AN- So, Hello was super hard to write because Kurt is barely in it and I floundered for a plot for the longest time. And then Kurt said something in glee- And there it was. This does mention the episode a few times but it's focus is mainly on the plot I slipped in.

I hope you like it anyway.

They won Sectionals.

Blaine walks into McKinley with a new found feeling of complete and total awesome. He meets up with Kurt and they exchange happy smiles as they turn a hall and catch up with Rachel and Mercedes.

Rachel goes off about how wonderful she feels, because this will be their year and they are going to rule the school and-

Suddenly, they're all slushied.

Blue this time.

"Welcome to Loser-Ville!" Karfosky taunts as he walks away.

"Population: you."

Looks like things are never going to change.

So, they're in their first glee meeting since the win. Mr. Schue draws a stick figure on the board, then address them all with a 'Hello'.

No one says anything.

He tries again. "Hello."

"Hello," everyone choruses back and Kurt rolls his eyes at Blaine.

"What do you say when you answer the phone?"

"What up?" Mercedes calls out.

"Who dis be?" Artie interjects.

"No, she's dead, this is her son," Kurt says, looking like he did so without thinking.

Mr. Schue shoots him a look but otherwise ignores him. Blaine leans over.

"Hey. You okay?"

Kurt blinks. "Yeah. Uh, I don't know why I said that."

But Blaine's eyes narrow because he's so not going to accept that.

"Kurt-"

"Kurt? Blaine?" Mr. Schue looks over at them. "Is everything okay?"

"Just fine, Mr. Schue," Kurt calls out.

"Sorry," Blaine adds.

Kurt looks relived but this is so not dropped.

Not by a long shot.

Kurt wishes Blaine would leave him alone.

He just wants to walk down the hallway to his locker without having to worry about dodging Blaine in between all that too.

Because ever since his slip of the tongue in glee, Blaine hasn't stopped wondering if Kurt was okay, or if Kurt needed someone to talk to or if Kurt just needed someone.

And, well, yeah. Kurt's not in the best of places right now. And he's happy someone noticed. But he doesn't want to talk about it.

So why can't Blaine get it?

Blaine does the unthinkable.

He seeks out Mercedes. Because he's not an idiot. And she is Kurt's best friend so she might know what's going on.

"Is something wrong with Kurt?"

She blinks at him, then arches her eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Kurt. He seemed really out of it in glee and his comment about his mom-"

"Wait, what? When did he make a comment about his mom?"

"In glee. After Mr. Schue asked everyone what we said when we answered the phone," he pauses. "You know, don't you? What's wrong with him?"

"Blaine," she sighs. "I-I can't tell you."

"Mercedes, I know you hate me and you don't think I'm friends with Kurt but-"

"No. I mean, I really can't tell you. It's not my place. Just, give Kurt some space, okay? If he wants to tell you, he'll tell you."

He nods. "Yeah. Okay."

The next day in glee, Finn sings 'Hello' by The Doors and makes all the girls swoon.

And Kurt. There is definitely some swooning by Kurt.

And, yes, Blaine is finally ready to admit it: it bothers him.

But he's not going to hate Finn for it.

(not intentionally at least)

After the song, he catches up with Kurt. Who looks at him cautiously like he might start asking him questions again. Instead, Blaine grins.

"Need a mailman?"

Kurt just blinks at him because he doesn't get it. And Blaine sort of remembers that, yeah, Finn told him that story ages ago and Kurt wouldn't know what he was talking about and. Yeah. This is awkward.

"Never mind. Want to do something after school?"

"Such as?" Kurt asks as they begin walking towards the door.

Blaine shrugs. "We do movies a lot. We could watch regular television or something."

"How adventurous of you Blaine," Kurt teases. "We could go get coffee."

"Oh, like we don't do that every day," Blaine says, rolling his eyes.

"Fine, let's go back to my house and watch Terminator 2."

"Whoa. An action movie. Way to break the stereotype."

They high-five.

Kurt makes popcorn as Blaine gets situated on the couch. He's a little restless just sitting there so he stands up and begins walking around the living room.

He's been here twice and he's never really looked before. His feet take him to the cabinet that the TV resides in. There are picture frames everywhere; a younger Kurt playing tea-party with his father, sitting on a bike with his father holding the back of the seat, twirling around with a tiara on his head and one of Kurt and a gorgeous woman, with his eyes, laughing over a tray of burnt cookies.

Blaine picks it up carefully. She has to be Kurt's mother- they have the same mouth set in addition to the eyes and there is a warmth between them that Blaine can see even in the photograph.

"Okay, there's not a lot of salt and barely any butter on…what are you looking at?"

Blaine jumps. He turns to look at Kurt and hopes his expression is guilty free. Kurt's eyes narrow; obviously, he failed.

"I-I was just looking at the photos."

Kurt walks closer, then glances down at the frame in Blaine's hands. His eyes soften a little and he gently takes it from Blaine.

"This was my mom, Elizabeth. She passed away when I was eight. It will be her birthday this Saturday."

Oh. Oh that makes a lot of sense.

"Kurt," Blaine says softly and he kind of just wants to take Kurt in his arms and never let him go. "Kurt, I…"

"Can we watch the movie?" Kurt says kind of loudly and he puts the picture back where it goes. He sits down on the couch and grabs the remote.

"Kurt, if you want to-"

"No, Blaine, no I don't. I was hoping you would figure this out but I really, really don't want to talk about it. Please. I just want to watch the movie."

Blaine nods then sinks onto the couch next to Kurt. Who hits play, then tucks his legs under him. He places the bowl between them.

Blaine thinks it's like a shield or something.

They watch the movie in silence.

It must have been an emotionally draining day or something because Kurt falls asleep before the movie was over.

(or maybe Kurt doesn't really like Terminator all that much)

Blaine looks at him; his face looks even younger, more peaceful. His eyelashes are fluttering with every inhale and Blaine has this urge to run his hand over Kurt's hair to see if it's really as soft as it looks.

He pushes that idea out of his head; Kurt needs a friend right now and Blaine still hasn't even come to terms with whatever the hell is going on with those feelings.

The front door opens and Blaine leaps over all the way to the edge of the couch because Burt Hummel is walking in and no, sir, no funny business at all.

"Oh," Burt stops as he catches sight of Blaine. "Hi. Blaine, right?"

"Yes, sir," Blaine whispers, which brings to Burt's attention that Kurt is sleeping. He heads into the kitchen and Blaine flounders for a moment, before he grabs the empty popcorn bowl and follows.

"So, you're Kurt's friend," Burt says as Blaine walks in.

"Yes, sir."

"How did you guys meet, again, exactly?"

Exactly? Well, exactly, I stuck my tongue down your son's throat, then denied I was gay and let him get tossed in the dumpster by my future teammates.

"Kurt joined the football team and got some of the guys interested in glee club," Blaine says instead. "I joined with some friends."

Burt nods. "So, when did you finally lose him?"

It takes Blaine just a second to realize what he meant. "Oh, right after Sarah broke into Dyson's house and they were talking."

Kurt's dad chuckles. "Yeah, Kurt's not too big on action movies. Terminator 2 is his one exception but he even has trouble making it through that one."

Blaine nods. "It was also probably a long day. He-he told me about…his mom."

"Ah," Burt's eyes soften a little. "Yeah, this hasn't been the easiest week for Kurt."

"Were they close?" Blaine asks before he can stop himself.

Burt doesn't answer. He reaches into the fridge for a beer and cracks it open, taking a sip and surveying Blaine carefully. Whatever he sees, he must like.

"Very. Kurt was Elizabeth's world. And Kurt loved his mother very, very much. He's so much like her sometimes. Her compassion, her morality, I see it all in him."

"Did she know?" Blaine asks, very, very, quietly.

"I think she did. We both did, after Kurt asked for a pair of sensible shoes for his third birthday."

Blaine can't help it; he chuckles a little and is relieved when Burt does as well.

"She didn't care," Burt answers the unasked question. "To her, it just didn't matter."

Blaine stares at the table. Kurt was just so lucky, to have the parents he did. Even though his mother was gone, the strength of her love stayed behind in his father. His warm, accepting father who loved his son beyond a measurable doubt.

He jumps when Burt places a can of cola in front of him.

"Sorry. You looked like you could use a drink but you're underage so…"

Blaine looks up at him and smiles. "Thank you, sir."

"Kurt's friends call me Mr. Hummel, son."

"You're making the assumption that he's my friend, Dad."

A bleary eyed Kurt walks into the room and smiles warmly at his dad.

"Please Kurt, he's been here three times now. You can stop lying."

Blaine feels a little prickle of jealousy as Burt ruffles Kurt's hair (Kurt smacks his hand away, of course) but mainly he just feels a sense of longing at the way they interact.

"Are you staying for dinner, Blaine?" Kurt addresses him finally.

Blaine shakes his head. "I should get home. Thanks for the offer, though."

"I'll walk you to your car," Kurt says. As they leave the kitchen, he calls over his shoulder to his dad, "No snacking! I'll start dinner as soon as I get back."

Burt grumbles something as Blaine shrugs on his coat, and then they're outside, the cool night air hitting them just slightly.

"Thanks for coming over," Kurt whispers. "Sorry I wasn't more…fun."

"Shut up," Blaine tells him, smiling. "You don't ever have to apologize."

"Ever? So, say I accidentally break your keyboard or something?"

He's joking. Because he doesn't want to talk about it. And Blaine wishes he would just drop the walls for once. But he plays along like he knows he's supposed to.

"Well, in that case, you do."

They reach his car and Blaine digs around his pocket for his keys. He catches Kurt's eye.

"I get that we just officially became friends and all. But, I want to be here for you-"

"Blaine."

"-and I understand that you don't exactly want me to be. But, if you ever just need to talk or cry or whatever…I'm here, Kurt. Just let me be."

Kurt says nothing. He does hug Blaine though, tightly and almost like he doesn't want to let go.

"Drive safe. Text me when you're home."

Blaine squeezes back. "I will."

Blaine gets a call the next day from Rachel.

With all the drama going on with Kurt right now, he almost forgot there was a life outside their friendship.

"What's up, Rach?"

"Blaine! I just met the most amazing man ever! I think I'm in love."

Blaine blinks. "Er, Rach, what about Finn?"

"Finn," Rachel scoffs, "He's a scared little boy who doesn't realize how amazing I am. Jesse sees my talent. And he respects it. Because he's just as talented as I am."

"Jesse?"

"Jesse St. James, lead male in Vocal Adrenaline."

"Vocal…Rachel, isn't that our main competition for Regionals?"

"Don't start, Blaine," she sighs, "I already got that speech from Finn about how it's too coincidental that we win Sectionals and Jesse suddenly shows up and wants to be with me. Is it really so hard to imagine that a boy likes me? For me?"

Blaine doesn't want to give her the honest answer which is Rachel-he's –so-playing-you so he settles for shrugging (even though she can't see him) and replying, "No, it's not. Just…be careful, Rachel."

"I will. Jesse and mine's love will carry me through any problems we may face from our friends and fellow glee clubbers. I can't wait for you to meet him, Blaine!"

"Er, me either, Rach."

Why did life choose to get more complicated after Sectionals?

His phone goes off again two days later.

At two o' clock in the morning to be precise. It wakes him out of a sound sleep and he reaches for the table beside his bed almost blindly.

"'Lo?" he asks, his voice heavy from sleep.

He hears a sniffle on the other line and sits up, awake immediately.

"Hello? Rachel?"

Because, obviously, Jesse St. James' evil plan was discovered and it just broke Rachel's heart because who else would be calling him crying this early in the morning?

"No. I'm a little offended that my crying sounds like her."

"Kurt. No, uh, I thought- never mind. What's wrong?"

"It's-it's Saturday," he whispers.

What's so bad about- Oh. Saturday: Kurt's mom's birthday.

"Do you want to talk about it, or…"

"Not really. I just, I don't know, I didn't mean to wake you. I'm sorry I'll-"

"No, it's fine. Really. Just tell me what you want me to do."

"Can you just talk? Say anything to get my mind off of this."

"Yeah," he digs around in his head for something to say, "Rachel dumped Finn-"

"They were dating?"

"Apparently. And now she's dating some lead guy from Vocal Adrenaline who may or may not have a nefarious plan."

Kurt laughs (it's quiet and tear filled but it's a laugh). "'Nefarious'? Really, Blaine?"

"What? I think it's a great word to describe what's going down."

"'Going down'?"

"Don't judge me."

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt sighs.

Blaine shifts the phone to his other ear and lies back on the bed. "So…"

"I'm going to see her later. Tell her about my year. I know I should go more than once a year but…it's so hard. Sitting at that grave."

"I think she would understand, Kurt," Blaine says softly.

"That's what my dad says. I know he goes a lot. Just picks a day and stops there with flowers. Cleans up her headstone a little. "

Kurt's voice is getting sad again, so Blaine decides they need to back to the mindless conversation.

"So, did you read this month's issue of Vogue?"

Later that day, Kurt stops at the nearest mini-mart and buys a bouquet of flowers. He drives past his dad's auto repair shop and beyond McKinley High. He pulls into the small graveyard and stops at the bottom of a hill.

He takes a deep breath; grabs the flowers and leaves the car.

Her headstone looks no different than before. Elizabeth Hummel written dead center and underneath 'loving wife and mother'.

He sits down in front, not even caring about the grass stains on his jeans.

"Hey mom," he whispers. He slides the flowers into the metal vase next to her headstone, "Happy birthday. Haven't seen you in a while. I've gotten so big, right?"

He sighs. "This year…has been a little bit better than last. I joined glee club; I know much you loved my voice. Remember when we would sing Disney songs until dad's head exploded?" Kurt laughs. "I think he only pretended to be annoyed, just so we would keep doing it."

The wind ruffles his hair and he closes his eyes and pretends it's her.

"I've made friends. Mercedes, she had a crush on me- long story- and now she's like my best friend. And there's a guy that I kind of have a crush on. He's very cute, and I think you'd approve. Except he might be sort of in love with this girl. Her name is Rachel and she's really annoying but, I don't know, lately she hasn't been aggravating me as much. I completely blame Blaine's influence."

He pauses, "You know, the more I think about it, the more I feel maybe Mercedes isn't my only best friend."

He shifts a little on the grass. "I told you about Blaine before, mom. The jerk from Puck's party. And I never told dad about that because there's no way he would even let Blaine in the house. Because he's changed; I think he was just scared, mom. And I can understand that."

He runs his hand over her name engraved in the stone. "I came out to dad. He took it really well. And, I think that gives Blaine hope. I know you told me I shouldn't assume things about people, but I'm almost certain he's gay. And if he ever comes out to me, I know I'll be there for him. Because…because I think I really care about him."

Kurt chuckles.

"I'll never tell him though. I don't think his ego can take it. But he was really there for me this last week, when all I could think about was you. I miss you," and here, his voice catches, "so much mom. And I love you even more than that. I-I'm going to try to come more than once a year. And maybe I'll bring this Blaine guy, so you can meet him."

He presses his fingers to his lips, then to the word 'mother'.

"I love you mom. So much."

He stands up, brushes off his clothes and walks back to his car.

He pulls into the driveway of his home, knowing he'll be home alone for a while and considering having one good cry before his dad came home from work.

His phone bleeps before he can enter and he glances down at it to see a message from his dad.

Don't freak out when you walk in. And have fun!

Kurt's eyebrows furrow but he shrugs and walks inside. As he passes the living room, he glances inside almost reflexively, then continues. He's almost in the kitchen when he stops and doubles back.

Blaine Anderson is sitting on his couch, a stack of movies on the coffee table and various bags of snack food scattered about.

"There you are! So, I figure we could have a Pixar movie marathon! Because nothing is better than Pixar. Except Disney, but your dad kind of warned me about that. And Harry Potter but I wasn't sure if you wanted to watch those."

Kurt blinks. "My dad?"

"He let me in," Blaine explains. "I figured you didn't want to be alone today. Or did you and I kind of suck right now?"

Kurt shakes his head and feels a smile growing on his face. Today, of all days, he's really going to smile.

"No, no, I'm glad you're here."

And he plops down on the couch next to him and Blaine grabs the remote and hits play. The screen for A Bug's Life comes on and Kurt grabs the nearest bag of chips before turning to his couch companion.

"Thank you."

Blaine catches his eye and smiles.

"You're welcome, Kurt."

They sit back and watch the movie.

AN- I loved this chapter- it came out so much better than I thought. I hope you agree!