Kurt

Blaine seems reluctant to let me go home, which suits me, as I thoroughly enjoy being in his presence. When we've finished our coffee, he tells me he needs to go to work and collect some files, but he asks me to go with him, and I won't pretend that it doesn't thrill me, to know that he's more than happy for people to know who I am.

"Will your assistant be in?" I ask as we get in the cab.

"Possibly. We have a kind of a deal; she works Monday through Friday seven thirty until ten thirty, and then does whatever hours she wants."

"That's very trusting of you."

He shrugs. "Linda works her butt off. I don't care if she does work from home, or if she takes time off to visit her parents, or see her kids. It all works itself out in the end. Some days she'll still be sitting by my side at three in the morning as we try to prepare for a case. Other times she'll work all weekend. We're on a big acquisition case right now, but for us, rather than a client."

"Your company is launching a hostile takeover?"

"Yep. Holder-Jones. They were our biggest rivals, really, but they're financially in dire straits owing to a lot of bad judgement. Mom saw an opportunity and swooped in."

"Again, she sounds so sweet."

"Right? It's why I hate corporate law. I'd much rather be a human rights lawyer, or something."

"You should."

"Meh. I'd never be allowed."

"How old are you?"

He doesn't answer, just sticks his tongue out and laughs.

Blaine's building is huge, and an elevator takes us up so high that I feel almost giddy when we emerge. Almost everything is glass, or some weird kind of muted gray color. It's very corporate, very sterile, very... unfriendly.

A couple of people nod in our direction, a few call him Mr. Anderson as we pass. Blaine seems to be well-liked, particularly by one intern called Louisa, who stops to ask if Blaine enjoyed Valentine's day.

"What do you think?" he asks, looking at me. "Was it okay?"

"It was... yeah, more than okay," I say softly. My voice finishes in a whisper as I try not to blush. I can't help it, though; my mind immediately wanders to thoughts of us making out, tangled together, and very, very aroused.

"Yes we did, thank you, Louisa."

Blaine smiles and moves on, missing the look of utter despair on the intern's face.

"She likes you. As in, likes you, likes you."

"Yeah I know. She'll get over it."

"Blaine!"

"What? She will. She'll come to realize that I am essentially not a nice person, even though I try to be, and then she'll move on."

"Really? So how long before that happens to me, then?"

"I don't know," he replies, suddenly turning serious. "I keep thinking my time will be up any moment, to be honest."

"Oh shut up. You are a nice person, I told you."

"My mom says I'm cold and unfeeling."

"Gosh, the love I have for this woman already, knows no bounds."

This time Blaine does smile, and pushes open a frosted glass door that leads to what must be his own offices. A woman sits behind a desk in the outer room, typing rapidly on a keyboard. She stops the second we walk in though, and immediately comes around the desk.

"Blaine!" She hugs him warmly, and then hovers for a moment in front of me before crushing me in her arms too. "Hello, dear. I'm Linda."

"Linda, this is Kurt, Kurt, Linda... and yes," he says, cutting her off before she can even open her mouth. "It went very well, thank you. No need for any questions."

"Good. I'm so glad. It's lovely to meet you, Kurt. When are you coming for dinner?"

"Huh? I uh..."

"Tomorrow?"

I glance to Blaine, who, surprisingly, is smiling at me. "We can't tomorrow," he tells her. "Wednesday?"

"I can do Wednesday," she agrees. "Kurt?"

"Uh..."

"Kurt, please. I've waited years for Blaine to actually bring a boy home, and now he has. Please come for dinner, and meet the family. Well, my husband. I might see if Casey and Will can make it, though. That's my daughter..."

I look at Blaine again, who shrugs, but he also looks undeniably proud, and I realize how much this moment means to him. "It's up to you," he says gently. "You don't have to, if it's too much."

"No, I'd love to, I just... Is it..."

"It's not too soon!" Linda declares. "Not at all. I have to act quickly, dear. Blaine is prone to very bad tempers, and if his mood changes then you might decide enough is enough, so I need to celebrate the fact that momentarily, Blaine has found someone."

"I think he's lovely," I tell Linda, forgetting all about Blaine standing there. "He sells himself short."

"Finally! Yes he does, and then he gets annoyed at himself and moody because of it. Blaine, I like him already. Keep him."

"I'd like both of you to ask my mother's opinion on whether or not I'm lovely," he says, his good mood disappearing. "Because I'm telling you, this apple is rotten inside."

"I'm going home," Linda tells him, kissing his cheek. "You are not rotten. Behave."

Blaine walks into his own office, staring down at the streets of New York while he waits for me to take off my coat and sit in a chair. But I don't. I hang my coat and walk over to him, draping my arms over his shoulders from behind. "Why do you think you're rotten?"

"Because I held my dad in my arms as he died, and didn't do a thing about it, that's why. I didn't call for an ambulance, didn't yell for help, nothing. I held him and then, when he had died, I waited thirty minutes then called the police."

"Oh." Whatever answer I had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. "Well that's... That's... how old were you?"

"Sixteen."

"That's kind of understandable," I say scrambling to say the right thing. "I mean... How long did he..."

"Take to die? Minutes. It's not like I was sitting there for hours, or anything, but mom said if I hadn't wasted time... because Cooper was..."

He stops, and turns in my arms. Resting his head against mine, he closes his eyes and breathes deeply. "Can we not, right now? Can I tell you more another time?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

He opens his eyes, which are shining with tears, and searches into mine. "Thank you," he repeats again, and then he kisses me.

There are many, many questions; more than ever, now, but I'm content to wait for the answers that I know Blaine will give me when he's ready. Whatever the circumstances surrounding his dad's death, they're clearly traumatic for him to talk about, and his mother has placed the blame firmly at his door. He'll need time, and I have time to give to him. Endless time, in fact, because for as long as Blaine is kissing me, I don't want to be anywhere else.

"Better?" I ask when we part.

"Yeah." He stops, and opens his eyes. "Although..."

"What?"

He lifts me easily, and sits me on his desk. "I think I might need to kiss you just a little bit more, if that's okay?"

"Oh that is... Yes." I pull him down by his tie, until he's forced to rest one knee on the desk in order to get close enough to my lips, and then I kiss him, hard and dirty.

Blaine responds eagerly, making some kind of growling noise low in his throat and pushing me back even further, until I'm properly lying on the desk, with him between my legs. He moves his lips to my neck, kissing there as he runs one hand up my thigh, firm and insistent. I'm not going to stop him, this time, because every move he makes sets me on fire with anticipation.

"Oh Kurt, you..."

"Blaine?"

It would have been better if Blaine leaped up when his mom enters the room, but he doesn't. He lifts his head, and I drop mine, so the first view I have of Nadine Anderson is of her upside down. Conversely, the first view she has of me, is of me looking disheveled, hanging almost upside down off of a desk, with her son between my legs.

"Knock, mom!"

"Nadine when we're in work, please, Blaine, and it seems as though you very much need reminding that you are, in fact, in work."

Coming to his senses, Blaine gets to his feet and I follow, righting my clothing as I do so. "It's Saturday," Blaine retorts, gesturing to his cardigan as if that explains everything. "I'm just collecting some files to work on at home."

"Good. Nice to know you're not spending all your weekend frolicking with a plaything."

"This is Kurt," Blaine says, taking my hand and pulling me close. He pauses for a moment and glances at me. "My boyfriend."

I feel like cartwheeling across the office and fist bumping Nadine Anderson in the face, but I stay calm on the outside and settle for jumping for joy on the inside instead.

"Nice to meet you, Kurt." She shakes my hand politely, then coldly turns to her son. "Blaine, you can't have a boyfriend, we've been through this before. Do what you want with whom you want on a casual basis, but keep it discreet. Boyfriends, relationships of any kind, are a no for someone in your position, with your level of responsibility."

"Actually, we haven't been through this before," Blaine declares, keeping ahold of me. "This is Kurt. Not a random hookup. This is Kurt, a very real person for whom I have very real feelings. As in...I'm not going to let him go, whatever you say."

"Blaine, do I need to remind you of..."

"No, you don't need to remind me of anything," Blaine snaps. "You need to get out, and let me enjoy my time with Kurt before I go visit Cooper this afternoon. You know, the son you've forgotten about?"

Nadine doesn't answer him, but turns to me, instead. I'm sure the surprise on my face says it all. "That's what he's like," she says flatly. "Always. That's how he treats me, Kurt, how he treats all of his loved ones. If he ever introduces you to his brother, ask him how he felt when Blaine abandoned him."

"Huh?"

"Oh, he hasn't told you? I'm not surprised, sadly. Blaine is a nice looking, wealthy young man, Kurt, and I understand that holds a lot of attraction, but please know that he will treat you the same way he treats everyone in his life; as if they were only here to serve him, and not worthy of any real affection or help, when help is needed."

"Thanks," I say with a smile. "But I don't think Blaine would do that at all."

"He uses men, did you know that? Well, boys, really. Young ones, like you. One night and then they're gone."

I'm shaking on the inside, completely terrified, but I draw myself up to my full height and take a step toward her. "Actually, I think you're lying."

"Excuse me?"

"I think you're jealous of Blaine's heart, of his kindness, and I think you seek to bring him down and make him feel worthless in order to make you feel good about yourself. I think you know that then he's trapped in the vicious cycle of self-loathing which means he'll always work for you, because he's scared to be the magnificent person that he really is. Let me tell you something, Mrs. Anderson..."

"It's Ms."

"Whatever. Let me tell you this. Blaine is mine. I know, and he knows, that this between us is more right than anything has ever been, for either of us. The past doesn't matter to me. I for one am not intending on letting him go. So get a grip on yourself, and your bitter jealousy and resentment, and start to understand that you have a perfect son. Well," I add quickly, "You might have two, but I haven't met the other one yet, so I can't really comment on that. Anyway. That's...kinda...all I have to say, really."

She stares. First at me, then at Blaine, who shrugs his shoulders. "Kurt's my date for the charity gala next month," he adds smugly. "Just so you know."

"Right. I see." Nadine looks at me once more, shakes her head, and walks out, closing the door behind her.

"Oh my God," I whisper, sinking into a chair. "I was so rude! I mean, I was rude even for me, rude. What happened to me?"

"I guess you have questions?"

"I always have questions when it comes to you, but they can wait. Blaine, I was so out of line. I'm sorry if I..."

"You were great!" he kneels between my legs and rests his hands on my knees. "Kurt, everything you said... no one's ever defended me like that before. And you...you just get me, Kurt. How do you do that? I don't get me!"

"I mean it, Blaine," I say, cupping his jaw. "Everything I said, I mean it."

"I belong to you?"

"I'm your boyfriend?" I fire back.

"This is more right than anything?"

"Hey! It is! I'm your date for some gala that I didn't even know about?"

"Oh yeah. About that..."

"Yes I will."

There's nothing to do but laugh, and hug, and as Blaine squeezes me tightly, I run my hands into his curls and sigh contentedly. "For a first date, it's been quite eventful," I murmur into his ear. "And long."

"Second date lasts a week."

"I can't wait."