Blaine won his quarter final match. Afterwards he met up with his family and Kurt and Burt and the lot of them went back to the Anderson's hotel suite for a few hours of chatter and fun. It surprised Blaine that his family got long so easily with Kurt and Burt, even Cooper, who had initially been scared of the older man ended up joking around with him before they all left around eleven. Burt went back to his home, and Blaine and Kurt trudged back across town to Olympic Park, and more specifically to Blaine's room in the Village.

"I can't believe they clicked so well," Kurt mumbled sleepily, his head drooping until his chest was pressed against Blaine's shoulder. "I bet the media's having a field day again after seeing all of them there for your match."

Blaine grimaced at the thought and the reminder of the talk they'd all first had when they'd gotten back to the suite. Kurt had been a little surprised about it, but also relieved to realize that the group of paparazzi at his competition hadn't been for some crazy tabloid or something worse.

"Probably," Blaine agreed as they flashed their passes for the guard at the front desk and headed towards the elevator. "I just hope they aren't trying to trash us or anything," he added as they waited for the elevator doors to open. "I'll probably get a lot of crap back at home from some groups."

Kurt lifted his head enough to kiss his cheek as the lift chimed and the doors slid open. "Ignore them," Kurt insisted. "Whatever those loonies say doesn't matter. You're an incredible amazing, man and I am definitely falling hopelessly in love with you."

Face warm as they shuffled into the elevator, Blaine smiled slightly and pulled Kurt in after him, leaning back against the side of the elevator and holding Kurt against his chest. He clicked the button for his floor and pressed his nose against Kurt's cheek.

"You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear you say that," Blaine whispered, sighing softly as the doors slid closed. "I never thought my first trip to the Olympics would give me you."

He felt Kurt smile against his neck then, arms winding around Blaine's waist and holding him closer. "Remember that first day when we were in this elevator?" Kurt laughed.

Blaine grinned, too. "We were so horny," he muttered, chuckling slightly. "Guess we still are, huh?"

"Mmm," Kurt murmured, sucking softly at Blaine's neck. "Happy and content more than anything. No reason to be horny when we get plenty from each other all the time, right?"

"That's true," Blaine acknowledged at the elevator stopped at the seventh floor. He yawned as Kurt tottered back and grabbed his hands, guiding him out of the elevator and down the hall at arm's length while walking backwards. "I'm just tired."

"And sore from the fight no doubt," Kurt said, tugging him along and down the side hallway to Blaine and Puck's room.

"A little, yeah," Blaine agreed, handing his lanyard over so Kurt could unlock the door and let them in. "He got my shoulder pretty good a few times."

The door was closed behind him and then Kurt was sliding his jacket off his shoulders and helping him undress.

"Shoulder massage and then bed?"

"Sounds perfect," Blaine said, kicking his shoes off and stepped out of his pants after Kurt pushed them down his hips.

Kurt stripped out of his clothes as well and climbed into Blaine's bed, motioning the other man over until Blaine settled down between his thighs and relaxed back against Kurt's chest. With a sigh, Blaine closed his eyes and let Kurt's nimble fingers start massage his left shoulder, wincing slightly when he began pressing at the sot that had been hit repeatedly.

"Looks like it might bruise," Kurt murmur, brushing it with his fingers. Blaine hummed in agreement, too tired and comfortable to both sitting up or opening his eyes.

A second later however, his eyes fluttered open as a pair of soft lips replaced the fingers on his shoulder. His face crinkled up as Kurt continued to suck over the tense skin, humming as he moved along Blaine's collarbone.

"Kurt, I'm gross," Blaine complained, wiggling slightly in his boyfriend's grasp. "And exhausted and I know you are, too– "

"Okay, okay," Kurt shushed him with a quick kiss on the cheek and sunk down into the pillows with Blaine still pulled tightly against his chest. "What time do you have training tomorrow?"

"Five," Blaine grumbled, sinking back into Kurt's embrace and groaning in misery. He hated dawn wake up calls, especially the night after a match.

"Me, too," Kurt told him. "I get out at three. We could meet up for a late lunch or something."

"Yeah, all right," Blaine agreed. "My family's doing the city tour thing tomorrow so I'll come meet you. I get out at two."

Kurt gave him another sweet kiss on the cheek and relaxed behind him. After a few moments Blaine drifted off to sleep.

The next morning was rough for Blaine. Wes pushed him harder and faster than he had all week, running him through his warm-ups and then a dozen different drills before they switched to old tapes of his new opponent's prior matches. It was going to be a tough fight according to Wes, and as Blaine watched the other man on screen, lean but strong and quite a bit taller than Blaine, he couldn't help but agree.

After a quick meal they ran through some old, but familiar, maneuvers and skills that Wes believed would benefit him much more than anything else he'd been using so far this tournament. The element of surprise and experience was on his side for once. His opponent from Venezuela might have the advantage of height and strength, but he'd only been boxing for about seven years. Blaine had over a decade of experience, both from actual boxing training and the fights he'd been forced into when he'd been bullied as a child.

"We'll work on those for most of tomorrow afternoon," Wes decided, unstrapping his head guard and sliding the practice shields off his arms. "It's gonna be a tough match, but I think you're creative enough to get the upper hand. Just a matter of focusing."

"I will, don't worry," Blaine assured himself, undoing the Velcro on his left glove and tugging it off. He followed Wes towards the bench, watching Puck and his own trainer across the room. They were the only two male Americans left in the boxing competition. The third had been bumped last night.

A jug of water was tossed towards him and Blaine caught it reflexively, unclipped the lid, and took a swig.

"How's your dad been so far?" Wes asked curiously, picking up his own water bottle. "Has he met Kurt? They looked pretty friendly last night at your match."

"He's actually been really... cool about Kurt," Blaine admitted, pulling his sweat towel out of his bag and starting to wipe himself off. "I was surprised after I brought Frank home back in high school. Mama thinks he's finally realized that he can't protect me from myself or something. I dunno. They all seem to like Kurt, though."

Wes shrugged beside him. "There's nothing not to like about that guy. He's really just what you need in your life."

"Yeah, the media thinks so, too," Blaine grumbled, wiping his forehead and neck off.

Across the room Puck snorted and hopped back from his trainer for a breather. "Not like you don't think the same thing," he hollered. "I saw you two all snuggled up when I got in last night. If you weren't so happy together, it'd be sickening to watch."

Blaine flicked him off. "You're just upset because you haven't got to see us fuck yet!"

Puck grumbled in annoyance across the room and turned back to his trainer as Wes laughed.

"He's got a one track mind. No idea how he's made it this far," Wes said resignedly. "So, I'm just curious, but have you and Kurt talked about... well, where you two stand? Now and after all of this is done?"

"We're... I told him I'm in love with him," Blaine said softly and Puck gave a loud yelp as he completely lost his focus and got smacked in the head.

"You what? Are you insane?"

"No," Blaine said simply. "He's said it to be more than once now. We're officially together, though I don't know what we're going to do after this week is up. The subject hasn't really come up."

"You've been avoiding it," Wes supplied.

"We've been busy," Blaine corrected.

"With what? The room hasn't smelled like sex in almost three days!" Puck roared in disbelief. "Busy my ass."

Ignoring his friend, Blaine rolled his eyes and stood up.

"I'm sure it's going to come up either today or tomorrow," Blaine shrugged. "Either one of us or a parent. We can't avoid it forever."

"Ha! So you are avoiding it," Wes caught, grinning.

"Oh, shut up," Blaine snapped, hitting him with his sweat towel as he scooped up his bag and headed out.

The journey back to the main Olympic arena was short and uninhibited. Blaine took his time, enjoying the surprisingly sunny weather after several overcast, dreary days, while he strolled along. He would still be early despite his leisurely pace, and he momentarily wished he'd lingered back at the gym with someone to distract him from his thoughts. Maybe there was a reason Kurt hadn't mentioned anything long-term yet. Just because they were sharing things, admitting to things they'd never felt before didn't mean Kurt was looking to keep their relationship long distance after this week. Blaine had seen how difficult and heart breaking long distance relationships could be from watching his friends, both in high school and in college, attempt them. He wasn't sure if he could handle that when he was still just getting to know Kurt, and London to California wasn't exactly a distance they could drive every other weekend. On top of that they both had unbelievably hectic schedules to maintain.

Blaine pushed open the main door to the Aquatic Center, flashing his badge at the security desk and then heading down the short hallway towards the pool deck. Once he was inside Blaine stopped, lingering in the doorway and watching the team swim their last few laps of the session. He'd arrived early once before, and had hung back and watched the group run through a final swim. Kurt was in the middle of the pool, swimming a leisurely pace, but still quite a bit ahead of everyone else. A lot of them must be tired, both from the long day and almost two weeks of constant competition.

As the last few hit the far side of the pool, the team's coach blew a whistle and dismissed them to the locker rooms. Kurt, however, continued to wade through the water, goggling and cap still in place.

"Hey, handsome," Blaine greeted, slowly making his way towards the pool's edge after the last of the diving team disappeared. "Looking hot."

"Cold," Kurt complained, swimming towards him. "I'm a diver. I spend more time in the hot tub than the pool."

"Aw, it can't be that bad," Blaine quipped, setting his bag down a few feet away and smiling over at Kurt as he draped his arms along the edge of the pool and watched Blaine. "Bet it'd feel great since I'm still cooling down from my work out."

"You could always join me," Kurt offered slyly, pulling his cap and goggles off and smirking.

"I'm definitely thinking about it," Blaine told him, sitting down by the edge of the pool cross-legged and leaning down. A huge smile and the scent of chlorine greeted him. "Good afternoon."

"Hello, yourself, stinky," Kurt murmured, stretching his neck up until their smiles met in a soft kiss. "So, join me? Wash a little of that stench off?"

"And into an Olympic swimming pool?" Blaine deadpanned, even as Kurt's arms reached for the hem of Blaine's tank top. "You just want to get me naked," Blaine complained as Kurt's hands worked his tank top up his stomach and chest.

A high, breathy laugh answered him, and he knew as his tank top was pulled over his head that that meant yes.

"Come on," Kurt urged, tossing the tank top over towards Blaine's bag and starting to work his shoes and socks off. "I'll show you have to do a dive," he added. "And let you sit with me in the hot tub after... "

"Oh, well, with an offer like that how could I possibly say no?" Blaine laughed, rubbing his stomach as he stood up and escaped Kurt's demanding fingers. "You haven't got an extra Speedo by any chance?"

"Nope," Kurt grinned, sending up a wave of water as he kicked back from the wall. "I really hope you decided to go commando today."

"You would hope that," Blaine remarked, digging a second pair of boxing shorts out of his bag. He kicked his pants and boxers off quickly and shimmied into them while Kurt catcalled and whistled. "You're gonna pay for that slap!"

"Wh– no!"

Kurt's screech was cut off as Blaine cannon balled into the pool, sending a huge wave off water towards his boyfriend. When he surfaced, feeling refreshed from the cool water he found himself suddenly dunked back under the surface while someone laughed behind him.

Under the water Blaine blinked his eyes open carefully, squinting around until he caught a glimpse of his distorted boyfriend's legs a few feet away. He swam towards him quickly, surfacing at the last second and throwing himself against Kurt, who shouted with laughter as they struggled against each other playfully. Fingers wiggling expertly, Blaine tugged Kurt back against his chest and began tickling him while high screeching laughs started up as Kurt kicked and fought to free himself.

"You won't escape," Blaine warned as his fingers continued to work over Kurt's ribs, his right arm tight and pinning Kurt's arms down against his chest. "I can hold Cooper down, so I can definitely hold you, baby."

A choked, surprised laugh followed the little nickname and Kurt, still laughing and squirming, tried desperately to twist around in his arms.

"B- Bl– haha– s- s- stop– oh my– hahaha!"

Gasping and still struggling in his arms, Blaine eased up on the tickling, his left hand only skimming over Kurt's side and hipbone as he held him against his chest.

"Do you surrender?" he murmured, breath warm and thick against Kurt's neck.

"Never," Kurt wheezed, his breathing harsh and raspy. He squirmed in Blaine's grasp once more, his legs kicking back against Blaine vainly. "Lemme go."

"Nope," Blaine quipped, grinning as his fingers squiggled against Kurt's side teasingly. A piercing yelp echoed around the enormous, empty room. He nuzzled against Kurt's damp skin, kissing along his shoulder and neck slowly as they bobbed in the water. "Give in to me."

"I won't," Kurt said stubbornly, a huge grin spread across his rosy cheeks as he relaxed back into Blaine's embrace. "Not even if you dump all of my tea into the harbor."

"What if I dump something else in your harbor," Blaine said slyly, his left hand sliding down and snapping Kurt's Speedo across his ass. Another yelp echoed around the room this time followed by a giggle and a squeal.

"You are such an American, Blaine Anderson," Kurt said with an air of dignity. "So vulgar and rude."

"No, this," Blaine whispered, his hand sliding under the leg band of Kurt's Speedo and cupping his ballsack and cock, "is rude."

"No, that's perfect," Kurt mumbled, leaning further back into him. He tilted his head to the side and pressed a wet kiss to Blaine's chin. "I'll give you a fantastic blowjob back in my room tonight if you get me off right now."

"In the middle of the pool," Blaine added with an uncertain look around at the empty stands. "Anyone could walk in... "

"Don't care," Kurt told him, roll his hips so that his cock pressed against Blaine's palm. "I wanna relax back in your arms and just feel you, okay?"

Blaine swallowed thickly, took another glance around the still deserted room, and released Kurt's balls in favor of his cock. He squashed down the terrible thoughts that bubble up at Kurt's last words, all of the reminders and uncertainties he had for what happened beyond this week. They could talk about it later, or maybe they never would. They'd simply continue to exist in this perfect little world they had right now with no expectations of departures or goodbyes.

Lips moving softly over Kurt's neck, Blaine eased his hand around Kurt's soft cock, beginning to stroke him gently as they drifted towards the edge of the pool. He braced his back and shoulders against the cool tiles, right arm still tight and assuring where it was looped around Kurt's waist. With a sigh, Kurt arched against him, head falling back onto his shoulder and cock thrusting up through his fist.

"Feels nice," Kurt breathed blissfully.

Blaine kissed his temple and tightening his hand, stroking more firmly as Kurt grew hard in his grasp. "Love you," he murmured, thumb brushing over one of Kurt's nipples, pecked and taut from the cool water and his growing arousal.

"Love you, too," Kurt agreed, moaning softly as Blaine sucked over his neck and continued to jerk him off.

They lingered there by the pool's edge, Kurt moaning softly and arching in Blaine's embrace as his arousal spun higher. Blaine kept his pace even and soft, ignoring his own erection as Kurt drifted against him, eyes slipping shut as he kissed and nipped at his neck and throat, coaxing him closer to the edge of ecstasy. His eyes stung as Kurt began panting desperately, hips jolting with the rhythm of his hand in the water.

Net week he'd lose this. There would be no Kurt for his arms to close around and squeeze tight. Right now was all they would have for weeks, maybe months, or even forever. After the closing ceremony in a few days time they'd go their own ways. Blaine would fly back to California, do various press and sponsor stints while Kurt did the same in England. Getting around their chosen professions and duties weren't a possibility right now, and it wrenched his heart out of his chest to realize he'd found all he wanted but couldn't keep it.

"Yes!" Kurt hissed in euphoria, hips stuttering under the water and against Blaine's hand. He arched more dramatically, groaning loudly and turning his face into the curve of Blaine's slick neck as he came. "Fuck," Kurt whimpered, arms grappling for Blaine's to hold himself up in the water. "You're so good at that– you– why are you crying, Blaine?"

Kurt spun quickly in his arms, hands tangling up into his soaked curls as he peppered kisses over Blaine's cheeks. It only made the tears stream down his face faster as he buried his nose against Kurt's neck and continued to cry.

"Hey, shh," Kurt soothed, sounding alarmed and sleepy from his orgasm. "Tell me what's wrong."

For several minutes Blaine said nothing and didn't move. He kept his nose pressed into Kurt's damp, warm skin, memorizing the smoothness and scent of chlorine and the hint of jasmine that still lingered from his shower that morning. Surely Kurt had had these thoughts as well. It wasn't possible that he hadn't considering how close to the end of their two weeks they were now. Where they went from here was undoubtedly on both of their minds, and now rather than even later, was the time to bring it up.

Slowly he untangled himself from Kurt's embrace, allowing the other man to brush his tears aside and kiss him gently.

"Y- you're not crying because you didn't get to come, too, are you?" Kurt joked weakly, his smile faltering as he brushed his thumbs along the curve of Blaine's jaw. "Because I can absolutely change th– "

"No, it's... Kurt, we need to talk," Blaine said, voice low and scared. "About us and what happens next week when I'm on a plane back to California and you're still here."

"Oh," Kurt said simply, not looking surprised at the topic, but not looking nervous at all. If anything he looked confident and that relaxed and unnerved Blaine all at once. It was a bizarre feeling, knowing that Kurt had apparently already come to a conclusion about their future without his input. "We can still text and Skype and I'm sure we'll be able to visit a lot."

A huge breath rushed out of Blaine at his words, relief surging through him. Kurt wanted to make this work, too.

"We'll worry about it later," Kurt said, shrugging a little and kissing him softly. "I want to be with you, regardless of distance. We'll make it work."

Kurt moved back in for another kiss, but the brush off of details bugged Blaine. This wasn't a conversation to take lightly. It was one, now that they had started it, that he knew needed a lot of discussion and planning. Long distance sounded simple when they were still wrapped up in each other's arms and lives, but once those six thousand miles were in place there was no taking them back. Their lives were hectic and together their schedules and the time difference would be chaotic at best. They needed to seriously discuss how things would work between them once Blaine was on a plane back to America.

"No, Kurt, I mean– I want us to stay together and do this, yes, but," Blaine paused, sighing heavily and staring over at the diving boards. "I've seen my friends try long distance before. They never talked it through and they thought it would be simple, but even for them with 9 to 5 jobs it was hectic. We need to have a really serious talk about this, not just say we'll be okay and make it work without talking about how we're going to do that."

"Blaine, it's really not– "

"I'm going to be nine hours behind you next week," Blaine interrupted, not willing to let this go. "When I get home from training or competitions or whatever I have on any given day you'll be sleeping. Then you'll get up for whatever you've got right when I'm going to bed. We need a plan for communicating, even if it's just us figuring it out week by week."

"I– you're right," Kurt admitted quietly, fingers tangling gently into Blaine's curls. "I just– thinking about it scares me and makes it feel too difficult."

"We've got to," Blaine reminded him, "or it's going to fall apart before Halloween. I love you and I want you in my life, even if that only means at a distance for now."

"So do I," Kurt agreed readily. "We'll email if it gets really hectic, and leave voice messages just talking about our days and how much we miss each other. And even if it's just one of us saying goodnight to the other we'll Skype before the other goes to bed each night or call. I've got a competition a few weeks from now, but then I have a few weeks where I get a bit of a break."

"You'll come visit?" Blaine asked eagerly as Kurt's fingers continued to tread through his hair.

"Definitely. It's only fair that I get to see where you live," Kurt decided. "And when you have a break, you can come visit and stay at my flat."

Blaine grinned, stomach bubbling with hope as he dipped in and kissed Kurt's cheek, nuzzling their noses together and sighing.

"Okay," he murmured. "We'll talk more tonight, compare schedules for the coming weeks and see what times are best for us, but– "

"We're going to be fine," Kurt assured him. "I won't let us be anything but that. And if either of us is feeling like the other isn't pulling their weight, then we can't be afraid to say it so we don't hurt the others feelings. That's all part of communicating and being in love. Sometimes it has to hurt, but only because it's worth it."

"Of course," Blaine agreed as Kurt hugged him tightly. "Even if I don't want to hurt you, losing you because I didn't speak up would be so much worse."

"You won't," Kurt said softly. He squeezed him once more then drifted back a few feet in the pool, pulling Blaine along by the hand. "Come on. Let's give my handsome boyfriend his first diving lesson."

With a nervous look at the high dive Blaine allowed himself to be tugged along as Kurt laughed and smiled, assuring him that he wouldn't be allowed on the high dive for quite some time.

After an early dinner, Kurt and Blaine headed over to the outdoor volleyball arena to watch Santana and Brittany in their final match of the tournament. Kurt was quite impressed with the two women's teamwork and skill, cheering right along with Blaine, Puck, and Sebastian as the two spiked their way to victory at the end of the second game.

The evening ended with them returning to Blaine and Puck's room, snuggling up and having a much longer, and more thorough discussion of their schedules and what times would be best for Skype dates and phone calls. They found at least half an hour for each day except Fridays, which they decided would be a day devoted a sweet voice mail, email, or video for the other instead.

Monday followed a similar routine. Training all morning and into the early afternoon for each, though this time it was followed by an warm, long shower back at Blaine's room before they headed over to have dinner with Blaine's family at their hotel suite. They spent the evening discussing Blaine's looming semi-finals the following evening and the qualifying rounds for Kurt's last diving competition while the two played cowboy and then superheroes with Liam until the toddler was sufficiently worn out.

In the morning they joined the Andersons for a quick, filling breakfast before heading off to their own obligations. Kurt had his qualifying round for most of mid-day while Blaine was deciding to break the standard "no training on a fight day" superstition and have a few rounds with Puck that morning. Cooper, Liam, and his father decided to tag along while Amanda, who's ankles were very swollen from the previous day's tourist trip elected to stay behind with his mother.

James gave a low whistle as he followed Blaine into the training room from the locker room.

"Wow, nice place," he commented, looking around as Cooper swung Liam into the room with lots of giggling and squealing. "State of the art equipment and design."

"Well it is an Olympic gym," Cooper reminded him, twirling Liam up and around onto his back. "Did you expect his old Fight Club's dive?"

"Cooper," Blaine hissed, spinning around to give his older brother a swift, piercing look.

"I thought the first rule of those clubs was that you aren't allowed to talk about it," his father said slowly, looking amused.

"Which is why Cooper was never invited to join when he went to Dalton," Blaine grumbled, still glaring at Cooper, who pouted at him. "He can't keep his mouth shut about anything."

"Can so!"

"No, you can't Daddy," Liam said, arms looped casually around his father's neck. "That's why Mommy doesn't tell you 'portin things."

Wes and Blaine's father laughed loudly at the four-year-old's input and joined Blaine over at the bench set up in the middle of the gym. Blaine busied himself with taping his hands and wrists while the others talked and Liam bounced around the room, giggling at Puck, who growled playfully and chased him about.

"Smart boy you've got there Cooper," James remarked, knowing towards Liam. "Any thoughts on sending him to Dalton or the California equivalent?"

"It's a bit early to think about that, isn't it?" Cooper said uncertainly. "He hasn't even started elementary school yet."

"Tuition's steep for private schools. We marked you down for Dalton when you started Kindergarten," James informed him. "Did the same with Blaine and we were glad we did after all the trouble he had in middle school. A public high school would have been much worse."

Blaine flinched slightly at the reminder his father's words brought and tried not to imagine what his life would have been like at a public school in Lima, Ohio. Probably some sick imitation of hell when he was an openly gay fourteen year old boy still small for his age. That had changed rapidly during his freshmen year at Dalton, but even now he was shorter than the average man.

"Kids are cruel sometimes," Wes remarked quietly, giving Blaine a significant look as he finished strapping on his gloves and headgear. "Ready to go?"

"Just tell Puck to stand still," Blaine quipped. "There's no point in him bothering to move since I'm going to kick his ass anyway."

"Will not, hobbit!"

Liam aimed a kick at Puck's shins in retaliation and stuck out his tongue. "He will! He's the best uncle ever and he's gonna beat you!"

Blaine grinned as his nephew hurried over to him and hugged his leg.

"Come here, sport," Cooper ordered, kneeling down and opening his arms. "They've got a lot of practicing to do."

Liam gave his leg a good squeeze, smiled up at him brightly and then hurried into his father's arms as Puck took his place in the little ring set up for their practice fights. Blaine headed over and ducked under the ropes, rolling his shoulders and neck as he watched for Wes to join them and give them the go ahead. It was going to be a long day, and the fight tonight would no doubt be brutal. It was the first one he hadn't had a lot of time to prepare for and this particular opponent tended to be a vicious fighter. Blaine had heard more than one rumor that the man had a nasty temper with a matching personality, and he only hoped he managed to get the upper hand enough to win. A win meant missing Kurt's final competition tomorrow afternoon, but the thought of finally claiming an Olympic medal was too fantastic to pass up even for his boyfriend.

Blaine slumped down into his corner of the ring, sinking onto his little stool and greedily accepting a bottle of water. The second round of three had just ended and he was exhausted already. The first had gone to himself, but it had been a narrow margin and now, after those last three hits he'd taken to the shoulder he knew this one had gone to Hernandez. There was no way it hadn't. The other man was wearing him down expertly, and while Blaine had had a decent advantage at first because of his experience the other man had adapted quickly.

Wes tugged his headgear up and checked over his face where he'd taken a handful of hard jabs at the start of the round. He'd done nothing but block the entire round if he thought about it, but thinking made his head pound even harder than it already was.

"He's weak on that left side remember," Wes said over the roars of the crowd. "Took a bad hit last fight, so try to get in there."

"He's got it blocked too well," Blaine panted, downing another mouthful of water. "My head's killing me... "

"Just focus," Wes insisted, though he's voice betrayed his unease and panic. Blaine knew his prospects were looking bleak. Until he really bared down and got creative he wasn't going to win this third round. He was guaranteed a medal at this point regardless of whether or not he won, but he'd really prefer to go onto the gold medal match. This could easily be his only Olympics and he hadn't come all this way to give up.

The referee motions for him and his opponent to make their way back to the middle of the ring. Wes slapped his headgear back into place, and Blaine sucked his mouth guard back between his teeth, fixing the Velcro on his gloves as he stood up. Around the small arena the crowd jeered louder, and Blaine did his best to block the noise out and pretend the only voice in his head was Kurt's. The beautiful echo of his high, melodic tones soothed Blaine as he took his place in the center.

Hernandez joined him, still strapping up his headgear as the referee dropped down to confer with an official at the judging table down below.

"I see your pretty diver's here to watch," Hernandez sneered, readjusting his gloves and jerking his head towards the stands behind Blaine.

Without glancing over his shoulder Blaine knew the other man was right. Kurt would be in the same seat he was always in, with Blaine's family around him, watching and cheering. But the other boxer's tone set Blaine's already frayed nerves on edge as he spat out his mouth guard in order to talk.

"He's always here to watch," Blaine said slowly, trying to lure the conversation back into friendlier territory. There was only a handful of reasons Blaine could think of that would justify why the other man was glaring at the stands behind him, and none of them sat well with Blaine. Tense and starting to get irritated, Blaine waited for what the man would say next as he finished adjusting his gloves.

"Don't see why you bother with him," Hernandez snarled nastily. "You might as well just find a women if you're going to fuck around with him– "

"You boys ready?" the referee hollered up a them, ducking back through the ropes as Blaine gritted his teeth and did his best to restrain himself from lunging forward.

Hernandez gave him a nasty look, put his mouth guard back in, and gave the referee a go ahead sign. Furious, Blaine stuffed his own mouth guard in and nodded towards the referee, trying vainly to control his anger, but he'd mastered how to harness it's fury a long time ago. It was just the fuel he needed right now, and thankfully he'd had more than enough practice at keeping a lid on it and releasing it slowly during a match.

Feeling rejuvenated by the stinging remarks, Blaine raised his arms and hopped forward at the sound of the bell, wasting no time in starting his assault. Hernandez obviously knew the comment would upset him, that he'd undoubtedly look his focus to anger like so many other boxers would have, but Blaine was different. His secret fire had always lied in his fury at the pain and fear he'd suffered as a boy and his control was unmatched.

His fast moving fists slammed forward rapidly barely giving Hernandez a chance to block his alternating blows. The other man was easily backed up against the ropes, eyes wide with surprise at the controlled fury being directed at him. Blaine jabbed to the left, aiming his blows towards that side in order to pull the other man's block over and open up his weak spot.

It took time as Hernandez caught him in his grip several times, but Blaine finally cornered him once more, directing his blows to Hernandez's good side and finally the man's arms shifted under the assault. Quick as lightning Blaine rotated his right arm's point of contact, swinging hard and nailing the other man in the side of his ribs right on target. The blow was effective and it dropped down Hernandez's defenses immediately, giving Blaine a chance to land a number of other good blows until the referee hauled him back.

With only twenty seconds still left of the clock for the third round, Blaine let Hernandez stumble back towards him, looking regretful of his earlier words now that he was in pain and definitely behind in points. Still the other man gave it his best as the referee let them go again, swinging hard as he tried to gain a few extra points, but Blaine dodged and bounced out of his way, blocking one and knocking it down to get another good swing in.

The buzzer went off overhead and the crowd cheered its approval as they lowered their arms and spat out their mouth guards. The spit-soaked plastic dangled down against Blaine's uniform top as he glared at Hernandez, who was still next to him.

"Nobody talks shit about my boyfriend," he snarled under his breath before turning back to his corner and joining a hopeful looking Wes.

"What the hell did he say to you?" Wes mumbled as Blaine bent down and let him unstrap his headgear and gloves. "It's been a long time since I've seen you have enough anger to do that."

Shrugging as he grabbed his water bottle, Blaine let Wes wipe his face off and muttered, "Said something stupid about Kurt. Don't worry about it."

"He– "

"Boxers to the center, please!"

Blaine pulled himself back up and joined the referee at the center, allowing the man to grasp his left wrist as Hernandez stepped up to his other side.

"Your winner, heading to the gold medal round Thursday night is... "

Blaine swallowed, attempting to cross his toes inside of his shoes as the crowd waited with bated breath.

"Blaine Anderson from Team U.S.A.!"

His hand was hoisted into the air and Hernandez growled in rage, jerking his hand around from the referee and leaving the ring. Blaine grinned widely, raising his other arm in victory, face flushed with his success as his eyes searched out Kurt and his family in the stands. He spotted them after a few moments, Liam on Kurt's shoulders as they leapt up and down and waved in his direction. The smile on Kurt's face was more than enough reason for Blaine to be glad he'd learned to harness his anger a long time ago. He hoped that smile never left Kurt's face, that it was still as radiant twenty years from now as it was now when Kurt looked at him.