'Well you're going to have this little op and then it's 3 weeks with your dapper little eyepatch, then good as new!' Kurt fluffed the pillows behind Blaine, brushing the loose curls away from the other boy's forehead as he sat back down on the chair they had moved to the bedside.

Blaine took a shuddering breath and picked at the stitch around the blanket edge. He had been avoiding this conversation since his last trip to the hospital. Maybe if he ignored it, it would all go away. Just be a bad dream. He would wake up and it would be one of those blissful Sunday mornings when both his and Kurt's parents were out of town and the sun would just be coming up through the gap in the curtains, but there was no school so Blaine was free to roll back over and curl round his boyfriend. Nuzzle in against his neck, listen to the soft snuffly snores that Kurt swore up and down he didn't make, and slowly fall back into slumber's embrace. But realistically he knew this was not going to be the case. It was like how his Grandma said 'Sometimes life throws you curve balls.' This was more than a 'curve ball' though. Blaine frowned and clenched his jaw. This was just- he couldn't find words to describe how down right unfair this was. He had gone through his entire life being exactly what everyone wanted (to the best of his abilities), didn't smoke, drink-drive, do drugs or kick Weiner-dogs. Blaine Joshua Anderson did not deserve this. He was a good person. He blinked stinging eyes and looked down at now shaking hands fisted in the throw blanket.

'Blaine? Blaine, honey? Oh, love, what's wrong?” Kurt was out of his chair and on the bed beside him now on the bed, toeing off his shoes. The darker boy was still frowning, vaguely aware of the tears now starting to run down his cheeks. Kurt wrapped his arms around him, pulling the other boy in against his chest,

'Are you worried about the operation?'

Blaine buried his head further in against the soft warm skin of his boyfriend's neck. Another shuddering inhale. He was sure this was his favourite place on earth. In the entire universe. Nowhere else did he feel the same level of comfort and safety and home. Kurt was Home. Vanilla shampoo, faded jasmine incense sticks and boy. He wanted to just stay here forever. Just in this moment, in Kurt's arms, where for just this moment the horrible looming fates seemed so far away and powerless.

'Blaine?'

Soft, long fingers were curling under his chin, pulling the boy from his sanctuary,

'Blaine, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong...'

Looking up, a scrunched up nose and blue pools overflowing with worry. He was going to miss them the most. This thought stirred up the tingling along his jaw which for as long as he remembered was the signal for more tears. Ocean eyes. Grey thundering clouds filled with anger, hurt. Midnight moonless sky of arousal. Fresh spring water blue first thing when he woke up in the morning. So many emotions all so intense, full of pride and love and caring, but soon they would be gone. Well not gone, but for Blaine not much longer. He blinked again and watched his boyfriend's frown deepen as he wiped away the tears now trailing down olive skin.

'Blaine...'

'Wh-what, what if this is something,' Blaine took another breath to try and stabilise himself, 'What if this is something that we can't do anything about, that no one can do anything about?'

Kurt smiled softly and stroked the backs of his fingers over the slightly stubbled cheek,

'It's perfectly natural to be worried about getting an operation, but we'd talked through this remember? You'd go in on the Thursday and I would come up to the hospital on the Friday after classes and we'd get you all signed out and spend the entire weekend snuggling and watching Disney at yours? Your Mom had even managed to get your Dad to agree to letting us stay in the same room and share a bed, remember?'

'I'm not going on Thursday.'

Kurt frowned, cocking his head to one side,

'What do you mean you're not going on Thursday? Did they change the date on you or something? 'Cause that's just not right! You're eyesight is very important! You have to take care of it! As professionals it's their duty, do they not need to take some sort of oath or something?!'

Kurt was off the bed and pacing around the bedroom now infront of Blaine's shelves.

'This just isn't fair Blaine! Do you want my to call Carole and see if she can do anything about it? 'Cause I will call her, right now, if you want?' by this point the tall boy was wrestling his Iphone out the tight pocket of his skinny jeans.

'Kurt, sometimes bad things just happen...' Blaine fiddled with the corner of the eyepatch they were still making him wear. He didn't understand why they still had him wearing it, it wasn't going to make any difference now. His boyfriend stopped and quirked a little smile before rejoining him on the bed,

'Yeah, you're right. I'm getting ahead of myself again, aren't I? They've rescheduled it. So when are we moving our plans too?' They were curled up by the headboard now, Kurt once more playing with Blaine's curls, 'I don't mean to be rude, but I hope it's not bang on mid-week or something. Dad would never let me take that sort of time off school, and I really just want to look after you.' He pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. Blaine closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, this was it then. He pushed himself up so he was sitting beside Kurt as opposed to curled up into him.

'They're not operating on my eye.'

Kurt blinked at him,

'What do you mean? If they don't operate then you can't get better.' His tone was filled with confusion.

'They're not operating because it's not going to get better, ' Blaine tried to take another steadying breath, but it didn't help instead just causing the lump in his throat to grow. Kurt was sitting upright now on the duvet,

'Blaine, I'm not sure I understand what you're saying.' the boys voice had dropped, something that rarely happened but for the most serious of situations.

'It's not going to get better, it's...' another deep breath, 'they said,' a shaky exhale, and Kurt intertwined their fingers, ' that there was something else in the slushie, and...' he was squeezing Kurt's hand really hard now and part of him knew he should stop because he was hurting the other boy, and he never wanted to hurt Kurt but he needed this right now and Kurt seemed to understand this as he rubbed small circles into his knee, '… something about chemical damage... nerve damage from the fall...I...I....' He broke.

Kurt pulled the shaking boy into his lap. Chemical and nerve damage? Not getting better? What did that even mean? Was Blaine going to be blind in that eye? Or was it just a partial thing? Blaine wasn't allowed to be hurt, not like this. Not permanently damaged. Blaine was a bright flash of light, warm smiles and waves and blushes. So vibrant and fresh and free. But now his brave knight, his angel, world world was curled up in a tiny shaking ball. Kurt couldn't remember his boyfriend ever looking this small. Well he had never been anywhere as near as tall as he was himself, but he was strong and proud ,in a very different way from Kurt, Now he was tiny and fragile, like a little bird, he felt that if he held on to tight the boy in his arms would just shatter into a thousand little pieces.

'Blaine, I'm sorry, I , I don't want to presume. Because you know I'll presume the worst, but you're really starting to scare me, honey.' Blaine gulped in air,

'It's exactly like it sounds. 3 months. Blind. Period. That's it, no more eyesight for Blaine.' he hissed verging on hysterical. Kurt felt his entire body go cold. Seeping out of his finger and toes, leaving behind a painful empty chill.

'In, in both eyes? Are, are you sure? I mean...How does that..?' He didn't understand. This, it was a joke, right? But who would make a joke about something like that. Blaine. His, Blaine. 3 months and those beautiful liquid amber eyes would never lock with his ever again. In this time Blaine was clambering off the bed, knocking into the bedside table and bashing his shoulder off of the chest of drawers that had been left part opened. He stumbled up right,

'Why would I make this up!' He bellowed at the boy on the bed, something inside had snapped. He didn't deserve this. How could Kurt think he would lie about something as big as this? Tears rolled thickly down his cheeks soaking the patch which he struggled off and threw across the room,

'I've been trying to have the courage to tell you this all night! While you keep going on and on about 'how important my sight is' and all I can think about is how I'm wasting these last moments sitting here and talking about this shit! I want to see everything! And you, ' he was gesturing wildly, words were failing and Kurt didn't care. Everything was going to hell and the boy who was supposed to be madly in love with him was just sitting there on the bed staring blankly at him.

'Fuck this!' He turned, marching towards the door and had it half wrenched open when he felt arms wrap around him from behind. Arms that pulled him back tight against a strong warm chest, gently closing the door. Arms attached to a body that led him back into the room, which turned him into the warm chest, tucking his head under a sharp chin.

Kurt know what to do. His whole world had just tilted on it's axis. But it was his turn to be the strong one now. If this was how it felt for him he couldn't even comprehend how Blaine must be dealing. So he did what he knew how to. He gathered his boy in his arms and they clung to each other. Kurt rested his cheek on Blaine's soft loose curls as he gently swayed them where they stood making soothing noises.

'We're going to get through this, Blaine. The same way as we do everything. Together.'

And for the first time since he had received the news, sitting in that drafty doctor's office at the hospital, Blaine felt something akin to hope.