May had blown in, full of rain and fresh grass. Blaine's words washed over Kurt as the boy addressed the Warblers. Kurt's lip still felt warm from where Blaine had kissed him before entering the room, like a ghost whispering so close you could taste it's voice. But he could not seem to concentrate on Blaine, or what he was saying. Instead he watched the newly adorned trees dance in a silent song behind the window.

'So, what do you think, Kurt?'

Kurt turned to look at Blaine. The boys olive-skinned face was alight with a new idea, his eyes burning. Something stirred within Kurt as he looked at him, something deep within his stomach. He smiled and answered with only the smallest hesitation;

'It's a wonderful idea,' he said, the words falling limply and piling up on the floor. Blaine raised his dark eyes-brows. Kurt felt his stomach twist again. It was... unpleasant. He swallowed before continuing, 'Just do what you think is best.'

'Right, then,' the council announced. 'Let's hear more ideas on an appropriate song for St. John's. The nurses say the diabetics are getting extra touchy since they deemed too old to climb through windows for-'

Kurt shifted to his right, when Blaine joined him on the window ledge. He watched him closely, his brown eyes swirling with emotion. Chocolate oil on hazelnut water. Kurt pulled self-consciously at his sleeve. The marks had almost faded now, but you could still read it. Still feel it.

'Kurt, are you alright?' Blaine's words were delicate and light against Kurt's ears. Kurt sighed and fell onto Blaine's shoulder. Blaine, for the slightest moment, stiffened beneath him, but quickly relaxed. He didn't do public displays of affection. Or at least, not in front of the Warblers, Kurt thought bitterly.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing, just a little homesick,' Kurt said into Blaine's neck. He didn't need to explain that any further, he knew Blaine understood. He knew how much New Directions had meant. The familiar unpleasant feeling swelled within Kurt again. The word burned on his arm, as though it were still bleeding fresh onto Blaine's lap.

'Is something bothering you? Something more than-?'

'No,' Kurt said curtly, his patience of the question finally wearing thin. He pulled away from Blaine, staring determinedly away from him. Blaine reached out, placing his arm around Kurt, trying to pull him closer.

'Kurt, you've been really uptight since the benefit, there's got to be someth-'

'You know what, Blaine, why don't you just back-off!' Kurt snapped venomously, cutting across Blaine again. His eyes flashed like glass caught in blazing sunshine, throwing Kurt's bitter words back at him.

Blaine started at the outburst, the room around them fell silent. Kurt leapt from his seat. Anger suddenly revealed itself, big and growling within Kurt like a monster. Kurt was furious. It was all Blaine's fault! If the boy had simply kept his bloody advice to himself, Kurt would never have followed Karofsky into that locker room, would never have screamed at him, would never have felt the boys lips crash against his own. Then Karofsky wouldn't have come after him, wouldn't have pulled that knife-

A feeling of nausea washed over him at the memory.

'Why don't you just keep your nose out of it!' Kurt snarled. Blaine's face sank with something Kurt didn't care to identify. 'Why don't you just stop trying to get inside my head all the time!'

'Kurt-' Blaine's words were so careful, but they broke through Kurt like a brick through glass.

'I've got to go,' Kurt said coldly. Blaine opened his mouth to speak once more, but Kurt had left before he could. His blood boiled inside of his veins, his heart beating fast.

'Kurt! Come back! Kurt!'

Kurt didn't go back.

The ashen sky was burning from it's edges like paper as the sun set, pouring shadows across the ground. Kurt turned the volume on his iPhone up louder as a couple of boys walked past him nosily. Breathing heavily, Kurt tried to ignore the guilt that was beginning to build up inside of him. He hadn't meant to shout at Blaine like that, hadn't meant to blame him. Something inside him just... snapped.

Kurt tightened his hands into fists as he thought of Karofsky. The mix of fear and anger swirled sickly in his stomach. He missed Blaine. It had been nearly two hours since rehearsal, and he hadn't heard anything. His phone had remained stubbornly silent; he could feel Blaine's indifference radiating from it. Kurt sighed and paused his music, and started to type;

Where are you? We need to talk. X

His finger trembled over SEND. It shouldn't be this hard. Something squirmed inside him once more, he closed his eyes and saw Karofsky. He felt his taste overwhelming Blaine on his lips and Kurt felt his eyes sting. He opened his eyes, his finger moved away and the words vanished.

Blaine, I'm in the common room. Please come.

Kurt pressed his finger to cold surface and watched the pop-up bounce as the words flew. He took his time wrapping his earphones around his iPhone, and slipped it into his pocket. He stared at the daunting, red-brick building that was Dalton. It still didn't feel right. It still didn't fit.

But it didn't have a Karofsky. It had Blaine. Wonderful, kind, amazing, Blaine.

"My Blaine," Kurt whispered softly to himself, before standing up and heading in towards the common room.

Wes and David were sitting on the leather couch in front of the window. Kurt was half-tempted to turn back when he saw the common room wasn't empty, but Blaine came first.

Blaine comes first.

Kurt walked in bravely and sat down in one of the twined arm-chairs in the corner of the room, withdrew his French notebook, and started his journal intime. He could feel their eyes follow him, and something filled the room. Thicker than air, lighter than water, making it just thin enough to breathe. Kurt swallowed thickly and his lungs felt like lead in his chest. He heard the scrape of leather as one of the two arose.

'Kurt?'

He turned to Wes, who's dark eyes were stuttering. He stood before Kurt, his v-neck so well aligned with his tie that Kurt suspected the use of a compass.

'Yes?'

'Um, is everything okay? Between you and Blaine, that is. I mean, we can't have spectacles like earlier today when we perform in the nursing home-'

'We're fine, thank you,' Kurt dismissed harshly. Wes bit his lip, his brow folding like clay. Behind him, David shuffled in his seat. Kurt returned his gaze to his work.

'It's just that- I mean, earlier, you two seemed to be... well-'

'If you have something to say, say it.'

Wes looked startled by Kurt's tone. Even Kurt himself was surprised. The words were low, barely audible, but they sunk massively in the air, landing on the floor so heavily you could almost hear them due to the silence.

'Kurt?'

The name. His name.

Kurt jumped to see Blaine standing in the doorway. His phone was glowing in his hand and his face was unreadable. Not angry, not mean, just...

Absent.

His eyes didn't flit once from Kurt and suddenly he felt a deep clench in his chest. Kurt rose from his chair and launched himself at Blaine. His arms snaked around his waist, just as they were so accustomed to doing, knowing the way so well. He pressed himself into Blaine's chest, heard his heart beat quickly pound beneath him, like it always did when Kurt was this close. He gave a sob, but buried it into Blaine's blazer.

There was no hesitation this time. Wes and David didn't matter. Blaine's arms were around Kurt the moment his skin brushed the fabric of him. Kurt breathed in him like he would suffocate without him.

'I'm here.' His words wrapped themselves around Kurt and he let himself fall into them.

'I missed you,' Kurt choked. Blaine tightened his grip on him. He smelled of soap and paper. The smell Kurt fell in love with. The shirt he wore to bed every night. Kurt looked up at Blaine and suddenly his face was open and full of unsaid words. Scribbled across his eyes and lips like newspaper print.

Blaine leaned down and kissed Kurt. His lips were soft, and slow. So very slow. Every cell in Kurt's body was suddenly set alight with a glow. A deep, powerful happiness. Kurt felt his tongue and moved his lips against Blaine's. The words moulded into thoughts, then to nothing as they stole them from each other. As they moved within each other.

And Kurt knew all was forgiven.

'You need to be educated,' Kurt finished. Karofsky was watching him, his eyes occasionally dodging away from him to his father in the hall. Kurt let his final words rest on the table before the monster. Something was pulling away inside, screaming for him to run. Run as fast as he could.

'Oh, man. Just kill me now.' Kurt refused to flinch at his words, said so lightly, yet so differently from earlier.

The way Karofsky had spoken before. The way his voice sounded so genuine, so inviting. It scared Kurt more than when he was being abusive. This was a trick. It had to be. But if there was the smallest chance it wasn't... The tiniest glimmer that, maybe...

Kurt's past bravado was fading fast. The way Karofsky was looking at him was unnerving. There was something behind the glaze of ignorance, something much deeper. Darker. It moved behind his eyes like a beast prowling behind cage bars. But Kurt looked away, tore himself from his tormentor, and looked at his father.

His heart leapt as he saw Finn was with him. Kurt felt a great surge of love and pride for his family as he watched them. Excitement and eagerness pooled in with his apprehension. He was able to come back. Come back to McKinley. Back to his friends. But away from Blaine. And back to Karofsky.

The cancer was back.

'You should've seen her! I know I said I missed everything, but does Rachel really need her animal jumpers to be that depressing?'

Blaine seemed to be only half-listening to Kurt as they perused the romance/musical section of Lima Videos. Kurt continued berating Rachels dress-sense, but he couldn't help but notice the way Blaine had picked up the same film twice, and yet still had not even looked at it. He slipped his hand between his boyfriend's limp fingers.

'Everything okay?' Blaine seemed to shake himself out of his reverie, and turned to look at Kurt as though he were seeing him for the first time. Something stirred in Kurt as something passed across Blaine's face. Almost like he was accusing him of something.

'Yeah, fine,' Blaine retorted. Kurt squeezed his hand as the words hit harsher than Kurt hoped they were meant. Blaine seemed to notice this and leant in to kiss Kurt softly on the cheek. 'Don't worry about it, okay?'

'Okay, sure,' Kurt smiled. But something was off. Something wasn't in that kiss. They had looked at the DVD's for a further six minutes before Blaine spoke again;

'Kurt, do you remember that brown jacket you had?'

Confused, Kurt turned away from Love, Actually and looked at his boyfriend. He tried to read Blaine's expression, but he was being determinedly aloof. Overly casual and he seemed a little too interested in the box he was holding.

'Which one? I have many jackets. And which brown? The tan-block, or the maroon mocha?'

'You know, the brown one with the bluey leaves on it,' Blaine said lightly, his eyes suddenly flying up to meet Kurt's. Something angry was brewing beneath the words. 'You wore it not so long ago, when we went to the movies?'

Kurt felt like he was pushed into a part of the pool that was too deep for him. He couldn't know about Sam. He was upstairs in the dorms when Sam delivered that pizza, and besides, Kurt had been extremely careful in going to and fro Sam's... lodgings.

'Oh, that old thing? I got too tall for it. Besides, it was last season anyway' Kurt replied airily. Funny, it almost didn't sound like a lie. But then again, a good one isn't supposed to, is it? 'What about it? Did you want to borrow it?'

'No, no...' Blaine's words trailed off as a light went out in his eyes. Kurt knew that probably, deep down, Blaine knew he was lying. But so what? He was just helping a friend out? 'No, I don't need it. I was just- it was just something a friend said.'

'What friend?' Kurt probed, feeling like he was after walking into a carefully laid trap. Blaine suddenly bounced back to normal, and gave Kurt a kiss, like all hadn't been said.

'Don't worry, it's nothing,' he beamed. But Kurt felt like something was slipping. Sand pouring down from the waist of an hour-glass.

And trouble brews. I bet the last thing they need now is something starting up again to make Kurt distant and scared... That would not be good for the relationship. Would it? I hope that doesn't happen.

Hello again! Sorry this story has been on hiatus so long, but I was caught up in the series and I wanted to see where it was going before I continued. I love doing my own thing, and adore reading other fanfics, but I try to stay clear of completely AU fics; which includes writing my own. So now I am satisfied, the story will be continuing. :)

This chapter is mainly focusing on Klaine. Why? Because Klaine's amazing and as ADORABLE as it is, there isn't any angst. UNTIL NOW! I tried to make the Klaine as tragically romantic as possible. Feedback means extra long chapters, so pretty, pretty please? SPOILERS UP TO 2x19!

And if you fear it's too fluffly, wait until I finish the next chapter. ;)

*(By the way; 2x17- Blaine going for Karofsky like that? Made me squee! Also inspired this chapter).

Thanks for sticking with me guys! I hope I can deliver as well as you deserve x