Kurt was curled into the corner of the supply closest. It was dark but that made no difference to him. Tears flowed out of his unseeing eyes as he nursed his new bruises. Karosky and Azimio had locked him in here again. He'd just wanted to greet the new kid, after all they'd be sharing a room. He knew he'd be in here a while, the care workers wouldn't notice he was gone, and they wouldn't care even if they did. And none of the other kids would dare stand up to Karofsky and Azimio. He buried his face in his knees and sobbed.

Meanwhile, Blaine Anderson walked down the halls of the care home. He was trying to find his way to his room. He was supposed to have a roommate, too. As he passed the supply closet, he stopped. Someone was crying inside. He knocked gently on the door.

"Hey, are you okay?" he spoke through the door. Kurt's head snapped up.

"I... I'm locked in," he whimpered. Blaine frowned.

"How can I open it?"

"Karofsky and Azimio have the key," Kurt whispered. "It might be easy to pick though?" Blaine bit his lip and started trying to get the lock open.

"Hold on... I used to be pretty good at this." Kurt waited patiently and as soon he heard the door open, he looked up, though he couldn't see anything. "Thank you..." Blaine kneeled in front of the boy.

"Hey, what's wrong?”

“I can't see you," Kurt whispered sadly. "I'm b-blind. They took my cane..."

"Bastards," Blaine muttered. "Does this happen often?" The younger boy nodded.

"E-Every day... Sometimes they s-snap it." Blaine felt a sudden need to wrap his arms around the boy and tell him that everything's going to be be okay.

"You don't deserve this," he whispered softly, taking the other boy's hand carefully in his. Kurt shrugged.

"I'm used to it," he sniffed. "S-So you're Blaine? I'm Kurt... Your new roommate. I'm sorry you got stuck with the blind kid."

"You shouldn't be used to it..." Blaine sighed. "But yes, I'm Blaine. It's nice to meet you, Kurt." He hesitated for a moment, then said, "You can see me if you want to. I know that blind people usually... like, feel the things they want to see. You can do that."

"Are you sure... Most guys don't like it... I'm... I'm gay," he admitted as though terrified Blaine would hate him. Blaine smiled.

"I'm gay, too." Kurt looked startled but he reached out softly, feeling Blaine's face. He reached his hair and grinned at the out of control curls. "I like them," he smiled. Blaine chuckled. "The curls? They're pretty awful."

"Well, I like them. Will you... Will you help me up? I'm pretty useless without my cane." Kurt blushed, embarrassed.

"Of course," said Blaine and carefully helped Kurt back on his feet. Once they were standing again, Blaine carefully wrapped his arms around Kurt in a hug. "I'm here for you, okay?"

"Kay... Do you... Did they show you our room yet?"

"No, they didn't," said Blaine gently. "Want to show me?"

Kurt bit his lip, running his fingertips along the wall. "I can probably find my way..."

"Okay," said Blaine. "I'll make sure you don't run into any walls or people." He slid his arm around Kurt's waist to support him. When they were nearly there, Kurt heard cruel laughter. He froze in Blaine's arms.

"That's them..." he whispered. He could picture them just ahead. He knew they'd be messing around with his cane. Blaine saw them standing about ten meters away. He really wanted to punch them in the face.

"Let me get your cane back," he whispered.

"You... They'll h-hurt you."

"Kurt, we can't just let them get away with it. I'll be back in one second. Here, lean against the wall." Blaine guided him to lean against the wall, then squeezed his hand lightly before walking away. Karofsky was twiddling the cane in his fingers. It was taped together at various points, clearly from where they'd snapped it in the past. 
"What should we do with the freak’s cane this time?" he laughed. "Leave it in a tree?"

"Hey, could you be so very kind and give me that cane?" asked Blaine kindly, knowing it was not the way to go with this, but still wanting to try it. Azimio raised his eyebrow.

"Fuck off, new kid. It's ours."

"It's not yours. It's Kurt's." Blaine tried to keep calm.

"The blind freak gave it to us," Karofsky chuckled and kept twirling the cane.

"You stole it from him," said Blaine, still calm. "Now give it back to me." Karofsky laughed, throwing it to Azimio.

"Make me." Blaine was fighting so hard with himself to remain calm.

"Do you know how much of a coward you are? You guys stole a cane from a blind boy, then locked him in a closet. Very manly to take on someone who can't even fight back. Cowards."

"We ain't no cowards!" Karofsky spat. "He's a freak! And a fag! He deserved it!"

"Enough!" Blaine screamed. He snatched the came out of the bigger boy's grip. "Go get yourself a fucking life." Blaine walked back to Kurt, his blood boiling with adrenaline. Kurt was shaking.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. "W-What happened?"

"You don't need to know, honey. I got your cane. Let's just go to the room." Blaine slid his arm around Kurt's waist again, making sure he felt protected. Kurt nodded, taking his cane in his hand and leading them to their room. It was small, the two single beds only just fit. It was obvious that Kurt's had been shoved into the corner to make room for Blaine's.

"This is it," Kurt whispered.

"Okay," said Blaine, not really impressed. Then his focus went back to Kurt. He helped Kurt to sit down on his bed. "Do you want to talk about it?" he whispered. Kurt was shaking, tears started leaking down his cheeks.

"They always do it to me..." he whispered. "They corner me... I-I'm covered in bruises from them and I can't fight back! They bully me at school too... and no one ever does anything. The care workers and teachers don't care... and none of the other kids ever help.” Blaine listened to Kurt’s every word. He was furious. How come no one cared!? This was a beautiful, kind and warm hearted boy who was fucking blind and still, no one cared. Blaine opened his arms, hoping that Kurt would let him comfort him. Kurt hesitated as he felt the arms open around him. He went into them nervously, as if he was just waiting for Blaine to hurt him. Blaine closed his arms around Kurt securely.

"You’re safe with me,” he whispered. He pressed a kiss to the top of Kurt's head, just waiting for him to break down. He had been in similar situations himself, he knew it was coming. Kurt bit his lip and then he felt his resolve break and suddenly he was sobbing brokenly into Blaine's shoulder, grasping the material of his shirt. The older boy rocked him gently and let him cry.

"It's okay, Kurt. It's okay... I'm here for you. You're safe now. Shh..." He held Kurt even closer and fought back his own tears. Kurt cried into his shoulder.

"I-I'm just scared all the time. The c-care-workers never even remember to t-take me to hospital f-for my check-ups."

"Shh, honey... You don't have to be scared. I'll go with you to the hospital from now on, okay? I'll take care of you as much as you need and want me to." Blaine pulled back to look at him. "No one deserves this, Kurt. Especially not you." Kurt frowned.

"R-Really? Why would you do that? I'm... I'm nothing." Blaine's mind groaned in frustration. Kurt thought he was nothing.

"You're not nothing, Kurt. You're one of a kind. Amazing in your own way. And you don't deserve to be treated like crap." Kurt sniffed.

"Thank you..." He was interrupted by a loud bell. He winced, it was even louder to him. "That's the dinner bell."

"Oh, okay," said Blaine and helped Kurt back on his feet. He wiped away a few tears from Kurt's cheeks. "I'll keep you safe. I promise." The smaller boy shrugged.

"I don't get any food anyway,” he whispered. "Karofsky and Azimio see to that. I normally sneak down and steal scraps later that's why..." He gestured to how skinny he was.

"No." Blaine shook his head. He handed Kurt his cane. "I'm not going to let this continue. You can choose: I can take up food for you or you come with me downstairs. I'm not going to let you starve."

"I'd better come with you." Kurt bit his lip, standing up. "You're not allowed to bring food up here." He took Blaine's hand and led him to the dining hall.

:)

"You're late!" one of the female care workers snapped at him. "You should know better, Kurt!" Kurt nodded and quietly sat down at the end of the table, gesturing for Blaine to sit across from him. The pasta was shared out and within seconds, Karosky and Azimio had sat down, squishing Kurt in between them and eating off his plate. The care workers had left the room and the other kids pretended not to see what was happening. Blaine ignored Karofsky and Azimio and what they were doing to Kurt. He wrapped his own sandwich in a napkin and put it in his pocket. Then he walked around the table to Kurt.

"Come on, Kurt. Let's go."

"We're supposed to wait to be excused," Kurt whispered. Blaine gritted his teeth, then slowly sat down again, not wanting to cause a scene. He had never been this angry before. Kurt sat, hanging his head. He felt his way slowly around his plate, working out where everything was, but every time he went to take a bite, Karofsky or Azimio would steal it. Finally, finally, the bell rang and they could leave. Blaine stood up as fast as he could and headed towards Kurt. He put a soothing hand in Kurt's shoulder. "It's me," he explained gently. Kurt jumped, relaxing the minute he heard Blaine's voice. He was shaking, meal times always upset him.

"Come on, let's go back to our room." Blaine led Kurt through the halls. He had already memorized most of the corridors. Kurt sank onto his bed the minute they got into the room, trying to control his shaking.

"I'm fine..." he whispered sadly. Blaine sat down next to him and put a hand on his knee.

"No, you're not." He pulled out the sandwich from his pocket and then out of the napkin. He placed it in Kurt's palm. "Eat." Kurt felt the sandwich.

"B-But... This is yours! You need to eat too!" He tried to push it back into Blaine's hand.

"I ate the pasta, Kurt. You didn't. You fucking couldn't because of those damn bastards!" Blaine felt tears stinging in his eyes. It was just so unfair! Kurt placed his hand on Blaine's arm stroking softly.

"It's okay... Calm down."

"It's not, Kurt. It's not okay," Blaine sobbed quietly, curling into himself on the bed. "Just- just eat the sandwich, okay?" Kurt smiled weakly before pulling the sandwich to pieces and eating it slowly. Once Kurt had finished the sandwich, Blaine moved closer.

"I'm sorry for snapping like that," he said quietly.

"It's okay," Kurt whispered. "Everyone yells at me... Blaine can I... Can I ask why you're here?" Blaine took a deep breath. He had been expecting that question and Kurt deserved to know the truth.

"My parents aren't as accepting as I would have liked them to be. I've known that I'm gay for several years now, but I wasn't ready to come out. Last week, I did and-" Blaine choked on the words and started crying silently. "I- I'm sorry."

"It's fine..." Kurt felt around for Blaine, wrapping his arms around him when he did. "Shh... It's alright." Blaine curled into Kurt's arms and continued through his tears.

"My- my dad hit me. My whole back is bruised and my body is really sore. I woke up on the stairs outside my house the next day... With a small bag of- I dunno, clothes and stuff next to me and a note-" Blaine sobbed violently. "That said I wasn't their son anymore. That they didn't need a fag in their house. That," Blaine looked up at Kurt, remembering his words from earlier. "That I'm nothing. A stupid fucking nobody that no one would ever want. I don't know... maybe they're right."

"That's not true," Kurt whispered. "I... I want you. You're the first person who's cared about me in years, and besides... I'm gay too, so if you're nothing, I am too right?"

"Maybe we're nothings together..." said Blaine gently. "Two nothings are stronger than one, right?” Kurt nodded, his hands shaking. Blaine deserved to know his story too.

"I've... I've been here a long time. Me and my dad were in a car crash when I was four. He died on impact... I just got glass in my eyes, that's what the scars are from..." He gestured to his face. "I think... If Mom had died it would have been different. My Dad was an amazing man he could have handled it but Mom... Mom didn't want a blind son, she said it was too hard for her." He looked down, tears flowing. "Too hard for her,” he whispered. "Never mind how hard it was for the scared four year old who'd lost his dad and his sight all at once. Anyway, she dropped me off here at night with just a blanket and a note. I was little enough that I should have been easy to find a family for but no one wanted a broken kid, so I've been here ever since..." Blaine's body was shaking. He pulled Kurt closer and laid them both down on the bed gently.

"I'm so, so sorry, Kurt..." he spoke into Kurt's hair and then started crying again. He had told someone his whole story and someone had trusted him enough to share their whole life with him. "I'm here for you. I'll always be here." Kurt nodded, tucking his shaking body into Blaine's strong chest.

"I'll always be here for you too..."

"Thank you," Blaine whispered, then kissed Kurt's head softly. "I love you." As soon as he said the words, he panicked. "I- I didn't mean to say that right- right now, I was- I mean, I'm so stupid- Shit, Kurt, I'm so stupid!"

"I... I think I love you too," Kurt whispered. "Is... Is that bad? I don't... I barely know you but it feels like…" He blushed heavily. "Like soul mates or something... I know I'm an idiot."

"No. No, Kurt, you're not stupid. I feel the same. Like I've been waiting all my life for you." He cupped Kurt's cheek gently and wiped away a few tears with his thumb. "I love you, Kurt. You are loved. You are special and unique and I love that about you. I probably shouldn't, because like you said, we barely know each other, but I just can't help it. I love you."

"You deserve better than me..." Kurt whispered. "I can't even see..." Blaine shook his head.

"Don't say that. You are beautiful and perfect."

"Can I... Will you kiss me?"

"Yes…" Blaine slowly moved closer to Kurt, then pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss. Kurt deepened the kiss a little, curling tighter into Blaine.

"You really don't care that I'm blind?"

"No, I don't," said Blaine against Kurt's lips. "You're the kindest, most honest person I've ever met." Kurt smiled, his unseeing eyes filling with tears again.

"Thank you... No one's wanted me since I was four..."

"I want you, Kurt. I want to help you and protect you. You can always talk to me about anything and also..." Blaine smirked. "I'll be there whenever you need someone to kiss."

"Me too." He kissed Blaine again before his face darkened. "We... We have school tomorrow."

"Yeah," Blaine whispered. "Do you go to McKinley?" Kurt nodded, shifting uncomfortably. School scared him. By rights, he shouldn't be going there. He should be at a private school like Dalton that had the facilities to take care of him. He barely learnt anything at McKinley because they didn't want to try to give him the extra help. And he had to deal with Karofsky, Azimio and all of the other jocks...

"I'm going to start there, too. I know it's only your sophomore year and my senior, but... I'll try, Kurt. I'll try to keep you safe." He pulled Kurt closer and kissed his forehead gently. Kurt nodded sadly.

"When you... Do you turn eighteen soon?" Blaine closed his eyes.

"In a few months, yes."

"You'll have to move out of here then." Kurt sounded lost and scared. The idea of losing Blaine so soon after he'd found him was horrific.

"I know," said Blaine, holding Kurt close. "But I- Even if we're not together or something, I could get you out of here. I have money. I'm going to buy an apartment either way, so you could stay there with me. The important part is that you're safe, honey."

"I... You'd really let me live with you?" Kurt asked incredulously. "Blaine... will you... I mean would you... would you be my boyfriend?"

"The answer to both of those questions is yes. I'd let you live with me even if we weren't together, just to keep you safe. But then again, I'd much rather be together with you, so yes, I'd love to be your boyfriend." Blaine kissed Kurt again on the lips. The younger boy grinned into the kiss, he couldn't believe it. He could believe someone as perfect as Blaine would want him! Blaine pulled away with one final peck on Kurt's lips.

"I think you're right about that whole soulmate thing..."

"Really? How come?"

"It seems so unlikely, all of it... I come here and the first thing I do is find you. Then we happen to be roommates and just- Everything, I guess. It seems so unbelievable, but so amazing. I think we need each other, Kurt." Kurt nodded, curling into Blaine's side.

"I agree... We should get some sleep, breakfast bell goes at seven."

"Yeah, we should." Blaine paused for a moment. "Thank you, Kurt. For everything."

"I haven't done anything..." Kurt whispered as he dropped off to sleep.