A/N: I needed a break from writing the next part of the Strangers Universe and this was the result.

Hold Me Steady, Hold Me Close (But Only if Your Kurt Hummel and Definitely Not Finn Hudson)

"Blaine?"

"Yes?"

"Um...this is nice and all, but is everything okay?" Kurt looked down at his boyfriend whose face was currently pressed to his chest and whose arms were wound tightly around his waist. They'd been lying here on the family room couch ever since Blaine arrived at his house. It was a Friday afternoon, a week after Kurt returned from Nationals and both were eager to see each other after the long break apart.

With his eyes still closed, Blaine shifted his head until his cheek now rested on Kurt's cashmere sweater. It was so soft that Blaine couldn't help himself and rubbed his face (much to Kurt's chagrin) against it a few times before he answered. "Can't a guy just hug his boyfriend who he hasn't seen in over a week?"

"Yes," Kurt stretched the single syllable word out while his fingers continued to massage gently through the linen shirt of Blaine's uniform, "but we've been here for almost an hour, Blaine and you haven't said a thing. Also, I'm pretty sure you've completely misshapen my sweater."

"I'm storing up for the week ahead," Blaine explained, voice serene. "And I'll buy you a new sweater," he added as an afterthought.

"This sweater was two hundred dollars."

"...I'll pay for your dry cleaning," Blaine amended, burrowing his face once more into the soft fabric.

Kurt sighed letting his head fall back against the armrest of the couch. Kurt loved cuddling as much as his boyfriend did, but this was different—felt a little more desperate and it was also getting a little stifling. Every time Kurt attempted to put even a centimeter of space between them, Blaine would mash himself even closer to Kurt. It was getting a little worrisome. "Blaine, honestly, what—"

"Hey, Kurt, we're—oh. Blaine. Didn't know you were here."

Kurt glanced up to see his father and Carole at the entryway to the family room. The expression on his dad's face was a cross between perplexed and disapproving, while Carole looked on at them fondly.

"Hi, Mr. Hummel, Mrs. Hudson-Hummel," Blaine greeted though didn't make eye contact or move from his horizontal position. It was pretty daring of him and a little rude and so completely un-Blaine like that it had Burt frowning in concern.

"Uh...is everything all right in here?" Burt asked, his hand fiddling with the keys he held.

Kurt shrugged helplessly at his father before looking down at Blaine. "I don't know. Is everything all right, Blaine?"

If possible, Blaine's grip tightened even more around him. "Everything's swell," he sighed as if without a care in the world. Kurt eyed him for a moment before mouthing the words to his dad in outright bewilderment.

"Er. Right," Burt said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Well, we're heading out. I gave Finn some cash for takeout."

"We should be back by eleven," Carole continued, slipping an arm around Burt's, which caused the other to share a broad smile with her, "but call us if you need anything."

Kurt nodded. "Okay. Have fun."

Burt stood there for another moment longer eyeing the two teenagers on the couch before eventually letting Carole tug him out of the room. "Behave!" he hollered and Kurt rolled his eyes. He heard Carole's gentle reproach (Burt!) and then the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"So, what..." Kurt trailed off upon seeing that Blaine's face had slackened and his breathing had deepened. Sighing, Kurt carefully shifted his body so that Blaine wasn't lying completely on top of him (Blaine was heavy). When he was in a more comfortable position, he stared at his slumbering boyfriend for some time, trying to figure out if there really was something wrong with him or if everything was indeed fine. Unfortunately, Kurt hadn't reached the point where he could read Blaine all that well, nor could he recall anything that stood out from the texts they traded during his time in New York that could explain Blaine's current clinginess. So, for the time being, Kurt would just have to trust that Blaine would in time tell him if something was bothering him.

Decision made, Kurt reached for the television remote, turned on the flat screen, and settled in for a nice, lazy Friday afternoon with his napping boyfriend.

oOo

Blaine woke up with the overwhelming feeling that something was wrong. He lifted his head and stared blearily at the pillow he was hugging to his chest. He then pressed his palms into the couch cushions until he was sitting half upright and looked around the room. His eyes eventually fell on Finn who was staring quite intently at the television from the two-seater couch.

Feeling as if he was being watched, Finn turned his head and started a little upon seeing that Blaine was awake. "Oh! Hey, you're up."

Blaine continued to look sleepily around the room. "Kurt?" he croaked out in question.

"Uh, he went to the bathroom," Finn said trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. It was rather difficult considering how completely out of it Blaine looked; his hair being in complete disarray didn't help either. When Blaine's face fell at the news, Finn added helpfully, "He should be back soon."

Blaine's mouth remained downturned as he frowned at the purple ('mauve, Blaine!' his inner Kurt voice corrected) throw pillow in his lap. He pushed himself to his feet and shuffled over to Finn's couch. Finn watched as Blaine sat down beside him then tensed when Blaine slouched against his side and rested his head atop his shoulder. If that weren't odd enough already, the lead Warbler proceeded to thread his arms around Finn's right arm.

Finn blinked. "Umm..."

"Life sucks," Blaine stated with aplomb.

Finn blinked again. "It does?"

Blaine nodded before hiding his face in Finn's shoulder. "I miss Kurt," he mumbled into the quarterback's shirt.

"Dude, he just went to the bathroom," Finn repeated his earlier statement and tried to put some distance between himself and his stepbrother's boyfriend. The last thing he wanted was for Kurt to walk in here, see him cuddling with his boyfriend, and decide to never bake for him again. Finn couldn't let that happen. Kurt's lemon squares were delicious!

Blaine wasn't cooperating though—was behaving like an octopus and just wouldn't let him go.

"Um, Blaine," Finn tried one last time. "You're making me a little uncomfortable."

Blaine's only response was to snuffle a few times before falling back to sleep. Finn gaped at him in disbelief.

"My boyfriend is a cuddle whore."

Finn yelped and spun his head quickly to his left. He balked at the sight of Kurt, who had his arms folded across his chest and an unamused look on his face.

Finn waved his free arm frantically. "I didn't do anything! He just. And then I." Finn floundered for a bit before finally settling on, "Octopus!"

Kurt pulled back his head in confusion. Both stared silently at each other for a few seconds before Kurt sighed. "Finn?"

Finn averted his eyes to the carpet. "Yes?" he said meekly.

"Calm down."

"Okay."

Kurt walked to the other side of the couch and sat down on the armrest. He eyed Blaine for a moment before asking Finn in a quiet tone, "Did he say anything?"

"Just that life sucked and that he missed you," Finn replied still trying to shift away from the dead weight resting against him, but only managing to have Blaine fall even further on top of him. If it wasn't obvious already, Blaine was a very heavy sleeper.

Kurt's expression softened upon hearing the words before he redirected his attention to Finn who was looking increasingly uncomfortable. Taking pity on his stepbrother, Kurt stood up and said, "Come on. Let's switch places." Kurt held Blaine's body in place and motioned for Finn to get up. Finn managed to extract himself off the couch and jumped a few feet away for good measure in fear of being latched onto again. Kurt shook his head in exasperation before taking Finn's seat. Blaine immediately gravitated to him and Kurt was once again cocooned in the other's arms.

"He's like a monkey," Finn observed and Kurt was compelled to agree.

A beat of silence passed.

"Do you mind if we have pizza tonight?"

"If you order half as vegetable, then no."

"Cool."

oOo

Blaine woke to the scent of something yummy. His eyes snapped open and he sat upright sniffing the air.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

Blaine's eyes widened and a smile broke out across his face as he swiveled his head in the direction of the voice. Kurt took another bite of his pizza, eyebrow arched in question. Blaine beamed. "But you love it," he said kissing Kurt directly on the lips. Kurt pushed him away in disgust.

"Blaine! I was chewing!" he said after swallowing.

Blaine licked his lips and smiled innocently at Kurt. Kurt felt his cheeks flush.

"Dude. I'm sitting right here."

Blaine perked up and turned to see Finn seated on the opposite couch also with a slice in hand. "Finn! Hey..." Blaine's brow furrowed as he looked back at Kurt. "Weren't we on that couch?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Again, you're ridiculous, you know that?"

Blaine didn't bother to respond, eyes now focused on the pizza box in front of him. His stomach rumbled. He looked first at Kurt then to Finn. "May I have a slice?"

"Sure man," Finn said. "Kurt ordered you a mushroom slice."

Blaine swung his head lazily in Kurt's direction. "You know my pizza order," he said, a smug smile on his face.

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "I really don't like repeating myself, particularly a third time. Eat your pizza, Blaine."

Blaine flipped the pizza box lid up, retrieved his slice, and took a bite before answering. "Yerf, dear."

Kurt scowled. "Were you raised in a barn like Finn, Blaine?"

"Hey!"

Blaine swallowed before responding. "No, dear."

oOo

"So, do you mind telling me what that was all about earlier today?" Kurt asked. He and Blaine had migrated to his bedroom and were lying on his bed facing one another.

Blaine shrugged a hue of pink dusting across his cheekbones. "I don't know. Just missed you, I guess. It was a long week."

Kurt smiled before leaning forward and kissing Blaine for a few minutes. Their tongues lazily explored each other's mouths until they had to draw away from one another to catch their breaths. Kurt brushed his thumb gently across Blaine's cheek. "We've spent longer times apart when I first transferred back to McKinley. What was so different this time?"

"Well, for starters," Blaine said, "I talked to you more at that time, but I didn't want to call you while you were in New York."

"You know I don't ever mind talking to you, Blaine," Kurt pointed out with a poke to his chest. Blaine grasped his hand, kissing it lightly and admiring how Kurt's face reddened before tangling their fingers together.

"Be that as it may," he continued, "I didn't want your first time in New York to be riddled with my moans of how much I missed you."

Kurt rolled his eyes, but his smile belied the extent of his exasperation. "Did I tell you how ridiculous you are today?"

"It may have come up once or twice," Blaine quipped before his expression sobered. His eyes skittered away for a moment before falling back to Kurt. "My parents are also out of town, so it was kind of lonely being in the house by myself."

"You..." Kurt trailed off in disbelief. "They left you by yourself?" he finally managed to ask and Blaine merely shrugged indifferently.

"It's not a big deal. They'll be back next weekend. I wouldn't notice normally, but with finals and no Warblers practice for the rest of the school year..." Blaine shrugged again. "Besides, isn't it every teenager's dream to have the house to himself? Think of all the potential parties I could have. We Warblers do know how to raise some mayhem." Blaine wagged his eyebrows, but rather than elicit the laugh he expected from his boyfriend, Kurt merely looked sad.

"Hey," Blaine said, lightly squeezing their clasped hands once. "It isn't a big deal. Honest. It actually gives me the opportunity to fend for myself so I'm not forced to eat Ramen noodles all the time in college."

Kurt smiled wanly. "The sodium levels in those noodles are criminal."

Blaine nodded solemnly. "They certainly are."

Kurt kissed Blaine once more before rolling away and grabbing his phone from his nightstand.

Blaine sat up. "Kurt, what are you—"

Kurt held up his hand warding off any questions, his phone already pressed to his ear. Blaine watched him uncertainly, but felt his heart speed up when the other finally started speaking.

"Hi, Dad? Sorry to interrupt—no, no, everything's fine. I just. Is it okay if Blaine stayed over this weekend?"

Blaine's eyes widened and he reached across the bed to grab a hold of Kurt's sleeve, but the other slid away and off the bed. Blaine fell onto the mattress, but quickly pushed himself up. "Kurt!"

Kurt walked quickly to the other side of the room, speaking rapidly into the phone. "Blaine's parents are out of town, left him alone for the past week, and won't be back until next Saturday. I just don't think it's healthy for him to be alone in an empty house for so long."

Blaine scrambled to Kurt's side and grasped his arm. "Kurt," he whispered, "You don't have to do this. I'm okay. Really."

Kurt ignored him in favor of mhmm-ing a few times into his phone. "Yes, of course, and yeah, that's him." Kurt extended the phone to him. "My dad wants to talk to you," he said and Blaine swallowed before taking the phone and speaking timidly into it.

"Hello?"

"Blaine?"

"Yes, Mr. Hummel."

"Your butt stays on that couch every evening, you got that?"

"I—"

"And no funny business."

"Y-Yes, of course, Mr. Hummel."

"Great. See you when we get home. Can you put Kurt back on the phone?"

"Um, yes, see you." Blaine dazedly held the phone back out to Kurt who took it with a smile. Blaine stared at Kurt while the other finished his conversation with his father.

"Thanks, Dad. I'll see you soon." Kurt ended the call before beaming widely at Blaine. "So...slumber party. How do you feel about facials?"

"You know how I feel about them," Blaine replied, voice still somewhat shocked. "Avocados are for eating not for spreading on my face." Blaine stared at him some more. "I can't believe you just did that," he continued and then inhaled a sharp breath. "I didn't even thank your father!"

Kurt closed the space between them, cupped Blaine's face in his hands, and pecked him lightly on the nose. "You can thank him when he gets home." He then spun on his heel, walked to his dresser and began rifling through the second drawer. "So, you can borrow one of my pajama pants, but I'll have to see if Finn has a T-shirt he can lend—"

Kurt was suddenly knocked into his dresser, the contents on top rattling violently as he braced his hands on the wooden surface in surprise. His eyes rose to the mirror in front of him and saw Blaine's forehead nestled against his neck and arms wrapped once more around his waist.

"Thank you," Blaine murmured softly and Kurt felt his heart simultaneously ache and warm. He twisted his body around and hugged Blaine back.

"Anytime, Blaine. You know that."

Blaine nodded, tightening his grip a little. "Yes, well, it needs to be said. I wasn't raised in a barn like Finn after all."

Kurt chuckled shaking his head from side to side. "No, you most certainly were not."