A/N: We've reached the end! Z for Zombies. So this one featues bp!Blaine, although there is no smut of any sort. There are also no direct encounters with zombies, in case anyone is worried. Just mentions more than anything else. For anyone who has used the Zombies, Run app, the code names at the beginning with be familiar!

And that's the end of it. Alphabet Klaine is finished. Um, Too Late will be continuing sometime in the next week, and I've got a few little surprises that'll be cropping up soon as well. Enjoy number 26 and have a good weekend!

Zombies

"Runner Five? Come in, Runner Five. Do you copy, over."

Kurt grimaced as the lift rattled to a stop on the surface. It was day break and quiet for once, no storms or howling winds or drifts of snow. Only silence and damp, squelchy mud greeted him as he unchained the gate and stepped outside. The air was warm for so early in the day, but it might have been mid-summer by now. He couldn't be sure. They'd lost all track of time at one point right after the outbreak, but they'd done the best they could to reestablish it once life was stabilized underground.

"Runner Five? Kurt, would you answer me," Rachel snapped. "I see your signal on the surface so I know you're ignoring me."

"Shut up," Kurt finally answered. "I'm sending the lift back down. It's hard to hear over it."

"Right, the tower's about three miles southeast," Rachel told him. It was the same thing everyone in the control room had been saying all day yesterday. "And the break looks like it's on the north side. No packs or anything are showing up for about five miles out. You should be clear."

"Great, thanks. I'll give a shout when I get there. Play some good music this time, will you?" Kurt told her as he stepped out onto the path and stretched a few times. He'd done most of his stretching below ground, but it didn't hurt to take a few more minutes and enjoy real sunlight and fresh air. "Warn me if–"

"That's my job, yours is to run. Get moving."

Kurt stretched his hamstrings once more and then started a steady jog towards the tower. He'd been there a few times before. The first had been to pick up a lost child in the weeks following their journey down into the network of sewers, then a year after that he and Runner Three, a woman by the name Katrina, had gone back to patch up the tower's radio communications and satellite functions for their use. Since then they'd been using it for their runners' above ground journeys to keep an eye out for hordes while they searched for food and necessities.

After twenty minutes of running with Madonna pounding through his headset, Kurt slowed down as the tower loomed up through the thick foliage. It wasn't much, not after eight and a half years of being above ground with those left behind, but it still functioned and they left it alone for the most part. There was nothing of interest in an old satellite station for the undead.

"All right," Kurt said heavily. "I'm here. Where's it at?"

"Inside," Rachel said, sounding bored. "It looks like it's where the first patch is. We're lucky we've got any communications at all according to your dad."

"Yeah, well, tell him to get his chubby butt up here and fix it then," Kurt grumbled. He unbolted the main door, pulled his flashlight free and took a look inside. Just as dark and gloomy and empty as always. No new smells or blood that he could see. Kurt hurried in and pulled the bolt closed from the inside. Better safe than sorry. "I might lose you once I get down to the first generator, over."

"Clear us when you're finished," Rachel said. Then the radio fell silent. Kurt rolled his eyes and headed down to the basement, checking radios and generators as he went. Finally, he reached the northern basement wall and found the problem.

"Rachel? Rachel, can you hear me? Someone's been in here, over," Kurt called into his headset. "Recently by the looks of it. They spilled… I think it's orange soda. I can still smell it."

After a few seconds, Rachel's voice crackled to life. "Finn, stop, I'm– ah! Kurt? Kurt, tell your brother to stop!"

"Finn get back to work," Kurt snarled. He bent down to examine the ruined wires and finally found a broken cup on the ground. "Someone's been here recently," he repeated. "Human, I'm guessing. Real human, I mean. It looks like they were trying to use the generator to do something, contact someone maybe. I'm not–"

Kurt turned around and his mouth fell open. "Rachel, you're an awful radar watcher." He clicked his radio off again. "Hello. I'm Kurt."

The man in the shadows shuffled his feet. "Blaine. Blaine Anderson," he said quietly. "Listen, I'm sorry a- about the radio. I was just trying t- to find help and–"

"It's all right, I can fix it," Kurt said gently. "Are you hurt at all? How'd you end up here?"

"We went out looking for food," Blaine explained. "They found us and I locked myself in here. I think they're all…"

He trailed off and leaned back against the wall. Kurt watched Blaine take several deep breaths as he shined his flashlight closer. The other man, more a young boy really, was filthy. His shirt was ripped and caked in mud and dirt, his pants were so torn Kurt wasn't sure how they managed to stay up, but his face was clearly young and handsome.

"Come on. I'll fix this up and then you'll go back to base with me," Kurt told him. He stepped closer and tentatively gripped Blaine's shoulder. It was thin and trembling. He couldn't have been older than nineteen, the same age Kurt had been when this had all started. "It's going to be okay."

Kurt set to work quickly, pulling the ruined wires out and replacing them with what he'd brought in his bag. After fifteen minutes, he reset the generator and sat down beside Blaine while he waited for it to warm up.

"So you're about nineteen then?" Kurt asked. He looked Blaine over, the way his hands were clutched tightly together and his arms were looped around his knees. Instead of answering, Blaine rocked slowly and shivered. How long had he been here on his own? The generator had been in need of minor repairs for several months, but since the rest had been fine and the weather terrible, they hadn't bothered to send anyone up to fix it until now. "Blaine?"

The man jumped at Kurt's touch and his eyes darted around the room wildly. "Sorry," Blaine mumbled. "It's hard being on your own for so long."

"How long have you been here?"

"Maybe three months? I'm not sure. There were so many snow storms, I sort of last track of the days," Blaine told him. "Before that I was at a camp with a bunch of other guys I grew up with. We were all away at school when it happened. I'd just turned nine. They're probably all gone now."

"You're younger than I thought," Kurt said in surprise. "But I'm older than I look, too, so I guess I shouldn't assume so much."

The lights flickered on overhead and the generator started to hum loudly. Kurt hopped back up and checked it over quickly. "Everything looks good. Come on, we'll get you a bunk and a bath and you'll stay with us now." Kurt held his hand out. "Unless you'd rather stay here with your spilled orange soda."

"No," Blaine said. He met Kurt's eyes and reached for his hand.

Rachel started bellowing at Kurt as soon as he got out of the tower. Explaining Blaine hadn't been easy, but he'd shut her up and together they'd jogged back to the lift. Kurt was surprised at how well Blaine had kept up. Of course, Blaine had grown up running out here, much different from the childhood Kurt remembered. Before the quarantine, before the disease had taken so many. He'd had the option to sit around and play on the computer or watching television if he wanted, get fat off junk food and soda. Blaine hadn't. All he must have known was running.

When they reached the lift Kurt dialed in his activation code.

"Runner F– Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, would you answer me," Rachel bellowed. "Who are you bringing with you? Are they clean?"

"I already told you I found a boy, a man. His name is Blaine, he's–" Kurt scanned Blaine's eyes, his hair and lips. "He's clean in respect to disease, not so much in hygiene."

"Hey, I've been locked away in a radio tower for I don't know how long!"

"Shut it," Kurt said. "Rachel, have Carole ready to scan him and everything when we get down, okay? He'll need a full exam."

"F- full exam?" Blaine echoed as the lift gate chugged to a stop in front of them. "What does that mean?"

"Like a physical," Kurt said as he unlocked the gate and waved Blaine inside. "Nothing fancy or difficult. The trip down is a little rough, so hold onto this."

He showed Blaine the strap for his hand, shut the door, and put in a second access code. The lift shuddered and started to drift down and Blaine yelped and grabbed onto Kurt.

"W- why are we going down? No, it's dark. I'm so sick of the dark. You can't see them, you can't see them!"

Kurt caught Blaine at the second bump and slid down the wall with him in his arms. Blaine was shaking violently, like he was having some sort of panic attack. He wasn't sure what it meant, but Kurt held onto him and rocked him and whispered soothingly as the lift trudged slowly downwards. It wasn't an enormous distance, but the cables were slow for safety and noise.

Fifteen minutes later, the lift slowed to a halt in the base. Carole was there to greet them.

"He's had some sort of fit," Kurt told her as she helped him get Blaine to his feet. "Come on, Blaine. It's all right. We're gonna give you a bath, okay?"

"Bath?" Blaine mumbled. "Huh?"

"It's just down the corridor," Carole said gently. "Get back, all of you. Back!"

Kurt and Carole hooked one of Blaine's arms over their shoulders and pushed through the curious group. There weren't many of them down here, but all of them were more curious than was safe. They finally got Blaine down to what they'd turned into a medical bay during their first months underground. It was the same room Kurt had had more than his fair share of physical examinations in. Once after every trip up, others every few months to test his endurance and strength for being one of their base's runners, and the bi-annual one everyone went through to check for signs of disease.

"Sit him in that chair first," Carole told him. Kurt lowered Blaine into the armchair against the wall as Carole started checking him over. He leaned back against the wall beside Blaine, the man's hand clutching his own so tightly his fingernails cut into his skin. Slowly, Carole brought Blaine around. "There we go. How do you feel?"

"Kind of sick," Blaine said quietly. "Where are we?"

"Lima base," Carole told him. "An underground base of survivors, and you, Blaine, are our newest member. We have to run a full physical exam first and take some blood to make sure you aren't infected, but a bath first, okay, sweetheart?"

"I– um, what?"

Carole motioned towards the big basin they used to decontaminate people they found on the surface. It had been almost two years since they'd found someone, but Kurt remembered the last time they had. He'd been out on a supply run with Josh, Runner Two, and they'd found a little girl of about ten. She'd been hysterical and it had only gotten worse once they'd brought her down here. It hadn't taken Carole long to figure out that she was newly infected. Kurt didn't think he'd ever forget watching her be put to sleep and then taking her back up to the surface to leave her several miles off in the forest.

"A bath," Carole repeated. "We need to check your body over for signs of contamination, cuts, bruises, and clean you up, too. Come on, we'll get you some new clothes to wear, too."

Blaine stood up. "No, it's– do you have to watch?"

"Dear, I'm a nurse," Carole said gently. "I've seen it all, and I know this is uncomfortable, but you are entirely safe with us in this room, okay?"

Kurt stepped towards him and took his hand again. "It's fine, I promise."

Blaine looked him in the eyes for a long time before he started unbuttoning his shirt. There weren't many left on it to undo, but when he reached his jeans he paused. Carole was already looking over his back and chest.

"Dirty, but no scars or cuts. It's all right, dear."

"No, I, um– I'm different," Blaine said slowly. He shuffled his feet and hugged himself. "D- down there. I'm not– I don't have what you do, I mean." He nodded towards Kurt and stared at the ground.

Kurt looked down at the front of his jeans. What in the world did he mean by that? Carole, however, seemed to understand. She stopped looking his chest over and stroked Blaine's cheek until he looked up.

"Don't you worry about that, sweetheart," Carole soothed. "It doesn't matter, okay? I just want to make sure you're healthy."

Blaine glanced at Kurt, who was still confused, and unbuttoned his jeans. They fell off before he could even mess with the zipper and Kurt tried not to stare. Now he understood what Blaine had meant. Blaine's abdomen tapered down into sharp angles that ended in a smooth expanse of dark hair with a slit. It wasn't what Kurt had expected, but really it didn't make any difference. Kurt helped him into the tub as Carole turned the water pipe on and filled it up.

"Kurt, why don't you go down to the mess hall and get your second meal before it ends," Carole suggested. "I'll get him checked out and in the system." She leaned in and whispered, "Don't tell anyone, all right? If he's fertile then they'll be all over him to reproduce and he doesn't need that right now. He's quite okay besides mental trauma and needing to eat."

Carole kissed his cheek and went back to her charts. Kurt made to get up to go, but Blaine's hand clutched his tightly.

"Stay, please."

And Kurt couldn't say no to the fear in his voice, the instinct Blaine had to hold on to him like a lifeline.

"I'm here," Kurt said as he sat down beside the tub and stroked Blaine's curls. "I'll stay with you, Blaine."

When he looked up Carole was smiling softly at both of them. Kurt looked away, his face suddenly hot as Carole went back to work.

It was almost an hour later when Blaine was cleaned up, fully examined, and climbing out of the tub and into fresh, clean clothes. Carole was finishing up her file on him when the metal panel that served as a door slid open. Kurt's father entered the room with a plate of food and a smile.

"How you doing, kiddo?" Blaine shook his hand and took the offered plate as Burt turned to Carole. "He all checked out?"

"Yes, he's quite healthy for being on his own with only… was it orange soda and canned ravioli?" Blaine nodded and Carole continued. "I'm setting him up with Dr. Cosgrove for tomorrow afternoon, but there's no signs of infection or any markings."

"Dr. Cosgrove? Why would he need to see her?"

As Blaine shoveled food into his mouth, Kurt brushed his curls off his forehead and listened to his dad and stepmom whisper. They'd ask all sorts of questions next, where he was from, about his family and what his life had been like for the last eight years. Kurt only hoped Blaine could handle it right now.

"Blaine, kiddo, I wanna talk with you a bit," Burt said as he sat down with them and Blaine finished eating. "Nothing invasive. Just about where you've been staying."

"I went to Dalton, sir. Um, the basement in one of the building's was where we ended up for a few years. Under the kitchen so we had lots of food, but then," Blaine shivered and Kurt put his arm around him. "The infection got in, all the teachers got it and then a lot of the older boys. I was fourteen by then, and we sort of just packed up and ran for it. Took as much as we could carry and found somewhere else. That's where I was before now."

"And how'd you end up in the radio tower?"

"We went out looking for food again," Blaine said. He swallowed and stared at his knees. "They found us. It was like they were waiting, like they'd learned us or something. We just started running, there were too many and they got Wes and David and Nick and–"

Blaine shuddered and started rubbing his left forearm. Kurt watched him anxiously, eyed the familiar motion he'd seen so many others make over bite marks. But Blaine's arm was flawless, his entire body was free of scars.

Burt had stood up, his hand on his gun suddenly. "You were bitten," Burt said slowly.

Carole hurried forward before Kurt could do anything. "Burt, he's fine. I've scanned him for everything. If he'd been bitten three or four months ago, he'd be one of them by now."

"Blaine?" Kurt shook him a little and Blaine jumped. "Were you–" He turned Blaine's forearm over and traced his fingers over the smooth, lightly haired skin. No scars or a trace of a bite mark.

"They– please, don't hurt me," Blaine pleaded as Burt's hand clutched his gun tighter. "One of them– yeah, t- they bite me, but as soon as it broke the skin it started retching and having, like, a seizure. I don't know. They all hurried off and left it there and I found the radio tower. I passed out and it was all healed when I woke up and I don't feel any different than I did before. Please, don't–"

Burt's hand relaxed and instead grabbed Blaine's chin to scan his eyes.

But Kurt was somewhere else entirely. If Blaine had passed out after being bitten, if the bite had healed that quickly–

"Blaine," he said slowly, "how old were you when you were attacked?"

"F- fifteen?" Blaine said in surprise. "I'm– well, I think I'm sixteen now. I was nine when everything happened."

"It's been eight years since the quarantine," Kurt told him quietly. "I think you were in some sort of coma when you got into the radio tower. You're at least seventeen now."

"I'm– but how? Don't you guys check that place frequently?" Blaine's breathing started coming faster and he clutched Kurt tighter than ever.

"Today's the first time we've been down into the basement of the tower in almost two years," Kurt said. "We might never have found you if you hadn't spilled that drink on the wires."

Blaine stared from one face to the next, his breathing growing more and more shallow until Kurt pulled him into his arms and rocked him. Behind him, Kurt could hear Burt and Carole talking about running more blood tests, why Carole had set him up with Dr. Cosgrove, the base's gynecologist they'd been lucky to find, and what all of this might mean for Blaine.

After a while, Burt helped Kurt get Blaine on his feet. "You're gonna be staying with us, okay?" He looked at how tightly Blaine was gripping Kurt's arms. "I was thinking in Kurt's corner, if that's all right with you both. We're going to run some more tests another day, and you'll see Dr. Cosgrove tomorrow afternoon to get checked out." Burt cleared his throat and looked at Kurt. "Take him home, make sure he gets some sleep."

"Kurt? Oh, Uncle Kurt, little Chloe wants to see you."

The door to Kurt's corner was heaved aside as he groaned and tugged the blankets up higher. Against his chest someone shifted and Kurt's eyes snapped open. Blaine snuffled in his sleep and wiggled back against him more as Rachel stepped inside.

"Say hi, Uncle Kurt," she cooed. "Say hi, Chloe. Can you say hi for Mommy? I bet you can!"

"Rach, shut up," Kurt grumbled. He tightened his arm around Blaine's waist and buried his face in his curls. "We're sleeping."

"We?"

Kurt opened his eyes just in time to see Rachel and her youngest daughter leaning over them. She beamed at them snuggled up together.

"Oh, this must be Blaine. I'd heard he'd attached himself to you but I didn't think you'd hop into bed so soon," Rachel teased as Chloe cooed from the baby sling wrapped around Rachel. "He's very cute."

"It's not– he's only staying here temporarily," Kurt mumbled. He rolled slowly onto his back and was surprised when Blaine rolled right with him, nestling into his side and sighed contentedly. "He's scared and it's going to take a while for him to get used to this. I'm the only one he knows or trusts right now."

"He's still gorgeous," Rachel insisted as Chloe started babbling. "If I wasn't already married to Finn–"

"Blaine is definitely not your type," Kurt said. He yawned and rubbed Blaine's back. "Hi, Chloe, how's my cutest niece?"

"KuKu!"

Kurt smiled and let her tug at his free hand for a while. "Are Star and Miranda still sleeping?"

"Lessons," Rachel said. "Not that there's much to do with that anymore. I wish they had other kids to play with."

"Yeah," Kurt said, his eyes falling on Blaine. Of the seventy four people in their base, Rachel was the only female young enough to conceive and willing to and after the complications of her last pregnancy, none of them were eager for her to try again. Santana was the only other person young enough, but she didn't want children. "I'm sure we'll find more someday."

"I really doubt it at this point," Rachel said sadly. "He's the first we've found in two years, and most of them before that ended up being infected. Bringing them down here is the reason we don't have any kids or women our age."

It was true, of course. One of the first they'd found when they'd started journeying back up to the surface had been an infected man who'd given it to the few women that hadn't reached menopause yet. After that there'd been Rachel, Santana, and Melody, who was too old now.

"There might be more soon," Kurt repeated, eyes still on Blaine. He ran his fingers through the man's curls and massaged his scalp. "If– you have to keep this absolutely secret, all right? Like, I'll drag you up to the surface and leave you there for them if you don't."

Rachel stared at him in surprise and sat on the mat beside him. "What do you mean? Is Blaine from another base or colony? Are we going to find them?"

"No. I mean, yeah, he was, but they're all gone by the sounds of it," Kurt said. "I mean, Blaine. His anatomy, it's, well, it's not like mine. He might be able to have children."

"Get out," Rachel said with a short laugh. "That's ridiculous. He's a boy. Look at his chest and his face! He's got facial hair starting to come in!"

"I know what I saw and how scared he was, okay? Just forget it. He probably can't anyway."

Rachel eyed him suspiciously. "You like him, don't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kurt snapped. "He's seventeen."

"So? I'm thirty-four and Finn's your age," Rachel argued. "We work just fine."

Chloe started fussing and Rachel stood up and started rocking her. "Oh, you need a change, don't you, sweetie? I'll see you for second meal. Sleep well with your cutie."

"He is not my–" But Kurt didn't get to finish before she tugged his door shut.

Blaine checked out fine with Dr. Cosgrove, but he was still agitated around anyone unfamiliar. Kurt didn't blame him. Everyone wanted to hear his story and learn about what living on the surface had been like and Blaine wanted nothing more than to forget it.

Slowly though, Blaine started eating more, sleeping more soundly, and gradually opening up and talking with a few of Kurt's friends. Of the group the one he seemed most comfortable with was Elliot and Kurt was annoyed by it. Elliot was one of his best friends, a good friend he'd made just before the infection had spread and now he was getting friendly with Blaine. It shouldn't have bugged him, they were both his friends, but it did. Blaine was smiling and laughing and talking animatedly with the other man and it wasn't right at all.

"Bud, you look like you're trying to burn him with your stare."

"Huh?" Kurt looked away from the other end of their table and found his dad smiling knowingly. "Sorry?"

"Even if Elliot's interested, I don't see any reason for you to be worried," Burt added as Carole laughed at his side.

"Interested? Why would– you think he's interested in Blaine?" Kurt glared back down the table. If he stared long and hard enough he'd burn a hole right through his best friend's head.

"No, I don't," Burt told him. "He's as friendly as he is with everyone else and you are jealous because Blaine is finally opening up to someone who isn't you."

"I am not. That's ridiculous," Kurt said fiercely. He turned his glare of his dad and Carole instead. "Why would I be jealous of Blaine talking to another guy?"

"Why don't you answer that one yourself?" Carole suggested. She finished her plate and stood up with Burt. "We'll see you back at home."

"Yeah, right," Kurt grumbled as they hurried away chuckling. He stared moodily down the table as Blaine laughed at something Elliot was saying. "He isn't even that funny. It's probably that stupid Madonna joke. That one's so corny."

"KuKu!"

Kurt looked over his shoulder as a little fist tugged on his shirt tail. "Hi, sweetie, did you run away from your silly mommy?" Chloe squealed happily as he scooped her up and set her in his lap. "Do you want pasta? It's kind of rubbery tonight I'm afraid."

Chloe started messily playing with what remained of his dinner as Kurt looked back down the table. But Elliot and Blaine were gone and his stomach dropped. They'd start dating soon, then have a cute little baby like Chloe, then a few more that would marry Rachel's kids and Kurt would sit around with his dad and Carole forever.

"Gosh, she gets cuter every day."

Blaine had taken the empty seat beside him and the warm relief that rushed through Kurt scared him.

"Can I hold her?"

"Sure, yeah, she likes you," Kurt said as Chloe started grabbing for Blaine's hair. The other man laughed as she settled in his lap and for a moment Kurt forgot to breathe. This was it. Everything aching and burning inside of him, a glimpse of something he dreaded and wanted, too. Chloe clapped her hands and smiled up at Blaine.

"You two look good together," Kurt said quietly.

"Did you hear that, Chloe? Uncle KuKu thinks we're cute."

"You are," Kurt found himself saying. "The cutest."

"Aw, KuKu thinks you're the cutest little–"

"I wasn't talking about her," Kurt said. He looked away as Blaine looked towards him. "Um, I should find Rachel and get her daughter back to her. I'll see you back at home."

"Kurt–"

But he was already hustling away, down the long steaming corridor back to the quarters he shared with his dad, Carole, Rachel's dads, Rachel, Finn, and his nieces. And Blaine, don't forget about him.

Kurt cursed himself as he pried the door open and stepped into the makeshift living area. It wasn't very large, just a space for an old couch and room for their clothes and books and other belongings. Finn was already there with Star and Miranda. So were his dad and Carole who gave him that stupid knowing smile again.

"Shut up," he snapped at their happy faces.

"Figured it out, have you? I told you it'd take him a while," Finn said. "Who bet on three months?"

"Me," Carole beamed. "You get my mess hall shifts next week. I don't care how you split them up. Thanks Kurt!"

"You guys bet on me realizing I was– that I'm–"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Kurt spun around and found Blaine, Rachel, and Chloe watching all of them. Chloe reached towards Kurt as the other two girls squealed and went to greet their mother.

"It's nothing," Kurt said quickly as Blaine joined them in the living area. "They're just t- trading shifts next week."

Blaine looked up at him from the couch, his gaze suspicious and swift. If there was one thing he'd learned quickly it was that it was nearly impossible to lie to Blaine, especially when they were still sharing a bed.

"You look funny. Are you feeling all right?"

"I think I just need some sleep," Kurt invented as he back-pedaled towards the door to his – their – room. "Night."

He flung himself inside and pulled the door shut. He couldn't be in love with Blaine. So what if he accidentally woke them both up in the middle of the night with a boner? Or that Blaine woke him up every now and then humping his thigh? They were lonely and young and horny and it was natural when they were so comfortable with each other. It didn't have to mean anything, but–

The door slid open and then shut behind Kurt.

"You want to tell me what's really going on?" Blaine asked from behind him. "You've been really tense all week."

"It's nothing, I've just been thinking too much," Kurt mumbled. He unhooked his belt and slapped it against the mattress on the floor. "Go hang out, okay? I'm just going to get some sleep."

"No, I think you need me more than they do," Blaine said instead. Then his arms, trembling and awkward, settled around Kurt's waist and his chin pressed into Kurt's shoulder. "I love how safe I feel in here with you."

"Even when my boner is jammed against your belly?" Kurt said bitterly. He regretted it as soon as he said it, but Blaine only laughed quietly.

"I don't mind that," Blaine whispered. "I, um, kind of enjoy it sometimes."

"You– seriously?"

"I'm seventeen and you're gorgeous, Kurt. Who wouldn't enjoy that?" Blaine countered. He pulled away and Kurt saw that he was blushing deeply. "Look, I like you. A lot, I do. I feel safe with you. Sometimes I really want to–" Blaine paused and shook his head a little bit. "I see you with Miranda and Star and Chloe and I keep wanting that for us some day. And I know that's ridiculous and we barely know each other and that having children is an insane risk now and– If I ever decide to, I just hope I can share that with you."

"Me? But I thought you and Elliot–"

Blaine started laughing so hard he had to sit down on the bed. After a moment, Kurt joined him, his own face starting to burn.

"God, no. Elliot's great, but he's only a good friend. Like you two are," Blaine told him. He took Kurt's hand and squeezed it. "You're the one I trust and want more with. It's been you since you found me."

"They all made bets on us, you know," Kurt said. "Carole won." He cleared his throat and met Blaine's eyes. "So, do you want to go on a date sometime? I mean, that's how I did this last time, but that was before all of this."

"Yeah, okay," Blaine agreed. "I've never been on a date. Or kissed anyone or done anything. There wasn't really any time for that above ground."

"I'll, um, we can go," Kurt paused and frowned. There weren't many options for a date down here. "We could sit in tomorrow evening and read one of our books together. There isn't really a lot of options down here."

"Or we could hang out in here and I could sit o- on your face," Blaine stammered quickly. He ducked his head as Kurt gapped at his daring. "Books are fine, too."

"I think I like your option better," Kurt breathed. "That's so much better than you humping me awake every night and not being able to– yeah, let's do that instead."