I HAVE MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH! I AM SOOOO SORRY! It's been six months - SIX MONTHS - since I last uploaded! I've had this chapter on my laptop for most of that, and it's just taken me so long to finish it because of school and work and trips to Tanzania and my laptop getting all temperamental in it's old age :( just over two weeks and then hopefully all that will be fixed!

Anyway! I think a recap is needed because it has been soooo long! So, our beautiful boys are together, cohabiting and loved-up :) Blaine has discovered that his best friend, Thad, will be leaving West Side Story to join the Les Miserables cast, and so they are spending more time together in his final week before he goes - that week starts in this chapter. Rachel and Finn are engaged and living together in Roslyn Heights. Kurt's co-worker, Jonathan, is leaving, meaning that Kurt's boss, Shelby, is in search of some actors to teach while they search for a permanent replacement. And Kurt just happens to know a whole cast of Broadway actors...

Kurt walked to his classroom in a slight daze. How was he meant to get the main members of the West Side Story cast to agree to teach for an indefinite period of time? Sure, dating Blaine was somewhat of a foothold, but it didn't guarantee that the whole of the cast would agree. Kurt lowered himself into his chair as multiple ideas flew around his mind, ranging from just simply asking to making bizarre bargains with the cast if they agreed to teach. He picked up his pen to make a list of pros and cons about teaching that he could offer the cast but ended up just tapping out a rhythm against his pad of paper his mind offering him nothing but worries they would all decline. Why did he have to say anything to Shelby? Why did he have to make it sound like he was best friends with the cast of one of the biggest productions on Broadway?

"Kurt?" Kurt hadn't even heard the light knocking on his door before Rachel poked her head in and so her voice made him jump in his chair, "Are you okay?" Kurt sighed and tossed his pen down onto his desk.

"Yeah, you just made me jump, sorry," he tried to smile up at her but his face just became a concerned frown.

"Are you sure?" Rachel came across the room and perched herself on the corner of Kurt's desk, "How'd things go with Shelby?"

"Good," Kurt answered simply with a shrug of one shoulder. "She told me they were looking for actors to cover some of Jonathan's lessons but just in case I should plan some more lessons for my side of the course, which is entirely what I was expecting." Rachel nodded; she and Kurt had suspected that would be Shelby's decision. "But then," Kurt sighed and gazed down at his empty pad of paper, "she started going on about getting some 'decent actors' to take Jonathan's classes and I blurted out that I know the West Side Story cast."

"But what's wrong with that?" Rachel frowned, "It's true; you do know the West Side Story cast!"

"I know I do," Kurt sighed, looking up and across his classroom, "but Shelby wants me to ask them to teach here, y'know, cover Jonathan's lessons, and I just feel rude asking them that," he whined, staring dejectedly at the empty seats in front of him, "I mean, I barely know them. It just feels like I'd be… taking liberties or something." he looked to Rachel for advice, hoping she'd have an idea of what he should do.

"It wouldn't be 'taking liberties', Kurt," she told him gently, placing a hand comfortingly on his shoulder which he covered over with his own. "All you have to do is ask them. If they say no, you tell Shelby and she'll go look somewhere else; it's not as if she'd blame you for it. And if they say yes… well, that will just be amazing!" she grinned, and Kurt couldn't help but smile with her, "Imagine it, Kurt; you'd be able to see Blaine during the day. I know how little time you get to spend together during the week; this could be a solution!"

"A temporary solution," Kurt reminded her, "Until Shelby finds a permanent replacement,"

"But a solution nonetheless!" Rachel encouraged, squeezing his shoulder affectionately. She glanced up to the clock and saw that they only had five minutes until lessons started, "Just phone Blaine and ask him what he thinks," she suggested, easing her hand away and hopping off the desk, "Maybe he could talk to the cast tonight? You could have an answer by bedtime," she winked and slipped out the door, leaving Kurt alone with a lesson to prepare and a phone call to make.

Kurt had decided that he would phone Blaine in his free period as it would give them a longer window of time in which they could talk. He knew Blaine would be with Thad as this was their last week together, but he was sure that his boyfriend and said boyfriend's best friend wouldn't mind him taking ten minutes out of their day to ask this one little favour. And even though he wasn't part of the West Side Story cast anymore, Kurt was hoping that Thad would accept to teach some classes, too: if they got to spend more time together Kurt believed he and Thad could become friends, and he knew that Blaine would be glad to see them do so.

He smiled to his last few students as they left his classroom, a few of them wishing him a good rest of his day, and then shut his door before sitting back behind his desk. He pulled his phone out and dialled Blaine's number, momentarily smiling at his phone's background image of him and Blaine laughing together, and listened to the dial tone as then he held it against his ear.

"So, tell me about Joshua," Blaine grinned, bumping shoulders teasingly with Thad who blushed and tried to hide his bashful grin by looking at the floor. It had been a long time since Blaine had been able to tease his best friend about a boy he liked for Thad's love affairs were few and far between, although that was because they normally lasted for a good couple of months, and when they were over Thad would take another few months to move past them and find someone else, and so Blaine was going to enjoy this opportunity now it had arisen.

"He's…" Thad struggled to find the right words to describe the new object of his affections. He'd never been good with words – scripts he could do, his own he could not – and so it was moments like this that he dreaded. He could picture Joshua clearly in his head: the dazzling smile; the enchanting, 'I-could-drown-in-you' emerald-greens; the smooth jawline that was always clean-shaven and smooth to the touch; a body that Thad believed was a scandal to be kept hidden underneath a suit; the charm, the wit, the undivided affection; everything. In his new-found-love-drunken state of mind Thad could see no fault in Joshua, and a few months later, when the first-love fireworks had finished and the rose-coloured mist had lifted, he would see exactly the same thing.

"Okay, he must be amazing," Blaine's voice cut him out of his daydream and Thad lifted his gaze only to stare blankly back at his best friend, "because you just went into a daydream for about five minutes and I had to apologise to three people when you nearly walked into them!" Thad's cheeks burned a brilliant red as Blaine watched on with a satisfied grin, the shorter of the two soon falling into giggles when Thad nearly bumped into a fourth person. "Come on," Blaine smirked as he pulled open the door of the Starbucks they had silently decided they were going to and ushered Thad inside.

"I really hate you sometimes," Thad murmured as he walked past his best friend and into the coffee-scented room.

"Love you too, bestie," Blaine grinned, Thad rolling his eyes with a grin and heading towards the queue. The two of them were second in line when the sound of Pink's Perfect started to ring through Blaine's phone. "Oh, excuse me," he fished his phone out of his pocket and accepted the call without looking at the screen, the ringtone acting as an instant ID for him, "Hey, honey," he cooed into his phone, earning a giggle from his caller and a smirk from his best friend.

"Hey, sweetie," Blaine could hear the smile on his boyfriend's face, "How's your day with Thad going?"

"Great!" Blaine beamed, "We're just grabbing some coffee at the moment. How are you? How's school?" Thad guided Blaine forward as the queue moved on and smiled at the cashier, a girl in her early twenties with her ebony hair tied back in a long, flowing ponytail.

"I'm good, school's fine. Actually, there was something I wanted to tell you about…"

"Hello, sirs," she greeted politely with an endearing smile, "What would you like today?" Thad gave a glance to Blaine and smirked at the smitten smile on his lips, but gave him a nudge nonetheless. Nodding to the cashier when he had Blaine's attention, Thad turned to her as well to place his order.

"Hold on, babe," Blaine quickly spoke into his phone and covered the mouthpiece with his hand just in time to hear Thad's order.

"I'll have an unsweetened cinnamon light soy latte, please," Thad flashed his best smile and Blaine had to resist scolding him when the girl blushed and keyed in his order in.

"Ooh, that sounds lovely!" Blaine chimed in with an equally dashing smile, "I'll have what he's having, please." The girl's cheeks flushed again and Blaine turned back to his phone as Thad took care of paying, Blaine following slowly behind him. "Sorry about that," Blaine spoke into his phone, "You wanted to tell me something?"

"Yes," where Kurt sat in his office, he toyed with a pencil between his finger and thumb, occasionally letting it tap out a small rhythm on his desk, "I spoke with Shelby this morning, about Jonathan leaving-"

"Ooh, I forgot about that!" Blaine interjected as he collected his drink, following Thad back out onto the street, "How'd it go?"

"Well, they're looking for a replacement, but I'm going to have to plan a few more lessons just in case they can't get a temporary teacher,"

"Right, okay," he held the door open for an older woman and gave her a smile when she turned and thanked him, "Isn't that what you were expecting?"

"Yeah, it's exactly what I was expecting," Blaine couldn't help but notice, though, how Kurt's voice seemed to be lacking any enthusiasm.

"So, what's wrong?" Blaine's words earnt a slightly concerned look from Thad, but Blaine signalled that he would tell him later.

"Well, nothing's wrong, per se, it's just that I kind of need to… ask you a favour."

"Oh? Sounds interesting," Blaine responded with a playful tone, once again bringing a smile to his boyfriend's face.

"Well, Shelby kept going on about getting some decent actors and I told her about you and the West Side Story cast and so she's asked me to ask you if you and the rest of the cast would like to maybe take on a few classes? Just while we're still searching for a permanent replacement."

"Wow, I… I can't believe you think I'm only a 'decent actor'…" Blaine trailed off, his face contorting into mock heartbreak and earning a snicker from Thad.

"I- I don't think- You know I think you're more than that-"

"I know, babe, I'm just teasing!" Blaine laughed gently, and he heard Kurt sigh on the other end of the phone.

"I really hate it when you do that, y'know," Kurt informed his boyfriend, slight hint of warning laced into his tone.

"I know, I'm sorry," Blaine said sincerely, "Wait- did you say Shelby wants us to teach?" Blaine stilled just outside the entrance to the park, Thad realising after a few more steps and coming back to stand with him.

"Well, you were saying just last night that you wanted to try teaching-"

"Yeah, no, I- That's- Yes, I'd love to!" Blaine exclaimed, excitement beginning to course through his body at the prospect of being able to teach, something that he saw as a way of passing on the love and passion for acting that his own teachers gave him. "I- I'll talk to the cast tonight. I'm sure they'll say yes, though. I- wow, yes, I'd love to!"

"Oh, and ask Thad, too," Kurt requested, "The invitation is extended to him, too,"

"Sure, hold on a second," Blaine lowered his phone, the mouthpiece resting on his shoulder as he turned to his best friend, "Would you be interested in teaching a few acting classes at NYADA?" Thad's eyes widened in momentary shock as the question settled and digested in his mind, but he soon composed himself and, after a moment's deliberation, gave his reply.

"S-sure, I'd love to- I- how-what?" Blaine chuckled at his friend's reaction and explained further.

"Y'know how the course that Kurt teaches is split into two parts?" Thad nodded. "Well, the guy who teaches the acting classes is leaving, and Kurt's boss has asked Kurt to ask us if we'd like to fill in. Just until they find a replacement, of course."

"Wow…" Thad gazed off around the park, cogs evidently working in his mind. His brow furrowed and cleared several times before he turned back to Blaine. "When?" Realising he didn't know, Blaine shrugged, held up a finger and returned the phone to his ear.

"Baby?"

"Mmm?"

"When would these lessons be? When would we be teaching?"

"Umm... the next few weeks at the most, I guess. I doubt it will take us longer than that to find a replacement," Blaine heard a light tapping in the background as Kurt spoke, the sound of a pencil tapping out a rhythm against his desk.

"Okay, hold on," Blaine lowered his phone again, "The next couple of weeks, Kurt says," he informed Thad, "I don't know how we'll do it… maybe a rota or something like that. You in?" Thad worried his bottom lip between his teeth and looked to the floor, his brow drawing in thought.

"I might have to check with the theatre," he said, "I think they want me to do a few weeks' extra rehearsals before I take over the part, but if I can do it, yes; I'm in."

"If he's free, Thad's up for it," Blaine spoke into his phone, "He just needs to check with the theatre,"

"Okay, that's fine; Shelby will be thrilled that you guys are interested at least," Kurt's warm tone let Blaine know that he was smiling, and it caused a smile to grow on Blaine's face, too. A gentle, easy silence descended for a few seconds before Kurt sighed contentedly and spoke again; "Well, I'll leave you to it, then," he said, "I'd better go and tell Shelby the good news!" A small tinkle of his laughter followed, the sound still able to set Blaine's heart aflutter.

"Okay," Blaine conceded, "I'll see you later."

"Yep, see you later," Kurt echoed, "Love you,"

"Love you, too," Blaine returned with a grin that made Thad roll his eyes teasingly, "Bye."

"Bye." Blaine hung up the phone, hesitating just slightly to glance at the picture of Kurt he had assigned for whenever his lover called; it was one of Kurt that Blaine had taken one morning nearly two weeks before, Kurt cuddled up in the duvet with his cerulean eyes gazing up at Blaine, the morning light catching his hair and skin just so, making him look like he should be in a photo-shoot rather than lazing in bed on a Sunday morning. He looked up at his best friend, and Thad returned the smile Blaine was already wearing.

"You too are too cute," he teased with a smirk as he turned to walk away, Blaine following after him, "Although I think I may actually be in love with it," Blaine frowned at his friend with amused confusion as Thad continued to ramble dreamily; Blaine was having a hard time deciphering if he was being serious or just having fun with him, "If I could date your relationship – I mean, if I wasn't dating Josh, of course – I totally would. Not you or Kurt – no offence-"

"None taken," Blaine supplied with a smirk of his own.

"- but if I could date your relationship… man…" Thad seemed to drift off as they continued to walk side by side, hands warm on their coffees. Blaine shook his head with a disbelieving laugh.

"You are a sad, strange little man," he said, and Thad turned to grin at him, "And you have my pity."

I'm really hoping that now I've been working on this chapter over the last few weeks I'll get the next one done a whole lot quicker - I'm back in the swing of writing now :) It's just finding the time to do it in :(

Remember the game Thad and Blaine play with the movie quotes? There are three in here, but one of them has been paraphrased. Let's see if you can find them :D

I've missed you guys all so much, and I'm deeply sorry for how long I've been away with this story. I'm going to have a look at True Colours as well and get that going again hopefully. But I'm not promising that it will be soon, because I don't want y'all to get your hopes up and then I don't deliver. Hopefully though, in two weeks when I get a new tablet, I'll be able to write so much more and I'll be able to upload more stuff :)

Love you all, and hopefully chapter 37 will be written and done soooooon!

Amy xxx