Chapter 22

December 10, 2012

After he was done with the bathroom Kurt made his way into his room and found Blaine sitting in the bed. The boy looked up and there was nothing but confusion in his face, which was soon replaced by recognition.

"Kurt?" Blaine uttered, the pain of betrayal obvious in his voice. He lowered his head respectfully. "I'm sorry for speaking without permission... Master."

Kurt growled internally. So far he had seen a freaking out, trying to climb out of the window Blaine, a high on fever Blaine, and now this. Deep inside he had known that there was a possibility of losing the slave boy's trust but he hoped that after he recovered, the boy would recognise him as a friend who had helped him earlier. No such luck. Currently the sick boy was sitting on the bed in a submissive position, most likely beating himself up for ever trusting him.

Fucking perfect.

"Come on, Blaine, I've told you to call me Kurt," he said trying to be gentle but failing as his frustration got the best of him.

The boy startled at Kurt's voice and his shoulders tensed even more. "I'm sorry, Ma– Kurt!"

"No, no, no!" Kurt shouted before he could stop himself. This wasn't going well. "I'm not your master or in any way superior, okay? I'm the same boy you met not so long ago, the only difference is that you are in my house and in my bedroom right now. There is a perfectly logical explanation for that."

"Who– If I may ask..." Blaine began but started coughing mid-sentence.

Kurt waited until he was finished to encourage him to talk. "Feel free to ask me anything," he said and leaned on the wall.

"If you are not my Master, then who is?" the boy asked not daring to raise his head even though Kurt had insisted they were equals.

"You are," Kurt asked and Blaine finally looked up. "You are your own person here, okay? Nothing changed just because you are here. Imagine you are still living in the sewing factory, just warmer and more comfortable. And you don't have to worry about food or clothes, or shower, anything."

Blaine looked down at his lap, trying to process Kurt's words. "I don't understand..."

Kurt ran his fingers through his hair, trying to think of the best way to go about it. "I'll explain you everything, I promise, but first I'd rather have you eat something. You are really sick and you need food. How about you go use the bathroom now. Meanwhile I will find some warm clothes for you and then we will talk things out over breakfast. How does that sound?"

Kurt waited for a few moments for Blaine to answer but the other boy showed on intention of voicing his opinion, he only sat there quietly as if waiting for direct orders.

"Well, um, do you want to use the bathroom now?" Kurt asked awkwardly.

The boy nodded but made no move.

"So, you can...you can go and use it."

Blaine got out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. When the door closed, Kurt hid his face in his hands and tried to supress the shouts that were threatening to escape his mouth. He was way too young to be dealing with any of this. If it wasn't for the fact that Blaine didn't know Burt, he might have insisted on his dad staying home while he went to school. On the other hand, they needed money more than ever, especially if Blaine agreed to stay with them.

Trying to collect himself Kurt went to his closet and changed his clothes before looking for something that Blaine could wear. It had to be something warm and comfy. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to get the slave out of bed so soon but he couldn't lie in bed for too long either – it wasn't healthy for his back and muscles.

Blaine came out of the bathroom at the moment Kurt finished picking his outfit which consisted of thick warm sweatpants, woollen socks, undershirt and a homemade sweater that grandma Hummel had made a few years back. It was nothing fashionable but it would keep Blaine warm and it was all that mattered.

"So, here are the clothes for you," Kurt gestured and went to his underwear drawer. "And here is a pair of clean boxers. I promise they are properly washed. I will soon go shopping and get you your own clothes, okay?"

The other boy just nodded, wriggling his hands nervously. Kurt looked at him not sure what he wanted when he finally caught up with the reason why he might have been nervous.

"Okay, I'll leave you to change and when you are done, please, come downstairs," the teen asked, hoping that Blaine wouldn't take it as an order. "I'll be in the kitchen making us breakfast."

After he finished he took the small bag of medicine so he could give them to Blaine when they finished eating and went to the door before he remembered something.

"And, please, don't try to jump out of the window," he pleaded, which earned him a confused look from Blaine. "You kind of already tried to do that."

"Oh," Blaine's eyebrows furrowed as the boy tried to remember. "I won't do that again, Ma– I won't."

Kurt nodded at that. "So, get changed and come to the kitchen... please."

With that the boy left his room and shut the door closed. When he reached the kitchen and knew that Blaine wouldn't be able to hear him, he took his phone out of his pocket and dialled his dad's number. After a few moments his call was answered.

"Hey, buddy, is everything okay?"

Kurt placed the bag on the table and pressed the phone with his head to his shoulder so he would be able to start on breakfast. "I don't know... Blaine woke up and he thinks I'm his master. He is kind of slave-like right now and I'm not sure how to deal with this."

"Do you want me to come home?"

"Could you? He is changing and I'm making breakfast right now and then I'm going to answer his questions about what happened but I'd like to have you here. I mean, if it's you offering him to stay with us, it will sound a bit more serious."

"Of course, I'm leaving now, the guys will be able to take care of the business for a while. Do you think it's safe to leave Blaine alone?"

"He promised not to jump out of the window. He looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him not to. I think what happened earlier was all due to the fever and now he is more like himself," Kurt said and put the soup pot from yesterday to heat up.

"How is his fever this morning?"

"I haven't taken his temperature yet. Honestly, I totally forgot but I'll do that after breakfast."

"Okay, do that."

Kurt heard the steps upstairs and decided it was Blaine coming down. "I have to go, dad. Drive safe."

"I always do," Burt said with a chuckle and hung up.

"Kurt?" a tentative voice came from the staircase.

"I'm here," he shouted so that Blaine could follow his voice. Soon the boy entered the kitchen, looking a bit ridiculous in his attire. "Are the clothes comfortable?"

"Yes, thank you," Blaine said standing in the doorway.

"I'm making soup right now. I mean, I'm warming it up since my dad made it yesterday," Kurt explained. "Would you like to sit down?"

The slave boy looked around. "Where may I sit?"

"Anywhere you want?" Kurt said but it came out more like a question. "A chair preferably."

Blaine nodded and sat down on the chair that was closest to him. "Thank you."

"For what?" Kurt asked with one eyebrow raised.

"For letting me sit on the furniture," the other boy explained, his eyes downcast, the sight that Kurt already hated.

"You can always sit on the furniture," Kurt said. "I mean, the furniture that is there for sitting on. It would be weird to sit on tables or counters."

It was meant to be a joke to lighten up the mood but it didn't help as Blaine nodded with a serious expression. "I understand, I won't sit on counters or tables."

"Um, thank you," Kurt responded and went to grab a bag of bread from the cupboard. "Would you like some toast with your chicken soup?"

"I... you don't have to feed me," Blaine mumbled silently, his stomach making louder noises than his mouth.

"I want to. Now, please, be honest, does it still hurt to swallow?"

Blaine looked up surprised. "How do you know?" he asked and paled at his own bold question. "I'm sorry! Please, if I may, how did you guess?"

"You told me yesterday," Kurt explained and put two pieces of bread in the toaster. "My dad was feeding you soup and you said it hurt."

"I don't remember," the slave said, his face showing concentration as he tried to remember.

"You had such high fever that you were a bit out of it," Kurt said sympathetically. "I will tell you everything once we finish eating. My dad is coming back from work to help me with the story and later Noah is coming as well."

"Puck?" Blaine asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Kurt nodded. "Yes, he knows you are with me because he helped me bring you here," he said and Blaine's face fell. "I will text him to let him know you are properly awake. He was really worried about you."

Blaine didn't comment on that and Kurt continued to work in silence. As there wasn't much soup left since the day before, it warmed up rather quickly and soon two full bowls of soup made their way onto the table with a plate of toasts by the side.

"Let's eat," Kurt said and put the first spoon of soup into his mouth, encouraging Blaine to eat as well.

"Thank you," the boy whispered and followed Kurt's lead. "It's very delicious."

"I'm glad you like it," the teenager said and continued eating, trying not to stare at Blaine for too long since he didn't want him to feel uncomfortable.

They were halfway through their meal when they heard the front door being unlocked and Burt came in.

"We are in the kitchen," Kurt shouted, startling Blaine a little. "Sorry, it's just my dad."

Blaine just nodded and placed his spoon into the bowl, not eating anymore. Kurt did the same as his dad walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, boys," he said and walked over to Kurt's side of the table so that he could face Blaine without crowding him. "Hi, Blaine. My name is Burt, I'm Kurt's dad."

"Hello, Sir," the slave boy answered politely, his hands in his lap and shoulders slumped.

Burt sat down on a free chair and eyed Blaine carefully. "How are you feeling today?"

The boy looked up confused at the question as if he wasn't used to people caring about him. "I'm fine, Sir."

"And truthfully?"

"I... My throat hurts, I cough a little, and I have a headache, Sir," Blaine listed his symptoms. "I'm also a bit itchy but it's probably because I'm dirty."

Kurt noticed his discomfort and cut in. "When your body temperature goes down a little you'll be able to take a bath or a shower. With a high fever it's not good to shower."

"I could shower?" Blaine asked with hope in his voice.

Burt nodded. "Of course. I think we should get straight to the talk since I'll have to go back to the shop."

"Okay," Kurt agreed. "I'll start from the beginning. I was at a frie– classmate's place and she told me that some higher-ups weren't particularly fond of you living in Lima anymore. I got scared that they might hurt you and I told my dad. We decided to look for you and with the help from Noah we found you."

"I don't remember that," Blaine frowned.

"You were unconscious," Burt uttered. "I don't know if you have seen yourself in a mirror already but you are all bruised because someone must have beaten you up."

The slave boy ran his finger over the bondage on his wrist.

"Do you remember what happened?" Kurt asked softly.

Blaine gave him a minuscule nod but didn't say anything. Kurt took that as a cue to continue the story.

"We found you almost naked and it seemed like you had been lying there for a while because you had gotten hypothermia. We took you to our car and brought you here. It took some time but we got you warmed up but of course you ended up with a fever and a cold."

"May I ask about jumping out of the window?" Blaine asked, daring to take a glance at Kurt.

"The first time you woke up you were really scared and couldn't recognise me. I left you alone in my room to make some tea and when my dad and I came back, you were trying to escape through the window. You would have hurt yourself pretty badly if I hadn't managed to stop you in time."

"Oh... Thank you," Blaine whispered, taking in the whole information.

Burt cleared his throat. "If you have any more questions about what happened you can ask Kurt later. Now we should talk about the future," he said. "Right now you are really sick so the only option here is for you to stay until you get better. Then, it's up to you what happens. We may just let you go and you can continue living like you did before. We could also drive you to some place far from the people who want to hurt you and leave you there. Or you can stay with us."

Blaine looked taken aback and openly stared at Burt. "What?"

"I like the last option the best because I'd rather have you here and see that you are okay than have you far from here with both of us worrying about you," the man said. "We have a guest room but I don't think we will be having many guests and while it's small, I'm sure you and Kurt would be able to make it homey with decorations and whatever. It could be your own bedroom."

"We would love to have you here," Kurt chimed in.

Blaine's eyes kept going from Kurt to Burt and back. "But I can leave?"

"Whenever you want after you get better," Burt assured the boy. "You have my word."

"Please, Blaine, stay with us..." Kurt pleaded.

The slave boy swallowed loudly, obviously uncomfortable as the Hummel men stared at him intently. "I..."