CHAPTER 6

Blaine's finals ended two days after the lease started, so he had little time to pack and prepare for the move.  Kurt was done with classes a few days earlier, so he packed his clothes and other things and prepared to move.  The day the furniture was due to arrive, he and Finn rented a truck and loaded his boxes and the wingback chair into it.  They stopped by the Columbia campus and picked up everything Blaine had been able to pack:  most of his clothes, a quilt, some pictures, and his instruments, as he didn't need them for his last few finals.  They were able to unload the truck before noon, so they had a break before the various furniture delivery people would show up in the late afternoon.  Kurt ordered a pizza, then began to unpack.

They placed all of Blaine's instruments in the second bedroom to prevent them from being bumped into and damaged while things were being moved and delivered.  Kurt stood in the kitchen, beginning to unpack boxes and trying to decide where to put things.  All things considered, he had a fair number of pots, pans, and utensils, and the kitchen consisted of only a gas range with an oven, a small, but thankfully full size refrigerator, a small sink, a tiny square of countertop, a single drawer, and four small cabinets.  He began to make a mental list of things they would need.  He could find some open shelves or maybe an old hutch to go against the wall by the window for dishes and some pots and pans.  He would have to buy a pot rack and hooks for utensils. 

“Dude, did you take everything from our kitchen?”  Finn demanded.

“Really, Finn?  First, I bought all of it.  Second, neither you nor Rachel cooks, and Santana doesn't either.  And third, I packed it all up three days ago and none of you have noticed.  I think you can live without it.  And if you can't, go buy your own stuff; you have a job now.”  Kurt was starting to get tired and irritable, and he needed lunch.

“It doesn't pay much,” Finn grumbled.  He had gotten a job at a day care center/preschool that was housed in and run by a community center a few blocks from the loft.  He was teaching music to the preschool students two days a week, and directing the after school music program at the community center.  The job barely paid, but it did provide free day care for children of employees, so from six in the morning to seven in the evening, if both he and Rachel had classes or work, they had childcare coverage for Stephen.  Finn was usually out of both work and classes by seven, and when he wasn't, they relied on their usual patchwork of babysitters.

“Neither does mine.  Any of mine.  And I have three.”  Kurt reminded him testily as he went to open the door for the pizza delivery guy.  He tossed the large pizza into the middle of the floor, and they ate it directly from the box.  It was half double pepperoni for Finn, half veggie for him.  Looking at the grease pooling on Finn's side, he snarled, “Try to not drip grease on my side.  I'd like to live past thirty.”

After inhaling his half of the pizza, plus half of Kurt's, Finn left to return the truck.  Kurt wandered into the bedroom.  The larger bedroom was still quite small.  It featured the same hardwood floors as the rest of the apartment, which was located in an old converted brownstone.  Kurt tried to figure out if they were original or had been part of some restoration, or maybe the conversion, when they had divided the old house into four apartments on each floor.  Each bedroom had a large window, an air conditioning unit set into the wall below the window, clearly a recent addition, a radiator, and a tiny closet.  His clothes would more than take up the closet, and that didn't leave room for Blaine's things.  He tried to decide if they could fit a wardrobe or a bureau, or maybe both.  He was very glad Blaine had said they could share a bed, because the rent on the place made him a bit nervous, and there was no way they could fit even two twin beds in this room.

He stumbled across the box with the bedding they had purchased the day after finding the apartment, and near it a box of towels.  Moving to the bathroom, Kurt laughed.  There was an old claw-footed tub wedged along the full length of the bathroom on one side, with a showerhead, clearly a more recent addition, sprouting from the wall above it.  On the other side was a toilet, a pedestal sink with a mirrored medicine chest attached to the wall above it, and what had to be the largest closet in the place, full of shelves for linens.  Kurt placed the towels and bedding inside, then went to find his toiletries.  He was claiming a shelf for them.

Returning to the living and dining area, Kurt realized for the first time that there was no hall closet.  He decided it might be best to write down what he was considering looking for, so he pulled out his phone and began to make a list.  Must have:  shelves or hutch for kitchen, pot rack, hooks, shelves for living room, end tables, bedside tables, lamps, coatrack, shower curtain; Maybe:  dresser, wardrobe, coffee table, 2nd bedroom?  He thought about texting the list to Blaine, but remembered he was in a final.  Looking around the room, he took stock.  There was a decent sized window in the kitchen, along with two large floor to ceiling ones in the main living area.  Another air conditioner was set in the wall to the side of one of the windows, and a radiator was to the side of the other.  Kurt briefly wondered if they would be able to effectively heat and cool the space.  He took a moment to let his mind wander to plans to slowly make the apartment into a true home for the two of them.

He heard a knock at the door.  Opening it, he discovered that the deliverymen were there early with the bed.  He directed them to the larger bedroom, where they set up the bed, centered against the longest wall.  Kurt signed for the delivery and tipped the deliverymen and they left.  Looking back into the room, he sighed as he saw that having the bed in the room instantly seemed to shrink it.  As much as he loved the symmetry of having the bed centered, they needed the space more than pleasing aesthetics.  He rotated the bed so that the long side was aligned with the longest wall and pushed it into the corner.  If he got to sleep on the side of the bed he usually did, which made him think about the fact that he didn't even know which side of the bed Blaine liked to sleep on, he'd be in the corner, which he didn't really like, but he'd manage.  Surveying the room once he'd moved the bed, he tried to reassess the space.  He'd have to talk to Blaine about storage solutions for the room.  Maybe they should have gotten one of those platform beds with drawers underneath, he thought.  He went to the bathroom and pulled out the linens for the bed and made it.  Blaine would probably not sleep here tonight, since he still had two more finals, one each of the next two days, but at least when he did make it to the apartment it would look nice. 

The next knock was the sofa being delivered, and as those deliverymen left they nearly knocked down the men bringing up the small dining table and four mismatched chairs.  Kurt had plans to eventually refinish all five items, but for now they were usable, and he felt that the mismatched styles made the place look homey and lived in.  After everyone had left, Kurt surveyed his new home.  They had done well.  Although the apartment was small, they had clearly defined a dining area and a living area, they had seating in the living area, and while cozy, it was not too crowded.  In fact, Kurt felt there would be room for his hoped for coffee table without making the room feel claustrophobic.  He was feeling quite pleased with himself.

Kurt was surprised by another knock on the door.  Everything had been delivered, and he wasn't expecting anyone else.  He opened the door to find Blaine, holding a bag of Chinese take-out.  He launched himself at Blaine, who barely managed to move his arm with the food out of the way.  Too late, he realized he was sweaty and gross from all the moving.  Blushing, he pulled back, muttering, “I'm sorry.”

Laughing, Blaine leaned in to give him a quick kiss.  “It's okay.  Excited?” 

“Yeah,” Kurt said.  “Let's put the food down, and I'll give you the grand tour.”  They placed the food on the table, then Kurt turned around, pointing to the living room, dining area, and kitchen in turn.  Kurt took Blaine's hand and led him to the smaller bedroom, and pointed out where his instruments were stashed, safe from harm.  He showed him the bathroom, which they'd barely looked at when they looked at the apartment.  Finally, Kurt led him to their bedroom, saying, “I haven't put much away yet.  I have my rack, but we'll need more storage for our clothes.  I was thinking maybe we could look for a dresser or bureau, and maybe a wardrobe.  I think we could put both of them on the other long wall.  The closet is right there by the door to the room.  I haven't put anything in it yet, since we'll need to work out how to share it. . . .”  He trailed off, looking at Blaine, who was looking at the bed.

“The bed's in the corner,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, I know,” Kurt said.  “I moved it there.  The deliverymen centered it on the long wall, but it made the room feel too small and took up all the floor space.  I can sleep in the corner if you want, I don't mind, but I don't know of another way we can make things fit in here.  On the plus side, we'll only need one bedside table.”

“I usually sleep on that side.  I think I can live with being in the corner, but I reserve the right to change my mind,” Blaine told him.  Kurt laughed.  “What's so funny?”  Blaine demanded.

“I usually sleep on that side, too,” Kurt told him.  They met each other's eyes and dissolved into giggles.

“Except the time I was drunk, I guess we've never spent the entire night in the same bed, or for that matter been in the bed when we weren't, um, you know,” Blaine mused.  “I never even thought about asking you which side you sleep on.”

“Obviously, it never occurred to me either,” Kurt replied.  “Think the relationship can survive?”

Blaine stepped close to him and kissed him deeply.  It was by far the hottest, most passionate kiss they'd exchanged since they started dating again.  “Oh, I think we can work something out,” he said, his voice deeper than usual, and carrying a note of promise Kurt didn't miss.  As he stepped back, he took a moment to look into Kurt's eyes, then grabbed his hand and, changing gears, said lightly, “Let's go eat.”

They talked about Kurt's plans for the apartment over dinner, with Blaine making occasional suggestions and comments.  After dinner, they settled into the couch, with Kurt in back and Blaine nestled between his legs, his back and head resting against Kurt's chest.  Kurt pulled a blanket over them.  Blaine reached into his messenger bag and pulled out his notes and his iPad, with his electronic text book, and settled them in his lap.  Kurt found the book he was in the middle of and read while Blaine studied.  It was quiet, domestic, and comfortable.  Kurt loved it.

A couple of hours after dinner, Blaine was starting to nod off.  As he caught himself, he said, “I've got to go back to the dorm.”

“Stay with me,” Kurt begged, in a mock-whiny tone.

“Can't.  I can't risk being late for a final.  I know exactly how long it takes to get there from the dorm.  Two more nights.”  Blaine kissed him, then collected his things and left. 

After he was gone Kurt sighed and rolled up in the blanket that still smelled like Blaine on the couch.  He didn't want to sleep in the new bed until Blaine was there with him.

* * *

The next day brought the distraction of working at both Vogue.com and the evening shift at the restaurant, so Kurt didn't have much time to unpack or to miss Blaine.  He did, however, manage to sneak out at lunch and find a couple of lamps, an end table, and a small bedside table.  He was most of the way through his shift at the restaurant when he got the text from Blaine telling him he was meeting with a study group and wouldn't be able to see him that evening.  He was disappointed, but since he didn't get off until midnight, he knew it would have been a long shot anyway.

He made his way back to the apartment, debating whether to try to bathe again without a shower curtain, or just collapse.  He felt something was out of place when he stepped into the apartment.  It took him a moment to spot the pot rack and utensil rack leaning against the oven in the kitchen.  A note was tied to the pot rack.  Sorry, I snooped on your phone last night when you weren't paying attention.  I know you keep lists on it.  I'll be there tomorrow night.  I love you.  P.S. Check out the bathroom.  Kurt nearly sprinted to the bathroom, where he found a pale blue shower curtain already installed.  Balanced on the rim of the sink were large, soft, fluffy navy towels, hand towels, and washcloths.  Kurt wasn't sure when Blaine had managed to do all this, but he absolutely adored him for it. 

And then it sank in.  The note said Blaine loved him.  He sank to the edge of the tub and typed out a text with trembling fingers.  I love you too.  See you tomorrow.

* * *

Kurt was supposed to work the next night, but traded with one of the waitresses.  She had wanted the weekend off, but was scheduled to work both Friday and Saturday.  Kurt knew Blaine's band would be playing both nights, and as much as he enjoyed watching and listening to Blaine play, he wanted to spend time with him alone more.  The trade worked well for them both.

He begged Isabelle to let him off an hour early, then went to the farmer's market on the way home.  He was able to get fresh salad ingredients, herbs, free range chicken, eggs, juice, fruit and some really nice cheeses.  A quick stop at an Italian market got him Arborio rice and prosciutto.  Bringing his purchases home, he found that Blaine had beaten him there.

Blaine had brought the remainder of his things with Rob's help, and was trying to figure out where to put them.  Kurt told him to just drop everything in the second bedroom until they could work out what went where together.

Kurt sent Blaine to shower while he started dinner.  Kurt tucked prosciutto and sage under the skin of each chicken breast before drizzling them with olive oil and sprinkling them with coarsely ground pepper and salt.  He put them in the oven and then started the herbed risotto, which he was stirring when Blaine emerged from the bathroom, clad in only a towel.  “I'm not sure where my clothes are,” he said sheepishly.

“Oops.  Guess I left that off the grand tour.  Your suitcases and boxes are by the window in our room,” Kurt told him.  Blaine headed for the bedroom while Kurt continued to stir the risotto, reminding himself to cool down, because they were taking things slow and Blaine wasn't ready for what Kurt's body was insisting they were ready for.

Blaine reappeared as Kurt tossed the salad.  He set the table while Kurt placed the food on two plates.  They sat down to eat.  They chatted about their schedules for the next few days and when summer classes would start.  They finished and did the dishes.  Once again Kurt thought about how nice it was to be here with Blaine, and how even everyday chores weren't so tedious when they were together.  As Blaine finished drying the last plate and putting it in its temporary cabinet – they would move once Kurt found a hutch – Blaine took Kurt's hand.  Kurt looked into Blaine's face, which looked more serious than he thought it should.  His heart started to beat a little faster as Blaine took a deep breath and began to speak.  “I have a confession to make.”  No, Kurt thought, this isn't happening again!  “I, um,” Kurt braced himself for whatever devastating news Blaine was about to deliver.  “I knew where my clothes were.”

“Really?  That's your confession?  You nearly gave me a heart attack,” Kurt snapped.

Blaine chuckled.  “Yeah.  I just kind of wanted to gauge your reaction.”

“Why?”

“To see if you were as ready for this as I am,” Blaine said, stepping closer and pulling Kurt to him, allowing Kurt to feel him hard against Kurt's thigh.  Blaine could feel Kurt growing hard against him.

“That isn't fair.  Do you know how long it took me to calm down after you came out in a towel?  I kept telling myself you weren't ready, I thought of every buzz kill and cock block I could, including Rachel in labor and hearing she and Finn at night, which I could do a play by play on, by the way.”  Kurt exclaimed.

“Ugh,” Blaine groaned, stepping away. 

Kurt kissed the corner of his mouth.  “Anyway, we are taking things slowly, and there's something I need to talk to you about.”  He led the way to the couch, patting the cushion next to him to get Blaine to sit down.  He wasn't quite sure how to put this.  He had known they would have to have this conversation, but it had seemed too early in their new relationship.  He hadn't wanted to scare Blaine off or pressure him, he wanted to give him time and space to decide when he was ready.  He'd had no idea Blaine was this close to wanting to rekindle their sex lives, so he hadn't planned this conversation.  “I know Adam wasn't a virgin.  He told me some of what he'd done and with whom, but no details other than he always used condoms.  And we always did too.  I don't know exactly what you did with the guy you hooked up with.” Blaine blushed and looked at the floor.  Kurt gently tucked a finger under his chin and applied a bit of pressure to get Blaine to look at him again.  He continued, “Hey, no regrets, no blame.  That's not what this is about.  I'm not asking what you did or didn't do.  But I'm guessing you don't know his full sexual history, either, at least not for sure.  And like Miss Holiday said, everyone's got a wild card.  So, I think we both need to go get tested.  And we need to not have sex, well not that, until we get the results.”

This evening was definitely not turning out the way Blaine had hoped.  But he knew Kurt was right.  His shoulders slumped.  “Okay.  You're right.  When?”

“Well, we're both free tomorrow morning.  The sooner we do it, the sooner we get results.”  Kurt told him.

“There's a clinic just off campus.  They're pretty discrete.  A lot of students go there when they don't want to go to the health center,” Blaine said.

“Okay, it's a date,” Kurt quipped, then laughed at Blaine's grimace.  “You're right, poor choice of words.  But remember, just because we won't be having sex tonight doesn't mean we can't do other things.  Remember just making out?  Exploring each other?  We have a lot of territory to rediscover before we start to have sex again anyway.”  As he spoke, his eyes darkened.  He leaned in and gave Blaine a deep kiss, then got up and started toward the bedroom; glancing over his shoulder, he inquired, “Coming?”  Blaine was just a step behind him.

They stayed up too late, remembering each other's favorite spots and discovering new ones.  Although they didn't technically make love, they did bring each other to orgasm several times.  After cleaning up the last time, Blaine finally had to admit he was done.  “If we don't stop now I don't think I'm going to survive the night, and we have, um, things to do in the morning.  You can have our side of the bed.  I'm too tired to care.”

* * *

Kurt quickly discovered that while Blaine might have consciously been too tired to care, it seemed that his body had other ideas.  Kurt woke up sandwiched between Blaine and the wall, Blaine half on top of him.  “Um, Blaine, Baby, I need to move.”

“'Kay,” came the sleepy response.

“Not so easy.  You need to move too,” he told Blaine.

“No,” was the definitive, less than conscious, answer. 

Sighing, Kurt began the arduous process of disentangling himself from Blaine and squirming out from under him.  Once free, he showered and made breakfast, taking time in the middle to throw a pillow at Blaine, yelling, “Get up!”

Blaine finally crawled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.  He was much more coherent by the time he emerged.  Kissing Kurt's cheek, he sat down at the table, exclaiming, “Good morning, Beautiful.”

Kurt muttered something inaudible in reply.  Blaine continued to try to start a conversation to no avail.  Finally, as they did the dishes, he asked, “Kurt, what's wrong?”

“Nothing.  I just didn't sleep well,” Kurt replied.  It was the truth, just not all of it.

“Did I do something wrong last night?”  Blaine wanted, no, needed, to know.

“No, Sweetheart, last night was wonderful.  I promise,” Kurt told him.

“Was it me sleeping on top of you?  I'm really sorry.  I didn't even know I was doing it,” Blaine said.

“No, that wasn't it.  I didn't really notice until I woke up.  Being all tangled up with you was actually really soothing and peaceful.  At least until I woke up this morning and needed to use the bathroom and couldn't get out from under you,” Kurt said.

Blaine blushed.  “Yeah.  I really am sorry about that.”  Kurt didn't reply.  “We should go,” Blaine said, just to break the silence. 

He took Kurt's hand and they made the short walk to the clinic.  Kurt didn't talk on the way there.  As they approached the last intersection, and the clinic appeared in front of them, Kurt began walking slower, hanging back.  Blaine stopped, and cupping Kurt's chin, he brought his face up so he could look into his eyes.  “Baby, I know something's wrong.  Please tell me.  I won't judge.  I just can't help if I don't even know what the problem is.”  Again, the response was muttered too quietly for Blaine to hear it.  “What?”

“I don't want to do this,” Kurt whispered in a rush.  He didn't know what had possessed him to suggest this, but now that the moment was at hand, he fervently wished he hadn't.

“This was your idea,” Blaine pointed out.

“And it was a stupid one,” Kurt replied, “We still have a lot of stuff to get for the apartment, and we don't have much time when we're both off during store hours.  We should just go shopping together instead.”

“It wasn't a stupid idea.  It was smart.  You were right, this is something we need to do before we move on.  I know it's not much fun, but it'll be okay.  I promise.”  Blaine insisted, beginning to walk again, with Kurt reluctantly following behind, grasping his hand as though his life depended on it.

Once in the clinic, Blaine deposited Kurt in the waiting area and went to speak with the personnel at the front desk.  While he did, he kept an eye on Kurt to make sure he didn't leave.  He returned to Kurt with two clipboards full of paperwork.  As they filled out form after form, Kurt asked, “Why do students come here instead of the health center?”  He knew why one would go here instead of the health center at NYADA, which was staffed by only two people, one of whom appeared to basically be a school nurse, and the other of whom was apparently an athletic trainer, but Columbia had a full-fledged student health center.

“Some kids just prefer to avoid the quack shack, especially for certain things,” Blaine told him.

“Quack shack?”  Kurt questioned.

Blaine laughed.  “Yeah.  They called it the same thing at every school I visited.  Columbia's is pretty good, and everything is supposed to be private, but some kids are afraid of their parents or the administration or even other kids finding out what they went there for, or what the results were, so they avoid it, at least for some stuff.”

As they finished filling out the forms they heard their names being called.  “I asked if we could be together as much as possible,” Blaine explained when Kurt gave him a questioning look.  They went to the back.  They each had blood drawn, then went into separate rooms for the physical exam.  When they were done Blaine paid at the counter on the way out.

Blaine placed his hand on the small of Kurt's back as they walked, withdrawing it as he felt Kurt flinch.  “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.  I need to get to work,” Kurt said.  He ducked into a subway terminal and left Blaine standing alone.

Blaine knew it was a lie.  The visit to the clinic hadn't taken long, and he knew Kurt wasn't due at Vogue.com until early afternoon.  However, he could sense that Kurt didn't want to talk and needed some space, although he still wasn't sure why.  Experience told him that pushing Kurt when he was like this was only likely to cause him to shut down and make him less likely to talk.  If Blaine ever wanted to get to the bottom of this he would have to let Kurt go for now.

He went back to the apartment and left a note for Kurt.  Kurt was working at the restaurant after he left Vogue.com, and wouldn't be back until after Blaine left to go to his gig.  The note read Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen.  I'll help if I can.  You can have our side again, I'll try to stay on the other side.  He puttered around a bit, unpacking a few things, rearranging others in boxes or placing the boxes somewhere more convenient to find things.  As soon as he thought he could reasonably arrive at the club, he threw both his electric and acoustic guitar cases over his shoulders, picked up the case for his keyboard, and left to walk to the club.

Kurt found the note when he arrived at home near midnight.  He wanted to tell Blaine what was wrong, he really did.  But how do you explain all the things you're scared of to the person you love, especially when they're things that you're supposed to be over by the time you're an adult?  And how could he coherently explain that he was fine with Blaine touching him, but no one else?  How could he explain his behavior with Adam in light of that, especially when he had initiated things?  Could he really tell Blaine how he'd felt after each time he was with Adam, or explain why he kept doing it when it made him feel that way, when he couldn't even explain it to himself?  He wasn't comfortable being vulnerable, physically or emotionally.  Blaine was the only one who made him feel safe enough to be that open, but there were still some things he couldn't discuss.  He got ready for bed, wishing Blaine was there, and crawled into bed on the side near the wall, loving the fact that the pillow smelled like Blaine.

* * *

Kurt awoke the next morning panicking, on his back, unable to move, feeling that there was a huge weight on him.  He slowly became more aware, realizing that there was a huge weight on him.  One that, when upright, stood about five foot eight (although he liked to claim five nine).  Once again, Blaine was on top of him.  Not half on top, like last time, but fully on top.  Kurt knew that muscle weighed more than fat, and that fact was brought home to him once again as he unceremoniously shoved Blaine's well-muscled form off of his body. 

Over the next few days, they spent as much time together as they could, which wasn't much.  Blaine was waiting for Kurt to open up.  Kurt was waiting for Blaine to forget the whole matter.  Both waited in vain.

Each night, Blaine told Kurt to take “their” side of the bed, and each morning, Kurt woke up at least partially trapped under Blaine.  Finally, on the fifth day, when Blaine appeared for breakfast, Kurt announced, “I give up.  That is officially your side of the bed.  No matter how generous your conscious mind is trying to be, your body or your unconscious or something has decided that is your side of the bed, and while I love holding you and being held by you and being a little tangled up with you in the morning, I'd also like to be able to get out of bed to pee without being in danger of having an accident before I can get up.” 

Blaine blushed and looked at the floor sheepishly.  “Sorry?”

Kurt huffed a little, then went to give him a kiss.  “It's okay.  This is going to take learning and compromise.  And part of what I've learned is that you're more attached to that side of the bed than I am, and I'm willing to give it up.  Okay?”  Blaine nodded.

* * *

That afternoon, they returned to the clinic to get their test results.  Kurt was clearly nervous.  “It's going to be okay,” Blaine assured him.  “Do you think they're going to say something I should know about?”

“No,” Kurt said, “I just don't like it here.”  Blaine squeezed his hand.

They went to the front desk, and were each handed an envelope.  “Do you want to open them here, or at the coffee shop down the block?”  Blaine asked.

“Home,” Kurt answered definitively.  Blaine gave him a curious look, then took his hand and walked back to the apartment.

Once back in the safety of the apartment, they debated for a few moments before deciding to open them together.  Both breathed a sigh of relief upon reading the results, which confirmed what they had suspected:  both men were clean.  “It's been over six months since I was with . . . Adam,” Kurt told Blaine, “At least, that way.  So it's been long enough that anything that was going to show up should have by now.”

“And it's been over a year since I was with anyone, over a year and a half since I was with anyone other than you,” Blaine responded.

“Do you have band practice or a gig?”  Kurt asked.

“No.  You?”

“I when I traded shifts with Kara, she said she'd take tonight,” Kurt said.  Blaine's eyes gleamed.

Kurt had envisioned making a romantic meal for Blaine for their first time back together, but suddenly whatever could be delivered the fastest seemed like the best idea ever.  Dinner turned out to be Chinese food eaten directly from the cartons while sitting on a blanket on the living room floor.  They fed each other with chopsticks and laughed at the awkwardness of it.  Eventually, kisses replaced food, and when they almost lay on a carton of fried rice, Blaine suggested moving to their room.  Kurt quickly closed the cartons and placed them in the refrigerator.

By the time he got to the bedroom, Blaine was already shirtless, and his pants were undone.  Kurt started to unbutton his own shirt, but Blaine pushed his hands away, taking over the task.  He kissed his way down each bit of skin he revealed, groaning when he encountered Kurt's undershirt, causing Kurt to laugh.  Kurt began unbuttoning from the bottom, while Blaine worked from the top.  As soon as the shirt was unbuttoned, Blaine shoved the undershirt up, fastening his lips around one of Kurt's nipples, while pushing the shirt off his shoulders.  Kurt moaned and tried to get rid of the shirt and undershirt while not losing contact with Blaine.  Once the shirts were gone, he unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, bringing welcome relief from the pressure that had been building ever since he saw that look in Blaine's eyes.   Blaine tried to push them down, but couldn't.  He broke away from Kurt's nipple breathlessly.  “How the hell do you get these things off?”  He demanded.  Kurt chuckled and peeled the skinny jeans off his hips and legs, taking his underwear with them.  Blaine quickly shoved his own pants and underwear to the ground.  Both men were now completely naked, and suddenly Kurt was shy, although he couldn't say why; Blaine had seen him naked before.  He wrapped his arms around himself.

“No,” Blaine breathed softly, “let me see.”  He took Kurt's hands in his own, then stepped back so he could see him more clearly.  “So beautiful, so perfect.  Let me make love to you, please.”  Kurt nodded.

Blaine led him to the bed, sitting down next to him.  Kurt leaned in to kiss Blaine, and Blaine's tongue swept across Kurt's lower lip.  Kurt's lips parted and Blaine's tongue was suddenly in his mouth, tasting, exploring, demanding.  Kurt moaned into the kiss as Blaine pressed him back into the bed, shifting to straddle him, while never breaking the kiss.  After a moment, Blaine broke away, saying, “On the bed, all the way.”  Kurt scooted up until his head rested on a pillow.  Blaine followed his movement, staying on top of him.  Once Kurt was in place, Blaine began to work his way slowly down Kurt's neck, paying attention to the little hollow behind his ear that made him moan, to his pulse points, down to the hollows of his collarbones, planting kisses, alternating with gentle nips and suction.  Kurt was trying to hold on, but was quickly becoming a whimpering mass.  He ran his hands down Blaine's sides, stroking whatever he could reach.  Blaine gasped as Kurt brushed his nipple, so it became Kurt's new favorite plaything, and he worried it with his fingertips as Blaine returned the favor, using his mouth instead.  The sound Kurt made when Blaine began sucking, hard, on his nipple was bordering on pornographic.  They continued, exploring each other's bodies with hands and mouths, until Kurt was on the verge of tears.  It all felt so good, but it was too much and yet wasn't anywhere near enough, and tonight, they could do what they'd been wanting to do.  Tonight, they could have enough.

“Please, now,” Kurt begged.

“What?  Tell me what you want,” Blaine instructed. 

Kurt groaned.  Blaine was well aware of what he wanted, and they both knew it.  “You.  Inside me.  Now,” he gritted out through clenched teeth.

“Not yet,” Blaine told him, “but soon.”  He reached down to stroke the soft skin just behind Kurt's balls with one hand, smoothing the other up the inside of Kurt's thigh.  Kurt moaned and whimpered.  This was a show Blaine would never get tired of watching.  Kurt's cock was achingly hard and leaking, and Blaine wanted to touch it so badly, but he had decided not to this time.  Kurt reached down, and Blaine quietly said, “No, Baby.  Hold onto the headboard or the pillows or me, but don't touch yourself.  Let me do it all this time.”  Kurt didn't say anything, but withdrew his hands, fisting them into the pillow near his head.  Blaine dipped his head, sucking one, then both, of Kurt's balls into his mouth.  Kurt arched off the bed, crying out.  Blaine took the opportunity to grab a pillow and thrust it under Kurt's ass, letting his fingers brush farther back, against Kurt's tight hole.

Kurt whimpered, then gasped.  “We don't have lube.  Oh, God, um, there's some lotion . . . .”

Blaine laughed, reaching under the pillows on what was now his side of the bed.  He withdrew a new bottle of lube and a condom.  “I took care of that, Baby.  I'm taking care of you, now and always.”

Kurt dropped his head back to the pillow.  “Thank God,” he said, not really realizing how much he called on a deity he didn't believe in during sex.  “But, um, could we, tonight, not use, um . . . .” he trailed off, blushing. 

Blaine knew he wasn't talking about the lube, because he'd just been worried about it.  “The condom?”  He asked.

Kurt nodded.  “We can if you want, but this is it for me.  No one else.  We were each other's firsts, we should have been the only ones, we should be the last for each other.  There's no one else for me, and I want to feel you, just you, and we know we're both clean, so, um,” he babbled.

“Okay,” Blaine whispered reverently.  He'd hoped to get to this point, but he didn't think it would be tonight.  He used both hands to spread Kurt's thighs wider, placing his hands under them to lift Kurt's knees; the combination changed the angle of Kurt's pelvis, tilting it forward and up, and causing his ass cheeks to spread slightly.  “So, so beautiful,” Blaine muttered, staring a bit.

He reached for the lube, fumbling to open the cap, before growling, “God damned safety packaging!”

Kurt laughed, reaching for it.  Although he kept his nails quite short, they were longer than Blaine's, which were trimmed to the quick to facilitate his playing.  “Let me.  I'm glad it's there.  I certainly wouldn't want lube someone had tampered with.”

While Kurt wrestled with the lube, Blaine spread his cheeks a bit more, slowly running his fingertips along Kurt's perineum, up his crack, and back down, either skipping his entrance, skirting around it, or barely ghosting over it with each pass.  “Keep that up and we're never going to get there because I won't be able to concentrate enough to open the lube,” Kurt warned.

Blaine laughed and placed a fingertip directly on Kurt's puckered hole, applying the slightest bit of pressure.  “Better?”  He teased.

“No,” Kurt snarled, as he finally made his way through the packaging and opened the lube, which he tossed to Blaine.  Blaine caught it in his free hand, then, withdrawing his other hand from Kurt, he lubed his fingers.  Once they were slick, he slowly circled Kurt's entrance with his index finger, then, as Kurt began whimpering and begging, he slowly pushed in. 

Unlike their last first time, this time there was no pain, just a gentle stretch.  Within seconds, Kurt was demanding more.  Blaine refused, drawing everything out.  He found Kurt's prostate and brushed against it, causing Kurt to moan brokenly.  When he finally relented and pulled out, only to push two fingers in, he repeated the process, jokingly reminding Kurt that this time they were going to take things slowly.  Eventually, he worked his way up to three fingers.  By this time Kurt was begging for more, for anything.  Blaine pulled his fingers out, sitting back on his heels to watch for a moment as Kurt's hole clenched around nothing.  Kurt reached down again, and Blaine caught his hand, reminding him again not to touch.  Once he was sure Kurt was not going to reach for himself again, Blaine slicked his cock up with lube, then leaned forward.  “Ready, Sweetheart?”  He asked.

“Please,” Kurt begged.  “I need you, need you inside, so badly.”

“Shhh, I've got you,” Blaine soothed as he pushed in slowly.

Kurt was sure he'd never felt so good before.  He wasn't sure why, but this felt better than any time before, not just the times with Adam, but better than any time with Blaine, too.  He didn't have any time to analyze why that might be, because Blaine bottomed out, then lay down on top of him, reaching under his shoulder blades to lift his upper torso slightly.  At this angle, Blaine was hitting his prostate with every thrust, while alternating kisses with nipping and sucking on his lower neck and upper chest.  The coarse hair that trailed from Blaine's navel to his cock provided the friction Kurt needed.  Kurt sensed the tension building, and saw stars while everything seemed to go black around the edges as he came, hot and sticky, between them, coating their stomachs and chests.

Blaine smiled as he felt Kurt come, clenching around him.  Kurt was so hot, so tight, he never wanted the feeling to end, and so he held back, continuing to pound into Kurt until Kurt began to whimper.  He sounded exhausted, and Blaine knew he'd pushed Kurt beyond his usual comfort zones, and he was now in that post-orgasmic state in which he was oversensitive to everything, and the lines began to blur and pleasure tipped toward pain.  Finally, knowing Kurt couldn't deal with any more, he let himself go, coming hot and hard inside Kurt.

After he came, Blaine's energy was suddenly gone.  He had no idea how he'd held out that long, or even how long it had been, although it had seemed to be forever.  He collapsed on top of Kurt.  A few moments later, he pulled out, drawing soft gasps from both of them.  Rolling to the side, he brushed Kurt's cheek, inquiring, “Baby?  Are you okay?”

Kurt's eyelids fluttered, and he took a moment to focus.  “Yeah, great, that was wonderful,” he said, then gasped and winced as he shifted to look at Blaine.  “Okay, so maybe I'm a little bit sore.”

“How bad?”

“Um, I don't know.  This feels like one of those times when I may be sore for a day or two,” he admitted, shyly.

“It's happened before?”  Blaine had to know.

“Yeah, but only with you,” Kurt told him.

“You never told me,” Blaine said, sounding hurt.  How could he have hurt Kurt, and how could Kurt have hidden it from him?

“Because I didn't want you to know.  It's a good kind of sore, and it's definitely worth it,” Kurt explained.  “It's just that now, since we're living together, I don't really think I can always hide it.”

“Don't, okay?  No secrets, no lies.  That's the only way this is going to work,” Blaine insisted. 

Kurt nodded in agreement, leaning forward to kiss him, “Can we exempt presents from that?” he teased.  Blaine agreed, then went to get a warm washcloth to clean them both up. 

Blaine cleaned himself quickly in the bathroom, then brought the cloth back to Kurt.  After sponging off his chest and stomach, Blaine gently pressed his legs open and up so he could clean his hole.  He winced a little when he saw how red and swollen it was.  “Baby, this might hurt a bit, I'm really sorry,” he apologized.  Kurt sucked in a sharp breath and tried not to whimper as Blaine gently cleaned the small amount of lube and semen from him.  Suddenly an idea struck Blaine.  “Honey, I know you're tired, but a bath might help.  We've got that wonderful huge tub, and now's the perfect time.”  Kurt nodded in acquiescence, his eyes closing.  Blaine ran the bath, then returned to the bedroom, gathering a sleeping Kurt into his arms and taking him to the bathroom.  Stepping into the tub himself, he lowered Kurt into the tub, then settled behind him.  Kurt murmured as the warm water enveloped him, but Blaine whispered to him comfortingly, pulling Kurt against him.  Kurt dozed on Blaine's shoulder until the water started to cool.  When goose bumps began appearing on his skin, Blaine gently roused him, helping him to step out so Blaine could dry him off and then tuck him back into bed.  Kurt slept, while Blaine watched him for a while, thinking how right this felt.  He finally drifted off himself, Kurt in his arms, thinking that he would happily spend the rest of his life taking care of the exquisite man sleeping in his embrace.