"Rachel, Rachel!" Kurt had drove home quickly (but safely, of course) to tell Rachel what had happened in his new found favorite coffee shop. "Oh, hi Mr. Berry," Kurt says, nodding at the older man. He holds the coffee cup with Blaine's number on in his hand, and every time he looks down, he feels a smile spreading across his face because there, there was the start of a friendship. Kurt could feel that this is the start of something good, something worth holding on to.

"Please, call me Leroy," he replies, smiling.

"Leroy, then. I'll just be going to find Rachel..." He trails off as she appears in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Kurt! Oh my goodness, what took you so long?" She runs forward and hugs him. Kurt quickly places the coffee on the table before it falls out of his hands. Rachel's dad shoots Kurt a sorry glance, then carries on reading his newspaper. Before she even lets go, Rachel starts talking at a million miles a minute. "I was starting to worry that maybe there was ice on the road and your car had slipped into a ditch and you were lying with a bleeding head and broken arms so you couldn't hold your phone-"

"Okay, Rachel, we get the idea. I'll explain everything," he says, grabbing the coffee and steering Rachel out of the door. "Nice seeing you, Mr. Berry."

"Leroy. And yes, you too," he replies, taking a sip of his drink.

Kurt nods, and walks with Rachel to her room. On the way, he thinks of exactly how he could describe what had happened between Blaine and him without her freaking out too much. In the end, he just figures that he should start at the beginning and work from there.

"Kurt Kurt Kurt, tell meeeeeeee! WHAT HAPPENED?!" She pulls him onto her bed, arranging her legs to be folded underneath her, whilst Kurt sits opposite, kicking his boots off as he turns to face Rachel.

"Well, Blaine was there-"

"OHMYGOD, BLAINE," Rachel squeals, the already too-familiar puppy demeanor returning.

"Yes, Blaine," Kurt says.

"Wowee. What happened with him? Did you guys talk or something?" Kurt nods, and Rachel makes some sort of "eee" noise again.

"Yeah, we talked. He works at Cafetière as well, the little coffee shop just opposite The Gap. Anyway, I went in and he was working behind the counter, so I went to order my coffee…" Kurt continues talking as he replays their conversation in his head. He has made a friend; a friend who seems to understand him and is willing to accept him for all of his … differences. The precise reasons that people hate him at McKinley, Blaine's fine with them all, apparently. When Kurt told him he was gay, he expected a negative reaction, in the least. Maybe Blaine would've shut himself off a bit, maybe he would have left the table, but he didn't. He's gay too. Kurt remembers how he had said that he wasn't fully out yet, and the way in which he had said it.

Almost as if he's scared.

He knows first-hand how hard being gay can be if you are surrounded by the wrong people. He knows from personal experience how draining and exhausting and just bad being bullied for something you can't help is, how completely soul-destroying it feels to wake up on a Monday morning, full of dread and, buried deep inside, a wish that you never had to see the sun again. It's ridiculously hard to just get through the day sometimes, but the even worse thing is that Kurt understands the tone in Blaine's voice, the glimmer in his eyes, the catch of his breath. It was so quick that Kurt had barely noticed it at the time, but now, replaying the scene in his head, he sees it. He sees the sadness, the worry, the anxiety, the secret. It reminds Kurt of how he felt when he was still in the closet, when he had pretended to like Brittany, when he wasn't himself. It was awful, and so tiring, trying to keep up an act all the time, and Kurt realizes it's a self-destructive behavior that could end in a very bad way if Blaine doesn't talk to someone about it.

Kurt hadn't realized that he'd stopped talking. "Kurt, is something wrong?" Apparently he'd stood up as well.

"No, I was just thinking about Blaine, that's all." Kurt can't ignore the knot that's growing in his stomach. But Blaine had seemed happy. Yeah, he had. But that doesn't mean anything, right? People can act and fool everyone around them every day for years until it's too late. Stop over reacting.

"Do you want to talk about it? I mean, you said that he told you he was gay and then you just stopped and stood up." Rachel's looking at him with wide eyes, her fingers fisting in the hem of her jumper.

"Oh." Kurt slumps back onto the bed, and lies down. Rachel uncrosses her legs and lies beside him. "He said he wasn't fully out, and there was something about the way he said it, Rach. I don't know, I didn't realize at the time, but it reminded me of something and I'm worried." Kurt stares at the ceiling until his eyes start to burn from not blinking. He rubs them with the backs of his hands as he lets out a deep sigh. Rachel turns her head to look at him.

"What does he remind you of?" Her voice is small.

"Me. He reminds me of me before I came out." Kurt looks at Rachel and exhales slowly. "All the draining lies, the deceit, the act; it was all there. And he's not fully out, that means that there are people he can't tell, and I'm just a bit worried, that's all. No one should have to hide themselves away; I don't want him to have to suffer." Rachel sits up, and tugs at Kurt's arm.

"Right, come on. I'm ending your little pity party now, and sorting this out. We're done with the wrapping now, right?" Kurt shakes his head as he sits up, rubbing the back of his neck absent-mindedly.

"No, there's still the-"

"Doesn't matter, I'll finish it. You are going to ring him or text him or something, and find out when you can meet up so you can talk to him about this whole gay thing," Rachel instructs, making air quotes around the last two words.

"He works, like, all the time. It's kinda strange, actually."

"Kurt. Stop making excuses because you're nervous-"

"I am not nervous!" Kurt exclaims.

"You are too! You bumped into him by chance these past two times and now you've got to actually arrange a set time and place by yourself instead of letting fate do all the work, of course you're going to be a little bit apprehensive! That's part of a relationship, though. You learn about the other person's-"

"Rachel. Stop. I get it, alright? I'll text him and arrange a coffee or something." Kurt looks down at his boots, and squeezes his eyes shut for a few seconds. Everything was happening so fast.

"You could've just said date," Rachel whispers. Kurt shakes his head. What happened to friends? You've never analyzed one of your friend's eyes in so much depth before. Don't get dragged under, Kurt. Don't do it.

"No. That's not what we are. We're friends and that's it. I've only spoken to him twice, for goodness sake!" Kurt's growing increasingly agitated. He stands up, and heads toward the door. "I appreciate all of your help, Rachel, but right now I just need some time to think."

The small girl nods, and moves to stand next to Kurt, hugging his arm. "You'll figure it out, Kurt. You always do." Kurt smiles and wraps an arm around Rachel.

"I'll talk to you soon." With that, he grabs his phone and leaves.

Kurt manages to escape out of the front door without any of the Berry family seeing. He loves Rachel and her dads, but right now, he needs to be alone with his thoughts and some calm music. And Blaine.

Just before he buckles his seatbelt, Kurt sends a text.

To: Awesome Blaine

(17:18)

Hey there.

When you get a few minutes, let me know and I'll call you.

- Kurt

He places his phone onto the passenger seat and starts the drive home, listening to Fairytale of New York on the radio as he sings along half-heartedly. Before he knows it, he's at a stoplight with no idea of where he's headed. The idea of talking to Blaine again makes Kurt feel something he hasn't experienced in a while.

Hope.

He doesn't want to bother going home if he's going to be meeting Blaine, but he also doesn't want to be presumptuous and assume that just because they'd had coffee together that Blaine would be willing to meet him again. Kurt's confused and fed up of arguing with himself, so he waits for the green signal, and drove until he found a parking lot in which he parked, and checked his phone. There was one new message, but before he could read it, his phone started vibrating violently in his hands. An incoming call.

He glances down at the caller ID and smiles when it displays Awesome Blaine. He'd have to change that, just in case, y'know, anyone saw. But for now, he presses the green ANSWER button and puts the phone up to his ear, taking a deep breath in as he does so.

"Hello," he says, bracing himself for the response.

"Hi Kurt, it's Blaine." It takes Kurt a few moments to get over hearing his voice again. It's silly, Kurt knows that, and he doesn't want to act so childlike, but oh God, his voice. It's really lovely and enticing, and Kurt finds his stomach doing flips. He curses himself internally for being so damn ridiculous over a mere four words, but he really can't help it. Friends, Kurt. Just. Stay. Friends. Taking a slow breath out, Kurt screws his eyes together and rubs his forehead with his free hand, resting his head against the driver-side window.

"Y-yeah, I figured with Caller ID and all that jazz." All that jazz, Kurt? Really?

Blaine lets out a low chuckle, and Kurt can't stop the smile that erupts on his face. "Well, yeah. That makes sense." There's a moment of silence, Kurt just trying to figure out how on Earth he's ended up acting like a teenage schoolgirl with a crush, because one, he isn't a teenage schoolgirl, he's a fully grown man, and two, he does not have a crush.

Nope, not at all.

Dammit.

"What was it you-"

"I was wondering when-"

Both men start talking at the same, and Kurt snorts.

"Sorry, you go first," Blaine says quietly.

"Oh, um, okay. Thank you." Shut up and get talking Hummel. "So I was wondering when you were next free to meet up, because there are some things I want to talk to you about and well, y'know, yeah." There's a moment of hesitation from Blaine's side, and Kurt starts to dread ever asking.

"Well, unless you have no other plans or anything you need to be doing, I'm free tonight. I've got to go babysit the Carson kids, but they're completely sweet and no trouble at all. Most of the time I just sit watching atrocious reality television for a couple of hours, so if you want to come with me, we could talk then? I totally understand if you don't want to do that, but I'll split my pay with you 'cause that'd only be fair and-"

"Blaine."

"Sorry, I get a little rambley sometimes," Blaine replies breathlessly. No surprise there, the boy doesn't even stop for air.

"It's okay. And I'd love to go babysitting with you."

"Are you sure? I mean, that's great, but you don't have to if-"

"Blaine. Rambling again."

"Sorry." Kurt can almost hear Blaine's cheeks reddening through the mobile connection. Kind of adorable, actually.

Nope, shut up Kurt. Friends. You're helping a friend out and talking to him like a friend. Nothing more. Stop. Calling. Him. Adorable.

"I would lov- really like to go with you. Tell me the address, I'll be there."

Kurt drives to the house Blaine had told him in a state of equal excitement and nervousness. He keeps playing over what he wants to say in his head, and practically drives himself crazy with the rehearsal of it all. God knows why he's so nervous.

No. You know why. You're practically talking to your younger self here, and you're scared. You're scared that you're going to get it wrong and scare him off, or worse, give him some bad advice.

There are a million things that could go wrong and you're worried about every single one.

Before Kurt's head can explode with any more internal arguments, he arrives at the house. There's a gate, followed by a long stone driveway, surrounded by trees and bushes. From what Kurt could see, it is immaculate. Wondering how on Earth he was supposed to get in, he pulls out his phone to text Blaine. Just as he's about to press send, there's a knock at his window. To say that he jumps out of his skin is an understatement. Kurt is so engrossed in his phone that he doesn't notice Blaine standing at the side of his parked car. Breathing deeply, he smiles at him, and motions for him to get in the passenger seat. As soon as Blaine is sat inside, Kurt reminds himself to breathe.

"Hey there, Kurt. You didn't have to come, y'know."

"God Blaine, what have I told you? I wanted to," Kurt replies, shaking his head. Blaine mumbles something so quietly that Kurt can't hear it. "What was that?"

"Oh, it was nothing, doesn't matter. I guess we should head in then," Blaine smiles. Noticing Kurt's look of confusion, he explains as he buckles himself in. "If you drive up to the gate, I'll let Mr. and Mrs. Carson know I'm here, and then we're good." Kurt nods, and sets the car into drive. He unrolls the window when they reach the speaker, and Blaine leans across him to talk.

Breathe, Kurt. Breathe.

"Hello? How may I be of assistance?"

"Hi, Lauren, it's Blaine. I'm here for Sydney and Julia."

"Of course! I'll let them know you're here."

The intercom makes a beeping noise, and slowly, the gates start to pull apart.

"Lauren's the maid. She'll just be leaving, I think." Maid. Okay. Kurt nods, looks across at Blaine, and then realizes something as he drives the car forward.

"Is your car already down here?"

Blaine shakes his head as he speaks. "No, I walked here." Walked here.

"You walked? From where?" Kurt focusses on the pathway in front of him, which is really long.

"Well, walked, ran, a little of both. Er, from the coffee shop. My bike broke, so I couldn't cycle like usual."

"Wow. You must be exhausted! How far is it, like four miles?" Kurt asks, shock seeping into his voice.

"Six-point-three, or so I'm told," Blaine states.

"That's, yeah. That's impressive," Kurt says as he parks the car next to a huge Rolls Royce, and cuts the engine.

"Thank you," Blaine replies as he points to a door. "If we go in that way, we might be able to catch Cecelia and John before they leave. Introduce you, and all." Cecelia. Posh name.

"O-okay, I'll follow you."

"Sounds good!" Blaine chirps, walking briskly over to the door he indicated earlier. He disappears inside, and Kurt speeds up to make sure he doesn't lose him. He's greeted by a woman with immaculate blond hair, and a brown-haired man who is very tall. The woman, who he presumes is Cecelia, is dressed in a black cowl-neck dress with a very expensive-looking pearl necklace around her neck, and black heels. Kurt can't fault her outfit choice at all, she looks lovely.

"Ahh, here he is!" Blaine says, grabbing Kurt's arm and pulling him forward. "Kurt, this is Cecelia and John Carson. Cecelia, John, this is my friend, Kurt Hummel." Kurt puts out his hand and shakes both of the adults's hands.

"It's a pleasure, Mrs. and Mrs. Carson," Kurt greets.

"I'm sure Blaine can show you where everything is." Blaine nods in response. "Have a good night boys!" Cecelia squeaks as John guides her out of the door. Blaine moves over to the door to wave them goodbye. "Don't forget, they need to be asleep by 9, at absolute latest," the woman shouts before closing her car door. Blaine and Kurt wave to them as they drive by before shutting the door.

"Guess I'd best introduce you to the Carson juniors, huh?" Blaine smirks. Kurt nods, and follows him up a set of stairs to what appears to be a playroom. On the floor, eyes glued to the television, are two young children, a boy and a girl. The girl has hair very similar to her mother's, and the boy has blonde curls. Kurt steps to the side, because as soon as they hear Blaine shout 'Hey there!', they're up and running towards him like it's the only thing they know how to do.

"Blainers!" they both yell simultaneously. They hug his legs, and fight over who he picks up first. He laughs with them, and Kurt thinks it's the sweetest thing he's ever seen. On a friend level, of course. When Blaine eventually manages to get them to calm down enough to sit still on either side of him on the floor, he motions for Kurt to come over.

"I've got someone I want you two to meet," Blaine says, leaning in close to each of them as if he's sharing a private tale.

"Who who who?" the boy squawks, obviously oblivious to Kurt's presence.

"He's my friend, and he's called Kurt. Go say hi," Blaine says, smiling. Both children jump up and run over to Kurt, stopping a little in front of him. They both look up at him with big eyes.

"Hello Kurt," the girl says, stepping closer.

"Hi there sweetie, what's your name?" Kurt asks.

"Miranda," she replies, spinning while she speaks.

"That's a lovely name," Kurt comments. "How about you?"

"Benjamin," the boy mumbles. He quickly turns on his heel and runs back to Blaine, hiding behind his legs.

"Well, it's nice to meet both of you. I'm helping Blaine out tonight."

"Cool!" Miranda declares, before turning around and yelling at Blaine, "Can we play some games Blainey?" Blaine nods and grabs her little hand. Kurt chuckles and watches as they clamber over to the games shelf, Blaine crawling with the two kids on his back, their arms flailing. The connection they have is so sweet to watch. Blaine has clearly developed a good bond with them as they're highly reluctant to leave his side.

Kurt sits on the couch while Blaine helps Miranda and Benjamin to set out snakes and ladders, before being literally dragged over by his pinkie finger to join them. Miranda was certainly … something.

They play five rounds of Snakes and Ladders, Blaine constantly letting himself be beat. The way he interacted with the children was heart-warming, to say the least. Kurt won once, Miranda once, and Benjamin three times. He's the quieter of the pair, but came out of his shell as he got to know Kurt more. Kurt swaps their pieces in the last game without anyone apart from Benjamin seeing, allowing him to beat Miranda. They high-five quickly, and Kurt spins him around when he wins. Miranda stands up and shakes her brother's hand, pouting slightly. "Nice game," she murmurs, slumping onto the sofa with a huff. Blaine and Kurt laugh for a while before Blaine tells them it was time for bed.

"Blaaaaaaainers, can you make us some warm milk like you did last time?" Miranda coos.

"It made my nightmares go away," Benjamin admits in a small voice. Blaine starts to answer before Kurt cuts him off.

"I'll make you some. My mom had a great recipe for it when I was younger. Blaine can read you both a bedtime story." Blaine nods and grabs their hands, leading them down the stairs.

Kurt finds the ingredients he needs in their huge kitchen relatively quickly. He's just boiling the milk on the stove when Blaine appears.

"Hey," he says, standing beside Kurt.

"Hi."

"You didn't have to do this, y'know. Thank you."

"It's no problem. I haven't made this for years, actually. When my mom died, warm milk never tasted the same, so I stopped drinking it," Kurt replies. A few seconds later, he realizes what he'd just said. "Oh no, I didn't mean to say that. I'm sorry-"

"No, it's fine." Blaine looks at the ground. "I'm sorry about your mom," he whispers.

"It's not your fault; you don't have to say sorry."

"I know, I just-"

"Blaine," Kurt says, cutting him off. "It's okay." Blaine looks at him and nods, giving him a small smile. Kurt smiles back and takes the pan off the heat. "Do they have cups to put this in?" Blaine nods and rummages around in the cupboard next to them before pulling out two cups: one with cartoon dinosaurs on, the other with comical horses.

"Here you go," Blaine says as he holds them out for Kurt to pour the milk into. "Let's go." Kurt puts the pan and the spoon into the sink and follows Blaine out. At the bottom of the stairs (yet another set of stairs), Blaine spins around and gives the cups to Kurt. "You made it; you get to give it to them. They'll love you forever." Kurt chuckles and mutters a small thanks as he takes them from Blaine's hands. When their fingers touch, Kurt inhales quickly and unnoticeably; smiles and hurries after Blaine.

Friends, Kurt. That's all you are.

Kurt goes into Miranda's room first and passes her the cup. Her room's very pink; dotted with rosettes and a few small trophies.

"You're good at horse riding? That's amazing," Kurt says, noting that all the ribbons, prizes and certificates are from equestrian competitions.

"Yeah! My horse is just out that window," Miranda tells Kurt, pointing to the window opposite her bed. Kurt walks over and spots a brown and white pony grazing in a field. Must be the back of the house.

"Wow, she's lovely!" Kurt gushes.

"Her name is Arabella, and it's her birthday tomorrow."

"Well, happy birthday to Arabella for tomorrow! Tell her I say hello," he smiles.

"I will! You're really cool Kurt, this milk was nicer than Blaine's. Don't tell him I said that!" she backtracks, giggling.

"Your secret's safe with me. Goodnight Miranda," he says, exiting the room with an empty cup. He softly shuts the door behind him, and bumps into Blaine in the corridor.

"Benji's waiting to see you," he whispers, conscious of the sleepy children around. Kurt nods, and Blaine takes Miranda's empty cup from his hands. "I'll wait for you out here."

When Kurt goes nto Benjamin's room, he smiles at the array of model dinosaurs on the shelf above his head.

"Hi Kurt!" he shouts, jumping out of his bed and running over to hug Kurt's legs, almost knocking the cup out of his hands.

"Whoa there, little man, steady! You go get in bed, I'm right here." Kurt follows him over, placing the mug on his bedside cabinet. He runs his hand over Benjamin's forehead and leans in a little closer. "I used my Mom's old recipe for this," he points to the milk, a sudden tightness in his chest. "It made my nightmares go away, and hopefully, it'll make yours disappear too." Kurt prays that the vulnerable little boy hadn't heard his voice catch.

"Yeah, nightmares suck. Thank you," he replies, sipping at the milk. "It tastes awesome."

"Mmm, that's my Mom's magic working already," Kurt smiles sadly. "Now, you sleep and dream of your favorite things little man, okay? You'll be okay. I'm just downstairs if you need me."

"Goodnight Kurtie," he whispers, eyelids drooping. He hands the cup back to Kurt and rolls onto his side.

"Sleep tight, Benji," Kurt replies, finally feeling able to use his shortened name. Just as promised, Blaine's waiting outside his door.

"Hey," Kurt says, rubbing his forehead with his free hand.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asks, concern in his eyes. Kurt takes a deep breath in.

"I'll explain downstairs." Blaine nods, leading Kurt down to a very modernized living room. The suites are pristine white, the coffee table's glass has no finger prints and the massive television in the corner is playing soft opera music. "Are you comfortable in here?"

"Yeah," Kurt swallows. "Yeah, this is good."

"Great. Well, take a seat, I'll grab us some drinks." Blaine disappears out of the room, and Kurt looks at the sofas in front of him.

Where am I supposed to sit?

He mulls the problem for a while, before putting himself on a small two-seater couch. Blaine can choose where he wants to sit from one of thethree other sofas in the room. Ridiculous.

Blaine returns with two Cokes, checking with Kurt that he likes it before handing it to him. The brush of their fingertips sends thrills up Kurt's spine. You've really got to get used to that, Kurt. This is practically the fifve-hundredth time this has happened now. FRIENDS. DON'T. GET. FREAKING. EXCITED. OVER. BRUSHING. HANDS.

"D'ya mind if I sit there?" Blaine asks, pointing to the space next to Kurt.

"Not at all," Kurt responds. Blaine puts himself on the sofa, not immediately next to Kurt, but not too far either. It's nice, having someone there. "They're really great kids."

"Yeah, they are," Blaine agrees, taking a sip of his drink before placing it on the coffee table in front of them.

"They think of the world of you," Kurt says truthfully, smiling at Blaine. Blaine smiles back, and Kurt's chest tightens.

"I guess. I've been looking after then since Miranda was 2, so I've kinda grown up with them. She's seven in a few weeks, so it's been a while."

"That's really sweet. You've done a great job." A silence falls between them, however it isn't an awkward one. There's an unspoken understanding of what's coming, but neither boy knows what to say.

Finally, Blaine breaks it.

"What happened?" His voice is quiet, so much so that Kurt has to lean in close to hear him. As soon as he's registered what Blaine is asking, he looks up and finds Blaine to be looking directly back at him. He nods, so Kurt takes a deep breath and starts talking.

"When I was eight, I fell over at school and scraped my knee. The blood got to me, I guess, and I threw up." He takes a shaky breath in and all of asuddent, finds Blaine's hand on his leg, squeezing gently. "I was fine, but being a kid, I made it seem like it was the end of the world." Kurt smiles weakly through the lump rising in his throat.

"They rang my mom, and my teacher told me that she'd left work to come get me. She picked me up, and when we were driving to get a McDonalds, a c-car came out of no-nowhere, and h-hit us." Blaine's grip tightens, and Kurt starts to fiddle with the rim of his glass.

"In the car, I woke up before anyone got to us. There was bl-blood everywhere and she wouldn't wake up. I just remember hearing this noise, this loud noise, and I realized it was me, screaming. I couldn't stop." Suddenly, Kurt's back in the car, looking at his mom who isn't moving. He's back in the hospital, swinging his little legs from a huge plastic chair, not knowing what's going on. He's back in his dad's arms, telling his daddy to stop crying; telling him that he'd be okay, that the two of them can do it together.

Out of nowhere, it's all too much, and Kurt can't breathe. He feels his bottom lip start to tremble uncontrollably, and he looks away from his friend as tears start to spill.

"Kurt…" Blaine breathes, rubbing his back. "I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry." Kurt sniffs, and scrunches his eyes shut as more tears appear. Reluctantly, Blaine moves his hand from Kurt's back to pass him a tissue out of his pocket.

"No, it's o-okay," Kurt sniffs. "I just, sometimes, I feel so responsible." Blaine starts to speak, but Kurt silences him. "It was my fault she was in the car. If I hadn't been so melodramatic, she'd still be here."

"Kurt! Kurt, stop it. It's not your fault. Were you driving the car that hit yours? No, you weren't. Hey, look at me," Blaine commands. Slowly, Kurt looks up at him. "It was not your fault, okay?" Kurt nods, and runs his hand through his hair.

"I got nightmares before she died, and she always made them go away by giving me warm milk every night. I guess doing the same for Benji hit something in me." Blaine stays silent, giving Kurt a small smile. "I'm sorry. I never cry," Kurt admits bashfully, wiping his eyes.

"It's perfectly fine. I'm not that bad, am I?" Blaine smiles at him, and then stands up.

"No, not at all," Kurt says, smiling.

"Do you want to watch a movie? Or we could talk, or whatever. You chose."

"Do you mind if we just chat?" Kurt asks hesitantly.

"That sounds good to me. You said earlier you wanted to talk to me, right?" Blaine asks, resuming his seat next to Kurt. He's moved closer in.

"Actually, yes. You can tell me to shut up whenever you want, but there is something. Earlier, you said that you weren't fully out. I wanted to know what you meant," Kurt asks, getting more hesitant with every word. His breathing's still slightly uneven.

"That's a fair question. Sure, I trust you." Oh. My. God.

"That came out totally wrong. You don't have to tell me," Kurt mumbles, drinking.

"No, it's okay. I get that it's kinda confusing, just leaving you with that," Blaine replies, looking down. "Well, my family don't know. My parents are not the most accepting people and my brother's not home very often. I think that maybe if I waited until I had a, y'know, boyfriend, then it'd be better."

You could be that person.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP KURT.

"I have a few friends at my school who know, but the less people I tell, the better. It just kinda slipped out earlier." Kurt nods.

"Is there any particular reason you think that?"

"No." It's so abrupt and short that Kurt can't help but think it is a lie. Something in Blaine seems to scream "What the hell", and he carries on. "Yeah. At my old school, I went to a dance with a guy I was friendly with. He told me he was gay, I told him I was gay, and we went together as friends, I guess. Anyway, we were waiting for his dad when these guys just came out of nowhere and beat the crap out of us because we were sitting too close together. I was in hospital for a month, I never saw him again. My parents, they didn't know I'd gone with a boy. They were mad enough at me as it was, for all the bills and time off work they had to have to make it look like they were good parents, so I wasn't about to tell them that I was gay on top of that." Blaine doesn't take a stop for breath until the end when he looks up at Kurt with an apology written all over his face. "Wow, I'm sorry. It all came out at once, didn't it?"

"Kinda, but don't worry about it. I'm really sorry that happened to you, Blaine." Blaine smiles at him sadly. "Your parents shouldn't treat you like that. It's awful." Kurt finds himself getting quite angry.

"People are so cruel," he whispers.

"They really are." A silence follows, until Blaine looks down at his hands again and clears his throat.

"I guess the worst part was that I was going to ask him to go on a date with me, a real date, the next day. We both liked the same movies and I was going to take him to see Transformers 4 with me, but I never even got to say goodbye." His voice catches slightly, but he swallows and continues as if nothing happened. "My parents put me in a private hospital straight away, I transferred to a private school and that was that. We never speak of it anymore."

"That sounds really, really-"

"Sucky? Yeah. It was. But still-"

"No, no 'but still's, Blaine. You shouldn't have to had experienced any of that. It's not okay and it's not fair," Kurt says, shaking his head. "Listen, you didn't deserve being beaten up and you don't deserve your parents acting like that either. Please, please believe me." I don't know what I'd do if you didn't.

"I'll try to." It's such a short sentence, but it is packed with so much emotion. I. Will. Try. To. Meaning he doesn't right now. He feels like he deserved the attack, he thinks he deserves his parent's disapproval. Oh god.

"Blaine, listen to me." Kurt waits until Blaine looks into his eyes. "I want you to know that whenever you feel bad about this, whenever you blame yourself or you just don't feel happy, you ring me. I'll answer, no matter what the time is. Promise me you'll do that." His voice takes on a pleading tone.

Kurt tries to ignore the tears filling up in his eyes, and keeps on looking at Blaine. "Please, Blaine," he begs, after getting no response.

"Okay, I guess," Blaine whispers, fiddling with the hem of his sweater. "Alright."

"Good."

"What's your favorite movie?"

"What?"

"I said, what's your favorite movie?" Blaine repeats. "Let's talk about something less … heavy."

From then on, their conversation revolves around movies, celebrities, fashion icons, and oddly enough: middle names. Blaine makes Kurt promise never to use his; he feels it is way too posh-sounding and pretentious. Kurt agrees reluctantly, thinking to himself that it actually sounds rather lovely. He gets the feeling that anything relating to his parents is a sore subject, hence why Blaine had changed it as quickly as he could.

When Mr. and Mrs. Carson arrive home from their dinner party, Kurt says a quick hello-goodbye before dragging Blaine out to his car.

"What?" he asks, looking at Blaine's bemused face. "Did you really think I was going to let you walk-slash-run all the way to your house at this time of night?"

"I guess not. But still-"

"Ugh, you and those two words. I'm taking you home, end of." Blaine holds his hands up in mock surrender, and jumps into the passenger seat. He gives Kurt a rough idea of how to get to his house, and buckles himself in.

They chat about Vogue, their favorite musicals and songs in the charts, until Blaine interrupts Kurt (he's talking about Call Me Maybe and how the lyrics are totally ludicrous) to look out the window.

"Kurt, you need to turn around, you've gone past the house." Kurt notices how he says the house not my house, and swallows thickly as he reverses into an empty driveway.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Tell me when to turn." Blaine nods sharply, and heaves out a sigh. Kurt drives a few minutes before Blaine mumbles "It's the next one," and continues to stare at the floor of Kurt's car like it's the most intricate thing he's ever seen.

As Kurt parks up in Blaine's driveway and looks at his house, he feels kind of sad. Sad that their evening has come to end, sad that the weekend Kurt met Blaine is now over. Sad that the house is huge and about three times the size of Kurt's own, sad that it looks brand new and not at all lived in, but mostly sad that Blaine actually has to leave him now.

His house is a massive three floored white building, with actual pillars outside the front door, holding up an overhanging balcony. There's an awful lot of glass on the ground floor, including a series of floor-to-ceiling windows that lets Kurt see straight into the empty living room. There are potted plants around the steps leading up the front door, and a pristine front garden to the left of where Kurt and Blaine are sat. Somehow, the house doesn't look at all dirty. It wouldn't surprise Kurt if Blaine told him that it had only been constructed that day because it's so immaculately clean. How that works, Kurt has no idea. Sensing that he's been staring and sitting silent for maybe a little too long (he also notices that Blaine has made no move to get out), Kurt clears his throat and speaks.

"'m sorry, it's just your house is-"

"Huge? Immaculate? Ridiculous? Any and all of the above are fine." There's something in his voice that Kurt can't quite put his finger on. It's similar to exasperation, but it isn't exactly that. More like a resigned feeling of annoyance, perhaps.

"Er, yeah, I guess. Although ridiculous wasn't exactly on my list," Kurt replies, looking at Blaine's face. The house. Not my house, the house. "Hey, is everything okay?" Blaine swallows quickly and rubs his eyes.

"Oh, um, yeah. Thank you for the ride, Kurt," he says quickly, opening the car door and getting out before Kurt can stop him. He starts to walk away when Kurt yells his name.

"Blaine! Blaine, wait a second." He turns around, but doesn't move.

"Did I leave something?" Kurt shakes his head as he walks over to the smaller boy.

"No, you didn't. What's wrong?" Blaine looks down the ground and scuffs the toe of his left shoe against the floor. With everything else being so clean, it probably wouldn't do any damage, Kurt muses. "We had a good time today, right?" Blaine mutters a 'yes' in response, still not looking up. "So what's happened? Why are you running away like this?"

Blaine coughs and blinks slowly. "I'm not running away. I'm not," he says, sounding as though he is convincing himself too. "I just, I don't know how to do this. I don't really have friends, just Santana. She's never been back here, no one has." He swallows thickly and glances back up.

"No one's ever been to your house?" Kurt asks incredulously, monitoring Blaine's expression.

"No," Blaine responds quietly. "You're the first."

"Well," Kurt says. "I feel honored. Thank you, Blaine Devon Anderson, for letting me be the first friend ever to go to your house. I want to thank my parents for allowing me to-"

"Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurt. You said you wouldn't use my full name!" His eyes crinkle. "And this isn't an Oscar or anything, but yeah. I couldn't think of anyone better to give this 'award' to," Blaine chuckles, making air quotes.

"Thank you. I mean it. And don't worry, your house is lovely. And kinda big!" Kurt whispers behind his hand, as though it's a secret kept between just the two of them.

"Yeah, it is. Too big," Blaine agrees. A silence falls between them.

"I had a great time today," Kurt finally says.

"Yeah, me too. It was good fun."

"And remember, I'm just a phone call away if you need to talk about anything, and I mean it, anything," Kurt assures. Be brave, Kurt. Do it. "I'm going to hug you now, okay?" Blaine nods as Kurt steps forward, closing the small space between them. As he wraps his arms around Blaine's neck, he feels Blaine's go around his waist. Instinctively, he squeezes a little tighter, and rests his head on the other boy's shoulder, tipping it towards Blaine's. When he feels their ears touch, a spark of electricity runs through Kurt's body and makes him shiver. Not again, dammit.

"You alright?" Blaine asks as he pulls away, looking at Kurt with slow blinking eyes.

"Never better," he replies, not realizing just exactly how true that is. "You? You look like you could fall asleep right here."

"Yeah, I'm a little tired I suppose," Blaine says. "Um, thank you, for the, um, hug. It was nice."

"Anytime," Kurt says, meaning it. "Now, go in and sleep, okay? I mean it, Mister!" Blaine spins on his heel and turns to walk the short distance to his front door, turning his key as he replies.

"I will do! Bye, Kurt." Blaine disappears into the house and appears at one of the windows barely seconds later, waving madly. Kurt shuts the door and curses himself for leaving the engine running. He sends Blaine a text and waves as he drives off, sighing contently.

To: Awesome Blaine

(22:51)

I had an awesome time today (okay, I like that word). And neither you nor your house scared me (that much). Only kidding. Sleep well Blaine Devon Anderson. (Yeah, I went there. AGAIN.)

- Kurt

Once Kurt gets home, he smiles when he sees he has a text from Blaine.

From: Awesome Blaine

(22:53)

Good, I did too. I told you that you like it. I'm psychic, and you're evil, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. (I can play dirty too. HA.) Thank you, you too. :-)

- Blaine

To: Awesome Blaine

(22:54)

Okay, fine, it's a draw, Blaine Devon Anderson. Goodnight.

- Kurt

From: Awesome Blaine

(22:55)

Goodnight Kurt Elizabeth Hummel.

- Blaine (not Devon Anderson)

Kurt smiles and sends one last text before heading to bed.

To: Awesome Blaine

(22:57)

Goodnight

- Kurt (not Elizabeth Hummel)

He falls asleep with quiet piano instrumentals playing through his earphones, and for once, he smiles as he dreams peacefully.