Chapter two

Throughout the week, Kurt and Blaine seemed to fall into a routine. Kurt would open the bakery every morning at six am and closed it at four pm. From four to six, he prepared for the next day and at six thirty he and Blaine enjoyed dinner. Sometimes they ate in front of the TV, sometimes they ate in complete silence. However as the week went by, Blaine seemed to open up more.

Kurt learned that Blaine had majored in journalism and had an internship with the New York Times. He also learned that Blaine had grown up in Westerville, Ohio, just two hours outside of Kurt's hometown Lima. He learned that Blaine had an amazing voice and would shamelessly sing along with Kurt to any and all Disney movies and preferred Italian to Chinese. However, as much as Kurt was learning about Blaine, it seemed that he was holding back, and Kurt wasn't getting to know the real Blaine.

Sure, he knew bits and pieces about him, but they were just mere facts. He didn't know his opinions on anything, he didn't know what made him tick, he didn't know what he was passionate about, and yes, even though they had only been flat mates for a week, you'd think that Kurt would have some idea about these things, but sadly Kurt was left in the dark.

Hell, he wasn't even sure about Blaine's sexuality. While everything about Kurt screamed gay, Blaine could be either or. So when Rachel asked him if there were any new developments on Blaine's sexuality Sunday afternoon when he was helping her pick out her wedding dress, he had nothing to tell her.

"He barely talks to me at all, Rachel," Kurt said, "I mean, I don't want to force anything out of him and I certainly don't want to make him uncomfortable, but, I don't know. I just want to get to know him better."

"You like him."

"What?"

"Face it Kurt, his mysterious aurora and good looks are getting to you. You're crushing on him."

"Rachel, don't be ridiculous. I've only known him for a week. I don't even know if he's gay and furthermore-" Kurt was interrupted when his phone started ringing. "Hang on, I have to take this." He held his phone up to his ear, "Hello?"

"Kurt?"

"Oh, hi Blaine."

"Kurt you're blushing like a schoolgirl," Rachel whispered loudly.

"Shut up, Rachel."

"So um, what time are you going to be back?"

"Eight-ish? It depends on how long it will take for Rachel to choose a dress. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I'll see you later, Kurt."

"Bye Blaine," Kurt hung up the phone and turned his attention back to Rachel, "Now, let's see about that dress."

Kurt ended up getting home around seven thirty. It hadn't taken long to find Rachel's dream dress after all, and afterwards the two friends went out to supper. However, when Kurt waltzed into the apartment, he was not expecting to see a tall, wide, man with curly hair sitting at his dinner table with Blaine.

"Um… hello," said Kurt, trying not to awkward. A million thoughts were running through his head as he tried to figure out this man's relationship to Blaine.

Blaine visibly jumped, "Oh! Kurt! I wasn't expecting you back for another half an hour. Um…"

"Oh, so you're Kurt," said the older man in a tone that was neither friendly nor hostile.

"Yeah, uh, Kurt, meet my father. Dad, this is my flat mate, Kurt," said Blaine.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Anderson," said Kurt, giving his best smile.

"He looks like a fag," said Mr. Anderson, "Blaine, are you living with another fag? Or did you turn him gay like that other fag did to you."

Kurt's eyebrows rose and he looked to Blaine who was currently looking like he was wishing that he was anywhere but there. "Dad, for the last time, Nick did not turn me gay. He just gave me the courage to come out."

Mr. Anderson snorted and rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he grumbled, "I'm getting out of here before I catch it." He stood up and grabbed his coat and strode out the door, which was still open and letting in a draft. It slammed behind him.

"Well, he certainly is nice," said Kurt. He looked over to see tears streaming out of Blaine's eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry that you had to see that, Kurt. I can get out by tomorrow morning."

"Get out? What?"

"Look, its fine. I understand. I wouldn't want to put up with me either."

"Blaine, I'm not going to ask you to move out."

"You're not?"

"No. Why would you think that? It hasn't happened before, has it?"

Blaine sniffled and didn't look Kurt in the eyes, which were widening very rapidly. "You have had to put up with that?"

"My last flat mate… he didn't know I was gay until my dad came for a visit. Then he kicked me out, saying that he wouldn't be able to live comfortably with a gay guy."

"Blaine, that's terrible. But I'm not going to kick you out."

"You're not?"

"Of course not. I don't mind living with a gay guy, especially considering I've been living with one all my life."

Blaine looked at him curiously, "I thought your brother was straight."

"Step brother. And I meant me, silly."

Blaine's eyes widened. "You're gay?" he asked.

"You couldn't tell by my girly voice, or the way I dress, or talk, or the fact that my old flatmate was a girl?"

"She was dating your step-brother; I thought that he lived here with you guys. And I didn't want to assume anything about your sexuality; I know some people can get pretty pissed off if you just assume that they're gay or straight."

Kurt smiled. "Well, now that we've got that settled, do you want to maybe watch the Lion King with me?"

"Absolutely."

"I'll make us some tea. And I have some Redvines hidden away in the cupboard; we can break those out too."

Blaine visibly lit up. "Okay," he said.

After that night, whatever awkwardness there was between Kurt and Blaine disappeared as Blaine seemed to open up more and more each day. Kurt began learning new things about Blaine, things that were deep and personal, such as how Blaine's homophobic father had such a big impact on Blaine's life, and how his mother was never around, too drunk to pay attention to him. He learned through Blaine's stories that he was horrible at romance.

"You sang When I get You Alone in the Gap to a nineteen year old closeted gay when you were fifteen years old?" exclaimed Kurt when he had learned of Jeremiah and how he was the first to catch Blaine' attention.

"I was fifteen!"

"And he was nineteen!"

"Alright, alright, point taken. Jeez, Kurt. It's like all your crushes have turned out perfectly."

Kurt snorted, "I had a crush on my step brother sophomore year."

It was comical the way Blaine's eyes had widened, his jaw went slack, and if he wasn't sitting down, he would have fallen.

"Of course, he wasn't my step brother then. It's ironic, actually. I introduced our parents as a way of getting close to him."

It was conversations like these that brought the two close together, and by the end of the month, they were practically best friends.