"And today we recognize the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as a miracle brought on by our Almighty God," the preacher rambled on to a hot, sleepy congregation. Kurt sat next to his father in the pew a couple of rows behind Blaine. He caught himself occasionally staring at the back of Blaine's head, eyes falling on the tender stretch of skin beneath his ear. A shiver ran down his spine everytime he thought of past week- in the dark in Blaine's bed, kissing, rolling back and forth on the mattress fighting for dominance and giggling under heavy breaths. 

Blaine tilted his head sideways, eyeing Kurt checking him out and throwing a smirk and a wink his way before turning back around, adjusting between his mother and father. 

"God put forth these rules for man to follow to show the world that the Christians are pure of heart and spirit. Many have taken these rules and have deliberately turned their backs on God! These aren't Christians! These are lost souls doomed to Hell! The murderers...the rapists...those who lie with their own sex...they will have to fall at the Lord's knees and beg for forgiveness!"

Kurt tensed and shifted. Burt glanced sideways at him, taking in his tight expression. 

"Jesus died for all of them...they have chosen to spit on God's sacrifice..." the preacher glanced towards Kurt, who quickly looked down to avoid his gaze. Burt swallowed nervously.

Blaine twisted his fingers and glanced back at Kurt and Burt with a steadfast expression. Kurt couldn't help but smile at his resiliance. Burt waited until the boys were focused back on the dark sermon to chance another look at his son. He knew...he just didn't want to believe it.

Burt and Kurt walked inside the house, both men quickly loosening their ties and placing their Bibles on the dresser inside the door. 

"I was thinking of making some burgers for lunch...want one?" Burt stopped Kurt as he was heading up the stairs.

"Um...no thanks. I just wanna take a nap," Kurt shrugged him off and continued up the stairs.

"Interesting sermon today, don't you think?" Burt hooked his thumbs in his suspenders. "Very...intense."

Kurt stiffened his jaw and nodded tightly. 

"You seemed a little uneasy with the content," Burt stepped up to the fifth step where Kurt was standing, his tie fisted in his hand.

"Dad, I just want a nap, ok?" Kurt's voice shook a little. Burt's stomach twisted at the discussion they were about to have, but this was his boy. He must always remember that, he told himself. 

"Kurt...how close are you and Blaine?"

Kurt looked up quickly at him. "We're friends, Dad...you know that-"

"You can tell me, you know...you've been acting funny lately. You're never here in the mornings anymore. I know you've been staying at Blaine's-"

"Dad, come on-"

"Just tell me what's going on, Kurt!" Burt bursted out. Kurt didn't flinch. "What are you hiding from me!? It's like you're not even the same person anymore-"

Kurt growled and shoved past his father and paced around the living room, his silk tie still fisted in his hand. He didn't want to talk. Not yet. It was all still so strange. Burt sighed and walked after him.

"I'm sorry I yelled, Kurt...I'm just worried-"

"About me or my soul?" Kurt stopped and looked at his father with teary eyes. Burt's breathed hitched at the look on his son's face. "Are you afraid that now I'm gonna burn in Hell? Are you gonna call me a faggot, too, like everyone else?" Kurt sniffed and swiped at his eyes with the heel of his hands. Burt felt his heart breaking for his son. He wanted to be disgusted or angry because his boy had lied to him, gone behind his back, and committed a sin...but this was Kurt.

"Go on, Dad," Kurt presented himself to his father, laying himself bare and open to his persecution. "Say it- tell me I'm a dirty fag that's gonna rot."

Burt stumbled back at Kurt's harsh language and intensity. Kurt looked on the edge of tears.

"I...Kurt-"

"Go ahead," he said a little less angrily, a hint of fear in his voice. "I don't know what I am anymore, Dad, but if loving Blaine makes me a fag...then that's what I am..."

Burt sighed and slumped down in the chair at the kitchen table, resting his head in his hand and visibly trying to process what was happening. 

"I wanna go take a nap," Kurt said thickly. Burt simply nodded and Kurt hurried up the stairs and slammed his door. He collapsed against it, pulling his knees to his chest and sobbing into his legs. He was so lost. Was this what eternal damnation felt like? He sat there in front of the door, fighting back sobs and trying to pull himself together for the better part of an hour, finally climbing off the floor and crawling into his bed. He never fell asleep.

He watched the sky grow pink through his window as the sun set. A knock at his door made him jump.

"Kurt," Burt's voice called through the door. "Come on, it's time for dinner."

Kurt wanted to yell back that he wasn't hungry, but he dragged himself out of bed and figured he better suck it up and take what was coming to him. He didn't even get the door open before Burt pulled him into a bear hug, sniffling into his shoulder. Kurt tensed, surprised to say the least, but wrapped his arms around his father's back.

"I don't care, Kurt...I don't care if you're a homosexual...you're still my boy..." he cried against Kurt's neck. 

Relief fell over Kurt like a warm blanket. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and the Hummel men held each other, dinner forgotten and tears and apologies shared through sniffs and heavy throats.

"Mmm, I love your lips," Blaine sighed and leaned back in to kiss Kurt on the corner of the mouth.

"They're just lips," Kurt giggled. They were lying on the bank of the river, secluded by a large tree and the night. Two weeks. They had been together for two weeks that day and silently celebrated after Blaine's mother and Kurt's father had gone to bed.

"Yeah, but I really like yours," Blaine smirked and traced Kurt's lower lip with his thumb. Kurt playfully bit at it, making Blaine squeak unattractivly. Kurt fell into a fit of giggles while Blaine groaned and flopped back onto the blanket they had brought along. 

"God," Kurt joined him after settling down. "Can you believe how easy this is? I mean, you and me?"

Blaine turned his head to look at Kurt, who had been studying his profile against the moonlight. Blaine gave him a sweet smile and slid his hand down into Kurt's.

"It's as easy as breathing, isn't it?" he smiled dazily. Kurt's chest swelled like it always did when Blaine said things like that. And he was right. Though Kurt had yet to say it out loud- wanting it to be everything Blaine wanted it to be- he loved Blaine with every breath he had. Each inhale and exhale. 

Blaine turned on his side and propped up on one elbow, gazing down at Kurt like he was a precious jewel on display. "I wanna tell you something."

Kurt made an affirmative noise, giving Blaine his attention.

"You know the night you came to me...when you told me you wanted to be with me? You asked if you could...you know," Blaine blushed, making Kurt's face flare up in heat. It wasn't the only thing flaring.

"You want me to touch you?" Kurt asked breathlessly. Blaine's eyes smouldered at the thought and he nodded.

"If you want..."

Kurt swallowed hard and leaned up to kiss Blaine passionatly. Blaine let out a soft whine and leaned back, pulling Kurt against him. Their chests crashed together and the night didn't seem quite as chilly as they remembered. 

"Kurt," Blaine whimpered, grasping at the back of Kurt's shirt while Kurt moved down Blaine's jaw and neck, kissing and sucking each inch of skin. "God, that feels so good."

Kurt let out a small chuckle against his Adam's Apple and let his hands move a little lower to the hem of Blaine's shirt. They hadn't really progressed past heavy kissing so he figured he would take the next step. He slid his hand up under Blaine's t-shirt, running over the smooth muscles of his stomach and up to his chest. He took Blaine's nipple gently between his fingers and rolled it, making the younger boy arch his back off the blanket.

"You're really sensitive, aren't you?" Kurt smiled against his ear.

"It f-feels good," Blaine stammered and combed his fingers through the back of Kurt's soft brown hair. "Jesus, please do something."

"Ok, ok," Kurt chuckled. He was so nervous he was shaking, but he knew that if he showed it, he wouldn't follow through. He slowed his kisses to gentle pecks and removed his hand from Blaine's shirt, slowly inching his way over the button of Blaine's jeans and snapping it loose. Blaine seemed just as nervous.

"We don't have to, you know?" Kurt whispered against his lips, stilling his hands on the zipper.

"I want to...I want to with you..." Blaine stroked Kurt's cheek with his thumb, making Kurt's stomach unclench. Kurt nodded and pulled the zipper down, reaching inside and running his hand over the cotton of Blaine's breifs. The noise Blaine made was something Kurt would never forget- a whimper of relief and pleasure he would hear in his dreams for so long after.

Kurt ran his palm gently up and down over Blaine's warm cock, getting used to the feeling of having someone else in his hand. After a while, Kurt got a little more confident and pulled his hand out, making Blaine snap back to his senses.

"Wha-"

Kurt straddled Blaine's thighs and leaned down to kiss him while pulling at his jeans. Blaine got the idea and lifted his butt off the blanket to allow Kurt to pull them down a bit. 

"Y-you can touch me, too," Kurt leaned up and slid Blaine's breifs down. Blaine was much bigger than Kurt remembered. A spike of arousal shot up Kurt's spine  when he thought of all the times they had seen each other, but how it was never like this. They were the only ones who had. They were sharing something so personal and intimate that it almost knocked Kurt backward with the thought. 

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked.

Kurt smiled and reached down to unbutton his own jeans. He leaned forward and kissed Blaine again while taking his hand and slowly leading it into his jeans, guiding Blaine to his now straining erection.

Both boys gasped as Blaine wrapped his hand around Kurt and gently squeezed. Kurt wasted no time in reaching back down to take Blaine in his hand again and start stroking him slowly. Blaine dropped his head back and his eyes slid closed, taking in the feeling of Kurt's larger hands on him and his lips now ghosting over his neck. The pleasure both boys were feeling was like nothing they had ever experienced before and though they were on the bank of the same river Ella took them to as children, where just on the other side, in a town that would damn them both to Hell, nothing else was on their minds except each other.

"I'm about to-"

"It's ok," Kurt breathed heavily against Blaine's ear and Blaine dug his fingers into the blanket beneath him and came with a surpressed groan in Kurt's hand, heat pouring over him as he tried to remember to keep moving over Kurt, who not three strokes later muffled a moan in Blaine's t-shirt and came as well, hot and sticky over Blaine's hand and his own shirt. The world surrounded them again. The cicadas could now be heard along with the rushing of the river and their heavy breaths.

"Oh my god," Kurt said shakily and propped up on his elbow to get a look at Blaine.

"Yeah...wow," Blaine looked right into Kurt's eyes. "Intense."

"Perfect," Kurt smiled and kissed Blaine lazily. They eventually got up and went back to their homes, sneaking a long goodnight kiss behind Blaine's garage, but at that moment, they were connected- eye to eye and heart to heart.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Jen!? How could you keep that from me!? Where is he!?"

Blaine sat outside in his car, Kurt in the passenger's seat where they could hear everything with the windows down.

"What do you think happened this time?" Kurt asked.

Blaine shrugged. "Who knows...maybe you should just head home..."

"I'm not leaving until he calms down," Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand. When John got drunk and they fought, it was always Blaine who got the brunt of the aggression.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Blaine continued to stare at the front door. John and Jeanette continued arguing loudly. A bottle smashed against a wall, making them both flinch.

The door flew open and John stumbled out of the house, clothes flying at him from inside. "Get out!! I mean it this time! I never want to see your face again!"

"Fuck you, Jeanette! Fuck you and our faggot kid!" John chunked another empty bottle at the door just before Jeanette slammed it shut. Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand tight and motioned for him to slide down in his seat.

"He knows...oh god, how does he know!?" Blaine began to panic. "Oh my god..."

"Sshh, it's ok, calm down," Kurt whispered just loud enough for Blaine to hear him. John shuffled around on the lawn, cursing and looking around wildly. When the shuffling stopped and footfalls grew close to the passenger's side of the car, Blaine felt like he was about to be sick. Just before John threw the door open, he gave Kurt's hand a quick squeeze and muttered "Run away."

Kurt wasn't fast enough- John yanked him out by his t-shirt collar and tossed him to the ground.

"You...you dirty fucking faggot," John kicked Kurt hard in the stomach. Blaine jumped out of the car and ran around. 

"Dad, stop it!" He pulled his father back from where he was still kicking Kurt repeatedly in the stomach. John rounded on Blaine and wrapped his fingers around Blaine's throat.

"He infected you, didn't he?" John breathed heavily in Blaine's face. Blaine became dizzy from lack of oxygen and the smell of alcohol on John's breath. "He diseased you! I knew he was a fag the second you brought him in this house-"

Blaine brought his knee up and hit John right in the groin. He loosened his grip enough for Blaine to pry his fingers away and run over to Kurt, who was trying to stand up. 

"Go, Kurt, please," Blaine was trying to help him up through the tears and tremors wracking his body. 

"No," Kurt rasped. Jeanette ran outside, screaming when she saw John crawling toward Blaine. Blaine pushed Kurt toward his mother and turned, swinging his fists at his father's head to no avail. John pulled him down and straddled him, pinning his arms down to the grass below. Jeanette made a move toward them after ushering Kurt up onto the steps.

"Jen, if you take one more step, I'll end his miserable life," John whipped his hunting knife out of his back pocket, slowly raising it to Blaine's neck. Kurt jumped up with a growl, but Jeanette grabbed him around the chest with a muffled 'No, don't'.

"You pussy little son of a bitch," John hissed only loud enough for Blaine to hear and grazed the knife over Blaine's pulse. "You'd be better off dead, you know... you and your little fag boyfriend...I'd have no problem doing it myself...but remember this, Blainey boy," he leaned into Blaine's ear, "Don't even think about telling a soul about this or I'll slit Kurt's throat and make you watch...then I'll cut him into tiny little pieces and throw them in the river. No fag deserves any better..."

Blaine's throat was tight and anger and fear boiled in his chest. He wanted to fight back, but he was paralyzed with fear. John sat up, dropped the knife, and  looked up at Jeanette.

"I'll go, Jen, but you just sit right there while I say my piece," John reared back and began ruthlessly beating Blaine across the face. Over and over he punched and Blaine was powerless. Kurt was scared to move with the knife sitting at Blaine's left ear and Jen was screaming bloody murder, hoping to alert someone, but in the dead of night, the small neighborhood was in a peaceful sleep.

Blaine went limp in John's hand and he dropped him unceremoniously to the ground, standing slowly and swaying slightly. He approached Kurt, gripping his collar tightly.

"You'll suffer soon enough, faggot...soon enough," he spit in Kurt's face and gathered his things, hopping into his car and backing out quickly before speeding down 

the dark street. Kurt found the feeling in his legs again and bolted toward where Blaine was lying on the grass, barely conscious.

"Blaine, honey, say something," Jeanette gripped his hand and shook him slightly. "Please..."

"Don't...Don't tell," Blaine choked out. Kurt cupped Blaine's bloody face and leaned a little closer. 

"Don't tell what?!"

"Wasn't...him," Blaine blacked out again and his head rolled back onto the ground.

"What did he tell you, Blaine?" Jeanette shook him again. "What did he say to you!?"

"Mrs. Anderson, we need to get him to the hospital," Kurt stood, lifting Blaine into his arms with a little effort. "Open the door, I'll get him in the car."

She frantically followed his instructions and they gently lay Blaine in the back seat, careful to not bump his head on the door. As they drove down the road at lightning speed, Kurt reached across the seat and took Mrs. Anderson's hand.

"He got in a fight with a kid from school...that's the story."

Jeanette looked flabberghasted. "That's not-"

"He said don't tell and wasn't him...his dad told him not to tell. Obviously he said something to Blaine that really struck him and he should be the one to tell 

if he really wants to. Right now, we just need to get him help."

Jeanette looked defiant, but with one glance back at her son, she knew Kurt was right. Whatever John had said was between the two of them and with John on the run and Blaine unconscious, it wasn't their story to tell.