Little warning for this chapter: Cooper gets chemo again. It's not too descriptive, but keep it in mind if it's triggering for you.

Tightening the ribbon around the brown paper, Blaine gave the finishing touches to the bouquet and placed it with the rest of the orders that were being picked up in the morning. He attached a note for Annie with instructions, and then turned back to the numerous buckets with flowers surrounding him.

He began pulling flowers from them - roses and daisies, hydrangeas and lilies, bouganvillas and dahlias – and made four large bouquets to take to the hospital with him. He picked the most colorful ones, so they could brighten up Cooper's and Burt's rooms. He worked quickly, as if to hide even from himself the way his hands were shaking.

Cooper had another chemotherapy session in the morning.

His brother had looked calm enough when Blaine had left the hospital after lunch, smiling as Blaine told him the news about Kurt's father. Blaine had kept his promise and took him outside for a bite, and they sat in the courtyard, Cooper's face tilted up towards the sun, soaking it all in.

It was dark outside now, and the afternoon had melted into night. Blaine had closed the flowershop and gone into the backroom to get started on the orders for the next day, accompanied only by the sounds of New York traffic just outside. He had been tempted to put some music on, anything that would bury his thoughts, but he was also scared that the first love song that came up would make him think of Kurt.

Oh, the way Kurt had fallen into his arms that day, fitting perfectly against him as if they had been made in matching molds. He still remembered the way Kurt had shaken as he held him, his voice breathy and watery as he explained that his father was awake.

It made Blaine feel nervous, how much a simple embrace had made him feel.

He shook his head – this was not the time to be thinking about his. And he had promised Kurt things wouldn't be weird between them. There was no use picturing what it would be like if he ran back to the hospital and pulled Kurt back into his arms, if he kissed him until they couldn't breathe.

There were so many other urgent things that needed Blaine's attention.

He finished setting everything up for Annie to open the shop the next day, and then gathered his flowers and left, locking the door after himself. It was late – he should have probably headed straight home. But he wanted to check on Cooper, and okay, fine, he also wanted to see how Kurt and his father were doing. He didn't feel like going to his empty apartment to be alone with his thoughts.

Once at the hospital, he walked down the hallways waving at the night shift nurses, who all smiled at him and waved back. He liked them, they were all good people and professionals, and it made him feel better to know that Cooper was in great hands, but part of him wished he didn't know so many of them by name, that their faces looked so familiar. He wished his brother didn't have to be here for so long.

He saw that the door to Burt Hummel's room was ajar, so he decided to make it his first stop. He knocked gently, not wanting to disturb Burt if he was asleep. He saw Kurt, curled up on the armchair with his sketchbook, look up at the sound, his face breaking into a beautiful smile.

He got up and immediately came to the door, pulling it open all the way. "Hey!" He said.

"Hi," Blaine said, feeling a little weak at the knees. Kurt looked so different from the man he was used to seeing since his first day here – a lot more relaxed, joyful even. It made him even more gorgeous than he already was. It took Blaine's breath away. He cleared his throat and looked down at the bouquets in his arms. "I brought fresh flowers for your dad."

"Oh Blaine," Kurt's face became soft, his smile less bright, but just as happy. His eyes seemed to sparkle under the fluorescent light. "You really don't need to..."

"I want to," Blaine cut him off, with a little smile of his own. "Do you want me to...?" He glanced down at the flowers and then back at him.

"Of course," Kurt said, moving aside to let him into the room. "I'll let the pro take care of it."

He was teasing him. God, he could get used to this Kurt, who seemed so much more open and easy-going when not consumed with worry and fear.

Blaine headed towards the window with only a quick look in Burt's direction, who was fast asleep, and began to work on the flowers. "How's he doing?"

"He's okay," Kurt said, the relief leaking from every word. "The doctor says it's normal that he's so sleepy at first, so I have to let him sleep. He'll have a rigurous diet and an exercise routine once he's out of here. I'm sure he'll fight me on every single thing, but I'm willing to put up with it. But that won't be for a few more days, at least. He has to stay here for a while."

Blaine went into the bathroom as Kurt talked, and got fresh water for the flowers. He threw away the ones that had begun to wilt and filled the vases with the new ones. He placed them on the window, a small fragrant garden that hopefully would make Burt's stay a little less miserable. And Kurt's.

"Well, I'm very happy he'll be alright. I'm sure fighing him on diets and exercises will keep you busy, but eventually he'll learn to bear it," he smiled and stepped back to admire his work. "There, what do you think?"

"Beautiful," Kurt whispered, and Blaine turned to find his blue eyes not on the flowers, but on him.

Blaine felt his heart skip a beat, but decided not to read too much into it. It was his wishful thinking. It was his hopeful heart. Kurt did not mean him when he said that.

"Well, I should... uhm," he gathered the rest of the flowers, his hands shaking. "I should go see Coop now."

"Of course," Kurt muttered quickly. "I'll stop by to see him tomorrow."

"He'll love that," Blaine said, and didn't add and so will I.

Cooper leaned back in his seat, his skin looking a little grey, his eyes avoiding glancing at the needle stuck to his arm. He looked resigned and tired, and Blaine hated this. He hated it so much. He wanted to rip the needle out and stuck it in his own arm, and absorb the disease for himself. He wanted to erase the pain and helplessness from his brother's face. He wanted to fast-forward to the day he would be cancer-free and back home.

He wanted so many things, and could do so little.

Cooper's head tilted against the back of the comfortable armchair where he usually sat during chemo, so he could place his eyes on his little brother. He must have seen the absolute despair on Blaine's face, even though he tried so hard to hide it. There was no way to hide secrets from Cooper. He knew him better than anyone else in this world.

"Read me the news?" Cooper asked in a quiet voice.

It was a distraction, of course it was. Blaine took his phone out of his pocket and searched all the latest show biz related news – a scandal between a rapper and his now ex-wife, the reviews for Taylor Swift's new album, Chris Evan's new movie was breaking records, Michael B. Jordan had been tapped for a role that would probably get him an Oscar nom – and read them to him quietly, measuring each breath and each word, letting his mind wander to things that, honestly, did not matter at all.

"Hey B.," Cooper interrupted, as Blaine scrolled down trying to find a new article that did not talk about the Kardashians – he had given up trying to keep up with them a long time ago.

He hummed to show he was listening.

"I'm sorry I'm kind of ruining both of our lives," Cooper muttered, and Blaine's eyes snapped to him, phone and silly news forgotten. "Sometimes I wish I never went to your apartment after the doctor gave me the news. Sometimes I wish I had got on a plane and flown to the other side of the world and let you believe I was just out on an adventure."

"That is the stupidest thing you've ever said, and that's saying something," Blaine retorted, his face serious. He didn't want to think about his brother alone across the world, by himself, sick and dying. No. "You're not ruining my life."

"Yes I am," Cooper said, matter-of-factly. "It's okay. I know I am." He swallowed and risked a look at his arm, where the IV was shooting drugs into his body. "I'm really sick of being sick."

It was unusual to hear Cooper like this, sounding defeated and weary. He usually kept his voice on the light side, and his smile bright enough to power half of New York City. He would brush every concern away and joke even about things that weren't meant to be jokes. Sometimes, when he seemed to laugh at his own illness, it made Blaine pause, because he couldn't see what was funny about it, even if he tried. But he understood – it was Cooper's coping mechanism. Maybe if he didn't take the cancer seriously, the cancer wouldn't get too serious with him either.

For a while, it had seemed like it was working. But now, with Cooper slumped on his seat with the IV stuck in his arm, it was difficult to look at the bright side. There didn't seem to be one.

"You know what I think?" Blaine said, scooting a little closer with his chair, and grabbing his brother's hand. "I think that a year from now, all of this will look like a crazy nightmare. We'll sit outside on the balcony and drink a beer and toast to the cancer being gone for good. I know it doesn't make it easier now, but this part will be over, and life will slowly go back to normal, and one day you're going to look back and say huh, remember when I had cancer? And it will seem like it was a million years ago."

Cooper squeezed his hand. "I just hate putting you through it. I hate seeing how tired and worried you are all the time. You're my baby brother. You shouldn't be taking care of me, I should be taking care of you."

A bittersweet smile appeared on Blaine's lips. "I'm thirty, Coop. I'm not your baby brother anymore."

"You'll always be my baby brother," Cooper whispered. "Even when you're fifty and I still look like I'm thirty five."

"Of course," Blaine rolled his eyes. He watched his brother. It reminded him of a wilting flower, like the ones he changed every morning for him. "But hear me out: you're not ruining my life. I would never want to be anywhere else but at your side, even if it means sitting next to you at a hospital. Do you understand?"

Cooper's eyes trailed over his brother's face, seeing the earnestness there. He nodded slowly. "Okay, but I'll aim for Disneyland next time. No more hospitals, alright?"

Blaine smiled at him. "No more hospitals."

After chemo, Cooper was drained and weak, barely making it to the bed before he was collapsing and falling asleep. Blaine tucked him under the covers gently, his heart clenching in pain at the sight, and then simply sat by his side as he rested, waiting, waiting, waiting.

Always waiting.

By mid-afternoon, Blaine was dozing off. He hadn't dared turn the TV on as a distraction, not wanting to wake Cooper, and reading or doing anything else right now required too much of his attention. He had just started pacing the room to keep himself awake when his phone began buzzing in his pocket – he took a quick peek a it and saw it was Annie calling. He needed to get that.

Quietly, he left the room, and wandered down the hallway as he accepted the call. He stood at a window and looked down at the courtyard, at the people coming and going or simply enjoying a moment of sunlight.

"Hello?"

"Hey boss," Annie's voice said on the other side. "I'm sorry to bother you. I know you're with Cooper."

"It's fine," Blaine replied, because she sounded stressed, which wasn't usual with her. One of his favorite things about her was that she never let anything bother her; she was calm and sharp, and no one could make her even blink if she didn't want to. "What's going on?"

"Well, you know that wedding we have orders scheduled to deliver tomorrow?" She asked and he hummed affirmatively. "The bride is here to check everything is alright and according to her standards." Her words were so clipped, he was sure she was currently staring daggers at the woman in question. "And apparently the bouquets for the centerpieces were supposed to be thirty five, not thirty. Despite what her receipt says. The one with her future husband's signature on it."

Blaine ran a hand down his face. He hated when customers were difficult just for the sake of it. "Well, I can't be there until tomorrow afternoon. So tell her that if she wants those five extra centerpieces, she will have to wait until then. The other thirty are scheduled to be delivered in the morning. I'll stop by the venue with the other five once I'm done making them. That's all I can do for her."

He waited while Annie repeated his words to the bride, who started complaining, but eventually accepted there was no other way for them to do things. They ended the phone call and he sighed, his eyes still following the people outside the window.

Owning a flowershop should not be a stressful job.

Slowly, he made his way back towards Cooper's room, only to find that the door he had left closed behind him, was now ajar. And that was enough to show him that the bed was currently empty.

With his heart picking up pace, Blaine pushed the door the rest of the way and stepped inside. He had only left for two minutes. Where was his brother?

"Coop?" He called, choking a bit on the name.

"In here!"

Blaine was shocked that the voice that replied belonged to Kurt and not his brother. He followed it all the way to the bathroom, and the sight before him almost knocked the breath out of him.

Cooper was on his knees on the floor, vomiting painfully into the toilet. Kurt was on the floor next to him, holding him up so he wouldn't collapse, rubbing gentle circles on his back, trying to soothe him.

"What happened?" Blaine asked.

"I came by to check on you guys and he was trying to stumble out of bed, so I helped him get to the bathroom," Kurt explained, his voice as soothing as the circles he kept tracing on the back of Cooper's shoulders. Cooper shuddered abuptly as he retched, and Kurt tightened his grip on him. "It's okay, Coop, just let it out."

Blaine kneeled on the other side, placing his hand on his brother's forehead so he wouldn't let his head fall into the toilet. "I'm so sorry. I got a phone call and I stepped out for just a minute..." He felt his eyes fill with tears, and he wiped them away furiously with his free hand. "I'm sorry, Coop. I'm here now."

"We've got you," Kurt whispered in Cooper's ear, and dropped a kiss to the curve of his shoulder.

Once all the retching ended, and the contents of Cooper's stomach were gone, he collapsed against his little brother's chest, sprawled over the cold bathroom floor. Kurt stood up and grabbed a cloth, putting it under warm water for a bit, before he kneeled back on the floor, this time between Cooper's legs. He dabbed at his mouth and chin gently, not a sign of disgust or discomfort on his beautiful face, while both Blaine and Cooper watched him like he was an angel sent down to Earth for them.

"Are you done, Coop?" Blaine asked, rubbing his brother's arms a bit. "Do you think you're ready to go back to bed now?"

Cooper nodded. "Yeah, I think I'm fine."

"Okay, up we go," Blaine said, and pulled his brother up with him, Kurt keeping a steadying hand on their backs.

They helped Cooper back into bed. Kurt brought him a glass of water to rinse his mouth while Blaine arranged his blankets around him. As Kurt returned to the bathroom to wash the glass, Blaine squeezed Cooper's hand.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here," he whispered, feeling like a knot had found a home somewhere in his throat.

Cooper smiled at him – it wasn't a bright smile, just the ghost of one, too tired and weak. "You're always here," he muttered back.

Kurt came back into the room then, wearing a smile bright enough to make up for both of them. He cupped Cooper's face gently, and his brother leaned into the touch, closing his eyes a bit. "Better?"

"A bit, yeah," Cooper mumbled.

Kurt made his way towards Blaine now, his eyes searching his. "And how are you?"

"I'm fine," Blaine said stubbornly.

"Mm, yeah, I'm sure," Kurt murmured, more to himself than to Blaine. "Have you eaten anything today?"

"Not yet," Blaine replied. He hadn't even thought about food.

"I'll go get you a sandwich or something. Coffee, too?" He offered.

Blaine nodded, as he took his seat next to Cooper's bed. "That would be great, thank you."

"Okay. What about you?" Kurt turned back to Cooper, leaned on the edge of his bed a bit to get closer. "I'm guessing it's better if you don't eat anything for now."

"Yeah, I don't think I can keep anything down," Cooper admitted, his voice still scratchy from the retching and vomiting.

Kurt ran his hand over Cooper's too-short hair, as if pulling it away from his face, which wasn't necessary, hadn't been necessary for weeks now. It was mostly a gesture of endearment, and Blaine followed it with avid eyes. "What about some green tea, sweetie? Would you like that?"

And Blaine kept watching them as they talked, almost in whispers, as if it was supposed to be a secret. He watched them interact with such ease, as if they had known each other forever. He watched the tenderness in Kurt's touch as he ran his hand down Cooper's face, or as he rubbed his shoulder, all small comforting movements that seemed to be second nature to him. He watched Cooper respond, not caring about the hair he had lost, or the vulnerability he had shown in front of a man they hadn't known that long – in front of anyone else, Cooper seemed to recoil, not wanting people to see him the way he was now, only a shadow of the handsome man who would have been able to stop traffic with his smile. Now his smile was small, a little faded, as he looked up at Kurt, and Kurt's blue eyes were full of affection as he talked to him.

Kurt didn't need to care for them. About them. He didn't need to be here.

But he was here anyway.

And just as he watched them together, the man he loved more than anyone else in this world, and the man who was quickly and efficiently stealing his heart, Blaine realized that his little infatuation with Kurt was growing dangerously inside of him, the word love echoing against the walls of his heart, still caged, kept safely away, but beginning to look for ways to break free.

Alright, now we're caught up. I hope this works!

New chapter will be up tomorrow.

Thanks for the patience.

Love,

L.-