There was a double page spread of photos from Kurt's loft in Bushwick. Blaine loved the place, he couldn't really argue with Kurt about that. What he absolutely hated was the neighbourhood. He wished they could somehow move the loft somewhere safer but it wasn't possible. And Kurt was very reluctant to move out. Blaine was glad that they at least had the pictures from Kurt's previous home. No matter how dangerous living there might have been, it still held some precious moments of their early relationship…

"I want you to go and look at that one," Blaine pointed his finger at the ad in newspapers. "It sounds really good."

"Every apartment we've been to this past two months sounded good even though they sucked in reality."

"Kurt, why do you have to be so difficult?"

"I'm not difficult. I can tell the place is small."

"You are not going to find a new apartment if you keep looking for enormous space!"

"I'm fine with the apartment I currently live in." Kurt reminded his boyfriend, already tired with the topic of their conversation. He came to hang out with Blaine and enjoy the quiet evening with dinner and movie on his couch. He surely didn't sign for apartment hunting. Again.

"But I'm not!" Blaine huffed and folded his arms on his chest. Kurt hardly saw Blaine upset or demanding. In Kurt's eyes, Blaine was the sweetest - I need to please everyone - guy and he never made any requirements.

"Hey, what's up, baby?" Kurt asked softly.

"You know your dad hates that you stay in Bushwick! You know I hate that you are still there and you keep looking for faults in every place I suggest! You don't even try to see the bright side of it! I'm worried about you every time you stay out late! I wait until you text me that you're home before I can go to sleep! And I know that you've been on your own long before we got together but it's the way it is! I can't help but worry about you and I would much rather have you in a small place somewhere safer than in a big loft in the neighbourhood you live in now! It's been two months and you didn't like a single one, Kurt! At this rate you are going to graduate from NYADA before you move out from that hole!"

"Blaine, when we have a gig I don't come home before at least midnight…Why the hell are you awake waiting for my text?"

"Last Tuesday I was up until three." Blaine murmured.

"Shit! Blaine, why didn't you tell me? I thought you wanted me to text you so you would know in the morning that I'm safely home. I had no idea you waited for my messages!"

"Well, I do. I thought it was obvious."

"You really worry about me that much?"

"I'm afraid something is going to happen to you...You say that nothing has ever happened but I feel like it's just a lucky coincidence with the neighborhood your building is in." Kurt wrapped his arm around Blaine's shoulders, running his fingers up and down Blaine's arm while Blaine snuggled into his side.

"I promise to be more open minded when it comes to finding a new apartment for me."

"Thank you."

"Why didn't you tell me that it upsets you so much?"

"Because I didn't want to sound controlling or whiny...I respect your independence and...never mind…"

"And?" Kurt prompted sternly.

"You said your ex was a whiny bitch...I'm nothing like him...I didn't want to give you a reason to compare us…"

"Blaine," Kurt cupped Blaine's cheek to make his boyfriend look at him. "You're right. You are NOTHING like him. I would never compare you two. He was too much for me. He put everything he had into our relationship too soon and it slowly sucked him in. He didn't have life outside of us and it became a big problem. He expected me to be with him 24/7, he hated when I hung out with my friends, he didn't like my band. He just wanted to keep me in a cage. You worrying about my safety is completely different thing."

"Why did you stay with him for almost a year then?"

"He was my first boyfriend and I liked him enough. We had fun in the beginning. It was thrilling and exciting. He was sweet and he made me feel loved. I thought I could fall in love with him. When he turned into a lunatic, I felt badly for him and I didn't want to break his heart. I was taught to work on a relationship before giving up, so I tried to make it better. I broke things off when I came to the conclusion that there was no way I was ever gonna love him the way he loved me and that he would be better off without me. He wasn't happy. He demanded what he was giving into our relationship back but I wasn't able to give it to him. There wasn't a balance between us."

"Is there a balance between us?" Blaine dared to ask.

"For me, there is. I hope you feel the same."

"I do."

"Whatever bothers you, I need to know. It's the only way to make this work. And I really, really want us to work."

"Me too." Kurt smiled at Blaine's response. He slowly moved forward, capturing Blaine's lips with his own.

"Can we forget the new apartment for a while and maybe make out before I have to go?" Instead of the answer, Blaine pushed Kurt down onto the sofa and got on top of him, meeting Kurt's hungry mouth in a heated kiss. Everything could wait when his boyfriend's hands were roaming up and down his back and their lips were sealed together until they hurt.

The following week was very strange. Blaine couldn't put his finger on it. Seemingly, everything was fine. Except it wasn't. Kurt kept finding reasons to not to see Blaine after school, rejecting his offers to go to band practise with him or at least having dinner with him after the practise. At school, Kurt was the same as before. They had coffee every day, walked around campus between classes or went to wander the city when their break was longer. They held hands and the amount of kisses Kurt endowed him with was nothing out of order. Still, Blaine felt like he crossed the line when he pushed Kurt into finding a new place to live.

When Kurt cancelled their Saturday shopping trip, Blaine knew something was very wrong. He spent the day wondering how much time it would take for Kurt to break up with him. Sam tried to cheer him up but even Star Wars fanfiction that always helped didn't fulfilled its purpose. Kurt didn't call him the whole day and all Blaine was left with was a short text after midnight saying to meet him at the address stated at three the next day.

Blaine obediently went to face his destiny. What else was he supposed to do? He slowly walked to the street Kurt assigned him to. It wasn't more than twenty minutes from his house and Kurt was already waiting on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building. There was no coffee shop around, nothing where they could sit down and talk and Blaine was at a loss as to what exactly they were doing there.

Kurt kissed him sweetly, as every other time, to say hello. He looked tired but his eyes were beaming. He didn't have the vibe of someone who was about to end a relationship and Blaine relaxed completely when he took his hand and led him inside.

"Are we going to see an apartment?" Blaine asked after they entered the elevator and Kurt pushed the button for fifth floor.

"Kind of…"

"Kind of?"

"You'll see." Kurt told him with a big smile and tugged him closer to wrap his arm around Blaine's waist. "I missed you so much this week, baby. I'm sorry we didn't get to go shopping yesterday but I'll make it up to you."

"It's okay. You were busy." Blaine dismissed it immediately, not ready to go into the topic that might not end well. The elevator reached their destination and Kurt dragged Blaine out of it, down the hall, in front of the dark brown wooden door with number 504 on it. Kurt took out a key from his pocket and opened the door, motioning Blaine to step inside.

He found himself in a room that served as kitchen and living room if the small kitchen counter with two barstools and a couch with a coffee table opposite the wall with TV was any indication. There was a coat-rack on his left side and that was it when it came to furniture. The windows were big, though, so the room was light and warm.

"It's nice." Blaine said and looked at Kurt expectantly. "Isn't that your table from the loft?"

"It is. Open the door next to the rack." Blaine did as he was told. What he saw was everything he needed to confirm his suspicion. Kurt's bed with his bedside tables was standing in the middle of the room with a sliding wardrobe on the wall on its left side and windows on the wall on its right side. Blaine couldn't believe it.

"Kurt, you moved out from the loft?"

"I did."

"How? When? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to do it on my own. I saw this apartment on Tuesday and I knew it was the best I was going to get. So I signed the contract and told my old landlord. I moved in for good yesterday. It was a mess with all the boxes and I needed to clean it up before I was ready to show you."

"After two months of 'nothing is good enough' you moved out of the loft within a week?" Kurt simply nodded and took a seat on the couch. Blaine followed his lead, ready to hear the story behind such an impulsive decision.

"You are very important to me, Blaine. You know that, right?"

"Of course. But..."

"But?" Kurt raised his eyebrows, prompting Blaine to continue.

"You shouldn't have moved out just because of me."

"I didn't know me staying in Bushwick was affecting you so much. I think I underestimated the situation. I felt safe there because I got used to things that I shouldn't have gotten used to. I didn't understand why you and my dad were so forceful with me moving out of there. After our talk last week, I put myself in your shoes. I imagined how I would feel if you were the one living there, and I knew I had to find something else. Something better. I would go crazy if I was to send you home from our date to Bushwick. It never really occured to me how protective I am of you. And it's natural that you are protective of me. I'm not going to let you worry about me more than necessary. You don't do that to me and it's not fair of me to be selfish and do that to you. Also, I like this place. It's a lot smaller than I used to have but at least every room has walls."

"I don't want you to regret this…" Blaine said quietly. Kurt took his hand, stroking his palm with his thumb.

"I won't. I'm just a few blocks from you. I already love this apartment more than the loft."

"We've been together for a little over three months, Kurt. I don't think it was wise to base your decision on this."

"Well, are you planning to break up with me anytime soon?" Kurt asked carefully.

"No!"

"Then we are in for the long haul, Blaine, and I believe I based my decision on the right things." The silence fell on them for a couple minutes. Blaine needed some time to process what Kurt told him and his boyfriend knew him well enough not to say anything until Blaine spoke first. Blaine realized, once again, that he fell hard for Kurt and there was no way back. And he was going to do his best to be everything Kurt needed because there was no way he would willingly give up a guy who made him feel so precious and cared for.