Slowly but surely, Blaine blossoms in the city. He and Kurt fall into a welcome routine of two dates a week, and cozy nights in the apartment together when Santana works evening shifts. Blaine tries hard to stick to the 'three sleepovers a week' rule that they self-imposed, but occasionally Kurt can lure him into breaking that, usually by seductively climbing into his lap just as he announces he needs to go home.

He begins to make friends, too. Not just Santana, whom he continues to meet once a week for coffee, as well as seeing her in the apartment, but Brandon too, as well as a whole load of others in his mechanical engineering program. He starts by quietly telling a guy next to him about the Buick he and Burt restored, showing him a few pictures on his phone, and gradually this escalates into more people wanting to hear about it, and soon Blaine realizes that he is genuinely liked by quite a lot of people.

It is not without it's fair share of problems though. He gets asked out on dates by two girls, which Kurt thinks is hilarious, and one guy, which Kurt does not. This leads to their first major blow out in New York, when Blaine says he wishes he hadn't told Kurt after all, which only serves to rile him up even more, and they end up not speaking for two days. Still, when Kurt arrives at Blaine's dorm with a batch of freshly baked cookies as an apology, it coincides with Blaine leaving to go to Kurt with flowers, and with Brandon absent, both apologetic gifts are abandoned in favor of an afternoon in bed.

Kurt also continues to flourish, and when Burt visits at the start of Fall, Kurt proudly shows him around the offices of Marie Claire while Blaine is in class, and takes great pleasure in showing him his credit card bills, and just how much he is managing to pay off.

"I'm stupidly proud," Burt tells him, as they walk toward campus to meet Blaine. "Of both of you, but the way you've changed your entire life around...it's incredible."

Kurt ducks his head and links his arm through his dads, not knowing what to say to such praise.

"One day, when you're a dad, you'll be able to use all this as a life lesson for your own kids, you know that?

"What? Don't do what I did?"

"More like, it gets better," Burt says with a smile. "We all make mistakes. I've made some pretty stupid ones in my time too, you know."

"Blaine doesn't."

"Yeah, well...Blaine is weird," Burt says with a shrug, and they laugh and walk on.

Blaine looks up as the clock slowly but surely edges it's way to three o'clock and the second his class is dismissed, he runs. Tearing out of the building, he spies Burt leaning against the railings at the bottom of the steps with Kurt next to him, and he clears the last five steps with a gigantic leap. Somehow, Burt manages to catch him without getting knocked over.

"You're here!" he cries into his shoulder, before reaching out and pulling Kurt into the hug too. "He's here."

"Oof," Kurt says with a laugh. "Is he really? I hadn't noticed."

"Well isn't this just the best thing ever?" Burt asks happily. "C'mon, I'll buy coffee."

"Okay," Blaine says, unable to shift his grin and not moving from his position sandwiched between his dad and Kurt. "But I'm taking you out tonight. Both of you."

"Oh really?" Burt asks. "Where?"

"To the Mets."

"Blaine," Kurt laughs. "We've been through this. Met, singular."

"No, Kurt," Blaine says, wrapping his arms around him from behind as they walk. "Mets, plural. We're going to a baseball game."

"We're what?" Kurt cries, as Burt whoops and claps his hands.

"I scored tickets from a guy in my physics elective," Blaine says proudly. "He couldn't use them, so he sold them to me. After the whole Met, Mets debacle, I thought it'd be fun. Baseball, huh?" He walks Kurt along a little more, kissing into his neck. "Come on."

"For you two I will," Kurt grumbles, making a face when Burt ruffles his hair. "But I am extremely unhappy, Blaine Anderson. Extremely unhappy."

"You're not," Burt cackles, having heard about their Met date confusion already. "You're secretly impressed that Blaine's thought of it, and that he's actually gone and got us tickets, you just don't ever admit to being impressed by anything, that's all."

"I do!" Kurt cries. "I do tell him when he's impressed me. I thank him for...stuff," he finishes lamely, trying not to blush.

"Yeah, I'll bet you do."

"What's a guy who takes physics doing with Mets tickets anyway?" Kurt says, trying to change the subject. "How does he even know two other people? Guy must be a total nerd if that's his elective."

"I take physics as an elective!" Blaine cries defensively.

"Yeah, but you're weird," Kurt states, taking his hand in his and swinging them as they walk.

"I am not."

"You are," Kurt says, with a sideways glance at Burt. "Dad said."

"What?" Blaine turns to Burt, who holds his hands high in the air.

"I didn't...well, I did, but...it's….yeah," he says, giving up with a sigh. "You're weird. In the best possible way though, of course."

Blaine sticks his tongue out, but Burt pulls him out of Kurt's handhold and into a strong embrace. "Love you buddy. Weirdness an' all."

"Love you too, rudeness and all," Blaine says, smiling over his shoulder. "Now let's go watch some basketball."

"Baseball, Blaine!" Burt and Kurt both correct at the same time.

"That's the one."

"I don't even have anything to wear to a baseball game," Kurt calls from his bedroom, to where Burt and Blaine sit on the couch in the living room. "And if I don't have anything, you certainly won't."

"I have polo shirts," Blaine points out. "And like...I don't know. I might wear that hoodie?"

"Blaine, no," Kurt says exasperatedly, coming into the room. "That has paint on it because you wore it when we painted the bathroom."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure I have like, a sweater, that's not too..."

"Preppy?"

"Yeah," he says, with a touch of sweet embarrassment which Kurt finds irresistible, leaning over the couch to kiss him upside down.

"I love your style," he reassures. "Just maybe forgo the bow tie for tonight."

"Okay," Blaine grins, easily comforted by a kiss. "Oh, and I have jeans," Blaine remembers, as Kurt heads back into his bedroom and calls out:

"Which are tighter than your ass,"

"Kurt!" Blaine and Burt cry together, but Kurt is more than pleased with himself, coming back out into the living room with a grin.

"They are. Yes. Wear them."

"They're hanging up in the closet. Left hand side," Blaine calls. "Can you get them?"

"Sure."

"So what's this?" Burt asks. "You two living together or what?"

"No," Blaine says with a laugh. "We love being together, and I spend three nights a week here, but we're not ready to live together yet."

"But you've got clothes here."

"I know. But...yeah. We're not there yet. Anyway," he says, patting Burt's leg as he stands. "I'm gonna take a shower."

Of course, Burt is on Kurt the second he emerges, dressed surprisingly casual in dark green jeans and a black sweater that has a fine silver thread running through it.

"Does this say baseball to you?"

"No, Kurt, but nothing in your closet would ever in a million years say baseball to me. What it does say to me, is that you still like to try and impress Blaine, which is nice."

"Still? We've only been together nine months, and he's been in the city for just six weeks of that."

"Do you want to live with him?"

Kurt is immediately on guard, sitting upright from where he has flopped on the couch. "Why?"

"I'm just wondering. You two seem to be pretty strong."

"Oh. Well," Kurt blushes, pleased at the compliment. "It's uh...we are, yes. And eventually we want to live together."

"But if he asked you, would you?"

"Has Blaine said anything to you?"

"Answer my question first," Burt laughs.

Kurt glances at the bathroom door, but he can still hear the sound of the shower, so he turns back. "Okay, don't tell Blaine this, but yes. I'd move him in tomorrow given half the chance, but I can't."

"Santana?"

"No, her and Blaine have a really cute friendship, she would be thrilled, and her living here too wouldn't bother Blaine one bit. It's more...Blaine has found it really hard to establish himself in the city, and at college. His instinct is to cling to me, but he's gradually getting past that and making his own friends, spending time away from me, and I can see that he's really starting to love the whole college environment. I don't want to ask him to move in, and then have him feel like he has to be home all the time with me. He's having fun, and it's not my place, as a guy of almost thirty who's experienced all that already, to take that away from him."

"Kurt that is...surprisingly noble and sweet of you," Burt says. "I have to say I agree, and I'm happy you're willing to wait. He's too young right now."

"So you were just checking," Kurt says, relaxing once more. "I thought you were about to say Blaine told you he didn't want to live with me."

"No, not at all. He just said you're not ready yet."

"Who's not ready?" he asks, sitting up once more.

"Both of you, as a couple."

"Oh," Kurt says, rolling his shoulders and feigning nonchalance. "Well, yeah. He's right, of course."

The baseball game is a huge amount of fun. Both Blaine and Kurt take their cue from Burt, and cheer loudly at the relevant moments, despite having no real idea what they're cheering for. It doesn't matter though, the atmosphere is incredible and they leave happy, holding hands as they head to a diner for hot dogs and milkshakes.

"You're not getting laid tonight," Kurt announces to Blaine, as soon as Burt has gone to the bathroom.

"What? Why?"

"Because that chilli dog stinks," he laughs, his eyes shining. "So you have to sleep facing the wall, and that's after brushing your teeth five times."

"Fine." Blaine shrugs, and dabs at the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "I wasn't planning on it anyway."

"What?" Kurt shrieks loudly. "Why?"

"Because dad will be on the couch, that's why! No way are we...Y'know, with him just on the other side of the wall."

"Oh please," Kurt whines. "I'll gag you if you want?"

Blaine frowns, utterly confused. "Why would I want you to gag me? That's mean."

"No Blaine," Kurt chuckles. "It's hot. I could gag you and handcuff you to the bed, and then I could ride you until you were begging for release."

"Why though?" Blaine asks, still bewildered. "Is what we do not enough for you?"

"No, it's not that, I was just..."

But Kurt is prevented from discussing anything further by the return of Burt, who loudly proclaims that it must be time for dessert, and that he needs another milkshake too.

They don't get to talk again until bed, by which time there is an atmosphere of decided unease between the pair. Blaine, now smelling very strongly of toothpaste, duly rolls over and faces the wall, but he is dismayed and upset when Kurt does the same on his side, not even bothering to try and pick up the conversation from earlier.

Blaine thinks about it for awhile. In his head, given that Kurt was the one who upset him, he should also be the one to make amends, but then, he supposes, this is a relationship and surely it doesn't matter who reaches out first, just that the rift is healed.

"I know you didn't mean it like that," he says, rolling over and spooning himself around Kurt. "I'm sorry for getting touchy, it's just..." he pauses, giving Kurt's shoulder a gentle kiss. "I guess I worry I won't always be enough for you so... and I really don't get the whole gag thing at all. It's not...that's not me," he says, almost apologetically. "I don't think it will ever be me."

Kurt rolls over to face him, taking his hands and holding them tightly. "You are more than enough for me, Blaine. It's just obvious that you don't have as much faith in us as a couple as I do, and that hurts."

"What? Because I don't want you to gag me? I'm willing to try new things, Kurt, I'm just not into bondage, that's all."

"You don't trust me."

"I trust you implicitly," Blaine says, becoming agitated. "I just don't relish the thought of having something stuffed in my mouth so I can't breathe properly. It's not about trust, it's about not wanting to have a panic attack because I'm worried I'll suffocate! You know I was bullied, that kind of thing would be...I don't know, just talking about it feels like a trigger. I do trust you though, honestly."

"Then why did you tell dad we're not ready to live together?"

"What? I didn't! Well, I did, but not like that, it was out of the blue. He asked if I was living here because I have clothes here, and I said we're not ready yet, that's all it was," Blaine cries as quietly as he can, trying to keep his voice down. "Just a passing remark, an offhand comment."

"Well it hurt," Kurt snaps, and even in the dark, Blaine can tell his eyes are flashing with anger.

"So this isn't about the gag?"

"No, it's not about the gag," Kurt hisses. "It's about you not thinking we can make it."

"I never said that," Blaine tells him, trying to stay as calm as possible. "On the contrary, I have always thought we could make it, ever since prom when you told me you loved me."

"But you won't live with me."

"Okay, stop it," Blaine snaps. "Because I will get out of this bed and leave, and you can explain to dad why. Kurt...it's not that I don't want to live with you, okay? I do, I really do. I love being here with you, and I can't wait for the day that we can come home, close the door and it's just us. When we can wander around naked if we want to, and have really loud sex, but I also love this," he says, his face softening when he reaches out to caress Kurt's cheek.

"I love sitting in class knowing we have a date and wondering where you're going to take me. I love walking past a new restaurant or seeing posters for an exhibition, and thinking 'Oh, Kurt will like it there.' Kurt, believe me, it's not that I don't want to live with you, it's that I want to cherish each and every part of this relationship. I don't want to rush anything because...well, because all of this is so perfect. We're perfect. Trust me, I want to be with you for the rest of my life, and I'm not about to leave you, but there's also eleven years between us. I guess this means compromise on both parts. I want to have kids with you one day, but that doesn't mean I think we should go out and get two right away, just because we know one day we want that."

Kurt blinks, and bites his lip. He tries to keep eye contact, but it's hard, so he ends up looking meekly down at the bed sheets instead. "I've been a bit hasty, haven't I?" he says sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Blaine says firmly, lifting his chin. "I think I'd rather that, than have you being scared of commitment. Look, Kurt, we know this is it, we know our happy ending lies in each other's arms, and one day I swear, I will give you the biggest and the best proposal, and the wedding you dream of but...let's just cherish the here and now, okay? Us being us?"

"I can do that," Kurt agrees, feeling brighter already.

"And please don't gag me."

Kurt laughs, closing the small gap between them to rest his head into the crook of Blaine's neck. "I won't. And just so you know? What we do is more than enough. I mean, it's not, because I wish I had the strength and stamina to do it all day, every day, but it's amazing."

"I love you," Blaine says with a smile, kissing into Kurt's hair. "I love how you say something, and then feel the need to ramble on for another minute unnecessarily."

"Hey!"

They both laugh, and Blaine holds Kurt just that little bit tighter, ready to settle down to sleep.

"That proposal," Kurt says after a while.

"Hmm?"

"How big are we talking?"

"Oh, huge," Blaine remarks. "Epic."

"What if I propose to you first?"

"Then I'll say no, and ask you a week later."

"Ha! Goofball."

There is silence again, but it is a silence neither feels the need to try and fill. It is happy and hope filled, and it leaves Kurt and Blaine with sweet dreams all night long.

"Have you heard from your mom?"

Blaine stops in his tracks, stiffening at the mention of a name he's been trying to forget. He and Burt had come out for a walk along the river while Kurt was working, and up until that point Blaine had been enjoying himself and thinking how wonderful it was, with no offense to Kurt, to spend time alone with his dad.

"It's uh...she's called a couple of times," he says tightly, and walks on at a pace so alarmingly quick that Burt has to jog to catch up with him.

"Is she okay?"

"Fine."

"Ooh, ice cream truck," Burt announces, and grabs Blaine's hand firmly, guiding him to the line.

Ice creams purchased, Burt still takes charge of Blaine, steering him to a bench overlooking the water, where he sits and puts an arm around his shoulders as they eat. He notices a few strange looks cast their way, and feels saddened that affection between a father and his grown son isn't more readily accepted, especially when Blaine finishes his cone and rests his head on Burt's shoulder.

"I wonder what people think, when they see us like this?" Burt muses aloud.

"Either that we're parent and child, and some relative has just died, which is why you're comforting me, or that we're in some weird ass relationship."

"Do either of those scenarios bother you?"

"No. Why would it?" Blaine frowns. "I like cuddles. I miss this, us. Do you remember when we used to watch TV and I'd rest my head on your knee?"

"Of course I do."

"You used to play with my hair. Santana does that now and it's nice, but it's not the same. She's not you."

"True, but you're happy though, right? I mean, you've stopped calling every day to whine."

"I didn't whine!" Blaine protests. "I just...found it hard to settle in. But yes, I'm happy now. Looking forward to Thanksgiving though."

"You coming home?"

"Yeah. I don't have class that Wednesday, so Kurt and I thought we could fly home Tuesday night, that would give us longer."

"We can watch TV."

Blaine smiles, and presses a little closer. "We can."

"So, your mom."

"Daaaaad."

"Nope, I'm not gonna drop it, Blaine. Tell me."

"There's not a lot to tell," Blaine says sadly. "After our visit, she was a little better at calling and stuff, and then it stopped. She knew the date I was starting college, but she didn't call until three weeks after, and said she had been busy. But it's like...I don't know, if you knew something like that was happening in your kids life, you'd make the effort, wouldn't you?"

"You would," Burt says heavily. "Yeah."

"Even a text message, but there was nothing. Then she called last week, and the call was going well, until I stupidly asked if she would come visit."

"And?"

"And she went all weird again. Said that it was too far away, but I checked, and it's only a little over three hours drive!"

"Why don't you offer to go there?" Burt suggests. "See what she says to that? You don't have to stay, you could do it in a day."

"No."

Burt is surprised by Blaine's definite answer, and he pulls back slightly to look down at him.

"I have all the family I need," Blaine explains. "I've tried with her and she's not forthcoming. I made all the effort last time, going to Baltimore and suffering through that dinner. I'm not going to put myself out there again, because each time I do, she hurts me. I'm happy with Kurt and you. If and when she decides to remember she has a son, then she knows where to find me."

"Well, if you're sure..."

"I am," Blaine says firmly.

"Okay. So what do you wanna do now?"

"Let's walk some more," Blaine says, tugging Burt to his feet. "There's a great little deli further down the river. I'll buy you lunch."

The heavy moment is forgotten in favor of Blaine linking his arm through Burt's as they walk happily together in the fall sunshine, though Burt can't help but feel sadness that a mother could abandon her son so easily, especially when that son is as wonderful as Blaine.