“Oh my goodness! So, I take it it is still raining,” Kurt deduced, meeting his husband at the entrance to their chamber armed with a thick blanket to cover him. Though Kurt did not need Blaine’s soaking wet clothes and skin to tell him the state of the weather. Kurt could feel the rain in his stomach – its cold and wet a part of his soul like all of nature around them, from the insects that crawled in the stone walls to the birds that soared miles above their heads.

“Yes” – Blaine shivered – “and heavily, too. It is fortunate that you and Daisy stayed below while I went hunting.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Kurt relieved his husband of his bounty – three large rabbits and a bag filled with berries and nuts. “Our little Angel has been bouncing off the walls.”

“Where is our precious diamond?” Blaine asked, sweeping the room for their daughter while he pulled off his boots, leaving them by the door so as not to track mud.

“She is with your brother down below. He has managed to get her to sit still long enough to learn a new song, but I fear she won’t sit for long. I would guess that a thorough soaking might do her some good.”

“Then bring her here,” Blaine said, shaking like a dog and sending water flying every which way, “and I shall do that for you.”

“I believe you could,” Kurt laughed, “since it looks like you’ve brought most of the water from outside inside with you.” Kurt patted Blaine’s locks with a corner of cloth, sopping the wetness from his unruly hair.

“Trust me when I tell you, Husband, that I have left plenty behind for everyone else.”

“Let’s get your clothes off before you catch your death.” Kurt led his husband to the fire and helped him disrobe till only his bare body resided beneath the blanket.

“Thank you, my love.” Blaine took a seat when Kurt offered it, and a mug of mulled wine. There Blaine sat in quiet contemplation, eyes staring but not quite focused on the dancing flames while his husband watched him. The longer Blaine sat, his manner changed, till he’d settled entirely into a hushed reverence.

“Blaine?” Kurt said, kneeling at his husband’s feet. “What is it? What hangs heavily on you so?”

“I was just thinking ...” Blaine smiled. It was only a slip of a smile, but it reached his eyes glimmering in the firelight “… when I returned to the Mountain, I stopped a moment in the entrance to catch my breath. I looked up at the Sky, admiring the rain as it fell, the clouds that stayed white regardless of their burden. But just as I had decided to turn and come inside, the clouds parted, and I could see the blessed night Sky and its hundreds of Stars.” Blaine sighed heavily, staring into the burgundy of his drink. “And I realized just how big the World is, Husband. The Earth, this Mountain, the Sky, the Heavens, and everything else beyond, and I … I am such a small part of it.” Blaine sighed again, the exhale of his breath causing ripples to form in his mug of wine. “And, please do not say that it is because I am a small Dwarf, Husband. I am not in the mood for teasing.”

“I would never,” Kurt said with a guilty smile as Blaine took a sip for that was exactly what he had intended to say. He put a comforting hand on Blaine’s knee, trying to think of a way to ease his husband’s mind. “In fact, I was going to point out that you are no small creature, Blaine. You, my love, are a grand beast.”

Blaine’s eyes fell closed. He was deeply hurt by Kurt’s words, which he felt were spoken at his expense. “Husband, please …”

“Blaine, hear me,” Kurt pleaded, rising up to meet Blaine’s eyes. “Please?”

Blaine opened his eyes when he felt Kurt’s breath upon his lips. Staring into Kurt’s eyes, his honest blue eyes, Blaine could see nothing but love and affection, so he gave Kurt leave to speak.

“Of course, Husband. Please, continue.”

“You may not see it from where we are, but you are as big as the World. You are as big as this Mountain, as big as the Stars and as the Heavens, because you and they are all made from the same parts. You were created from the same soil and dust and air. Everything you see around you, everything you don’t see, and you, are all the same.” Kurt slipped his hand through the throat of Blaine’s blanket and put it over Blaine’s heart, pressing his palm to his Dwarf’s skin to feel its uneven beating. It was a symphony to Kurt, the sweetest music in all the World tapping its rhythm against Kurt’s skin. “You have the Heavens inside you, Blaine. I see them when I look at you. The Moon and the Stars. And so has little Daisy. And so have I. And when we are together, we create the Universe. So, you see, Husband, no matter how you see yourself, no matter how short of stature, you, Blaine Andurinin, are no small thing.”

Kurt felt Blaine swallow, saw his tiny smile return.

“You are an Elf of many flowery words,” Blaine kidded shyly, putting a hand over his husband’s where it rested above his heart racing beneath their fingertips. “You know exactly how to talk to my heart.”

“I was not born to it, I assure you. Tis a habit I picked up …” Kurt tilted his head, and placed a small kiss to his husband’s chin, below the curl of his bottom lip “… from one of the most magnificent beings I have ever met. And I count myself fortunate, above all others, that I have the honor of falling asleep beside him every night, and of waking up with him every morn.” Kurt rested his forehead against his husband’s, felt Blaine’s damp curls mingle with his dry, chestnut hair. “Tis too bad we cannot speed up the clock a little, put our Daisy and ourselves to bed so we can lie together. I have a need to be in your arms.”

“Perhaps you and I could retire for just a little while?” Blaine suggested. “Lie close … let our hearts talk to one another … watch the Stars shine together?” Blaine looked at his husband with subtly hopeful eyes, as if, after all this time spent being in love that this was an invitation Kurt would even think of turning down.

“Absolutely, Husband,” Kurt said. He rose to his feet, and let his Husband lead him to their bed. “For that happens to be my favorite way to see the Stars.”