The Navigator pulled into Blaines driveway at almost exactly seven oclock.

Kurt didnt have Blaines number so he couldnt call him, and he wanted to give him a little more time before getting out and knocking, so he waited.

When Kurt offered last night he had expected him to decline, maybe even laugh - not that he was going to take it back now, he was actually quite pleased at the arrangement. It didnt sit well with him that someone Blaines age was having to make that commute alone. Then there was a part of him hoping the motorbike wouldnt be fixed in a day, that way hed have an excuse to spend time with Blaine outside of school. It wasnt solely because he harbored an attraction for the boy, he genuinely enjoyed his company when he wasnt being a jerk.

It took ten minutes of waiting for Kurt to grow impatient. His hand was hovering over the horn when the front door burst open. An unfamiliar boy came out of the house and slammed the door behind him. The guy looked disheveled, with messy hair and no shirt on. A window on the second landing slid open and a shirt was thrown from it, then the window was slammed shut. The stranger stomped past the navigator on his way to what was presumably his own car, got in, and wasted no time pulling away from the curb.

"Like you were even a good lay!" He yelled out the window as he whipped away.

Kurt turned and noticed Blaine rolling his eyes in the direction of the car from his front porch. Blaine just slung his bag over his shoulder, closed the front door, and made his way over to Kurts car looking unperturbed.

"What was that about?" Kurt asked, once Blaine was in the passenger seat.

Blaine barely looked at him and waved off his concern, "Dont worry about it."

Kurt didnt say anything after that but couldnt not worry about it. The events of this morning had shaken him a little. It might just have been that hed already witnessed Blaine beat the crap out of someone, getting himself injured in the process, and Kurt still hadnt completely recovered from it, but he really didnt want to see any more violence. Fighting, be it verbal or physical, made him uncomfortable. Even ten minutes after the fact his complexion was still ashen and his hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Blaine was staring at him.

"Are you scared of me Kurt?"

"No." He replied without thinking. Yes, he certainly found Blaine intimidating, and yes, the thought of what Blaine could do to him (namely his heart) did sometimes scare him, but the boy himself was just another wayward teenager. "Is this the part where you say, you should be?"

"No," Blaines lips twitched. "But you should be."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

For the rest of the day nothing was different between them. They didnt go out of their way to speak to the other in the hall and they talked only a little in the classes they shared. The only difference was that at the end of the day they met up in the parking lot and instead of turning right to go home, Kurt went left.

After they arrived at Blaines place they went straight to the garage. Rather having a button or using a keypad Blaine just reached for the metal handle on the garage door and manually pulled it up. Kurt was yet again stunned by the lack of security measures on the house. Inside the garage was plain and surprisingly tidy. On the right side there was a shelf stacked with boxes, and a punching bag was hung up in the back left corner; in the very center Blaines old Harley was laying on its side on top of an old blanket and tools were sprawled out all around it. Clearly Blaine had already attempted to fix it himself and Kurt could only hope that he hadnt done any irreparable damage to it.

"May I?" Kurt asked looking at the thing.

Blaine made a by all means gesture with his hand and Kurt moved up close for a better look. He knelt down next to it and meddled with a few pieces. When he reached for the engine a big chunk of parts promptly dropped into Kurts hands. He sucked his teeth in mild irritation at Blaines incompetency and carefully laid the part on top of the blanket.

"Whats the damage, doc?" Blaine asked from where he was leaning with his hands on his knees.

Kurt started at how close he was. He stood up and walked around to the other side where Blaine was far away, somewhere he could actually keep some semblance of professionalism, before he answered. "Well, it looks like you blew a fuse. That would have been easy to fix had you not taken apart the engine," He glanced back down. "Incorrectly I might add."

Blaine shrugged. "Ive never claimed to be a mechanic. So how long do you think it will take to fix it?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I cant tell how bad the damage is until I can take it apart." Kurt scratched his neck. "You say the engine just quit?"

Blaine looked sheepish. "I may have crashed it before that."

Kurt quickly took a mental inventory of all the things his dad made him keep in his trunk for emergencies. Unfortunately for Blaine he came up a few items short. "Ill have to come back tomorrow when I have the right tools to fix it."

Blaine sighed and stretched, momentarily clasping his hands behind his head. Kurts eyes were automatically drawn to his arms where the t-shirt was stretched tight over muscle.

"I guess that means Ill be needing another ride to school."

"Huh?" Kurt had to rip his eyes away before his brain could function properly. A ride... "Right. Of course."

"Come on." Blaine tipped his head toward the driveway. "Ill walk you to your swaggin wagon."

On the way to his navigator Kurt noticed the thing that Blaine had thrown out the window that morning and curiously picked it up. It was a dress shirt by Michael Kors, not cheap by any means. He handled the fabric delicately as he held it out to Blaine. "Hey, your friend forgot this earlier."

Blaine huffed in annoyance but took it. "Never should have let him stay over." He grumbled.

Kurt was surprised by the way Blaine was talking about the guy like a stranger, having assumed him to be a friend or at least an acquaintance, and then even more so when Blaine tossed it in the garbage like it wasnt a hundred dollar shirt.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Youre not going to return that?"

"Cant. Dont remember his name, dont care to find out."

Kurt frowned. "Wait. You let a total stranger stay the night at your house. Why?"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Use your brain Hummel." He started herding Kurt back toward his car.

Kurt instantly thought back to what the stranger had said earlier.

"Like you were even a good lay!"

Then he remembered a giant red and purple bruise on the guys throat. Kurt had certainly stared at Blaines mouth enough to realize it was roughly the same shape and size to have -

"Holy shit!" He blurted aloud, stopping dead in his tracks. He immediately clamped his mouth shut and had the humility to look ashamed. Then again, this new revelation did warrant some swearing. "Youre-"

Blaine, who had narrowly avoided walking straight into him when he stopped, stumbled over his feet again as Kurt rounded on him.

"Of a homosexual inclination?" Blaine supplied.

Kurt gaped at him.

Blaine continued, "Uranian? Queer? A Flaming Gasian? A debonair homosexual?"

"Debonair isnt not quite the word I would use." Kurt finally said.

Blaine laughed. "Im surprised it took you this long."

Kurt backtracked, "But I - you and that guy-"

"Was nothing. Picked him up at Scandals and I hope to never see him again." Blaine allowed Kurt to climb into his car, and then slammed the door behind him making it very clear that he didnt want to talk about the subject anymore. So for the time being Kurt dropped it. Though honestly, hed be lying if he said that this new revelation didnt make him smile.

"I cant believe you tried to fix the bike yourself." Kurt found himself saying for the second time that day. It was only seven, but he had gotten there an hour before to - well, he didnt have a legitimate excuse. After the previous days admission it was simply impossible to stay asleep. And he was doing Blaine a favor, who was he to complain?

"I figured it would be the same as a fixing a car. I wont make that mistake twice."

While Kurt was getting his hands greasy, Blaine stood over in the corner by his punching bag. Every now and again Kurt would hear faint thudding, indicating that Blaine was again punching (if you could even call it that) at it lazily.

Kurt paused his tinkering and gave Blaine a look of pure disbelief. "You fixed a car? Right."

"If you must know it was with my dad a few summers ago. One of his many bonding attempts." Blaine punctuated this by taking a real swing at the bag. "Also known as ways to make your kid like girls time." He threw his arms around the bag and held it still while he kneed it.

"So youre gay," Kurt took the opportunity to turn the conversation onto Blaines sexuality. A subject he was suddenly very interested in. "But Ive only ever seen you flirting with girls."

Blaine shrugged. "Its almost a quarter til. Were gonna be late."

Kurt nodded.

They got cleaned up and grabbed their things, then got in Kurts car.

"Its because I get away with stuff when they think Im actually interested." Blaine said. "To answer to your question earlier."

Blaine looked uncomfortable for some reason. Before Kurt could think too much on it though Blaine pulled the lever to recline the seat back and put his feet up on the dashboard. Kurt rolled his eyes. Not looking away from the road, he reached over and pressed the button to sit the seat back up; the chair shot up and Blaine was left doubled over in a really uncomfortable position. "Feet off my dashboard."

Blaine glared up at him, but acquiesced. Once his feet were removed Kurt released the lever and allowed him to readjust his seat.

Blaine continued where he left off. "And it works because if I have sex with someone its not going to be anyone I go to school with anyway. Besides youre the only other out gay kid."

"What youre too good to try to convert straight guys?" Kurt joked.

"I dont prey on straight guys. Dont wanna prove the stereotype."

"Blaine," Kurt looked at him seriously. "Youre a walking stereotype."

"Ouch. That hurts."

The conversation ended there when Blaine reached forward and turned the radio up. For whatever reason it had been tuned to the alternative rock station (Kurt suspected the boy in his passenger seat). Blaine closed his eyes and air-guitared the opening riff, while his feet tapped out the beat. The sound was high enough drown him out, but Kurt could see Blaines mouth moving along to the lyrics. The music seemed to be carrying him away with it. Kurt hated to burst his bubble, but -

"I hate that song." He muttered, turning it off.

"Its a good song."

"Its another overly sexualized song, with no meaning other than..."

"Copulating?" Blaine offered. "I think its a little deeper than that. The lyricist is so infatuated, and addicted to this person. He wants them so much that, hell take them any way he can." Blaine leaned in conspiratorially. "And who are you to deny such a sexy beat?"

"I still dont like it." Kurt retorted.

"You were tapping your foot."

"No I wasnt."

"You so were."

"Im a musician; I cant help but keep a beat."

"You dont play any instruments." Blaine pointed out.

"My voice is an instrument."

Blaine looked out the window and mumbled, "Just admit you like the song."

"No."

Kurt saw Blaines reflection in the window smile.

Over the next week Kurt drove to Blaines house every morning and took him to school, and then at the end of the day drove back to Blaines house and worked on the motorcycle. During those mornings he noticed a lot of traffic at the Anderson estate. Sometimes he would pull up and a guy would be taking his walk of shame, other times Blaine was the only one to leave. Kurt very much preferred the second type of morning. Every time Kurt saw Blaine with or bearing the marks of another man something unpleasant twisted in his stomach. It was too strange thinking of Blaine as a sexual being, when before he had just been the punk, the protector, a friend, and yes, definitely a flirt, but never a playboy. Of course it fit in with the whole bad boy persona, so that shouldnt have been a surprise.

As for the bike, it probably shouldnt have taken so long to fix, but Blaine was always such a distraction. If he wasnt talking or playing around then he was trying to get Kurt to explain what he was doing. Most of the time he was ignored or Kurt would simply grab the remote to the stereo in his car and amp it up (it only took a day to learn that Blaine was easy to placate and as long as he turned on the oldies station, the boy would go into own little world).

On occasion Kurt would be in a really good mood and if he wasnt too in the zone he would indulge Blaine and have him help do things as he tried to explain it. Blaine always got bored after a while and then theyd talk about anything else. A popular topic was music and people at school, but sometimes theyd go pretty deep.

One particular afternoon Kurt actually got Blaine to open up a little more and he finally learned a bit about why Blaine was there.

"That must have been awful." Kurt said after Blaine told him about moving out of his parents home.

Blaine laughed. "Are you kidding me? I was singing Billy Joel at the top of my lungs while packing."

Kurt blinked, astonished at his easy attitude on the subject. He couldnt imagine what he would do if his dad ever asked him to leave.

Kurt glanced up and saw Blaine propped up against the wall watching him. He pretended to tinker with parts and cleared his throat.

"Could you hand me that wrench?"

Blaine shrugged and walked over to the toolbox, whistling the tune to Movin Out. "This one?" He asked, holding it up over his shoulder.

"Mmhm. Hand it over."

"How about please?"

"How about give it?"

Blaine handed it over. "You know just how to make a boy melt, dont you?"

"I still dont understand why they would react like that. If you dont mind my asking."

Blaine whistled low. "Why all the tough questions, Katie? I dunno, I guess it might have to do more with my mother not being able to compromise her image and her career with my particular inclinations. You know how these things work."

"I suppose. And I still cant believe you never told me you were gay."

"I honestly thought you knew." Blaine shrugged. "So now that the cats out of the bag - or, I guess, closet - does that change anything?"

And there was the million dollar question. Did it change anything? Just because it turned out Blaine played for his team didnt mean they were suddenly in the same league, or even playing the same game apparently. It didnt mean that Kurt now had any more of a chance than he did before. Of course nothing was fixed, but then maybe some things were. It seemed Kurt wasnt the only one asking the loaded questions.

Blaine cocked his head, anticipating an answer.

"No." Liar.

"Then stop bringing it up."

Kurt had the humility to look ashamed, but the look on Blaines face said that he was only joking and it didnt actually bother him, something Kurt took comfort in.

Kurt cleared his throat. "I actually need the one with the yellow handle."

Blaine bent over the toolbox and noisily sifted through it. Naturally Kurt couldnt help but stare at the sight before him.

"I dont see a yellow one." Blaine said, looking at Kurt over his shoulder. Noticing Kurts leering, Blaines expression went from quizzical to amused.

Blushing profusely, Kurt averted his eyes and nodded. He could practically feel Blaine smirking. He ran a hand over his face in embarrassment, forgetting about the grease all over him. Gunk smeared across his face and into his mouth. Blaine laughed loudly at Kurts frantic attempts to wipe his mouth off on his shirt sleeve.

A balled up wet rag flew through the air and smacked Kurt in the face. Kurt used it to clean up then looked up and saw Blaine blinking innocently back. Blaines innocent face quickly morphed into a blur of eyebrows and fear when Kurt jumped up and went after him.

Later that evening Kurt walked into the house sopping wet and trembling, but smiling triumphantly. When Burt caught sight of the mess that was his son, he allowed him to continue upstairs to the shower and mercifully didnt mention it right then.

In the shower Kurt pulled chunks of mud from his hair with a sour face. Somehow he and Blaines game of chase had morphed into a mud fight when Blaine made good on his threat and splashed him with the water hose. Blaine had been so shocked when, rather than storming off, Kurt picked up a handful of mud and flung it straight into his gelled down locks.

Looking back, it probably wasnt their proudest moment seeing as it was November in Ohio. Being fifty degrees hosing off outside hadnt been an option, so the other solution was for Blaine to spray Kurt down while he stood in the aluminum tub that was used for Blaines ice baths. Being cold and wet in the garage hadnt been much better outside, so a cold was inevitable at that point, but Blaines filth covered body waving as Kurt drove off was worth the pneumonia.

After a steaming hot shower Kurt threw on pajamas and a soft comforter around his shoulders, then went into the kitchen for to forage for soup. There he ran back into a less than amused father.

"Care to explain all the water?" Burt asked.

"Um, a friendly argument got out of hand."

"Why were you even out that late? Youve been leaving for school early and staying late for a while now. Anything I need to know about?"

Kurt was reluctant to admit to his newfound extracurriculars, even though he had no reason to hide them. There was something about being with Blaine that just felt personal.

Burt crossed his arms. "You told me those boys were leaving you alone. Is that why youre always wearing a different outfit when you come home?"

Kurts eyes widened. "No, dad! I swear, thats not it."

"Then what is it, kid? For weeks now youve been acting different and sneaking around a lot more. I thought we were done with that."

"No ones been messing with me. Ive just been hanging out with a new friend before and after school." Kurt admitted.

Burt looked both relieved and for some reason a little flustered. "Oh. Its that. Look, kid, I dont mind you having a boyfriend or whatever, you dont gotta feel like you cant take ever bring him around. Id actually prefer it if I could meet whoever it is."

Oh. Thats why. "Dad, no. Me and Blaine arent-"

"Blaine?" Burts eyes narrowed in recognition. "Hes the one that messed up that Karofsky kid. I know what I said before about being happy those bullies are getting whats coming and all, but if this kids bad news I dont know how comfortable I am with you hanging around him."

It was Kurts turn to cross his arms. "You dont have a problem with Finn hanging out with Puck." He scoffed.

"Finn isnt my kid. Thats Caroles call. And Pucks a punk but he aint dangerous. Im not trying to dictate who you hang out with so Ill compromise. Id like to meet this kid. You dont have to bring him for dinner or anything like that; I just want to meet him." Burt said fairly.

It was by no means an unreasonable request under normal circumstances, but Kurt was unsure.

"I dont know if thats a good idea. Our relationships kind of fragile." At Burts expression, he hastily added, "Its not what youre thinking either. Hes just not super social from what Ive seen and I dont know how well he reacts to parents."

Burt laughed. "Kurt, Id be more freaked out by a kid that does react well to parents."

"I meant I dont know how well he gets on with adults. Hes decent enough to most of the teachers, but his own family..." Kurt trailed off, lost for the appropriate words to phrase this. "His parents arent really there."

"His folks are gone." Burt said simply. "Thats rough. Hes not a foster kid, though?"

"No. He actually lives by himself. I dont want to directly ask, but from what Ive gathered theyre still living somewhere in Ohio. I think they might have left him sometime this past year."

"Just be careful Kurt. I dont want to see you hurt."

Kurt shook his head. "I wont. I told you its not like that."

"Whatever you say. What are you two doing then anyway?" Burt asked.

Kurt relaxed, having gotten past the awkward part. "Oh, nothing interesting. Last week Blaine mentioned his bike being broken so I offered to look at it and taking a look turned into completely repairing his engine."

"You know you can bring it up here." Kurt could see that the offer wasnt some pretense to get Blaine to come around; it was just his dad trying to help out. It warmed his heart and suddenly he was much more appreciative of the fact that his dad owned a car shop. If anything it was convenient.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I can handle it."

He knew those words made his father proud of him and it showed on Burts face.

It wasnt that Burt didnt accept him - hed proved time and time again that he did - but it was nice finding common ground, even in something as simple as fixing cars. That at least didnt involve so much controversy.

"That a boy." Burt ruffled his hair - something only he would get away with. Having filled his parental embarrassment quota for the day Burt nodded to himself. "Alright then. Im off to the store to pick up dinner. Just dont do anything stupid while Im out."

"Same goes for you." Kurt retorted. "No junk food."

"For the record, so long as youre keeping your nose clean I dont mind you being friends with Blaine or whoever." On his way out the door Burt added, "Just dont come crying to me when that engine bursts into flames."

Moment ruined.