ℳ ⊹˙ ₊ -

You moved them upwards, feeling his chest rise and fall. It soothed you in an odd way, when you could hear his heartbeat and see his ribs expand and deflate as he breathed. Especially with how you were feeling right now, it just grounded you and reminded you that he was here.

You watched his eyelids flutter open, a soft smile covering his face when he looked down at you, seeing your hands chasing his body heat. "Morning." He mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.

"Good morning." You smiled, wrapping your arms around him. Kurt lazily kissed the top of your head and ran his fingers through your messy hair. He brought his hands up and cupped your face delicately, making you look up at him.

"How you feeling?" He asked, his voice gentle and quiet.

"Terrible." You chuckled weakly, watching as his brows furrowed ever so slightly at the thought of you still being in pain.

"I'll change the flights, like I said I would..." He kept speaking softly. "Then we can leave as soon as possible."

You nodded, your eyes closing gently as you tried to push it all away. Kurt just cradled you closer, his hands feeling safe and secure as they wrapped around your waist and hips.

"Never have to see him again..." He whispered, and you squeezed your eyelids shut, remembering how it felt to have his father's hands wrapped around you, inching too low for your liking.

Later that day, around noon, you were in a random grocery store buying a few things as his mother wasn't feeding you.

"Y/N?" You heard a familiar voice call out, but you couldn't quite place who it belonged to. When you turned to look, you saw Danny, from the party where you and Kurt first met.

Damn it.

"Oh, hi." You smiled politely, stepping backwards slightly when he stepped towards you. He looked oddly happy to see you, like you were an old friend or something.

He reached out to touch your face, and managed to brush your hair behind your ear before you realised what was happening, and stepped away.

"Don't be shy with me." Danny grinned, reaching out and grabbing your wrist. He wasn't holding you tightly, it wasn't an aggressive grip, you could easily slip away if you really wanted to, but that didn't take away from the fact that he had grabbed you.

"Um." You pulled your wrist away, taking another step backwards as you noticed that he had slowly been inching towards you. "You know i'm dating Kurt, right?"

"Oh shit, that freak? I forgot about that. Bobby said you'd ditched me for that weirdo but I thought he was kidding or something. No way anyone willingly goes near him."

You recoiled at his casual cruelty, he didn't even know Kurt personally, yet he was making brash assumptions that he actually believed were nothing but the truth.

"Yeah, that 'freak'." You repeated, your words laced with disdain. "You don't have to be so rude about him."

"Is he here?" Danny asked suddenly.

"No, why?" You replied, confused. Why did he care?

"I wanna meet the freak."

"Not going to happen."

"Why not?"

"We don't know you, and you're being awful to him. I won't let you anywhere near him."

"Let me?" Danny scoffed, in complete disbelief. "You don't get to 'let me' do anything. You're just a little bitch."

You stomach churned, the feeling of being disrespected returning, and you had thought that it died yesterday. "Are you trying to convince me to let you be around Kurt?"

"I'll beat the shit out of him if I see him."

You scoffed, taking another step backwards. He had suddenly gotten aggressive, and you knew that you needed to leave now before anything escalated.

You turned around to leave, but he grabbed you by the wrist. This time, it was harsh, unlike before. You definitely couldn't break free. "Also, unblock me, you little bitch." He spat, your face too close to his.

You felt tears burn behind your eyes, the crushing feeling on your chest returning tenfold. The feeling that Kurt had chased away. You needed him right now, but he was at home sorting out the flights.

He shoved you back, sending you stumbling into a metal rack, pain shooting through your back. You regained your balance before you fell, and sped to the checkout so that you could leave immediately. Luckily, you got out of the store without another incident.

Your back was on fire, clearly having hit it in a bad place when you collided with the rack, and deep red marks bloomed on your wrist where he had held you. Your only thought was getting back to Kurt so that he could hug you and tell you it was going to be okay.

When you first came to California, you knew the trip would be hard for Kurt. A stressful period of his life, terrible relationships with his parents, potentially seeing Bobby and anybody else who used to torture him for their dumb prank videos, but you had never imagined Kurt would get off relatively scot-free, instead you becoming the target for what you could only imagine Kurt used to experience too often.

Luckily, his mother wasn't home when you entered the house, silent tears streaming down your cheeks. "Kurt?" You called out, sobs starting to fall as you collapsed into the couch, your entire back throbbing with pain.

Kurt came out of his bedroom immediately at the sound of your tearful voice. "What happened?!" He gasped, kneeling down in front of you where you sat on the couch.

You fell into him, gripping him for dear life as you just sobbed, all of the pent up fear and pain falling out of you at once.

Kurt looked at the packages of food you had dropped onto the floor when you fell onto the couch, then back at your face. You were showing more than just sadness, fear and pain as well. Kurt quickly pieced together the fact that something really bad had happened.

"Talk to me." He insisted, but you just sobbed and shook your head, pulling up your sleeve to show him the angry bruise that had formed.

His face twisted with anger, yet he gently took your hand to inspect the bruise. "What the hell happened?!" He snapped, feeling red hot rage rise in his chest. "Who did that to you?"

You kept sobbing, unable to form words through your residual fear and the pain in your entire body.

He enveloped you in his arms once again, holding you tightly once he realised you weren't answering him. His body rattled with anger, he had never felt anything like it, although yesterday came close. Somebody had laid their hands on you...

Once the tears started to dry, Kurt rocked you back and forth in an attempt to soothe you, his hands rubbing up and down your back, yet another thing he had learned from the way that you usually take care of him. It always made him feel better when you did it, so surely it could make you feel better if he did it.

"Danny." You whispered, keeping your face buried in his chest, almost as though you were ashamed to make eye contact with him.

"What?" Kurt asked, confused.

"From the party? You remember?" You finally looked up at him, your eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot.

"Oh. Yeah, I do. He did this?" His voice was soft, uncharacteristically calm for a moment like this, especially when he was so angry moments ago.

You nodded, pulling your sleeve up again so you could look at the mark, which had started to bloom a deep purple. You knew he had grabbed you hard, but you didn't realise it would end up this bad, not to mention the pain that still burrowed deep in your spine.

You felt Kurt's breath hitch for a second as his eyes landed on your injury again. He couldn't physically believe somebody had done this to you. You were the sweetest thing in the world.

"He said... He'd hurt you if he saw you." You muttered, once again avoiding eye contact. Kurt didn't seem phased, almost as though he was used to being threatened.

He was, as he was used to these groups of people torturing him for views.

"We're leaving tomorrow." He spoke firmly, holding the back of you head so you couldn't escape his gaze. "I changed the flights."

You nodded, your eyes roaming over his face. His brows were furrowed tightly, his eyes slightly squinted as he looked at you back. He looked nothing like the sweet and gentle boy you loved.

You thought for a moment as another throb of pain assaulted your back, before speaking, "Can you... Look at my back? Please?"

"Why?" Kurt asked, his hand drifting naturally to the small of your back.

"He shoved me, too... Into this metal display thing, like a rack? I'm in a lot of pain, Kurt." You insisted, your eyes welling up with tears again.

Kurt nodded, but stood up, and he lead you to his bedroom and let you sit down on his gaming chair, your face leaning against the back of it. Kurt spun you around and began to peel your shirt up, and you helped him lift it over you head, your arms aching as they rose.

"Jeez..." Kurt muttered, running his hand over a fresh bruise.

"What is it?" You asked, turning your head sideways against the chair.

The bruise was just a diagonal line across your back, clearly an imprint of hitting something at an angle. Kurt had to contain his ever-bubbling rage when he saw it, careful he didn't accidentally hurt you more.

When you caught his eye, you didn't see the doe-eyed, angel baby that you were used to. No, it was like a switch had been flickered, and now you saw somebody unstable, so full of anger it was bubbling up and overflowing out of him. It would have frightened you if you didn't know for certain Kurt would never hurt you, not when this rage was over you getting hurt in the first place.

"Is it bad?" You asked again when he didn't reply the first time. You knew it was bad, it hurt like a bitch and Kurt had reacted badly when he saw it. You just needed him to talk to you, to try and ground himself before he snapped and did something bad.

"Big bruise." He mumbled, unclasping your bra to clear the space fully. You allowed him to pull it off, covering your chest with your hands. You didn't usually cover up around him, but you were cowering from the world.

"It's real bad." He mumbled again, unable to take his eyes off of it. How dare somebody hurt his girl.

Kurt walked to his suitcase and got out one of his sleep shirts, before pulling it over your head. It was an old, faded, yellow Kurtsworld96 shirt, with the weird face and his logo. But it was soft, it smelled like a mixture of his natural musk and your laundry detergent, and most importantly, it felt safe.

"Thanks." You smiled, shakily standing up from the chair. Kurt nodded, a silent 'you're welcome', his heart swelling in pride at seeing you simultaneously in his merch and in his clothes. He almost forgot about his anger for a second.

"So... what's time's our flights tomorrow?" You asked, sitting down on his mattress and pulling his comforter over your legs. You shuffled against the wall, leaning against one of his pillows, your knees pulled to your chest.

"5pm." He replied. "Earliest they could do." He sat down on the edge of the mattress, watching you envelop yourself in his scent for comfort. That made his heart swell with pride as well. You really needed him.

"Why don't we go somewhere tomorrow?"

Kurt nodded weakly, staring at the bruise on your wrist. "You sure you're up for it?" He asked.

"It'll be just you and me, right?"

"Yeah, just you and me."

The next morning, you woke up to Kurt spooning you from behind, his face buried in the crook of your neck. You were still wearing his t-shirt, and the pain in your back had thankfully dulled to a barely-there ache.

You felt his eyelashes fluttering against your delicate skin, and realised he was awake. You brought your hand up to cup his cheek, and he chuckled into it. "Morning."

"Good morning." You smiled, turning around so you were chest to chest.

"Last day." He smiled too, kissing you.

"Last day." You agreed once the kiss broke.

"Can't wait for this shit to be over."

You chuckled. "Me too. This would have never happened in Indiana." You laughed a little bit more, and Kurt's smile deepened too.

"So far, i've never had a bad day in Indiana."

"Mmm... That's a lie." You giggled, remembering a couple of bad days.

"A bad day in Indiana is a good day because i'm in your apartment and not in California." He explained, and it honestly made sense to you.

"Our apartment." You grinned, "But, I guess I agree."

"Our apartment." He agreed, kissing your forehead tenderly, nothing like the anger he was exuding last night.

Once the both of you eventually dragged yourself out of bed, you went and got an early lunch at a restaurant Kurt often frequented, somewhere he actually enjoyed coming in California. Rare.

Now, you were enjoying an afternoon stroll along the coast, and everything was going perfectly... Until somebody had to ruin it.

"Yo, Y/N? Kurt?" Called a voice from behind you, one you could only recognize as Bobby. You saw Kurt's entire body tense up in your peripheral vision. Now it was your turn to be protective.

You turned around, a polite but tight smile on your face. "Hello, Bobby."

"You never told me you guys were in town." Bobby spoke like you all got along well, like he didn't criticize your relationship in Chicago.

"We only came to get some stuff for Kurt." You explained, and Kurt was just looking at the floor, completely closing in on himself.

"So he's moving to Indiana forever?"

You nodded. "Yeah. So we won't ever see you again." Your tone was slightly harsh, but not undeserved.

"Good! You think I wanna see that freak-" Bobby was cut off by the noise of Kurt's fist hitting his cheek.

He grabbed his face where Kurt punched him, in shock. You gasped and covered your mouth.

It wasn't like Bobby didn't deserve to be punched, you just hadn't expected Kurt to do something like that to anybody. It sort of turned you on.

"You dick!" Bobby shouted, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "You really are a freak!"

Kurt lunged at him, and tackled him to the ground with ease, continuing to rein punches down wherever he could hit. You let him do it for one second, before grabbing the back of his hoodie and pulling him off.

"Kurt, stop!" You yanked him back roughly, and he followed. He was always pliant in your hands. Bobby lay groaning melodramatically, like he had been shot or something.

Kurt just stormed away, and you had no choice but to follow him.

You followed him right back to his mother's house, not saying a word the entire time. You knew that must have felt good for Kurt to finally do.

You stood in awkward silence behind Kurt in the bathroom, watching as he washed the blood off of his knuckles. Your stomach twisted slightly when you realised you didn't know if it was his or Bobby's. You couldn't stand the thought of him being injured.

"You want some help?" You asked gently, your voice and the water from the faucet being the only noise in the room. Kurt just shook his head, walking back into his bedroom.

"We gotta pack." He mumbled, haphazardly folding and stuffing clothes into his suitcase. You stood behind him for a moment, slightly puzzled and unsure of what to do.

"O- Okay..." You tried to smile, but he wasn't looking at you.

You packed your things silently, and Kurt only spoke when you laid next to him in bed, not touching. You were sure if he wanted space, or what.

"Don't do that." He broke the silence.

"Don't do what?" You asked, feigning confusion.

"Make distance. He deserved it."

"I know... I just wasn't sure if you wanted some space, honey..."

He pulled you into him without another word, and you allowed yourself to melt into his body like you usually did. "We got 30 minutes until we have to leave." He mumbled, kissing the top of your head.

You nodded, sad you couldn't stay here and fall asleep, but your bed in Indiana was much nicer. "Right, yeah. Almost forgot."

Kurt kissed you, soft and slow, but it didn't lack any passion. It never did, this man loved you, truly.

You spent your thirty minutes making out, swatting away his attempts at escalating, as you didn't want to start something you couldn't finish.

You broke the kiss, panting for air. "We gotta go."

"No," Kurt groaned, trailing kisses down your jaw and neck, sucking softly into the skin, tasting you without leaving any marks, "I wanna keep doing this, no?"

"We can pick it up in Indiana, how's that sound?" You promised, threading your fingers into his hair and pulling him back, away from your neck before he got too carried away.

You dragged yourself out of the warm bubble in his bed, and Kurt quickly stuffed any last things into his carry-on.

"You got your papers?" You asked, making sure he absolutely had what he came here for in the first place. No way were you coming back.

Kurt nodded, pulling them out of a zip pocket in his bag to show you.

When you left his bedroom for the last time, his mother was stood in the living room, almost like she was waiting for you to emerge.

"Ah, there you are." She said to you, her voice sounding completely unimpressed. "Ready to ship my son off to another state."

Kurt stood beside you, scowling. She never cared, so why was she acting like she did now? You didn't reply, so Kurt did. "Stop it, mom."

"I'm just saying, abandoning your poor mother for some girl you haven't even known for a year."

"You can't be like this." Kurt insisted, annoyed on your behalf. "You don't care, you just don't like her."

"I don't, that's right." She approached you, sizing you up. "When I find out what kind of sick, long con you're playing on him-"

"I love him." You interrupted, your voice sharp and firm. "It's not a joke, don't compare me to those losers who actually tortured him."

Angela looked taken aback for a second, not expecting you to stand your ground. "Fine, you little bitch. Take him, he eats everything in the house and leaves it a complete pigsty! It's your problem now." She poked you in the forehead, before pulling Kurt into an awkward hug that was just for show.

"My sweet baby." She cooed, her voice thick with fake emotion. "Leaving his mommy." She rocked him side to side, while his hands hung limply by his sides. He shot you a confused, almost embarrassed look, and you had to repress a smirk.

She was acting like she hadn't just called him disgusting.

She kissed him thickly on the cheek, exaggerating with a loud "Mwah!" She pulled away from the hug, and stroked his face with heavy hands, nothing like your sweet and delicate ones. "Bye bye, my sweet little boy... Mommy's going to miss you forever and ever."

He put up with it, because freedom from California was so close now, and that was what he needed more than anything.

"I thought you meant at his house, not- Is this a strip club?" You asked, exasperated. You didn't feel safe in this part of town, and there was little streetlighting to alleviate your concerns.

"Well, yeah- But my dad DJs here, they gave him a residency-" Kurt explained, not understanding your objections.

"Kurt, for goodness sake, I don't want to meet him at a weird strip club! Why didn't you organize a dinner or something?"

He looked like you'd kicked him in the chest. He never responded well to being scolded, and you honestly hadn't meant to, but you didn't get dolled up to sit in some creepy club all evening.

"I- I'm sorry." He mumbled, reaching out to take your hand but you pulled away. "Come on, don't do that."

"Don't do what?" You snapped. You knew you were being unfair. You knew Kurt hated his father but secretly chased any kind of validation he could get from him. You knew he likely suggested to meet at the club and Kurt agreed without a second thought, because that's what Kurt did.

"Are you mad at me?"

Your heart softened for a second, thinking about everything you knew about Kurt's weird and complicated relationship with his father, and you knew that tonight was going to be tough on him as well. You sighed, defeated. "No, honey. I'm not." Your voice was gentler now, and you laced your fingers together as a silent offer for an apology.

"We don't have to stay long." Kurt offered, pulling your hand into him and stroking the back with his thumb. "Just an hour at most, okay?"

You nodded, and both of you got out of the car. Kurt grabbed your hand again and lead you inside. You noticed a large, neon sign that read 'Club Dirt'... Who the hell chose that weird name? Although, it suited it's appearance you supposed.

The music was loud, and the flashing lights assaulting your eyes. You felt Kurt's grip tighten on your hand, and saw how his shoulders tensed ever so slightly. He never did well in environments like these, and it made you want to cover him in the softest blanket and cradle him tightly, whispering sweet nothings into his ear while he drifts to sleep, his entire being so coated with love that you had poured over him.

But you couldn't do that. And you couldn't help him.

The first thing that you noticed were the lack of actual strippers, which you couldn't deny made the evening a little easier, as it took one weird aspect of it away, although the empty club was just as pathetic.

Kurt lead you through the barren tables, to a booth where his father was sat. You recognized him from a few pictures that you had seen, and he wore a white jacket, with a shirt that was plastered in designer logos. To you, he came off as somebody desperately trying to cling to their youth.

"Hey Hey! There's my boy!" Kris exclaimed, pulling Kurt into an awkward hug which he didn't reciprocate.

"Hi, dad..." He mumbled over the loud music, some dumb dance track.

Kris' eyes latched onto you, eyeing you up and down like a piece of meat. Unfortunately, Kurt was looking at his shoes so he didn't notice. "Well. Who do we have here?" He leered, his eyes fixating on your chest before flickering back to your face.

"Um..." You swallowed uncomfortably. "I'm Y/N, Kurt's girlfriend... It's nice to meet you." You offered a small smile.

"Kurt's girlfriend?! How much is he paying you?" Kris laughed obnoxiously, like it was the funniest joke in the world. You smiled awkwardly, while Kurt continued to stare at the ground.

You forced out a weak "Haha..." Acting like you hadn't heard that joke a million times before.

He pulled you into a hug too, and you didn't miss the way his hips brushed you ever so slightly. You stiffened almost immediately, but he didn't seem to notice. His hand slid down a slither too low, splaying over your lower back, his fingers grazing dangerously close to places he was never allowed to go.

He pulled back, his hands gripping your waist firmly. Kurt stood beside you, staring bullets into his father's hands, yet not making an attempt to intervene. What could he do?

You chuckled awkwardly, already overwhelmed with the absurdity of the situation. You felt completed stuck and mortified.

Eventually, he let go. and the three of you sat down in the booth. Kurt wrapped his arm protectively around your waist, replacing the lingering feeling from his father with soft, gentle hands.

"You know, you're pretty hot." Kris said suddenly, and your neck prickled with humiliation. Kurt's head shot up, giving his best attempt at a warning look. "You should audition to dance here."

"What?" You choked.

"As a stripper, you'd be popular. You got the body for it-"

"Dad!" Kurt cut him off, you'd actually never seen him look so angry. Your chest began to heave as the large and empty club suddenly felt suffocating. You had never been disrespected so disgustingly.

"What?! It's just business!" He insisted, but the damage was done.

You pushed away from Kurt and dashed outside, away from both of them. Your head was spinning, and you felt completely violated. Kurt soon hurried after you.

"Y/N?" He called out, grabbing your wrist. Every touch felt like sandpaper against your skin, and you shoved his chest, cowering against his car.

He took a step back, holding his hands up in defense. "Hey..." He spoke softly, calmly. "I- I won't touch you."

"Go away." You sobbed, your tears falling at uncontrollable speeds, your chest feeling tight, every breathe feeling like you can't get enough air in your lungs.

"I'll take you home-"

"No!" You snapped, still hyperventilating. You simultaneously needed his comfort and needed him to go away and never come back. How had such a sweet boy come from such rotten seeds?

He stood awkwardly for a moment, way out of his depth. It was usually you comforting him, and he didn't have a clue what he was supposed to be doing.

From over Kurt's shoulder, you saw his father emerge from the club. You instantly felt worse, "No, no..." You sobbed, stepping backwards. Kurt followed your gaze, and stepped in front of you protectively.

"Get out of here!" He called over, but his father just looked confused.

"Why the tears? My dancers are supposed to be happy!"

You sobbed harder, your knees buckling until you were crawling backwards on the asphalt.

Your extreme reaction confused Kurt, but above all, it confused yourself. You were no stranger to weird comments, people peeking where they shouldn't be, or weird men trying to cop a feel. But something about this being Kurt's father freaked you out. Was this the rest of your life?

The man you loved, the only one you wanted to be with forever... Could you put up with this forever? Would Kurt make you see him again?

As your thoughts continued to consume you, Kurt argued with his father, the cracks in their weird relationship splitting open completely as his overwhelming need to latch onto you grabbed him tighter than his need for validation did. Thankfully.

"Don't even speak to her like that." Kurt snarled, unlike him to be so confident and outspoken, but it seemed the situation had unlocked something primal in him, as the real threat of losing you was being held over his head.

"She's being dramatic, Kurt-"

"No," Kurt cut him off immediately. Nobody was going to disrespect you. "No, she's not. You're disgusting-"

"Oh, I'm disgusting?!" Kris laughed with disbelief. "You're disgusting! Until you met her, you were a greasy little-"

"You never taught me shit!" He snapped, the argument moving away from how his father had treated you, and delved into unchartered territory.

"I suppose that was my responsibility?" He sneered sarcastically.

"Uh, yeah, dad! It was!"

"Unbelievable..." He mumbled, looking his son over. He was clean, well-fed, and had no bags under his eyes. He almost looked unrecognisable to Kris. All thanks to you, who was hugging the rim of Kurt's car, trying to disappear.

"You are never speaking to her again, you understand me? You are never even going to look at her!" Kurt shouted, making you retreat further into yourself.

Kris stood there dumbfounded, confused as to where this version of his pathetic, loser son had come from.

Kurt turned around to face you, and picked you up in one swoop, his strength seemingly coming from nowhere. You tried to protest, but he didn't give you time before opening the passenger side door and throwing you inside.

He gave one last sharp look to his father, before getting in and driving away.

You were sobbing beside him, scared by Kurt's brash actions, still feeling disgusted by his father, and overall feeling confused and overwhelmed.

Kurt drove quietly, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. He understood very well these next moments would make or break your relationship, and he could not lose you.

"Y/N..." He started gently, speaking only when your gut-wrenching sobs softened into delicate hiccups.

He thought about reaching for your hand, but he quickly remembered how important his actions right now were. He'd let you initiate anything.

"I'll change the flights... Um... We'll leave as early as possible."

"Okay." You sniffed, wiping at the black mascara covering your cheeks.

"I'm never seeing that man again." He mumbled, his voice tight and lacking the warmth it held just a second ago.

"Okay." You repeated, your voice small. You were exhausted, you hadn't cried like in years.

Kurt parked outside of his mother's home, turning to face you. Your cheeks were wet with undried tears, dark streaks of mascara trailing down them. You honestly looked beautiful.

"I love you." He whispered, but you just nodded. Such an emotionally charged phrase, and you weren't sure if you had it in you to repeat it just yet. Kurt understood, he always did. "You wanna go inside?" He asked softly.

You nodded, but made no attempt to move. Your body felt like lead, and moving it required strength you definitely didn't have.

Kurt got out of the car, the cold air that rushed in making you shiver. He opened your door and offered you his hand, which you shakily took.

He lead you straight to his bedroom, and allowed you to immediately collapse into his bed. You hugged his pillow to your chest, your body deflating with exhaustion. "Kurt..?" You spoke quietly, your voice still fragile.

"Yeah?" He stood opposite you, unsure about where to go now.

"I love you." You whispered, and you meant it.

Kurt smiled, "I love you too." He whispered back. He stared at you for a moment longer, your beautiful tear-stained face, your hair draped across his mattress.

He took some things from your bag, and knelt down in front of you, gently wiping your makeup off. You let yourself be babied, you needed it. It was nice to be on the receiving end for once, and you couldn't deny the fact that you were glad Kurt had it in him to take care of you.

"Thank you." You replied, your voice still quiet but you sounded much more sure of yourself.

"Don't thank me." He chuckled, but it lacked any real force.

He stood back up once he was done, and got you some pyjamas out. He helped you change into those, being mindful about how you were feeling while also making you feel like a princess.

When he eventually laid down beside you, he just stared at you for a moment, at your bloodshot eyes. His hand came to the back of your head, and gently pulled you in for a soft kiss. You allowed him to kiss you, and you hooked your arms around the back of his neck.

When you broke away, you smiled for the first time this evening.

"There's my pretty girl." He whispered, thumb brushing over your cheek like you were made of porcelain. To him, you were.

Your smile turned coy, and you hid your head in his chest. He took that as an invitation to wrap his arms around you, pulling you as close as possible.

"Don't hide from me..." Kurt chuckled, lifting your chin up with his finger. You chuckled too, and saw his eyes soften at the beautiful noise.

"I love you." You repeated, pecking him softly on the lips.

"I love you too." He agreed, brushing his fingers over your face gently in the same way you do to him when you want him to close his eyes. You follow his cues, your heart swelling that he obviously picked it up from you.

He doesn't notice you noticing, and you let him bask in the thought that he was taking care of you. Because he was. No matter what, he was the sweetest angel you had even known.

You were relieved to have calmed down from the storm earlier, and glad that Kurt took your side, not that you really expected anything else from him, he was a complete sucker for you above everything else.

You felt him softly kiss your forehead as sleep took you, exhaustion seeping into your bones as you only thought about getting back to Indiana and being able to be with Kurt without anyone bothering you so disgustingly.

So much awful had come from this stupid trip to California.

"Kurt?" You asked, walking into the living room where he was playing a game on TV. He continued to play, not looking up at you.

"Yeah?"

"Can you pause that, baby?"

Kurt sighed, and paused it, looking up at you. "What?"

You sat down next to him, "I just wanted to talk about you signing my lease."

"What about it?" He wrapped his arm around you, unable to be so close without touching you in some way.

"If you're moving to Indiana, you need a new license, honey."

Kurt groaned, covering his face. "I didn't bring my shit."

"I know, I know..."

"So i'd have to go back to Azusa." He mumbled, burying his face in your shoulder. You rubbed your hands up and down his back, feeling his muscles tensing at the thought.

"I'd go with you, baby...

He looked up at you, surprised. "Seriously?"

"Yeah? Obviously, i'd never make you go alone. Plus, we can get your set up if you really want it, and anything else."

Kurt nodded, his body still tense. "I guess it'd be okay if you were with me... I just don't wanna run into Bobby or that guy-"

"We won't!" You interrupted.

"You promised I wouldn't have to go back ever though..." He grumbled.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry, I was wrong and I just wasn't thinking."

"I could be alright if you were there..."

Around a week later, you were waking up early to get ready for your flight, but Kurt was pinning you down.

"Kurt, we gotta get up..." You whispered as you tried to shuffle away from his strong grip.

"No." He mumbled, dragging you back into him and holding you tightly.

"Yes." You tried to move his arms, but to no avail.

"I don't want to go." He mumbled again, moving his body so he was laid on top of you, and you physically couldn't move. He knew that.

"I don't care, get off of me." You said firmly, and that tone of voice usually worked, but today he wasn't having it. He just nuzzled into you deeper.

"But it's so warm... aren't you tired?" He spoke softly, caressing your cheek. He was right, but you really had to go.

You poked him in the sides, and he flinched just enough for you to get up quickly. "Hah." You teased, going into the bathroom to get ready. Kurt just grumbled and stuffed his face into your pillow, pretending you were still beside him.

When you emerged, Kurt was still sleeping. "Get up." He shook his head. "Kurt, seriously."

You sighed, feeling defeated. You sat down next to him and gently stroked your fingers through his hair. "You're gonna make me go all by myself?" You spoke in a pitying voice, you knew how to get to him.

Like clockwork, his eyes opened and his brows furrowed. You were pouting. "Um... No..."

He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He noticed you were completely ready to go. "I'll... get dressed." He mumbled, sluggishly getting out of bed and making his way to the bathroom.

"Good boy." You grinned, not missing how his face went pink as he shut the bathroom door.

A while later, you were double checking everything to leave while Kurt sat on the couch, completely stressed. He felt sick to his stomach, and everything was closing in on him. How was he supposed to go back there?

His breathing deepened as he watched you slide your passports into your carry-on. His body was getting hot, and he was finding it harder to breathe. Luckily, you noticed, and gave him a concerned look. "You alright, honey?"

Kurt shook his head, tears falling out of his eyes that he couldn't control. He began hyperventilating, tugging at his hoodie to get it off. You rushed over, helping him pull it over his head. "Hey, hey..."

You rubbed his back, hoping it'd pass, but it got worse. He buried his face in his hands, tugging at his hair roughly.

You gently took his hands and removed them from his hair before he hurt himself. "You need to breathe, baby. Can you do that? Can you breathe with me?"

You breathed in and out deeply, doing so until Kurt began to copy you. It took a couple of minutes before he stopped hyperventilating, but he was still sobbing. You'd seen him vulnerable, you'd seen him cry, but you'd never seen him have a panic attack, and you didn't realise the thought of going back to California was this bad.

As much as you wanted to say 'screw it' and cancel your flight, walk Kurt back to bed and tuck in him so he was cosy and safe, you knew that unfortunately, you literally had to go.

"I'm gonna be with you the whole time." You spoke softly, careful not to spook him. "I'll hold your hand the entire flight... I promise you'll never have to deal with anything by yourself."

Kurt nodded, standing up shakily. "Just go before it happens again." He mumbled, not making eye contact. You both grabbed your things, and followed Kurt outside.

"Um, honey-" You grabbed his arm before he unlocked his car. "Maybe... I should drive?" You offered, you didn't want him freaking out on the highway and driving you into a tree.

Kurt seemed to agree, and threw you his keys. Once you got to the airport, Kurt was alright. He was quiet, but you let him self-soothe while you found your gate. You were just focussed on getting him on that plane.

Once you landed in California, you moved quick enough so that Kurt didn't have time to think about where he was, and that hopefully by the time he freaked out again, you'd be on the move. You got him on the flight, now you just needed to get him into the rented car and drive to his mother's house.

Thankfully, he seemed to be pliant and doing anything you said, and so it wasn't long before you were parking outside of his home.

"Here we are." You smiled, nervous. You were just getting his stuff, but you'd also be meeting his mother. Kurt nodded, and got out of the car quickly, heading straight to the front door. He just wanted to get the awkward greetings over with. Meanwhile, you got the bags out of the car.

His mother opened the door, and didn't have any reaction to seeing her own son when she hadn't seen him for months. "Kurt." She nodded, stepping aside to let him inside.

When you walked up to the door, Kurt's mother looked you up and down judgingly. "You must be the girl Kurt ran away for."

"Yeah... Hi, it's nice to meet you." You smiled politely, sensing the tension. Kurt stood awkwardly behind her.

His mother reluctantly let you in, and shut the door behind you, eyeing you suspiciously.

"Where's my stuff?" Kurt asked, and she pointed to the coffee table, where his birth certificate and social security card sat in a pile.

Kurt busied himself with making sure he absolutely had what he came here for, and you smiled at his mother. "You... have a lovely home." You said politely, trying to alleviate the awkwardness.

"Hm." She said, walking into the kitchen and closing the door behind her.

Kurt sighed once she left, turning to face you. "Sorry."

"It's alright..." You smiled, but you didn't know why she was being so hostile, it's not like you'd ever met her before, and you took care of Kurt.

"Come." He took your hand and lead you to his bedroom. It was exactly how you'd pictured it, but you hadn't expected his bed to be just a mattress on the floor. Now you wished you'd booked a hotel for the weekend.

"Where all the magic happens." He chuckled, nodding at his bed while he unplugged his computer. He stood up stiffly. "Just kidding."

You chuckled too, but you were still on edge from the interaction with his mother. Kurt noticed, and pulled you into him by your waist. "Hey... stop worrying. She- she'll get used to you..."

You shrugged, wrapping your arms around him and sighing. "What did I do?"

"Nothing, she's just like that."

"You promise?"

"I swear."

A little while passed of Kurt stuffing anything that he could fit into his spare bag, while you sat on his bed, his dark grey comforter pulled over your legs.

You were beginning to understand why Kurt was desperate to not come back, as there was an atmosphere in the house that sat heavy on your chest. It made you glad you went and spoke to Kurt at the party, that you somehow brought him out of this place and into somewhere that he is safe and warm, and wouldn't have to sleep on the floor.

Eventually, he joined you on the mattress, pulling you into his body and laying down with you beside him.

"How are you feeling now?" You asked, gently stroking his hair off of his forehead.

"Tired." He mumbled, kissing your wrist as it brushed over his lips.

"Me too."

"I think i'm too used to your bed now." He chuckled, fidgeting on the admittedly uncomfortable mattress. Your mattress was squishy, as were your pillows, your comforter was thick and you had a weighted blanket. You'd worked a lot on making sure that your bed was perfect, and it seemed that Kurt had become accustomed to the luxury of it.

You chuckled too. "I love you." You whispered, and Kurt smiled gently.

"I love you too."

"Just a couple days then we can spent the whole day in bed... How's that sound?" You speak softly, running your thumb up and down his cheek.

Kurt smiled, closing his eyes for a second to take in the feeling of your soft touch, and your words that were coated in sweetness. "Sounds good to me."

"You did a good job coming to California, honey." You smiled, gently brushing your fingers over his entire face, and he subconsciously leaned into your touch as much as possible. "I'm so proud of you."

Kurt's content smile faded within an instant, and his eyes opened. Your fingers paused their movements, worried you had said something wrong. "What's the matter?" You asked, your voice still soft but undeniably laced with panic.

"You're proud of me?" Kurt asked, his voice small and vulnerable, he sounded like a little boy to you.

You nodded confusedly. "Of course I am."

"But I freaked out before we left, there's nothing to be proud of." He replied firmly, it almost scared you.

"What? That's okay, honey. I'm proud that you made it anyway. It would have been so easy to refuse to come, I certainly can't force you-"

"You shouldn't be proud of me." Kurt interrupted, his voice taking on a tone that you had never heard come from him. He sounded angry.

"Why are you getting mad?" You sat up slightly, your body instinctively trying to create some distance before something happened, not that he would ever do something like that.

His face fell, and he seemed to realise what he was doing. He was scaring you. "I..." His voice fell flat, he didn't know what more to say. "Sorry." He whispered, his hand pulling your shirt at your stomach.

"That's alright." You tentatively shuffled closer to him, laying back down stiffly. He seemed to notice.

"I just... was never told that someone was proud of me." He spoke quietly, taking your hand and tracing spirals over you palm to try and ground himself. "I was always just told what I did wrong."

"By who?" You asked gently.

"Kids on the playground... at school... how I played the games wrong, or- Bobby when we'd play Call Of Duty or something, just how I let the team down or whatever."

Your heart broke, nobody deserved to be belittled like that. "Oh, no... Baby..."

"It doesn't matter." He shrugged, but it definitely did matter. You could also see it in his face that he wanted to hear you say it completely unconditionally.

"I love you. And I'm proud of you. For everything."

Kurt shook his head, seemingly not accepting what he was hearing no matter how much he wanted to lean into your touch and you sickly sweet words and tell you he loved you too. But he couldn't.

"Proud of me for what? Getting on the flight? Or mooching off of you so I can be loved?"

"You don't mooch off of me."

"How do you know? It's what it feels like. It's what everyone assumes about us."

"You pay my rent and do anything I say, Kurt."

He shrugged, pulling you closer to him once again. "Doesn't make me feel better."

"Well, how can I make you feel better? You can't feel like this forever..."

"Just need to get back to Indiana."

Damn it. That was the one thing you couldn't do for him right now. "Kurt..."

"I know, I know." He cut you off before you could continue speaking. "I don't like talking about this stuff."

"But I think you should get it all out."

"Another day, please." He looked desperate.

"Fine. But I really do love you, and i'm proud of you."

Kurt let a small smile slip, which made you grin in return. "I saw that." You teased, poking the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled, pretending to bite your finger. "I love you more."

"Hm... No, you don't." You grinned.

Kurt nodded, nuzzling into your shoulder, leaving soft kisses on the exposed skin there. "I do."

You giggled, kissing his head where it lay. "We love eachother the same."

"Fine. But as joint first place, my name comes first... because I love you more."

"Kurt!" You laughed, the way his mood changes so quickly not going unnoticed by you. He chuckled too, and you were honestly just glad that he was happy.

You'd have to have a real conversation about his feelings another day. But for now, you both had to make it through this trip.

"I never noticed you wore a ring."

Travis shrugged, taking his wallet out of his pocket and opening it. Inside was a picture of you, and he handed it to her. "That's my girl, Y/N. Ain't she beautiful?" Travis beamed, proud to show you off.

Naomi took the picture. It was a candid photo, and you were smiling. You wore a beautiful, flowy sundress, your hair blowing behind you. "She's pretty."

"Careful with my picture." He chuckled, taking it back and staring at it for a second. He never could take his eyes off of you. "Damn it, now I miss her. She's asleep right now, stupid night shift." He mumbled, putting it back into his wallet.

"Y/N..." Naomi repeated, wondering where she'd heard that name before. As Travis twisted to reach his pocket, she saw it. That was who the name on his tattoo behind his ear belonged to. "You got her name tattooed?"

Travis smiled sheepishly, reaching up to feel it. "Yeah, before i'd even met her in real life, actually. No regrets here, don't get me wrong."

"What?" Naomi asked, shocked. "How'd you guys meet?"

𓆩♡𓆪

You stared at your computer, looking at the volunteering requirements for your college course. You sighed, clicking through your options. You had too much coursework and papers to be writing rather than waste your time with this, but unfortunately you wouldn't graduate without it.

'Write an inmate program: spend 10 weeks conversing back and forth with an inmate at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility, KS.'

You contemplated that one for a moment, it seemed the simplest. You could write letters in between work, easy enough.

You scrolled their website, looking at the potential inmates you could write to. They all looked scary to you. Your eyes landed on one in particular, Travis Meacham. He had big, beautiful brown eyes, bleached blonde hair, and a rather handsome face.

His bio read: Travis Meacham, incarcerated for accomplice to robbery. Looking for pen pal across the United States.

He seemed good enough for what you were looking for, and his charges didn't seem dangerous to you, so you sent an email to the attached address.

Dear Travis,

I saw your picture on the write an inmate website, and you intrigued me! I have to do some volunteering for my course at college, and this was one of the options.

Please let me know if you're willing to talk!

From Y/N

You sent the email, and quickly forgot about it, instead burying your head in textbooks and attempting to make a dent in your assignments.

Around a week later, you were flicking through your mail when you saw a letter from the Ellsworth Correctional Facility. Then, you suddenly remembered about your volunteering and the email you had sent to Travis.

You sat back on your bed and opening the letter. Inside was a handwritten letter on a piece of paper. It read:

to y/n,

i appreciated your email, i can for sure help with whatever volunteering you need, sounds interesting. BTW you have to send letters to the return address on the envelope, and beware they get checked before they reach me, so don't be writing anything naughty ;)

anyway, like i said i'm interested in your volunteering thing, what are we doing? just conversing is cool, it gets lonely in here and you'd seem cool to talk to.

travis meacham

You found yourself smiling at the letter, and little did you know, this was going to go on for more than the required ten weeks.

At first, your conversations were polite, brushing on the weather, what was going on in the world. Travis told you his favourite sports teams and musicians, and you found yourself spending more time researching those so that you could update him on what they were up to than you did focussing on your work.

Eventually, your conversations turned flirty. You never wrote anything explicit, too scared to get him or yourself in trouble, or that the letter won't reach him at all, so it was innocent.

You send pictures of yourself back and forth, just selfies, and Travis gushed over them every single time, telling you how beautiful you were.

Once specific letter really caught you off guard, as it included a picture of him with your name freshly tattooed down the back of his ear. Written on the back of the picture read 'Forgive me'. You forgave him of course, it was so hot.

𓆩♡𓆪

"Wait, so you got her name tattooed after only seeing a few pictures of her?" Naomi asked, bewildered.

Travis nodded. "Yeah, I still got those pictures, wow. I mean, I knew I wanted to marry her, she's the sweetest and the best thing I had in jail."

Naomi thought of a moment. It was nice in a twisted, slightly obsessive way. "I suppose that's... sweet of you."

"She ain't seem to care, she said it was hot. I take what I can get from her, plus, I needed her to know I was commited. Like, when I got outta there, I'm going straight to wherever she is."

Naomi had to swallow a few words down, it was weird as hell, but Travis didn't seem to have any ulterior motives, his only reasoning being that he was hopelessly down bad for you.

"So, when you got out... She picked you up."

Travis nodded again. "Yup, flew from her fancy school in New York to come meet me." He paused for a second, before furrowing his brow. "I ain't at that part of the story yet, hold your horses."

𓆩♡𓆪

Graduation day came, and you sent pictures of you in your cap and gown, holding your diploma to Travis, and thanked him for helping with your volunteering.

to y/n,

you look so pretty in those pictures, i'll defian definitely stick those over my bunk so i can be reminded of how smart my girl is

but hold on now, this isn't over between us? i'm proud of you for graduating baby, but please tell me this wasn't just you volunteering, i tattooed your damn name on me

i need your response asap pretty girl, please please please tell me good news

from travis

Your heart broke slightly when you read his letter, of course it wasn't over. You could understand how your words maybe could have been interpreted by him to suggest so, and you felt bad for giving that impression.

You wrote back to set the record straight, but you continued to count down the days until you could meet him for real. The prison didn't allow visitors for anybody who wasn't a solicitor or a direct family member, so that wasn't an option. Travis had offered to marry you in prison, then you'd get to visit, but you shut that down quickly.

Not that you didn't want to marry him, you definitely did, but you wanted a ceremony, and you hadn't even met him for god sakes!

Time ticked by slowly, each day crossed off of the calendar with a red X. Slowly... slowly... until it was realistic to book a flight... then the flight was next week... before you knew it, you were on the plane... then you were in the parking lot of the prison, waiting to see him.

Your stomach churned with nerves, your eyes flickering to the prisoner exit every couple of seconds. This was it. You had flown all the way to Kansas to be here right now, as he didn't really have anybody else to pick him up. Also, you were desperate to kiss him, to run away and get married.

You saw his blonde hair, and your entire body drowned in chills. You hopped out of the car, and ran over to him, diving into his arms.

"Travis!" You grinned, and he held you firmly, his beefy arms wrapping tightly around you.

You kissed him passionately, right in the middle of the parking lot, probably in front of cameras, but you didn't care.

"I love you." He said, the first thing he ever said to you in real life. You just nodded, before kissing him again, your fingers running all over him, through his hair, over his tattoo, down his broad shoulders and soft stomach...

𓆩♡𓆪

"Happy ever after." Travis concluded.

"That's cute." Naomi smiled, staring at his wedding band.

"Yup. Got married a year later in a small ceremony... I didn't care, man, I just wanted to be with her forever."

"So it all worked out?" She asked.

He nodded. "Oh, yes. Like I said, I kept all those pictures, the letters, too. I reread them sometimes, when she goes home to see her family or whatever. When my parole is up i'll go with her."

Naomi's eyes travelled down his body until they landed on the outline of the ankle monitor underneath his trousers. "Oh, sure."

"Man, best damn decision I ever made answering that email."

"What we doing today?" He asked, his voice still thick with sleep.

You shrugged, pulling yourself tighter to his chest. "Whatever you want, honey."

"I wanna hangout with you." He yawned, rubbing his tired eyes. You guys were up late last night...

"I'm hungry." You complained, rolling over to check the time on your phone. Kurt groaned and pulled you back into him.

"Where you going?" He spoke into your ear, making you giggle.

"Get off, i'm tryna check the time." You teased, prying his hands from your waist, and he reluctantly let go. "It's half past eight."

"Early." Kurt mumbled, rolling over and nuzzling into you instead.

"I wanna get breakfast." You sat up, and Kurt grunted as the cold air surrounded his body.

"Five more minutes." Kurt groaned, grabbing your thigh, but you swung out of bed, leaving him alone. "Come back."

"Rise and shine, Kurt." You opened the curtains, letting in a bright stream of sunlight which shone directly on him. He winced, pulling the covers over his head.

You giggled and went into the bathroom to begin getting ready. You emerged a little while later, all dolled up for the day, and saw Kurt had fallen back asleep, your shirt from yesterday held over his nose and mouth, like he physically couldn't fall back asleep if he didn't have you somewhat nearby.

You peeled the shirt out of his grip, and left lipgloss kisses all over his face that you knew he'd have to get up and wash off. Kurt groaned once you woke him for the second time, but when he realised he was being showered with love and affection, he couldn't stay mad for very long.

He sat up, even more sleepy than before, and looking you over confusedly. "You got ready quick..."

"You fell back asleep."

"So so pretty." He mumbled, reaching out to touch your arm. He stroked his fingertips down your forearm and gently took your hand, placing a delicate kiss on the back of your knuckles.

You giggled seeing the way that the glitter from your lipgloss was sparkling on his face, and he rubbed over his cheek, tutting at the residue. "God sakes." He mumbled, getting out of the bed and walking to the bathroom to wash it off.

You followed him, teasing, "You don't like me kissing you?"

"I didn't say that."

Once Kurt finally got ready, you two were eating breakfast at the hotel restaurant. He looked really tired, and it made you laugh.

"What?" Kurt asked, taking a bite of food.

"Kept you up, huh?"

He grinned, nodding, his cheeks flushing pink as he looked around to make sure that nobody heard. "Shush." He grabbed your hand across the table.

"You just protected me so well yesterday..." You traced your fingernail over the lines on his palm, your voice teasing and lighthearted.

"Stop." He said, but it lacked any real protest. When you scratched across his fingertips, he made a noise that was a mixture between a laugh and a whimper. Oh, how you'd missed that sound.

"So, we're going easy today?" You said after a moment of quiet.

Kurt shrugged. "It's up to you." He never wanted to suggest an activity, he was invited on this trip free of charge, and was too afraid to be disrespectful in some way.

"Well, we haven't gone to the bean yet."

"Okay."

"There's also a couple of museums and stuff."

"Okay. Whatever you want." The two of you ate in silence for a moment, before Kurt spoke up, "What's the bean?"

"The Chicago bean?" You replied like it was obvious.

"Never heard of it."

"How?"

Kurt shrugged again. "I spent a lot of time studying YouTube stuff and streaming, not so much geography."

You chuckled. "It's this big metal bean sculpture that's like a mirror. You flick it, it's a... tradition, of sorts."

Kurt loved the fact that you never made him feel stupid for too long if he didn't know something. You'd tease, then immediately tell him the answer. It was one of the many things that made you truly perfect in his eyes.

"So you... flick the bean?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. It's a dirty joke-"

"I got it." Kurt interrupted, chuckling. "Where is it?"

"Not far from here, on Michigan Avenue, in the Millennium Park. Beautiful place, especially this time of year."

A couple of hours passed, and you and Kurt were wandering around The Art Institute Of Chicago, and you kept staring at him, awestruck.

Kurt noticed, and got nervous. "What?" He asked.

"You look nice."

"Really?" He asked, seeming genuinely surprised. You pushed his hair back, before you hands trailed down his chest, landing on his waist.

"Yeah."

Kurt smiled sheepishly, not used to compliments, especially from someone that was as beautiful as you.

"You're the real art in the museum." You joked, laughing.

Kurt laughed too, cringing slightly even if he was flattered. "Don't do that."

"Sorry." You grinned, grabbing his hand, continuing to look around. "Seriously, you look so good today... Let me take a picture of you."

"No, no-" He protested. For somebody that filmed themselves so much, he had a surprise aversion to having his picture taken. The only time you can remember him not protesting was when you first posted him on your story all that time ago.

"Yes!" You insisted, holding your phone up. "Smile..!"

Kurt smiled awkwardly, his arms dangling uselessly by his sides. He was so cute and you loved him so damn much.

"Perfect." You grinned, showing him the picture. "I'm going to post it."

Kurt sighed, but didn't argue. He loved the fact that you weren't ashamed of him more than he wanted to hide behind you. It didn't make sense, considering he posted himself all of the time, but you never questioned it. Everyone has weird quirks, and who cares if Kurt has a lot?

"Make sure to tag me, @Kurtsworld96!" He lit up.

"I know, baby." You angled your phone so that he could see. You posted it on your Instagram story, along with the caption 'love of my life @kurtsworld96 💗💗'

When you clicked post and looked back up at Kurt, he was flushed pink. "What?" You asked, bringing your hand up to caress his cheek.

"Love of your life?" His voice was soft, almost vulnerable sounding.

"Yeah." You grinned, matching his softness.

Kurt had never been anyone's number one anything. His best friends always had other best friends, he had never had a girlfriend, and neither of his parents cared for him much. So, for you to outwardly post something like that, it really kicked him in his feels.

You planted a soft kiss to his lips, silently telling him it was alright and that you loved him. You didn't want him getting upset in the middle of the museum.

Later that day, you were back at the hotel with Kurt, just relaxing before you met your parents for the last dinner in Chicago. Your phone buzzed, a message from somebody that you hadn't heard from in a while: Bobby.

He had replied to your story.

Bobby:

wtf is this 😂

You huffed when you read it, you hadn't heard from him in so long that you honestly thought your friendship was over. You looked down at Kurt, who was in your lap, his head against your stomach while he played a game on his Nintendo Switch, quiet and content, and your heart clenched.

You loved him so much, you wanted to marry him and be with him forever. You'd watched him grow apart from Bobby, watched his shoulders relax, felt his entire body melt against yours when he realised he was safe for the first time ever, and you just couldn't tell him.

You couldn't watch the panic and stress rise in his body, not when he was having such an amazing time with you and your parents in Chicago. How evil of you to ruin that?

You typed back a response, your spare hand coming to scratch through Kurt's hair.

You:

what about it?

Bobby:

cringe as fuuuuuuck dude

You:

don't care

He didn't reply after that, and you didn't want to entertain the conversation anymore anyway, so you happily let him go.

You met up with your parents a little while later, and you were more dolled up than you were during the day. The remnants of the previous conversation with Bobby still lingered in your mind, but going to dinner with Kurt and your parents was sure to take your mind off of it. Plus, Kurt was wearing a dress shirt and looked perfect.

The dinner went great, Kurt was starting to relax a bit when interacting with your parents, and stopped freaking out over them showing you affection. He didn't mean to, which is why it made you so proud to notice that he had stopped.

Arriving back at the hotel room, you were faced with the reality that you were leaving early in the morning, and hadn't even started packing. To add another layer to the mix, Kurt had gone quiet.

"What's the matter?" You asked, picking up some of your strewn clothes and folding them to put in your suitcase. Better to do it now than in the morning.

"You'll think it's stupid." He mumbled, sitting down on the bench at the end of the bed.

"Tell me, honey." You smiled, trying to keep calm and supportive even though you were stressed with the thought of tidying this mess and getting enough sleep before the flight.

"Well... I don't know what's going on tomorrow."

"What do you mean? We fly back."

"So much to do."

"I know, baby. But you gotta work with me here, get all of your things and fold them." You replied, your voice firm enough for him to listen, but without coming across as harsh. That would make him shut down.

"Okay." He agreed. Most of the mess was his, anyway. You'd taught him how to fold clothes when you helped him pack before, ignoring the fact that he didn't know how. Luckily, he still remembered and was no longer screwing them into a ball and stuffing them into his suitcase.

It didn't take that long to clear the room, and all that was left was both of your suitcases open on the floor. You sorted out all of your makeup and skincare, so that the only things left out were what you needed for tonight and tomorrow.

Kurt looked curious in his vulnerable, not knowing way. Thankfully, he spoke up first. "Um... Why are you leaving those out?" He asked sincerely, genuinely wanting to know.

"I need them tomorrow. You should pick out your outfit now and leave it out so that it's one less thing to do."

Kurt paused for a moment, considering what you had just said. He had never thought of that, and it sounded like a great idea. You were full of them.

Eventually, you and Kurt got into bed, his arms wrapping around you tightly. "Thank you." He whispered.

"For what?" You asked, looking up at him.

"Telling me that stuff... about packing... I- It's stupid."

"It's not stupid, honey. Nobody told you before." You caressed his cheek, planting a soft kiss on his chin.

"I just feel like an idiot when I ask you questions and you give me an answer that was obvious."

"If you didn't know, then you didn't know. You gotta learn, no?"

He nodded, kissing the top of your head. "I love you."

"I love you too." You grinned, kissing him passionately. When you broke the kiss, you wrapped your arms around his neck, and pulled yourself tighter to him, your eyes fluttering shut.

Kurt chuckled, rubbing his hand over your back in an attempt to soothe you. "It can't be that bad..."

"It's terrible!" You exclaimed, shuffling closer to Kurt, subconsciously seeking protection. His arm wrapped around your shoulders, always happy to have to there. "It's like it's just waiting to break."

"I'll go on there with you?" Kurt offered.

"You can go on there by yourself because i'm not doing it." You chuckled at the absurdity. No way were you going anywhere near that death trap.

Kurt chuckled too, as did your mother.

Around an hour later, you were in your hotel room, finishing your makeup while Kurt waited on the bed behind you.

"Is it so bad?" He asked, staring at you.

"What?"

"The glass floor thing."

"It's worse than bad." You turned to face him. You couldn't believe your mother had recruited him on this torture mission too.

"I'll hold your hand if you go on it." He offered.

"If I told you to come over here right now and hold my hand, you'd be behind me before I finished my sentence." You turned back to the mirror to continue doing your makeup.

Kurt laughed. "Is that you asking?" He sat up, ready to rush over and grab your hand if you wanted. You chuckled and shook your head.

It was quiet for another moment, before Kurt spoke again. "Do you go up the tower? How tall is it?"

"Um... It's pretty tall. Yeah, I go up, just not onto the glass floor. If I wanna see the view there's plenty of windows." You explained, finishing up with your makeup and putting everything away.

"Maybe we can kiss on the glass floor?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Kurt sighed, hopping off the bed to greet you where you have stood up. He kissed you anyway. "Please?" He asked again.

"You know how much I love you, I will kiss you anywhere... Just not up there." You left him and knelt beside your suitcase, putting your makeup bag away. "I can't believe my mom has roped you into this."

Kurt chuckled, sitting back down on the bed. "It's funny."

Later that day, standing in the elevator to the floor with that death trap felt like walking to your fate. Your hand was squeezing Kurt's tightly, and he was loving every second of closeness. You leaned your forehead against his shoulder, your stomach churning with fear.

Luckily, Kurt seemed to realise you were genuinely distressed and thankfully didn't find it funny anymore. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders, and pulled you securely into his chest. "Come on... It's okay."

You shook your head, watching the floor number count higher and higher. You stepped fully in front of Kurt, allowing his arms to completely envelop you tightly. The elevator doors opened, and you shakily stepped out.

"It's so high." You whispered, holding his hand in a death grip as he walked you to a table. You looked out of the windows, your stomach continuing to turn as you imagined falling all that way, the thoughts haunting your mind.

Kurt sat next to you, brushing his hands through your hair. Your legs were bouncing, your eyes unable to tear their gaze away from the height. In your peripheral vision, you could see the ledge, and every glimpse send sickness shooting through your guts.

"We can go back down..." Kurt offered, taking your shaky hands.

"What about my parents?" You asked, as you'd came here separately and agreed to meet on the 103rd floor.

"We can text them... come on, you're about to have a panic attack or something-"

"No," You interrupted, "I'm fine."

You turned your head to fully look at the ledge, a few people fearlessly standing on it. Maybe if you just stepped onto it, your fear would go away... or maybe the universe would make you an example.

Kurt put his hand on your cheek, turning you to face him again before you sent yourself into a deeper panic. "We were just joking earlier..."

"I know." You insisted, shuffling your chair closer to him.

"I didn't realise you were genuinely afraid... I would've never joined in if I knew." He seemed genuinely sorry, but you never thought it was a big deal.

"I don't care, Kurt." You squeezed his hand tighter, turning to watch someone playfully jump on the glass floor.

"Don't look at that."

"What if I went on, and someone jumped, and it fell?" You whispered, the scenario seeming stupid to Kurt but panic-inducing to you.

"I'd go with you, and those things are designed to hold a lot of weight."

You paused for a moment. "You'd go with me?"

"Of course. You think i'd make you go out there alone?"

You seemed to consider that. Obviously Kurt would go with you, he'd even said earlier that he'd hold your hand, but you hadn't thought about it seriously.

Part of you was screaming to just step on it, then you'd never have to do it again. The rational part of your brain knew it was safe, but you kept telling yourself that it wasn't, which made your stomach churn and the panic rise.

"You wanna?" Kurt asked, stroking his thumb over the back of your hand gently.

You bit your lip, your gaze flickering between the now empty floor and Kurt. "Okay." You whispered, standing on shaky legs.

Kurt looked genuinely surprised, but he followed you over. You were glad to do it with just him and not your parents, as you knew Kurt would never make a big deal out of it.

You paused right before the glass floor, and Kurt stepped out first. You winced as his foot hit the glass, expecting to hear a loud shatter and watch him fall. But it didn't.

He took both of your hands, and gently guided you on until both of your feet were firmly planted on the glass. "I'm on it." You muttered.

"You are." Kurt smiled, still holding your hands. He saw your breathing start to deepen as you took in the fall underneath you, and he immediately stepped behind you, wrapping you tightly in his arms.

Kurt's pride swelled in his chest when he realised you were leaning on him for protection, like you truly trusted him to keep you safe. He'd never had that before, and he loved it.

You relaxed a bit, leaning into him. So far, so good.

You heard a gasp behind you, and your head shot around to see your mother and father standing there. Kurt grinned widely.

"How have you done that?" Your mother asked Kurt, also stepping onto the glass, your father behind her. You shrunk further into his arms, the added weight of two people making you need him closer.

"He said he'd hold my hand." You answered, your voice shaky.

"15 years of coming to Chicago and he's managed it his first year in." Your mother chuckled, as did Kurt.

"Now I don't have to ever do it again."

"No, sweetie." Your mother smiled, looking out at the view, your father wrapping his arms around her.

Once the initial shock faded, you tore your eyes from the deadly drop to look at the view.

"D'you see Indiana?" Your father asked everybody, pointing at the tiny skyline.

"Oh, yeah." Your mother and Kurt mumbled, but you couldn't speak anymore, everything creeping up on you again.

Your body reacted before your mind did, and you shoved Kurt off of you, stepping back onto the solid floor. Kurt grinned as you stood behind everyone. "You did it."

"I'm not going back on there."

"You want your gift?" He asked excitedly, sitting up. You fell awkwardly into the gap, his warmth disappearing.

"No, come back..." You groaned, gripping his shirt and attempting to pull him down. Kurt hopped out of bed and went over to his suitcase, rummaging through it for the small gift bag he had concealed inside.

You groaned again, feeling the cold air surround you. "Kurt..." You sat up, staring at him crouched on the floor.

Kurt rushed over and shoved the bag into your lap, looking at you expectantly. He has never had a girlfriend to buy a birthday gift for before, and he took immense joy in picking it out.

You opened the bag and pulled out a necklace box. Your eyes widened in anticipation, and you opened the box. Inside was a dainty heart locket. "Oh, Kurt..." You grinned, taking it delicately out of the box and holding it up. "It's beautiful."

He smiled, kissing your temple. "Open it." He insisted.

You clicked the locket open, and inside was a photo of you two kissing. It was your favourite photo of you two, and Kurt obviously knew that. You are sat on his lap, one hand on his jaw, the other on the back of his head, while Kurt is gripping your arm and your waist.

You felt your eyes tear up, not just at the beautiful gift, but also at the fact that he knew how much you loved the picture, and chose that one.

You kissed him hard, trying to pour all of your feelings into one kiss. He wrapped his arms around you, kissing you back, relieved that you loved the necklace, especially as it hadn't come cheap.

You broke the kiss, and looked down at the locket in your hand. "I love it so much..." You sobbed, completely overwhelmed. You'd never felt so loved than you had with Kurt.

He wiped your tears, a bit confused at your reaction. "Why are you crying?" He asked.

"Because I love you and you're perfect." You hugged him tightly, squeezing him, wanting him as close as possible.

He hugged you back, also beginning to feel the same amount of love and emotion that you were feeling in this moment. Kurt thought it was just over a necklace, but it was the implication that he listened, that he knew you, and he loved you.

You pulled away, and handed him the necklace. "Put it on me." You turned around so your back was facing him.

Kurt's hand gently brushed your hair off of your back, lingering across your spine, feeling your soft skin. He planted a sweet kiss to the back of your shoulder, before bringing the locket around and clasping it into place.

"There." He whispered, and you touched it where it was sitting on your chest.

"Thank you." You spoke softly, taking in the intimate moment. You turned back around to face him, smiling shyly. "How does it look?"

"Beautiful." Kurt answered, kissing your forehead.

You stared into his eyes, remembering what he was like when you first met. How pathetic he got underneath your touch, how he'd make that noise that was a mixture between a laugh and a whimper. Now, he was more confident with himself and with you.

He felt safe with you, he hadn't felt humiliated or alone since he left California.

That afternoon, you were on a date with Kurt in a cute little restaurant you'd found in Chicago. You were going to spend some time with your parents later, but for now you just needed to be with him, especially after this morning.

You ate slowly, watching Kurt eat too. He was still so endearing to you, even after all this time, and today you felt more in love with him than ever.

Your hand kept coming to mindlessly fiddle with the locket around your neck, and Kurt definitely noticed.

"I'm glad you like it so much." He said after swallowing a mouthful.

You smiled, not realising that you had been playing with it again. "I love it."

"It looks pretty on you." He kept staring at it, how it delicately sat against your chest, the colour making your skin glow, your hair curled around it. He was hopelessly obsessed with you.

Kurt also felt possessive over the fact that you were wearing a necklace he bought you. It also looked like a piece of jewelry that a partner would buy, meaning other people would see it and knew you were taken.

This helped Kurt feel a lot better, because throughout your relationship, you'd had a lot of men shamelessly hit on you in front of him, some of them not backing down once you'd told them no, which always made his blood boil.

Both of you continued to eat, quietly enjoying each other's company. You had still felt a little overwhelmed and emotional from this morning, and the quiet time with Kurt was helping you come down from it.

"I'm really glad we met, you know?" You said, your voice soft. You reached over the table and placed your hand on Kurt's, interlocking your fingers.

"Me too." He grinned, he'd never felt so loved.

"My last birthday, my boyfriend totally ruined the whole thing."

Kurt's fist tightened around his fork, he knew you'd had some bad boyfriends in the past, and he always hated hearing about them, because he hates that he didn't know you and couldn't do anything about it.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice tense.

"Well, we went clubbing because I was 21, right? And he was bitching all night 'cause I wore a short dress. Totally ruined the mood. Then when he drove me home, he shouted at me the whole way and started speeding tryna scare me."

Kurt sighed, feeling the possessiveness from earlier rise in his body, all of his nerves on edge. "Asshole." He mumbled, containing what he really wants to say.

"Well, I had fun at the club before we left, at least."

"What dress was it?" Kurt asked, out of curiosity.

"Actually, the one I wore the night we met. The little pink one."

Kurt automatically smiled as the image of it filled his head. How could your ex complain when he'd seen you in that dress, and you looked amazing? "What a loser."

"Right?" You chuckled. "But, now I have you."

"But, I also made you cry on your birthday." He smirked, knowing how different it was.

"Yeah, but it was happy tears. I'm never scared of you." You felt Kurt's hand start to tense up as he thought about everything that you had just told him. How could someone be dating a real-life angel, and make her feel like that? He'd never be able to wrap his head around it.

After lunch, you and Kurt walked around the city some more, and he took you into any store that you wanted, buying you anything. You arrived back at the hotel that evening with a decent-sized haul.

Since the entire vacation was for free, Kurt had a bit of money that he'd saved up for his share of the hotel room, and so he thought there was no other place he'd rather spend it than on you.

Kurt watched as you touched up your makeup for dinner, adding some sparkly eyeshadow and a different lip combo.

"You're so beautiful." He mumbled, his eyes wide with pure adoration.

You turned to face him, grinning. "Thank you."

"What are you wearing tonight?" He asked. He was currently sitting in a half-buttoned dress shirt, and his jeans from earlier. He had started getting changed but got distracted.

"My dress." You said, nodding to the the dress that was hung up in the wardrobe. You watched Kurt's face twist into a grin at the thought of seeing you in that.

You were going to a relatively fancy restaurant with your parents, and always loved an excuse to dress up nicely.

"Haven't seen you in that one before."

"No, well, I don't get to wear stuff like that often."

"I wish I had so much money, then I could take you to the fanciest restaurants and you'd get to wear whatever dress you want." Kurt spoke, his voice wistful.

"That's sweet."

"Very sweet." Kurt agreed, coming up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you into his chest. "Happy birthday, baby." He whispered in your ear, planting a soft kiss to your lobe.

You turned and kissed him on the mouth, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck to pull him closer. "I love you." You kissed him again, before pulling away and grabbing your dress from where it was hung up.

"I'm gonna get changed now." You stepped towards the bathroom, changing in there for the sole purpose of making him wait to see you.

When you came out, Kurt's eyes widened. "Wow." He grinned, walking over to you and grabbing you by the waist.

You smiled coyly. "Can you zip me up?" You asked, turning around.

Kurt ran his hands down your back towards the zip, and slowly pulled it up, almost shivering at the intimacy of the moment. He kissed the nape of your neck when he was done, grabbing your hand and twirling you back to face him, watching as your dress fanned out over your legs.

"Beautiful." He whispered, his eyes drifting to the locket which still dangled from your neck.

Later that night, you enjoyed a beautiful dinner with Kurt and your parents. The fancy restaurant that you chose was delicious, and everybody enjoyed it.

When the cake was brought out, you smiled as they sang to you, your eyes locked on Kurt and how handsome he looked under the candlelight and the dim light of the restaurant.

Both of you had never felt so fulfilled.

"You don't wanna come?" You asked, sitting down next to him.

"I do... I just-" He paused, covering his face with his hands.

You rubbed his back gently, feeling as his body naturally melted into your touch. "Just what, honey?" You asked, your voice a lot softer than it was a moment ago.

"I don't know how you expect me to pay for my share."

"What share?" You asked, genuinely confused.

"You know, my share of the trip. The hotel room and stuff."

You fought back a smile, suddenly realising you forgot to tell him that he didn't have to pay. "Honey, my dad gets the trip for free as a bonus from his job..."

Kurt's head snapped up to look at you, and his face was filled with a mixture of relief and confusion. "Why didn't you tell me? I've been stressing about it all week."

"Sorry, baby. I forgot!"

He grumbled and flopped back on your bed, sighing with relief. His arms wrapped around your waist from behind, and he dragged you down so that you were laid over the top of him.

You giggled, turning over so that you could nuzzle into him. "I'm sorry..." You cooed, tracing shapes over his cheek and planting soft kisses against his neck.

Kurt couldn't hold back his grin, leaning down to catch your lips in a sweet kiss. "Fine." He mumbled against your lips.

You smiled into the kiss, then broke away. "I love you."

"I love you too." Kurt replied, brushing a strand of hair out of your face, before he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you even tighter into his chest.

You spent the rest of the afternoon helping Kurt pack, something you only did after finding out he was somebody that just screwed his clothes into a ball and threw them in there.

Later that night, you came into your bedroom where Kurt was already in bed. "So, we have to be up at 3:30am and be out by 4:00am." You said, before continuing, "Then we'll meet my parents at the airport."

Kurt nodded, grabbing you by the front of your shirt and pulling your into bed beside him. "So early." He mumbled against your ear, planting a soft kiss against your lobe.

"I know, honey. You can sleep on the plane."

He hummed, nuzzling into your neck and breathing in the intoxicating scent of your vanilla cashmere lotion. "Are you gonna sleep on the plane?" He asked, his voice soft and sleepy.

"Maybe, it's pretty uncomfortable." You replied, before turning to cuddle into his side instead of being awkwardly draped over his chest, where he had you before. Kurt gladly welcomed you into his arms properly, pressing his forehead against yours.

"You can sleep on my shoulder." He offered, softly kissing you once he was done talking.

You chuckled, kissing him back. "It's not a very long flight. Might not be able to fall asleep."

Kurt hummed again, his head falling onto your shoulder. "I probably will. You make me sleepy."

You chuckled, bringing your hand up to scratch through his hair, his favourite. "Do I?"

"Mhm. Cause you do shit like that where you scratch my head and I just feel my whole body relax."

You chuckled again, kissing the crown of his head softly. "Go to sleep, baby." You whispered, your fingers continuing to rake through his hair gently.

"I love you." He whispered back, attempting one last time to pull you even closer before he promptly fell asleep in your arms, in pure heaven.

The next morning was spent quietly alongside eachother, getting dressed in the cold morning air and making sure that you had everything before you left for the airport.

The car ride was quiet, both of you too tired to speak, and neither of you wanted to break the peaceful, early morning bubble that had surrounded you, the only noises being the sounds of the tyres on the road and the faint music from the radio.

Kurt's hand was on your thigh as he drove, stroking it softly with his thumb. Kurt's jacket was draped around your shoulders, the green one that he wore the night you met, only now it smelled of your laundry detergent and Kurt's new soaps instead of fried food and boy sweat.

Kurt drove into the parking lot and rode around until you spotted your parent's car. "That one." You said softly, pointing to a black car, your voice not breaking the quiet bubble.

Kurt nodded, parking in the empty space beside it before he got out of the car and went around the front to open your door. He loved doing that for you, as it made him feel important, like he was somehow worthy enough to open your door.

"Thank you." You grinned, kissing him as you stepped out. Kurt's cheeks flushed pink, before he rounded the car again and opening the trunk, getting both of your bags out.

A couple of hours passed, and you and Kurt were sat at the gate with your parents. Kurt was quietly talking to your mother, and your head was leaned against your father's shoulder as you tried to stay awake.

Eventually, you boarded the plane and settled in next to Kurt, while your parents were in the row behind you. As soon as the plane took off, you were nestling into Kurt, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, as by now you were completely exhausted.

Kurt lifted the arm rest up, and you shuffled as close to him as possible. You put your neck pillow around his neck instead, and leaned your head on his shoulder, so you were both laid against the same pillow.

It was definitely not the most comfortable position in the world, but you always loved being this close to him.

The hour long flight passed relatively quickly, you falling in and out of sleep while Kurt watched videos on his phone and ate snacks, occassionally prodding your lips to give you one if he noticed your eyelids flutter open.

Before you knew it, you held Kurt's hand as you exited the plane to Chicago.

It was a beautiful city, you had grown up coming here usually every other year, and as you'd told Kurt, your father got the trip for free as a bonus from his job. Sometimes you'd come in the summer, sometimes the fall, and once you came during march, when the river was dyed green.

Kurt, however, had never come here. He had never left California except for briefly visiting his grandparents who lived in Arizona, and of course coming to you in Indiana and all of the states he travelled through to get there.

The four of you made your way to the hotel, a beautiful one right off of the river with a gorgeous view of the city. You and Kurt checked into your room, and you noticed on the elevator ride up that he had gone quiet again, distant.

His eyes were glassy, and he was blinking a lot, just staring at the floor. You interlaced your fingers with his, and squeezed his hand gently. You obviously knew that he got overwhelmed in situations like these, where he was surrounded by so much love, and felt bad memories be replaced by ones filled with delicacy and love.

"Wow!" You exclaimed, entering your room and seeing the view. Kurt followed behind you, still clinging onto your hand. His hand came to your lower back and snaked underneath your shirt, desperate to feel closer. You let him, leaning into him.

"You alright, honey?" You asked after a little while of staring out of the window. You made sure that your voice was soft, wanting Kurt to feel calm and not completely break down, which you felt he was moments away from.

Kurt nodded, pulling away to sit at the bench at the end of the bed. You turned to face him, taking in his body language as he yanked at his shoelaces to take his sneakers off.

He was stiff as a board, while simultaneously curling into himself. To you, he just looked like a little boy who had been told not to cry.

"You... gonna vlog Chicago?" You asked, knowing that talking about his channel always lifted his mood. He hadn't posted much since he came to Indiana, only a few gaming videos, because he was much more focussed on spending time with his beautiful girlfriend.

Kurt shrugged, and you felt the energy in the room continue to shift as he got increasingly aggressive with a stubborn knot in his shoelace.

Once he finally got the shoe off, he threw it on the ground, before keeling over and sobbing. Your heart broke.

"Hey, come on..." You sat next to him, carefully wrapping your arm around his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He sobbed, his voice thick with tears. "I'm ruining the vacation. Why did you even invite me?"

"No you're not, baby..." You rubbed his back. "I want you here, yeah? I love you so much."

Kurt let out another gut-wrenching sob, before sitting up and wrapping himself around you. You squeezed him tightly, continuing to rub in between his shoulder blades.

"I love you too." He sniffed, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt humiliated now. He was fine with getting vulnerable around you, but he hated crying in front of you, it made him feel weaker than he already felt.

"Is this... about your parents?" You asked quietly, your voice careful and soft.

To your surprise, Kurt nodded. You had expected him to push you away and storm out of the room, but luckily he was opening up.

"Guess it hits you all at once, hm?" You ask, pulling his head up to look at you. His face was red and tear-stained, and his eyes were dark due to being so tired. You wondered if his lack of sleep had made him more irritable.

He nods again, wiping his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, honey." You smiled, wiping his cheek with your sleeve before planting a soft kiss where the last tear was. "Why don't you... go to the vending machine and get us some drinks... we can order room service and spent the night curled up together in bed, hm? How does that sound?"

Kurt nods, sitting still for a moment, staring at his shoe which he had thrown. He felt bad suddenly, fearing that he had scared you. He stood up and picked the sneaker up, holding it in his hands for a second before tugging it back on his foot along with the other one, and grabbing his wallet.

"Be back soon." He mumbled, his voice quiet and a bit shaky still. You nodded and smiled.

While Kurt waited for your drinks to fall from the vending machine, he saw your mother approaching from the corner of his eyes. You had snitched and she was coming to tell him to get out and stay away from her daughter, right?

"Hi, Kurt." She smiled, standing off to the side of him.

"Hi." Kurt smiled weakly, trying to keep his voice stable and hoping the redness had faded from his face. Unfortunately for him, she noticed.

"You okay?" She asked, her voice taking on the same sincere tone that yours did whenever you asked him the same question.

Kurt nodded, but again, she saw right through him like you always did.

"It must be a lot for you." She spoke, her voice soft. Kurt nodded. "Listen, me and Y/N's father are here for you, alright?"

Kurt nodded again, before slowly turning to face her. "Never had that relationship with my own parents." He confessed, turning away instantly to collect the drinks.

Your mother nodded understandingly, seemingly knowing how vulnerable he was right now, and that something must have happened back at the room. She squeezed his arm, and her touch was full of such maternal care that Kurt thought he would faint.

"Now, go." She smiled. "Don't leave my little girl hanging."

Kurt chuckled, stepping away from the vending machine before pausing for a moment. "I love her."

"I know." Your mother smiled, pressing the buttons on the vending machine to order her own drink.

"I promise I do." He insisted, like he didn't believe that your mother knew and accepted the fact. "I take care of her."

"I know." She repeated, still smiling, but Kurt felt like he had to prove himself, to prove that he was worthy and could be good.

"This drink is for her." He held up the bottle in his hand. "Because I bought it for her... because I love her."

Your mother nodded, understanding that Kurt was feeling intense emotions and just needed to be validated. "She's never been so happy, Kurt."

Kurt smiled, satisfied. The women in your family sure knew how to play him.

"Bye. See you tomorrow." He said, still holding up the bottle so that she could see. She waved him off, and he got into the elevator, a weight lifted off of his shoulders.

For once, he felt a part of the family, and your mother understood that Kurt lived only for you, or something along those lines, it was more intense in Kurt's mind.

When he got back to the hotel room, he noticed that you had showered and were in bed.

"Hey." You grinned, putting your phone down. "What took you so long?" You asked, opening your arms for him.

"I ran into your mom." He crawled into you, placing the bottle on your bedside table and curling up onto your chest.

"Oh yeah?" You asked, kissing his head gently.

He nodded, pulling the comforter over his body so that he could be fully pressed up against you. Kurt's body relaxed as your fingernails started to move over his head, neck, and back, and his tired eyes fluttered shut.

Every night, he seemed to fall asleep in a beautiful bubble of love, being caressed by you, and there was no safer place for him than in your arms. You always made everything better.

But, his throat was dry, so no matter how peaceful the bubble you two were in was, and no matter how much it killed him to leave, he carefully peeled your body off of his, making sure you stayed sound asleep.

The first sip of water was when he knew something was wrong. His throat was sore, the first sign that tomorrow, he would wake up with a stuffy nose. Dread quickly filled him, he hated being sick.

Nobody liked being sick, but Kurt's situation was different. His mother stayed away from him when he had the flu, not wanting to get herself sick. He had to go to the pharmacy himself, guessing which medicine to buy. They were too expensive, and he didn't know what he was looking for because nobody had ever told him.

He had to heat himself up cheap, tinned soup, and try to regulate his body temperature that kept flipping from freezing cold to boiling hot. Nobody had ever taught him how to make himself better, and Kurt never knew how to go about learning, so he just suffered until his body fought it.

Kurt spent the rest of the day on edge, dreading having to go to sleep because waking up meant dealing with this himself. You weren't going to help him, why would you? Nobody else had.

Admittedly, he'd been a bit snippy today. He wouldn't tell you what he wanted for lunch, he didn't care. He poked his dinner and barely ate anything, and you had wondered if you did something wrong.

Later that night, you approached him while he watched TV.

"You gonna keep sulking or you gonna tell me what's wrong?" You asked, sitting beside him on the couch.

"Nothing's wrong..." He mumbled, not taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Have I done something?"

"No."

"Okay... Um... Do you want a cookie?"

"No."

"Cake?"

"No."

"Ice cream?"

"No." He paused for a second, ice cream would help his throat. "Actually, yeah."

"Great, it's in the freezer."

Kurt rolled his eyes, unable to fight back the smirk. He was grumpy but he still loved you. You went into the kitchen, smiling too, and brought him a bowl of vanilla ice cream, his favourite, because it reminded him of your vanilla cashmere lotion.

"Here, lazy." You handed the bowl to him.

"Thanks."

"Now I've brought you that, you have to tell me what's the matter."

"Nothing. Just didn't sleep well."

"That's why you've been mean to me all day?"

"I haven't been mean to you." He paused, before continuing, "I just-" Don't want you to get sick... He thought, but he couldn't say that. If he did, he'd have to face the reality that you wouldn't take care of him sooner rather than later.

"Just what?" You asked.

"I'm just tired."

Kurt continued to quietly watch TV for the rest of the evening, every swallow of the ice cream both soothing this throat and reminding him of what was to come, both the sickness and abandoment.

The next morning, he woke up, and couldn't breathe. His nose was blocked, his head was pounding, he was both sweating and shivering, and his skin felt sore and sensitive.

You weren't in bed, but he could smell bacon, so he ventured into the kitchen where he saw you cooking.

"Afternoon, sleepyhead."

"What?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. It was too bright in here.

"It's past noon, honey." You turned around, holding a bacon sandwich on a plate. "Was cooking this for you, gonna wake you up with it."

You noticed Kurt's sweat soaked shirt, his dark eyes, and messy hair. "You feeling okay?" You asked your voice soft.

Kurt nodded and took the plate from you, but you raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you sick?" You asked, putting a hand over his forehead, he was burning up.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter." He mumbled in between bites, he couldn't taste anything.

"Oh, baby. Finish that and go back to bed..."

He looked at you, confused. Why did you care?

You went into the bedroom and opened the windows wide, letting in plenty of fresh air. You made the bed, folding the comforter over at the top to allow the sheets to cool before Kurt got back into them. Finally, you switched on your fan and aimed it at his pillow.

Kurt shuffled in, his shirt off and slung over his shoulder. "Gonna take a shower."

"Okay, honey. You want me to come with you?" You asked, your voice still soft.

He looked surprised for a second, before replying, "Don't wanna get you sick."

You tilted your head, you didn't care if you got sick. You took his hand, and lead him into the bathroom, switching the water on.

"Get in." You urged, watching him peel the rest of his clothes off and throw them into the laundry basket.

You switched the water to the lukewarm, so it wasn't freezing, but he didn't need to be any warmer and it would help him cool down. Kurt sighed with relief, allowing it to run over his whole body.

You didn't undress, instead stepping into the space where the shower head didn't spray. You washed his hair and his body, and he leaned into you, allowing himself to be taken care of for once. Only a matter of time before you left him to figure it out himself, anyway.

Once he got out, he sat on the bed while you got out some clothes for him, just some sweatpants and boxers, as he'd be too warm in a shirt.

"Thanks." He mumbled, getting dressed and into the cold bed.

"I'm gonna run to the store and get you some medicine... Do you want anything else?" You asked, perching on the end of the bed and scratching his head gently.

He shook his head, leaning into your touch.

"I won't be long, baby." You leaned over and kissed his temple, before heading out to the store.

You knew that this obviously ran deeper than 'not wanting to get you sick', and you had a general idea that he probably never had anyone to take care of him, and based on the look he gave you when you offered to shower with him, you knew you were right.

You decided you were going to make him feel so loved today. At the pharmacy, you bought him medicine, and then headed to the grocery store where you got some soup, some honey, Kurt's favourite chips, and some teabags.

"I'm home!" You called out, putting your purse down, along with the grocery bags, before going into the bedroom. "Hi, baby." You spoke softly, Kurt was on the bed, curled up under the blankets.

"Hey." He mumbled, putting his phone down.

"How you feeling?" You perched on the edge again, feeling his forehead. He had definitely cooled down from earlier.

"Terrible."

"I got you some medicine... some soup for dinner... and some tea."

Kurt didn't react for a second, but when he did, he looked confused. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? You're sick, baby."

"You're taking care of me?" He asked, his voice quiet and thick with emotion.

You nodded, understanding all at once. "Yeah, I am."

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." You smiled. "I'll go and make you some tea, it'll be good for your throat."

Kurt nodded, and you went into the kitchen. You made the tea, and stirred some honey into it, before going back to the bedroom and handing it to him.

He sipped it slowly, and for a couple of hours, you just sat next to him, scratching his scalp while he watched videos on his phone, handing him a tissue whenever he started sniffling.

By the end of the day, Kurt finished his soup, and dozed off quickly. The sickness had exhausted him, but he fell asleep surrounded by so much love, and the feeling of your fingernails trailing up and down his back.

He hadn't known what it felt like to be looked after when he was sick, but now he knew that it was extremely intimate, and that he got emotional if he thought about it for too long.

Whenever you allowed him to replace bad memories from his upbringing with memories full of softness, intimacy, and love, he knew even more that he wanted to be with you forever. He was going to repay the favour one day.

The two walked in, and Roy busied himself greeting the congregation before the sermon started. Gator looked around, his eyes landing on you. You were sitting in the pews, reading the bible. You wore a white dress, your hair in two loose braids with little lacy bows tied into the ends.

"Ain't seen you around before." Gator spoke, his voice cutting through your quiet bubble. He was smooth, wanting to charm you, he'd had plenty of experience, in fact.

"Just moved." You smiled politely, closing the bible on your lap.

"What's yer name, little lady?" He asked, his face smug, but he was genuinely interested. The feeling scared him, it was completely 'unmanly' for a Tillman to catch feelings, and he absolutely was not.

"Y/N. You?" You asked, your voice soft over the faint chatter behind you.

"Deputy sheriff, Gator Tillman."

You nodded, you'd only been in town for a few days, and you'd heard all about the Tillmans. Roy Tillman, Stark County Sheriff, and his son, Gator Tillman. "Bunch o' trouble." As described by a little old lady at the farmers market you'd visited yesterday.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, deputy." You smiled politely, nodding at him. He was handsome, his hair slicked back tightly, and he wore a black button up shirt and some black pants, but he was trouble.

"Call me Gator, little lady." He winked, before returning to his father as the sermon started.

You tried to listen, your bible in your lap, but you saw Gator's head continuously turning back, his eyes catching yours. He clearly knew what he wanted.

Afterwards, as you were leaving, a firm hand wrapped around your wrist. As you turned around, Gator stood there, holding a small card in between his two fingers.

"Forgot 'er give you this." He placed the card in your hand. It had his name, face, and number on it. "Call me if you need anything, and I mean... anything."

You ignored the implications, holding it in your palm. "You give these out to everyone, deputy?" You asked, purposefully not using his name.

"Only the pretty ones." He winked again, before leaving the church. You stepped outside a little after him, watching the police cruiser disappear down the road.

Later that night, you were sat in your bed, wooden bed frame creaking under you as your lacy canopy swayed lightly in the wind that was coming through the open window.

You looked over at the card which sat on your bedside table. You had honestly meant to throw it away, not wanting to involve yourself in their messy family business, but something wasn't letting you.

That face, his nose, his hard eyes that seemed to soften when he looked at you, how your wrist felt in his hand... This was absolutely not what you wanted to happen.

The next day, you were back at the same farmer's market that you had visited a few days earlier, the one where you first learned about the Tillman family.

As you were inspecting a punnet of vibrant red strawberries, you felt a body behind you. Gator Tillman stood there.

He was wearing a backwards cap, a camo hoodie, and his sheriff vest. You also noticed the pistol in the gun holster wrapped around his thigh.

"Afternoon, deputy." You smiled politely, turning to face him. He had clearly taken an interest in you.

"You ain't use the number yet." His voice was quiet, and it almost sounding like a warning. Thinking about what you had heard, it frightened you a little. He probably wasn't used to not getting what he wanted.

"You... said to call if I needed anything, and I haven't needed anything."

His jaw clenched, and he spoke tightly. "T' wasn't literal, baby girl."

"Maybe you should've been more specific."

Gator smirked at your attitude, his hand coming to your arm to brush the sleeve of your little white lacy dress. "Maybe I should've." His touch was surprisingly gentle.

He let you go, stepping backward, his eyes roaming up your bare legs for a second, before snapping back to your pretty face. "See ya around, little lady."

"Bye." You whispered, unnecessary as he had already walked away. Something about him truly unnerved you and excited you all at once.

Later that night, you were visiting the local dive bar for the first time since you'd arrived in Lehigh.

You were sat at the bar, mindlessly sipping on a beer, hoping to get a bit tipsy tonight so that you could make some friends. Conversing was always easier that way.

You felt a presence behind you, but it wasn't Gator. It felt unwelcome, even more so when he span your stool to face him.

"Um. Hello." You said, looking at the man standing in front of you, his eyes fixed on your chest.

"Yer new, yeah?" He slurred, clearly intoxicated.

You just nodded, suddenly nervous.

"I like yer dress." He slurred again, his hand landing on your knee, sliding up the soft skin.

You laughed nervously, standing up off of the stool so he'd stop touching you.

"Don't need ta be scared o' me." He mumbled, his arms coming to either side of you, trapping you against the bar.

You looked around urgently, everybody either hadn't noticed, or didn't care. Great.

You were stuck there for around twenty minutes, listening to this guy talk, smelling the beer radiating off of him, before the chatter in the bar died down, and everybody turned to look at the doorway where Gator Tillman had walked in, along with a few other cops.

The chatter and noise slowly returned, but Gator's eyes landed directly on you. You made eye contact, silently begging him for help.

He walked over, and forced the man's arm off of the bar, allowing you to step out from his grip, Gator's arm subtly pushing you behind him.

"I was talkin' to 'er." The man slurred.

"She don' wanna talk." Gator warned, his hand taking your forearm from where you stood behind him. His touch felt gentle, unlike the man's touch which felt abrasive and violating. It surprised Gator, too. He had never been gentle before.

"She comin' home with me." He slurred again, clearly way past drunk at this point.

"Get outta here." Gator smacked his arm, and he stumbled backwards before disappearing into the crowd with a grumble.

He turned to you, his eyes softening uncharacteristically. "Ya alright?"

You nodded, clearly embarrassed.

"Shoulda called me." He smirked, his hand brushing up and down your arm, attempting to soothe you although Gator didn't know how.

"How was I supposed to?" You snapped, mad that he was using this opportunity to hit on you.

His smirk faded. "Was a joke. Not in the mood for jokin'..."

You furrowed your brows at him, but you couldn't stay mad at him. Something about his presence here was making you feel warm and very safe. He had protected you...

"Let me take you home." He offered, to which you nodded. Gator walked with you to his police cruiser, the night air cold against your burning skin, hot with embarrassment and something else...

He helped you in, surprisingly chivalrous, although you didn't know he'd never be caught dead doing that for anybody else. You had truly caught his eye in a way that nobody else had or ever could, a feeling that he wasn't ready to face just yet.

You directed him to your house, and he watched as you went inside and shut the door, safe from the ugly lurking in this town.

He sat there for a lot longer than was necessary, mentally noting the directions here and exactly which house was yours on which street. You clearly lived with your parents, but that wasn't a problem for him.

On the drive phone, his phone started ringing with an unfamiliar number, he picked it up, a sneaking suspicion about who might be calling.

"Stark County Sheriff Department, Gator speaking." He said into the phone. It was quiet for a second before your soft voice filled up the other side.

"Hey... It's me, Y/N."

"Hey, little lady." Gator smirked, glad you had finally called him. When he stopped at a red light, he made sure to save your number.

"I just wanted... to thank you for tonight... and for taking me home."

"No problem, little lady. Gotta see ya home safe."

You chuckled, and his heart clenched at the noise, an unfamiliar feeling that was terrifying to him.

"Um. Well, i'll see you soon, okay? That's all I wanted to say."

"Glad to see ya finally makin' use of that number. G'night."

You chuckled again, and his heart had the same reaction as last time he heard it.

"Night, Gator." You whispered, hanging up, also using his name instead of 'deputy'.

Gator knew one thing for certain after tonight, after rescuing you at the bar, seeing you sat all pretty in his passenger seat, and now seeing your number in his phone. He wasn't done with you.

"Kurt, what's the matter?" You asked, your voice a mixture of sympathy and amusement. He was laying like a child, in your defense.

"Stupid everything." He grumbled, shoving his face in a pillow.

You knelt down in front of him, threading your fingers into his hair and moving his head to look at you. He was pouting, and his brows were furrowed.

You smiled at him, seriously trying not to laugh because he was in a bad mood, but he really amused you. You ran a finger over his eyebrow, trying to get him to relax them.

"What happened, baby?"

Kurt huffed before replying. "Stupid YouTube. Stupid Spree. Next, you'll dump me." He stuffed his face into the pillow again, pulling away from your touch, something that surprised you greatly.

You let out a laugh of disbelief. "Will I? Will I send you back to California, too?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

You stood up, pulling him by his shoulders so he sat up, where you sat next to him. "Was someone mean to you?" You asked, trying so hard to be polite.

But you saw the look on his face, the genuine pain behind his eyes. It wasn't his usually grumpiness when he'd had a bad week, something that could be fixed with some food and a sweet kiss from his girlfriend, he was actually upset.

"Talk to me, baby." You said, your voice softer now, losing the joking tone. He just shook his head.

You gently laid on the couch, pulling and manoeuvring him so that he was on top of you, his head on your chest, his favourite place to be.

You felt his rigid body relax a little bit more, unable to keep up his defenses while he was laid against the comfiest pillows. "Talk to me..." You urged, scratching his scalp and planting feather-light kisses on his forehead.

His eyes fluttered shut, overcome with sleepiness at what was his personal heaven. Seriously, he was in heaven.

"Just stupid stuff." He mumbled, pressing into you, his arms wrapping around your waist.

"So, what was that about me dumping you?" You asked, feeling his fingers slip under your shirt to feel some skin.

He shrugged again, "Sorry."

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

"It's stupid."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Fine." Kurt exhaled, attempting to pull you even closer despite the fact it wasn't possible anymore. "Lost some subscribers... Not getting many views... My spree rating went down. One thing after the other. And you were looking super pretty this week, so what if you dump me and find someone better?"

"Poor baby." You whispered, not minding coddling him a little bit since you knew he loved it and could tell he needed it.

He nodded in agreement.

A couple of hours passed, and while Kurt wasn't a ragdoll on your couch anymore, he was still sad. You'd made him his favourite dinner, showered with him, and were now in your cosy bed, Kurt tucked under your fluffy blankets, safe and warm.

He was laying there, fighting sleep while you quietly scratched his scalp, shivering every time your perfectly manicured nails traced down his neck and across his shoulders.

"Kurt?" You asked, your soft voice cutting through the silence.

"Hm?" He mumbled, his voice sleepy.

"You know... I almost didn't make it to L.A."

"Why?" He mumbled again, his eyes closed.

"Couldn't find my license... I was super stressed out."

"Okay?"

You sighed at his tone, he clearly didn't see your point. "The point is, that I made it there anyway, where I met you." You trailed your finger down his nose.

"Good." Kurt paused for a moment, before opening his eyes and looking up at you from where he laid against your stomach. "I almost didn't go to that party."

"Why?"

"Wasn't invited." He mumbled grouchily. "At the time, I thought it was just a prank, of course I was invited." He sighed, "But, now I know Bobby..." He swallowed thickly, taking a fistful of your shirt as if to tether him to you. "Not... so fond of me."

You chuckled, taking your shirt from his fist and replacing it by interlacing your fingers. "Glad you made it."

Kurt smiled, his first genuine smile all day. "Never had many friends." He confessed, his voice extremely vulnerable.

"I know." You whispered.

"I still don't." He mumbled, fiddling with the hem of your shirt.

"You have me."

He nods, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you tighter to him, his head still on your stomach. "I know."

"Does it bother you... That you're not gonna go back?"

Kurt shook his head. "The thought of going back..." He started, and before he continued, you felt his shoulders tense.

You knew. He didn't have to finish what he was trying to say, you knew. You knew his body physically rejected the idea, you'd felt him become as stiff as a board multiple times at the mention of California, you'd watch his skin break into painful goosebumps, felt his breathing deepen.

You always knew.

"My mom hasn't even called." He whispered, pulling you into him tighter once again.

"That's why you can't go back."

Around an hour passed, and you just held Kurt, letting him talk about how he was feeling. He didn't often open his heart like this, and you were doing your best not to spook him so that he would continue.

The next day, you cooked breakfast for Kurt while he slept, eggs, bacon, and toast. It was simple, but he deserved it for being so brave about his feelings last night.

You placed the plate on the coffee table, before going into your bedroom. You gently ran your fingers through his hair, until he cracked a smile.

"Morning, honey..."

"Morning." He mumbled, his eyes opening barely.

"I made breakfast."

Kurt's smile widened, and he sat up quickly, immediately following you into the living room where the food sat, still steaming.

"You're the best." He said in between bites, and you just watched him with a smile.

"You feeling better?" You asked after a little while, sitting cautiously next to him.

Kurt nodded, avoiding eye contact. He was feeling better, but he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Thankfully, you got the hint and took his empty plate into the kitchen.

The day passed quietly and slowly, you and Kurt just watching random movies on the couch while he clung to you like a second skin.

He needed you, and you would always have your arms open for him. You loved him, forever.

"Hi, honey." You smile, and he looks up at you, his face lighting up. He shuts his laptop lid, despite the fact that he is playing an online game and nothing will have saved, but he still did it because you walked in.

"Hi." He pushed the laptop off of his lap, looking up at you expectantly.

You sat down on the bed beside him. "Um. My parents called... they wanna meet you."

Kurt didn't react for a second, before swallowing thickly. "Really?" He asked, nervous suddenly. This meant that you were actually serious about the relationship... not that you'd done anything to make him think otherwise, he still hadn't gone back to Azusa after all, and you'd told him you loved him.

You nodded. "If you're worried or anything... especially after the other night-"

"No!" He interrupted. "I wanna meet them."

You nodded and smiled. "Okay, yeah. They invited us for dinner tomorrow."

𓆩♡𓆪

Kurt drives into your village, looking at everything that he drove past. It was nice, not the suburbs, but a quiet, sleepy town. He would have loved to grow up here with attentive and loving parents... He shook off the thought before things went too far.

After all, you were sat beside him in the passenger seat looking so pretty, and you were introducing him to your parents, which obviously meant you loved him enough to do so.

"It's that one." You spoke, pointing at a navy blue house, your voice soft in the quiet evening. Kurt nodded and slowly pulled onto the driveway.

He helped you out of the car, always a gentleman, and the pair of you walked up to the front door. He further took in the exterior of the house, feeling his gut clench the more he thought about the beautiful childhood you must have had.

The house was relatively small, two storeys, and it was painted a navy blue colour. There was a porch at the front of the house, and the lawn was freshly cut, pretty flowers blooming in the beds in front of the porch. Nothing like what he grew up with.

The front door opened, and your mother stood there. She was a beautiful woman, like you, with kind eyes and an even kinder smile. She looked at Kurt with a gentle expression.

"Hi, come in!" She grinned, stepping aside to let you two in, hugging you briefly. When the front door closed behind him, you took his arm and smiled up at your mother, who smiled back.

"Mom, this is Kurt." You held his hand, squeezing it tightly. Your mother engulfed him in a warm hug, and he was caught off-guard, expecting another hostile reaction and a cold, unfriendly welcome. He hugged her back, almost awestruck.

"Hi." Kurt spoke at last, his voice shy and terrified.

Your father came into the hallway where you all stood, and shook Kurt's hand firmly, until he got the message not to hurt his little girl. It was tough love, but it didn't feel unfriendly, which was a win for Kurt. He saw that you looked almost apprehensive, but relieved when your father smiled at Kurt.

The house was warm and cosy, with wooden furniture, small trinkets and paintings lining the surfaces and walls, and of course, many photos of you.

Most notably, a school picture of yours on the side table by the front door. You looked no older than nine years old, and it honestly made him feel sick. At that age, Kurt was going through the rough years with everything going on within his family. Your smile was bright, and you looked happy. Oddly, he also noticed that you looked well taken care of.

Everybody went into the living room, where you all stayed for a while whilst dinner was cooking. Kurt never felt unwelcome for even a second, being given drinks, snacks, and laughing with your parents.

"Oh, it was beautiful." You said to your mother, talking about the view from the spot where he took you the first night that you met.

"That's sweet, Kurt." She smiled, squeezing his arm. Your father just smiled fondly from where he was sat.

Kurt chuckled along, staring at his drink. Even if he didn't feel unwelcome, he was still terrified that he would make a bad impression. Everything had been going fine, but he was prone to overthinking, and so far, seeing how you had grown up and the environment your childhood had been in, it had been an emotionally difficult and confusing night for him, along with the usual nerves.

Sitting down to eat was a whole new experience. He never ate meals as a family, his father didn't even own a dining table, and his mother never used hers. He always ate alone, in his bedroom. The food was amazing, but the best part was the conversation, and how he felt like he belonged, and unfamiliar feeling for him.

He found himself holding back tears a few times, watching you laugh with your parents while you gushed over him, he'd never really thought about how you perceived him, but knowing that you had actual positive things to say shocked him, even if you had told him you loved him a million times since the first time that you said it.

"Kurt, do you cook?" Your mother asks after he had learnt that your grandmother taught both you and your mother how to cook.

He smiled, swallowing a bite of food before speaking. "I... make breakfast sometimes."

"Cereal." You corrected, grinning. It made Kurt smile wider.

"Yeah, yeah. Pour the cereal. I'm not the best chef."

Your mother laughed, as did your father. Even if his answers felt stupid, your mother had a magical way of making him feel interesting and appreciated all at once, a skill he noticed that you possessed too.

You squeezed his hand under the table, silently reassuring him that he was okay and doing a good job, what he honestly needed to hear right now before he got in his head again, which you'd clearly noticed.

Later in the night, Kurt went to use the bathroom. Even the downstairs bathroom was decorated nicely, something he hadn't even considered was a possibility. There were fancy soaps, a nice hand towel, and everything was so clean. It reminded him of your apartment.

However, upon exiting the bathroom, he overhead a conversation between you and your parents, a conversation that was about him.

"So, do you like him?" You asked, your voice slightly muffled by the distance.

"Oh, baby. I've never seen you so happy." Your mother said, and Kurt almost passed out on the spot. He then heard your beautiful, heaven-sent laugh.

"Dad, what about you?" You asked.

"He's alright." Your father said.

"Alright?"

"Nobody is good enough for you. But, I agree with your mother. He clearly makes you happy."

Kurt smiled to himself, because for once, he wasn't weird or creepy, he was just 'not good enough for you', and by your protective father's standard, he would never be good enough, and Kurt was okay with it, he could spend the rest of his life trying.

"Dad, come on! He is good enough for me."

Your father just chuckled in response, and Kurt took that as a good time to reenter the conversation. He walked back into the living room, and smiled as he sat back down next to you.

"You find it okay?" Your mother asks him, talking about the bathroom, to which he nodded.

"Yeah, fine. Thank you."

You stayed for a couple more hours, just talking and laughing, and by the minute Kurt felt happier and more comfortable. But, when it was time to leave, a part of him expected to be told this was nice but he wasn't welcome back, despite the fact nothing had happened to give him that impression.

Your mother hugged him tightly, and everyone said their goodbyes.

It was quiet in the car, the only noise being the wheels on the road and the wind coming in through your window, filling the car with cool night air.

His hand was on your thigh, and you were absentmindedly tracing his veins with your fingernail.

"Did you have fun tonight?" You asked, your sweet voice cutting through the silence.

Kurt nodded. "Yeah... They were nice, I see where you get it from."

You grinned. "Aww, Kurt."

"Seriously. I- I was kind of expecting the worst."

You nodded, and sighed. "Me too. I know they're not like that, but everyone seems to hate you."

Kurt chuckled, it was true, he wasn't stupid. He had noticed it once he started dating you, that in comparison to how you treated him, everybody was rough and rude.

You lean over and give him a soft kiss on the cheek while he was driving. "I love you." You whisper into his ear.

"I love you too."

You leaned back in your seat and just watched him for a moment, how he drove, his hand on the steering wheel, the other now holding your hand over your lap.

"You gotta... stay in Indiana." You spoke quietly, your voice so soft it was almost a whisper.

Kurt nodded in agreement, but you didn't know he had been thinking about it the entire time he was here. "I want to." He replied, his voice as soft as yours.

"You don't need to go to California. Everyone there is no good for you. I'm not watching you in another one of those horrible videos-"

You watched Kurt's face fall, so you had seen them... You noticed, because you always did. "Bobby doesn't like you."

Kurt shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not liking the direction that the conversation had taken, but also not denying it was one you needed to have. "I didn't know I was being pranked." He confessed, his voice quiet and sheepish.

"Indiana doesn't do that." You squeeze his hand, and he nods.

"I didn't plan on going back for much longer than grabbing my stuff and saying goodbye to my mom."

"She hasn't even called you once."

"I know." He clenches his jaw, not wanting to admit it.

"Don't go back at all. You can get new stuff here."

"What about my set-up?"

You gave him a look, it wasn't exactly the best set up in the world, and even if it was good a while ago, it was old now.

"Fine." He grumbled, admitting defeat. "To be honest, the thought of going back even for all of those things..." He trailed off, his tone of voice doing all the speaking.

"I know, honey. If we're serious... about this conversation... I renew my lease next month."

Kurt swallowed thickly. "Okay."

"...And you can put your name on it, if you'd like."

"I would like that."

"I need you to stay with me, baby. Can I say that? The thought of you leaving stresses me out! I wouldn't be there with you, what if someone says something or gets in your head..? I- You're comfortable here, you're warm in my apartment-" Your voice got more desperate the more you spoke.

"Hey, hey." Kurt interrupted, his voice oddly calm now. "I won't go back."

You nod, satisfied, and kiss the palm of his hand. "I love you."

"I love you too. And, I love Indiana."

"You'll be bored soon enough."

"No, I won't."

"Really? You seem certain." You chuckle.

"Waking up and seeing your pretty face? Not boring."

"Oh, Kurt." You whisper bashfully, your cheeks flushing pink.

"Maybe you'll get bored of me."

"I won't."

"Oh really?"

"When you're a famous YouTuber we'll do all sorts of fun stuff together. All over the country."

Kurt smiles fondly, you always believed in his dreams even when he found it hard to find Kurt.

𓆩♡𓆪

"I like him." Your mother says, getting into bed beside your father, who was on his phone.

"He's alright." He agrees, looking at her.

"Y/N was so happy... never seen her like that before."

"She hasn't exactly had the best luck with... boyfriends."

"No, she hasn't. But Kurt loves her, you can just tell. And she loves him back."

Your father nodded, it was undeniable after all. You two just brought that atmosphere to the room. "He seem kinda sad to you?" He asks after a second, his voice careful.

"A little. I think he was just overwhelmed."

"No, he seemed sad. Kept looking at all the pictures of Y/N downstairs."

Your mother shrugged. "Maybe he was just taking it all in. It's his first time here."

"His parents weren't interested in coming to Indiana?"

Your mother sighed, "Hon, I don't think he's got... the best relationship with them. Y/N was vague about it, but I could tell by her tone of voice-"

"So he's just not used to it?"

"What? The dinner?"

"Family stuff. If we went to his childhood home, would there be pictures of him on the walls?"

"I don't think it's any of our business."

"That's a no."

Your mother gave him a look, a mixture of amusement and warning. "Just need to make sure that he knows he's always welcome here, and that Y/N knows we accept him." She speaks, her voice sounding final.

She didn't want to talk about Kurt's homelife, and she was right, it wasn't their business.

𓆩♡𓆪

Kurt climbed into bed next to you, and curled up on your chest, your routine for the last few weeks.

"How are you feeling now, baby?" You asked, kissing his head and smelling his shampoo-scented hair.

"Tired."

"Close your eyes." You whisper, trailing your fingernails across his forehead and gently over his eyelids, stroking your thumb across his cheek.

His eyelids fluttered closed, and he smiled, his body melting into yours.

"I love you." You whispered.

"I love you too." He whispered back.