"- and it turns out it is our grandmother! Remember, Blaine?" Cooper snickered and the whole table burst out in laughter. The evening had consisted of excellent food, great company, and Cooper Anderson's never-ending stream of embarrassing stories starring his younger brother. Kurt's cheeks hurt from all the smiling he had been doing, and he glanced over at Blaine on the other side of the table, who's head was bowed and cheeks red as he laughed bashfully down at his plate. Turning to Cooper, Blaine used his hands to sign a pattern, which Cooper translated, "Blaine wonders if I could please find anything else to say that won't make you think he's some sort of idiot," Cooper smirked, "but I'm afraid I don't want to do that. I'm having too much fun." A fresh wave of laughter erupted.

The Anderson brothers were quite the pair; where Blaine was shy and modest, Cooper was boisterous and cocky in a tasteful and not really unpleasant way, yet they also shared tons of qualities such as charm, benevolence, politeness and ridiculously good looks. Seriously, Kurt though somewhat enviously as Cooper slapped Blaine goodheartedly on the back, what the hell does their parents look like?

It had been surprisingly easy and not awkward having Cooper and Blaine join the table. Their handsome looks and demeanor had much like Kurt, captivated Rachel and Finn had been ecstatic finally having someone to discuss sports with. Rose, who had insisted on being seated between them, had spent the evening being showered with compliments from the two brothers who instantly adored her, and Kurt had spent the evening sharing shy glances with Blaine who would sometimes nudge his foot with his own under the table, causing Kurt to giggle and the others to stare at him curiously for his seemingly spontaneous outburst.

"So, Kurt," Cooper turned to Kurt, a devious grin on his face, "I have heard a lot about you." Blaine's head immediately shot up. He stared at his brother, horrified.

"Oh, really?" Kurt said, curious. "Like what?"
"Well, like how your ass- ouch!" Cooper's head snapped to Blaine who glared at him furiously, frantically shaking his head. Cooper pouted and turned back to Kurt. "As I was going to say before I… stabbed my toe in the table - like how you are extremely intelligent and have excellent hygiene and how that new shampoo you're using makes your hair look absolutely lovely –" Blaine reached out a hand, threatening to ruffle Cooper's hair, and Cooper backed away, putting his hands up in defense. "Sorry, sorry, I'm gonna shut up now, take it easy." It was a heavenly evening, indeed.

"I have to pee," Rose somewhat later loudly announced to the table.

"I'll take her," Kurt said as Rachel moved to get up, taking Rose's hand and ignoring Rachel's wink as Blaine wept his mouth on a napkin and stood up as well.

The hallway outside the lavatories was blissfully quiet in comparison to the diner hall; dark wood paneled the walls, a plush, dark burgundy carpet muted the footsteps of passing people and a great chandelier cast a soft light over the room. Kurt and Blaine stood facing each other, leaning against the wall as they waited for Rose.

"So…" Kurt said after a few moments of awkward silence, "your brother?"

Blaine smiled and shrugged, being forced by the absence of a translator to once again pull out his phone.

"Yes, Cooper's visiting from Los Angeles. Sorry about him."

"Oh, no," Kurt said, "I like him."

Blaine's face fell for a second before hastily going back to a pleasant smile.

"He was always the good looking one," Blaine typed.

"Oh, please," Kurt sniffed before he could stop himself. Blaine's face lit up in a smile so wide it made his eyes crinkle, and they both looked away from each other, blushing. Kurt had been doing more blushing in the past weeks than he had in the past twenty-six years of his life, and, to be honest, he loved it.

"Cooper's visiting from Los Angeles," Blaine wrote. "He is an actor, though not very successfully so. He gets by from our grandfather's heritage, too."
"Blaine…" Kurt hesitated before asking, "where are your parents?" A sad, melancholy look captured Blaine's face, and he gently brushed his fingers against his chest, over his heart.

"They are dead. My parents got shot when I was one. The neighborhood we lived in in Italy was rough, lots of criminality and violence and stuff. My grandparents immediately rushed me and Cooper to New York, taking care of us until they died as well. I was eighteen." Kurt gasped, and Blaine looked over at him, a sad smile tugging at his lips. Noticing Kurt's shocked expression, his own softened and he stepped closer to him, bringing his hand up but lowering it again before it could touch Kurt's cheek. "It's okay, Kurt. I'm okay," he wrote.

"My mom died when I was six. Cancer," Kurt murmured, swallowing back the tears that threatened to spill.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt." Blaine stared at him concerned.

"She was amazing and I miss her a lot. But it's okay, you know? It's okay now. I have my dad, his wife Carole, Finn and Rachel, Rose and… well, you." Kurt swallowed thickly. Blaine gently took his hand and squeezed it, before letting go again.

"You do."

Another silence spread over them, heavy but peaceful, both in their own thoughts. Kurt felt emotionally closer to Blaine than he ever had, with anyone, really, feeling more grateful than ever that Blaine had chosen to walk into his shop - into his life. He let out a breath and ran a hand down his face.
Blaine suddenly looked over at him, eyes wide and sparkling. He wrote something on his phone, hiding the screen away from Kurt with his hand and paused for a few moments, seemingly deliberating if he should show it. Looking up again, meeting Kurt's genuine smile, Blaine moved his hand, and looked away, allowing Kurt to read the screen. Kurt felt his heart speed up, his pulse quicken and a feeling of exhilaration and glee spread through his chest. The message was simple, really, but to Kurt, who had never had those words uttered to him before, at least not in that sense, it meant the world:

"You look beautiful tonight."

As Blaine nervously turned his head back, and their eyes met in an intense connection, the door shot open with a bang and Rose skipped out, babbling happily as she took each of their hands, dragging them back to the dining hall, "There were pink towels! Pink! I love pink! Pink is my favorite color. In my house the towels are white, but these ones were pink! Isn't that fantastic? I wish al-"

And if Rachel, Finn or Cooper wondered why Blaine and Kurt returned flushed and grinning from ear to ear, they thankfully didn't comment on it.

Yes, it was a definitely lovely evening.