Blaine groaned, rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes before sitting up, scanning over the room for any sign that his husband might still be lurking somewhere around their apartment and finding that, once again, Kurt's shoes and wallet were already gone from the dresser. It had been like this for months now; ever since Kurt had been promoted, just a few days before their fifth wedding anniversary, he'd been up and gone before Blaine woke nearly every morning. That, combined with the late hours that Blaine had been pulling, trying to secure a promotion of his own, meant that the two barely saw each other anymore. It would all be worth it in the end, he reminded himself as he climbed out of bed, stretching his arms out over his head and yawning before heading into the bathroom to start his morning routine. It was probably better that Kurt had been so busy, he thought to himself as he showered, with the crazy hours and lack of free time, it had been months since they'd had sex and Blaine was slightly grateful for that since it meant that Kurt hadn't been able to take notice yet.
Blaine grimaced, stepping out of the shower and taking a moment to look over his blurry reflection in the steamed up mirror, prodding at one of the red marks that had appeared on his stomach sometime over the last few weeks. The weight wasn't anything new, he always seemed to put on a few pounds during the winter and that was fine, Kurt would tease him a bit and then it would melt away with the snow once the weather began to warm. The stretch marks were new though, as was the way that his 'fat pants' were beginning to cling. Everyone he'd talked to seemed to think this was normal though, his mother and his doctor both taking time to remind him that he was nearly thirty and that his metabolism wasn't always going to be as fast as it had been in his teens and early twenties. His mother had suggested a gym membership at the end of their conversation, but a week later he'd found himself slipping off to buy new jeans instead because buying clothes only took a few minutes out of one day and the gym, well, it took an hour he didn't have out of every day.
He did the same thing every morning, after his shower he'd weigh, and every morning he'd end up wincing when the dial spun just a little bit higher than it had the day before, finally stepping off the scales with the promise that he'd eat a little bit less that day, a little bit healthier. By the end of the day he was making the same excuses as always though, telling himself that it was okay, he'd eat better the next day, that he'd only put on five pounds, he could still lose it easily, and one day of unhealthy eating wasn't going to hurt. Then it was eight pounds, then twelve, and by Christmas he had given up on the year all together, saying that he'd get things under control after New Years, but now Valentine's Day was fast approaching and the dial was still spinning upwards steadily. It was February tenth when Ted, his smartass co-worker, walked into the break room and asked when he was due, Blaine laughed it off, returning to his office a few minutes later. The comment had stung but more so, it made him look; he'd been very aware that his weight was ballooning but now that he was looking, he also realized that it wasn't just weight, he'd gained a pot-belly. He found himself going through the motions again, making the same promises that he made every day and in a moment of frustration found himself thinking 'fuck it', no matter how many times he made the promise, he wasn't doing anything about the actual problem, and if he was truly honest, he really didn't care.
He went back to his work feeling resigned, he'd slip off sometime soon, during his lunch hour, to buy some shirts that didn't cling quite as much and that would be that. There would be no more time wasted weighing himself, no more empty promises, and no more feeling guilty over something that was caused by being over worked and approaching middle aged. Kurt would still be an issue but that was something to think about later, perhaps when they started spending time with each other outside of the time they were asleep. That time came sooner than expected when he awoke just four days later to find a note stuck to his nightstand with Kurt's elegant handwriting, with the message 'be home by five today, it's Valentine's Day and I want to see my husband when he isn't sleeping, xoxo'. He considered sending a text message saying that he was begged to stay late but when he arrived at work Blaine found that his boss had taken the entire day off and by three that afternoon, half of the office was empty. At four Kurt message to remind him of the time and at four fifteen he slipped into the bathroom and changed into one of his newly purchased shirts that was a simple black, supposedly a slimming color, or at least that's what the sales lady had said, with a pointed look at his gut. He left the office that four thirty and began the trek home, feeling like a man that was walking to his death, instead of a man going home to dinner with his husband.