"You no say to me you boyfriend?" Blaine practically screamed when Finn dropped them off at home before driving off to deliver more drunken friends to their houses. Kurt knew Blaine wasnt really screaming. He looked it up a while ago when he realized Blaine got super animated during conversation. Granted, this was a bit more than usual, and Blaine seemed less than happy, and his tone was more accusatory than questioning.

The rest of the night had gone strangely. Kurt danced, upon Chandlers request, and Blaine had been mostly sullen and reticent after their encounter. Chandler proceeded to get quite intoxicated, and passed out on Rachels couch, where he would stay for the night. During the ride home he could swear everyone in the car could feel the tension between them.

And now they were, horribly, blessedly, alone, Carole working the night shifts at the hospital when Burt was out of town in D.C. The house was empty, and from Blaines tone, it meant that Blaine was not going to hold back and be polite, even if he was technically their guest.

Kurt wanted to yell back, affronted by how ridiculous Blaines temper was over such a small detail, one that of course he must have shared in the month theyve known each other.

But then Kurt realized he hadnt really told Blaine about Chandler, not entirely. Mainly because he didnt know Blaine, and even if the boy was friendly in the beginning, he might not have remained that way if he knew Kurt was gay. And, okay, he couldnt really pass as straight, but Blaine seemed so very metrosexual and European that, well, maybe it would be a little less obvious to him. He couldnt very well ask if Blaine was homophobic, could he? If he had been, theyd be stuck hating each other for months, living in the same house! And now...

"Whats it matter to you, anyway?" Kurt said, and wow, hed had a little too much to drink, it would seem, because that was just dumb.

"Stai uscendo veramente con lui?" Blaine said, loudly, but shook his head as he pulled off his jacket to hang up on the foyers coat rack. "Davvero. Lui. Him."

Well that, he understood. "What about him?" Kurt asked, his eyes narrowing.

Blaine made a bunch of noises in protest that sounded quite a bit like he was trying to start about ten different sentences before he just gave up, sighing with his whole body and throwing up his hands in defeat.

"You...only..." Blaine struggled again, gesturing to all of Kurt, before he had his hands up in front of his face, wearily rubbing at it. "Idiota," he mumbled into his palms. "Sono un tale idiota."

Kurt froze. "Are you calling me an idiot, Blaine?"

Blaine just shook his head, but then looked up toward the ceiling and sighed again. "Era questa la mia punizione per non andare a New York?" he said, sounding annoyed and defeated at the same time.

"Damn it, Blaine, I dont speak Italian!"

"E io non parlo inglese, Kurt!"

"I know, idiota! It was rhetorical!"

"Kurt, mi stai facendo impazzire!" Blaine rapidly tapped his fingers at his temples several times.

"Once again, are you insulting me?" Kurt asked, stepping forward. "I dont care how attractive you are, Mr! No one pushes the Hummels around!" Kurt said, stepping closer and jabbing a finger into Blaines chest, making the other boy stumble slightly.

"Se non sparisci dalla mia vista," Blaine whispered ominously, huskily, not taking his eyes from Kurts, "...ti bacerò. E al tuo ragazzo non piacerà per niente."

Kurt shook his head, eyes wide. "I have no idea what youre saying, but youre getting me so hard right now," he breathed, then blinked. "Fuck! What is wrong with me?" Kurt said, practically flying away from Blaine and up the stairs to his room, and Blaine taking off after him.

"Dont you dare follow me, Blaine!" Kurt said, but Blaine caught his arm a foot from Kurts door. "I know you know what Im saying, Blaine. Im not stupid. Im not some idiota, okay? When I say dont follow, it means dont fucking follow me, because I need to just think for a moment without you..." Kurt gestured in the air for the words. "Trying to seduce me with your...sexy Italian face...words...Jesus, you could be talking about types of cheese, for all I know, and I think its hot! Does that seem fair to you, Blaine? I will not cheat on my boyfriend because you like to talk about cheese, Blaine!"

Blaine just held his arm through his rant, and then looked straight at him. "Tu mi vuoi...e io voglio baciarti." He wasnt yelling it this time, or whispering it in some terribly sexy way. Just saying it, earnestly and openly. And Kurt didnt really need to translate it to understand what Blaine wanted from him.

Kurt shook his head sadly. "I cant, though, Blaine. Im sorry, I cant just...Im not that kind of person. Chandler cares about me. I cant."

Blaine let go of his arm and looked down at the floor, nodding. "No. I sorry...I go away now."

Kurts shoulders fell. "Blaine."

The boy glanced back. Kurt gave him a small smile. "Earlier tonight, I didnt even know you were gay. Give me some time to actually...process that?"

Blaine looked like he was trying very hard to understand, but somehow came to his own conclusion, and matched Kurts weary smile back, moving in close and pressing his lips to Kurts cheek and letting his hand linger on Kurts side not unlike he had earlier that night. "I very, very gay, Kurt," he said, and broke away from him again. "Now you know." Kurt couldnt even bring himself to nod in agreement, stuck to the spot as he was, the ghost of Blaines lips still so real on his skin.

"Buonanotte, bellezza." Blaine smiled, heading towards his room now. "Ti sognerò."

Kurt took a shuttering breath, and entered his room, closing his door carefully and completely behind him like it was made of the thinnest pane of glass, and could shatter into a million pieces if he didnt shut it just so.

Then his hands went straight for his laptop to translate the very last words Blaine had said, trying a few times before getting the spelling right.

I will dream about you.

Kurt swallowed audibly, and said to himself, "I will now proceed to take the coldest shower ever."

*

"Good morning, dancing queen," Santana snarked.

"Yes, it is still morning, Satan," Kurt mumbled into his phone, noting the 11:45am time on his digital alarm clock. It still counted. "Which begs the question: What the fuck?"

"Wow, lady-lips, youve got a little fire in you. Or is it a little Italian in you?"

Kurt tried to lift his head off his pillow, with little success. "Ha, ha. Your jokes are brilliant. The point?"

"Well, the world is apparently dying to know whether or not you screwed that sexy European hobbit all up on you at the party last night. And by the world, I mean all those losers I elect to hang out with every day."

Kurt sighed, annoyed that he and Blaine had been so obvious with the sexual tension between them last night. "No, Santana. I havent. Sorry to disappoint, but I do have a boyfriend. His name is Chandler."

"Oh yeah, I remember that little blonde mouse scurrying about after his piece of cheese."

"Dont mention cheese," Kurt said.

"Whatever. Its interesting though, I also remember this short, dark and handsome doe-eyed creature giving you looks all night."

"I have no idea what youre talking about, Santana," Kurt sighed, ready for this conversation to be over so he could sleep for...oh, another two days or so, if his hangover had anything to say about it.

"Dont play coy, Kurt. We all saw the video."

"The video?" Kurt said, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry. Then, "Finn is so, so screwed."

Santana huffed. "Dont get your panties in a twist, Hummel. The lumbering bag of fatty meat wandered away to woo gay Berry or distract her from pining over Quinn, or whatever, and young Martin Scorsese continued with it, and he found something terribly interesting in your little back room scandal." She paused. "It was actually kind of hot. Too bad the mouse had to ruin what would have definitely been a fantastic moment captured on film."

"Why would you-who else has-wha-"

"If you mean, has the mouse seen it, the answer is, oh hell yeah. For one, you shouldnt be keeping Blaine a secret anyway. Its totally disingenuous. And two, we all know you have too many morals and not enough balls to actually cheat on Chandler. Its not our fault your sexual chemistry with Blaine can be seen from space."

He wanted to be mad, he really, really did, but he was mostly worried in that moment. And...maybe a little relieved, in a way.

"I have to go, Santana."

"Hey, Kurt?" the girl said, sounding quite genuine in that moment, "let him down easy, okay?"

"Im not breaking up with my boyfriend, Santana."

"I know. You and your fucking morals, remember?"

Kurt opened his mouth to say...he didnt know. He let his mind run over what Santana said. "I did. Last night. It was hard..."

"Im not even going to make fun of you for saying that, because thats how serious I am right now. But I could have."

Kurt sighed. "Goodbye, Santana."

He looked down at his phone, and saw the various messages from his friends throughout the morning, and was relieved he seemed to sleep through most of the drama.

Finn:

Kurt I am SO SORRY but totally had nothing to do with it!!! please believe me dont send my internet crap to jbi!!!

Puck:

Oh hellyeah bro! You got some mad boi game! The Puckasaurus is almost jelous!

Rachel:

I am seriously concerned, Kurt! You better not have cheated on poor Chandler, even if Blaine is stupidly attractive! I know you probably didnt...but I had to show him the footage anyway. Im not sorry. He has to know what hes up against. Its only FAIR.

Tina:

I dont condone cheating, but because I know you better than that... DAMN KURT! Chandler will move on and find someone else but you need to be all over that like yesterday!!!

Mercedes:

Be careful, boy...youre playing with fire.

Artie:

I know whats going on the memories reel of your wedding video, which I will happily direct. Also, think of shooting locations. Think of Venice in the spring. Think of the possibilities!

Chandler:

...

I feel so stupid.

Kurt immediately sat up and dialed his boyfriends number. It took two rings for Chandler to pick up, but if Kurt knew him at all, he was waiting around for this call.

"Hey," Chandler said sadly, tiredly.

"I didnt cheat on you," Kurt blurted out, and instantly felt bad for saying it like that, without any tact or regard for Chandler at all. "I care about you, Chandler. You know I wouldnt do that to you."

"I know," Chandler sighed, his voice completely devoid of his usual sparkle.

"I just...I was feeling weird, from drinking, and Blaine was just asking me if I was okay, and trying to get me steady." It was mostly true. Somewhat true. 35% true at least. Kurt let out a breath and said, "I didnt kiss him, before or after or ever. But...I was drunk. I cant honestly say I know what would have happened...if I didnt get your texts just then."

It shamed him to even say it, but he knew it would hurt more to lie to Chandler, even if nothing did happen. He was attracted to Blaine. Apparently, it was more than obvious.

Chandler said, "I figured as much."

Kurt rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "Do you hate me?"

"I could never hate you, Kurt. Not for being attracted to someone, even if its not me. Or for someone being attracted to you. That ones just gonna be a given."

Kurt bit his lip. "I dont think I want to break up with you."

"Well I know I dont want to break up with you."

Well that was...a little surprising, actually. "You dont?"

"To be honest, Kurt...I dont. I dont know if Im delusional or blind or just hopeless, but I really like you, and we have a good thing going on, dont we? I shouldnt just throw in the towel for some hot European just because I dont have an exciting accent, right? I could always learn German. Thats like, the mother tongue of your ancestors. Thats sexy, right?"

"You dont have to learn any language for me, Chandler," Kurt chucked. "Are you sure? Because Blaine...hes...what he is, and everyone can see that, but..." and the thought dawned on him for the first time, and it seemed to solidify something in Kurt just then. He just knew what he was doing was the right thing. Maybe not the thing that felt the nicest, but it was for the best. "But Blaine is going to leave in a few months, and I might never see him again after that. We live on different continents. You and I will both be in the city together in a few months. Its...its real, what we have."

Chandler was silent for a moment. "Im glad you decided not to fall for the fantasy then, Kurt. I know it would have been easy. You both looked so beautiful together..."

"Its not real, though, Chandler. You know that."

"I know."

"...Im sorry that I hurt you. I never meant to."

"I know. Thanks for sticking with me," Chandler said, as if Kurt was placing bets on the lame horse because hed always bet on that horse before, and was keeping to him in some perverse sense of loyalty, even long after that horse was any use to him. He knew hed never actually finish the race. It was delaying the inevitable.

Kurt couldnt really say anything to that, so he just cleared his throat and said, "Ill see you tomorrow night for our date."

"Breadstix. I remember. Ill pick you up at 7."

"Bye, Chandler."

"Bye, Kurt."

Kurt was flipping pancakes in the kitchen, thinking again about what had to be the single most depressing conversation of all time.

Maybe he was being a tad hyperbolic, but the sentiment remained true.

He heard a door close, and whipped his head around toward the open doorway from the kitchen to the hallway, and caught Blaine just as he was walking from the bathroom to his bedroom, directly after his shower.

The boy stalled in the entrance and just looked at Kurt. He didnt smile or frown, just looked.

His freed curls were matted to his head, not by his usual hair gel, but the weight of water, still moving down his body in small rivers, pooling in some unexplored location beneath the towel tucked loosely around his hips.

Kurt tried hard not to notice these things, but especially not the way Blaines stomach seemed to swoop down into the most delicious-looking V at his waist, continuing down and down and down, at a satisfyingly sharp angle, shaped by the sturdy bones underneath.

He wanted to bite it.

And he was shocked out of his sexual reverie when he noticed Blaine beginning to stare at his lips. He was biting down on them so hard, he could feel the imprints of his teeth still on them. Kurt just took a steady breath.

Abstaining from doing anything inappropriate with Blaine was relatively easy. All he had to do was not move, and the boy would give him his space. But Kurt could not stop from thinking about Blaine, or desiring Blaine, or even looking (staring, gaping, ogling) at Blaine. It was like telling an alcoholic they needed to stop drinking, and then letting them recover in a liquor store that they werent allowed to leave. It was impossible not to want. To crave.

But Kurt, ever the professional, calmed his frayed nerves, and called to the boy, "Im making pancakes for lunch," pointing at his skillet as he did so.

Blaine nodded once. "Grazie," he said softly, and turned to continue down the hall.

Yep. One day down, so, so many more to go.