I know, I know. I haven't updated 'Hold Me Tight' in weeks. I left off the Star!verse with another cliffhanger. And I have Pilot Season stories I could be working on. But this was a plot bunny that wouldn't be ignored. And since it decided it was a one-shot, I couldn't even slip it into Pilot Season (and believe me, I tried). I hope you at least enjoy it while you're fuming at me.

Apologies to Kurt Hummel, who no doubt finds the plot twist at the end unrealistic and cheesy.

Hello Angel – by BigDestiny

Blaine Anderson knew how to run. He ran away from the bullies at his old school (though Kurt had insisted he didn't have to be ashamed of that). He ran away from his attraction to Kurt until it finally occurred to him that what he felt for his sweet boyfriend was love, not simple lust.

...may not be your boyfriend now, asshole...

So now that he'd broken both the heart and the body of the only boy he'd ever loved (considering how cold his relationship with his family was, he might even extend that to the only PERSON he'd ever loved), at least he knew what to do. Run. They'd gotten a skiff of snow the night before, though. Given that that was the reason this problem was now a full blown crisis you'd think he'd have remembered that. But as he ran through a cemetery not far from the hospital where his life was currently falling apart, his shoes slipped on a marker lying flat underneath the snow. Blaine lost his footing, landed hard, and skidded sideways on the frozen soil now covered in white.

...a lot softer landing than Kurt had had, though...

Blaine looked up, and what he saw broke his heart to pieces. A stone angel, that looked astonishingly like Kurt to Blaine's eyes, was staring down at him. A soft forgiving look on it's face. But Blaine didn't want to be absolved by some concrete statue, he needed Kurt to forgive him.

...Kurt can't forgive you right now. He might not be able to do anything ever again...

Blaine bowed his head and wept. He couldn't understand how this had happened. Yes, he'd been WAY too drunk last night. But he hadn't forced himself on Kurt. Hadn't thought it was anything unforgivable. It was just a fight. Kurt wasn't supposed to maybe die before Blaine could fix this.

As his tears flowed, Blaine examined every detail of what he'd learned over the last hour. He'd already known that as distraught as Kurt might have been, he'd conscripted Karofsky to follow Blaine home to make sure that actually happened in safety. It had resulted in an argument when Blaine realized he was in fact being herded home, and Blaine had loudly complained about what a high-handed bitch he'd though Kurt was being.

...little did you know Kurt was lying in a ditch right then, bleeding to death. And it was Karofsky who saved Kurt, after you ordering him to stop following you...

Blaine hadn't even known what was happening until Artie had wondered the next day what Blaine was doing at school. Mr Schue had driven Blaine to the hospital, only for Blaine to find out Karofsky had already told Finn everything that had happened at Scandals. Finn had been furious, kicking Blaine out and cruelly telling him that he didn't need to wait to find out if Kurt was going to be all right. As far as Blaine should be concerned, Kurt was already dead to him.

...only fair. Can't even blame Karofsky, who was there for Kurt when you weren't...

Blaine looked up at the statue again, still smiling down on him. If only Kurt could smile at him like that. "I don't know if there's anyone out there," Blaine whimpered. Unlike Kurt, Blaine hadn't made a firm decision for or against a higher power. "Even if there is, I don't know why you'd help someone like me. But don't take Kurt away. I get that it would be the worst thing you could do to me, and I know I deserve it. But I'm begging you, let him be okay."

But the angel wasn't some avatar that he could make a deal with. It wasn't god, or fate, or whatever. All it could do was stand there, not helping but not judging either.

It was more kindness than he deserved, Blaine thought as he curled up against the angel's base and cried. Much more. He cried for a couple of hours after that, cold stone his only comfort.

Blaine missed the first time his phone beeped, signalling he had a text message. In fact from the time he saw when he finally checked it, he'd apparently missed a couple of beeps. He was feeling a little calmer, and his mood only improved when he read what Rachel had sent him: 'Kurt awake. irritated with Finn. give them a couple of days. it'll b ok. hugz.'

Even the backtalk in his head seemed to be giving him a rest, adding only ...silly Blaine. If you'd paid closer attention, you wouldn't have been worried for so long...

It was a relief, and yet he was still worried. Blaine didn't know what he was going to do with himself for these theoretical couple of days. At least not until he realized there was a shadow falling on his phone and he realized that it was the stone angel again. Blaine looked up once more to see the now familiar comforting smile and smiled back. It's not like he had anywhere else to be.

Blaine couldn't bring himself to see anyone at McKinley until he'd made things right with Kurt again. He'd begged off on going to school for a few days, and his parents had been unexpectedly good about it. Though he wondered if they'd still be so pliant if they knew where he was spending his days.

As soon as he woke up, he'd text Rachel (the only one he was in contact right now) to text him back when she saw Kurt that day, and head down to the cemetery. After the first time, he brought a blanket to sit on and occasionally something to eat (when he thought of it; Kurt would be mad at him again when he found out how little Blaine was eating).

After Kurt was discharged, Rachel didn't go to see him until after she got home from school. So Blaine spent sometimes eight hours in the cemetery, working out his thoughts with his stone angel. "I don't know how to stop drinking once I start. Is that bad? Yeah, I know that I'm just a kid and don't know anything about restraint. I just- I don't want Kurt to look back someday and regret me."

It was surprisingly difficult to be hard on himself with those soft eyes watching him. "I know. Kurt loves me. I just have to man up and apologize when he's feeling better. Assuming Finn even lets me in the door. God, I don't even know what I was doing to piss him off before. Now that he actually has a valid reason, I don't know what to do."

It seemed like Blaine's only choice was to wait until Kurt went back to school. Since he wasn't sure when that might happen, it also meant that he would probably have to just go back and wait. "This sucks so much."

...patience is a virtue...

Blaine sighed. Since he'd started coming here, that hateful voice in his head wasn't bothering him anymore. But what had replaced it wasn't always comforting. And this was a prime example. "I know that," he directed at the angel, despite the fact that he knew the thought had come from within himself, not a stone statue. It was just easier to get things out that way. "I'm just tired of knowing that I'm still causing him pain."

...and...

"And I miss him so much." Blaine's phone buzzed, signalling both the end of another of Rachel's visits to Kurt and Blaine's own visit to his angel. He checked the text, confirming that everything was still going fine, and then got up off the ground. "I guess I'm going back to school tomorrow. I'll be back here afterwards, though," he added, as though the angel might have been worried.

It was odd, but right now it seemed only Rachel and that angel actually cared right now. He wasn't about to mess that up, no matter how odd other people might think it was.

Blaine went back the next day after school, textbooks and homework now added to the blanket he brought with him. And he went the day after that. Blaine didn't really expect his routine to change any time soon, but the day after that was the debate for Senior Class President.

That was the day he saw Kurt again.

Now between their Officer Krupke and their Tony suddenly dropping out, the school play had been toast. Rachel had reorganized it into a revue featuring West Side Story's best songs and a few of her own numbers, so that at least they wouldn't have to give back the ticket sales. It had been a rousing success, and the ensuing kudos assured Rachel that she hadn't screwed her NYADA application over by then dropping out of the presidential race.

Blaine hadn't thought that what Rachel did (nice as it was) was going to make much difference except to make it a two person race. But he went down to the gymnasium and there was Kurt. Blaine's maybe-maybe not boyfriend looked paler than usual, and walked slower than usual. But it was clear Kurt was still everything he'd always been.

Kurt's speech was about dependability. That the kids at McKinley needed it. That they deserved it. And that if coming here after almost dying in a car accident didn't prove that Kurt had it, he didn't know what would.

Blaine had cried, wanting more than anything to be that dependability in Kurt's life. And when the speech was over, Blaine was on his feet, cheering loudly. He wasn't the only one; in fact, he wasn't even in the minority. It looked like Kurt had finally impressed them all, and might actually win this.

Kurt seemed to be dawdling after his speech was over, and people started clearing out. Blaine hoped against hope that it was on account of him, and moved to intercept him. But Finn barred the way. "Don't you think you've done enough to him?"

Blaine almost ran again, but he though of the warm compassionate angel he'd been speaking to. And the warm compassionate angel waiting on the other side of the gym. He knew he had to do this. "Finn, I know I screwed up badly. But Kurt forgave you and Puck for throwing him out with the trash. Can't you at least give me five minutes to see if Kurt is willing to give me another chance?"

Finn winced guiltily, no doubt remembering the many times he himself had failed Kurt. Blaine could have pursued that further, but he tried to offer the same kind of non-judgement he'd hoped for himself. And ultimately that did the trick. Finn stepped aside, though warning, "He's just barely back to his old self. You do anything to upset him, and we'll see if Kurt will be willing to forgive me for throwing his boyfriend out with the trash."

"If I upset him again trust me, I'll ask him to forgive you for it," Blaine assured him in all seriousness.

Kurt winced when he saw Blaine, but surprisingly it was on account of seeing Blaine's appearance. "Blaine? You look awful."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," he admitted. "You look amazing, though. After... I had all kinds of nightmares about how you were doing."

Kurt lowered his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I- I actually could have gone back a couple of days ago. But I would have had to have been in a wheelchair. And then not be... I couldn't do that to Artie."

Blaine was stunned at the response, and his heart flooded with both love and guilt. "I can't believe after all this, you're more worried about someone else. You make me feel like an even worse person than I already am."

Kurt looked up again, concern filling his eyes. "I'm not a saint, Blaine. Believe me. In fact, if it weren't for my trying too hard to be your gay bar superstar, I doubt you'd even be feeling this way."

"This is completely, utterly not your fault," Blaine exclaimed. "I'm the one that's sorry. You were right, our first time shouldn't be like that. I know I don't deserve a second chance, but I love you. If there's any way you can give me a second chance... I really want the chance to someday make things right with you."

Kurt paused for only a moment, then a gentle smile lit up his face. Reminding Blaine again of how much that angel in the cemetery reminded Blaine of Kurt. "Of course," Kurt said simply, wrapping his arms around Blaine.

Blaine held Kurt as tightly as he thought he dared. "I love you so much. I don't deserve you."

Kurt chuckled, his voice thick with emotion. "If I only spent time with people who deserved me, I'd be awfully lonely," he teased.

Blaine took a chance and kissed Kurt, his heart swelling with joy when Kurt kissed him back. Only stopping when Kurt literally swayed on his feet. "Let me take you home," Blaine told him, glad for the chance to coddle Kurt a little.

Kurt didn't seem to be interested in being babied, though. "That sounds lovely," he answered, a naughty smile on his face. "Because I may not have wanted to have sex with you in the back seat of a car, but I AM ready. I've been ready for a couple of weeks now, I just didn't know how to say it until now."

Blaine's jaw dropped. He'd hoped that Kurt would forgive him, that some day they could be together again. But this was far beyond what he could have expected. "Kurt you don't have to do that. You almost died." Was that what this was about? Or maybe Kurt was still feeling insecure about Sebastian. "You don't have to prove anything."

"I know. And I'm not asking for the sexual Olympics," Kurt told him. "I just want to be with you."

Well, there was no way Blaine could say no to that.

The end of the week found Blaine back at the cemetery. The last few days had been amazing, Kurt was amazing. And as odd as it sounded, Blaine felt like he needed to see his angel again. He didn't think he could have made it through this crisis without it and he wanted to show his... appreciation, or something.

He turned to leave ultimately, only to almost run right into Kurt. Kurt had a bouquet in his hands, and Blaine remembered that Kurt's mother was buried in this cemetery. He didn't know where; those times Kurt went to see her grave he'd shyly asked no one accompany him. "Kurt. I didn't expect to see you here."

Kurt blushed. "My dad. He said she must have been looking out for me. Coming to thank her seemed like the right thing to do."

"I think you're probably right."

"So what are you doing here?" Kurt asked. "I didn't think you knew anyone here."

This time it was Blaine who blushed. "I- uh. This is probably going to sound a little crazy, but I've kind of spent most of last week here. I was in a bad place after you were hurt, and I ended up finding this stone angel. I don't know how I would have gotten through this without him."

"Her," Kurt corrected. Blaine looked at him, confused. Kurt's eyes widened a little when he realized Blaine didn't know why Kurt had said that. "You really have no idea where you are, do you?"

When Blaine shook his head dumbly, Kurt walked around to the side of the angel that had been furthest to him. Kurt pushed aside some of the snow, revealing a blank grave marker. "This is my dad's. He was lucky enough that the plot beside it was available. So when the time comes, hopefully many years from now, he and Carole can be buried together. But this side..."

Kurt looped around the angel again. But when he got there, he found the snow had already been knocked off the marker on that side. Blaine realized that it had been the one that had tripped him up when this all started. A primal shiver ran down Blaine's spine as he stepped forward, now understanding who that angel had been.

"Oh my god," Blaine breathed as he looked down on plaque marking Kurt's mother's final resting place.

Kurt turned to Blaine, noting with confusion how shaken Blaine was. "Blaine, what is it?"

"I can't believe this," Blaine breathed. He'd thought for a while now (not mentioning it of course) that he hadn't been alone when he'd come out here, but now? "All this time it was your mother looking out for me."

Without a word, Kurt gathered Blaine into his arms. Blaine wept again, but this time it was in absolution. Anyone else might have found it hokey, but it felt like he had Kurt's mother's seal of approval now as well as Kurt's. He felt lucky, blessed, and a host of other things that he couldn't put into words. All he knew for sure was that someone up there thought he was worth Kurt's love. And it gave him hope that he could be everything he wanted to be for Kurt.

When Blaine finally pulled back and dried his tears, Kurt smiled at him. "You know I don't think much about god. Never have. But if there's someone out there. Someone I can count on? It's her. It seems we both have someone looking out for us."

"I guess so." Kurt laid down the flowers he had in his hands and led Blaine out of the cemetery. And as they left, if that angel's smile seemed more satisfied than merely hopeful, well that was no one's business but hers and Blaine's.

The End