Kurt all but drives Blaine crazy in the days that follow the change in cocktail: every single sniff, every little cough is analyzed and re-analyzed until Kurt is rest assured once again that the Kivexa wasn't to blame, and so it is hard to tell which of them is more relieved when Blaine seems to be finally getting the upper hand in battling his cold by the time the semester ends. It doesn't stop Kurt from fussing though, and making both Gary and Ben promise to keep an eye on Blaine when he drops the three of them off at the Andersons' house for the Christmas holidays. It hardly matters he'll see Blaine the next day for the Christmas Spectacular - just the idea of letting Blaine out of his sight for any amount of time makes him feel queasy. Staying at the Andersons is hardly an option, however, and after a quick kiss and a final promise of Blaine to let Kurt know if anything should happen, Kurt forces himself to leave Blaine in the care of his brother, and start the last part of the drive on his own.

It's almost another hour later by the time Kurt parks the car in front of his dad's house, exhausted and wondering why on earth he had opted to drive again. Not that he would ever consider flying - between the hours he would have to spend waiting at the airport, the problems he would inevitably run into during security checks -he still hasn't forgiven them for confiscating his hippo brooch when they'd gone to Nationals senior year- and having to ask his dad to pick him up, he'd much rather spend a nine hour drive in the company of the Anderson brothers. But time and time again he underestimates exactly how tiring it is, and so it's with a deep sigh that he heaves his trolley out of the trunk and walks up to the front door, ringing the doorbell just once.

"Oh honey, I'm so glad you're here! How are you? Did the drive go well? I hope the roads weren't too bad? I really wish you wouldn't insist on driving every time, I keep telling you: it's no problem for us to go get you at the airport, you know?"

Carole hugs him tight even as she's rambling and fussing over him but Kurt happily lets her, glad to be home, letting himself be escorted to the living room as he assures his stepmother that he's good, that the roads were okay, and that he survived the trip just fine. He doesn't mention how the Andersons had made the trip more bearable by occasionally taking over the wheel though - he still hasn't decided how he's gonna break the news of his new relationship status, but he does know it's not something he wants to discuss after he's spent a whole day driving; for now he just wants to enjoy being back home with his family, and he's not about to risk even the smallest of discussions by mentioning Blaine.

He's barely entered the living room when he gets pulled into his second bone-crushing hug in as many minutes by his dad, and immediately after a third from Finn, who Kurt can't help but stare at, holding him at arm's length to look at him properly as soon as they pull away from each other. It's been only a couple of months since he last saw his stepbrother, but once again Finn's changed, his skin even more tanned and his pants and t-shirt hugging his body yet a little tighter, and Kurt can't help but think back of his sixteen year-old self and how he would have reacted to the man in front of him: with his short military haircut -and really, Kurt should be used to that by now- Finn looks even more imposing than he already was, the confidence the army has given him clear even just from the way he's holding himself now.

"You're looking good," Kurt says with a smile, and then, when Finn looks at him a little apprehensively: "Not in a gay way."

"Oh - no, that's not- I don't... it's... I mean..."

Finn's all but falling over his words in his haste to correct himself, and if it wasn't so painful to watch Kurt would probably find it endearing. Finn is honestly trying, he knows, even if he's not always politically correct in his words or actions, and so Kurt quickly helps him out of his misery by placing his hand on his arm with a small, reassuring smile.

"So, the military is good for you, is it?" he changes the subject, and to his relief Finn takes the bait, nodding enthusiastically.

"It's awesome! We're having so much fun. I mean - yeah, it's hard sometimes, but we pull each other through, you know? And I got to retake the ASVAB and I got 103 on the ST so after Christmas I can finally start my health care specialist AIT!"

Finn's beaming and so Kurt beams along with him, congratulating him even though he honestly has no clue what Finn has just told him. What he does understand, though, is that after his rather disastrous attempt at community college last year Finn seems to have finally found his place, and so Kurt gladly lets him babble, nodding here and there until Finn cuts himself off.

"Dude, where is Blaine?"

For a split second everybody in the room freezes; except for Finn, that is, who's craning his neck to look over Kurt's shoulder into the hallway as if he expects Blaine to show up there any minute, and it's all Kurt can do to pray that his stepbrother's sudden interest in Blaine is purely coincidental.

"He... eh... is with his-eh... his family," he says -or rather, stutters-, and he curses himself for his lack of eloquence as he makes his best 'please drop the subject' eyes at Finn. Finn who had been away on Basic Combat Training in the spring when everything with Blaine had gone down. Finn who had never been told the details of Kurt and Blaine's break-up.

Finn who has absolutely no idea why Kurt and Blaine's happy reunion might be a sensitive subject in the Hummel-Hudson household.

"But Rachel said you guys were back together?"

The words hit Kurt like a bomb, and if the atmosphere in the room had been strained before it was nothing compared to the tension that floods the room now. Kurt can feel his dad's eyes practically burn a hole in the side of his head and from the corner of his eye he sees Carole place a calming hand on his dad's arm, but all of that goes right by Finn.

"I was looking forward to playing Last Of Us with him," he says unhappily, and Kurt forces himself to keep his attention focused on Finn.

"I'll eh... ask him if he can come over some time this week, all right?" he tells him, lifting the corners of his mouth in a facsimile of a smile but fortunately Finn seems to buy it, his face breaking open in a wide smile as he pats Kurt on the shoulder with an enthusiastic 'Thanks, dude!'.

After that, it takes Carole barely two minutes to find an excuse to get herself and Finn out of the room, leaving Kurt standing behind the couch with one very angry looking parent beside him.

"So..." his dad drawls, staring hard at Kurt. "You two back together, huh?"

Trying to deny Finn's statement will only make things worse, Kurt knows, but still he needs more than one deep breath before he manages to steel himself and meet his dad's gaze.

"Yes," he finally croaks. "Yes, we are."

"And you didn't think it was necessary to inform your old man about this?"

His dad's voice is shaking from barely withheld anger, but it's the underlying tone of hurt and disappointment that makes Kurt feel sick.

"I was going to tell you, dad," he pleads, "I really was. I just... there just never was a good moment for it."

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long since you started dating again?" his dad repeats, and Kurt closes his eyes for a moment, taking another deep breath.

"November 17," he says -whispers, almost- as he turns his gaze to the floor.

"You're meaning to tell me you've been dating that bastard for a month and you haven't found a single moment, not even in the three days you were here for Thanksgiving, to tell me that?" his dad asks, his voice dangerously low. "Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Dad, please-"

"No, Kurt!" his dad explodes. "No! You were purposefully keeping this from me and we both know why!"

"Because I knew this was how you were going to react!" Kurt immediately yells back. "I knew you wouldn't understand!"

"Then explain it to me! Explain to me how you can date someone who ruined your life once already, and who is very likely to do it again!"

"He didn't-"

"He lied to you, Kurt!" his dad thunders, not giving Kurt the chance to try and defend himself. "From the day he met you until the morning he dropped you at that hospital he lied to you, every single day!"

"He was just trying to protect me!"

"Protect you?" his dad huffs, laughing humorlessly. "What are you talking about, 'protect you'? He didn't protect you from anything, Kurt, on the contrary, he put you in danger!"

"I put myself in danger, dad! And besides, I'm fine now - nothing happened, I'm fine."

"You're dating someone who has been proven to be an untrustworthy liar! You're living with him, and god knows what else you're doing with him - Kurt, I don't know what you're thinking but you're nót 'fine'! You really expect me to sit here and wait for the next call from the hospital?"

"But I'm not gonna end up in hospital!" Kurt counters desperately. "And neither is Blaine - he's got it under control, and we're really, really careful."

"Right," his dad drawls cynically. "Because nothing ever goes wrong with medication, and condoms are 100% safe, right? Also, that still doesn't change the fact that he lied to you for years."

"Well, seeing as you've been yelling at me about it for the past ten minutes has it occurred to you that maybe he had a good reason for that?" Kurt bites back, trying to ignore his dad's first remark - he never said anything about the issues with Blaine's meds, and this is clearly not the time to bring them up either. He can't remember ever having had this heavy of a fight with his dad, and when he looks at the man across the room, shaking all over and breathing heavily, it occurs to Kurt they should probably stop shouting, because if this causes his dad to have another heart attack he'll never forgive himself.

"Look," he says soothingly after he's taken a few calming breaths, "I'm not saying Blaine didn't make any mistakes, but he's a good guy, and believe me when I say he's really sorry about what happened. But right now all you're doing is proving he was right in not telling people, you know?"

But his dad just huffs, rolling his eyes in a way that reminds Kurt that, despite their differences, Burt Hummel is very much his son's father.

"Don't make this about me when he's the problem, Kurt," his dad says grittily. "I trusted him with my only son and he paid me back with a panicked phone call on a Sunday afternoon. And I honestly don't give a damn if he's a 'good guy' or if 'he said sorry' - he could win the Nobel Peace Prize for all I care, but he hurt you worse than I ever imagined possible and he's going to have to do better than some half-ass apology if he expects me to even consider forgiving him."

The words cut deep and Kurt cringes, because after all said and done his dad is right: Blaine hás hurt him, deeper than he had ever thought he could be hurt, and no amount of forgiveness and understanding will ever erase that bare fact.

"Look, kiddo," his dad continues, rubbing his hands over his face in a clear attempt to calm himself down. "I know you're a compassionate person, and I've always let you make your own decisions. Back in high school when you wanted to ask that Dave kid to your birthday party despite everything he'd done to you, I didn't say anything. When you didn't want to move out of Blaine's apartment after Easter, I respected that, too. But this, this is going too far, and I can't let you do this. I just can't. You're my son and I love you and I can't let you ruin your life like this."

"Well then I'm sorry," Kurt chokes, sticking his chin up in the air in an attempt to keep away the tears that are pressing behind his eyes, "because you're my dad, and I love you too, but I worked long and hard to make things work with Blaine, and I won't give up on him just because you're too blind to see him for who he is: the person who makes me happier than I've ever been."

Without another word he turns on his heels and marches towards the hall, pursing his lips and holding his breath as he makes his way up the stairs and to his old bedroom, but it isn't until he throws himself face-first on the bed that he allows the tears to fall.

It isn't unexpected - he knows his dad still blames Blaine for everything that has happened, knows that it wouldn't have been realistic to think his dad would have been overjoyed with the news. He could hardly expect his dad to forgive Blaine in the blink of an eye just because Kurt asked him to, when Kurt himself had taken months to get to that point.

Still, it would have been nice if his dad had at least tried to understand, if he'd at least tried to listen to Kurt.

Kurt's sure he could make his dad see things from his perspective if he could just make him listen.

"Hey dude..."

The words are hesitant and slightly apologetic, and when Kurt turns around, wiping at his eyes and nose in a futile attempt to look a little more dignified, he sees Finn standing in the doorway, uncomfortable and awkward, more the long-limbed high schooler Kurt remembers from their Glee Club days than the toughened soldier he said hello to just half an hour earlier.

"I just... eh, wanted to apologize," Finn continues apprehensively, shifting from one foot to the other. "For- eh... well, I just wanted to apologize, I guess. I really didn't mean to get you into trouble or anything."

Kurt smiles wryly. 'Trouble' wasn't exactly the right word to describe the situation Finn had gotten him in, and for just a second he wonders just how much Finn has overheard from his shouting match with his dad. Not too much, he hopes, because one fight for the evening was more than enough already.

"It's all right," he finally sighs. It's really not, but that's hardly Finn's fault. "It's... you couldn't know. He was going to find out sooner or later anyway so... it's... it's fine."

Finn's shoulders drop in relief almost instantly, but contrarily to what Kurt expected he doesn't immediately leave, glancing down to his feet and down the hall before he turns back to Kurt.

"Do you... eh... do you wanna hang out in my room?" he finally asks, a little clumsily. "We could- eh... watch a movie, or something. If you want."

For a moment, Kurt is speechless - for all the brotherly love that's grown between them over the years, they've never really gotten much further than Kurt's late night lady-monologues over shared cups of hot milk. But here Finn is, in what can only be interpreted as an attempt to comfort him, and even if Kurt isn't exactly in the mood for a movie, anything seems better than having a one-man pity party in his bed.

"Sure," he agrees, and it would've been worth it just to see the stunned smile on Finn's face, as if he'd been trying to do something good but hadn't expected it to actually work. "Sure, let me- eh... just give me a second, okay?"

Finn nods happily, shooting Kurt another smile before he turns to go to his room, and Kurt lets himself fall back on the bed, closing his eyes and counting to ten, and then twenty, as he pushes all thoughts of his dad and their argument out of his head. He knows they'll have to continue their conversation some time -and sooner rather than later if he doesn't want to spend the rest of his Christmas holidays miserable and holed up in his room- but not right now. Right now he's going to allow Finn to distract him with some random movie and pretend to love it, and as he heaves himself off the bed he grabs his cell phone to shoot a quick text to Blaine.

12-23-2012 19:29 - Wish you were here xx

.

Finn's already lying on his bed when Kurt enters the room, his tv showing the menu of his external hard disk.

"I didn't know what you'd like to watch," he says hesitantly, offering the remote to Kurt, "I thought maybe you'd like to choose?"

But one glance at the tv immediately makes it clear to Kurt chances are low that there's something on there that could even remotely classify as a feel-good movie in his world, and he shrugs.

"It's okay, I don't really know any of these anyway - you choose."

Finn seems both happy and extremely stressed out to have been given the honor to choose, and so Kurt smiles at him reassuringly as he settles down next to him, watching Finn navigate the menus expertly to start the movie. They're about fifteen minutes into it when Kurt feels the faint buzz of his phone in his pocket.

11-23-2012 19:50 - Well that didn't take long ;). You all right? Wish I was there too xxx

12-23-2012 19:52 - Urgh don't ask. Finn babbled, dad knows, do I need to say more? I just want to sleep. Or cuddle.
12-23-2012 19:53 - Mainly cuddle, actually.

He's barely even pressed 'send' on the second message when his phone starts ringing, and with an apologetic look at Finn he jumps off the bed, walking into the hallway before he picks up.

"Blaine?"

"Kurt?"

"Well, yeah, you kinda called me?" Kurt laughs. Just the sound of Blaine's voice already makes him feel calmer than fifteen minutes of movie time did, and he knows he wouldn't be able to keep the smile off his face even if he wanted to.

"Yeah - of course, of course," Blaine says, sounding worried. "I just - I thought maybe it'd be better to call than do the whole messaging thing. Are you alone - I mean, can you talk?"

"I'm alone, yeah - I was just watching a movie with Finn when you called," Kurt says, letting himself slide down against the wall, and he hears Blaine make a noise of surprise.

"A movie with Finn?"

"He felt really bad about babbling," Kurt explains, "he came to my room to apologize - it was kinda sweet, really. And so now he's trying to cheer me up with a movie."

He laughs when Blaine seems to choke on his breath.

"Oh dear god, that can't be good."

"It's not too bad actually," Kurt admits, a little surprised to find he actually means it, and he glances at Finn's doorway. "Ghostbusters, or something? It's kind of funny if you don't think too hard about it."

"It is," Blaine agrees. "So what happened? Was it really that bad?"

"Worse," Kurt sighs, leaning his head back against the wall. "I mean, nothing unexpected - that I'm ruining my life, that I'm too compassionate for my own good, that you're- well..."

"... a lying scoundrel who's after your virginity?" Blaine supplies helpfully.

"Something like that, yeah," Kurt says with a sour smile. "It's probably better he doesn't know I lost that card long ago... He kept on shouting and he just wouldn't listen to me. Like he's already made up his mind and there's nothing I can do to change it."

"You're his son, Kurt, he's just trying to protect you."

"I know," Kurt sighs again, frustrated now. "I know. I just... it would have been nice if he would have at least tried to be happy for me, you know?"

"I know. Do you- ... do you want me to come over? Maybe if I talk to him-"

"Oh no," Kurt immediately interrupts him, the mere thought of Blaine showing up on his doorstep enough to make his heart skip a couple of beats. "No, Blaine, please don't. He doesn't actually have a gun but I've seen him do mean things with a wrench and trust me - you really don't want to be near him right now."

There's a short silence at the other side of the line, and for a moment Kurt's afraid he might have involuntarily insulted Blaine, but then there's a heavy sigh.

"Okay - okay. Just trying to help. But... eh... you know you can always come here, right? Not that I'm too big on doing the whole 'meet the parents' thing any time soon - not that I don't want you to meet my parents either, because I do, I mean- I- anyway, what I'm trying to say is I hadn't even taken off my coat and they were already asking about you, so if you'd come over I don't think they'll mind or anything."

Blaine's rambling, but despite himself and the whole situation Kurt can't help but smile. This is by far the warmest he's ever heard Blaine talk about his mom and dad, and it's somehow comforting to know that even though he's not exactly on good terms with his own dad right now, Blaine and his parents at least might be on their way to making things right again.

"So they're still talking to you?" he asks, a little teasingly, and then, when he hears Blaine make a non-committal sound that he supposes is a confirmation: "And you're talking to them? Like, really talking?"

"I'm trying," Blaine says, unable to keep the unwillingness out of his voice, and Kurt lets out a sigh. "No, I am! I told them about Mael. And I- I told them about the Christmas Spectacular. That I'll be speaking, I mean."

Kurt's jaw drops, and he's suddenly glad he's sitting, because he hadn't expected this.

"Wow," he says, trying but failing to hide his shock. "Wow. That's... wow. So-eh... what did they say?"

"My dad actually went looking for his old camera so you can tape it for them to watch later," Blaine says lowly, but Kurt can tell he's not actually mad. "You better feign a complete inability to operate electronic equipment because there's no way any of that evening is going on tape. I'm nervous enough as it is."

"I still don't see what you're so nervous about. You'll be fine, promise," Kurt repeats for what he's sure must be the thousandth time already, even though he can almost hear Blaine roll his eyes at him. "You're going to do great and everyone's going to love you. They already do anyway."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather not think about that now," Blaine says curtly. "But say, you really don't want me to come pick you up? Because it's no problem, promise."

"No, I'm fine," Kurt says resignedly, running his hands through his hair. "I rather get ready at your place than here - your parents will be out anyway, right? And then we can leave together. I'll probably be there around one, if that's ok?"

"I was talking about right now, actually, but all right," Blaine says, although he doesn't sound convinced. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Kurt smiles. "And Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for calling..."

"Anytime. Good night, Kurt. I love you."

"I love you too. Sweet dreams."

After he ends the call Kurt lets his head fall back against the wall, giving himself a few seconds to gather the energy to get back up and go back to Finn's room, but when he does he finds that, much to his surprise, Finn's engrossed in some book while the TV's on pause.

"You didn't have to stop the movie, I would've picked up on it along the way," Kurt says, getting onto the bed again, but Finn shrugs.

"It's not nice to miss a part of a movie. Not when you haven't seen it before."

He pauses, looking at Kurt as if he wants to ask something but is not sure he's allowed.

"So... eh... was that Blaine?" he finally dares, and Kurt nods - there's hardly a reason to lie about it, after all.

"It was. I told him about the fight with my dad and he just wanted to check, make sure I was fine. I said you were cheering me up."

Finn gives him a lopsided smile at the compliment and then puts his book away -some military manual, Kurt sees now- and takes the remote.

"I just- I'm happy for you guys, you know?" he says suddenly, turning to Kurt. "I don't know why Burt is giving you such a hard time about it because I think it's really nice you found someone too - you really deserve it. And Blaine's a nice guy. I mean - I know you had some trouble before, but Rachel said he was being really positive about it so I'm sure everything is going to be okay, you know?"

He pauses for a moment and then nods once, as if to punctuate his words, before he turns back to the screen, oblivious to the way Kurt's staring at him, eyes wide and mouth open, not sure what he wants to do first: hug Finn, or strangle Rachel. Seeing as Rachel had no right telling Finn about Blaine's status -she'd already toed the line by even telling him they were back together in the first place- he really feels she should get priority treatment. But then again Finn's easy acceptance -not to mention his obvious misinterpretation of Rachel's words which is strangely endearing- is just heartwarming.

Still...

Would Finn be as accepting if he knew Blaine was HIV positive? Would he still think Blaine was a 'nice guy' if he found out what had happened between him and Kurt in the spring?

When he finds out, Kurt suddenly realizes, not if. Because Finn might be a little dense at times, he's not stupid: he already overheard one argument between Kurt and his dad, and all it would take would be one question for his dad -or Carole- to tell Finn the whole story - from their point of view. Which leaves Kurt little choice.

"Finn... ," he starts. There's a very good possibility he will regret it, he knows, but he can't risk Finn finding out about this any other way. And really, Finn deserves to hear this from him - they are brothers, after all.

"There's... eh... something I need to tell you," Kurt continues hesitantly, trying to ignore the expression of curiosity and apprehension that appears on Finn's face. "It's about Blaine. And me."

"It's not going to be a sex talk, is it?" Finn blurts out immediately, his eyebrows raised. "Because, I mean, Rachel explained to me how it works with dudes but I don't think I really want to know what you and Blaine-"

"No, Finn," Kurt sighs, though he can't hold back a small smile. "I promise I won't talk about sex."

Much, he supplies in his own head - he won't be able to tell this story without at least mentioning it, after all.

Finn seems to be able to read his mind, though, because he looks only mildly reassured.

"So... what do you want to talk to me about?" he finally asks, and it's only then that Kurt realizes they've been sitting in silence for quite some minutes.

The problem is there's quite a big difference between deciding to tell Finn, and actually telling Finn - how to say it or where to start. Suddenly Kurt remembers Blaine scalding him when Kurt had accused him of being a coward for not wanting to tell others about his status. But he'd been right, Kurt realizes now: there simply is no good or easy way of breaking this news to anyone.

"I-eh... it's about Blaine," he says, looking down at his hands, and when he looks back up, he can see Finn watching him, the apprehension on his face replaced by worry.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" he asks. "Because I can rally Puck, and Sam, and- no, not Sam, he's still in Australia, right? But Puck's here, and there's me, and-"

"Thanks, but that really won't be necessary," Kurt interrupts him before he can get carried away too much, although his heart swells a little at Finn's eagerness to come to Kurt's rescue if needed. "He didn't hurt me. Though I guess that depends who you ask."

The last sentence is whispered under his breath, and Finn frowns a little, but he doesn't comment on it.

"Finn... do you- do you know what HIV is?"

The question clearly takes Finn by surprise, but he nods nonetheless.

"Well yeah," he says. "We learned about it during first aid. You get it from, like... sex. It's why you always have to use condoms, even when the girl is on birth control and everything. It's really nasty, like, once you have it it never goes away, and you have to take a lot of pills."

"Exactly," Kurt says, heaving an inward sigh of relief he doesn't have to explain that part anymore, at least, and at the same time bracing himself for the rest of the story. "Well... eh... remember- remember when Rachel told you Blaine was being 'positive'? She... she didn't mean that he was being positive about us. What she- Finn, what she meant was that... Blaine, is positive. HIV positive."

Kurt can almost pinpoint the exact moment when the implication of Kurt's words sinks in with Finn.

"Wow," Finn says, sounding almost astonished. "Wow. That's... that's not good. That's... wow. I mean- he- you- oh-god-you're-positive-too-now-aren't-you!"

"I'm- what? No! I-" Kurt starts, bewildered, but Finn doesn't even give him a chance.

"That's why Burt was shouting at you before, isn't it? That's why he's so angry with Blaine - because Blaine made you sick and so you broke up with him but you couldn't find another apartment or another boyfriend because it's too dangerous to have a boyfriend with HIV so you had to start dating Blaine again and yo-"

"STOP IT!" Kurt yells -actually yells-, and in an instant Finn is silent, watching Kurt with almost fearful eyes while Kurt himself is panting heavily, trying to get himself back under control after his outburst. But the connection Finn so spontaneously made hits just a little too close to the truth, and in that instant Kurt knows he has no choice: he can't just stop here - he has to tell Finn everything.

And so he does.

He tells Finn about the day he met Blaine on the staircase and 'Teenage Dream', about falling head over heels for the boy with the long eyelashes and the velvet voice, about confessing his love and being turned down. He tells him about Blaine being sick and about Jeremiah, about the happiness and elation he felt when he found out Blaine returned his feelings after all, and the confusion and hurt that followed when that didn't translate in the happily ever after he'd dreamed of. He talks about his senior year without Blaine, about getting over him and moving on only to fall even harder and faster when he went to New York and moved in with Blaine. He talks and talks and Finn listens, smiling here and there as Kurt recalls with a barely concealed quiver in his voice how he and Blaine finally got together, the happy memories of that period now tainted with everything that happened afterwards.

He tells Finn everything, not even leaving out Blaine's initial aversion to anything sexual and his own frustration about that, but when he gets to the part about the party even a deep breath can't keep him from stuttering and tripping over his own words.

"So... Blaine was drunk," Finn recaps when Kurt pauses for a moment, and Kurt nods. "But you weren't."

"I wasn't," Kurt confirms, before continuing a little more hesitantly: "And I kind of took a little advantage of that."

It takes a second, but then Finn's eyes widen.

"I was frustrated, all right!" Kurt says defensively before Finn can say anything, "and he was drunk and willing and I-... I-..." He takes a breath. "I blew him..."

He's whispered the last sentence, but to his surprise Finn doesn't really react to the reveal. Until Kurt finishes the sentence.

"... and I swallowed."

"You whát?" Finn exclaims, equal parts shock and surprise. "K-Kurt, why would you do that? That's not safe, even I know that! I mean, you should've used a condom in the first place, but even if you didn't... Kurt, that guy has HIV!"

"Well I didn't know that, did I!" Kurt shouts back, watching as Finn opens his mouth to reply and then closes it again awkwardly. "I didn't know, Finn! Where in my story did I tell you about Blaine disclosing to me?"

But Finn remains silent, looking at Kurt with his jaw slightly dropped, and Kurt continues.

"Exactly. He didn't. He never told me, Finn, I didn't know. And yeah, I should have known better, yeah, I should have used a condom. But I didn't."

"So you are HIV positive too, now," Finn says, and Kurt shakes his head.

"The next morning when Blaine woke up he took me to the hospital once he realized what happened, and they got me on therapy. If you've been exposed to HIV you can lower your chances of getting infected by starting up therapy within-"

"-within 72 hours," Finn finishes Kurt's sentence for him. "I know, our first aid teacher told us. So... you're all right?"

"I'm all right," Kurt confirms, making a mental note to send a thank-you note to whomever it was that decided that HIV/AIDS education should be part of the military first aid curriculum.

"But you still broke up with him."

There's a few seconds of silence before Kurt replies to Finn's unspoken question, and he sighs.

"It was just a really hard time for me. Finding out that Blaine had HIV, that I could have it too, that Blaine hadn't told me about it... I felt like he didn't trust me. Like I had made a mistake trusting him. And I... I just needed some time to process it all."

"And you've processed it now?"

Kurt nods, but from the way Finn's looking at him he can see that his stepbrother is far from convinced.

"But isn't that... I mean... aren't you angry that he didn't tell you that he was sick? Aren't you scared there's other things he's not telling you?"

"Not really," Kurt says without thinking. "Well, I was angry, of course. Very angry, even. But he... he loves me, Finn. I know that. I feel it every time he kisses me, every morning when I open my eyes and I find him smiling at me, every Sunday when he comes home from his gig and brings me flowers. He loves me, and he would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship. And keeping more secrets, hiding more things, would do just that. And so... and so I know. As long as he loves me, he'll never keep secrets. He might not always tell me everything straight away. But he will. When it counts, he will."

He's never before managed to explain to Rachel or Nick, or even himself, how he can be so confident that Blaine won't repeat his mistakes, but now that he's said it out loud he knows it's true: even when his trust in Blaine faltered, his trust in their love for each other never disappeared. And as long as they have that, he knows they can make it.

Finn, however, doesn't exactly have that.

"Soo... ," Kurt tries carefully, "aren't you angry with Blaine? Or convinced he's gonna hurt me?"

Finn seems to think it over for a few seconds, but then he shrugs.

"Well, I would be angry with him, but you don't seem to be and you're smarter than I am, so that means I shouldn't be either, right? And if he really loves you as much as you say he does, I don't think he would hurt you. Not on purpose. Besides, when Blaine called you you started glowing like a lovestruck firefly who's dancing the conga. I know because that's how the boys say I look when Rachel calls me."

Kurt can't help it - the analogy makes him burst out laughing, and within seconds Finn is grinning along with him, clearly pleased with himself he managed to make Kurt laugh.

"I like those boys already," Kurt hiccups, sending himself in another giggling fit when he imagines Finn looking like a lovestruck firefly dancing the conga, and Finn immediately reaches for his cell.

"They're awesome - I'll show you! Look - this is Jimmy, but we all call him Peacock. See, first week of basic he was..."

Finn launches himself into a story about exactly how Jimmy received the ridiculous nickname, flashing through pictures on his phone, and it's only after Finn makes him gasp in horror with another story -this time about some officer running over a couple of privates with his car- that Kurt realizes they haven't talked about Blaine at all anymore. It's both strange and relieving, the way Finn reacted to the whole situation, and Kurt's not sure if it is because he hasn't quite understood what it all means for Kurt, to be dating an HIV positive man, or because he genuinely trusts Kurt's judgement of the situation over his own. Whichever it is though, it seems that Finn, at least, is on his side.

Maybe the Christmas holidays won't be so bad after all.