It was hard for Blaine to reintegrate himself into the house after his 48 hours in the separate apartment, though Kurt had no such trouble. It seemed that Kurt went back into the house more popular than ever, clearly missed while he had been absent; Blaine was still an anomaly to the housemates. They didn't know how to take his behaviour with Sebastian, didn't entirely trust him and trust was everything in a house where game plans were dreamt up and fame idealised. Faye and Nicola clearly wanted to take the lead from Kurt, see how he was doing after everything that had happened and they waited accordingly. Bradley, intent on impressing Faye, was polite with Blaine but seemed reluctant to engage Blaine in full conversation in case Faye didn't improve and El, because of her long conversations with Kurt in the smoking alcove, didn't quite trust Blaine either. Heidi, bless her, went along with the general consensus but was polite nonetheless.

It was the morning after the eviction of Sebastian, Kurt had made breakfast for everyone, had managed to engage nearly everyone in conversation at some point during the morning and was now making a second pot of coffee. Blaine wandered aimlessly around the house, not quite sure what to settle on, having nothing to do, no one to talk to and feeling generally lost. Kurt looked up from the kitchen counter and watched him for a moment, taking in his worried expression and nervous energy.

"Are you ok?" he asked and Blaine looked up in surprise, caught in the act of casually worrying.

"Oh yeah sure," he stuttered, "Just not quite sure what to do with myself." He tried to sound carefree but he had forgotten that Kurt knew him quite well by now. Kurt finished the coffee and placed it in the seated area. He sat on the sofa and patted the space next to him and smiled. Blaine laughed.

"That gesture could have looked a little sleazy," Blaine joked, " You saved it with your cuteness though."

"Hey!" Kurt exclaimed.

Blaine sat next to him and stroked his knee affectionately, causing Kurt to sink lower in his seat and smile too.

"You looked a little lost," Kurt started and Blaine paused, considering what to say next.

"I guess that 48 hours away did nothing for how everyone views me here," he said, looking slightly sad, "They hate me in here."

"That's not true Blaine," Kurt said, "I guess they just don't understand what happened with Sebastian and maybe we need to explain it."

"Maybe we need to explain us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe they don't get what we are now," Blaine said then he thought about what they were and didn't quite know himself. "Actually, what are we now?"

Kurt thought it through. What were they? Everything seemed so complicated inside the house. On the outside, they would be dating, seeing each other when they could and taking things slowly, finding out if this could be something more. Inside was far too complicated.

"I don't know Blaine," Kurt said honestly, "I guess I was mad before, wanted you to know I wouldn't take any shit but then you sneak back in with your cute puppy dog eyes and make me care about you. I don't know what we are...." His voice trailed away as if he was really thinking it through. Blaine let the silence hang for a while, unsure how to proceed when he couldn't make it better. Kurt sunk a little lower so his head was resting between Blaine's neck and shoulder, allowing Blaine to stroke his side in rhythmic patterns, causing Kurt's eyes to droop despite the coffee. It was in this pose that Nicola came into the room after getting ready properly in the bedroom.

"Cosy," she said though there was a slight sarcastic bite to her words. Kurt looked up and waited for her to continue. "So you're together again?" she asked, taking a sofa seat away from the two boys. Blaine deliberately let Kurt answer.

"Who knows, in this house?" Kurt said jokingly, "I'm sure anything goes in here."

"Well not everything," Nicola said, looking sternly at Blaine. Now was his time.

"I've apologised to Kurt," Blaine stated, looking directly at her, which in a strange way made Nicola respect him just that little bit more. "I made a stupid naïve mistake with Sebastian which won't happen again..."

He wasn't allowed to finish.

"No because he's not here," she said not hiding the annoyance in her voice.

"No I mean it, Kurt means a lot to me, I was stupid to let a little insecurity get in the way, along with a touch of ego. I'm done with that."

"Good," she said abruptly, not quite letting Blaine off the hook, "I guess if Kurt has allowed you back in then I trust his judgement but I'll be watching you." Blaine laughed nervously, not entirely convinced that she wasn't joking. One look at her stern expression showed she was not and she had no idea that she sounded like an FBI agent. Blaine nodded.

"Where's my coffee?" she asked Kurt with a laugh, the moment forgotten and Kurt joined in with the laughter.

"Just on the top of the counter," he said.

---

"So what's been happening?" Kurt asked El in their smoking alcove. El was now the only person in the house that constantly smoked, though Anisa and Nicola smoked recreationally but Kurt still enjoyed joining El in her alcove. The chats were comforting and despite the worry that the smell of smoke might stay on his clothes, he liked the informal chats and a chance to pontificate on the ways of the world. Well, the world in the house anyway.

"Nothing much," El said, "Still quiet though a little messier without you to look after us," she said, winking at Kurt.

"Relationships?" he quirked an eyebrow and smiled, nodding his head in the direction of Faye and Bradley who were lying on beach towels in the afternoon sun, talking quietly to each other.

"Do you really need to ask?" El joked and Kurt shook his head and laughed.

"No I guess not." Just one look at Faye and Bradley and you could tell. It almost made Kurt want to start singing 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' from The Lion King. They were so engaged in conversation, only really had eyes for each other, it was nice to see. It dawned on him that he didn't really know Bradley and if Faye could speak to him for such a long period of time, he really must be worth listening to. He vowed to make more of an effort.

"So how are you and Blaine?" El asked tentatively.

"Oh we're ok," Kurt said smiling to show he was happy, "Just taking it slowly, no need to marry us off just yet." She laughed.

"That's the problem in the house, it gets a little like that. We've been in here for four weeks and I bet everyone on the outside is rooting for you and Blaine to stay together and get married and have babies. It's probably the same for Faye and Bradley – nothing's sacred in the house and everything is serious."

Kurt pondered over what she was saying, letting it wash over him. He really didn't want it to be so serious but at the same time everything meant so much more in the house. He took a breath and reminded himself not to be so melodramatic and Rachel-like.

He gazed through the French windows to see Blaine and Nicola talking on the sofas, sipping what looked like fruity cocktails and wondered what they were discussing. It was quite a nice change to see them get on so well after Nicola's warning from this morning.

---

"I don't understand you," Nicola suddenly said, a pause in the dialogue, her eyes earnestly seeking out Blaine's face in the middle of their conversation.

"What don't you get?"

"Why did you just lay there when Sebastian kissed you? I mean it can't have been good. Just one look at that sleaze and you could tell it would be painful – too many teeth."

Blaine laughed a little. He didn't really know why he'd allowed it, Nicola had been right – it wasn't particularly good or enjoyable.

"Do you sometimes think something's too good to be true?" Blaine asked.

Nicola shook her head – she always believed what she saw but was sometimes pleasantly surprised in the good of others.

"Well I guess I thought that Kurt and I were too good to be true," Blaine continued. "I thought it couldn't possibly be real. I couldn't possibly find someone in here that I could talk so easily to, have so much in common with and find soooo attractive. I mean why would I find that in here where people are out for fame and money, something to further their career?"

"Because you're very lucky," Nicola said, "Not everyone gets that in life, let alone in this kind of place."

"That's what I mean!" Blaine exclaimed, excited that she understood it.

"So you deliberately led Sebastian on to see what it would be like? To test your relationship with Kurt?" Nicola did not look impressed.

"No, not consciously," Blaine said, knowing it sounded wrong, "I guess I thought it was too good to be true with Kurt, I needed to know if he would be there, if we could survive murky waters."

"So Sebastian was the 'murky water' even though you clearly couldn't stand him?"

"Yeah I guess," Blaine said, feeling stupid.

"You don't think Kurt's got staying power?" Nicola said in a tone that clearly showed she thought he was mad.

"I don't know, I want him to," Blaine said, "I've been burnt a little bit in the past I guess."

"Look, haven't we all?" Nicola said, sitting up with her knees tucked in front of her. Her pose suggested cosy business and Blaine listened carefully.

"Kurt is really trusting," Nicola said kindly, making Blaine feel even worse, "He believes in the best in people, even when they don't deserve it. It might have made him feel jealous when you allowed Sebastian to flirt but it wouldn't have crossed his mind that he couldn't trust you completely. I don't have to tell you that he's the most kind, compassionate person you're probably ever going to meet." Blaine nodded. "Look, don't stare at me so sadly like all is lost. You have him back in your arms don't you?" Blaine nodded glumly again. "Well keep him there, do all you can to show him how special he is, get to know him properly and trust him completely too."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell him how you've been burnt before, let him in," Nicola said, "Chances are, if you show him how much you trust him, he'll start to trust you again. Maybe you'll actually be a couple to survive on the outside, prove the haters wrong." Blaine didn't have much time to ponder over what she had said before there was a crackling on the television and the screen finally came to life. It looked like the producers were getting sleepy in there.

"May the housemates please congregate in the living area."

Blaine rushed to the garden to get people in, while Nicola did the same in the bedroom. The others came in slowly and settled on the sofas to wait.

"As Blaine and Kurt received messages from home we would like to offer the remaining housemates the same privilege." There was a pause while the others looked at Blaine and Kurt excitedly. They had heard briefly of the messages from Adam and Cooper but both Blaine and Kurt had kept the content to themselves.

"These messages were recorded earlier and if each housemate can guess who is on the other side of the video, you may watch it."

Nicola looked visibly annoyed that it wasn't to just be given to them but she waited patiently anyway.

Faye received a happy message from her mother who looked like an older version of her and was just as kind and optimistic. Heidi had a collection of her best friends from college but the announcer allowed her to watch as she had named one of her closest friends. El and Bradley had successfully named their siblings but Anisa wasn't allowed to watch her video as she had incorrectly guessed it would be her mum when her dad had made the video message. Only Nicola remained and she tentatively asked if it was Amber. The screen clicked black temporarily and Amber's face came on.

"Is this on?" she asked, tapping the camera slightly but she was given no audible answer, so she carried on regardless. "Well anyway Nicola here I am." She stretched her arms wide to announce her presence properly and Nicola laughed. Kurt silently hoped that this went well and wondered if they should leave her to watch alone. Everyone stayed anyway.

"I heard your message and thought it best I come on to tell you and put you out of your misery. I love you too you silly girl, of course I do. I guess it's hard to say knowing that everyone will hear this and you're probably watching this with all the housemates but I don't care. I think we upset Beau a little," she said laughing and coming a little closer to the camera. "I've got in touch with the police though and he won't be able to come near you. We have a lot over him don't we?" She laughed again. "Anyway enough about stupid men," she said, her laughter tinkling as she lifted her head slightly. "I really miss you Nic," she said, the name sounding strange to the housemates' ears, "I can't wait for you to come out and put everything right again in our apartment and make it feel like home again."

Kurt looked to Nicola and spotted the tears shining in her eyes and looked away, determined for her to have her privacy.

"I'm glad you've befriended that Kurt guy he seems really nice but make sure that Blaine is ok too," she said. It was unclear whether she remembered they would be watching too. "There's something a little lost about him," she said, as if she was pondering this and couldn't clearly describe it. Kurt looked at Blaine, who at the mention of his name looked very perplexed especially knowing someone on the outside had been so perceptive. "Anyhoo, remember that you're fabulous darling," she waved her arms dramatically, "And enjoy this for what it is. You've been amazing in there but I want less sadness and more the sassy Nicola I know and love." She winked to suggest even more mischief. "I love you, Nic." And the screen went black.

There was silence and Nicola had time to blink away her tears and smile at the faces staring back at her. She simply nodded and nothing needed to be said. It was a perfect video message. Kurt got up to make drinks and as he passed the sofa she sat on, he stroked along her shoulders and hair, causing her smile to widen.