Hi everyone!

I'm really sorry I couldn't update yesterday. There was a power outage in my neighborhood, so it was a pretty boring Saturday.

Thanks for the lovely comments for the last chapter. We're getting super close to the end!

Again, kudos to Christine for helping me with typos and grammar mishaps.

I hope you'll like this one as well!

I own nothing!

Sam stood at the door of Blaine's apartment on Saturday night and pointed a finger at his friend. "You owe me. Big time."

Blaine smiled at him as charmingly as he could. "I always owe you, Sam."

"You bet your ass you do," Sam replied, and walked into the apartment. Max immediately ran towards him and collided with his knees. "Hey, champ."

"Hi Sam!" Max exclaimed, looking up at him with big blue eyes and a winning smile that was all Cooper.

"Oh hey! Look at you talking like the big boy you are!" Sam bent to pick him up and tickled him, making Max laugh loudly.

Blaine moved into the living room and grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch. "He's been a talking machine for the past few days. It's like, now that he's finally started, he can't turn it off."

"That's because he's the smartest little boy in the whole world, aren't you?" Sam asked him, and Max shrieked in obvious confirmation. "You leaving already?"

Blaine slipped his jacket on and checked his hair on the mirror one last time. "Yeah. Kurt just texted me that he's about to get off the subway, so I'll just meet him downstairs. If Max sees him, he won't let us go."

Sam observed him quietly for a few seconds, as Max went to dig a little plastic truck out of his toy box. "You know, this might be the first time in a very, very long time I see you completely calm before a date."

Blaine shrugged. "Kurt and I know each other well by now."

"Because he was your student first, or because he works for you?" Sam arched an eyebrow, and Blaine turned to him, frowning.

"Look, Sam, I know you're not exactly okay with this, and I know you wanted to see Mercedes tonight, so if you don't want to stay with Max just say it, and Kurt and I can just order some food in and…"

"No, no," Sam interrupted immediately. "I'll stay. It's fine. I just… you know. I worry. I can't see myself falling for one of my students. It would be too weird."

"You know I never planned on this," Blaine retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. He felt suddenly exposed. "I never intended to have feelings for Kurt. It certainly did complicate a few things but… Sam, it feels so right. When I'm with him… I don't know. I guess I just forget what it's like to have a broken heart."

Sam's face was full of something too akin to pity, and Blaine didn't like it. "And are you sure he's not going to be the next one to break it?"

Blaine kissed Max's head goodbye before heading towards the door. "Sam, I trust him with my nephew's life. Do you really think I wouldn't trust him with my heart?"

Just as Blaine stepped onto the sidewalk, he saw Kurt crossing the street at the corner, so he made his way over to meet him. As soon as Kurt caught sight of him, his lips pulled upward in a bright, happy smile. He slid straight into Blaine's arms, as if it was the most natural thing to do in the whole world, just press their bodies together and share a quick, lovely peck on the lips.

"You look stunning," Blaine said as greeting, letting his fingers dig a little at the curve of Kurt's spine, where they fit so perfectly.

Kurt was wearing all blue, which made his eyes pop spectacularly, jeans and button down, sleeves pull up neatly to his elbows. He had a jacket slung over one of his arms, a darker shade of blue, with some spark on the lapels that would have been ridiculous on anyone else, but would probably look amazing on him. Kurt was a risk-taker, in fashion and in every other aspect of his life, and Blaine was constantly mesmerized by him.

"You don't look bad at all yourself," Kurt said, with a slight purr on his voice that sent a pang of arousal through Blaine's body. His smile became tenderer when he saw Blaine was wearing the bowtie he had made for him, a splash of color against his black pants and jacket, and white button down. "I love this color on you," he murmured, as his fingers tugged slightly at the ends of the bowtie.

"Thank you," Blaine replied with a smile. "A genius new designer made it for me."

"Shut up," Kurt laughed, but there was a pink blush on his cheeks after the compliment.

Blaine reached for his hand and pulled him into a walk, heading north. "It's a beautiful evening. Do you mind if we walk instead of taking a cab? We have time."

"Of course," Kurt agreed, intertwining their fingers. Sometimes they both silently marveled at how perfectly they fit together. "Are you still not telling me where we are going?"

"I told you, it's a surprise," Blaine teased, and Kurt rolled his eyes at him, but let it go.

"How was Max?" Kurt asked.

It always sent a warm feeling through him, whenever Kurt showed interest about something related to Max, especially when he didn't have to, or when Blaine didn't expect it. It was completely and overwhelmingly nice to know there was someone who cared about Max just as much as Blaine did.

"He's fine. He loves Sam," Blaine replied. "They always have fun together."

"And what about Sam?" Kurt said, as they stopped at a corner to wait for the red light. "I haven't talked to him much this week. He was busy when I picked Max up at his office on Wednesday."

"He's good, too. He had plans with Mercedes today, but cancelled to stay with Max. I honestly don't know what I would do without him," Blaine explained and wrapped his arm around Kurt to move him out of the way when a couple of teenagers ran in the opposite direction, almost crashing against Kurt's side. Lost in their own world, they didn't even care. "I owe him way too much."

"Maybe I should bake him my famous chocolate chip cookies," Kurt said thoughtfully. "Rachel says they are worth running into traffic for, and she's a vegan."

"Now I want some of those," Blaine said, nudging him playfully, and Kurt chuckled.

"I can always make extra," he reassured him.

They talked about nothing and everything, sharing little anecdotes about their day, as they reached Times Square and 42nd street. By then Kurt had become a little restless, after walking so far with no idea where they were going, so Blaine gently pushed him out of the way of tourists and hurrying New Yorkers, under the awning of a coffee shop.

"Okay, fine, I'm going to tell you where we're going," Blaine said at last.

"Finally! The anticipation was killing me," Kurt laughed, placing his hands on Blaine's chest, and his excitement was so clear on his face that Blaine couldn't help leaning in for a quick kiss, before he fished two tickets out of his pocket. Kurt blinked at them in confusion. "I… Broadway tickets?"

"I remembered you told me that you tried to go to as many shows as you could when you first came to the city, but that it got harder and harder to afford the tickets as years went by," Blaine explained, suddenly feeling a little nervous, without knowing why. "And I'm not sure if you've seen Chicago, but it's a classic, and you can't go wrong with classics."

"You remembered that I…? Blaine," Kurt whispered, and he seemed truly moved. "This is wonderful. But you shouldn't have… my goodness, those are front row orchestra tickets. How did you…? It's impossible to get those seats with such short notice…"

"Well, I have my connections," Blaine said, airily and Kurt gaped at him for a moment, making Blaine laugh. "Well, Cooper had connections. One of his best friends is a stage manager. I called him and he helped me out."

"That's amazing!" Kurt said, and Blaine smiled, before grabbing his hand again to pull him in the direction of the theatre. "You never told me… uhm, you never told me what Cooper did."

Blaine read the hesitation in his tone, the way he wasn't sure if he was allowed to ask questions about Cooper. Blaine realized that, even if it was still hard to talk about his brother sometimes, with Kurt it felt as normal and easy as breathing. He wanted to share everything with Kurt, and that included his brother.

Cooper would have really liked Kurt, after all.

"He was an actor," Blaine said, and saw the surprise on Kurt's face. "He wasn't famous, by any means. He did a few commercials, and got cast in a few plays. He moved to New York from Los Angeles when theatre offered him a steadier income than movies or commercials. He wasn't getting many roles back there, anyway. He met Sara here, and suddenly New York was his home, despite how much he wanted to go back to Los Angeles. He never looked back after that."

Kurt's smile was sweet, soft, and the press of his hand against his was so steadying and firm that Blaine felt like he could keep talking all night. "He must have been good if he made it to Broadway."

"Well, he wasn't on Broadway. His plays were always off-off-off-Broadway," Blaine replied with an amused smile. "But he always behaved like he was a multiple Tony winner already. He had such a big head sometimes, I couldn't stand it." He laughed suddenly, as a memory hit him. "One night he forced me to stand outside the theatre after one of his plays and to loudly ask him for an autograph. People noticed, and thought he was someone famous, and a crowd gathered around him. He looked over the moon, radiant. He loved being the center of attention."

"It sounds like he was a really fun person," Kurt commented. "Like you could never be bored as long as he was around."

Blaine turned to him. There was a spark in his eyes, and he smiled. "That's exactly what he was like."

"What about Sara? What did she do?" Kurt asked, as they reached the Ambassador Theatre.

"She worked in publishing," Blaine said. "They were complete opposites, and no one ever guessed they could work so well together. Cooper was so loud and bright all the time, always pulling focus, and Sara was calm and patient, and so astonishingly smart. It was so delightful to just sit and hear whatever she had to say. We loved talking about books, and she always had new recommendations for me. I don't think I ever went over to their apartment for dinner and left without a new book in my hands. She was so generous and gracious…" Blaine shook his head. "I see so much of them in Max. You know, he's like the perfect combination of the both of them."

"He really is," Kurt pressed a kiss to Blaine's shoulder as they waited to be lead towards their seats. "Thank you for telling me about them."

"Thank you for listening," Blaine whispered. "Thank you for wanting to know them."

Their seats were so close to the stage that Kurt could reach his hand and touch it. He looked over his shoulder and pointed at the cheaper seats, all the way in the back of the theatre, where he and Rachel usually got tickets when they could afford them. He couldn't believe how close he was now, and he took his phone out of his pocket to take a picture of his playbill and send it to his best friend, with the caption: Look where Blaine brought me!

Rachel texted back immediately, twice. The first text was a long keysmash that made no sense, and the second, two sentences: I like him. You'd better keep him.

Blaine read the text over Kurt's shoulder and saw him blush. He dropped a kiss on Kurt's heated cheek, thinking that he had no intention whatsoever of going anywhere.

After the show, Kurt was a babbling, excited mess. He held Blaine's hand between his own as he told him all the things he had loved about it, how extraordinary the choreographies had been, how beautiful the costumes. Blaine asked him if he wanted to head backstage to meet the cast, since Cooper's friend had told him his name would be on the list, but Kurt suddenly became paler than usual.

"My goodness, I couldn't!" He shrieked. "I would embarrass myself. I'm just… no. No, thank you. Let's just go."

Despite Blaine's insistence, Kurt wouldn't agree on meeting the cast, so they finally headed out of the theatre. New York was so much cooler than the inside of the theatre, where the lights had been hot and blinding. Kurt tucked himself closer to Blaine's side and sighed in contentment.

"Thank you so much. This was… well, a lovely surprise doesn't even begin to cover it," he said. "Best date ever gets closer."

Blaine smiled at him. "I'm glad you think so. Are you hungry? I made a reservation for dinner."

"You are so entirely perfect," Kurt said, and stopped him in the middle of the sidewalk, tourists and New Yorkers be damned, to kiss him.

It was like the city melted away. They couldn't hear the traffic or the people around them, couldn't see the million lights from the office buildings and the theatres, couldn't smell that distinctive New York scent – that scent of concrete, exhaust, and more, so much more. There was only this, the two of them, and every inch of their bodies meeting, as their lips slid together with a familiarity that shouldn't have been possible yet.

They pulled away slowly, reluctantly, wishing they could just stand there and kiss for the rest of the night. Blaine smiled softly at him, open and trusting, and Kurt melted as effectively as the city, wondering if anyone in the history of humankind had ever felt the way he felt about this man…

"Hi Professor Anderson!" A voice behind them said, startling them back to reality. "And oh. Hi, Kurt."

Blinking in confusion, because a moment ago human beings didn't exist, except for the two of them, Kurt turned around as he felt Blaine stiffening in his arms.

It was Natalie, that annoying girl who'd had a crush on Blaine for years. She was standing there, looking at them with wide eyes, as panic filled every inch of Kurt's body.

Blaine's arms fell away from Kurt's waist, where they had nested during the kiss. "Hi Natalie! It's nice to see you."

His voice, however, sounded abnormally high, betraying him.

She seemed so uncomfortable that Kurt hoped she would flee the scene immediately, but instead she looked at the playbills in their hands, and said: "Oh Chicago! I saw that last month with my parents. It was great, wasn't it?"

"Yes, fantastic," Kurt said dryly. He looked at her, hoping his murderous glance was conveying everything he was trying to say to her: if you say a single word about this to anyone, I will hunt you down and kill you with my own bare hands.

"Well, I… have to go," she said nervously, taking a step away from Kurt. "I'll see you both in class, I guess…"

And without waiting for their replies, she practically ran away, crossing the street and avoiding being run over by a cab at the last minute.

They stood on the same spot, simply breathing, and Kurt was suddenly aware of how they were not touching anymore.

Fear replaced the warm happiness he had felt just a minute ago. Blaine looked down at his shoes and ran a hand over his hair, something Kurt knew he only did when he was nervous or frustrated.

"Uhm. We can just go home, if you…" he began to suggest.

Blaine shook his head. "No, no. Our reservations. We should… let's just go."

They started to walk again. Blaine had shoved both hands in his jacket's pockets, and Kurt was wringing his playbill anxiously, wondering if things were about to go incredibly wrong after they had just been incredibly perfect.

Blaine had made reservations at a Thai restaurant a few blocks away. The waiter guided them to a beautiful table lit by small paper lamp. Everything around them smelled spicy, waking their senses, but it wasn't enough to pull Blaine away from the spell Natalie had put him in.

They ordered, though Kurt was sure Blaine had no idea what he had just asked for. After the waiter brought them their drinks, Kurt decided he couldn't take the silence anymore. Feeling a little desperate, he reached across the table and grabbed Blaine's hand, who flinched at the sudden touch, making Kurt regret the move immediately.

"Look, Blaine, I…" he sighed, tiredly. "I get it, okay? It's all fun and games until people find out. I know you could risk your job for this, and I will completely understand if you want to just call it a night and go home." Kurt was amazed he managed to say that much without crying. He refused to cry. "We can just forget about all this."

That finally made Blaine react. "What? No, that's not what I want," he said, frowning.

"It would be okay if it was," Kurt insisted, making sure the hurt and the fear didn't show on his face. "You have a job that you love and need to take care of, and a kid to raise. It would be the sensible option. We can just talk to Natalie and ask her to…"

"I am not doing that," Blaine said, so firmly that Kurt startled. "I'm not saying I'm not worried – she could get me in a lot of trouble if she told anyone, but that doesn't mean I want to put an end to this…"

"It would be understandable, Blaine," Kurt said softly, fidgeting with his napkin. "I really wouldn't…"

"Are you trying to be honorable or do you really want to put a stop to this?" Blaine asked, a little brusquely.

"I don't want to be the reason you get in trouble," Kurt replied.

"Kurt," Blaine murmured, and Kurt finally looked up at him. "Have you noticed that I am so much happier since you are in my life?"

Kurt's breath stuttered in his chest. Whatever he expected Blaine to say, it wasn't that. "Blaine, I…"

"If there's anything I've learned in the past year, is that you have to know what the priorities in life are," Blaine said, his whiskey eyes fixed on Kurt's. "My job is important and I would really, really like to keep it, but it's people, Kurt, people you care about and that you are happy to be with that make everything worth it. Max, and Sam, and you… I wouldn't change you three for anything in the world."

It was like the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. Kurt pressed a hand to his chest, feeling it tight and empty, except for his heart, which was beating wildly. "Blaine…"

"If something happens, I'll face it," Blaine said, and he looked ten years older all of a sudden. He leaned over the table to get closer. "But I'm done losing people, Kurt. I'm not going to walk away."

Kurt closed his eyes, relief washing over him in waves. "If you're sure…" he mumbled.

"I'm sure," Blaine interrupted, and now he smiled. He grabbed Kurt's hand between his and kissed his knuckles. "In case you haven't noticed it yet, I'm kind of crazy about you, Kurt Hummel."

Impulsively, Kurt moved to the chair next to Blaine, and threw his arms around Blaine's shoulders to pull him in for a kiss. No one had ever said such beautiful things to Kurt. No one had made him feel like he was worth taking risks for.

"I'm crazy about you too," Kurt whispered against his lips, when what he truly wanted to say was I love you, I love you, I love you until he said those three words so much they tangled all together.

Blaine wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly against him, as if he didn't want to ever let go. Kurt buried his face on the crook of his neck and simply took in the scent of Blaine's skin, so calming and beautifully familiar.

Once their waiter came back with their food, Kurt went back to his seat, and looked at Blaine, still serious but feeling better. "So what are we going to do? Should we talk to her?"

Blaine chewed his Duck Num Dang thoughtfully for a few seconds before answering: "I don't think so. I don't think she'll say anything, but I don't want to make her feel threatened or uncomfortable either. She's my student too, Kurt."

"Okay," Kurt said, because it was ultimately Blaine's decision. "But in the meantime I don't think we should be kissing or holding hands in the middle of Manhattan. We could have run into the head of the English department, or even the freaking dean. We need to be more careful, Blaine."

"I guess you're right," Blaine said, sounding a bit defeated. "I guess we could just keep our dates at home. I know it's not as fun, but…"

"I can survive without going to a Broadway show, I promise," Kurt teased.

"The semester is almost over," Blaine tried to reason. "You'll stop being my student very soon. Then it won't really matter. We're only doing something inappropriate because you're in one of my classes."

"You make it sound so sordid," Kurt said, biting his lower lip.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Shut up and eat your Pad Thai."

Kurt smiled, but put the teasing aside. "It'll be alright. We'll be careful."

The rest of their date was just as amazing as the beginning of it. The encounter with Natalie had made a dent on their night, but it hadn't entirely ruined it. They enjoyed being together so much that Blaine found it difficult to worry about other things when Kurt was leaning sleepily against his shoulder on the subway ride back home.

Sam was sitting outside on the balcony having a beer when they arrived. They had a tacit agreement not to mention their run in with Natalie to him, because they didn't want to worry him. Besides, Kurt knew he hadn't won Sam over yet, and that he had doubts about Kurt and Blaine's relationship, so he thought it wouldn't truly help his case to admit that, somehow, even a little bit, he was right.

"Hey guys," he said, as he came back inside. "Had a nice night?"

"Yeah, we did," Blaine said, smiling sweetly at Kurt, and for a few seconds, the world melted away again, and the two of them was all that existed. Blaine had to force himself to look away from Kurt's eyes. "How's Max? Any trouble?"

"Not at all, he's a saint," Sam said, as he went over to the couch to pick up his jacket and his cellphone. "We played with his trucks for a while, and then watched a movie. He fell asleep halfway through it."

"Great," Blaine said. "I'll go check on him. Thanks, Sam. You know I really appreciate your help."

"No problem, buddy," Sam gave him a friendly pat on the back and then turned to Kurt. "I guess I'll see you on Wednesday?"

"Of course," Kurt said with a smile. He really wanted Sam to like him. It was important to Blaine, so it was important to him as well.

"Alright. I'm out of here. Goodnight, guys," Sam waved a little awkwardly and left, shutting the door behind him softly.

Kurt sighed. "He hates me. I really need to bake those cookies."

Blaine chuckled and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Stop worrying. He doesn't know you all that well. Once he does, he'll see how amazing you are, just like I see it."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Kurt murmured, tugging a little on Blaine's shirt, wishing it was off already. "Let's check on Max and then go to bed?"

Blaine heard the urgency in Kurt's voice. It sent arousal all through his body, heavy and thick like the blood in his veins. "Good plan."

They held hands as they walked down the hallway, free and safe between these walls, where no one could see them, and where they could be exactly what they wanted to be: happy.

It was only a matter of time until they could set that happiness free, and let it spread out into the world. But for now, this was enough. They were together, and as they kissed Max's forehead, they knew that was the only thing they needed.

Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter!

See you next week!

Love,

L.-