Pieces of a dragon puzzle Chapter 6 Part A

[venetianstar]

Title: Pieces of a dragon puzzle

Rating: R/NC-17

Pairings: Klaine, mentioned Niff, Fuinn&Finchel (both according to S2), Britanna, Barole

Spoilers: None

Warnings: cursing/colorful language from time to time, horny teenagers, in some parts mild dub-con, sex (does one even warn for that?)

Word Count: about 9,000 this chapter, so far appr. 37,600 in total.

A/N: Finally, chapter 6! And it's a big one to make up for the mean cliffhanger. I hope everyone will like it as much as the last one. So read something funny and Klaine-y before Glee tonight!

Also, maybe the biggest news, this story has now a tumblr blog where you can follow all the updates and can ask me any questions about the story or verse you'd like to :-) it's dragonpuzzle.tumblr.com

Summary: Kurt had really only planned to spy on the Warblers. But instead he was found out by a creepy Asian, got stuck with a heavy stone which turned out not be a stone at all and now he had a flying lizard at home who was at risk of burning down his entire wardrobe with every fiery sneeze. Dragon!Blaine/Kurt

So far:

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5



Kurt was sobbing loudly as he finally reached the foot of his bed, dreading to look down, but doing it nonetheless. Blaine's clothes lay in a heap on the floor, sand inside of them and all around them. No Blaine.

Kurt choked on his sobs, falling onto the floor without thought of hurting himself, trying to get nearer to the remains of his dragon. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. All that remained of Blaine was little heaps of sand and his clothes.

Kurt ignored the tears running down his face, dropping into the sand as he leaned forward to card his fingers through it. It was still warm, like the life it had held just a few minutes ago. Single grains of sand stuck under his nails, minute fragments of reality like the dust particles in the air.

He swallowed around the lump in his throat, knowing no one was home and screaming wouldn't help. He grabbed Blaine's t-shirt to gather it against his chest when his fingers touched a hard round surface underneath the cloth. Kurt's heart leapt, and he hastily started unwrapping the tangled of clothes, wanting to be as fast as possible, without damaging anything in his haste. His shivering hands weren't working in his favor as his foolish brain chanted Egg! Egg! Please let this be Blaine's egg.

Specks of green and brown slowly came into his view, and if Kurt hadn't been crying so hard already, he would have started then. His heart sang in relief and he had never been happier, just to see those ugly colors again.

When most of the egg had been freed, Kurt gingerly touched the surface. Only it wasn't an eggshell. Those were thin, leathery wings hiding a body underneath. Kurt squeaked out of sheer joy when the bundle breathed. He carefully took hold of the upper, bony edge of the wings, using a bit of force to dislodge them from their position. As he pulled the wing back, the other unfurled too and the dragon emerged. Its eyes were closed, its snout buried deep into the carpet and tears were running down its face.

It was the first time Kurt had ever seen the reptile cry, but that didn't matter right now, Blaine was alive. He hadn't died, he was just a dragon again. Kurt's trembling arms reached out and before he had even fully realized his intent, he had scooped up Blaine into his arms and pressed him against his chest as hard as he could, never letting go. He cried out with sheer joy, weeping as the dragon moved and looked at him with its sad, wet eyes and Kurt tried a watery smile, because his Blaine was alive.

When his tears had finally dried, Kurt moved from the floor to the living room couch. Feeling much calmer, he settled into the sofa, cradling Blaine to his chest, near his neck. Sure, Blaine was alive, but now there was a whole new set of problems, the least of which were the sharp teeth and claws that came with being a dragon.

Blaine seemed completely apathetic toward Kurt. He wouldn't raise his head or react to anything Kurt said or did, and had even refused water when Kurt tried giving him some. Blaine just lay on Kurt's chest, breathing and crying, letting himself be manhandled like a ragdoll.

And Blaine would not stop crying!

Kurt tried talking to him, calming him down with soothing, murmured words and shushing, but it hadn't helped at all. Blaine cried silently, the tears flowing continuously. At some point, Kurt had even asked him to change back, hoping this was possible, but he got no reaction. Either Blaine couldn't or didn't want to, Kurt didn't know. So Kurt kept up his attempts to soothe by cradling and petting Blaine as near to him as possible, not letting him out of his sight. He waited for his dad or Carole to come home, hoping they might have a better idea of what to do.

Ironically, Finn came home first.

When he saw Kurt with red-rimmed eyes sitting on the couch he went straight into big-brother mode, raging about Karofsky and Operation Chronic-Lady II (Kurt didn't want to know what they had been watching at Puck's), before asking why Blaine wasn't there to protect him. Kurt shook his head and wordlessly held the dragon up under Finn's nose, and it only took a second for Finn to realize it was Blaine. Blaine , not reacting to Finn either.

Kurt explained to Finn what had happened as they both sat down to wait for their parents together. It seemed like a repeat of the day Blaine first hatched, only this time the mood was sour and tense. Instead of a lively dragon flying around the room, Blaine stared off to the distance, limp in Kurt's embrace, refusing to acknowledge either Kurt or Finn, and only moving to occasionally sniffle and wipe his snot against Kurt's sweater. Under other circumstances Kurt would have freaked but, to the contrary, he was just happy Blaine was moving at all.

Finally, around 8 PM his dad and Carole came back together. As the door opened Kurt caught the end of Carole's sentence "…hopefully everything's sorted out now, poor Blaine."

Those words made Kurt feel even more guilty for pushing Blaine away, but whatever problem Carole was referring to, Blaine's current condition was very surely worse.

Their parents stepped into the living room, a frown passed over their faces as they saw Kurt and Finn sitting there, with grave faces. Burt quickly took in his son's red and swollen eyes "What happened? And where's Blaine? Kurt, what's going on?"

Kurt did what he had done before; just mutely held up the dragon.

Carole murmured only "Oh, no…" as Burt gasped.

"Shit, Kurt, what did you do?" His father's accusation hurt, but Kurt knew it was probably justified. He had overseen something, something big in the process of the day.

He cleared his throat, which was still scratchy from all the crying he had done the previous hours and cradled Blaine to his chest again. He told them how Blaine had come into his room, trying to tell him something, but not managing to, before hyperventilating, crying no no noand then collapsing into a dragon. After his rendition of the slow cracking of skin and how he had thought Blaine had died, Burt's face was chalky white and Carole was crying. Finn looked slightly green. Burt pressed his lips together and asked:

"Why did he say no? Kurt, what exactly did he say and how did you react?"

Kurt wondered what his dad was hinting at. "He started saying my name when he couldn't speak, and hugged me. I tried to calm him down, but he only panicked more, so I tried to get him to look at me, and by then he had started his mantra."

Burt's face passed an expression of dread. "So, you detached him from you, when you tried to get him to look at you?"

"….yes?"

"And did he try hugging you again?"

Kurt frowned, not understanding how this was so important to his dad, when Blaine's skin had dissolved into sand. "Yes. But I told him not to, so I could talk to him."

The swearing Burt Hummel let loose, Kurt would never forget. And judging by the amazed look on Finn and the shocked on Carole's face, neither would they. His father sometimes swore, Kurt knew, but this was new. Burt used more obscene words in one sentence than Finn had even known was possible. He became louder and louder, advancing on Kurt screaming about how this couldn't have happened.

Burt cast an exacerbated look at Blaine who didn't even open his eyes, only remained sniffling. No one dared to move or say anything, until Burt calmed down. A single tear running down his cheek accompanied his last word of "Fuck".

Kurt was dreading what might happen next. He had only ever seen his father in a similar state to this once, and that had been when his mother had died.

"Dad?" Kurt asked. "What's happened? What is going on?"

His father didn't answer, only looked at him, a look of not knowing how to answer in his eyes.

"Dad? Please, Blaine's not reacting to anything. I'm…scared. Please."

Finally Burt sighed. "What I'm going to tell you…Kurt, you won't like it." Burt stopped, considering something. "Can we go upstairs to your room Kurt? I wanna talk to you alone."

He glanced at Finn and at Carole. Caroled nodded, but Finn squawked, starting to protest. Carole laid a hand on his shoulder. "Not now, honey. This really only concerns Kurt and Blaine. I think it's best if Kurt hears this without us hovering near."

Kurt only nodded at his father and together they made their way up into his room. Kurt immediately crawled into his bed, taking the duvet with him and folding it around him and Blaine. Blaine wasn't crying anymore, his tears having dried out.

Burt took in the sand and clothes on the floor, frowning and shaking his head sadly, before closing the door. He sat on Kurt's desk chair, swiveling around, so he was facing the bed.

Burt sighed. "Let's start at the beginning. After I came into your bathroom this morning, I took Blaine with me downstairs. And I grilled him. I asked him to explain his behavior. And he told me everything he knew. He told me how you're his mate. Apparently when dragons hatch they form a bond with the person who their egg was trusted to, and Blaine bonded to you like a boyfriend…"

Kurt sucked in a breath. He tried to process this new information, but his father rambled on, telling him everything Blaine had told him. When he told Kurt about Blaine's need to touch him (which Kurt now realized was something Blaine had been trying to tell him all along), Blaine moved in his arms, shivering and pressing himself firmly against Kurt.

"…and I told him to go upstairs, explain this all to you. To ask you to at least let him cuddle you from time to time and also about that mate-thing…" Burt trailed off.

Kurt choked then, finally, and started crying. "Dad, I've - oh god-," Kurt's breath hitched, "I've done something terrible! Blaine, he tried - he tried telling me, but he couldn't, he just hugged me and then I-" Kurt trailed off, his face white and sobbing. He had done this to Blaine. Blaine had thought that Kurt had denied him. It was all Kurt's fault for pushing Blaine away, and if he had just known that Blaine had needed physical contact, he'd never have denied it to him. And why, why, had he been so utterly stupid and pushed Blaine away from him, when he had clung on so hard?

His dad was silent, as Kurt let the tears run down his face.

Now, Blaine's behavior in the shower made sense to Kurt and he felt like he should kick himself. And then he had, in Blaine's understanding, also rejected the platonic relationship when Blaine tried to hug him. Kurt was angry at his own stupidity. Blaine had twice interpreted Kurt's reaction as rejection of a relationship altogether.

Kurt whimpered. "I'm sorry, Blaine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Kurt babbled, crushing Blaine's head against his lips, "I didn't know, I didn't think. I didn't listen, I'm so sorry. Please, I never meant to do this. I didn't deny you! Yes, I didn't know how to handle you in a human form…but…Blaine, believe me when I say this…", he glanced at his father, blushing, but still going on, only a bit quieter "I really like the way you look as a human. I…was just scared. You're so beautiful and I liked you. How was I supposed to act around you? You know I never had a…boy interested in me like this. I didn't know how to react. I'm sorry for blocking you out. I don't only like you in your dragon form. I like you just as much, maybe a bit more, in your human form", he chuckled, a warm tinge spreading across his face, "And despite all I've done and said in the past few weeks... I need you, too." He whispered, sniffing.

Kurt opened his eyes, having clamped them shut as he had started to ramble, looking at his dad shortly, before looking down at Blaine again. Blaine moved to look up at Kurt with yellow eyes Kurt could still so easily read, before the dragon started hiccupping and crying again. And then Kurt saw the strangest smile one could ever see on a dragon, if dragons could even smile. Blaine looked happy again, even though fat tears were running down his tiny snout. He squeaked, flapping his wings happily.

Kurt sniffed again, and a new bout of tears came on as he hugged Blaine to him. I'm sorry Blaine, I'm going to make it up to you, I swear. I'll never behave like that again."

Burt chuckled, sensing that for now, he had done everything he could, before quietly standing up and leaving Kurt's room.

Later, as Kurt lay in bed, Blaine in front of him, he trailed his fingers along Blaine's scales. "Do you know, those scales on your neck, as a human?" Kurt whispered. "They were really sexy and I wanted to touch them..." He giggled as Blaine looked up at him, going from sleepy dragon to highly alert and preening dragon. Blaine puffed his chest out and roared, looking satisfied.

Kurt blushed, wondering about this awkward scene, how he had just told a reptile that he thought it was sexy. But he immediately banished that train of thought, because this was Blaine. And Blaine wasn't just a reptile, he was Blaine. Kurt's Blaine. And that was different.

Kurt still had so many questions, but he knew he'd have to wait for Blaine to become human before he could get the answers he needed. He had asked Blaine, though, if he could turn back, but Blaine had only shaken his head. He would have to wait, and this time Kurt wouldn't be distant, he'd talk to Blaine, touch and cuddle him. Screw his teenage shyness... it would all be worth it.

He held up his sheet in invitation to Blaine, who groaned as he stood up on the wobbly mattress. Blaine scrambled up to him and curled against Kurt's front. Kurt lowered the sheet around them and pressed Blaine tighter to his body with his hands, holding him. Blaine's right wing looped itself over Kurt's shoulder and they drifted off to sleep.

When Kurt opened his eyes in the morning, a wave of foul air hit his face.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust and gagged. Blaine was lying on his belly directly in front of Kurt's face, looking happily at Kurt, his mouth open. He squeaked as Kurt smiled at him and another balloon of smelly air hit Kurt's nostrils.
Kurt jerked back and looked affronted down at Blaine, moving his hand to shield his nose from these attacks. "Your breath is absolutely repugnant. You smell like you ate garbage."

Blaine yelped in protest, but it only served to hit Kurt's face with another foul wave.

"Okay, okay, that's it. Up, I want something in your mouth so this smell goes away."

Scrambling off his bed, Kurt clutched the smelly dragon under his right arm, still pinching his nose closed. He descended the stairs quickly and plopped Blaine unceremoniously on the kitchen counter, before bending down to rummage through the cupboards. When Blaine saw Kurt holding the Cheerios box he made an approving noise and trampled with his forelegs. Kurt smiled bashfully, before offering Blaine the cup of cereal and milk, just the right size for Blaine to eat out of, like a bowl.

As Kurt made his own breakfast, Burt walked in mumbling "Morning boys," around his cup of coffee, and reaching out to scratch Blaine behind his ears. Blaine first startled at the contact, then purred and butted his head into Burt's hand. Burt chuckled, before moving on to the coffee machine and pouring himself another cup.

"So, anything planned today?" he asked Kurt.

Kurt only shook his head, concentrating on cutting up a banana for his yoghurt. "Not really. I mean, obviously my goal would be to get Blaine to change, but I have no clue what to do." He finished up cutting the fruit and sat down at the counter, watching as Blaine finished his cereal, and licked his snout clean of milk.

"I'm thinking about maybe trying to find some way to contact Wes, so I can ask. Maybe he knows something, but driving all the way to Westerville today doesn't seem like the best idea. I don't know if I can get even into Dalton on a weekend."
Burt nodded as he sat down opposite Kurt.

"So you're going to hang out around the house? Maybe you wanna help me with a car I got in yesterday. I drove it home so I could work on it here." Burt held up his finger, when Kurt wanted to protest about his dad working on weekends, but snapped his mouth shut when he added "It's vintage."

"Really? What is it?" For his dad to bring a car home it had to be pretty rare. Kurt's interest was definitely perked.

"How about you finish up and I'll show you?" Burt glanced at Blaine. "Maybe now your wings are small enough to move around in the garage, without bumping into everything" he smirked.

Blaine flared his nostrils and huffed. Kurt almost snorted yoghurt into his nose at the way his dad had pulled Blaine's leg. It was a definite change to how Blaine had behaved towards Burt the last time he was a dragon. It was progress and Kurt realized that in his withdrawal, he had missed this development between his dad and Blaine. It left a somewhat bitter taste in his mouth. Suddenly not having any appetite anymore Kurt stood up and dumped his bowl into the sink. He'd wash up later.

Burt stood waiting for them at the door to the garage and Kurt opened his arms for Blaine. He eagerly jumped into them, which turned out to be quite a lot of weight at once, and Kurt oofed before arranging Blaine in his arms and sauntering after his dad into the garage.

The three of them spent the day working on the Cadillac in the garage. Blaine tried handing them tools, flying them to Burt or Kurt in his mouth, but he dropped them More often than not. Still, he tried, and Burt realized that Blaine had actually managed to remember some of the items this time.

Around 7 PM, Finn came and told them that dinner was ready. Kurt gasped as he realized he'd completely forgotten to help her, but Burt assured him that it was okay. They were filthy with grease and oil when they came to the dinner table and Blaine's feet left black footprints on the tabletop.

Carole tutted when she noticed, and Kurt promised her that he'd clean it up. She only shook her head and told him to see to get Blaine clean again. Kurt panicked for a second, before getting a grip on himself.

After dinner he took Blaine upstairs, the dragon squirming in his arms and grumbling at being carried everywhere like an infant. When Kurt reached his room he took out a clean towel and set it on his bed, before disposing Blaine on top of it. "Stay here. I'm going to shower now, alone" he emphasized with a raised eyebrow, pointedly looking down at Blaine. "When I'm finished I'll help you bath. But only as long as you're still a dragon. I'm not going to do this anymore when you're human again, you can manage that yourself."

Kurt felt the need to spell this out so that there wouldn't be any misconceptions in the future. That's how they'd had gotten into this whole mess. He patted Blaine on the head, as the dragon hummed in agreement, before grabbing clothes and a towel for himself and walking into the bathroom.

When Kurt emerged from the bathroom again he was shocked to see Blaine had drifted off while waiting for him and had rolled onto the bed sheets, leaving black and grey imprints of wings, scales and feet over the crème duvet. He rolled his eyes, as he grabbed Blaine under his belly and scooped him up. The dragon startled awake yelping, before realizing what was happening. He griped in discontent.

Kurt pinched his ear. "Oh shut up, you. Look at what you did to my bed." He grumbled, trying to sound stern, but failing and smirking. He turned Blaine to face the bed. Kurt could see how the dragon's eyes widened comically. Blaine gave a peeping noise, looking up at Kurt with huge innocent eyes. Kurt's smirk grew. "Yes, that was you. And as reimbursement you're going to behave now when I bathe you. No squirming, flying, breathing fire or grumbling."

As Kurt prepared the sink bowl, letting the water flow and testing the temperature with his hand before adding bubbles. Blaine sat on the side of the sink, shuffling around, sniffing at Kurt's products, before bumping his noise into a vial, giving a questioning sound. Kurt turned off the tap and looked at the vial. "Oh yes, that's new. You don't know that one, I only bought it a week ago…" Kurt trailed off, mumbling, suddenly embarrassed.

He felt guilty, reminded of the events of the past week, then shook his head, thinking how ridiculous it was to feel embarrassed about such small details. Even if he did like Blaine and his behavior in the past few weeks had been unfair, he didn't have to account for everything he did.

The bath ready, Kurt gently lifted Blaine up to put him in. The dragon froze as his feet came into contact with the water, whining quietly. "Noooo, Blaine! No whining, we agreed on that. We need to get you clean again. The more you cooperate, the faster you'll be dry again, okay?" Kurt implored as he let Blaine's body sink into the water. Blaine scrunched his nose, looking at Kurt with a betrayed look in his eyes.

Kurt sighed, before starting to wash Blaine thoroughly with a washcloth. The wings took some work, as he had to stretch them out and wash them without all the water dripping down onto the floor. In the process, Kurt learned that Blaine was in fact ticklish on the underside of his wings. The dragon started snorting and squirming when Kurt washed him there and Kurt laughed lightly, rubbing the cloth under the wings even longer until Blaine yelped and almost slipped in the sink to escape the tickling.

After Kurt had managed to wash away all the grime and oil, he lifted the dragon onto a clean towel and dried him off, Blaine's throat pulsating as he purred.

When they were finished and he had cleaned the bathroom up, Kurt sat Blaine onto the floor in front of his bed, telling him he was free to walk around if he wanted to. The corner of Kurt's mouth turned up as Blaine huffed and promptly walked to the door and butted it open.

Kurt frowned. "Where're you going?" he asked Blaine, as the dragon vanished. Kurt followed him and saw Blaine eagerly wobbling down the stairs. Kurt didn't say anything as he slowly followed the dragon. When Blaine reached the bottom of the stairs he walked into the living room, up to Burt sitting in the armchair.

Kurt stopped at the entrance, leaning against the wall, observing what was happening before him. Blaine sat on his hind legs and squeaked loudly. Burt jerked, only just realizing Blaine's presence, as he had been so immersed on the game.

"What you want, buddy?" Burt grinned. Blaine squeaked again and Burt said "Ooooh, I know. Wait a moment!" His father stood up and went into the kitchen. Kurt heard rummaging, before his dad came back into the living, carrying a bag of chips. Burt bend down and gave Blaine a few, the dragon immediately chewing them down.

"Dad!" Kurt shrieked, walking into the living room. He couldn't believe it. Not only had his dad stashed junk food in the kitchen to eat when Kurt wasn't around, Blaine was in on his secret and Burt was bribing him.

Burt flinched, when he saw Kurt glaring at him. "Uh, hi kid." Burt winced. "Look…it's not what it looks like…"

Kurt raised his eyebrows indignantly.

"Yeah, okay, maybe it is what it looks like. But I don't eat much, Blaine has most of it."

Kurt frowned. "So you have been sharing with Blaine these past few weeks?"

Burt coughed. "Uh, maybe a bit longer, really."

Kurt's eyes widened. Now it all made sense. Especially Blaine's weight gain in weeks before he had transformed into a human."I can't believe it! Dad! Blaine got so fat because of you? And Carole and I were wracking our brains what the hell Blaine had been eating what could have made him gain so many pounds! Chips and the like, no wonder!"

His dad winced throughout Kurt's tirade, mumbling apologies. Kurt only shook his head in disbelief in the end. He scooped Blaine up, wiping away the crumbs on his face, and took him upstairs, calling good night to his Dad over his shoulder.

He sat the dragon on his bed, bending low until his own face was inches away from Blaine's. "Listen to me." Kurt said imploringly. Blaine flapped his ear, looking curiously at Kurt. "Don't eat all that junk food my dad gives you. I don't know if you were eating it as a boy, but don't eat it as a dragon. Your metabolism isn't burning all those calories as a dragon, it's why you're getting so chubby." Kurt reached out a finger and poked at Blaine's belly. "You're eating habits are slowing you down. If you want to walk without me carrying you all the time, stop stuffing your face with crap... got it?"

Blaine huffed at first, before shaking his wings out. Kurt kept staring at him. Finally, Blaine relented and reluctantly nodded his head.

Kurt smiled. "See? Not so bad." On impulse he bent down and kissed Blaine's nose in thanks. When Kurt opened his eyes again, Blaine sat frozen, staring at Kurt, squeaking oddly.

Kurt's cheek felt hot, but he was also pretty sure that if dragons could have blushed, Blaine's scales would have been pink, too. Kurt nibbled on his lower lip, before smiling shyly at Blaine and kissing him again, this time on his head. Blaine roared and flailed, landing on his back, his eyes glancing up at Kurt, his wiggling body indicating Blaine was most certainly enjoying the attention.

Feeling mischievous Kurt grinned, lowering his head above Blaine's body, smirking at Blaine's face for a second before raining small kisses down the scaled belly. The dragon yelped and Kurt felt a wet tongue licking his chin. Kurt reared back, wiping away the dragon slobber. "Okay, maybe let's postpone that. That's really not very romantic." Blaine huffed and rolled back onto his belly again, his legs stretched away from him.

Kurt shook his head at his own behavior. He took some pajamas out of his wardrobe and began stripping off his sweater, before stopping as he remembered something. He looked back at Blaine, who was watching him. Kurt gnawed on his lower lip. He sighed.

"I told you that I wouldn't threat you any differently when you're human again…" he trailed off, "but if I want to keep that promise I have to change in the bathroom. I'm not comfortable with you seeing me naked right now. I really want to make things right this time." Kurt smiled at Blaine. "But you can still sleep in my bed, and I'd like us to still sleep together when you're human again...I know that you're scared alone and don't like sleeping in the guest room, so I want to try. I can't promise that I'll be completely comfortable at the beginning, but I want you to know that I'll alwys talk things over with you. I won't shut you out because I'm overwhelmed, okay?" Kurt smiled sadly at the dragon lying on his bed.

Blaine hummed and tried smiling at Kurt and that was good enough. Kurt sauntered into the bathroom and changed. When they were cuddled up in bed, Blaine on Kurt's chest this time, Kurt reached out and petted Blaine's head until they fell asleep.

The next morning Kurt searched for Wes and David on the internet and after a while, he found them both on facebook. As he began to write Wes a message, he paused. He wasn't exactly sure how to articulate his questions without sounding like a loon. Kurt wasn't even completely sure if Wes and/or David knew what they had given him. And if they did, would they even remember who he was if he wasn't there in person. Kurt nibbled on his lower lip, contemplating the choices. He cast a glance at Blaine who was lying on his bed, his tiny wings flapping and occasionally shooting tiny balls of fire in the air above him. Kurt decided after a few moments that they'd wait. Human Blaine had seemed to want to talk to Wes personally. He clicked the facebook window shut and got off his chair, walking towards his bed.

Blaine sat up when Kurt approached and shot a tiny cloud of smoke out of his nose in anticipation. Kurt smiled at him and bent down to pick him up. With Blaine in his arms he went downstairs to help Carole cook lunch. Blaine was more lively than before, and annoyed both of them quite a bit trying to steal ingredients and sticking his head in bowls which weren't meant for him. In the end Kurt shooed him out of the kitchen, despite growly protests and tail slashing at his face.

Blaine sulked in the living room until lunch was ready. Afterwards he was on his best behavior again and Kurt let Finn convince him to play video games for a bit. Blaine sat on his shoulder the whole time and kept roaring and squeaking, following the game and Kurt's character with his eyes and groaning when Finn or Kurt died. Finn suggested that Blaine would probably enjoy playing when he was human again, to which Kurt curled his lips. Blaine wriggled on Kurt's shoulder and plopped onto Finn's bed to walk up to him and squeak in appreciation, his tail almost wagging like a dog's.

"No Rachel, I really don't think that's such a good idea. You know how Finn likes to hijack us and steal all the food", Kurt said into the telephone he was holding between his shoulder and jaw, while trying to feed a reluctant Blaine vegetables with a spoon. The dragon kept clenching his mouth shut and moving his head away every time Kurt tried to get the spoon even near Blaine's mouth

"But Kurt! It's obviously your turn." Rachel nagged, her voice grating on Kurt's ears through the phone. "Last month it was Tina's turn, to which I might add, you didn't come because of very important business you still haven't told me about! Before Tina it was Brittany's, November was at Santana's ..."

Kurt sighed, taking the phone away from his ear. Rachel went on and on and it seemed like there was no way he could hold the sleep over off any longer. Rachel was determined: she had phoned him three times yesterday, sent him 10 text messages and finally got him this afternoon, after having tried to ambush him at school. He was also pretty sure that all other girls were on Rachel's side for once.

It was true that it was his turn to host the sleep over that month. He had tried to deter Rachel because, with the house full of six noisy girls, there was no way he could ensure that Blaine wouldn't be found out. It was possible to limit the girls to his room, the bathroom and the kitchen, but Brittany was a special case. She wandered off randomly all the time, and once he had even found her in the attic of their old house talking to an old stuffed animal of Finn's.

"... and Quinn's turn turned out not to be such a great idea as you may very well remember because her mother got drunk! We haven't had our girl sleepovers at your house since August! It is your turn, and as Finn is currently my boyfriend I can assure you I will find a way to…" While Rachel went on, not even giving Kurt a chance to give his opinion on the matter, Blaine huffed and refused to eat the healthy dish Kurt had prepared for him.

After having another stern talk to his father, Blaine was not allowed any more junk food while he was still a dragon. Every time Blaine had wandered off, Kurt made sure that he didn't go to Burt and get anything. Blaine, not knowing that Kurt had had a talk with his father, was offended and started to give Burt the evil eye every he ate something unhealthy without sharing.

It worked fantastically. Blaine wasn't begging anymore, but he wasn't eating anything healthy either. His vehement refusal to eat vegetables was grating on Kurt's nerves. He hissed at Blaine to at least try the dish. Blaine only snorted and whipped his head to the right, so that the spoon of mashed carrots collided with his bony jaw and the food went all over the kitchen table.

Kurt cursed, and on the other end of the phone, Rachel gasped.

"Really now, it's not that bad! I don't even expect any of you to provide the great movie selections and food alternatives I always offer you, but it's not too much to ask you to comply with the sleep over order!"

"Rachel…", Kurt sighed, finally giving up trying to force-feed Blaine, "I didn't mean you. And it's okay. We can have the sleep over at my house. I know you won't quit until I agree."

He swore he could hear the preening in Rachel's answer. "Why, of course you're right Kurt. I always tend to get my way and this time it's totally justified. So I'll let everyone know that tonight we'll have the sleep over at your place! Bye!"

Kurt froze. "Rachel, wait!" But only the sound of the ended call could be heard. Kurt deflated in his chair and watched Blaine, who was warily eyeing the mashed carrots on the counter, not daring to go too near.

"This is so not good, Blaine." Kurt mumbled. Blaine kept looking at the food but harrumphed in recognition that he was listening. "Rachel will have the girls over at our house in a few hours and I have NO idea where to safely hide you because Brittany is like a rabid dog when it comes to staying in one place. We'll have to hide you somewhere, and not in my room because that's where everyone will be."

Blaine huffed.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I know that doesn't sound exciting but we have to make sure no one finds out about you. You'll have to stay with Finn, his room is off limits to the girls, and we try to avoid him anyway because he eats all our food."

Blaine whined at the mention of the food, setting his pleading eyes on Kurt and whipping some carrots down the table with his tail.

Kurt scowled. "Yes. You won't get any junk food if you're with Finn. But that's exactly the plan. You stay hidden from the girls and away from all the unhealthy food. And while you continue to refuse the healthy meals I prepare for you, you won't be seeing that crap ever again."

Blaine snorted indignantly, thin smoke rivulets rising out of his nostrils. Kurt stared at Blaine. Blaine stared back. Blaine wanted his food.

Kurt finally looked away and stood up. He wiped the carrots from the counter and floor, grabbing the bowl with the remaining ones and went to the stairs. He looked back at Blaine, who was now sitting on the counter with a confused expression.

"I'll be eating these now if you refuse to. I'll be upstairs in my room. If you want to join me, feel free to try. Maybe then you'll see why I don't believe you need any more of the rubbish that Finn and Dad call snacks."

Kurt turned and went up the stairs, leaving Blaine in the kitchen.

Just an hour before the girls were expected to arrive, Kurt managed to convince Finn to take Blaine into his room and hide him there. Blaine was sulking when Kurt carried him upstairs to Finn's room after hours of futile attempts to walk up the stairs by himself. He had been especially jealous when Kurt had prepared the food for the evening and Blaine had only been allowed to watch. He had eyed the bowls full of chips every time he had thought Kurt wouldn't see. So in the end, Blaine was handed over feeling quite a bit sore and disgruntled.

When the doorbell rang half an hour later, Kurt forgot about his sulking dragon in his brother's room for the time being and enthusiastically opened the door. It had been a while since he'd had his friends over and he couldn't wait to trade the latest gossip with them. Rachel, Quinn, Tina, Mercedes, Brittany and Santana all filed loudly into the house, some of them carrying more snacks and sodas.

"Kurt!" He greeted Tina and all the others with a hug, dodging questions about his unwillingness to host the sleepover (as it turned out, Rachel had babbled). He waved them off, telling them he needed to redecorate and hadn't really wanted them to see the his room until it was done. The girls ooh-ed and aah-ed and asked him what he had planned, so, while they put away their coats and shoes and went upstairs to Kurt's room, Kurt hastily thought up a few design ideas and explained them to them.

They all settled in his room, sitting around the on the bed or the floor with the assortment of food bowls. Santana had just popped in the first DVD, when Brittany turned to Kurt, "So, do you guys have a dragon now?"

Everyone's head turned abruptly to Brittany, most of them looking bemused, but Kurt tried everything not to visibly freeze up. He laughed weakly. "No, sweetie…how come you thought that?"

Brittany shrugged. "I thought I saw some paw prints on the stairs, but maybe it was a stray. It's probably already wandered off and you guys never even knew it was here. I once found one in my attic when I went looking for Lord Tubbington and I found them both having tea. It was really cool and he even wore a monocle. That's when I wanted Lord Tubbington to have one too but I haven't found one yet which pleases him."

She sighed sadly and stared at the ceiling. While she had been talking everyone had turned back to the movie again, only Santana and Kurt had listened through to the end. Santana only smiled at her and put her arm around Brittany, before turning her head to the screen. Kurt acted like he was watching the movie too, but secretly his mind was in a frantic run, thinking about the possibility of scratch marks on the stairs. He didn't want to investigate Brittany's ramblings about a dragon in her attic further, it was much too complicated, but the possibility of foot prints on the stairs didn't leave him alone. Brittany's fantasies were one thing but physical proof could be dangerous.

Kurt excused himself after a few more minutes, telling everyone he needed the bathroom. He quietly crept to the stairs and inspected every single one. Sure enough, on the two at the bottom, there were scratch marks left by Blaine. They seemed old already and faded, but clearly distinct if one looked for them. Cursing under his breath, Kurt went to the kitchen and grabbed a few products under the sink to get those marks off. Upstairs he could hear doors closing and opening and feet walking and the toilet flushing. Working faster, he hastily finished and put away everything again. He hurried up the stairs as he heard Finn's panicked voice.

"No Brittany, I really don't know what you're talking about. I've seen no dragon and it sure is not in my room!" Eyes widening, Kurt jumped up the last few stairs and saw Brittany standing in front of Finn's room with Finn in the doorway, trying to block his room from view, while not trying to be obvious about doing exactly that.

Brittany pouted at him.

"But I heard it! It was angry that you didn't give him any snacks and it wanted some."

Finn choked, and by the slightly chalky tint Kurt could see spreading on his stepbrother's face, he was pretty sure Finn had no idea how to get himself out of this situation. Kurt stepped in. "Brittany, I'm pretty sure the dragon went to the bathroom. It's been drinking so much water today."

Brittany blinked. "Oh, okay. So he was the one who flushed the toilet."

Kurt and Finn frowned at each other. Brittany still seemed to be satisfied with his explanation and grabbed Kurt's hand happily. "Then let's go back and watch the movie, it's really exciting, Kurt. You don't wanna miss any more of it!"
Slowly nodding, Kurt shot Finn a look over Brittany's shoulder as he ushered them back into his room, closing the door behind them.

Back in his room, Brittany flounced over to Santana and curled up next to her, saying she was tired from all the adventures and closed her eyes. Kurt sat down next to the bed, as Rachel moved into his space in while he'd been gone. The movie was just nearing its showdown when Kurt reached into the large chips bowl next to him. Only his fingers didn't meet greasy chips as he had expected but a scaly snout.

Jerking his hand back, Kurt stared. Blaine was staring back at him, his mouth stuffed completely full with chips, almost sitting in the bowl (he was too large to completely fit but never say he hadn't tried) and almost all the chips were gone. After a few seconds of staring, Blaine started chewing again, the crunches echoing loudly in the room.

Kurt panicked internally. He looked around, realizing the crunching he had been hearing for the last twenty minutes hadn't been any of the girls like he had previously thought, but Blaine sitting in the bowl. Fearing someone had realized Kurt's reaction, he observed everyone's faces but the were all glued to the action on the screen. His heart was fluttering (and not in the good way) while he dreaded anyone looking his way and noticing the dragon in the chip bowl.

Part B