He could add two more things to that list.

The sound of the pyrotechnics exploding would be something that would be ingrained into his memory just as surely as the rest of those things.

The second one was the look on Kurt’s face when Kurt entered his hospital room.

Blaine never wanted to see that look again.

“Blaine,” Kurt breathed, taken aback by the sight of him for a moment. Then he hurried to Blaine’s bedside, the opposite of his mother, taking Blaine’s hand. Tears were slipping down his face and he leaned over Blaine, hands shaking as if he was afraid to touch him.

Blaine took one of Kurt’s hands in his and grasped it tightly. “I’m okay,” he said. His head was still swimming from the pain medication, he couldn’t see out of his right eye, and he had multiple cuts and scrapes, but he was okay.

“I was so worried when I found out,” Kurt managed, wiping at his face with his free hand. “No one was answering their phones and I didn’t know anything and…”

“Shhh,” Blaine hushed him. “You’re here now.”

“Why don’t we give you two some time?” Grace suggested quietly. “Your father and I will round up Julie and go get some coffee.”

She dropped a kiss on Blaine’s forehead. “I love you, sweet boy.” Grace murmured, before heading for the door with Kurt’s father. “Call us if anything changes.”

Kurt nodded. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Me too,” Blaine replied. “Today was… scary.”

“What happened?”

“We were blocking a shot for a song performance and something malfunctioned with the pyrotechnics and that’s really all I know,” Blaine replied. “I was the closest to them.”

“Blaine,” Kurt gasped out. He was gripping Blaine’s hand tightly. They fell quiet for a moment and then Blaine continued.

“I hurt my eye pretty bad,” he admitted. “I have to have surgery.”

“You’re kidding?” He could see the shock and worry on Kurt's face.

Blaine shook his head and regretted it as the room spun a little. “Nope. Probably in the next day or so.”

“Well, I’m definitely staying until after that.”

“You can’t miss school,” Blaine protested.

“You don’t get a say in this, Blaine,” Kurt replied. “If I have to, I’ll email my work back to them or something.” He sighed. “I’m not leaving you.”

They fell silent for a moment.

“How’s everyone else? Nick? Jeff?” Kurt wanted to know.

“Fine, mostly,” Blaine answered. “Nick had to get some stitches and I think Jeff might have a concussion – they’re keeping him for observation.”

“I’m glad,” Kurt breathed out. Blaine could tell Kurt’s hands were shaking.

“Lie with me,” he said, suddenly needing to feel Kurt’s arms around him.

“What?” Blaine patted the bed, sliding a little to the right, despite his protesting muscles.

“Lie with me.” Kurt bit his lip, but then moved slowly, putting his knee up on the bed and sliding down into the space Blaine had made. His arm wrapped around Blaine’s and their hands linked.

“I was so scared, Blaine,” Kurt murmured. “So scared.”

“I know,” Blaine replied. “I was too.”

He snuggled as close as he dared, staring at Kurt with his good eye until he couldn’t stay awake any longer.

*

Things moved rapidly after that. Julie made a statement to the press on his and Blaine’s behalf, explaining Blaine’s injuries and requesting that they have time to themselves to recover from the horrible events.

The studio indicated that a full scale investigation had been launched and production had been delayed while several of the cast and crew recovered from minor injuries. The damage to the set was not extensive, despite what happened, and it was hoped that it would not put them too far behind schedule.

Blaine’s surgery was scheduled for the next day and Kurt was firm in staying LA until Blaine was home from the hospital, having agreed to stay with his mother until his vision was back to normal.

What none of them discussed is what Blaine would do if his vision loss was permanent. It was a subject none of them wanted to broach until the surgery had been completed and Blaine’s eyes were given a chance to heal.

The morning of Blaine’s surgery, Kurt was beside himself. He’d barely slept, even though he was in Blaine’s bed. He took comfort in Blaine’s scent, letting it wash over him.

He took a moment to tweet his and Blaine’s thanks to the fans for all their well wishes and support and added that Blaine’s surgery was that morning.

His father knocked on the door and reminded him of the time, so Kurt took the fastest shower of his life and rushed through his routine. He barely cared what he was wearing as he hurried to get ready.

When they arrived at the hospital, Blaine was already being prepped. Grace was holding his hand and a nurse was changing out his IV for something stronger.

Blaine lit up when Kurt entered the room and Kurt moved to stand next to Grace. “Morning,” he said as he bent down and kissed Blaine’s cheek.

“What’s the plan?” Burt asked Grace. Kurt half listened, holding Blaine’s hand and stroking the hair back off his forehead.

“They’re coming down for him in a few minutes, and they said it could be an hour or two, and then he’ll be in recovery for a while before we can see him.”

“I love you,” Kurt whispered to Blaine, kissing him lightly on the lips. “I love you and I’m going to be right here when you wake up, okay?”

Blaine nodded and Kurt’s heart broke when he saw tears pooling in Blaine’s left eye. “It’s okay,” Kurt tried to comfort him. “It’ll be okay, Blaine.”

Blaine sniffled. “Woah,” he muttered. “Think the medication is kicking in.”

“That’s a good thing,” Kurt laughed a little.

“I love you,” he told Kurt. “More than my own life.”

“Same.” Kurt kissed him again, and then stepped back, letting Grace speak to Blaine quietly.

“Good luck, kiddo,” Burt said. “We’ll be here when you get out.” Two orderlies came in then, followed by a nurse, who set about transferring Blaine to a gurney.

Blaine gave a feeble wave as he was wheeled away out of sight.

Kurt waited until Blaine was gone to let his tears fall.

*

The surgery went well, despite the fact that Kurt felt he would go out of his mind the entire time they waited for news. Nick even came by the hospital (showing off the seven stitches in the back of his hand) and Jeff came down to the waiting room once he was discharged to wait with them. Kurt got more details about what happened and shuddered when the boys described the events.

The nurse finally came and got them and let them know Blaine was in recovery and would be back in his room soon. It felt like they’d waited forever for the news, but he knew it probably hadn’t been that long. Kurt breathed a sigh of relief. The panic wouldn’t fully disappear until he could see Blaine again, but for now, it was good news. He exchanged high fives with Nick and Jeff and hugs with his father and Grace.

Burt insisted they all go down to the cafeteria and eat. Kurt resisted but conceded when his father pointed out if they ate now, he could stay all afternoon with Blaine. He picked at his burger and fries, the most edible looking thing on the menu next to his father’s incredibly limp salad.

Grace called Blaine’s father and had a short conversation with him that had Kurt seething with rage. How dare that man ask about Blaine? If he cared, he’d be on a plane out to see his son. Kurt didn’t say that, of course. He just didn’t understand the dynamic between Blaine’s parents, not one bit.

He pulled out his phone and sent out a tweet to everyone he knew was waiting, his friends and of course, the fans.

Blaine’s out of surgery. Anticipating several gay pirate jokes. Stand by.

@KurtHummel

He read through immediate replies from his friends, smiling softly as they sent their well wishes (except for Puck, who got a head start the gay pirate jokes).

“Come on, kiddo.” Burt got his attention. “He should be back in his room now.”

Kurt practically leapt up, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “Let’s go then.”

*

Blaine knew he was out of it. His head was swimming and his tongue felt like he’d stuffed his mouth with cotton. His eye throbbed occasionally, so he kept both of them closed.

“Blaine,” Kurt said his name softly. Blaine cracked open his good eye.

“Hi,” he drawled out.

“How are you feeling?” Kurt asked, looking concerned.

“Good,” Blaine answered, drawing out the word. “You look like an angel,” he continued. “All pretty and shiny.”

Kurt giggled. “What are you on?”

“Don’t know,” Blaine said. “It’s good.”

He could hear more laughter and turned his head a little to see Nick and Jeff standing with Burt and his mother.

“Nick! Jeff!” Blaine exclaimed. “My bestest friends of all my friends.”

“Man, my kingdom for a camera right now,” Jeff lamented. Nick laughed.

“Never fear, I’ve got mine,” he announced, pulling it out of his pocket. He turned the camera option on and hit record. “Say hi, Blaine.”

“Hi,” Blaine drawled out.

“Okay, guys,” Kurt gave them a stern look. Nick and Jeff left after a few more minutes, both of them trying to fist bump Blaine. The boys were hysterical because Blaine kept missing, but Kurt didn’t laugh. Blaine kept missing because Blaine couldn’t see and Kurt couldn’t find that funny.

Blaine drifted in and out of sleep the rest of the afternoon and Kurt found himself dozing in the chair beside his bed as well.

Burt finally dragged him back to Blaine’s place for sleep since the hospital was going to keep him one more day before sending him home. Kurt sighed when he saw the swarm of photographers and reporters waiting for him when they headed out the doors of the hospital.

Kurt gave them a halfhearted wave, knowing he must look terrible, but unwilling to care at the moment. They shouted at him, calling out questions but Kurt didn’t answer. Burt kept up a steady stream of “No comment” during their march to Grace’s car. Once inside, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“He’s gonna be okay, Kurt,” his father said.

“I know,” Kurt murmured.

“You think you need a bodyguard or something? Those reporters were kinda vicious.”

Kurt really hadn’t given that a lot of thought. He knew Blaine had Wes and David, but he only used them sporadically. “I don’t know.”

“It’s something I think we need to think about,” Burt told him, putting the car into drive. “Blaine comes home tomorrow.” He let that dangle there, and Kurt sighed.

“I know, Dad,” he said. “I know that means we’re going home the day after.”

“Good,” Burt cleared his throat. “You’ve missed enough school.”

“I know.”

“You seem to know a lot of things today.”

Kurt sighed again and Burt patted his knee.

*

The next few days passed in kind of a blur for Kurt. Blaine came home from the hospital and they spent the day getting him settled at his mother’s. He needed a lot of help, the most basic of tasks taking twice as long because his depth perception was off.

Blaine, of course, got frustrated a lot and Kurt didn’t know what to do with him when he was like that. Grace’s infinite patience with both of them was tested many times. Still, it didn’t stop Kurt from not wanting to leave Blaine or Blaine from clinging to Kurt in an effort to keep him from going (Kurt blamed that on Blaine’s medication).

Their arrival home was quiet; God knew what news replacing Dalton as the current top story and for that Kurt was grateful. He felt raw on the inside and he didn’t think he could take any more of anything at the moment.

Carole was waiting for them in the kitchen with a hug and smile for both of them. Kurt took quick comfort in her embrace, excusing himself upstairs to his room.

“Wait,” Carole said, smiling widely. She pulled two envelopes out from where they kept the important papers and handed them to Kurt. “I didn’t mention it to your dad while you were in California because I didn’t want you thinking about it while Blaine needed you.”

Kurt took the envelopes with shaking hands, the return addresses mocking him. He stared down at them, hardly daring to breathe.

He was holding his future in his hands.

*

Kurt put the second letter down, laying it beside the first on his bed and stared down at them with a frown on his face.

He sighed.

He needed to call Blaine.