By now, most of you have seen the review I got from TheDuster. If not, I was basically told that getting Angela to write yesterday's chapter was rude, lazy and offensive to everybody involved. I have been reported for plagiarism too and told that my authors notes are a serious misuse and the majority of the people who read my stories don't care about me or my life. This... yeah. I must say I'm not used to things like this coming up, I'm blessed by the rest of you who only ever send lovely reviews, so maybe I'm a bit cushioned and spoiled, but it sucked to read it. I have elected not to reply to the person myself but Angela has as well as some others who saw my Tumblr post about it this morning.

So, to make it completely clear, this is the deal. Angela wrote yesterday's chapter at my request to be posted exclusively to this story, so I did not steal it, therefore it is not plagiarism. I wasn't aware that it came across as lazy, but so be it. I'm busy and I get so many amazing and lovely prompts that I don't want to discard, things I would love to see written but I don't think I could give justice to. So I ask Angela if she wants to write them and she enjoys it. And honestly, the only people who should have an issue with it are the peoples prompts who were used if they wanted me specifically to write it. In that case, they are more than welcome to PM me and we can try to sort something out.

I just ask that you don't go and harass the user. If you really do feel so inclined, go and check their profile and you'll see why I don't want you doing it. Not because I don't want you to get involved or stand up for me, but because I don't want you to get responses from this person of a similar nature.

Now that I've misused my authors notes some more, let's go on with the story.

From njferrell: There are lots of fics/onshots that take place after the Gap attack. And, Kurt tells Blaine he thought it was going to be him. Or Kurt ends their friendship or something. But, I can't remember ever reading any where Kurt asks him why he never told him about Jeremiah. Nor did it happen on the show(I don't think) They were suppose to be best/close friends. Two gay boys in a very gay unfriendly Ohio. But, Blaine never shared he met someone who he thinks is/or actually is gay. That they have been having coffee together. That he likes him/has a crush. Not even that he has another "friend" who is gay and not mention a name because he wasn't "out". Kurt was blindsided in that the boy he loves, likes someone else. AND, blindsided as a friend. I know friends don't tell each other everything. But, Blaine didn't tell him anything about Jeremiah…

Oh my god, so this. I just had to write it because yeah, Blaine was a bit insensitive there. Did he want Jeremiah all to himself or something? And it's weird to put this in a Kiss prompt, I know… but I really wanted to write it and I knew if I didn't put it in here, it wouldn't get written because of my hectic schedule. So it went a different angle than it would have if it had been a oneshot, simply because we did have to get to a kiss.

Insensitive

It took a few days after the Gap Attack for Blaine to stop hurting. In hindsight, the short amount of time would matter a lot, especially when he looked at what was hurting him the most - his public embarrassment, not his rejection by Jeremiah. Not that the rejection didn't hurt, after all Blaine had thought he was in love with the boy. Regardless, those few days were spent mostly in solitude, listening to his Woe Is Me playlist on repeat and indulging in a few sad movies when he knew nobody was going to burst in on him and see what he was doing. The Warblers knew Blaine well enough to leave him alone, figuring he would come right in matter of days, and he appreciated it.

So naturally, Blaine wasn't particularly aware of the world around him during this time of solitude. He had switched his phone off - not that Jeremiah was going to call, but if he did, Blaine wanted him to have the indignation of an answering machine to deal with - and apart from going to class and Warbler meetings, Blaine spent all of his time in his room. Yes, it was probably glorified sulking. No, he didn't care.

But finally, Blaine woke up and realized that everything was okay. The world was still turning, he was still breathing and there were other guys out there, guys who were absolutely more out and proud than Jeremiah. And if the Warbler table breathed a collective sigh of relief when he showed up to breakfast with a smile on his face, so what? At least he was back on track.

That was, until Blaine looked around and realized Kurt wasn't there.

"Looking for Kurt?" Wes asked knowingly from his left. "Yeah, he's not here."

David leaned over, clearly wanting to be a part of the conversation. "He'll show up for class tomorrow but that's it. And any time someone checks his room, he's not in it."

"What do you mean?" Blaine blinked a couple of times before pulling out his phone and switching it on for the first time in the past four days. "He's staying at Lima again?"

Wes's reply was drowned out by Blaine's phone going haywire, Blaine letting out a low whistle when he saw the screen. "Ten missed calls, fourteen texts… how many of these are from you guys?"

Wes glanced around the table, counting. "Seven of the texts would be from us and I know at least four of us called you, me and David twice. Could the rest be from -"

"Kurt."

Wes nodded. "Yeah?"

"They are." Blaine turned his phone to show the call log - four missed calls from Kurt over the first two days of Blaine's solitude, and seven texts. After those two days, however, there had been nothing. He quickly opened his texts, starting from the beginning.

Blaine, I know you're upset right now and the others have advised me to leave you alone, so I will. But when you're feeling better, there's something I'd like to talk to you about. - Kurt

I've called you, I'm presuming your phone is off. Look, I'm sorry things didn't work out and I'm sorry Jeremiah doesn't like you back. But you said you were pretty much okay with that when we talked after Valentine's Day so I don't know what's going on. And I really need to talk to you. - Kurt

But take your time. Whenever you're ready. - Kurt

Okay, it's been a whole day and I've only seen you in class and you haven't looked at me at all. Don't shut me out like this. I get it, you're hurting, but we used to talk about most things. Though I probably shouldn't have expected this to be one of them, it is Jeremiah after all. - Kurt

That was probably harsh. But… I don't know, Blaine. Can I please talk to you? - Kurt

I give up. - Kurt

In case you're wondering - not that you're probably even out of your room yet - I'm not staying in the dorms right now. I think it's better if I commute for the next little while. Hopefully you pull out of your funk soon. - Kurt

Blaine winced before realizing the full implications of what the words meant. Before the other boys could ask what was going on, Blaine was calling Kurt, waiting, holding his breath while the phone rang.

"Hello?"

Blaine let out the breath in a relieved woosh. "Kurt! I -"

"Yeah, you can stop right there." Blaine froze, stunned not so much by the words but by the tone. Kurt sounded like he hadn't slept in days, but Blaine somehow knew it wasn't that kind of exhaustion. "Sounds like you're feeling better, I'm glad to hear it. I won't be in today, if you could ask Nick to pick up my notes for me, that would be great. Talk to you later."

And before Blaine could reply, the dial tone was beeping in his ear. Slowly, he lowered the phone and ended the call before looking up at Wes and David who were watching him curiously. "Okay, I think I might have messed up really badly."

David simply raised an eyebrow. "You think? Look, we get it, you funk out and have to spend some time alone. We just figured it was because me and Wes didn't really understand properly. But Kurt comes along, someone who understands you better than you understand yourself sometimes, and you shut him out too? What's with that, man?"

As Blaine was all set to rip shreds into David, Wes spoke up quietly. "Look, it might not be our place but you need to know this. You've been pushing Kurt away for the past two weeks -"

"No, longer than that," David interjected. "Kurt just didn't know it."

Wes nodded. "And I think he's finally snapped. We're not going to tell you what exactly you did because you need to work that one out for yourself but let me help you out here. Two weeks puts us before Valentine's Day, around about the time you were calling a rather pivotal Warbler meeting. That's when it all started."

And, unbelievably, the two stood and walked away, leaving Blaine sitting alone in his confusion. Valentines Day… what happened?

Do I even need to ask that?

Blaine winced, the memories hitting him again. The embarrassment over Jeremiah, the way he had acted like a complete fool, reading into things far too much and then not realizing what was right in front of him, Kurt and his… feelings…

Oh. Really?

Of course this was going to be about Kurt's feelings for him, of course Kurt would want to talk about that. And no, Blaine didn't want to belittle Kurt's feelings, but was it really such a big deal that Kurt would have to call him that many times and then practically leave the school? After all, Blaine had made it clear at the time that he didn't want to screw things up with Kurt by rushing into any kind of relationship, and he had just gotten over Jeremiah. It was almost insensitive of Kurt to start pushing it at this point in time.

Blaine wanted to be angry but he knew he couldn't. He just kept remembering Kurt's face in the coffee shop, as if he had been wanting to admit that for ages but hadn't been able to. The slightly crushed smile when Blaine said he didn't want to start anything, but the overwhelming patience he displayed. The way he had supported Blaine through his horrendous attempts at romancing Jeremiah without saying a word for how he felt about it all.

No matter how bad the timing was, Blaine had to make things right.

Pulling up outside Kurt's house, Blaine took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his palms. He wasn't completely sure why he was so nervous, only knowing that Kurt was mad at him for the first time ever and it completely sucked. In fact, Blaine realized, it sucked far more than his heartbreak over Jeremiah.

But the complete nervousness only really made sense once Blaine had knocked on the door and suddenly realized that Kurt might not be the one to answer the door. There were three other people who lived in that house, after all, and two of them would probably be out for Blaine's blood. Please not Burt, Blaine began begging in his head. Please not -

"Blaine?"

Finn.

Blaine did his best to smile before realizing it might be insensitive. "Hi. Is Kurt in?"

"Well where else would he be, dude." Finn made no indication of letting Blaine in any time soon, crossing his arms over his chest. "He used to spend all of his free time with you but lately you've been too -"

"Finn," came the voice that Blaine knew so well, and Finn paused. "Leave it. I'm a big boy, I can talk to him myself."

Finn sighed and stepped back, allowing Blaine to tentatively enter. "Fine," Finn said, still refusing to take his eyes from Blaine. "But I'll be in the kitchen. If he hurts you, I'll know and I'm not holding back."

Kurt sighed but Blaine knew he appreciated the sentiment. And then Kurt turned to look at him and Blaine suddenly realized that Kurt wouldn't look at him, at least not in the eye. "Blaine. I suppose it would be rude to ask you to leave when you've come all this way to talk to me. Come in."

Blaine followed Kurt into the living room where Kurt gestured for him to take a seat. As he sat on the couch, Kurt immediately took the seat furtherest way so he was practically across the other side of the room and Blaine winced. He's seriously mad at me. Blaine waited a few seconds before realizing Kurt wasn't going to talk. So, reluctantly, he began. "Look, Kurt, I get that you're probably kind of upset right now. I know you like me and that's what caused this but -"

"No," Kurt said, frowning. "I mean… yes, I like you, but that's not what this is about at all."

And now Blaine was completely lost. "But then… if it isn't about Jeremiah."

"Oh, it's about Jeremiah alright." Kurt rolled his eyes at Blaine's confused expression before sighing. "Blaine, you're the first openly gay guy I've met and you know that. So one day you come across another openly gay guy in the Westerville area, you start having coffee with him and hanging out to the point where you think you've fallen in love with him. Why did I only learn about him when Valentines Day came around?"

Oh my god.

Blaine was speechless. He had immediately jumped to conclusions that it was all about him - and wow, how much more selfish could he get? - when really it wasn't at all. It was about Jeremiah, and the fact that Blaine hadn't told Kurt about him. And really, why hadn't he? Now that Kurt brought it up, it made absolutely no sense for Blaine to keep Jeremiah a secret. And yet, he had. He really had.

Why?

Blaine realized Kurt was waiting for some kind of answer, but his words were gone. Finally, Kurt sighed again. "Fine, you can have your secrets, that's fine. I guess there's no real reason for you to tell me anyway, I mean… we're friends but it's not like we've known each other for years and you don't owe me anything…" and to Blaine's horror, Kurt appeared to be reverting into himself completely. "I've made a huge deal over this and I shouldn't have and I've probably just humiliated myself and… forget it. You can go, I'll be back at Dalton tomorrow and we'll pretend this never happened and -"

"Woah, Kurt, Kurt!" Blaine held up his hands, trying to silence the boy. "No, don't do this. You were right, completely right. It just shocked me because I'd never thought about it but now that I have, I… wow."

"Wow?" Kurt asked quietly.

Blaine nodded, closing his eyes for a second. When he looked back, Kurt was still watching him but his glare had softened. "Wow, I've been an idiot," Blaine completed. "And I didn't even know it. I'm really sorry, Kurt."

Kurt stayed silent for a long moment. "Blaine, tell me about Jeremiah."

And Blaine knew it wasn't a question. "I met him about two months ago when I was at the Gap. I wasn't completely sure whether he was gay or not, it's not like he just walked up to me and told me he was or started hitting on me blatantly. But he was especially helpful and I was dead sure that he flirted with me a couple of times. So I went back the next week, just to see whether my suspicions were confirmed -"

"Okay," Kurt interrupted. "Why didn't you tell me then, that you had suspicions?"

"Because I wasn't sure," Blaine replied. "I've had my gaydar fail on me before, many times over. I thought Wes was gay when I first got here. I didn't want to make a big deal about this guy and then find out he was straight."

Kurt nodded. "I can understand that. So you went back?"

"I went back," Blaine continued. "And he was there again, extra friendly as usual and started asking questions about me and my school and all that. And somewhere along the line, sexuality came up and I figured, hey, what do I have to lose? So I told him and then he sort of made insinuations that he swung the same way and when he was ringing me through, he asked if maybe I wanted to wait around and get a coffee once he was finished. So I did and we just kept talking and… I don't know. It was nice. And he got my number."

Kurt stood and crossed the room to sit on the couch next to Blaine, still keeping a considerable amount of distance between them. "And you still kept it from me?"

Blaine sighed, ducking his head a little. "I found out how old he was and I figured he'd never actually call me back. I mean, I'm only fifteen and he's nineteen, why would he spare me any more time? At that point, I just really admired him for being an older gay guy and, apart from you, the first one I'd ever met."

The tension was still echoing around the room, but thankfully it had lessened somewhat. Blaine still knew if he didn't give the right answers, Kurt was perfectly entitled to blow up at him. The only issue was that Blaine still didn't know the right answers. All he could do was keep telling the truth and hope that soon enough they would both figure out what was going on. "Okay," Kurt said again. "Then he called you back, obviously. How many more times did you go out before you decided you were in - in love with him?"

Kurt was clearly struggling with that concept and Blaine didn't blame him - he already felt embarrassed about getting up in front of all of the Warblers and telling them he was in love with Jeremiah. After all, Blaine had no idea what love was, not really. He had just thought he was madly in love, but the harsh light of a rejection showed him that he was quite deluded. He had had feelings for Jeremiah, yes, but love? Not so much.

"Just once," he said, focusing on the conversation at hand again. "The same place, same kind of conversation. I asked him a lot of questions about his experiences, past boyfriends and all that. I was mostly using him as a source of information, but I think my admiration for him mixed itself up for a crush and… well, you know the rest."

"So," Kurt said carefully, the tension back in his voice. "You went on another date. Clearly he was wanting to get to know you, there wasn't an issue with the age thing - or at least you didn't know that until after the performance. So why didn't I find out?"

"I don't know, Kurt." And he really didn't.

But Kurt wasn't letting go. "When I asked where you were going on the weekend that time, you were going to see him, weren't you? Why did you say you were just 'going to see a friend'?"

"I don't know."

"Why didn't you just bring me along, let me get to meet him too?"

"I don't know! All I know is that I'm an idiot and I'm sorry and I just don't know the answers to these questions…" Blaine trailed off, trying to keep it together. "Kurt, I told you in the coffee shop that I only pretend I've got it together, and that goes for everything. I had no idea what I was doing when it came to Jeremiah, and the fact that it only took me four days to get over him probably means that I was deluding myself. I know I care a lot about you but I don't know what that means either and, god Kurt, I wish I were you sometimes."

There was a long silence and Blaine sighed, looking away. He knew Kurt was probably judging him for not only screwing up completely but being such a mess and was all set to leave and never come back when Kurt started talking quietly. "I think you've struggled more than I realized. You and I both had to deal with people telling us our attraction was wrong and, correct me if I'm wrong, I think as a result of that you pushed any romantic feelings you felt for anybody aside, thinking you couldn't feel them."

It took Blaine a few seconds to reply, his throat choked up a little. "Yeah," he said finally. "Nobody's ever asked about the emotional side of things. They only talked about the physical or the words."

Kurt nodded, deep sympathy etched across his face. "You have no idea what you're doing because you don't know how it really feels to like someone freely without having to worry all the time. I don't know if you've noticed but you're a bit of a perfectionist -" Blaine snorted and Kurt broke off, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, I guess you have noticed. But love isn't about being perfect. Love is about everything that is you being brought out." Kurt hesitated, struggling with his words. "Let me show you."

"What?" Blaine asked dumbly, truly having no idea what Kurt was getting at.

"Let me take you out on a date - a real date, not a coffee date-but-not-date-that-you-think-is-a-date. Let me show you what it's like. I know you probably don't feel the same way as I do, but if I can show you what it's like to truly care about someone, it might help." Blaine simply stared at Kurt for a few seconds and the confidence faded. "I - I mean, it's just a suggestion, you don't have to -"

"I'd love to," Blaine said quietly. "But are you sure you want to do this? I mean, there's a chance that I won't end up feeling the same way and I've already hurt you enough, Kurt. I couldn't do it again."

Kurt finally offered him a smile, the first one in quite some time Blaine realized. "I'm willing to take that chance. Be ready tomorrow night at six."

"Jeff!"

The door flew open and the blonde appeared. "Blaine? What's wrong?"

Nick's head poked out a second later. "Who died? Wait, I shouldn't say that… last time I did, someone actually had died and that was sufficiently awkward, thank goodness it was only a small animal… but what's the drama?"

Blaine let himself in, not really caring what the two might have been doing as long as they weren't planning on continuing now that he was inside. "I've got a date with Kurt in an hour -"

"You're dating?" Nick immediately turned to Jeff and held out his hand expectantly as Jeff groaned and dug out his wallet.

"No," Blaine clarified, watching with mild amusement as the wallet disappeared immediately. "But we are going on a date and… I've never done this before…"

"You want to know what to wear," Jeff said knowingly. "My goodness, this takes me back."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "I sense a story you've never told me. But I'll grill you on that one later, what's wrong with what you're wearing now?"

Blaine glanced down at his current outfit - jeans and a black t-shirt - before staring at Nick incredulously. "This is Kurt we're talking about, Nick! Fashion means everything to him."

"Yes," Jeff said slowly as if he was explaining something to a small child. "But it doesn't to you."

Blaine paused, remembering the whole reason they were going on this date. Kurt wanted him to be comfortable being himself, expressing himself however he wanted. And with that thought came another, attached to the box at the back of Blaine's closet that hadn't been opened since he had left Westerville. Could he…?

Oh yes, he could.

"Thanks guys!" Blaine said, already halfway out the door, his mind a whir. The pink? No, that might be too much… the green was always my favourite…

Back in the room, Jeff glanced at Nick who shrugged. "Guess he worked something out himself."

"I hope it works out for them," Jeff said softly, sitting back down on his bed. "You'd have to be blind to not see that Kurt's crazy about Blaine."

"And Kurt's exactly what Blaine needs," Nick completed, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend. "I think they'll work it out. Now, I believe you owe me a story about our first date and a certain wardrobe freak out?"

Adjusting his tie for the seventh time, Blaine peered out the window again, waiting. He had been waiting for the past ten minutes and was seriously starting to worry that Kurt might not be showing up. But another glance at his watch told him, once again, that he was still early. Kurt wouldn't be arriving for another five minutes, so there was no reason for Blaine to freak out. Not that that fact stopped him from pacing another lap around the foyer.

Blaine honestly had no idea what to expect. He knew that Kurt was taking him on a date, somewhere he had refused to give away when Blaine had asked him during study hall that day - and Kurt arriving back at Dalton to the cheers of the Warblers had been simultaneously cheerful and heart-wrenching for Blaine because he knew full well he had been the one to drive his friend out. Word must have gotten around about their date somehow because a good portion of the Warblers were offering Blaine high-fives and surreptitious nudges throughout the day with pointed glances at Kurt. And straight after class, Kurt had disappeared back to his dorm room and hadn't been seen in the past four hours. Blaine would have been worried if he didn't already know how much effort Kurt put into his appearance.

The sound of footsteps on the staircase had Blaine spinning quickly, pulled rapidly out of his thoughts by the real Kurt coming towards him, looking simply radiant. Dressed in standard Kurt Hummel style with an outfit that would look atrocious on anybody else but perfect on Kurt, the boy was smiling softly as he made his way to the foyer. Blaine crossed to the bottom of the staircase and they both stopped, taking one another in.

Kurt spoke first. "You're wearing a bow tie. A green bow tie, and suspenders."

Blaine knew there was no judgement, simply curiosity. "I used to wear these all the time at Westerville before things got… difficult. You look wonderful, by the way."

"Thank you." Kurt looped his arm through Blaine's, leading him towards the door. "I must say, I didn't expect this at all, but you're taking my words to heart and I couldn't be prouder."

And yeah, okay, that kind of meant a lot to Blaine, more than he realized it would. Because for the first time in years, Blaine was throwing off the confident masks and revealing the person behind - not timid, not broken, not scared, but just a normal teenage boy who got it wrong a lot of the time and had almost forgotten how to be himself. And judging by the way Kurt was smiling at him, it had been well received. In a matter of minutes, Kurt had made Blaine feel better than years of solo praise and respect from his peers ever had.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going yet?" Blaine attempted again once they were in Kurt's car, pulling out of the parking lot.

Kurt smirked at him and shook his head. "Afraid not. At least I know you don't have any food allergies."

"Unlike you, Mr. I Swear I'm Allergic To Mushrooms, It's Not Just That They Taste Disgusting," Blaine retorted, delighting in the laugh that came as a result. As they lapsed into comfortable silence - and it actually was comfortable, Blaine didn't feel the pressure to say anything - Blaine found himself wondering when Kurt had actually told him all of that. It honestly seemed like he had known all of these things about Kurt forever, insignificant in one way but so revealing in another. Blaine knew Kurt better than he knew anybody else in his life.

Especially Jeremiah, his mind reminded him and Blaine sighed before he could stop himself. Kurt glanced over, frowning. "What's wrong?"

Usually Blaine would have forced a smile and pretended he was fine, but tonight was different. Tonight was about being himself, and right now himself was beating himself up. "I'm just thinking about how stupid I was with the whole Jeremiah thing. I didn't know the guy, not really, not enough to even know that he wasn't out at work -"

"Hey, hey," Kurt interrupted softly. "What brought this on?"

"I was just thinking about how much better I know you," Blaine said without thinking. Staring out the window, he missed the slight look of shock in Kurt's eyes before a smile took its place.

A few seconds passed before Kurt spoke again. "Don't beat yourself up, okay? We've talked about all of this, everything's out in the open. You made a mistake, and you're allowed to do that, Blaine. The main thing is learning from it, and that's what tonight is about." And, as if on cue, Kurt pulled into the parking lot of the community theatre centre. "Now, they're performing West Side Story tonight and basically it's going to suck. So I figured we could support the arts while judging them all secretly and deciding which parts we would be best for if we ever got the chance to perform it."

Blaine turned wide-eyed to Kurt. "Okay, you are officially amazing," he declared. "I have to admit, I was worried when you said 'date', simply because David has complained of some atrocious ones Melanie dragged him along on, but I should have known better."

"I know you too well to take you to something you wouldn't like," Kurt said, smiling at him again before opening his car door. It took Blaine a few seconds to realize that yes, Kurt actually did know him, and then another few to realize that he probably should have gotten out of the car already. The knowing smile Kurt gave him when he finally did was something Blaine needed to mull over later - right now, he had a performance to judge the hell out of.

True to Kurt's theory, it was awful. Granted, there were a few actors who had potential, but there was a severe lack of interest in drama in Westerville and so quite a few of the actors and actresses were playing more than one part and it was quite a shambles. But it was the songs that Kurt and Blaine were most interested in and as soon as Tony began to belt out Something's Coming, Blaine nodded. "That would be me. That's my audition song."

"I'd love to hear you sing it." Kurt was pressed up close to him as they had to whisper due to the lack of audience to make noise to cover them. "You'd be amazing."

"What would you sing?" Blaine asked, leaning right in to whisper in Kurt's ear. He felt Kurt shiver and, just to be a pain, blew a gust of air right across his ear. Kurt clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his squeal and turned to shoot Blaine a dirty look who was fighting back his laughter. "Sorry, sorry!" he finally apologized when he got his breath back. "I couldn't resist."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Well then I guess I'm glad you didn't. And I don't know what I'd audition with - I'd audition for Tony, of course, but the song would have to be something absolutely me."

The Tony on the stage in front of them botched the final note and both boys winced. "Well, no matter which one of us was Tony, we'd both sound a damn sight better than him," Blaine said quickly, both of them stifling their laughter.

The rest of the performance was just as comfortable and easy. Kurt judged everything from the wardrobe - rather vividly and empathically - to stage positioning and, of course, actual talent. Which, according to the boy, "Nobody here has. Not a single soul." Finally, mercifully, the performance was over and after clapping politely, Kurt and Blaine made their exit. "Now it's up to you to make a decision," Kurt said, pulling his phone out and checking the time. "I made dinner reservations for nine, so we can either meet those, or we can go and get coffee instead and then, I don't know, go for a walk or something?"

There was no doubt about it in Blaine's mind. "After that performance, I think we both need caffeine to wake us up again," he joked. But he knew that his eyes were saying it all, and he knew Kurt understood, because right now all Blaine wanted was to keep talking to Kurt without any added pressure.

"Coffee it is. This way." Kurt began to walk down the street towards a small coffee shop two blocks down. "We haven't been to this one yet and I've decided it's our mission to trial every coffee shop in each of our towns."

Blaine had to laugh because that was kind of true. As they entered, Blaine put a hand on Kurt's arm to stop him. "Let me pay? You've done so much already."

"I'm the one taking you on the date, Blaine." Kurt rolled his eyes but there was no sting to the action. "Generally the person who asks pays."

"Yes, and generally that's the guy in a heterosexual pairing and I know you don't buy into that crap that you'd be the girl in any relationship," Blaine pointed out knowingly. "You believe in equality. This is being equal."

Kurt sighed but Blaine could see the appreciation written all across his face, and that did strange things to Blaine's heart. "You make a valid point. I'll get us a seat then - you remember my coffee order?"

"Of course," Blaine said, pretending to be affronted. Kurt laughed, shrugging out of his grasp to go get a table and Blaine realized he had been holding Kurt's arm the entire time and hadn't even noticed. Dismissing that thought for later - along with many others - Blaine placed their orders and leant against the counter, waiting. There were only a couple of other patrons in the store and they weren't paying any attention to the two boys which gave Blaine plenty of time to watch Kurt who was sitting at one of the window tables, twirling a spoon between his fingers.

The night was wonderful, so far, and Blaine knew there was very little that could spoil it now. The only thing he knew that could do that would be himself being an idiot or bringing up Jeremiah again - and Kurt had assured him that the Jeremiah thing was dealt with - and Blaine knew that wasn't going to happen. Blaine wasn't trying to be anybody tonight or trying to impress Kurt or be a mentor or say all the right things. Tonight, Blaine was just being Blaine and it was so simple. And without Kurt's prompting, without Kurt setting up this amazing date, Blaine might never have realized.

Their orders arrived and Blaine carried them over to the table, sitting down across from Kurt who popped the lid off his coffee and began to stir it. Instead of doing the same, Blaine propped his head up on his hand and watched Kurt, wondering.

"Yes?" Kurt asked without looking up. "You want to ask something?"

"How did you - ?"

"Blaine," Kurt said, shaking his head as he looked up. "I know you, remember. You've got that expression on. And you know you can ask me anything."

And Blaine found himself feeling completely transparent and it wasn't bad.

"How did you learn to just be yourself?" he asked carefully, hesitant to bring up any bad memories. "You went through the same stuff I went through, you were told not to like anybody, but you still can. You didn't struggle with it like I have."

"Because I'm a diva and you're a people-pleaser," wasn't exactly the answer Blaine had expected, but it made more sense as Kurt continued. "I've always wanted things my way. I had always known that I was going to be hated at McKinley and I also knew it didn't matter how hard I tried, they would always hate me. So I refused to let them shape me or control who I thought I was and if I liked guys, I was going to go ahead and like guys and they couldn't stop that. You, however, you don't like it when people hate you, so you try to be everything everybody wants… which is when you hit a wall because everybody wants something different."

Blaine couldn't help himself. "What do you want?" he asked.

Kurt simply smiled. "Tonight. The way you've been, the way you are right now. If I could, I'd keep you like this forever."

And Blaine couldn't miss the double meaning to those words, but there was no need to bring them up. Because Blaine knew Kurt, knew what he meant and what he wanted but that he would never push it.

For a long while, there was silence. Except there wasn't - every few seconds they would catch each other's eye and it was like they were both talking a mile a minute. Blaine couldn't have said what the conversation was actually about, but they were connected and that was what mattered. But finally Kurt drained his coffee and stood. "Shall we walk?"

Blaine smirked. "We shall," he mocked lightly, standing up only to be hit by Kurt. "Do I need to shout abuse?"

"That depends," Kurt said as they left the shop and started walking down the road. "Do you feel abused tonight?"

"Absolutely not."

The two shared a smile before Kurt began to speak again. "Now, I'm considering making Dalton put on a production of West Side Story. I'm willing to allow you to play Tony as long as I get to be Maria… because face it, none of those other boys have my charisma and charm."

"Oh, is that right?"

Kurt laughed again and Blaine smiled, knowing he was the one who caused that.

It was so easy being with Kurt, Blaine realized as they made their way along the pathway, chatting about whatever came to mind. Currently, Kurt was on a mini-rant about Rachel Berry's wardrobe, leaving Blaine a bit of time to think about the night. He could honestly say that it beat any of his coffee date-but-not-dates with Jeremiah hands down, and Blaine was having more fun here with Kurt than he could remember having had in such a long time.

Kurt inspired Blaine to simply be himself - no strings attached, no masks, nothing needed from Blaine but to be and love himself. And Blaine knew through this night, he was also healing some old wounds from being told the exact opposite for so many years.

This is how it feels to be alive. And tonight, it's because of Kurt.

"We should turn back," Kurt said suddenly and Blaine glanced over his shoulder to see they had walked a lot further than he had realized. "Curfew is in an hour and I don't really want to end the night on a sour note."

"Neither," Blaine said, stopping with Kurt and turning back towards the car, trying not to be disappointed that the night was soon going to be over. And soon enough they would have to go back to normality, back to the way things were…

Why?

And that was a very good question. Why did Blaine have to go back to trying to be dapper and polite at all times, especially around Kurt? Why couldn't he continue on like this?

Because there's a thin line between friendship and 'more', and you might be crossing it if you let this continue.

And was that a bad thing?

No.

Kurt glanced over at him and smiled, cutting into his thoughts. "I hope I've shown you something you can use in the future," he said. "Did you - was it alright?"

"It was wonderful, Kurt." Blaine hesitated for a second before giving in to the urge - after all, that was what it was about, being himself - and taking Kurt's hand. Kurt glanced down, surprised, and Blaine took advantage of the silence to continue. "And I don't think I need it for the future… but I'd quite like it for right now. I don't think tonight was this magical just because it was my first proper date, Kurt. It's because it was you."

"What do you mean?" Kurt half-whispered. Blaine knew he knew full well what was being implied, but was more than happy to spell it out.

"Kurt, you said that caring about someone meant you weren't afraid to be yourself around them, that you just knew that they wouldn't judge you. It was about wanting to spend every second with them, simply because they made you a better person, a happier person." Blaine stopped walking and turned to face Kurt properly. "I realized tonight that I'm never truly happy unless I'm with you, because I can't be this free with anybody else except you. And you're amazing, Kurt. I've always known that. I guess it just took me this long to realize exactly why I thought you were so amazing. Usually at this point, I think I'd sing -"

"Because that's worked out so well for you in the past," Kurt interrupted before covering his mouth with his free hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I just -"

"It's okay," Blaine assured him. "I was about to say the same thing." Reaching over, Blaine pulled Kurt's hand from his mouth gently, taking it in his own. "So I'm just going to go with my gut and go with what feels right."

And with that proclamation said, Blaine leant in and kissed him. He was pretty sure Kurt had been expecting it on some level, but they were both shocked into stillness when their lips met for the first time. But after a second they were kissing, both hesitant but quickly growing in confidence, drawing closer to each other and brushing their lips together in soft sweeps and Blaine would be ready to stop doing this in about, oh, never.

But of course they eventually broke apart, Blaine watching as Kurt raised one hand to his lips, understanding the feeling completely. "And I can tell you something right now. That's a side of me that nobody else is every going to experience."

Kurt smiled, dropping his hand to twine with Blaine's again. "I sure hope not. You're mine now… aren't you?"

"I am."

Later, lying together on Blaine's bed with a sleepy Kurt resting against his chest, it finally came up. "So, would you rather be with Jeremiah right now?" Kurt asked. His voice was relaxed, but Blaine knew so much was riding on the answer.

Blaine tilted Kurt's head up and kissed him lightly, knowing that was answer enough. But as they broke apart, Blaine had to smirk.

"Jeremiah who?"

This monster took me so long to write.

MusicalEscape:

"Ready, Agent Wes?"

"Yup, Agent David. And you didn't say over. Over."

"I don't NEED to say over. I'm right next to you. *sigh* Over."

"1...2...3!"

*plugs cord into outlet*

Projected all over campus via loudspeakers: *singing* "Best that I've had, I'm so glad I found you. Kurt, I love being around you- ...do I hear myself echoing?"