“Thanks.” Kurt took a sip from his own glass and leaned into Blaine’s side to look at the book in his lap. Kurt had taken Blaine to his place and given Blaine one of his many books on Guardianship. Blaine was currently learning about previous wars of their worlds. “I feel like I’m reading Harry Potter,” Blaine said after a while. He looked up from the book and drained half his glass before looking over at Kurt. “All of this,” he said, gesturing to the book, “doesn’t seem real. How could I not have known about these wars? So many people died… why would no one know about that?” Kurt wrapped an arm around Blaine, rubbing gentle circles on his back.

“The Superiors have their ways,” Kurt said, thinking back to when he’d asked George the same question. He’d been told that the Superiors tracked down anyone who’d been in the area at the time of the wars and wiped their memories. Blaine let out a long sigh. “Why don’t we take a break for a little bit,” Kurt suggested, taking the book from Blaine’s lap and closing it before placing it on the ground. Kurt stood up and held out a hand to Blaine who took it without hesitation. Kurt hulled him up with a smile and led him to the left corner of the backyard where a hammock his dad had built years ago sat under a large Bur Oak.

After a moment of struggling, they were able to get onto the hammock and lay together, Blaine’s head resting on Kurt’s shoulder and his arm draped over Kurt’s waist while Kurt carded his fingers through Blaine’s hair. They lay in silence for a while, listening to the breeze as it blew through the tree and rustled the leaves. Kurt heard Blaine sigh contently and Kurt pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “How long have you known?” Blaine asked after a while. “How old were you when you had to take the Oath and everything?”

“Nine,” Kurt said softly, remembering with perfect clarity the day he swore himself to Blaine. He’d been so young. Kurt could understand why they had to start training Guardians as early as possible, but it seemed sort of ridiculous. A nine year old doesn’t know how to cross the street by themselves, let alone protect another person. Then again, he’d been able to save Blaine from a broken arm back then.

“So they just told you, ‘Hey, guess what? You have to save this Blaine kid from getting hurt. Have fun!’ That’s not cool.”

“I actually knew before then.”

“What?”

“About you specifically. I knew it was you before they told me. I remember seeing you at the playground and just- knowing.”

“I’m sorry,” Blaine said and now it was Kurt’s turn to be confused.

“What? Why?”

“Because! Because of me you didn’t get a childhood.”

“I still had a childhood, Blaine. And a good one at that,” Kurt began, but Blaine didn’t seem to be listening.

“You’ve had to live your life around me, Kurt. I robbed your life. How is that okay?”

“Blaine Devon Anderson, you did not rob my life; you gave it purpose.” Blaine scoffed and Kurt squirmed around so he lying on his side. He cupped Blaine’s cheek with his hand and moved his head so he could look into those honey color eyes. “I am here because of you. Blaine, Guardians are born because a Paladin needs their protection. If it wasn’t for you, who knows if I’d even be in existence. If my consequence for living is to protect you, I’d say it’s hardly a chore. I am glad to be here. I am so thankful that I’ve been given this opportunity. It means I get you, Blaine. I fail to see any downsides.” Blaine bit his lip as he considered Kurt’s words.

“I can’t begin to express how ecstatic I am to be with you, but Kurt- I still can’t help thinking that without me, you could have a normal life.”

“Blaine! Don’t you get it?” Kurt asked, rolling his eyes but unable to keep a smile off his face as he spoke. “I don’t ever want a life that you’re not in. That’s not life, that’s existing. Barely.” Blaine glanced away and Kurt stifled a groan. What was it going to take to convince Blaine that he was happy with his life? Kurt leaned in and pressed a kiss to Blaine’s lips. It was chaste enough, but he quickly felt Blaine’s hand slide to his hip as his lips pressed harder against his and Kurt was wondering if Blaine was trying to convey a message with this kiss. Kurt kissed back with equal force and stroked Blaine’s cheek bone with his thumb. Blaine gently rolled Kurt onto his back and leaned over him, still keeping his lips firmly attached to Kurt’s. Blaine pulled away and pressed another kiss to his lips, softer this time, repeating again and again, gentle kisses and Kurt placed a hand on Blaine’s neck, playing with Blaine’s hair as he let himself be kissed.

After a while Blaine pulled away so they could catch their breath and when Kurt opened his eyes he gazed up at Blaine. Blaine’s eyes were still half lidded and dazed and his lips were red and puffy, kiss swollen and a little wet with spit. A soft flush dusted his cheeks and Kurt didn’t think he’d ever seen a more beautiful sight. “I love you,” Kurt said softly and then realized what he’d just said. Yes, he’d meant it, but he wasn’t entirely sure how accepting Blaine would be to those three words. The second one in particular. But, to his delight, Blaine leaned in again, pressed a kiss to Kurt’s lips and smiled.

“I love you so much, Kurt.” Kurt smiled too and tugged Blaine down. Blaine lay against his side, pressing closely to his side and nuzzling his nose in the crook of Kurt’s neck. He kissed Kurt’s neck softly and Kurt let out a happy sigh.

Neither of them moved for a long while, reveling in the feeling of their spoken love and their closeness, until Kurt heard the back door open and Burt poked his head out. He didn’t say anything, he must’ve gotten a call from either George or one of the Supers about his going home with Blaine, but rose a brow at him before slowly retreating back into the house. Kurt could feel his face heating up and he gently nudged Blaine.

After their slow move off the hammock and back to their previous place in the grass, stopping every few moments to touch an arm or cheek and kiss each other softly, Blaine grabbed the book and opened it back up to his previous spot. He tried to pick up reading again, but seemed to be just staring at the page without actually reading it. “Hungry?” Kurt asked and Blaine looked up gratefully, nodding as Kurt nodded his head toward the door. Blaine took the book with him and when they walked into the house, Burt was sitting at the dining room table. He stood up and walked toward them, and Blaine instantly walked up to him.

“Hello, sir, I’m Blaine,” he said, offering Burt his hand. Burt shook it and Blaine seemed to be schooling the pain off his face.

“Nice to meet you Blaine. Been wondering when I’d be seeing your face ‘round here.” Burt nodded his head to the book in Blaine’s hand. “Learning ‘bout the trade?”

“Uh, yes, sir-”

“Burt-”

“-Burt. Kurt’s trying to help me out.” Burt nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Blaine sympathetically.

“I heard about what happened.” Blaine looked over at Kurt who itched to hold Blaine’s hand or something but refrained. “If anyone can help, it’s Kurt. Don’t worry, you’ll remember in no time.” Blaine nodded and smiled softly at Burt.

“Thank you, sir.”

“It’s Burt. And don’t be a stranger, alright? You two are bound or whatever. I wanna get to know you better if I’m going to be seeing you for the rest of my life.” Kurt raised a brow at his dad before shaking his head a slightly. “What?”

“Nothing,” Kurt said, and this time he did take Blaine’s hand in his. “We’re going to go get some lunch. Can we get you anything?” Burt watched them for a moment before turning back to the table and pushing in his chair.

“Nah, I’m alright. I gotta head back over to the shop.” Burt began to walk out of the room, but stopped and turned around. “Blaine, what are you doing for dinner? Carole’s making lasagna.”

“Sounds, delicious, s- Burt.” Burt nodded once and then walked out, leaving the two boys alone. “I like your dad,” Blaine said after a moment and Kurt smiled, tugging on his hand and pulling him in for a kiss.

“I’m glad. And he seems to like you, too,” he said as he pulled away.

A few hours later, Carole came home and was very excited to see Blaine there with Kurt. She and Finn didn’t know about Guardians and such, Kurt had to tell Blaine, but she was happy none the less to see Kurt having a boy over. She looked like she wanted to stay and talk and find out more about Blaine, but she excused herself to the kitchen to start on dinner, leaving them to resume watching their movie.

When Finn got home from football practice, he was a little surprised to see Blaine sitting on their couch. “Uh, hey dude, what are you doing here?” Kurt rolled his eyes.

“Finn, Blaine and I are dating.” Finn looked like he’d just been told Blaine was a merman. To exaggerate, Blaine pulled Kurt closer to him and leaned his head against his. Finn just stood there a moment, seemingly trying to process why swim team captain and popular guy, Blaine Anderson was dating his gardening club member step-brother and all around nobody, Kurt Hummel. After a minute he smiled at them.

“Cool. Wanna play some video games?” Kurt indulged Finn, letting him play video games in the living room. He sat down on the couch next to Blaine, who seemed equally into the game, while Kurt sat there pushing buttons and not really caring. They were playing some shooting type game and they were all on a team trying to assassinate a group of villains. On more than one occasion when Kurt was backed into a corner with the bad guys all around him, Blaine came swooping in to rescue him, firing his gun wildly and living no prisoners. Kurt smiled over at him and Blaine kissed his nose.

Dinner went off without an awkward hitch. His father and Carole asked Blaine questions and were easily able to talk about sports and Glee. Everything seemed so effortless and Kurt found himself thinking about years in the future when he and Blaine lived somewhere together and would come over on Friday nights for family dinners and Finn would be there with Rachel or whoever and they’d talk about their week and what’s new and he and Carole would talk about new recipes and Blaine, Finn, and Burt would talk about the upcoming football game on Monday. Then Blaine would lean over when he thought no one was looking and steal a kiss. Maybe they’d even have kids. Then Kurt thought about this war they’re supposed to be involved in and wondered if they’d even make it to those dinners.

Kurt felt something on his leg and looked down to see Blaine squeezing just above his knee. Kurt looked over at him and Blaine’s brows were scrunched together, silently asking if Kurt was okay. Kurt smiled at him and took Blaine’s hand in his. Yes, everything was okay. Because even if those dinners never happened, they still had now. They still had each other for however long they were allotted, and that was more than okay.