So this is barely beta'd because it's hard to beta your own stuff. But I figured you would all rather read it in a slightly haggard form rather than not read it at all. I'm sorry!

Chapter 21

A week.

That is the time Kurt and Blaine decided they needed to spend apart after their fight in order for them to both fully heal and think about what was important to them.

By Tuesday, both were dying to just hear each other's voice. But they stuck through it.

That would give them a Saturday to talk things through, and decide how to move forward.

And then Sunday would bring Blaine seeing Alexander for the first time in over a year.

He had just hoped that Kurt would be around for the event he'd been pushing for.

Friday, though, had other plans for the boys.

Kurt leaned against his headboard as he reorganized his DVDs for the third time that week. He was lost without Blaine. It wasn't like he didn't have other friends, but none of them seemed to entertain him the way Blaine did.

He missed Blaine, a lot.

"Hey kiddo, next time you see Blaine, can you let him know that the part came in for his Dad's truck, so if they want me to go get it with my truck I can. I know Blaine hasn't been around as much and I guess it's because his Dad needs his car." Burt glanced around Kurt's room, "Have you even left this room this week?"

Kurt thought over what his father just said, "Wait a minute, Blaine's Dad can't drive his truck? I saw him drive it last week when I was there!"

Burt rolled his eyes, "I'll tell you what, that man has a lot of pride. You're in for one heck of a ride if Blaine has half as much pride in him. Why haven't I seen him lately? I miss him!" Burt leaned against the door.

This wasn't the first time Kurt thought his Dad was a lot more in tuned with his life than he gave him credit for. It also wasn't the first time Burt came up the stairs just to talk through one of Kurt's problems, even if Kurt tried to hide said problems.

"We got into a fight," Kurt mumbled, folding himself into a pretzel, "And I just…I don't know how to apologize. Because I was wrong, Dad."

Burt walked into the room and sat on the edge of Kurt's bed, "Do you want to explain to me what happened?"

Kurt sighed, "Well, you know how we planned to move to New York together?"

Burt nodded.

"Well, Blaine signed the papers to inherit the farm. So I don't think that's going to happen," Kurt felt his walls fall down under the guise of his father's stare. He no longer felt angry – he felt terribly, terribly sad. "And I just…Dad, I don't want to be disappointed again. I thought for once something was going to go my way and I'd get some happiness. Blaine keeps saying he's going to move but I don't think he will. That's his life Dad."

Burt sighed, "Now, I don't know the Anderson family as well as you do, nor do I pretend to. Nevertheless, I have known them for a long time. I know they are men of their words. His father and I have had many verbal agreements that he has never turned his back on. If Blaine said he'll go to New York, he will."

Kurt sighed again.

"That isn't all, is it?" Burt raised an eyebrow and grabbed his son's hand, "Kurt, whatever it is, you can tell me. Is it Victor?"

Kurt snapped back, "What?"

"A new gay kid comes along, and all of a sudden you're picking fights with Blaine….I thought maybe you found something you liked in Victor. It'd be more convenient." Burt shrugged, a small smile playing around the corner of his lips.

"NO! He's not my type!" Kurt shook his head quickly, "It's not that…it's," Kurt paused, not quite knowing how to continue. "I want Blaine to move. Blaine is willing to move away from everything he's ever known to be with me. Right?"

Burt nodded as if it was a school lesson.

"But I'm not willing to stay here for him. I'm not willing to become a farmer too. I'm not even willing to just live on a farm." Kurt paused and played with a stray thread on his comforter, "Does that make me a bad person, Dad?" his voice broke on the last word.

"No," But said forcefully, moving his hands up to Kurt's shoulders. "It has always been your dream to move to New York. It would be so disappointing if you didn't want to leave here, Kurt. It would kill me if you let a boy keep you somewhere you have spent most of your years dreaming about leaving. Kurt, you have time with him yet, even if he doesn't go with you. Those memories with him are the ones you'll look back on when you're old and smile. Please don't give them up just because you're afraid of the ending."

Kurt sighed, "I feel like I've had this discussion a million times, but I just can't get over the fact that we might not be together forever."

Burt appraised his son silently for a few seconds, "Kurt, you were always way more mature than your age. But you need to know that now isn't the time to act like a forty year old. Now is the time to be a teenager. Go visit him, Kurt. I'm not telling you to make up with him. I'm telling you that perhaps you need to see him to know if a few more months with him is better than the possibility of no more time."

Kurt nodded numbly.

Burt stood, "You know, if someone had told me that I'd lose your mom the way I did…that I wouldn't have a happily ever after with her? I still would do it all over again, Kurt. I would still love her in the little time we had."

Kurt felt tears threaten to spill. Just as he was about the say something, Kenny Chesney's voice filled the air.

Blaine.

"Answer it, Kurt," Burt pointed to him, "That's an order."

"Hello?" Kurt breathed into the phone, relishing the sound of Blaine's voice after a week.

"Kurt?" Blaine's voice sounded panicked, "I know we decided on tomorrow but Alexander called and asked if I could meet him at Breadsticks for dinner tonight and I don't know what to do. Kurt I'm sorry, and I'm an idiot, and you're right and I just….I need you there Kurt." Blaine was breathing heavily by the end. "Please, Kurt?"

Kurt was already standing to change out of his lounge clothes, "Blaine, of course I'll be there. And no, you aren't an idiot. And no, I wasn't right. Where are you?"

"Outside," Blaine whimpered a little.

Kurt fought back a laugh. He felt his heart warm over the fact that Blaine still believed that he would be there for him, "Come in. The front door is open. Goodbye." He ended the call and quickly pulled on a pair of black pants and a purple button down shirt. He didn't want to scare Alexander, but he also wanted to be himself around Blaine.

The telltale heavy footsteps of Blaine signaled his arrival. He knocked timidly at the door, "Kurt?"

Kurt finished buttoning the shirt quickly, "Come in!"

Blaine opened the door and stood there staring at Kurt stupidly. "You look amazing."

Kurt blushed but glanced over Blaine's outfit, "I wish I could say the same for you!" Kurt grabbed his forearm and pulled him into the room more, "Did you get dressed in the dark?"

Blaine just blushed more, "No…I just didn't know what to wear." He looked down at his own black pants and brown shirt, "Is this bad?"

Kurt nodded, "Come on. Take that shirt off. You can borrow one of mine."

Blaine unbuttoned his shirt quickly while Kurt grabbed a teal shirt for him. He also grabbed his gel and a brush to try to fix Blaine's hair. He heard Blaine's breath catch when he stepped close enough to fix the hair.

Kurt stopped and put the brush on his vanity. He didn't move away, he just looked into Blaine's eyes, "How much time do we have?"

"He's meeting us in an hour," Blaine said quietly, his eyes never leaving Kurt's own.

Kurt nodded, fixing Blaine's hair gently, "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I've been so lonely without you this week."

"No," Blaine brought his own hand up to Kurt's face, "I didn't want that. I just…we'd been covering…"

"Everything up all the time," Kurt finished, "We never really dealt with any of the problems we had."

Blaine shook his head, "Kurt…I can't promise to know what the future holds right now. My Dad…isn't a horrible man. He's trying his best to make my dreams come true. He might not even know what my dreams are…but he has a good idea. You have to trust me, Kurt."

Kurt nodded and was about to speak when he heard a creak in the floorboard outside of his room, "Dad! We're making up, you can stop creeping around!"

"Make sure you use 'I feel' statements!" Burt yelled and Kurt heard him retreat quickly.

Blaine looked at Kurt and laughed, "And to think I was worried about your Dad not liking me."

Kurt nodded, "Blaine, I feel like I was being a bad boyfriend. I should know that you have dreams too, and you have responsibilities. I feel like from now on, I'm going to respect that I don't have to know every minute detail of your life. I feel like I'm using these I feel statements in the wrong way." He laughed a little. "I'm also sorry that I thought there was someone else."

Blaine still hadn't taken his hand off of Kurt's face, "Kurt, I felt like a real idiot when you left the other day. I know I should be able to tell you anything. But I can't tell you everything just yet. But I want us together, Kurt. However, I also want to know that you won't regret this if things don't go the way I want them to, because there are honestly moments when I don't think there will ever be anyone else for me."

Kurt nodded, "I would never regret loving you."

"And Kurt…no matter how hard it is, I want you to promise me that you will go to New York. Whether I'm sitting beside you in the car, or whether I'm plowing the fields back home." Blaine's eyes were strong and dry.

Kurt nodded, "I promise."

"Good, now fix me up so we can go to see my brother," Blaine's eyes lit up, "I've missed him."

Kurt leaned in quickly, "I've missed you," he pressed his lips into Blaine's, threading his hands through Blaine's hair and scrunched it back into curls while he kissed him. Blaine's hands grabbed Kurt's waist and pulled him closer. They kissed for awhile, Kurt's arms eventually falling down to Blaine's shoulders.

"I love you," Blaine whispered, "This week was crap for me too. I almost chopped my hand off like twice."

Kurt shook his head and helped Blaine with his shirt, "I love you too."

They kissed a few more times before they eventually got by Burt, kissed a few more times in the car, and then finally made their way to Breadsticks.

Blaine's hands were sweaty as he made his way into the restaurant, "What if he doesn't like me?" Blaine whispered as the hostess led them to a table.

"He's your brother," Kurt responded, sliding into the booth first, "It's not like you haven't spoken in five years. It's only been a year. Did you like each other then?"

Blaine nodded.

"Then you're fine." Kurt grabbed his hand anyway and ordered the entire table waters. Blaine was always ten minutes early, and Kurt didn't know if that ran in the family.

Sure enough a few minutes later, a man came to stand in front of their table. "Alexander!" Blaine said, standing quickly and throwing his arms around his brother.

Kurt watched with a huge smile on his face. Blaine and Alexander held each other for a few minutes, "I've missed you," his brother said simply.

"I missed you too!" Blaine reached back to grab Kurt's hand again, "This is my boyfriend, Kurt," he smiled at his brother.

Kurt held out his other hand to shake Alexander's, and finally got a good look at the boy. His hair was lighter than Blaine's now, and he looked a little older than he was. But he had the same easy smile as Blaine, and Kurt definitely saw their mother in his features. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Alexander smiled widely, "You too. It's nice to meet the boy who keeps my brother sane in that hell hole."

"Alexander," a chiming voice said, "Don't talk about your home like that." A small girl holding a car seat walked up behind him.

"Jen, it's great to see you," Blaine leaned forward a little awkwardly and hugged her, "and is that…"

Alexander nodded, moving the blanket, "This is Elaina," he gently picked the little girl out of her car seat, "Elaina, meet your Uncle Blaine!"

Blaine positively beamed at the girl, "Can I hold her?" he asked quietly, and Kurt didn't miss the fear of dismissal in his voice.

"Of course," Alexander passed the baby off, "and let's sit before we create a sheep herd in the middle of the restaurant." Jen slid in and Alexander followed, his eyes closely on Blaine as he played with the tiny baby.

"Hi," Blaine said softly, the little girl gazing up at him. "I'm your Uncle Blaine. I know I haven't been around as much, but I promise I will be now."

The little girl just brought a chubby fist to her mouth and bit at it.

Everyone settled in and looked at their menus. The air was a little awkward, but eventually Alexander laughed, "You've put her to sleep. It must be the boring seeping out of your pores." He winked at Blaine.

Blaine laughed but put the baby back in her seat. "So how have you been, Alex?" Kurt noticed how easily he slipped back into his old name for his brother, though his hand did find Kurt's quickly.

He nodded, "It's been hard. Ma and Dad wouldn't give me anything. But I work at the animal hospital now. I'm working on going to school so I can get paid more, right now it's kind of an honor system thing. Jen's home with Elaina."

"Where do you live?"

"We have a small house on the outskirts of Lima. You'd like it. It's yellow," Alexander laughed, and for the first time, Kurt saw a sprinkle of Blaine's father, "How are you, Blaine?"

Blaine nodded, "I've been lucky," he glanced at Kurt.

Alexander smiled, "I'm glad they didn't kick you out too. I saw the transaction the other day. The land is all yours."

Blaine shrugged, not wanting to open that door again. "All mine."

"I also saw you graduated, how?"

Kurt turned, hoping to get a full story. "I went to night classes over the summer. I took some classes at a community college that counted for both. I didn't want a GED, so I had to go the hard route."

"You always were too smart for here, Blaine," Alexander's tone was worried, "You're really going to take over the farm?"

"We're exploring options," Blaine said quietly. He shot Alexander a look that probably only had meaning for the two of them.

Kurt didn't have time to question as the waitress arrived with their food. Blaine glanced over and stole a piece of Kurt's ravioli. "Wow." Kurt said simply, leaning over and stealing tortellini from Blaine.

Alexander's eyes darted between them, "What about you, Kurt? Where do you come from?"

He swallowed. Kurt thought he'd gotten off easy with Blaine. He never had to do a meet the parents type dinner, but this might be worse. "I'm from Lima. I go to McKinley. I like to sing, there really isn't much more to say other than that."

Alexander squinted, "I remember you, I think. You came to the farm a lot, with your parents. Your Dad owns the garage."

"Right," Kurt nodded hopefully.

Alexander's face shifted, "I like him, Blaine. Don't mess up."

Blaine feigned hurt, "I'm wounded, Alexander."

The two boys just stared at each other for a few moments until they both settled back into their pasta.

"That's it?" Kurt squeaked.

Jen finally spoke up, "That's it. They have this little vocabulary between them that I will never understand. I've been around since Blaine was thirteen and I still don't know it."

Kurt smiled at the girl, "Good to know."

The rest of the meal passed quickly, they all laughed at the stories of Blaine's multiple run-ins with the family donkey.

"You never told me about Hezekiah!" Kurt was clutching his sides as he laughed at the mental image of Blaine riding through the fields backwards on the donkey. "Oh my god, Blaine."

Blaine was practically lying down on the booth, "Stop it," he laughed, coughing as he tried to breath, "I was clearly set up!"

"To sit backwards on the donkey?" Alexander roared, slapping the table, "Oh my god. And then there was that time you dared Jedadiah to nail a piece of fabric to his rear end and he ended up with several stitches to his forehead!"

Blaine was curled into a ball laughing at this point.

"I thought he hated you because of the scholarship," Kurt laughed, wiping a few tears away from his face, "You got him kicked, Blaine!"

Blaine sat up, his own face streaked with tears, "Oh god it was probably both! Can we stop this wonderful walk down memory lane now?"

Alexander glanced at his watch, "I think we need to, unfortunately. Elaina needs to get to bed. But I have one more question, do Ma and Dad know you're here?"

Blaine immediately sobered, "No. Ma and I aren't really talking…ever since I came out. And Dad's been busy."

Alexander nodded, "Well, I'd like to see them. I'd like them to meet my baby."

"She's perfect," Blaine whispered, looking down at the still sleeping girl, "I'd really like to see you guys more."

Alexander nodded, "We need a babysitter."

Blaine's eyes lit up, "Yes."

Alexander laughed and stood, helping Jen out of the booth. He reached for the check at the same time Blaine did, "Blaine."

"Alexander."

Jen rolled her eyes at Kurt and linked arms with him, "Let them fight."

"I mean, I can pay too," Kurt said.

"No," Both boys said at the same time.

"Alexander, let me pay," Blaine said slowly.

"No," Alexander said, "I'm the older brother and I'm paying."

"Are they always like this?" Kurt asked.

"Yup, as I said, time hasn't changed them," Jen rolled her eyes and handed the baby seat to Kurt, "Blaine, let Alexander pay."

Blaine pulled his hand away, "Fine."

Kurt stared at the woman, "You need to teach me your tricks."

She just winked at him.

They all walked out together, but had to separate when they reached the parking lot. "Please come see me soon?" Alexander asked as he put his number into Blaine's phone.

Blaine nodded and hugged the entire family, "It was great seeing you. Maybe we can do something next week?" The hopeful smile on his face made even Kurt turn away.

"Sounds perfect," Alexander put his hand on Blaine's shoulder, "I love you."

"I love you too, big bro," Blaine hugged him again and turned to Kurt, "Are you ready to go?"

Kurt nodded, "But I have somewhere I want to go before we go back to my house. Can I drive?"

Blaine sighed, "We've talked about the truck, Kurt."

"Just let me drive it!" Kurt grabbed his keys and ran to the driver's side, "Please?" he pouted.

"Fine," Blaine quickly got into the passenger's seat, and put his seat belt on even more quickly. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Kurt quickly drove them to a familiar place.

"Why are we here?" Blaine unbelted himself and opened the door.

"This is where we had our first date," Kurt said quietly, his memories washing over him.

Blaine rounded the truck and wrapped an arm around Kurt's waist, "Indeed."

Kurt leaned into the window and turned the radio on, "Dance with me."

Blaine nodded quietly and pulled Kurt onto the moonlight-filled field.

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars alone
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye

Blaine rested his head on Kurt's shoulder and just breathed, "Kurt….can we never fight again?"

Kurt sighed against Blaine's shoulder and shook his head, "I think fighting is somewhat healthy. But I never want to go that long without talking to you again."

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Neither boy commented on the words of the song. It could be them in just a few short months. Both boys realized how little time they had left together if things didn't go their way. Instead of trying to fight with each other, they both just accepted the fact that it could happen.

Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey, who's to say you know I might have changed it all

The boys held each other close, neither wanting to admit that, least of all, summer was dying and soon they'd have to spend the weekdays apart again. If only that was their only fear.

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

"Can I come over tomorrow?" Kurt asked suddenly, realizing in that moment how much he missed the open fields.

"I'm busy in the morning," Blaine admitted, "But I'm done in the afternoon so you can come over."

Kurt didn't push to find out why Blaine would be gone in the morning.

Yes, my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Against his better judgment, he hatched his own plan to figure out where Blaine was going.

Reviews? We only have ~8 chapters to go.