about the bullying. According to my dad, I'd cried out in my sleep, and he came rushing down worried about me. And when he got me to wake up, I remember talking to him, like physically speaking.

    Blaine sharply inhales, knowing the question Kurt is going to ask next. He briefly wonders if Kurt had talked to his father for the rest of the weekend then, or if Kurt had stuck to his whiteboard.

    Did I ever actually talk to you, Blaine? Kurt inquires. Blaine slowly nods, worried about Kurt's reaction. Blaine doesn't know if Kurt is going to be sad or indifferent or angry, and he's afraid Kurt will be upset with him for not telling Kurt sooner.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Kurt,” Blaine says, avoiding Kurt's gaze. “I just thought that if I'd told you, you'd either get upset or feel pressured to talk more. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible with me… You have a beautiful voice, though.” Blaine blushes at the end, looking at Kurt again, gauging for a reaction.  Kurt blushes as well, avoiding Blaine's gaze.

I want to talk to you, Blaine, I just don't know how. I'm afraid, Kurt writes, looking down at his feet. He feels pathetic for talking to Blaine and being clueless about it. He feels pathetic for being afraid to talk to Blaine. Kurt knows how easy it is for other people to say what's on their mind, but every time Kurt does he just gets shot down. He doesn't know how to be assertive for himself. He lost that part of him when Karofsky confronted him in the locker room that fateful day.

“You don't have to if you don't feel the time is right. I will wait for whenever you're ready, but if you want to talk, you can. I won't ever leave you because of what you say. Although I would love to hear your voice again, I'm not going to pressure you, Kurt. Take as much time as you need,” Blaine says, hoping Kurt believes him. Although he hopes that Kurt talks to him sooner than later, he knows how hard it will be for Kurt and he will wait decades to hear Kurt's lovely voice again.

“Thank you, Blaine,” Kurt's voice is barely even a whisper, but hearing it makes Blaine's head snap up and look straight into Kurt's eyes. He smile spreads from ear to ear. Blaine feels like the happiest man on earth at that moment.

“I'm so proud of you, Kurt,” Blaine says, hugging the fragile boy. Kurt smiles slightly and hugs Blaine back. He's proud of himself, too, for once. It had taken him a long time to be able to trust Blaine, but he did it. And seeing Blaine's proud smile just made him feel better.

“I… I trust you, Blaine,” Kurt says, hoping Blaine is going to accept him. Blaine hugs him tighter, still shocked by the fact that Kurt is talking.

“Thank you, Kurt. Thank you so much for trusting me,” Blaine says, ending the hug with Kurt. A tear slips down his cheek and Kurt cups Blaine's cheek, brushing the falling tear away with his thumb. And before he knows he's even doing it, his lips are touching Blaine's, and it seems like fireworks are going off in the recesses of Kurt's mind.

-/-

A/N: I hope you like this chapter! I'm not as happy with it as I am with the other one's, but I think it's okay. Kurt's finally talking, and there's finally a Klaine kiss! So I guess that's a good thing.

Thank you so much for reading, I'll love you forever if you review!