CHAPTER 55

"Let me just go on record here and voice the opinion that I am REALLY not comfortable with this, Sebastian." Kurt stated, trying very hard to be calm, but failing miserably.

"Suck it up, Princess, I'd much prefer that you were uncomfortable instead of dead, ya know, so let's do this, and quit your bitching." Seb replied, loading the small handgun. He's brought Kurt to the firing range to show him how to properly use a weapon and Kurt was a mess. He didn't like guns, didn't want to load it, didn't want to hold it, and he sure as hell didn't want to shoot the dang thing!

"No really, I don't think you understand. I'm not really the gun type, ok? They're so final, and everything, that I just really don't wanna-" he began before Sebastian turned and gave him a "shut up before I use this firearm on YOU" look. He stood at the counter and took the gun apart, cleaned it, showed Kurt every part and where it went, then reassembled the weapon and began telling Kurt how to load it, how to hold it, where the safety was and when it should be on and off.

"Ok so here's how it goes. You want to have your protection on your ears, first. It's loud without it, Kurt, so don't give me any shit about your hair getting messed up. Put these hearing protectors on." Sebastian said, handing them to Kurt who looked at them distastefully. "Secondly, I don't care if you don't own a gun now, never own a gun in the future, or never again hold one in your hands after today. The point of today's little lesson is for you to learn the safety of having one and how it works, get me? Now take this in your hands and hold it, just like this…" Seb said, standing behind Kurt, way too closely for Kurt's liking, and showing him how to hold it. "DON'T even think about the trigger yet, Hummel."

This went on for the better part of 45 minutes, Seb showing him every last little detail of the handgun, then pulling out several others and showing him the similarities and the differences. Sebastian began to feel sorry for Kurt when he went from looking bored to seriously looking upset.

"Ok, so are you ready to shoot?" he asked Kurt.

"What? No…no, I don't think…I'm not…no." Kurt said, shaking his head.

"Seriously, we're not leaving here until you know how to handle this and take a couple of shots at the target, Kurt, so suck it up and get it done!" Seb said, a little more heat to his words than was probably necessary.

"I'm…Sebastian, what if I hit something I'm not supposed to?!" Kurt said, panic in his eyes.

"Kurt, look around. As long as you're facing forward, you can't hit the "wrong" thing. Let's get to it!"

Kurt put the gun in his hands, did a check of everything Seb had taught him, wiped the sweat from his forehead, raised the gun, aimed, waited, aimed again, waited more, took a deep breath, squeezed the trigger and fired. Much to his happiness, he actually hit the target. Ok, so it was the very bottom white corner of the target that, had it been a real person, would have been the guy's crotch standing next to the actual person he was trying to shoot, but whatever. He hit the dang target!

"I did it! I DID it!" Kurt said, jumping around and yelling at the top of his lungs with glee, a giant smile on his face. He was spinning in circles and it took him a moment to realized Sebastian had thrown himself to the ground and was screaming for Kurt to take his finger off the trigger. "Oh…oh, sorry! Ooops, I didn't realize…." He said, duly chastised. He hadn't been able to hear him with the ear muff things on, so it wasn't his fault, he thought. It was worth it, though, to see the panic on Seb's face. Still, Kurt wasn't comfortable with a gun; not at all. It didn't matter. Seb made him fire the weapon at the target 5 more times before he gave up because of Kurt's whining.

"As much as I can appreciate guns and their job, as well as gun safety, I'm not really ready or willing to shoot one on a regular basis, Sebastian. Don't they make guns that just sort of hurt people, but they won't kill them?" Kurt said, knowing he sounded like an idiot.

"As a matter of fact…" Seb said, a light in his eyes. "I have an idea, come with me!"

An hour later Sebastian had shown Kurt several Tasers, how to used them and explained to him what, exactly, they were good for. Kurt seemed much more relaxed with this option.

"This one's huge though, Seb, and it's really heavy. Don't they make them any smaller? I'm pretty sure I won't be attached by a T-rex in Central Park or anything." Kurt asked.

"They make 'em in all shapes and sizes, Kurt. If you want one, you can get one like this one here, a Taser C2. It's the only one they sell for consumer use, though. It'll do the job. You can be up to 15 feet away from your attacker and it gives a 30 second neuromuscular incapacitation so you'd have time to get away." Sebastian explained. Kurt stood there trying to work through 'neuromuscular incapacitation' for a moment before shaking his head as if to remove the cobwebs.

"Uh…ok, yeah." Was all Kurt said in reply.

Sebastian sighed. "Ok, listen Kurt, a weapon…ANY weapon, is something you need to feel comfortable with. It's something you need to handle and trust and get used to. Put it in your hand and get the feel of it…know every little nuance of what makes it work. Everyone has something different they like, and each weapon has different sensitivities. Feel this one. How does it lay in your palm? Does the weight of it feel like something you're comfortable with?" Seb finished.

Kurt made every effort not to snicker as Seb's words floated around near his ears, thinking of all the things he'd said, and wondering if he realized that it didn't really sound as if he was talking about Tasers, but about…well, other stuff. He snickered.

"And it's funny why, Hummel?" Seb smirked.

"Go over your words again and YOU tell me why I'm snickering." Kurt said in answer. "Different sensitivities…everyone likes different things…all shapes and sizes. Kurt snickered again.

"Ok, Princess, let's get out of 8th grade here, shall we? If it makes it easier for you to swallow, we can do this your way. Think of the right Taser as your favorite lube…raspberry flavored maybe, slick, but not too slick, easy clean up, right, so it doesn't stain the sheets, and it helps with that size thing…" Seb went on, winking. "And just like raspberry lube, you can keep a Taser in your bedside drawer in case you need it!" he grinned.

"I'm not sold. What the hell would I keep it in my bedside drawer for, first of all, and then what if I grab the Taser instead of the lube in my enamored state and shock the shit out of Blaine?" Kurt joked, feeling a bit looser around Seb now.

"Princess, I'm sure you already shock him!" Seb laughed. "You think this is something you could handle? You seemed to aim and shoot it ok for a first timer. It might make you feel a little safer?"

"Not yet, Seb. I know I should jump all over this, but I'm still….I don't know, I'm not comfortable with weapons. The only weapons of any kind that I've ever had were my words, you know?" Kurt answered. This made Sebastian pause, wondering what, exactly, Kurt had needed words as weapons for, and why he seemed so nonchalant about having said it.

"Words as weapons?" he asked, wondering if Kurt would elaborate.

"Where'd you grow up, Sebastian?"

"Uh…" Seb faltered, then grinned. "Paris."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume we're not talking about Paris, Kentucky, right? While you were in Paris, and you were a young, gay, out and proud adolescent, were you ever bullied? Ever thrown in a dumpster regardless of what was inside, ruining countless pieces of clothing that you worked hard to buy? Ever had a slushie thrown in your face without warning, burning your eyes and staining your clothing? How about having had that done to you several times a week for four years? Were you ever checked into lockers by football players who would as soon see you writhing in pain on the floor as look at you? Did your parents ever receive horrible, harassing phone calls at their place of business about your sexuality? Did you ever-"

"Jesus Christ, Kurt, STOP! Damn it…." Sebastian faltered as he turned, took a few steps away and ran his hand through his hair. "Are you fucking kidding me, Kurt? All that…daily?" he said, clearly a bit shaken up at Kurt's revelations.

"Not always daily. If I stayed home and locked myself in my house over the weekend, I sometimes managed to avoid the worst offenders….until my newly acquired almost step brother brought home half the football team for a party one night. Another story for another day…." Kurt trailed off. "So yeah, when you finally meet a guy that treats you well…initially… and he tells you how great you are, compliments you and takes you out…you let your guard down. You fall into a sort of "comfortable-ness" that you've craved your whole life. With a little luck, it all works out and you live happily ever after. In my case, he freaks out and rapes you, hoping to kill you in the process." Kurt had put the weapon down and was leaning, face first, into a wall, his eyes wet with tears he refused to let fall in front of Sebastian.

"Kurt…." Sebastian said, reaching for his friend's shoulder. His fingers brushed against Kurt's neck and he stiffened up, jerking away quickly.

"I…I think I'm ready to go home now. I…yeah, I just…need to go home, please. Thank you for bringing me here, Seb, and for showing me…for…." He hesitated, shaking now, and moving toward the door quickly, breath hitching, and leaving Seb behind. "I'm sorry…." Seb heard him say as he slipped out the door.

Picking up the practice weapons and returning them to their rightful place, Sebastian made a pit stop before heading out to the lobby to find Kurt, whose eyes were fixed to the floor, his shoulders hunched a bit. "Ready to head home?"

"Very…I'm sorry, Seb. But really, thank you for showing me all of this. It's just…I'm not ready for it yet." Kurt explained.

"It's ok. Maybe in time…but for now, we'll hope and pray it's not necessary at all, right? C'mon." Sebastian said, leading Kurt out the doors to hail a cab. They rode home in silence, neither knowing quite what to say. Kurt wasn't happy with himself for revealing all of his past angst and Sebastian wasn't happy with having made Kurt so obviously upset….and why hadn't he known about Kurt's past. Surely something was there for him to find. How had he missed it?

They climbed the stairs together, Kurt stopping at his door to unlock it and Seb continuing on around the railing, past Blaine's door and around the railing again to his own apartment. As he was about to open the door he heard Kurt.

"Sebastian?"

"Yeah, Kurt?"

"I'd pick Kiwi flavored lube. I'm really not into raspberries. They kind of make me gag. " He grinned sadly, then ducked inside.

"Kiwi…noted." Seb just chuckled and shook his head, going inside his own apartment and wondering what the adult equivalent of Kurt's torment would be….and instantly chastising himself for possibly forcing Hunter to do something he wasn't ready for.


"So how was it? Did you shoot Sebastian?" Blaine asked, leaning against the doorframe just inside Kurt's apartment.

"I may have wanted to, but there's such a thing as impulse control, Blaine" Kurt grinned later that day, returning his eyes to his sewing machine. "He tried, I have to give him that. I actually hit the target each time. I'm not a deadly shot, but I'm not a complete failure either." Kurt said, proud of himself. "The people around my target better beware, though." Blaine snickered at him, sauntering inside now and closing the door behind him.

"No Jeff today?" he remarked, noting Jeff's empty chair.

"Yeah, he was here earlier, but he took the rest of the finished stuff to the loft. Almost done now. I'm down to under a dozen designs, and most of them are just finishing touches and final fittings. If I keep at this pace, I'll be done ahead of schedule. I'm working toward that. I need a bit of down time; haven't had any for weeks now and it's starting to wear on me." He smiled at Blaine.

"You don't take nearly enough breaks, love." Blaine said, walking up behind Kurt and slowly putting his hands on Kurt's shoulders, kneading them softly. Kurt groaned, but didn't move away or stiffen up. It didn't hurt that Blaine's terms of endearment always made his heart flutter.

"Damn it, Blaine, cut it out….I'll give you exactly 30 minutes to stop that nonsense!" Kurt giggled, loving Blaine's fingers digging into his aching muscles. Within 5 minutes Kurt was purring and Brian was in his lap wondering what was going on. Kurt rubbed his belly until he was purring right along with his owner. Blaine continued his massage and every now and then snuck another finger width nearer to Kurt's neck, and it didn't seem to faze his clearly content boyfriend. Blaine brought his thumbs up behind Kurt's ears and rubbed steadily there, his middle and pointer finger massaging Kurt's jawline until Kurt was a lax mess in his chair. He worked his way back over Kurt's shoulders, then down his arms, massaging as he went and noting how tense Kurt was.

"Ok, break time for you, babe. Come over here and sit with me for a few so I can finish this properly." Blaine told him.

"Oh no…I know what you're up to, mister, and I don't have time for that…even though it would be fun!" he winked.

"Massage and a few kisses, that's all, I swear it!" Blaine laughed. "Indulge me?"

Kurt gave him the side eye, but relented in the end and they made their way to the sofa and plopped down, Blaine leaning on the back and arm and Kurt between his legs far enough in front of him to continue the back rub. Blaine's hands were pretty amazing and Kurt really needed the respite from being hunched over his machine.

"Mmmmmmmm, so good…." Kurt purred once again.

"Yeah? Well, I'm glad I can be of service. I feel like I have to come steal you away for a few minutes when I can or I'll never see you. I've missed you, you know?" Blaine grinned into Kurt's hair.

"You saw me yesterday, B, and again last night for a few minutes." Kurt smirked.

"So sue me. I want to see you, spend time with you, hold you, tell you how much I love you and how beautiful you are and how proud I am of you for doing all of this, and—mpphhht!" Blaine said, having been cut off by Kurt suddenly turning and kissing him, first just softly, but now with so much fervor that Blaine's head was spinning. Kurt had turned and was now on his knees on the sofa between Blaine's legs. He put his hands in Blaine's back pockets and pulled, effectively sliding Blaine down until he was laying with is head propped on a throw pillow. Staring into those honey eyes, Kurt finally grinned and shook his head.

"Ok, you win. But I'm NOT having sex with you right now. That leads to more sex, and then showers, where there's generally more sex, and I have a lot to finish. I'm on a schedule you know!" Kurt said, trying to sound strict, but failing miserably.

"Soooo, then tell me why I'm horizontal again?" Blaine asked him curiously.

"I said no sex…I said nothing about other things that may or may not include much kissing, items of clothing removed and / or zippers going down. Pucker up, Buttercup." Kurt grinned before laying over Blaine and making good on his promises.

"Mmmm….go with me tonight?" Blaine said between kisses.

"Where…to work?"

"Mmhmmm….you can stay back with me if you want, on the stage. I just…I miss you. You're always so busy. It's just comforting having you with me, you know?"

"I dunno. I have so much to do if I want to finish ahead of schedule." Kurt said, almost whining now.

"A few hours won't kill you. Can you honestly tell me that you'd be here STILL working at that hour?" Blaine asked him? "Ok, ok, I won't push. Just know that I'd really like to be with you tonight…to know you're there."

"Let me see how far along I get. I'd like to, but I need-"

"I know, I know…you need to finish. I get it. But it's a maybe, right?" Blaine smiled hopefully.

"Yeah, it's a definite maybe."

"Yes!" Blaine fist pumped. His grin was enough to make Kurt melt and he knew he'd work extra hard so he'd have time to go with Blaine that night.

"You know, if you helped me out this afternoon, I might be able to slip away a little sooner?"

"Um….w-what time this afternoon? I have somewhere I have to be at 2 o'clock but I can- ohshitpleaseyes….." Blaine began, but Kurt's slim and nimble fingers slipping into his jeans cut him off effectively.

"You sure? 'Cause, I mean….I might really need you at 2 o'clock, B..." Kurt purred into his neck as he stroked him through his boxers.

"A-any t-time after that…I'm…unghhhhhKurt…..I'm all yours, baby." Blaine replied, his eyes rolling back in his head now. Kurt was nipping at his neck, licking little patterns behind his ear and his hot breath was clouding Blaine's mind like a thick fog. "Mmmore…." He moaned, grabbing Kurt's butt and yanking him down so that they were closer, joined at the hips and grinding now. "You're so good at this…." Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear, his tongue darting out to lick and then nibble on his earlobe.

"I've been practicing a lot."

"Y-you've been….what?" Blaine said, suddenly aware of what Kurt had said. Who was Kurt practicing with? "You're practicing without me?!" he blurted, half serious, half knowing Kurt would never hurt him that way.

"Blaine, I've been sewing and designing since I was five years old. Five, Blaine. I had the best dressed stuffed animals in Ohio. I can do it with my eyes closed and on autopilot. There are things that occupy my head when I'm sewing that would cause Jeff to blush 87 shades of crimson and bolt from the building if he could read my mind. And lately, they all include this gorgeous man with molten honey eyes, amazing olive toned skin and the most stunning, silky, black curly hair I've ever had the extreme pleasure to run my fingers through. He's perfect, Blaine, and I can't seem to stop thinking of him, even when I know my mind should be focused elsewhere."

"I hate him already!" Blaine grumbled. "Finish me off and I'm hunting him down to kick his ass. Nobody gets that much headspace but me, Kurt." He chuckled.

"As you wish, sir." Kurt said, offhandedly. It didn't hit Blaine that way. Sir…oh my. Oh my, indeed.

"S-sir?"

"Does that bother you….sir?" Kurt purred, his hand moving faster now under the boxers. "Unbutton your shirt…."

"N-no…no b-bother…Jesus, Kurt, you can just say that and…ohhhh….oh God, Kurt, I'm…I'm so close already…please…." Blaine begged. "If I wasn't so turned on I'd be embarrassed, I think, but just please, Kurt…."

"Yeah, I know the feeling…" Kurt mumbled out, all breathy and high pitched. His left hand went to his zipper and nearly ripped his pants to his hips in the process, pulling out his own length and slotting it together with Blaine's. His fingers were wrapped around them both, yanking and tugging and whispering dirty little things in Blaine's ear that made him gasp and nearly choke on his own tongue at points.

"C'mon, sir….come for me…I'm too close to hold off too long….need you…please, sir…let me come with you…." Kurt teased, soft and breathy. Blaine's head was thrown back on the pillow at the arm of the sofa, his hands fisted in the seat cushion and he'd started to tremble. Kurt knew he was close by the way his eyelids began to flutter and his breath got short and choppy. When Blaine's heels dug into the cushion, Kurt pushed him over the edge. "Requesting permission to come all over your sinfully beautiful chest, master?" he breathed right into Blaine's ear, leaning in to flick his tongue over Blaine's nipple.

The resulting groan became almost more of a roar, as Blaine came hard and fast, nearly upsetting Kurt from his chest as he did. Kurt followed immediately behind him, white streaks painting Blaine's chest as Kurt grabbed ahold of black locks, holding his head still in order to keep eye contact with him the whole time, panting and grinding their hips together.

"That's it….that's it, sir…give it all to me, your humble slave." Kurt whispered, drawing out every last drop that he was able from Blaine's length.

Blaine lay on the sofa, his whole body limp and sated, the fingers of his left hand skimming the carpet and his right arm slung over his eyes, panting heavily. "Please, God, don't let me pass out…feels too good to miss a second of it. Damn, Kurt…."

"Yes, sir?" Kurt said giddily, eyes still fluttering, teasing Blaine. He was on his knees between Blaine's thighs drawing patterns on his chest in the evidence of their recent playtime when suddenly the door flew open.

"I'm telling you, Kurt, that man is a lunatic! A lunatic I tell you!" Jeff bellowed, making his way to the table set up with their sewing machines, paying no attention to the two men on the sofa. "He wants to set ME up with an office space now. ME….c'mon, man. I don't even actually work there! I mean, I do work…but not there, right? I work here, not there….why would I-" he said, finally looking up and realizing Kurt wasn't at his normal seat sewing away. His eyes glanced around, finally landing on the two men on the sofa only half clad. Kurt had immediately leaned forward, trapping his bits against Blaine and effectively shutting off the majority of the 'view' that may have been a bit embarrassing, but Jeff was still sputtering. "Oh….oh shit. I…I'm so sorry…I didn't know you…." Jeff stuttered out, staggering back from the table and knocking his chair to the floor. He fled toward the door, not turning his back on them the entire time. It was like a train wreck…he couldn't look away. "I'm….I'll be….there…over there….yeah." he said, slipping through the door and closing it softly behind him.

"Do you think he's traumatized?" Kurt asked, grinning.

"I think he just paid me back a bit…now we're even." Blaine replied.

"Um…do I wanna know?" Kurt laughed outright. "I mean…maybe there are things better left untold?"

"Doesn't bother me, really." Blaine laughed. "I got sick one Friday at Dalton and came back to our room to lay down. I was supposed to go home that night for the weekend, but I felt so shitty I'd called my mom and said I was staying at school until I felt better. I buried under my covers and slept for quite a while until the noise in the room woke me up. I knew, instantly, what that noise was, and there was no way in hell I was going to move an inch or make a sound. Jeff would have been mortified, and whoever he had brought back to our room would have been, too."

Kurt's eyes were huge, his smile bright.

"I was kinda shocked, because I didn't realize Jeff was with anyone…I mean, we were best friends…roommates even, and if he was dating someone, I would have known about it, right? Or so I'd thought, anyway…turns out, there was an upperclassman who'd been helping Jeff in French class, and apparently was having issues about who he 'was'. He had a girlfriend, but he confided in Jeff that he thought he had feelings for him. I remembered Jeff avoiding him for a few weeks because he didn't want the guy to be having mixed emotions based solely on proximity, but in the end, I think the guy was looking for someone to kind of experiment with, and well, you know, Jeff's kinda hot and all that!" Blaine laughed. Kurt whacked him with the pillow he'd been holding in his now zipped and buttoned lap.

"Watch it, Blaine. I have a weapon and I know how to use it!" Kurt snarked. Blaine ducked and laughed when Kurt swung at him again. "So, how'd he find out you were there if you were so quiet and still?"

"I sneezed." Blaine frowned, then laughed. "What? I was sick, remember?"

"Oh my God, did they freak?" Kurt asked, his eyes wide.

"I think so. I mean, I never did remove the covers from my head even after I'd sneezed, but when I heard the guy fall off the bed and mutter out 'fucking hell….' While scrambling to get his clothes back on, I think I kinda ruined the mood. I mean, the deed was done…obviously!" Blaine giggled. "And I told them I'd been asleep most of the time and that I had no idea who he was and I had no intention of saying a word to anyone, but he was out the door in a flash, never to return." Blaine said, a little more contemplative now.

"And Jeff…was he angry with you?"

"No, he was devastated though. It was sad, I guess." Blaine replied.

"So he'd developed feelings for the guy despite the girlfriend and trying to keep his distance?" Kurt asked.

"Oh no…that wasn't the problem. He was devastated that he'd sunk to that point…that he allowed himself to do that, to essentially 'use' someone to get off…someone that he had no feelings for. That's the night I realized, fully, what a good guy Jeff is. He literally made himself sick all night, hanging over the porcelain god, because he was so disappointed in himself. He isn't even Catholic and he went to church with a few of the guys that Sunday and made them show him how to go to confession. It was totally nuts."

"So after this 'confession' to a priest from a religion he doesn't belong to…did he calm down?" Kurt asked, totally enthralled now.

"A little bit, I guess. Ultimately, I made him tell me who the guy was and I cornered that guy in the library and gave him a piece of my mind. Not only for using my friend to experiment with, but for leaving the way he did and not speaking to Jeff afterward. In the big scheme of things, it was a good thing. I think it may have sent Jeff over the edge if the guy continued talking to him like nothing had happened. Either way, I told him Jeff was really having a hard time with things and I asked him to casually tell Jeff that he didn't hold it against him and he didn't think poorly of Jeff for it. I guess that's what really brought him back around. He was pretty normal after that, thank God. He's just not someone who can use another person for any type of personal gain. He's really a good guy, and I'm a lucky son of a bitch to have him as my best friend." Blaine said, blushing and hiding a silly grin.

"I think he's lucky to have an amazing best friend, too." Kurt said, leaning in to pop a kiss onto Blaine's cheek. "Um…don't you have to be somewhere at 2:00?"

"Yep, I'm meeting Nick to…Oh crap! What happened to the time!?" Blaine sputtered, jumping up and running to the bathroom to wipe himself off a little bit. He zipped and buttoned and bolted for the door, throwing Kurt a kiss and a smile on his way out while yelling that he'd call him as soon as he got home.

Kurt sat there grinning while Brian jumped up on the sofa. "Bri, I hope he's in this for the long haul, because I'm pretty sure I wanna marry that man." He said, smiling widely. Brian didn't exactly jump for joy, but Kurt was certain that he smiled.


"So listen up, Anthony, I need to know some stuff before I agree to this, you hear?" Irene told Blaine sternly. "Why do you want my building? You're not gonna tear it down or something, are you? That place was my first home when we were newlyweds, me and John. He bought me that piano as a wedding gift, which is why it's been up there all these years. Don't know how the hell I'm gonna get that son of a bitch out o' there!" she rambled on. "And then what am I gonna do with it? I haven't played in 20 years or more!"

"Actually, ma'am, if you sell the building to me, I'd very much like to buy that piano from you…keep it where it is." Blaine replied. "For having lived there such a short time, that piano is a very special part of that space, and if you're willing to part with it, I'd love to have it."

"You can't play that thing, Anthony, it's probably beyond repair. Hasn't been tuned properly in so long, it's gotta be ruined by now…all that dust up there." Irene replied. "I don't think I'd get much for it if I tried to sell it."

"Regardless, even if it ends up as nothing more than a pretty piece of furniture to put a picture frame or two on, it means a lot to me. I'd like to buy it from you If you'll let me."

"Tell me 'bout it, why doncha? What is it about that ol' thing that you like, anyway?" she questioned.

"Um…" Blaine said, blushing. Nick's phone rang then, and he just grinned at him, winked and walked into the front room of Irene's apartment to wait. "I had a party one night when I'd first moved in…shortly after Mr. Hummel moved in, actually. And I heard someone playing that piano, so I followed the sound up the stairs…mostly because the song that was being played is a song that I wrote…." He trailed off, thinking back.

"How's that? You wrote it, but someone else was playing it? You some popular song guy I should know about, Anthony?" she questioned with her squinty eyes.

"No, ma'am." He grinned. "So I uh…I went up the steps and found the most beautiful, amazing angel sitting at that piano playing my song. It's an image that will never leave my head, I promise you that. I met the man of my dreams that night, and it's all because of that piano. So, yeah, if you're going to get rid of it anyway, I'd be very happy to take it off your hands." Blaine smiled.

"Am I to assume this angel you found was Mr. Hummel?" Irene smiled at him.

"You're absolutely correct." Blaine said, blushing and giving Irene the biggest smile. She'd never admit it to him, but her heart melted. She knew then and there that she'd give him that piano, but she figured it'd be more fun to make him sweat it out wondering.

"Well, we'll see. It's pretty special to me. I don't know if I can hand over my building AND my baby grand to you, boy!"

"Wait…so….you're agreeing? You'll sell the building to me?" Blaine said with huge eyes and a blinding grin.

"I wanna see the plans. I want to know what you're doing with it, first, if you don't mind. Like I said, that was my first home, and I'd hate to see it misused. What are you thinkin' 'bout doin' in there?" She asked.

Blaine had come up with some rough plans with Nick over lunch one day, and then added to them now and again in the back room at the Dive. Nick had a friend draw up an actual working floor plan and Blaine was absolutely thrilled with it. Where the second floor housed three apartments, he wanted the whole top floor as one residence. There was plenty of space to do what he wanted, with room to spare, of course, but he didn't care. He knew what his vision was, and he intended to carry it out. Giving Kurt a beautiful, roomy place to live and work in New York City was his goal, and he wasn't going to settle for anything less. Nick sauntered back in and smiled when he saw Blaine's face lit up with excitement while he went over the plans with Irene. She seemed happy with his ideas, if not a little (a lot) impressed that he wanted all that square footage for one residence when he could divide it up and actually make more money on the rents.

"So what'r you gonna do with all that space? You got a small country you're planning on moving in with you up there or what?" she questioned him.

"Erm…uh…no ma'am. Just…me and…well, eventually, if he'll agree to it, uh…I'd like to share the space with…um-" he began, sputtering.

"Why's it so hard for you to say you're makin' a wicked man-love cave for you and that perky ass Hummel boy?" she said, straight faced, which threw Blaine for a loop and make Nick snort and choke on the bottle of Coke he'd just brought to his lips. "Good Lord, get that boy a towel or somethin', he's got soda spoutin' out his nose! What's got you all mussed up, pretty?" she hollered, scowling. Nick was heaving for air now, his eyes watering, and he wanted to laugh so badly, but refused to do so. He was attempting to be the professional real estate agent after all.

Blaine hopped up from his chair and grabbed a few paper towels from the kitchen, handing them to Nick, who had soda running down his chin and tears streaming down his face, both from the coughing and holding in the laughter.

"Ok, so here's the $64,000 question, Tony….can I call you Tony?" Irene questioned him. Blaine tried hard not to shake his head and roll his eyes at her craziness.

"Sell me this building at a fair price and you can call me anything you want, Mrs. Raymond." He answered.

"How old are ya, boy?"

"I'm 26, ma'am."

"Where's a 26 year old boy get this kind of money, and don't tell me from working, because I know as well as you do that playin' piano in a gay bar ain't payin' the high dollar. How do you plan to afford this place?" she questioned. Nick had all of the paperwork, and he knew that Blaine had enough money in the bank to pay cash for the building if he so chose to do it, but he was interested in knowing where it had all come from as well.

"Um…well, my grandfather recently passed, ma'am, and he was fairly well off….my mother's father. He left my brother and I both quite a generous amount, and he told me to do something important with it, and I have to tell you, I don't see much more in this life that's as important as making a comfortable, safe, beautiful home for the one you love." He answered.

Oh, this one as a sweet talker, she thought. But he clearly had the funds, according to her personal banker. She really saw no reason to hold on to the building at this point. Sure, it brought in rent once a month, but she wasn't getting any younger and she'd just as soon have the money now to do with as she pleased. She had grand visions of taking all of her kids and grandkids on vacation to somewhere beautiful, warm and fun. They deserved it, and Lord knows she did, too.

"Well, Tony, you've got yourself a deal." She finally said, and Blaine jumped up out of his seat to hug her in all of his excitement.

"Thank you…just…thank you, Mrs. Raymond! I'm so stoked! I can't wait to tell, Jeff!" he nearly yelled.

"Jeff? I thought it was Hummel you were after?" she said, giving him the snake eye.

"Jeff's my best friend…he's staying with me for a bit. I don't want Kurt to know yet, not until the renovations are finished and it's ready for us to move in. I'd greatly appreciate if you didn't tell him yet, ma'am?"

"I can hold my tongue, don't you worry. However, if brains over here…" she said, nodding to Nick, "didn't already suggest it, I will. I think you might want to look into forming an LLC or something if you're going to be collecting rent from more than one tenant. It's just safer down the line, and that way he won't question why he's paying YOU rent and not me anymore!" she cackled.

"As a matter of fact, Nick did mention something like that, but I thank you for the advice anyway. You won't regret this, Mrs. Raymond. I can't wait for you to come and see it once it's finished!" Blaine said, his excitement just barely this side of embarrassing. They shook hands, and Blaine pulled her into a hug once again. Then Nick spoke up.

"I'll have all of the official documents drawn up today. We can meet in the closing office as soon as they have an open appointment. I'll be in touch, Mrs. Raymond." Nick said, shaking her hand briskly.

As they walked out of the apartment, Nick glanced over at a brightly smiling Blaine aid raised his eyebrows in question. "Anthony?" he said, as if that said it all.

"It's a long story…." Blaine laughed.

"I'm sure…" Nick said, laughing…and wondering when Blaine was going to realize what he'd let slip right in front of Nick.


4:44p from Hunter: You were right. Can we talk?

4:45p from Kurt: Did you send this to the appropriate contact?

4:45p from Hunter: Don't be a dick.

4:46p from Kurt: I'm home for a bit. You know where I am.

4:47p from Hunter: I'll stop by a little later. Thanks

4:47p from Kurt: I'll see you then.


"Ok, so, you wanna just come back to my place…my office stuff is all there these days, and we can work on the contracts and get in touch with the title company?" Nick asked as they walked the few short blocks from Irene's house. Blaine was in the clouds, his mind reeling over the fact that he was buying property in New York City for himself…and for Kurt. He was grinning from ear to ear and Nick wasn't sure he was even paying attention. "Earth to Blaine?"

"Hmmm?" Blaine said, turning to him with a stupid grin.

"Office, my place, contracts, yeah?" Nick laughed.

"Uh huh…sure. I have to run home though, for my charger. Phone's about to die and I want to tell Jeff about the building!" Blaine said.

"Mmmhmmm…and you're going to text him, call him, or walk into the next room and tell him in person since you have that friend that's staying with you and all that…." Nick said with a wicked gleam in his eye.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Blaine started, but suddenly, it dawned on him. "OH shit….Nick…shit…don't…don't freak out! Don't tell him I told you, you can't know he's there. Oh fuck, he's gonna kill me, Nick! PLEASE, I'm begging you…I wanted to tell you, but he's adamant about it. I can't let him down…" Blaine babbled.

"I won't say anything. I've suspected for a while anyway, B, so no worries. You only confirmed what I was thinking." Nick grinned.

"What do you mean you've suspected he's there?"

"The last time I was in your apartment, there was a phone on the counter that wasn't yours…along with a take out coffee cup that said "just Jeff please" on the side of it." Nick laughed.

"Shit….I hadn't even thought about that….damn!" Blaine laughed.

"So he's doing ok?"

"He's um…yeah, for the most part. He's actually been working with Kurt for a while. Did you know he can sew? Those guys amaze me with what comes out of that apartment." Blaine told him.

"I don't wanna say I don't care about that, but I want to know how he is. Is he doing alright? No problems? Nothing from my dad? His mom and Gram are ok? He doesn't reply so much and...uh…I'm kinda slowly dying inside without him, Blaine." Nick said, not as smiley as he was just 5 minutes before. Blaine was sure he saw Nick's chest hitch a little.

"Most days he's ok. Sometimes I catch him daydreaming, and he looks sad. I try to keep him busy when Kurt's not making him a slave to the sewing machine." He grinned. "He's adjusted pretty well to being here, but I know he misses you like crazy, man." Blaine explained. Nick looked dejected.

"Ok, just…will you wait here? I'm just going to run up there and grab my charger and my bank stuff. Did you drive over here or what?" Blaine said.

"No, took a cab. I didn't realize you guys had a parking pad around back until this morning when the street was blocked by all this shit." He said, motioning to the trucks still out front working on the road and whatever was under it. "The dude let me off around the side of the building as close as he could get."

"Alright, give me a minute. I'll be right back!" Blaine said, and ran up the steps and into the building. He unlocked the door and headed back to his bedroom to retrieve his charger, but didn't see Jeff. His door was closed, though, and he thought maybe Jeff was napping until he paused by the door and heard the sniffling. Without thinking, Blaine knocked softly on the door.

" 's open" came the reply.

Blaine turned the doorknob and pushed the door open to find Jeff on his bed, curled on his side, clearly upset.

"You ok?" Blaine asked, then looked sheepish because, duh, clearly he wasn't.

"I'm done, Blaine. I can't do it anymore. I can't…I thought I was a strong person, but it turns out I'm not, I'm weak. I just can't handle the anxiety, the stress. I'm freaking out here, man. I'm sorry about this morning…about walking in on you and Kurt…but I think that was the last straw. I miss him so much, everything we had, SO much…I'm calling him. I'm going back to him." Jeff said. When Blaine raised his eyebrows and it was clear he was going to say something in reply, Jeff cut him off. "Don't try to talk me out of it. I've been thinking about it for hours on end today…days…weeks. I need him in my life. End of story."

Blaine's phone buzzed just then and he saw it was a text from Nick. "One sec…" he said.

5:02p from Nick: Dude? Today?

5:02p from Blaine: Come up here…quietly. Don't say a word, please. C'mon in, it's open.

"Sorry 'bout that…one of the guys from work. Just…Jeff are you sure? You were so adamant about keeping your distance…and with Nick's dad and all that…." Blaine began, but he heard the door click open and Nick walked in silently, approaching Jeff's door where Blaine stood. He stayed out of sight and just listened.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life, B. The months I spent with Nick were the best I've ever had. I don't want to lose that. I know his dad hates me. I know he'll try to make my life a living hell. I'll go through it. I put up with it. I'll do anything just to be with him, Blaine…anything. I don't care what I have to do. I don't care if we have to run away and live in a cardboard box under an overpass just so we can be together and off the radar. As long as I'm with him, I'm happy. I miss him so much…it's like, I breathe, but my lungs never completely fill without him. I'm alive, but I'm not living. I smile, but it doesn't reach my soul the way it did when I was with him. He's the kindest, most humble, beautiful soul I've ever encountered in all my life, B, and I don't want to miss another day with him. I'm not willing to give up one more hour…" he said, but paused when he heard a hiccup and sniffling outside the door next to Blaine. At his raised eyebrows, Blaine grinned and shook his head, tugging on Nick's elbow to bring him to the doorway. Jeff's eyes shot open and you could probably hear his gasp over in Kurt's place.

"H-hey Pretty Boy…." Is all that Nick was able to choke out before Jeff launched himself off the bed and into Nick's arms.


A/N If the Blaine / Anthony part doesn't ring a bell, go back to chapter 2 when he meets Irene for the first time. Big thanks to Christine who keeps me sane, listens to me bellow and urges me on to finish and post! You all can thank her for this chapter being posted so quick after the last one. ;)

Also, thanks for the story recs...you don't know how much I appreciate it! :) Every single review and pm makes me so happy, so thanks for that!