The first thing Kurt is aware of upon waking up the next morning is that he isn't alone. There's a warm body beneath his cheek and a leg slotted between his own, and he can hear soft snores that definitely don't belong to him. It isn't until the achingly familiar smell of Blaine registers that the previous night comes rushing back to him.

Oh my sweet jesus lord, I slept with Blaine, he thinks. His toes curl at the memories flooding his mind, of sweat and heat and friction, and he really should stop thinking about all these things because if he's not a one-night stand guy, he's certainly not a morning sex after the one-night stand guy. He shifts away from Blaine just slightly, which causes Blaine to snuffle adorably in his sleep. Kurt lifts his head and looks at him, appreciating the surreal glow the morning light gives his skin.

He thinks about dropping his head back down to catch a little more sleep, but he's suddenly aware that he can taste the inside of his mouth, and morning sex or no morning sex, that's definitely not how he wants to greet Blaine when he wakes up.

Kurt slips carefully out of bed and finds his robe on the floor, pulling it on as he tiptoes to the bathroom down the hall and quickly brushes his teeth. He washes his face for good measure, and debates just jumping in the shower and getting rid of the smell of sex altogether, but he decides it can wait. With a last glance at his reflection, he pads softly back to the bedroom with every intention of sliding back in alongside Blaine's warm body and drifting off.

But when he enters the room, he finds Blaine mostly dressed, pulling his sweater over his head and searching the bedside table for his phone. He turns around when he hears Kurt come in and smiles forcibly at him. "Oh! There you are." He finishes dressing and slips his phone into his pocket.

"Yeah, I thought I'd freshen up," Kurt says slowly, his head tilting as he tries to work out Blaine's intentions. "Are you...going?" He tries to keep the vulnerability out of his voice, but the flash of guilt across Blaine's face shows that he wasn't successful.

Blaine doesn't meet his eyes. "Yeah, well, I've got work, and you've got work, so," he shrugs, finally looking up at Kurt with a forced nonchalance to his gaze. "But tonight I'd like to take you out for dinner. Okay?" He raises an eyebrow and flashes a quick smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

Kurt stares at him blankly, trying to school his face into something resembling apathy. "Sure." He says, flashing Blaine a similar smile.

Blaine's returning grin is a little more genuine, and he kisses Kurt quickly on the cheek as he rushes out the door.

After Kurt hears the door close soundly, he wraps his arms tightly around his middle to hold himself together. He refuses to cry about this. But god, he should've known. Hadn't he called Blaine out himself just a few weeks ago for fucking people out of revenge? Had he just become one of the nameless, faceless many on Blaine's long list of conquests? Suddenly, he's sure that's all he had been to Blaine. All of this was just some sort of pathetic pity-fuck and now Blaine thought it was a mistake and could do nothing but turn tail and run as fast as he could in the other direction.

Kurt swallows against the tears building in his throat and tries to breathe deeply. It hadn't felt like a pity fuck. It had been the most real and honest connection he'd had with anyone since breaking up with Adam. Sure, there had been a few others in the past couple of years, but nothing as raw and passionate as last night had felt.

Maybe it had just needed to get out of their systems. Blaine was always saying that two gay men couldn't be friends without wanting to screw each other, after all. Maybe now that the sexual tension had broken it would be easier on their friendship. Maybe now Kurt wouldn't look at Blaine's new boyfriends with such sharp disdain.

He sighs heavily and picks up his phone, calling the only person who might know what to do.

Brittany's phone vibrates loudly on the nightstand, jerking both her and Santana awake.

Santana groans loudly. "It's yours; nobody I know would call this early." Just as she says it, her own phone starts to ring on her side of the bed. She picks it up at the same time Brittany picks up hers. "Nobody I know would call this early," she huffs at Blaine.

"Kurt?" Brittany asks at the same time.

Kurt sighs at the sound of Brittany's voice. "Hey, Brit." He can't help the hint of desperation that seeps into his tone.

"Kurt? Is everything okay?"

"Well, Blaine came over last night."

Blaine leans against his kitchen counter at home, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And he was really upset about Adam getting engaged and all, so I was trying to console him, I guess."

"And?" Santana's voice is still rough with sleep.

"Well, one thing led to another, and..."

Kurt bites his bottom lip. "We did it."

He hears Brittany gasp on the other end.

Brittany and Santana turn to each other with wide eyes. "They did it!" They hiss at the same time.

"So how was it?"

"Who topped?"

Kurt shakes his head before he remembers that Brittany can't see him. "Well, it was good. Really good, actually. And I thought it was all fine, but then I guess it wasn't."

"What happened?"

Blaine tries to focus on making his coffee, but his thoughts are still stuck on Kurt. "Why does it matter who topped, San?"

She chuckles. "So he did, then."

Blaine rolls his eyes. "Fine. He did, yeah. And it was great, but when I woke up, it was all off."

Brittany's voice is incredulous. "He ran out on you?"

"It was like he couldn't get away fast enough. I don't know what I did wrong." Kurt hugs himself with his free arm as he bites his lip and waits for his coffee to brew. He hopes Brittany will have something to say to make him feel even the slightest bit better.

"Oh, sweetie."

"Wait a second, you ran out on him?"

Blaine closes his eyes against the guilt that washes over him. "I had to, I just felt so...smothered."

"Smothered?"

He shrugs. "Yeah, I mean, I hardly ever stay the night. It just felt wrong."

Kurt shakes his head again. "It doesn't feel right."

"Kurt, I'm sorry."

He sighs. "It's fine. I think I'm going to tell him it was a mistake. We're having dinner tonight."

"Well, whatever you think is right."

"It was a mistake," Blaine rubs his face agitatedly. "But I don't think I can tell him that. I just hope he says something first."

"Well, good luck. And for god's sake, Anderson, keep it in your pants next time."

Brittany and Santana hang up at the same time and look at each other for a moment before shaking their heads and chuckling softly. Santana pulls Brittany into her arms as they settle down.

"Promise me I'll never have to be out there again," Brittany giggles as she settles her head on Santana's shoulder.

Santana smiles tenderly at her. "You will never have to be out there again," she assures her.

Blaine skips work. It makes the guilt flash hot in his stomach again since it was the excuse he'd given Kurt for running out that morning, but he didn't think he could concentrate on anything when his mind was still stuck on last night.

If Blaine was being honest with himself, it had been the best sex of his life, and not just because they were so physically in tune. There was something else underneath it all in the tenderness of Kurt's eyes when he had touched him and the gentleness of his movements.

I will make love to someone when it is making love, not the way you do it, like you're out for revenge or something. Kurt's words haunt him as he stands under the hot stream of his shower. As much as he hates to think about it, last night had felt like making love. Blaine wasn't sure he'd ever felt anything like he had with Kurt, and it scared the hell out of him. There was no way he could have feelings like that about Kurt; it could only end in heartbreak for one of them.

But he could imagine exactly what it would be like to have a relationship with Kurt. He could see a future with him, but his heart rebelled against the idea. Eli had left him broken and lost, and it had taken him so long to get over him. He just couldn't willingly set himself up for that kind of pain again. Hopefully Kurt would see it for the mistake it was and they could just...start over.

"It was a mistake."

Blaine lets out a breath he feels like he's been holding all day at Kurt's words. "Thank god. I think so too," he says, feeling like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

Kurt narrows his eyes ever so slightly, and Blaine wonders if maybe he's said the wrong thing. "Well. I guess we really are just better off being friends." He looks down at his water glass with an unreadable expression.

"I mean, not that last night wasn't great," Blaine adds hastily. He watches Kurt's face carefully for any signs of emotion.

"It was!" Kurt agrees, though he's not smiling when he looks back up at Blaine. "We just never should have done it."

Blaine nods emphatically. "I'm so glad we're on the same page."

Kurt barks out an uncomfortable laugh. "I'm so relieved." He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes, and his tone is forced. Blaine is about to ask him if he really is okay when the waiter delivers their salads.

Blaine starts eating immediately, happy for the distraction. He feels Kurt's eyes on him as the silence between them grows more and more heavy with tension. He glances back up to find Kurt twirling his fork in his salad and watching Blaine with a guarded expression. "You know, it's so nice when you can just sit with someone and not have to talk." It comes out a hint sharper than Blaine had intended, but Kurt remains unfazed. He nods minutely and finally starts in on his salad.

He should be relieved. Everything that he had wanted to say had been said, and now he was safely back behind the wall he'd built after the divorce that had slowly crumbled as he spent more and more time with Kurt. He should feel better about this now that it's done, but Kurt's silence speaks volumes. The easy banter and comfort between them flew out the door the second they jumped into bed, and isn't this exactly what Blaine had always worried about? That sleeping with your best friend can only destroy the fragile bond you've built? As he looks over at Kurt, face still impassive, he knows that whatever relationship they'd had before is over now. Now it's just a clinical, simple friendship. And that's what Blaine wants. He just can't figure out why it feels so wrong.