Blaine snapped into action the moment he was back in his room. He grabbed his satchel and a duffle bag and went to work, throwing clothes and his toiletries in them, along with his laptop.

He couldn't stay there any longer. He had to home to Westerville. He packed in a panic, texting Kurt as he worked.

Can you come get me?
-B

Are you okay?
-K

No. Have to get out of here.
-B

Blaine, it's late, you should get some sleep.
-K

Please come get me. I can't do this anymore.
-B

I'll be there in ten minutes.
-K

Blaine sank down on his bed and begged for Kurt to hurry. He had to get out of there before the Danvers figured out what he was up to and tried to stop him. He was surprised they hadn't come in already, but thankful they hadn't. Perhaps they thought if they left him alone, gave him more time, he'd come around, that he'd be happy there. Blaine knew the truth though, and it would never happen.

Kurt texted that he was pulling up and Blaine opened his bedroom window, lifting the screen. He dropped his bag outside and slipped his satchel over his shoulder before pulling himself through the window and out into the lawn. Blaine grabbed his bag and darted around the house, heading for Kurt's SUV. He hopped in, breathless, throwing his bag into the back seat as Kurt pulled away.

They'd barely driven far when Kurt pulled over to the side of the road and killed the engine. He turned to Blaine and gave him a long look.

"Okay," he said. "What is going on?"

"I can't stay there anymore," Blaine answered. "I just can't. I told them I wanted to go home and they just stared at me liked I'd slapped them or something. They're not going to let me go, Kurt, so I'm leaving myself."

"Blaine," Kurt said in a strangled voice. "I-"

"Please," Blaine begged. "I can't go back there tonight." He wiped away a tear. "If you can't take me to Westerville, I understand, but can you at least take me to a bus station?"

Kurt just stared at him.

"Wait," Blaine said. "That's probably not a good idea. They'd just call the cops on my parents and I can't do that to them."

"Blaine," Kurt said, sounding like he was trying to keep calm. "You can't just up and leave."

"You don't know what it's like, Kurt," Blaine snapped. "Just please."

"Fine," Kurt finally agreed, starting the car. "I'll take you to my house."

"No," Blaine refused. "No. Your parents will just make me go home."

"They won't," Kurt promised.

"Then just let me out at the corner," Blaine told him. "You can forget you saw me and I'll –"

"You'll what?" Kurt asked. "What will you do, Blaine? Run away? How does that help anything?"

"I don't know!" Blaine shouted, crying now.

Kurt was silent for a moment and then turned on the turn signal, pulling into a parking lot of a nearby motel. He turned to Blaine once he'd parked the car.

"Let's compromise," Kurt offered. "We'll stay here tonight. I'll call my dad and tell him where we are and have him call your parents and let them know you're safe."

Blaine was shaking his head. "They'll find us."

"We'll tell them that we need tonight," Kurt replied. "It'll be okay, and then tomorrow I'll take you home and you can talk to your parents and decide what happens next." Kurt was crying now too, and Blaine felt terrible. He didn't know what else to do but agree.

"Okay."

*

Kurt's phone call to his father was short. True to his word Kurt didn't tell him anything other than Blaine was in a bad place and the only way to keep him from running away was the compromise they'd reached. Kurt's father probably hadn't taken that well but Blaine hadn't been able to hear that part of the conversation and he didn't really care. He had to figure out what he was going to do next.

Kurt hung up and tossed his phone down on the bed.

"Was he pissed?" Blaine asked.

"A little, but he understands," Kurt replied. "He knows that I'm only trying to help you."

"I don't know what I would do without you," Blaine murmured, moving toward him and pulling Kurt close. Blaine held him tightly, burying his face in Kurt's neck. Kurt seemed stiff at first but then he hugged back. Blaine couldn't imagine a better place in the world than Kurt's arms (except maybe the bedroom at his parents' house in Westerville).

"It's late," Kurt whispered after a few minutes. "We should get some sleep."

Blaine nodded, pulling back. The room had come with two double beds for which he was glad. He loved Kurt and sharing a bed with him would have been amazing, but he was pretty sure he'd be tempted to do other things if they did. He was nowhere near ready for sex (and neither was Kurt from what little they'd discussed it in the short time they'd been together).

He pulled a pair of pajamas out of his bag and handed them to Kurt. "Here; I know you don't have anything."

Kurt smiled but it seemed tight and forced. Blaine bit his lip, watching him disappear into the bathroom. He wasn't sure but something seemed off with Kurt.

Blaine hurried and changed into the other set of pajamas in his bag and pulled back the covers on the bed closest to the wall. Kurt came out a moment later in the pajamas and Blaine's breath caught in his throat. He looked amazing, though Blaine wondered how much of that was because he was wearing Blaine's clothes.

Blaine felt Kurt's eyes on him as he slipped into the bed and settled down on the pillow. Kurt did the same with the other bed and then Blaine reached up to turn the light off. The room plunged into darkness.

"Good night, Kurt," he whispered.

There was silence for a moment and then Kurt whispered back.

"Good night, Blaine."

*

Blaine was almost asleep when he heard it. It was a snuffling kind of noise and it took him a moment to identify where it was coming from in the dark room.

It was coming from Kurt. If he didn't know any better he'd swear that Kurt was crying.

He let it go on for another moment, trying to determine what was happening. A less than muffled sob sounded out and that was the last straw. Blaine slipped out of the bed and crossed the small divide between his bed and Kurt's, perching on the edge of Kurt's bed.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Blaine asked quietly.

"Nothing," came Kurt's hoarse voice.

"You're crying," Blaine pointed out. "Something is obviously bothering you."

"Just let it go, Blaine," Kurt replied, sniffling. "Go to sleep."

"I can't do that," Blaine refuted. "You're my boyfriend and my best friend and I can't just listen to you cry without trying to help."

"You really have no idea what's bothering me?" Kurt snapped, sitting up. His eyes glittered in the darkness.

"No," Blaine answered, feeling oblivious.

"You're leaving me, you idiot," Kurt muttered, "and I can't even be mad at you because I know how miserable you are and how much pain you're in."

Blaine stared at Kurt in shock. Never once had he considered that Kurt would see it that way.

"Oh, God, is that what you think?" Blaine gasped. "No, Kurt, I couldn't, I could never..." he trailed off, moving to grab Kurt's hands which were now resting on top of the bedspread.

"But you want to go back to the Andersons and if your parents let you then you're going to go and I'll be left here."

"I might be farther away, Kurt, but never once was I going to break up with you," Blaine explained. "I know that doing things long distance might be difficult, but I know we can do it." His voice grew even quieter. "I'm a selfish person, I know, but I want it all, Kurt. I want you and I want to live with the parents that raised me and I want to go to New York with you after I graduate."

Kurt inhaled sharply.

"So you want to make this work?"

"Yes," Blaine breathed out.

"I thought..." he trailed off. "I don't know what I thought."

"I could never," Blaine said again. "I love you."

Kurt's eyes widen though Blaine can see it in the dim lighting. He leaned forward and put his arms up on Blaine's shoulders. "I love you, too," he replied softly. "And I am never saying goodbye to you."

Blaine smiled, pressing a soft kiss to Kurt's lips. One kiss became another and another. Blaine knew this was probably a bad idea but the idea that Kurt thought Blaine didn't want him made him feel like he had something to prove. Kurt's kisses had a tinge of desperation in them, as if he could make Blaine stay with just the power of them.

He let Kurt pull him farther onto the bed, laying back, their lips never parting. Kurt moaned when Blaine's lips trailed from his mouth down to his neck and Blaine pulled back. "We should stop before we get carried away."

"What if I want to get carried away?"

"Kurt," Blaine whined. "Come on."

Kurt sighed. "Okay." Blaine settled back on the bed and pulled Kurt close, snuggling up to him. With Kurt in his arms, he was finally able to put everything else out of his head – his family and all the drama - and fall asleep.

*

Waking up the next morning was both amazing and awkward. He was pressed up against Kurt (which was the amazing part) and apparently turned on by it (the awkward part), and he didn't know how to extricate himself from Kurt (who was half lying on him) without waking Kurt up. Blaine glanced at the clock and muffled a groan. It was late morning. Elaine and Michael would be on their way back from Church (if they'd even gone), and he and Michael were supposed to work on the car.

Except that he'd told them he wanted to go home. He didn't want to go back there and see the disappointment on their faces or hear that he couldn't. He didn't think he could handle that.

He just... he missed his parents and his friends and his... life. He'd spent sixteen years making it and it was his. Blaine didn't want to give it up (which only made him feel awful, but he couldn't help it).

A tear slipped from the corner of his eye and he wiped it away hastily. If he started crying now, he'd never stop.

"Hey," Kurt murmured sleepily. "Are you okay?"

Blaine shook his head. "I'm a terrible person, Kurt."

"No, you're not," Kurt denied.

"But I am," Blaine insisted. "I'm spoiled and selfish and I don't care about anyone's feelings but mine."

"I think, in this situation, that's okay," Kurt whispered, staring at him with concern. His hand stroked Blaine's face and Blaine leaned into the touch. "No matter what anyone else says, Blaine, you didn't make this happen. You were just a kid and Cooper was offering you a present. Of course you went with him."

"I keep telling myself that but then I see how much I'm hurting everyone I love and everyone who loves me and I just..." Blaine rambled out.

"I don't think there are any right answers here," Kurt replied. "I think that you have to do what makes you happy."

"You make me happy," Blaine said, meeting his gaze. "I don't know how I got so lucky to find you in this mess."

"I love you," Kurt told him, speaking softly, almost shy.

"I love you more," Blaine teased, a fleeting smile crossing his lips. He glanced at the clock again. "As much as I don't want to we should probably go."

"It'll be okay, Blaine," Kurt promised, kissing him lightly. "And I'll be right there with you – you won't have to do this alone."

"Thank you," Blaine murmured. "I don't think I can do this without you."

*

Blaine's heart was pounding when they pulled up in front of the Danvers house. He didn't know what was going to happen and honestly, he feared the worst.

They got out of the Navigator silently, Kurt coming up beside him and taking his hand. Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand gratefully, leading them up the walk and into the house. He didn't want to hide his relationship with Kurt from them anymore – he didn't care what they thought. They might be his parents (whether he saw them that way or not) but they didn't get a say in this.

"Oh, thank God," Elaine managed to get out, rising from the couch and crossing the room, taking Blaine in her arms. He lost his grip on Kurt's hand as she hugged him so tight he nearly lost his breath.

"I'm sorry," Blaine murmured. "I didn't think..."

"No," Michael said. "You didn't." Blaine bit his lip, pulling back from Elaine's grasp. "But neither did we."

"What?" Blaine asked, staring at him in surprise.

"Sit down, sweetie," Elaine told him, nudging him toward the loveseat. Kurt followed and Blaine held his hand again as soon as they were sitting. If Elaine and Michael noticed or had any objection, they didn't voice it.
"We were beside ourselves when you called and we realized that you'd been found," Elaine began. "We had a whole plan – we wanted to bring you here and get to know you and..." she trailed off.

"But what we didn't factor into the situation is that you spent your whole life without us," Michael continued, his voice gruff. "We didn't know you and you didn't know us. I know you said you'd agree to what we worked out with your parents, but you never wanted to come here, did you?"

Blaine shook his head. "No. I'm sorry."

"The simple fact is," Elaine took over, "we're never going to get back the child we lost. You're not him and forcing you to be him or what we think he would be isn't right."

Both he and Elaine were crying now, Blaine trying to wipe his tears away with his free hand. He could hardly believe his ears. "So what does this mean?"

"It means that if you want to go and live with the Andersons, then we understand. You're still our son and we still want to be in your life, if you'll have us."

"Of course I will," Blaine murmured. It hadn't sunk in yet, not even after hugging Elaine and even Michael – he was going to get to go home.

Kurt was smiling through his own tears when Blaine finally came around and hugged him.

He was going home.