“No.”

“Aww, come on, Blaine.”

“No way. Absolutely not.”

“What’s the matter, Curly Top? Afraid to live a little?”

“No, I’m afraid to die a little.”

Blaine and Kurt were standing in the student parking lot staring at Kurt’s motorcycle. Kurt was trying to convince Blaine to let him drive to the coffee shop. Kurt had insisted, since Blaine had driven to the shop each time they had gone, that it was his turn to be the mode of transportation.

“Come on, Blaine. I ride this to school every day and I’m fine,” Kurt tried to reassure Blaine.

“Yes, you are fine, but you are on it by yourself. What if it is much harder to control with two people on board, or what if I do something to screw it up and we BOTH die, or what if—“ 

“Blaine.” Kurt stepped in front of Blaine and covered his mouth with his hand.

“We. Will. Be. Fine.  I will be extra careful, if it makes you feel better. I even have a helmet that you can use,” Kurt removed his hand from Blaine’s mouth. Blaine had been stunned by the contact.

“Unless it makes you feel that uncomfortable, then we can go in your car. But seriously, it will be fine.”

After a moment of inner debating, Blaine sighed in defeat, “Alright.”

A wide grin spread across Kurt’s face and he made his way over to the bike. He opened the seat and pulled out a helmet and tossed it to Blaine.

Kurt straddled the bike and patted the seat behind him motioning for Blaine to join him. Blaine sighed in defeat again and sat behind Kurt. He secured the helmet on his head and tried not to think too much about the way he was sitting in relation to Kurt.

“Where is your helmet?” Blaine asked Kurt, confused.

Kurt smirked, “You’re wearing it.”

“Wait, what?”

Kurt kick started the bike to life, and Blaine jumped at the sudden loud noise.

“You are going to want to hang on,” Kurt said over his shoulder. Blaine had no idea what to do, so he placed his hands on Kurt’s shoulders. He could feel Kurt’s shoulders move as he laughed, before Kurt moved his arms to wrap around his waist instead.

“Hang on tight,” Kurt said over his shoulder, still smirking, and Blaine tightened his arms, not wanting to be injured from this experience. He only hoped that Kurt could not feel how fast his heart was beating from where his chest is pressed against Kurt’s back.

They made it to the coffee shop without a hitch. As they walked toward the entrance Kurt bumped his shoulder with Blaine’s, “Told you everything would be fine.”

Blaine just laughed a little and bumped Kurt’s shoulder in return.

Their afternoon was filled with their comfortable conversation and laughter, and would carry on until it was almost closing time.

When Kurt took Blaine back to the school, Blaine allowed himself to just enjoy the ride and bask in the feeling of being close to Kurt.

“What’s going on with you and Anderson?” Quinn asked.

She and Kurt were sitting behind the football field bleachers, skipping class.

Kurt was not expecting the question, and he was a little nervous about trying to answer it.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” he decided to answer instead.

“Cut the crap, Hummel. Puckerman saw you leaving yesterday with him on the back of your motorcycle. What the hell is going on?” She had turned to face him, putting him under her direct scrutiny.

He sighed with a mixture of annoyance and defeat, “I don’t know, he just… he wanted to hang out, and he seemed nice, so I said yes. What’s the harm in getting coffee after school?” He asked directing his gaze elsewhere besides her judging glare.

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that,” she said poking him in the arm, getting him to look at her, “if even one of those meat headed jocks sees you with him, it’s not going to be good. Those neanderthals are just looking for an opportunity to harass people, and you being with Anderson is the perfect opportunity for that.”

“I know that, Quinn,” Kurt replied with a bite to his voice, “Believe me, I of all people know what they can do. I was living in hell last year, remember?”

Her look softened when he brought up the previous year, “There is nothing going on between us, at least not yet, and these coffee outings are nothing beyond platon--,”

“Wait, did you say ‘yet’?! Kurt Hummel what the hell are you thinking?,” she said smacking him over the head.

“I don’t know! Chill out, woman!” he said back, covering his head trying to protect himself from further abuse.

She sighed in defeat and sat down hard next to him again. “He is just… he’s sweet,” he said quietly next to her.

“Kurt, why are you getting involved? Why do you care?” she asked in a softer tone than previously in the conversation.  Kurt was quiet for a few moments before he answered.

“Because he cares too, I can tell. When we are talking, he just listens to me, and he seems genuinely interested in what I have to say. He has no expectations about anything between us. He told me the other day that he just likes being in my company, and he is just sweet and nice and a perfect gentleman and--,” 

“Alright, alright,” Quinn said shoving his shoulder, causing him to rock a little bit, “don’t go getting all mushy on me.” They both chuckled a little bit, but Kurt’s expression quickly returned to forlorn when he started thinking about what could possibly happen if the jocks at the school found out about their association.

He had been avoiding Blaine during school hours for the main reason of protecting him. Everyone knew Kurt was gay, but none of the jocks knew about Blaine. If they did, he would quickly become their next target, and Kurt didn’t want Blaine to have to go through that.

“You said you two have been talking a lot?” Quinn interrupted his thoughts.

“Yeah,”

“Have you told him about last year?”

“Not exactly…”

“What have you told him?”

“He knows I was bullied, that’s it,”

Quinn nodded her head in understanding.

“Kurt, just be careful,” she said, laying her hand over his, where it lay between them, to pat it gently.

He sighed, “I’m trying…”

Later that day, Kurt was making his way toward the detention room. There were still a few students milling about the hallways, since school had just got out about ten minutes ago.  His head was down, thoughts still caught up in his and Quinn’s conversation, when he was roughly shoved into the nearest set of lockers.

After recovering from the shock of the incident, Kurt yelled after the retreating red jacket, “What the fuck is your problem!?”

The outburst was more of a knee-jerk reaction than anything. After he had joined the Skanks, he had been taught not to take crap from anybody, and had yelled many a slurs at the neanderthals of McKinley in those early days.

But the instigator didn’t turn around, just kept walking the opposite way.

After Kurt had let his anger subside somewhat, fear began to take its place. As he continued to walk to the detention room, flashes of the bullying from previous years began to come back to him. He could almost feel the old bruises on his skin already, and he had to fight the urge to check around corners before he turned them or to check behind himself to make sure no one was following him.

He hated living this way, living in fear. He would not go back to living that way. He refused.

As Kurt walked into the detention room, the first thing he saw was Blaine. He was sitting on a table chatting with Mercedes and Artie, and he was laughing at something one of them had said. Kurt felt his heart swell at the sight of him. The way his eyes lit up when he laughed and his dazzling smile, were enough to stop Kurt in his tracks.

Just then, Blaine looked over to the door to see Kurt standing there. Blaine’s eyes lit up even more, and his smile widened, both of which Kurt thought would have been impossible for him to do. He gave Kurt a small wave, and Kurt couldn’t help but smile and return the gesture.

A few minutes later Johnson was sitting at his desk, scrutinizing everyone, and Blaine was scribbling down an essay. Kurt couldn’t help but notice how cute he was when he was concentrating. His curls fell slightly over his face, and he scrunched up his mouth slightly.

Kurt shook his head, out of fondness, and he became aware of how quickly Blaine was stealing his heart, and how easily he was letting him.

Quinn hadn’t been wrong, the first chance that any of the jocks could find a way to bully them, they would do it. But, the thought of not having Blaine in his life made his heart ache, and he was not willing to let Blaine go. The thought of how quickly he was becoming attached scared him, but there was just something about Blaine that made him trust him, and made him feel like his feelings were not going to waste.

Just then, Blaine decided to look up and meet Kurt’s gaze, give him a little smile, then return to his work.

While Kurt had decided that he would not live in fear any more, he also decided that he would not let that have an effect on his relationship with Blaine… whatever level it may be on…

The next day, Kurt was driving Blaine back to the school, after their coffee run, on his bike. Blaine was pressed against Kurt’s back and his arms were wrapped securely around his waist. Kurt still hadn’t gotten used to the feeling of Blaine’s arms around him.

The pulled into the empty parking lot, save for Blaine’s car, and parked next to it. Blaine hopped off the back of the bike and turned to face Kurt, who cut the engine. Kurt swung his leg off the bike, but remained sitting on the bike to keep it balanced. Blaine was giving him a wide grin, and he couldn’t help but return it. They had gotten to know each other a lot over the past week, and Kurt found that he had no problem being himself around Blaine anymore.

“Thanks for the ride,” Blaine said, rocking back and forth on his heels with his hands clasped behind his back. Kurt couldn’t help but laugh a little bit at how young Blaine looked at that moment.

“It’s no problem. Blaine, I--,” Kurt felt comfortable when he was around Blaine, like that was where he was supposed to be. He couldn’t help but think that was the reason why he would do anything to protect Blaine. Hell, he would just do anything for him. The thought still scared him, but he felt like he could be himself around Blaine, and that was something that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Blaine was the first person that he actually cared about in a long time. He felt like everything was right, and as long as he was with Blaine, everything else would be okay too.

“I just wanted to thank you too,” he felt like his words could not accurately describe what he was feeling, but it was the best he could do at that moment.

“What for?” Blaine asked as he stepped closer to Kurt. He was momentarily distracted by the action, but he forced himself to focus and answer Blaine’s question.

“Nobody here really bothers to get to know me. Ever since I started high school people just assumed things about me, and most of the time they weren’t true, but nobody seemed to care.”

Blaine placed his hand on Kurt’s shoulder, “Well, Kurt Hummel, I have gotten to know you over the past week, and I like what I have learned so far,”

Kurt giggled at what Blaine said, actually fucking giggled, and he didn’t chide himself for it like he normally would. Blaine had the power to melt his resolve, and he didn’t care one bit.

Blaine carried on, “And not only that, but I care about you too.”

Kurt froze. Nobody had ever said something like that to him before, besides his father. He looked up at Blaine, who was standing very close now, and noticed when Blaine’s eyes flickered down to his lips.

“Thank you,” he all but whispered, afraid that if he spoke any louder he would break the atmosphere that had built up around them.

Blaine paused for a moment, then answered by simply leaning in and pressing his lips to Kurt’s.

Kurt felt himself inhale sharply, but before he got the chance to reciprocate the kiss, even the slightest, Blaine was pulling away.

Blaine’s eyes widened when he saw the somewhat shocked look on Kurt’s face and began apologizing immediately.

“Oh my gosh, Kurt I am so sorry, I don’t even know what came over me, please don’t hate me,” Blaine finished his nervous rambling. His eyes were full of worry as he looked at Kurt, who had just sat there staring at him through his whole ramble, the look of surprise still on his face.

Blaine was surprised when Kurt didn’t shove him away and speed off never to talk to him again, but rather, he slowly reached up his hand, and cupped Blaine’s jaw. He carefully pulled Blaine down as he leaned up so that their lips could meet again.

To Blaine, their kiss made him feel like he was flying. He felt so happy and care free, like everything was perfect. To Kurt, it felt like comfort, and reassurance. He felt like none of the crappy things in his life would matter anymore, as long as he got to stay with Blaine.

Their kiss deepened, as Kurt slid his hand from Blaine’s jaw to tangle in his hair, and Blaine tilted his head to closer to Kurt. They continued to kiss until the need for air became too much and they hesitantly pulled away.

They both laughed a little bit at the sight of each other. Blaine’s hair was sticking up weirdly from where Kurt had run his fingers through it, and both of their lips were red from their kisses. Kurt gently patted down Blaine’s awry hair as his thoughts wandered to what had just happened. Kurt had always wanted someone special to call his own, but after his sophomore year, he had given up on that dream, as long as he was in Ohio. But now, here Blaine was, standing right in front of him, staring at him affectionately, just waiting for him.  

Kurt thought back to the jock that had shoved him the day before, and how afraid he had been about what people would say or do. But with Blaine looking at him like that, he felt that he didn’t care one bit.

“Blaine?” he asked, taking his hand.

“Yeah?” he replied, eyes flickering down to their hands before returning to Kurt’s face.

Kurt brushed his thumb across Blaine’s knuckles a few times before asking, “Would you go on a date with me?”

Blaine’s face split into a wide grin.