Kurt watched as Blaine drove the short distance to his house. He noticed then that Blaine had a bloody lip. It hadn’t looked like David connected at all, but apparently he did.

“Thank you…” Blaine looked over at him, then put his eyes back on the road.

“For what?”

“What do you mean ‘for what’? You…God, Blaine, you saved me. You…you were there. You were there for me when I needed you. And I see now that you always have been. Ever since you started tutoring me, you’ve been there for me. And…every time I just pushed you away.” Blaine smiled. He pulled into his driveway and took the keys out of the ignition. He looked over at Kurt.

“Look, you may not have seen it then, but that was because you didn’t want to believe that you had anything you needed to talk about. And…let’s just say I get that, okay?” He started to get out of the car.

“Blaine?” He stopped, knowing what question was coming. He looked back at Kurt. “How did you know?”

Blaine sighed. “When I was little, my dad used to hit my mom. He was an alcoholic, and when he was drunk he took everything out on her. Because of that…I just recognized the signs.” Kurt looked at him for a minute. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to hang on to him and never let go. But then Blaine smiled and got out of the car and walked over to his side and opened the door for him. Oh well, he thought. I’m spending the night, so we’ll have plenty of time for that.

As he got out, he felt as though he should ask something. “Hey, Blaine. Does your mom know that you’re gay?”

Blaine looked back at him, surprised and smiling. “Yeah, why?”

“I just didn’t want to say anything and reveal something that hadn’t been revealed yet.” Blaine laughed, and Kurt loved the sound.

“No, you’re fine. I know this sounds strange coming from a teenage guy, but my mom is, like, my best friend. The woman knows everything about me.” Kurt smiled. That’s the kind of relationship he imagined he’d have with his mom, if she were alive.

He followed Blaine into his house, and into the kitchen where his mother was reading at the table. She looked up as they came in and Blaine walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

“Oh my God, sweetie, what happened?”

“Umm…little spat with another guy.”

“Put some ice on that so it doesn’t swell.” He did what he was told. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Kurt, mom.”

“Poor thing, you look like you’re freezing. Blaine, get him a blanket or something.”

“Right.” Blaine walked into the living room and came back with a blanket. That’s when Kurt remembered.

“That’s what I forgot. Different clothes.” Blaine walked him over to a chair, then began to make some tea.

“Don’t worry. You can borrow something of mine to sleep in.”

“What happened to your clothes, honey?” Kurt looked up at her awkwardly. Suddenly her face changed. Just like Blaine, she knew. She recognized it in him. Kurt sighed.

“After I broke up with him, he came to my place. He beat me for a while, then tried to…” All of a sudden, the woman’s arms were around him.

“Oh, you poor thing.” She looked over at her son. “And that’s where you went?”

Before Blaine could even begin to answer, Kurt spoke. “He saved me. If he hadn’t come, David would’ve…” Hard as he tried, Kurt couldn’t finish. “But Blaine came and put me in his car and knocked David out.”

Blaine brought Kurt a cup of tea. “I didn’t knock him out. He eventually just passed out. Sugar?” Blaine’s mother looked confused.

“Why did he pass out?” Now that one, Kurt could answer.

“He was drunk.” He looked at Blaine. “Two, please.”

“Oh, sweetie, how long did you stay with this guy?”

“About six months. Blaine was actually the one who convinced me to leave him. At first I just kept pushing him away, but then I thought that maybe he was right. And he definitely was.” He smiled at Blaine, who smiled back. His mom looked back and forth, from Kurt to Blaine.

“Oh,” she said. It clicked. She knew that Kurt and Blaine were basically together now. She kissed Kurt on the cheek and stood up. “I’m going to go get him some clothes. What should I get?”

“Something comfy that he can sleep in. A t-shirt and a pair of my sweats will work.” He winked at Kurt. He was making himself some tea now, and Kurt watched as Blaine put two sugar packets in his, just like Kurt, and sat down.

“I appreciate you letting me stay here. It’s really nice of you and your mom.” Blaine smiled.

“No problem. I wasn’t about to let you stay there. Not that your place isn’t safe, I just know that you wouldn’t be…comfortable.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” They sat there silently for a moment, just drinking their tea. “She seems really nice.” Blaine smiled and Kurt’s heart jumped. He loved Blaine’s smile.

“Yeah, she’s great. After everything she’s been through, and how much she cares about everyone…it amazes me sometimes.” Just then she came back in, whistling, and handed Kurt a small pile of clothes. Kurt took them and smiled at her.

“Here, sweetie, put these on. You’ll be much more comfortable. There’s a bathroom down the hall.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate you letting me stay here.” She smiled at him, and he saw the exact same smile he saw in Blaine.

“Anytime, hon. Anytime. Now go change. And don’t worry about those clothes. I’ll sew them up, they’ll be as good as new. And there‘s towels in there if you want to take a shower.” Kurt smiled at her again, and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. Once he was in and shut the door behind them, he held the clothes close to him. He couldn’t help but notice how much they smelled like Blaine.