Kurt could hear them now. He could hear the sound of their sneakers hitting the floor with too much weight, trying to be silent but failing miserably. He could feel the panic rising in his chest and looked around for somewhere to hide. The locker room.

Kurt took a quick left and sprinted down the hall, no longer bothering to hide his whereabouts since his pursuers already knew where he was. He raced into the room and glanced around before opening a locker and closing it behind him. Kurt held his breath and peeked through the slits on the door.

A minute later a group of three men crept into the room. They seemed to be hiding their footfalls better now, for they moved in utter silence. Kurt clasped a hand over his mouth and nose to ensure they wouldn’t hear him breathing.

“Come on out, Hummel,” one of them said, his voice low.

“Yeah,” he heard another voice speak from the opposite side of the locker room. “You’re little bitch isn’t here to protect you now, is he?” Kurt thought about Blaine. He should be in World History right now. He wished Blaine would come. The three thugs wouldn’t try anything if Blaine was around. They wouldn’t dare.

“Here, Kurt,” one of them began to coo, calling him like a worthless mutt. “Here, boy.” Kurt bit down on his hand until he tasted the metallic tang of his own blood. He closed his eyes and focused on remaining calm. Class will be over soon. The students in gym will be here soon to change back into their regular clothes. You just need to hang in for a few more- “Ah, there you are.” Kurt’s blood ran cold in his veins and he opened his eyes to find a pair of green ones that seemed to smile with malice.

He was being dragged out of the locker and thrown onto the floor before he could even blink. Kurt winced as his arm collided with the concrete floor and one of the boys kicked him in the stomach. Kurt doubled over in pain and heard himself cry out. Another blow to the stomach told him to stay quiet.

He was then flipped over onto his back, forced to remain there by feet standing on his forearms, pinning him down. “Has it happened yet?” one of them snarled. Kurt groaned in pain, rewarding him with a jab to one of his legs. The pain was searing and jolted through his whole body. Kurt bit down on his bottom lip, tasting blood again. “I said, has it happened yet?

Kurt knew what he meant. Have you been Sealed. But why did they want to know? Were they going to hurt Blaine? Did they want to know if he was still powerless? Kurt didn’t know why they were asking, but there was no way in hell he was going to say anything.

One of the boys knelt down in front of him and Kurt realized he wasn’t empty handed. There was the slight glint of silver and the next second Kurt felt it against his throat. “Well?” he prompted, and Kurt smiled at him. Go ahead, he thought. Go ahead and do it. I’ll never tell you anything. Rule number one: Protect. They should have known that by now. He would always protect his Paladin. No matter what.

“I’ve got to give you guys some credit. You don’t look anywhere near as dumb as you are.”

Kurt felt the tip of the blade bite into his neck and he hissed at the sharpness. He felt the slow warm trail of blood run down his collar bone. “I’m not going to ask you again,” he said, moving his face closer to Kurt’s. “Tell me now and I won’t hurt him.” Kurt’s smile widened. It was about time they realized he would care more about Blaine’s safety than his own. Kurt had heard that Chasers weren’t very smart but these guys definitely exceeded his expectations.

“What the hell is going on here?” a voice called Kurt looked over the man before him to see Blaine standing a few feet away. The man in front of Kurt immediately put the knife away and rolled back onto his feet.

“Blaine, what are you doing here?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

“I think the better question is what are you doing with my boyfriend?” The boys all took a few steps away from Kurt and began talking to Blaine about how they had no idea the two were a couple. Kurt took this time to wipe some of the blood off his neck and attempt to cover to abrasion with his collar. He sat up and immediately winced at the pain in his stomach, but choked it back and stood up, pain shooting up from his leg and arms. He caught the tail end of the excuses before the three figures fled the locker room, Blaine looking at Kurt in concern. “What the hell just happened?”

Kurt smiled and waved him off. “Blaine, we live in Ohio. Some people are just extremely small minded.” He hated lying to Blaine, but the other boy was still powerless, which meant he couldn’t know about his alternate universe. Blaine looked him over and Kurt hoped he couldn’t see the cut from the blade or the blood on his hand. “I’m fine, Blaine, really. Homophobia isn’t anything new. I’ve dealt with it for years and it’s not going away anytime soon.”

“Wait, does this happen a lot?” Blaine asked and Kurt sighed.

“Not a lot, but enough.” Blaine shook his head.

“I’ll talk to Karofsky, Azimio, and Henderson before practice.” Kurt opened his mouth to protest, knowing that Blaine’s talking to them wouldn’t make a difference but closed it because he knew it wouldn’t matter; nothing he could say would change Blaine’s mind. “And please, don’t keep something like this from me.”

“Blaine, I’m not keeping anything from you,” Kurt said past the lump in his throat and placed a hand on Blaine’s arm, the one that he hadn’t gnawed on. Blaine took Kurt’s hand and brought it to his lips, kissing his knuckles softly.

“C’mon, it’s just about lunch time,” Blaine said and took Kurt’s hand in his, but Kurt hesitated.

“I have to go to the bathroom. Can I meet you there?” Blaine looked uneasy at the suggestion, and Kurt knew he wasn’t comfortable with leaving him alone after just seeing him being ‘harassed’ by part of the swim team. “Okay, fine, wait here?” Blaine still looked reluctant, but nodded his head. Kurt placed a soft peck on Blaine’s cheek before turning around and walking to the set of stalls in the back of the locker room.

As soon as he closed the door and slid the lock in place, Kurt unraveled a long strip of toilet paper and tried to wipe the blood off his hand as best as possible. He then cleaned up the trail of dried blood on his neck before flushing the toilet. When he opened the door and walked over to the sink to get any leftover residue off, he looked up to see Blaine watching him closely. “I’m fine, Blaine, really,” Kurt said once he turned off the faucet. Blaine handed him a couple paper towels to dry his hands.

“Are you sure? I can-”

“Blaine, seriously, stop worrying about me.”

“I’ll never stop worrying about you,” Blaine said, his voice softer than before. Kurt moved so he stood just in front of Blaine and wrapped his arms around the boy’s shoulders. Blaine encircled Kurt’s waist with his. Kurt bit his lip as he thought about something.

“Why did you come to the locker room?” Blaine seemed slightly dazed by the question. He blinked at Kurt.

“I-I don’t know. It’s like, I knew? In a way? I could…feel it, if that makes any sense. I didn't know what I was feeling, but I knew something wasn't right and I knew where I needed to go.” Kurt looked into those warm honey colored eyes and smiled softly as he remembered Tina’s words from the previous day. It seems like you two could be Sealed any moment now.

“Well I’m glad you did.”

“So am I. You’re precious and I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.” Kurt held back that it was his job to protect Blaine, not the other way around. He also didn't mention how he knew what Blaine meant, considering he’d seen the man die many times before. Instead, he did the only rational thing he could think of. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Blaine’s.

It was exactly as he’d always thought it would be. Exactly like everyone described it. No, not in the way silly people speak of kissing a crush. There were no fireworks. There were no sparks of electricity. There was no fire. It was so much more than that.

It was like being awoken. Kurt felt as if he’d been asleep all his life, submersed in eternal darkness with no hopes of ever seeing any surroundings. Forever remaining a shell of a person. But that kiss, such a simple touch, so common, was so much better than he could have dreamt. Blaine was the light, the flame that warmed his being and filled him with purpose. It was surreal and slightly dizzying.

When Kurt pulled back slightly a moment later, Blaine kept his eyes closed for a little while longer. When he finally opened them he kept his eyes down and reached around his back to take Kurt’s right hand in his left. Kurt watched with curious eyes as Blaine put Kurt’s hand over his heart, then placed his own right hand over Kurt’s heart.

Kurt inhaled sharply when he began to feel the tug. It was like Blaine’s palm was reaching into Kurt’s chest and taking his heart. He could feel it tightening felt Blaine’s hand curl into a fist against his chest. Kurt distantly felt his own hand curl as well, as if staking his claim on Blaine’s heart as well.

Blaine looked up then, his eyes locking on Kurt’s. Kurt though at first that Blaine would be nervous or scared, but was surprised to find that he seemed calm. Happy even. He smiled at Kurt and removed his left hand from Kurt’s, seeing as Kurt was definitely not going to move it, and stroked Kurt’s cheek lovingly. He leaned forward and kissing him again. Kurt kissed him back instantly, wanting nothing more than to feel Blaine, and he knew why no one spoke about Sealings. They were too personal. There he was, giving himself away completely to Blaine and taking Blaine in return, binding their hearts and souls together for eternity. No one else should be a part of this moment but them.

Kurt saw a flash of light and pulled away quickly. He looked between them and saw that his hand and Blaine’s were flat against each other’s chests again, but there was something different; Kurt could feel it on his palm. It felt like a needle being dragged across his skin and he looked up at Blaine, wondering if he could feel it too. Blaine simply smiled and nodded at Kurt before nodding to him, as if telling him he could move his hand.

Kurt took it away slowly, wondering how Blaine seemed to know so much about Sealing, before turning his hand over and looking at it. There on his palm was a being drawn a circle that took up the entirety of his hand. Once the invisible force closed the circle, it faded away into Kurt’s skin until it disappeared completely.

Kurt looked up at Blaine quickly and saw something flash in his eyes, but it was gone before Kurt could put a name to it. “You’re mine now,” Blaine whispered and took Kurt’s hand in his, holding their imprints together.

Blaine gasped suddenly and his eyes grew wider. Kurt looked at him in concern, wondering if something had gone wrong or if he’d been hurt, but soon after Blaine’s shoulders began to relax and he blinked, seemingly back to normal. He’s getting his powers, Kurt remembered, and felt a wave of excitement for Blaine. He began to wonder what Blaine would obtain. Being the apparent defender of our race would have to mean some pretty cool powers, right? Maybe he’d be able to fly. Or shape shift. Telekinesis could be promising.

Kurt was also glad he wouldn’t have to hide anything from Blaine anymore. He could tell him all about Guardians and Paladins and Chasers and their destiny. As Blaine’s Guardian, it was his job to fill him in on everything essential about their world. Kurt couldn’t wait. Maybe they would skip school for the rest of the day and go back to his house. Kurt had lots of books he could show Blaine and so many stories. He wanted to share everything with Blaine. �

Blaine let out a low breath and looked at Kurt with tired eyes. “A lot to take in?” Kurt asked softly and Blaine shook his head as if to clear it.

“What was that?” Blaine asked and Kurt looked at Blaine quizzically.

“What do you mean?” Kurt asked skeptically. Blaine should be aware by now, Kurt knew that much. He should know what they’d just been through. They had just been bound, and Blaine should have gotten at least that much information about Companionship when he was gifted his powers. Something wasn’t right.

“I- I don’t know,” Blaine’s brows knitted together and he bit his lip. He glanced at Kurt. “I feel… weird. Part of me feels amazing. The best I’ve ever felt. But the other is just weird. I don’t know-” Blaine ran a hand over his face. “I’m probably just tired or something.” Kurt kept his eyes on Blaine as he nodded softly.

“Yeah, you’re probably just tired,” he said nonchalantly. This was definitely not good. Something was very, very wrong and Kurt knew he had to go see the Keeper. And quick.

Kurt heard a stampede of feet echoing close by and remembered that school was still in session. Blaine seemed to have forgotten as well. “Um, are you hungry?” Blaine asked and Kurt nodded his head, not really hungry but he wanted to get Blaine checked out as soon as possible.

“Can we stop by the biology lab first? I have to talk to George.”

“Sure, of course. Who’s George?” The pair began to walk out of the locker room and made their way to the closest staircase.

“Oh, he’s the- Gardening Club director.” Blaine let out a sound of amusement.

“I still can’t believe you’re in Gardening Club.” Kurt would have glared at the boy, but he was too engrossed in his thoughts that he couldn’t force himself to feign okay. He was really worried about Blaine. Kurt felt Blaine take his hand in his. “I’m just messing around with you. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me. Hey, maybe while we’re there we can talk to this George guy about letting me join too.”

“Yeah, maybe.”