Sunday dawns bright, sunny, but cold. Blaine snuggles tighter into Kurt, which causes him to stir. He watches Blaine sleep, face resting on Kurt's chest, hair sticking to the side of his head and arms wrapped around pale skin, holding tightly as if fearful of losing him in his sleep. He takes Kurt's breath away, he looks so serene, peaceful...and young. Kurt tries not to dwell on that, and reminds himself that age is just a number. After a while, he gently extricates himself so he can use the bathroom. When he returns he sees a very tousled Blaine sitting up and rubbing at his eyes.

"Wha' time is it?" He asks blearily.

"Just before nine. Sleep well?"

"Yeah. C'mere." He reaches out and grabs Kurt, pulling him down on top of him and into a long kiss. "Do I stink?"

"No," Kurt laughs. "You don't. And even if you did I'd still kiss you."

"I feel gross. Let me go brush my teeth," Blaine says as he eases his way out from under Kurt and pads down the hall.

He returns a minute later, toothbrush tucked in the side of his mouth, a ring of white foam surrounding it. "Wha' time you say it wa'?" comes the muffled question.

"Nine."

"Shit." Blaine runs down the hall and calls from the bathroom. "I need to get home."

"Why?" Kurt asks as Blaine reappears. "What's wrong?"

"My mom. I'm supposed to Skype with her at nine," Blaine answers as he rushes to pull on some clothes.

"Can't you do that here?"

"No. She'll know I'm not at home."

"Say you're at Rachel's or something."

"I can't do that," Blaine says exasperatedly as he fastens his pants. "Then she'll ask to say hi to her. And anyway, I don't want to lie."

"Well you're going to have to come up with some excuse why you're not online at the right time."

"I know, I know. But saying I overslept is one thing. Lying about where I am and who I'm with is another. Did you want to come home with me?"

"Is that ok?"

"Sure. But I have to leave like now."

They arrive at Blaine's house a half hour later, Kurt having grumbled all the way at being forced out in his pajamas, only the promise of sex and a shower at Blaine's shutting him up. Flying through the front door, Blaine takes the stairs two at a time to his room and switches his computer on. Forty minutes late.

"Blaine Anderson, where the hell have you been!" his mom yells, and Blaine pulls back slightly at the sight of her angry face looming towards the webcam.

"Sorry mom, I overslept."

"I'm not talking about now! Although you are late. I've been trying to get hold of you since yesterday afternoon! I've been calling your cell and the house phone, I've sent you texts, e-mails, everything. Now where the hell were you?"

Blaine stares at the screen like a startled rabbit, trying to remember the last time he had seen his phone. Oh yeah. While they were...yeah. So it was probably still buried under a cushion on Kurt's couch. Fuck.

"What's wrong? Why did you need to get hold of me?"

"I was calling to ask if we could rearrange as I've got an early start tomorrow. It's nearly midnight now. So I wanted to see if we could do this tomorrow before you go to school."

"Oh. Well we can if you want," Blaine tries, hoping that she will accept.

"No I do not want. Don't think you can get out of this that easily. Where the hell were you? I figured you must be out with friends, so I tried your cell. Then when I got no answer I started to worry a bit. So I called home again this afternoon- which would have been three in the morning there- and there was still no answer."

Blaine's eyes flick towards the doorway where Kurt is leaning silently- smirking? Is he finding this funny? Because right now Blaine is wondering how the hell he's going to get out of this without being grounded for the rest of his days.

"I was sleeping."

"Blaine..." His mom warns.

"I was!"

"You may have been asleep, but you weren't asleep in your bed, of that I am sure."

"Um.." He is momentarily distracted as Kurt walks past him to go to the bathroom.

Nine thousand miles away in Tokyo, Maria Anderson sees the flicker of a shadow cross the screen as her son looks up. Then she hears the soft click of a door close.

"Blaine, do you have someone there with you?" She asks, trying to look into his eyes as he skilfully averts his gaze.

"No."

"Don't lie to me Blaine."

"I'm not lying."

"Blaine, sweetie, if you have someone there, it's ok. I just want you to be honest with me."

"Mom..."

"Blaine, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Ok. I'm going now," he says, cheeks red as he reaches to shut the laptop.

"Don't you dare!" his mom screeches. "So help me Blaine, if you don't tell me the truth right now then I am putting Cooper on the next flight from LA."

"Oh God no." Blaine sits up straighter and swallows. "Ok. What do you want to know?"

"Did you stay somewhere else last night?"

"Yes."

"Did you stay with your friends, or was it with another guy?"

"Another guy," Blaine mumbles as he fiddles with his hands.

Maria pauses for a moment, shocked. Firstly that he actually answered, and secondly because it would appear that suddenly her little boy is growing up. Fast.

"Um...ok. Wow." She pauses and clears her throat, unsure of how to tackle this when she's so far away but knowing she can't just let it go. "So are you...and him...are you boyfriends?"

"Yes."

"And are you having sex?"

"Oh Jesus mom! Leave me alone, please!" Blaine cries despairingly as he finally looks at the screen.

"I just need to know you're being careful Blaine! Three weeks ago you told me you had no love life to talk about, now suddenly you have a boyfriend and you're spending the night with him! What do his parents think about all this?"

"Um... I'm not sure."

"Well they must have given him permission to have you stay over. Do they know you're together?"

"Look, mom. I really, really don't want to talk about this now. I am being careful, I am being sensible and I'm not behaving in any way that would make you ashamed of me. Now can we please drop it?"

"Is he there now?"

"Mom!"

"Just let me see him."

"No!"

"Ok, ok. But I am inviting him to dinner as soon as I'm home. My baby has a boyfriend!" Maria claps her hands together and squeals, ignoring the twisting in her stomach that is reminding her that this seems to be more than just an innocent high school sweetheart. "What's his name?"

"Go away," Blaine grumbles, but there is a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

"You can just tell me his name! Does he go to school with you?"

"Um yeah...yeah he does." Blaine is grinning now, relieved that he can finally answer a question without trying to hide a million other things at the same time.

"Name?"

"Seriously, just leave. I love you, I'll talk with you on Wednesday."

"Ok, ok..." His mom holds her hands up as she smiles. "I'll go. But Blaine promise me you'll be careful, ok? Be safe. And keep up with your school work. I know it's exciting when you meet someone and you just want to go on dates the whole time but trust me, you need to be thinking about your future."

"I am mom, I promise. Love you." He blows a kiss at the screen and closes it. Resting his head on his arms he tries desperately not to cry. He misses her so much, and it hurts not to be able to tell her more.

"You ok?" Kurt asks softly as he reaches out to rub his hand down Blaine's back.

"Yeah." Blaine sniffs as he wipes his eyes with the back of his sleeve.

"It's ok to cry Blaine."

"It's pathetic. Childish."

"Will you quit with that? I cry all the time, there's nothing childish about it. And my Dad once told me that it's more pathetic to be one of those uptight guys who keeps all their emotions hidden, than one who isn't afraid to express how he feels. You miss your mom, I get it. When I first moved to New York I cried every day for a month. I missed my Dad so much it hurt. We may get older, but it doesn't mean we don't stop needing our parents." He wraps his arms around Blaine and holds him while he cries softly into Kurt's shoulder.

"I just wish I could tell her." Blaine pulls back and looks at Kurt with red eyes. "I didn't lie to her, just avoided her questions. I told her what I could, but I'm frightened to even tell her your name. What do I do when she gets back though? What then? She will want to meet you, and every time I go out she will want to know where I'm going and...ugh. This is all so fucking hard!"

And suddenly, Kurt can see just how hard this is going to be. He is dating a high school senior. It's been ten years since he had to ask his Dad's permission to go anywhere, or worry about breaking curfew. Their relationship had started out under false pretences, Mrs. Anderson's absence meaning Blaine was free to act as he saw fit. But all that will change when she returns, and that's when the lying and sneaking around would have to start.

"Blaine, are you sure you want to carry on with this?" Kurt asks, biting his bottom lip in that endearing way he does when he's frightened. "If this...us...if its going to come between you and your mom then maybe it's not such a good idea."

"Is that what you want?"

"I want you to be happy. You know, that's how I realized that I love you. All that time I was ignoring you... I was so broken and desperate. The only thing that got me through was being convinced that eventually you'd be happier without me. I believe that true love is selfless. You stop caring about what happens to you. All that matters is the happiness of that other person. The one."

"So why did you change your mind then?"

"I don't think you necessarily would be happier without me. It's like you said to me in the classroom, we were meant to be together."

Blaine's breath catches in his throat as he stares at Kurt. He looks back earnestly, blue eyes wide, bright and begging for reassurance.

"I don't want to be without you Kurt. It would kill me. My mom told me to think of my future, and I'm pretty sure my future is you."

"Don't say that." Kurt whispers as he cups the side of Blaine's face and smiles tenderly.

"Why not?"

"Because it's too much to promise too young, that's why. You have everything ahead of you. You'll get to college and have guys begging you to date them. You'll want to travel, explore the world and the people in it. You won't want to be picking out curtains and grocery shopping at Wal-Mart."

"You don't know that." Blaine counters, looking crestfallen.

"No, I don't. So let's agree to take it one day at a time, and if we stay together for the rest of our days then fantastic. But if we part then let it be on good terms. No bitterness, no regrets."

"I'm never saying goodbye to you," Blaine whispers before bringing his lips to Kurt's very softly.

"I love you, Blaine." Kurt gently kisses the tear drop that has rested on Blaine's cheek before trailing kisses to his ear. "Make love to me."

"I..uh...I'm not sure if I...Erm. Ok. Wow. Suddenly nervous. I um..."

"It's ok, we won't if you don't want to."

"It's not that!" Blaine blurts, forcing himself to look at Kurt. "I just...I'm worried I won't be any good." He breaks the stare and looks down, wiping his suddenly sweaty palms onto his pants.

"Well you've been pretty damn mind blowing at everything else so far."

"But I feel like...I feel like you're so much more experienced than I am. I'm still shocked that you enjoy spending time with me, but when it comes to...stuff...I just feel like I'm making it all up as I go along."

"But that's all sex is," Kurt answers as he runs his hands lightly through Blaine's curls. "Doing what feels right in the moment."

"That may be so, but when you're in control I don't feel quite so nervous."

"You're more in control than you think Blaine, remember the shower? But it's okay. Honestly."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Why don't we go for coffee instead?"

"What will we say if people see us together?"

"We've been going for coffee since September and have only seen anyone once. If we do then we'll just say we ran into each other."

Blaine thinks this through for a while. He doesn't really like the thought of not being able to hold Kurt, or kiss him when he chooses, but he's going to have to get used to being together with him in public like that. Plus, it takes the stress out of the current situation.

"Ok. But then I have to do homework."

"Deal."

They drive to the Lima Bean, sitting at their usual table and deciding to split a chocolate muffin as they haven't eaten. Making small talk, they are passing the time quite happily when the door opens and a deliriously happy looking Rachel drags Finn through the door.

"Oh fuck." Kurt moans, holding his head in his hands.

"Mr. Hummel!" Rachel cries, pulling Finn towards the table. "Oh, and Blaine too! Hi!" She bounces on her feet expectantly.

"Hey Rach," Blaine starts, determined not to fall apart like last time. "We were just having coffee. Do you want to join us?"

"We would love to!" She sits down next to Blaine and motions for Finn to sit.

"Hey Kurt."

"Finn." He nods at his brother and fixes Blaine with his best 'lets get out of here' glare, but he seems oblivious.

"So...who's Mr. Hummel then?" Finn asks looking around.

"Your brother, silly!" Rachel grins at him, "He teaches English to Blaine and I."

"Do you?" Finn asks Kurt.

"You know I do. God. Do you just pretend or are you really as dumb as you seem?" Kurt snaps at him.

"I'll leave that for you to decide." Finn replies mysteriously.

"So why are you having coffee with Blaine then?" he continues, causing Blaine to choke on his drink as his internal panic alarm starts to ring. "Are you two dating? That'd be so cool. We could like, go on double dates or something."

Kurt and Blaine become aware of Rachel looking between them both with wide eyes, as if all the pieces are sliding into place. The silence seems to stretch for eternity as Finn waits for an answer, but nobody seems to know what to say. Eventually Rachel clears her throat and places her hand softly on Finn's arm.

"You know what, Finn? If they...um...if they are dating then I'm sure they wouldn't want to um...spend their time hanging with us. I see Blaine all the time and um... Well. Anyway." She folds her hands in her lap and looks at Blaine, her meaning clear. She knows.

"We should go." Kurt declares, standing quickly. "Good to see you both." He stalks out the door and Blaine makes to follow but Rachel's hand restrains him.

"He could lose his job. You could be expelled," she whispers, eyeing an oblivious Finn who is playing Angry Birds.

"But you can date his brother, who's exactly the same age."

"I know. Which is why I won't say anything. Just be very careful, it might not be me who spots you next time."

Blaine feels like collapsing to the floor in relief. He settles instead for giving Rachel a bone crushing hug. "I love you, you know that?"

"Oh please. I'm emotionally unstable, needy and intensely annoying."

"Yeah, you are. But underneath all that you're adorable and my very best friend."

"She knows, doesn't she?" a very pale and shaken Kurt asks as Blaine pulls out of the parking lot.

"She knows. But she won't say anything."

"She won't? What makes you so sure?"

"She said she wouldn't. She gets how unfair it is that she can date Finn but I can't date you. And despite everything else, Rachel is very trustworthy. I don't think she'll even tell Finn."

Kurt leans back heavily in his seat and exhales a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. "So we're safe."

"For now." Blaine answers, glancing at Kurt briefly as they wait on a red light.

"No more coffee."

"No."

The rest of the drive back to Kurt's apartment is silent. The atmosphere is awkward, unsettled, as if everything is spinning around them too fast and neither Kurt nor Blaine can see their way out the other side. Blaine settles at the table to do his homework while Kurt tries to concentrate on the laptop.

"What you doing?" Blaine asks after a while, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms above his head.

"Reading the online magazine I used to write for."

"Any good?"

"Not without me." Kurt smiles sadly at Blaine.

"You miss it, don't you?"

"Yeah. I really do."

"Any reason you can't still do it? It's part time, right?"

"It is, but I need to be in New York to attend all the fashion shows and previews." He sighs wistfully. "Still. If hadn't left I'd never have got you, right?"

Blaine smiles at him. "What did you want to do when you were my age?"

"Way to go, Blaine. Make me feel even older!" Kurt laughs. "No seriously. Um...I wanted to be a fashion designer or a writer. That's how I ended up writing about fashion. Best of both worlds. What do you want to do?"

"What I want to do is write music and play my piano forever. What I'm going to do, I don't know."

"What? You don't know what you're going to do? You must have some idea. What do you want to study at college?"

"Music. But that doesn't lead to any jobs. Well, not stable ones anyway."

"Now who sounds old? Blaine, you have to take the risk, live a little. Ok. Think about where you want to study."

"I don't know. I might see what Columbus has to offer."

"But that's not what college is about Blaine!" Kurt cries. "It's about spreading your wings, learning to stand on your own two feet and be independent."

"I'll do what I want to do." Blaine huffs, turning his back on Kurt and switching his focus to math.

"But you're good Blaine, really good. At everything. I've seen your grades. You could do whatever you want, go wherever you want. You're exceptionally talented at music, any college would be lucky to have you."

"Just drop it Kurt." comes the reply.

So Kurt does. But he vows to bring it up again sometime soon. Deadlines are rapidly approaching and he'll be damned if he's going to sit by and watch someone as talented as Blaine Anderson waste his life in Lima.

Blaine tries to concentrate on his math, but the numbers just blend into each other and hold no meaning or relevance as he replays their conversation. He doesn't want to study at Columbus of course. He wants to move away and experience college life elsewhere, but he doesn't want to leave Kurt. He can't say this, though. They've only known each other two months, though it feels like a lifetime. Technically they've been together for 48 hours. Kurt would think him more than a little needy if he started begging him to follow him across the country. And look where that got Kurt last time anyway. No, Blaine decides. He'll just keep quiet about it.

"Blaine?" Kurt asks quietly after a while.

"Mmmm?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Oh, um... sure. I'm finished now anyway." He stands and walks over to the couch, perching nervously on the edge and bracing himself for the worst.

"Earlier, when I asked you to make love to me... Was it just nerves that put you off?"

Blaine blows a breath out and sits ramrod straight as he tries not to blush. "Yes. I mean, I don't know. A lot of things I guess. I just always thought that when I was with someone...for the first time, that it would be their first time too. And we would kind of learn things together. I'm worried I won't know what position to get you in, or like...um...how fast or slow to go. And you'll just be lying there wishing I would hurry up. Plus," he carries on, holding one finger up to silence Kurt as he attempts to interrupt, "Plus, I worry I won't be as good as him."

"As who? Richard?" Kurt asks.

Blaine nods, looking more embarrassed than Kurt has ever seen him, eyes downcast as though wishing the ground would open up for him.

"Blaine...ok. Where to start? I'm going to tell you all about my sex life, I think then maybe you'll get it. My first time was with a guy in my Freshman year of college. It was fumbling, awkward, sweaty but sweet. We stayed together a year, and yes, we did learn things together, and we thought we were great at it- but we only had each other to go on. Then I had two one night stands. Quick fucks that meant absolutely nothing and left me feeling empty and ashamed of myself. Then Richard. I'm not going to lie to you, he was a lot of fun when we were first together. We went on dates,vacations, just generally enjoyed being together. But the sex...well he was a lot more experienced than I was. He wasn't interested in what I wanted to try, or teaching me new things. It was all about what he wanted. And the biggest thing, for me, was that he never let me top."

"Never?"

"No. A lot of people perceive me as quite effeminate I guess, though I'd like to think I'm not. I'm a gay guy, not a woman. Just because I like other men doesn't mean I like lying there and taking it all the time. And I never liked the way Richard used it to claim me. Like by giving it to me he was reasserting his authority over me. Some guys are happy to always bottom, some to always top, but I always wanted to try both."

"Wanted to...you mean you hadn't ever..." Blaine's eyes are wide as he takes in Kurts admission.

"No. With James- my first boyfriend- we just kept with what we knew. Both one nighters I was drunk, and Richard never let me."

"But you were so good!"

"Thank you," Kurt laughs, "But I was only good because I was with you. The reason I asked you to make love to me...it wasn't because I like being bottom, it was because no one has ever made love to me. People have had sex with me, but only as a means to an end. But you, you blew me away. it could have been your first time or your millionth time, but it was incredible because you made me feel things I never thought possible. I know you're nervous, and I was scared shitless when you asked me to fuck you on Friday night, but I want us to explore things together, I want to...umpf" He is cut off abruptly as Blaine kisses him deeply.

Tugging this beautiful, blue eyed man to his feet, Blaine kisses him again before leading him to the bedroom.