Happy Tuesday, peeps.

I hope you're having a lovely week so far. I'm sure Darren's live on instagram yesterday surely helped to kick Monday off in the right way. Wasn't it amazing? Can't believe we've had Blaine in our lives for ten years now!

Thank you for all the comments and messages after the last chapter. It means the world.

Kudos to Christine for her help and patience.

Enjoy!

Lately, Cooper's thoughts had felt as if they were hidden behind a thick veil. He felt foggy and tired all the time, and it was becoming more of an effort each day to keep the smile on his face for Blaine. Especially after chemo, when his entire body felt like it was betraying him.

He wanted all of it to stop – he wanted to be free of the pain and the shame.

Unfortunately for him, the chemotherapy was there to stay, at least for a while. The weeks ahead were destined to be full of embarrassment – he still couldn't believe Kurt had seen him covered in his own vomit, god – and the kind of deep pain that seemed to seep into his bones. Sometimes he just wanted to give up, but then he looked into Blaine's eyes and realized... no. He couldn't. He had to keep going. He owed it to his brother.

If he had to be honest... he owed it all to Blaine. Without his little brother, he would have probably never made it very far. He wouldn't have cared enough to get treatment, to seek help from his doctors. It was Blaine who made life worth fighting for, and Cooper couldn't allow himself to forget that. Everything he was doing was because of him, for him. He would see it through, until the end, whatever end that was.

Cooper just wanted his brother to be as happy as he deserved to be.

Which is what brought him to this moment.

He struggled to sit up on the bed, wanting to look less like a rag doll and more like a human being. Kurt immediately got on his feet and helped him, fluffing the pillows behind his back and helping him get comfortable.

Cooper decided that there wasn't enough time to beat around the bush – Blaine might be back from picking up dinner soon – and simply asked: "You like Blaine, don't you?"

"Oh," Kurt's breath left him in a heavy exhale as he sat back down. He frowned a little, confused. "Of course I do. Have you ever met anyone who hasn't liked him?"

"That's not what I mean," Cooper replied. "He told me you kissed him."

Cooper would have loved to reach for his phone and record the way Kurt's face suddenly became bright red, the blush rising from his neck to his forehead, like a cartoon. It was hilarious, but Cooper was too tired to attempt to laugh.

"I... well... I..." Kurt babbled. "That was an accident. I was upset and..."

It was Cooper's turn to frown now, worried he had read the signs wrong. "So you don't like him. He was just conveniently there."

"No!" Kurt exclaimed, his face going even redder, and oh, Cooper hadn't thought that was possible. Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Kurt sighed. "Fine, okay? I do like him. It's just... everything's been so crazy lately, so much happened in such a short time... I haven't had time to actually sit down and organize my thoughts or my feelings. But I would never play with him, or kiss him just because he's there. I think... this is going to sound stupid, but I think my heart got there a little faster than my head."

"Is it catching up now?" Cooper asked, a little smile coming onto his lips.

"Maybe," Kurt murmured. "Things are still complicated, though. He's not just some cute guy I bumped into at a coffee shop. This is not a meet cute. It's been... god, the past few days have been so heavy."

Cooper hummed his understanding, losing himself in his own thoughts for a moment.

Kurt leaned in a bit, searching his face. "Why are we talking about this, Coop?"

The nickname inevitably brought a quick grin to his face. "You know, I think you and Blaine would be absolutely perfect together."

Kurt huffed out a bashful laugh, looking down at his lap. "Well. I don't know about that..."

"But are you willing to find out?" Cooper asked.

Kurt snapped his eyes back to him, and Cooper thought he saw a spark of interest before Kurt hid it. He said nothing, waiting for Cooper to finally tell him what his idea was.

"How would you like to go on a date with my brother?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, threw his head back and laughed again. "Oh god, Cooper. You're obsessed."

"I'm not," Cooper said, feigning offense.

"On how many dates have you sent him already?" Kurt asked, his eyebrow arching cheekily.

"This will be the last one," Cooper replied, without a second's hesitation. "I promise."

The force of this statement, the surety on Cooper's voice made the smug, teasing look on Kurt's face vanish. He straightened up on his seat, serious and visibly nervous.

"How can you know that?" Kurt studied his eyes intently.

"I know my brother," Cooper said simply. "What I need to figure out is whether you're in or not."

Kurt stayed very still, looking at him as if he was trying to find every answer he had ever needed on Cooper's face. He could see him breathe very carefully, measuring each inhale, each exhale.

"I..." Kurt murmured, and stopped because they could hear Blaine's voice right outside the door as he greeted one of the nurses.

Cooper watched him, waited, hoping he wouldn't chicken out by the interruption.

"I think I'm in," Kurt said in a soft whisper.

Cooper felt himself relax, tension he hadn't even noticed carrying melting from his shoulders. He smiled at him. "Okay. Just don't break him, alright?"

The door opened before they could say another word.

Blaine stayed at the hospital that night, as he did every time Cooper had chemo. He sprawled uncomfortably on the armchair and tried to get some sleep once he thought his brother was asleep, but Cooper was wide awake.

He watched him, the shadows of worry that painted the skin under his eyes, the tension on his shoulders. Cooper wasn't the only one that had lost weight either; although his own change had been a lot more drastic, Blaine was also thinner. He often forgot to eat when he was taking care of his brother, or couldn't find the time as he ran from work to the hospital and back again.

Cooper's stomach felt hollow with guilt.

It was his fault, the grimace of misery on Blaine's lips, the exhaustion in his eyes.

Cooper's worst fear wasn't dying – though he admitted he would much rather live, of course – but seeing his brother wasting his own life by wasting away at his side. Cooper could be sick for months, years even, and he knew that no matter how much he pushed him, Blaine wouldn't leave him. It was wrecking him, but he wouldn't walk away.

His stupid, compassionate, wonderful brother. What a sad thing it was, to be so selfless.

As Cooper laid in bed, watching as he smacked his lips and snored lightly, he swore he would spend his remaining days – whether they were few or plenty – striving to be more like his baby brother.

And he would start by making sure Blaine was happy again.

Blaine left the next morning, once he was sure Cooper was feeling better, saying he would stop by the flowershop to check on Annie, and then at his apartment for a shower and a change of clothes. Cooper insisted that he should take a day off – stay home, watch a movie, sleep in. He knew Blaine would be back later anyway. His brother never rested.

Just like he thought, Blaine was back in time for lunch. He had brought food – Thai this time – and Kurt came over to eat with them. They sat around Cooper and started passing containers around, and Cooper watched them, followed Kurt's hands as they accepted the food from Blaine, his fingers lingering a bit, and the blush rising on Blaine's cheeks. They were adorable.

Kurt didn't stay long, saying he needed to go back to check on his dad, although Cooper couldn't help wondering if he was running away from them instead. From him, mostly. Maybe Kurt was regretting their talk...

Just as he was closing the door, Kurt's eyes flew to Blaine, and the spark in them could've lit a fire. No, he wasn't regretting anything.

Blaine busied himself cleaning up the empty containers and chatting about the shop and Annie's latest change of look – apparently her hair was blue now. Cooper had started to notice recently that the more tired Blaine was, the more he talked, like he was trying to hide his exhaustion from him by filling every moment of silence. But Cooper watched him anyway, knew him better than anyone else in this world, and still saw every single thing Blaine tried to hide from him.

"Hey," Cooper interrupted, as Blaine started recounting a conversation he had with a particularly difficult customer. "Come here."

Blaine frowned, but obliged, coming to sit at the edge of the bed. "What's up?"

Cooper made the effort to put up a bright grin on his face. "Guess who got you a date."

Blaine groaned and let his head fall, his chin hitting his chest, making Cooper laugh at his frustration. "Oh god, Coop. Not again." He looked up, pleadingly. "Can we not? Just this once? I have a lot of work, and I'm just not in the mood to have dinner with another stranger who's probably still hung up on his ex or has a weird kink or just wants to get in my pants. Please."

Cooper almost felt bad – some of the dates he had set up had been truly awful – but he couldn't go soft now. This was the one that really mattered. "Come on! Where's that hopeful romantic? What if this is the one?"

"Where did you even get this one?" Blaine asked.

"Oh, right here. I've been in this hospital forever, Blaine, it's not like I have many options," Cooper replied, carefully leaving certain details out. "But I have a feeling you're really going to like him!"

"Coop," Blaine whined, looking so pathetic that it almost made Cooper take pity on him. But only almost – he knew exactly what he was doing this time. He wasn't going to let Blaine out of it. "I know it makes you happy, but just... can we take a break from all the dating?"

Cooper sighed. He felt bad. He knew he had taken advantage of Blaine's willingness to do anything that made him happy, knew he had overwhelmed him with all those dates and random men he had introduced him to. Even when he wanted to be a good brother, he failed...

Blaine must have seen his face fall, because he scooted closer. "Hey. What's going on?"

"I've been a shitty brother," Cooper murmured, and when Blaine started complaining, he shushed him. "No, it's fine. I know it's true. I've pushed you even when things were too much for you. You never say no to me, you're always working hard to make me happy and comfortable, and I... I just want to do the same for you, and I screw it up every time."

"You could never screw it up," Blaine said, nudging him with his shoulder.

"I know you're tired," Cooper said, looking right into his brother's eyes, letting him know he could see right through his act. "And I don't want to push you to the point of breaking, but... I promise I'll stop. Just go on this last date, and I will never set you up with anyone again for the rest of my life."

Blaine exhaled a long, long sigh. "Fine."

Cooper smiled at him – genuinely, openly – and relaxed, feeling the tension he hadn't known he had been carrying inside him vanish.

He didn't know what was going to happen – didn't know what awaited him just around the corner. But this, knowing he was pushing Blaine into the arms of the man who had the potential to become the love of his life... that made Cooper less afraid. It wasn't so scary to face all the challenges life was throwing at him if he knew Blaine would have someone to hold him through the good and the bad.

Kurt was the one. He knew it deep within him, feeling a certainty he had never felt before, not even when it came to his own love life – which had been, well, slightly pathetic, but that wasn't something Cooper wanted to focus on right now. All he wanted to focus on, all that mattered to him, was Blaine. Blaine's happiness.

He was putting the most precious thing he had into Kurt's hands.

He hoped he would take care of him.

I love Cooper so much, I just want to hug him forever.

And his plan is now in motion! What do you think will happen next?

See you on Thursday, my loves.

L.-