"Kurt! It's good to see you man!" Kurt blinked as his step-brother pulled him into a bear hug, he hugged him back tentatively, although it was so good to see Finn again, he was always a bit heavy handed, and had Kurt gasping for breath after his hugs.

"Good to see you too, Finn, how's things with you?"

"Good, good, I really want to introduce you to somebody" Finn moved to the side, shutting the front door behind Kurt and taking the container from his hands as he did so. Coming into view was a small girl who was hanging back by the staircase, eyes fixed on the two brothers. She was shorter than Kurt, with long dark hair and pretty dark eyes. She wasn't conventionally pretty, but was beautiful in her own way.

"Hi! You must be Finn's girlfriend! I'm Kurt, Finn's Step-brother" He moved forward to shake the girls hand, and was taken aback when the girl stepped away from his hand, looking at him as though he was diseased.

"I'm sorry, I can't shake your hand, I am preparing for a big audition, and can't risk getting sick, so I'm not touching anything at the moment, I'm Rachel, by the way, Rachel Barbra Berry"

Kurt looked at her like she was crazy, because, lets be honest, that's exactly what she was acting like.

"Oh, okay, what audition is that?"

"It's for a local production of Funny Girl, I am auditioning to play Fanny Bryce, which is a role that was made for me, I am the perfect Fanny, besides the great Barbra of course" Kurt struggled tp understand what she was saying, she was talking so quickly he just wanted to tell her to take a breath.

"Um, great for you, Rachel."

Luckily for him, his Dad and Carole came into the hallway, obviously wanting to see what was going on. He gave his Dad a hug and Carole a kiss on the cheek, exchanging the usual pleasantries.

"Oh! I bought pasta, this new italian is about to open next to the shop, and the owner made me some pasta in exchange for some flowers, I have no idea if it's any good, but it smells amazing!"

"Oh gosh, thank you, Kurt, you're right it does smell amazing!"

They shared a nice dinner, Rachel commandeering the conversation, going on and on about her audition, Kurt couldn't believe that no one else was getting annoyed with her talking, but he smirked slightly seeing his Dad's face, it was clear he wasn't listening in the slightest, his face taking on that blank expression it did when he was bored.

"So, Kurt, what about you? Any boyfriends yet?" Kurt couldn't help his mind from drifting to the new restaurant owner with his dark eyes and gorgeous curls. No, Kurt he is a neighbour, nothing more than that! Stop it!

"Not exactly a plethora of gay men in Ohio, so my options are a little limited, but I'm still looking!" He hated this question more than anything, it was always such an awkward answer. Carole seemed to pick up on his discomfort, changing the subject, earning her an appreciative smile from Kurt, he really did love her.

Once they had eaten and cleared away, they all sat around watching some TV, Finn and Rachel curled up on one sofa, with his Dad and Carole on the other, he wanted nothing more than to have that someone to curl up with too, instead of having to wrap a blanket around himself to keep warm. His mind drifted to his shop orders the next day, he knew it was going to be busy, and really he didn't have enough time to meet Blaine for coffee, but he would anyway, not wanting to let him down.

As he left his parents house that night, he promised his Dad he would come again the following week, giving him a long hug, he did miss living with his Dad, but knew he was well looked after by Carole, and at times, Finn. He waved goodbye to Finn and Rachel, promising to stay in touch with them too. He wasn't sure about Rachel, but could see himself in her at times too, maybe they would become decent friends one day?

Curling up in bed that night, he held his hand to the wall that separated his apartment from Blaine's, whispering a 'good night Blaine' into the night.

Kurt's alarm blared loudly the next morning, he had set it for 7am so he was up in time to receive the flower order that was being delivered by refrigerated truck at 8am. Meeting Blaine straight afterwards would be a rush, as he would still need to cut the flowers and get everything ready to open the shop, but he couldn't exactly say no to a new friend could he?

The truck pulled up bang on time, the guys that delivered the flowers are what could only be described as manly men, they were not the type to make jokes or flirt with Kurt, god no, they offloaded the flowers, got a signature and left. Once the flowers were in the shop, every kind you could imagine, roses, lilies, gerberas, carnations, and in every colour imaginable. He loved the shop like this, it felt right, like he had succeeded.

He began the long task of preparing the flowers, he had to cut the stems, strip the leaves off the ends and get them ready to be manipulated into bouquets when he needed them. He had a wedding later that day, and the bride had requested a bouquet made entirely of roses, so he had to make sure no thorns were left in, or he would have a very unhappy bride on his hands.

Wiping his head with the sleeve of his jacket, he noticed the clock on the wall, 9.07am, he really needed to go and see Blaine if he wanted to still have enough time to get back down and open the shop at the right time. Putting all of his tools to one side, he wiped his hands on his jeans and made his way out of the back of the shop and up the steps that led to the apartment. Blaine was apartment 1 and Kurt was apartment 2. The doors were all blue, with glass in the door that was frosted so you couldn't see too much into the apartment.

Kurt knocked on the door, wringing his hands in front of him. The door opened a few minutes later, revealing a very sleepy looking Blaine, he had on grey sweatpants, which hung low on his hips, revealing a small strip of skin, which was topped with a white t-shirt, that looked at least two sizes too small.

"Oh my god, am I too early? Did I wake you?"

"You did, but it's fine, I needed to get up anyway, come in, come in, I'll put some coffee on, I know we said yours, but I managed to find the coffee so come in, saves me getting dressed anyway"

Kurt smiled at him, giving him an awkward sort of half hug as he passed him and let himself into Blaine's apartment. It was the mirror image of his own apartment, the kitchen was on the right, living room straight ahead, with a bathroom and bedroom to the left, it was compact but functional. Kurt noticed Blaine's was barely decorated, unlike his own that definitely reflected his personality. The best thing Kurt liked about the apartment was the fact it smelled so like Blaine, making him immediately smile.

He made his way into the living room, perching slightly on the couch, waiting for Blaine to come in with coffee. He noticed a few photos on the walls, what looked like a group of friends, one being Blaine, and another one being Tina, the rest he didn't recognise, but kurt assumed they must have been his school friends. Before he could wonder too long, Blaine was coming in, coffee cups in hand.

"Sorry, it's not exactly starbucks, but it's the best I can do."

"I'm sure it's perfect, thank you"

"So, Blaine Anderson, tell me about yourself, why an italian restaurant?"

Blaine smiled slightly at the question, looking down at his coffee cup before speaking.

"Well, in all honestly, I wanted to pursue music, but that doesn't pay the bills, so I went to the local college, and trained to be a chef, worked at a few local restaurants, then decided I wanted to be my own boss, and here I am, taking a risk, and loving it so far"

Kurt watched as Blaine talked, he showed so much passion, the same sort of passion he himself showed for floristry, and it was a really nice thing to see. They continued to chat a little bit about the restaurant, the menu he had chosen and what he was planning for the grand opening (which Kurt was cordially invited to)

"Anyway, enough about me, what about you, why floristry?" Kurt went into the story of how he had inherited the shop, how it was his whole life now, and also about Santana and her strange ways. Blaine listened intently, seemingly caught up in everything Kurt was saying.

"Well, that's quite the story, Kurt, I can't wait to see you properly in action some day, maybe I'll have to come and be an observer for the afternoon hm?"

"That sounds great, Blaine, I would really like that"

"Me too" they shared a shy smile, hearts thumping in chests, they could both feel the tension, but neither commented on it.

"As much as it pains me to go, I really need to go and get the shop ready, I have a massive wedding this afternoon."

"Oh, of course, please, don't let me keep you, how about I give you my number, text me later and let me know how it went? Maybe we could have coffee again tomorrow or something?"

Kurt looked at Blaine, seeing no signs of hesitiation, he nodded, smiling brightly

"It's a date, ah, um, I mean, not a date, just that we not have a date and time to meet, oh god.."

He was blushing, hard, he waited for Blaine to say something, instead he heard a soft chuckle come from the curly haired man.

"It's fine Kurt"

He made his way back to the door, turning around and giving Blaine a hug before going out of the door.

"Thanks for the coffee, I'll see you tomorrow yeah?"

"Tomorrow"

He was getting a touch too used to this.