This has been yet another inexcusably long gap between updates. I want to apologize for that, and I am saying now that in the best possible scenario, the next chapter will be out next weekend. If not, I'm shooting for the week after that. So sorry!

Also, we are close to the end. As in, there will be ten chapters, plus an epilogue. That's it! Then I'll finally get back to working on my travel fic, The Pursuit of Adventure.

One last note: this chapter, for the most part, takes place at two different times concurrently. The parts in Lima pick up after Blaine's departure, and the parts at Dalton pick up where the last chapter left off. :)

Gathering the pigs, as it turned out, was far more difficult than they had anticipated.

The thing about the pigs was that they rather enjoyed having their freedom, especially in a place they had never been before. There was just so much to explore.

The only pig that they found easily was 1, who was apparently fond of Jeff. Jeff, in turn, was fond of him. So fond, in fact, that he found a wagon somewhere (Nick really wasn't going to ask; half the time it was just easier to assume that Jeff was magical) and was wheeling him around in it.

"We should keep him," he said.

Nick rolled his eyes, smiling. "We can't."

"Why the fuck not?" Jeff asked, then gasped, bringing his hands (and, by extension, one of Nick's hands) up to his mouth. "I am so sorry, little piggy, I did not mean to use such language around you."

The pig just looked up at Jeff curiously.

"We should name him," Jeff said, looking hopefully at Nick.

"We have to give him back," he pointed out.

"For now, he's ours," Jeff said. "Don't take that away from me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Nick said, trying and failing to look irritated with Jeff. Really, there wasn't much of anything that could bother him right now, and if anything could, it would certainly not be his boyfriend.

As Jeff carried on walking, looking around for any signs of the missing pigs, he looked over at Nick with a smile. "What do you think we should name him?" he asked. "And don't say we shouldn't name him, because the answer to that is we should.

Nick glanced back at the pig, then laughing.

"What?"

"Bacon," Nick said.

"No!" he cried quickly. "That's an awful name, Nick. We love our piggy."

"We have to give him back…" Nick pointed out gently.

"Okay, no," Jeff said, "I was thinking about this. We can totally keep a pet in our dorms. Think about it. The Warblers are constantly putting birds into the care of new members. It's not like that's any secret. And most people would regard Kurt as a pet, right? And Blaine kept him in our room without hearing any fuss from anyone about it for, what? Months? So I don't see why we can't keep a pig."

"If you're trying to replace Kurt, there's really—"

"No, that's gross," he said. "But I really do think that it would be great to have a cute-ass little pig running around. It would make our lives like a sitcom."

Nick snorted. "Are you actually trying to tell me that you don't think our lives are enough like a sitcom as it is?"

Jeff considered this for a second. "I feel like, at the moment, we're a sitcom in its later seasons. People have grown attached to all of us as characters and love our personalities and whatnot, so the writers are now willing to put us through pain, because they know that the audience will continue watching to root for us through our struggles."

Nick sighed. Jeff was good with metaphors.

"And if this was a sitcom, there would be a lot of conflicting opinions about the two of us getting together. Loads of people would love it. I mean, come on; we're adorable. Others would say that it's a sign of the show jumping the shark."

Before he could stop himself, Nick blurted, "It's not, though. Things are only going to go up from here!" Jeff was not not not allowed to have second thoughts about this. He just wasn't, that wasn't fair.

"Well, you and I know that," Jeff said. "Nothing's going to change now that we're together." He stopped and frowned, then shook his head and added, "Actually, a few things are going to change."

Nick blinked. "Oh?"

"Yes sir," Jeff affirmed, grinning. Stopping in his tracks, he grinned and leaned forward and took Nick's face in his hands. "We get to do this," he said, kissing Nick and feeling his slight frown turn into a smile, "which I think is a change. Unless you've gone all somnophilia on me without saying anything."

Nick snorted, shaking his head, still in Jeff's hands. "You were the one talking about watching someone sleep earlier this week," he pointed out.

"I was extremely emotionally volatile," Jeff pointed out. "And not once did I tell you that I watched Kurt sleep and got all hot and bothered."

"Hm," Nick said, "I guess I got something really different from that speech."

Jeff huffed. "Never mind," he said, taking a step back from him. "I take it back. You're an awful boyfriend and you are finding these pigs all by your lonesome. And I'm keeping this one."

"Awww, Jeff," Nick whined, "don't go. I need you."

"You're lucky you're handsome," Jeff said with a pout, crossing one arm over his chest (the other was holding 1's wagon handle, and the overall effect of crossing one's arms was lost). "Because you sure as hell aren't nice."

"I am so much nicer than you are," Nick said. "But whatever." He leaned over and kissed Jeff's cheek.

"Nick! Jeff!"

The pair jumped apart as if caught with their hands in the cookie jar and turned to see a visibly displeased Wes barreling towards them.

"How are you doing today, Wesley?" Jeff asked brightly.

"Just wonderful," Wes said, "really. I mean, it's honestly really great that campus is crawling with pigs."

"I would hardly say it's crawling with pigs," Nick said. "I mean, there's only a few on the loose."

"A few being at least six."

Nick and Jeff shared a look and burst into laughter.

"At least six," Jeff said, unable to contain his grin.

"Probably upwards of that," Nick said, nodding.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Wes asked, looking more exasperated than he had a moment before.

"I could really ask the same of you," Jeff said brightly. "You seem awfully tense."

"Campus is being terrorized by pigs, Jeff."

"You really are overreacting about this one, Wes," Nick said. "I don't think anyone has been hurt yet. Or maybe they have. I don't know. But seeing as Jeffers and I have been walking for a good while without so much as running into a pig, I wouldn't really—"

"You haven't seen any pigs because you've been making out."

Jeff gasped and let go of the wagon to slap his hand across his chest dramatically. "You noticed and you didn't congratulate us? That is the rudest thing I have ever—"

"I'll congratulate you guys when you clean up this mess," he said.

"But Wes, then you'll be congratulating us for rounding up the pigs, and not for dedicating ourselves to each other for the foreseeable future."

"When you put it like that, it sounds creepy," Wes said.

"You just need to find someone who cares about you," Nick said, shaking his head pityingly. "Maybe then you could love us."

Wes sighed. "Guys, I really am happy for you," he said. "I mean, we all knew it was coming."

Jeff blinked. "You did?"

"We did," he affirmed. "Hell, David, Blaine, and I had a bet going about it. Which I lost, because it took you so long to get your shit together, so thanks."

"Blaine?" Nick asked. "I wouldn't have thought that he would bet on us."

Wes shrugged. "Well, if you ask me, I'm surprised that we didn't all place bets. I mean, it really was a matter of time."

"Was I the only one that didn't realize…?" Jeff asked, frowning.

Nick smiled, squeezing his hand. "You got there," he said, giving Jeff a quick kiss.

"And now you can be overwhelmingly adorable as well as a bit nerve-wracking," Wes said. "Which is great, really. But, um… pigs. Please tell me you have a game plan."

"Well, Wesley, I'm pretty sure you saw our game plan," Jeff said with a shrug.

"Walking around, flirting, and hoping for the best?"

"Precisely," Nick said with a grin, then excitedly gestured towards the wagon, where 1 was still patiently sitting. "And we have more pigs than you do, so I think it was a pretty good call on our part."

Wes let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright," he said, "how did you catch that one?"

Jeff shrugged. "He just came to me," he said. He paused, and then added, "He loves me."

"Alright," Wes said. "Great. The pig loves you. Wonderful. Make the rest of them love you, then."

"No can do, Wesley," Jeff said, "It's super tiring being so lovable."

"Oh my God, Jeff, are you—"

"This has a simple solution," Nick said brightly. "We just need someone who is infinitely charismatic and likeable. But where could we find someone like that?"

He and Jeff looked at each other for a moment, frowning and stroking imaginary beards as if in thought until Jeff hummed cheerfully and leaned his head on Nick's shoulder, a faraway look on his face as he said, "Blaine Anderson."

What had he done wrong?

Kurt hadn't expected to come back downstairs to find Finn standing alone in the kitchen, and he definitely had not expected Finn to look at him with a sad face and tell him that Blaine had told Finn to tell him he loved him and left.

Part of Kurt was wondering how true the message Finn delivered could be true. If you truly loved someone, you wouldn't leave them without any warning. You would say goodbye, wouldn't you?

He wasn't sure exactly when it was that his heart broke. The instant he saw the look on Finn's face when he saw Kurt, he knew that nothing good would happen in the following moments. That could have been it. Or maybe it was when Finn said "Kurt," or more the way he said it, almost cautious, as if he was a small woodland creature that could easily be scared off. Well, Finn didn't know him and had never really seen anyone with wings before; maybe that was how he saw him. Still, though, it didn't bode well.

Or maybe it was when the words "he left" came out of Finn's mouth; or the nervous, somber shake of his head when Kurt asked hopefully if he was coming back.

He could, however, pinpoint the exact moment when he broke down. That, of course, was a lot easier.

He had held on for a lot longer than he would have anticipated being able to—if he had been able to anticipate being in this situation, that is. He managed to make it through a conversation with Finn without crying, which he was proud of himself for. Though, in the interest of full disclosure, the conversation was mostly one-sided. Finn asked if he was okay and he nodded, which was still impressive because he was sure that if he moved a muscle he'd burst into tears.

But the thing about being asked if you were okay was that it always made you cry if you're on the verge of tears.

So Kurt had muttered a quick 'excuse me' and turned away and, once he was sure Finn couldn't see him anymore, practically sprinted to the guest room that his father had shown him on the quick tour he'd given him of the house.

The second the door shut behind him and he flopped face-first onto the bed, he completely let go, shamelessly sobbing into the pillow.

There had to be a reason Blaine had left, right? Had he said something wrong? Done something wrong? Why didn't Blaine say anything? He could have fixed it.

He couldn't stop himself from retracing his steps over the past few hours and, finding nothing within that timeframe that he thought would upset Blaine so deeply that he'd just leave, anytime within the past few days and weeks.

Was it today? Had he said something wrong at lunch? Had his father said something to Blaine? No, if he'd said anything, Blaine would have told him about it. This had to have been something Kurt had done, right?

Maybe it wasn't one isolated event; maybe it was just some big complaint that had been boiling away at Blaine for days, weeks, or even months. Kurt probably had some vocal tic or something that ground Blaine's gears until he was finally done.

Was his voice too high? He'd always thought it was a bit high.

Did he chew loudly? He was never really sure if it sounded as loud outside his head as it did inside.

Did he talk too much? Sure, Blaine had never treated him at all the way a pet was usually treated, but it had still been trained into him to not speak too much.

Did he not talk enough? He spoke far more now than he had in the beginning, but what if it still wasn't enough?

Was he rude? After all, the first time Blaine introduced him to his friends, Kurt had nearly bitched one of them out (granted, the other boy was also being rude, but he still wasn't thinking about isolated incidents).

Did he care too much about his appearance? He did spend nearly an hour getting ready whenever Blaine made plans for them. His boyfriend (ex-boyfriend, he thought, causing him to let out a shaky whimper into the pillow) had ribbed him for it, but he'd always figured he was just kidding around.

What if he was bad in bed? That thought made him pause. Sex was still a relatively new part of their relationship, though they had done it a number of times. Maybe he was terrible and Blaine was too nice to say anything about it. He wouldn't put it past him; Blaine did seem to subscribe to the old adage of 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.' And, regardless of what Blaine said, chances were that sex was important to him. He had willingly bought a pet, for God's sake. Everyone knew what they were for.

Still, though, none of these options sounded all too likely. Possible? Yes, of course. There were a few thoughts in his head that he quickly and easily batted away because they were too unreasonable. Lots of them, though, were completely possible.

But there was one thought, though, that Kurt pushed away for as long as he could, but it kept coming back.

What if Blaine didn't love him?

Maybe Blaine had just thought that he loved him. After all, he had been so quick to declare his love for Kurt. Kurt had come to terms with this and accepted the fact that love at first sight did indeed exist, but what if he had been so blinded by his love for Blaine that he didn't realize that the other boy didn't truly love him. He'd been so focused on being the one that loved back, that fell in love later, that he hadn't taken the time to notice that he was the one loving first.

And maybe Blaine truly had thought that he loved Kurt. He probably had, considering all the efforts he had made to do nice or romantic things for Kurt, and to make him feel more comfortable around him. But some time between then and now, he had woken up and realized that he didn't actually love Kurt.

It had been an illusion. Something had tricked him into thinking Kurt was someone special to his heart—maybe it was his wings, maybe it was his eyes, maybe it was his sparkling personality—but it had snapped and now he had to take it back. Kurt had inadvertently caught him in his lie, accidentally called his bluff. And that was that. He'd at least had the courtesy to make sure Kurt made it somewhere nice, instead of back into the facilities to find another owner, one who would never come anywhere near being Blaine.

But that couldn't be true, could it? That was impossible, right?

Kurt shifted to lay on his side so he could pull his knees up to his chest and letting out a sob. That was it, then. Blaine didn't love him. Blaine had realized that the concept of actually loving a pet was ridiculous. He'd used him for one last fuck and then thrown him away.

That was too harsh, wasn't it? Kurt and Blaine's last night together wasn't anything he'd describe so lewdly as fucking.

But Blaine had broken Kurt's heart. He had a right to be harsh.

The problem was, though, that he didn't really feel like being harsh. In fact, what he really felt like doing was curling up in Blaine's arms and feeling all his worries and troubles melt away with every kiss Blaine peppered across his skin. Of course, that wasn't an option anymore, so he did the next best thing: he cried.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd just completely let go and let himself just cry. The pillow was wet and hopefully it would dry by the time he had to fall asleep—because he didn't get to sleep in the comfort of the familiar bed at Dalton anymore—though he realized that chances were he'd still be crying, then.

He knew that it was a bit childish. (Or a lot childish; he wasn't really sure anymore.) Even though Blaine had left him, he had still left him with his father, who he had been missing for about half of his life. He was being immature and selfish. He was being that character that so many books had that broke down when their boyfriend broke up with them. He hated that character.

At the moment, though, he couldn't bring himself to care. It would take far too much effort to try to rein it all back in at this point. And as much as it also sucked, it kind of felt good to just let go and sob into a pillow.

"Shh, he's probably sleeping," Jeff whispered, and then turned back to his door as Nick leaned up against the wall. He hurriedly unlocked it and ran in, jumping on top of Blaine, who was curled up in bed. "Blaine Anderson, this is your wake-up call!"

"Go away," he said.

Jeff sighed, dropping down on the bed so that his face was right next to Blaine's ear. "But Buh-laine," he whined loudly. Blaine moved away, but he followed him, carrying on speaking, "While you were sleeping, so many things have happened and you are not missing out on this." He paused. "Also, we need your help."

"You need my help with what?" Blaine asked. "And what is so important that you're dragging me out of my pity party?"

"I think the fact that you acknowledge that it's a pity party speaks volumes," Jeff said, "and you were secretly hoping that I'd come in here with something crazy."

"No," Blaine said, "that doesn't sound true at all."

"Blaine Anderson is not a moper."

"He is today."

"And, like, the past week. Not cool."

"You were moping, too."

"Not anymore."

"You weren't in love with him."

Jeff didn't say anything for a moment, then made a sound somewhat resembling a cat's trill. "That reminds me," he said, then sat up. "Nick! Nicholar! Nicholas!"

Nick popped his head in the door. "Jeff? Jeffers? Jeffrey?"

"Come here, we have something to show Blainers," he said with a grin.

Nick smiled, crossing the room to sit on the edge of the bed. Jeff sat up quickly, tilting his head as he surged forwards to meet Nick's lips. For a second, Nick just smile into the kiss, then tilted his head and taking in a deep breath through his nose, taking in the smell of Jeff this close. His hand moved up to Jeff's shoulder and rested there in a movement that really should not have felt so familiar but Nick and Jeff never were normal.

Suddenly, Jeff pulled back and said excitedly, "Pickles!"

"What?" Nick asked, bringing a hand up to his mouth. "I haven't even…"

"Our pig. His name is Pickles," Jeff said. Looking at Blaine, he added, "We have a pig."

"Wait, that's what you think about when—you know what, I signed up for this," Nick said, shaking his head with a laugh.

"What is going on?" Blaine asked.

"Well, Dad, this is my boyfriend, his name is Nick," Jeff said brightly.

"That wasn't just to make you watch us kiss, which, in hindsight, was probably a bit mean, all things considered," Nick said, looking a bit sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh crap," Jeff said, his eyes widening as he looked at Blaine. "You know I'm better at showing than telling."

"It's fine, guys. It's really great. I mean it!" he grinned at them, then blinked, adding, "Just… that's not what you needed my help with, right? There are some things I just can't do, guys."

"That's not… no. I'll show him the ropes," Nick said, patting Jeff's shoulder.

"Why are you showing me the ropes?" Jeff asked with a pout.

"Last I checked, you still said you were straight," Nick said with a shrug, and then turned back to Blaine. "The thing is, I may or may not have unleashed almost half a dozen pigs on campus with no way to gather them back up."

"Seriously, guys?"

"This one was actually all Nick," Jeff said, holding his hands up innocently. "But we do already have one of the pigs. His name is Pickles."

"And where is Pickles?" Blaine asked, looking around.

"He's in a wagon outside," Jeff said. "Wes is watching him."

"Wes is in on this?"

Nick laughed, shaking his head. "Of course not," he said. "He's just trying to make sure we get them all rounded back up."

"So, how did you catch the first pig?"

"Pickles loves me," Jeff supplied helpfully. "Which is why I think I should keep him."

"There is no way I'm living with a pig," Blaine remarked.

"You'll come around," Jeff said. "Anyways get dressed and oh wait, you're already dressed. And in bed. That is disgusting."

"I fell asleep after class, it's not like I've been wallowing in my own filth."

Jeff shrugged. "But you have been, so."

Blaine didn't say anything in reply as he got up and smoothed down his clothing. "So, how did you guys manage to catch the first pig?"

"Using my charm and charisma," Jeff said. "Which is why we decided that we needed you."

Blaine sighed. "Alright," he said. "That totally makes sense. Totally."

"Just help us, jerk," Jeff said, pouting.

"I'm up," Blaine said, crossing the room. He glanced in the mirror on the back of their door, his hair still ungelled and now a bit of a mess from lying in bed. He patted it down lightly then gave up with a sigh, looking back at Nick and Jeff. "When you say there are four pigs on campus…"

"All over, most likely," Nick said. "They've probably scattered. And they might be hiding. I don't know. That's their prerogative, I guess. It's not like I can stop them at this point."

"And in theory somebody could be harboring them like fugitives," Blaine said, not a question.

Nick blinked. "Oh," he said. "I never even thought about that."

"Pickles is the smallest, though," Jeff said, "and even he is a bit heavy. So that helps."

Nick's phone chimed and he pulled it out of his pocket. He grimaced as he read the text message, and then looked back up. "Well, Wes is getting a bit testy," he said, "so we ought to get getting."

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," he heard his father say.

Kurt didn't move or say anything in reply, wishing that he could disappear. He didn't want him to see him like this, especially not after being apart all those years.

"I would ask how you're doing," Burt said, moving his hand to stroke comfortingly up and down Kurt's back between his wings, "but I think we both know the answer to that."

Kurt mumbled something that even he wasn't sure was words, but hoped conveyed something along the lines of 'I'm really glad to be here and I'm glad you care about me so much that you're going to try to comfort me, but I really just want to sit here and cry. I really don't want you to see me like this.'

It didn't, apparently, because Burt asked, "Do you want to talk?"

The answer, really, was no, he did not want to talk about it. He wanted to be childish and cry and pout and be angry at the world and Blaine but mostly at himself because he'd upset Blaine enough that he'd made him leave, but he couldn't really say that. "Why'd he leave?"

"Blaine?"

Hearing Blaine's name out loud was somehow more painful. He wasn't sure why; it wasn't as if he hadn't repeated Blaine's name in his head countless times in however long he had been crying (he hoped it had only been a few minutes). He couldn't have expected the fact that Blaine wasn't there would mean that no one would mention him or his name; that was ridiculous. Whatever it was, though, it hurt like a bitch. Before he could stop himself he let out a loud sob and then quickly said, "Sorry."

"Hey, don't apologize, kid," Burt said, his hand pressing tenderly into Kurt's back. His hand was warm and comforting in a way that Kurt remembered only vaguely in the back of his mind. Recently he'd only associated that feeling with Blaine (and occasionally Nick and Jeff, who were insanely protective as well as just insane in general) but there was something undoubtedly familiar about his father's comforting touch. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I'm being immature," Kurt said. "And you have to deal with a trainwreck and it's not really worth it for you and you didn't sign up for—"

"Kurt," he said, "Do you really think that?"

Kurt finally looked up at his father, finding his brows drawn tight with concern. "I don't know," he said, "I don't know anything right now. I just… he's gone."

"You really loved him, huh?"

He made a noise that was either a sob or a laugh (even he wasn't entirely sure which one it was, to be honest). It felt like a question that shouldn't have needed to be asked. Everyone at Dalton had always poked fun at them for being so sickeningly in love, but he realized with a jolt that his father had never seen them like that. "So much," he said. "More than he loved me, apparently."

"Now, don't say that," Burt said, shaking his head. "I'm no good at this stuff, but there's no denying the way he looked at you."

"Hm?" Kurt asked, looking up at him curiously.

"That boy is crazy for you," he said.

"Then why'd he leave?"

"I said crazy, didn't I?"

In spite of himself, Kurt laughs at that. Even Blaine would have laughed at that, he reasoned. Blaine often made self-deprecating jokes.

Burt shifted awkwardly. "But you're okay, right?"

Kurt paused, curling his body against his father's. "Not… not right now. Not yet," he said. "He was my everything."

Burt looked down at his son, shaking ever-so-slightly with blue eyes rimed with tears, and he came to a realization. Years had passed and so many things had changed, both he and Kurt had gone through all kinds of events, good and bad, since they had last seen each other, and yet… Yet, not that much had changed. Kurt was still his little boy. He was still his son, in need of comfort after losing a loved one. The only difference was that last time, it had been his mother.

After all, though, this was his Kurt. This was the same boy who had grown up hanging onto every word his mother read to him from fairytales and had such an idealistic view of the world and especially love for someone who had so much to lose so easily. Good fortune had given him love in his relationship with Blaine, and Burt wasn't sure what he could do now to make sure that Kurt's faith in romance was not permanently shaken because of this. He just had to try.

Slotting his fingers through Kurt's feathers (not only had he grown into his wing, but they had also grown themselves, his feathers longer and thicker now that he was mature), Burt sighed. "What do you say we watch a movie or something?"

Kurt smiled a little bit. "My pick?" he asked.

"Of course," Burt replied, letting out a relieved laugh when Kurt perks up, even almost imperceptibly so, and goes to pick a movie. Progress.

"He's really cute," Blaine said, crouching down to look at the pig in the wagon.

"Ain't he just?" Jeff gushed, reaching down and scooping Pickles up and giggling at the sound of surprise and also possibly protest that he emitted.

"So how many more pigs did you say are out here?" Blaine asked, glancing around them as if expecting them to just be casually laying about, totally escaping the notice of the boys looking for them.

"Four," Nick supplied, smiling as he watched Jeff bouncing slightly with Pickles in his arms as one did with a baby.

"Four?" Wes asked. "But I definitely saw a pig labeled six and we only have one."

Jeff snorted. "You really are clueless, aren't you, Wesley?" he asked.

He frowned, his face seeming to puff out a little bit with indignation. He intended to make a witty remark, but instead settled for a terse, "No."

"The prank," Blaine began to explain, "is that you skip a number when you're labeling them, so that people are looking for extra pigs where there aren't any."

Wes nodded in understanding, while Nick clapped Blaine on the shoulder. "Look at our Blainers, all grown up and understanding pranks! I'm so proud!"

Blaine smiled, laughing as he watched Jeff delicately set Pickles back down into his wagon.

"Ah, damn," Jeff mumbled, patting Pickles's head. "I meant to grab a pillow or something for you, baby."

"It's a pig," Wes pointed out. "It's probably going to poop in there."

"You poop, too, Wes. That doesn't mean we like you any less, either," Jeff said with a shrug.

"Guys?" Blaine asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying this, but do we have any idea whatsoever on how to round up these pigs? And when are you returning them to wherever they came from?"

"As soon as we get them back together, I guess," Nick said. "I mean, I'll have to pay him more, but in theory we could just leave them until administration gathers them up or something."

"Then we'd have to contact administration and let them know that we need the pigs, therefore informing them that it was you that put them here," Blaine pointed out.

Jeff laughed. "As if they don't already know." To be fair, Nick and Jeff were pretty notorious on campus for their pranks.

"Well, at this point they can't prove anything," Blaine said.

"But I'm also so lazy," Nick said, sighing dramatically.

"This isn't a choice, guys, you need to gather the pigs," Wes said.

"Or what?" Nick asked with a grin.

"Or… or you can say goodbye to any future solos?" Wes said, though his voice definitely went up at the end as if it were a question.

Jeff snorted. "What solos?"

Blaine slid down the brick wall exterior of the building, and the other boys followed suit. "Ideas?"

"Anybody have a net?" Nick asked.

Jeff considered this for a second, then shook his head. "Not after that time we filled Beardsley's classroom with fish."

Nick laughed, smiling fondly. "Good times," he said.

Wes had pulled his phone out, and was looking at something on it with a frown. "I Googled how to make a pig come, and nothing came up," he said with a sigh.

"That's a risky move there, Wes," Nick said. "You could have stumbled upon some of the weirdest porn you will ever see."

"Is that legal?" Blaine asked. "That can't be legal."

Nick shrugged. "Who knows?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Blaine stood back up with a sigh. "I'm just going to start looking."

The other three boys grudgingly agreed that this was probably their best bet at this point, and split up (except for Nick and Jeff, who stayed together for obvious reasons). The next few hours were spent unproductively wandering around campus in search of pigs or signs of them. For heavy, dirty, and not particularly quiet or subtle animals, they were being remarkably hard to find.

Finally, Jeff's phone rang, and he pulled it out to see that David was calling. "Hello?"

"Is this pig yours?"

Jeff laughed. "Well, it's more Nick's than mine," he said. "Which number is it?"

"Five," David replied, sounding stressed. "He's a real terror. What should I do with it?"

Jeff opened his mouth to reply, but found that he did not have an answer. Looking at Nick, he asked, "What should David do with Five?"

Nick frowned, then sighed. "Can he shepherd it to my car?"

"Take it to my car," Jeff said into the phone. "And me and Nick will be there shortly."

"…Thanks," David said. As he ended the call, Jeff could hear him saying, "No, don't, don't—what are you doing?"

Noticing that Nick was looking at him curiously, Jeff explained, "My car is already dirty. We drive yours when we want to be classy."

Nick smiled, leaning over and kissing Jeff's cheek quickly. "You are the sweetest."

"I know," Jeff said, grinning.

When they got to the parking lot where Jeff's car was parked, David was already there, kneeling down and somewhat cautiously touching the pig to keep it where it was. There appeared to be some patches of dirt on his pants, no doubt from the pig.

"There you guys are," he said, sounding relieved. "He is rowdy."

Jeff laughed, moving forward to unlock the back door of his car. "We can't all be Pickles."

"Pickles?" David asked.

"Pickles," Nick said, gesturing to the pig in the wagon that he was now dragging. "Jeff's newest friend."

"Ah," David said, nodding.

"Alright, bugger," Jeff said, opening the back door of his car and gesturing for Five to jump in. "In you go." It took a bit of coaxing and nudging and lifting, but eventually he did jump in, which was impressive for an animal so round with such short legs.

"Idea!" Nick said. "Obviously this isn't working out as well as we had hoped. But what if we got all the Warblers to work together and find the pigs? They love doing shit for us."

"I'm not sure how true that is," David said. "But the more eyes the better, I guess."

"Emergency meeting of the Warblers it is, then!" Jeff said excitedly. "David, could you send out a mass text? It looks more legit if you send it."

David sighed, but pulled out his phone. "The things I do for you two, I swear."

"Up to the meeting room, then?" Jeff asked.

Nick nodded with a groan. "We are walking so much today," he said.

Jeff smirked, then turned his back to Nick, bending his knees slightly and holding out his arms. "Hop on up," he said, and Nick did so without second thought, smiling when Jeff grabbed his knees and stood back up. Glancing over at David, he asked, "Could you bring Pickles with us?"

"By the way, Wes told me about you guys," David said, following as Jeff started walking. "It's about time."

Jeff sighed. "So literally everyone knew?" he asked.

"Pretty much," he affirmed.

After a moment, Nick started giggling, burying his face against Jeff's neck.

"Penny for your thoughts, Nicholar?" Jeff asked, tilting his head slightly.

"You're giving me a piggy-back ride," he said. "And we've been chasing pigs." Once he got that thought out, he laughed even harder, wrapping his arms tighter around his boyfriend's neck.

Once they got there, most of the Warblers were already assembled. Thad even had the second smallest pig on his lap, as if he knew exactly what this was going to be about (or maybe he had woken up with it next to him and thought that it was his obligation to look after it).

"Friends," Jeff said, holding out his arms as he spoke to them, then clasping his fingers together like he was a religious speaker giving one of his talks, "I call you here today because there is a swine epidemic on our campus."

There were various comments after that:

"Should have known it was you guys."

"I don't want to get sick."

"Trust Nick and Jeff."

"I heard you guys got together!"

Jeff grinned. "My dearest boyfriend," he said, reaching over and slinging an arm around Nick's shoulders, "has unleashed a menace. Two of the five pigs are already in our possession. One appears to be with Thad."

Thad nodded. "Do you want her back now?" he asked.

"After this meeting is adjourned," Jeff said, "Thank you."

Nick grinned at Jeff channeling his inner Wes (and also most likely poking fun at Wes, because all the best people did).

"Now, you may ask what is in it for you if you find the remaining pigs, Two and Six," Jeff went on, "And as you know, we Warblers sing many a fine song. If you find either of these pigs, you will get to pick songs for our next competition!"

"What?" Wes asked. "I did not approve this."

"It's too late, we already promised them that opportunity," Jeff said, his wide grin never faltering.

"Dammit, Jeff."

"That's a common response," Jeff said, then turned back to the room at large. "Go, birdies! Fly! Find your swine! Bring them to my car!"

The Warblers got to their feet and filed out of the room, some making comments to each other about how weird it was, and others used to the craziness that came with the territory and were instead talking strategy.

After that, the afternoon was a lot more relaxed.

After a bit of people-watching, Jeff, Nick, and Blaine went to sit on the hood of Nick's car, leaving Jeff's car's AC running so as to not let Five and Three roast. Pickles was quietly napping on Jeff's car.

"We really can't keep him," Nick said.

"I want to, though," Jeff whined. "Blaine, tell Nick he's being unfair."

"Oh no," Blaine said, "I am not getting into this."

"Why not?" Jeff whined. "You're the best mediator."

Nick grinned. "He's not saying anything because he agrees with me and you know where he sleeps."

"It's okay, Blainers," Jeff said, pulling his hand free from Nick's momentarily to pat Blaine's head, "I won't smother you in your sleep. Probably."

"Screw it, I'm not sleeping here," Blaine said. "I'm going to go sleep somewhere far, far away."

"Like Lima?" Nick suggested. "With your boyfriend? And then bring him back?"

"Stooooop," Blaine protested, dragging out the word. "Today was the first good day and he's probably happier there than he is here."

"Bullshit," Jeff said. "No one is happier without your stupid face."

"It hurts me when you call my face stupid," Blaine pouted.

"Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"No."

"Good," Nick said. "Because Jeff has a boyfriend and that's cheating."

"You like saying that, don't you?" Blaine asked.

"Of course I do," Nick confirmed. "I mean, didn't you with Kurt? Or when he told you he loved you back, don't even try to tell me you didn't say 'I love you' more often just to hear him say it back."

Blaine blushed. "People like being liked," he agreed. After a moment, he sighed. "I am the biggest asshole ever."

"With all the best intentions," Jeff said. "But yeah."

Nick sighed. "You could go back and talk to him, you know."

"It's been too long," Blaine said. "If he's moved on, I don't want to stir things up again needlessly."

"It's not needlessly if it's in the name of love!"

Blaine sighed. "Just… distract me, please? Entertain me with your crazy."

Jeff bit his lip, looking like he wanted to say something more, but in the end thought better of it. "Remember that time that we got David to try on all those homecoming dresses? Classic!"

"He looked pretty good in that zebra print one, as I recall," Nick said. "But that will never hold a candle to when we actually got Trent to wear a dress to a party."

They exchanged stories back and forth for hours, going on through the rest of the day and through the end of the Warbler Pig Hunt.

In the end, Six was found by Wes and David, who had decided that they needed to take back one of the songs for the Council's discretion, and Two was found by Flint. The song Flint chose was Hollaback Girl, though he admitted that chances were, he wouldn't be able to convince Wes to keep it.

For all that Finn was awkward (physically as well as socially, seriously, how did someone get so tall?), he was well-meaning and friendly enough to more than make up for it.

And, as much as Kurt would deny it, he did find some of Finn's quirks to be, well, endearing, for lack of a better word. Like the way that he ate food so quickly and thoroughly that one might think that he had been deprived food for weeks, if he had ever had food ever. Or the way he sang, obnoxiously loud but, remarkably, on key in the shower.

It should have been annoying, really, but Finn was nice and, to some extent, those habits reminded Kurt of the Warblers, who also ate like pigs and sang at both appropriate and inappropriate times (so Finn had that up on them, at least).

And after school, he would make Kurt a snack while telling him about his day (his classes were boring and his glee club full of people that were generally nice but also crazy, not the least of which was his girlfriend), then settle down to watch TV.

They usually ended up watching things that Kurt would not have expected Finn to willingly watch, much less excitedly chatter about when he found them while scrolling through the guide.

"Dude, don't tell Puck I watch this, but it's actually pretty awesome," Finn said, selecting Say Yes to the Dress from the guide. "I could probably watch nothing but TLC and be satisfied, you know?"

(This was true, if what Kurt had seen so far was any indication. Other shows Finn enjoyed but quickly requested that Puck did not find out about included Cake Boss, Toddlers and Tiaras, and Sister Wives.)

Which was how Kurt found himself laying on the couch with Finn, watching Say Yes to the Dress and making rude comments for what had to have been hours.

"Her mother needs to shut up," Kurt said. "She looks nice."

Finn nodded. "I like the bottom," he replied, holding up his hands and gesturing down and outwards to imitate the dress, "it's all floofy."

"The simplicity of the bottom works well with the detail on the bodice," Kurt said with a nod.

"Couldn't have said it better, man," he agreed.

Suddenly, the front door opened. Kurt assumed it was his father until the sound of the door was accompanied by quick, quiet footfalls and a cheery and decidedly girlish squeal. "Ooh, I love this show!"

Kurt looked over his shoulder in alarm to see who had just let themself into the house. He wasn't sure how he felt about someone he had never seen before randomly showing up out of nowhere, but she did have a key, and considering she stood at about five feet or so, wearing a yellow dress and a friendly smile, she probably wasn't too dangerous.

"Rachel!" Finn called out, standing up. "This is Kurt."

Rachel beamed, as if instead of being introduced to her boyfriend's winged stepbrother (who he had only just recently met), she was meeting the president or her favorite celebrity. "Hi, Kurt!" she said brightly, holding out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Rachel, but I'm sure Finn has already told you all about me."

Kurt nodded, not entirely sure what to say in response. It wasn't entirely true; Finn hadn't really talked all too much about Rachel (Kurt liked to think that it was because Finn realized that talking about his girlfriend to someone who had just been left by their boyfriend was a bit rude), but he had heard enough to know that it was best to sometimes just go along with what she said.

"Anyways, Finn said that you were experiencing heartbreak, and I personally know all about that," she said, setting herself down primly on the couch between the boys.

"I hope you don't mind, bro," Finn said quickly, "I just… she's a girl so she's probably, like, way better at talking about feelings than me. And she has gay dads!"

"It's true, I do," she said, nodding.

Kurt wasn't really sure how her having gay fathers would help her to help him, if he even needed help (he was doing pretty well, he thought), but he wasn't going to say so. "So you're going to magically make everything better?" he said. He hadn't intended to sound bitter, but maybe he was a little bit bitter.

She seemed to consider this for a second. "Well, not magically," she said. Twirling a lock of hair on the tip of her index finger, she sighed. "But I'm sure there's something I, or we," she added, nudging Finn with a smile, "could do to help make you feel better."

"I think I feel pretty good right now," Kurt said, "I'm pretty happy to just sit here and watch Say Yes to the Dress."

"No!" Rachel said, shaking her head vehemently. "The last time Finn and I broke up, I sat in bed for days eating ice cream and watching shows like this and calling all the girls ugly."

"The last time you broke up?" he asked.

"We've broken up a few times," Finn admitted quietly.

"It's okay, though," she said brightly, "because Finn and I are soul mates, and nothing can change that."

Kurt didn't say anything to that.

Suddenly, she got an excited look on her face. Bouncing slightly, she started, "Do you think you and…"

"Blaine," he offered.

"Right," she said, "do you think that you and Blaine are soul mates?"

Kurt blinked. Of course they were, weren't they? If someone was the love of your life, it followed that they were also your soul mate, didn't it? Blaine had said that he was the love of his life, and no matter what else had happened since then, that wasn't really something you could just say "takesies backsies" on (progress, Kurt realized, was all about little steps; he now let himself firmly believe that Blaine had loved him, and he was working towards the resolve that no matter if he knew it or not, he still did love Kurt, dammit).

"Kurt?" she prodded after a moment.

He nodded. "Of course we are," he said.

Rachel smiled and nodded. "Then you are bound to end up back together," she said. Looking over at Finn and grabbing his hand with a smile, she added, "We always do, isn't that right, Finn?"

Finn looked away from the television to nod. "Yeah, definitely," he agreed distractedly, clearly enraptured by the sister of the bride telling her that the dress she had on made her look fat.

Rachel rolled her eyes fondly and turned back to Kurt. "In the meantime, however, you are sad and I don't like seeing people sad so would you like to talk about it?"

Finn had been right; you could get whiplash while talking to Rachel. "Not really," Kurt replied. "And I'm not sad."

Rachel reached out and grabbed his hands. "It's alright, Kurt," she said, "pain makes us stronger. You don't have to pretend to not be upset. As a performer, I highly value emotional pain, you know."

Kurt nodded slowly. "I'm trying not to be upset, because it doesn't change anything," he replied.

"If you say so," Rachel said with a shrug.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he said.

"I'm not disappointed," she said. "I just think it would do you some good to let out your feelings."

He shrugged again, wishing that Finn would say something to break the silence or do something to distract Rachel, whose gaze was fixed intently on Kurt, which was rather unnerving.

"Alright, I've been dying to touch these since I got here," Rachel said, holding out her hands and wiggling her fingers.

It took Kurt a moment to realize that she was referring to his wings. Since Carole had hushed Finn for asking about his wings during that first lunch while Blaine was still there, no one had really mentioned them, and aside from his father, no one had touched them. It had almost been as if they weren't even there. "Go ahead," he said, holding back a sigh.

She leaned forward and stroked his left wing. "Oh my gosh," she said excitedly, running her fingers through his feathers. "They're so soft. Are all pets' wings this soft? Do you use product on them? Do they make product for wings? Is it safe to use in hair?"

Kurt opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly Rachel jumped forward and started rubbing her face against his wing. "Uh… Rachel?"

She jumped back then, then leaned back against Finn, who appeared to still be oblivious to what was going on beside him. Kurt had to admit, his tunnel vision was impressive. "Sorry," she said, "They're just the softest things I've ever felt."

"Thanks?"

Rachel nodded. "It's quite a compliment, because I own a lot of sweaters."

"She does," Finn put in quickly.

Kurt nodded slowly, absentmindedly reaching a hand up to smooth down his feathers where she had ruffled them.

"There is no way it's naturally that soft," she said.

"I don't do anything special with them," he said with a shrug. Surprising as it may have seemed to anyone that watched his careful routine with his skin and hair, he didn't do anything more with his wings than he had to to make sure they weren't gross. At times, he liked to pretend he didn't have wings.

Rachel sighed, and then blinked, sitting back up quickly. "Do you like to sing?"

Whiplash. "What?"

"I asked if you like to sing," she repeated. "Your voice is made to sing."

"I sing from time to time," he said, forcing down a memory that was trying to surface from the back of his mind. Apparently Blaine had mentioned him singing to one of the Warblers, which had led to them badgering him until he agreed to sing with them.

"Ooh! You should sing with me," she said. "Singing always helps—not that there's anything to help here." She gave him a wink at that.

In spite of himself, Kurt smiled. Some part of him did already actually like Rachel in all of her forwardness and cheerfulness.

She beamed, standing and tugging him standing as well. "Finn, is this coffee table sturdy? I need a stage."

When Burt got home hours later, he found Kurt and Rachel twirling around the kitchen together and singing Primadonna by Marina and the Diamonds, while Finn sat on the counter eating chips and watching them as if this was totally normal (which it may have been, really).

Kurt had never thought he'd be someone to make good enough friends with someone to pour his heart out to them within twelve hours of meeting them.

And yet, here he was, laying in his bed with Rachel, going on and on about Blaine to her. She make comments and little noises of appreciation or disappointment or admiration at the appropriate moments, but for the most part didn't say anything.

"He always does the perfect thing at the perfect moment," he was saying. "I mean, he's not perfect by any means, but he's my not-perfect perfect Blaine, so it doesn't really matter. But anyways, like I said, he always knew just what to do or say. I could be freaking out and he'd just take me in his arms and pull me in close and say something and make everything better. I wasn't sure people like that existed, but he does."

"It sounds like you really love him," she replied, her voice dreamy.

"I do," he said. "He's the greatest thing to ever happen to me."

"So do you have any idea why he decided to leave you here?"

Kurt closed his eyes. His answer to this question was the real reason he knew that he had made progress with this situation inside his head. After Blaine had left, he'd been so quick to assume that it spoke negatively of Blaine's feelings for Kurt. But his father's words earlier in the week "that boy is crazy for you" made him reconsider his assessment. "I'm sure he had some big romantic, self-sacrificing reason for it."

"That's stupid," Rachel said candidly.

"It is," Kurt agreed. "But it's also Blaine. Stupidly perfect, but sadly with plenty of emphasis on stupid. Which is also why I'm so in love with him." His eyes were stinging, and without his consent he felt himself starting to cry again.

Rachel noticed. "Oh, Kurt," he said, reaching out and tugging him against her chest. He relaxed into her embrace. Even if it wasn't Blaine, it still felt good to be held.

"I just want to go home," he whispered against her chest.

As a side note, if you have any requests for missing scenes or anything else, please let me know via review or my tumblr (ottersandgayboys). Also, you can please kick my ass for updates via my tumblr.

And as far as these missing moments go, how would y'all prefer I post them? To my tumblr, or as a separate, collection fic on FFN with each "chapter" as a different moment, or something else? Thank you so much! 3