AN: ...This is the length of the first two chapters combined.

I don't really have anything to say. This is mostly because I'm sleep deprived. I was going to go to sleep early last night. And then I read the fic. You know the one I'm talking about. And I couldn't sleep. And then I went swimming. I am tired in my bones.

Thank you, everyone who had commented. I have this complex where I don't think I'm funny enough to write a funny story. But your support has actually helped me realize that's not true. And that's made of awesome. I love you guys. :)

CHEESY LAST NOTE FTW.

Disclaimer: I don't have a clever way to say it, so I'll just say it. I don't own Glee, or anything in this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kurt scrambled at the mouse wildly, having no idea what to do to save his character- a shaggy-haired Mage Blood Elf- from another horrible death.

"No, no, do this- click here," Blaine corrected him, as he placed his hand on top of his (Kurt's lungs stopped working at this) to guide the mouse in the right direction. "Click on this, and it'll start to load. Then you click on this, and attack, and then you go over here-" he moved the mouse again. When he pressed down with his index finger to click on something, his whole hand pressed down onto Kurt's. Killing animated magical creatures should not be so sexy.

And another thing. He was close enough, when he leaned in and took over like that, for Kurt to smell the product in his hair. He smelled like cinnamon. Kurt was suddenly very aware of his apple-scented face and hair. Blaine was all spicy and exciting, and Kurt smelled like a fruit. Dear god, he smelled fruity. I am such a stereotype. He thought to himself, mortified.

"Bye, guys." The last few WoW players waved to Blaine and Kurt as they walked out, leaving the two boys alone in the large room. They wished them a goodnight and looked back at the computer. Blaine had been trying all night to teach him the basics of WoW. With his help, he successfully killed whatever it was he was supposed to be killing.

"What did I tell you? It's not that difficult." Blaine said, giving control of the mouse back to Kurt.

"Yeah, not when you're doing it for me." Kurt insisted. From somewhere offscreen, something attacked him. He spun around frantically, and somehow switched the view, so that he was watching his character be killed spectacularly as if from the sky. The bar at the top of the screen dropped empty. Again.

"See?" He said, looking despondently at the statue he was so sick of standing in front of. "I died again."

Blaine looked over and sighed. "We should probably call it a night," He said, logging out and turning off the computer. "It's almost two." He added, looking down at his pocket watch and stifling a yawn.

"I'm sorry. I suck."

Blaine smirked. "I don't mind. It's just extra time I get to spend with you."

"And now I'm bright red." Kurt complained softly, and they sat for a moment, neither one making a move to get up. Just sitting.

"It's two o' eight," Kurt murmured eventually, loathe to interrupt the thick feeling of 'We both like each other but neither one of us is butch enough to fully acknowledge it, much less do something about it' that filled the silence. "How are we going to get back? We are so not supposed to be out this late."

"The faculty turns a blind eye to how late we stay up on WoW nights," Blaine told him, taking a breath and then standing up, gathering his things. "As long as we're quiet, we should be fine."

Kurt slung his messenger bag over his shoulder. "So we're sneaking out, and hoping we don't give anyone reason to notice us?"

"Yeah, basically," Blaine replied. "Follow me."

So he did. They walked slowly, and they didn't talk, they didn't even whisper. It felt a little magical, walking so close together that the sides of their arms grazed each other, walking so silently that every breath echoed around them. They were in their own world. In a school full of crazy, friendly boys, Kurt hadn't really gotten to spend much time just with Blaine. It was nice to go back to that, if only for a while.

They had hardly left the commons when they heard the tapping of shoes- with someone in them- making their way down a hall somewhere nearby.

"Shit," Blaine muttered, looking around quickly. "They always go down to check that we've all left at some point- we left too late."

"What do we do?" Kurt whispered, his mind going ballistic in panic. If he got caught out of bed this late, with another boy, who was also gay- he could get in so much trouble. He could get kicked out. His dad would freak. Blaine would get in even worse trouble, being older. Not being new. What in the world were they going to do?

Blaine looked over Kurt's shoulder, and laughed quietly. "Shortcut?" He asked, and turned Kurt to look around. It was just another closed door, and he opened his mouth to say so, before a memory jumped out at him. A memory of running hand in hand with Blaine, amazed with everything in sight, his body feeling light and free. Always that damn memory, popping up all over the place.

"Blaine, it'll take us forever to get through there. We'll be caught for sure." He whispered.

Blaine just raised an eyebrow. "Not if we run." He said, and he grabbed Kurt's hand, pulling him into the room before he could protest.

The now familiar feeling of entering the hallway rushed over them, and Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand tighter in response. Now that he knew what was waiting for him, Kurt remembered everything from the first time he'd been here in much more detail. Every feeling, every sight- they were mirrored now.

Except the room was lit by the moon, and Blaine had taken the right hand in his, so they weren't running so awkwardly this time.

And this time, laughter bubbled up in his chest and fought to get past his lips, and Blaine seemed to be having the same problem, and then they were out, and the world sped up again, and they collapsed to the floor, fighting hysterical laughter that didn't really make any sense.

"Why- am I- laughing?" Kurt gasped, shaking. Blaine looked at him, his face screwed up in an attempt to not laugh. It was the funniest face Kurt had ever seen.

"Same reason- I'm laughing." Blaine managed to whisper.

"And what's that?" Kurt asked.

"No idea!" Blaine replied, and burst into giggles. Kurt joined him. They lay on the cold ground, their hands still clasped together, until their mirth died down, and they could breathe, and they realized that they weren't really in the wisest place to be at the moment.

So they stood up, and gave each other amused looks, and Blaine walked Kurt to his room.

It was only when the door was closed behind him that Kurt realized the flying feeling he'd thought came from the slow-motion hallway actually came from being with Blaine. It went away when he went away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later, in the middle of lunch, David said something to Blaine that sounded a lot like "When you were talking about Kurt the other night-"

Kurt couldn't be sure, and he didn't know where it had been going, or what it meant. Because there'd been a loud thud, and David, who had unwisely been sitting directing across the table from Blaine, yelped in pain and cradled his shin in his arms. By the time he'd recovered, Blaine had already changed the subject.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The weekend after that, Kurt went to Lima, as he did whenever he could. He took in the sight of Blaine in a thick, bottle-green sweater and dark wash jeans with pleasure before the boy wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Have a great time. Tell Mercedes I say hi." Blaine whispered in his ear. As they stepped apart, Kurt could've sworn Blaine's hand grazed below the waistline of his pants.

"I- I will." He stuttered, hoping Blaine would think the skip in his voice was from the chill air. Knowing he probably wouldn't.

"And get back soon!" Blaine called over his shoulder as he walked away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sunday night, driving back to Dalton, Kurt got a strange text.

Want to see a movie or something with me this thursday?

The number was unknown. Confused, Kurt texted back.

Blaine? Why aren't you texting me from your phone?

A couple of minutes later, the reply came.

Um, no. It's Allen.

Oh. Shit. Allen was the guy Kurt sat next to in Biology. He was nice. And cute. And now he was asking him out.

You there? Allen asked.

Yeah, I'm here. I just have no idea what the fuck to say. Kurt typed out, but he deleted it as soon as he had finished. His thoughts rushed around. He had to say something.

Sorry, I'm driving and can't really text. Can I get back to you? There. That sounded okay.

Sure, no problem. See you later, Kurt. :)

Yeah, see you. :)

Kurt added the smiley face in the hopes that it would mask the dread that was quickly building a home- a four story one, the kind you raise a family in, with a pool and jacuzzi and a treehouse- in his stomach.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kurt's phone buzzed again about fifteen minutes later. He looked down- this one was from Blaine. He smiled to himself.

You on your way back to the magical land of Dalton yet?

Kurt giggled.

Thankfully. I missed you crazy kids. He typed. The response came not even a minute later.

We missed you too.

The sound Kurt made was vaguely like a squeal. Before he could put together a coherent thought to text, Blaine had sent him another one.

Hey, I desperately need a Chicago fix. How about you, me, and Richard Gere tomorrow night? I'll even make popcorn. Wanna come over?

I'd love to. :) Kurt replied.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Blaine gave him an odd look, and hugged him much more briefly than he had a few days ago.

"How was Lima?" He asked. Kurt looked in his eyes. There was something weird there. Something blocked off.

"Same as always. Fields of corn. Lots of flannel." Kurt joked. Neither boy laughed.

"Good, good." Blaine said absently. God, this was painful. What was going on?

Kurt faked a yawn. "Long drive. I'm gonna hit the sack."

Blaine nodded. With an awkward glance at each other, they went their separate ways.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the way up to his room, Kurt almost literally ran into Wes.

"Hey Kurt. Glad you're back. Blaine's been moping like crazy since you left." Wes said, patting him on the back.

"He still is, by the look of things." Kurt muttered.

"What? No way," Wes said, looking about as confused as Kurt felt. Then a look of comprehension dawned on his face. "Oh." He simply said.

"What's going on with him?" Kurt asked, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice. Wes looked at him. It was the most serious Kurt had ever seen the guy. This wasn't some fake studiousness, ramped up for laughs.

"News travels fast around here." He said, and continued going wherever he was going.

"I- what news?" Kurt asked.

"Think about it." Wes simply said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kurt thought about it. He thought about it in circles and circles, going over what he'd thought he'd had with Blaine, what he could've done wrong. He lay in bed, on top of the covers, not even trying to fool himself into thinking he was going to be able to sleep that night.

He wasn't sure how late it was when his phone buzzed with a text. He just knew it was later than he wanted to be talking to anyone. He gazed at the screen morosely. It was from Allen. Shit.

Great! What time should I pick you up?

Wait, what? That couldn't be right. He'd definitely never said yes to Allen. There was no way anything he'd said could've been misconstrued as an agreement to a date. Or was there? Maybe he'd phrased something weirdly. Kurt went to look at the conversation they'd had earlier. Oh no. He thought, heart sinking as everything started to make sense.There, the last thing he'd said to Allen: I'd love to. :)

He didn't even bother to answer the text. He slid off his bed, tossing his phone onto his bedside table distractedly.

"News travels fast around here." Wes had told him. It hadn't even been two hours since Allen had gotten a text that made it seem as if Kurt was happy to go on a date with him. Well, now Kurt knew what news.

He had to find Blaine. Had to explain. And as that mission popped into his head, he knew he didn't want to go anywhere with Allen. Because even though he and Blaine were "Just Friends", they weren't really. Blaine didn't feel like just his friend, and he thought that maybe Blaine felt the same. And even if nothing happened between them, Kurt was still going to be hung up on him for a while. He didn't want to date anyone. He just wanted to be Blaine's. Oh boy.

Allen, there's been a misunderstanding- I can explain it in person if you want, it's too complicated for text. I think you're really cool, and nice, but I have feelings for someone else. I'm sorry. It was the best he could do. Maybe if he had more time, it could've been more thought out. But he so didn't.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What felt like seconds later, he was pounding on the door to Blaine's room.

"Blaine, open up! I know you're in there, it's important!" He called, trying to talk loudly enough to be heard through the door, but not loud enough to wake the entire floor. There was no answer. He continued to knock. Blaine was not getting away from him that easy.

"Oh thank god, Bl- You're not Blaine."

The door had swung open, but Blaine wasn't behind it. A very tired-looking Wes was.

"No, I'm not," He said. "And you were wrong."

Kurt had no idea what he was talking about. "What?"

"He's not here. Left a bit ago. Said he needed to stretch his legs or something."

"But- but it's past curfew." Kurt protested. Wes gestured vaguely in his direction.

"Didn't stop you."

They stood there awkwardly. Kurt didn't know where to go next, and Wes was gazing about blearily, clearly not awake enough to do anything. Kurt took a deep breath. Clearly, he was going to have to go searching.

"Right. I'll just go find him then," Kurt decided out loud. Wes nodded absently, and didn't move. "Go to sleep, Wes." He instructed the boy, and pushed him gently into his room.

"Goodnight." He heard Wes mutter as the door closed.

Now he just had to find Blaine somewhere on the enormous campus.

Right. No problem.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Actually, it wasn't as large of a task as one would think. Kurt stood in the hall of Blaine's dorm for a minute, unsure of what to do, his mind racing. And then it seemed so obvious. So he started walking.

And sure enough, as he looked into the slow-motion hallway, he could see Blaine. Sitting in a large leather armchair, staring out the window next to him, still and silent. Kurt took a step forward, and the sound of his foot hitting the floor broke the silence. The room's magic slow-motion powers fell over him like a blanket, and Blaine looked up, surprised.

"Oh," Blaine said, avoiding eye contact. He looked paler than usual in the light from the moon. "How'd you know I'd be here?"

"I just knew." Kurt replied quietly. They were almost whispering. He gave Blaine a look, a questioning look. Blaine understood, and slid to the side of the armchair. It was big enough for both of them to sit comfortably.

"Course you did." Blaine said. There was a rueful smile on his lips. They sat side by side. Kurt could practically hear the moments ticking past, slowly.

"You heard about Allen." He said. It was a statement. It didn't just acknowledge that Blaine had heard. It acknowledged it being the reason for Blaine's bad mood. It acknowledged that there was a reason for Blaine to be upset by it. It was the closest either one had been to saying what they'd been feeling.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Blaine asked, really looking at Kurt for the first time that night. He sounded so hurt. Confused. Wounded.

"Because I didn't know myself," Kurt said, laughing a little. He saw the inquisitive look Blaine was shooting at him, "Texts got mixed up."

"So when you told Allen you'd go on a date with him, you were actually..." Blaine started, his face brightening hopefully.

"...Trying to tell you I'd watch Chicago with you tomorrow night, yeah." Kurt finished. Blaine grinned.

"Oh. Well then. Good."

"Good?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow elegantly.

"Well, you're not going out with him, right?"

The question caught him by surprise. "Of course not- I mean, no. He's not- no. I'm not."

"Then good."

The moment was intense. The clouds that had been hovering over Blaine's eyes lifted away. His face didn't look troubled anymore. It looked clear. Happy. Relieved.

Kurt couldn't stop looking at him. He knew he should probably break his gaze, shift in his seat, bring attention to how close they were leaning together. But he couldn't. His heart seemed to be pumping more blood than usual. That would explain why it felt the way it did. Is- is he about to kiss me? Kurt thought, and he jumped a little at the thought.

Blaine noticed, and did the exact opposite of what Kurt wanted him to do- he broke the silence.

"You know why I come here so much?" Blaine asked him, shifting in his seat. They'd been sitting side by side, not touching at all. Blaine on the right, Kurt on the left, and an invisible boundary between them. But Blaine moved, and their legs touched. Their shoulders bumped. And Kurt felt the other boy's hand on his knee.

"No." Kurt said. He took a deep breath. He steadied himself. An idea had popped into his head, and he was gonna do it. He was. He was. He took his hand, and he wrapped it around Blaine's. He squeezed, and he gently ran his thumb across his knuckles.

They held hands kind of a lot. But as he moved, Kurt realized that he'd never been the one to take the hand in his. From the way Blaine looked down, his lips parted slightly, his eyes a little dazed, Kurt could tell that he'd noticed that as well. He knew that this was a step towards something.

"Well, it- I- Sometimes I have issues thinking about things." Blaine explained. "It's really easy for me to kind of breeze through stuff here. You know. Go to class, joke around with David and Wes, flirt with the guy I like, eat, do homework, sleep, wake up, repeat. And if I do that for long enough, I have all of these half-thought thoughts and not enough time to go through them."

"So you go through them here." Kurt said, understanding.

Blaine nodded. "Yeah. I can just sit here, and everything kind of clicks into place. Just walking through can do wonders for me. I told you about that. But sitting here, and thinking, and being honest with myself- it grounds me.

"I haven't been here in a while," Blaine continued. "Because I've felt grounded with you. Because you clear my head."

Kurt felt dizzy. He cleared Blaine's head? He had that affect on him? He nodded numbly, unable to form any other response. He, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, cleared Blaine's head?

"And then- I heard that you were going to a movie with Allen on Thursday, and I was just- I'd waited too long. I messed up. And I saw you, and my head wasn't clear anymore, and I just had- this was the only place I could go."

Kurt couldn't feel his fingers. Couldn't feel his toes. In fact, the only thing he could feel was his chest, which was pounding. Oh, right. Breathing. He thought to himself, and his lungs filled. He wondered how long he'd been holding his breath. His heart was racing.

"You'd waited too long?" He asked, his voice trembling. "Too long to what?"

"To kiss you, of course." Blaine replied, his tone light but his words slow and perfect, his eyes boring deeply into Kurt's.

"Oh," Kurt gasped. Not for the first time in the conversation, he found himself staring at Blaine's lips. Transfixed. "Blaine... It's not too late."

"It's not?" Blaine asked. Kurt smiled a little as Blaine's voice wavered, higher than usual. He smiled, and shook his head. "Oh." Blaine whispered, and slowly, so very slowly, Kurt watched Blaine lean towards him.

Kurt felt the armchair shift beneath him, heard Blaine's breath quickening, and then oh holy shit their faces were closer than they'd ever been before and Blaine was reaching out with the hand not on Kurt's leg, and the gentlest fingers in the history of the planet were on his chin and guiding his lips until Blaine was kissing him, actually kissing him and his eyes had closed at some point and their lips were pressed together so slightly, and he leaned in further, and Blaine's mouth was so warm and so soft beneath his and why hadn't they been doing this since they met?

Kurt had to pull away after what felt like both a year and no time at all, biting his lip as he looked at Blaine, catching his breath.

"Is this alright?" Blaine asked, and Kurt couldn't speak. Partially it was because he could hardly breathe. And partially it was because Blaine's lips were pink, and Blaine's lips were parted so invitingly, and Kurt had just kissed those lips, and alright didn't begin to cover it.

So he just leaned in. And he kissed him.

"Perfect." He murmured against Blaine's lips.

They moved without realizing they were doing so, Kurt reaching up Blaine's chest to his collar, Blaine's hand at Kurt's waist, both boys pulling the other closer. Kurt's mouth parted, and their lips almost danced. Every kiss, every touch, was slow and deliberate. He felt like he was on fire. He pressed closer, tried to taste every second. Blaine opened his mouth immediately. Blaine tangled his own tongue up in Kurt's. Blaine pushed him back until he was leaning against the arm of the chair, almost vertical.

Eventually, Blaine pulled away, and Kurt hated that feeling more than he'd ever hated anything.

"It's really late." Blaine whispered.

"We could get caught." Kurt agreed.

"That would be bad." Blaine said.

"Kiss me again." Kurt couldn't help it. The words just came out.

Blaine simply laughed and stood up, politely holding out his hand for Kurt to take and helping him to his feet. "Come here."

"What?" Kurt asked. And then Blaine stood on tip-toe, his hands on Kurt's shoulders, and kissed him on the forehead.

"You said you wanted me to kiss you." Blaine said.

"Not quite what I had in mind." Kurt admitted, and dipped his head to kiss Blaine softly on the lips. As he pulled away he watched the smile that bloomed on Blaine's face. He pulled their hands together, their fingers intertwining.

"Let's get you to bed." Blaine said, and they walked, hand in hand, out of the hall.

It took a while, but Kurt didn't mind. Every step brought him a bit more certainty in how right this was. He looked back at his time at Dalton and he knew that the little bits that drove him crazy were going to change. No more tension, no more awkwardness. And it was a little terrifying. He'd gotten comfortable in the unsaid things, gotten used to them. He complained about them to Mercedes, but he had, in a way, loved it. He was getting into territory he'd never been in before. Bring it on. Kurt thought, and the real world rushed in.

It was weird. It was still so quiet, but everything felt so much sharper. They took a moment to adjust, and then Blaine started to walk towards Kurt's dorm. But Kurt stood rooted to the spot, holding tight to his hand.

"What's up?" Blaine asked, looking worried.

He pulled Blaine to him, their bodies almost touching, and looked questioningly into his eyes.

"You said that when- when you leave the hallway, it helps you figure stuff out. Understand stuff. Know what you want."

"Yeah." Blaine whispered.

Kurt clutched at Blaine's hand and shoulder. "Do you want me?"

"Kurt- I-" Blaine stumbled over his words, but he quickly gave up, and pressed his lips against Kurt's.

When you kiss in the slow-motion hallway, you know that it's happening. You see every second of it. Blaine had leaned into Kurt and Kurt had anticipated their kiss. He'd almost processed it before it had even happened.

But then Blaine was kissing him in real time, and it caught him completely off guard. It knocked the breath out of him.

Blaine pulled back, his eyes blazing. "I want you, Kurt."

"Oh," Kurt gasped. He was tingling. "Well then."

"And you want me, right?" Blaine asked, a silly smile on his face.

"So much." Kurt confirmed. He felt so light.

"Bedtime?" Blaine asked.

"Bedtime." Kurt replied.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, standing in front of his door with Blaine, not wanting to leave.

"Yes, Kurt?"

"Can we go back there again? Because man, that kiss lasted foreeeeeever."

Blaine laughed. "Whenever you want, Kurt."

"Now?" Kurt asked, not the slightest bit tired.

"Go to bed, dear." Blaine said, and kissed him goodnight.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The End

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx