Kurt hopped into Blaine's car the next day, giving his boyfriend a big, toothy smile.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Hi, honey." Blaine greeted him back with the exact same expression on his face as Kurt was wearing and closed the short distance between them to connect their lips briefly.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked, amazed when Blaine pulled away.

"Kissing you hello."

"But we're outside."

"We're inside of the car."

"Yes, but we are still on the street…"

"Does that mean I can't kiss my boyfriend while we are on the street?"

"No, it just...we never do that."

"There is always a first time for everything." Blaine responded and put the car in the motion, leaving Kurt wondering what that was about.

"Tell me how the kids are doing. What song did they learn today?"

"A Spoonful of Sugar."

"Mary Poppins?"

"Yes. They kept repeating the medicine go down all over again. They didn't learn anything beside that line from the song."

"Well, you have a chance to teach them next week."

"No way! Are you crazy? If I had to listen to the medicine go down again, I would have to kill myself!"

"Have you tried songs from Oliver? The Broadway musical? I think they are less annoying than the one you've been doing today."

"That's not a bad idea, sweetie. Thank you."

"I'd do anything, for you dear, anything, for you mean everything, to me…" Blaine sang softly.

"I know that I'd go anywhere, for your smile, anywhere, for your smile, everywhere, I'd see." Kurt joined in and as soon as they finished the song, Blaine started another. He was relaxed, that much was obvious and Kurt couldn't keep his eyes off of him. There was no tension in his body and it was a rare occurrence. His eyes were shining, sending a glance full of slyness at Kurt once in a while. He reminded Kurt of a little kid who knew a secret but wasn't going to tell a thing. Kurt played along with him. He didn't demand the answers for the questions that were forming in his mind. Like why Blaine was wearing the clothes Kurt had given to him for their trip to Ohio, or why they were crossing the borders of the city.

Blaine's hand was steady on Kurt's knee for a bigger part of their drive to a nameless place they were heading to and Kurt took it now and then to kiss Blaine's palm or knuckles. Kurt wasn't sure if their date was supposed to be the drive somewhere and then back home or if there was something more waiting for him once Blaine stopped the car but he didn't mind either of the options. He could spend days driving around with Blaine and singing silly songs.

"I'd love to see you like this more often." Kurt said quietly.

"Like what?"

"At ease, without any worries…"

"I'll do my best, honey."

"I know you will."

"Aren't you gonna ask me where we are going?"

"Nope." Kurt shook his head. "You would have already told me if you wanted me to know."

"But you love to be in control. I know it must be killing you that you have no idea what's going on. Frankly, I didn't expect you to hold on for so long."

"Sometimes it's good to give up on control and let someone else lead."

"Thank you for being patient."

"Thank you for being wonderful." Blaine's lips twitched into a smile. He didn't take his eyes off of the road because he was sure his face was the worst shade of red. Kurt found it endearing that he could make Blaine blush with a simple comment. It was sweet and kind of silly but Kurt loved how Blaine would bite his lips to suppress the grin on his face so Kurt wouldn't know how flattered he was being.

"Here we are." Blaine announced and stopped the car at the small parking lot. Kurt looked around, his eyes widening in shock.

"I'm sorry?" Kurt asked, tearing his sight from the building in front of him and turning his head to face his boyfriend. "Where exactly are we?"

"We are having dinner here tonight."

"It's a diner."

"I know."

"It's a diner." Kurt repeated his previous words with more emphasis.

"Come on. You're gonna love it." Blaine got out of the car and Kurt didn't miss the change in his posture.

"Blaine," Kurt came to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I want to go inside and have dinner with you."

"Okay." Kurt resigned on asking more because Blaine was looking very uncomfortable and Kurt couldn't tell whether it was his questions or their surrounding that made him uneasy.

They walked into the diner silently. It was a small place with booths by the big windows on the longest wall. Kurt chose a table by the door that didn't look half as good as the booths but at least there were no windows into the street. He sat down and gestured at Blaine to sit opposite, with his back to the entrance.

"We could have taken one of the booths."

"I don't like eating by the window. Everyone can see what is on my plate and I feel like I'm in a showcase. This table is nice, isn't it? We have nice pictures on the wall and a bit of privacy."

"Kurt," Blaine said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "You chose the hard chairs over a big and comfy booth."

"I wanna sit here. I like this spot."

"Stop it! I know what you are doing but you don't have to!"

"What am I doing?"

"You know very well, Kurt! I don't need you to protect me or whatever this is about! You don't have to treat me with kids gloves!"

"Blaine, it's not like that."

"Excuse me, okay? I need a minute." Kurt watched him disappear in a restroom, without having a chance to say something more. Their date had been so great so far. How the hell did he manage to piss Blaine off? He was just being himself, always putting Blaine's content first. How was that a bad thing?

Five minutes passed and Blaine didn't come back. The anxious feeling in Kurt's stomach was getting bigger and he couldn't imagine how he would eat any of the food he'd just ordered for them.

Another five minutes and Kurt had enough. He marched into the restroom forcefully to get his boyfriend out of there at all costs.

"How long do you want to hide in here?" Blaine raised his eyes from the floor to look at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you want to go? Do you want to stay? Our food is being prepared but we can tell them to pack it and we can eat it in the car…"

"I wanted one day. One day when it would all be about you and not about me. And I know it's kind of pathetic that we had to drive for two hours to get here but...I could sit by the window, Kurt."

"You would be tense if we sat there. You would be on a display and you hate it. We have a nice table where no one except our waitress can see you. We can go back in there and enjoy our date. You can tell me how you found this place and we can order a cheesecake as a desert before going home. Or we can just leave if you're not in the mood anymore. I'm sorry I ruined this for you. I didn't mean to make you angry."

"I wasn't angry. Disappointed that things weren't going my way, but not angry."

"I don't know how things were supposed to go but I have to tell you that I really appreciate what you did. I love this place and I'd love to go out there and eat those burgers I ordered for us. If you feel like that, of course."

"I am a little hungry." Blaine admitted.

"Okay. Lets go!"

"This is so good." Kurt took another big bite of his burger with grace, making Blaine wonder how he was even able to do that without anything falling down on the table, or worse, on his shirt.

"I really didn't consider you for a burger guy. With your healthy diet I expected you to order something lighter."

"I love burgers. Don't eat them often, though…When my dad and Carol started dating, my dad tried to bond with Finn. They did all those father-son things he couldn't do with me and I felt left out. So sometimes I joined them when they went for burgers. It became sort of a tradition while we were in high school. My dad taking his sons for meal...It was nice."

"My dad used to take Nick, Jeff and me to model aircraft flying. We loved it. Our planes usually ended completely damaged but it was amazing."

"You and the model aircrafts?"

"Well, Nick and Jeff usually built my plane for me. With my dad. It was their father-son thing. I just enjoyed seeing it in the air…"

"Weren't you jealous? Didn't you have feelings like they could be better sons for your father than you are?"

"No. Their home life sucked. I was happy to help them have a real dad once in a while."

"Will I ever learn the story behind that? You all just say their families suck."

"It's not really for me to tell, Kurt. They don't have a good relationship with their parents. Never had. There are some issues that I doubt they could overcome. With their mothers being heartless bitches and fathers being workaholic assholes, they don't really have anything to work with…"

"So I've heard…But it's the only thing I know about the situation."

"They don't talk about it lot. Maybe one day they'll tell you. It's not that they don't trust you. They just don't talk about it much. The same way you don't talk about your past with other people."

"I talk about it with you." Kurt said as a reminder.

"I know," Blaine smiled. "And I'm glad you do."

"So how do you know about this place?"

"When we came to New York, we missed home a lot. Sometimes we needed to get out of the city and go somewhere less crowded. We made a list of possible towns not so far away from NYC that could be similar to Westerville and visited them when one of us felt homesick."

"Oh, that's sweet."

"We've been here a few times. I thought you might like it."

"I do. I haven't seen much of it but I already like it."

"They have an old movie theater nearby. We can walk there after dinner…"

"Okay." Kurt nodded, observing him closely but Blaine didn't give him any reason to think that he was in discomfort.

There was a talk Kurt dreaded ahead of them. With the information he had from Nick and Blaine's strange behavior this evening, Kurt had a big suspicion something was going on with his boyfriend. He couldn't see why Blaine wanted to make the date all about him. He didn't remember ever complaining about how they worked. Was he giving Blaine the wrong signs all along? Was his behavior misinterpreted? Couldn't Blaine pick out how happy Kurt was to be with him? How was he supposed to start the conversation? Should he do it tonight and possibly ruin their date again or wait for a better time? Would there ever be a better time for this?

Kurt tried to fill their dinner with safe topics that couldn't do any harm. He was postponing inevitable, justifying it with an excuse that the date must go well because Blaine deserved it.

Another big shock came when they left the diner. Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and laced their fingers, tugging him down the street. He continued talking to Kurt like nothing happened, tightening his grip on Kurt's hand and looking down when someone passed them by. Kurt didn't comment this time, afraid of setting Blaine off again as earlier.

It never really occurred to Kurt that love could be something that grows. As far as he knew, all the people he ever loved - be it his family, friends, or Adam - had a constant amount of the emotion from him. It wasn't something that got bigger. In Adam's case it was something that got smaller, or disappear even, but it never got bigger. But right now, walking down the street of a town he'd never been to, with the man who owned Kurt's whole heart already, he realized, that the warm feeling that came with Blaine got warmer by the mere thought of what Blaine was willing to go through for Kurt. Although Kurt had told Blaine several times that public display of affection didn't define the relationship and Kurt didn't care about it, it was nice. And Blaine did it despite all of his fear, because he wanted Kurt to have those nice moments. It was a bit overwhelming for Kurt, getting together every single little thing Blaine had done for him so far, each of them speaking volumes of how much he meant to Blaine and how far Blaine was inclined to go in order to make Kurt happy. And Kurt was just as determined to make Blaine happy no matter what.

"I can't believe you convinced me to see a zombie movie." Kurt said when they were seated in the back row of the movie theatre with popcorn and coke between them.

"It'll be fun, I promise." Blaine assured him with a glow in his eyes and Kurt decided that he could live through what was going to be a horrible movie experience since Blaine stepped out of his comfort zone to do something nice for Kurt.

"You never told me you like zombies."

"I don't. Not a fan of scary movies. But that's what they play tonight so we don't really have a choice."

"Finn would be proud of me. You have to tell him we were here or he won't believe me."

"I will, honey. Don't worry. Oh, it's starting." Kurt looked around him. There were a few people there, scattered all across the theatre. Some of them in pairs of two, some of them in groups of teenagers but overall it was nearly empty. He focused on the big screen, trying not to set against the movie before he saw it. It was hard though because he felt Blaine's intense gaze on him.

"Blaine? Why are you watching me?" He whispered after while.

"You wanna watch the movie?" Blaine whispered back and leaned closer to him.

"Isn't that what we came here for?"

"No. Not really." Kurt could see Blaine smirking in the faint light of the screen that was illuminating the room.

"I don't under - mmmmhhhhhhhhhh…" Kurt's eyes shut and he fell under the spell of Blaine's insistent lips.

"Blaine," Kurt breathed when they parted for the air. "What the hell?"

"I thought that since neither of us is really interested in the movie, we could find a better use of the time."

"What better use?"

"I wanna make out with you, silly."

"Make out?"

"Yeah. You said you've never made out in the back row of the movie theater. I volunteer to experience it with you."

"You are unbelievable! Is it safe?"

"No one can see us here. So? What do you say?"

"Kiss me!"

"Gladly."

By the time the lights went on, their lips were swollen, hair messy and Kurt's neck was adorned with a hickey.

"What do you think about zombie movies now?" Blaine asked him teasingly, taking his hand and leading him out of the movie theater.

"I love them as long you are watching them with me." Kurt replied with a wink and they slowly headed to Blaine's car parked in front of the diner.

"It's a really nice town. I'm glad you took me here."

"We can come here anytime you want. People are very liberal here. We don't have to be afraid of being ourselves like we would in Lima or Westerville. And it's not crowded so..."

"Yeah but maybe we could come earlier the next time. It'll be pretty late when we get back to New York."

"Do you have plans for tomorrow? Is there something you need to do?"

"No. Why?"

"There is a cute inn not so far away. We can stay the night…"

"I'd love to, sweetie, but we don't have any change of clothes."

"We do, actually. I packed a suitcase in case we decide to prolong our date. It's in the trunk."

"You packed us?"

"Yeah. You have pretty wide collection in my apartment. It wasn't so hard to pick an outfit for you. I also have our pajamas and all the toiletries you might need."

"Why do I have a feeling that you already booked the room?"

"I did." Blaine said sheepishly. "You know, just in case."

"I guess we are staying the night then."

Blaine entered their room with a suitcase in his hand. He scanned the room that was furnished simply but still somehow cozy. He put the bag on the floor and turned around towards Kurt who was leaning against the door, taking more interest in Blaine than the room itself.

"I know it's not much but it's a small town and you can't really find The Plaza here. And it's just for one night so…"

"Blaine?" Kurt interrupted him with a soft smile and crossed the room to stand right in front of his boyfriend.

"Yeah?"

"It's perfect." He caressed Blaine's cheek, connecting their lips in a sweet kiss. "You are perfect."

Kurt leaned forward again, kissing Blaine slowly. He gently tilted Blaine's head for a better angle and let the tips of their tongues touch but he retrieved it before the kiss could become too heated. He loved how Blaine didn't try to take control over the kiss, how he just surrendered to Kurt without any hesitation. He loved the way Blaine's heart was beating wildly, pressed against his chest. He loved that Blaine inhaled sharply through his nose, not wanting to be the one to break their kissing for something as unimportant in the moment as air. He loved kissing Blaine. He loved making him feel safe and happy. He loved him.

"We should take our coats off. It's really warm in here." Kurt said after they pulled away. Blaine nodded and unzipped his jacket, throwing it on the chair.

"You should take these ridiculous clothes off as well…"

"Shall I remind you that it's the outfit YOU put together for me in summer?" Blaine teased his boyfriend but allowed him to undress him.

"I like this outfit on you much better." Kurt responded as his eyes roamed over Blaine's naked body. He hurriedly got rid of his own clothes and then took Blaine's hand, guiding him to the bathroom. Kurt set the water and they stepped into the shower. He took a soap that the inn provided and started washing Blaine's back. He felt Blaine's muscles relaxing under his palms but he continued in his massage until he decided it was time to move lower.

Blaine stood still, enjoying the attention Kurt was giving him. Kurt's fingers running over his spine, Kurt's lips occasionally nipping the skin of his neck, Kurt's chest pressed firmly against his back while he was trying to wash Blaine's torso from behind...Blaine savoured every moment, every touch, every whispered praise and when Kurt finally turned him around, he surged forward to claim Kurt's lips in a deep and needy kiss.

He didn't know how but suddenly his back hit the wall and Kurt's hand was around his length as he took control again, forcing his smooth tongue inside of Blaine's mouth. A whimper got lost in the sound of running water but when Kurt's teeth bit on his jawline, the moan Blaine let out was audible just fine.

"So hot…" Kurt groaned, making Blaine wrap his arms around him tighter and scratch his nails into Kurt's back muscles. "God, Blaine! You drive me crazy, you know that?"

"Don't stop! Please, don't stop!"

"Oh, trust me, baby, I'm not planning to." Kurt whispered into his ear and sucked on his earlobe. "What I am planning to do is make you feel good."

"You are...oh so good, honey!"

"Can you feel me?" Kurt ground his hips into Blaine. "Can you feel how hard I am without you having to touch me? That's what you do to me, Blaine."

"Shit!"

"I know you are close. You can let go anytime you want, sweetheart." Their moaning got louder, echoing between tile walls of a small bathroom. Blaine eased his grip on Kurt's back and squeezed his ass, forcing Kurt to thrust his hips harder.

"A-almost there...faster...Fuck! Your...your hand is magic...YES! Like that! K-keep going!" Kurt sped up his movements, his eyes rolling back. He was so close. So so close but the friction between their bodies wasn't enough to make him come. He focused fully on Blaine, bringing him over the edge before he stroke himself a few times to follow Blaine into a blissful haze.

Kurt leaned into Blaine further, protecting them from falling down.

"I'm sorry." Blaine said weakly after he got his breathing under control.

"What for?"

"I didn't help to make you come."

"You did help plenty, sweetie." Kurt giggled. "Oh my god! This was incredible."

"Let's shower and go to bed. I can barely stand on my feet."

They lay down on the bed, getting under the covers and scooting closer together. Kurt was playing with Blaine's damp curls, twirling it around his finger while Blaine's hand rested on his hip bone, caressing the soft skin there with his thumb.

"Can we talk?" Kurt asked timidly and Blaine tensed immediately.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No! Not at all, sweetie." Kurt assured him.

"Then why are you so serious?"

"I loved our date, you know. God, I can't even tell you what it means to me that you've done this for me…"

"But?"

"But you didn't have to. I don't need it. I don't want you to push yourself to a point when you are not comfortable with what we are doing, Blaine. And there were times when you were uncomfortable tonight."

"I just want us to have a normal relationship." Blaine whispered and removed his hand from Kurt's hip, placing it under his head. "So you wouldn't run away too quickly."

"I really don't like that term."

"What term?"

"A normal relationship. It indicates that what we have isn't normal."

"And is it? Is it normal to be locked up in our apartments or have dinners in the finest restaurants or attend only events that are work related? Is it normal not to go out and walk the streets together, seeing a movie or just go grocery shopping?"

"Maybe it's not common but it doesn't mean it's not normal, Blaine. I love the way we work. I don't need anything to change and I kind of wonder what this evening was about? Have I ever given you any doubts that I want something different from you? Because I thought I was very clear every time I said I don't need those things..."

"You were...But...It's not even three months since we got together. You might change your mind about it...so I wanted you to know that we can have that...norm-common relationship. I have to dress up for that and we have to leave the city but we can have that."

"We can have whatever you want, Blaine. As long as it's not too much for you."

"It wasn't too much tonight. I promise. I really enjoyed myself, Kurt."

"Sometimes I feel like you are keeping things from me. Like there is something going on in your head but you won't let me in." Blaine eyes widen in fear and he stiffened even more. He gulped and casted his sight down, confirming Kurt's assumption.

"It's not like you have to tell me everything. We need our privacy and I don't expect you to share every single thought with me but if there are any doubts, I'd like to know so we could talk about it. Because...Blaine, please look at me...please, sweetie..." Blaine got into his pleading and fixed his eyes on Kurt again. They were glassy and Kurt was positive that Blaine was keeping something inside once again. He was so beautiful. Laying there, vulnerable but determined to get through this because it was what Kurt asked from him. And Kurt wanted nothing more than to tell him how much he loved him but he swallowed those words, mindful that they might put another pressure on Blaine. If Blaine was ever going to say to Kurt he loved him, it must be on his terms. Not because he felt obliged to do that.

"When you said tonight that you wanted it to be all about me and not all about you, I didn't understand. Every second we spend together is all about me, Blaine. Every look, every touch, the way you hold me close when we watch movies or how you always make sure that I'm comfortable, it's all about me. Everything you do is all about me and I'm just so happy to be with you. I can't remember when I was this satisfied with my life as I am now and it's all because of you. You are the sweetest and the nicest person I know. Even my dad can't compare to you and you know how much I look up to him. Maybe it's my fault that I've never told you this clearly enough but the way you make me feel, like I'm the most important person in the world when I'm with you, is all I need. And I'll gladly dress up with you and drive two or even ten hours out of the city if that's what you want. But please, don't do things just because you think I want them. Do it for me AND for yourself. Do it for the both of us, okay?"

"I did it for the both of us...It might not seem like that but I did. I had this talk with Nick and Jeff where Nick called me out on being a coward."

"You're not a c…"

"I am, Kurt. He was right. There are lots of people out there who have to deal with popularity and they do it. I hide but I don't want to anymore. The city is just so crowded and every time I think of going out further than the distance between the door of a building I'm currently in and a taxi in front of it, I have anxiety. And I can feel like my breathing is getting heavy and...all of the bad memories come back and I dismiss the idea of being seen in the streets. But I have to start somewhere. When we were in Lima, I wasn't so afraid. I felt oddly safe. Maybe I need to get used to smaller places before I take New York by storm."

"Whatever you need, I'm right here."

"Thank you." Blaine said sincerely and Kurt couldn't resist not to kiss him. It was chaste, just lips brushing and lingering for a while longer to spread comfort through Blaine's body. The more time he spent with Kurt, the more times he kissed him, the soothing effect came sooner. The kiss came to an end and Blaine rested his head on Kurt's chest, right above his heart instead of diving in for another one. Kurt wrapped his arms around him tightly.

"You make me feel that way, too." Blaine told him and Kurt's sped up heartbeat didn't go unnoticed if the big smile that appeared on Blaine's face had something to say about it. "Like I'm the most important person in the whole world."

"I guess I communicate some things pretty clearly after all…"