“You do realize,” Kurt said dryly, “that if you hadn't jumped in, Sebastian wouldn't have gotten me with that slushy anyway.”

Blaine was slightly more coherent than when Rachel and Finn had visited earlier that week. That didn't change the fact that he was as oblivious as ever (read: celebrating Kurt's NYADA letter in the presence of Rachel and Finn).

“What?” he said, blinking with his visible eye.

“I said,” Kurt tried again, but he had to stop himself from chuckling because there were too many eye jokes for him to crack. Good thing that he loved Blaine too much to make fun of him...and Kurt Hummel was far above such plebeian tactics. “Blaine, I saw Sebastian and the slushy about two seconds before he was going to throw it at me. I was backing away from him.” His voice dropped and his gaze fell down to where they were holding hands on the bed. “You didn't need to...do that.”

Something like hurt crept onto Blaine's face. “I—Kurt. I wasn't thinking and you've been through so much already. I didn't want him to get to you.”

“Oh no no no no.” Shaking his head, Kurt lifted his free hand to stroke Blaine's cheek as Blaine got more upset and agitated. The last thing he had wanted was for Blaine to start in on himself.

“I'm sorry.” Misery was written all over Blaine's face. “I'm sorry.”

Kurt cooed at him, shifting in his seat so that he could better wrap his arms around Blaine. “No, don't be.”

Blaine pressed his face into Kurt's chest, shaking. He was so small, Kurt realized. It was too easy to forget that Blaine was younger, shorter, and occasionally less confident than him. There would always be a small part of Kurt, just a small one, that saw Blaine as that overwhelming Warbler star who sang a mildly inappropriate Katy Perry song to him. Kurt felt so awed that he got to see more aspects of Blaine, that he was allowed to, because Blaine loved him.

And he loved Blaine. It sounded more simple than it really was, though.

But Kurt understood that it was still so precarious. He was somewhat surprised at how various members of New Directions had jumped to Blaine's defense, going as far as to confront Sebastian. Because they made mistakes a lot of the time, more mistakes than Kurt would like for there to be, but ultimately, New Directions stood up for their own.

Kurt decided that he owed Santana and pretty much everyone else a favor. He never considered himself much of a leader, especially in New Directions, but it was enough that they all agreed to be the, er, bigger show choir.

We've come so far, Kurt mused wistfully. So very far.

“Kurt?”

Startled out of his thoughts, Kurt looked down to see Blaine's lone hazel eye gazing up at him, shining with—were those tears?

“Blaine,” he said, and hugged his boyfriend even tighter. “Blaine, no, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad that Sebastian managed to hurt you even though he was aiming for me.”

“But I was angry that he was trying to hurt you because of me,” Blaine countered, his voice muffled, though he had stopped shaking. “It's not fair that he can get away with stunts like that and you just... God, you're incredible, Kurt.”

“Atheist, remember?”

“I mean it. You got everyone to sing Black or White instead of expelling Sebastian, though I think he deserves that.” He lifted his head and smiled at Kurt. It was a brilliant smile, eye patch and all, even if Finn was going to make Pirates of the Caribbean punchlines for a while. “I don't think you know how much of a good person you are.”

“That doesn't mean I haven't done things I'm not proud of,” Kurt answered, leaning back uncomfortably. “But that's not the point. Blaine, I don't want to see you do that ever again.”

Blaine's smile faltered. “But you said—”

“You were,” yelling, Kurt's mind supplied, “you were in pain and yelling and I couldn't do anything except hold you.” He could still picture it clearly; Blaine curling into himself on the ground, holding his face, and holding back tears only because it hurt more to cry. That wasn't an image that he wanted to picture. That wasn't a memory he wanted to remember. That wasn't supposed to happen at all, and it was still too easy for him to hate Sebastian.

It was taking the higher road, but it wasn't too high.

“You're always pulling stupid stunts like that,” Kurt murmured. He was so very torn, between a certain heart-wrenching sadness and so much love for his boyfriend who protected him. So he settled for both. “You did that when you tried to talk to Karofsky, for a boy you've only known one day.”

“You looked so sad, I had to help you somehow.”

“Then you transferred because I wanted the best senior year ever.”

Blaine hummed gently, the sheen long gone from his eye. He petted Kurt's arm, making soothing noises. “But you're worth it.”

“And you took a slushy—a slushy with rock salt—for me.”

“Because I love you,” Blaine said seriously.

“I love you too.” Kurt softened. “But promise me that you'll never do something like that again.”

“I make no promises.”

“Blaine, I'm serious. I don't want to see you in pain again.”

Blaine passed a hand over his face, lingering over his covered eye for a moment. “Kurt, it's going to happen. We're going to get hurt. We're not always going to be there for each other physically.” He wavered there, the unspoken I'm a junior and you're a senior and you can make the logical conclusion hanging in the air. “And I don't want anything to happen to you before you get to New York. You're so much better than Ohio, Kurt. So much bigger.”

“Blaine.”

“Kurt.” Pause. “Besides, you would have done the same for me.”

“...Point taken.”

Blaine leaned back into the pillows, taking Kurt's hand between his own and holding it carefully, as if it were precious. He was smiling again. “Besides, it's not all bad. I mean, yeah, I have to have surgery and I'm still terrified, but I got to hear you sing a song about a rat.”

“Blaine Anderson!” Kurt yanked his hand back and stared reprovingly at his boyfriend.

Laughing, Blaine recaptured the hand. “There there, it was a lovely song. Very heartwarming.”

“Oh, I'll warm your heart all right,” Kurt muttered with no real threat.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, taking in each other and enjoying their time together, no matter how brief it may be.

“I kind of wish that I had seen Sebastian's face after Black and White, though,” Blaine suddenly confessed as if whispering a dirty secret.

“You are never going to see him again if I have my way,” came the haughty reply.

“But Kurt—”

“Absolutely not. I forbid it.”

“Well, as long as I can keep on seeing you for the rest of my life.”

“You're corny.”

“You were going to make an eye joke, weren't you?”

“...No.”