The two girls spend Saturday morning lying in the grass together, holding hands, Brittany occasionally weaving a flower into Santana's hair. Brittany had knocked on the door early - word had somehow got out that there was a park with pink blossoms and she was hopping from one foot to the other, hoping Santana would go there with her. Now she's sitting behind Santana, carefully braiding a daisy chain into her hair.

Every time Santana thinks she can't be surprised any more in this place, something comes along and knocks her out.

'So how are you going to keep changing things?'

Santana tries to flick her head round to face Brittany, but doesn't want to disturb the floral arrangement developing on her crown.

'What?'

'You know. You've changed a bunch of stuff. You made the town bigger. Kurt and Blaine made the trees pink. What's next?'

'It doesn't work like that.'

'Oh. How does it work?'

'I have no idea.'

Some people might giggle at that, but it just makes Brittany concentrate harder.

'I wish I could be in colour. I didn't realise how boring grey was until I saw the other colours, and now I just wanna paint myself all over so I'm not like this any more.'

Santana has to turn around at that. She cups Brittany's cheek. 'Listen to me, Britt. You are the prettiest girl I have ever seen. I know you are perfect in colour, but you're perfect like this too. Even if you never go any further than these,' she taps Brittany's pink nails like piano keys, 'you are beautiful. Okay?'

Brittany nods solemnly, determined to show Santana that she knows she's serious and she believes her, before leaning in to kiss her. Not on the cheek this time, but properly, slowly, gentle but firm, on the lips.

A few people around them sneak a glance, but there's no malice in it. Their eyes light up at the thought of doing the same. But for once, Santana doesn't even consider what anyone else might think. All that matters is the warmth of Brittany's waist under her palm and the soft lips against hers. It takes her a moment to open her eyes again after they part, but when she does, she sees rosy cheeks, tiny brown freckles, blue eyes, and blonde hair. She sees a mint green sweater and a powder blue skirt.

She's only concerned to see a frown, too.

'Wait.'

'Wait what?'

'You said "I know". Like, present tense "I know". How do you know what I would look like in colour?'

Grateful that she doesn't have to explain more, Santana reaches into her purse for her compact, opening it and showing Brittany, who grabs the mirror and gasps. 'Look at me!'

Santana laughs. 'Believe me, I'm looking.'

Brittany squeals and throws her arms around her, both of them ending up in a heap on the ground, daisies scattered around them.

Blaine knows he should really focus on figuring out the layout of the new streets and buildings so he can get back home, but he's far too busy admiring Kurt's excitement over all of it.

He had been more tentative than usual this morning when he knocked on Kurt's door. After last night, he was determined to make sure he didn't push Kurt or make him feel obligated to do anything more than he was comfortable with, even rehearsing offering Kurt his hand in a way that said 'but you don't have to hold it if you don't want to'. But the door flew open, and Kurt had leapt at him, held him close for a few seconds, then grabbed his hand and practically started skipping into town.

They walk past a few different stores – one with colour TVs in the window, which they both stop to stare at – but there are two that Kurt simply needs to go into.

'Blaine, look at all of these! I've never seen anything like it!'

There are endless bolts of fabric lining the walls of the store, different colours, textures, and patterns, and Kurt has to touch each one, relishing the feel of it between his fingers, occasionally holding it up against his own clothes, and Blaine can see him formulating combinations and outfits. Like Kurt back home, he's already a hell of a dresser despite his limited options. He's practically drooling over the deep violets, burnt oranges, linen, velvet, wool – he would probably move in here if he could.

They're in there for at least half an hour, but Blaine ushers him out before he can buy everything in there.

'You're right. I should plan first. Do you think I could actually make something? Maybe even my own clothes?'

'Kurt, I know you could do anything.'

He silently berates himself for how nervous he gets, but he steels himself and leans in to kiss Kurt's cheek. He figures as Kurt did the same last night, he's probably comfortable with it, and if the way he leans into Blaine's touch is any indication, he is more than comfortable. His cheeks heat up, and his coy smile is enough to make Blaine's insides fizz.

'Okay. I'll need more supplies before I can do anything. Let's keep looking around.'

They find a craft shop, and it's just as exciting. Just as many colours, but this time there are paints, chalks, pens, and Kurt immediately buys a sketchpad and set of pencils. Next, they go to an ice cream parlour, possibly Blaine's favourite of all the new places, and they share a sundae which Kurt all but ignores as he frantically scribbles ideas for what he could make, from pants and sweaters to new basketball uniforms ('I know we already have uniforms, Blaine, but wouldn't we be a better team if we were all in bright red?'). By the time Blaine has demolished more than his fair share of the ice cream, Kurt has drawn two figures in beautiful suits, one teal and one dark pink, and they're holding hands.

'Is that us?'

Kurt jumps, yanked out of his daydream.

'Oh, I- yes. Sorry.'

Blaine covers Kurt's hand with his.

'Don't be. They look good.'

Kurt lets the excitement spread over his features.

'Imagine it. You and me just walking down the street together wearing suits that I can make.' Blaine wilfully ignores the heaviness settling in his stomach. 'Maybe not just the streets here. We could go to one of the new places. We could go to New York, just like the book.' He must notice Blaine's face fall just a little, because he adds, 'I mean, not exactly like the book. I just mean going to a city.' He pauses, frowning at Blaine. 'What is it? Have I said something wrong?'

Blaine shakes his head.

'No, of course not. That sounds so lovely, but I- I don't know if-'

That's when it clicks.

'Oh.' He puts his pencil down. 'I don't know why I didn't think of it before. You're going back.'

'I think so. We need to. Santana has people back home who need her, and I- I had a life there. Even if I didn't like it very much.' Kurt looks crestfallen, and Blaine fumbles, no idea how to make it better. 'Maybe I don't have to leave.'

He sees Kurt arguing with himself, knowing he could ask Blaine to stay and it would probably work, but he's better than that.

'Blaine.'

'It's not like anyone needs me there.'

'Somebody will.' Blaine shrugs, looking at the ice cream dish and making patterns in the remains with his spoon. 'Blaine, I know how much I'm going to miss you, and I've only had you here for a week. There are people who have known you much longer, and it wouldn't be fair for me to try and keep you away from them.' Blaine hesitantly drags his eyes up to see Kurt looking infuriatingly understanding. Their fingers link together over the table without either one even noticing.

'And there was a Blaine here before me, right? Maybe he'll come back. I'm sure you can get him up to speed.'

Kurt smiles, unable to hide a hint of sadness.

'Exactly. He was a lot less complicated. Still cute, though.'

Blaine laughs at that, and the tension leaves his shoulders. 'Good.'

Kurt looks suddenly thoughtful again. 'Hmm.'

'What?'

'Well, you never had to ask our names or anything. Did you already know us? Is there another Kurt where you come from?'

Blaine nods. 'There is.'

'Were you two dating?'

'Definitely not. He can't stand me. He thinks I'm crazy.'

Kurt laughs. 'I think a few people here thought that for a while, too. We came around eventually.' He shades in the background of the mini Kurt and Blaine he's drawn, making the figures stand out. 'So there could be two of these. We can be like this here and there.'

Blaine knows there's no way Kurt back home would tolerate him after the way he spoke to him before, but Kurt's optimism is infectious, even if they are both dancing around the real issue.

'I was dreading having this conversation. I thought you'd be upset.'

Kurt takes a deep breath, putting his pencil away and closing the sketch book.

'I'm trying to do the right thing. Please don't think that means it doesn't hurt.' Blaine's stomach clenches. Of course Kurt's being the bigger man. They both know it won't be the same, it'll never be quite like this, but it's what has to happen.

'Sorry, I didn't mean-' he shuts up for a second, simply taking both of Kurt's hands in his. 'Look, I'm still here now. I don't know how, or when, or even if I'm leaving. We've got time. What do you want to do?'

Kurt softly runs his thumbs over Blaine's fingers, mulling it over and glancing down at his sketchpad.

'I want to fill every inch of this town with colour. And I want to spend as much time with you as possible.'

Blaine grins. 'I think we can make that happen.'

They pack up Kurt's supplies and keep exploring, eventually sitting in the town square and admiring the splashes of colour in the outfits walking past them. They share a paper bag of candy, all different shapes and colours and flavours, and Kurt holds each one up to the sunlight to see the sugary crystals sparkle before popping it into his mouth.

'So do you have the same parents back home?'

Blaine shakes his head. 'Actually, we both have different families.'

'What? You mean Santana's not really your sister?'

He remembers that in monochrome, their skin tones might not look as obviously different.

'Nope.'

'But you're so close!'

Blaine pauses and smiles. 'Yeah, we are. We've been best friends for a really long time, if not always for the right reasons.' Kurt looks curious, but waits for Blaine to go on. 'It doesn't matter. Anyway, she really needs to get back for her little sister. She looks after her when her dad can't cope.'

'That must be hard.'

Blaine nods, sucking on something grape-flavoured. 'Yeah. Since her mom left, she's had to take care of everything.'

They're quiet for a moment while Kurt takes this in. He's never heard of mothers who leave or parents who can't cope or teenagers with that much responsibility. He's less sure about Blaine going back – his home doesn't sound very nice.

'What about you? What's your family like?'

Considering how much he's been avoiding them for so long, he's tried not to think about them here. They're the one reason any part of him really wants to go home.

'It's just my mom, dad and me at home. My big brother, Cooper, left home a few years ago to be an actor. Only commercials so far, but he's got big ambitions.'

'You must miss them.'

He nods. 'So much it hurts. Do you know what's weird?' Kurt shakes his head, taking a strawberry sweet out of the bag and admiring it. 'They don't know I'm gay.'

Kurt puts a hand on his shoulder and speaks clumsily around the sweet in his mouth. 'Why not? Are they the people that don't like gay people?'

Blaine shrugs. 'No. I don't think so. I don't know, I just – I don't want them to treat me differently.'

'For doing this?' Kurt gestures to the bench they're sitting on, legs crossed towards each other so their toes occasionally touch. He can picture his parents witnessing this; his mother would be jumping up and down with excitement, possibly clapping and squealing. His father would calm her down, give Blaine a smile and nod, and drag her away to give them some privacy.

Maybe he was never scared of how they would treat him. Maybe he was just ashamed of how he'd treated himself.

'You're right. I guess I'm just nervous.' Kurt laughs, unable to picture Blaine nervous about anything. The sound is so pretty, and without thinking, he leans in to kiss Kurt's temple. Kurt leans into the touch and rests his head on Blaine's shoulder.

'I hope you can tell them soon.'

Blaine knows just how hard it is for Kurt to say that, and how much his happiness must mean to him. He needs to return the favour.

'So how can we get more colour around here?'

'Do you know how it works?'

'Well, Santana and I think that when something new happens, something goes into colour. Like your sweater when you were at my house.' Kurt's eyes are closed, soaking up the sun, and he smiles, a little 'mmm' of pleasure and agreement escaping him. 'So we need to do as much new stuff as we can.'

Kurt looks up at Blaine. 'Is that a hint?'

'Oh no, I didn't mean, we don't have to-'

Kurt bursts out laughing, sitting up and putting his arm around Blaine's shoulders. 'Calm down. I know. But if we want the whole town in colour, it can't just be us, right?'

'I think Santana's working on it with Brittany.'

'Oh, I know. Brittany has no problem talking to me about it. I'm glad we're still friends, but sometimes she tells me more about her feelings than I want to know.' Blaine laughs.

'You're right, though. We need everyone to get involved. You know this place better than I do – what's the best way to convince everyone?'

'Blaine, we're on the basketball team and we're best friends with two cheerleaders. We're the most influential people in the school.'

Blaine reaches up to grab the hand on his shoulder. 'Okay. I think I might have some of a plan. We need to go back to the fabric store.'

Santana and Brittany come back to the house to find a note from Blaine: 'Bring Brittany to Kurt's house. DW, not getting them back together lol x'

'Mom? Any idea what this is about?'

'Afraid not, sweetheart, I just promised I'd give it to you. Can I get you girls some lemonade?' That's when she notices that Santana's girlfriend looks a little different. 'Oh, Brittany! You look wonderful!'

Brittany smiles and blushes for a moment, and Santana is almost too caught up staring at her dreamily to reply.

'Oh, uh, no. It's okay. This might be urgent.'

When they get there (Brittany knows the way, thank goodness), they are let in by a very excited Blaine, who grabs them both by the wrist and drags them in. At the dinning table, surrounded by offcuts and patterns and wonky patches, Kurt and his mother sit behind a sewing machine. She occasionally has to stand behind him to guide his hand and slow him down so his finger doesn't get stitched to anything – 'I refuse to waste perfectly good material by sewing it through my fingernail, Blaine!' – but he's already gained a lot of confidence in the last couple of hours.

'What's he making?'

'He won't tell me. But Mrs Hummel- sorry, Elizabeth, has given me a steady supply of cookies, so I'm not complaining.'

The woman next to Kurt smiles at the girls, radiating softness and warmth. Santana gets what Blaine has been saying. It's weird knowing what Kurt is missing back home. Everything about Elizabeth says 'come here, darling, let me make it all better'.

'Brittany, when did you – you look amazing!'

She's been getting glances and compliments all day, so she simply says 'Yep' and sits next to Kurt.

Blaine looks at Santana. 'I would give my arm to be that self-assured.'

She rolls her eyes. 'I know, right?'

They all sit round the table, Mr Hummel coming in and out to ask if he can help with anything, only for Mrs Hummel to tell him with a smile that he's good at a lot of things, but this requires much more delicate fingers. He accepts this, his smile matching hers, and bends to kiss her cheek and give Kurt a pat of encouragement which Kurt immediately reprimands him for because 'That could cost me an arm!'

His determination is kind of a turn-on. Blaine only looks away to assess Santana's state.

'Do I even need to ask what made her change?'

Santana beams, nothing coy or unsure about it. 'Nope. Lots of making out under a tonne of pink blossom – thanks for that, by the way. Looks like you two have had an… intense day.'

Blaine glances across the table to make sure Kurt, Elizabeth and Brittany are all utterly engrossed in Kurt's creation before he starts to tell her everything.

'It was a lot. We talked about… how we're probably leaving soon.'

'How did you explain that?'

'It's the weirdest thing – he just figures it all out before I even have to tell him. I don't know how he does it. He just. Understands.' She puts a hand on his arm. 'Do we really have to go back?'

'Blaine.'

'I know, I know. But home sucks compared to this. We could be happy here.'

'Home doesn't suck. We make it suck. We have to learn how to make it better. How to be better at being there.'

He sighs. 'I guess.'

'Don't get me wrong, B, leaving them is going to hurt.' She allows herself a quick look at Brittany, excitedly pointing out the details of Kurt's design, which she apparently isn't banned from seeing. It must just be a surprise for Blaine, which almost makes it worse. 'But believe it or not, there are people back home who will miss you like crazy if you don't go back.'

He nods. 'My parents.'

She shoves into his side. 'Me, dummy.'

For a moment he looks at her, eyebrows raised in gentle surprise, before shoving her back. 'Fine. I guess if my sister needs me-'

'I never said need. Need was not on the table. I would… notice if you weren't around. I don't have any other friends.'

He laughs. 'Fine. Anyway, we've kind of accepted that this is a weird and annoying situation, but at least we can spend time together while we're still here.'

'With his mother, your sister and his ex? I thought you'd have preferred time with your mouth on his mouth, but I guess it's up to you.'

'Well, this is all part of the other thing we want to do. Our to-do list is be together, and shake shit up. Not his words.' She looks at him expectantly. 'Colour everywhere before we leave this place. And we figured that the best way to do that is to get everybody in on it, to do new things and make changes and just see what happens. Come on, we talked about maps for five minutes and more town appeared out of nowhere. You and Brittany kissed and now she's in colour. Imagine what we could do with a group effort.'

'I swear, if you say we're all in this together, I will strangle you.'

He snorts. 'Don't even try and pretend you don't love those movies. I've seen how angry you get when you talk about Ryan and Chad.'

She punches his arm to punctuate her rage. 'They. Switch. Clothes. Blaine. And I'm supposed to believe Ryan Evans is trying to steal Gabriella? Like the way his dad straightens out his hats isn't a metaphor for not accepting his queerness?'

He flinches away from her. 'Ow! Why do you always hit me when we talk about this? Like I said last time, I agree with you completely. I'm just entertained by how much time you spend thinking about High School Musical in 2020.'

'High School Musical 2.'

'Of course. Please don't punch me in the mouth.'

Just then, Brittany makes a squeaking noise and Kurt stares, wide-eyed, at his creation. Elizabeth gets him to stand up so she can help him put it on – it's a dark magenta blazer, not unlike the one he drew earlier, in some kind of wool blend that none of them have ever seen before, with velvet trim on the lapels and cuffs. It's not perfect, but for Kurt's ambitious first attempt with minimal help from his mother, it's stunning. And the glow emanating from Kurt when he wears it is priceless.

'Oh, my – Kurt, you look gorgeous.' Kurt bites his lip, turning from side to side to show his creation off.

'Wait, honey, look at me for a second.' He does as his mother asks. 'Oh, gosh. Quick, take a look in the mirror.' He walks to the big mirror on the wall, and claps both hands over his mouth. It's not just the jacket. He spins as quickly as he can to look at Blaine, and that's when he notices. Kurt's eyes are this light, bright blue that Blaine doesn't think he's ever seen, even before coming here. Every fibre of his being is screaming out to kiss him, but he doesn't want to do it for the first time in front of everyone else. He goes from awkward, awestruck staring to a hug, pulling him close at the waist. Kurt rests his chin on Blaine's shoulder, and he breathes in the intimacy of the moment, forgetting anyone else is in the room.

But not for long.

'So, what's next?' Brittany's hands are clasped together as she waits for an answer. 'This is step one, right?'

'It's kind… part of all the steps.'

'That's a very powerful blazer,' says Santana.

'It's not just the blazer,' Blaine cuts her off, 'we want to get everyone excited. We figured if they see that they can choose to change it up, it might get them all interested.'

'So Kurt wearing pink is the key to the liberation of all the teens in this town?'

'And adults, thank you,' Elizabeth adds.

Kurt shrugs. 'It might be a start.'

Santana looks to Brittany, who's nodding eagerly, and sighs, her feigned exasperation completely undermined by her smile. 'I guess it's worth a shot. Okay, what's the rest of the plan?'

Santana is ignoring other customers at the diner in favour of standing by Brittany's table, playing with her newly blonde hair and stealing the occasional fry from her plate. The manager doesn't seem to mind, too happy now that's he's expanded the menu past burgers and eager to show off his new recipes. The other teenagers in the diner steal the odd glance at the two of them, either because they keep smiling at each other, kissing, and giving each other sly little touches or maybe just because Brittany is still the only person in the town in full colour. It doesn't matter why they're looking – they want everyone to look. It's just as much part of the plan as Kurt's creation, and Santana feels a thrill knowing everyone is seeing her and her beautiful girlfriend happy together. She's never had anyone be jealous of her before. She could grow to like it.

Bang on time, the bell over the door rings as Kurt and Blaine make their entrance. Santana and Brittany exaggerate their amazement at his outfit just as planned, but it's completely unnecessary. Yes, everyone has seen odd splashes of colour in town, and a few are wearing them too, but those all happened spontaneously.

'Kurt – where did you get that?' Tina yells, running to him and grabbing a lapel to inspect it closely.

Rachel and Mercedes run over too, lifting Kurt's arms so they can get a better look. 'Is there a new street somewhere? I thought I'd seen all the new stores, and I haven't seen anything like this!'

'Did you already have it? I don't remember it – what made it turn pink?'

Blaine grins, letting Kurt do all the talking and admiring him as he does it.

'It's not from a store. Well, the material is, from the new fabric store, and with some help from my mom, I made this.'

'You made it? Oh my goodness! Do they have other colours?'

'They have every colour you could think of. You don't have to just wait for colour to appear. You can make it appear.'

This is where Blaine cuts in. 'And there are other ways of doing it than just buying it.'

He looks over to Brittany, and everyone else follows his lead. There's a pause.

'Well?' Mike asks. 'How did you two do it?'

'They kissed! In the park – I saw them!' Rachel shouts. God, how is she even louder here than back home?

Before Brittany feels any more like an exhibit in a museum – not that she minds being treated like a work of art, judging from the way she preens at the attention – Blaine addresses everyone again.

'Think about everything you've seen in colour the last couple of weeks. It didn't just happen out of nowhere. Making that jacket made Kurt's eyes go blue. When we…' he glances at Kurt and feels his pulse quicken, 'spent time together at the park last night, the blossoms turned pink. When Santana and I told you guys about, you know, the world, the town got ten times bigger.'

'And all of this happened because I kissed Santana!' Santana squeezes her hand and waits for Blaine to go on.

'Do you want more colour? More streets and cities and books?'

Everyone nods, waiting for Blaine's magical cure for their grey lives.

'Well, you can make it happen.'

'How?' Puck asks. 'Should I just kiss every girl I see so they all go into colour?'

'If we just make up stuff, will it automatically appear?'

'Tell us how it works!'

Blaine feels swamped, suddenly wishing he'd planned out what he was going to say a little better. He looks over to Santana, who tries to step in.

'Okay, well, we don't know exactly how everything works. But… think about every time you've wanted to do something, like, wanted to so much it's like it's bubbling up in your stomach.' The crowd is somewhat placated, the handful wearing some colour thinking back to when it appeared. 'But even though you knew it wouldn't hurt anyone, even though it wasn't against any rules, you stopped yourself because you felt ashamed. Or different to everyone else. Or you'd just never heard of it before.'

'I'm still hearing that I should kiss a lot of girls.'

'No, no, Puck,' Blaine interjects, 'because they might not want you to. You need to make sure of that first.'

Santana gives him a nod, holding up her fist to show that she appreciates the anti-patriarchal solidarity. He nods back.

'There's no list of activities that will make everything different. It just has to be something that makes you happy, something that- kind of opens you up.'

Quinn pipes up. 'I see what you're saying. But if you two know so much about it, how come you're still in black and white just like the rest of us?'

Santana and Blaine exchange another glance. She shakes her head and shrugs.

'I guess,' Blaine says, 'it needs to be something new. Maybe we're still not open enough.' The others murmur amongst themselves. 'Well, think about it – what do you all want to try that you've never done before?'

Mike's the first one to answer. 'I want to dance. I mean, not like last week, like, really dance. Learn how to do it right.'

Tina speaks up next. 'I wanna kiss Mike.' He looks flustered, but excited. He turns to her, leaning down tentatively, and she grabs his face and plants a kiss on his lips. His eyes widen for a second before closing and pulling her close, and when they pull away, the rest of the diner is silent. Tina's dress is bright orange. The others gasp gently.

'I want to sing. On a stage in front of a huge crowd.' Rachel's eyes are glittering, and Mercedes takes her hand.

'I want that, too.'

'I want a motorbike. And one of those jackets I saw on one of the TVs in the store yesterday – a leather one.' Blaine supresses a snort at Puck's comment. To each his own.

'And what's stopping you?' Santana asks.

Everyone looks around themselves, hoping for an answer to appear out of thin air. Kurt breaks the silence.

'It's scary because it's new. Because this is just the way it's always been. But it could be so much better.' That seems to be the clincher for everyone and Blaine smiles at him, glowing with pride. 'You can't just rush everything because you think it'll make colours appear. I don't think that'll work. You need to listen to that little voice inside that tells you something would be exciting, and ignore the other voice saying it's too much of a change.'

When they were planning this, they weren't sure how this was going to go. They had worried that this conversation would dissolve into chaos, everyone grabbing the nearest person and making out with them, blasting the newest songs on the jukebox, maybe even smashing the place to pieces, but the actual outcome was far stranger.

It could be what Kurt said about not rushing into anything, or maybe the people in this town are a lot more thoughtful than they gave them credit for, but they stay calm. Faces hardened in thought, nobody speaks, and an almost eerie hush falls over the diner. Santana walks to the jukebox, filled with yet more new music, and selects a Jackie Wilson song, keeping the volume low enough for everyone to think through everything they've just heard, but it's still loud enough to create a shift in the atmosphere. Mike takes Tina's hand, and they both start nodding in time to the music, smiles creeping onto their faces. Everyone starts smiling, tapping their feet. It's not quite as giddy as last time – there's a palpable tension in the air, full of concentration and possibility. There are some whispered conversations, nervous fingertips touching, a couple of voices starting to hum along.

The next thing takes them all by surprise.

Everyone leaves.

It doesn't happen all at once, and everybody still says their thank yous and goodbyes, admiring Brittany's rosy cheeks and Kurt's blue eyes, but within twenty minutes, the only people left in the diner are the manager, Kurt and Blaine, Brittany and Santana.

The four of them sit around a table, the unfazed manager bringing them free snacks and drinks.

'I don't understand. The last time we showed everybody new stuff, they went nuts. It was just a book, and it turned into a party. Why did they all just leave?'

Kurt puts his hand over Blaine's. 'Maybe they just need some time to think. Can you blame them?'

Brittany nods. 'In the last two weeks about a million things have changed. I get why they want to take things slowly.'

Santana, less surprised by Brittany's wisdom every day but no less infatuated with her for it, adds, 'We've had a lot more time to digest this. And think about the stuff that's made colours appear – a lot of it's been private. More power to Tina for smooching Mike in front of half of our school, but that's not for everybody.' The manager comes over with fresh plates of fries. 'Bill, I'm so sorry everybody left. I didn't mean for you to lose all your customers.'

His grin hasn't faded at all since earlier. 'Oh, that's no problem. It gives me more time to mess around in the kitchen. I've tried so many new things lately – did you taste the difference in the fries? I added paprika and garlic salt to give them a little something extra. Did you know there are whole books with nothing but recipes in them?' They all try one and nod in agreement – they're delicious. Bill lingers for a moment, soaking up the praise. 'You know, I really liked what you were saying before. About trying new things. It's all so exciting – and look!' He points to his hat. The tiny pin shaped like a spatula, so high they never would've seen if he hadn't pointed it out, was green. He was obviously trying hard to contain his smile, like a child trying not to rip open all their presents on Christmas Eve. 'Gee whizz, you kids really are something!'

He scurries back into the kitchen, undoubtedly to play some more with his exciting new herbs and spices. For some reason, watching this man, whose name he barely knows, makes it click. Blaine and Santana took their time, they thought things through, and rightly so. He cringes when he thinks back to his first night here, and the idea that his mission was to introduce this quaint little town to sex. Of course, it's about so much more than that – for the town and for the two of them. And now this incredible boy is at his side, steadily building up the courage to start a small revolution with this little team of queer teenagers. If he'd just kissed him when he'd first seen him, would any colour have come into his eyes? There's no way of finding out, but Blaine is already sure of the answer.

They don't really know how much time they have left here, but he knows they need to do this right. He'd braced himself for an immediate uproar, but what they got is so much better.

The four of them lose track of time. When Blaine and Santana first got here, they only felt really comfortable around each other, but now that Brittany and Kurt have grown so much, and helped them to grow in the process, it feels natural to hang out together, not having to filter what they say or hold anything back. Blaine notices a connection between Kurt and Santana – he treats her with an unreserved gentleness that she's rarely experienced before, at least not without a hint of fear or an ulterior motive. It brings out the best in her. He says her diner uniform miraculously looks good on her and she doesn't even fling back some sarcastic, self-deprecating joke. At one point, when she makes him laugh, he gives her hand a squeeze and she doesn't yank it away or close off, just keeps cackling with her head thrown back.

When they finally leave and part ways for the evening, it's not just the couples who hug. Brittany squeezes Blaine and pecks his cheek with a loud 'mwah!' and he notices when Santana and Kurt say goodbye that she closes her eyes, obviously relishing this new kind of friendship. He feels a pang of guilt for not being that friend to her before. Their quips and teasing were an integral part of their relationship, and he would never want to get rid of that, but he tries to think of one time back home when he told her how much he admired her, and how deeply he cared about her. They had always joked that they were just platonic beards, queer kids who bonded over their hatred for the straights, and he had assumed she knew she meant more to him than that. Maybe he needs to be clearer about it.

She and Brittany share a soft kiss goodbye, and Blaine has a feeling Kurt might be ready to do the same, but now all Blaine can think about is privacy. If this is going to happen, he wants it to be just them. He gives Kurt a lingering kiss on the cheek, and he and Santana continue towards their house.

'I still don't get it.'

'Nobody really gets it; that's kind of the problem.'

'No, Blaine, I-' she sighs in exasperation. 'Why aren't we in colour? How have we not done enough new stuff? We've introduced these kids to the whole planet. We've probably disrupted the space-time continuum. I've been nice to people! How is that not enough for, like, some cute red shoes or something?'

'Honestly, I have no idea. I thought you helping Dad with that date would've done it.'

She side-eyes him. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'What? Oh, nothing. Just, being really patient and everything. That was super nice. I thought you'd be full colour after that.'

'Just because it's nice? That's the only reason, right?'

'Yeah.' He's quick, quiet, racking his brain for a different topic. 'So, how amazing does Brittany look?'

'She looks incredible. That's not new. I just hope you're not implying anything about my real dad, because that would be a very risky move.'

'Oh, I know.'

'Because he is a waste of space who can't take care of himself, let alone his daughter, and none of this is about him. This is totally different.'

'Fine. He sucks.'

'Thank you.'

Blaine glances at Santana. She resolutely keeps looking straight ahead as they walk home. But she doesn't pull away when he puts his arm through hers.

'Have I told you how great you are lately?'

'If by "lately" you mean "literally ever once since we met", then no.'

He laughs. 'Well, you are. Here or there. You're great, Tana.'

She still refuses to look at him, but she smiles to herself anyway.

'You're okay too, B.'

As a fandom, we've been through some really difficult times, and this week has been awful and scary. I found a bit of comfort in having characters showing kindness to Santana, and I hope anyone seeing this can find some in reading it. The friends I've made through this are my family and I'm grateful for them every day. Thinking of you, Naya.