Just saying the name seems to set his teeth on edge so I grab ahold of Blaine's hand and stroke the back with my thumb. This seems to help him relax just a tiny bit so I keep at it.

He takes another deep breath before continuing. "We'd been dating since my sophomore year of high school," Blaine starts off. "I met him at the GAP, where he was a junior manager. He was a little hesitant at first, considering I was still 16 and he was 18 - and my serenade using ‘When I Get You Alone' on Valentine's Day certainly didn't help - but he finally came around." He pauses, a slight smile on his lips. "I was happy as could be; I actually had a boyfriend - in Ohio of all places.

"Then, after I graduated, I asked him to move to New York with me; it'd always been my dream, I'd been talking about it for years, and I just expected him to come with me. He did, after a little coaxing." Blaine stops again, his eyes shifting down to his lap to gaze at our intertwined hands. He lifts them and kisses the back of my hand, drawing a tiny smile out of me, before continuing once again. "We had a few fights, nothing too huge - at least I didn't think so. Which is why on our fifth anniversary I decided to propose."

This time the pause is so long it makes me wonder if he's all right retelling all this, so I place my free hand on his cheek and turn his head so it's facing me, thumb stroking his cheek. "Are you okay?" I ask quietly, concern clear in my voice. "You don't have to finish telling me this if you don't want to."

Blaine gives me a watery smile, nuzzling into my hand. "I want to - need to tell you. Just - I just needed a moment," he mumbles back. I smile encouragingly then kiss the tip of his nose again to give him a little comfort and courage. He exhales slowly before starting back up. "He said yes but, now that I look back on it, he did so rather hesitantly - but I was really young and in love; I didn't know how to gauge that sort of thing. So, a few weeks later, it came as an immense shock when I came home from a long day of rehearsal for a theatre production I was in to find all of Jeremiah's things in boxes and suitcases stacked up by the door - I almost tripped over them actually."

He lets out another breath, this one shaky. "I - I searched for him throughout the apartment, calling his name and finally found him in the bedroom packing away the rest of his clothes." Blaine squeezes his eyes shut, most likely trying to prevent the tears I saw in them to start rolling out. "I confronted him, asking what the hell was going on and h-he said, ‘I can't do this anymore Blaine.' I asked what he meant, what was wrong, what I could do to fix it, and all he said was, ‘There's nothing to do; there's nothing to fix.'"

I frown deeply, teeth grinding and my right hand dropping from his cheek and clenching tightly into a fist.

"I followed him down the stairs, trying to grab back the box he was carrying and asking what I did wrong but he just ignored me. When we got outside I noticed a moving truck on the curb in front of our building and I just - I just panicked even more; I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could, refusing to let go until he explained what was going on, what I could do and he - he just shoved me aside and screamed, ‘I don't love you Blaine, and I never have.'"

My vision goes red with fury, an occurrence that hasn't happened to me since I first came to the States. I swear, if I ever run into this Jeremiah he will never again see the light of day, I think savagely.

Blaine swallows thickly and sniffles, swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand to try and dry the tears. "And the whole time he's going back and forth putting his stuff in the truck, I just sit there on the sidewalk where I collapsed, completely numb. I was so numb that I didn't even notice when people would trip over me, run into me, and yell obscenities; one guy even spilled hot coffee on me. I didn't notice any of this until Rachel and Cooper carried me up the stairs and put me in the shower, the water freezing cold.

"That snapped me out of the stupor - but then the tears came. I was sobbing so hard that I couldn't even explain what was going on, why the apartment was practically empty; I just clutched at Cooper, never wanting to let go." I swipe away the tears falling steadily down his cheeks and kiss the top of his head. Blaine smiles at me briefly. "Well I was like that for months," he continues; "it got so bad that my understudy took over, I lost my job, and I would've had to take the semester off if it hadn't been the summer. Luckily Quinn was able to come up and stay with me, since Coop had to go back to LA - though he fought his hardest to try and stay.

"Finally the three of them forced me to clean up my act, or they would send me back to the therapist," he finishes. "Not long after that I got your internship, and yeah."

I frown. "What do you mean they forced you?" I demand.

Blaine squeezes my hand and smiles slightly again. "Don't worry, they didn't do anything horrible," he explains. "They just reminded me of what I had to deal with back in junior high and freshman year of high school, and all the courage I had to build up to deal with that, then transfer to Dalton."

It's like a light bulb goes off in my head when he says that. "Courage..." I reply. "The tattoo on your chest is -"

"An outline of a heart that says courage in script through it," Blaine finishes. "Yeah, I got that to remind myself how important courage is - and to never let myself get so depressed again. It's cheesy, I know..."

"Hey, no," I say instantly, stroking his cheek again. "If that's what you need to do, then that's what you need to do - don't ever let anyone tell you differently."

Blaine leans forward slightly so that our foreheads are touching, then nuzzles his nose against mine affectionately. "You're adorable," I giggle, still stroking his cheek, my eyes now closed.

"And you're really sweet," he whispers back before capturing my lips in a soft kiss. I instinctively take a deep breath, sitting up slightly so that it's easier to lean down and increase the pressure. Blaine gives a sigh that sounds like a small moan, his eyes no doubt sliding shut as well. I feel his hands travel down to my hips and squeeze before they start stroking my sides and back, the motions sending tingles up and down my spine. The hand I have lying against his cheek inches back until it reaches the nap of his neck, where it alternately clutches the hair and massages the scalp. My other hand makes its way up Blaine's chest so that it can grasp his bow tie and force him up to deepen the kiss even more.

Letting out a shaky breath as he trails small kisses across my cheek and jaw, then down my neck, I lean my head to the opposite side to give him better access and clutch tighter at his hair, making him moan and mouth at the juncture of my neck and shoulder, no doubt leaving a hickey there. Needing more contact, I grip his hair in both my hands and bring his mouth back up to mine, licking at his lips. When he grants me entrance my tongue immediately dives in, licking at the back of his teeth and stroking his own tongue. Blaine moans again and clutches tighter at my hips, pulling me into his lap and situating the both of us until our slightly tented jeans brush just right, making me moan as well this time. We shift a bit so that Blaine's lying on the bed and I'm on top of him, dry humping like teenagers caught-up in the moment.

"Mm," he hums, pulling away slightly. "Wait, ju-just hold on."

I whine in consternation. "Whyyyy?" I ask, opening my eyes slightly to look at him.

Blaine stares back, lust and love mixing in his eyes. He reaches up and strokes my cheek lightly with the back of his hand, the lust dimming and the love winning out. "You have such pretty eyes," he mutters. I duck my head and blush in embarrassment. "Hey now, none of that," he says firmly, turning his hand over to cup my cheek and lift my face. "You are beautiful; don't you ever doubt that."

I lean into his hand again and kiss the palm. "How did I get so lucky?" I wonder aloud.

Blaine chuckles and smirks, stroking my face some more. "I was just wondering the same thing."

We spend the next few hours just lying there, cuddling together and kissing lightly, once in a while progressing into little make-out sessions. Kurt occasionally inserts his fingers into my hair, stroking my scalp, causing me to doze off - which isn't too bad actually, since he just inches a bit closer each time and kisses the tip of my nose adorably.

I let my right hand wander slightly, massaging his lower back and making him arch forward, his pelvis coming into closer contact with mine. His leg instinctively moves up and hooks around both my mine; my hand inches down to it to lift it slightly so that it's more around my waist, then my hand strokes his thigh and butt. Kurt moans quietly, rushing forward to capture my lips with his own, our tongues entangling immediately.

We kiss like that for a bit, our hips rocking gently back and forth, seeking just the smallest amount friction. At one point Kurt jerks his hips just sharply enough, making mine answer in kind. I break off before we can do any more of that, wanting to wait till the right time, until we're both absolutely ready for that and comfortable, not just horny. I rest my forehead in the crook of his shoulder, my nose nuzzling his neck.

Kurt whines; I take a deep breath before responding. "I'm sorry," I pant slightly, "I just don't want to go too far too soon; I want to do this right."

"Shh..." Kurt murmurs in my ear, stroking my hair again. "I understand completely; that's what I want too - so it's a good thing one of us was able to put a stop to it before we get too far."

I start laughing and the both of us dissolve into nonsensical giggles, drifting to sleep in each other's arms soon after.

The next morning I wake up with the sun curled into Kurt's side, my head lying on his chest and my leg flung over his waist, his arms wrapped tightly around my abdomen, keeping me as close as possible. When I shift a bit to work out the small kinks in my back and legs I take notice of a certain morning friend jamming his happy little self into Kurt's hip. Apparently Kurt notices at the same time I do because he groans and rolls onto his side so that we're facing each other and our hips slot together, making me moan myself as his erection meets mine.

"Well good morning," he says groggily, his eyes cracking open and a tiny smile on his lips. I puff out a breath in a faux chuckle, pecking him on the lips - to which he jerks back and glares at me. "Nuh uh, don't think so mister - I have morning breath."

This time I do laugh. "Don't care," I respond, pulling him closer with the arms I just wrapped around his lower back so that I can kiss him again. Kurt whines in the back of his throat before giving in and kissing me back, his lips parting a tiny bit as he breaths out a small sigh.

Kurt pulls back slowly this time, leaning his forehead against mine. "So I would offer to help out with your little problem in exchange for you helping me out with mine buuuut we did agree last night that we were going to take this slow."

I sigh in exasperation with myself. "Indeed we did... Why'd we do that again?"

Kurt laughs. "Because we're being sensible and neither of us wants to mess this up," he replies.

"Ah yes, that," I say coolly, making him smack me lightly on the shoulder.

At that moment my mother decides to knock on the door, announcing she has breakfast for the two of us. Kurt giggles into his hand silently as I roll my eyes. "Mom, it's only 7:30 in the morning," I call to her, sitting up in bed with the pillows propped up behind our backs and Kurt tucked into my side, his head resting comfortably on my shoulder. He kisses the side of my neck, and I the top of his head, before I inform Mother she can enter, double-checking that the blankets suitably cover our laps.

 "Good morning boys!" Mother says way too cheerily for this early in the morning. "Here are some cinnamon rolls and some coffee for the two of you."

Kurt beams at the mention of coffee. "Wow, how very thoughtful of you!" he says, sitting up straighter to take the proffered beverage. I shake my head affectionately, grabbing a roll and eating half in one bite, earning a glare from the both of them. "Really Blaine?" he demands.

Mother rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me. "Oh Blaine," she sighs. "I really thought I taught you better."

I stick out my tongue at the both of them, chewed up cinnamon roll on it. "Mm that's hot," Kurt deadpans. I grin, swallowing then leaning forward to kiss him noisily on the cheek, making him cringe. "Ugh Blaine, that is seriously disgusting." I just grin cheekily. He rolls his eyes and shoves my shoulder, making me laugh.

Mother aww's from next to the bed. "You two are being awfully adorable this morning," she observes, smiling at us.

"Indeed you are," Cooper says, walking in with a huge grin on his face. "Any particular reason?" he asks with a huge wink.

Kurt snorts and rolls his eyes at him. "Like you don't already know," he mumbles. I laugh and cuddle him from behind, snuffling my nose into the back of his neck where his hairline ends, drawing a content sigh out of him.

"What's going on in here, why isn't anyone in the dining room? Breakfast starts in ten minutes people," Father says, barging into the room after Coop.

Mother turns around to glare at him, hands on her hips. "I thought the boys would like to have some privacy for once," she says. "They have been spending all their time with everyone else, they deserve some alone time."

He responds immediately. "Alone time is the last thing these two need. What they do need is someone to break through their thick skulls to help them understand that what they're doing to wr-"

"Okay, I am sick and tired of your bullshit," Kurt interrupts, extracting himself from my arms and marching over to Father. "I would like to have a talk with you, sir."

"Fine by me, I've been wanting to talk with you myself," he responds, motioning for Kurt to go ahead of him down the staircase.

I watch them leave, wide eyed. "Fuck..." What's Kurt going to do now...? What's going to happen this time? I scramble out of bed to go after them, ignoring the sound of Cooper and Mother following behind.