Blaine woke suddenly. A sound had pulled him from sleep and he lay there for a moment, searching it out. There it was again. A sniffle? Reaching over, he found Kurt's side of the bed was empty. He sat up and saw Kurt's shadow in a chair near the window.

"Baby?"

He heard a quick sniffle and a cough. "Go back to sleep, Blaine. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm fine, really. Get some more sleep," Kurt said gently.

Blaine knew he was lying. He knew Kurt and he could hear something in his voice that wasn't fine. He got up and stretched before going over to sit in the chair across from Kurt.

Kurt was curled up in the chair, holding his forehead in his hand. "I said I'm fine, Blaine."

"I know you did, babe. But fine doesn't sound like you sound. What's going on?"

"We're engaged," Kurt said, his voice trembling.

Blaine felt a pit open in his stomach. Was he going to back out of it? "Yeah, we are," he said hesitantly.

"We told your mom," Kurt continued, and Blaine could see tears streaking down his face in the pale light from outside.

Blaine moved to kneel beside his chair. "Baby, what is it? We did tell my mom, did you not want to? I thought we agreed we wanted everyone to know?" He took Kurt's hand in his.

"We did, and I did want to. It's just... I just wish I could tell my dad," Kurt said, his voice breaking. "He was my best friend, my biggest supporter. He always wanted me to find love. I think he would really like you," he said, running his hand down Blaine's face with a sad smile. "I am so happy, happier than I've ever been in my life, and neither of my parents are around to see it."

"What was your dad like?" Blaine asked, settling in next to the chair.

"He was a little taller than me with blue eyes. He always told me I had my mom's eyes, because they can never make up their mind what color to be. Kinda like she was," Kurt chuckled sadly. "He always wore a baseball cap. He loved cars. We owned a mechanic shop and I grew up learning everything there was to know about cars. After Mom died, we just got closer. I came out to him in my sophomore year and he said he already knew. I don't know why I thought he wouldn't know, I was into fashion more than football. But I guess, I was more hiding from myself than him. He was supportive in every part of my life. One time our choir teacher wouldn't let me audition for a solo because it was supposed to be sung by a girl. Dad went to the school and argued with them until they agreed to let me audition," Kurt said, smiling at the memory.

Blaine grinned. "I bet you got it, didn't you?"

Kurt shook his head sadly, his smile vanishing. "No. I, um, I blew the final note, a high F. I knew I could do it, but I blew it on purpose. Dad had gotten a couple phone calls telling him his son was a fag. He was so hurt and upset. I knew if I got the solo it would just get worse for him. So I made sure I didn't get it."

Blaine couldn't believe the selflessness of the man before him. To give up something he wanted so desperately so his dad didn't have to suffer. "Did your dad find out?"

"Yeah, he was pretty mad. But I still think it was the right decision. My junior year started off pretty good. I mean the bullying was bad, worse than ever actually. But Dad was happy. I'd introduced him to the mom of a guy in my choir class and they'd been dating for a while. Then he had the heart attack. He was in a coma for two weeks before his body just gave out," Kurt said, sniffling. "I remember bits and pieces of my life with Mom. But I remember every moment of life with Dad. He was the most important part of my world. Life was so empty without him. I lived with my aunt until I graduated. She hated me because I'm gay. She's one of those Christian's who believe all gays will burn in hell. Anyway, as soon as I moved in with her and figured out how life was going to be, I began putting all of my efforts into my grades and getting ready to graduate and get the hell away from her and Lima. I worked at the shop, my dad's friend took it over. I could have stayed there and ran it, but there was no way I was going to stay in Lima forever." Kurt shuddered at the thought. "But I worked every day and saved up as much as I could. I worked on my grades and extracurricular activities so I'd have a stellar application. I found Dalton and knew it was where I wanted to go. I got accepted, hopped on a bus after graduation and never looked back. I stayed in a crappy motel for a week. During my tour of Dalton, I met this gorgeous guy who turned out to be a complete asshole," Kurt grinned. "Oh wait, that was you!"

Blaine groaned in embarrassment. "Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive me for that?"

Kurt ran his fingers through Blaine's curls. "I did a long time ago, sweetie. But I can still tease you about it."

"I bet your dad would have hung me out to dry," Blaine said.

"There's no question," Kurt laughed. "He was very protective. But if he knew you now, he would love you. He would be so grateful for everything you've done for me, how you've loved me." Kurt slid off the chair and curled up into Blaine's lap on the floor.

"I hope so. I want you to be proud of me, of the person I am," Blaine said.

Kurt looked up at him and grasped his chin. "I am proud of you, Blaine. You are an extraordinary person. I wish both of my parents had had a chance to meet you."

"Well, maybe someday we can go there and you can introduce me," Blaine said lightly.

Kurt stared at him. "You'd do that? Visit their graves with me?"

Blaine hugged him close. "Of course I would, baby. I would be honored to meet the parents of the man I love."

Feeling tears coming again, Kurt buried his face against Blaine's chest. They sat there for a long time, Kurt weeping silently. The ache in his chest for his parents would never go away, but maybe, with this man beside him, maybe it would get easier.

. . . . .

"From Dalton Academy, please welcome Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel," the emcee announced. The two walked onto the stage, Blaine taking a seat at the piano and Kurt grabbing a microphone. Blaine grinned at him and began playing. Kurt was always mesmerized when he saw Blaine play, he had to concentrate on the song so he didn't space off. Blaine nodded to him and Kurt began to sing.

(Kurt)

I've been alone

Surrounded by darkness

I've seen how heartless

The world can be

(Blaine)

I've seen you crying

You felt like it's hopeless

I'll always do my best

To make you see

(Both)

Baby, you're not alone

Cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

Our love is all we need to make it through

(Kurt)

Now I know it ain't easy

But it ain't hard trying

Every time I see you smiling

And I feel you so close to me

And you tell me

(Both)

Baby, you're not alone

Cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

Our love is all we need to make it through

Blaine grinned at Kurt as he took the next verse.

(Blaine)

I still have trouble

I trip and stumble

Trying to make sense of things sometimes

I look for reasons

But I don't need 'em

All I need is to look in your eyes

And I realize

There was no more audience. It was just the two of them singing to one another. Kurt knew he could see Blaine's heart in the loving gaze he was giving him. This moment would be true for the rest of their lives.

(Both)

Baby I'm not alone

Cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna take us down

Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

Our love is all we need to make it through, ooh

Cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

Cause nothing, nothing, nothing can keep me from lovin' you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

You know our love is all we need

Our love is all we need... to make it through...

. . . . .

The Warbler's team were enjoying a final meal in L.A. before the trip home. The Expo had been a resounding success. They'd even been offered funding by several different groups and invitations to perform at various venues. Everyone was having a good time, even Mr. Schue had finally loosened up. He'd given them a nice speech but managed to finish it by telling them now was not the time to start slacking since the competition season was upon them. Everyone booed him until he sat down and had a drink. That was the key. Get him liquored up and he became a normal guy. Colton suddenly got up from the table and walked away, his face pale. Kurt watched him go, concerned.

Blaine looked down as his phone beeped, alerting him to a text. Before he could check it, Colton came back and whispered in his ear.

"I need to talk to you. Now," he said urgently.

Blaine looked and saw that he was really upset. "Okay. Be right back, babe," he told Kurt, kissing his forehead.

"Alright," Kurt said, concerned.

Blaine and Colton went outside the restaurant. "What's up?"

"I, uh, just got a call from Dalton. They still have me listed as the resident of your room since we didn't officially switch. Blaine, your room was broken into and ransacked. I don't know if anything was stolen, but apparently, it's trashed pretty bad," Colton told him, looking at him nervously.

"Shit," Blaine said, his face going white. He knew who did it. He also knew it was his fault. He checked his text message. Your room was hit. No witnesses. No ID on mole yet. Be careful. "Fuck."

"Blaine? I, uh, don't know what's going on," Colton started.

"You don't want to," Blaine interrupted him. "Thank you for telling me. Don't worry about the room, I'll talk to Admin when we get back and straighten out everything."

"Uh, okay. They said they put a new door on. You can pick up the key at the R.A.'s room," Colton told him.

"Thanks," Blaine said, standing there, staring off into space.

"I'm gonna go back inside," Colton said, knowing Blaine wasn't listening anymore.

"Yeah," he said, not seeing Colton walk back into the restaurant. He dialed a number on his phone.

"What the hell happened?" he asked as soon as his call was answered.

"We were doing rounds around the dorm and between walk-by's, the room was hit. Door was practically ripped off the hinges. Your stuff was thrown around, bed was ripped apart. Some nasty language painted on the walls. Pictures broken, that kind of stuff. I don't know if anything was stolen. But it's definitely not somewhere you're gonna want to stay," the man said.

"Keep someone near the room until I get back. Also, I want you to find me an apartment near campus. Furnished with the basics. Two bedrooms, lots of windows, maybe a loft. Put in the best security system you can get, but keep it low profile. I want it to be Alcatraz but look like the Ritz. Got it?" Blaine asked.

"You got it, boss man. I, uh, have some other news that's not gonna make you too happy," the man reported.

"Just spit it out," Blaine said, not in the mood to beat around the bush.

"Your dad knows what's going on. The upper management thought since your folks place was broken into, then yours, that he needed to know. Not your personal business, but that some shit's been going down," he said.

"Fuck. Just what I needed. Alright. Thanks for everything. We'll be back tomorrow afternoon, so have the apartment ready by then. Is the time constraint going to be a problem?" Blaine asked.

"Nope. You know we can work fast when we need to," the man told him.

"Good. I'm also going to want two guys at the apartment at all times. Unobtrusive. See if they can get an apartment next door or something like that," Blaine instructed.

"You got it. I'll send you the apartment info as soon as we have it. See you when you get back," the man said.

"Thanks man," Blaine said and they hung up.

Shit, shit, shit, Blaine thought. This was not good. How was he going to explain all of this to Kurt? He thought quickly and zipped off a quick text to Colton.

Did you tell Kurt?

Colton answered quickly. No.

Don't. I'll handle it.

Ok.

Blaine returned to his seat next to Kurt and smiled at him. There was no need to ruin the evening. They had one last night to enjoy. It would be pointless to get Kurt upset when it could wait until they got back. He would tell him on the way to the dorm. Then they could see what was done and move what they could to the apartment. There was a way he could smooth the way, though, he realized.

"Everything okay?" Kurt whispered.

"Just fine, babe," Blaine said, kissing him softly.

When they got back to the room, they undressed quickly and made love. It was intense, but gentle all at the same time. They showered together afterward and snuggled in the bed, wrapped around each other.

"I have a question for you," Blaine said.

"Mm?" Kurt responded, tucked into Blaine's chest.

"How would you feel about living off campus?" He asked.

Kurt sat up and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I want to get an apartment and I want you to live with me," Blaine said with a smile.

Kurt's face lit up. "Really? Our own place?"

"Yep. And you would have sole control over decorating," Blaine said enticingly.

Bouncing on the bed, Kurt clapped his hands. "Oh, Blaine, that sounds wonderful. No more dormitory! And this means I get to shop for furniture and paint. But, I can't afford it. I mean, I'll save some money because I won't be living on campus, but I'll have to get a job to afford rent and utilities and all that," Kurt said, his excitement waning.

Blaine grabbed his hands. "It's my idea and I'll handle all the costs. Baby, you're going to have to get used to me spending money on you and us. It really isn't a big deal. I want to make your life easier. Let me do this, okay?"

Kurt looked at him for a moment. "Alright. But I am going to pitch in," he said stubbornly.

"That's fine," Blaine assured him. "So you'll move in with me?"

"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed, throwing himself on Blaine's chest and hugging him, raining kisses on his face. They laughed and kissed for a time. Then Kurt began bringing up idea after idea for paint schemes and furnishings. Blaine listened, content to let him make all the decisions. Whatever it took to make Kurt safe and happy, he was more than happy to do. He didn't let himself think of how Kurt was going to react when they saw the dorm. Not yet. They had this night. Maybe he'd get lucky and time would stop with them here, happy and excited for their future together.

. . . . .

In the cab on the way back to Dalton, Blaine took a phone call. Guilt put a rock in his stomach. He hated that he was lying to Kurt and keeping things from him. It had to be the best thing, though. For now.

"Shit!" he yelled out. "What the hell happened? Okay, damn it. Nothing better be gone."

"I can't believe you still haven't told him," Colton said on the other end. "I'll go along with it for now, but you really can't keep stuff like this from him."

"You let me worry about that," Blaine said, a blatant warning in his voice.

"Fine. Talk to you later," Colton said hastily.

"Thanks man," Blaine said, and they hung up.

"What's going on, Blaine?" Kurt asked, worry etched on his fine features.

"That was Colton. Housing called him cuz our room is still listed as his. Kurt, someone broke in and ransacked the room," he said as gently as he could. He cursed internally when Kurt's face went deathly pale.

"Were we robbed?" he asked quietly.

Blaine took his hand and rubbed it briskly. "I don't know, babe. We'll have to see. Apparently it happened a couple days ago and they had the door replaced. But we won't be able to stay there," he said.

"Where are we going to stay?" Kurt worried.

"I heard from my realtor and we're pretty close to being able to sign on an apartment nearby. We'll stay at a hotel until it's ready," Blaine assured him. "At least classes don't start for another week, so we'll have time to get situated."

"You seem so calm about this," Kurt noticed. Blaine's expression had stayed the same the whole time.

"I'm trying to keep my temper. Otherwise I'd be yelling and screaming and I've come to realize that that kind of stuff isn't very productive," he replied with a grim smile.

Kurt squeezed his hand. "I appreciate that. You're so wonderful, Blaine. You make me feel safe."

Guilt ate at him. All of this was happening because of him. Kurt would be perfectly safe if he wasn't around. But he couldn't think about that right now. The cab pulled into the school and they got out and unloaded their luggage. They made their way to their dorm room, stopping at the R.A.'s room first to get the new key. The R.A. looked at them sympathetically and told them what he knew, which wasn't much more than they already heard.

They got to the room and looked at each other. "Do you want me to go in first?" Blaine offered.

"No, it's okay. We'll get through this together," Kurt said, a small smile on his lips.

Blaine nodded and unlocked the door. They both stepped inside and froze. Kurt gasped and Blaine cursed loudly. Saying the room had been ransacked was an understatement. It looked like a tornado and earthquake had teamed up to utterly destroy the room. The comforter on the bed had been slit open, feathers and fuzz was spread around the room like snow. The mattress and pillows had been likewise split open. Above the bed, there was spray paint. Die Fags was there in bright red paint, dripping slowly down like blood. Kurt whimpered and Blaine wrapped his arm around him. Their desks had been chopped up like kindling, pictures were all smashed, glass was everywhere.

Kurt walked gingerly to the closet and opened it. All of his clothes were ripped and looked wet with some mystery substance that Kurt was not eager to define. He walked around, touching things here and there, trying to wrap his mind around what would make someone do this. Bending down, he picked up his pictures. Most of them were damaged beyond repair, ripped and burned. Picking up the heavy wood frame that held the most precious of all, he gasped out a sob. The picture of him, his mom and dad, was ripped right across their faces, like someone had just sliced right through it. He knelt there in the broken glass, clutching the picture to his chest, rocking back and forth. His entire life had been violated, ripped apart, because someone hated him so much.

"Why?" he sobbed. "Why would someone do this?"

Blaine came and sat beside him. "I don't know, baby. I'm so sorry. Let's grab what we can salvage and get out of here."

"Did anything of yours get ruined?" Kurt asked, looking at him with concern.

"Pretty much everything. They even smashed my guitar," Blaine said bitterly.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry," Kurt said and hugged Blaine close.

They were still embracing there on the floor when there was a hesitant knock. They looked up and saw Colton, Jason, and many of the Warblers.

"We, uh, heard what happened and wanted to help," Wes said quietly.

"Thanks, man," Blaine said gratefully.

The group spent the next half hour sorting and picking through things. Someone had brought boxes and they packed what they could. They would need to replace some of their school books, but luckily they had taken their computers with them, so those were safe. Kurt was also grateful that he had packed so thoroughly. His favorite pieces of clothing were safe, though he would have to supplement his cold weather wardrobe. It had been warm in L.A., so he'd left most of his winter stuff here. Nobody said out loud what the mystery substance on his clothes were, but they all knew what it was.

While they were packing, Blaine got a text with an address in it. All ready to go. Key is at front desk. Neighbors directly across the hall are us. Instructions for security system are on kitchen counter. Neighbors can help with questions. Awaiting further instruction.

"Kurt, my realtor just texted me. We got the apartment, so we don't have to stay in a hotel," he said with a small smile.

"That's wonderful," Kurt said with the first genuine smile he'd had in a while.

Two hours later, they had the room cleaned up as best as they could. Blaine had called some people who were going to come in and haul out the garbage and paint the room. They thanked all of their friends and said goodbye. As they waited for the cab, they looked at the small pile of boxes containing what was left from their room.

Blaine rubbed Kurt's shoulders from behind. "Don't worry, baby. We'll get the pictures fixed. Everything else we can replace, I promise."

"It just seems so pointless. Nothing was missing. Why would someone come in just to wreck the room?" Kurt asked sadly.

Because they were trying to send me a message, Blaine thought. "I don't know, babe. But the new apartment has a great security system, so we won't have to worry about it happening again."

"You trust your agent to pick out an apartment for you?" Kurt asked, looking at him.

"I do. He's worked for my father for years. I told him what I was looking for and he found something that fit all the criteria I gave him," Blaine said.

"What was the criteria?" Kurt asked, curious about his new home.

"Ah, you'll have find out when we get there," Blaine said with a wink.

"Meanie," Kurt said, smiling.

"I know," Blaine answered.

They made it to the apartment building just as the sun was starting to go down. They were both tired from the day of traveling and packing and cleaning. Blaine talked to the front desk, got the keys, and asked them to send someone to bring their stuff up to the apartment. Kurt was impressed and awed by the building. It was very modern, large windows, professional staff. Taking the elevator to the seventeenth floor - Kurt hypnotized by the marble floors - they got out. Blaine explained that there were four units per floor. Their closest neighbor was across the hall and all the apartments were sound proof. He wiggled his eyebrows at Kurt when he said that, making him blush. He unlocked the door and stepped back so Kurt could walk in.

Kurt's jaw dropped and he slowly made his way into his new home. He lived here. Unbelievable, he thought. The floors were all dark hardwood, the walls all a light gray. Almost Dior gray, he noted. But it was the windows that caught his attention. Three large windows, probably fifteen to twenty feet tall, surrounded the apartment. Two of them faced west and were right now showing a beautiful sunset. The other window was on the corner of the apartment, facing out across the city.

He heard the doorbell and saw Blaine answer the door. Several men came in with their belongings and directed them to take it all upstairs.

Watching the workers, he saw the apartment was a loft. There were stairs leading up to a room, a bedroom if he was seeing right. Below the loft was a large galley kitchen with a breakfast bar and two stools. There was a small living room set, couch and chair, a wide screen TV, and a coffee table. On the side of the room, he saw two doors. One was a full bathroom and the other was a spare room with another large window.

The men left and Blaine hit a couple buttons on the wall. A beep sounded and Kurt realized it was a security system. He smiled and returned to looking at the large room off the living room.

"I figured that could be our shared office," Blaine said quietly behind him.

"Perfect," Kurt whispered. "Blaine this whole place is perfect. It's beautiful. If I'd been able to put my New York dream apartment into words, it would be this place." He walked over to the large windows and sighed happily. "It's almost worth getting our dorm trashed to end up in a place like this. It's like kismet or something, you know? Like it was meant to be," he said.

Blaine closed his eyes. He had to tell him. It wasn't kismet that brought them here. It was Blaine's doing.

"Kurt, baby, can we talk?" Blaine said, swallowing loudly.

"Of course," Kurt said, his blue-green eyes sparkling. He went to the couch and sighed as he sank into his comforting softness. He patted the cushion next to him.

Blaine sat down on the opposite side of him and took a deep breath. "There is something you need to know. It's about me, mostly. And the dorm room," he began.

"Okay. You can tell me anything, Blaine. I love you," Kurt said, leaning forward to rub his knee.

"I love you, too, baby," Blaine said. He only hoped Kurt would still love him when he finished talking.