Kurt took a handful of popcorn, chewing slowly as his eyes trailed down his Facebook timeline. He frowned, his hand stopping, hovering over the bowl.

Upcoming Event
McKinley High Sadie Hawkins Dance

He hesitated, his fingers holding the cursor over the link before he clicked it, breathing deeply through his nose. Confirmed attendees included Sam, Tina, Artie, Sugar, Unique and Joe. As Kurt scrolled down, searching for that one particular name, he had reached the bottom of the list without seeing it. He clicked the link titled not attending, where there were only four names, Blaine's included.

Kurt's chest suddenly felt tight, his heart aching against his ribcage as he remembered what Blaine had said to him a couple of years ago.

"At my old school, there was a Sadie Hawkins dance and I had just come out. So I asked a friend of mine, the only other gay guy in the school. While we were waiting for his dad to pick us up, these three guys… beat the living crap out of us."

It was one thing for Blaine to agree to go to Junior Prom with him, but to have a Sadie Hawkins dance was too much for Blaine to handle. Kurt picked up his phone from the bedside table, hitting his recent calls list and selecting Blaine's number. It rang barely twice before there was a hurried, "Hello, Kurt?" at the other end.

"Hi," Kurt said softly.

There was a crackling on the other end that sounded like Blaine was switching ears. "Kurt, its Thursday," Blaine said, confusion clear in his voice.

They had only been back together for a few months and both agreed to take things slow. When you break your leg, you don't do a ten mile run after it's healed, you pace yourself. You learn to walk on it again while it strengthens itself.

They had a weekly phone date at a time that suited both of them, they would text every few days and the rest of their communication was through Twitter and Facebook to catch up on the things they had missed. It was a start and at the moment it was working well. The texts were increasing each week and they were falling back into the place they were at when they went to Dalton, when everything was new.

"I just saw that there's going to be a – a dance next week," Kurt said, his voice cracking slightly as the words 'Sadie Hawkins' died on his tongue. He was trying to sound causal, to act normal around Blaine who obviously hadn't told him for a reason.

"Yeah," Blaine said after a long pause.

There was an awkward silence filled with the sound of Blaine drumming his fingers, presumably on his desk. Kurt waited but when it was clear that Blaine wasn't going to say anything else he said, "You never mentioned it." Kurt's voice was small and slightly accusing. The first rule of their relationship was 'communication' and Blaine not telling Kurt about the dance, when it was clearly important, broke that rule.

"I – I'm sorry," Blaine said, the last word coming out in a long beaten down sigh. He sounded wounded, like the mere mention of the dance had kicked him hard in the gut, which was a little too close for comfort, given the circumstances.

There was a sniff on the other end of the phone and Kurt swallowed hard when he realised that Blaine was crying. "Blaine? Blaine, honey. It's okay. I'm not mad at you. I just – I wondered why you hadn't mentioned it."

"It wasn't important," Blaine mumbled. He had stopped crying, but Kurt could hear the grimace in his voice.

"It's about you, of course it's important," Kurt said firmly. Blaine's confidence dropped at any mention of the Sadie Hawkins dance but all those other times Kurt had been at home and had been able to hold Blaine against his chest, pet his hair and kiss away the pain.

But not now.

Now Kurt was in New York and he and Blaine were still trying to piece back their relationship in something that resembled their old selves. They hadn't even spoken the words I love you out loud since the day they got back together; Kurt too afraid that it was too much, too soon, and Blaine too afraid that he wouldn't hear it back.

Blaine made a small noise of disbelief. Kurt didn't say anything, the physical ache that came when Blaine closed himself off to Kurt thrumming throughout his body. He wanted to help Blaine, he wanted him to know how utterly incredible and wanted and loved he was, but he couldn't convey the right words, let alone words that Blaine would believe.

"Kurt," Blaine said quietly. Kurt wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or speaking to him. "I didn't mean to – it's been a rough evening. I've been at a committee meeting for the dance and it took a lot out of me. I'm sorry."

Oh.

Kurt's mouth dropped open a little in surprise. That's why Blaine had sounded so exhausted.

"You're the Student Body President," Kurt said, realisation setting in. As President, it was Blaine's responsibility to run the committee and make arrangements for the dance. No wonder Blaine hadn't wanted to talk about it. It was probably the only thing he was talking about at school and Kurt knew how triggering that must be for him.

"How's Rachel?" Blaine asked suddenly, a sense of urgency his voice. If Blaine didn't want to talk about it, they didn't have to talk about. Kurt only hoped that Blaine knew that if and when he needed to, that Kurt was always here to listen.

"She's – she's Rachel," Kurt said, laughing a little. Blaine hummed on the other end of the phone in agreement. "She wants to get a cat."

"Oh! That will be nice," Blaine said, brightly. "I've always wanted a pet but Cooper was allergic so we couldn't.

They talked for another fifteen minutes, Blaine's mood improving the further their conversation moved from the dance.

Blaine ate dinner in silence on the night of the dance. His parents kept shooting him knowing glances; his mother with worry plastered across her pale features and his father looking gruffly at him.

"It's the Sadie Hawkins dance tonight, isn't it?" his mom asked gently, glancing up from her plate to see Blaine's response. He nodded so she continued. "You're not going?"

"No," Blaine said.

"That's probably for the best," his father said, not looking up.

"Devon," his mom scolded, her fork clattering on the plate as she glared at her husband.

"What? Come on, Maria. After what happened last time?" His father looked at him with the same disappointed look he had all those years ago. He sighed and said. "Blaine knows I'm right."

"May I be excused?" Blaine asked, raising his voice. If he had to sit here one more minute while his parents drudged up the past he was going to scream.

"Okay, sweetie," his mom said. Her face was twisted into what she probably hoped was a smile. It was more of a lopsided frown but Blaine didn't comment. He threw his napkin on his plate, his dinner half eaten, and went to sit in the den.

He was almost dozing off in the easy-chair when there was a knock at the door. Blaine wiped the drool from his mouth and blinked the sleep from his eyes as he pushed himself up. He stretched one of his arms above his head as he walked to the front door. His arm fell to his side like a dead weight when he saw who was standing on his doorstep.

Kurt was dressed in a black tailored suit with a thin black tie over a white button up. A familiar pink corsage was pinned to his lapel, a matching one in a small plastic box in his hands. Kurt was smiling at him warmly, though there was anticipation behind his hopeful eyes.

"Kurt, what are you doing here?" Blaine asked in awe.

"Blaine Devon Anderson, will you go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me?"

Blaine sucked in a breath, his lips parting as he blinked in disbelief. "You – you're?"

"I take that as a yes?" Kurt asked hopefully, smiling lopsidedly.

"Yes."

Kurt waited in the den while Blaine got dressed, Blaine's father sitting opposite him. He was reading the newspaper, though his eyes had not moved for five minutes. When Blaine came back into the room, wearing the suit he wore to Kurt's Senior Prom, Kurt's face broke into a dopey smile. Blaine gave his father a sullen glance before motioning that Kurt should follow him into the hall.

When they were out of earshot, Kurt said, "You look gorgeous, really gorgeous." He bit down on his lip as his smile broke through. Blaine's cheeks stained pink at the compliment and he bowed his head bashfully.

"Thank you," Blaine said. "You look stunning, you really do."

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, neither sure what to do. Should they kiss? Hold hands? Hug? Blaine was looking at Kurt with an almost longing stare that pulled at something behind Kurt's navel, making him feel dizzy under Blaine's gaze. It was only that his hands were still gripping the plastic box that he broke the silence.

"Oh, I got you this," Kurt said. He opened the box and took out the pink flower and with deft fingers, pinned it to Blaine's blazer, his hands lingering when he had finished. Kurt lifted his head just slightly, his face inches from Blaine's. He could feel Blaine's hot breath ghost over his mouth, making heat rise in his cheeks. They locked eyes, Blaine's eyelashes sweeping over his own pink cheeks.

"Thank you," Blaine breathed. Kurt nodded, watching the way Blaine's lips wrapped around the words. Kurt's eyes slid closed as Blaine's nose bumped his, their lips meeting for the first time in months. It was as though nothing and everything had changed. The familiar feel of Blaine's soft lips was enough to make Kurt whimper, his hand shaking as it rested against Blaine's cheek, cupping his jaw. Blaine drew in a deep breath through his nose, the exhale releasing more than just air as his shoulders relaxed, his jaw unclenching under Kurt's fingers.

When they pulled away, both a little light-headed and warm, Blaine giggled, touching his fingers to his lips as though he could still feel Kurt there.

"We should get going," Blaine said, his voice breathy and high.

"Yeah," Kurt said, his hand returning to Blaine's cheek. He pulled him close and whispered, "we should", before closing the gap between them.