Can I Stay Here with You Till the Morning?
Title: Can I Stay Here with You Till the Morning
Rating: PG
Pairings: Klaine
Spoilers (if any): Episode #3x11 "Michael"
Warnings (if any): a teensy bit of medical stuff, nothing major
Word Count: 3,704
Summary: My reaction fic to what happened to Blaine. Mostly fluff.
Beta'd by my lovely escapisms, the best beta EVAR. <3
Written while I was keeping an 9-month-old baby and also while I was reeeally tired ... all mistakes are mine.
Author's note re: medical stuff - so you don't typically need surgery for a scratched cornea (I've had one, it hurts like HELL, but surgery was not required) so I made Blaine's injury a perforated/torn cornea, which you DO need surgery for. Cause, you know, I like my medicine accurate. That is all.
Can I Stay Here with You Till the Morning?
“Well? How was it? What’d they say?”
Kurt’s sitting straight as a board in an uncomfortable chair in the ophthalmologist’s waiting room. He’s exhausted and worried and hasn’t had any sleep, too busy fretting about Blaine with his huge eye patch and his painkillers.
He sighs, sinking down into a chair next to Kurt. His mom is at the front desk, talking to the receptionist, and Kurt can see her hands shaking as she reaches for her calendar. “I have to have surgery.”
“You what?” Kurt yelps, dropping his Vogue magazine onto the floor. “What kind of surgery?”
“Okay, just don’t freak out. It sounds worse than it is - that’s what the doctor told me, at least. But - they’re giving me a corneal transplant, Kurt.”
“A corneal - a what?” Kurt’s heart is hammering in his chest. Transplant. That’s bad. Always bad. There are weird problems that can happen, rejections, infections, he’s read stuff about having to take a cocktail of medications for the rest of your life - and oh, god, what if Blaine loses his eye?
“A corneal transplant. Can we just - can we not talk about it yet?” Blaine asks. “I don’t want to think about it.”
“We don’t have to talk about anything,” Kurt assures him, ghosting his hand over Blaine’s bicep.
“Okay, sweetie - we’re all set. Surgery’s scheduled for Friday,” Mrs. Anderson says, her voice the slightest bit shaky. “Do you boys want some coffee on our way home?”
“I really just want to get in bed,” Blaine says apologetically, looking up at her. “Um, Mom? Can Kurt stay tonight?”
“At our house?” she asks, as if the question wasn’t obvious.
“Yes, at our house. I’m just - I’m-”
“Blaine, sweetheart, you know that’s out of the question. Your father would never - but, if it would make you feel better, he can stay until nine. Then he’s got to go home, alright?”
Blaine gives his mom a tiny nod and hangs his head.
Kurt, unable to do anything else, take’s Blaine’s hand and doesn’t let go, not even when the receptionist at the office stares pointedly at them. He leads Blaine out to the parking lot as if he’s a small child.
* * *
Blaine’s lying on his side with his head in Kurt’s lap on his bed while Kurt gently rubs his neck. His face is turned away and he’s got his good eye closed, too scared to talk, not wanting to look into Kurt’s face and see his own fear mirrored there.
“What are you thinking?” Kurt asks softly.
“I’m scared, Kurt,” he mumbles.
“What are you scared of?” Blaine’s thankful that he doesn’t ask it in such a way that indicates that he shouldn’t be afraid.
“They aren’t going to put me to sleep.”
“Wait - what? I thought you said it was surgery…” Kurt says, confused.
Blaine sighs and sits up, wincing a little as he puts pressure on his right arm. It’s still a little sore from landing so hard on the concrete.
“It is.”
“So why-”
“They do a local anesthetic,” Blaine says. “I won’t feel anything, they promised me. But - Kurt, they’re gonna come at my eye with like scalpels or something and I won’t be able to do anything about it and I just - I’m afraid I’m gonna freak out.” He casts his eyes down, embarrassed.
“Okay, honestly? I don’t want this to scare you more, but I’d freak out too. C’mere,” Kurt says, and Blaine tucks himself under Kurt’s arm, rests his head on Kurt’s shoulder. He’s glad that Kurt isn’t lying to him like his parents would, telling him everything will be fine, telling him there’s nothing to be afraid of. He’s glad that Kurt can be afraid with him.
“I’ll stay with you if they’ll let me. In the hospital,” he says after a long pause.
“Oh. I won’t be staying in the hospital. They’ll do the surgery at the eye center and send me home that afternoon,” he says, playing with a button on Kurt’s shirt. “But thanks for the offer. I bet my parents would never let you stay here…” He pauses, searching for words. “Do you think - maybe your dad will let you come with me when I have the surgery though? It’ll make me feel better, knowing you’re out there waiting for me.”
“I think he’d be pissed at me if I didn’t go with you, Blaine.”
“Really?” Blaine asks.
“Really. I’ll stay with you for as long as your parents will let me,” he promises. “I’ll come over every day when school gets out and bring you a new stash of movies and magazines and music. And I’ll risk life and limb and my iPhone and text you all day during school. I bet Mr. Schuester will even let me record Glee practice so you won’t miss out on Michael Jackson week completely.”
Blaine gazes up at Kurt with his one good eye and smiles. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Blaine.”
“Kurt?” Blaine asks after several long beats. “What if I lose my eye?”
“That’s - that’s not very likely, I don’t think. Right?” Kurt asks cautiously. “Isn’t that what the doctor said?”
“Yeah,” Blaine answers, not sounding so sure. “But - it has to happen sometimes, right? Or he wouldn’t have had to say it.”
Blaine can feel Kurt steeling himself, inhaling and exhaling deep and slow beside him. “Well if it does,” he says slowly, “we will deal with it just like we’ve dealt with anything else. And hey, look on the bright side. At least you’ll get a new interesting nickname from Coach Sylvester - she’ll call you Cyclops or something, but that’s got to be better than Other Gay, right?”
Blaine laughs in spite of himself. “I’ve actually been waiting all year to be the Fine China to your Porcelain. I know it sounds girly or whatever, but I think I’d rather have that than Cyclops…”
* * *
“Forty-five minutes, right?” Kurt asks for the fifteenth time.
“Right. Unless something goes wrong,” Blaine says, his knees jittering nervously.
“Nothing’s going to go wrong, Blaine,” his mother says tersely. “You need to think positively.”
“Yes ma’am,” he mumbles, looking down at his hands.
“Hey,” Kurt says softly. “She’s right, you know. You’re going to be fine, okay?”
“Blaine Anderson?” A nurse in lavender scrubs appears at the door of the waiting room.
“I guess that’s me…” Blaine says, standing up.
Kurt catches his arm as he turns away. “I’ll be right here. You’re going to be fine,” he repeats.
“Yeah,” Blaine says, feeling rather uncertain. He’s still not so sure about being awake while doctors do surgery on his eye.
Kurt shifts forward as if to kiss him, then changes his mind at the last second, placing his hand on Blaine’s shoulder instead. “I love you,” he murmurs softly, so no one else can hear.
“Love you too,” Blaine whispers back, flashing a smile that he hopes is encouraging.
His mom stands up and puts her hand on his back. “I’ll be back once they get him in surgery, okay?” she says to Kurt, and gently nudges Blaine toward the nurse. He feels like he’s walking toward his own execution.
The nurse leads him to a curtained-off room and hands him a gown. “Okay, Mr. Anderson, here’s your ever-so-stylish hospital gown. I’ll give you a few minutes to change - you can keep your sweatpants on, but I need to you take your top half off,” she says with a smile.
“Okay,” he replies in a small voice.
“If you get cold, I can get you a warm blanket,” the nurse offers kindly. “You okay?”
“Just a little nervous,” he says, fingering the hard-finish cotton.
“You’re going to be fine. We’ll take good care of you, I promise,” she reassures him. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”
His mom exits behind the nurse to give him a little privacy, and he’s suddenly alone. He sighs heavily and carefully removes his Dalton hoodie and t-shirt, wincing at the pressure on his eye patch. He pulls the gown on, clumsily ties the strings at the back of his neck, and hoists himself up on the bed to wait.
His mom comes back in a few seconds later. “How are you feeling, honey?” she asks.
“Still nervous…” he says. “And also cold.”
“I’ll get the nurse to bring you a blanket,” she tells him, kissing his hair. “We’ll be here the whole time, Kurt and I. You survived broken ribs and a ruptured spleen three years ago - one little eye surgery isn’t going to do you in, okay?”
He nods as the nurse comes back in, flipping through his chart.
“Rock salt, huh?” she says, raising her eyebrows. “That’s not one you hear every day.”
“Try rock salt in a slushy,” Blaine tells her bitterly. “I’m lucky that my boyfriend wiped the stuff off my face so fast.”
“Rock salt in a slushy?” she says baffled. “Seriously? Where do people get these ideas, anyway?” She sighs. “Okay, Mr. Anderson-”
“Call me Blaine. Please?” he asks.
She smiles warmly at him. “Blaine it is. We’ll get you fixed up in no time. I’ll start your IV and we’ll get you feeling nice and happy before we start anything, okay?”
He sits on the bed and holds his arm out for her. Feeling childish, he squeezes his mom’s hand while the nurse starts his IV and desperately wishes that it were Kurt’s instead. Once all his tubing has been connected, the nurse pulls out a syringe and a vial and draws up the medicine with the biggest needle he’s ever seen.
“You’re not - that’s a - that’s not going in me, is it?” he asks, horrified. The nurse laughs.
“No, honey, this is going in your IV. It’s Versed - it’ll just make you nice and relaxed, okay?”
He nods, and she pushes the whole syringe-full into one of the ports in the tubing. “Now, I’ve got to put these drops in your eye - this might burn a little.”
She carefully removes the packing on his eye, drips in three drops from two different bottles, and suddenly it’s like someone poured acid in his eye all over again. It hurts almost as bad as the rock salt did, and he grunts loudly in pain.
His mom pets his hair and the nurse grimaces sympathetically. “I’m sorry - it should go away soon though, one of those drops was to numb you up really well.”
“Okay,” Blaine says, and suddenly it feels like the world is moving in slow motion. He grabs for his mom’s hand. “I feel weird … like, drunk or something,” he says.
“That’s the Versed,” his nurse explains. “Just try and relax - we’re going to wheel you into our OR now, and this will all be over before you know it.”
“Mom,” he says thickly. “Mom, tell Kurt not to worry. He’s gonna worry.” The words are like sludge in his mouth. “Tell him I love him.”
“Shhh, sweetie, just sleep,” she whispers, and the world goes dark.
* * *
“He’s in surgery now?” Kurt asks as soon as Mrs. Anderson sits back down beside him. “And he’s okay, right? I mean - they’re not going to do stuff that hurts him too badly or-”
“He’s fine, Kurt,” she says, patting his trembling hand. It’s the first time she’s ever touched him.
They sit in silence for what seems like ages.
“I never thanked you,” she finally says softly. “The doctors said that if you hadn’t washed Blaine’s face off as fast as you did, he could have gotten bad frostbite.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t thank me. It’s my fault he got hurt in the first place. That slushy was meant for me - Blaine pushed me out of the way and took it himself.”
She stares at him for a long moment, scrutinizing him, and Kurt can’t help but feel a little exposed. “Blaine has always been chivalrous. Too chivalrous for his own good, it seems.”
“I’m so sorry. It should’ve been me. I swear if I could switch places with him right now-”
“No, Kurt,” she says gently. “Then it would be your parents and Blaine sitting here, it wouldn’t be any better. But - Blaine won’t talk about it. Why was that boy throwing a slushy at you anyway?”
“I honestly don’t know. At first I thought it was just jealousy - he’s been practically stalking Blaine since he went back to visit Dalton. But he didn’t even look sorry when Blaine was lying on the ground screaming in pain. He just walked away. So I have no idea,” he says. It makes him tired, thinking of Sebastian.
“So - it wasn’t because you’re gay?”
The question catches Kurt off-guard. “Oh - no, Mrs. Anderson. No, it didn’t have anything to do with that. He’s just kind of an awful person.”
She’s quiet after that.
The clock on the wall has to be going in slow-motion, because this is the longest forty-five minutes Kurt’s ever sat through and he’s beginning to get stir crazy. He’s about to go hunt down some coffee when a different nurse finally emerges from the door and calls them. “Family of Blaine Anderson?”
Blaine’s mom stands and Kurt shoots up with her - there’s nothing that can keep him from Blaine right now, nurses and doctors be damned, and he stares Mrs. Anderson down, daring her to ask him to wait. He’s amazed when she beckons him forward instead.
“You must be Kurt,” the nurse says when they reach the door. He nods. “Good, he’s been asking for you the entire time. Literally,” she says, chuckling.
Kurt beams as they round the corner - there lies Blaine, looking very groggy with a new eye patch in place, but very clearly in one piece. Kurt breathes a sigh of relief.
“Kurt!” he says happily. “Kurt, they found you! I kept telling them you were lost, you were supposed to be with me, but you’re here!”
Kurt laughs. “I’m here,” he agrees. “How’re you feeling?”
Blaine looks around, then giggles. “I have to pee,” he whispers loudly. “I have to pee so bad, Kurt!”
“Well then by all means, let’s find you a bathroom, Mr. Anderson!” the nurse exclaims. “You think you can walk?”
“Yes, definitely,” Blaine says confidently. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, hops up and immediately sways. Kurt runs forward to catch him, and he bends at the waist, grabbing at Kurt’s torso. “The ground is moving,” he says, very seriously. “Why is the ground moving?”
“Um, is this normal?” Kurt asks, trying to wrestle Blaine into a more upright position.
“It’s the Versed. You’re gonna have loads of fun with him today, he’s been hilarious,” his nurse laughs.
“They love me,” Blaine says proudly, finally just deciding to hang onto Kurt around his neck. “They told me so.”
“Think you can get him to the bathroom?” the nurse asks.
“I think so,” Kurt says, but Blaine’s mom steps forward.
“I’m not so sure-” she starts. “He, um, they-”
“Mama, it’s ok, ‘cause I love him,” Blaine says with a grin, burying his face in Kurt’s shoulder. “You smell so good, Kurt!”
“I swear, Mrs. Anderson, all I’m going to do is keep him from falling over,” Kurt says as Blaine giggles louder.
“Alright,” she acquiesces with a heavy sigh. “You can probably manage him better than I can anyway.”
Kurt half-drags Blaine to the bathroom where, in an incredibly awkward moment that he prays Blaine won’t remember in the morning, he holds onto Blaine’s hips while Blaine fumbles himself out of his sweats and pees. His aim is off - he hits the seat and sprays the floor - and almost Kurt’s shoes - when he wobbles a bit. And then Kurt wants to die when Blaine holds his arms out from his sides.
“Help!” he says. “I got pee on my hands!”
“Help with what, exactly?” Kurt asks.
“You know, tuck me back in,” Blaine whines. “Kurt, pee, gross.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Kurt groans.
Blaine laughs. “It’s not like you’ve never touched it before,” he says, hands still held in the air.
Red-faced, Kurt carefully tucks Blaine’s dick back into his sweatpants, adjusts them properly on his hips, then maneuvers him over to the sink and washes both their hands together.
“Okay, you’re good as new. Ready to go?” Kurt asks. He feels strangely close to Blaine right now, not grossed-out like he figured he’d be after doing … well, that. Blaine nods, and stumbles toward the door with Kurt supporting his arm.
“All done!” Blaine exclaims happily after they’ve exited the bathroom. “Kurt even washed my hands for me! Mom, you know what’s so cool? The soap dispenser? Is automatic,” he says, fascinated.
The doctor clears Blaine for discharge, the nurse removes his IV and soon the boys are in the backseat of the Anderson’s BMW, Blaine’s head resting on Kurt’s shoulder.
“Do you want me to turn on the radio?” Blaine’s mom asks, but Kurt shakes his head.
“He’s asleep,” he whispers, and he sees her turn fond eyes on them in the rearview mirror.
“He’s different with you,” she murmurs.
“What do you mean?”
“Easier. Happier. Not as - tense,” she says.
“Well, not to put a damper on your revelation or anything … but Blaine’s kind of high right now,” Kurt says, looking down at his sleeping boyfriend.
“Not just today,” she says. “All the time. Since he transferred to your school.”
“Oh,” he says quietly.
“Kurt, I was wondering - Blaine’s father is away on business this weekend and I might have a hard time getting Blaine up the stairs by myself in the morning if he’s still like this.”
Kurt knows that Blaine won’t still be like this in the morning. So does Mrs. Anderson - she’s the one who told him what the doctor had said.
“And he - goodness, it hurts me to say this - he might be more cooperative, more compliant, for you than he would be for me,” she continues. “I have a big case to work on this weekend, too, and I’d rather not leave him alone tomorrow. Would you mind staying with him?”
Kurt wonders if he’s been slipped some of Blaine’s Versed. “I’ll have to call my dad,” he says slowly.
“Of course. I - I can talk with him, if I need to. If he wants to,” she stammers.
“Okay,” Kurt says. The silence between them for the remainder of the trip home is, for the first time, comfortable.
Kurt gently shakes Blaine’s shoulder when they pull into his driveway.
“Hi,” Blaine says with a sleepy grin. “I had the best dream about you. We were in a field full of lilacs-”
“You know what? You can tell me about it later,” Kurt whispers to him, worried that the content could potentially change Mrs. Anderson’s mind about him staying the night.
“Okay,” Blaine whispers back. “But remind me to tell you - it’s really good, Kurt.”
“Oh, I will, believe me,” Kurt grins. “So - suppose I wanted to stay with you. What would you say?”
Blaine’s whole face lights up. “Forever?”
Kurt laughs. “Maybe eventually. Let’s stick to tonight for now though, okay?”
“Boys, you coming?” Mrs. Anderson calls to them.
“Yes! Mom, Mom, Kurt’s staying with me!” Blaine exclaims, trying to clamber out of the SUV.
“Whoa, hold on there tiger,” Kurt says, snaking his arm around Blaine’s waist. “Let me get out first, okay?”
Blaine nods, scooting over so that Kurt can get past. He hops down and holds out a hand for Blaine, carefully helping him to the ground.
“Honey, Kurt can only stay if his dad says it’s okay,” Blaine’s mom tells him.
“Oh, he will. Kurt’s dad loves me! Kurt, let me talk to him? Pleeease?” Blaine begs.
* * *
Later that night, Kurt and Blaine are huddled together in Blaine’s bed under Blaine’s covers. He’s exhausted - the giddy, puppy-like side effects from the Versed are long gone, his eye hurts, his other eye is tired from doing twice the work, he can’t sleep on his right side which is the side he always sleeps on and he just wants to be better.
“I hate Sebastian,” he grumbles.
“Yep. Giggly Blaine is officially gone. I miss him,” Kurt sighs.
“Seriously, I hate him. I feel so gross. I can’t believe I have to be out of school for so long. I can’t shower, Kurt. You will never want to touch me again,” he moans.
“Okay Mr. Dramatic,” Kurt says with a little smile. “How ‘bout I draw you a bath, huh? You can soak for as long as you want to, and if you’re really, really nice I’ll wash your hair for you.”
Blaine melts a little. “You’d do that?”
Kurt sighs. “I guess … I mean, it’s such a hardship, washing my extremely hot boyfriend’s hair when the only thing between us will be a bunch of foamy bubbles…”
“Okay, okay, point taken,” Blaine says, grinning for the first time since the Versed wore off. “A bath sounds really great, actually. Just be kind of quiet about it - my mom’s been really cool today, but I don’t think she’d be too thrilled with the idea.”
Blaine closes his uncovered eye as Kurt presses a soft kiss to his forehead, then trots off to his bathroom to run the water. He tries to relax as he listens to Kurt hum an unfamiliar melody over the stream of water hitting the tub. Yes, this day has sucked royally. The next several weeks are going to suck royally. He never wants to see Sebastian Smythe again. But tonight? None of that seems to matter when compared to the thought of Kurt’s fingers in his hair and the wonder of Kurt cuddled next to him in his bed. And when he sees Kurt’s head peek around the doorframe to ask where Blaine keeps his bubble bath, Blaine smiles to himself. He’d take a million rock salt slushies to the face if it means that he gets to keep this boy in his life for even a little bit longer.
Note: I've written a little outtake of Blaine's and Burt's phone conversation if anybody's interested. You can find it here!
Rating: PG
Pairings: Klaine
Spoilers (if any): Episode #3x11 "Michael"
Warnings (if any): a teensy bit of medical stuff, nothing major
Word Count: 3,704
Summary: My reaction fic to what happened to Blaine. Mostly fluff.
Beta'd by my lovely escapisms, the best beta EVAR. <3
Written while I was keeping an 9-month-old baby and also while I was reeeally tired ... all mistakes are mine.
Author's note re: medical stuff - so you don't typically need surgery for a scratched cornea (I've had one, it hurts like HELL, but surgery was not required) so I made Blaine's injury a perforated/torn cornea, which you DO need surgery for. Cause, you know, I like my medicine accurate. That is all.
Can I Stay Here with You Till the Morning?
“Well? How was it? What’d they say?”
Kurt’s sitting straight as a board in an uncomfortable chair in the ophthalmologist’s waiting room. He’s exhausted and worried and hasn’t had any sleep, too busy fretting about Blaine with his huge eye patch and his painkillers.
He sighs, sinking down into a chair next to Kurt. His mom is at the front desk, talking to the receptionist, and Kurt can see her hands shaking as she reaches for her calendar. “I have to have surgery.”
“You what?” Kurt yelps, dropping his Vogue magazine onto the floor. “What kind of surgery?”
“Okay, just don’t freak out. It sounds worse than it is - that’s what the doctor told me, at least. But - they’re giving me a corneal transplant, Kurt.”
“A corneal - a what?” Kurt’s heart is hammering in his chest. Transplant. That’s bad. Always bad. There are weird problems that can happen, rejections, infections, he’s read stuff about having to take a cocktail of medications for the rest of your life - and oh, god, what if Blaine loses his eye?
“A corneal transplant. Can we just - can we not talk about it yet?” Blaine asks. “I don’t want to think about it.”
“We don’t have to talk about anything,” Kurt assures him, ghosting his hand over Blaine’s bicep.
“Okay, sweetie - we’re all set. Surgery’s scheduled for Friday,” Mrs. Anderson says, her voice the slightest bit shaky. “Do you boys want some coffee on our way home?”
“I really just want to get in bed,” Blaine says apologetically, looking up at her. “Um, Mom? Can Kurt stay tonight?”
“At our house?” she asks, as if the question wasn’t obvious.
“Yes, at our house. I’m just - I’m-”
“Blaine, sweetheart, you know that’s out of the question. Your father would never - but, if it would make you feel better, he can stay until nine. Then he’s got to go home, alright?”
Blaine gives his mom a tiny nod and hangs his head.
Kurt, unable to do anything else, take’s Blaine’s hand and doesn’t let go, not even when the receptionist at the office stares pointedly at them. He leads Blaine out to the parking lot as if he’s a small child.
* * *
Blaine’s lying on his side with his head in Kurt’s lap on his bed while Kurt gently rubs his neck. His face is turned away and he’s got his good eye closed, too scared to talk, not wanting to look into Kurt’s face and see his own fear mirrored there.
“What are you thinking?” Kurt asks softly.
“I’m scared, Kurt,” he mumbles.
“What are you scared of?” Blaine’s thankful that he doesn’t ask it in such a way that indicates that he shouldn’t be afraid.
“They aren’t going to put me to sleep.”
“Wait - what? I thought you said it was surgery…” Kurt says, confused.
Blaine sighs and sits up, wincing a little as he puts pressure on his right arm. It’s still a little sore from landing so hard on the concrete.
“It is.”
“So why-”
“They do a local anesthetic,” Blaine says. “I won’t feel anything, they promised me. But - Kurt, they’re gonna come at my eye with like scalpels or something and I won’t be able to do anything about it and I just - I’m afraid I’m gonna freak out.” He casts his eyes down, embarrassed.
“Okay, honestly? I don’t want this to scare you more, but I’d freak out too. C’mere,” Kurt says, and Blaine tucks himself under Kurt’s arm, rests his head on Kurt’s shoulder. He’s glad that Kurt isn’t lying to him like his parents would, telling him everything will be fine, telling him there’s nothing to be afraid of. He’s glad that Kurt can be afraid with him.
“I’ll stay with you if they’ll let me. In the hospital,” he says after a long pause.
“Oh. I won’t be staying in the hospital. They’ll do the surgery at the eye center and send me home that afternoon,” he says, playing with a button on Kurt’s shirt. “But thanks for the offer. I bet my parents would never let you stay here…” He pauses, searching for words. “Do you think - maybe your dad will let you come with me when I have the surgery though? It’ll make me feel better, knowing you’re out there waiting for me.”
“I think he’d be pissed at me if I didn’t go with you, Blaine.”
“Really?” Blaine asks.
“Really. I’ll stay with you for as long as your parents will let me,” he promises. “I’ll come over every day when school gets out and bring you a new stash of movies and magazines and music. And I’ll risk life and limb and my iPhone and text you all day during school. I bet Mr. Schuester will even let me record Glee practice so you won’t miss out on Michael Jackson week completely.”
Blaine gazes up at Kurt with his one good eye and smiles. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Blaine.”
“Kurt?” Blaine asks after several long beats. “What if I lose my eye?”
“That’s - that’s not very likely, I don’t think. Right?” Kurt asks cautiously. “Isn’t that what the doctor said?”
“Yeah,” Blaine answers, not sounding so sure. “But - it has to happen sometimes, right? Or he wouldn’t have had to say it.”
Blaine can feel Kurt steeling himself, inhaling and exhaling deep and slow beside him. “Well if it does,” he says slowly, “we will deal with it just like we’ve dealt with anything else. And hey, look on the bright side. At least you’ll get a new interesting nickname from Coach Sylvester - she’ll call you Cyclops or something, but that’s got to be better than Other Gay, right?”
Blaine laughs in spite of himself. “I’ve actually been waiting all year to be the Fine China to your Porcelain. I know it sounds girly or whatever, but I think I’d rather have that than Cyclops…”
* * *
“Forty-five minutes, right?” Kurt asks for the fifteenth time.
“Right. Unless something goes wrong,” Blaine says, his knees jittering nervously.
“Nothing’s going to go wrong, Blaine,” his mother says tersely. “You need to think positively.”
“Yes ma’am,” he mumbles, looking down at his hands.
“Hey,” Kurt says softly. “She’s right, you know. You’re going to be fine, okay?”
“Blaine Anderson?” A nurse in lavender scrubs appears at the door of the waiting room.
“I guess that’s me…” Blaine says, standing up.
Kurt catches his arm as he turns away. “I’ll be right here. You’re going to be fine,” he repeats.
“Yeah,” Blaine says, feeling rather uncertain. He’s still not so sure about being awake while doctors do surgery on his eye.
Kurt shifts forward as if to kiss him, then changes his mind at the last second, placing his hand on Blaine’s shoulder instead. “I love you,” he murmurs softly, so no one else can hear.
“Love you too,” Blaine whispers back, flashing a smile that he hopes is encouraging.
His mom stands up and puts her hand on his back. “I’ll be back once they get him in surgery, okay?” she says to Kurt, and gently nudges Blaine toward the nurse. He feels like he’s walking toward his own execution.
The nurse leads him to a curtained-off room and hands him a gown. “Okay, Mr. Anderson, here’s your ever-so-stylish hospital gown. I’ll give you a few minutes to change - you can keep your sweatpants on, but I need to you take your top half off,” she says with a smile.
“Okay,” he replies in a small voice.
“If you get cold, I can get you a warm blanket,” the nurse offers kindly. “You okay?”
“Just a little nervous,” he says, fingering the hard-finish cotton.
“You’re going to be fine. We’ll take good care of you, I promise,” she reassures him. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”
His mom exits behind the nurse to give him a little privacy, and he’s suddenly alone. He sighs heavily and carefully removes his Dalton hoodie and t-shirt, wincing at the pressure on his eye patch. He pulls the gown on, clumsily ties the strings at the back of his neck, and hoists himself up on the bed to wait.
His mom comes back in a few seconds later. “How are you feeling, honey?” she asks.
“Still nervous…” he says. “And also cold.”
“I’ll get the nurse to bring you a blanket,” she tells him, kissing his hair. “We’ll be here the whole time, Kurt and I. You survived broken ribs and a ruptured spleen three years ago - one little eye surgery isn’t going to do you in, okay?”
He nods as the nurse comes back in, flipping through his chart.
“Rock salt, huh?” she says, raising her eyebrows. “That’s not one you hear every day.”
“Try rock salt in a slushy,” Blaine tells her bitterly. “I’m lucky that my boyfriend wiped the stuff off my face so fast.”
“Rock salt in a slushy?” she says baffled. “Seriously? Where do people get these ideas, anyway?” She sighs. “Okay, Mr. Anderson-”
“Call me Blaine. Please?” he asks.
She smiles warmly at him. “Blaine it is. We’ll get you fixed up in no time. I’ll start your IV and we’ll get you feeling nice and happy before we start anything, okay?”
He sits on the bed and holds his arm out for her. Feeling childish, he squeezes his mom’s hand while the nurse starts his IV and desperately wishes that it were Kurt’s instead. Once all his tubing has been connected, the nurse pulls out a syringe and a vial and draws up the medicine with the biggest needle he’s ever seen.
“You’re not - that’s a - that’s not going in me, is it?” he asks, horrified. The nurse laughs.
“No, honey, this is going in your IV. It’s Versed - it’ll just make you nice and relaxed, okay?”
He nods, and she pushes the whole syringe-full into one of the ports in the tubing. “Now, I’ve got to put these drops in your eye - this might burn a little.”
She carefully removes the packing on his eye, drips in three drops from two different bottles, and suddenly it’s like someone poured acid in his eye all over again. It hurts almost as bad as the rock salt did, and he grunts loudly in pain.
His mom pets his hair and the nurse grimaces sympathetically. “I’m sorry - it should go away soon though, one of those drops was to numb you up really well.”
“Okay,” Blaine says, and suddenly it feels like the world is moving in slow motion. He grabs for his mom’s hand. “I feel weird … like, drunk or something,” he says.
“That’s the Versed,” his nurse explains. “Just try and relax - we’re going to wheel you into our OR now, and this will all be over before you know it.”
“Mom,” he says thickly. “Mom, tell Kurt not to worry. He’s gonna worry.” The words are like sludge in his mouth. “Tell him I love him.”
“Shhh, sweetie, just sleep,” she whispers, and the world goes dark.
* * *
“He’s in surgery now?” Kurt asks as soon as Mrs. Anderson sits back down beside him. “And he’s okay, right? I mean - they’re not going to do stuff that hurts him too badly or-”
“He’s fine, Kurt,” she says, patting his trembling hand. It’s the first time she’s ever touched him.
They sit in silence for what seems like ages.
“I never thanked you,” she finally says softly. “The doctors said that if you hadn’t washed Blaine’s face off as fast as you did, he could have gotten bad frostbite.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t thank me. It’s my fault he got hurt in the first place. That slushy was meant for me - Blaine pushed me out of the way and took it himself.”
She stares at him for a long moment, scrutinizing him, and Kurt can’t help but feel a little exposed. “Blaine has always been chivalrous. Too chivalrous for his own good, it seems.”
“I’m so sorry. It should’ve been me. I swear if I could switch places with him right now-”
“No, Kurt,” she says gently. “Then it would be your parents and Blaine sitting here, it wouldn’t be any better. But - Blaine won’t talk about it. Why was that boy throwing a slushy at you anyway?”
“I honestly don’t know. At first I thought it was just jealousy - he’s been practically stalking Blaine since he went back to visit Dalton. But he didn’t even look sorry when Blaine was lying on the ground screaming in pain. He just walked away. So I have no idea,” he says. It makes him tired, thinking of Sebastian.
“So - it wasn’t because you’re gay?”
The question catches Kurt off-guard. “Oh - no, Mrs. Anderson. No, it didn’t have anything to do with that. He’s just kind of an awful person.”
She’s quiet after that.
The clock on the wall has to be going in slow-motion, because this is the longest forty-five minutes Kurt’s ever sat through and he’s beginning to get stir crazy. He’s about to go hunt down some coffee when a different nurse finally emerges from the door and calls them. “Family of Blaine Anderson?”
Blaine’s mom stands and Kurt shoots up with her - there’s nothing that can keep him from Blaine right now, nurses and doctors be damned, and he stares Mrs. Anderson down, daring her to ask him to wait. He’s amazed when she beckons him forward instead.
“You must be Kurt,” the nurse says when they reach the door. He nods. “Good, he’s been asking for you the entire time. Literally,” she says, chuckling.
Kurt beams as they round the corner - there lies Blaine, looking very groggy with a new eye patch in place, but very clearly in one piece. Kurt breathes a sigh of relief.
“Kurt!” he says happily. “Kurt, they found you! I kept telling them you were lost, you were supposed to be with me, but you’re here!”
Kurt laughs. “I’m here,” he agrees. “How’re you feeling?”
Blaine looks around, then giggles. “I have to pee,” he whispers loudly. “I have to pee so bad, Kurt!”
“Well then by all means, let’s find you a bathroom, Mr. Anderson!” the nurse exclaims. “You think you can walk?”
“Yes, definitely,” Blaine says confidently. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, hops up and immediately sways. Kurt runs forward to catch him, and he bends at the waist, grabbing at Kurt’s torso. “The ground is moving,” he says, very seriously. “Why is the ground moving?”
“Um, is this normal?” Kurt asks, trying to wrestle Blaine into a more upright position.
“It’s the Versed. You’re gonna have loads of fun with him today, he’s been hilarious,” his nurse laughs.
“They love me,” Blaine says proudly, finally just deciding to hang onto Kurt around his neck. “They told me so.”
“Think you can get him to the bathroom?” the nurse asks.
“I think so,” Kurt says, but Blaine’s mom steps forward.
“I’m not so sure-” she starts. “He, um, they-”
“Mama, it’s ok, ‘cause I love him,” Blaine says with a grin, burying his face in Kurt’s shoulder. “You smell so good, Kurt!”
“I swear, Mrs. Anderson, all I’m going to do is keep him from falling over,” Kurt says as Blaine giggles louder.
“Alright,” she acquiesces with a heavy sigh. “You can probably manage him better than I can anyway.”
Kurt half-drags Blaine to the bathroom where, in an incredibly awkward moment that he prays Blaine won’t remember in the morning, he holds onto Blaine’s hips while Blaine fumbles himself out of his sweats and pees. His aim is off - he hits the seat and sprays the floor - and almost Kurt’s shoes - when he wobbles a bit. And then Kurt wants to die when Blaine holds his arms out from his sides.
“Help!” he says. “I got pee on my hands!”
“Help with what, exactly?” Kurt asks.
“You know, tuck me back in,” Blaine whines. “Kurt, pee, gross.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Kurt groans.
Blaine laughs. “It’s not like you’ve never touched it before,” he says, hands still held in the air.
Red-faced, Kurt carefully tucks Blaine’s dick back into his sweatpants, adjusts them properly on his hips, then maneuvers him over to the sink and washes both their hands together.
“Okay, you’re good as new. Ready to go?” Kurt asks. He feels strangely close to Blaine right now, not grossed-out like he figured he’d be after doing … well, that. Blaine nods, and stumbles toward the door with Kurt supporting his arm.
“All done!” Blaine exclaims happily after they’ve exited the bathroom. “Kurt even washed my hands for me! Mom, you know what’s so cool? The soap dispenser? Is automatic,” he says, fascinated.
The doctor clears Blaine for discharge, the nurse removes his IV and soon the boys are in the backseat of the Anderson’s BMW, Blaine’s head resting on Kurt’s shoulder.
“Do you want me to turn on the radio?” Blaine’s mom asks, but Kurt shakes his head.
“He’s asleep,” he whispers, and he sees her turn fond eyes on them in the rearview mirror.
“He’s different with you,” she murmurs.
“What do you mean?”
“Easier. Happier. Not as - tense,” she says.
“Well, not to put a damper on your revelation or anything … but Blaine’s kind of high right now,” Kurt says, looking down at his sleeping boyfriend.
“Not just today,” she says. “All the time. Since he transferred to your school.”
“Oh,” he says quietly.
“Kurt, I was wondering - Blaine’s father is away on business this weekend and I might have a hard time getting Blaine up the stairs by myself in the morning if he’s still like this.”
Kurt knows that Blaine won’t still be like this in the morning. So does Mrs. Anderson - she’s the one who told him what the doctor had said.
“And he - goodness, it hurts me to say this - he might be more cooperative, more compliant, for you than he would be for me,” she continues. “I have a big case to work on this weekend, too, and I’d rather not leave him alone tomorrow. Would you mind staying with him?”
Kurt wonders if he’s been slipped some of Blaine’s Versed. “I’ll have to call my dad,” he says slowly.
“Of course. I - I can talk with him, if I need to. If he wants to,” she stammers.
“Okay,” Kurt says. The silence between them for the remainder of the trip home is, for the first time, comfortable.
Kurt gently shakes Blaine’s shoulder when they pull into his driveway.
“Hi,” Blaine says with a sleepy grin. “I had the best dream about you. We were in a field full of lilacs-”
“You know what? You can tell me about it later,” Kurt whispers to him, worried that the content could potentially change Mrs. Anderson’s mind about him staying the night.
“Okay,” Blaine whispers back. “But remind me to tell you - it’s really good, Kurt.”
“Oh, I will, believe me,” Kurt grins. “So - suppose I wanted to stay with you. What would you say?”
Blaine’s whole face lights up. “Forever?”
Kurt laughs. “Maybe eventually. Let’s stick to tonight for now though, okay?”
“Boys, you coming?” Mrs. Anderson calls to them.
“Yes! Mom, Mom, Kurt’s staying with me!” Blaine exclaims, trying to clamber out of the SUV.
“Whoa, hold on there tiger,” Kurt says, snaking his arm around Blaine’s waist. “Let me get out first, okay?”
Blaine nods, scooting over so that Kurt can get past. He hops down and holds out a hand for Blaine, carefully helping him to the ground.
“Honey, Kurt can only stay if his dad says it’s okay,” Blaine’s mom tells him.
“Oh, he will. Kurt’s dad loves me! Kurt, let me talk to him? Pleeease?” Blaine begs.
* * *
Later that night, Kurt and Blaine are huddled together in Blaine’s bed under Blaine’s covers. He’s exhausted - the giddy, puppy-like side effects from the Versed are long gone, his eye hurts, his other eye is tired from doing twice the work, he can’t sleep on his right side which is the side he always sleeps on and he just wants to be better.
“I hate Sebastian,” he grumbles.
“Yep. Giggly Blaine is officially gone. I miss him,” Kurt sighs.
“Seriously, I hate him. I feel so gross. I can’t believe I have to be out of school for so long. I can’t shower, Kurt. You will never want to touch me again,” he moans.
“Okay Mr. Dramatic,” Kurt says with a little smile. “How ‘bout I draw you a bath, huh? You can soak for as long as you want to, and if you’re really, really nice I’ll wash your hair for you.”
Blaine melts a little. “You’d do that?”
Kurt sighs. “I guess … I mean, it’s such a hardship, washing my extremely hot boyfriend’s hair when the only thing between us will be a bunch of foamy bubbles…”
“Okay, okay, point taken,” Blaine says, grinning for the first time since the Versed wore off. “A bath sounds really great, actually. Just be kind of quiet about it - my mom’s been really cool today, but I don’t think she’d be too thrilled with the idea.”
Blaine closes his uncovered eye as Kurt presses a soft kiss to his forehead, then trots off to his bathroom to run the water. He tries to relax as he listens to Kurt hum an unfamiliar melody over the stream of water hitting the tub. Yes, this day has sucked royally. The next several weeks are going to suck royally. He never wants to see Sebastian Smythe again. But tonight? None of that seems to matter when compared to the thought of Kurt’s fingers in his hair and the wonder of Kurt cuddled next to him in his bed. And when he sees Kurt’s head peek around the doorframe to ask where Blaine keeps his bubble bath, Blaine smiles to himself. He’d take a million rock salt slushies to the face if it means that he gets to keep this boy in his life for even a little bit longer.
Note: I've written a little outtake of Blaine's and Burt's phone conversation if anybody's interested. You can find it here!