Kurt just stood there shifting nervously from one leg to the other. Blaine was still at the table, mug in hand. He took a sip. Then another. He looked at Kurt and saw...something close to the face Kurt had made that one time back before they got together, where Blaine had made him practice sexy faces in the mirror.

"That's because the face I am actually doing is uncomfortable."

Blaine didn't want to make him uncomfortable, he really didn't but they had to talk about this and Burt wouldn't be gone for long. He had to make the most of the time he had, to get his answers.

"Kurt...", he began but was interrupted.

"Blaine, can we not do this right now? Please?", Kurt sighed. He had this begging puppy expression in his eyes as he nervously ran his fingers through his hair, but Blaine pushed on.

"We have to talk about what happened, Kurt."

"Why? Why do we have to talk about it, can't we just...not talk?". Kurt turned his back to him just like he had done the night before and looked out the window. The sight both hurt and angered Blaine.

He doesn't want to talk to me because it didn't mean anything to him, not a damn thing.

Blaine could feel something powerful, a ball of emotion build up inside of him. It was as he'd thought, he had been used. And then he exploded.

"WHY?! BECAUSE WE SLEPT TOGETHER KURT! BECAUSE IT MATTERS TO ME!" He hadn't meant to raise his voice but he was frustrated beyond belief. Kurt spun around looking startled and leaned against the counter staring at him, first taken aback by Blaine's outburst, but then the surprise changed to rage.

"Oh, so NOW it matters to you who you sleep with!" He retorted. "How convenient!"

It was like being mentally slapped. And it hurt like hell. Blaine hadn't expected it to go like this. He didn't think Kurt would go there, but obviously he was still carrying a lot of anger around. The calm composed Kurt he had met yesterday at the ice skating rink was gone. The same was the persona he had put on this morning. Instead he was looking at an erupting volcano. And it scared him.

"WHERE WAS THAT INTEREST THE DAY YOU FUCKED SOMEONE ELSE, BLAINE?!" Kurt continued. "WHY DIDN'T IT MATTER THEN?! CAN YOU TELL ME THAT?!" He screamed as he picked up the nearest glass and smashed it against the floor. The pieces went flying everywhere along with the orange juice that had been in it and the sound echoed too loudly in the big apartment. Kurt was on the floor immediately cursing at himself.

"Shit! Rachel's china! She's gonna kill me! It's a set, she will know! So stupid!" Kurt was muttering under his breath to himself as he started picking up the sharp pieces with his bare hands, too fast. Blaine wanted to tell him to take it easy before he cut himself, but he was too late.

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Kurt suddenly whined and grabbed his right hand where drops of blood were now seeping through his fingers. Blaine rushed to his side.

"KURT! Are you okay?! Let me see!" He begged and tried to take his hand.

"Like you care!" Kurt barked back at him. "Don't touch me!"

Blaine did as he requested and backed away from him.

"Kurt...", Blaine had never seen him like this before. He had seen him angry, but nothing like this. "Of course I care...", he said sounding shocked. "Please, let me help you."

Kurt looked at him in that moment and when Blaine saw tears in his eyes he didn't know if it was from anger or pain. It was probably a bit of both. Blaine took a dishcloth and tried handing it to him. Kurt snapped it out of his hands angrily and wrapped his cut finger in it, before he glided to the floor, pulled his knees up against himself and hugged them. He then leaned his head against them as his bloody finger coloured the cloth red, and went completely silent.

Blaine bent down next to him, but kept his distance and started cleaning up, he carefully picked up each shard and wiped up the juice. All the while wondering if the eruption was over. When he was done he sat down next to Kurt who hadn't moved at all.

"Kurt?" He tried again...searching for words and could only come up with two. "I'm sorry."

That seemed to open the floodgates, because Kurt started sobbing uncontrollably and Blaine felt his heart break. The sound of Kurt crying killed him inside. Especially knowing he was the reason.

"I don't know how to do this." Kurt suddenly said. "I don't know how to cope."

He sounded totally defeated, like he had just given up. All the anger gone. And Blaine put a hand on his shoulder with some apprehension, afraid Kurt would push him away again, but he didn't.

"I am destined to lose everyone I love". He sniffled and Blaine couldn't stand it.

"No, you're not." He objected. "Why do you say such a thing?"

"My mom died, my dad has cancer and might die...and you...", he paused. "You left me."

"No...I...", Blaine could feel the tears coming now, but kept them at bay, this was about Kurt, not him. "Kurt, I didn't leave you...I just...I made a mistake...one I regret more than you will ever know." Kurt turned to look at him, but Blaine looked away, couldn't face him.

"Why?", Kurt asked. "What happened? I thought we were solid?".

"So did I...I honestly don't know how to explain it Kurt...", Blaine sighed.

"Please try, I need to know why, Blaine." Kurt was practically begging him and Blaine took a deep breath trying to find a way for it all to make sense.

"I...I guess I felt...abandoned...by you." Kurt stiffened beside him right away and Blaine quickly continued. "I am not trying to pin the blame on you. I am just telling you how I felt." He forced himself to look at Kurt and his hazel eyes were met by a pair of sad grey ones, rims red from crying, but alert to everything he was saying, so he carried on.

"You were so busy with work, it was like you didn't have time for me anymore. Like you were moving on, like I didn't matter. And I tried to tell you how I felt, but couldn't find the right words. I just felt so lost and I didn't have anyone at McKinley to talk to about it...", Blaine hesitated before continuing but Kurt sent him a look of encouragement as if to say "go on", so he did.

"And then...he...came along." It was barely beyond a whisper. "And he paid attention to me and it felt good, but I didn't plan for it to happen, Kurt. You have to believe me. I didn't. Things just got out of hand". Blaine knew how desperate he sounded. "I never meant for any of this to happen, Kurt. I swear. But it's no excuse. I was weak. I let you down, I hurt you. I screwed everything up. But I still love you more than anything in this world. And I am sorry, so sorry." He buried his head in his hands and secretly wiped away a few tears he hadn't been able to keep in.

Kurt had sat quietly, just listening. Suddenly Blaine felt a hand on his arm. It was the first time Kurt had touched him since last night.

Kurt took the words that were coming from Blaine to heart. Analysed them. Really listened to what he said. And how he said it. There was no doubt in Kurt's mind that Blaine was truly remorseful for what he had done. He could tell just by the sound of his voice that he was close to breaking down.

As he'd listened to Blaine explain, a lot of things had dawned on him. Things he hadn't thought about before. Actions he had taken or more importantly not taken, choices he had made that had turned out to be the wrong ones, priorities that had been all over the place. And he knew he shared some of the responsibility. He also knew that if he didn't own up to that, then he and Blaine would never be able to heal and move forward together. And suddenly his dads words sounded in his head.

"You got to hold the people you love close to you no matter what."

"I owe you an apology", Kurt said out of the blue.

"What?" Blaine looked up surprised. Did he hear that right? He stared at Kurt bewildered.

"You're right. I did get swallowed up by work. I guess I in a way checked out on us, I see that now. I had this false sense of security, I think. I believed we would be just fine. And I stopped working on it. Not intentionally, of course. It just kinda happened gradually before I realized what was going on. I regret that. And I'm sorry."

Kurt fell silent for moment before he turned to him again.

"But Blaine, you should have told me. You should have come to me, instead of turning to someone else."

"I know", Blaine nodded. "Believe me, I know."

They had somehow drifted closer to each other as they talked and was now sitting shoulder to shoulder. None of them said anything for a few moments, both thinking, when Blaine knew he had to bring it up.

"Look, Kurt. About last night", he began. "I know it probably didn't mean anything to you, that you were sexually frustrated and I was just a means to and end, but...".

"What in the world are you talking about?", Kurt asked perplexed.

"I know I was just a hook-up. You don't have to lie to me." Blaine looked away, the hurt clear in his eyes.

"A hook-up? You think I slept with you, just because I was horny?" Kurt stared at him, mouth open. "Wait, was that why you were crying?"

Blaine froze and looked away but didn't say anything, he was too embarrassed.

He heard me. I can't believe this.

The expression in Kurt's eyes turned soft and his hand found it's way to Blaine's cheek. He gently turned his head and made eye contact. His eyes were a little bit bluer now than before.

"Blaine, how long have you known me?", he asked. "Do you really think that I could ever casually hook up with anyone? I thought you knew me better than that? I am the guy who doesn't even like porn, remember?" The look in his eyes were so sincere.

"But you turned your back to me, you rushed through it, I thought you just wanted it over with." Blaine's voice were shaking, he couldn't help it. The tears were threatening to run over again.

"Blaine, I turned my back to you so I could muffle the sounds I knew I was about to make down into a pillow. You know how loud I am and my dad was right next to us, I couldn't just scream at the top of my lungs, now could I? And I didn't rush anything...I hadn't been with anyone for so long...my stamina was...well, you were there, you know." Kurt smiled, a little embarrassed.

"Oh...", was all Blaine could get out at first. "So, you wanted me, really wanted me?"

Kurt shook his head a little in disbelief. He couldn't believe Blaine really didn't know.

"I'll always want you...don't you get it? I slept with you because I love you. Not because I just wanted to get laid." Kurt wasn't sure he should admit to more but he did anyway. "Even after what you did, I still love you." He looked at Blaine who stared right back.

"I love you too", Blaine said, but then he sighed heavily. "We are not getting back together, are we?"

"No." Kurt's voice was sad. "I just can't Blaine."

"I understand, you don't need to explain." The acceptance deep in Blaine voice. Then he continued. "So...best friends?"

"Best friends", Kurt echoed.

For now, Kurt thought.

For now, Blaine thought.

They sent each other a look that none of them could decipher. Then Kurt stood and Blaine followed.

"How's you hand?", he asked.

"I don't think it's that bad", Kurt said.

"Let me see."

"Okay".

Blaine carefully took Kurt's wrapped hand and gently removed the fabric. It was pretty stained, but Blaine could see that it was a superficial cut. No stitches required. He turned on the cold water and placed Kurt's hand in the sink to wash it. It stung and Kurt twitched a bit.

"Does it hurt?", Blaine asked.

"Nothing I can't handle."

He handed Kurt a towel to dry off and went to the bathroom where he returned moments later with a pink kids band-aid.

"Unicorns? Really Blaine?" Kurt questioned.

"Hey, don't look at me, it's not my house." Blaine smiled. "And don't pretend you don't love it", he smirked.

"Yeah, you're right. I do", Kurt surrendered. "After all, when it comes down to it, I am the biggest unicorn of them all and you know what, I am proud of that". They both laughed and Blaine loved it. The tension was gone. They seemed alright. Or as alright as they could be given the situation. Blaine placed the band-aid on Kurt's finger and rolled it all the way around. It wasn't until he looked up that he saw Kurt staring at him intently and the time warp hit again.

Everything stood still for seconds? Minutes? Hours? Then the doorbell rang and they were both pulled back to reality.

"That's probably my dad", Kurt said...reclaiming his finger.

"I'll go let him in, you take care of the bloody cloth. We wouldn't want Burt to find it and think someone died in here", Blaine winked.

"I did not bleed that much", Kurt argued but there was a twinkle in his eye and Blaine giggled on his way to the door.

Burt could hear the boys from outside the door. He had arrived just in time to hear something about unicorns that he didn't get, but apparently was very funny judging by the laughs and giggles coming from the apartment. He smiled. They were getting along, finally. After the silence last night he had been worried. Worried that it had been a mistake to bring Blaine here. But now he knew he had made the right call.

He knew all about what had happened between them, Kurt had told him everything. He was so thankful that he had a son like Kurt. So kind and open and willing to share his life with his father. He was not like most teenagers, Burt knew he was lucky. Kurt never gave him any grief. Kurt was an easy kid. Not like some of the demon spawn his friends had. The stories he heard. Jesus. Burt was sure the reason for this was that Kurt was so much like his mother, Elizabeth. He got his gentle nature from her. Along with his complexion and build. The stubbornness however he got from Burt and he hoped that somehow his advice could rub off on him too. That they would stick.

And as he listened in on the boys he knew Kurt had taken his advice to heart.

He was glad that his son had Blaine. Despite everything, Blaine had always been there for Kurt, right from the beginning, looking out for him, protected him. Whether it was by giving advice, standing up to bullies or saving him from humiliation at Prom (Kurt really did tell him everything), Blaine had stuck by Kurt and Burt would always be thankful to him for that, no matter what he had done since. After all, everyone makes mistakes, especially when they were young. And if Kurt could forgive, then so could Burt. Besides, there was something about that kid. And his son. Something about the two of them together. Burt had a feeling Blaine would stick around for a long time.