Kurt frowned, swallowing the lump in his throat. It wasn't like Blaine not to answer his phone and it certainly wasn't like him to lurk outside.

Looking up at Finn, Kurt saw the confusion mirrored on his brother's face.

"Why is he just sitting there?" Finn asked, curious as to why Blaine would be outside when there was so much delicious food inside.

Repressing his rising panic, Kurt was moving to put on shoes before he even had the chance to process his actions. He was halfway out the door before he called to Finn. "I'll be back."

Kurt quickly crossed the street, stopping in front of the passenger side window. He bent down to peer inside but Blaine didn't notice him. He was hunched over the steering wheel, staring straight head.

Kurt frowned again, tapping on the window to get Blaine's attention. Blaine visibly jumped at the sudden noise and Kurt smiled at him in apology. The stared at one another for several seconds until Kurt motioned for Blaine to open the door.
Blaine hesitated for a moment, taking a noticeably large breath before acquiescing and letting Kurt inside.

Kurt quirked his head to the side in confusion, but quickly climbed in. The sound of the door closing seemed unnaturally loud in the silence that surrounded them.
Kurt saw Blaine's phone, abandoned on the dash, the screen flashing for notifications of missed messages.
Kurt's concern only grew when he finally looked properly at his boyfriend. His clothes were rumpled and hair dishevelled. Blaine's whole body was tense and his hands were clutching the steering wheel so tightly, the knuckles were white. He wouldn't look at Kurt.
Something was seriously wrong.

"Blaine…" Kurt started. He had never seen Blaine like this before. It was starting to scare him.

Blaine opened his mouth to speak but promptly shut it, still refusing to meet Kurt's worried gaze.

Wanting to comfort Blaine, Kurt tentatively reached out and placed his hand on Blaine's thigh in support. Blaine jumped at the contact, and Kurt immediately withdrew the hand as if it were burnt.

Looking over at his boyfriend, it was the concerned and slightly hurt look on Kurt's face that finally broke Blaine's silence.
"I'm sorry Kurt. I'm so sorry…" Blaine collapsed his head onto the wheel, trying desperately not to give in to the overwhelming urge to cry.

"Blaine what's wrong? What happened?" Kurt inched closer to his boyfriend, careful to still give him his space.

Blaine spoke so softly it was a whisper "I don't know what to do anymore." He paused for a moment, lifting his head. He was just so god damn tired of it all. "I don't think I can do it anymore."

"Blaine…" Kurt was terrified, the fear evident in his voice. All he wanted to do was hold Blaine but was afraid it would only make matters worse.

"I just…" Blaine trailed off again, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Whatever it is you can tell me," Kurt offered softly. "You can tell me anything..."

Blaine opened his eyes to look at Kurt and saw nothing but love and concern reflected in those beautiful eyes. It always amazed him how much emotion Kurt could convey with the simplest facial expression. But his eyes - his eyes were phenomenal.
Even though Kurt was finally right in front of him and every fibre of his being wanted to reach out to him, Blaine didn't know how to start. How could he tell him?

Kurt could see the indecision racing across Blaine's face; and the fear. Unable to resist the need to comfort Blaine any longer, Kurt reached up and placed his hand over Blaine's. He gently pried his fingers off the steering wheel. He felt Blaine immediately tangle their fingers together. Kurt was encouraged by this and smiled softly, resting their hands in the empty space between them.

Blaine sighed and shifted slightly in his seat, looking down at their joined hands. He felt Kurt squeeze his hand, conveying his support.

Several minutes of silence ensued while Blaine was working up the strength to talk. Kurt remained quiet, continuing to hold Blaine's hand, his thumb gently stroking over the skin.
Blaine took a deep breath and reluctantly let go of Kurt's hand. "There's something I have to show you."
Before he lost the nerve, Blaine quickly shoved up his short sleeves to reveal ugly purple bruises on his upper arms.

"Blaine…" Kurt whispered, fully aware of how much those bruises looked like fingerprints. Kurt immediately wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.

Blaine curled his arms around Kurt, noticing the tender and careful way Kurt was holding him. He winced when Kurt's hand stroked his lower back, and though Kurt quickly moved his hand, he refused to let go of him. Blaine only held him tighter, ignoring the knowledge that he had another bruise, and just wanting to lose himself in the feeling of his boyfriend's arms around him.

Kurt knew that Blaine and his father fought – when the man bothered to talk to his son at all – but never like this. Kurt held back tears as he confirmed, "Your Dad?"

Blaine's body shook as he nodded his head, his fingers clinging tightly to the material of Kurt's shirt. He never wanted to let go; he couldn't.

Kurt immediately pressed soft kisses to the side of Blaine's face, whispering into his ear. "I love you. I love you so much."

At Kurt's words, Blaine felt something inside him snap and he surrendered himself to all the emotions he had been holding in the past few hours. Blaine didn't know how long he cried, shaking with the pain of everything that had happened. The years of neglect and the recent physical abuse all flashed through his mind with perfect clarity. He tried to reconcile how his father could hurt him intentionally – tried to understand why he didn't see it coming after years of indifference sporadically interrupted with bouts of intense anger. He should have known. His father had never really accepted him; tolerated him perhaps, but never accepted him. Blaine wasn't even sure if his father loved him. Maybe he never had.

Kurt had no idea how long they sat in the car, just holding one another. He was currently carding his fingers through Blaine's hair in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. Blaine still had his arms wrapped around Kurt's torso, holding tightly. Eventually Blaine's body stopped shaking and his breathing started to return to normal.
Blaine slowly pulled back from Kurt, taking long, deep breaths. He made sure to grab Kurt's hands as Blaine closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out everything but his boyfriend. He focused on Kurt: the way Kurt held him, how safe he felt with Kurt. He was loved here; he was wanted.

Blaine exhaled shakily, removing his grip on Kurt's hand in an attempt to wipe away the tears on his face inconspicuously.
Kurt reached toward Blaine and, with a small smile on his face, gently batted Blaine's hands away. He proceeded to kiss Blaine's face in an agonizingly tender way, trying to convey without speaking how much he loved him.

Feeling Kurt's lips trail over his face in the same pattern his tears had fallen stirred something deep inside of Blaine. He was amazed and slightly overwhelmed at how much Kurt loved him; and how much he loved Kurt in return.

When Kurt pulled away from his face with a lingering kiss to the forehead, Blaine couldn't stop the way his lips quirked up into a smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," Kurt returned instantly, his thumb gently stroking Blaine's cheek. For the first time he noticed the slight disclosing on Blaine's jaw; the beginning of a bruise. Kurt gently kissed the affected area before wrapping Blaine tightly in his arms again. Blaine hugged Kurt fiercely, taking comfort in his presence, grateful for his support

It was Kurt who pulled back first this time, but not before tangling their fingers together again. "Let's go inside, hmm? I have a fantastic dinner waiting for you."

"I don't think I can eat right now." Blaine shook his head in apology "I'm sorry you wasted…"

"Don't be silly," Kurt interrupted. "If you're not hungry now, you will be later. It'll keep."
Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand for emphasis.

"You should come inside."
"I…yeah. Okay."
As Kurt smiled that stunning smile of his that always made Blaine's heart race, Blaine felt that at least for now, in this moment, things might be okay.