"Blaine…I…you don't deserve this. You deserve so much…you deserve everything, Blaine. Please just…I'll help you. Just stay, don't go back. Stay here."

Blaine wiped away his tears, wincing at how tender his right eye was. The swelling had gone down but it was going to be one very vivid reminder of Aiden's latest broken promise.

"Kurt, I can't just stay here and not go home," Blaine said quietly.

"Yes you can," Kurt insisted fiercely. "He hits you, Blaine" Kurt said as he continued to care for Blaine's split lip. "He hits you and he hurts you and you're afraid of him. You walk around on eggshells terrified you'll say the wrong thing, or do the wrong thing, or wear the wrong thing or, fuck I don't know, breathe the wrong way and set him off. Being forced to live in a constant state a fear does not make a house a home, Blaine. It makes it a prison."

"I," the tears slid down Blaine's cheeks before he even realized he was crying, "he…he needs me. He loves me."

"People who love you, don't damage you. When someone needs you, they appreciate you. When someone loves you, they don't leave black eyes and split lips and broken spirits. When someone loves you they don't hit you. I have never, would never hit you, Blaine." Kurt said fiercely, cupping Blaine's chin and gently lifting Blaine's head to meet his gaze.

"Kurt, you're…it's different. You love me, but not like Aiden does." Blaine said, trying in vain to keep his voice from wavering as he spoke the last few words, feeling his heart break anew at the reminder that Kurt loved him but didn't want him.

"You're right. The way I love you and the way Aiden loves you are entirely different," Kurt agreed, taking Blaine's hand in his.

"Right because you love me as a friend-" Blaine began, trying to steal himself against the pain he knew would come when Kurt confirmed the fact that he only saw Blaine as a friend.

"Yes, as a friend," Kurt agreed, dropping to his knees in front of Blaine. "You're my best friend and I love you like a best friend."

"And that's the difference-"

"But you are so, so much more," Kurt rushed on, ignoring Blaine's interruption. "You're family, and I love you the way you love family, in a way that lasts forever and never changes even though you do. You were my first love and my first lover. I love you in a way that I have never and will never love anyone else. I have loved you since you turned around and took my hand on that staircase all those years ago Blaine. I gave you my heart over medium drips and Grande nonfat mocha's and I have never taken it back. I love you as a friend, Blaine because you are my friend, but you're not just my friend. Blaine, you're my forever, you're my everything, and that's how I love you."

Kurt took a deep breath and pressed a chaste kiss to Blaine's lips. "Leave him. I promise you I won't let him hurt you ever again, God Blaine I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again. I know how special you are, how precious you are and how much you deserve to be cherished and loved. Let me do that for you; let me be that for you. I will never hurt you the way he has because I'm the one, Blaine. I'm the one who loves you and I'm the one that you should be with."

"You," Blaine choked on a sob and then pushed on, "You can't save me Kurt. I love you so much and I never…I always wanted this, wanted you, but…I'm a mess and you can't fix it. You can't, you can't fix me."

Kurt smiled, and kissed Blaine on the forehead. "I know," he said simply. "You are the strongest person I've ever met and the bravest. You're going to save yourself, you're going to fix yourself and I'm going to be here, every step of the way cheering you on."

Blaine took Kurt's hand in his and squeezed, drawing strength from the other man. He knew the road ahead of him would be rocky and there would be times when he stumbled and fell, but he also knew he would eventually make it through because every time he fell, Kurt would be there helping him back up.

But Blaine knew, as much as he loved Kurt and as much as he knew Kurt would be there for him, he had to do this for himself. He had to be the one to break the cycle. Kurt could be his friend, eventually his lover, but not his hero. Blaine couldn't be, wouldn't be, Kurt's damsel in distress; he needed to be his own knight in shining armor.

With that realization Blaine nodded. "Ok, I can do this. I need your phone."

Kurt rose from the table and took his phone off the counter top. He hesitated before handing it over and looked at Blaine nervously. "Blaine, you aren't going to call him are you? I don't think that's such a –"

Blaine shook his head. "I'm not calling Aiden. I can't think of a single thing I want to say to him that would lead to anything good," he said, motioning for Kurt to hand over the phone. Once the brunette had relinquished his hold on the device, Blaine quickly dialed before he lost his nerve.

One ring, two rings, three rings-

"NYPD 19th Precinct, how may I direct your call?"

Blaine froze for a moment, cleared his throat and then spoke the words that he never thought he'd have the courage to say. "My husband assaulted me and I…I need to m-make a complaint."

As the dispatcher transferred his call, Blaine felt Kurt squeeze his hand.

"I'm so proud of you," he said quietly.

Blaine gave him a watery smile. "For the first time in a long time, I'm proud of me too."