PART TWO

There were two things Blaine was relieved about, to which he was absolutely certain.

First of all, he was relieved that Rachel and her dads had some Rosie O'Donnell gay cruise planned for the holidays, meaning he didn't have to face the reality of seeing one more person and have to explain himself.

Secondly, it was absolutely freezing, which left him no choice but to bundle up in a thick, warm coat and an equally cozy scarf as he drove to the airport to pick up Kurt. As far as Blaine was concerned, the more layers, the better.

It wasn't that Blaine was ashamed of his body. If anything, he had grown accustomed to his new form. He would gladly stand up for it. He'd been consciously aware of everything he was doing, remembering every last morsel consumed over the last two and a half months. Moreso than that, he liked the feeling of a full belly and a thicker figure.

If anyone had told him even six months ago that he'd be of this opinion and lifestyle back when he was anguishing over his small belly and sticking to a strict diet of grapes and salad, Blaine would have huffed and even been mildly disturbed. But Blaine liked the feeling of letting go, of giving his body up to his desires and listening to himself, not what the rest of the world was saying. Besides, it was just a little weight. Blaine knew when to pace himself, he knew he wouldn't let this go too far. For now, he was enjoying himself. He knew when to stop. And if Kurt was absolutely and adamantly against it, that's precisely what he would do. He would stop.

At least, that's what Blaine kept telling himself. The small voice in his head still wanted to test himself, still wanted to keep eating, still wanted to see how far he could push this, still wanted to include Kurt in this process. There was that obvious danger of pushing it too far, of tipping past a point of never looking back, of actually harming himself, and that thought alone made it all the more tantalizing. As if what he was taking pleasure in was all part of a forbidden fantasy. Technically, it was.

Despite all of these thoughts swarming through his head, Blaine attempted to distract himself. He hadn't even had breakfast or lunch that day, but he was making the most of it, having glutted himself so fully the night before. He could feel the ramifications of the night before as he squeezed into a pair of jeans that had been holding out since he'd decided to let go. The drive to the airport wasn't nearly as long as he wanted it to be as he thought about anything but the elephant in the room, literally and figuratively.

Much to his own awe and surprise, Kurt was already standing by the arrivals gate with both a suitcase and a carry-on bag, tapping at his phone in clear boredom. Blaine was both excited and anxious to see him, his eyes widening with delight as he took in Kurt's perfectly coiffed hair and stunning winter peacoat, tailored elegantly to his trim, lithe waist.

As Blaine pulled his car closer toward his waiting boyfriend, he saw Kurt look up quickly, and upon recognizing him, Kurt gave him one of his unabashed, toothy grins, jumping up and down in excitement. All of Blaine's fears and worry about his physical appearance were dashed away as he quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and practically threw himself at his boyfriend, arms lovingly reaching up over his shoulder to pull him closer as Kurt's arms slotted back around his waist.

"It's you, it's really you," Blaine breathed, his voice cracking as their hearts pressed against each other, pounding furiously.

"Blaine!" Kurt squeaked back, squeezing his boyfriend's shoulder anxiously. A cold chill rushed past the two of them as they clung just a bit tighter, getting those last few squeezes in before Kurt pulled his head back to look back at him. "God, look at you. I can't believe I'm really looking at you in person and not through a computer screen again."

"I know. I know." Blaine nodded his head, eyes big and wet with unshed tears.

He couldn't take his eyes off of Kurt. He saw no reason to. The last few months had gotten out of hand for more reasons than one. For all the times he and Kurt had agreed to see each other in person, real life had gotten in the way, schedules needing to be tweaked here and there so many times that it was almost tragic. They'd eventually agreed on a full week over Christmas. They could make it til Christmas. They had made it til Christmas, even more in love than ever.

"It's been too long. Two months is too long."

Blaine couldn't help but laugh at that, his arms sliding down Kurt's shoulders to brush over the buttons of his (clearly designer) coat. Just two days ago he and Kurt had lamented about the time apart over a very anxious phone call. Kurt knew how exasperated Blaine was at McKinley, and though Blaine mentioned that the bullying had let up a little (it was frustrating to go from the trim "fairy" from glee club to the "fatty" kicked off the Cheerios), he didn't exactly go into detail as to why.

"Oh please, Mr. New York, like the city hasn't kept you busy."

Kurt grinned once more and shrugged a shoulder back, blushing in spite of himself. "Yeah… well. You can talk, Mr. President."

"BAH!" Blaine rolled his eyes fondly and gave his boyfriend a gentle push before glancing back at his car. "C'mon, I'll help you with your stuff. Get in, the car's running and I don't want airport security to start barking at me."

"Oh no, we wouldn't want that. Arf-arf." Kurt teased, giving Blaine a once-over that made Blaine's heart speed up in his chest at the pace of a hummingbird. Blaine swallowed the lump in his throat and let out a slightly nervous laugh before reaching down to pick up Kurt's suitcase. Kurt helped with the carry-on, leaving that in the backseat as the bigger case was tucked away in the trunk.

"Very good," Blaine huffed, joining Kurt in the front cabin of his car, still clad in his winter coat which was bundled right up to his neck. Kurt had shed away his jacket and thrown it in the backseat, revealing an equally form-fitting maroon cardigan. Blaine took in a deep breath at the sight, but didn't say anything or make any notion to take off his coat, which Kurt also took notice of.

"Aren't you warm, honey?" It's like a furnace in here." He brushed his thumb along Blaine's collar, giving him a fond but somewhat concerne smile.

Blaine attempted to play it cool and shook his head, adjusting the radio to Lima's top forty radio station as he started up the car and carefully pulled out from his parallel parking spot. "No, I've had a chill all day. If I get too hot, I'll take it off."

Kurt gave a knowing laugh at that and let out a soft scoff, continuing to brush his hand down Blaine's arm, any opportunity to touch him. "Well, in that case, strip down naked, you've already got that one covered."

Blaine's cheeks turned pinker at Kurt's compliment as he ducked his head for a brief moment, his lips pursed slightly. He was quick to lift his head almost to an uncomfortable degree, not wanting to bring any more attention to to the extra roll under his chin which was barely hidden by his thick scarf.

He quickly glanced back at his boyfriend before looking back up at the road, being mindful of traffic on somewhat icy streets. They fell into a comfortable silence, their fingers strewn together over the console as Blaine drove back toward the direction of Kurt's house, but as Kurt saw Blaine going down the old familiar route, he gave Blaine's palm a small squeeze to get his attention.

"Hey, are your parents home? I… I know I haven't exactly seen my family in a couple of months, too, but I wasn't kidding about wanting some alone time." Kurt pressed his lips together shyly before smiling back at Blaine.

It was a small miracle that Blaine hadn't crashed his vehicle in a small snowbank at the suggestion. His heart beat faster in his chest as he attempted to clear his throat, blinking slowly to keep his eyes focused on the road as he swiped his thumb back over Kurt's knuckles. "I, uh, I know for a fact that my mom and dad have another Christmas party to go to tonight, and they always make themselves busy during the way - but Kurt, aren't you anxious to see your dad? And Carole?"

Kurt bit down on his bottom lip, not the least bit deterred by Blaine's politeness. "I mean, yeah, but I have the whole week to see them. I'm anxious to see you, too. You know you could always come over to my place if you wanted to, too, right? Or I can make you dinner at your house. Just like old times."

Blaine's stomach lurched at the thought of seeing Carole and Burt in this state, but as Kurt mentioned making Blaine dinner (no doubt one of his favorite dishes, too, which usually consisted of stuffed shell pasta and perfectly seasoned grilled chicken), Blaine's stomach twisted for completely opposite reasons. This was not the appropriate time for his thoughts to fly south or for the fantasies of Kurt feeding him to hit him like a ton of bricks.

Above all, it was especially the wrong time for his insufferably loud, boisterous, and increasingly needy belly to let out an obvious groan, as if reminding him that he had yet to eat that day and had binged heavily the night before (therefore setting his body's expectations for his next meal). A switch went off in his head, the sort of switch which screamed out: Oh yeah, the love of your life just suggested the one thing you've been fantasizing over for weeks, what are you going to do about it?

"I don't know, Kurt," Blaine stammered out, his stomach doing flip-flops back and forth as he pressed his lips together and shifted awkwardly. Kurt just smiled knowingly, still not deterred by Blaine's now obvious discomfort.

"Sounds like you're mind's telling you one thing but you're body is saying something else entirely. The direction in which you're driving is a little telling, too."

Kurt glanced back up at the traffic, noting that Blaine had unconsciously changed routes and was now driving toward his own house. Blaine's breath caught in his throat as he looked back up at the road and cursed under his breath, his eyes flickering with slight panic. Kurt was quick to give Blaine's hand another tender squeeze, before lifting it up to kiss it softly.

Someone had to break the ice. But try as he might, Blaine couldn't bring himself to say what he needed to say, at least not in the car. Kurt's next comment was the last thing Blaine could have seen coming, and had he not already been at a red light, he would have very likely tapped someone's bumper. He had seen Kurt watching him the last few minutes, seen the way his eyes drifted along his body. He should have known that Kurt already knew, that Kurt was just waiting to say something as well.

No matter how much Blaine fooled himself, even a thick coat couldn't hide everything, especially not the prominent swell of his midsection in a seated position.

"Blaine, I know why you're so edgy right now, and it's okay." Kurt gave his hand yet another squeeze, and for a brief for seconds, Blaine felt frozen; felt frozen, frozen even as he drove through the intersection and closer toward his house, frozen as he looked back at Kurt every few seconds, expecting an obvious but any second now.

He knew he had to reply; he was expected to say something back, so he played dumb, his whole act even more ridiculous as he loudly cleared his throat and fidgeted with his scarf. The color had already drained from his cheeks, a soft sheen of sweat appearing over his forehead. "What - what do you mean?"

Kurt gave him another soft smile. He didn't want to discourage him or hurt his feelings. That would be the worst thing in the world, especially if Blaine had no idea that he'd put on a little weight. But it was clear Blaine had a pretty good idea, based on his behavior.

"Honey, I know you've changed a little in the last couple of months. I know you. Try as you might to hide it while we're Skyping, I do see pictures of you every now and again. And I know how badly you're trying to hide it right now."

Blaine's lips flattered into a thin line as he glanced back and forth from Kurt to his very own street block. Sooner rather than later, he was blushing profusely and wanting nothing more than a sinkhole to swallow him up completely. He was nearly home, so he drove almost to a crawl, not wanting to walk through his front door until they'd resolved this.

He didn't know what to say; he couldn't very well deny it. The writing was on the wall and written all over his body. He had to come clean.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It all kind of got out of hand." He hissed softly to himself, hating the fact the was actually negating something that he had silently come to enjoy, even indulge in. An awkward silence passed between them. At least, it was awkward for Blaine. But he still felt the need to continue.

"I felt ashamed," Blaine murmured as he glanced down to his midsection, hissing softly to himself. "Not of how I look necessarily, but how I'd break it to you. How you'd react." He paused once more, not even wanting to say the next thing on his mind. "I understand if you're totally disgusted, if you don't want to date someone who's…"

Kurt could see the discomfort and leaned in a little closer, brushing his thumb back along Blaine's cheek. Once Blaine had pulled the car in front of his house, Kurt undid his seatbelt to lean in closer and kiss his boyfriend's shoulder. Neither boy made any move to get out of the car. "Look at me, you're beautiful. Big, small, medium-sized, short, tall - you are my beautiful, beautiful Blaine."

Blaine choked out a sob at that, his eyes bursting with tears as he looked back up at Kurt. "Don't just say that if you don't…"

"I wouldn't," Kurt responded seriously, his crystal eyes shining back into Blaine's gaze. "I would never. Honestly, any other boy and I'd be super vain, but I love you. Cliched as it may be, you're still that boy I fell in love with on that staircase at Dalton."

Blaine smiled back at Kurt, reaching out once more to give his hand a squeeze. But he didn't know what to say, didn't know where this left them in terms of what to do about his little problem, didn't know if Kurt could actually accept him this way.

He just had to be truthful. Even if he was bashful, he had to be honest with his boyfriend and tell it from the heart.

"I - I don't care about my size, I care more about… about what you think of it, if you like me this way." He looked back up at Kurt, choosing his words carefully. "I… like myself this way, I like the way it makes me feel. I'm not in any hurry to change, but if you have a problem with it, we can… I'm sure we can figure something out, just don't—"

"Blaine… Blaine. Hey." Kurt rubbed his hand up and down Blaine's arm, still looking him dead in the eyes even as he planted another kiss to his arm. "If I have a problem with it - if I had a problem with it, I'd let you know. In fact, if it bugged me in any way, I'd probably be the first to tease you about it." It was Kurt's turn to grimace as well as blush slightly, a newfound expression that he very rarely donned. "To be honest, I think it… it suits you."

Blaine's heart fluttered in his chest, feeling lighter by the second. "You…?"

"You look happy. Comfortable. Seeing you happy makes me happy." He offered Blaine another slightly smile. "Sure, I want you to be healthy. You know I'm a stickler when it comes to my dad's heart. I want you to make good choices, and if this gets out of hand, I want us to both recognize that and work through that together. But you're not overweight. You're far from it. You're - you're beautiful."

Blaine was speechless. Elated, relieved, overwhelmed, turned on (still so turned on), anxious beyond words, but… speechless. "I'm beautiful?"

Kurt leaned in a little closer, catching his boyfriend's lips with a sweet, almost chaste kiss, their first since his initial arrival. "You're beautiful." He gave a small but telling tug at Blaine's coat before casting a quick glance back at the house behind them. "And when we get inside, I can't wait to take a look at what's underneath that coat, rustle us up a delicious lunch, and prove to you how serious I am about this."

Blaine's smile widened at that, sunbeams practically shooting from his face as he already began to loosen the scarf, feeling suffocated by the layers he had built up around himself. He felt even more liberated by Kurt's acceptance, as if a huge veil of worry had been lifted and he could finally just be Blaine, big or small.

Everything was going to be okay. It was all well and truly going to be all right.