Exactly a week later, Blaine finds himself knocking on Kurt’s front door, sans Bethany for a change. He tugs awkwardly at the collar of the shirt he had ironed, hoping he looks presentable enough for Kurt’s father. Wiping away the sweat on his upper lip, he begs his insides to stop twisting into knots.

Blaine is so nervous that he thinks he might actually have a panic attack before someone opens the door.

He’s saved, however, when the door wrenches open. It isn’t Kurt, like he had expected. In the doorway stands a tall man, slightly burly but very homegrown in his puffy vest and baseball cap.

“H-hello,” Blaine stammers, holding out his hand. “You must be Kurt’s dad. I’m – I’m Blaine, Kurt’s – Kurt’s-”

“His boyfriend,” Kurt’s father finishes for him. “It’s okay, kid, you can say it.”

The man reaches out and shakes Blaine’s hand with a firm, unyielding grip. Blaine huffs out a nervous laugh, brushing away more sweat from his hairline.

“Come on in,” Kurt’s dad says, stepping back and allowing Blaine into the house. “Kurt’s still in his room, getting ready. No idea why, though, we’re just eatin’ dinner.”

Blaine settles on the edge of the sofa, hands gripping his knees while Kurt’s father sinks down into a recliner. There are boxes stacked along the walls in preparation for their upcoming move, but the place still feels like more of a home than Blaine’s house a few doors down.

“Kinda weird,” the man says gruffly, “how you two got together so fast.”

“I – I guess,” Blaine agrees. Maybe it is weird to everyone else, considering they started dating the day after they first met. But it isn’t so weird to Blaine. It feels right to him. And it must feel right to Kurt, otherwise he never would have asked Blaine to be his boyfriend.

“My kid’s happy though,” Kurt’s dad continues. “So I guess that’s something.”

“He makes me happy, too,” Blaine admits, eyes glued to his knees, wishing he had the ability to further the conversation.

“Yeah, well, just know this: you ever make him unhappy, I got friends with guns. It only takes one word and they’ll-”

“Dad!” Kurt shrieks, entering the room at just the right time. “Please don’t threaten my boyfriend with firearms!”

“I didn’t say I had a gun,” the man says.

Kurt rolls his eyes. “Blaine, this is Burt Hummel, my seriously twisted yet undeniably supportive father.”

“Nice the meethca,” Burt greets with a tip of his baseball cap before he returns his attention to the football game on TV.

“He isn’t nearly as scary as he thinks he is,” Kurt says fondly.

Blaine blanches because Burt Hummel is definitely scary, though it seems more like he’d sneak up on you when you’re sleeping and gouge your eyeballs out of your head rather than put a bullet through your brain.

“R-right,” Blaine stutters.

“Come on, we’ll go finish dinner.”

Grateful for the chance to be out of Burt’s presence, Blaine leaps to his feet and follows Kurt into the kitchen that smells absolutely delicious. Massive bowls are already filled with lettuce and various other vegetables, ready and waiting on the counter.

“Chicken salads tonight,” Kurt explains, opening the oven. “I have to make sure my dad eats healthy because of his heart.”

“His heart?”

“He had a heart attack last year. He was in a coma for a couple of days. It was…rough.”

“I’m sorry,” Blaine says softly, watching Kurt set a pan full of chicken breasts on the stovetop.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Kurt says quickly. “He’s alive and that’s what counts. But ever since then it’s been mine and Carole’s job to make sure he eats better than he used to.”

“And Carole’s your stepmom?”

“Yeah. She and Finn should be home soon, actually. You’ll get to meet the whole family tonight.”

“Oh,” Blaine says meekly. “Great.”

Kurt turns, setting aside an oven mitt and leans over to place a soft kiss on Blaine’s lips. “They’ll love you. You don’t need to be scared. I promise.”

“Your dad already wants to shoot me,” Blaine squeaks.

“That’s just…him showing that he cares. He likes you just fine, I promise.”

“He’s definitely not impressed by us getting together so soon.”

“I’ve already explained that to him.”

“…What did you say?”

“That I fell for you instantly and that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks because our relationship is between us and no one else.”

“Oh,” Blaine replies, voice breathy and heart light. It’s kind of nice to hear Kurt explain it so simply because that really is what it’s all about.

A tiny smile appears on Kurt’s face and he laces their fingers together, just for a moment, before returning to the meal preparations. He scoops the chicken breasts out of the pan and they begin slicing the meat into squares, a comfortable silence settling between them. Already they feel like they don’t have to fill every second with chatter and if anyone were to look in on them, they’d see two boys standing hip to hip, occasionally shooting each other secretive smiles, like it’s just what they do or like they’ve done this a thousand times before even though they never have.

All at once, the silence is broken by the sound of the front door opening and two more voices joining the household.

“But mom, I wanted to go to Puck’s for-”

“I don’t care,” a woman’s voice interrupts. “Kurt’s boyfriend is coming over for dinner and we’re all going to be here to meet him. You’re going to be a supportive brother and you’re going to be a part of this family. Even if it’s just for one night out of your summer.”

“Ugh, fine,” someone, Blaine assumes it’s Kurt’s stepbrother, says gruffly in response. Blaine can’t help but think of Bethany.

“Good,” the female voice says, louder this time, and that’s when Blaine sees them in the doorway of the kitchen. “Oh! Hello!” she greets excitedly. “You must be Blaine!” She bustles over, dropping her purse on a countertop on her way to Blaine before promptly wrapping him up in a fierce hug. “I’m Carole, Kurt’s stepmom, and this is Finn. I’m so glad you’re here, honey, it’s great to meet you.”

“It – It’s nice to meet you too,” Blaine says, surprised by the strength of her hug.

“Kurt,” she says, looking particularly impressed when she pulls away, still gripping Blaine’s elbows. “You didn’t tell me he was so cute.”

“Or tiny,” a very tall boy who’s still standing in the doorway says.

“Finn,” Carole says in warning. “Be polite.”

“And that’s Finn,” Kurt says without any real ceremony.

Blaine stops himself from asking, “Jockstrap Finn?”

“What’s for dinner?” Finn asks, striding over next to Kurt to look down at the cutting board. “…What’s that?”

“Chicken,” Kurt replies in exasperation. “No, it isn’t fried, and yes, it’s going in a salad.”

“Salad? Really?”

“You can fend for yourself if you’d rather,” Kurt snaps.

“Salad’s good,” Finn states, rushing over to the dinner table and seating himself, already picking up a fork.

Biting back a smile, Blaine helps Kurt toss the diced chicken into the bowls of salad while Carole fills five glasses with something that looks like iced tea. They place the bowls onto the kitchen table, Finn ready to dig in at once until Carole shoots him a hard look.

“Dinner!” Kurt calls to the living room.

Burt shuffles in, seating himself at the head of the table. Everyone else sits around him and it’s absolutely baffling to Blaine, the way everyone’s actually sitting at the table at the same time, ready to have dinner like a real family. He wonders if they do this every night because Blaine’s family definitely doesn’t. Half the time, his mother isn’t even home in time to eat whatever Blaine can rustle up in the microwave to feed his sister.

“So, Blaine,” Carole says, “Kurt tells us you just moved in a couple of weeks ago.”

“Oh, um, yeah,” Blaine replies, making sure to swallow his food before speaking. “We moved here from Westerville.”

“And all you kids’ll be graduating this year huh?” Burt asks gruffly, fishing through his salad with his fork and picking out only the pieces of chicken.

“I – I guess so.”

“What d’you plan on doing after that?”

Shit, Blaine thinks. He didn’t even think to wonder if Burt was the type to only let his son date boys who had their whole futures planned out. In fact, he doesn’t actually know all of Kurt’s plans; at least, nothing beyond the fact that he wants to get out of Ohio.

There’s nothing he can say that isn’t the truth.

“I don’t know,” Blaine admits. “I really haven’t had the time to think about it.”

“Hm. I didn’t know teenagers had anything else to think about.”

The comment is obviously a jab at their rampant teenage hormones, causing Blaine to flush a radical shade of red.

“I just – I spend too much time looking after my sister,” Blaine attempts to explain. “I don’t have a lot of time to myself.”

“Where is Bethany, by the way?” Kurt wonders.

“She’s at home with my mom,” Blaine says softly. “After dinner, I – I have to go home to watch her because,” because his mother wants to go out and pick up some random guy in a bar, “my mom has to work an overnight shift at work.”

Kurt eyes him suspiciously, knowing his mother is a secretary and definitely never has to work overnight shifts. Thankfully, he says nothing to counter Blaine’s statement.

“Are you and your sister close?” Carole asks.

“Attached at the hip,” Blaine says lamely, attempting a smile but when it finally shows, it appears forced.

“That’s sweet, though. Is she very young?”

“She’s eight,” Blaine tells her. “She’ll be nine in February.”

The conversation ebbs, a lull of too-quiet reaching Blaine’s ears and he immediately begins to panic. He doesn’t know if it’s his job to keep the chatter going. Should he make himself sound more interesting for Kurt’s sake? How is he supposed to prove to Burt Hummel that he’s good enough for his son if Blaine has nothing more to say?

“Blaine might join Glee club,” Kurt says eventually. “If he can spare the time.”

“Oh, you sing, too?” Burt asks.

“Uh, I used to. I mean, I was in show choir at my old school for a year. But I had to quit because – because my mom was working too much and I had to watch Bethany.”

“Well, hopefully you’ll get to join,” Carole says politely. “They’re a great group of kids.”

“When we’re not stabbing each other in the back,” Finn adds.

“You’re in Glee, too?” Blaine asks.

“I was one of the originals,” Finn informs.

“You almost weren’t,” Kurt reminds. “You’d rather have stayed on the football team.”

“They attacked me with paintballs!”

“You and your friends nailed all my lawn furniture to my roof and that didn’t stop me from doing what I liked.”

“Why do you always have to bring that up?”

“Boys,” Carole chides. “I thought we agreed to let the past stay in the past.”

“…How do you even pull off nailing someone’s lawn furniture to a roof?” Blaine asks in astonishment.

“I’m sure it helps to be best friends with a felon,” Kurt says sarcastically.

“Puck’s not a felon.”

“We’ll he’s definitely a delinquent.”

“He’s a good friend.”

“He slept with your girlfriend and got her pregnant and they lied to you about it,” Kurt says. “I don’t know if I would consider Noah Puckerman to be a good friend.”

“Well he – they – I didn’t-”

“I have got to join this club,” Blaine whispers with wide eyes.

“You will never want for excitement,” Kurt states, watching Finn shift around uncomfortably in his seat.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer,” Blaine says when he and Kurt are standing near the front door.

“It’s okay,” Kurt says, rubbing his hands up and down Blaine’s arms. “I’m just glad you came.”

“Me too,” Blaine admits softly. “I really like your family.”

“You know you’re welcome over here any time,” Kurt tells him. “Everyone’s usually gone during the day.”

“I don’t want to-”

Blaine doesn’t get to finish his sentence because a timid knock sounds on the door. Kurt furrows his brow in confusion, obviously not expecting any more visitors.

“Finn must’ve invited one of the guys over,” Kurt says apologetically before opening the door.

Little Bethany stands on the front porch, looking completely terrified and staring up at them both with worried eyes.

“Bethany,” Blaine says in an exclaimed whisper, immediately crouching down to her level and taking hold of both her shoulders. “What’s wrong? What’re you doing here? Why aren’t you at home with mom?”

“She – she left me.”