An Accident of Circumstance: Chapter 31
Chapter 31
A/N: And another stressful one.
Blaine rarely felt the need to return to his house. That was all it was now, a structure. His home was with Kurt and the rest of the Hummel clan. Practically all of his belongings had already migrated over to their house, at least anything of any importance. Of course he would have to move it all again when they moved to the city, but somehow even just sitting in boxes in the attic there felt more right than lying around here. They still came to Blaine’s house from time to time when Kurt came back on the weekends, especially when they felt like being particularly loud. It was nice to have some privacy.
It was one of those nights, right before rehearsals were supposed to start on Kurt’s show. He had managed to arrange it so that he could come back to Ohio still, but it would be once every two weeks once everything went underway. Blaine knew the situation wasn’t permanent, knew that soon it would be the three of them in New York. He couldn’t help but get a little thrilled every time he thought about that. His decision to go to California all those years ago was so unexpected, so sudden...he’d almost forgotten that New York had been his dream once upon a time. It was like it was one of those things you always think will happen but never actually do. But now...finally, his wildest dreams were coming true.
He also remembered his childhood dreams of performing on a Broadway stage, back before his delusions of grandeur had been crushed. A part of him was tempted to try again, prove that bastard wrong. But somehow, it felt like he would be upstaging Kurt. Or even using him, since the only way he’d really have any hope was to ask Kurt to use his connections and as much as he loved the man, he felt embarrassed to ask.
He would have to figure out some sort of employment. They were relatively well off financially, but the city was expensive and he wanted to make sure he did his part. But he was distracted from his musings on the more serious side of life when Kurt started kissing up his collarbone. Blaine hummed appreciatively, pulling his boyfriend close.
“I miss this,” Kurt mumbled against his skin. “I miss you.”
Blaine bent forward and kissed his forehead. “I know, I-” His landline started ringing, cutting him off abruptly. He frowned. Most people who called just used his cell. He wasn’t even sure why he still had the home phone, actually; it was more that his parents had left it in the house and he had never bothered to disconnect it.
“Don’t answer it,” Kurt told him, shifting so their lips met again. “Half the time they’re robocalls anyways. Let the machine get it.”
Blaine hummed in agreement, kissing Kurt back in response and flipping them over so he was pinning Kurt onto the bed. He had basically tuned out the harsh ringing when the answering machine clicked on. “You will burn,” a distorted voice growled, causing Blaine’s blood to run cold. He could feel Kurt go rigid underneath him. “For your sins, you will burn,” the voice repeated before clicking off.
“Blaine...do you smell that?” Kurt asked tentatively.
Blaine sniffed the air, his heart sinking when a slightly acrid odor assaulted his nostrils. He quickly stumbled out of bed and opened the door. A wall of smoke came pouring in, choking him, and he was just barely able to make out bright orange flames blocking the way out. He slammed the door shut, quickly shoving a towel they had carelessly discarded earlier against the bottom of the door. “Kurt, get clothes on, now! The house is on fire.” He looked over as he scrambled for clothes of his own to see that Kurt hadn’t waited to start dressing himself. “The exit’s blocked; we’ll have to go out the window.”
Kurt nodded. “I just have to grab one thing.”
“Honey, I know you love that coat but it’s probably a pile of cinders by now.”
Kurt winced. “Don’t remind me.” He went to the answering machine and quickly disconnected it from the wall.
“What are you-”
“Evidence,” he explained grimly, sticking it in his bag which miraculously had made it with them to the bedroom. Slinging it over his shoulder, Kurt headed towards the window. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He checked to make sure the window was unlocked before heaving it upwards. The pane didn’t budge. Blaine stepped in to try as well, to no avail. “It’s like someone didn’t want us to get out...” Kurt whispered softly in disbelief, terror lacing his voice. That kicked him into overdrive. They were not going to die tonight. He was not going to let that happen.
“Well then, whoever did this should have known that we are not quitters. Stand back.” Blaine pulled on some boots, taking a deep breath, which was getting harder to do. The smoke was finally starting to reach them. They didn’t have much time. He swung his leg up and around, aiming right for the center of the glass. The first impact only made a minor crack but after a few more blows it finally shattered. Of course this was going to make getting out a bit more difficult, but at least now they could get out. He shoved some of the remaining glass out of the way with a pillow, peering outside to see the drop. Thankfully his room was on the first floor, though it was still a good seven to eight feet.
He turned back to Kurt who had started to cough fitfully. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Nodding, Kurt joined him by the window. “I’ll go first, since I’m taller-”
“Not by much,” Blaine mumbled.
Kurt huffed. “This is no time for argument. I’ll help you down, okay?”
“Fine,” Blaine conceded with a nod. His pride could recover from its bruises once they had escaped the possibility of being fried to a crisp. He stepped aside to let Kurt scramble over the edge, having wrapped his hands in pillow cases. Kurt dropped easily and held his hands out to Blaine.
“Come on!” Kurt urged, his eyes glancing to another part of the building. Blaine quickly copied Kurt’s motion, falling slightly into his waiting arms. He’d barely gotten steady on his feet when Kurt grabbed his hands and started to run. There was a small crowd of neighbors looking aghast slightly down the road, and they headed towards the group. “Did anyone call 911?” Kurt panted as they approached.
A woman nodded, Kathy Banks, Blaine noted. “We did, we didn’t realize anyone was home or else we would have tried...”
“Don’t worry about it, we’re fine. I guess we shouldn’t have parked in the garage.” Blaine remarked.
“Was there anyone else inside?” someone asked.
Kurt shook his head. “No just us.” He shivered and Blaine put an arm around him, heedless of the crowd surrounding him. Off in the distance he could finally hear sirens quickly growing stronger as the first responders approached. One of his neighbors, a rather large man named Carl, took off his coat and draped it around the both of them. Blaine smiled in thanks, suddenly feeling the cold night air. He watched the blaze as if through someone else’s eyes; detached and unfeeling. Part of it he knew was a natural reaction to almost dying, the immediacy of the situation still very much too present to fully let himself process the terror so he was trying to feel nothing at all. But another part of him registered that even though he was watching his childhood home go up in flames, he wasn’t too emotional about the loss. He certainly didn’t have a horrible childhood, but it wasn’t what most would consider happy. He wasn’t even sure why he moved back in the first place. It was like he wanted to cling to memories that never were.
Firefighters rushed to quench the flames, water rushing out of hoses in what seemed an impossible feat. Blaine was startlingly aware of Kurt’s body pressed against him, trembling uncontrollably from something other than the cold. He tightened his grip, wishing he could do more to comfort him but they were already pushing boundaries. Thankfully no one had commented. Maybe they didn’t want to kick a man while he was down. Or maybe they were actually decent human beings.
“You again?” a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. Blaine shrugged as he turned to face Officer Smith.
“Trust me, I would be glad if we could stop running into each other like this. No offense.”
The police officer smiled grimly. “Believe me, none taken. Do you know how the fire started?”
Blaine shook his head. “No clue, we were in bed…but I don’t think it was an accident. Everything was fine and then all of a sudden…” he shuddered, blinking back images of the horrible rush of the flames.
The officer turned to the crowd. “I’m going to want to speak with all of you after I take Mr. Anderson’s statement, just to find out if anyone saw anything suspicious. We have reason to believe that this was arson, however we believe it’s someone targeting Mr. Anderson, so there is no need to be concerned about your personal safety or that of your property.” He gestured for Kurt and Blaine to follow him. “Have the paramedics checked you out yet?” he asked, lowering his voice.
Blaine shook his head. “We’re fine.”
“Nuh-uh,” Smith interrupted. “You’re getting examined before I talk to you. Both of you. Come on.”
Knowing that it would be useless to resist, and the officer did have a point-the smoke had started to get to them before they were able to get outside-, they followed in silence.
*#*#*#*#*#*
Once they had both been given the all clear, they situated themselves on a cot that had been set up. Someone had procured coffee for them, and even though it was extremely late, Kurt was grateful. Taking a sip, he realized it was decaf. Oh well, it was probably for the best.
Officer Smith stood in front of him, a notepad in hand. “Take me through what happened tonight,” he asked gently.
Blaine nodded. “We were in the bedroom and everything was fine. We didn’t notice anything until the phone rang.”
“Did you have working smoke detectors?”
Blaine frowned. “Yeah, and I just checked them too, when we set the clocks ahead an hour like everyone says to do. But we didn’t hear them. I don’t think they went off.”
Kurt shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
He felt Blaine tense next to him. “Could they have been tampered with? I mean the window was...oh god, someone was in my house...”
Smith nodded grimly. “It is possible. You haven’t been living here anymore, correct?”
“Yeah,” Blaine confirmed.
“There certainly could have been an opportunity for someone to do something. We’ll look into it, and see if anyone saw anything suspicious in the past few weeks. So you didn’t notice anything was wrong until the phone rang? Did it wake you up?”
Kurt shook his head. “No, we were still awake. I told Blaine to let it go to the answering machine.” He rummaged around his bag, pulling out the device. “I was able to get this out. It said something about how we’d burn for our sins or something like that and then we noticed the smoke.”
“When I checked to go down the stairs the fire had already spread there. So we tried the window, but somehow it had been sealed shut. I managed to smash it so we could get out.” He looked up directly at the officer, gripping his cup tightly. “They were really trying to kill me this time, weren’t they?” Blaine asked, though it really wasn’t a question.
“From the looks of it, I’d say they were targeting both of you,” Officer Smith informed them grimly. Kurt shuddered, even though the thought had occurred to him the second they realized the window wouldn’t open. “Look, I will assign an undercover officer to trail you until we catch this guy. That way if something happens, we can be there and maybe put a stop to this once and for all before someone gets hurt. Or worse.”
Blaine nodded, the movement stilted and forced. “Thank you.”
“I’m actually not around here very much anymore,” Kurt informed him. “We’re moving to New York, I just got a job out there, so I’ve only been here on weekends.”
“You should be fine, then.” Officer Smith remarked. “From what our profiler has determined, this is probably an isolated individual that for some reason blames Blaine for some wrong in his life. You should be fine when you’re in New York. Just be careful when you come back.”
“Thank you for all your help,” Kurt told him as they wrapped up.
“Don’t thank me until we’ve caught this bastard.”
*#*#*#*#*#*
Burt had just gotten up to get a drink of water when he heard noise downstairs. Cautiously, he approached the stairway, relaxing when he heard his son’s voice. But then he froze, frowning. They shouldn’t be back yet. Kurt said they would be back in the morning and while technically it was one a.m., Burt was pretty sure this wasn’t what he had meant. He quickly made his way downstairs, heading towards the sounds, which were coming from the living room.
“Everything alright?” he asked softly as he stood in the doorway, wincing when he saw both Kurt and Blaine jump. They were both clearly on edge, though Kurt had Blaine’s head in his lap and was gently stroking his curls. Well, he was until Blaine instantly shot up into a sitting position when Burt appeared.
Kurt shook his head, his eyes distant and far away. “No,” he replied, his voice cracking. Without hesitation, Burt sat down next to his son, pulling him into a hug and tugging Blaine into it as well.
“What happened? Let me guess there was more vandalism.”
Blaine chuckled darkly. “You could say that.”
“Someone torched Blaine’s house. While we were inside.” Kurt informed him plainly, clearly still processing everything.
Burt felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. “Oh my god, are you alright? Both of you?”
Kurt nodded, patting Burt’s leg reassuringly. “It’s okay. Physically, we’re fine. Just a bit shaken up.”
Blaine stood, starting to pace. “It’s getting worse. And now I am putting you and your family in danger. I can’t stay here anymore, I’m sorry, I can’t risk that freak hurting any of you.” He looked at Kurt, crestfallen. “I’m so sorry.”
“Listen, kid,” Burt interrupted, standing up to speak to him eye to eye. “You aren’t going anywhere. I don’t care if I have to hire professional bodyguards; you are not leaving, not like this.”
“That won’t be necessary, Dad. The police are going to have someone keep an eye on us in case anything happens.”
“See?” Burt continued, gesturing towards Kurt. “You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”
“But-” Blaine began before Burt cut him off, placing his hands on both of the kid’s shoulders.
“You’re family, and family sticks together,” Burt informed him gently, but in a tone that said that this was final.
“But if something happens to you, any of you, I don’t know how I could live with that.”
“I don’t know how we would manage if you went off and something happened to you,” Burt countered.
Blaine finally deflated, giving in. “You have a point,” he muttered, glancing over at Kurt.
“Come on,” Burt urged, nudging Blaine forward and reaching out to tug Kurt up off the sofa. “Let’s get you two to bed, alright?”
Kurt nodded, smiling tiredly. “That would be wonderful.”
*#*#*#*#*#*
Kurt could still feel himself shaking as they finally crawled into bed and let their exhaustion wash over them. It was more about the possibility of losing Blaine, he realized, than his own danger that evening, though that certainly was a part of his anxiety. Just the prospect of a life alone again, this time worse because his loss would be doubled, terrified him.
He was going to do it. This was a wakeup call. Carpe Diem and all that. He was going to ask Blaine to marry him, finally. He had to stop worrying about the what ifs and just do it. Sure he had hoped for something more romantic, probably once they were settled in their new place and all that. But now all he could think of was that this was the moment, his moment, their moment.
“Blaine?” he asked softly, snuggling against his side.
“Hmm?” his boyfriend replied sleepily.
“This isn’t exactly how I pictured this going down, but I want to ask you something.” Blaine hummed quietly. “Blaine Anderson...will you marry me?” Silence. Kurt frowned. “Blaine?” A snore greeted him in response. Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. Of course. “I guess it wasn’t the right time yet, then,” he murmured, kissing Blaine lightly on his stubble covered cheek. “Someday, I promise. I love you,” he whispered before falling into a fitful sleep.
Next
A/N: And another stressful one.
Blaine rarely felt the need to return to his house. That was all it was now, a structure. His home was with Kurt and the rest of the Hummel clan. Practically all of his belongings had already migrated over to their house, at least anything of any importance. Of course he would have to move it all again when they moved to the city, but somehow even just sitting in boxes in the attic there felt more right than lying around here. They still came to Blaine’s house from time to time when Kurt came back on the weekends, especially when they felt like being particularly loud. It was nice to have some privacy.
It was one of those nights, right before rehearsals were supposed to start on Kurt’s show. He had managed to arrange it so that he could come back to Ohio still, but it would be once every two weeks once everything went underway. Blaine knew the situation wasn’t permanent, knew that soon it would be the three of them in New York. He couldn’t help but get a little thrilled every time he thought about that. His decision to go to California all those years ago was so unexpected, so sudden...he’d almost forgotten that New York had been his dream once upon a time. It was like it was one of those things you always think will happen but never actually do. But now...finally, his wildest dreams were coming true.
He also remembered his childhood dreams of performing on a Broadway stage, back before his delusions of grandeur had been crushed. A part of him was tempted to try again, prove that bastard wrong. But somehow, it felt like he would be upstaging Kurt. Or even using him, since the only way he’d really have any hope was to ask Kurt to use his connections and as much as he loved the man, he felt embarrassed to ask.
He would have to figure out some sort of employment. They were relatively well off financially, but the city was expensive and he wanted to make sure he did his part. But he was distracted from his musings on the more serious side of life when Kurt started kissing up his collarbone. Blaine hummed appreciatively, pulling his boyfriend close.
“I miss this,” Kurt mumbled against his skin. “I miss you.”
Blaine bent forward and kissed his forehead. “I know, I-” His landline started ringing, cutting him off abruptly. He frowned. Most people who called just used his cell. He wasn’t even sure why he still had the home phone, actually; it was more that his parents had left it in the house and he had never bothered to disconnect it.
“Don’t answer it,” Kurt told him, shifting so their lips met again. “Half the time they’re robocalls anyways. Let the machine get it.”
Blaine hummed in agreement, kissing Kurt back in response and flipping them over so he was pinning Kurt onto the bed. He had basically tuned out the harsh ringing when the answering machine clicked on. “You will burn,” a distorted voice growled, causing Blaine’s blood to run cold. He could feel Kurt go rigid underneath him. “For your sins, you will burn,” the voice repeated before clicking off.
“Blaine...do you smell that?” Kurt asked tentatively.
Blaine sniffed the air, his heart sinking when a slightly acrid odor assaulted his nostrils. He quickly stumbled out of bed and opened the door. A wall of smoke came pouring in, choking him, and he was just barely able to make out bright orange flames blocking the way out. He slammed the door shut, quickly shoving a towel they had carelessly discarded earlier against the bottom of the door. “Kurt, get clothes on, now! The house is on fire.” He looked over as he scrambled for clothes of his own to see that Kurt hadn’t waited to start dressing himself. “The exit’s blocked; we’ll have to go out the window.”
Kurt nodded. “I just have to grab one thing.”
“Honey, I know you love that coat but it’s probably a pile of cinders by now.”
Kurt winced. “Don’t remind me.” He went to the answering machine and quickly disconnected it from the wall.
“What are you-”
“Evidence,” he explained grimly, sticking it in his bag which miraculously had made it with them to the bedroom. Slinging it over his shoulder, Kurt headed towards the window. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He checked to make sure the window was unlocked before heaving it upwards. The pane didn’t budge. Blaine stepped in to try as well, to no avail. “It’s like someone didn’t want us to get out...” Kurt whispered softly in disbelief, terror lacing his voice. That kicked him into overdrive. They were not going to die tonight. He was not going to let that happen.
“Well then, whoever did this should have known that we are not quitters. Stand back.” Blaine pulled on some boots, taking a deep breath, which was getting harder to do. The smoke was finally starting to reach them. They didn’t have much time. He swung his leg up and around, aiming right for the center of the glass. The first impact only made a minor crack but after a few more blows it finally shattered. Of course this was going to make getting out a bit more difficult, but at least now they could get out. He shoved some of the remaining glass out of the way with a pillow, peering outside to see the drop. Thankfully his room was on the first floor, though it was still a good seven to eight feet.
He turned back to Kurt who had started to cough fitfully. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Nodding, Kurt joined him by the window. “I’ll go first, since I’m taller-”
“Not by much,” Blaine mumbled.
Kurt huffed. “This is no time for argument. I’ll help you down, okay?”
“Fine,” Blaine conceded with a nod. His pride could recover from its bruises once they had escaped the possibility of being fried to a crisp. He stepped aside to let Kurt scramble over the edge, having wrapped his hands in pillow cases. Kurt dropped easily and held his hands out to Blaine.
“Come on!” Kurt urged, his eyes glancing to another part of the building. Blaine quickly copied Kurt’s motion, falling slightly into his waiting arms. He’d barely gotten steady on his feet when Kurt grabbed his hands and started to run. There was a small crowd of neighbors looking aghast slightly down the road, and they headed towards the group. “Did anyone call 911?” Kurt panted as they approached.
A woman nodded, Kathy Banks, Blaine noted. “We did, we didn’t realize anyone was home or else we would have tried...”
“Don’t worry about it, we’re fine. I guess we shouldn’t have parked in the garage.” Blaine remarked.
“Was there anyone else inside?” someone asked.
Kurt shook his head. “No just us.” He shivered and Blaine put an arm around him, heedless of the crowd surrounding him. Off in the distance he could finally hear sirens quickly growing stronger as the first responders approached. One of his neighbors, a rather large man named Carl, took off his coat and draped it around the both of them. Blaine smiled in thanks, suddenly feeling the cold night air. He watched the blaze as if through someone else’s eyes; detached and unfeeling. Part of it he knew was a natural reaction to almost dying, the immediacy of the situation still very much too present to fully let himself process the terror so he was trying to feel nothing at all. But another part of him registered that even though he was watching his childhood home go up in flames, he wasn’t too emotional about the loss. He certainly didn’t have a horrible childhood, but it wasn’t what most would consider happy. He wasn’t even sure why he moved back in the first place. It was like he wanted to cling to memories that never were.
Firefighters rushed to quench the flames, water rushing out of hoses in what seemed an impossible feat. Blaine was startlingly aware of Kurt’s body pressed against him, trembling uncontrollably from something other than the cold. He tightened his grip, wishing he could do more to comfort him but they were already pushing boundaries. Thankfully no one had commented. Maybe they didn’t want to kick a man while he was down. Or maybe they were actually decent human beings.
“You again?” a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. Blaine shrugged as he turned to face Officer Smith.
“Trust me, I would be glad if we could stop running into each other like this. No offense.”
The police officer smiled grimly. “Believe me, none taken. Do you know how the fire started?”
Blaine shook his head. “No clue, we were in bed…but I don’t think it was an accident. Everything was fine and then all of a sudden…” he shuddered, blinking back images of the horrible rush of the flames.
The officer turned to the crowd. “I’m going to want to speak with all of you after I take Mr. Anderson’s statement, just to find out if anyone saw anything suspicious. We have reason to believe that this was arson, however we believe it’s someone targeting Mr. Anderson, so there is no need to be concerned about your personal safety or that of your property.” He gestured for Kurt and Blaine to follow him. “Have the paramedics checked you out yet?” he asked, lowering his voice.
Blaine shook his head. “We’re fine.”
“Nuh-uh,” Smith interrupted. “You’re getting examined before I talk to you. Both of you. Come on.”
Knowing that it would be useless to resist, and the officer did have a point-the smoke had started to get to them before they were able to get outside-, they followed in silence.
*#*#*#*#*#*
Once they had both been given the all clear, they situated themselves on a cot that had been set up. Someone had procured coffee for them, and even though it was extremely late, Kurt was grateful. Taking a sip, he realized it was decaf. Oh well, it was probably for the best.
Officer Smith stood in front of him, a notepad in hand. “Take me through what happened tonight,” he asked gently.
Blaine nodded. “We were in the bedroom and everything was fine. We didn’t notice anything until the phone rang.”
“Did you have working smoke detectors?”
Blaine frowned. “Yeah, and I just checked them too, when we set the clocks ahead an hour like everyone says to do. But we didn’t hear them. I don’t think they went off.”
Kurt shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
He felt Blaine tense next to him. “Could they have been tampered with? I mean the window was...oh god, someone was in my house...”
Smith nodded grimly. “It is possible. You haven’t been living here anymore, correct?”
“Yeah,” Blaine confirmed.
“There certainly could have been an opportunity for someone to do something. We’ll look into it, and see if anyone saw anything suspicious in the past few weeks. So you didn’t notice anything was wrong until the phone rang? Did it wake you up?”
Kurt shook his head. “No, we were still awake. I told Blaine to let it go to the answering machine.” He rummaged around his bag, pulling out the device. “I was able to get this out. It said something about how we’d burn for our sins or something like that and then we noticed the smoke.”
“When I checked to go down the stairs the fire had already spread there. So we tried the window, but somehow it had been sealed shut. I managed to smash it so we could get out.” He looked up directly at the officer, gripping his cup tightly. “They were really trying to kill me this time, weren’t they?” Blaine asked, though it really wasn’t a question.
“From the looks of it, I’d say they were targeting both of you,” Officer Smith informed them grimly. Kurt shuddered, even though the thought had occurred to him the second they realized the window wouldn’t open. “Look, I will assign an undercover officer to trail you until we catch this guy. That way if something happens, we can be there and maybe put a stop to this once and for all before someone gets hurt. Or worse.”
Blaine nodded, the movement stilted and forced. “Thank you.”
“I’m actually not around here very much anymore,” Kurt informed him. “We’re moving to New York, I just got a job out there, so I’ve only been here on weekends.”
“You should be fine, then.” Officer Smith remarked. “From what our profiler has determined, this is probably an isolated individual that for some reason blames Blaine for some wrong in his life. You should be fine when you’re in New York. Just be careful when you come back.”
“Thank you for all your help,” Kurt told him as they wrapped up.
“Don’t thank me until we’ve caught this bastard.”
*#*#*#*#*#*
Burt had just gotten up to get a drink of water when he heard noise downstairs. Cautiously, he approached the stairway, relaxing when he heard his son’s voice. But then he froze, frowning. They shouldn’t be back yet. Kurt said they would be back in the morning and while technically it was one a.m., Burt was pretty sure this wasn’t what he had meant. He quickly made his way downstairs, heading towards the sounds, which were coming from the living room.
“Everything alright?” he asked softly as he stood in the doorway, wincing when he saw both Kurt and Blaine jump. They were both clearly on edge, though Kurt had Blaine’s head in his lap and was gently stroking his curls. Well, he was until Blaine instantly shot up into a sitting position when Burt appeared.
Kurt shook his head, his eyes distant and far away. “No,” he replied, his voice cracking. Without hesitation, Burt sat down next to his son, pulling him into a hug and tugging Blaine into it as well.
“What happened? Let me guess there was more vandalism.”
Blaine chuckled darkly. “You could say that.”
“Someone torched Blaine’s house. While we were inside.” Kurt informed him plainly, clearly still processing everything.
Burt felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. “Oh my god, are you alright? Both of you?”
Kurt nodded, patting Burt’s leg reassuringly. “It’s okay. Physically, we’re fine. Just a bit shaken up.”
Blaine stood, starting to pace. “It’s getting worse. And now I am putting you and your family in danger. I can’t stay here anymore, I’m sorry, I can’t risk that freak hurting any of you.” He looked at Kurt, crestfallen. “I’m so sorry.”
“Listen, kid,” Burt interrupted, standing up to speak to him eye to eye. “You aren’t going anywhere. I don’t care if I have to hire professional bodyguards; you are not leaving, not like this.”
“That won’t be necessary, Dad. The police are going to have someone keep an eye on us in case anything happens.”
“See?” Burt continued, gesturing towards Kurt. “You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”
“But-” Blaine began before Burt cut him off, placing his hands on both of the kid’s shoulders.
“You’re family, and family sticks together,” Burt informed him gently, but in a tone that said that this was final.
“But if something happens to you, any of you, I don’t know how I could live with that.”
“I don’t know how we would manage if you went off and something happened to you,” Burt countered.
Blaine finally deflated, giving in. “You have a point,” he muttered, glancing over at Kurt.
“Come on,” Burt urged, nudging Blaine forward and reaching out to tug Kurt up off the sofa. “Let’s get you two to bed, alright?”
Kurt nodded, smiling tiredly. “That would be wonderful.”
*#*#*#*#*#*
Kurt could still feel himself shaking as they finally crawled into bed and let their exhaustion wash over them. It was more about the possibility of losing Blaine, he realized, than his own danger that evening, though that certainly was a part of his anxiety. Just the prospect of a life alone again, this time worse because his loss would be doubled, terrified him.
He was going to do it. This was a wakeup call. Carpe Diem and all that. He was going to ask Blaine to marry him, finally. He had to stop worrying about the what ifs and just do it. Sure he had hoped for something more romantic, probably once they were settled in their new place and all that. But now all he could think of was that this was the moment, his moment, their moment.
“Blaine?” he asked softly, snuggling against his side.
“Hmm?” his boyfriend replied sleepily.
“This isn’t exactly how I pictured this going down, but I want to ask you something.” Blaine hummed quietly. “Blaine Anderson...will you marry me?” Silence. Kurt frowned. “Blaine?” A snore greeted him in response. Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. Of course. “I guess it wasn’t the right time yet, then,” he murmured, kissing Blaine lightly on his stubble covered cheek. “Someday, I promise. I love you,” he whispered before falling into a fitful sleep.
Next