It took two days before Blaine could bring himself to looking properly at the sketch Kurt had sent him. He still didn't know how to feel about all that Kurt had revealed to him in his letter. He waffled between understanding and it not being enough for him to forgive Kurt. He was even more torn about the idea of Kurt hiding songs in his tattoo and lying about it.

Even after Kurt left, Blaine had found comfort in the tattoo. Not knowing what songs Kurt had chosen for him was killing him, but he was afraid of what he would find. Finally his need to know became larger than his fear, and he pulled his keyboard out of his closet.

Blaine propped the sketch against the music stand. He took a deep breath before focusing on the first staff. As he played, it didn't take him long to recognize the iconic song. I Can't Help Falling in Love With You. A small smile played on his lips before he moved on to the second swirled staff.

Tears sprang to his eyes as he recognized the melody. He played and sang the song in its entirety, even once the notes on the page had dwindled away. More than Words. Blaine had hoped that he had shown Kurt how he felt. For so long, he had loved Kurt but couldn't use his words to show him. Had Kurt noticed, or was that what he was longing for?

It took a little longer for Blaine to figure out the third song. He knew he had heard it before but couldn't place when or where. It took four times through before the words flooded into his brain. If I Fell. It seemed to Blaine that Kurt had a thing for The Beatles. He couldn't blame him; they were one of his favorites, too. The song though, he couldn't have picked a better song for Kurt to sing to him. It echoed everything he had told Blaine in his letter.

He took a deep shuddering breath and turned his attention to last piece of music. As soon as he recognized it, he knew for certain that these were not songs from Blaine, but songs to Blaine from Kurt. I Want to Know What Love Is was Kurt's plea to Blaine, it was clear. 'In my life there's been heartache and pain, I don't know if I can face it again, Can't stop now, I've traveled so far, to change this lonely life. I want to know what love is, I want you to show me, I want to feel what love is, I know you can show me', this was Kurt crying out to him. He wished he had known before it was too late. He would have gladly shown Kurt what love could be like, if he had only been given the chance.

But it's too late, Blaine thought bitterly.

The letter and the music seemed to be the closure that Blaine needed. He had done all that he could do to show Kurt he loved him, but either he hadn't seen, or it wasn't enough. Knowing the songs that were a part of his tattoo, didn't change the way he thought about it. It was still art, created by a man who saw him for a moment for what he was. He wasn't going to cover that up. He still missed Kurt, he probably always would, but the pain was less acute.

Later that week, when Nick offered to set Blaine up with the new intern at the law firm he was working at, Blaine accepted. He needed to move on.

They met on a Tuesday night at a quaint little restaurant in the East Village. Brendan was waiting for him at a table, a glass of wine already in front of him. Brendan talked at Blaine while he was looking over the menu, telling him about law school. He didn't change the subject after the waitress left with their order.

When Brendan took a sip of his wine, Blaine took his chance to talk.

"I don't know if Nick told you, but I work in music."

"How... fun." Brendan smiled before telling him about yet another case study they had learned about. At least this time it was about a music copyright.

Blaine was planning on ways to murder Nick as Brendan prattled on, even when their waitress approached with their food. As she set his plate down in front of him, her shirt sleeve pulled up revealing a beautiful watercolor lily tattoo on her wrist.

"Nice tat," Blaine smiled at her.

Her face lit up with a smile, "Thank you, I got it in this shop down in Hell's Kitchen. The artists there are amazing."

"Callie?" Blaine asked.

"How did you know?" The waitress beamed.

"I've heard a lot about her work. Watercolors are her specialty."

He was finding more interest in this conversation than listening to any more law stories.

The waitress glanced over at Brendan who did not look amused.

"Well enjoy your meal, I had better go," she hurried to say.

"Really, that was very unprofessional." Brendan commented.

Blaine couldn't help his incredulous look, "What was unprofessional?"

"First flashing her tattoo at her place of work and then talking about it. As if anyone wants to hear about that. No self-respecting person…"

"What? Has a tattoo?" Blaine interrupted.

"Well, yes." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Blaine stood up and fished a fifty out of his wallet.

"Maybe you should think about other people before you open your mouth. You happen to be sitting across from a self-respecting professional with a tattoo who doesn't make it a habit of dating judgmental assholes who don't understand that a conversation involves two people. Enjoy your meal."

He passed the waitress on the way out of the restaurant and placed the money in her hand.

"This is for my meal and your tip."

"You're leaving?" she asked.

When Blaine nodded she sighed. "Thank god, you are way too cute to be with a stuffed shirt like that."

Blaine laughed as he walked away, feeling lighter than he had all week. He walked mindlessly for a while, just enjoying feeling happy, truly happy, for the first time in what felt like forever. Snow crunched under his boots, and the cold wind stung his cheeks making him feel alive.

I wish Kurt was here, he thought and then stopped in his tracks. It didn't hurt; it was a wistful longing. Without further thought, Blaine made a decision.

Blaine soon stood in front of a green door with a brass number 4 on it. He took a deep breath before knocking.

"Blaine," Kurt gasped, his face turning pale as he saw him standing in front of him.

"Hi," was all Blaine could think to say.

Just then he heard a man's voice coming from Kurt's bedroom.

"Kurt, are you coming or not?"

Blaine felt his insides turn to ice.

"It looks like you're busy, I should just..." he began turning to walk away, cursing his impulsivity.

"Wait," Kurt practically yelled grabbing his wrist with a light tug. "It's my dad, I'm not… it's just my dad, he came early for Thanksgiving."

Behind Kurt an older man wearing a winter vest and ball cap walked out of the bedroom. Blaine would have recognized him anywhere.

"Bud, you got company?" He asked.

A blush painted Kurt's cheeks.

"Dad, this is Blaine. Blaine, this is my dad, Burt."

Burt's face widened in a friendly grin as he shook Blaine's hand.

"Blaine, it's nice to meet you, Kurt has told me all about you."

Out of the corner of his eye Blaine could see Kurt cross his arms across his chest uncomfortably.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hummel," Blaine said, trying to hide his own discomfort in politeness.

"Well, it's getting late. I should probably head back to my hotel now," Mr. Hummel announced.

"But…" Kurt stuttered only to be cut off by his father.

"I'll see you tomorrow. You'll be fine, Bud"

And then he was walking out the door.

Kurt stared at his retreating father for a few seconds before turning to Blaine awkwardly.

"Do you want to come in?"

"I… I don't know if that is a good idea," he said looking into the living room.

It had changed since he had been there last. It was neat, and the boxes were gone.

Kurt seemed to be thinking.

"There is an all night diner a couple of blocks away. We could talk?"

That was exactly what Blaine wanted to do. He needed to talk to Kurt away from the temptation of a bed.

"I think we need to talk," Blaine confirmed.

"Just let me grab my things." Kurt said hurrying to grab his coat, wallet, and keys. He looked at Blaine with wide, fearful eyes.

The walk to the diner was uncomfortable in its quietness. Blaine had so much to say but didn't know where to start and didn't want to do it on the cold New York street.

Once sat in a booth, cups of coffee in front of each of them, Kurt looked up at him with worried eyes.

"Did you get my letters?"

"Yea, I got them," Blaine said, looking at the table.

"Good," Kurt sighed, "I wanted to make sure what you knew. I just… I'm just surprised to see you. I expected you to hate me."

"I don't hate you, Kurt." Blaine said honestly. "I'm hurt, and I really don't know what I am doing here."

Kurt's face crumpled.

"I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

"The thing I don't understand, Kurt, is did you never realize how I felt about you?" Blaine asked, clutching the mug in front of him.

Kurt shook his head.

"I've talked about it a lot with my therapist. She thinks, and I agree, that I was so focused on the past, on not getting hurt again, I couldn't see what was right in front of me. I swear I have replayed every interaction in my head, and looking back I can see it, the little things you did to make me feel cherished. But at the time, I couldn't even imagine the possibility."

"Is… is it helping? Going to therapy?" Blaine asked.

"It is, she put me on a mild antidepressant, and we talk a lot. I think that helps the most. I finally realize that I just had a knack for dating assholes, I mean… that it wasn't entirely my fault that the relationships ended. That helps." Kurt lightly touched Blaine's hand. "But I want to know how you are?"

"I'm…" Blaine began but stopped himself from automatically saying fine. "I'm better than I was. I was really messed up when you first left. It took time, and your letter helped. I even let one of my friends set me up on a date."

Blaine could see Kurt's eyes grow sad, lose some of their brightness, but his voice was cheery when he spoke.

"That's great. I'm happy for you."

"It was a complete disaster," Blaine admitted. "I left before I even had a chance to eat. Afterwards I just wished it was with you."

Kurt drew in a shuddering breath. "I would have loved that."

Blaine couldn't hold himself back any more and took Kurt's hand, squeezing it gently.

"It may not be too late."

Kurt nodded, sniffling a little, "I.. I want to, but I think it would be best if we… started over. And talked some more first. I need you to understand, I still have my issues…"

"We all have our issues, Kurt," Blaine said.

Kurt's laugh was a welcome sound. "How about we order some food, and we can talk?"

They took their time ordering, the quiet, pregnant with tension once the waitress left their booth.

"Can I be honest about what I need?" Kurt said quietly not taking his eyes off the table.

"Please," Blaine answered. "I think we need to both be honest about our needs."

Kurt nodded, and when he looked up his face was resolved.

"If we do this, I need us to go slow. I have always jumped right into sex in a relationship, even with Ethan. My therapist says that because of that, I link my self-worth with sex. That and my past make it hard for me to trust that someone can have feelings for me that aren't just linked to sex. I think if this is to work, we need to build a relationship outside of the bedroom first."

"I have missed the way you made me feel, Kurt," Blaine said slowly. "But not just in the bedroom. Part of dating is seeing if you are compatible with the other person. We already know that we are sexually, so I'm okay taking things slowly."

"Really?" Kurt said, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Really." Blaine smiled, "I think it is a great idea. But there are things I need, too."

Kurt's eyes looked scared again, but he said, "Okay..."

Blaine took a deep breath to center himself.

"I need you to be open with me. I can't go back to second-guessing everything. If I say or do something that makes you uncomfortable, or if you are getting scared or freaked out by something, I need you to tell me. I will do the same. If this is going to work we need to be honest with each other, even if it's hard."

Kurt looked away, staring into the distance. "I'll try. I have opened up to so many people, sometimes it feels like I have no secrets anymore, like everyone can see right through me. It is a little scary. I can promise to try, though."

Blaine reached across the table again, laying his hand gently on Kurt's arm, drawing his focus to him.

"That is all I am asking. I don't need a running commentary on your every thought, just that instead of running away, you talk to me. I'm the only one who can tell you how I feel, or what I think, so really I am the best person to talk to."

"So, are we really doing this?" Kurt asked, and the hopefulness in his voice made the air catch in Blaine lungs.

"I think we are," Blaine said, his voice full of disbelief.