Kurt was exhausted. He was past the point of being tired, really. He was so exhausted that he felt sick. He was sure that it was nothing more than the simple feeling of being exhausted because there was no way that Kurt Hummel was sick. This couldn't be happening, especially not this close to midterms and surely not this close to the end of the semester. Everything was piling up, yet again, and there was just no way Kurt could handle it. He couldn't be sick because he simply didn't have time to be.

However that didn't stop the on and off fever he'd had since the day before yesterday. It also didn't stop the random coughing fits that had been easy to hide from Blaine yesterday when he was at school, but now his luck was running out and he was finding it hard to hide them.

Kurt had offered to drive them to Lima for dinner with the family and he was currently trying his hardest not to cough but that only left his entire chest feeling tight and sore. To make matters even worse, despite the fact that the heat was on as high as it could go, he still kept getting chills.

But no.

Kurt wasn't sick.

Kurt. Was. Not. Sick.

After they left Lima they would be going out again on a double date with Mercedes and David for ice cream. While Kurt was excited Mercedes was home for the weekend, it meant that he would have to sit through the date, and not only hide feeling crappy from Blaine, but Mercedes as well.

He was tired, he needed sleep, and that sleep would hopefully come tonight after their date night with Mercedes and David. He would have much rather stayed at home, curled up on the couch, and going in and out of sleep while watching television. It would be Project Runway if Kurt was the only one in the living room but if Blaine was in there it probably would have been The Bachelorette, something Blaine could watch for hours on end if Kurt let him.

If he rested on the couch and watched TV for a while, then he could work on some homework, he could maybe actually go to bed before two in the morning, and then if he felt better he could dedicate the rest of the weekend to completing his work. And if not, well... Well, Kurt would just have to continue moving away when Blaine tried to touch his feverish cheek (something Kurt had never realized his boyfriend did so much until he tried to avoid it) and coughing into a hand towel in the bathroom to muffle the noise. Because this whole holding in coughs was hurting his chest and Kurt was not a big fan of that. It brought back memories from when his chest really hurt.

"I can't believe I agreed to this."

"I can't believe you did either to be completely honest." Kurt said, pulling up to the curb outside of his old house after what seemed like a long two-day drive.

"It's unbelievably hard to say no to Carole." Blaine sighed. "Why couldn't you have had an evil stepmother like in the Disney movies?"

Kurt shut the car off and rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up some. The fact that he hadn't felt great for a few days coupled with his serious lack of sleep was taking a toll on him, and causing him to feel tired. Tired and uncharacteristically quiet. Then again, talking less meant feeling the urge to cough less.

"We don't have to stay for a long time, right? We can just eat and go?"

"Yeah, that's fine. When I went to dinner last Friday all I did was stay for dinner. Dad was fine with it." Kurt pushed his car door open and got out, really wishing he could have just stayed sitting in his comfy seat forever. "If anything happens, we'll leave. Right then. But I'm sure nothing will happen. Carole wants this to be over and I think Dad does too."

Blaine got out of the car and reached for Kurt's hand, walking up with him. "Just so you know, I'm only doing this for you."

"I know." Kurt gave Blaine a small smile and pretended to pull out his cell phone, pretending he hadn't seen Blaine's outstretched hand. He knew that if Blaine would instantly find out about his fever if they did hold hands and he couldn't have that. So far the forces had really been working with him. If Blaine hadn't been so anxious about this dinner and seeing Burt, he would have definitely noticed that Kurt wasn't feeling good. Kurt wasn't sure whether Blaine not noticing was good or bad.

"Hey, dudes!" Finn said, opening the door as soon as they reached it.

"No, no, no, Melody!" Carole was exclaiming from across the room, running towards a standing Melody. The little baby had heaved herself up using a stepping stool and was trying to knock it over.

"She's doesn't weight enough to knock it over." Finn snorted, and then his eyes widened in horror as the small stool toppled over. "Uh oh. I'm in trouble now."

"You are not allowed to watch her any more, Finn!" Carole snapped, picking up a now wailing Melody. "I don't know how many times I have to tell Burt to take that stupid thing away!"

"Is she okay?" Kurt rushed over, headache completely forgotten.

"Yes, yes, she just scared herself. She's keeps trying to stand up on this and keeps knocking it over! It needs to be put away!"

Melody, still crying, reached her hands out for her brother.

"Oh, c'mere, beautiful." Kurt cooed, gently taking her. He used his free hand to wipe the tears off of her pudgy cheeks and from under her eyes. "Shh, shh, shh. It's okay. Did the big, bad, stupid stool scare you?"

"Big, bad, stupid stool?" Finn rolled his eyes, not even bothering to check on her.

"Shut up." Kurt snapped, kissing Melody's cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a very adorable hug, still wailing loudly only now doing so right in his ear. "Oh, Mellie, you're okay. You're okay. Don't cry."

"You aren't allowed alone with her if you're not going to watch her, Finn." Carole said, sounding much calmer than she had a minute before but still looking very displeased with her son. "What if the stool had fallen the other way onto her? And just because we don't have a lot of small stuff out doesn't mean she can run free around the entire room. She's a child, not a dog! She's very curious and keeps trying to put things in her mouth and—"

"Technically she can't run yet. She can't even walk." Finn pointed out, interrupting her. "She can barely even stand on her own. That's why she keeps using the stool."

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you." Carole sighed, speaking over Melody's now quieter whines. She went to hug Kurt and then hugged Blaine. "Dinner should be done soon, boys."

Blaine reached over, tickling Melody's belly. Her sobs immediately subsided, mostly out of shock, and then she looked down at her stomach curiously before looking up at Blaine and kicking her tiny foot out in his direction. Blaine smiled and tickled down her leg until he grabbed her foot. "What are you crying for, pumpkin?"

She reached out her tiny hand and Finn leaned over, popping a pacifier into her mouth instead of handing it to her. "That's what she wanted. At first I thought she wanted to shake my hand, but apparently she just wants the mute button."

"Uh oh. Melody has a mute button." Kurt laughed. "Do you want to go to Blaine, Mellie?"

She just tightened her arms around Kurt's neck, hiding her face in his shoulder.

"I think she's comfortable." Blaine laughed. "She likes her big brother."

Kurt snuggled her. "I still say we take her home, Blaine. It'll be at least ten minutes before they notice. That will give us a decent head start."

"I think Mom would notice earlier than that." Finn said back, sliding his hands into his jean pockets. "She's always holding Melody and playing with her."

"I can still try." Kurt cooed to Melody. "Blaine and I can play house. Sweetie, do you want to come home with Blaine and I? Hmm? We don't have mean stools that scare you."

"Blaine and Kurt don't have enough time to play house. They have homework to do. And work."' Blaine pointed out. "Now if you cut down on a few classes, Kurt might have time to play house on his own."

Kurt sighed and didn't respond. He was tempted to do exactly that. He knew it was too late in the semester but he was just so tired and so exhausted. Tired and exhausted just didn't seem to cover how tired he was—which was saying something considering they both meant the same thing. On top of being tired he didn't feel good at all—which he hoped was from just being tired. He doubted it, though, seeing as he kept getting the urge to cough, he'd had an on and off fever since the day before, and the fact that his muscles kept hurting.

Kurt couldn't get sick.

He didn't have enough time.

He had too much to do, and the more he thought about it the more he wished they hadn't come to this dinner because he could be working on homework or studying for that huge test he had Monday.

Blaine's hand rested on Kurt's lower back and he handed Melody off to Carole, who was apparently now standing right in front of him.

"Let's get you some food, sweetie." Carole cooed to Melody, taking her back into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked quietly. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing. I've just got a lot of homework." Kurt said, which wasn't a complete lie. He had been mainly thinking about that. Sort of. That and the fact that his impending illness was just slightly problematic.

Blaine went to touch his cheek but Kurt moved away quickly, forcing a smile. All he needed was Blaine to know he had a fever. Then he wouldn't be able to get anything done all weekend. "Let's get some food."

"Kurt…" Blaine began.

"I'm really hungry." Kurt said in what he hoped was a firm voice. He looked at Blaine, staring right into his eyes, and spoke in a quieter voice. "Can we just eat? Please? Get this thing over with? We both want to go home."

Blaine sighed and grabbed his hand, leading them into the kitchen. Kurt heard Blaine take in a deep breath when he saw Burt, obviously mentally preparing himself.

Kurt sat at the table and watched curiously as Burt was overly nice to Blaine, who very looked uncomfortable. It was weird. Kurt had never seen his dad try to be so nice to someone.

After everyone was seated, the room fell silent. Carole tried to start conversation a few times—maybe more than a few— but it was just too awkward. The room was filled with an almost unbearable tension. Kurt didn't feel good, Blaine felt uncomfortable, Burt looked uncomfortable and as though he felt guilty, and Finn—who probably didn't even know about the fight between Blaine and Burt—looked confused.

This is what I'm doing instead of working on school work. Eating and staring at everyone in a room, feeling awkward. Great, Kurt thought to himself as he sighed quietly. While he appreciated Blaine's attempt, it was obvious that his boyfriend wasn't ready to do this. And Kurt couldn't handle putting him through this any longer than absolutely necessary.

He carefully watched Blaine and the second his plate was empty, Kurt pushed his own aside and stood. "Well, we've got to go. I promised Blaine we'd be out of here by seven. We're going out with Mercedes." He lied. It was only a half lie, really. They were going out with Mercedes and David—but they would be meeting much later on, somewhere between ten and eleven. "And you know it takes me five hours to pick out an outfit."

"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?" Carole asked sadly.

"Sorry. We really do need to go back. We have to get ready. We're going to this fancy theater and watching an adaptation of Les Mis." Okay. Replace fancy theater with ice cream parlor and watching shows with walking downtown and then this would have been accurate. But somehow he didn't see his dad and Carole thinking he was getting ready for that.

"Oh." Carole forced a smile. "Well that sounds nice. I hope you boys have a lot of fun."

"We'll try." This time it was Blaine that spoke, in a very soft voice. "Thank you for dinner."

Carole shot Burt a look; it was one that clearly said Burt would be sleeping on the couch tonight. She stood and went to hug both boys. She wrapped her arms around Kurt in a tight hug and touched his cheek before pulling away. "You feel a little warm, hon."

Damn. She is too good at this.

"I'll make sure to get into bed early tonight." Kurt said smoothly. "I promise."

"Alright. You really should because you don't want to go getting sick."

"I know." Kurt gave her a small smile and looked to Blaine, who was busy talking animatedly with Finn about some new cartoon that was airing. If Blaine had heard he 'felt a little warm,' Kurt would have been holed up in his room for the entire weekend by force of the shorter boy. Thankfully all things childish preoccupied Blaine.

Carole gave him one last hug before going and wrapping her arms around Blaine. "Thank you for coming this week, sweetheart. It means a lot to everyone."

Blaine gave Carole a weak smile and hugged her back. "You're welcome."

"You boys stay safe tonight since you'll be out late, okay? And you two take care of each other." She said.

"We will." Both Kurt and Blaine said together.

"I'll call you tomorrow." Blaine said, giving Carole a small wave as Kurt hugged his father goodbye.

"Make sure he's getting rest." Carole said, pointing at Kurt. "He looks sleepy."

"I plan on it." Blaine nodded and hugged Carole again before going to the door with Kurt. "Bye."

After Burt and Carole said their goodbyes, (the exchange between Burt and Blaine very awkward, Kurt noticed) the boys made their way out to the car.

"Want me to drive back?" Blaine asked, squeezing Kurt's hand. "You look like you need a nap anyway."

"No, I can—." Kurt trailed off and blinked at Blaine a few times. Because a nap actually sounded amazing. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all." Blaine smiled and opened the passenger door for Kurt after taking his keys. "You look like you could use some sleep."

Kurt climbed into the car and buckled his seat belt, yawning. "That was pretty rough, wasn't it?"

"It was." Blaine sighed, getting into the car and backing out. "I've never seen your dad try to be so nice before. It was kind of unsettling, to be honest."

"Don't worry. We won't go next weekend." Kurt promised.

***WBUCT***

"I just don't get it. How can they date if they've only met, like, four times?" Blaine went on as he stared into their closet—yes, by this point both of the closets were theirs because they had too much stuff to keep in one individually and Blaine was just really lazy sometimes— and tried to figure out what to wear.

"Why do you care? If they like each other they like each other." Kurt sighed, rubbing his forehead since Blaine wasn't in the same room with him. Sleep. That's all he wanted. And then maybe the dark circles would disappear from under his eyes. He was not one to admit defeat generally but maybe his dad, Blaine, and Carole had been right all along. Maybe he really was trying to take on too much.

"It sounds to me that they like the physical attraction and not the person." Blaine said, letting out an uncharacteristic snort that reminded Kurt of the fact that Blaine's best friends were two straight guys.

"Well, what's wrong with—"Kurt, who was in the bathroom staring at his dark circles under his eyes and not quite re-fixing his hair, realized exactly what Blaine had said and poked his head out to stare at his boyfriend. "Wait. What did you say?"

"They're fooling around." Blaine, who was standing shirtless and frowning at his closet, shrugged as if it was old news. "I have nothing to wear. I need to get new clothes."

Kurt gasped, and it surprisingly had nothing to do with the opportunity of taking Blaine shopping. There was no way that Mercedes would fool around with someone she had been dating mere weeks. Plus, when did they have time to fool around? "No! She isn't!"

"Yes."

"B-But they've only met a few times!" Kurt sputtered. That settled it. He and Mercedes would be having a sleepover. Mercedes was only in town for the weekend and this had to be discussed.

"Why do you care? If they like each other, they like each other." Blaine mimicked, grabbing a green long sleeved shirt and tugging it on.

"You're lying."

"I am not! It's all David talks about. Apparently their almost sex was better than any sex-sex that he's had. I just think it's gross. We started dating in March and didn't even have sex until August after your birthday. And we hadn't even fooled around before that unless you count humping… And we knew each other and, you know, just…"

Kurt blinked a few times and then straightened. "Wait a minute. If David talks about his almost sex life, do you?"

Blaine snorted and messed up Kurt's hair. "Not really."

"Not really?" Kurt swatted Blaine's hand away, looking less than pleased. "What does not really mean, Blaine Anderson?"

"Well they knew when we first had sex… I complain when I'm not getting any—like last week, for example—but I don't tell them details or anything. Just like I ignore them when they try to tell me details. I think it's gross."

"You better not tell details." Kurt mumbled, going back to fix his hair. He had been debating just leaving it but seeing as Blaine had revisited his old habits of harassing Kurt's head, Kurt was going to have to completely redo it.

"You look tired." Blaine surveyed, following him. "Actually, you looked tired at dinner too."

"I am tired." Kurt said, and mentally added, and I really don't feel good. "You really don't talk about our sex life, right?"

"No." Blaine said, very honestly. "Like I told you. I told them when we first had sex and I complain when I don't get sex. I don't talk about it anything other than that. It's private. I know you wouldn't like them knowing details. Besides, it should just be between us."

Kurt gave him a smile.

Blaine reached out, touching Kurt's face. "You're pretty warm, Kurt. Are you feeling okay?"

"I think it's the lights." Kurt said smoothly, using some of Blaine's hair gel to sculpt his hair into the perfect style.

"You sure? You were pretty quiet all through dinner too." Blaine asked, moving his hand to Kurt's forehead.

Please tell me to just get into bed. Tell me and I'll do it, Kurt silently pleaded. He sighed. "I'm fine, Blaine. I'm just tired and I've been standing in front of this mirror too long."

Blaine squeezed his arm and then kissed his cheek affectionately. "Hopefully they won't want to hang out too long. I've got a three-page paper to work on. This professor is killing me with close readings. I'm sorry. It's impossible to do a three page close reading of a two stanza poem that looks like it could have been written by a toddler."

Kurt laughed and rolled his eyes, inwardly kicking himself. Of course Blaine wasn't trying to make him stay home. How many times had Kurt promised to take care of himself? How many times had he been snappy with Blaine for trying to protect him too much? This is exactly what Kurt had asked of him. This was Kurt's own fault. He had nobody to blame here but himself. "You always seem to manage."

"I always seem to bullshit my way through with sentences that just so happen to flow together in a way that keeps their attention." Blaine shrugged. "Come on. Your hair looks fine, you look amazing. You always look amazing. Let's just go out tonight with Mercedes and David. It will be fun."

"You remember how awkward Mercedes felt that day at Breadstix? The day we kept talking about 'gay things'? This is going to be like that for us, isn't it?" Kurt asked, allowing Blaine to pull him out of the house and down towards Blaine's BMW. "That or they'll make out in front of us the whole time."

"I think it's going to be ice cream with friends and possibly a walk in town." Blaine shrugged, opening the car door for Kurt. "I don't think anyone will be bored or anything. And I don't see David making out with someone like that."

Kurt leaned against Blaine, head rested on his shoulder and his hand balling up some of Blaine's shirt. He took a deep breath and relaxed against him, wishing they were on the couch and that he could just curl up and sleep contently in his boyfriend's arms.

"Kurt, are you that tired?"

"I'm pretty tired." Kurt mumbled into his shoulder. "But mostly you just smell really nice."

Blaine laughed loudly. "C'mon, it's cold out here. Get in the car. You can smell me all you want when we get back home."

Kurt stepped away and got into the car, leaning over to push open the driver side door for Blaine. "Consider yourself lucky I'm letting you drive after Wednesday."

"That was not my fault. She almost hit me, not the other way around." Blaine scoffed, starting the car and backing out.

"For someone who is such a careful driver, Blaine, this is the second time in 4 months that you've almost killed me. Yet I've never almost killed you, now, have I?" Kurt said, grabbing Blaine's hand. "Hmm?"

"Shut up, Kurt." Blaine laughed. "You try to kill me every day you let that damn dog out of his cage."

"That's right." Kurt nodded. "I'm really just hoping you'll die and then Kreacher and I will live off of your money forever."

"Oh, is that so?" Blaine playfully punched Kurt's arm. "Is that what this is about?"

"You didn't think it was your hair or eyes or personality, God forbid, did you?" Kurt grinned.

"I have an amazing personality, thank you very much." Blaine scoffed.

"Yes, yes, and everyone loves your smile. You, me, and the receptionist at the dentist office were made well aware a few weeks ago, Blaine. "

"I'm glad that's cleared up." Blaine said, a rather smug smile on his face.

Kurt shook his head and fell silent, head leaning against the window. Blaine looked at him every few minutes, looking hesitant but clearly avoiding doing anything that may have appeared 'protective.'

The boys remained silent on the way to the ice cream shop, Blaine not wanting to annoy Kurt and Kurt not wanting to lie to Blaine. When they pulled into a parking space in the front, Kurt sat up straight and looked inside. Through the window they could see David and Mercedes seated and laughing about something.

"See? Look. They look happy." Kurt pointed. "Clearly not just sex."

"But it's long distance. It won't work." Blaine argued.

"You don't know that." Kurt said quietly, taking his seat belt off. "You should probably stop making your opinion known to David though. It's really not either of our business."

"It's really not either of our business." Blaine muttered after Kurt was out of the car with the door closed. "Not your business my ass. I'm not the one who intends to sleep over with her just to find out about just how far they've gotten. Puh."

…

It was hard to focus on David and Blaine's chattering when his head hurt more with each step they took. Of course Cincinnati was a wonderful, busy city. Kurt liked it and normally he would have really enjoyed this after ice cream walk, but all Kurt could think of was his bed.

"You haven't talked much." Mercedes nudged him, finally moving away from David's side.

"Just tired."

How many times had Kurt said that in the last three hours? Too many to count.

"Tired my butt. Boy, you've got huge circles under your eyes, you're pale, and any time one of those two over there laugh loudly you cringe. Not to mention you keep trying to stifle coughs. You're sick." Mercedes scoffed.

"I'm not sick." Kurt muttered. "Just a little stressed out. Midterms are coming up and I'm tired."

"Kurt, you better be taking care of yourself. You look like you've lost some weight."

"Don't talk so loud. If you say that Blaine will jump on the band wagon. All I need is him harassing me." Kurt said, gently elbowing her. "I'm fine."

"If you're so fine, why don't you talk with us instead of looking like one of those zombies from the scary movies?"

If looks could kill, Mercedes would have dropped dead on the spot. "I don't look like a zombie."

"Well you don't look good. You look like you need about 5 meals, three days of sleep, and some antibiotics for that cough you're about to hide."

As if on cue Kurt coughed into his sleeve, glaring.

"Alright, here is how it's going to go down. I'm going to fake a headache so David will take me home. And you're going to get into bed, eat some soup, take some Advil, and go to bed. I go home Tuesday. Sunday we're gonna hang out and if you aren't better—by my standards, not yours—then I'm telling Blaine to take you to a doctor."

"You're not my mother." Kurt muttered.

"Guys, I think I need to go home." Mercedes said, lowering her voice in an attempt to sound sick. "I just got a really bad headache. I'm sorry."

"My car's right up here anyway." David said, putting a hand on her back. "See you guys later."

"I hope you feel better, Mercedes." Blaine said, frowning.

"Yeah. Bye, 'Cedes." Kurt waved, mentally reminding himself to bake some cookies for her very soon.

***WBUCT***

"Blaine?" Kurt called out, still half asleep. "Blaine?"

He heard loud knocking on the door, clearly the thing that had woken him up, and sat up. There was a note right next to his phone in Blaine's messy handwriting that read 'Someone from work called last night and asked me to come in after you went to bed. Sorry. I'll bring dinner on the way home and cheesecake. Oh, and, I put Kreacher back in the bed. And fed the fish. And washed the dishes. And made you lunch. It's in the fridge so you can heat it.'

Kurt rolled his eyes and read on, the next lines scratched out. 'Also, don't work too hard today because you kept coughing last night.'

And then, unscratched, "I'll see you tonight. Love you."

So Blaine knew he was coughing at least.

Then again, it was hard to cover up anything when one was asleep.

There was more knocks and then his cell phone lit up.

"Aunt Taylor?"

"Are you at home, sweetie?" his aunt asked.

"Oh God." Kurt hung up and, still clad in his pajamas and hair going everywhere, rushed to open his door. "Taylor!"

"Surprise!" his aunt exclaimed, hugging him. "Kurt Elijah Hummel, were you sleeping at three in the afternoon?"

"It's three?" Kurt's eyes widened in horror.

All the work that he had to get done.

And he'd slept the whole day away? He'd passed out around midnight the night before and had slept fifteen hours? "Three?"

Taylor stepped back and looked at him. "Oh, honey, you look exhausted."

"I've been busy with school." Kurt admitted as Taylor hugged him again.

"Well you're half way through the semester!" she smiled at him. "It'll be all worth it after you graduate and become famous."

"I guess that will depend on if I get a lucky break. But I'm trying to be optimistic." Kurt laughed a bit and coughed into his arm. "What are you doing here?"

"Driving through. I had to meet someone about possibly opening the store in Florida and I thought I'd surprise you on the way home. Is the love of your life home?"

"No. He got called into work." Kurt sighed. "He'll he home soon though."

"Oh, where does he work? Maybe I can stop by and see him."

"On campus in Lexington."

"Oh… well maybe not." Taylor laughed. "Damn, that boy drives all the way there for work?"

"Two Saturdays a month he does an open to close. He gets paid mileage on Saturdays too." Kurt explained. "He has gaps in between classes and he works after sometimes too, but his older brother is nice and gives him a lot of money since his parents… well, you know."

"How's he doing? How are both of you doing? Everything going well?"

"He's doing really good. He's been hanging out with David, one of his best friends, a lot. And last weekend he stayed in Kentucky after work and went to one of the basketball games with some of his friends from school. And his grades are amazing as always. He's a walking Smart Machine or something. It's a bit ridiculous." Kurt said.

"Oh, good, he's got friends at school too?"

"Yeah. He talks to them on the phone sometimes. They all sound very loud." And annoying, Kurt mentally added. "I think it's mostly guys he works with at the bookstore. He could make friends with anyone, though. He's very likeable."

"He seems that way." Taylor reached over and hugged him once again. "Kurt, I miss you so much. And I don't think we've talked on the phone in a month at least. I know you've been busy, though. It just sucks that I don't hear from my Kurtsie. Can I see some of your stuff?"

"It's mostly sketches. All of the real stuff we do mostly stays in the studio. But yeah." Kurt coughed a bit and made his way to the kitchen, returning with his tablet and sketchbooks.

Taylor flipped through, gasping at nearly every sketch. "Oh, Kurt, you're going to go far, honey. I know you are. These are all amazing. Amazing."

Kurt, who was sitting and sort of slouching, sat up a little straighter and smiled. Of course Blaine always said this stuff, but Blaine saw the sketches every day and, as Kurt's boyfriend, he was obligated. Maybe Taylor was slightly obligated too but he could see by the expressions on her face that she genuinely meant it. "Really?"

"Yes, honey. Really. Although there are so many. God, the amount of time these must take… They're so beautiful, Kurt. Really and truly."

Kurt offered her another smile and looked up as the door opened.

"I hate, hate, hate when they make me take deposits alone. It's just not safe and—oh." Blaine trailed off, eyes widening.

"Hello there." Taylor smiled at him. "Oh, look at you. Have you gotten taller?"

A positively adorable smile spread across Blaine's face. "Have I?"

"I love him." Taylor said, looking at Kurt. "You two better never break up. He's the most adorable boy I have ever met."

"It's the smile, apparently." Kurt rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Blaine. "They made you take the deposit again?"

"Yes! And it was $10,000. What happened to getting books at the beginning of the semester?" Blaine complained, shaking his head.

"Do you work at a bookstore?" Taylor asked. "I like you even more. Come sit by me, tell me every single detail of your life, and let me love you."

Blaine let out a loud laugh and came to sit by them, looking completely unfazed—something which always thrilled Kurt, because Kurt just loved that Blaine got along with his family so well.

"It's a textbook store. I would like to work in a regular bookstore but I'm fine doing this for now. If I can get a schedule that's easy to work around next semester I might get a job in Ohio though." Blaine explained.

"If you lived in New York I'd give you a job. We'd be buddies. Everyone that works in my store… well, they aren't idiots… but they're idiots." Taylor laughed.

"What kind of bookstore is it? Like, do you own a Barnes and Noble?"

"God, no. I'd never get involved with Corporate America. It's just a small bookstore in a corner shop. It's about eight blocks from my house. Daniel Radcliffe comes in all the time and buys books."

"Daniel Radcliffe?"

"Yep. And I call him Harry Potter." She shrugged. "He calls me McGonagall but I guess I deserve it. He's nice. Maybe you and Kurt can come up to New York before I sell it and see it."

"Sell it?" Blaine questioned. "Why on Earth would you do that?"

"Well I might move it down to Florida." Taylor answered. "Which Kurt is okay with because it means he can go to Disney World."

Kurt, whose head had leaned to rest on Blaine's, looked up at that. "I never said I wanted you to."

"I know that. But it's a good selling point, is it not?" Taylor asked happily.

Kurt just shrugged and looked down. Of course he didn't want Taylor to move. He wanted Taylor to stay and patch things up with Paige, whom Kurt had still yet to speak to. That's what he wanted. His wants weren't important here though. Taylor's were. However, he got the feeling Taylor just wanted to get half way across the country to avoid his other aunt. She was leaving a store that Kurt knew she loved. No. Kurt didn't want that.

"Oh no, don't sell it." Blaine said, surprising Kurt. "With all of the bookstores closing down, don't willingly close one down even if you're thinking of moving it. Because it might not do as well in Florida. Plus, a random corner shop in Florida isn't near as cool as one in New York. Don't sell it."

Taylor looked thoughtful and sighed, leaning back against the back of the couch. "I feel like I need a change of space."

"Take a vacation." Kurt said. "Go home and stay with your parents for a few days. Well, your mom is in Ohio. Go stay with your dad."

"Oklahoma?" Taylor scoffed. "No thanks. I love my dad and all but Oklahoma is the most boring place I've ever been to. And his new wife is horrendous. She's a downright bitch."

Blaine looked at her, shocked. He had never seen Taylor talking negatively about anything—unless you counted the Thanksgiving fight with Paige, but he tended not to. Taylor was generally super friendly and always seemed to be genuinely… happy. "Is she unaccepting?"

"I don't think it's got anything to do with the fact that I'm gay. She just doesn't like the fact that I may be more important to my dad than she is." Taylor shrugged.

"She was very rich and pretentious." Kurt said thoughtfully. "And your cousin's son was mean. He pushed me down."

Blaine looked at him, looking confused and concerned.

"Oh God." Taylor rolled her eyes as Kurt said slowly, "Well, I was seven."

Blaine squeezed Kurt's thigh and stood. "I'm going to get spaghetti. Anyone want some?"

"No thanks." Taylor said, giving him a sweet smile.

"I'll get some later." Kurt said, watching as Taylor began going through the pictures on his tablet. When Blaine left the room, Kurt asked very slowly, "Taylor… why do you want to sell?"

"Because it's a great opportunity. I didn't even think of it, but once they asked and started talking…"

Kurt just stared at her, head titled.

"Fine, fine. Stop with the big, blue eyes." Taylor sighed. "Sometimes you're a lot like your aunt. She can see through bullshitting too."

Kurt offered a small smile, although his head was pounding and he certainly didn't feel very happy.

"It's just hard, Kurt. I'm seeing your aunt everywhere. And before, you know, we'd clearly avoid eye contact or she'd give me a nasty look or she'd try to talk to me. Now it's like she doesn't even acknowledge me. I'm sorry. We dated for twenty years if you count both times we dated. So don't pretend you don't even recognize me."

"Have you two talked since Thanksgiving?" Kurt asked, rolling his eyes as Blaine turned on the radio in the kitchen and began to sing along to Teenage Dream.

"No." Taylor shook her head, suddenly looking sad. "It's not that I'm being childish. I'm a grown adult. I just know that this is bothering me on a level that it shouldn't. I don't want to react that way to something that someone says because that isn't me. What happened on Thanksgiving never should have happened, Kurtsie. Never. And I don't want anything else getting to that point. But I feel just as angry with her and I feel like one day we're going to go at it again."

"Maybe you two should talk." Kurt suggested.

Taylor sighed and looked down at his sketches, and then back up at him. "You look exhausted, honey. Are you taking care of yourself?"

"I'm… trying." Kurt said. He'd never been able to lie to his aunt. Never. "It's just hard. I've got so much stuff to do. I'm under a lot of pressure. It's all pressure I've put myself under, but it's still there nonetheless. And…" He trailed off.

"And what, sweetie?" she asked, setting the tablet very carefully on the coffee table with the nearly stacked sketchbooks. "What's wrong?"

"It's just so different, Taylor. Living alone with Blaine, going to school, trying to do all of these adult things… It's really hard."

"That's growing up, sweetie." She sighed softly. "I hate to break it to you, but it only gets harder."

Kurt opened his mouth to speak and abruptly closed it, biting his lip.

"Is everything okay between you and Blaine since the fight, honey?"

"We're doing a lot better since the fight… I know we said bad stuff but I think some of it needed to be said… I'm trying to be home more and spend more time with him and he's trying to give me more space when I'm home to get stuff done. It's kind of hard, though. Sometimes it's like even though we live together… we don't. Because some days we can barely talk, you know? Yeah, we sleep together…" When I actually get to sleep at a decent hour, Kurt mentally added. He frowned. "It really sucks. I just thought nothing would change when we moved out but it really has. I miss spending time with him. I miss just going to get ice cream and watching movies in bed and going to see musicals and shows."

"Why aren't you all spending so much time together?"

Kurt moved his tablet and grabbed the sketchbooks, flipping almost angrily through it and pointing out images. "This and this and this and this and this and this." He said, hating how miserable he said. "I am always in class a-and if I'm not I may as well be b-because I'm always working on the school work." He took a deep breath. He didn't need to get upset. "I'm so tired. I'm tired, Taylor, and I never feel good. I don't feel good now. I slept fifteen hours. My head is killing me, I am constantly hungry but I can't seem to find time to eat. I'm surprised I find time to shower. I'm under so much pressure."

Taylor pried the sketchbooks from his hands and set them aside, then put her hands on his cheeks and made him look at her. She was silent for a few seconds, just staring at him. Finally, she spoke. "You are the only one that knows your limitations, Kurt. You know when it is too much, not me. But you are also the type of person that takes on an overwhelming amount of work. And then you crack under the pressure when you're so far in that you can't even see the way out. But, sweetie, you can't do that with school. You've got to find that balance."

"People keep talking about balance. I don't have balance. I don't have time for balance." Kurt said miserably.

"Then you need to make time. Drop a class."

"It's too late to drop. I'll lose my partial scholarship." Kurt sighed.

"Then you've got to make ends meet somehow." Taylor said very calmly, giving him a sad smile. "It's the end of March. You've only got a little over a month left, sweetie. Six weeks. You can do it."

Kurt looked down. "I'm so unhappy right now."

Taylor wrapped her arms around him. "You're so thin. You've got to take care of yourself, Kurtsie. You've got to eat and sleep. Your health needs to come first. Before everything else. If you aren't healthy and you get sick, then you won't be able to do anything."

"I can't be sick." Kurt sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "I just can't, Taylor. I don't have time for this right now. I felt like crap yesterday and I came home and I slept for 15 hours and my head is still pounding and I keep coughing." He looked up at the ceiling. "I just can't right now."

"If your body is telling you that something is wrong, then something is wrong. And that means you need to take care of it." Taylor squeezed his free hand. "I'm going to get you into bed so you can rest some more and I'm going to head back to New York, alright? You need to not worry about your school work tonight. Just lay down and try to sleep."

Kurt allowed Taylor to take him to bed and crawled in. "Can you not tell Blaine I feel so bad? I don't want him to worry."

"Why don't you want Blaine to know you're sick, sweetie? He cares about you. He'll just want you to get better." Taylor said softly.

"I just don't want to worry him is all. Not if it's just a cold."

Taylor looked hesitant as she pulled the covers up. "Fine… but I'm counting on you to get yourself feeling better. I want you to call or text me tomorrow with an update, okay?"

"Okay." Kurt sighed. "Taylor… If you're moving just because of Paige, I think you've got the… Well... Then I don't think you should do it. Because it's not good to run away from things like that. You'll regret it later."

"I know." Taylor nodded. "I've got to do some serious thinking tonight and figure out if I'm doing this completely for the wrong reasons."

Kurt nodded, blinking up at her. "Thanks for stopping by to see me."

She bent over and kissed his forehead. "Please, Kurt, just listen to me. Get yourself feeling better, work less, and take care of yourself. You're too young to put this much stress on yourself. Okay?"

Kurt nodded and snuggled under his covers, closing his eyes.

"Love you, honey." She kissed his cheek. "Feel better."

"Love you too, Taylor." Kurt said, rolling over, pulling the covers over his head, and coughing into the crook of his arm. The idea of working less was nice, of course. But that just wasn't realistic right now. He didn't understand why nobody else got that.