Blaine looked at the length of his list in disbelief. How had Kurt ever become his? With how many times he'd screwed up, it was amazing to him that Kurt ever found it in himself to love Blaine. Earlier he had texted Wes and David, as he'd done so many years ago, and told them he was concerned for their spy. The two council leaders had noticed Kurt as well and they decided to invite him back to Dalton for coffee and a chance to talk. Kurt agreed that tomorrow afternoon would be fine.

Blaine easily remembered the haunted look in Kurt's eyes that even now made him sad and angry, knowing that as he sat back, enjoying the relative peace and quiet in his home, Kurt was probably getting a slushie thrown in his face at glee practice. All Blaine wanted was to run to McKinley, kidnap Kurt and keep him safe and happy forever. Of course, that would just throw him for a loop - pun intended.

He put his list in date order, trying his best to remember the general order of things. The first thing he wanted to do was fix the nightmare Kurt dealt with after the coffee meeting they would have tomorrow. He would make sure Kurt didn't confront Karofsky alone. There had to be a way to word the conversation so Kurt was given the courage he needed and not send him straight into the lion's den.

Numbering the list, he felt ashamed that there were so many things that indeed needed fixing. On his end. He wondered how much, if any, Kurt would remember about this whole thing. Would he realize things had changed or would he only be aware of life as having been good? That's what Blaine hoped for. If Kurt somehow remembered that Blaine fixed things, he would die of embarrassment of the amount of things needing fixing.

. . . . . .

He woke up listening to an old Ingrid Michaelson hit, "The Way I Am", that had never failed to make him smile. Laying there, he wiggled his feet to the beat and sang along. He pictured himself singing this to Kurt and laughed, feeling lighter than he had in weeks.

If you were falling, then I would catch you.

You need a light, I'd find a match.

Cause I love the way you say good morning.

And you take me the way I am.

Blaine got out of bed, dancing around the room, singing to the invisible Kurt who was listening to him perform. He twirled and clapped his hands, having a wonderful time.

If you are chilly, here take my sweater.

Your head is aching, I'll make it better.

Cause I love the way you call me baby.

And you take me the way I am.

I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair.

Sew on patches to all you tear.

He giggled, knowing Kurt would die if he ever sang to him about Rogaine. He didn't think either of them would suffer from baldness, but the thought made him laugh. Especially the ferociously adorable scowl that would come along with it. Kurt would also be in charge of sewing patches, though Kurt's real solution would be to go buy something new. Any reason to shop.

Cause I love you more than I could ever promise.

And you take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am.

Blaine grinned and repeated the song, enjoying the simplicity and love in the song. Someday he'd sing it to Kurt. The alarm on his phone went off and he knew that meant he had just minutes before he had to leave for the day. Hurrying through his morning ritual, he was out the door in ten minutes, half a bagel shoved in his mouth.  School sped by and Blaine knew he would have to put some actual studying time in. It was amazing how much he didn't remember. Especially in math. He didn't use much math in his line of work. He grinned. Kurt was a math whiz and maybe he could tutor him. Blaine could repay him with kisses. Many, many kisses.

He made it to the campus café early, buying four latte's, wishing he could buy Kurt's non-fat mocha. But he had to keep from doing anything suspicious.

Kurt arrived, looking hesitant and slightly fearful. Blaine greeted him, pulled out his chair, and smiled as Wes and David joined them. They assured him they weren't there to beat him up and talked some about Dalton's anti-harassment policy. Kurt started tearing up so Blaine asked the others for a moment with Kurt. He listened sympathetically to Kurt's story and shared his own.

"Kurt, you gotta confront the bully, don't let him know that he has power over you. But, I also have to warn you to never confront them alone. That is just asking for trouble. Make sure you have someone with you. I mean, I'll even go with you, if you'd like," Blaine offered. He knew this was as far from what really happened as it could be, but he had to keep Kurt from Karofsky and his lips.

"You don't think I should confront him alone? Wouldn't that show that I'm not afraid? I think someone else being there would just make it look like I couldn't handle it on my own. It might make the bullying worse," Kurt insisted. The inner strength he had was amazing. He was always so much stronger than Blaine. He knew Kurt had always given undue credit to Blaine for giving him ‘courage', but all of that strength came from Kurt himself.

"You're probably right. But in these types of situations, you need to make sure you are safe," Blaine insisted, giving him a warm smile. Kurt had admitted years later that his smile had always made Kurt melt. He was hoping that was already the case and that Kurt did as he instructed.

After they finished talking, they agreed to meet the next day at the Lima Bean. Blaine was going to bring up that he just happened to have some tickets for a local showing of Les Miserable and see if Kurt would be willing to go. He grinned, knowing he had insider knowledge that Kurt would indeed want to go.

. . . . . . .

Blaine sent Kurt a couple text messages that day. "Courage". "Be Courageous". "You are Courageous", things like that. Kurt would reply with smiley faces or a thank you. When Kurt texted him and told him it was time, Blaine's stomach got tied in knots. This was it. Win or lose. He only hoped Kurt had taken someone with him to watch his back.

An incredibly long hour later, he got a phone call from Kurt. "Hey Kurt, how'd it go?" he asked, nervously.

"How did it go? Let's see. Someone gave me advice to bring someone with me to confront a known bully. So I did. I brought my best friend, Mercedes. Not only did Karofsky assault me, he punched Mercedes. Did you hear that, Mr. Courage? Karofsky punched my female friend. And it's your fault for telling me to take someone else. How could you give me that kind of advice when you really had no clue what was going on in the situation? Mercedes is in the hospital with a dislocated jaw! Is that the kind of help you thought she'd give me?"

Blaine was in shock. "Kurt, I'm so, so sorry. I only meant that there is power in numbers, but I was wrong. How can I help, what can I do to help you both?"

Kurt laughed humorlessly. "You want to know what you can do? You can stay the hell away from us. Lose my number. I already lost yours," Kurt said and hung up.

Blaine sat there, staring off into space. What had just happened? How could things have gone so badly? Mercedes was in the hospital? He knew how much singing meant to the woman, she was on tour for the fourth time in 2025. A dislocated jaw could mean all sorts of problems for a woman who needed to belt out the big notes.

This was all his fault. He put his head down and started crying.

If you were falling, then I would catch you.

You need a light, I'd find a match.

He found himself back in bed, covers drawn to his chin, toes already tapping the music. Eagerly, he reached for his phone to check the date. Oh thank god, he'd looped. He got another chance to get it right.

Cause I love the way you say good morning.

And you take me the way I am.

If you are chilly, here take my sweater.

Your head is aching, I'll make it better.

Cause I love the way you call me baby.

And you take me the way I am.

I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair.

Sew on patches to all you tear.

Cause I love you more than I could ever promise.

And you take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am.

He let the joy of the song take him over, trying to erase the heartrending guilt he still felt over what had happened to Mercedes. Even if it never happened again, he'd always feel responsible.

Getting ready for school, he got there early and sat in his car, thinking. Okay, why did he want to change this part of Kurt's past? Karofsky ended up kissing him, thereby outing himself, which led to Karofsky amping up the bullying, leading to a death threat and Kurt going to Dalton. Did he want to take away the chance for Kurt to come to Dalton? He thought that their time together had built a good foundation for their relationship.

An idea began to form in Blaine's mind. If it didn't work, at least he knew he was going to get to start over. Again, the day went by quickly. The part of this whole looping thing that sucked was Blaine didn't know if he was going to loop so he ended up doing the same work several times and didn't ever know if he'd have to turn it in.

Kurt showed up at the café, cheeks pink and looking sheepish. Blaine pulled his chair out for him, then turned to greet Wes and David. When they had left and it was just he and Kurt, he gave Kurt the same advice he'd given him so many years ago.

"Confront him! I didn't and that was something I've always regretted, Kurt," Blaine relished saying his name. He'd missed every little thing about him.

He walked Kurt out to his car and brought up the tickets to Les Mis, though he'd originally planned to wait. Kurt was excited and sounded eager to go. Kurt was leaning against his car, his gray geometric jacket hugging the shape of his shoulders. Blaine could stare at him forever and still not get tired of this sight. It was a bit different to see him like this. He had another growth spurt to go through which would leave him several inches taller than Blaine. He didn't mind, it left him as the permanent little spoon. Kurt made him feel so safe, so protected. Blaine knew that was years away, but he couldn't help looking forward to it.

"I'm looking forward to the show," Kurt said quietly, his cheeks pink.

Blaine wished he could read his mind and see the reason behind the beautiful color. The rest of his plan had to happen now or never.

"Kurt, can I tell you something?" Blaine asked, as quiet as Kurt had been.

"Of course," Kurt said, his blue-green eyes wide with curiosity.

"I, um, well, I know we just met, but I really wanted to tell you, that, uh. Kurt, I think you are beautiful. Everything about you. Your gorgeous glasz eyes, your perfect skin, the delicate pink of your lips, the width of your shoulders, the strength in your arms. I'd say more but then we'd both be beyond embarrassed," Blaine finished, having moved steadily closer to Kurt, his hands shaking and his mouth dry.

"I don't really know how to respond to that," Kurt whispered, his wide eyes locked on Blaine's. "I mean, obviously, I think you're beautiful too. You have the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen," he murmured. "And your, your," he stammered, his eyes now glued on Blaine's lips.

Blaine leaned in and ever so softly kissed Kurt's trembling mouth. A simple touch, the barest of brushes of lips against each other.

Blaine stood back, knowing both of their faces were pink now. "Be of courage, Kurt," he said, opening Kurt's car door.

The teen stumbled into his seat, his eyes still wide, every now and then he'd reach up and touch his lips.

"Drive safe, okay? Text me if you want," Blaine offered.

Kurt smiled happily, suddenly more focused. "I will," he said and started the car and drove away.

. . . . .

Later that night, he was on the phone with Moira.

"So why did you kiss him?" Moira asked.

"I remembered that when I eventually went to McKinley after Karofsky kissed him; the thing that seemed to bother Kurt the most was that that had been his first kiss. I just stepped in and gave him the most gentle kiss I could manage. I remember there was a time during his teen years when he thought that a simple, soft touch was more romantic than anything else. Karofsky's kiss was more of an assault. The kiss I gave him, I hope, will overpower the memory of Karofsky. Also, this keeps him in line with ending up at Dalton, where I have some more mistakes to make right," Blaine said, feeling ashamed.

"Blaine, don't feel bad. If we were all given your opportunity, for some of us it would take years to get where you have gotten so far. You are lucky to be able to make these things right. Trust me. Now, whatever the next situation is, make sure you think it through completely. The more thought you give these incidents, the less likely you'll have to loop again," Moira told him.

"At least we learned that I loop into the same situation or time frame and not back at the beginning. Could you imagine fixing a mistake five years out and screwing up and having to start over again?" he moaned in misery at the thought.

"You are certainly lucky in that aspect. Take care my friend and keep thinking, you've got to be prepared for what's to come. I'm feeling you have several issues to deal with within the same timeframe. Be aware," she encouraged him. "Call me if you need anything."

Blaine thanked her and returned the offer for her and Ahmet before hanging up.

He lay in bed, thinking of Kurt and his soft lips. Now he owned the first kiss. It was different than the one they will share before Regionals. This was a brush of lips, that kiss was all passion. And he couldn't wait! First, though, he had to face Karofsky and not kill him.