"It was awful." Kurt slumped over to his best friend, who was the first person he came across when he shouldered through the main doors. Unique, who had started waggling his brows, immediately neutralized his expression, his heavy hands coming to Kurts shoulders. "No one has ever spoken to me the way that he did. I dont know how well get along in the same office. He cant tolerate my presence." Gloomily dropping his head onto Uniques shoulder, he felt his best friends arms wind around him, "I dont think that hes gay, Unique. I think thats the problem."

"You think that hes a homophobe?" Unique asked, simplifying what Kurt had been implying. "You didnt come outright and tell him, did you? That can even freak other gay guys out. Straight people dont go around blurting their sexualities."

"Unique, look at me." Kurt said pitifully, "I didnt have to say anything for him to know. How am I supposed to feel comfortable in my office? How is he going to feel comfortable around me?"

"Dont blame yourself for this." Unique pulled him over to the elevators, as he did every other day, and pushed the button. "If hes a homophobe, thats his problem. Listen, Kurt... I want you to give it a few days. Let him settle in. If hes still belittling you and making you feel antsy, Ill personally escort you to Mr. Schuester and well have him switch your office. Maybe you can take the desk in my room."

"Thank you for offering, Unique." Kurts voice was breathier as he tried to calm himself down. The last thing he wanted to do was show up in front of Blaine with shaking hands and puffy eyes. "But I would still see him around. If I back down, then his taunting might get worse. I dont want to deal with another bully. I left Ohio to get away from all of that."

"Whatever you say." Unique held up both of his hands, "My offer still stands, though. Ill always be here for you, Kurt." When the elevator door crept open on Kurts floor, he rubbed his shoulder, "Let me take you out to lunch during our breaks. Well both need the fresh air."

"Okay." Kurt murmured, watching the door seal Unique up once more. Taking a deep breath as he faced the direction of his office, and suddenly wondered why he hadnt taken Unique up on his offer, he paced over to his door and fumbled with the handle. When the lock didnt release, he realized that Anderson had either locked him out, or hadnt gotten there yet. He drew his key from the depths of his bag and pressed his hand to the door. The hinges creaked as it slowly swung out of his way. Searching the interior of the room, he noticed that Andersons desk was untouched, but that he had left a bag here overnight.

Kurt wondered if Anderson was bringing more of his things today, since all hed put on his desk was the black bag that was stuffed with papers. On the first day that Kurt had moved into the office, hed hefted bag after bag into the room, and decorated the white walls with a few paintings of flowers. On his desk sat a vase that held two pink roses in it, and beside of that a picture frame that had his family within it. Kurt also left a few notebooks here, ones that he picked up and scribbled down quick ideas into if he didnt have his laptop on him.

Shutting the door behind himself, he took a deep, steadying breath, and wandered over to his desk. He clunked his bag onto it and started to pull out his laptop, when he heard something buzzing across the room. He lifted his blue eyes, flashing them over to the side of the room where the quiet noise was coming from. Furrowing his brows at Andersons desk, Kurt shuffled over to it on the tips of his toes, as if someone was going to catch him. He scooted Andersons bag out of the way when he noticed a light blinking underneath it, and he picked up his phone. Because the phone was locked, all he could do was press a button on the side to turn the sound off. Putting the phone back down, Kurt pondered if Anderson had forgotten it here yesterday, or if he had already been here and had just slipped off to the bathroom.

He started to turn away once more, when his nipping curiosity turned into painful bites, and he bent back over Andersons things. It was this side of him that had led him to be a journalist, albeit one that solved fashion crises instead of urgent mysteries. He pinched the flap that folded over the opening of the bag and peeled it away. Reaching in and pulling out the first ten papers that were sitting on top, Kurt flipped them up so he could read them, and he sank into Andersons chair. It only took a few sentences for Kurt to realize that Anderson was one of the few in the building who braved the task of writing about the crimes that went on in the alleyways and underground tunnels of New York City. The only reason he wasnt shocked by this discovery was because there were limited columns left in the paper, and among them were what Kurt did, and a few pages about sports, and a couple of advice columns for people who mailed in their questions.

Crossing one of his legs over the other, he wiggled deeper into the chair as he read through the next page. Andersons writing was nothing less than captivating and attention grabbing, despite the crude and raw material that he was covering. When he shuffled the next page behind the others and started on the third one, he felt a cold feeling sink into the pit of his stomach when the door smashed open. Picking himself up from the seat, Kurt let the papers fall from his limp fingers. Anderson briskly stepped into the room, but jerked himself to a halt when he noticed Kurt standing by his desk.

His face was tinted a darker shade, as if hed been doing something strenuous, and his masses of curls were sticking up in every direction. As he hurried in, he was closing up the last button on his shirt. Although the action was hassled, and Kurt didnt get a good glimpse of the exposed part of his neck that the shirt covered when it was closed, he still flushed at the sight of Andersons fingers tugging at his shirt. But his eyes snapped up to Andersons face when the door snapped shut behind him. Kurt staggered away from Andersons desk, "I-Im sorry. Your phone was buzzing-"

Andersons thick brows ruffled at Kurts face, and he deliberately stalked away from the door. He stood at the other side of the desk, while Kurt flung himself backward, his back hitting the wall with a thud. "Do you have no boundaries?" Leaning over the desk, he scraped the papers back into his bag and slid it over to himself. He raised his narrowed eyes back up to Kurts face, and Kurt felt his throat constrict, making it hard to swallow. His top lip trembled. "Keep your nose out of my things."

Kurt, keeping his eyes on Andersons face, cautiously crept to the side. He bumped into the corner of his desk because he wasnt looking where he was going, so he quickly whirled around and skittered back to his chair. He plopped down very abruptly. It took Anderson several seconds to move, and then he finally stomped back over to his chair and threw himself down. Huffing out a sharp groan, he rolled his head back and covered it with his hand. Wondering if Anderson had done anything arduous before hed gotten to work, Kurt ogled him, watching his shoulders lower as his body melted into the back of the chair.

Even though Anderson had made no effort to show concern for Kurt, he couldnt hold back his tongue when he peeped, "Do your eyes hurt?"

He spoke so softly that he could have hardly heard himself, but Anderson suddenly said from behind his hand, "I just have a headache."

Kurt slid back in his chair, his eyes remaining on Anderson once more as he knelt by the small fridge he kept in the corner of his office. He opened the door and pulled out a bottle of water, and then he got back to his feet and carried it over to Andersons desk. He placed it centimeters away from the hand that was resting on the table, and then he walked over to the light switch and flipped it down. The room was submerged in darkness, with a rectangle of light in the shape of the window shining down on Kurts side of the room. From the corner of his eye, he saw Anderson raise his hand from his face and peer at Kurt from under half closed lids. His thick, black lashes twitched.

Anderson lowered his gaze to the water bottle, and he opened his mouth to say something. But then he shut it again as Kurt lowered into his seat and opened his laptop, pretending to concentrate on something important. When Anderson looked down, Kurt poked his nose over the top of the laptop and studied the angles of his face as he sucked his lips in. He spun the lid off of the bottle and set it on the table so that it rested on its side. Before Kurt could look back down, Anderson also raised his eyes. His face was solemn. "Blaine." He muttered, and it took all of Kurts strength to keep his cheek muscles from pressing upward. He ducked behind his laptop, hearing Blaines rumbling voice once more, "Thanks."

A few hours later, the throbbing in Blaines head had receded until he felt well enough to flick the light back on. The sudden brightness had startled Kurt out of his trance, because both of them had sank into his own work and was typing diligently. When the room lit up, Kurt was almost disappointed because the dimness in the room had been relaxing, and had kept most of his face concealed from Blaine, who he occasionally glanced up at. But Blaine had thought that this was what he wanted, because he had sat down hard in his chair again and had taken a sip of the water, before hed pulled his laptop back over to him and started up where he left off.

Minutes after Blaine turned the light on, a hand drummed against the door. Kurt checked the time at the bottom of the screen on his laptop, and he smiled as he realized that Unique had come to retrieve him for lunch. Hopping out of his seat, Kurt scurried over to the door and opened it. He was greeted by Uniques broad grin, his arm crooking for Kurt. "Are you ready to go? Im hungry."

"Sure." Kurt chirped, and then remembered that he had left his phone and wallet in his bag. "Give me one second." Digging through his bag, he snatched what he needed and stuck both items into the deep pocket of his coat. He returned to his friends side, looping his arm through his, and was about to let him drag him out the door when his eyes hesitantly swept over to Blaine. To his surprise, he saw him gazing unblinkingly at him, as hed done earlier. "Um... Blaine, are you hungry?"

Blaine shook his head, keeping his mouth shut, so Kurt started to step back. "O-Okay. Oh... this is Unique. I t-think you met him yesterday."

"Weve spoken." Blaine agreed.

Kurt waved at him when Unique yanked on his arm, "Ill be back within the hour." Gasping as he was sent reeling backwards by one hard jerk, Kurt awkwardly caught his balance as Unique unceremoniously shut the door. "Why the hurry?" He clung to Uniques arm, trying not to trip over himself at the pace that Unique was walking at.

"What was that about?" Unique demanded, leading him over to the elevators and smacking his palm against one of the knobs. "I thought that we were against him."

"I never said that." Kurt stepped into one of the elevators with Unique, and felt it shudder as it started rolling them downward. "I didnt know what he thought about me. I thought that we wouldnt be okay with each other. But hes not so bad." Trailing after Unique when he started moving again, Kurt waved at one of his coworkers when she acknowledged them with a smile. He breathed in the cool air when they stepped outside. Their building was squished between a bank and the café that they always lunched at, so they had to turn around the corner, and they were facing the doorway to the café. "Unique... please. Blaine is staying in my office. Let me handle my relationship with him."

"Youre too forgiving." Unique growled, the rough tone of his voice taking out the enjoyment that Kurt always felt when he walked into the café, surrounded by soft chatter and bubbles of smells that made his mouth water. He led them to the end of the line, which stretched surprisingly long for a Tuesday afternoon. "But... Ill let you take care of this, Kurt. I guess I have only known the guy for one day. Maybe hes just having a couple of bad days." When someone at the front of the line stepped away with his hands full of a muffin and a coffee, both of them inched forward. Unique made a gesture with his hands, "I have bigger things to talk about than Blaine, anyway. Do you know that party I went to this weekend?"

Kurt nodded, "Yes... you told me about it."

Unique playfully winked at him, "Not all of it. I met a guy there, and he totally seemed like he was your type. His name is Sebastian. I mentioned you to him, but he was still in a relationship. He said that it was shaky, though, and that he was thinking of breaking it off. And guess what he did?" Uniques smile widened.

"He broke it off?" Kurt said distractedly, bending over the glass container of pastries when they reached the front of the café. When Unique tapped his shoulder, Kurt lifted back up and waved him off, "Unique, Ive told you before... Im not looking for a boyfriend. Im not cut out for dating."

"What does that even mean?" Unique scrunched up his face, but Kurt ignored him.

He pointed at a fluffy muffin that was bursting with blueberries, sprinkles of sugar topping the hot treat. "I want to bring back a meal for Blaine. Do you think that he might be allergic to blueberries?"

At the end of their lunch breaks, Unique and Kurt walked arm in arm back to their workplace, chattering amiably about their newest articles. When they returned to the lobby, Kurt clutched Blaines muffin and coffee tighter to his chest as Unique wound an arm around him. "I think Im going to take the rest of my work home. How about it, Kurt? We can walk back together."

Kurt looked down at the meal that he was holding, "Thats okay, Unique. I think Ill stay for a while longer. Thank you, though." He hugged his friend, "Ill see you tomorrow, okay?" Unique instantly agreed, reminding him to keep him updated about Kurts new situation. Waving Unique off, Kurt headed over to the elevator and clumsily tapped a button with his elbow, since his hands were full. The ride up was smooth and peaceful, since most of his coworkers left halfway through the day or took lunch around this time. The elevator dinged at his floor, and Kurt stepped out, wandering down the hallway and standing outside of his door. Since he had no available hands, he tapped his foot against the door and called, "Blaine?"

Within seconds, the door was pried open, and on the other side stood Blaine, his large, bulky form taking up the entire doorway. Kurt widened his eyes, "You were very quick." Blaine didnt say anything to him, and instead stepped back, so Kurt gingerly held out the food and drink, "These are for you. If youre leaving soon, take them with you... please. I thought you might want them. Do you like blueberries and coffee?"

Blaine took the items back to his desk and plunked them onto the wooden surface, "Yeah... I do. How did you know that?"

Kurt shrugged helplessly, "Lucky guess?" As Blaine picked a blueberry out of the muffin and stained his fingers, he giggled, "Youre supposed to eat the blueberries with the muffin. Youll have blue hands if you eat them that way." Blaine stuck the blueberry into his mouth, and then plucked another one out, his eyes watching Kurt as if to see if he would try to stop him.

Kurt smiled at him, "Here... I have some tissues, if youre going to be difficult." Opening the front pocket of his bag, Kurt pulled out a handful of tissues and brought them over to Blaine, who tilted his head away, as if repulsed by Kurt. Kurt tried to not be troubled by the movement as he reached for Blaines sticky hand, folding his around the outside of it. He wiped a smudge of blue off of it, and then tossed the tissues to the side. Even though he could have retreated back to his desk, he stayed where he was, hand clasped loosely around Blaines. He watched through a pair of round eyes as Blaine slowly turned his hand over, one of his fingers tracing a pattern into Kurts palm. Kurt shivered at the heat that trailed behind his blunt fingernails.

Tilting his head back, Kurt looked at Blaine from the corner of his eye. Up close to Blaine, he could make out the definition in his face, the way his nose was slightly crooked at the bridge, how his bottom lip was thicker than his top. Kurt couldnt bring himself to comprehend how his stomach rolled as he watched Blaine, stared at the movement of the lump in his throat as he swallowed. He was hardly aware that Blaine was still rubbing his palm until a small sigh broke out of his lips.

It was then that Blaine jolted away from him, flying backwards with such force that his body banged into his desk and sent it rocking back and forth. The movement pushed on Kurt, who wobbled backwards, until a pair of arms enveloped him and saved him from falling. Clasped in Blaines tight grip, Kurt stared up at him, panting weakly as Blaine held him. Kurt started to place his hands on Blaines shoulders, but before he could even blink, Blaine righted him, and darted across the room. "Keep yourself out of trouble, why dont you?" He snapped, flinging open the door and slamming it behind himself after he was gone. Kurt fell shakily against the wall, grabbing it with his hands so he would stay upright. Pressing a hand to his thrumming chest, he inhaled sharply, wondering what it was that had just happened between them.

The next morning, Kurt scampered into his workplace with two muffins, a coffee, and a smoothie. He was twenty minutes early, which meant that Unique hadnt even rolled out of bed yet, so he went up to his office by himself. He jiggled the handle, but it didnt give, so he unlocked the door himself. When he opened it, he found himself faced with an empty room. For some reason, Kurt felt a ping of disappointment settle into his stomach as he placed both meals on his desk and looked sadly at Blaines desk. He stored the coffee, and one of the muffins, in his fridge, but by the time Unique came to pick him up for lunch, he realized that Blaine wasnt coming.

He tried to keep this inner turmoil to himself, but as he squirmed and sighed incessantly at the café, Unique knew that something had gone wrong. "Kurt." He said loudly, pulling Kurt back out of his head as he fidgeted with his shirt and thought up a thousand scenarios of what Blaine could be doing instead. He had come in the other day with part of his shirt unbuttoned, and his cheeks flushed and his hair a mess. As he reminded himself of this, he felt his stomach droop even lower. He didnt even know why this was bothering him so much. "You havent touched your hot chocolate. Whats the matter?"

Kurt shook his head, unable to put words to his feelings. "I dont know, Unique. I dont feel like myself today."

Unique sat back in his chair, folding his fingers into a bridge, "I think youre lonely, Kurt." That was his response to all of Kurts problems. "Are you sure you dont want me to set you up on a date with Sebastian? It could even be a double date, with me and my boyfriend, and you two."

Kurt shook his head again, "I dont want to go on a date."

Claiming a touch of fatigue, Kurt went home early for the first time in months. That evening, when he was curled up on his couch, feeling paralyzed, as if he could start bawling if he twitched a muscle, he wondered what was going wrong with him. All he could think about was Blaine.