Blaine woke up to the feel of Kurt’s fingers stroking through his hair, skimming back on his scalp and making his curls wind together in unusual combinations. Before he opened his eyes he took stock of how he could feel Kurt’s breath against the side of his face and feel their legs intertwined. He opened his eyes and looked over to his smiling boyfriend, allowing himself to smile as well.

Because, really, waking up to this, how could he not?

Kurt’s hair was tousled with sleep and Blaine could see bits of crust at the insides of his eyes. But he was, undoubtedly, beautiful. Blaine had always appreciated the sheer beauty Kurt possessed; a rare quality put off by his perfectly smooth features, perfect coloring and tall, strong frame.

And here he was, coxing Blaine awake gently, nothing but love in his eyes.

“Good morning.” Blaine murmured, reaching over to put a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Kurt smiled and leaned over, bringing himself close against Blaine’s face.

“Good morning.” Kurt said softly, kissing Blaine’s temple. “I have a good feeling.”

“You do?” Blaine asked, wondering what his boyfriend was talking about. Surely he didn’t mean a good feeling down there, because not only did morning wood suck, but Blaine knew Kurt didn’t have much patience and didn’t think he’d be playing with his hair if he did…

“I think good things are going to happen for you today.” Kurt said, kissing Blaine on his cheekbone.

Oh, that sort of good feeling. Well, given the circumstances, that was probably a better sign.

“What happened to my pessimist?” Blaine pouted, watching Kurt attempt to roll his eyes-but not quite manage out of slight embarrassment. It was true, Kurt never admitted optimism about anything.

“He’s had more than enough chance to show lately.” Kurt said, making Blaine grin.

“Do you have a mint or something? Because I have an overwhelming desire to kiss you senseless right now.” He said, and Kurt blushed and smiled before rolling away from him. He protested, but Kurt merely reached into his bedside table before rolling back over and straddling him, flipping the mint case open and pouring a couple into Blaine’s hand and taking some for himself as well. Kurt watched as Blaine chomped the mints, laughing and trying to bite his as well but not succeeding.

“Hurry up.” Blaine said, putting his hands on Kurt’s hips as the younger boy started grinding the mints between his molars in attempt to get them to disintegrate faster.

“My teeth are too small!” He whined, still pressing them together in an effort to break the mints. Blaine laughed, rubbing up and down on Kurt’s waist.

“Come on!” Blaine whined.

“You don’t even like mints!” Kurt protested, finally getting one to break and working on the second one.

“I don’t care, I want my tongue in your mouth.” Blaine grumbled, and Kurt slammed his teeth down, breaking the other mint and running it around his mouth before swallowing hastily, leaning down and pressing his mouth to Blaine’s. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt’s back, pulling him down harder against his mouth and quickly thrusting his tongue into Kurt’s mouth. Kurt moaned, laying himself nearly flat against Blaine as Blaine bucked up into him.

At the sound of Blaine’s moan, Kurt drew his face away, frustrating Blaine. He couldn’t help but remember his father’s words. But Blaine seemed in a good enough mood this morning, right? But when Kurt remembered the morning before, he realized that it was definitely too soon.

“We should stop.” Kurt whispered. Blaine opened his eyes sharply.

“Your dad should be at work already.” He said, glancing over at the clock, but Kurt shook his head, climbing off of Blaine’s torso and sitting next to him, bringing his thighs up to his chest and resting his head between his knees.

“That’s not it, Blaine.”

“What’s wrong?” Blaine asked, sitting up. “You only sit like that when something’s wrong.” What he wasn’t saying was that Kurt only sat like that when Kurt had done something wrong.

“It’s nothing, let’s go get breakfast.” Kurt said, biting his lip and moving to get off the bed. Kurt grabbed his hand, lacing his fingers through Blaine's.

“Kurt.”

“I just don’t think this may be a good time for this sort of thing.” Kurt said, still not looking at Blaine. Blaine sighed, and Kurt could hear the frustration in his voice.

“I’m not so fragile from abandonment that I’m going to crumble to pieces, Kurt.” Blaine said. Kurt winced at how harsh he sounded. Blaine blinked at Kurt’s reaction, instantly wishing he could take the words back.

“Blaine, you’re kind of misdirecting emotions right now, and I’d rather not be the target of that. So this isn’t the time for that sort of thing.” Kurt said, his voice colder, more withdrawn than Blaine had heard in months.

Like I just did. “That wasn’t about emotions! This was about me being a seventeen-year-old who hasn’t gotten off since Saturday!” Blaine said, his voice a little weaker. Kurt sighed.

“Then you stay here and do whatever you need to do while I’m in the shower.” Kurt said, standing up and climbing off the bed, walking to the door.

“No, I’m not just going to sit here and get off in my boyfriend’s room while he’s clearly mad at me!” Blaine said, standing up as well. Kurt took a deep breath and grabbed some clothes from the dresser.

“Then just get ready for breakfast. And I’m not mad at you.” He said, walking into the bathroom. But from the way Kurt hadn’t met his eyes since he had raised his voice, Blaine knew that Kurt was lying.

Annie walked into the kitchen to see Kurt and Blaine eating breakfast on opposite sides of the table, not looking at each other. With a double take, she realized that it was more than just not looking at each other. Blaine looked down into his bowl of cereal with a guilty sadness, flickering his eyes up at Kurt every few seconds. Kurt was that stony sort of silent he became when he shut down, drew away from others. He looked at his bagel as though nothing was wrong, but Annie noticed that his eyes didn’t stray from it except when both his and Blaine’s had followed her as she entered the room before falling into their previous states.

Drawing a bagel from the bag, Annie looked over at Blaine.

“I don’t know what you did, but now would be the time to fix it.” She said before walking back out of the kitchen, leaving them alone. Blaine’s eyes flickered up to Kurt’s face, but he didn’t avert them.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry.” He said quietly, almost a whisper. Kurt sighed, looking up.

“I’m really not mad at you.” He said, shifting uncomfortably and almost looking back down, but deciding to keep his eyes on Blaine. He watched Blaine’s fingers stir his cereal uselessly.

“You were right. I’m misdirecting emotions. But, Kurt, when you stopped and just left me like that…” He said, and at that Kurt looked up at him sharply, straight into his eyes.

“I’m not leaving you, Blaine.” He said forcefully, his fingers tearing at his bagel a little bit. He looked at Blaine, seeing how tired he was. He had bags under his eyes, even though Kurt knew he had slept through the last two nights.

And there he was, crying again. Immediately, Kurt was out of his chair and at Blaine’s, pulling the older boy out of his chair and onto his lap on the floor, rocking him gently.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such an idiot.” Blaine choked out from his tears, but Kurt just put his chin on Blaine’s shoulder and kept rocking.

“Shh. I have you.” Kurt cooed, trying his hardest to keep himself from crying, too.

“You didn’t sign up for a weak boyfriend. I can’t be a weak boyfriend. I’m supposed to be a strong boyfriend.” Blaine said, and Kurt actually rolled his eyes as he kissed the soft skin next to Blaine’s ear.

“There’s this little part about loving you that means I don’t care if you’re strong or not, I’m going to love you anyway.” Kurt said, pushing Blaine back so that he’d look him in the face.

“But…”

“I love

“So, here we are!” She said, and Blaine was a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Rachel the room possessed.

“It’s very… you.” Blaine said, looking at a Wicked poster on one wall.

“Yeah, being the difficultly-attained only child, I have a lot of attention directed my way.” She said. Blaine nodded; it really made a lot of sense when it came to Rachel.

“You keep a treadmill in your bedroom?” Blaine asked, eyeing the device as he started to walk around her room. Rachel nodded.

“We don’t really have a lot of extra rooms. Even with three of us, the house is a little small since my dads do so much lobbying and spend a lot of their money on contributions.” Rachel said.

“Your dads are really cool, Rachel.” Blaine said, giving the brunette girl a small smile. Her entire face lit up with the smile she returned.

“It’s nice to hear that. I think that, obviously. It’s just, most people don’t.” She said quietly. Blaine walked back over and took her hand in a small squeeze.

“Well, that’s a shame.” He said, and Rachel led him back into the main living space of the home, biting her lip as she smiled in a way that told Blaine that Rachel was definitely up to something.

“So, Blaine.” Hiram said, setting a bowl of pasta down in the middle of the table as the two walked into the kitchen, “tell us about this Dalton place.”

“Well,” Blaine began, sitting down in the chair next to the one Rachel was taking, “I guess I’m not going to be attending anymore, but it’s a great school. Really great academics. A little stifling, socially, but a great school.”

“What do you mean, ‘stifling’?” Leroy asked, coming up and taking a seat to Blaine’s left at the small round table. Hiram took the seat across from Blaine as he shrugged. Everyone around the table began to scoop pasta onto their plates and begin to eat.

“Dalton was really a conformist kind of place. Everyone fit in and had a place, but that’s because we all felt a little kept down that there was really a sort of envy when people had something about them that made them different.” Blaine said, thinking about David’s constant whining about how boring he felt. “The only way I could be more boring is if I were white.”

Leroy nodded. “Uniforms?”

“Yeah. Strict dress code. Kurt had a habit of changing his hair every day, he was going so crazy.” Blaine said with a little smile, remembering sitting in Kurt’s room doing his homework and watching the younger boy experiment with his hair in the weeks between when they started dating and Kurt transferring back to McKinley.

“I can’t imagine Kurt dealing with a dress code.” Leroy said with a chuckle. Hiram sighed.

“That’s one of the reasons I knew it was bad when he transferred out of here. There’s no way that kid would voluntarily trade away his wardrobe.” Hiram said, sighing again. He looked at Blaine, who felt a little terrible knowing exactly what had driven Kurt to Dalton. “How did he do there?”

“He did well. Kept up with grades. We had to help him out a little at the start, but he pushed us all back quickly to do it himself.” He said, and both men nodded at the reference to Kurt’s fierce self-reliance. “He’s a little angry that his Bs from Dalton are going to keep him down in the class ranking at McKinley.”

“That’s right, he would have been in the top five.” Rachel said, grimacing. “I bet Artie and Mike feel pretty relieved. I know I do, sort of.” Blaine nodded.

“Yeah. And, socially, well, he had the Warblers. He had trouble adapting at first, but he got the hang of it and was unanimously given part of a duet for Sectionals.”

“From what Kurt tells me, which is according to what your friend Trent told him, it was because they were all sick of you two beating around the bush.” Rachel teased, and Blaine blushed and shrugged.

“So the choir embraced the relationship between the two of you?” Leroy asked curiously. Blaine nodded furiously.

“Most accepting group of guys I’ve met in my life. There was another gay couple that graduated my sophomore year, so it’s not anything they’re not used to.”

“That’s good.” Hiram said with a little smile.

Blaine nodded. “And, I mean, no one really bothers us in the New Directions, either, so that’s nice.” Blaine said. Hiram bit his lip.

“Yes, the kids in the choir have grown up nicely, but you need to know that it’s not that way with the rest of McKinley.” He said, his voice a little nervous. � Blaine swallowed even though he didn’t have any food in his mouth and nodded.

“I… I get what McKinley’s like. I guess I really don’t know all of it, but I was at prom with Kurt. And I know what my old school was like.”

“What school did you go to before Dalton, Blaine?” Leroy asked, his voice softer than it was before.

“Marion High. I left because I couldn’t handle it. Unlike Kurt, I didn’t go back.” He said, looking down at his plate.

“But, so, you’re okay with going to McKinley? That’s what Burt told us.” Hiram said. Blaine nodded.

“I have friends here.” Blaine said, glancing over at Rachel. “I didn’t really have any friends in Marion. Not any who stuck by me once everyone figured out I was gay, at least.”

Hiram and Leroy both nodded.

“Well, Blaine, if you’re done…” Leroy began, gesturing to Blaine’s now-empty plate, “Hiram and I would like to talk to you in the living room.”

“I’ll clean up.” Rachel said, quickly.

“Okay…” Blaine said a little hesitantly, and followed the adults into the living room.

“So why is it suddenly ‘biggest importance of importance’ that we have lunch today?” Mercedes said, sticking a fork in her salad. Kurt could tell that she was sick of the little niceties of small talk.

“Well…” He began, fiddling a fork around his linguini, trying to find a way to ease into this.

“Out with it.” She said, sounding like she knew what was coming.

“What’s going on, Mercedes? I realize you’re having lunch with Sam a lot, but what’s with the weave? And the diet? Don’t look at me like that, I know you wouldn’t eat that salad if you weren’t on a diet. And you’re barely even eating it!” He said. Mercedes put the fork down, looking at Kurt.

“Can’t I try to be pretty if I want?” She asked, fixing Kurt with a glare that told him that trouble was coming.

“Who said you weren’t pretty before?” Kurt shot back, truly questioning. “Because I swear to God, if Sam said anything…”

“Shh!” Mercedes warned, her eyes dangerous. “One, he didn’t have to…”

“So he’s been implying it?” Kurt said, nearly leaping out of his seat in anger.

“NO! I think I can figure it out for myself, thanks.”

“Figure what out?” Kurt said, his mind still reeling with all the ways he wanted to slap Sam across the face.

“That I’m not exactly Quinn or Santana, okay? I don’t know why he’s dating me.” She said, settling back grumpily into her seat. Kurt’s mind stopped.

“Why on earth would you want to be Quinn or Santana?” He asked. Mercedes looked up.

“Because they’re prettier than I am. They have pretty long hair that swishes around when they dance and they’re skinny so Sam could have picked them up. And Sam wasn’t afraid of everyone knowing he was dating them.”

“So he’s the reason we’re being quiet on this?” Kurt asked, and Mercedes nodded. “What reason did he give you?”

“He didn’t want people to think he’s a bad boyfriend because he couldn’t pay to take me out places… we split.” She said. Kurt frowned.

“Mercedes… that’s a real reason.” He said. The girl in front of him looked up, her eyes a little guilty.

“You think it is?” She said, and Kurt nodded.

“Have you talked to him about this?” Kurt asked, and Mercedes shook her head. “You should have, before jumping off and trying to change yourself. Where’s the Mercedes who would dump a boy if he didn’t like her as-is before thinking of changing herself? I miss her.” Kurt said, reaching over the table and taking her hands.

“So you don’t think it’s because I’m not pretty enough?”

“Mercedes, I know it can’t be that in a million years. Besides, this weave? Totally off balance with your body type. Your old hair was much more proportionate.”

“Blaine, as you can tell, Leroy and I have been very concerned with the plight of gay youth since, well, we were gay youth ourselves.” Hiram said, fiddling with his husband’s fingers. Leroy took Hiram’s hand firmly in his, looking solemn as well. The two men were on the sofa, and Blaine was sitting across the coffee table from them on a wooden chair that had obviously been put there for this purpose.

“We made a promise to ourselves a long time ago that if we ever saw a kid we knew struggling, we’d do all we could to help.” Leroy said. Blaine looked up and met his eyes, and Leroy sighed. “We agreed that meant anything, even offering up our home.”

Blaine’s mouth went dry. Surely, they were about to tell him that he didn’t qualify, but they would help.

“We know you’ve only met us a few times.” Hiram said, swallowing. “But we’ve asked about you. We know you’re dating Kurt, who has the most impeccable taste in everything I’ve ever seen.” Blaine smiled, he couldn’t help but agree. He was lucky to be Kurt’s number-one accessory.

“Rachel thinks you’re phenomenal. She raved about you for over an hour, she had so many nice things to say about you. She says you’re really talented, too.” Leroy said. Blaine blushed.

“And Burt Hummel said you’re a good kid. For Burt to say that about someone dating his son, that means a lot.” Hiram said. Blaine nodded, his heart aching. He never expected Burt to attest to his personality, it really meant more than he could imagine.

“So, we talked. And we talked with Rachel, too. And we talked to Burt. But we want you to do some talking of your own, and not answer us today, or even tomorrow. Answer us when you’ve done all the thinking you can do. But, Blaine, we would like to offer you a place in our home.” Leroy finished.

Blaine’s eyes shot open wide, and he started breathing heavily.

“We won’t mind if you decline.” Hiram started in, holding up a hand. “We would completely understand if this were to awkward for you. But we do want to extend the offer.”

“Th…thank you.” Blaine stuttered, glancing between the two of them, waiting to wake up and for it all to have been a dream. The men smiled.

“If you come live with us, we want you to know that we don’t want you to try to compensate us.” Leroy said. Hiram nodded.

“If anything, we’ll try to force your father to pay. You’re still his responsibility, whether he wants you to be or not.” Hiram said.

“Take some time to think about it. We’re going to go, we’re going to be late for a meeting. Rachel can show you out after you two talk.” Leroy said, smiling.

“Come back to us at the end of the week, Blaine.” Hiram said, and Blaine nodded, turning and watching as the two men left the room.

Barely half a minute later, Rachel appeared at the doorway, cocking her head against the doorframe and smiling.

“So what do you think?” Rachel asked, biting her lip. Blaine put a hand in his hair, still breathing hard.

“Your parents are the most amazing people.” He said, still barely believing this was happening.

“I know.” Rachel said with a smile, walking into the room and perching on the coffee table in front of Blaine. “You’d be stuck rooming with me, though. We don’t have an extra bedroom, or a way to turn the stageroom downstairs into one.” She said, looking down.

“Rachel, I’m gay. If anyone can deal with rooming with you, it’s me.” He said, and Rachel’s face split open with a smile.

“So you think you’re going to do it?” She asked, and Blaine nodded. Squealing, Rachel threw her arms around Blaine.

“We’re totally getting bunkbeds!”

“So, we’re good?” Kurt asked, and Mercedes smiled and nodded.

“And you’re not going to kill Sam?” She asked, and Kurt shrugged.

“If this is your self-made meltdown, I’ll live with it. But if I hear a single word that sounds like he’s messing with your self-esteem, he will face the wrath of one very angry Kurt Hummel.” Kurt said, twirling around to talk to her as they walked through the parking lot toward their cars.

“Easy, now. I prefer my boyfriends alive.” Mercedes joked.

“And I prefer your boyfriends not hurting my beautiful Mercedes!” Kurt said, pulling her over and kissing her on the cheek. Mercedes laughed.

“I think your phone is going off.” She said at the sound of the ringer. Kurt pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered it quickly when he saw that it was from Blaine. Pointing at the phone and mouthing his boyfriend’s name to Mercedes, he squeezed her hand goodbye and started walking to his car.

“Hey! How’d it go?” He said, climbing into his driver’s seat and waving at Mercedes as she drove out of the parking lot.

“Really well. I’ll tell you when you get here.” Blaine said, and Kurt smiled.

“Great! I’ll be right there. See you in a second.”

“Love you, Kurt.”

“Love you, too.” Kurt said with a smile, hanging up the phone and starting to drive.

When Kurt pulled up to the Berry home, he saw Blaine and Rachel standing on the front porch, Blaine’s arm around Rachel’s shoulders. Kurt honked the horn and leaned out of the window, overjoyed at the big smile on his boyfriend’s face.

“Boyfriend pickup!” He called, and he saw Blaine pull Rachel into a hug and kiss her on the temple before letting her go and running for the car. He got in and leaned over, pressing his lips to Kurt’s, still smiling.

“Hi.” Blaine said. Kurt wanted to burst, and dance, and sing with joy at how happy Blaine was.

“You’re in a good mood. Kurt said. He couldn’t even manage to make it anything other than an observation, Blaine was so happy.

“Let’s get coffee.” Blaine said, taking Kurt’s hand and squeezing it before locking their fingers together. Kurt couldn’t help but think that everything was going to get better.

“They’re offering me to live with them.” Blaine said, loving the feel of being back at his familiar seat in the coffee shop, receiving their coffee from the familiar barista and sipping on the familiar drink.

Kurt stared at him in shock, glad he hadn’t taken a drink of his mocha yet or he might be replaying their first I-Love-Yous.

“You should know that I’d be rooming with Rachel. She’s already raving about bunkbeds. I know stuff happened during the school year, but I know you know that was literally nothing.”

“Oh, I know.” Kurt said, a grin spreading across his face.

“I need to know you’d be okay with that.” Blaine said, and Kurt actually laughed.

“Blaine, you two could sleep in the same bed and I’d know everything was okay.” Kurt said, and Blaine grinned. “I want you to do this. If you want to.”

“You do?” Blaine asked, and Kurt nodded, squeezing his hand.

An hour later they were back at Kurt’s house, and after telling Annie (to great excitement) about Blaine’s probable new residence, they had retired to the basement where Kurt was viciously going through his wardrobe for something to wear that night.

“Your dad is meeting me tonight, Blaine. Not by choice, not on his terms, and not some straightened-up version of me.” Kurt said, comparing two pairs of skinny jeans and tossing the looser of the two back into his drawer with a haphazard nature he never employed except at his most excited. He hung the pair he had selected on a hanger, and had the Alexander McQueen scarf Blaine had given him at the top of the bar as he set about holding up short sleeve shirts up to the pieces to pick a color.

“God, I love you.” Blaine said, wrapping his arms around Kurt’s waist from behind, pressing kisses his boyfriend’s shoulder. Kurt didn’t play indignant like he usually did, but only melted into his boyfriend’s touch.

“Are you changing now?” Blaine asked, and Kurt didn’t bother to bring to attention that he hadn’t picked a shirt yet.

“Yeah.” He said, and felt Blaine’s lips turn to a grin against his skin.

“Let me help you out of those clothes you’re wearing, then.” Blaine said, running a hand under Kurt’s shirt, making him shiver before pulling the shirt off of his boyfriend and spinning him around in his arms, crashing his lips to Kurt’s and starting to unbutton Kurt’s pants. Kurt groaned, leaning in to Blaine’s touch.

He suddenly had the wild wish for Blaine to push him up against the closet door and just fuck him. Kurt was startled by the very thought, since he still didn’t get what the big deal about anal stimulation was, but holy hell anything involving Blaine was exactly what he wanted right now.

It also unsettled Kurt that he was thinking this way. Just this morning, he and Blaine had a minor argument- almost a fight over this. But as Blaine opened his eyes and giggled as he had trouble pulling Kurt’s jeans down, Kurt couldn’t find it in him to stop it. Those lovestruck eyes were all for him… no abandonment or worry or any other emotion in sight. Smiling, he pressed his lips back to Blaine’s as the older boy pushed his pants off of him, followed by his underwear.

“Who said I’m not planning on wearing those?” Kurt asked, laughing. Blaine laughed, too, kissing Kurt’s jaw.

“I do. Every time you wear them I can’t help but hope you’re not wearing anything under them. Blaine said, nipping Kurt’s earlobe. Kurt gasped and bucked back into Blaine.

“Hope?” Kurt asked, and Blaine giggled, though it was much breathier.

“Imagine.” He said, kissing down Kurt’s neck. And, well, hell if Kurt wasn’t completely turned on now. He moaned, pulling at Blaine’s shirt in no particular direction until the older boy quickly threw it off of himself and quickly undid his pants and stripped himself until both he and Kurt were naked.

There was no way Blaine was ever getting used to having Kurt all to himself in every way he possibly could. He stepped back into Kurt’s arms, pressing his lips hard against Kurt’s, hoping Kurt wouldn’t back away and tell him to stop.

Instead of stopping, Kurt ground himself hard into Blaine. Blaine moaned, feeling a bit of burn from skin-against-skin, but loving the feel of Kurt against him. He dug his fingers into Kurt’s shoulders and ground back into him as Kurt ground into him and oh-oh-there was Kurt moaning at the same time he did, and this was so, so right.

“Ugh, Blaine….” Kurt moaned, his fingers digging into Blaine’s hip as Blaine ground himself into the crook of Kurt’s hip as Kurt ground into the soft skin around Blaine’s navel, loving the way Blaine’s abs worked against him under that thin layer of softness.

Blaine’s breathing became heavier and heavier, and sooner than usual he was coming, and after being pent up for so long he came profusely across Kurt, gasping and falling against him. Well aware of his boyfriend’s predicament, he scraped up some of what he just spilled on Kurt into his hand and wrapped it around Kurt, pulling. Gasping at exactly what was being used to lubricate him, Kurt came quickly as well.

The two stood against each other for a few long, panting seconds, grinning at each other and moaning between sloppy little kisses.

“We need to shower.” Kurt said, and Blaine nodded. Kurt took Blaine’s hand and led him into the bathroom, turning on the water before walking in to test the temperature.

Blaine followed Kurt into the shower, gulping as he watched beads of water fall off of his boyfriend’s body. Kurt grinned, turning around and kissing Blaine.

“Don’t get any ideas, we’re just showering.” Kurt whispered, and Blaine nodded, grinning before picking up a bottle of shampoo and squirting some on his hand. Acting as though he were about to put it in his own hair, he quickly attacked Kurt’s hair with it, making the younger boy laugh with delight as Blaine ran his hands through Kurt’s hair vigorously. Kurt giggled and picked up his body wash, starting to slather Blaine’s chest with slippery soap that ran with the water.

“Your shampoo is too fancy, it barely even bubbles.” Blaine pouted, twisting Kurt’s bangs up into a curly-q on top of his head. Kurt giggled, pushing Blaine’s hand away and pouring a giant glob of shampoo on his hand before attacking Blaine’s water-saturated curls with it, loving how thick his hair was and how it stayed however he molded it. Grinning, he set about pulling it into a shape like a crown.

“Just wait until you see what it does for your hair.” Kurt said, kissing Blaine on the nose before pressing his lips against Blaine’s. If it weren’t for Blaine’s soap-slippery body in front of him and the drops of water hitting his back from the shower, Kurt would have completely forgotten they were both naked. It was their normal, fun kissing; nothing heavy or even erotic about it. He pulled back and opened his eyes, grinning at Blaine. Here he was, Kurt’s boyfriend- all of him. Kurt tilted Blaine’s head back into the water to rinse him, watching the suds run down from his hair over his body. Blaine’s eyes were closed, looking peaceful as Kurt blocked any of the suds from sliding into his face. After the shampoo was all gone, Kurt picked the shower gel back up and began to wash Blaine’s abdomen, cleaning him off from where they had spilled.

Blaine opened his eyes and smiled, pulling Kurt under the water to rinse his hair, rubbing away any soap that dared to come over his boyfriend’s lovely eyes, enjoying the way Kurt was rubbing the soap in little circles on his abs, running his fingers over places usually hidden by clothes: the curve of his hip, the top of his thigh, his shoulder. He understood Kurt’s fascination; his eyes were everywhere on Kurt except where they usually fell when they were naked. He took the soap and began to wash Kurt as well, washing in flat strokes across his chest as he leaned in and kissed Kurt’s shoulder.

Eventually Kurt turned Blaine around, starting to run gel across Blaine’s back when he noticed an array of light, sickle-shaped scabs just below Blaine’s neck.

“What happened here?” He asked sharply, frowning as he ran a finger across them, observing the faded bruises surrounding them.

“You.” Blaine snickered, smiling at the memory and trying not to think of just how much he had enjoyed getting them.

“What? When did I… oh.” Kurt said, blushing furiously. “Oh my gosh, Blaine, I’m sorry! Don’t let me do that again! Oh my gosh…."

“Kurt?” Blaine asked, still smiling.

“Yeah?” He answered a little weakly.

“I really don’t mind.” He said, turning over his shoulder, seeing Kurt blush even more, his wet hair flopping all over his face. Gently Kurt pressed his lips against the scabs, pressing a kiss for each of the ten fingernail marks. Blaine turned back forward as Kurt went back to washing his back, extending his line of kisses up the back of Blaine’s neck. He stepped closer to Blaine and suddenly Blaine could feel Kurt against the side of his butt cheek. He closed his eyes hard, trying not to get hard, and from the way Kurt jumped back he knew Kurt had been thinking similarly. Kurt rinsed his back off quickly, and Blaine turned around to see Kurt showing the fullest blush he had ever seen the younger boy show, and that was really saying something.

Gently, if a little hurriedly, Blaine returned the favor and washed Kurt’s back as the younger boy washed off a part of his anatomy he really couldn’t let Blaine touch right now, not as excited as he already was and trying not to show it. Blaine took great care not to bump against Kurt, or to pay too much attention to the unbelievable way Kurt’s ass curved back into his body, the perfect white skin sure to be incredibly soft.

Climbing out of the shower, the two quickly toweled themselves off before going back into the bedroom and dressing. Only when they were both in jeans and shirts- Blaine about died when he saw that Kurt really wasn’t going to wear underwear under those jeans- did they allow themselves to kiss again, hot and anxious and both trying to conceal moans.

A half hour later when Annie dared to rap on the door, they were both sitting on opposite sides of the room doing their own thing. Kurt was perfecting his boldest hairstyle while Blaine sat on his computer, looking through pictures someone had just posted of the end of the Dalton school year.

Annie’s eyes glanced from one to the other, having heard that exceptionally long shower, and observing the way that the two had more space between them than she had ever seen. She also noticed that they both looked even happier than after Blaine told her that he was possibly going to live with the Berrys.

“So are you ready for dinner with your father, Blaine?” Annie asked, wondering if Blaine had lost grip with reality. Kurt shot her an angry look, but to their mutual surprise Blaine just shrugged.

“There’s nothing he can really say to me that he hasn’t already.” Blaine said, closing the pictures and looking up at her.

“I guess…” She said nervously, wondering if Blaine was quite alright. Glancing over at Kurt, she could see a similar concern there.

“As far as I see it, I have nothing right now. I might come out of this knowing whether or not I have any money from my grandparents. I also might come out of this with a little vindication, depending on what happens. Regardless, I get to show off my super hot boyfriend tonight.” He said, glancing up and meeting Kurt’s eyes in the mirror.

“Okay…” Annie said, glancing from one to the other a little incredulously. “Well, Uncle Burt just got home and told me to tell you guys to be ready in half an hour.” She said, and they both nodded as she retreated.

“She’s really suspicious of us, isn’t she?” Blaine asked, his eyes still on the staircase. Kurt grinned.

“Blaine, we were in the shower for over half an hour. You can hear the water upstairs.” He said, turning around looking directly at Blaine.

“Oh.” He said, grinning as well.

“You’re getting nervous now, aren’t you?” Kurt asked, turning to Blaine as they climbed out of Burt’s truck at the restaurant Brian Anderson had selected for them to meet at for dinner. Blaine nodded, swallowing drily and reaching for Kurt’s hand. Kurt brought Blaine’s hand up to his mouth, kissing between the first and second knuckles.

“Like you said earlier, there’s nowhere else to go but up.” He said, and Blaine nodded as they walked around to the end of the parking space where Burt was standing.

“Holding up alright?” Burt asked, patting Blaine’s back. Blaine nodded. Burt smiled at his son, who was holding Blaine’s hand, dressed crazier than he had ever seen, but Burt liked this defiant version of his son much better than the one who had dressed like anyone else to meet this Brian Anderson the last time.

“That’s his car, so they’re already inside.” Blaine said, and flanked by the Hummel men, he walked into the restaurant. The host led them back to the very back of the restaurant, to a more secluded table setting. It was a circular table, and the Andersons sat side by side on the far side, facing them as they entered. Blaine grinned as he saw his parents’ eyes run back and forth between the immaculately dressed Kurt to his left and the gruff Burt to his right. They looked especially appalled every time their eyes fell on the fact that the two boys were holding hands.

“So, you’re Brian Anderson. Burt Hummel.” Burt said, reaching out his hand and shaking Mr. Anderson’s hand. “Nice to meet my son’s boyfriend’s father after all this time.” He said, his voice purposely booming. The Andersons winced. “And Mrs. Anderson. Sorry, I haven’t heard your first name.”

“Isabel.” Mrs. Anderson said with a blank smile, taking a drink of her water. Blaine navigated himself to take a seat next to his mother so that Kurt could sit between him and his father. He wasn’t going to forget how Brian had treated Kurt.

“Nice to meet you as well, Isabel. I know you’ve both met my son, Kurt.” He said, gesturing with one hand to Kurt, who didn’t even bother to smile. The Andersons didn’t either as they nodded.

The waiter came and took their orders, her eyes glancing from one person to the next as she observed the tension coming from the table.

“Enough niceties.” Brian said after she left. “Why are we here? We kicked the boy out, what more do you want from us?” He asked. Kurt felt Blaine shift uncomfortably and squeezed his hand under the table. Blaine laced their hands together, making his grip firmer than it was before.

“We’re here,” Burt said with that smile Kurt knew meant trouble, “because we need to settle Blaine’s financial situation.”

“We’re not paying you anything.” Brian said. Kurt stared at the way Mrs. Anderson looked completely uninterested.

“I don’t expect you to, because unfortunately Blaine can’t stay with us. I’m not going to pretend you care about my family situation, Brian, but I just remarried and as well as my wife and her son, we also have my deceased wife’s niece staying with us this summer. Blaine has an offer to live with another family in Lima, but if that doesn’t work up we’ll still find him another family in Lima to live with. You will be reimbursing the family Blaine will live with at least until he graduates, and you will disclose any money Blaine has to his name.” Burt said, leaning forward in his chair.

“And what makes you think you can tell me what I will and will not do?” Brian asked harshly. Both boys looked over to Burt to see that he was smiling.

“I hear you’re a pretty hot dog lawyer, Brian?” He asked, and the other man nodded.

“I’m an attorney, yes.” Mr. Anderson said.

“Well, I can’t see the story getting out that you kicked your seventeen-year-old son out of your house on account of his being gay doing your business any favors.” Burt said. Kurt’s mouth almost fell open in shock of how awesome his dad was being right now.

“Are you blackmailing me, Hummel?” Brian asked, and Kurt could see that Mrs. Anderson had snapped out of her inattentive attitude and into a slightly worried one.

“No. Because, trust me, if I’m tempted to tell them the story anyway. But if you at least provide for Blaine, I won’t take the story anywhere. If someone else does…” he said, shrugging.

“Fine. We’ll pay these people. What are their names?” Brian asked, his face angry. Burt smiled again.”

“Hiram and Leroy Berry. Of course, Blaine still has to accept the offer.”

“I’m going to.” Blaine said quickly. He saw Burt smiling before he saw the aghast looks on his parents’ faces.

“Hiram.. and… Leroy?” Isabel asked, looking a bit pale. Burt nodded.

“Wonderful men. They actually came to me about taking Blaine in after hearing about what happened from their daughter Rachel.”

Blaine was almost sure his mother was going to faint, and he could practically see the blood boiling in his father’s veins.

“I’m not paying any fucking faggots.” He snarled, and Burt stood up immediately, looming over the man next to him.

“Don’t you dare say that word in front of my son.” He said harshly, his hands clutched in fists. Kurt’s hands immediately shot to his father’s arm, trying to pull him back down. “Or yours, either.”

“Dad…” Kurt said, pulling at his dad’s sleeve worriedly. “Dad, your blood pressure…”

“Please, Mr. Hummel.” Blaine said quietly, and Burt looked over and sighed before sitting back down, glaring at Mr. Anderson, who didn’t speak.

“You’ll reimburse the Berrys for what they’re doing for your son. Like I said, it’s incredibly good of them, what they’re doing.” Burt said, his fists still clenched as Kurt kept a hand on his arm.

“Fine. All of a kind, I suppose.” Brian sneered. Kurt felt like picking up where his father had left off, but decided against it.

“And what about any other money he has?” Burt asked. It was Mrs. Anderson who spoke.

“His grandparents have a trust fund set up for him in New York. I’m not sure how much money there is in it, but it’s there.” She said.

“It’s up to them if they take it away.” Brian said, the contempt in his voice belying his personal opinion on the matter. Just then, the waiter arrived with their food.

“Do they know what’s going on?” Burt asked as he began to eat. Brian shook his head.

“I haven’t told them. I’m sure the topic of the boy leaving will come up, but I’m not going to explain why.” He said.

“He has a name, you know. From how this sort of thing usually works, I’m pretty sure you gave it to him.” Kurt said fiercely. He didn’t miss his father’s little smile at his impertinence. Burt wasn’t very happy with how Mr. Anderson was referring to his son, either.

The Andersons stared at him blankly, as though unsure of what to think. Kurt found Blaine’s hand gripping his so hard it almost hurt.

“It will be up to Blaine to explain why he is no longer welcome in my house.” Mr. Anderson said, and Blaine flinched at the way his father spat out his name in such a mocking way.

“Well, before you go saying he’s not welcome, what about his belongings there?” Burt asked, leaning forward again. Brian studied him and sighed.

“He can come and take whatever of his he wants. We don’t have use for it.” He said. Blaine’s eyes grew wide in shock.

“What about his car?” Burt asked, not relenting. “I’ve seen that car quite a bit, it’s a nice car.”

“From what I hear, you’d know.” Brian said, and Blaine’s hand started shaking in Kurt’s from fury as he recognized the mocking tone in his father’s voice about Burt’s profession.

“I do know. I also noticed that you drive a Mercedes. Another nice car.” He said pointedly. “So I can’t see you needing this one, if it’s paid off, unless you need money from it.” He said, and Kurt’s mouth fell open a little bit as he heard the challenge in his father’s voice.

“It’s paid off. He can have it. We have plenty of money without it.” Mr. Anderson answered viciously. Burt nodded.

“Then it’s settled. The boys will stop by to collect his things after dinner. I’ll wait outside to make sure everything goes according to plan.

“BLAINE!” Jessie screamed, running down the stairs and into her brother’s arms within seconds after him calling her name. She stayed there for almost a minute before glancing over and seeing Kurt, quickly fleeing Blaine’s arms for his boyfriend’s. Kurt held her tight, rocking her back and forth.

“How are you, Sweetheart?” Kurt asked, drawing back to look at her. Jessie grinned. There was another tooth missing in that smile.

“I’m fine. How are you two? Blaine told me he’s been staying with you. So you’ve been having, like, a big sleepover?” She asked, and Kurt laughed, taking her hand as they started up the stairs. Blaine took her other.

“We’re okay, Jess.” Blaine said, smiling at his little sister.

“Definitely the best sleepover ever.” Kurt said, winking at Jessie. Maybe she’d figure that one out in a few years.

“It’s ending soon, though. I’m going to go live with my friend Rachel. You’d like her. You kind of look alike, actually.” Blaine said as they reached the top of the stairs. Jessie stopped, and Blaine had to turn around to see her.

“So you’re not coming back?” She asked, and Blaine groaned and picked her up, carrying into his room as Kurt followed behind. She wasn’t as easy to carry as she had been when she was younger, but he managed to get her on his bed and in her lap. Kurt perched himself down next to the siblings.

“No. We met with Mom and Dad today and worked out that I could come home and get what I wanted to take tonight. Unfortunately, you don’t count.”

“I wish I did.” Jessie said, sort of sighing.

“Is everything alright here?” Blaine asked, and Jessie nodded.

“They leave me alone, really. I’m just here with Therese most of the time.” She said, and Blaine nodded.

“Well, if something happens, let me know and I’ll be here in no time. They’re letting me have the car, so I can.” He said. Jessie smiled.

“Okay.”

“And we’ll try to work it out so we can see you.” Kurt said, smiling at Jessie.� “Like Blaine said, I bet you’ll get along famously with Rachel. There’s my cousin Annie, too. I bet you’d like to have some older girls around instead of just we boys.” Jessie shook her head at his words.

“I like having you boys around. Boys are more fun than girls most of the time, anyway. All the girls want to do is paint their finger nails and try to kiss boys.”

“Sounds like Kurt.” Blaine said in a stage whisper, earning him a punch in the arm from Kurt and a giggle from Jessie.

“That’s why you find cool girls like Rachel and Annie.” Kurt said with a grin. Jessie nodded.

“So are we good?” Blaine asked, and Jessie nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll help you get your stuff.” She said a little sadly before setting about the room. Blaine went up to attic and found some boxes, and they loaded a few up full of stuff. Blaine didn’t feel like taking unnecessary things just to have stuff, and the fact that he had moved twice a year for the past three years meant that he only had so many belongings anyway. Even some of what he did have weren’t needed anymore, such as the bedding and laundry baskets from his dorm room. Most of the things he was taking were clothes and books.

“So I guess that’s it.” Blaine said, studying the stack of boxes. He wondered if he should be feeling more emotion about leaving this house, but in his mind he had already left. This was just the end of the uncertainty about it. In a way, it was almost comforting.

The two took the boxes out and loaded them in Burt’s truck, Jessie following along and pretending to help. When they were all loaded, Jessie clung to Blaine’s waist and didn’t let go.

“Jess, you know I’ve gotta go.” Blaine said, his voice wavering.

“I wanna go, too.” Jessie said, starting to cry. It was possibly the most childish thing Kurt had ever heard Jessie say, but he could feel his heart breaking.

“Jess…” Blaine said, crouching down and taking her in his arms again, tears brimming up in his eyes as he hugged his little sister. “You can still get ahold of me any time, Jessie. You know that.” He tried to reason, but the tears were still coming. “I’m always going to be there for you. Just have courage, remember?” He said. Jessie shook her head.

“I don’t want courage, I want my big brother.” She said, and Kurt started crying. He glared at Mr. Anderson, who was standing nonchalantly by the garage, being forced into conversation by Burt. Mrs. Anderson had long-ago gone inside.

“You’ve still got me, Jessie. You know you do.” Blaine said. Kurt stepped over, putting a hand on each of their backs as he crouched down as well. Jessie looked over and released herself from her brother’s arms and into Kurt’s.

“Take care of my brother.” Jessie whispered in his ear, and Kurt nodded.

“Of course I will. And Rachel will, too. Blaine has a lot of friends in Lima.” Kurt said, and Jessie nodded.

“I know he loves you a lot.” Jessie said, and Kurt’s tears fell even harder as he held the little girl.

“I love him a lot, too.” He whispered.

“GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!” Kurt heard Mr. Anderson yell, and Jessie shook in his arms. He glanced up to see his dad yelling at Mr. Anderson. Blaine, now standing, was literally shaking with anger. He caught Kurt’s eye and smirked before bending over and pressing his lips to Kurt’s gently, flipping his father off. Jessie giggled as Mr. Anderson stormed into the house.

“I love you, Blaine.” She said, turning back and hugging Blaine again. He kissed her on the forehead.

“I love you too, Jessie.”

“Love you, sweetheart.” Kurt said, and she turned around and kissed him on the cheek.

“Love you too, Kurt.” She said as he stood up. She turned back to Blaine and gave him a kiss on the cheek, too.

“I’ll send you pictures when I move in with Rachel, okay? And I’ll call you tomorrow night.”

“Okay.” She said, and with a big deep breath she walked back into the house. As the door shut, Blaine sunk onto Kurt’s shoulder. Kurt wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and kissed his forehead.

“Come on, kids.” Burt said, walking up and patting them both on the back “Kurt, you go ahead and ride back in Blaine’s car.” He said, and Kurt nodded before walking over to Blaine’s car. As soon as they were driving, Blaine’s hand was in his.

Burt beat them home since Blaine decided to take the drive slowly. They didn’t speak at all on the ride back to Lima, but instead just held hands softly and stole little glances at each other that turned to smiles long before the ride was over. Even with his heart broken over leaving Jessie behind, he couldn’t help but feel optimistic. It was only up from here, really. Jessie would be okay without him, and she even had him at a distance. He had a place to go, and his father would even be reimbursing the Berrys. And, as he glanced over at Kurt, he couldn’t help but marvel at the wonderful boyfriend he had. A wonderful boyfriend who loved him and would do anything for him. A strong, gorgeous, fearless boyfriend who constantly reminded him of just what it meant to be a good person and who he could truly be happy around.

That night as they climbed into Kurt’s bed, Kurt cuddled up into his arms quickly and started playing with his hair.

“What are you thinking about?” Kurt asked, kissing him on the cheek. Blaine smiled, putting a hand in the back of Kurt’s hair.

“I hope we get married someday.” He said quietly, looking at Kurt as he said it. Kurt’s eyes grew even softer before he closed them, pressing his lips to Blaine’s.

“I hope so, too.” He answered, and rested his head on Blaine’s chest as the two allowed themselves to fall asleep.