When Blaine comes out, Cooper isn't sure if he's more excited or devastated.

The thing is, Cooper has known for quite a while (at least a year that he's let himself admit) that he has some sort of feelings toward his little brother. Feelings that most people probably shouldn't have toward their little brother. He can't help it. And it's definitely not one of those "phases" – Cooper is sure of that. If it was something he could talk himself out of, he would have done that a long time ago. No, he definitely has feelings for Blaine and when his little brother comes out, he can't deny the fact that he's somewhat excited.

The other thing, though, is that their father is terribly homophobic. They've both known that for years. Blaine has always seemed to see the best in people though, and for some reason he must have hoped that their father would set aside his close-mindedness for his youngest son. To his (and Cooper's) dismay, their father's reaction is quite the opposite of what Blaine had hoped for.

The screaming and yelling at the dinner table that summer evening after Blaine says it is mostly a blur to Cooper because he is too busy watching Blaine's hurt face and wondering why did you have to tell him? The one thing that does stick out, though, is their father saying something along the lines of "Get the hell out of here. I don't want to see you."

By that point, there are tears streaming down Blaine's face and he has to compose himself before he says, "But dad…"

To which he throws his fork down and looks up at his own son's face and says through gritted teeth, "Don't call me that. As far as I'm concerned, you're not my son."

Cooper watches as his fifteen, going on sixteen year old brother – who somehow managed to be braver than he could ever be – stands on shaky legs and makes his way quickly up the stairs. At that, their mother throws her napkin down on the table and leaves the room visibly angry. Cooper sits there for a moment just staring at his dad, whose face is blank and emotionless as he continues eating, before setting his own napkin down and bounding up the stairs after Blaine.

Blaine hadn't even bothered to shut his door all the way, so when Cooper makes it up the stairs and down the hall, he can see his brother's figure sprawled out on his bed, face down in his pillows. When he reaches the doorway, he knocks a couple times on the wall. "Blaine?"

He makes a choked out sobbing noise as a response, and Cooper figures that's as good as he's going to get before he lets himself in and shuts the door behind him. "Blaine?" He asks again softly, sitting on the bed and placing a hand on the small of his brother's back, "Hey…"

"I'm so stupid," Blaine chokes out, muffled into his pillow.

"You're not stupid," Cooper reassures, rubbing his back lightly.

"Yes I am!" Blaine exclaims, turning his face so he can see Cooper. His eyes are red and puffy from crying and it takes all Cooper has not to reach forward and wipe the tears off of his face. "How could I have been so stupid to think that dad would be okay with it?"

Cooper shakes his head, "He's the stupid one. You're his son, for crying out loud. You don't deserve that."

Blaine scoffs, "Tell him that."

It's quiet between the two of them for a moment before Cooper speaks up again, "Do you want to go for a drive?" When Blaine looks up at him with an eyebrow raised he explains, "That's what I like doing when I'm mad. It helps. Besides, you'll have me for company."

Cooper resorts to joking because he knows it cheers Blaine up and sure enough, his lips twist into a small smile, "I'd like that."

At that, Cooper reaches his hand out and Blaine takes it lightly. He leads his younger brother down the hall and back down the stairs before heading out the front door without a word to either of their parents. "Don't you need to tell them where we're going?" Blaine asks, sniffling.

Cooper just grins, "B, I'm twenty. Besides, I could honestly care less what either of them think right now."

The two get in Cooper's car and they drive off without any destination. It's quiet in the car, and Cooper holds back from turning the radio on because he knows that Blaine needs to think. Now that they're out of the house and away from their father, the realization that oh my god, my little brother is gay finally sets in. Part of him is excited because holy shit I might actually stand a chance, but the other part of him is reminding himself that his brother will probably never feel the same way about him.

"You okay?" Cooper asks after five minutes of silence pass. They're driving down some road he's never been down before and he's not really sure where they're going, not that it really matters.

"I think…" Blaine says softly. "I just… I feel so stupid. I don't know why I can't just be more like you."

"What do you mean?"

"You know…" Blaine says, looking over at him, "I just should have kept it to myself. I mean, just told you and mom and not him…"

Cooper suddenly remembers the day that he told his little brother that he was gay, about two years ago. When Blaine just hugged him and told him he loved him in response, it was the best feeling in the world. However, Cooper was fully aware that he was never going to get that reaction from their father, and he told Blaine not to mention it around him. Though Cooper didn't want to hide who he was from his dad, he knew that it was probably for the best that he didn't know.

"No," Cooper argues, "What you did took a lot of guts. It's something I never could have done. You're obviously very proud of who you are, Blaine, and that's something that I wish I could be."

When Blaine just raises an eyebrow in response to him, Cooper doesn't bother to explain. He can't explain. He also doesn't have the time to before Blaine is talking again, "Can we pull over?"

Cooper nods and pulls his car over at the nearest possible spot in the road. They're on some side road in the countryside. There's trees and a couple of houses to the right of them and to the left they're able to see down a hill and over some of the suburbs. It's actually a really pretty view, especially with the sun setting, and Cooper mentally reminds himself to come here again if he ever needs to clear his head.

Without a word, Blaine gets out of the car and hops onto the hood so that he's sitting and watching the sunset. Cooper mimics his actions and joins him on the hood of the car. He nudges his brother playfully, "Feel better?"

Blaine smiles up at him, "Yeah, a little." The two sit in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the view, before Blaine speaks up, "I just wish dad wasn't like this…"

Cooper sighs, "You and me both."

"I just want to be able to bring a boy home one day and have dad be happy for me. He doesn't have to agree with my choices, but all I want is to be able to introduce a boy to my parents some day…"

Blaine's admission hits Cooper right where it hurts and he mentally kicks himself for feeling that way. He's your little brother. Deal with it. He clears his throat before asking, "Anyone in particular?"

Blaine glances up at him before laughing slightly and shaking his head no, "Nah. I was just thinking ahead, I guess… It's not like anyone at my school would want to date me anyway."

"Don't say that," Cooper says automatically, ripping his eyes from the scenery and looking at Blaine.

He shrugs, "It's true."

Before cooper can realize what he's doing, he's leaning in toward Blaine and grabbing his face in between his hands. He studies his brother's face from his eyes which are still red from crying to his red cheeks, to his lips. He lingers at his lips before finally speaking, "Don't say that. Okay? You're beautiful Blaine, and anyone who doesn't see it is retarded."

Blaine just laughs at his comment but when he sees the seriousness in Cooper's face, his eyebrows furrow in confusion, "Coop?"

And before Cooper can talk himself out of it, he's leaning forward and pressing his own lips firmly onto his brother's. Blaine's hands instinctively wrap around Cooper's wrists, but instead of pulling away, he leans into it and kisses back for a moment. His head tilts and his lips part, deepening the kiss and Cooper finds himself wondering why he didn't do this sooner. Cooper sighs out though his nose, but just as he starts to relax into the kiss, Blaine is letting go of his wrists and pressing firmly onto his chest. Cooper is shoved away within a second and looking at his little brother who is covering his own mouth, eyes wide with confusion.

"Fuck," Cooper mutters under his breath, realizing his mistake. This isn't some romantic comedy. You just kissed your brother who obviously didn't appreciate it. It's quiet between the two and Cooper wants to crawl in a hole and die, but his brain his also screaming at him because Blaine kissed him back. It may have only been for a second, but it happened.

"I… What- What was that?" Blaine manages to stutter out, eyes still wide staring into Cooper's.

Cooper shakes his head quickly, "I'm so sorry, Blaine. That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Please take me home," Blaine manages to get out, his eyes welling with tears again and Cooper wordlessly gets off of the hood of the car.

Well, great.

The car ride is completely silent save for a few sniffles here and there from Blaine and when they get home, his younger brother shuts himself in his own room without a word. Cooper does the same even though he's hungry, figuring that he wouldn't be able to hold anything down. He feels sick to his stomach with the thought of what happened.

He feels like punching something, anything, because he can't believe he was so stupid. Of course Blaine was disgusted. Of course.

For years he had done a pretty good job (if he does say so himself) of trying to repress his feelings for Blaine because what would anyone else in their right mind do? He knows that it's obviously not considered right to have feelings for your brother, not to mention he would never want his parents to find something like that out.

With that thought, he mentally kicks himself. As if Blaine didn't have anything else to worry about or be upset about.

He's probably sitting in his room thinking that he has absolutely no family. Our parents treated him like shit and when I try to make him feel better I end up kissing him. This is so fucked up.

Cooper sits on his bed in his quiet room, trying to think of a way to make things better with Blaine. Trying to think of what his excuse could be. Trying to think of anything to say. Because right now, Blaine needs a supportive older brother, not the older brother that only thinks about his own feelings.

At that, Cooper decides to get up and try to make Blaine feel better, because that's what big brothers are for. He has no idea what he's going to say, but he figures he'll improvise. After all, he wants to be an actor. He could use the practice. He smiles to himself at the idea as he stands and crosses his room.

As Cooper pulls the door open though, he reveals Blaine standing on the other side, clad in his old pair of sweatpants and a tank top, fist raised as if he were about to knock. "Oh," Cooper breaths, "I was just about to go talk to you."

Blaine smiles slightly before dropping his hand and scratching the back of his neck nervously, "Hey."

"Hey," Cooper says back quietly, trying his hardest to improvise like he decided he would but coming up blank.

"Look, Coop," Blaine starts, but he interrupts.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," He blurts, "I didn't… I mean…" And then he loses it and goes quiet.

Blaine stares at him for a second before smiling slightly. "It's okay. I understand. I think."

Cooper raises his eyebrows, "Oh really?" He can't help but let that cocky "big brother" side of himself out.

"Really," Blaine confirms, ignoring his attitude, "You were just trying to make me feel better."

"I – well… Yeah… I guess…" Cooper starts. That's not it though. They both know it.

"I know there's more to it," Blaine continues, "But I think I get it."

Cooper crosses his arms and leans on the door frame, trying to keep his cool even though he's kind of freaking out inside. "You get it?" Is all he manages to get out.

Blaine nods, "Yeah… I mean. I guess I've kind of felt like that before, I just… I just sort of pushed it down. And I was kind of freaked out earlier, but I think it was just the shock of it all…"

At that point Cooper is trying to stop himself from shaking because holy shit Blaine might feel the same way, and then he has to calm himself down because it's his brother and he shouldn't be this excited about it but he is. He takes a deep breath, "So what are you trying to say?"

Blaine smirks and it's obvious that he's been thinking more rationally about things than Cooper has in the past few hours because he seems so confident. "What I'm trying to say," He starts, "Is it probably wasn't the best planning on your part to tell me by kissing me, but I understand, and I think I feel the same way."

Cooper's heart practically stops and he has to swallow hard before asking, "Are you being serious?"

With that, Blaine leans in unexpectedly, grabs his brother's face, and kisses him. It's nervous and sloppy and there's too much teeth and they're both shaking a little bit, but it's real. Cooper kisses back immediately, his hand cupping Blaine's cheek before pulling away. "Very serious," Blaine manages to get out.

Cooper clears his throat and tries to ask as smoothly as possible, "Would you like to come in?"

Blaine nods quietly and quickly before Cooper moves aside and lets him in then shuts the door. He takes his little brother's hand and leads him over to his bed and they sit down side by side, holding hands. Cooper turns so he's facing Blaine before taking his other hand. "This is okay?"

Blaine nods, "Yes. It's okay."

Cooper breaths out a sigh of relief because he's not dreaming and he leans in close to his brother. Blaine flashes him a small nervous smile and then his eyes dart down to his lips and back up again. At that, Cooper closes the gap in between them and kisses him softly, finally able to enjoy it. The smell of Blaine envelops him as they kiss and he breaths it in like he's always wanted to. Blaine's head tilts ever so slightly, inviting Cooper closer and he takes the opportunity to snake an arm around his waist and pull him close.

Cooper runs his tongue across Blaine's lips and his mouth almost immediately opens. Then he can taste him, and just that thought sends a tremor through Cooper's body. Blaine places a shaky hand on Cooper's thigh as they kiss, nervous because it's his brother and he shouldn't feel this way but he does.

They continue to share lazy kisses on Cooper's bed for what seems what feels like forever until Blaine finally pulls away. Cooper smiles up at him softly, his fingers tracing patterns into Blaine's clothed hip before letting out a breathy "Hey."

"Hey," Blaine returns, still somewhat nervous. He lets his eyes drift south and when they do, he notices the hardness between Cooper's legs, thanks to his sweat pants. He gulps, "Do you want me to…"

Cooper shakes his head no, "I just want to be with you." And it's nothing short of the truth. It's a loaded statement and he's sure that Blaine doesn't understand exactly what he means because he's still just a kid, but it's okay because they have all the time in the world to figure things out.

"Are you sure?" Blaine asks, still looking down.

At that, Cooper takes his head in his hands and looks him in the eyes, smiling, "I'm sure, B. You've had a rough day. The last thing we need to worry about is me."

Blaine nods, visibly relaxing. Cooper can't help but feel a tug at his heart at that because he knows Blaine is nervous and inexperienced and he wants to change that. He wants to be the one to teach him everything, but that will have to wait.

"Can I stay in here tonight?" Blaine asks suddenly, changing the subject. When Cooper just looks at him stupidly because he's too overwhelmed with his emotions, he tries to explain, "I don't want to be alone and I don't want to deal with dad…"

"You know, you could have just told me that you want to spend the night with me," Cooper replies, regaining a bit of his usual cocky self.

"And I want to spend the night with you, Coop," Blaine replies, blushing slightly.

At that, Cooper throws his covers back and scoots back into his bed so there's room for the two of them. Without thinking about it, Blaine peels his shirt off and tosses it across the room like he normally would before bed, leaving his brother gaping. Sure, he's still growing into his body, but Cooper still admires the way his muscles curve and the way the light hits them.

He gulps, "You're really beautiful, Blaine."

When Blaine doesn't say anything and just looks at him, he fears he's said too much and wants to hide his face, but is stopped when his brother crawls across the bed and sits next to him, their faces only inches apart. Blaine then grabs the hem of Cooper's shirt and his older brother lifts his arms above his head so he can pull the article of clothing off and toss it across the room to join his own shirt.

Blaine's hands are then on his chest and stomach and shoulders, tracing his muscles and mapping out his skin. "You are too, Cooper," Blaine finally replies to his earlier statement before placing a kiss on his lips.

Blaine falls asleep long before Cooper that night and Cooper decides it's because he's exhausted from his long day. And he has every reason to be. As he sleeps, Cooper places a kiss on his little brother's cheek and silently wonders how he can be so confident and strong, especially in front of their father. When he was Blaine's age, there was no way he was that sure of himself.

He finally lets out a deep breath that he feels like he's been holding in for years and lets himself relax and drape an arm around Blaine's waist. Finally, things feel like they should. Finally, everything seems to be coming together.