“So you finally realized you could never have any chance of winning against us and quit quidditch, huh? About time.”

Blaine squeezed his eyes shut, pressing the stack of books he was carrying tighter against his chest. He didn’t need to turn around to know who the boy talking to him was. Panic started swelling in his chest until he managed to talk himself out of it enough to turn around and lift his head up slightly higher to mimic confidence.
This person had nothing on him. He was nothing but an inconsiderate, prejudiced person whom Blaine wanted nothing to do with. He didn’t get to make Blaine feel any type of way.

“Excuse me?” He simply asked, looking at Sebastian with his both eyebrows raised.

He didn’t like this boy. Yes, partly because Kurt didn’t. His boyfriend despised him, so he automatically didn’t like him. That was just how it worked. Considering what Sebastian had put them through, though, he didn’t really make it hard to dislike him. It came very easily, even for Blaine.

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders then, to Blaine’s utter relief not making any moves on coming closer. “Just haven’t seen you playing much, so I just assumed you’d quit.”

“So you’d wish” Blaine found himself muttering before moving to walk past Sebastian to head to his originally planned destination – the library.

“I was actually wondering if you’d left this place completely, as I didn’t see you around for a while” The boy kept going, making Blaine feel more uncomfortable by the second.

“You were looking for me?” He asked blankly, raising his brows slightly.

Sebastian laughed. “You can call it that.”

Blaine had absolutely no idea what the Slytherin was talking about but he had no intention to find out. There was absolutely no way he was going to waste any more of his time on this person. Not today, anyway.

“Nice talking to you.”

And with that, he walked away.

-

"Santana, I need none of this right now" Kurt stopped Santana mid-sentence, interrupting her endless, rambling talk of whatever Kurt had registered maybe ten percent of.

The girl turned on her heels just to look at Kurt in the eyes with the most disbelieving, disapproving glare. "Excuse me? You say that like there are a billion problems that you're dealing with right about now, when in reality you have none that I know of. Your schoolwork is going as it always has, no professor hates you no more than they did a week ago, your robes are spotless and you have a stunning boyfriend who loves you" She listed with her fingers, looking up at Kurt after each thing to see if he would try to deny them.

When he said nothing - because 1) he didn’t want to waste his limited energy on arguing about something so stupid with her and 2) because he was really in no place to argue with her statement, Santana sighed and shook her head a little. "Listen. I’m not saying you’re not entitled to your trouble, whatever it might be, but I need you here. So just hush and be a decent friend for a couple of minutes, okay?" She asked. Kurt wanted to disapprove instantly but chose to keep with his initial line of thought of avoiding conflict, nodding reluctantly.

"Fine. But if wherever this is going includes using me as a messenger bird-“ Kurt pointed his index finger at Santana, shooting her a glare of his own. “Don’t even bother.”

Santana scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest. “Oh come on. It’s really simple. Not a big deal. I just need you to go ask Britt a few questions for me.”

Kurt huffed in sheer annoyance, shaking his head vigorously as he got up. “No. Absolutely not” He said “If it’s not a big deal, you can do it yourself. Take this as a push of encouragement to for once handle your stuff on your own, okay?” If Santana was going to cross a line then sure as hell was Kurt.

“I’ll see you at dinner” He called on his way out, not staying to listen Santana’s further whining and complaints.

Of course on his way out of the castle – on his quest to run away from a from time-to-time unbearable Slytherin, he managed to run into another one. Only this one was unbearable at all times, without exception.

Sebastian walked over to Kurt with the everlasting smug smile on his face, hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his robes. “Hey, Hummel. I haven’t seen you a lot in practice lately.”

“You’re blind, Smythe. I’ve been in each stupid one of your training sessions ever since you were chosen captain” Kurt announced dismissively, starting to walk away from the boy when he grabbed his shoulder sternly.

With a death glare shot towards Sebastian, he took his hand off of him and raised his hands up above his head. “Relax, Hummel. I just want to catch up with my fellow Slytherin.”

“Not feeling like that today, but thanks” Kurt muttered through his gritted teeth, pulling out his wand just to twirl it around in his hands, hoping to indicate that he wasn’t afraid of using it. In the muggle world he could’ve easily just gotten a restraining order, but in this world he needed to use magic for that which was a tad more complicated – but also much, much more satisfying when it came down to it.

Sebastian took one look at the wand in his hands, smiling in amusement. He didn’t say anything though, until he did – and Kurt wanted to be somewhere completely else.

“How’s your boyfriend doing? Also actively attending quidditch practice without exception? Cause that I know he hasn’t.”

“Okay, Sebastian-“ Kurt snapped, taking one big brisk step towards the boy. “You don’t know the first thing about Blaine. And that's how it should be. You shouldn’t know, cause it’s none of your god damn business.”

“He’s had a really tough time with you, I understand,” He went on without taking any interest in Kurt’s words, as per usual. “I mean, there is no reason for me to not assume that his mental breakdown was your fault. He didn’t care to clear it with me, but-”

“You talked to him?” Kurt asked, not even trying to hide how outraged he was. Sebastian got his kicks out of pissing him off, he knew, but he couldn’t help himself. This was about Blaine, not him.

“Uh” Sebastian furrowed his eyebrows at him. “Yeah. I did” He said with a nod as if prying Blaine for details about his personal life was like transforming a snail into a teapot – completely casual and acceptable.

See, Sebastian did a lot of things that Kurt didn’t agree with. He didn’t have any kind of manners or morals and went around talking crap and was just an intolerable person in general, but this all was crossing a line. This wasn’t Sebastian doing something Kurt disagreed with. This was Sebastian being a senseless person. He had absolutely no right to talk about Blaine the way he did, especially not the things he struggled with – and Kurt needed to get that across to him.

“I told you to stay far, far away from my boyfriend.”

“Gee, it’s not like you own him or something, do you?”

Kurt gaped at him in disbelief. “You’re an idiot, Smythe. Of course not!” He exclaimed. “But you’re a horrible person, Sebastian. Blaine is not. The two of you don’t belong into the same environment, okay. Blaine doesn’t deserve to be treated badly by a bad person.”
“And If I recall totally correctly, you were very intent on distancing us completely just several months ago. I don’t have a reason not to believe that you are not after the same outcome still. I don’t want you around him.”

“No, certainly not” The other Slytherin stated calmly. “But I did have a motive then. Maybe still do.”
“I know for a fact that we could make a far hotter, far better couple than you two do. Even if it was just for show. I also know that I would enjoy it immensely either way.”

Kurt laughed – actually laughed at Sebastian, not believing his ears.

“Look, I was just looking out for you. You’re insufferable, he’s kind. You look the way you do, he’s hot. And then there’s that thing where he has high authority, as do I, and you play in the team that I am captain of. Clearly there is something wrong here, don’t you think?”

“Yeah” Kurt scoffed completely humorlessly, shaking his buzzing head a little. He wasn’t sure if he felt like he would soon actually, physically attack Sebastian or just faint because of how sick he was suddenly feeling. “The fact that you see yourself – the most heartless, senseless person with someone as moral and compassionate as Blaine is so, so wrong and it only proves how selfish and inconsiderate you are. Thank you for clearing that up for me.” He said, gritting his teeth together so hard he was surprised they weren’t breaking right there and then.

“Hummel, I will find a way to get what I-“

Kurt wasn’t going to stay there for another second.

“No. Just know that you can talk trash about me to my face, to anyone – as much as you want” He looked at him in the eyes for a singular second in attempt to make his point very clear. “Just stay away from my boyfriend, Smythe” He said and turned around, heading back where he’d come from.

His best friend’s girlfriend-trouble shenanigans were nothing but delightful in comparison to this.

He made it to the common room in mere ten seconds with his throat tight and jaw clenched to the point where it would most probably result in a big-time headache, seeing Santana sitting on the floor with a stack of letters in her lap.

She turned to look up at Kurt immediately after the door closed behind him.

“Hey, Hummel” She got up quickly, hurrying to the boy with wide, confused eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Kurt couldn’t even say it aloud. Just the thought of having to repeat some of the things Sebastian had said made his throat close up further. He really just needed to talk with Blaine.

“I, uh- I-I need to see Blaine.”

“Do you need me?” She asked, dark hazel eyes filled with genuine concern Kurt would’ve been overwhelmed by if not given the state of anger and shock he was in.

“No. Thanks, but I just- I need to-.”

“Then go” The girl said in as kind a voice as she could muster, taking his shoulders and gently pushing him out of the door.

Before he was even out of the hallway their common room was located on, he walked right into Blaine.

“Oh” Blaine exclaimed, grabbing Kurt’s elbows to steady him on his feet. “Hi.”

One look at Kurt made Blaine’s face fall and his heart drop to his feet. Something was so clearly wrong and he didn’t know if he wanted to know what or not.

“Kurt, what is it?” He asked despite himself, knowing that if whatever was bothering Kurt made him look so out of place he needed to know what it was.

The Slytherin looked at the boy and took in his wide, worried liquid-honey eyes, his chest growing tighter. “Nothing. Sebastian just- He’s a moron. But that’s not news.”

Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist and pulled him to sit down on the closest bench on the hallway, sitting right next to him. “What happened?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Kurt ducked his head down, pressing a hand to his temple. He felt so stupid for letting Sebastian get into his head. “He told me that you two talked.”

The Hufflepuff simply nodded. “Okay.”

“He can’t talk to you like that, Blaine. It-“ Kurt exhaled, squeezing his eyes shut. “It’s not right. You don’t deserve to be talked like that to.”

Blaine sighed. He lifted Kurt’s head up by his chin and cupped his cheeks, turning his face towards his own. “I understand. But that can’t possibly be the only thing he said.”

Kurt swallowed. “No” He admitted. “A while ago he came to me and told me to stay away from you, claiming that it was bad for the Slytherin house team’s façade.”

Blaine nodded again, encouraging his boyfriend to continue even though his heart clenched at the words he was hearing already.

“Now he told me that his ulterior motive was to break us up so that he could have a chance with you.”

Blaine’s breath hitched in his throat. He blinked rapidly several times, trying to process what Kurt had told him. “He said that?”

It was Kurt’s turn to nod. “He then proceeded to basically tell me why I’m not worthy of being with you, and how any problems that you have are surely my fault and-“ He wasn’t sure at what point his eyes had started stinging so much, salty tears of sheer anger blurring his vision. Sooner than he knew they were running down his cheeks. “I just found myself wondering if that is how it actually is, and well-“

“Honey” Blaine gasped sharply, feeling his heart being stabbed at the sight of Kurt’s tears. “No. It is not. You are talking about Sebastian. Sebastian who is quite frankly the face of the stereotypical, horrible Slytherins. Sebastian who doesn’t know me, who doesn’t know you. Sebastian who – most importantly, doesn’t know us” He said, brushing his thumb across Kurt’s cheek, catching a single falling tear with it.

“I’m just so angry-” Kurt said honestly, clutching onto Blaine’s back with his both hands in tight fists. “That he has this effect on me. That I let him affect me like this” He chuckled humorlessly, looking up at the ceiling, “God, that I let him affect you! Treat you the way he does! Talk about you like he knows you when he doesn’t.”

Blaine bit the inside of his lip, fighting back his own tears. The desperation and frustration were so audible in Kurt’s voice and visible in his eyes.

“He doesn’t deserve to know that he can get to me like this. He basically feeds off of people’s misery. And then he thinks he can be around you” Kurt locked eyes with Blaine, shaking his head the tiniest bit. “How is that okay? You are the perfect human being, and he is the complete opposite-“

The Hufflepuff leaned in then, pressing his lips to the Slytherin’s. He pulled Kurt’s face impossibly closer to him with his hands, not caring about getting his face wet from his tear-stained face.

When they parted, both of their eyes were shining in a combination of emotion.

Kurt sighed, deep and ragged and heartbreaking, now just looking more sad than anything. “We seemed like such a good idea, right? And look at us now.”

“Hey” Blaine hurried to say, holding Kurt tighter, closer.
Cold sweat crept up on him them, knowing exactly what was going through Kurt's mind. It wasn’t like Blaine himself hadn’t thought about calling everything off just to protect Kurt, to not have him go through the things he had to being with him. His baggage, criticism from other people… Sometimes it just felt like it was not worth it.

But it was.

This was the conclusion the Hufflepuff had come to many a time, and his job was to do the same with Kurt now - to help him understand.

If Kurt had become his lifeboat, which he definitely had pulling him up from some deep waters first helping him with his injury and then his mental health strggles, it was Blaine’s duty to keep the water out of the boat and keep the thing floating. They were not going to drown if it was up to Blaine.

“They can’t touch us, Kurt. Sebastian can’t. No one can. We can’t let them” Blaine whispered, pressing one more kiss right to the corner of Kurt’s mouth.

He moved one of his hands down from Kurt’s face to grab his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “We won’t let them.”

Taking a look at their rather short but eventful history Kurt knew that that was going to continue not being easy. Hell, just looking at himself and how miserably pissed he was about Sebastian he could tell that it was going to be tough continuing.

The thing was that Kurt had never really bothered to care about what people thought of him. As long as he was happy with himself, he didn’t care. Others didn't really matter. Especially not the negatives.

Now though, he was concerned about not only his own happiness but also Blaine’s and anything that could’ve gotten to Blaine now got to him, too. There was no denying that love was hard.
But even above that, Kurt had realized, love was very, very worth it.

Kurt took a deep breath and nodded mainly to himself. They could make it work.

“Yeah. We won’t let them" He finally agreed. "Thank you."
"I love you a lot, you know" Kurt grinned weakly, wrapping his arms around Blaine's waist.

"I do know" The Hufflepuff nodded. "And I love you a lot, too."

"I love you more though."

Blaine chuckled, smiling softly at the boy's words. "Shut up."