Two updates in one day, whoo! I shouldn't be celebrating, I know, because the first chapter today should have been posted yesterday, but whatever. I can still feel accomplished, right? Thanks for putting up with my weird posting schedule. I still HOPE to finish by the season 3 premiere. That means I'll have to double up at least one more time, but I'll just surprise you with when that might be.

Okay, you guys... neither Kurt nor Blaine is in this episode! I think Glee has this problem with Kurt and Blaine... when they're in one episode a lot, they are hardly in the next episode at all (NIGHT OF NEGLECT and FUNERAL, I am looking at you). It's like the writers get Klaine overload and have to rest or something. ;) Or, maybe they're just attempting to juggle all the characters on the show and I'm so biased toward Kurt and Blaine that I want Klaine all the time. You can decide.

So, since there's really nothing to go on, I made this all up. It's short, but I can pretty much guarantee that tomorrow's episode will be significantly longer than this.

Oh, and also? I just realized that I can reply to reviews! (I KNOW, I FAIL. I blame my newbie-ness.) So, once this is posted my plan is to respond to all of the reviews so far... be on the lookout! ;)

(I do not own Glee or any of the characters, dialogue, or songs from the show. It's all just for fun!)

BLAINE

"Someone please explain to me one more time why we pay to attend this school?" Kurt gestured to his blazer.

"Would you actually rather be in class?" Nick asked incredulously.

"I feel like we're in kindergarten," Kurt whined.

As their biology teacher called them over for a primary headcount, Blaine smiled at Kurt's reluctance.

"Oh, come on," Blaine said, "you may have your moments of cynicism, but even you cannot deny... a fluffy koala is adorable."

"If I want to see koalas, I'll go to Australia," Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that would be inexpensive," Jeff chimed in. Kurt ignored him.

Blaine narrowed his eyes. "Okay," he said, grabbing Kurt by the shoulders and forcing the young man to turn and face him, "you need to get a grip. It's the zoo. It's fun."

"Yeah, when you're five," Kurt studied Blaine's face for a moment, and Blaine had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the other boy's expression. Finally, Kurt sighed. "Okay, fine," he said.

"Would it make you feel more like an adult if we all held hands?" Nick teased, and Kurt held up a finger to stop the other boy as he reached to grab Kurt's hand. Everyone laughed, and Blaine saw the corners of Kurt's mouth twitch upward.

"Alright," Blaine said as their teacher informed them of the time when they would reconvene near the entrance and return to Dalton, "where first? Kurt?"

Kurt sighed. "Let's go find those koalas."

KURT

Eventually, as the boys' individual interests and varying excitement levels got the better of them, Kurt and Blaine found themselves wandering the zoo alone. It was a sunny weekday in late winter, so there weren't many people around.

"Hey, Kurt..." Blaine asked suddenly, his face serious, "...what happened to your mom?"

The question caught Kurt off guard. He sighed, knowing that he probably should have told Blaine the story already; Blaine knew that his mother had died, but Kurt had not been forthcoming with the details. He found that he could talk about it without crying most of the time now, and he didn't really mind people asking, but he had resisted telling the story because it always made people sad. He hadn't wanted to bring it up.

"No," Blaine backtracked, misunderstanding Kurt's momentary silence, "I'm sorry. Never mind."

"It's okay," Kurt reassured. "She died in a car accident when I was eight."

It was not new information for the other boy. "I'm really sorry," Blaine said.

"Me too," Kurt agreed. "She was perfect. Well, in my mind, anyway." He stuffed his hand into his jacket pocket and retrieved his wallet. "Want to see a picture of her?" he asked.

Blaine nodded, so Kurt pulled out the small photograph he had carried in his wallet since the week after his mother had died. He had been too young to really need a wallet then, but he had discovered Burt's wallet with a photo of his mother in it the day after the funeral. He had cried about it for an entire afternoon, feeling like he should have some way to carry around a photograph too. Burt had taken him out that weekend to buy a wallet of his own, and had spent countless hours helping Kurt cut out and color pretend IDs, credit cards, and business cards to fill the empty slots.

"Her name was Elizabeth," Kurt said as he handed the small photo to Blaine.

It was actually a photograph of Elizabeth and Kurt together. They were both dressed very well, and Elizabeth was crouched behind Kurt with her chin on his shoulder so that their faces were at the same height. Her arms were snug around Kurt's waist. They were both smiling widely.

"We didn't know it at the time, of course," Kurt said sadly, watching Blaine as he studied the image, "but that was the last photograph of her. About two weeks before the accident. That's exactly how I remember her."

They had stopped wandering around the zoo, choosing instead to sit down on a bench beside the path.

Blaine looked at Kurt, and then back at the photograph. "She was beautiful," he said with a smile. "You look like her."

"Thanks," Kurt blushed slightly at the secondhand compliment.

"She was coming home from the grocery store," Kurt continued, assuming that Blaine wanted to hear the details of the accident. "And some guy ran a red light. He hadn't been drinking or anything; he just wasn't concentrating. He slammed into the driver's side door. It's possible she didn't even know it happened."

"Kurt," Blaine said, reaching out to hold his hand. "I'm so sorry."

Kurt nodded, "The guy in the other car broke one of his legs, and he was bruised and scraped, but he survived." Kurt lowered his head. "I think he moved away a few years later. He couldn't handle being in the area, I guess."

"What was she like?" Blaine asked, and Kurt was grateful for the opportunity to shift the conversation away from the moment of her death. Blaine released Kurt's hand so Kurt could slide the small photograph back into its place in his wallet.

"She was so... bright," Kurt remembered fondly. "She and I used to do everything together. She worked part-time at a small shop in town, but only while I was at school. She wanted to be there for everything." Kurt suddenly felt tears in his eyes, and he tried to blink them away.

"Thanks for telling me about her," Blaine said, rubbing Kurt's arm for a moment while Kurt collected himself. After a moment, Blaine stood up. "Want to keep going?"

Kurt nodded. "Contrary to what this," he motioned to the tears in his eyes, "might suggest, I really do like talking about her. It makes me feel like a little piece of her is still here."

Blaine smiled. "And, in some ways, she is. Because there's you."

Kurt had never thought of it that way before. He adjusted his scarf for a moment, unable to speak. "Thank you for saying that," he said quietly after the moment of silence.

Blaine smiled at him, and Kurt wondered what his mother would have thought of the trim young man.

BLAINE

"Okay, okay," Kurt giggled as he and Blaine returned to the Hummel-Hudson house with coffee the following day. "Maybe it was a little bit fun."

"I thought so," Blaine winked.

"Not quite an 'I told you so'," Kurt assessed Blaine's tone, "but yes, you were right. The zoo was better than I expected. I especially liked the underwater area... all the joys of being in the ocean without the fear of skin cancer or sharks."

Blaine laughed.

"Hey dudes," Finn greeted them. "Wanna play?" He motioned at the video game he was playing on the family's large television.

Kurt turned to look at Blaine, who hesitated for a moment. He loved the game Finn was playing, but he knew Kurt didn't want to play.

"Oh god," Kurt groaned, "the hesitation means you want to."

"No!" Blaine tried to argue. "It's fine, Kurt."

Kurt rolled his eyes and reached out to take Blaine's coffee out of his hand. "Yes," he said, "it is fine. Just play with him." He walked over and placed Blaine's drink on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Hi boys," Carole came into the room as Blaine settled down on the couch to join Finn's game. "Kurt, can I steal you away for a minute for some fashion advice?"

Kurt, who had perched himself on the edge of the couch, jumped up. "Be right back!" He said happily, and he skipped out of the room after Carole.

As Finn restarted the game to set it up for two players, Blaine realized that it was the first time they'd ever been alone together. He smiled at the tall young man.

"Thanks for letting me join in," he said.

"Oh, it's no problem, man," Finn said offhandedly. "You're, like, Kurt's best friend or something. And you're super laid back, which is refreshing."

Blaine smiled contentedly at Finn's assessment.

The game was a racing game. As they started, the conversation faded in favor of comfortable silence and the occasional groan of defeat or cry of celebration.

"So..." Kurt sang happily as he returned to the living room, "who's winning?"

"Dude, this guy is killing it!" Finn said dejectedly.

"Want to join in?" Blaine asked Kurt.

"I think I'll pass," Kurt said. He stepped over Finn's legs, which were propped on the coffee table, and squeezed in between the two boys with a laugh. "But I will happily sit and watch you dominate Finn."

In the first bit they were supposed to be at the Columbus Zoo... it's well-known as a really quality zoo, so I thought maybe it would be a fun field trip for the boys to take with their biology class (it's only about 25 minutes from Westerville). Hey, even teachers like to get out and do things, right? Just go with it. ;)

Blaine is always asking somewhat inappropriate questions and saying somewhat inappropriate things... I think it's because he's so open and eager about everything (well, mostly everything. He hasn't been particularly forthcoming with details of his former school or his family at this point). He just says what he's thinking. So, of course he would ask about Kurt's mom. And anyway, I think they're close enough at this point that it's an appropriate thing for him to ask. I made up all the details except that she died when Kurt was eight years old (we learn that in 'Grilled Cheesus', I believe). So who knows, maybe Glee will discuss it more in the future and all of this will be completely wrong. But for now, this can be Kurt's mother's story.

Up next... Blame It On The Alcohol!