Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Chapter 1
Blaine was waiting by the baggage claim, anxiously waiting for their luggage. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Kurt and Rachel both on their cell phones talking animatedly.
Blaine spots Rachel's luggage, pink suitcases covered in gold stars and waits for them to reach him and quickly starts pulling them off the conveyor belt before they disappear into the tunnel again. Kurt's bags aren't far behind, designer bags with unicorn stickers all over them, a gift from Brittany. His plain, ordinary blue luggage appeared right behind.
Blaine settled all of the luggage on the floor beside him before looking in the direction that Rachel and Kurt had been, only to see that they had disappeared.
"Looking for us?" a voice said from behind him, causing him to jump.
Blaine turned to see Kurt and Rachel, each with a luggage cart.
"We went to go get a couple of carts," Kurt explained.
"There was no way we would be able to carry all of these bags around New York by ourselves."
Blaine looked down at the pile by his feet, 'ain't that the truth,' he thought. Each one of them was responsible for six bags alone and they were only planning to be in New York a week.
The luggage was quickly piled onto the carts. Rachel pulled out a map from her purse, "okay, so our hotel is about three blocks that way," she said, pointing in its general direction. "I think. Should we walk?"
"Not unless you want to get arrested for cart theft." Blaine pointed to a sign straight ahead. "The carts are not allowed to be taken off airport property."
"Taxi it is." Rachel started to walk to the taxis, Blaine and Kurt following behind with the carts. By the time Blaine and Kurt made it outside, Rachel had already flagged down a taxi. She was waving her arms and jumping excitedly, "hurry up guys, New York awaits."
The three teens threw their bags in the trunk before situating themselves in the back seat of the cab.
The cab pulled up in front of the most elegant hotel the kids had ever seen.
"Is this it?" Blaine asked, sure the cabbie had the wrong address.
"It's the address of the hotel you gave me. That will be $32.45."
Blaine gave him the money and the three filed out of the cab.
"It's magnificent," Kurt said in awe.
"I love New York!" Rachel squealed, grabbing her bags, tripping over herself in an effort to carry it all.
"Rachel! Rachel!" Kurt shouted after her. Rachel didn't turn around, continuing to struggle with her luggage. Kurt turned to Blaine, gesturing off to the side where a man was making his way over to them. "They have bellhops."
The two quickly loaded their bags onto the cart, thanking and tipping the bellhop before rushing inside to find Rachel.
Rachel was at the front desk, her bags sprawled all around her, repeatedly ringing the bell for assistance. "Excuse me! Excuse me!"
Kurt noticed the annoyed looks the employees were sending in their direction, "Rachel stop," Kurt said in a forced whisper.
"What?"
Blaine caught her hand mid-swing before she could ring the bell again. "I'm sure they'll get to us as soon as they can."
Rachel stopped ringing the bell but she stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently and scowling at the employees until one finally made his way over.
"Can I help you?" The man asked, the annoyance in his tone, obvious. Blaine and Kurt blushed in embarrassment but Rachel didn't seem to notice. Her face lit up in a smile, "Yes, we have a room reserved under Berry. That's B-E-R-R-Y, Berry."
The man typed it in the computer, "Ah yes, here we are, B-E-R-R-Y yes?" Rachel nodded, not noticing his sarcastic tone of voice. The man grabbed three keys, deliberately reaching passed Rachel and handing them to Kurt. Rachel's smile never faltered but her eyes darkened and her brows creased causing Blaine to step in front of her, gently pushing her behind him so that she didn't make any more of the scene.
"Thank you," he replied, releasing his charm, trying to smooth things over.
The man nodded politely at Blaine, releasing a smile in Kurt's direction and speaking only to him.
"Your room is number 482 on the fourth floor, just take a right at the elevators."
"Thank you," Blaine said again. The man's face never left Kurt's. Blaine cleared his throat uncomfortably grabbing one of Rachel's suitcases with one hand and Kurt's with the other. "Should we go check out our room?"
Kurt nodded, smiling politely at the employees, who winked at him, and grabbed one of Rachel's suitcases for himself, letting Blaine drag him towards the elevator.
Rachel waited for the elevator doors to close before turning on Kurt, "ooohhh, I think he likes you."
"No he doesn't."
"He was totally flirting with you."
"I'm sure he was just being polite."
"He wasn't that polite to Blaine or me for that matter," she scowled.
Blaine snorted causing her to turn her scowl on him, "I don't know what you're so smug about, you were so totally jealous."
"I was not."
"You practically dragged Kurt away from that guy."
"The guy was a creep. He is way too old for Kurt. He has to be 25 at least. The sick perve."
"You were jealous?" Kurt asked, smiling.
"Maybe a little," Blaine confessed, ducking his head.
"Awwww," Kurt laughed, pulling Blaine into a hug and kissing him on the top of the head.
A bell rang and the door opened, releasing them onto the fourth floor.
Blaine and Kurt's bags were already outside their room when they got there. Kurt unlocked the door and opened it to the most beautiful hotel room any of them had ever seen. "Wow," Kurt said, stepping inside.
"This is amazing!" Rachel exclaimed, running past Kurt to get inside the room.
"Hey guys, a little help here," Kurt turned to Blaine who was struggling to bring all of their suitcases in from the hallway.
Kurt rushed over to help him," sorry Sweetie," he said, kissing him on the cheek.
Blaine and Kurt started to unpack their suitcases, Blaine handing them to Kurt who neatly folded them before putting them away.
Rachel came out of the bathroom wearing a nice sundress and with her make-up freshly applied. "You guys ready to hit the streets of New York?" Rachel asked, excitedly.
"Rachel we just got here," Kurt replied. "We haven't even finished unpacking yet."
"We can do that later," Rachel said, closing the suitcase Blaine was unpacking, barely missing his fingers. "We only have a week in New York before we have to go back to Lima." Rachel made a disgusted face. "We have to make the most of it."
Blaine and Kurt looked at each other, seemingly having a whole conversation without even speaking.
"Fine, just let us go freshen up a bit first," Kurt said, he and Blaine heading towards the bathroom.
"Fine, just hurry up. I'm leaving in 15 minutes with or without you."
Blaine and Kurt came out, Kurt in a new outfit, Blaine's hair freshly gelled, to Rachel waiting impatiently by the door. "You guys ready?"
"Yes," Kurt replied, checking himself in the mirror one last time.
"Finally," Rachel swung the door open. Blaine checked to make sure they had a key before following behind. The three teens walked the streets of New York all day and all night. It was just what they had always dreamed of. The shopping, the food, the sights, were all amazing and left them hungry for more. It was almost 11p.m. before they decided to call it a night and head back to their hotel room. They were all exhausted.
As they were walking back to the hotel Blaine saw something, or rather someone, he hadn't seen in years. He blinked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he was still there.
A white van, that looked as if it was trying too hard to be inconspicuous, was parked across the street. The man in the driver's seat had nicely groomed hair, a black suit, and thick shades. Another man, the one in the passenger seat, and African American, also in a nice suit, was looking through a pair of binoculars into the distance. But it was the man in the middle that caught his attention. The man was standing, leaning over from the back and speaking rapidly to the man in the driver's seat. He was both exactly as he remembered him and not at all. He stopped short.
"Blaine, what's wrong?"
Blaine couldn't speak. He was still in shock. He had never expected to see this man again much less explain his meaning to Kurt. Blaine snapped out of his thoughts to Kurt snapping his fingers in his face. He turned to Kurt, his movements slow.
"You back with us?" Kurt asked, worried. Blaine nodded slowly, swallowing rapidly.
"Yeah," he croaked, wincing at the sound of his own voice. He cleared his throat, "yes."
"What happened?"
Blaine looked at Rachel who had sunk down to sit on the concrete, her eyes fluttering in exhaustion. "It doesn't matter. We better get her back to the hotel before she falls asleep right here."
Kurt stopped him before he was able to walk too far. "It does matter, Blaine. You just checked out on us and I want to know why."
Blaine sighed, knowing Kurt wouldn't let it go until he told him what was going on.
"Do you see that white van over there," he said, pointing in the direction of the van.
"How could I miss it? It practically screams FBI."
"The man in the middle, you can just make him out through the tinted glass, see?"
"Just barely, but yes."
Blaine nodded, swallowing rapidly, hand shaking, "I think that's my brother."
Kurt looked at him, shocked, before grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her into a standing position. "You're right. I think it would be better if we talked about this at the hotel."
Kurt walked into the hotel room, situating Rachel on the bed before sitting on his own and gesturing for Blaine to come sit beside him. "So, your brother, huh?"
Blaine nodded, head down, not able to look at Kurt.
"See, that's interesting because I didn't even know you had a brother."
"I don't really like to talk about him or even think about him really."
"Why?"
Blaine turned to Kurt, his eyes filling with tears that wouldn't fall.
"To be honest I don't really remember that much about him. I was only seven when he left Kurt. I haven't seen or heard from him since."
"Then how do you even know for sure that was him? People change a lot from when they're 18?" Blaine nodded, "to 28."
"I've seen his picture Kurt. My mom, or rather his mom is still in touch with him, she has a recent picture."
Blaine sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly, knowing that for this to make any sense he was going to have to tell Kurt the whole story.
"Cooper was around 11 when I was born. My dad was on a business trip in the Philippines, he had a one night stand. She got pregnant. My mom died during child birth and her will stated that if anything happened to her, I should be given to my biological father. Coop always resented me. We were never that close. I broke up his perfect, happy family. He never forgave me."
"I'm sorry," Kurt said, pulling Blaine close and holding him tightly. Blaine nuzzled his head into Kurt's shoulder. "So, what do you want to do?"
"Do?"
"Yeah, you just saw your brother. The brother you haven't seen in years. You have an opportunity to clear the air and maybe even start a real relationship with him. If that's what you want."
"I don't know what I want," Blaine sniffled.
"How about we sleep on it?" Kurt suggested. "Tell me what you decide in the morning and whatever you decide, that's what we'll do."
Blaine nodded, sinking back on the bed and turning on his side, away from Kurt. Kurt laid down behind him, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy and sinking into sleep.
Blaine was awakened the next morning by the sound of Kurt and Rachel arguing. "Rachel, I told you to keep it down. Blaine is still asleep."
"If he did not wake up during my beautiful rendition of 'Don't Rain On My Parade,' he can sleep through anything."
Blaine smiled, amused at their bickering. "Hey," he mumbled, sleepily.
"Hey," Kurt smiled, coming over to sit next to Blaine on the bed, running his fingers through his curly hair. Rachel made a gagging noise in her throat causing Blaine to laugh and Kurt to scowl at her. "She didn't wake you up did she?"
"No."
"Told you," Kurt growled at her, chucking a pillow at her. She ducked and quickly made her escape to the bathroom. Blaine laughed.
"Did I sleep that late?" Blaine asked, looking around for his glasses so that he could read the clock.
"Don't listen to her." Kurt handed him his glasses. "It's only 7a.m. She's just upset because she thinks we're missing out on all that New York has to offer because weren't up and out by dawn."
"Well I better go get ready then." Blaine got up and started towards the bathroom when Kurt stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"Have you made a decision yet?" Blaine looked at him, confused and then all of the events from the day before it came rushing back to him. He almost wished it had stayed forgotten.
"I want to meet him. I mean I don't have to tell him who I really am right? I mean it might not even be him. We were kind of far away and they did have tinted windows. It probably isn't even him."
"You don't have to do anything you don't want." Kurt forced Blaine to look him in the eyes, "okay?"
Blaine nodded, "I'm just going to get a shower," Blaine pointed in the direction of the bathroom.
"Okay," Kurt nodded.
Blaine smiled, "you kind of have to let go of my arm Kurt."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Kurt released him.
Blaine walked over to the bathroom door and started banging on it. "Rachel, come on. I have to get a shower."
Rachel peaked around the door. "Is Kurt still mad?"
"No, of course not," Blaine said, smiling.
"Oh, good." Rachel came in as Blaine slipped in, quickly shutting the door behind him.
Kurt stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. "I'm still mad at you."
Rachel spun around in the direction of the bathroom door. "Blaine!"
Her only response was Blaine turning the shower on.
"So Kurt, what do you want to do today? Your pick and I won't try to persuade you into what I want to do, I promise."
"Anything I want to do?"
"Yes, she agreed a little less enthusiastically," Rachel replied.
"The FBI."
"Okay. Wait what?" Rachel asked, confused.
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation."
"I know what it stands for, Kurt. What I don't know is why you want to go there."
"Blaine thinks his brother might work there. He just wants to find out for sure."
"I didn't even know Blaine had a brother."
"Neither did I. They're not close."
"So, what? We're going to walk right through the front doors of the FBI and say what exactly. Hi, we're from a small town in Ohio that no ones' even heard of called Lima. And our friend here thinks that his older brother works here. Now we don't know for sure but could you send out all the agents kind of, maybe look like him and see if he can pick him out? Yeah, that will go over real well."
"Blaine's not sure he would even want to tell his brother who he really is."
"The FBI isn't going to let us in just so we can loiter in their precinct."
"I know. We're going to have to tell them something."
"Who are we going to have to tell something?" Blaine asked as he came out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair.
"The FBI," Kurt responded.
"Oh, yeah."
"Well, we'll think of something on the way. You ready?"
"I just have to gel my hair."
"Leave it down. It looks good," Kurt said, running his fingers through the still damp curls.
"You sure?"
"It looks great. Come on." Kurt grabbed his hand, gently squeezing it in reassurance.
Blaine stood outside the FBI headquarters with Rachel and Kurt by his side. They had spent the whole taxi ride over trying to figure out what they should say but nothing sounded quite right.
The inside of the headquarters was bustling with activity. People were rushing in every direction causing the three to dodge so that they wouldn't get hit.
Blaine looked around, his head spinning. "Kurt, let's just go. This was a bad idea."
Blaine turned around and started walking towards the exit.
"Can I help you?"
Blaine turned around to see one of the men that he saw in the van only one day prior. Blaine opened his mouth, trying to say something, but nothing came out.
"We're looking for Cooper Anderson," Rachel blurted out, trying to be helpful.
"I'm not sure of anyone who works here by that name. If you want to sit tight for a few minutes though, I can go check for you. Who should I say is asking for him?"
"It's his brother," Rachel supplied. Blaine glared at her.
"Okay, I'll be right back then. Sit tight." Jones walked up to Burke's office where Burke was talking to Caffrey. He knocked to alert them of his presence before walking in.
"What do you have Jones?" Peter asked, hoping they finally had an ID on their suspect.
"Sorry Boss, APHIS is still running it. I actually came up to ask you if you had ever heard of an agent named Cooper Anderson."
Neither Jones or Burke missed the way that Caffrey's head jerked up, his eyes showing recognition at the name. Neal's obvious reaction let Peter know that this was a name Neal was surprised to hear and therefore probably not one of his past aliases.
"Is someone asking about Cooper?"
"Do you know who that is Neal?"
Neal ignored him, his eyes never leaving Jones'. "Yeah, apparently his little brother is downstairs."
"What?"
"Neal, do you know who this Cooper Anderson is?" Peter asked more forcefully.
"Yeah, he's me. Or rather I'm him."
"I thought you told me the names of all of you aliases?"
"He did?" Jones asked, surprised.
"I did," Neal replied with the same amount of force Peter had used. "He's not an alias. That's my real name."
"So Neal Caffrey is an alias?"
"No, that's my real name to. I legally changed my name to Neal Caffrey when I turned 18. I never though anyone from my old life would ever find me. How did he find me?"
"Didn't say. In fact he didn't say anything. This girl did all the talking for him."
"I can't believe he's here."
"Take a look for yourself," Jones gestured to the window at the front of Burke's office that overlooked the floor below.
Neal looked straight out until his eyes laid on the sight of his baby brother.
"It's him," Neal said, his voice choked, his eyes wet with tears he was trying not to let fall.
"How can you tell?" Burke asked. "You just admitted yourself that you haven't seen him in years."
"It's the bow tie," Neal gave a teary laugh. "He's the only kid I've ever known that wore a bow tie with every outfit."
"So, what do you want me to tell him?" Jones asked gently.
Neal though back to all those years ago and how he had left things with his brother. They had never been close and it was mostly his fault. But now he had another chance. A chance to make things right.
"Bring him up."
Jones nodded, giving him a pat on the shoulder before making his way back to the three teens. Neal watched them through the window. The young girl was talking very animatedly to the other boy who went between looking bored and looking at Blaine, concerned? Yeah, he was concerned for his brother. He watched as Jones talked to them. Blaine looked nervous, really nervous. He couldn't really blame him, he was nervous too. Plus, he had never been very nice to Blaine in the past, something he had always regretted.
"Neal?" Peter questioned, concerned.
"Yeah?"
"You okay?"
Neal moved away from the window, "yeah, I'm okay."
Peter looked at him incredulously. "Well, I will be."
A knock on the door caused Neal to jump. He blushed at the obvious display of how nervous he was. Jones stepped in followed by the three teens. The one boy was holding on tightly to his brother's hand.
The room was silent for a few awkward moments as no one knew quite what to say.
Rachel, unsurprisingly, was the first one to recover, "so you're Blaine's brother?"
"Yeah, I guess I am. Hey Blaine, it's good to see you again. Can I give you a hug?"
Blaine nodded, still unable to speak.
Neal stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the boy in a tight hug, letting a couple of tears escape. "It is so good to see you again baby brother."
"I'm really not a baby anymore," Blaine sniffled.
"I changed your diapers. You'll always be a baby to me."
"You changed my diapers?"
"On occasion," Blaine gave him a look, clearly not believing him. "A very rare occasion." Blaine laughed.
Rachel broke up their happy reunion by leaning down and pointing at the metal that was just barely visible at the cuff of his pants. "Is that an ankle monitor? Are you some kind of criminal or something?"
Blaine took a step back from Neal and looked at where Rachel was pointing. Neal shifted uncomfortably.
"Neal?" Peter questioned, breaking the silence once again. Blaine took another step away from Neal.
"Did he just call you Neal?"
"Can you guys give me and Blaine a moment alone please?"
Jones ushered Rachel and Kurt out, Kurt casting fleeting glances at Blaine as he left. Peter followed after them, shutting the door behind him to try and give the two brothers some privacy.
"He called you Neal," Blaine stated again after everyone had left.
"Yeah, that's my name actually. I legally changed it when I turned 18."
"I guess that would be why I could never find you."
"I never thought you would even look to be honest with you. We were never all that close."
"No, you're right. We weren't. I'm sorry, I can't do this. This was a stupid idea," Blaine said as he started walking towards the door.
"Blaine, wait." Neal grabbed his arm.
"Let go of me," Blaine's voice was firm. Neal immediately let go, stepping back, raising his arms up in a sign of surrender.
"Come on Blaine. Let's talk about this. That's why you're here right?"
"No, I'm here to spend time with my boyfriend and one of my best friends before they leave for college."
"I knew he was your boyfriend," Neal said smiling.
Blaine just glared at him. "Come on Blaine. This is our chance…"
"Our chance to do what Coop?" Blaine said, cutting him off, his eyes filling with tears. "Or should I say Neal? I have no idea who you even are. I'm not sure I ever did."
Neal's eyes began to fill with tears as well as he studied his younger brother. "Blaine, I know that this is a lot to take in but I would really like the chance to know you." Neal grabbed a piece of paper as well as a pen from Peter's desk, quickly writing, before handing the scrap to Blaine who reluctantly took it. "This is the name of my favorite restaurant. It's not too far from here. I'll be there at seven and I hope that you'll be there as well. You can bring your boyfriend and your other friend as well. I would like to officially meet them. The choice is yours Blaine. I would really like you to be there."
Blaine nodded before turning and leaving the office, walking as quickly as possible towards the exit. Rachel and Kurt practically had to run to keep up with him.
The moment they got outside Blaine broke down in tears, unable to hold it together anymore. Kurt wrapped him in a hug letting him cry it out on his shoulder. Kurt held him close whispering comforting words into his ear. He would talk about what happened with Kurt when they got back to the hotel. Kurt would know what to do. Kurt always knew what to do.
I hope you enjoy! PLEASE REVIEW!