Kurt snuggled under his blankets that he tucked around his shoulders, and he curled himself up into a small ball. He listened to Blaines shower from across the hall, the dripping water and shuffling feet, and he hoped he would be done soon. Even though his blankets heated him up nicely, nothing made him quite as warm as when Blaine wrapped him in his strong arms. He smiled at the thought of his boyfriend, who he hadnt expected to find in the most unusual of ways. But Blaine wasnt a usual man at all.

At the sound of patting on the floor, Kurt peeked over his shoulder in hope that Blaine was sneaking across the floor, but instead of golden eyes, a pair of beady eyes stared back at him. A yellow beak poked over the edge of the bed, and Kurt wriggled around to face his tiny bird. He held his hands out, "Pavarotti!" He squeaked to his bird, and Pavarotti boosted himself the rest of the way up the mattress, waddling over to Kurt. "Oh, dear... youve been chewing my ribbons again, havent you?" Taking a few pieces of string from Pavarottis beak, Kurt wagged his finger at his bird. "Youre my naughty bird, arent you?" When Pavarotti chirped and patted his feet, Kurt bent and kissed the side of his head, "Come now, you know I cant be mad with you when you make those sweet faces at me. Lets straighten this scarf of yours and get you tucked into bed."

Pavarotti fluttered up to the top of the bed when Kurt lifted the covers, and he nosed underneath them and curled up into a small ball. Bundling the blankets around his tiny bird, he smoothed his fluffy feathers and cooed, "There... much better. You look very cozy. Pavarotti, do you know what you have to look forward to? My birthday is coming up very soon! Your daddy and I will take you shopping and buy you the nicest birthday party outfit. Youll be such a handsome bird." He leaned closer to his bird and whispered next to his head, "You know what else? I think something amazing will happen on my birthday. Well... I do have you and your daddy now, and you both make every day so wonderful, but I do want this birthday to be spectacular. You know... memorable. I want to look back on it year after year and feel my heart flutter because such good things happened. Oh, Pavarotti, are you so excited that you cant breathe?"

Pavarotti must have fallen asleep because he snored, but then Kurt heard someone clear his throat. He lifted his head and blinked at Blaine, who was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed over his naked chest. Kurt was curious about why he had such a twisted look on his face, and then he realized that he might have overheard his conversation with Pavarotti. Blaine was very good at being silent when he walked. Nipping his bottom lip, Kurt wrapped his arms around himself and peeped, "I must sound so silly, dont I?"

Blaine lowered his lashes over dark eyes, and he took one step toward Kurt. "No... you dont sound silly at all." There was something in his gruff tone that made Kurt twitch, a roughness that startled him into losing his breath. He loved the way Blaines raspy voice chilled him all the way to his toes. Blaine walked over to the bed and set his knee on the edge, throwing himself down by Pavarottis tiny body. He shifted closer to Kurt and reached for his small face, touching his quivering lips, "I wish you wouldnt be shy with me. You know I love hearing your voice."

That brought the smile back to Kurts lips, and Blaine grinned back at him, pressing his cheek to the pillow, "Some say Im too chatty. Oh, Blaine, I really do feel that something magnificent will happen on my birthday. Perhaps Im just being hopeful... but I know that as long as my family is there, Ill be so much more than happy. A hug from you would thrill me, my Blaine."

When he finished chattering about all of his wishes for his birthday, Blaine moved closer to him and pressed his lips to his. He couldnt say that he wasnt nervous about fulfilling all of Kurts fantasies, but he loved when Kurt babbled to him. "I love that youre mine." He muttered against his lips, and Kurt batted his lashes at him.

"I love that Im yours, too." He whispered to him, his voice so soft and silky. Blaine had never heard anything so beautiful as Kurts voice, which was why the ringing of his phone was so deafening to his ear. "Oh, dear! Who could be calling so late?" Kurts head popped up from the pillow, and Blaine rolled his eyes that his time with Kurt was interrupted. He flipped over and grabbed his blinking phone, then sneered at the name on the screen. "Who is it, Blaine? Rachel? Oh, you must answer it." When Blaine made a face, Kurt stuck his bottom lip out in a pout, "Well, she is Finns girlfriend, and Finn is a dear friend of ours."

Blaine wished that Finn would realize he could do so much better than Rachel. He reluctantly pressed the phone to his ear, "Hullo?" He mumbled, and he winced when he heard her make a rude sound.

"Blaine?" Her squeaky voice came through the phone, noisy and demanding, so very different from Kurts soft and gentle voice. It made him flinch. "I called for Kurt, but I guess youll do. You know, I still find it funny that you two are sleeping together! Are you really gay? Because I never would have guessed." When Blaine didnt answer her, still fuming because he was actually talking to her when Kurt was by his hip and sleepily curled up in a tiny ball-he couldnt get enough of Kurt when he went weak because he was tired, she went on, "Anyway, I wanted you to know that you cant skip out of the school play rehearsals like you did with Booty Camp."

Blaine opened his mouth, "Rachel, I havent even said if I want to be Tony-"

"I dont care about your sob story, Blaine." Rachel quickly cut him off, "Get over your confidence issues and come to rehearsals. I wont let you mess this up for me." The phone call ended without another word, and Blaine reached up to his throat, wondering if it was so obvious that he couldnt speak, even to Rachel, who was oblivious to everything but herself. He was so embarrassed. Putting his phone down, he flopped onto his side and pulled his knees up to his chest.

Kurt looked at him with huge eyes, his lips parted and breaths very short, obviously because hed heard parts of Rachels side of the conversation. Turning his head away from Kurt, Blaine mumbled more to himself than he did to Kurt, "Why is there something w-wrong with me?" His stutter made things so much worse, and Kurt quickly wrapped his arms around him, cooing over him.

"Oh, Blaine, darling..." Kurt smoothed his hair off his forehead, turning his head so he looked into his blue eyes, "theres nothing at all wrong with you. You certainly dont have confidence issues... youre just a little quiet, and thats okay. Oh, shes so mean to you, isnt she? I wish people knew what a wonderful man you are... if they did, they wouldnt turn you away." Putting his chin on Blaines shoulder, Kurt blew out heavily and murmured, "You know, when I first came here, plenty of people told me that you are very bad, but youre not at all. Youre the sweetest man Ive ever met... I dont think you could be bad if you tried. Oh, Blaine... if only you saw the way I see you." Rolling closer than humanly possible to Blaine, Kurt touched his warm cheeks and asked, "Now, whats this about Tony? Dear Tony from West Side Story? Oh, I remember when my mom played Maria... it was so inspiring. She was a lovely Maria... she looked beautiful on stage. I wanted to be just like her."

Kurts babbling helped to calm Blaine after he was shaken up, and he wished he would keep talking and talking. He shrugged a shoulder, "Schuester wants me to be Tony in West Side Story... you know, the school play. But I dont want the part... you should take it." When Kurt wrinkled his nose in distaste, Blaine tilted his head. "What is it, sweetheart?"

Kurt shook his head, his eyes swelling with sudden tears, "Oh, Blaine... its Maria. Ive always wanted to step into my moms shoes and play Maria. When I was young, she always told me I was beautiful enough to be Maria... that I would fit her very well. Just the thought of standing on stage and singing the same songs my mom sang makes my heart race. Can you just imagine it? Blaine, I wish you had known her. She would have loved you... she would have taken your hands and told you that she hoped you were my Tony. Perhaps you should take the part... of course, you wouldnt be my Tony in the play... Rachel is already Maria..." he sighed at that last as if it upset him, but he still managed a sad smile, "but youll always be my Tony like this... when its just the two of us so close together."

Blaine swallowed thickly, "But, Kurt... what about my stage fright?"

"You shouldnt have a bit of it." Kurt kissed the tip of his nose, "Oh, Blaine, do you know how amazing you are? Ive never met a man like you before... you make my heart skip a beat with everything you do. But I do want you to know that Ill always be there when you need me."

"Youll be my Maria." Blaine said lowly, more as a question than a statement. Kurt bobbed his head a few times, a pretty smile on his lips, and he moved closer to Kurt to nuzzle him. He kissed him, and he hoped it lasted forever.

Blaine stepped onto the stage and eyed his small audience, just a few of the guys who were still trying to memorize their lines, and Schuester, and Kurt, who gave him an encouraging smile. He turned to Rachel, who was going on about changes she wanted to make to the script so the play focused completely on her, but he quickly looked away. He hadnt been around her for two minutes, and she was already giving him a headache. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and when he opened his eyes again, he came across a pair of pale blue eyes.

He kept his eyes on Kurt as the music kicked on, a slow, pretty melody that didnt make Blaine feel any better. It wasnt until he saw Kurt shimmy his shoulders with excitement that Blaine actually relaxed, and he let the notes croak out of his throat. Rachel turned a glare on him because his voice wasnt strong enough, but he ignored her and focused on Kurt, who was happily singing along with him. His eyes sparkled with giddiness, and Blaine imagined that he was thinking of his mom, who had once sung this song. "Tonight, tonight..." He mumbled to Kurt, who patted his fingertips together and bounced in his seat.

Kurt was the only reason Blaine kept going, his voice very gruff and low because of his lack of using it, but Kurt still seemed to enjoy it. "Theres only you tonight." Kurt blushed at the way Blaine was looking at him, and he reached up to his hair to primp it, something he did when he was nervous because of Blaines bold ways. Blaine thought he was adorable, and his voice got a little stronger. "I saw you and the world went away."

He forgot about everyone else in the room when Kurt batted his lashes at him, including his supposed love interest for this scene, who didnt take it very well. He heard Rachel stamp her foot, but he didnt look over at her, unable to tear his eyes from Kurt. Blaine wanted to tell Kurt he loved him-a thing he wanted to do often, but instead he continued the song, humming the next lyric, "Sleep well and when you dream, dream of me..."

Blaine quieted because the music faded away, but Kurt parted his lips and sang to Blaine, his voice so bell-like and beautiful that Blaine almost cried. Hed never heard anything so lovely as that ringing in his ear. "Theres only you tonight..." his voice was soft, so he almost didnt catch it, but that sweet song that came out of him thrilled Blaine, making his heart pound to an unsteady rhythm.