"Are you sure that you want to do this, Blaine?" Kurt asked nearly one week later as he pulled into Blaine's old neighborhood. He had asked about a million times during their drive and in the few days before, but it was getting to the point where they couldn't turn back. It was only fair to give Blaine one last chance to back out before seeing the house that he knew had to be close considering he had started recognizing things. "Because if you don't want to do this…"
"Kurt, I asked to do it. I want to do it." Blaine said slowly from the back seat of Kurt's Navigator. "I just… I need closure."
"We won't stay too long." Alex reassured Kurt. "We don't have to worry about them showing up. We'll just pack up anything he wants and then we'll leave."
"I'm just worried." Kurt said, gripping his steering wheel tightly.
"You have nothing to worry about." Alex promised him. "Right there, the next house."
Kurt pulled onto the curb outside of Blaine's house, putting the car into park. He very vaguely remembered the area from his visit with David's family, but he'd never seen this house up close before. Normally he would have been in shock at the gorgeous and huge house before him, but not today. Today this house represented something that he absolutely hated. This was the place Blaine had been subject to his parents' abuse. Kurt couldn't find it in himself to be intrigued by this house. Not even a little bit.
"Home sweet home." Alex muttered, getting out of the car and opening the back door for Blaine. "If you want to leave, you'll tell us?"
Blaine stared at the house, an odd expression on his face. Finally, he gave a small nod.
Kurt got out of the car and made his way around to help Blaine out. Blaine handed him his crutches and Kurt leaned them against the car before helping ease him out —a lthough he really didn't need as much help as Kurt insisted on giving him.
"I'm fine, Kurt." Blaine said softly, not meeting Kurt's eyes. He was still trying to decide if he really was fine in all honesty. Was he fine to get out of the car and walk up a drive way, yes? Was he ready to face his old house? Part of him really wanted to ask Kurt to just drive back to Cincinnati, to just forget about this. A big part of him.
Kurt sighed a bit and nodded, not liking the fact that Blaine wasn't making eye contact. It made him feel as though his worrying was justified — like it was too soon for this or that they weren't doing the right thing. He was afraid Blaine wasn't ready.
"I know. I just want to help." Kurt whispered back, handing Blaine his crutches one at a time. They walked the lengthy distance to the huge house, Kurt helping Blaine up the porch steps and up the final step into the house.
Alex walked on ahead, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket. After unlocking the door, he turned around to face them. "I'll get the empty boxes. I didn't know how much you'd want to take, so I brought a lot. We'll just throw whatever we don't use out, okay?"
Blaine nodded and walked — well, hobbled really — around the entrance hall. Once they made it into the hallway Kurt saw hanging pictures all over the wall of who he assumed was a younger Alex, a younger Blaine (who was positively adorable), and most definitely little Danny.
"I'm surprised they didn't take the ones of me down." Blaine muttered. "Then again, company might question why."
Kurt went up to a school picture of Blaine before Dalton, surveying it carefully. Blaine's hair was curly as ever and his smile bright, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "How old were you?"
Blaine came over. "Freshman year. That was… a few weeks before the dance."
"I like your sweater." Kurt commented, pointing. While the sweater was actually nice, his compliment was more of an attempt to cheer Blaine up. It must have worked at least a tiny bit.
"I liked it too." Blaine flashed him a weak smile.
"Are we just going to your room?"
"I want to go somewhere else first." Blaine said, moving out of the room and down a dimly lit hallway.
Kurt followed, looking at even more pictures on the wall; he assumed most weren't taken by professionals. They were pictures from family vacations or outings, several from different countries it looked like. Kurt knew that Blaine's family traveled a lot, but the amount of places Kurt saw in pictures was a tad ridiculous. Then again, he remembered how much they were worth. Kurt guessed they had the money to spend.
"Are you coming with me?" Blaine called, looking over his shoulder at Kurt.
"Of course." Kurt hurried over.
"It's right in here." Blaine took a right turn, balancing his crutch under his arm and opening a door. They made their way inside and Kurt saw a grand piano. Kurt, who had taken piano lessons since he was young, knew about pianos. It didn't take knowledge about pianos to know this was a nice one — a beautiful, fancy, and nice one.
"Is that a Charles Walter piano?" he gasped, going closer to the piano. "Oh my God, it is!"
"Yes, it is. It's mine, too… well, it was mine." Blaine said, coming forward also. "My grandfather left it to me when he died. It's pretty, isn't it?"
"Gorgeous." Kurt nodded earnestly, running his fingers over the keys. "I never thought I'd see one of these in person, let alone touch one. Wow. It's beautiful."
"I know we can't take it… but I just wanted to see it again." Blaine ran his fingers over the keys also, surprised to not find tons of dust. "At least they're taking care of it. They never cared about my interest in music. I'm pretty sure they only let me keep it because it's worth so much money. That must be why they're taking care of it."
Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder. "Maybe one day we can get it back."
"Yeah." Blaine said, not sounding convinced. Both boys straightened up and left the room, going down a long hallway. "My bedroom is at the end. Actually, they were never really even on this side of the house much…"
"This house is very… pretty?" Kurt said, looking around. It most definitely wasn't a lie, but there was something about the house. Everything was strategically placed to be just that, to be pretty. But there were no signs of life. There was no real personality, no distinct style…
"Try unlived in." Blaine said, opening his bedroom door and scoffing. "They probably even had it cleaned before we came so it looked better — to show you what a real house looks like. I hate my family."
"I know." Kurt said, following Blaine into the room.
When he made it in and looked around, he was shocked. The walls were navy blue and the trim was dark gray—something he hadn't necessarily pictured Blaine liking. You couldn't actually make out most of the walls, though. There were several pictures of Blaine and the Warblers, and even some of Blaine with what was probably his friends at his old high school. On one wall Kurt could see soccer trophies by the tons on several shelves. There were also academic ribbons hanging down from the shelves (even some for writing, which Kurt made a mental note to ask about later). On the corner nearest Blaine's bed he saw several pictures of him and Blaine. Some were from before they were dating but the majority of them were from after. He was even surprised to see a copy of the one that he himself had had in his locker at McKinley from Kurt's eighteenth birthday, only a slightly smaller one.
"I didn't pick the colors." Blaine said shortly as Kurt stared around, mistaking his curiosity for disgust. "They did it when I was at… camp one summer."
"It's not bad." Kurt protested. "Kind of looks like a Ravenclaw room. Are you a Ravenclaw, Blaine?"
Blaine laughed a bit, but it still sounded mostly forced. Kurt wished it was real, but he had a feeling Blaine wouldn't really laugh or smile for several hours after leaving this house.
"Who is that?" Kurt asked curiously, pointing to a picture of Blaine and another guy.
"That's the guy I went to the dance with." Blaine said softly. "I don't know why I even kept the picture. We didn't talk much after that…"
"Why not?" Kurt asked. "You all could have talked about it to each other."
"He didn't want to talk about it." Blaine said, surveying his tall bookshelf that was almost to the ceiling in another corner of his room. "To tell you the truth, I didn't either… We just… I transferred. Someone told me he left too, but he waited until the next school year."
Alex came in, setting several boxes down. "It's very dark in here."
"I think being gay was equivalent to being a vampire to them. They thought I didn't like the light." Blaine muttered. "That or it was easier to hide me in."
Alex stared at him, evidently not having a good response for that.
"What can I pack?" Kurt asked, making his voice cheerful. "Are you taking the trophies? There are so many. You must have been proud of yourself. That's really good."
"I don't want to take them. There's nowhere to put them." Blaine shrugged.
Alex climbed over the bed, carefully peeling pictures off of the wall. "It's kind of a nice color, I guess."
"I got used to it." Blaine said, pulling his closet door open.
"Are we taking clothes?"
"Probably not." Blaine said. "Not many at least."
"Oh my God, this is the hugest closet I have ever seen!" Kurt cried, stepping in. "Oh my God, you have a walk in closet. Oh my God, Blaine, is that—."
"A door to another closet, yes." Blaine laughed, and this one didn't sound quite as fake as the other.
"You can't leave all of these clothes behind. At least sell them or something. Oh my God." Kurt said, going farther back into Blaine's closet. "Oh my God. Are you a shoe addict, Blaine?"
"I used to buy two pairs a week." Blaine said truthfully.
"I wish we wore the same size." Kurt let out a loud sigh. "These are fabulous. God, you're obsessed with sweaters and cardigans. Honey, you did some serious shopping therapy, didn't you?"
"Sometimes." Blaine admitted.
"Need a box?" Alex called. "Hey, Blaine, do you want me to take your guitars out to the car?"
"Not the one in the case." Blaine called back. "It was a gift and it's ugly."
"Why don't you sell it?" Alex asked.
"Too lazy!"
"Suit yourself." Alex said, and they heard the door to the bedroom close as he exited with the guitar.
Kurt moved past Blaine, bringing a box in. "I'm grabbing the sweaters and cardigans because come November when it's cold, you'll regret it if you don't take them."
"Fair enough." Blaine said, tossing random stuff into the box.
"Can you think of what all you want to bring home?"
"Yeah, I pretty much know what I want to take." Blaine said, nodding. He left the closet and began setting stuff aside — mostly gifts from Kurt and his friends. He didn't need most of the junk in his room. Hell, he hadn't even wanted most of it to begin with.
Kurt came out. "No shoes?"
"I'm not even going to look or I'll want to take them all."
"I'll handle it." Kurt laughed. "It will be like going shopping. Your closet is amazing."
"One day we'll each have one." Blaine promised him, offering a weak smile.
"I hope so." Kurt let out a dreamy sigh and made his way back into the closet.
Blaine had been sorting through stuff for fifteen minutes when Kurt emerged, the box as full as it could possibly get. "I went through your clothes too."
Blaine laughed loudly, and Kurt was happy that it was a real laugh. There was no mistaking it that time. "You went through every single thing, didn't you?"
"Very, very quickly. I know great clothes when I see them." Kurt said, waving his hand. "Are you still looking?"
"I think I'm mostly done." Blaine said, looking up at Kurt because he was sitting on the bed and Kurt was still standing. He opened his arms and, after Kurt stepped into them, leaned forward while wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist.
"I love you." Kurt whispered, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. "So much."
"I know. I love you." Blaine looked up and smiled a bit. "This isn't as hard as I thought it would be…"
"Really?" Kurt asked.
"I mean, it's sad… but maybe I moved on more than I thought I had." Blaine shrugged, and nuzzled Kurt's stomach. "I think it would have been harder if they were here… I'm glad I'm getting the stuff that I wanted, but it's not like I miss this room or the house. Just the important stuff in it."
"It's a gorgeous house." Kurt said softly. "I can't believe you grew up in this mansion."
"It's a nice house… it wasn't a nice home." Blaine said, leaning back until he was sitting up straight.
Kurt leaned down again, kissing his forehead. "Are you ready, babe?"
"I think so." Blaine nodded. "I can't carry a box though."
"We'll get them ." Kurt said, bending down to pick one up. "I see you found time to pack an entire large box full of books."
Blaine grinned. "Of course I found time for books. What would I be without them?"
"A lot less frantic at finals time." Kurt responded, picking the box up. "I'll be back for the other one."
"I'll be here." Blaine said, standing himself up and looking at his room again for what would be the last time. Alex had gotten each picture, Blaine was fairly positive he had gotten each item of importance to him packed, Alex had already taken his guitar, and he could really see nothing else he wanted. Then again, maybe that was because everything he wanted was already at his apartment in Cincinnati.
***WBUCT***
"It's weird to not have Alex here anymore." Kurt said the next afternoon, sitting on the edge of the couch where Blaine was laying and reading. "I got used to hearing a Danny story every time I walked into the kitchen or living room."
Blaine looked up from his book, sitting up. "Yeah, it is weird… It was weird to have him here too, though."
"So what did he have to say about the money? It seemed like a long discussion." Kurt asked, reaching over and fingering one of Blaine's curls.
"My inheritance lost some money because of the stock marker, but it's not a big deal. I don't really care." Blaine shrugged and scooted up to Kurt after resting his leg on their coffee table.
"You've been pretty quiet since yesterday." Kurt leaned over, kissing him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Blaine said, smiling a bit and leaning his head on Kurt's shoulder. "I've just been thinking a lot about my family, I guess… Well, a certain thing in particular."
"Oh?" Kurt questioned, stroking his hair.
"Being home kind of brought it back to light… and I'd like to talk about it if you don't mind."
Kurt sat up straighter and tucked his leg under him, turning to face Blaine. "Of course I don't mind."
"First, uh… I've never even talked about this before… even with David or Wes, so please don't mention it." Blaine said slowly, biting his lip for a second. He wanted closure? If that was the case, he had to talk about this. While it wasn't something he lost sleep over now, it was most definitely something that bothered him to that point when he was younger. Maybe he didn't particularly want to talk about it, but he needed to… and maybe he kind of did, because it was Kurt. He knew Kurt would understand.
"I won't tell them. I won't tell anyone." Kurt promised, grabbing his hand.
"It's not that serious, but thanks." Blaine laughed a tiny bit and squeezed his hand. It was nice to have that reassurance there all the same. "Remember I told you that when I got kicked out before that it was because my dad found out that I'd been tested for STDs?"
"Yes." Kurt nodded, watching him very carefully.
"The circumstances were slightly different." Blaine admitted, looking guiltily up at him.
"Okay…" Kurt said, sounding confused and trying to not let his imagination run away with him. "How so?"
"Alright, well… okay… I... I had done everything I said. See, I'd had sex with a number of people. I had gotten tested for STDs and my dad found out. It was an explosive fight like I said… but two days later, I got home from playing soccer…" Blaine looked straight ahead, forehead furrowed and not seeing anything in front of him. Instead, it was like a movie of that particular day playing in his head. "Well, after soccer I had gone to Wes' and his mom sent me back with food… and I was going to my room because I stayed in there whenever I was home. It was just more… comfortable that way. But, see, I got home earlier than usual because practice had let out early and I always went to David's or Wes'…"
"Okay." Kurt nodded, squeezing his hand and still watching him intently.
"And my grandma and dad were in his office but the door was open. My house is big, so they didn't hear me coming in… and I was going to my room, and his office is on the way. So…" Blaine trailed off.
"I'm not going to tell anyone." Kurt said softly.
"It's not that. I'm just thinking." Blaine said, squeezing Kurt's hand back. "Anyway, I was going to my room to eat and as I was walking towards his office I could hear them talking. I mean, they always talked in there about the inheritance and stuff, so I normally wouldn't have even thought anything of it but something caught my attention."
"Oh?"
Blaine let go of Kurt's hand and tried to get more comfortable, which resulted in him scooting towards the middle of the couch. Trying to help Blaine get better situated, Kurt scooted towards him and Blaine rested one leg over Kurt's lap, and let the other dangle off the end of the couch.
"Thanks." Blaine offered Kurt another small smile. "But my dad was asking 'how they were going to put it back' and I got really curious… It just didn't sound like any conversation they normally had. The whole thing was just different." He said, kind of shrugging.
"What were they talking about?" Kurt asked.
"They were stealing money." Blaine admitted, voice soft. He chewed on his lip, trying not to think back on the events that took place too much.
"From who?"
Blaine took a few seconds to think before speaking again. "They were talking about how they were stealing money from Alex and me… Well, our inheritances. See, when my grandpa died he left grandma in charge of it. She's the only one that can technically get into them."
"I remember you telling me that she had to give you all permission." Kurt nodded.
"They had been dipping into mine and Alex's money ever since Grandpa died, apparently."
"How could you steal from your own children?" Kurt wondered aloud.
"Yeah, well it gets worse than that." Blaine sighed. "I probably stayed outside his office for fifteen or twenty minutes listening to them talk. They just kept going on and on about it… until eventually, they started talking about how they'd been stealing money from the hospital and offices. All of it was for Grandma's campaigns."
Kurt's eyes widened. But really, should he have even been surprised? Probably not. He'd heard enough about Blaine's family to know how they were. "But why were they even talking about it?"
"Because apparently Alex's lawyer wanted to look over something; I'm not sure what. Probably something concerning the will. Now that I think about it, that's about around the time they would have gotten married…" Blaine said absent mindedly, waving his hand a bit. "I don't know the exact reason but they were scared Alex's lawyer would notice the missing money or that he'd see the withdrawal receipts."
"Did you… What did…" Kurt said, not sure what to even say. What could he say?
"I was pissed. Whatever about them getting into my money. Like I hadn't expected it, you know? But stealing from a hospital and from the state, Kurt." Blaine said, sounding disgusted. "They were stealing money to help her get elected so they could get more money. I knew that the family was obsessed with money but I never thought they were doing stuff like that. Dad is a doctor. He should know that hospitals need all the money they get to take care of people! And Grandma thinks she can be any sort of Senator when she's running a corrupt campaign?"
"Oh my God." Kurt said, eyes widening as realization hit him. "But… oh no, Blaine… You said something to him, didn't you?"
"I wouldn't have, but I dropped my plate of food. They heard it, obviously. Once they knew that I knew, it would have been stupid to not say something" Blaine said rather stubbornly.
Kurt covered his mouth, not knowing what had happened but knowing it had to be bad. There was a reason Blaine hadn't told anyone else about this. There had to be more to it and he had a feeling he was about to find out just what else had happened.
"They poked their heads out and you could tell they knew they were busted. I just picked up my mess and walked to my room. I waited, furious and scared and trying to decide what I was going to say. My grandmother left almost immediately after that and my dad came up and we… we got into it worse than before." Blaine said, no longer looking at Kurt but instead off into space. "I was really scared, Kurt, because he… he gets really, really angry… I tried to stand my ground but he yanked me off of my bed by my arm and pushed me into the wall, telling me that I wasn't allowed to breathe a word of what I heard to anyone or he'd make my life a living hell."
He felt Kurt's hand grasped his and he blinked a few times before looking at Kurt before continuing, this time not breaking eye contact. "And so I yelled back that my life was already a living hell… and the fight just… it escalated so fast, Kurt. He kept pulling at me, trying to drag me somewhere, I don't know. But I freaked out and I started to fight back because I didn't know what he was doing and we just kept yelling and yelling. He's bigger than me, you saw, and he managed to get me out into the hall and all the way down it by dragging me as we fought. And he tried to push me down the stairs — I had a different room then, you didn't see that one, this one was by stairs — but I just know he was trying to do something bad… Then he kept yelling how he hated me, how I was a disgrace, how he wished they had aborted me because I was a mistake… just… you know."
Kurt stared at him, his face unreadable and his blue eyes darker than he'd ever seen them. Kurt opened his mouth several times, caught between anger, sadness, and concern. Finally he began to slowly speak. "You are not a disigrace."
"I…I know." Blaine said quietly. "I know."
Kurt leaned forward, pushing their foreheads together. "I love you."
"I love you too." Blaine said, smiling at him.
Kurt kissed him briefly before pulling away and sitting up straight, careful not to jostle Blaine's leg too much. "So he was… physical with you."
"It wasn't like he beat me up or anything." Blaine said quickly. "He was mostly trying to intimidate me… And it worked because I haven't told anyone until now. I was scared of what he would do… When I was fifteen, I was terrified… That's why I never told anyone, Kurt. I knew David or Wes would go to their parents and I didn't want Dad to…" he trailed off. "But I'm not scared anymore. He can't… He can't do anything to me."
"Firstly, Blaine, it doesn't matter if he didn't leaving a lasting mark. It matters that one was left at all. That is physical abuse." Kurt said, his blue eyes dark with anger. "If he ever lays a hand on you again, I'll — I don't even know what I'll do, but — ugh. What a pathetic and lowly piece of shit."
"He's not going to touch me again." Blaine said, shaking his head. "I guess I spent so much time when I was younger worrying that he would, though, that it just… I was so scared and that was all that I saw. And I was afraid that everyone would judge me or hate me for knowing and not doing anything… I was so afraid Wes or David would find out and stop being my friend over it. Or that their parents would find out and not let them be my friend anymore… And I worried that he'd pull me out of Dalton and make me go back to my old school… I was just so worried about what he would do because I found out… but he never did anything."
"Nobody would ever judge you for what they did." Kurt said very calmly. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"But when I was fifteen, I felt like I'd done it too because I hadn't told anyone." Blaine explained. "I felt like that put me at fault."
"You were fifteen, Blaine. Nobody would have ever blamed you or thought you did. They took something from you too. You had no control over the situation. None of it was your fault."
"I know that now." Blaine said. "But back then I didn't and that's why I kept it in so long. I felt like a horrible person for keeping it inside but I was too scared to tell anyone. I think being back there made me finally realize that… that I could talk about it, because I'm not a little boy anymore. I can do whatever the hell I want."
"I'm glad you didn't tell anyone back then." Kurt said quietly. "If you'd told the wrong person and your dad found out… It wouldn't have been safe for you to tell anyone. I don't even want to think about all of the things that could have happened to you if you'd told the wrong person…"
Blaine nodded. "Me neither… I've thought of that a lot too. They hate me, Kurt. I honestly wouldn't put anything past them anymore."
"And she's running for Congress. This is just great." Kurt mumbled.
"She's going to win." Blaine said slowly. "She's going to win and then she'll start stealing money for herself and not the campaign. Who even knows if all of it went to the campaign in the first place?"
"It doesn't even really matter." Kurt said.
Blaine let out a deep breath and looked at Kurt. "You're not worried, are you? Because honestly, what could he even do? You're twenty, not fifteen. He can't control you anymore and I think you've shown him that."
"I'm not worried." Blaine said, shrugging. "I mean, sometimes I find myself reverting back to that mindset where I'm just waiting for this stuff to start happening again, you know? For me to have to answer to them and stuff… I know that's probably silly, but I can't help thinking that way. I guess it's because I lived that way for so long."
Kurt reached behind him, rubbing the small of his back. "Thank you for telling me…"
"Sometimes I do feel bad that I didn't tell anyone… For not doing anything." Blaine admitted. "That's partially why I don't want you to say anything to anyone. It's not that I'm afraid of Dad's reaction but… I just know David and Wes wouldn't be very happy to know I kept something like that from them. It's kind of big, you know?"
"I promise that I'll never tell anyone." Kurt said, staring into his eyes. He leaned over and kissed him before saying, "I'm really glad you told me. Thank you."
Blaine gave him a small smile.
"You did nothing wrong." Kurt continued. "Absolutely nothing wrong. Now it's out in the open and now you — we're going to move on. You have your own phone, your own insurance, your own new amazing car, your own everything. There is nothing tying you to your parents…"
Blaine let out a relieved breath, nodding. "I feel a lot better now that I told someone — told you."
"I'm glad you told me too." Kurt hugged him. "Do you feel like you've got some closure now? Are you okay?"
"Yes." Blaine nodded, feeling as if an invisible weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. It was kind of nice and made him wish he'd told Kurt sooner. "I'm better than okay actually."
Kurt smiled happily before hugging and kissing him again. "I'm so glad to hear you say that, Blaine."
"Me too." Blaine responded, kissing him back and wrapping his arms around Kurt.
***WBUCT***
"So what did he say?" Kurt asked a few more days later, looking at his boyfriend as he walked out of a classroom on UK's campus.
"The jerk won't let me hand in stuff online until October when they'll let me drive." Blaine scowled, not even waiting for his professor's door to completely shut. "I'll have to drop his class. It's okay, I heard he sucks anyway."
Kurt snorted loudly and kissed Blaine's cheek. "Was that the last professor you needed to talk to?"
"Yes. I guess I just need to go and tell my adviser and see what she wants me to do." Blaine sighed and started walking towards the exit of the classroom building, towards Patterson Office Tower where his adviser's office was. "I can't believe those two won't even work with me. The first woman could have at least let me switch into her online class. She's just pissed off that I know more about T. S. Eliot than her. Sorry I like to enlighten myself!"
"Your adviser said that you had other options. There's no need to get upset." Kurt said, surprised at how fast Blaine was able to maneuver his crutches now that it had been a few weeks.
"If the stupid professors had common decency I wouldn't have to go redoing my entire schedule plan. This throws off everything that I planned to take until graduation, Kurt. I had it planned out to the last credit hour." Blaine shook his head, coming to a stop outside of a several story tall building. "These elevators better be working today because it's on the twelfth floor."
"I'm sure the elevators are working fine." Kurt said soothingly, squeezing his shoulder before holding the heavy door open for him.
"I'm sorry I'm so grumpy. My head hurts, I could barely sleep last night because this cast is making my leg itch like crazy, and I hate feeling like I have to rely on you or feeling like people have to accommodate me because of my stupid leg." Blaine vented, pushing the up arrow on the elevator. "Not to mention, I cannot believe she had the nerve to fire me over the phone. Not that I wanted to come back anyway, but excuse me? I'm not reliable? Who covered every single time she messed up the schedule, Kurt? How many times did I stay after classes for that place? If they can hold my previous leave of absence against me before the change in management, they should also take into account how many times I've gone in when they were short staffed."
"Anderson!" Someone called from down the hall.
"Fuck." Blaine grumbled, not getting on the elevator as it opened. "I do not want to be sociable right now."
"We're getting you sugar first thing when we leave." Kurt said cheerfully, unfazed by Blaine's bad mood. "You must be getting hungry."
"Hey, Josh." Blaine said, putting on a friendly smile when a tall boy in a UK hoodie approached him. "What's up?"
"Advising meeting. I might get to graduate on time still apparently. Why are you — ouch, what happened?" The guy said, surveying Blaine's crutches and cast.
"I got into a small wreck." Blaine shrugged.
"Small?" Kurt echoed.
"Okay. I got into a pretty bad wreck." Blaine corrected himself. "Kurt, this is Josh. We work together in the library — the nice place. Josh, this is my boyfriend Kurt."
"Totally thought you just said you were gay to get out of having to take Andrea on a date, but cool." Josh laughed, shaking hands with Kurt.
"Hello." Kurt said, offering a friendly smile.
"Wow." Josh said, clearly surprised.
"You're the first person to be so shocked that I've already told." Blaine said, this time letting out a genuine laugh.
"No, you just don't look — I mean — no, I promise, I'm not one of those rude people." The guy said quickly. "Just antisocial. I don't communicate well obviously."
"It's okay." Blaine laughed, nudging Kurt's arm with his elbow.
"Nice place? Did you finally quit Kennedy's?" The guy asked, looking relieved.
Blaine let out a hollow laugh. "No. They called me last night and fired me for being unreliable."
"Shit. Like they can manage without you and Jacob over there. Let them do it. I'll make sure to get my books from there just to see how horrible the place looks." The guy said. "I take it you're having a bad summer?"
"A bit." Blaine sighed. "I'm trying to rework two classes now or something. Two of my professors won't let me turn stuff in online until October."
"That sucks. But Mary's completely okay with you needing time off on the bright side. She's sending cookies too. Get well cookies." Josh glanced down at his watch. "Speaking of, I better get down there. I'll see you in October?"
"See ya." Blaine waved.
"It was nice to meet you, Chr — Kurt. Kurt?"
"Kurt." Kurt smiled and waved. "You too."
Blaine pushed the button again once his friend was gone. "He's a freshman. Well, I guess a sophomore now. He's a little awkward, but he's nice."
"He seemed very nervous." Kurt said thoughtfully as they got onto the ladder.
"He was a little more so than usual. If you were around him more, he'd chill out." Blaine answered, leaning on Kurt. "This will be a while."
Kurt laughed and stroked his hair. "Am I that intimidating?"
"Nah. But you're confident and he's not." Blaine said. "I'm convinced the only reason he talks to me as much as he does is that I'm shorter than him."
Kurt giggled a bit. "I don't know if you're very intimidating… unless you're mad. When you're really mad, you'd probably even scare someone as tall as Finn."
"Luckily I don't get mad very much." Blaine smiled, hobbling out of the elevator and to his adviser's office.
"Come on in, Blaine. Your friend can come to." Kurt heard a friendly voice say.
Blaine went in with Kurt following behind him.
"Oh, you're on crutches and everything." The petite older woman asked, shaking her head. "Does it hurt?"
"Off and on." Blaine said, easing himself into a chair.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Did you get to talk to all of your teachers?"
"Yeah." Blaine sighed. "Krebbs and Parker won't let me submit stuff online."
"Well I looked and Professor Krebbs has an online section as well. It is full, but—."
"I asked." Blaine sighed again. "She said she couldn't allow it. So I guess I just have to move a lot of stuff around."
"I'd suggest dropping both. Then, find one class online to take as an elective." The woman said.
"Won't dropping one put me behind?" Blaine asked.
"No, sweetheart." She shook her head and pulled something up on the screen, pointing at his transcript. "You're caught up to the point where you need to be. You don't need to worry about making credits up. If the other professors are going to let you submit stuff until you can make it to classes, and you sign up for an online elective, you will not fall behind."
"And I'll be able to graduate on time? As if I hadn't missed a semester?" Blaine asked for clarification.
"I would be worried if you weren't a good student, but I don't see you failing any classes or having to withdraw. You're an excellent student, you're ahead of where you need to be if anything, and I think you worry too much." She said, smiling at him. "Here is a list of online classes that still have seats available for you to choose from. If you pick one, I'll go ahead and override it in the computer so you won't have to worry about waiting for your window to re-open."
"Thanks." Blaine let out a relieved sigh, taking the paper from her and looking it over. "You're sure?"
"Yes." She said kindly as Kurt laughed. "I triple checked. Your credits are just fine."
"Okay." Blaine said, circling a class and handing it to her.
"Good boy." She smiled, pulling out her keyboard and going into Blaine's schedule. "So we're dropping Krebbs and Parker?"
"Yes ma'am." Blaine nodded, watching her.
"The good news is both of those classes are offered every semester so you'll have no problem catching them next time." She said as she dropped the classes. "This puts you with five campus classes and one with the distance learning program. The online class will add a $90 fee to your tuition. I don't know if you're tuition is paid for in full already or not, but make sure you don't forget about that or they'll hit you with the interest charges."
"Alright." Blaine nodded, mentally reminding himself to write that down when he got in the car. "Am I done?"
"Just sign this for me regarding the schedule change." She slid another paper to him after writing the changes down. "And then you are done."
Blaine scribbled his signature and passed it back before standing. "Thank you so much, Mrs. O'Day."
"No problem, sweetheart. You just get to feeling better and be careful when you're driving again."
Blaine smiled. "I'll try. Have a good day."
"You too. Bye." She waved as they left.
"She's a lot nicer than my adviser." Kurt whispered as the door closed.
"She's been advising here for over fifty years." Blaine whispered back. "She's very nice and she knows all the ins and outs about what classes are good and stuff. The adviser I had when I was a freshman was horrible."
"Did you ask to be switched?" Kurt asked curiously.
"No. They just change you after you get so many hours. The first one was a general counselor for the Arts and Sciences College, but she focuses on English." Blaine said.
"Ah." Kurt said, taking his phone out. "Hey, Dad… Yeah… We'll try, but we're out at UK and I don't think Blaine's feeling too great…"
Blaine held the elevator door open for Kurt, looking at him curiously.
"Babe, do you want to go to Lima for dinner tonight?"
"What is Carole making?" Blaine asked, and heard Burt laugh loudly on the other end of the phone.
"Does it matter?" Kurt asked, rolling his eyes.
"I don't know." Blaine shrugged. "Do you want to drive all the way there and all the way back to Cincinnati in one day? You're the one that has to drive."
"Well can we spend the night?" Kurt asked.
"We need to feed the dog and fish."
"The dog and fish are taken care of."
"How are they taken ca — something's going on here." Blaine said. "Isn't there?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Kurt said innocently. "Yes, Dad, we'll be there in about four hours."
"Four hours? Traffic isn't bad. At the rate you drive, it'll probably be three." Blaine said as Kurt hung up.
"Oh, I think it'll be more towards four." Kurt said.
"Something is totally going on but my head hurts too much to worry." Blaine said, getting into the back seat of Kurt's car. "I could do less than two hours up there but I don't think I can sit with my leg that way all the way to Lima. Sorry."
"It's okay." Kurt smiled at him and gently closed the door before climbing into the car as well. "Do you feel better now that everything is sorted out?"
"Mhmm." Blaine said leaning his head against the window and closing his eyes. "Are you going to be upset if I take a nap?"
"Not at all." Kurt said, starting his car. "As long as you can get me to I-75 before you do."
"Oh yeah." Blaine sat himself up straighter and opened his eyes. "Take Limestone, turn left by Kennedy's, and follow it up until it turns to Nicholasville. Right on New Circle, it'll take you to the highway."
Kurt blinked several times, clearly not having understood a word of what Blaine said. "Never mind. Take your nap. I'll use the GPS on my phone."
"You're a wonderful, beautiful man." Blaine said, leaning back down.
"Just remember that the next time I punch you in the nose in my sleep."
…
"You doing okay, bud?"
Blaine rubbed sleep from his eyes as he sat on the couch two hours later, nodding.
"They took him off the medicine." Kurt said quietly, going up and hugging his dad. "Hello."
Burt hugged him back and said, rather cheerfully, "Are you having a good day, Blaine?"
"Uhm… I've had better." Blaine said, not in the mood to even lie.
"We're not in a great mood." Kurt ruffled his hair, beaming. "But we're about to be in a much better one."
"Are we?" Blaine asked, his eyebrow shooting up. "Why's that? Did you make potato candy?"
"It's nowhere near the holidays!" Kurt exclaimed. "It's a holiday treat."
"I was under the impression that Blaine Anderson Day was tomorrow."
"I think you'll like it better than candy, Blaine." Burt said, laughing.
"It's the gift that keeps giving." Kurt added.
"There are a lot of comments I could make that I won't." Blaine mumbled quietly enough so Kurt could make out every word but Burt could only hear mumbling.
Kurt clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and then shot him a playful glare. "Be nice or you don't get the surprise."
Blaine plastered a smile to his face. "Can I have my surprise?"
"I think Melody's got it right now, so you might want to hobble over that way." Burt pointed towards the kitchen.
"I like presents." Blaine said, clearly getting excited. Which was a definite improvement over him being grumpy in Kurt's opinion. "Okay, can I go, Kurt? Can I?"
"Yes." Kurt laughed. "I'm coming with you, though. I have to see your facial expression when you see it."
Blaine went into the kitchen quickly and saw Melody and Carole in the corner, crouching down. Melody kept cooing nonsense and flailing her little hands excitedly.
"What is i — oh my God, it's a kitten!" Blaine exclaimed.
"That is what we call success." Kurt beamed, feeling proud of himself. He couldn't tell if he was proud enough for getting Blaine the kitten or pulling it off without Blaine finding out. He'd been sure Blaine would have caught on, but luckily he hadn't.
"Melody got a kitten!" Blaine said, tossing his crutches aside and sitting on the floor to pet the kitten.
"Uh…" Kurt said, looking surprised. He wasn't expecting this. Blaine was supposed to know it was… well, his.
"Melody didn't get a kitten." Carole laughed.
"Well who did? Are you babysitting it? It's so cute. Can I hold it?"
"Blaine, it's yours." Kurt said.
Blaine's mouth fell open and he stared up at Kurt, hazel eyes wide. "You got me a kitten?"
"Well, Dad picked it up. But yes. I got you a kitten." Kurt nodded.
"I got a kitten?" Blaine asked slowly.
"Yes." Kurt said back, just as slowly. "You get a kitten."
"But the apartment — it's too small — and they don't even like that we have Kreacher—." Blaine said, picking the kitten up. Melody scowled and climbed onto his lap, trying to pet it again. "Oh. Sorry, pumpkin."
Melody plopped down and reached for the kitten.
"You have to be very careful, baby." Carole said as Blaine sat the tiny kitten in her lap. "Pet it like we were."
Melody giggled loudly and pet the kitten with Blaine's help.
"But, Kurt, are you sure?" Blaine asked, looking at him while helping Melody.
"Yes." Kurt said. "Yes, yes, and yes."
"Oh my God, I get a kitten!" Blaine exclaimed, prompting loud shrieks from Melody. "We're taking it home?"
"Well we aren't leaving it here." Kurt bent down and pet the kitten before tickling Melody's tummy. "Hey, Mellie!"
"Bub bub bub!" Melody shrieked, reaching up.
Blaine took the kitten, looking positively thrilled, as Kurt scooped his little sister up. "Say Kurt. Kurt."
"Bub." Melody said, a very serious expression on her face.
"Kurt. Kurt."
Melody made a "k" sound and tried to hide behind her tiny hand.
"Kurt."
"K-K — Bub!"
Kurt hung his head. "She'll say Bay. Why not even a Kur? Can I get Kur?"
"It's just easier for her to make that B sound." Carole said, hugging him. "Give her time. She's trying."
"K-K-Bubbbb!" Melody repeated, tugging on the neckline of Kurt's shirt.
"We do not do that." Kurt said, very seriously. "We don't pull at people's clothes, Mellie. You don't want to stretch it."
Melody sneezed and then wiped her snotty nose on Kurt's shoulder. "Bub!"
"Kurt must really love you, Melody." Blaine said cheerfully from the ground as Kurt stared ahead in horror. "If anyone else got anything on his clothes, he'd have killed them by now. Even something less disgusting than snot."
"I do love her." Kurt said finally, as Melody smiled up at him adorably. "But would anyone make fun of me if I put my shirt in the washer?"
"Yes." Burt said from the kitchen table where he was now sitting.
"Go on, hon." Carole laughed, taking Melody.
"Bub! Bub!" she said, beginning to cry.
"Oh, you can come with me." Kurt took her back. "You can help me find a shirt that is still here that doesn't need to be Melody proof."
Melody instantly quit crying, sticking her thumb in her mouth.
"You just have all of the boys wrapped around your little finger, don't you?" Carole said, kissing her cheek.
"At least I'm not as bad as Dad." Kurt said, glancing at Blaine who was still in the same position on the floor and letting the kitten crawl all over him. "I don't know if this was a good idea. He may never pay attention to me again — Melody, gross, are you putting your hands in your snot?"
Melody blinked at him with big eyes.
"I guess we'll be right back." Kurt said, going up the stairs and into his old room. He set Melody on the bed and went to his closet, pulling out two shirts and holding them up. "This one? Or this one?"
Melody grabbed her foot, paying no attention to him.
"Melody," Kurt sang as he came up to the bed, now only in an under shirt. "What shirt do you like?"
Melody blinked at him, letting go of her foot.
"This one? Or this one?" Kurt asked, alternatively holding up a purple and a black shirt. "This one? Or this one?"
Melody crawled over, touching the purple one.
"Excellent choice!" Kurt set both on the bed and clapped. "Good job!"
Melody clapped also, giggling.
"I should bring you home with me. I can barely get Blaine to help me pick out clothes." Kurt said, tickling her belly. "He doesn't offer much feedback. He used to dress so nice and now I can't get him into his old clothes unless we're going out. It's those dumb UK blue shirts. They're causing a rift in our relationship."
"Uh oh!" she giggled.
"Uh oh is right!" Kurt pulled on the shirt and buttoned it up saying, "Did you know this is a button?"
Melody clapped her hands together.
"Let's go find Mommy." Kurt scooped her up and took her downstairs. "There's Mommy. Say 'hi mommy!'"
"Mama!" Melody waved, but quickly buried her face in Kurt's shoulder.
"That's her saying she doesn't want you to put her down, hon." Carole laughed. "I've almost got dinner done."
"Is Blaine still in the corner with the kitten?" Kurt asked, bouncing Melody up and down.
"Yes. Suffice it to say, I think he's in a better mood." Carole bent down and kissed Melody's cheek again. "Are you hungry, sweetie?"
"Bub." Melody said loudly, nuzzling Kurt.
"I guess I'll be feeding her too." Kurt let out a mock sigh, snuggling her close. "If I have to. Although I'm pretty sure she's being extra affectionate because she's jealous of Blaine's kitten."
Melody reached up, grabbing his nose and giving him a look that clearly said, "Pay attention to me."
"Okay, you little beggar! Sometimes I think it's you and Blaine that should be related." Kurt laughed, sitting down. "Your big brother will put eating his own dinner on hold so you can have your mashed potatoes. Don't you feel loved? I doubt Blaine would do that for you. He's like a garbage disposal for food."
"Is it a wise idea to let Melody start eating them first?" Burt asked gruffly. "She might get mad that other people are eating some."
"Oh, she's going to get mad either way." Carole sighed, getting a small bowl of mashed potatoes and one of Melody's little spoon. "She's not mastered the art of sharing. She thinks anything she likes is hers and hers alone. Luckily she forgets she's upset about a minute later, but I'll be glad when the phase is over."
"Are you gonna let me feed you or are you going to be messy?" Kurt asked, getting some mashed potatoes on the spoon.
Melody's eyes widened and she reached for the spoon eagerly.
"I don't know about that." Kurt said warily, glancing at Carole as he put Melody in her highchair.
"Here, Melody!" Carole said, handing Melody a second spoon. "Let her hold this one, but feed her with that one. If you give her that one, you'll never get it back."
Melody waved the spoon happily and opened her mouth.
Kurt began feeding her, realizing that it was very amusing to do so because Melody went back and forth between playing with the spoon and opening her mouth wide, looking at Kurt expectantly. "Does it always take this long?"
"Yes. It does." Carole laughed. "Blaine, hon, are you hungry?"
"I'm kind of stuck." Blaine said, pouting.
Kurt giggled and fed Melody some more mashed potatoes. "I told you to quit sitting on the floor. What happens when you do that and you're alone? You'll be stuck."
"You could get up if you tried." Carole added. "You don't have a full leg cast."
"That requires work, Carole." Kurt giggled as Melody tried to feed Kurt with her empty spoon. "Invisible food is my favorite! Thank you, sweetie!"
Melody giggled and took another bite of mashed potatoes before waving his hand away.
"All done?" Kurt cooed. "Can I eat now?"
Melody kicked her feet out in response. "Bay!"
"What, pumpkin?" Blaine asked, trying to get himself up. "This is not working."
"Do you need some help, hon?" Carole asked as the little kitten padded under the table at Burt's feet.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Kurt sighed teasingly and went to help Blaine up. "What would you do without me?"
"Be a lot fatter." Blaine responded, taking his crutches and moving to the table.
"He acts like I starve him."
"If you make him eat the crap you make me eat, then you are." Burt said gruffly. "How is that 'diet' going?"
"Pfft." Blaine said, sitting down. "It didn't. He can't put me on a diet."
"It's for your own well-being." Kurt sighed, taking a seat.
"If you say so." Blaine said as Melody threw her spoon at him, shrieking loudly. "This house will never be quite again, will it?"
"Probably not." Carole sighed. "Probably not."
…
"Blaine! Finn! What do you think you're doing?" Kurt shrieked, coming into the living room and staring at Blaine and Finn who were in the middle of a sword fight with Blaine's crutches.
"Chill, dude. We're just goofing around." Finn said as Blaine smacked their crutches together.
"Blaine! What if you break them?"
"I'll get new ones?" Blaine asked, blocking Finn's lunge.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Kurt said, beyond shocked that he had to deal with something like this. They were both twenty years old. Wasn't that too old to act like they were five?
"Ha! Point for me!" Blaine cheered.
"Damn, I wasn't paying attention. What's the score now?" Finn whined.
"12 to 8." Blaine said.
"And how long have you two been in here fighting with medical utensils exactly?" Kurt snapped.
"How long was your dumb show?" Finn asked.
"It's such a dumb show. Oh my God. There's hardly any room for anything else on our DVR." Blaine said, looking exasperated.
"Carole and I can't watch a show without you two coming and acting like mischievous little boys?"
"Sorry, mommy." Blaine giggled. "But can you move away so we can finish? I don't want you to get hit."
"Oh, someone's about to get hit." Kurt threatened. "In the face. With a crutch. And that would be you. If Finn is as bad at that as he is dancing, this is a really bad idea."
Blaine looked thoughtful and then shrugged. "I've got new insurance and if he hits my nose, maybe I'll have to get plastic surgery on it. I don't like it very much."
"Why are all of the men in my life crazy?" Kurt sighed, sinking onto the couch and crossing his arms over his chest. "Blaine, you're going to get hurt."
"Calm down. I'm a trained professional. I've been doing this for an entire hour." Blaine said, giving him an adorable smirk.
"Blaine, please. For me?"
"Why'd you have to go do that?" Finn said, looking genuinely displeased. "You know he can't say 'no' when you pull that. I hate when Rachel does it."
"He does it all the time." Blaine rolled his eyes, taking his crutch from Finn. "But you can't say no because then you open a whole new can of worms."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Why do you two pick at me?"
"'Cause we love you." Finn grinned goofily.
"And you're an easy target." Blaine added, taking a step towards him and stumbling.
"Are you okay?" Kurt gasped, jumping up.
Blaine began giggling and nodded.
"Did you do that on purpose?" Kurt asked slowly as Carole walked in.
"Maybe. But you can't yell at me because the nice lady is in the room." Blaine said as he smiled sweetly in Carole's direction.
"Are they acting up, Kurt?" Carole laughed, going and hugging Finn.
"Yes. They're acting like children." Kurt sighed.
"Oh, you know that Blaine is just a big kid." Carole said. "Aren't you, hon?"
"Sure am." Blaine said, moving next to Kurt and stumbling again.
"Are you okay?" Kurt asked hurriedly.
"This is going to be so much fun." Blaine laughed loudly as he sat down by him.
"Blaine!" Kurt said, punching his arm gently. "Stop!"
"That was spousal abuse, Kurt." Blaine said, a very solemn expression on his face.
"Not until we're married, it isn't." Kurt shot back.
"Then it's harassment." Blaine leaned over, resting his head on Kurt's shoulder.
"I take it we're staying the night?" Kurt asked.
"Mhmm." Blaine nodded, closing his eyes.
"He wore himself out." Carole laughed, shaking her head.
"No. I just have a headache." Blaine shrugged, nuzzling Kurt.
"It wouldn't be as bad if you hadn't been roughhousing like a little boy." Kurt sang as he ran his fingers through Blaine's hair.
"Mmmh." Blaine shrugged.
"I think I'll get him upstairs before he actually falls asleep down here." Kurt said, easing Blaine up.
"Will he be able to get up them?" Carole asked worriedly.
"Yeah. We'll just go slow." Kurt said. "Ready, Blaine?"
"G'night." Blaine waved and walked, with a lot of help and patience from Kurt, to their bedroom — because clearly they were at the point of it being their bedroom now.
"It's always so weird to sleep in here, isn't it?" Kurt said as Blaine plopped onto the bed. "Blaine?"
Blaine grunted into Kurt's pillow.
"Are you already asleep?" Kurt asked, staring at him in shock.
"Mhmm." Blaine mumbled, nodding a tiny bit.
Kurt went over, putting Blaine's cell phone down on the bed next to him. "I'm going downstairs. If you need anything, text or call me, okay?"
"Text or call. Got it." Blaine echoed, pulling the pillow over his head to ward off anymore conversation.
"Clearly I'm not wanted." Kurt laughed and left the room, eager to find their adorable new kitten which had yet to be named. While Blaine may have hated Kurt's dog, Kurt was determined to be the exact opposite with Blaine's little kitten.
***WBUCT***
Three weeks later Kurt came into their apartment, dropping his messenger bag on the floor and plopping down next to Blaine on the couch. "Oh my God, they're so cute! Look at Kreacher and Oreo!"
Blaine looked up from his Henry James anthology and smiled, watching Oreo paw at Kreacher who was simply uninterested.
"Oreo just wants to be friends and he's not having it." Kurt said. "Kreacher's still mad at us. He won't even lay on your feet anymore."
"Good." Blaine said smugly. "He should leave me alone always. I hope it stays this way."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "You've got an adorable kitten. Don't you think you can at least admit that you like my dog? Even to me? I am the love of your life after all."
"You cannot be trusted with valuable information of that sort." Blaine snorted. "Only felony-type issues, but never anything else."
Kurt let out a quiet laugh and leaned over, resting his head on Blaine's shoulder. "How's the essay coming?"
"I don't know... I'll get done backing up some point before I realize the point has nothing to do with the topic. It's this new painkiller they're making me take for the headaches. I know it is. It's like I can't think straight or something."
"The dosage isn't that high." Kurt said, grabbing his laptop and moving it onto the couch. "I want to have sex tonight, just so you know."
"Sorry, I've got plans with my other boyfriend." Blaine said, looking down and smirking at him.
"The tall blonde one?"
"No, that's your other boyfriend."
"Ah. Yeah, he's got nice straight hair." Kurt said thoughtfully, nodding.
"I hate you so much." Blaine giggled as Oreo pounced onto Kreacher's back. "You and your dumb dog."
"But you don't really hate me, and by grouping Kreacher and I in the same category like that, you just admitted your love for him."
"Puh!" Blaine rolled his eyes. "Puh, I say."
"Honey, you need to take a break from the old books for a day or two. You're starting to sound like a poorly written literature book."
"Henry James was gay." Blaine said. "I bet you didn't know that."
"I did not know that. His sexuality doesn't make me think his books would be any less boring though. Sorry." Kurt admitted, shrugging. "I don't think we'll ever be able to have long and insightful chats about literature."
"That's alright." Blaine sighed. "I think I'll still like you a bit."
"Alright." Kurt sat up straight and clapped his hands together. "I know soon you'll be starting a pity party because you couldn't go with David and Wes to whatever that thing was-no, please don't try to explain it again. You've tried five times. Clearly something isn't clicking between us on the matter"
Blaine, who had opened his mouth, closed it and shrugged.
"I'm going to invite Alec over for dinner. His boyfriend is in town. You need social interaction, Blaine. You aren't even getting it at work and between classes anymore... You need to talk, Blaine. It's what you do. In fact, I think the lack of communication with the outside world may literally be driving you crazy
"Why do you say that?" Blaine asked, looking offended.
"I heard you singing Gaga the other day. Something is very, very wrong."
"You did not!" Blaine gasped. "I was merely repeating the lyrics and saying how much they suck."
"You were very much repeating the lyrics to a tune when the song wasn't playing?" Kurt accused. "And I didn't hear any negative muttering out of your mouth following your performance."
Blaine glowered. "Fine. I was singing Lady Gaga. What if I like her now?"
"You will never like Gaga just like I will never like those hideous UK blue t-shirts that you insist on owning by the dozen." Kurt said shortly. "See, Blaine? You need social interaction. And you even admitted that Alec was nice. Can I call him?"
"It's Friday night. Why don't we just go to Lima?" Blaine questioned.
"I don't want to feel boxed into going every weekend. Plus, these last three Fridays not going were kind of nice... I mean, we're still seeing them. But I'm not six anymore. I need to start doing stuff for me. Don't you think?"
"It would be social interaction is all I'm saying." Blaine shrugged, not seeing why Kurt had to invite his friend over. It wasn't that Blaine hated him anymore…. he just didn't know him and Blaine didn't particularly feel like being placed into an awkward situation.
"Can I? We don't have any other gay friends. This could be good for us." Kurt said.
"Why do we need gay friends? Aren't you being discriminatory against the vast majority of straights in the world?" Blaine snorted.
"Can I call him or not, Blaine?"
"Fine, fine." Blaine heaved a big sigh, watching Kreacher prance into the room and Oreo pad after him eagerly, oblivious to the fact that she wasn't wanted.
Kurt clapped his hands together excitedly and pulled out his phone. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is going to be awesome. We're going to have gay friends! Well, Alec and I are already friends but-"
"Yes, yes, I know." Blaine said, standing. "I guess this means I have to shower."
"You seriously haven't showered since yesterday morning, Blaine? That's gross." Kurt said, looking disgusted.
"Sorry I don't like wrapping my entire leg up. Some sacrifices are being made. It's not like I see anyone but you anyway." Blaine laughed and made his way to the bathroom, dramatically balancing and swinging on his crutches when Kurt wasn't looking.
"I saw that in the TV, Blaine." Kurt called before saying, in a cheerful voice, "Hey, Alec!"
"I need to stop doing these things in places where he sees my reflection." Blaine mumbled to himself before closing the bathroom door.
…
"Your apartment looks so much better than mine. Now I'm embarrassed." Blaine heard Alec say from the other room an hour and a half later.
"Go." Blaine sighed, pointing at Kreacher's cage.
Kreacher growled a bit, standing his ground.
"Go." Blaine repeated. "If you want a treat, you'll go."
Kreacher made a lunge for the living room.
"Get back here, you cretin! I can't chase you!" Blaine called.
Kreacher stopped mid step and turned around slowly, crouching down low.
"Get over here!" Blaine said, pointing. "Now."
"Kreacher, get in the cage!" Kurt called from the other room.
Kreacher walked over slowly, tail between his legs, and sat down in his cage.
"He listened to you! How did you get him to do that?" Blaine called.
"Admit you like him and I'll tell you." Kurt said, coming into the living room with Alec and a guy that had to have been his boyfriend. He had seen Alec before of course, but he'd never seen the other guy. He was as tall as Alec but had light brown hair and brown eyes. He also dressed… professionally, Blaine wanted to say? Despite the fact that they had completely different wardrobes, Blaine had to admit that they made a cute couple. (Not as cute as Kurt and he did, of course, but that was a given.)
"Never." Blaine scoffed, nudging the cage door closed with his foot.
"This would be my boyfriend Blaine. He has a love-hate relationship with my dog. I thought getting him a cat would help but it didn't do a thing. Now I think the rivalry is worse, actually"
"Hi, Blaine." Alec waved. "How's your leg doing?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore." Blaine said, waving back. "I get it off in three weeks."
"Maybe." Kurt added.
"Yeah. Doctors like to be annoying and lie about stuff." Blaine mumbled, causing Alec to burst into laughter and Kurt to shake his head. "What'd I say?"
"I'm in medical school." The other guy said, looking amused as opposed to upset.
Blaine gave a nervous sort of giggle. "Oh… Uh… Yeah."
"It's okay. His parents say the same thing." Alec laughed.
"Actually they call them liars and cheats." The guy corrected.
"Kurt, you're supposed to tell me these things so I don't look dumb!" Blaine whined.
"I told you." Kurt rolled his eyes.
"I did too." Alec said. "When Kurt was sick."
"I also told you his name, but I bet you can't remember." Kurt laughed.
"Er…in?"
"Eric." The guy, Eric, said.
"I knew it! But then I didn't think I was right because Alec — aw, Eric and Alec. That's so—."
"Cute." Alec and Eric said together. "We know."
"I was going to cook but Blaine kept whining for my attention, so we ordered pizza instead." Kurt said as Blaine sat at the table.
"You've got to drop a class and get into this class with me, Kurt, or I'm going to kill myself." Alec said as he sat down with Eric and Kurt, them all joining Blaine at the table.
"You say that about one class every semester." Eric said, pulling out his phone.
"No." Alec grabbed it and pocketed it. "You're addicted and you need to seek treatment. You touch this thing more than you touch me."
"That is a serious exaggeration, Alec." Eric rolled his eyes.
"Anyway," Alec said, shooting him a look. "Stop that, Eric."
"What?" Eric asked, blinking innocently.
"You're about to lean over and 'discretely' tell Blaine I'm annoying."
"I'm not afraid if you hear me say it." Eric joked. "And actually I was going to say that you think you're my mother."
"No. If your mother knew you were so addicted to this thing, she'd break your thumbs."
"So this is what it's like when people watch us bicker." Kurt laughed.
"Hey, you should tell him about your friend. He wants to go to law school… right?" Alec asked.
"I'm going to try to get in." Blaine nodded.
"Where do you want to go?" Eric asked eagerly. "My best friend goes to Yale. What do you want to go for? What type of law? He's in it for legal writing mainly."
"I hadn't really put a lot of thought into where exactly I want to go since I can't start applying until this summer." Blaine admitted. "And I'd like to specialize in civil rights or criminal law."
"From what I've heard, if you do civil rights it's best to have another specialty too because it's hard to get paying jobs with civil rights. Most of it's nonprofit or something. So you should try to go for both." Eric said thoughtfully. "Well, that's what I understood at least. I can give you my friend's name and you can look him up on Facebook if you've got any questions."
"Does he like law school?" Blaine asked, very interested. He'd never gotten the opportunity to talk to someone who knew about it. Maybe he could talk to Eric and be less confused about… well, a lot of the whole thing, really. His adviser only knew so much and he'd been too busy to set up an appointment with some of the pre-law professors at UK.
"He loves it." Eric nodded. "It's a lot of work, though. There's some downtime but when exams comes up, you basically have no life. It's really demanding to. An A minus is highly frowned upon, so you've got to be really dedicated and put your all into it. The professors are intense too, but the people teaching you are the ones who do it every day. There are very few people who just teach law."
"But he really likes it?"
"Loves it. It's what he's interested in. If you're in it for the right reasons, then you'll love it too. But it's three years of working your ass off. It's expensive, but if you go to a better school you'll probably have a job before you even graduate, so it's well worth it." Eric said, and then added, "And apparently law school kids throw amazing parties after midterms and finals, so there's always that to look forward to after a week of hell."
"Don't tell him that." Kurt gasped. "Blaine, you didn't hear it. That was a side effect from your medicine. You're hearing things."
Eric laughed. "I take it you like to party?"
"You take it he has no self-control." Kurt corrected. "Especially when his friends are in the picture."
"That sounds like someone I know." Eric said, glancing at Alec.
"Letitgo." Alec said, leaving no pauses between his words. "It's okay, Eric. Let it go."
"How many hours did I drive to pick you up?"
Alec rolled his eyes. "Two and a half hours."
"Before what?"
"A huge exam."
"Alright. Just wanted to see if you remembered how much I love you."
"Like you didn't drink in college." Alec said, rolling his eyes again.
"I didn't call you sobbing saying I'd lost my phone. Which I was speaking into."
"Please don't ever do that to me." Kurt said, looking Blaine in the eyes. "You don't want to give me that kind of ammunition."
"No! You don't!" Alec exclaimed, laughing. "Because Kurt will bring it up every damn time you go out in public!"
"I don't think he's a big crier though." Kurt said. "He just proposes."
"Oh my God." Blaine covered his face. "I did not."
"You proposed." Kurt repeated. "Whether or not you choose to believe it."
"Aww." Alec said. "That's really cute. What did you say, Kurt?"
"I said okay." Kurt laughed.
"Awww!"
"Well I wasn't going to tell him no! But he figured that much out on his own." Kurt reached over and ruffled Blaine's hair.
"Why is my life so embarrassing?" Blaine asked.
"Because you allow yourself to become drunk." Eric answered.
"You're an English major. Let's write a book." Alec said. "Between the two of us, I'm sure we have enough material. Only I'll have to record a tape for you and send it to you, because I'll be dead… unless Kurt drops a class and signs up Electronic Illustration Techniques."
"I thought it was Retail Concepts."
"Join that one too." Alec said, covering his f ace with his hands. "I'm going to die."
"You're such a baby." Eric shook his head.
"I don't really like my section for Construction Techniques… what time are they offered?"
Alec sat up quickly. "Are you for real?"
"You cannot make him change his schedule around because you don't want to be in a class alone."
"Kurt, Zach is the only other guy in the class." Alec said very seriously. "I'll name my firstborn child after you."
"Oh my God." Eric shook his head again. "He's serious."
"Tuesdays and Thursdays at eight." Alec said. "It's in the same building as the class we've got together. The last day to add is tomorrow. And come on, there is nothing good on television on Tuesday and Thursday nights."
"I can probably add it o — never mind." Kurt trailed off, seeing the look on Blaine's face. "I'll drop the other class and sign up for it."
"Thank God." Alec said, letting out a relieved sigh.
"You should be ashamed of yourself." Eric laughed. "Kurt, you can tell him no. He'll whine for a bit, but he'll eventually stop."
"Pizza's here!" Kurt said eagerly as the doorbell rang, hopping up.
"He eats pizza like twice a year, if that." Blaine informed Alec and Eric, surprised he didn't feel completely awkward to be alone in a room with two people he barely knew. "This is kind of a big deal."
"He eats rabbit food at school. It's ridiculous. How does he get any enjoyment out of life?" Alec wondered aloud.
"I've asked him that several times." Blaine sighed as Kurt came back in.
"Let's eat!"
…
"Tonight has been a good night." Kurt said late that night, wrapping his arms around Blaine from behind and stroking his bare stomach.
"Pizza and sex in the same night. I must have done something good in a past life." Blaine yawned, scooting back against him. "I'm too lazy to get dressed."
"Me too. It's a lot more work now." Kurt remarked, kissing the back of his shoulder.
"Do you feel bad about not going to Friday night dinners anymore?" Blaine whispered, turning his head back slightly.
Kurt raised up so they were looking at each other. "I don't feel bad. It's different, so it feels weird… but last semester we didn't get a lot of time together. I know we're both taking less and will be home more, but I just really want to spend more time with you. "
Blaine rolled over and faced him, goofily grinning.
"Stop." Kurt giggled, kissing him. "We're not going to live two hours away forever, you know? There has to be some point when the norm becomes us being at home, not going to our old home."
"I'm glad you feel that way." Blaine said, lacing their fingers together.
"You and Eric seemed to get along well. Apart from you insulting his choice of career." Kurt snorted. "Are you glad we have them over for dinner?"
"Yeah. Eric was nice… and Alec too, I guess." Blaine admitted, nodding.
"It kind of felt like we were real adults or something." Kurt said, resting his head on Blaine's chest. "Didn't it?"
"As opposed to fake adults?" Blaine giggled.
"Shut up." Kurt said, tickling his side. "You know what I mean. We're in college, inviting friends to eat in our house — which is different from when Finn, Wes, and David just barge in and eat, so don't make that argument."
"Alright, I guess it was different." Blaine said, stroking Kurt's soft hair and looking down at him.
"You don't think it's bad of me not going to the dinners though, right?" Kurt asked, looking a bit worried.
"No." Blaine reassured him. "It's not like we're moving states away and never going back again. I mean, we'll see them as much as you want to, my love."
Kurt sat up and looked down at Blaine's body. "I don't understand how you eat so much as you still have the perfect body. It's not fair."
"I have the perfect body? You have the perfect body. I'm short." Blaine protested, sitting up also and looking Kurt over hungrily. "You're legs and arms and skinny and muscle-y and… damn. Are you up for round three because I just gave myself a problem?"
"Is this going to be one of those nights that we just keep going at it?" Kurt questioned, a bit eagerly.
"It could be. Do you want it to be?" Blaine smirked.
"Well we better remember to set an alarm because I have to work at the garage tomorrow." was all Kurt said before kissing Blaine passionately.