“BLAINE CARTER ANDERSON! GET YOUR ASS BACK IN THAT BED. PRONTO!” Kurt yelled from his perch on the coffee table.

“Heyyyy! Who told you my middle name?”

“That would be me.”

“Coooooooop. Tell him I don’t need to be in bed! I’m perfectly fine to help you guys with… whatever you’re doing.”

“Sorry, bro, but I’m gonna have to back Kurt up on this one. And it’s not just because he’s glaring at me right now and I’m starting to fear for my life. But you just got out of the hospital and you could rip your stitches. Doc said you need to take it easy.”

Blaine pouted, but didn’t budge. “What ARE you guys doing, anyway?”

“Rearranging the living room furniture,” Kurt answered matter-of-factly.

Blaine cocked his head at Cooper. “Why?”

“Don’t look at me, B. This is Kurt’s thing. I’m just here for the heavy lifting.”

“You have a great open layout here, Blaine,” Kurt gestured to the room. “But you aren’t maximizing your space.”

Cooper laughed at Blaine’s confused look and just shrugged his shoulders.

“Blaine, WHY are you still up? Didn’t I tell you to go lay back down?”

“Uuuuugh Kuuuuuurt,” Blaine whined.

“Uh-uh. Get!” Kurt pointed towards the bedroom.

Blaine scowled but retreated.

“He is SO whipped.”

“I HEARD THAT COOPER!”

“YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!”

“ASSHOLE!”

Another week passed and, physically, Blaine healed quickly. The stitches came out and the residual pain vanished and the doctor gave him a clean bill of health.

But emotionally, Blaine wasn’t doing so well. He hid it easily, though, from Kurt and Cooper. The anxiety came mostly at night; he would wake up sweaty and out of breath from a nightmare. The same one every night. The same stranger. The same gun. The same terror.

Kurt was always there, too. Sometimes Kurt would be crying over his dead body. Sometimes Kurt would be yelling, “Watch out!” or “You promised!” or “Don’t leave me!” as the pull of the trigger jolted him awake.

But the worst nights, the worst dreams were when Kurt would step between him and the bullet. In that nightmare, the gunshot wouldn’t wake him. He’d stay in that hell, clutching Kurt’s lifeless body to his chest, feeling a pain so very tangible and raw. He’d wake up shaking, unable to control the tremors or the sobs that wracked his body.

It was after those nights that Blaine would ache to hold Kurt close, to never let him go, to do everything humanly possible to preserve that life so dear to him. He hated being so far from Kurt. But Kurt had responsibilities at Burt’s and he had insisted Blaine take plenty of time off to heal. Kurt had even hired another barista and refused to give Blaine any hours.

So, while Cooper was at work and Kurt was at work, Blaine was left to his own devices. The apartment suddenly felt the size of a matchbox and Blaine was suffocating. He had to get out.

Kurt’s life was slowly returning to normal. He was back at work, back to baking pastries, back to brewing dark roasts and mixing frappuchinos. Only he missed Blaine’s presence in the shop.

He had gotten so used to seeing Blaine’s curly head bobbing around, singing quietly, being absolutely adorable. The loneliness Kurt felt in Blaine’s absence was unnerving. How had he come to so completely rely on Blaine as his source of happiness to get him through the day? Though strange and new, Kurt couldn’t say he wanted it to change.

So he’d take a breath, remind himself that he still had Blaine. Blaine was alive. He was alive and he was well and he was perfect. And he was probably still pissed that Kurt wouldn’t let him work yet.

Kurt would put on a smile and face the day knowing he was going to see Blaine soon enough.

Blaine was bored. He was tired of being at home all day watching reruns of “How I Met Your Mother.” He needed to do something, wear himself out during the day so maybe he’d be able to sleep through the night without waking up from those damn nightmares.

After another night of fitful sleep, Blaine rose at 4:30, showered and tiptoed out of the apartment, careful not to wake Cooper.

As he made his way to Burt’s, he realized he probably should have left a note for Cooper, but it was too late. Cooper would figure it out.

When he got to the shop, he paused in front of the window. There was Kurt, preparing for the day’s customers, flitting from the kitchen to the counter, probably humming to himself. He looked so beautiful. Happy.

“Blaine?”

The voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Oh, hey Quinn!” He accepted the girl’s gentle embrace.

“It’s so good to see you, Blaine. How are you feeling?”

“A lot better, thanks.”

“Good. Shall we?” She gestured to the door.

“We shall.”

“Good morning, Kurtie!” Quinn called as she stepped inside.

“Helloooo, Quinn!” Kurt returned, standing from where he was kneeling behind the pastry display. “Blaine!” his smile quickly turned into a frown when the saw the man who was supposed to be at home in bed.

“Well, it’s good to see you, too.”

Kurt ignored Blaine’s sarcasm. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in bed recovering!”

“I AM recovered, Kurt. And I’m bored out of my mind. Please don’t make me go back!”

“Does Cooper know you’re here?”

“Um… not exactly.”

“BLAINE!”

“He wouldn’t have let me leave! I snuck out.”

As if on cue, Kurt’s phone began ringing, Cooper’s name showing on the caller ID.

“Hey Coop—”

“PLEASE tell me Blaine is with you!” Cooper interrupted frantically. “I woke up to pee and went past his room and he wasn’t in the bed or anywhere I looked and I’m kind of freakin out right now like what if—”

“COOPER! Calm down. Yes, he’s here. He’s fine.”

“Oh thank God.”

“I’ve already yelled at him for leaving without telling you. And I think I’m going to let him stay—” Blaine fist pumped “—If he gets tired or in pain I’ll just send him upstairs.”

“Alright, Kurt. Thanks. I’m going back to sleep once my heart rate returns to normal.”

“Bye, Cooper.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Ok, Blaine,” Kurt giggled, “Don’t over-exert yourself. And you take a break every hour.”

“Yes, sir!” Blaine saluted before skipping to the kitchen to grab his apron.

Kurt put Blaine at the register for the day; Blaine was just happy to be out of the apartment, he didn’t care what he did.

Everything was running smoothly. They had made it through the breakfast and lunch crowds when a group of tourists from Kentucky came in, loud and boisterous on their first day in the city. They collected their coffees and claimed a few corner tables.

“Blaine, I’ll be in the office if you need me, ok?”

“Sure, boss.”

“Oh hey, Kurt, can I talk to you real quick?” Quinn followed Kurt into the kitchen.

The door dinged open, a breeze swept through the shop and rustled a few of Blaine’s curls. A man in a dark hoodie and a black beanie walked through, just as one of the tourists stood too quickly and knocked the chair over. It hit the floor with a loud crack.

It was the perfect storm. And Blaine snapped.

Puck burst through Kurt’s office door with a shout.

Blaine.

Kurt ran.

He was on the floor behind the counter, curled up in the fetal position, hands clutching at his chest. There was a crowd peering over the counter, worried looks on their faces.

“Puck, get them back!” Kurt yelled as he reached Blaine.

“Blaine, baby, what’s wrong?”

“Kurt!”

“I’m right here.”

“Kurt, watch out. Get down. I’ll protect you, I promise!”

“Protect me from what, baby?”

“The man with the gun!”

“No one in here has a gun, Blaine.”

“He was just here. He shot me. Didn’t you heart he gunshot? Don’t you see the blood?”

Kurt pursed his lips. This wasn’t good.

“Quinn, here’s my phone. Call Cooper.”

It took Kurt half an hour to convince Blaine he wasn’t shot. When Cooper arrived, he managed to get Blaine up off the floor and up to Kurt’s apartment.

They got him in bed and he quickly fell into a restless sleep.

When he awoke and hour later and shuffled to the living room, he found Kurt and Cooper in a deep, quiet conversation.

He cleared his throat from the doorway.

“Blaine!” Kurt was by his side in a second. He led him to the couch. “We need to talk about what happened, but do you want something to eat first?”

Blaine shook his head.

“How are you feeling, B?”

He shrugged.

“Do you feel like talking to us?”

Blaine nodded. They were silent for a few long moments before he took a deep breath and spoke.

“I guess I just flashed back to the night I was shot. The door opened and I smelled the air and felt the breeze and saw the clothes that guy was wearing and I heard the shot and I just felt like I was back in that moment again. My chest hurt and I was just… just scared.”

“Was that the first time you’ve had flashbacks?”

Blaine dropped his brother’s gaze and fiddled with a loose string on the couch.

“No,” he whispered eventually. “There’s… there’s been nightmares.”

“How long?”

“Two weeks.”

“Why didn’t you tell me or Kurt?”

“I thought they would eventually go away. I just wanted to forget about them.”

Kurt and Cooper looked at each other. Before Blaine had joined them, they had been discussing the possibility that Blaine might need to see a psychiatrist.

“Blaine,” Cooper began, leaning forward to rest his hand on his baby brother’s shoulder. “Do you think… ah… would you be willing to talk to someone, a doctor, about this?”

Blaine turned and looked into Kurt’s eyes. They were full of concern and worry, pleading with him. Kurt reached for Blaine’s hand, bringing it to his lips and pressing a sweet kiss to his knuckles.

“I…” Blaine swallowed thickly. “Um… yes. I guess. Yeah. I’ll… I’ll talk to someone.”

Cooper released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Thank you, B,” he breathed, hugging him close.

Kurt look relieved as well and smiled gratefully at Blaine.

“I should probably get you home before dark, B…”

“Yeah. Coop, do you mind if I talk to Kurt alone for a sec?”

“Sure. I’ll be downstairs.”

“I really think talking to somebody will help you, Blaine. I’m glad you agreed. Cooper was worried you wouldn’t.”

“I’ve… I’ve never been… fond of shrinks. My… my parents made me… after I came out. She was mean and homophobic and tried to scare the gay out of me. Cooper intervened, called my parents. I don’t know what he said to them but I never went back to that nasty woman.”

Kurt pulled him in for a long embrace. He held Blaine, just like the night Blaine held him. The night they kissed for the first time.

“I’m here for you, Blaine. I’m always here, ok?”

Blaine nodded into his shoulder.

“Kurt?” Blaine pulled away so they were face to face.

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me?”

Kurt grinned and leaned in to oblige. He reveled in how perfect their lips felt meshed together, moving slow and warm.

Blaine pulled back with a contented sigh. “I should go.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”

Blaine smiled and nodded. “Tomorrow.”