The size of the house absolutely amazed Kurt. He never imagined they would be able to find a space that could accommodate everyone, and with room to spare. Kurt spun around in a circle, mouth dropped open as he took in the living area.

"Dear God, Blaine!" Kurt commented in awe. "This is huge!"

Blaine smiled as he watched Kurt look around, opening cabinet drawers and flipping light switches.

"Electricity and gas should be turned on before Dave and the kids show up," Blaine said. "It has six bedrooms so you each get a room to yourselves...even you and Dave get your own room...you know...on opposite ends of the house." Kurt chuckled. "I'm having some people in tomorrow to clean and paint the walls white. That way you guys can do whatever you want with it."

Kurt eyed the way-passed retro yellow and white vertical striped wallpaper.

"Thank God," he muttered. Blaine smiled.

"You know," Blaine said, taking Kurt's elbow to swing him into his arms, holding him tight, and leading him in a slow, swaying dance. "We should go room to room so you can tell me what you want done."

"Blaine," Kurt said. "It's too much. I can't let you do that. It's bad enough you won't let me pay rent, and I..."

Blaine silenced Kurt with a soft, slow kiss, nibbling Kurt's lips, top and bottom. He slipped a hand into Kurt's hair, tugging gently, pulling Kurt's head back, his mouth opening just slightly. Blaine's tongue stroked along Kurt's lips, dipping shallowly inside to gently graze his tongue. Blaine broke away slowly, watching as Kurt's eyes fluttered back open.

"...don't want you to think that we're going to be living here for free forever. We need to come to some sort of arrangement so I can pay you back."

Blaine laughed.

"Man, you are determined, aren't you?" Blaine brushed a hair from Kurt's forehead, still dancing slowly back and forth.

"I am not one to be derailed, Mr. Anderson," Kurt said as Blaine spun him out, and then dragged him back in.

"Ooo," Blaine remarked. "Mr. Anderson. I like that. But I still don't understand why you won't just let me give the house to you." Blaine ran his hands up Kurt's back.

"You know why," Kurt whispered, averting his gaze and looking down at the floor boards. He looked at the wood beneath his feet. A home...a real home. He hadn't had one since he had left his father's house in Ohio. He didn't like depending on Blaine...he didn't like depending on any one but himself. The kids didn't ask for the lot they had been given, and as heartbreaking as it had been to hear considering the source, Finn was right. His stepbrother and Rachel wouldn't have wanted their kids living the way they had been for so long. They needed this. They deserved this, and Kurt wasn't going to let his pride stand in the way of them being happy and comfortable.

"What are you thinking?" Blaine said, bending down a little to catch Kurt's wistful gaze. Kurt's head snapped up.

"I...I was just wondering what I was going to do for work out here," Kurt lied. "I guess I could see if there's a place nearby that needs an exercise instructor. Or a dominatrix. I mean, this is L. A. I'm pretty sure I can get a job as either one. I just don't know who I'd go to to build up a client base."

"A client base?"

Blaine had a blank expression on his face.

"Yeah," Kurt said, a little embarrassed because he had considered asking Blaine to recommend him around. Blaine's eyes went dark, and Kurt knew he wasn't happy.

"Actually...I was hoping you might consider working for me..."

"You want to pay me to dominate you?" Now Kurt's eyes were dark.

"No..." Blaine smiled. "I want you to dominate me because you want to...because I need you to...because you're mine and I'm yours and we love each other..."

Kurt bit his lip and nodded.

"But I was thinking that I could put you on my payroll," Blaine continued, "as a designer. And a consultant."

Kurt's eyes went wide with confusion.

"A designer? But I thought the studio chose your clothes mostly."

"Only for the show," Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand and leading him through the house. "I'm talking about for other things - red carpet events, premiers, tour junkets...all those things when I might want something original. Something that could help me, you know, standout. Though..." Blaine grimace slightly with a playful light dancing in his eyes.

"Though, what?" Kurt asked as they entered the first room.

"Well, that would mean spending time with Nick..."

"Yes!" Kurt jumped. "I can totally do that. Can I start now?"

Blaine frowned slightly. Kurt kissed Blaine's frowning lips with a laugh.

"But, seriously. You want me to design clothes for you?" Kurt said in amazement.

Kurt's face glowed. Designing clothes...clothes that people would see, worn by this gorgeous man, the idea gave Kurt chills. It was like the realization of a long lost dream. Blaine saw the idea blossom on Kurt's face and twinkle in his eyes, but then he shook his head.

"But, I have to be here for Elphaba and Eva," Kurt said. "I can't leave here to go to a studio or an office."

"Aaahhh..." Blaine raised a thoughtful finger. He took Kurt's hand. He led him out the back patio door and through the yard to a tiny building nestled under some large, overhanging trees.

"You can work from here." Blaine opened the French double doors with a flourish. Kurt stepped inside the dusty space, illuminated only by tiny God rays peeking in through the dark black-out curtains.

"Way back when I moved out here, I had just started acting." Blaine pulled the drapes open and let the sunlight flood in through the dusty windows. "But what I really wanted was to be a musician. I thought this would make a great studio." Blaine picked up an old drop cloth and started dusting off the panes in the windows. "But...it never happened."

Kurt looked over the cozy space, and he was beginning to picture it - a drawing table here, a cutting table there, a dress form, some storage space. Kurt wanted to bounce up and down for joy.

"Blaine Anderson, you make it really difficult to say no to you." Kurt rushed up to wrap his arms around Blaine's waist. Kurt hugged him tight, caught in a moment of relief and bliss, and Blaine could feel it seeping into his body.

"Then don't say no to me," Blaine whispered. "Don't ever say no."

Blaine walked through the rooms one by one with Kurt, going over plans for renovating the space to suit the kids' particular needs. The first room on the far end of the house, a first master bedroom with its own bathroom, would belong to Dave. The room next to that would be Finn's, and after that Barbra's. The next room would eventually be Elphaba's. Kurt and Dave would rotate keeping her in their rooms for now since she was still so young, and never had a room of her own. Finally, Eva's room next to Kurt's.

"You know," Blaine thought out loud, "I should have Jeff stop by. He has a friend who's an occupational therapist. Maybe he can give us some advice..."

Kurt turned and looked at his boyfriend with a slightly awed expression. Kurt grabbed Blaine's shirt and crashed their lips together. Blaine's eyes went wide for a moment before wrapping his arms protectively around Kurt, holding him close and kissing him back passionately. Kurt bit Blaine's lower lip hard, and Blaine moaned into Kurt's mouth.

"What was that for?" Blaine said when Kurt finally released him. Kurt had a tear in his eye.

"For being so incredible," Kurt said with a laugh. "For being amazing, and thoughtful, and for loving me."

Blaine didn't know what to say. He ducked his head a bit, looking at the floor beneath his feet. He pulled Kurt back down the hall to the last bedroom, which was a second master bedroom with its own bathroom as well. Blaine paused with his hand hovering over the door knob.

"Have you given any thought to what you're going to do with your room?" Blaine asked, leaning against the closed door. Kurt gave him a slightly pointed look and smiled.

"Blaine, you've asked me this about three dozen times," Kurt said. "The answer's not going to change."

"Just, tell me again." Blaine sighed. "Humor me."

"Okay." Kurt rolled his eyes before closing them. "I'm picturing walls painted purple..."

"Purple, huh?" Blaine asked. "Like my favorite velvet pants purple?"

"Close," Kurt said, raising a single lid and fixing an amused gaze on Blaine's face. "But my purple is Dior Vernis in Orchid." Kurt closed his eyes again. "Sheer white curtains on the window that let in the morning sunlight. And carpet in a pale Dior grey..."

"Carpet?" Blaine scrunched his nose. "But you have hardwood floors."

"I know, I know," Kurt said. "But my mom had a pale grey carpet installed in my parent's room when I was little. I've loved it forever."

"And..." Blaine prompted, pulling Kurt out of his daydream.

"And my mom's vanity." Kurt blew out a breath. "God, I wonder how much it would cost to get that here from Ohio."

"We'll look into it," Blaine promised. "Now, I want you to keep that image in your head so when you open your eyes, that's the picture you'll see, okay?"

"Okay," Kurt said, biting his lip and bouncing on the balls of his feet. He heard the door open with a creak. He felt Blaine guide him gently forward, hearing his own heels click on the floor until they suddenly stopped, muffled by...something. Kurt rubbed the ball of his foot along the floor wondering why the change.

'Carpet,' Kurt thought. 'There's carpet under my feet.' Kurt furrowed his brow, but he didn't open his eyes. He took a deep breath. The room he was in smelled like fresh paint and new carpet.

"Blaine?"

"Open your eyes, baby." Kurt could hear Blaine smiling. Kurt waited just a breath longer before he opened his eyes. When he did, he put a steadying hand on Blaine's arm to keep himself grounded, to remind himself he wasn't dreaming.

All around him were purple walls - perfect Dior Orchid walls, just like he had imagined. A breeze blew in through the open windows, sheer white curtains curling out to meet them as the slight wind moved through the room. Beneath his feet, a soft grey carpet stretched from wall to wall. The flagship of this beautiful room was a gigantic bed, exactly the same as Blaine's monstrous bed that Kurt remembered from the first night they spent together, but this version was a beautiful four-poster with a deep wood frame. The mattress was covered in a gorgeous white bed spread with some sort of intricate gold embroidery. Above his head hung a delicate, miniature crystal chandelier.

"Nick picked that out himself," Blaine whispered softly, trying not to break whatever spell Kurt was under.

Kurt stood and stared, vaguely aware that he was being turned in a circle to survey the room until his eyes caught sight of something standing against a far wall.

"Blaine?" Kurt uttered again. Kurt's voice sounded broken, but not in a heartbroken sorrow-filled way.

This break in Kurt's voice was filled with a bittersweet and reverent joy.

"How...how did you get it?"

Kurt walked slowly across the floor, pulled toward the vintage piece of furniture he hadn't seen in years. It looked exactly the way he remembered it - The circular mirror rimmed in gold, the polished white wood, and the stool with the rich velvet cover. He remembered the fabric being a faded red, ripping and fraying at the ends. This new cover was orchid to match the walls.

"I hope you don't mind," Blaine said, noticing as Kurt's eyes lingered on the new fabric. "I didn't have the old cover taken off. It's there underneath. I just had a new one put over it, to match the walls."

"How..." Kurt continued, stuck in a loop, trying to figure it all out. "Blaine, I only agreed to come yesterday."

"Well..." Blaine put comforting hands on Kurt's shoulders. "The second I got off the phone with you, I called Nick, and he helped me put the room together. But the vanity..." Blaine moved his arms around Kurt's waist. "That was a little harder since your dad doesn't quite know who I am..."

Kurt dropped his head, feeling incredibly guilty. It had never dawned on him to tell his dad about Blaine, since so may times Kurt doubted whether or not this beautiful whirlwind romance would actually last.

"I'm sor-"

"Believe it or not..." Blaine interrupted, not allowing Kurt to apologize, "Dave helped me get it."

Kurt turned his head to look at Blaine.

"Dave?"

"Yup." Blaine squeezed Kurt, placing a small kiss to his mouth. "I texted him, and he gave me your dad's phone number. But when I called and your dad had no clue who I was, Dave called for me, and we all arranged for a moving company to overnight it. I tell you, for a moment I was afraid that it wouldn't get here in time. But when it did, Nick came over and put the new cover on it. By the way...you're new bestie nearly pissed himself when he found out you were moving in here."

Kurt chuckled, looking back at the vanity, almost afraid that if he took his eyes off it for a second it would disappear. Suddenly, little things put themselves in place. Kurt did think it was odd that Dave was checking his phone almost every five minutes yesterday while they were out buying the new cars. Dave usually never looked at his phone. Kurt figured he was just receiving messages from people at work about him quitting his job so suddenly, or his friends from the LGBTQ center about the move.

Then, when he had Skyped his dad and Carole to tell them the good news, there was a strange air about them. They were excited, but there was something else. He knew there was something they weren't telling him. He had worried for a moment, thinking that maybe it had to do with his dad's health, and they just weren't telling him. He had sworn to himself that he would press them about it later.

"Blaine...this is incredible. I..." Kurt was at a loss for words. He wasn't truly convinced he wasn't dreaming. How could it all get any better?

Blaine nuzzled into Kurt's neck.

"I just want you to be happy, baby," Blaine said. "I want you to feel at home."

Kurt turned in Blaine's embrace.

"I do," Kurt said. "Whenever you hold me, I feel at home."

Blaine leaned in to Kurt's perfect mouth, ghosting over his lips with his own, feeling Kurt tremble at the slight touch. Blaine pressed his lips against Kurt's lightly, gently. He moved his hands up and down Kurt's back, massaging the muscles with his fingertips, drawing Kurt closer. He heard Kurt breath in, taking Blaine's tongue in deeper into his mouth, letting Blaine have his way for a moment before kissing back.

"Kurt?" Blaine didn't want to break their kiss, talking almost into Kurt's waiting mouth. "Let me make love to you?"

It wasn't a question as much as a request. Kurt put his hands into Blaine's hair, preparing to pull him back in as he nodded.

"Yes, Blaine." Kurt kissed Blaine again, just a quick touch of his lips to Blaine's. "Just let me get..."

"Actually..." Blaine moved back a bit so that Kurt could look into Blaine's eyes, "I was thinking that maybe we...you know...wouldn't use them...anymore."

Blaine looked nervous, almost as if asking might turn Kurt off completely.

Kurt looked back into Blaine's gaze, trying to discern his meaning from his eyes.

"Look." Blaine held Kurt's arms and looked down at the carpet beneath his feet. "I trust you. I can only imagine how diligent you must be with regards to your health. And if I remember correctly, you have a signed, legally binding document from me insuring that I'm clean."

Kurt continued to stare at Blaine with wide eyes, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"I only want to be with you, Kurt," Blaine said. "I need to feel you, completely. So, can we? Please?"

Kurt bit his lip, smiling.

"Yes, Blaine." Kurt pulled himself up to Blaine and breathed against his mouth. "Yes."

Blaine undressed Kurt slowly, unwrapping him from his tailored shirt and black jeans like a gift, peeling back layers and revealing smooth, white skin - an unblemished, unmarred landscape for Blaine to bite and kiss and lick. He waited though, wanting to see all of Kurt before he touched him, so he could set him to memory before he settled over him and began to explore.

Blaine carefully removed each piece, setting it aside on the vanity before moving on to the next. Kurt wasn't usually a shy violet, but watching Blaine's eyes take him in, move shamelessly over his body, made Kurt shiver in the most delicious way.

Soon, Kurt was undressed, arms at his sides, half hard, anticipating Blaine's next move. As soon as Blaine kicked off his shoes, Kurt took the initiative, grabbing Blaine by his shirt and pulling him on top of him as they fell on the bed. Kurt moaned at the tantalizing friction between his bare skin and the rough fabric of Blaine's jeans as he rutted against him, covering Blaine's mouth with his, dominating the kiss with his tongue moving against Blaine's mouth.

Blaine moaned into Kurt's mouth as Kurt continually bucked his hips up against him. Having Kurt's naked body in his embrace while he was still fully clothed felt urgent and maybe a little taboo, as if Kurt couldn't wait to have him. Kurt was naked, vulnerable, but still so much in control. He slowly undid the buttons on Blaine's dress shirt, pulling them open one at a time with one hand. His other hand stayed firmly planted on Blaine's ass, a single finger tracing along the seam on Blaine's jeans, igniting him with flares of heat very time Kurt's touch even barely brushed over Blaine's tight hole.

"God, yes, Kurt!" Blaine breathed. "Kurt, undress me, please."

Kurt smiled.

"I don't know," Kurt said, rutting hard against Blaine's growing cock, "I kind of like this. I could totally cum against you like this, without you even taking off a single article of clothing."

Blaine made a noise low in his throat as he thought of Kurt, his pale skin glowing with sweat, naked and writhing, as Blaine brought him to orgasm, hands on his beautiful skin, holding his hips down and moving against him, Blaine's name spilling unbidden from Kurt's lips. Blaine was finding the need to dominate Kurt cropping up inside of him more and more. Blaine knew Kurt wasn't exactly comfortable being a switch, and given the choice, Blaine would rather be dominated, craved being dominated, craved being owned.

Besides, controlling Kurt...Blaine would have better luck telling the wind to stop blowing.

"Please, Kurt," Blaine whispered soft pleas against his skin. "I want to make love to you. Undress me?"

Kurt grabbed Blaine's shoulders and flipped Blaine smoothly onto his back. Kurt straddled Blaine's waist and the incredible view nearly left Blaine breathless. Kurt's powerful legs held Blaine in place. Blaine could see every inch of Kurt's chest; the defined muscles accentuated by smooth lines as they rose and dipped over his skin. Kurt's overwhelming need for Blaine radiated off of him in waves of heat, his hard cock evidence of his desire. Kurt's whole body was a single coil, tensed, begging for release, waiting to be taken by Blaine.

Kurt pulled Blaine's shirt from his pants, unbuttoning the last few buttons. Blaine sat up a bit, letting Kurt push the fabric over his shoulders and off his arms, flinging the garment carelessly to the floor with a smirk of his pouty lips. Kurt slipped a finger beneath the waistband of Blaine's jeans, toying with the button, feeling the head of Blaine's cock pressing up against his finger. Blaine's eyes rolled back as Kurt teased him, stroking him through the thick fabric, toying over the slit with his fingertip, until Blaine was fumbling with the button of his own jeans, struggling to release his aching cock.

"Okay, okay, sweetheart," Kurt chided playfully. With deft fingers, he pulled open the button and undid the zipper. He pulled Blaine's jeans and underwear down his legs together, kissing down his cock, peppering his thighs, and licking at Blaine's ankles before setting the rest of his clothes at the foot of his bed.

"I can see why you like that so much," Blaine panted with pupils blown wide. "I never thought ankles would be a thing."

"It's definitely something we need to explore later," Kurt agreed, laying over Blaine, stretching out like a cat, and kissing him gently.

"How do you want me?" Kurt asked.

"On your stomach?" Blaine requested, watching with hooded eyes as Kurt crawled off his body, skin brushing sensually as he settled himself down beside Blaine, curling his arms beneath a pillow and hugging it close, smiling when he inhaled a caught a whiff of Blaine's signature scent on the pillowcase. He smiled.

"What is it, gorgeous?" Blaine asked, watching Kurt close his eyes and the smile on his face grow wider.

"Nothing, I just never took you for such a romantic," Kurt breathed.

"Well," Blaine said, climbing over Kurt, trying not to put pressure on his body, "you inspire me."

Blaine reached beneath the other pillow and pulled out a small bottle of lube. Kurt looked back at Blaine with a knowing look.

"Like I said..." Blaine lowered himself and kissed Kurt's shoulder. "You inspire me."

Blaine kissed the back of Kurt's neck, inhaling the scent of his shampoo.

'He changed it,' Blaine thought. 'It's lavender this time.'

Blaine nibbled along Kurt's shoulders, delighting as Kurt rolled his arms and squirmed a little beneath the touch of his lips. Blaine traveled with his tongue down the ridge of Kurt's spine, lavishing special attention to the skin covered by Kurt's tattoo, taking in more of the details. Each letter, a different color, textured slightly like it was made of brick, new hues blending where each letter flowed into the other.

No two birds in the flock looked alike. Some flew straight with wings outspread, some pumped their wings in slightly different variations of flight. Some were farther on their journey, but all headed toward the same destiny - up and out and free. Aside from the magnificence that was Kurt himself, this single image was the most beautiful thing Blaine had ever seen. Even the bruises beneath contributed to the beauty of the design. The hurt, the pain, it was all still there, but caged, trapped, a prisoner of Kurt's own undeniable, indefinable courage. The mark of a man destined to rise above, to overcome.

Blaine couldn't imagine Kurt without it there. Kurt might look like porcelain, but he was no fragile piece of glass. Kurt was bravery, power, and strength.

Kurt was becoming Blaine's hero.

Blaine ran his nails down Kurt's sides, feeling his body arch beneath his touch. Blaine reluctantly left the beautiful tattoo to continue the journey to Kurt's incredible ass, nipping along the gentle swell, feeling Kurt tense as Blaine's teeth took teasing bites over his taut flesh.

Blaine ran a tentative tongue down Kurt's crack, feeling Kurt's muscles relax. Kurt moaned, a sound muffled by the pillow beneath his cheek. Blaine felt bold. He massaged Kurt's cheeks firmly with his hands, separating slightly to catch a glimpse of Kurt's entrance.

Blaine was always so turned on by how impeccably clean Kurt kept himself. His skin everywhere was pale and flawless, and every inch of him smelled of vanilla. Blaine licked over Kurt's hole experimentally, enjoying the new, foreign flavor of Kurt's skin in this secret spot. Kurt moaned loudly, a sinful "Yes!" escaping Kurt's lips. Blaine ached to touch Kurt again, hear that beautiful, wanton sound in Kurt's voice.

Blaine licked over it again, adding pressure this time so the tip of his tongue dipped delicately inside. The noise that came from Kurt was one of unbridled lust, and Blaine, enraptured by the sound, grabbed hold of Kurt's skin and lapped at him in earnest. Kurt's body bowed as he arched his back, lifting his chest off the bed. Blaine caught Kurt's hips and held them when Kurt tried to rut against the bed, looking for friction against his body that tingled and sizzled beneath Blaine's tongue. Blaine trapped him their, helpless, hopeless to find relief as he sought Kurt out, falling just short of where Kurt wanted him.

"Oh, Blaine!" he moaned. "Oh, Blaine!"

The noises Kurt made, Blaine had never heard before. He laughed a little when Blaine got close and huffed in frustration when Blaine pulled away. Kurt fisted the blanket in his shaking hands, tossing the pillow to the floor, even trying to grind back against Blaine's face. Eventually Kurt gave up, lying as still as possible beneath the torment of Blaine's persistent tongue as he licked, kissed, and sucked the sensitive skin. Power surged through Blaine as he felt Kurt's muscles quiver, feeling Kurt fight against his own urges, hearing Kurt moan louder, simply repeating a chorus of Blaine's name.

This was as close as Blaine was going to come to breaking Kurt.

"Blaine!" Kurt moaned, raking his nails down the mattress. "Blaine, I'm going to cum!"

Blaine pulled away quickly. That's not what he wanted. Not yet at least. Blaine was going to be damned if he left this room without feeling that beautiful hole clench around his cock, hot and wet and perfect, coaxing him to release inside this gorgeous man.

Blaine pulled himself up Kurt's body, flipping him over roughly, attaching their lips together. Kurt kissed Blaine deep, dirty, overwhelmed as he sucked Blaine's tongue into his mouth, knowing where that tongue had been. Kurt wrapped his legs around Blaine's waist, seeking out Blaine's achingly hard cock with his already prepared hole, Blaine had other ideas.

"I want you to ride me, beautiful," Blaine commanded. Blaine wasted no time lying on his back and pulling Kurt on top of him, turning Kurt around so that Blaine could see Kurt's back and that amazing tattoo. He had suddenly become obsessed with it, drawn to it, needing for the moment to know it was still there.

Kurt slid over Blaine's cock swiftly, Blaine barely having a moment to use any lube.

Kurt's body squeezing over his uncovered cock was like sliding into an oven. Blaine, separated from Kurt by that thin layer of latex, never truly appreciated just how hot Kurt's body was, never even dreamed how incredible the squeeze around him would be. Blaine almost couldn't touch Kurt, choosing for a moment to clutch onto the blanket beneath him as he shut his eyes, absorbed the sensation, and prepared to surrender to Kurt's rhythm around him.

"God, I love you," Blaine breathed, as Kurt started slowly and without any warning, bobbing tortuously up and down.

"I love you, too," came Kurt's broken reply.

Blaine's eyes fixed on the image of the birds, flying across Kurt's back, each gyration of his body making the birds appear to soar away. Blaine longed to reach up and try to catch them. Far and free, that was Kurt's dream, wasn't it? Fly away, be a rising star.

Blaine wanted to give that to him.

Blaine grabbed Kurt's hips and stilled him.

"Let me?" Blaine begged, and Kurt nodded, holding himself poised over Blaine's body as Blaine moved up to meet him, long, fluid movements of his body inside Kurt. Kurt wound a hand into his hair, pulling backward until Blaine could see Kurt's forehead, his neck straining against the pull of his own hand in his hair. He reached his other hand down his chest and grabbed his cock, pulling and stroking with the rhythm of Blaine moving up into him.

Blaine watched Kurt roll his head from side to side, breathy moans and gasps punctuating the air as Blaine controlled Kurt's pleasure. Blaine could stop right now if he wanted, impale Kurt against his body and deny him his orgasm, but Blaine wouldn't. He wanted Kurt to feel his love. Wanted Kurt to know how much he could trust Blaine, how much Blaine adored him.

He wanted Kurt to know what forever was going to feel like.

Kurt's whole body shook. His voice, still chanting Blaine's name, failed. Blaine saw Kurt's legs start to slide open as his muscular legs quaked, refusing to hold him still too much longer. Kurt grew tighter and tighter around Blaine's cock. Blaine was finding it harder to move. As his body filled with heat, spiraling down from the feeling of Kurt's smooth skin moving against his cock, Blaine's thrusting became erratic.

Blaine couldn't keep his eyes off Kurt, his strong lithe form moving with Blaine's, his dark hair wound against pale fingers, his eyes shut against the light, abandoning his senses to feel alone.

"I love you, Blaine," Kurt whispered, and Blaine knew Kurt was there, so close to giving in to heat, and relentless and perfect.

Kurt could feel it, too - could feel Blaine's strength start to fail as he try to maintain his pace. Blaine's hips stuttered more than once.

"I love you, Blaine," Kurt gasped against his own need to moan. "I love you driving into me, you're amazingly strong legs...and what you can do with your tongue, Blaine...that was heaven."

"R-really?" Kurt heard Blaine's soft voice.

"Oh, God yes!" Kurt sounded almost exultant. "You can do that to me any time."

Images of Kurt bucking up against his face while his tongue dipped nimbly in and out of Kurt's pink hole did Blaine in and he came, feeling himself rush into Kurt's body, filling him up.

Kurt needed relief, brought to the brink so many times, ridiculously easily by Blaine's talented tongue. Blaine slammed his hips down to the bed, lost in the waves of ecstasy he could feel as he lay beneath Kurt's body. Kurt lifted himself up, impaling himself on Blaine's still hard and pulsing cock three more times before coming, spilling over his own hand, reveling in the sensation of Blaine's cum filling him up, with a prolonged growl between clenched teeth, a sound somewhere between a seductive growl and a sigh of pure satisfaction.

Kurt dropped his hands to rest on Blaine's knees, reticent to get up or even move. Blaine looked at Kurt's strong back bent over his body and smiled, thinking that Kurt was so close. Blaine could wake up and go to sleep to the image of Kurt's naked body whenever he wanted, and the thought filled him with unbridled joy.

"Yuck!" Blaine laughed between pants.

Kurt chuckled.

"Yeah." Kurt sat up and looked around. "We're a bit of a mess."

Blaine lifted Kurt by his hips, carefully dislodging the man from his softening cock, and laying him out on his side with his head on the remaining pillow.

"Hang here for a second," Blaine said, moving swiftly off the bed and heading to the bathroom, returning with a pale blue towel. Blaine diligently cleaned Kurt, gently wiping him down, and then himself, tossing the towel over the side, and covering Kurt with a blanket. Kurt peeked over the edge of the bed at the towel on the floor.

"It's monogrammed," Kurt said with disbelief, eying the 'KH' embroidered in gold letters.

"Yeah..." Blaine blushed. "I got it for my bathroom...um...if you ever stayed over."

Kurt smiled as Blaine slid beneath the blanket behind him. Kurt turned, putting his head on Blaine's chest, ear poised just above Blaine's heart.

Kurt had never really been much of a cuddler. In his limited experience with sex, even with another man he had thought he loved, he would normally bolt out of bed, not at all interested in being wrapped up in someone else's mess. Get up, get out, get on with life.

Being with Blaine was different, and long moments wrapped in his arms was something Kurt enjoyed. Sharing the comfortable silence, touching each other gently, relaxing, enjoying the feeling of each other without needing to perform or be someone else, was like a bandage on his soul. Kurt could feel slightly callused fingertips dance over his skin in random dips and swirls. Then Kurt realized the swirls weren't actually quite so random. They traced the same word over and over...courage. Kurt looked up at Blaine through his messy bangs, raising his eyebrows in a silent question.

"Are you ready to tell me about this?" Blaine asked.

Kurt shifted and put his hands on Blaine's chest, resting his chin on them.

"Say please?" Kurt requested quietly.

Blaine smiled at his lover.

"Please?"

Kurt got thoughtful for a moment, his eyes rolling skyward, his brow furrowing as he considered what to say.

"It's a cover up," Kurt said with a shrug. "Pretty simple."

Blaine scrunched his nose and narrowed his eyes, shaking his head slowly.

"I don't think it's that simple," Blaine said. "What's it covering?"

Kurt frowned, trying to decide what to tell, how much to tell.

"I don't know if I should," Kurt considered. "It's not entirely my story to tell."

Blaine didn't want to press, but he couldn't get the image of those bruises out of his mind. Some of them were deep, and looked like they were probably painful when they were originally delivered.

"Okay," Blaine tread lightly. "Why not just focus on the parts that are yours."

Kurt sighed. He knew Blaine was not about to let this go.

"I told you, I was bullied in high school. Jocks used to shove me around, toss me in dumpsters, knock books out of my hands...pretty normal stuff..."

Blaine's eyes darkened dangerously. Kurt swallowed. He really didn't want to do this.

"There was one jock in particular...football player..."

Blaine noticed how Kurt's voice shook. He imagined it must have been a horrible memory to carry for so long.

"...he had me scared to death. Every day he pushed me into lockers, punched me, knocked me to the floor."

Kurt could feel Blaine's hands still. He barely breathed, waiting for Kurt to continue. He hoped he could end the story there, but Blaine knew there was more.

"Anyway, one day I confronted him...cornered him in the locker room..."

"And," Blaine growled out between clenched teeth.

Kurt looked away. He couldn't bear to look at the helpless emotion of anger on Blaine's face.

"He grabbed me...pushed me up against a locker and kissed me."

Kurt could feel Blaine's hands ball into fists against his back.

"What happened after that?" Blaine's voice calm, chilling.

"I got away, but he told me if I told anyone, he would kill me."

Kurt held his breath, waiting for the next inevitable question.

"Whatever happened to him?"

Kurt looked up at Blaine, his eyes wide and pleading.

"Blaine, I need you to make me a promise."

'A promise to what?' Blaine thought. 'A promise to protect you forever from the homophobic assholes of the world? Done.'

"What, love?" Blaine's eyes were cold, hard.

"Just...don't overreact, okay. Don't...get upset and go off the deep end."

Blaine was confused. Kurt thought Blaine would be mad at him?

"Of course, not, love." Blaine's eyes softened. He kissed Kurt lightly on the forehead.

"Yeah," Kurt said. "Hold that thought."

Kurt looked into Blaine's eyes.

"He transferred schools. Kids at our school played a horrible prank, and he couldn't handle it. He wasn't out, and he was afraid..."

Blaine looked into Kurt's wide, blue eyes. Blaine knew there was something he was trying to make Blaine understand without having to put it into words.

Blaine got it. It hit him like a wall, shoving him back ten feet, building a divide between them.

"I...failed Kurt a lot... Please...don't do the same."

"No, Kurt!" Blaine sat straight up. He needed to get up. He needed to get out.

Blaine felt betrayed. He didn't know how or why, but he did. He liked Dave. How could he do this?

Kurt held Blaine close, settling him back down on the bed.

Blaine had tears in his eyes.

"Ho-how can you live with him?" Blaine asked in horror. "After he did this to you?" Blaine's hands came to rest on Kurt's back, covering the tattoo protectively.

"Because, Blaine, all of that was a long time ago..."

Blaine was shaking his head against the pillow, trying to understand.

"So, wait...he tortures you because he has a crush on you, and then he just wins, and he gets to be with you?"

Kurt tried to catch Blaine's gaze, bring him back to the present. Kurt knew that in his mind a teenaged Blaine was barreling down the hallway of McKinley High toward Dave, set to kill.

"He's not with me..."

"You sleep in the same bed, Kurt!"

Kurt looked hurt.

"But, it's not like that," Kurt said quietly. "It was never like that. And...we won't be anymore?"

It was a question. Kurt was afraid Blaine might rescind his offer and kick Dave out. They might not be a couple, but Kurt couldn't stay in L. A. without Dave.

Blaine sighed, relaxing into the bed.

"Kurt, of course you're not. And...I like Dave. I do. The man he is now...I have great respect for him. I promise..."

Kurt smiled, holding Blaine tightly.

"I just wish he had gotten his...that's all."

"Blaine," Kurt started softly, "I can't tell you his story. But believe me when I tell you...he's suffered, too." Kurt sighed, and looked down at his fingers, "He's suffered enough."

Blaine sighed and looked from side to side, as if searching out some sort of guidance. He rubbed his fingers lightly down Kurt's back, smiling slightly when Kurt squirmed.

"And the tattoo?" Blaine prompted, trying to make his voice sound light.

"Some of the bruises were deep, from corners of metal lockers, and...other things. A lot of them faded, but quite a few never went away. They go straight to the muscle. "

"So, he got you the tattoo to cover the bruises?" Blaine's voice was thick.

"Just after we started living together, we were all still trying to get used to six of us in the small space. None of the doors had locks, and it was a bit of an adjustment remembering to knock all of the time. He walked in on me while I was getting dressed. I wasn't wearing a shirt, and he caught sight of my back...all the bruises. I know he assumed they had healed. I never told him any different."

"What did he do?" Blaine continued to rub Kurt's back, tracing over the letters that seemed to mean so much more now.

"He cried," Kurt said. Blaine put a comforting hand on Kurt's head, running his fingers through Kurt's soft hair. "He pretty much fell completely apart. It took a while to get him to stop, and after he did, he didn't talk to me, or anyone really. Then after a few days, we talked and talked. He wanted to know what he could do to make it all better...well, not ALL better, but better. And we decided on this..." Kurt motioned over his shoulder with his chin, indicating the tattoo. "It was his way of mending fences. It's very important to me."

"Where did you come up with this design? I mean, I'm not sure this is the kind of thing you would just pick off the wall at your local tattoo parlor."

"When I first got to New York, I was so out of my element, and lost. I was walking to school one day and came across a mural painted in bright colors on the side of a building..."

Kurt got out of bed and walked over to the vanity to get his pants, Blaine's eyes following his shape as he moved. He pulled his phone out of the pocket, and touched the screen, scrolling through the pictures until he found one, and handed it to Blaine. He crawled back under the covers as Blaine studied the image. It was the side on an old building, brick wall taking up the entire screen and the word "courage" carefully painted in multiple bright colors. Blaine looked at the screen carefully, noticing the colors of the letters, the original font, and then he motioned for Kurt to turn around. Kurt turned away from Blaine so Blaine could compare the photo to his back. Blaine reached out and touched the word again reverently, tracing over the letters with his fingers, watching Kurt shiver.

"And the blackbirds?"

"From a near and dear Beatles song," Kurt said. Blaine looked at the birds, rising up from the letters and flying, free and careless.

"That's it," Kurt said, and Blaine only then realized he had been humming the tune. Kurt turned back around to snuggle into Blaine's side.

Blaine sighed and handed Kurt back his phone. Blaine felt heavy, weighted down. He didn't want to be angry at Dave. He didn't want to feel sorry for Kurt.

"Thank you for telling me," was all he could think of to say.

Kurt's mouth quirked into a mischievous grin, one Blaine knew and loved very well. It usually accompanied things like outdoor blowjobs or incredible spankings. Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"Let's head to your house," Kurt said, tracing a delicate finger over Blaine's chest, circling each nipple, listening to Blaine suck in a breath. "I'll make you dinner...and then we can have some real fun."