In the morning Blaine woke up to the sound of a camera's shutter going off.

"Wass goin' on?" he grumbled sleepily, wincing as he cracked his eyes open and saw Kurt pointing his phone down at where Blaine was nestled against his chest.

"Sebastian wanted picture proof," Kurt murmured, kissing his temple as he brought his phone back down to his chest and started typing something out.

"S'bastian?" Blaine asked in confusion, burying his face into Kurt's shirt and listing to the click of Kurt's fingers on the buttons next to his ear.

Kurt hummed and finished typing. Blaine heard the phone drop gently onto his bedside table and then Kurt's arms slide back around him. As they did Blaine realized it had been their absence and the lack of their warmth that had woken him up. His entire being gave in to Kurt's touches and body heat, to the feeling of his boyfriend's warmth seeping into his skin and the reassuring and steady thump of Kurt's heart against Blaine's cheek.

"Why's Sebastian want a picture of us cuddled up?" Blaine yawned, brow furrowing in confusion at the equation Kurt had just placed in his head. That made absolutely no sense to him.

"He, uh, came to McKinley a while ago and apologized to me for kissing you," Kurt admitted. "He said he pretty much flung his mouth on yours without warning."

"That's one way to describe it," Blaine murmured. "I prefer the term 'icky'".

Kurt giggled loudly as his phone buzzed on the bedside table. A few seconds later Kurt read out to him, "Fucking finally. So when ca we have a guy's night out at Scandals?" Kurt made a noise of confusion and said, "What's Scandals? That sounds like a drug bust waiting to go down."

"I think it's the gay bar in West Lima," Blaine supplied, snuggling down deeper into Kurt's embrace and letting his eyes drift shut again. "Can we sleep all day?"

"Makes up for all the sleep I've been losing recently," Kurt agreed. "Just let me text him b– "

Instead of the sound of Kurt's fingers flying over the keyboard, his ringtone went off, echoing around the bedroom.

"Oh, my god, it's my Dad," Kurt breathed in horror. "I– last night I said I was going to get coffee with a friend a- and I never called him and– "

"Try to distract him with good news?" Blaine offered.

He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at Kurt's scared face, before finally taking the still ringing phone from Kurt's fist and accepting the call.

"Kurt, where the hell are y– "

"Hi, Mr. Hummel," Blaine greeted cheerfully, and Burt's words came to a halt.

"Blaine– what– why do you have Kurt's phone?" Burt demanded, sounding confused and worried.

"He stayed the night here last night," Blaine answered, winking at Kurt, who still looked terrified of his father's rage. "You son has a boyfriend again, in case you're wondering."

"He– you two– that's great, but you might end up single anyway after I murder him for not calling me last night and letting me know," Burt replied, somewhere between happy and angry. "Put him on the phone."

"All right," Blaine agreed, holding the phone out to Kurt. "It's your dad."

"I damn well know who it is, Blaine Xavier," Kurt snapped, but Blaine laughed and pressed the phone to Kurt's ear.

"H- hi, Dad," Kurt greeted, voice strained and nervous.

Blaine slid out of his bed as Burt's loud, angry voice answered Kurt's words. Even an angry Burt Hummel couldn't bring him down right now. He and Kurt had worked it out, and to him that meant everything. The only thing Blaine hoped was that Kurt had finally managed to acknowledge the biggest problem between. It wasn't Blaine's forgiven he was waiting on, it was his own.

After a quick bathroom break, and a longer than usual tooth brushing routine Blaine returned to find Kurt sitting up against the headboard and hugging one of his pillows against his chest, pouting.

"You got me grounded," Kurt complained as Blaine hopped onto the bed and crawled towards Kurt on his knees.

"Oh, shh," Blaine told him, mocking the other boy's pouting face. "Does that mean you have to go home now?"

"No, he said I could stay until two," Kurt told him, still pouting up at him.

For a split second Blaine debated whether or not to follow the instinct he'd just been flooded with. A moment later he inched forward, unhooked Kurt's arms from around the pillow and set it aside.

"Am I allowed to see you at all over Spring Break then?" Blaine murmured, leaning in and kissing his boyfriend lightly.

"H- he didn't say," Kurt whispered, eyes bright and surprised as Blaine slid forward and settled down in his lap, knees pressing into the mattress on either side of Kurt's hips.

"You make me feel the most incredible things," Blaine murmured, cupping Kurt's face between his hands and tilting the other boy's head up easily for a second, lingering kiss. "That's why I love you, Kurt. When you're here with me, or walking down the hall holding my hand, I know I'm already a better person than I was on my own. It's not because you won't hurt me or I won't hurt you, it's because I know this is right."

"We only get hurt my each other because we care so much," Kurt sighed, still mesmerized by Blaine straddling his hips. "But I'm not going to let that stop me from loving you."

"Good," Blaine said, circling his arms around Kurt's neck and kissing his a third time. They'd never been this physically close. If Blaine had wanted to he could have wrapped his legs around Kurt's waist and really settled down in his boyfriend's lap, but the idea made his stomach leap uncomfortably. Maybe in a few weeks, once they've dared to actually run their hands un each other's shirts.

"Kiss me," Kurt requested quietly, nudging Blaine's cheek with his nose until Blaine turned his head to capture his lips again.

It felt different than the other times when they'd kissed, or even gone so far as to make out. Less fiddling around and uncertainty, more comfortable and real somehow. Blaine sighed happily as Kurt's lips moved from his own to his cheek, jaw, and down his throat.

Something between them had shifted with the reconciliation of their fall out, not just physically but emotional. Blaine could feel it in Kurt's kisses and the way Kurt gently, surely rubbed his hands up Blaine's sides.

This was his Kurt, wasn't it? The boy he'd waited so long to find again, had fought to bring out for years, was in his arms, loving him and making Blaine feel cared for in an intimate way he'd never imagined possible.

"I'm in love with you," Kurt murmured, his lips tracking up Blaine's neck to his ear. "Forever and always, you won't lose me again, Blaine. I promise."

Blaine didn't go to school on Wednesday. The band had cut off in the middle of the number when Kurt had run out and Blaine had broken down completely.

The other members of their group had tried to comfort him, but it hadn't worked. Only a few minutes after Kurt had torn out of the room, Blaine followed, rushing out of the building and running the four blocks home. He didn't leave his room that night, or the next morning when his mother tried to rouse him for school. Luckily she hadn't pushed it when she'd peeked in, exasperated at his silence, and seen him so desolate and exhausted. He might have been in his bed all evening and night, but he hadn't slept at all.

Was this what heartbreak really felt like? How could anything ever be worth this pain?

On Thursday, Blaine reluctantly returned to school. He had a test in his third block class that he couldn't afford to miss, and Rachel had been blowing up his phone all day Wednesday, singing him songs he imagined were meant to make him feel better, but they'd only ended with him in tears. Singing songs about heartbreak and lost love might have been meant well on her part, but to Blaine it just made him feel sick to his stomach.

All day he avoided everyone he knew, ate his lunch in the little alcove outside by the cafeteria stairs, and talked to nobody. He should have taken his father's offer for Dalton last spring. Then this never would have happened to him – to them. He'd still have his best friend and no bullies or tormenting to run from.

By the time he arrived in Glee Club it was after two thirty when the meeting was supposed to start, but he was surprised by the group arranged at the front, apparently waiting for him to start. Immediately they began singing to him, Rachel on the lead as usual, but it wasn't one of her sappy songs that put him in tears, it was a song they'd never even sung before.

"If you wake up and don't want to smile,

If it takes just a little while,

Open your eyes and look at the day,

You'll see things in a different way."

On and on they went, dragging him into their midst and circling around him. Even though it hadn't been one of Rachel's sappy songs, Blaine ended up crying anyway. He might have lost Kurt, maybe for good, but he still had this. There was still Rachel and Tina. Mercedes to coordinate outfits with, and Artie to talk football and video games with.

"Thanks, guys," Blaine muttered, wiping his eyes as Rachel hugged him tightly.

"We wanted to make you realize how much we like you," Artie told him, as the others nodded. "Even without Kurt, you're still our guy. It's his loss."

"I'm still gonna punch him next time I see him," Mercedes added angrily.

"Mercedes," Tina scolded.

"What? He deserves it."

Blaine hiccupped over a few laughs and let Rachel lead him over to the chair beside her. Nobody usually sat here. They all avoided sitting beside her, or had other people they'd rather sit with, but he could use a good friend right now. Even if it meant getting dragged into who knows what by Rachel Berry.

"You should come over to my house after Glee," Rachel decided. "My dads can tell you about all the cute boys they liked before they fell in love with each other. I bet they'd love to help plan a birthday party for you! It's in a few weeks, isn't it?"

"The fifteenth," Blaine supplied as Rachel kept rambling on about what they could do at his party, which was apparently going to be karaoke themed.

"Tonight we should plan everything out and– "

"Isn't it Back To School Night?" Blaine asked, hoping he was right and might actually escape from this particular scheme. Maybe he should look to another Glee Club member for friendship.

"Oh, right, I forgot," Rachel said sadly. Then she brightened and exclaimed, "Tomorrow night then! We can have a sleepover with all of u– "

"Count me out," Artie cut in, looking grossed out. "I'd rather play Halo."

The others laughed as Mr. Schuester arrived and called for their attention. Blaine let his mind wonder as he began to address their latest assignment. He might have little things in common with all of these people, but it was nothing compared to how he and Kurt had connected. Losing the best friend he'd ever had hurt in more ways than one. So many pieces of his life felt empty now without Kurt's presence.

Burt let Blaine come over during Kurt's Spring Break grounding. They spent the entire week cuddled up on the couch or down in Kurt's room (with the door open, as Burt liked to remind them every ten minutes when he barged in for no apparent reason). Even when they were on their own they never went very far with their physical relationship, for now they were giddy with the excitement of being together and in love openly. There was nothing wrong with being fine and comfortable with the level their physical relationship was at in comparison, though Burt seemed to think they were going to lose control and rush into something on his watch.

When school started back up after Easter everyone was shocked to see Blaine and Kurt arrive Monday morning, hand in hand and in their own clothing. It had been a week long decision on Kurt's part not to wear his uniform. Blaine had been quite proud that Kurt had come up with the idea, and then gone through with it. Finally Kurt was getting comfortable with himself again. He didn't back down from the looks or the stares, but pulled Blaine's side closer to his own and continued down the hall towards Blaine's first class.

The next few weeks brought back the student body's refusal to let them be fine and happy together, though. Kurt got it even worse than Blaine except for on game days when he had to wear his uniform. More than one of Kurt's crafted outfits had been ruined, but he remained strong. Stronger even than the boy Blaine had once had to say goodbye to in the same halls.

The worst thing that came from it all was the Cheerios reactions. Quinn was furious, and took to taunting Kurt constantly. She'd also gone to Coach Sylvester and reported him for not wearing his uniform every day, only to be made a fool of when Kurt had pulled out the Cheerios handbook they all had to read and shown her the exact page where it said they were only mandated to wear the uniform on game days. Enraged further, Quinn had now employed the jocks help in her manhunt to get back at them for ruining her squad's status.

Kurt started skipping practices after that, despite the threats of him being kicked off the squad for it. On one such afternoon, they went back to Blaine's house and instead of lingering inside lounged out on the big hammock in the backyard, swinging slowly and cuddled up together under the warm April sun.

"I still can't believe Finn and Rachel won that stupid duets competition," Kurt remarked, angrily. Yesterday, after they'd sung their own song together (Blaine's own personal arrangement of Teenage Dream) Mr. Schuester had made the decision much to the club's annoyance.

"Mercedes and Artie should have won," Blaine murmured as a warm breeze fluttered through the hammock's netting and brushed his skin. "Who knew it was possible to mash-up Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston?"

Kurt snorted in dismissal. "Please, anyone can do that. We should get to sing together at Regionals."

Blaine hummed in agreement, but didn't say what both he and Kurt knew. Mr. Schuester didn't want to off put the judges by having two boys sing a duet together. Especially not when it was conveying anything more than platonic friendship.

"There's always next year," Blaine offered, trying to cheer him up. "With another year of practice I bet we cruise through to Nationals."

" We still might make it this year," Kurt insisted, though he didn't sound very convinced to Blaine.

"Not without another handful of decent singers and dancers," Blaine grumbled. "You've seen the way those band guys move. Not that I don't like them or anything, but they're not what we need on stage for competitions."

"True," Kurt agreed, snuggling in closer as Blaine scooped up the Vogue magazine they'd been reading together and opened it to the page he'd dog-eared.

They'd been halfway through an article when Blaine had set it aside to stretch, but now Kurt didn't seem interested in it at all.

"So, um, prom's coming up," Kurt mentioned, sounding unconcerned.

Blaine yawned and continued to read, dropping his cheek onto Kurt's forehead and murmuring, "Yeah, I guess."

He tilted the magazine to let the sunlight catch one of the pictures better as Kurt fidgeted at his side. The hammock rocked roughly at the movement.

"Careful," Blaine told him, "you'll tip us over and I know you don't want dirt all over those white jeans."

"No, sorry, but– Blaine," Kurt said persistently in a very serious voice. "Prom's coming up soon. Like, in two weeks. Prom. Dancing. A party. For students to go dance at with their boyfriends."

"Or girlfriends," Blaine added. "I don't think Finn wants a boyfriend."

Kurt huffed in exasperation as Blaine raised his magazine to hide his smile. He knew what Kurt was trying to ask him, or trying to get Blaine to ask him, but Blaine wouldn't. Not without a lot of teasing first, and besides, he had been imagining having the boy of his dreams ask him instead of it being the other way around.

"Blaine, put down the magazine," Kurt snapped, sounding put-out and annoyed.

"But I'm reading– "

Kurt yanked it from his grasp and tossed it onto the grass, shifting his body until it was on top of Blaine's. The hammock swayed precariously at the movement, but Blaine was effectively pinned down.

"I– give me your hand," Kurt requested quietly, kissing him sweetly as the hammock's rocking slowed down.

"Oh, my hand?" Blaine said, faking confusion. "Why would you need my hand– Kurt Hummel," he added in a shocked, scolding voice, "are you presuming that I'm going to jack you off in my backyard? What if the neighbors saw– "

"Oh, my god, Blaine! I just wanted to ask you to prom!" Kurt cried in outrage, his temper finally getting the better of him as Blaine's chest burst, and he started to laugh loud and long, until tears were in his eyes and Kurt was looking even more embarrassed and upset. "Fine, fine. Just laugh at me– it's not funny, Blaine!"

A hard fist knocked Blaine in the chest, and he tugged Kurt's head down to his, pressing his lips to Kurt's, slow and warm, until Kurt's body relaxed and melted down against his.

"That wasn't exactly the prom proposal I was imagining," Blaine decided, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "I kind of wanted a bouquet of red and yellow roses and– "

"Oh, shut up," Kurt snapped, though the anger had receded from his voice. "Please, go to Junior prom with me?"

"There's nobody else I'd ever think to go with," Blaine told him, voice soft and content.

Kurt squealed a little at his agreement, and the hammock swayed once more. But it didn't flip them over and knock them from its comfort. Nothing was going to unseat how far they'd come, nor how much they meant to each other.

"So, I was thinking we'd both wear pink boutonnieres... "