I tried calling but you must be at your internship. We need to talk over the phone as soon as possible. Please call me when you get this—Alex
Blaine grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off of his face after sitting his phone back on his bed. He'd gone for a walk but had ended up taking a run for no real reason other than the fact that he was getting restless.
Tomorrow was August 6th.
Tomorrow he would be meeting Kurt in Meriden, Connecticut at some café right smack dab in the middle of their schools. At least, the closest they could determine using MapQuest.
Given the fact that he'd be face to face with Kurt tomorrow for an undetermined amount of time… definitely something to be restless over.
Running had helped, surprisingly.
However, Blaine had a feeling whatever Alex had to talk to him about would probably cancel out anything positive that had come from his run.
"I don't want to deal with this now." Blaine groaned as he went into his bathroom, staring at his curls. He really needed a haircut, honestly he hadn't had one in two months and his hair was once again dangerously close to 'afro proximity.' That, according to Wes, was the stage in which Blaine's hair would frizz into an afro when wet or when left to dry itself without product.
"Really don't want to deal with this." Blaine repeated as he grabbed a towel off of his shelf and towel dried his sweat matted curls. "It's always something."
"Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity!" AJ called from down the hall.
Blaine forced a laugh and headed into his bedroom, making sure to close the door behind him. He then paced his floor three times before snatching his phone off of the bed and pressing the "Call" button.
One ring… two… three…
"Hey, Blaine." Came his older brother's familiar voice. He always sounded farther away on the phone and Blaine was never quite sure if it was because he held the phone farther away or if it were because he was in another country. Not that it was important. Sometimes he was just curious about things.
"Listen. If this is about the Derek thing, it's done and I don't want to talk about it." Blaine said before Alex could start on him.
"Who is Derek? This isn't about that." Alex said, sounding confused. "Hang on a sec, Blaine. Danny, honey, no. I already told you that we'll do that after dinner. Sorry, Blaine."
"It's okay." Blaine said, hearing his five ("almost six") year old nephew trying to persuade Alex into something. "Whenever you text me saying we talk on the phone, it's never very a good sign."
"This isn't exactly a good call." Alex sighed. "Danny… No, stop… My God. Hang on again, Blaine. I'm really sorry. Danny, stop or we're not reading Harry Potter tonight at bed time."
"But Daddy!" Blaine could hear his nephew whining in the background. "My shoelace is too tight!"
Blaine snorted when he heard Alex set down the phone, muttering, and then again when he heard Danny running from the room.
"Sorry. He's driving me crazy this week." Alex sighed. "Anyway, how are you?"
"I'm fine now but I have a feeling I won't be by the time we get off of the phone. What's up?"
"It's about Grandmother." Alex hesitated before continuing. "The leukemia. Its terminal."
Blaine nearly dropped the water bottle he was holding.
"I'm… uh… I'm making a trip to Ohio at the beginning of the week. You don't have to come. I'm not trying to make you feel like you do. I know you're not in touch with them and I wanted to make you… aware of the fact that her health has turned for the worst."
"I…" Blaine swallowed. "Oh."
Alex waited a few seconds before speaking again. "Even if you don't want to see Grandmother… I'd still like to come to Cambridge and see you. If that's okay."
"Yeah. Sure. I mean, I'd love to see you." Blaine sat down on his bed, in shock. It wasn't that he had the closest relationship with his family or anything like that. But still. His grandmother was dying. How was he supposed to feel?
All he wanted to do was call Kurt.
Why was his gut reaction still to run to Kurt?
"Are you okay?" Alex asked.
"Fine. I'm fine." Blaine bit his lip. "Hey, I have to go. I have a school… thing. A school thing. So I need to run back to school."
"Blaine, do you want to talk? I'm right here if you do."
"No. No, I… Have a good day. Call me with details and we'll see each other, alright?" Blaine hung up his phone and turned it off, staring out his door and at the hallway wall. He blinked quickly as his eyes suddenly burned.
"Blainer Boo, can I borrow your car? My oil is out and I don't have the money to pay for—uh oh." Wes, who had just come in through the open door, stopped in his tracks. "Blaine?"
"I just got off the phone with Alex." Blaine said, voice emotionless.
"Is everything okay?"
"My grandma is dying."
"Right now?" Wes asked, looking confused.
"I didn't ask questions."
Wes inched farther into the room. "Are you alright?"
"I think I need a minute to let this… sink in." Blaine took a deep breath. It didn't help. Not really.
"Are you upset?"
Blaine stood, shrugging.
"I hate to sound like an asshole, Blaine, but that woman is a bitch. She never did a damn thing to help you when your parents were abusing you." Wes said, speaking slowly. "Just because she's dying doesn't make her any less of a bitch."
"I know." Blaine bit his lip. "This just sucks. If I had a family that gave two shits about me, I'd be on a plane to Westerville right now to spend her last whatever with her and—."
"Stop." Wes moved forward until he was standing directly in front of Blaine.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel." Blaine looked him in the eyes. "What am I supposed to feel?"
"Nothing. You're supposed to feel nothing. If the roles were reversed, what would your dear old grandmother do?"
"She'd make a big fuss about how her grandchild was dying even if she hadn't spoken to me in years." Blaine sighed.
"Exactly. Don't give a flying fuck what is going on with your family unless it involves them at our doorstep begging for your forgiveness. And the only flying fuck you will give then is in the form of you slamming the door in their faces—bonus points if you hit your dad's obnoxiously large nose— and telling them to fuck off." Wes pulled him up. "Besides, we were going to talk about tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Are you drunk? You're meeting Kurt tomorrow. You've been inwardly freaking out about it for days." Wes looked shocked.
"I know what I'm going to say. It's fine." Blaine waved his hand. "My car keys are on the table. Take the car. It's cool. As long as it's back by morning when I leave. Go on."
"Blaine…"
"I appreciate it. I do." Blaine closed his eyes. "But I want to be alone right now. I need to think."
"Come out with me. We'll get dinner." Wes insisted.
"No." Blaine shook his head. "Really, it's fine. We'll talk when you get back."
"Do you promise?"
"Yeah. I promise." Blaine nodded. "Have fun."
Wes frowned but nodded back. "I won't be long."
"Okay." Blaine nodded, waiting until he heard his car door shut a minute or so later. He then picked up his phone, scrolled to the only "K" name in there, and began to type out a text.
I need you now.
His finger hovered over the send button before he quickly erased he message and set his phone back on the bed.
Kurt wasn't his to need.
***LTC***
Blaine sat in his car the next day, staring at the restaurant he was supposed to meet Kurt in. He didn't see Kurt's car yet which was a surprise considering Kurt usually sped—especially when driving long distances.
Finally, he blinked and looked down at his phone, tapping out a text.
I'm here whenever you are.
He then sent another one, No rush.
His phone pinged and he looked down to see Kurt's response, Be there soon.
Blaine tried hard to not let his eyes travel to Alex's name. His grandma was in critical condition. Things weren't looking good. Blaine wanted to be updated, or so he'd told Alex, but really he didn't. All he wanted right then was to go back to last year, his last summer with Kurt before Harvard, being happy and excited about life.
Not the alternative—single, nervous about meeting up with his ex, an estranged grandmother on her death bed and not knowing how to feel about that fact. No. The alternative kind of sucked. Kind of really sucked.
How would things go with Kurt? He'd tried to make a plan—a list of things he wanted to say to Kurt. That list didn't seem to be registering in his mind as he sat, rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans. His phone vibrated and he looked down, seeing a text from Adrian that was wishing him good luck.
Thanks, Blaine sent and jumped when he heard a car door close next to him.
Kurt.
They made eye contact through their windows and Blaine forced himself to get out of the car, legs feeling like they were made of jelly and his breathing seeming to stop in its tracks. How was Kurt so beautiful? Why were things so messed up between them?
"Hey." Kurt, who had locked his own car, came around Blaine's. "How are you?"
"Tired." Blaine said, and it wasn't a complete lie. He really was tired. "Hungry."
"Me too." Kurt didn't break eye contact.
"Kurt, I…" Blaine tried to make himself look away.
"Let's get food." Kurt whispered, finally turning towards the café.
Blaine took a deep breath and followed Kurt into the café, feeling… weird. Usually he went first, holding the door open, leaning to kiss Kurt's cheek as he walked through behind Blaine. Now Kurt held the door open but there weren't any smiles, lingering looks, no words being exchanged or laughter or anything that was them.
"I'm… bathroom." Blaine pointed and then walked off quickly, making his way into the café's too small and too clean bathroom. He took a deep breath, looking in the mirror.
It wasn't even that he was nervous. He hadn't really had it in him to feel nervous about seeing Kurt since finding out about his grandmother. He'd gotten one update from Alex that morning, who was by now in Westerville with his wife Mia and their small son Danny. The verdict—his grandmother was in critical condition. She had anywhere from five days to three months left, some days were better than others, there was really no… telling.
In the event that his grandmother's condition did not worsen, Alex, Danny, and his wife Mia would be meeting up with Blaine the next day. Blaine's father had 'begrudgingly' loaned them a car for the duration of the stay—probably mostly so they wouldn't have to make sure they had rides to places. They were going to take Danny to a local zoo and talk about things not pertaining to 'the situation.' They would have dinner, just hang out. Try to act like normal family for a few hours, Blaine guessed. He still wasn't quite sure how to do that.
Blaine splashed some water on his face and took another deep breath before leaving the bathroom, finding Kurt at a booth with food for both of them in front of him.
"You didn't have to do that." Blaine said, sliding into the booth across from Kurt.
"I know. I figured…" Kurt shrugged, not quite knowing what to say.
"Okay. We can't just do this talking but not talking thing." Blaine sighed. "Otherwise, this will be an entire waste of our day and our gas money."
Kurt made eye contact. "You don't seem like you want to talk."
"Maybe I shouldn't have come." Blaine admitted, frowning.
Kurt cringed.
"No. Not you. I'm a little… distracted. Alex called the other day. My grandmother is dying." Blaine said quickly, as if this were any better.
"Oh wow. She's that sick?" Kurt asked.
"I guess. Today she's in critical condition. Alex is visiting her now. The longest she has is a few months but it's really a guessing game." Blaine took a sip of his coffee.
"How are you taking it?"
"I'm fine."
Kurt gave Blaine a look. "I know you better than that."
Blaine swallowed, looking down at the table, focusing on a scratch in the wood and running his finger over it. "I don't know how to take it. Part of me is numb to the whole thing… The other part of me is upset because there can never be anything between us … ever again. I wasn't really expecting anything but death is so final. And feeling this way makes me upset because nothing would have been there anyway."
"That wasn't your doing." Kurt said gently. "It was hers."
"I am aware of that but it still sucks. I'm annoyed I feel this way but I can't help it." Blaine looked back up. "How is New York?"
"It's great." Kurt said, voice more cheerful than necessary.
Blaine, either too distracted to notice or too polite to call Kurt out on it, smiled a bit. "I'm glad that you like it."
"Thank you for the graduation card." Kurt made eye contact. "And for seeing me. I was beginning to doubt we'd ever be civil again."
Blaine took a bite of the sandwich Kurt had gotten him, mainly to give him time to come up with an appropriate response. He didn't want to jump into the break up talk. But skimming the surface… maybe that was okay.
"I didn't mean that as a stab or anything at you." Kurt quickly added.
"I'm sorry for being a little… excessive after the dance thing." Blaine said, not looking away from Kurt. "I don't know why I got so mad."
"I did make a scene." Kurt admitted.
"You can't help but pull attention." Blaine murmured.
Kurt looked down, not sure if he was supposed to smile or be offended.
"Look… I don't want to have tension between us forever." Blaine cleared his throat. "I miss you. A lot. You were one of my best friends and… you're still the first person I want to call when things happen. I hate that I can't do that."
"I have something for you." Kurt said, reaching into his messenger bag which he had brought in with him. He pulled out a thick envelope and held it out for Blaine.
Blaine reached for it, brushing fingers with Kurt as he took it. He pulled his hand back quickly. "What is it?"
"Open it." Kurt gestured.
Blaine did and several pictures fell out. He resisted the urge to wince, thinking it would be pictures of them, but he relaxed when he saw a picture of Melody in an adorable dress, posing outside of a building.
"She, Carole, and Dad went on a tour of Freedom Elementary since she'll be starting there in the fall." Kurt explained.
"She is starting pre-kindergarten in a few weeks, isn't she?" Blaine asked, staring at the picture with a sad but happy expression on his face.
"She's excited. She wants to play softball. Which has nothing to do with pre-kindergarten, I know, but it's all she prattles on about on the phone." Kurt said.
Blaine went to the next picture.
"Fourth birthday party. She annihilated the cake." Kurt tried to keep the conversation light.
"She's getting so big." Blaine flipped to another picture of her in the garage with Burt, sitting on the hood of a car in adorable overalls.
"I know. Every time I go home, she's taller." Kurt nodded. "And she's talking better now, too. She likes to read. Well, she likes to be read to. She's memorized some books and likes to pretend she can actually read."
Blaine laughed a bit.
"She says you need to visit. She insists you promised you'd teach her to read." Kurt bit his lip.
"She doesn't know about us."
"No. Dad and Carole think she's too young to understand. She doesn't even understand that I don't live an hour away anymore." Kurt took a bite of his own sandwich which he'd yet to eat.
Instead, he kept looking at Blaine. There was something… different. He couldn't quite figure it out but there was definitely something different.
"Do you see Alec a lot?"
"Yeah." Kurt nodded. "How is Wes?"
"He's doing good. He's got this rivalry going with our roommate… who he happens to be competing for the top BioChem student title. They're kind of like you and Alec… except they hate each other. And she is a she."
"Do they hate each other or hate each other?"
"They seem to really hate each other." Blaine shrugged. "But I am pretty oblivious."
Kurt gave a sad sort of smile.
Blaine took a sip of his drink. "How was your fashion show?"
"It went really, really well." Kurt chewed on his bottom lip, hating how tense it felt between them. It weighed on his chest heavily. This wasn't them. Then again, April to almost August. A lot changed in four months.
Blaine sighed a bit and then sat up straight. "So I started an internship a few weeks ago and it's gone really well."
Kurt straightened up as well. This sounded more like old Blaine, the tone, the way Blaine gestured as he spoke. He didn't seem like he was holding back. "What kind of things do you do?"
"Not too much yet. Adrian actually has the same internship—which wasn't done intentionally. We didn't even know we'd both applied for it. It's me, him, and this other guy Tyler." Blaine explained. "So far it's been orientation and basic things. The thing is that they're expanding the amount of employees they have and if I do really well it could turn into a paid job… and if I do really well, it could end up being the law firm that hires me as a lawyer."
"That's great, Blaine!"
Blaine tucked one foot underneath him. "Monday Adrian works with the head lawyer. He's nervous. I have to like two days later."
"Are you nervous?"
"He's supposed to be a hard ass so I'm not overly looking forward to it." Blaine admitted. "But I won't have to work under him much. I think it's mostly so he can meet us… I guess I'm not nervous. I hope he likes me but I'm not too worried about it. I had a great recommendation from three of my instructors. He knows how good I am."
"For what it's worth… I'm glad you're happy at Harvard and that you're doing so well." Kurt said, voice soft. "You deserve every opportunity this brings you. I know how hard you worked for this. And I love how confident you sound. Remember at the hospital after my attack? You acted embarrassed at the thought of applying to a law school and now you're at Harvard Law, impressing lawyers…"
"I haven't impressed anyone yet."
"You've impressed three people enough that you got great recommendations." Kurt smiled. "That's… That's really awesome, Blaine. I'm proud."
Blaine smiled back, eyes lighting up after hearing the words I'm proud. That wasn't something he heard often. And coming from Kurt—
Coming from Kurt what? They weren't together anymore.
Right.
Reality.
"You had a good fashion show." Blaine gestured to Kurt. "And you're in New York. Where you've always wanted to be. I'm proud of you too."
Kurt's smile did not falter but he did look down.
"What?"
"It feels like something's missing." Kurt admitted, looking back up hesitantly. His mind finished the sentence he held back. It feels like you're missing.
Blaine looked down too. "I miss you, Kurt."
"I know. I miss you too."
"I don't think you understand. I really miss you." Blaine looked up. "I hate that we're in this mess."
Kurt took a deep breath and repeated, "I really miss you too, Blaine."
"It's like… something's missing. Like you said." Blaine swallowed and rubbed his palms on his jeans. "Do you remember when I skipped school to watch that Digimon marathon with David and Wes in junior year at UK?"
Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Of course I remember that."
Blaine laughed a bit. "Apparently there's going to be some convention—."
"Oh God."
"And David wants to go. It's at the end of the summer."
Kurt laughed. "Are you going to?"
"I don't know. It feels like a waste of money." Blaine shrugged and laughed. "But I don't have anything better to do."
"You should do it. You never really go places and spend money on yourself." Kurt pointed out.
"You sound like them." Blaine shook his head, smiling. "Now any extra money I get goes to… oh, you'll love this… a dog."
"What? You have a dog?" Kurt asked, eyes widening. "Do you keep it locked up all the time?"
"I'd never!" Blaine pulled his phone out. "We uh… David, Wes and I went to Canada after school was out. It was meant to be a trip to Harbor Springs but I fell asleep and woke up in a hotel in Canada, which really shouldn't be a surprise with those two. Long story short, we got kicked out of one hotel because we were surfing downstairs on a staircase—."
Kurt covered his face, shaking his head.
"And Wes' head went through the wall." Blaine laughed loudly. "And I can't remember that but David says it was hilarious. But—This isn't a very short version, is it?— I was asleep at the next hotel and they found a puppy in the box in the rain. Apparently, they thought it was fate or something. So now she's mine."
"Is that a picture?" Kurt leaned over the table to look at Blaine's phone.
"Yes."
"She's so cute!"
Blaine nodded. "She's very cute but the vet thinks she might have been mistreated. Well clearly she was if they left her in a box in the rain. She's gaining weight, though. She's peculiar about people. She usually hides when we have visitors. Under my desk. Wes put her a little bed there so she'd be more comfortable."
"Her eyes." Kurt said.
"You can look through. There's tons. Half of them AJ takes."
"AJ?" Kurt questioned, taking the phone and flipping through the pictures.
"The new roommate."
"What ever happened with the old one?"
Blaine looked embarrassed. "It's not an interesting story."
"Those are the best ones when it comes to you."
"We got into a fight and I gave him a nosebleed. So he moved out." Blaine shrugged.
"That guy was an asshole anyway." Kurt passed over his phone.
"Kurt, you're condoning violence?" Blaine looked surprised.
"He's an exception to the rule." Kurt said, making eye contact again. "Extenuating circumstances."
"Wes told me about what happened with Derek and I know you and Wes have talked since then. Uhm… Don't feel bad about the Facebook thing."
"They were able to get to you through me." Kurt frowned.
"I know my family. They would have done it some other way. To be honest, I'd been expecting something. Things had been calm too long." Blaine looked at him, not seeming nervous to be around Kurt, upset to be talking about his family. Just normal. "I'm sorry about the whole thing over Christmas. I kind of gave Dad exactly what he wanted."
"Derek's a pig." Kurt's frown grew.
"I don't really want to talk about it… But I don't want you to be upset about it either." Blaine paused and then added as an afterthought, "And thanks for slapping him. Apparently he's your exception to the rule."
"I heard you got violent with him as well." Kurt pointed out.
"I haven't done a great job of controlling my temper obviously." Blaine admitted.
"Both of them deserved it."
Blaine glanced at his phone which had begun to ring. Alex. He pushed ignore and pocketed it.
"Do you want to call him?" Kurt asked. "I can go outside."
"I really don't want to. I'm trying really hard to distance myself from this whole thing. I've got so much going on. She's never done much for me, she's never cared for me, and I don't see why I should get bent out of shape over her." Blaine said.
Kurt tilted his head slightly, watching him.
"I don't want to care but I do. It's frustrating." Blaine scowled and busied himself by taking a big gulp of his drink.
"You're a good person. That's why you care. But you're right. They don't deserve it. You've done a good job of moving on. Don't let them effect you."
"Sometimes it's not that easy." Blaine said, seeming to be more open to talking about it now that they weren't together. Which was weird. "It's not like I really thought things would be okay one day. I don't want a relationship with them. But this is just… so final. You know?"
Kurt looked at him but didn't speak. It wasn't his place to say—especially not anymore. He wanted to say that Blaine was too nice, he shouldn't have given anyone in his family a second thought, that Blaine was too good for them, that he shouldn't have cared thatthe woman who played part in abusing him for years was dying. Then again, maybe thinking those thoughts made Kurt a horrible person.
However, he'd given up the right to voice his opinion in April when he'd broken up with Blaine.
And honestly, even if they'd been together… It still wouldn't have been his place to say those things. Instead, Kurt just kept his thoughts to himself.
"I know what you're thinking. The same thing Wes has been saying." Blaine sighed.
"You'll be okay, Blaine. You're a strong person." Kurt finally spoke. "A lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."
"You might be right. These last four months have been hell."
Kurt winced. He couldn't help it.
"I didn't mean—Shit. I'm sorry." Blaine frowned.
"You don't have to apologize." Kurt took a sip of his drink. Well, they weren't fighting so that was good, right? However, he would have rather they be fighting than to see Blaine… sad? He sure seemed sad.
Blaine looked up at the ceiling and counted one, two, three, three and a half, four, four and a half, five, before looking back at Kurt.
"Do you remember when Melody spent the night and had her poop explosion?" Kurt asked. "And we had to give her a bath?"
"That was so disgusting. I don't understand how that much poop came out of such a tiny child." Blaine cringed. "I don't know if I'll ever forget that."
"You kept holding her out at arm's length like if the poop touched you, you'd get infected." Kurt laughed. "And you wanted to use the spray hose in the kitchen sink."
"Needless to say, that wasn't my brightest idea." Blaine laughed a bit. "And then she started dancing in the tub and splashing us."
"God, she won't let me near the bathroom if she's taking a bath now. 'YOU'RE A BOY! YOU HAVE COOOOTIES!'" Kurt laughed.
Blaine laughed, this time a little louder. "I miss her."
"She misses you too." Kurt gave a small smile. "Everyone does."
"How are your aunts doing?" Blaine asked.
"Taylor is at the bookstore a lot. They're debating switching locations. She doesn't want to but she's getting a lot of pressure to." Kurt responded. "Paige is teaching summer classes half of the time. When she's not teaching, she's begging Taylor to grade her student's essays."
Blaine laughed. "Finn and Rachel?"
"Wedding planning." Kurt said. "It's all wedding, all the time. I guess that makes sense since the wedding is getting closer. It's obnoxious but they're so happy that it's hard to be too disgusted."
"At least they're happy." Blaine said, smiling a bit.
"Do you want to… go for a walk? Or something?" Kurt asked as he finished his drink. "I mean… I don't know what we could do in Meriden, Connecticut but… I'm not ready to leave yet."
Blaine looked at him.
"Unless you are."
"I'm not." Blaine stood, downing the rest of his coffee.
Kurt reached over, taking the cup and fixing the lid. "Some things never change."
"I gave up a long time ago." Blaine shrugged.
"I know. It's just funny because somehow you managed to make it come off. I'm the one that put the lid on it." Kurt smiled. "Come on. Let's see what we can find."
Blaine stood and smiled at a woman walking by. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, sweetie." The woman smiled.
"We're not from here. Do you all have—?"
"Two attractions." She smiled again. "Hubbard Park and Guiffrida Park. Guiffrida gets a little crowded, though, so that's something to keep in mind. Do you need directions?"
"No ma'am. I've got a GPS. But thank you very much!" Blaine turned to Kurt. "Hubbard Park it is?"
"Hubbard Park it is."
…
"I guess that's what the hype is." Blaine said, pointing into the distance nearly two hours later.
"What?" Kurt asked.
"The castle."
They hadn't talked the whole time. They might not have even talked half of the time but Kurt wasn't going to complain. He had now been with Blaine for three hours and four minutes. Not that he was counting.
"Huh." Kurt said, looking at the castle. "It's nice."
"This view is amazing." Blaine plopped on the grass and looked around.
Kurt sat by him, close but not too close.
"How come we never did stuff like this when we were together?" Blaine asked after several moments.
"We went places. We went to Michigan, New York, Chicago…"
"No. Just… sit." Blaine sighed. "I can't remember the last time we just sat and we weren't both working on homework or watching television or…"
"I don't know." Kurt whispered, staring at the castle. "Why did we do a lot of things we did? Why didn't we do a lot of the things we didn't do?"
Blaine pulled his legs up, resting his chin on his knees. "Today has been nice, Kurt."
Kurt looked at him, shocked.
"I don't want us to not be friends. I don't want to not see you or talk to you." Blaine frowned, looking sad. "I miss you and I miss us together but I miss you as a friend the most. I know I said I hated you but I don't."
"I knew you didn't." Kurt whispered.
"I want you in my life. Even if it's a text a week or…" Blaine took a deep breath.
"I want you in my life too." Kurt scooted so he was in front of Blaine, so Blaine had no choice but to look him in the eyes.
Blaine nodded once and bit his lip.
"Do you think…?" Kurt trailed off. Maybe it was too much to ask. To ask if Blaine thought they'd ever be together again. If they were completely ruined as a couple.
He was scared of Blaine's answer.
He couldn't see himself with anyone but Blaine. But what if Blaine couldn't see them together forever anymore? Could he really blame him if that were the case?
"Think what?" Blaine questioned.
"Never mind." Kurt shook his head, forcing a smile.
"No. Ask."
"Is there a chance… for more… ever?"
Blaine took a deep breath and looked past Kurt's head.
Ouch, Kurt thought.
"Right now I think we should focus on fixing our friendship." Blaine finally answered. "It's too soon to talk about us in a relationship because... there's a lot of stuff that we need to own up to. There's stuff we need to talk about, work on… Because if we don't get that stuff fixed, it's going to be the same cycle we've had for years. And I can't do another break up, Kurt. I don't know how I'm doing this one."
Kurt reached over, putting his hand over Blaine's. They made eye contact as Kurt rubbed his thumb over the back of Blaine's knuckles. Blaine, who was hugging his legs to his chest as he sat, resisted the urge to move his leg.
He wanted Kurt to grab his hand but that was silly. Especially after what he'd just said.
He had to be the only person giving themselves mixed signals.
"That's not a no." Kurt spoke after nearly a minute of silence.
"No. It's not." Blaine bit his lip. "It's not quite a yes yet, either."
Keyword yet, Kurt thought to himself as he rubbed his thumb over Blaine's knuckles some more.
They must have looked strange, sitting on the grass, Blaine with his head on his knees and hugging his legs, Kurt's hand on one of Blaine's.
That didn't matter, though.
They were some semblance of together and for Kurt, that was more than enough.
…
"I should really start heading back." Blaine said reluctantly another two hours later, standing between their cars.
"Me too." Kurt nodded, not ready to leave Blaine yet.
"Can we… Will we talk again, Kurt?"
"As soon as you want to." Kurt promised.
Blaine smiled a bit and nodded.
"Skype, text, phone, whatever."
"You hate talking on the phone." Blaine pointed out.
"You've always been an exception." Kurt responded, smiling back.
"Thank you for meeting me." Blaine made eye contact.
"Thank you for meeting me too." Kurt didn't blink, wanted to stare into his eyes forever.
Blaine nodded.
"Don't worry about stuff." Kurt said after clearing his throat. "With your family. And I know you will, because you're you… so, feel free to call me about it. Any time."
"I never told you this. Maybe I should have." Blaine looked down at his feet before looking back up at Kurt, almost shyly. "You know, Wes and David are good about cheering me up but sometimes they don't really get it… Especially when it comes to stuff with my family. But you… even if you don't get it, you do. Talking to you about it always makes me feel better."
"That's why you should call me about it." Kurt whispered. "We're working on the friendship, right? When we first became friends you knew my problems right off that bat. I didn't know yours. Maybe this can be a redo, role reversal type thing."
"Maybe." Blaine laughed a bit. "But… You really… It's okay if I call?"
"Please do. I'll worry about you otherwise." Kurt looked behind him as a family clambered into a large van, little kids chattering loudly.
"You don't have to worry about me."
"It's never stopped me before." Kurt pointed out.
Blaine stepped forward, arms going around Kurt in a hug. He didn't plan for it to happen. In fact, when planning their goodbye in his head, it was number one of things that shouldn't happen. Yet, here he'd done it.
Kurt's arms went around his waist and he pulled Blaine closer. "You've gotten taller."
Blaine couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"I've been trying to figure out if it was the hair or the weight or what and that's it."
"I didn't know until someone pointed it out."
Kurt's grip tightened around Blaine's waist, which was noticeably thinner.
It seemed like it was five minutes before Blaine pulled back a bit, looking sheepish. Had it been that long? Probably not.
"Call me. Please." Kurt whispered, arms falling at his side.
"What if I beep you?"
Kurt arched an eyebrow.
"Call me, beep me, if you want to reach me…"
"My God. You're such a big kid." Kurt laughed.
Blaine smiled. "I'll call."
"How long before I have to worry about you?" Kurt asked.
"Thursday. I'll call by Thursday. I'm going to be pretty busy until then." Blaine said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Bye, Kurt."
Kiss his cheek, Kurt thought.
No, don't.
Kurt leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Blaine's cheek, praying he wouldn't regret it.
"Thanks." Blaine mumbled before pulling his car door open. "Drive safe."
"You too, Blaine." Kurt walked around, to his own car.
"Thanks?" Blaine echoed himself after shutting his door. "Thanks?"
He waited for Kurt to back out before backing out himself, shaking his head.
"He kisses my cheek and I say thanks? This is why I shouldn't be allowed out in public."
***LTC***
"I don't believe this!"
Eric, who had fallen asleep on a reclining chair in his and Alec's living room a few days later, shot up. He looked around and then glared at Alec.
"Oh, I told you to go into the other room. It's not my fault you're such a light sleeper." Alec said before offering Eric a sweet smile.
"Sorry." Kurt said in a loud whisper, giving him a sympathetic smile.
"Hope that didn't make you want to sell some doors for a coffeemaker." Alec said as Eric stood, rubbing his eyes.
"Now that you mention it, I am a little thirsty." Eric winked at Kurt and then yawned. "It was nice to see you, Kurt."
"You too, Eric. Sorry again." Kurt laughed.
"Love you too, dear!" Alec called after Eric. "Poor thing is always tired since he got sick."
"It seems like he's been tired since he got to New York." Kurt pointed out, making himself comfortable on Alec's couch.
Alec, who was on the floor and looking at sketches while Project Runway played on the TV behind him, looked back up. "You know, it's taking him longer to adjust to all the noise. He's gotten better about it. But enough about Eric. I want to hear about your 'interaction' with Blaine."
Kurt tucked his foot underneath him. He had the distinct feeling he was going to be there a while despite the fact that he'd meant to leave an hour ago. It had been a few days since he'd seen Alec, though, so staying longer than he planned didn't bother him too much.
"I mean, we mostly talked about neutral stuff… But he misses me. He told me so." Kurt looked down. "He was really upset, though. His grandmother is dying. He's not close to his family but I can tell it's upsetting him."
Alec frowned. "That's sad."
"I feel bad for him but I find it very hard to feel bad for that bitch." Kurt said before his eyes widened. Yes, he'd said that out loud.
"His family must have been really bad." Alec looked surprised. Kurt was not one to usually curse.
"We went on a walk in this park." Kurt said, not commenting further on Blaine's family. "We walked up to this castle and… I mean, at first it was really awkward. We were uncomfortable and scared… But as time passed it got easier to talk to each other. We didn't talk the whole time. Some of it we just sat there."
"But he said he missed you?" Alec asked.
"Yeah." Kurt nodded once. "And I told him I missed him too."
"Well did you two talk about the break up?"
"He wasn't ready. And to tell you the truth, I wasn't either." Kurt admitted. "I think we're taking things slow… As Blaine put it, there's a lot we have to fix before we can take anything that far… and for right now, I'm glad to have him in my life any way."
"Did you two kiss?"
"No. We hugged at the end and I kissed his cheek."
Alec looked like he wanted to melt. "Oh, that's so cute. Who initiated the hug?"
"Blaine did."
"Oh God." Alec, if possible, looked like he wanted to melt even more. "Kurt, that's so good!"
"I don't want to push anything. We're going to talk Thursday probably."
"And you have a time set up to talk." Alec moved to sit by him on the couch. "And you kept this to yourself all weekend!"
"We haven't seen each other." Kurt shrugged. "And I haven't talked to anyone, really. My dad doesn't even know I went to see him."
"Are you going to tell him?"
"I'm going down Wednesday to spend a week with them." Kurt nodded. "Before orientations start and all of that. I'll tell him then."
"Do you think you two will get back together?"
"I can't see myself with anybody else. In the beginning, when we could barely talk… I began to think that maybe we were done. But after we got to talking… It was so hard to leave. I had to force myself to let go of him, to make myself go to my car, even to back out." Kurt closed his eyes. "I can't see myself with anybody else. If we don't get back together, I don't know how I'll ever find someone that makes me feel the way he makes me feel."
"It's not over." Alec said, sounding much more confident than Kurt felt. "How long were you there?"
"Seven hours I think."
"Oh, Kurt. It's not over at all." Alec said. "Why would he spend seven hours with you if it were?"
"I mean, we agreed to work on the friendship." Kurt said.
I really don't want to get my hopes up and mess this up…
"Do you know how long the conversation lasted when Eric cheated on me and we almost broke up?"
"How long?"
"Thirteen hours. Well, technically fifteen. My parents made him leave when they went to bed and he came back two hours later." Alec said. "If I hadn't wanted to work on it, he would have been gone in less than one."
Kurt bit his lip.
"You don't spend long hours with exes unless it means something, Kurt. Seven hours is a long time." Alec paused. "See? Letting him come to you worked."
Kurt bit his lip harder in an attempt to keep himself from smiling.
"You can smile. You can be happy about this!" Alec laughed.
"We're not back together yet. We haven't even begun to talk about problems or fixing them or anything." Kurt said reasonably. "I don't want to get excited too early. It could still backfire."
"Progress is progress." Alec shook his shoulder gently. "Let yourself enjoy the fact that you spent seven hours with Blaine and it ended on a positive note. This is what you've wanted for a really long time."
Kurt finally smiled. "I don't know what we're going to talk about Thursday but it can't get here fast enough."
"I'm happy for you." Alec's smile grew. "I really and truly hope that this works out between you two. You were a really cute couple."
Kurt's smile grew too. "Thanks."
"Come on. Let's have some ice cream to celebrate." Alec hopped up. "Do you like cookie dough ice cream? We've got that and boring vanilla."
"I'd like boring vanilla, please." Kurt stood and followed him into the kitchen.
"I think Eric's got some hot fudge sauce around here somewhere…" Alec mumbled, standing on his tiptoes and looking into a cabinet.
"I like it plain." Kurt reassured him, pulling open their freezer and pulling out both cartons of ice cream.
"Healthy eaters are so strange."
***LTC***
"I hope I never have to work for Bob again. It was horrible." Adrian plopped in Blaine's front yard the same Monday, stretching his legs out. "I don't think he realizes how much you don't know after your first year at Harvard. He was spitting off all this stuff for this guy and I to do and we'd never even heard half the vocabulary."
"I work with him Wednesday." Blaine sat by him, sighing.
"I get that an internship is supposed to be a learning experience. I do. But you can't learn if they don't tell you how to do the freaking stuff. He didn't say it but you could tell that he thought Tyler and I were complete idiots. And—oh my God—he was like 'You're the student Rivers highly recommended?' Screw that guy. I'm a good student and I earned the recommendation the same way anyone else gets a recommendation." Adrian ranted.
"Is he really that bad?"
"It's not outright rudeness but you can feel him judging you or something. I don't know. He wasn't as hard on Tyler." Adrian groaned. "It's so cool here compared to summer in Colorado."
"Ohio kind of fluctuates." Blaine frowned.
"Did you watch Big Brother last night?" Adrian perked up.
"I've never seen that."
"Oh my God. Turn off Netflix and watch it tonight. I got the channel where you can watch them from like eleven at night until three in the morning and I think I'm addicted." Adrian said.
"Can't. I promised I'd check out the GSA tonight." Blaine cringed.
"Gay Straight Alliance or Governor's School for the Arts?"
"The first. He thinks I need to meet other gay people." Blaine snorted.
"What am I? Chopped liver?"
"He goes back and forth between thinking we're secretly dating to thinking you're not even gay."
Adrian snorted. "Do I need references? Or he could go to my Facebook. If he goes back through my pictures far enough he'll see—."
"Things that shouldn't be on the internet." AJ walked up. "Adrian, why are you laying in my front yard?"
"Putting my moves on your roommate. I was hoping Wes would walk up. He doesn't think I'm gay."
"He doesn't know anything past scientific formulas, numbers, and breasts." AJ waved her hand.
Blaine snorted loudly.
"Did you hear Blaine got in a fight when he was in Ohio?" Adrian pushed himself into a sitting position, straightening his shirt.
"Wes won't shut up about it. She's heard." Blaine answered before AJ could.
"I think I would pay to see you go off on someone. I can't picture it." Adrian said. "You're so quiet and…"
Blaine arched his eyebrow.
"I was going to say short but you've gotten taller since last fall when we met." Adrian shrugged. "I was trying to think of another word to describe you."
"Adorable?" AJ offered.
"Sure. Why not?" Adrian shrugged and shot a look in Blaine's direction that clearly said, See. I told you that you were adorable.
"What's that look for?" AJ questioned.
"Nothing." Adrian shrugged. "Can you tell your mother that I request homemade fudge? The peanut butter kind and the chocolate kind."
"No because every time she sends it to you, she sends it to me. And I think it's disgusting."
"Exactly so you give it to me." Adrian gave her a sweet smile. "Please?"
"Fine." AJ sighed before going into the house after locking her car with her key remote.
They both looked up when Wes pulled into the driveway.
"Should I?"
"Do what?"
"Try to prove my sexuality."
"Please don't." Blaine laughed.
"Hi, Wes!" Adrian said, waving.
"Hello." Wes waved back, getting out of his car. "Sup, Blainers?"
"Learning about all the fun I'm going to have on Wednesday when I work with the head lawyer." Blaine sighed.
"Don't talk about it. It was horrible." Adrian groaned. The mere thought of his shift at the office was enough to ruin his good mood—at least temporarily.
"Hey… you're gay, right?" Wes asked, eyebrow arching.
"Would I spend this much money on work clothes for an internship if I weren't?" Adrian gestured at his outfit.
"Would you sit on the ground in them if you were?" Wes asked.
"Touché." Adrian looked at Blaine. "He's got me there."
"Wes…" Blaine threatened.
"The thing is… I know we were going to get dinner tonight after you get back from the Gay Club—."
"GSA." Blaine corrected.
"But this girl—."
Blaine cut him off. "Fine. It's cool."
"Really? I mean this is like the third time I've done this."
"Fourth." Blaine corrected him again. "Whatever. Have fun."
"Are you mad?"
"No. It's cool. Really." Blaine promised.
"You're the best!" Wes exclaimed. "I'll make it up to you tomorrow. I promise."
"Yeah, sure." Blaine gave a careless wave as Wes ran into the house to 'get ready.' "Are you doing anything tonight?"
"Watching Gary and his boyfriend almost go at it on the couch I bought?" Adrian asked.
"Wanna get dinner and go to the 'Gay Club?'" Blaine snickered.
"Why, Blaine, I thought you'd never ask." Adrian flung his hand to his chest. "This is all so overwhelming."
"Shut up." Blaine laughed.
"If I'm doing that, though, I'm going to go home and change out of my work clothes. What time did you want to get there?"
"It starts at seven. If we leave in half an hour we can get dinner first." Blaine suggested. "I'll pick you up?"
"And they said chivalry is dead." Adrian teased as he stood up. "See you in half an hour, Blaine."
"See you." Blaine waved and headed inside to change his own clothes.
…
"Preston Creed. I've never seen you here before."
Blaine looked up, startled, as an older guy held out his hand. He felt Adrian kick him and stuck out his hand. "Blaine Anderson. I'm about to be a second year student."
"Great! I've heard a lot about you from one of your instructors. Rosalie Maddox? She speaks very highly of you." Preston said. "I'm surprised you have enough time to come to a GSA."
"Well it is summer. That cuts down on school work substantially." Adrian muttered to where only Blaine could hear him. Not that the other guy was paying attention to him anyway. He then said, much louder, "I'm going to run to the restroom real quick. Be back in a few, Blaine."
Blaine shot him a look as he left. Traitor.
"So, why are you here exactly? Not that we aren't glad to have you. We don't have a very big GSA here, though, and it's very rare for anyone to stop by meetings during the summer… As you can see." Preston gestured where three kids were sat, two of them guys their age making out and the other a girl who looked bored.
"Truthfully? I don't really know." Blaine admitted, looking at the guy—Preston. He looked very rich, dressed in nice work clothes despite the fact that it was like a sauna outside. It definitely made Blaine, who was in shorts and a Harvard t-shirt, feel underdressed. The only thing that did make him feel better was that the bored girl was in shorts as well. "I've never actually been to a GSA before. My friend and I thought it sounded like a neat idea."
Lies. You don't even want to be here.
"Unfortunately it's not too exciting right now but it's better once classes start up, I promise." Preston said, smiling kindly. "Tell me. What kind of law do you want to go into? You look like you want to do Business Law."
Blaine cringed. "Not exactly."
"Criminal Law?"
Maybe if you'd give me a chance to actually answer, you'd figure out, Blaine thought to himself. Then he felt bad, though. This guy was only trying to be nice. Blaine really was turning into an asshole lately. "I'm interested in Criminal Law, Civil Rights, and Business Law. I think it'd be very boring to do one type of case."
"You're ambitious. I like that!" Preston said. "Have you joined any school organizations? It really helps get your name out there with instructors and other people you might come to meet. And, believe me, you meet a lot of people. Besides, you'll pick up on stuff that will make you look even better than you already do. I belong to five other ones excluding the GSA. This one I just help run for kicks."
"Which ones are you in?"
"Let's see. I joined the Coalition Against Gender Violence, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Student Bar Association in 1L. I joined the Association for Law and Police and the National Lawyers Guild in 2L." Preston explained. "Those are all in the Professional Interest category, though. They have practice organizations where you can learn and practice real life skills when you leave here and have a job, working with professionals. Harvard has tons of options. You should look into them. Do you have an internship yet?"
"Yeah. At CMJ." Blaine nodded.
"That's a great internship. They've got Robert Colloway, Brian Shepperd, and Vince Manning all of whom are big lawyers in town. How did you score that?" Preston looked impressed. "As a 1L?"
"Maddox called Robert Colloway personally."
"Wow. That doesn't surprise me, though. Hey, I better go and get started on some paperwork. We don't have enough people to have a meeting. But let me give you my number. In case you know, you have questions about after school programs, classes to take, or anything at all."
Adrian came over, looking amused as Preston put his number into his phone.
"That guy is in like five after school programs!" Blaine said once Preston gave a nod to Adrian and walked away. "Plus the GSA."
"Isn't that a tad bit overkill?" Adrian asked, leaving the room. "I'm wondering how in the hell I'll be able to balance an internship and classes. I know! He's a robot."
Blaine shrugged and followed him.
"Are you saying you'd be involved in that many committees?"
"No. Two has always been my max. In high school it was soccer and glee club."
Adrian choked on his own spit before bursting into loud laughter.
"Oh, shut up!" Blaine snapped. "I sound excellent."
"God as long as you weren't the lead sing—."
"Jealous?"
Adrian shook his head, laughing still. "No."
"It's how Kurt and I met."
Adrian quit laughing. "Aww. You met him in Glee club?"
"Well I serenaded him with Teenage Dream. Long story."
Adrian, surprisingly, did not laugh at that. "Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you."
"Yes, you were!" Blaine pointed at him. "That's rude."
"What if we're not in the same group next year?" Adrian suddenly asked.
"Nice knowing you." Blaine grinned.
"Jerk." Adrian laughed.
"You clearly weren't paying attention. The groups stay the same." Blaine reassured him. "Afraid you'll miss me?"
"Nah." Adrian shrugged. "How's your grandma doing?"
"How did—."
"AJ told me. I think she thought I knew." Adrian explained.
"My brother hasn't texted me yet today so I'm sure she's still alive."
"Ouch." Adrian cringed.
"I'm not exactly on close terms with my family." Blaine confessed. "They are actually horrible people."
"Even your brother?"
"He moved to Italy when I was a toddler. I don't know him that well." Blaine shrugged. "He seems nice enough. He tries to help me out financially and stuff to make up for not being here. But it sucks because we don't act like real brothers. I've only met his wife once and that was a few days ago."
"If I had an older brother who lived in Italy, I would not be here right now." Adrian laughed.
"The thought of going to Italy to stay with him is weird." Blaine admitted.
"Speaking of things that weird you out, my friend is trying to set me up with someone they met online." Adrian shuddered. "As in, they've never ever met in person."
"That's dangerous. You're not going to do it, are you?"
"Hell no." Adrian shook his head. "No way. I'm not desperate. I'm really not even interested."
"Why do your friends always try to hook you up with people, on blind dates?"
"I am of the opinion that love finds you. They are of the opinion that you have to seek it out. I am also a people pleaser. See where this is going?" Adrian asked.
"Do you ever have fun on them?"
"Are you asking me if I sleep with random people?" Adrian laughed.
"No! I mean legitimate fun!"
Adrian laughed again. "Sometimes but I haven't liked any of them. I already met my quota of charity dates for the summer, though." He then muttered, "Thank God."
Blaine walked in silence, not knowing what to say.
"I'm sorry, though… about your grandma." Adrian's voice was much gentler. "If you want to talk, I'm here for you. I don't know the situation or anything but… I'm a good listener."
"Thanks." Blaine forced a smile.
"How was meeting Kurt?"
Blaine groaned. "I've never wanted to get out of a place just as badly as I never wanted to leave before."
"Are you two going to work on the relationship?"
"We're going to work on the friendship and if that takes us further… then okay." Blaine bit his lip.
"You missed him."
"I hate that I do." Blaine admitted. "I don't really want to talk about it, though. I'm trying to not think about it."
"Why don't you want to think about it?"
"Because I want to text him or call him or something but I'm too afraid to… do it. We ended on good terms when I saw him in person and…" Blaine trailed off.
Adrian looked at him patiently.
"And I don't want to risk us getting into another argument and feeling hurt and confused and angry." Blaine frowned.
"But if you talk to him more, you might make things better. You two said you wanted to work on the friendship… Friends talk." Adrian said. "Talk about things that don't have serious emotional attachments. If you don't want to be his friend, though, be done with it. Make it clean cut. If you tell him you want to work on it and then just don't call, that kind of makes you a dick."
"I do want to work on it. I'm just afraid to make it bad again. I have a big mouth and I'm oblivious sometimes… Especially when it comes to Kurt."
"Kurt's got to expect it won't be sunshine and daises right away… Just like you do."
"The whole time I'm just going to be waiting for the break up talk." Blaine groaned.
Adrian gave him a sympathetic look.
"I don't like owning up to stuff I did wrong." Blaine sighed. "I think that's something I get from my father."
"Everybody messes up sometimes, Blaine. Generally break ups are both people's fault unless cheating is involved." Adrian looked down. "Kurt's apologized to you. You should probably return the favor at some point or another."
Blaine let out a noise between a scoff and a sigh before nodding. "I know. It would be easier if he was the only one to blame. Now that I've cooled down and thought about it… I really don't want to talk about it anymore."
Adrian nodded and gave a bright smile. "So… Glee Club? Really?"
"I'm done talking to you!" Blaine laughed.
"Wanna go back to the GSA? Hook up with that guy? I won't judge you." Adrian teased.
"He was just being nice." Blaine protested.
Adrian shook his head. "Maybe he is, but there are at least four people that weren't being nice."
Blaine rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to date anyone in our classes."
"He's not in our classes. And I mean, with all those clubs, he'll probably end up President one day. May as well get in good with him now."
Blaine, who saw they were now in front of his house, turned to walk up his driveway.
"Hey, Wes!" Adrian called as he waved. "Blaine just met the man of his dreams! You should ask him about it!"
"Go home, Adrian!" Blaine called.
"Wait, what?" Wes looked between them.
"He's gonna be President one day!" Adrian said.
"Oh, good. He can reduce the taxes on fast food." Wes grinned. "I approve, Blaine."
Blaine stepped into the house, letting the door slam behind him. He then rolled his eyes when he heard both of them laughing.
Why on Earth had he ever introduced those two?
***LTC***
The drive to Lima had been obnoxiously long and it took everything in Kurt to keep from falling asleep.
Never again, he vowed as he moved himself into a laying position on his father's couch. Never again would he drive from Ohio to New York. Honestly, a plane ticket probably would have been cheaper anyway.
"What were you about to say, kiddo?" Burt asked as he came into back into the living room, two drinks in his hand. He set one on the coffee table by Kurt ("Use the coaster, Dad!") and then sat in his reclining chair.
Normally, he'd be watching television on a Wednesday night. He hadn't seen Kurt in a while, though, and he damn sure wasn't going to waste the first night with his son watching TV.
"I saw Blaine." Kurt answered, sitting back up and taking a drink of his ice water.
"Whadda ya mean, you saw Blaine?" Burt looked surprised.
"We met half way between our schools on Friday." Kurt explained.
"Are you two back together? This is the kind stuff you gotta tell me, kid!"
"No." Kurt said quickly, before his father could get too excited. "We're not back together. We did have a nice day together, though, and that's enough for now."
"Well what'd he say? What'd you say?" Burt asked eagerly.
"We have decided that we're going to work on our friendship and work through some of our bigger problems before we get in a relationship." Kurt said calmly, as though it was rehearsed. Which it was. These kinds of talks, Kurt was learning, needed preparation. "But it was a really good day, Dad. We both miss each other a lot and if we play our cards right… Then I think we'll be okay."
Burt's face broke into a grin. "This is great, Kurt. This is real great!"
"Don't get your hopes up." Kurt interrupted. "The last months were really bad. There's a lot we have to work through… some of the things we need to work through were happening for years. It could be a while."
"I don't care how long it takes. I'm just happy that you boys are working at it." Burt's face did not falter, not even a bit. "What you two have is special, Kurt, and I've been saying it as long as I can remember. You two are gonna make it through this and you're gonna go all the way together. A dad knows these things."
Kurt laughed a bit. "I'm glad you're happy but… I don't think this is going to be fast."
"That's alright, kid." Burt shook his head a few times. "It's alright because you two are going to be a better couple after this. You two got serious way too soon. It's why I tried to get Blaine to go back to UK back then. You were only kids and dealing with adult problems. You two will be better prepared to deal with your issues now and you'll have fresh ground to start on."
"What on Earth are you getting so loud about, Burt?" Carole asked in a hushed voice, coming into the living room. "Melody's just gone to bed."
"Kurt and Blaine are working things out."
"Dad, that's not what I said." Kurt said quickly.
"Really?" Carole asked excitedly. "Oh, Kurt!"
"We're focusing on the friendship right now. That and working on our problems." Kurt explained.
"They went on a date."
Carole's eyes lit up.
"It wasn't exactly a date. It wasn't a date at all. We just talked." Kurt said. "And hugged… and I kissed his cheek… But it wasn't a date."
"I'm so happy!" Carole exclaimed. "Of course it's good that you two are going to work through your problems first. It'll be a longer process but will help in the long run."
"Tell him this is a good thing!" Burt encouraged.
"I know it's a good thing. I don't want anyone to make more out of it than it is, though." Kurt said quickly.
"We're not." Carole reassured him. "We're just happy. You two used to be so happy and we want that for you boys. We want our boys happy."
Kurt smiled.
"Y'know, Kurt," Burt cleared his throat. "I'm glad you brought this up because I've been meaning to talk to you about somethin'."
"Okay?" Kurt asked, turning his attention from Carole to his father. "What is it?"
"In September I'm going to some mechanic's convention. Not mandatory but they're addressing some pretty neat stuff." Burt began. "So I was thinking I could come up and visit you."
"Of course you can." Kurt said, nodding.
"Here's the thing, kid. I wanted your permission to see Blaine too. If you don't want me to or if you think it'd be too hard on him or you… then I won't bring it up." Burt made eye contact. "I won't be upset if you don't want me to."
"No, Dad. It's fine." Kurt shook his head. "I already told you all. I want you to talk to him. I know I wasn't the only one close to him."
"You're sure it's okay?" Burt questioned.
"I'm positive… As long as you see me first. And stay the night with Quinn and I. You'll be coming to see me anyway and you won't have to pay for a hotel. I can show you around Parsons. It'll be great!"
"I told you he'd be okay with it." Carole said, reaching over and squeezing Burt's hand. "Your dad worries about the silliest things sometimes."
"Oh, believe me. I know." Kurt smiled and relaxed against the couch, feeling tired but good—happy. He felt happy.
Soon he would be starting at Parson's, he knew he'd see his Dad within the next five or six weeks, his internship would be starting in a little over two weeks, and things were starting to look up between he and Blaine.
For the first time in a long time, he felt good.
And that was great.
[WARNING/SPOILER ALERT]
And, as a very advanced warning and SPOILER ALERT, in Chapter 16, Part Two there will be a TRIGGER WARNING posted for rape/date rape/attempted date rape. Anything in that vicinity. If you do not feel comfortable reading that, please skip 16.2 and just start up again at 17. Any mention of what occurs in 16.2 will have a spoiler alert/trigger warning as well but anything past that will only be discussion. I am posting this so far in advance because I don't want anybody to be taken by surprise. This warning will be posted at the end of every update up to that chapter and at the beginning of 16.2. And I will be moving up the rating of this story as a result of the upcoming chapter as well.
Again, thank you all. Sorry for posting a spoiler but... trigger warnings are important. I would rather spoil something than trigger somebody.