A/N: I honestly didn't realize how long it had been since I'd updated until I looked at the "Updated" portion of the summary for this. I have had almost no free time this whole summer, which is kind of sad, considering that my summer should be nothing but free time. I'm a community theatre actress, so I do a lot of volunteer work for other shows that I don't even act in, and that has been taking up a lot, and I just got back from summer camp, and UGH. Life is much more complicated when you write things and live the life of an average American teenager. Well, here's another installment of LISTED, up much slower than I would have liked. Sorry about that. :/

Quality #9: Gladly watches football with my dad.

"Grr..."

"What are you so mad about, Wesley?"

"Why do you have to be so perfect at everything? You LOVE football! Why can't you just have one flaw, just one?"

"Wes, chill! Do you realize how terrified I am of Kurt's father?"

"...Well, then maybe this won't be so easy."

"Blaine, that is the third time you've fixed your bowtie since we got out of the car. Seriously, are you that nervous?"

Kurt watched Blaine with a puzzled expression as the curly-haired boy reached up self-consciously to fiddle with his bowtie again. He was sweating bullets underneath of his winter jacket, and he was constantly reassuring himself that the pie he'd made the night before was apple, because he'd heard that Burt Hummel had an allergy to blueberries.

"Sorry," Blaine mumbled, blushing and looking at his feet.

Kurt gave him a sympathetic look, then reached his hand to hook his fingers under Blaine's chin. He kissed him softly, then put their foreheads together as he looked into his eyes. "Baby, trust me. This isn't going to be that bad. You've met my father before, and Carole adores you, and Finn thinks you're cool. This is just Thanksgiving dinner with my family."

"I know," Blaine whispered, still clearly nervous. "But what if I make Carole drop the turkey on accident? Or I trip on something and throw the pie into your dad's face? I like to live, I'd rather not get shot for covering your father with apples and cinnamon."

Kurt sighed. "Two things. One, Carole makes sure she prepares two turkeys every year because she has a son that requires more food than the shark from JAWS. Two, my father would probably thank you for the food, because I would never let him have that much pie in one day ever." Kurt ran his thumb under Blaine's eye comfortingly, his boyfriend's head tilting into the warm grip from his hand. "Now, come on."

With a nod from Blaine, Kurt took his key and turned it in the lock.

"Hey everyone! I'm back!" Kurt called, slipping his jacket off of his shoulders and sliding his shoes off and into the corner next to the door. Blaine stood still, clutching the pie to his chest as he heard footsteps apprach.

He visibly relaxed when he saw that it was only Carole.

"Hello, Blaine! So nice to see you again, dear." She wrapped her arms around Blaine, who did his best to hold the pie out of harm's way and hugged her back with one arm. She pulled away and took the pie from him. "Oh, how nice! Now I know why Kurt told me not to make too much dessert." She winked at Kurt, who smiled at her. "Thank you, Blaine. What kind is it?"

Blaine swallowed. "Apple," he murmured, keeping his head down. When he heard heavier footsteps approaching, he scrambled for Kurt's hand.

"Thank goodness, because I'm looking forward to pie later," said the booming voice of Burt Hummel, Kurt's towering, intimidating father. Blaine didn't even look up for fear of being burnt to death by Burt's gaze. "You okay there, Blaine? You look a little pale."

Kurt nudged Blaine with his elbow, and Blaine looked up, his eyes darting in every direction. "Uh, I'm sorry, what?"

Kurt sighed. "Dad, can you please convince my boyfriend here that he has no reason to be afraid of you?"

Blaine turned a terrified face to Kurt. "Why would you say that!"

Burt chuckled and Carole smiled warmly. "Blaine," Burt said, and Blaine swallowed loudly when he turned to look at the man. "When you get off your jacket, come into the living room. I wanna talk to you, okay?"

Blaine nodded once, and Burt kissed Carole's cheek before walking into the living room. Carole returned to the kitchen, and Kurt stepped in front of Blaine.

"Baby, you're going to be fine," he said as he helped his frozen boyfriend out of his jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack.

"How do you know?" Blaine asked nervously, he whole frame shivering, his eyes shifting uncomfortably.

Kurt sighed. "Because I know my father, and I know that he's pretty scared of my temper. He knows that if he hurts you, I will go into a flying rage and quite possibly rip his head off." Kurt smiled, and kissed the shorter boy lightly before turning to the kitchen. "I'll be helping Carole, okay?"

"O-okay," Blaine stammered, and with a final smile, Kurt dissapeared into the kitchen. Blaine slowly padded his way into the living room.

Burt Hummel sat in an old recliner chair, the stuffing coming out of one of the arms, a beer in his hand, the Buckeye's game on T.V. When he saw Blaine standing in the doorway, he smiled at the boy. "Hey, Blaine! Come sit down for second, I wanna talk."

Blaine gulped, but complied, sitting on the very edge of the couch, his teeth clenched. Burt turned down the volume of the television as it went to commercial, then placed his beer on the coffee table and looked at Blaine.

"Now then," Burt said, clasping his hands together on his lap. "I noticed that you seem to be pretty nervous every time you come over here. Why is that?"

Blaine's eyes bugged out of his head. "Nervous? Ha, ha ha ha, I'm not nervous. Heh, hehe..." Blaine's heart started beating twice as fast, and sweat broke out on his forehead.

Burt's gaze turned doubtful. "Blaine..."

Blaine swallowed the lump in his throat, then unclasped his hands. "Mr. Hummel, sir, can I be honest with you?"

Burt raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless leaned back in his chair and motioned for Blaine to continue.

"When I met Kurt, I didn't really expect you to be his father. Not that there's anything wrong with you, sir, not at all. It's just... Kurt's so slender and fragile that when I saw that you were his father, a working-class man in coveralls who towers over people, I just... To be honest, I got kind of intimidated."

Burt's eyes widened. "But... when you came to talk to me about Kurt, and... the sex thing..."

Blaine shifted his eyes back to the floor. "That was before I was dating your son."

There was an awkward silence that stretched on for several minutes.

Before he knew it, however, Blaine heard laughter. He looked up and saw Burt clutching his stomach, laughing like mad. Blaine was confused. Had he said something funny?

"I- I'm sorry, Blaine," Burt apologized, wiping at his eyes. "I just... Aww, man. So, the whole reason that you get so scared when you come over..." Burt let out one more snort, "is because you're scared of me?"

Blaine nodded slowly.

Burt chuckled again. "Blaine, there's nothing for you to be scared of. I don't want to hurt you, and not just because I know Kurt will make me pay for it if I do." Burt got up from the recliner and came over to the couch, putting his hand on Blaine's shoulder. Funny enough, Blaine's whole body seemed to relax under the touch. "I think you're a genuinely good kid, with great intentions and a good idea of who you are and who you want to be. I truly admire that about you, Blaine."

Blaine stared at Burt in awe. "You... admire me?"

Burt smiled warmly. "Blaine, you make my son happier than he has ever been. I don't think I've ever seen him smile so big, or as happily. You seem to have a firm grasp on who you are, and you look like your heading in the right direction with your life." Burt patted the boy on the shoulder comfortingly. "Blaine, I want you to know that no matter what, you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm here if you need me for anything at all, okay?"

Blaine smiled a little. "Thank you, sir."

Burt walked back to his recliner, reaching for the remote. "Call me Burt. 'Sir' is just too formal for a man of my occupation." Blaine laughed a bit at that. Burt smiled. "You like the Buckeyes?"

Blaine smiled wide. "Oh yeah. I may be gay, but I'm an Ohio man through and through."

Burt laughed. "Then how about we watch the game until dinner? I get the feeling it might be a while until Kurt makes sure the presentation looks just right."

Blaine leaned back on the cushions, putting his hands behind his head. "Gladly, Burt."

Kurt watched silently from the doorway, smiling serenely as the two most important men in his life sat and bonded over a football game.

"Hello?"

"So? How was dinner?"

"Really, Wes? You called at 12:30 at night for this?"

"Um, duh? So? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, I did actually. I even watched football with Kurt's dad for a while. Buckeyes won, 15 to 9."

"...I'm sorry, did you say you watched football with Kurt's father?"

"Yes, I did..."

"Did you do it gladly?"

"Are you crossing something off of the list?"

"You know me far too well, Grasshopper."

A/N: Again, I am so sorry about the wait. I promise, the next one will be up SO MUCH SOONER than this. Don't hate me, please? Review so that I know you guys still love me.