Kurt and Blaine were standing on the steps of the courthouse, trying to get past the reporters and all the protesters and crowds of people.

“Mr. Hummel, how do you feel about the plea bargain? Did you see this coming?”

“Mr. Hummel, do you think justice has been done?

“Kurt, Kurt! Look over here! We want a picture with Blaine!!”

“Kurt Hummel, what are you going to do now that two of the perpetrators have been convicted by plea bargain?”

Burt left the courthouse, catching up with his son and taking his arm and Blaine's arm in his other hand. He tried to guide them down the steps past the cameras and people, but it was hard. Finally, Puck, Finn, Mike and a few policemen came to their rescue and held off the crowd as they got into a waiting van.

“Wow, that crowd is crazy!” Mercedes said, driving them away from the courthouse.

“Thank you for coming to get us,” Burt said, relieved just to get away before they had to speak to anyone. He wasn't sure Kurt could take much more stress today.

They drove through the downtown area of Columbus where the trial had been moved due to improper influence.

“Well, I'm proud of the two of you, Kurt and Blaine. It was a hard thing you did, standing up for yourselves in the face of all of this. I don't know but what the protesters were the worst of the bunch. Such crazy fanatics. But since it is all over, I think it will all settle down now.” Burt suggested.

“Who knew they would get the plea bargain in the final throes of the trial?” Kurt said, still a little stunned.

“Can you explain to me what a plea bargain is?” Blaine asked.

“It's when you are charged with a crime, but you agree to plead guilty to a lesser crime in exchange for not defending yourself. In this case it was when the DA offered to let Mason and Azimio plead guilty to felony battery instead of attempted murder. It is still a hate crime, but they'll be in prison a shorter period of time. The sentencing is set for two weeks, then the judge will decide how long they have to be in prison,” Burt explained.

“So, what happened to Rick since he's under age?”

“He will be sentenced by a juvenile court judge. They have the option of trying him as an adult, in that case he'll have to stand trial the same as Azimio and Mason,” Burt said.

“I can't help but feel sorry for all three of them, but they did bring it upon themselves. The whole thing is just so tragic,” Mercy said.

“I agree. I am so tired of all of this, I want to hide for a week, in bed with my head under a pillow,” Kurt lamented, leaning his forehead on Blaine's broad shoulder. Blaine patted his shoulder.

It was quiet the rest of the ride home.

~*~*~*~*~

They entered the courtroom one more time, Kurt holding his father's hand tightly. Blaine walking behind them. The room was crowded, but the reporters were kept away from them by the bailiffs. Kurt sat down between his father and Blaine, who took his hand for a moment and squeezed to let him know he was there.

The bailiff brought the court to order and the judge spoke for a few minutes. She asked if anyone wanted to speak and Kurt stood up as rehearsed. He walked up to the podium, shaking inside but appearing formal and serene to the people in the room and to the cameras focused on him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Honor. I am sad to be here today. Not because the two men that attacked me could be let go, but because I am sad that in this day and in this place, there has to be such hatred.

As a person that identifies himself as gay, I like to think of gay people as normal people. However, it is too often the case that the gay person is not thought of in those terms, and McKinley High School is a typical example.

When you look at a boy in high school you see someone that has interests: he may like football or swimming, he may like horror movies or gardening, he might be popular with a lot of girls or just a quiet kid that reads books. He might have blond hair or wear a football jersey. He might be identified by any number of characteristics. But if that boy is gay, he suddenly becomes one dimensional. It is suddenly all about his sexual orientation. Even if you don't immediately become disgusted with your own visions of him kissing another boy, you still see him as a sexual being and it becomes all about the sex...not about whether he likes gardening, football, or swimming. You see his clothing choices as being overly feminine or too fashionable. He ceased to be just a normal student – being out and being gay automatically makes most people think about how he and his boyfriend have sex.

You may deny that and find yourself thinking that you are more sensitive than most people walking around today. But, when you look at a gay couple are you thinking 'Hey, I wonder if they might like to go to the zoo together' – or are you thinking 'Hey, is that boy coercing the other one to have inappropriate sex with him'? Not that it's any of your business.

Think of this, though. If I were part of a typical high school heterosexual couple, we would be walking down the hall, probably holding hands, maybe a kiss at the door of the classroom as we part, or hug as we meet in the lunchroom. I see a hundred couples do that each and every week at McKinley. But if my boyfriend and I walk down the mall holding hands, there are whispers that follow us, people try to distract their children from noticing us, they pull away so they don't accidentally touch us, and sometimes we hear the hate as people pass by us and all we are doing is just standing with an arm thrown casually over the other's shoulder.

Do I have to tell you about the cases where a gay couple was hurt, attacked, even killed because they showed affection in public?

I am hoping that the attention this case has aroused in the public eye will serve to show that a gay person is first of all a person, deserving of respect and love just like every other person on this planet. I hope this case might clear a path for more gay people to be able to be comfortable in their environments, to be able to enjoy the freedom afforded others, not for special rights, but to have equal rights. We need to send a message, especially to the youth of this world, that it is okay to be who you are without fear of being beaten for it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hummel. If there are no more persons wishing to speak, we will proceed with sentencing.....”

The camera continued to whirr and Kurt's speech was heard on newscasts across the country that evening.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The repercussions from the trial eventually faded. The men were sentenced and Rick was treated as a juvenile, so he went to juvenile detention instead of prison. The first few weeks at school were hard, but with time the school population forgot about it and things went back to normal. Of course, the jocks that had been involved in the fight in the convenience store parking lot hadn't forgotten how much they blamed Kurt for their friends being in prison, but that balanced with how they remembered Blaine and his punches and the terror that invoked in them. Basically, they were cowards, so they stayed away from Kurt and Blaine.

Dave Karofsky was still on the football team, but he hung around Finn, Mike, Puck, and Sam instead of the bullies that had harassed Kurt for so long. He did not 'come out' and although he never denied it, the rest of the football team probably didn't know he was gay. He was shy to come home with Finn to play video games with Kurt in the house, but Finn was persistent. One Friday, Kurt and Blaine came home to find Dave sitting with Puck, Finn, Mike, Artie, and Sam playing Super Smash Brothers.

“Oh, cool! Can I play?” Blaine asked as soon as he saw what they were playing. One thing he had just fallen in love with when he came to the Hummel house was video games. It wasn't as high on the list as the internet or Disney movies, but it was close.

“Sure, Dude, pull up a chair,” Artie invited, smiling at Blaine.

“I'm going down to put our books away, Blaine. I'll be back in a few minutes,” Kurt said, leaning over to get a kiss from his boyfriend before turning to pick up the pile of bookbags they had set down when they came in. Dave was standing there waiting for Kurt the bags already in his hands.

“Let me help you with these, okay?” Dave offered.

Kurt looked over to Blaine and they communicated in the way close couples have done since time began: Kurt asking if Blaine thought it would be okay, Blaine answering yes – if Kurt was comfortable with that but to let him know if anything wrong happened and Kurt agreeing to that. It was all done in a moment, no words needed and Kurt nodded his head to Dave.

“Okay, thank you, Dave.”

Kurt led the way, Dave following. They walked in the room and Kurt indicated an overstuffed chair with brocade upholstery for Dave to sit in while he sat on the sofa facing him.

Dave looked around the room. There was the sofa and two overstuffed chairs on the west side of the room, a large flatscreen television fixed to the wall above a gas fireplace, a few scattered end tables and footstools. On the east end of the room was a queen sized bed with a dark forest green duvet accented by charcoal and gray pillow shams; a table on each side for lamps and things, a large trunk against the foot of the bed, two dressers against the north wall, a vanity with a large mirror and lights all around the mirror. On the south wall were two desks facing each other, each with a matching chair. There were beautiful landscape paintings on the walls in jewel tones.

“Nice room, Kurt,” Dave commented, a bit anxious to be here in Kurt's bedroom with him. It was more like a studio apartment than it was just a bedroom, so that helped – Dave didn't have to sit on Kurt's bed.

“Thank you, Dave. But I'm pretty sure you didn't come here to look at my designing skills, so tell me what this is about,” Kurt said, not keeping his temper in check very well. He was still apprehensive about having Dave in his house, much less alone with him in his bedroom.

“Well, I just wanted to talk to you, Kurt, to make sure you know I meant what I said that day in the parking lot. I do apologize for all the hurt I caused you. I don't have an excuse, I don't even understand it myself very well, except that I liked you so much but I was afraid of what I was feeling. I know it was wrong, but I didn't know how to fix it. I wanted you so badly, Kurt. I just wanted to hold you and kiss you...” he stopped at the look on Kurt's face.

“Sorry...that is inappropriate. Anyway, I wanted more and I knew I could never even ask you if I could hold your hand – so I got angry. I couldn't risk anyone seeing me looking at you, so I started bullying you instead. I'm going to counseling now, and it's helping me cope with all of ...all of this,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Dave. I don't hate you. I think we can work on being friends. I am so proud of you for all you've done towards helping yourself, and if I can do something along those lines, I'd be glad to do it,” Kurt smiled at Dave, thinking to himself that when he was smiling he was a nice looking boy.

“I haven't really come out at school, and helping you in that fight didn't make everyone assume I was gay like I thought it would. I haven't gotten any grief from the guys on the team, other than the ones involved in the fight – and everyone knows they're first class jerks. It's been so much better since Finn, Puck, Mike and those guys have been inviting me to play video games and stuff,” Dave gave Kurt a smile, but kept his head low.

“How are your parents taking it?” Kurt asked, remembering liking Paul Karofsky when he met him, in spite of his son's menacing.

“Mom doesn't say much, Dad is trying to be supportive. Neither one of them wants to admit that their football star son is gay. My sister seems okay with it – I told her during spring break when she came home from college for a visit. She asked me to spend the summer with her, and I think I'll go. She's up in Vancouver and has her own apartment. It will give me a chance to get away from here and just be myself,” Dave shared.

“That sounds like a plan. I could sure use a vacation from here. I like my family, but you cannot imagine how much simpler life was when I was in Oregon. It was like a different world,” Kurt said with a dreamy look in his eye.

“Does that have something to do with the very nice looking gentleman escorting you everywhere these days?” Dave asked, winking at Kurt.

Kurt blushed and nodded.

“It's nice to see someone can still blush in this day and age, Kurt. It might be why I was so attracted to you,” Dave said, then quickly: “Oh, that was inappropriate. I'm sorry. You knew I was attracted to you, I told you, but I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable in your own home.”

“It's okay, Dave. I accept your complement, and although I'm with Blaine, I can still be friends with you. If that's something you might like?” Kurt said, surprising himself.

“Yes, I'd like that very much. I do hope that one day I can find someone that looks at me the way Blaine looks at you,” Dave said sincerely.

“I hope you do, too, Dave. Blaine is so special. I cannot imagine what I did in this world to deserve him. He's kind and gentle, but when it's needed he's fierce and protective,” Kurt smiled, thinking of Blaine. “Just the simplest of kisses holds the promise of so much more, I can't stop wanting him, it's like a hunger,” Kurt realized where he was and stopped abruptly. “Oh, I...I'm sorry, I didn't meant to go off on a tangent like that.”

“It's okay, Kurt,” Dave said, “I understand. After all the crap you've been through, you deserve a wonderful guy like that. I'm just sorry I was a part of that hurt. I want to make it up to you somehow.”

“That isn't necessary. What you can do is work on making yourself happy. I think going to Canada this summer to be with your sister might be a step in the right direction. You told me you were seeing a therapist, how is that going?” Kurt asked.

“Fine. It was really hard at first, but I think I'm making progress. I still need to go, but it gets better all the time. Changing who I hang out with at school has helped, too. I mean, who would have thought guys like Finn and Sam would be my friends? But they are nice to me and they invited me to play video games. Things are changing,” Dave smiled at Kurt and it went to his eyes.

Kurt tilted his head to the right, looking at Dave's eyes.

“You know, you have beautiful eyes, Dave. Really deep green with that expressive hazel brown. I don't know why you don't have a boyfriend – you have changed so much. You are nice and good looking. Don't give up hope, I know it will happen for you one day. I truly believe that,” Kurt smiled back at Dave.

“Thanks, Kurt. That means a lot coming from you,” he grinned, ducking his head. In someone else, Kurt might have thought that was an attempt to flirt, but he knew with Dave it was a deflection due to his shyness in this new environment.

They heard singing coming from upstairs and Kurt turned to listen.

When you're down and troubled

and you need a helping hand
and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me

and soon I will be there to brighten

up even your darkest nights.

Kurt grinned. He turned back to Dave.

“That's the song we're doing in Glee club, I think I'll go up. Would you like to join me?”

“Yeah...” Dave said and began to sing himself:

You just call out my name,

and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,

all you have to do is call and I'll be there, yeah, yeah,
you've got a friend.

“My stars, Dave, you have a wonderful voice! Why aren't you singing in Glee Club?”

Dave just shrugged his shoulders as Kurt joined him in the song as they walked up the stairs. It wasn't long before every eye in the group was staring at the voice they hadn't heard before – and smiling.

Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?

People can be so cold.
They'll hurt you and desert you.

Well, they'll take your soul if you let them,
oh yeah, but don't you let them.

You just call out my name,

and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,

all you have to do is call, Lord, I'll be there, yeah, yeah,
you've got a friend. You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.

Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
Oh, yeah, yeah, you've got a friend.

“Oh, Dave! You have a wonderful tenor! You have to join the Glee Club!” He heard from everyone in the room.

“Please, we need someone else with a deep tenor and yours is like smooth chocolate, can you imagine him teamed up with Mercedes?” Artie was crowing, as if he had found this new talent. Finn clapped Dave on the back.

“I never thought of it. You know that I couldn't have before, but now? Yeah, I might just try,” Dave said, looking around himself as if he couldn't believe they all liked his voice so much.

Kurt patted him on the back and he grasped Kurt's hand and shook it, giving him a wink. He might just be happy once again.

~*~*~*~*~

The next afternoon, Kurt was sitting on the sofa in his room, Blaine tucked in close as they watched The Little Mermaid once again. They weren't really paying it much attention, it was mainly on for background noise because Kurt didn't feel like getting his iPod to hook up to the speakers just then.

“So, why are we watching Little Mermaid again?” Blaine asked, kissing Kurt's neck before he laid back and got comfortable.

“Because you look like Prince Eric, of course,” Kurt answered, pushing Blaine to scoot over so he was sitting behind him, Blaine's back against his chest. “Here, lean forward a sec...”

Blaine complied. Kurt pulled his polo shirt off and laid it beside them on the sofa. He reached over to get some oil, scented with chamomile and lavender, and poured a bit in his hand. He rubbed it between his hands and started massaging Blaine's neck, down to his shoulders and back.

“Why are you so tight? I mean tight can be good in some cases,” Kurt kidded and got a giggle out of Blaine, “but you are just so tense. Let me help you with that.”

His hands moved down the muscles, firm pressure down and soft strokes back up his spine. He moved out from there, rubbing each sore muscle in its turn as he hummed along with the song on the movie. Blaine was being very appreciative, first kind of humming but as the muscles in his back relaxed it turned into a moaning as the feeling got better and better.

“Whoa...didn't mean to walk in on something private..” Burt said as he covered his eyes before stepping into the room.

“No, Dad, I'm just rubbing his back. It is completely family friendly!” Kurt admonished his father. “Sheesh, Dad, I know how to close a door.”

Blaine giggled.

“Hush, you!” Kurt said to him and slapped his back very softly.

“Hey, guys, I really didn't mean to interrupt, but Blaine got a big envelope from a college in Oregon, and it looked important,” Burt said, waving the envelope in front of Blaine. Kurt leaned forward and snatched it quickly.

“This is the first one, wow..it begins now,” Blaine grinned. It was like he was opening a Christmas present. He slit it open, Kurt hanging over his back to see.

“Hey, I've been accepted. But it wasn't my first choice. Let's see what happens in the next month. We applied to...what? Six colleges in Oregon. This was Concordia in Portland. Well, it's nice to know I've been accepted there.” Blaine smiled back at Kurt, who had his own smile plastered on his face.

“Which others? I know we talked a lot about what the two of you want to do come fall, but did you end up applying to any together?” Burt asked. He'd talked this all over with the boys one weekend and they had narrowed their choices down to six.

“Pacific University in Forest Grove, University of Oregon in Eugene, Western Oregon U in Monmouth, Maryhurst, and Oregon State in Corvallis. We both applied to each of them – we want to stay together,” Kurt answered, as if there had ever been any doubt they would go to the same college.

“Okay. Well, let's hope this is the first of many. I want you to have a choice,” Burt told them.

Finn came running down the stairs, two at a time, rushing in to give his news.

“I got in! On the football scholarship I applied for! I got in!” he was jumping around the room in such excitement they were all speechless. When Finn had finally calmed down enough to speak, he announced, “I got the scholarship to play for Oregon State!”

“Whhhooooo!!” Blaine and Kurt yelled. Oregon State was the college they wanted to go to, the others being far below in their estimation. Burt grinned.

“Well, let's celebrate. We can go to that nice Italian place, okay?” Burt said, jumping up to go tell Carole they would be going out that night for a celebration.

~*~*~*~*~

“Three cheers for Finn and his scholarship!” the Hummel family yelled as they sat down at the restaurant. Finn was grinning from ear to ear, his smile amazing. Kurt was so proud of his brother and had told him this numerous times on the way to Breadstix.

“They send out the scholarship letters a month in advance of the acceptance letters, so I'm not too worried,” Kurt said, wiping the lasagna sauce from his lip. Blaine was watching him, which made him nervous for a moment, but he recovered.

“You're telling me that all three of you want to go to Oregon State?” Carole asked. She wanted them all to do what their hearts desired, but having all three boys way out on the west coast was a little unnerving.

“There's a forestry program there, and I think that's what I want to do,” Blaine said, reaching over to hold Kurt's hand. “I can get back to where I want to be – in the woods in Oregon. Oh, not that I don't like it here, you have all been so nice to me, you are like my own family. I just miss my home.”

“That's okay, Blaine,” Burt patted his back, “I understand. We appreciate that you were willing to come so far to help Kurt. We will miss you when you go, but you know you always have a home with us, right?”

Blaine sniffed a little and wiped his face with his napkin. “Yes, I do know. Thank you.”

“That makes sense to me, Blaine, but why do you want to go to Oregon State, Kurt?” Carole asked. Kurt looked at her with a bit of shock. When he didn't answer, she prodded some more.

“Well, I think you have more intelligence than to pick a school to attend just so you can be near your boyfriend. Are you going to study advanced tree hugging, too?” Carole continued, successfully concealing her smirk because it was fun to poke the bear sometimes.

Kurt's gasp could be heard across the restaurant. By this time, Blaine was trying to stifle his giggle and had leaned back where Kurt couldn't see him and Burt was studying a picture on the wall of a chianti bottle with melting candles.

“Carole! I'll have you know that Oregon State has a perfectly wonderful music department and I have applied for a scholarship in voice training. I might even take some forestry classes myself. I enjoyed my time in Oregon and I am interested in conservation,” Kurt replied in his haughty tone, rolling his eyes.

That was it, Carole let loose with her suppressed laugh, which made everyone else laugh, too.

“Oh, et tu, Brute?” Kurt said to Blaine with a look of betrayal on his face, but Blaine pulled him close and kissed his cheek.

“No, honey, I would never make fun of you, but you have to admit that Carole really had you going there, right?”

“Hah. I knew all the time, I was just holding up my end of the joke,” Kurt said, crossing his arms in front of him.

“Okay, whatever you need to tell yourself,” Blaine patted his arm condescendingly.

By the time they left the restaurant they were all laughing, so happy for Finn and optimistic about all the boys attending the same college come fall.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was close to Valentine's Day and Puck had called a few of his closest friends. He invited them to come to his house and do 'a Valentine's Day project', but wouldn't say anything more than that.

Kurt loved to go to Puck's house. Puck lived with his grandmother, Sofia, and although she was on her way to being elderly, she was a barrel of laughs. She was the best baker he knew and an event at her house meant delicious cookies and probably a lesson in some sort of history that was always fascinating.

Saturday morning at seven, he was ready to go and got in the SUV with Blaine and Finn, arriving at her door on time. Puck greeted his friends and invited them in, the smell of some type of pastry filling the air. This was the first time Blaine had been there and he fell in love with the house as soon as he walked in the door. It was like stepping through a time warp into 1935. All of the furniture was covered in old fashioned brocade, with antimacassars on each chair. The wall paper was light rose with a dusky pink pattern of cabbage roses that ended at the chair rail, wainscoting panels beneath. The floor lamps had beaded shades and there were heavy velvet drapes at each window, held back with tasseled ropes to let in the sun.

“Puck lives here?” Blaine whispered to Kurt, incredulous.

“Yep,” Kurt grinned; he had the same thought the first time he'd walked in the house.

Puck led the way to the dining room where the walnut table was set with fine china and silver, crystal tumblers and linen napkins. Blaine's eyes lit up, but he looked at Kurt and saw this must be a typical setting as no one else looked surprised. They even had place cards.

“Please be seated, I'll just go and help Grandma,” Puck said, leaving the room. Kurt followed him to give the bouquet of roses he had brought to Miss Sofia.

The door soon opened and a tiny woman came through, carrying a tray as big as herself. Kurt jumped up to help, but one look from Sofia and he sat back down. He'd had this battle with her before. Puck followed with another tray.

As they sat smiling at Grandma Sofia, she removed each dish and set it on the table to be passed. It started with eggs, bacon, handmade sausages, and fried tomatoes.

“Don't fill up on this, you need to save room for the best part,” Kurt whispered in Blaine's ear as he passed the blood sausage to his boyfriend.

“Now, today I made our Kurt's favorite,” Sofia announced.

“Altweiner Apfelstrudel!!” Kurt crowed, his eyes getting huge as he saw the apple strudel on the plate, still warm from the oven. He stood up and hugged Sofia, giving her a kiss on her cheek, the blush showing on her paper-thin skin. She giggled and pushed him away.

“Sit down and eat, or I'll tell your daddy,” she said.

“Yes, ma'am,” Kurt said and sat down. “Grandma Sofia, may I introduce my boyfriend, Blaine Anderson. Blaine, this is Miss Sofia Suder.”

Blaine stood up and offered his hand, taking hers and kissing the back. “I am charmed to meet you, Miss Sofia,” he said, smiling into her eyes.

“And you, Mr. Anderson. Now, may I call you Blaine? ”

“Yes, ma'am,” Blaine smiled.

“Now I also have Leipziger Lerchen the small almond sponge tarts, hamantash are these little three-cornered ones filled with poppyseed, and rugelach which are filled with apricots. I hope you enjoy,” Sofia said as she sat down next to her grandson.

It was a delightful breakfast as everyone ate and chatted, laughed and told stories. Blaine thought it was probably the best time he'd had since he came to Lima.

After breakfast, Sofia allowed the boys to clean the table but insisted she could do the dishes herself. Kurt stayed and she allowed it, Kurt being her special friend. She enjoyed talking to him partly because she had known Burt when he was a boy.

When the others had left to play games in Puck's room, she gave Kurt her look, which meant he better spill the beans and not leave any details out.

“Yes, Miss Sofia, Blaine is my boyfriend. I know Puck told you about how I was put on a train and woke up in Oregon,” he started.

“Yes, honey. But I want to know how you feel. Is this the one, the soulmate you have longed for? Because you will know when it's the right one for you,” she gave him a knowing glance and picked up another plate to wash.

“It is, Miss Sofia. I love him so much. He didn't have to come here, he did it for me. It has been hard on him, he's not used to a city, he doesn't like all the noise and all the people that crowd him. Because he's gay, he gets bullied at my school and he had to endure so much. But he never complains, he just...endures. For me. How could I think he doesn't love me, too?” Kurt told her, being completely honest because he trusted Sofia and valued her opinion.

“This boy, this Blaine – he reminds me of my brother. His curly hair. Is it silky to the touch?” she asked, a far away look in her eyes. Kurt knew she lost her brother in WWII during the Nazi take-over of her little town in Poland.

“Yes, it is. He has soft skin and a warmth and kindness about him. I love everything about him,” Kurt said, very serious.

“Ah, to be young and in love. I see how he looks at you, and how you look at him. Has it always been this way?”

“Yes, since the day I opened my eyes and he was standing over me, holding out his hand to me, I've never stopped feeling like this...like I'm dreaming and it's too good to be true. Like I want to curl up in a ball with him and make the rest of the world go away. I hope to spend the rest of my life with him,” Kurt told his friend.

“I think you will, then. He's a good boy, I can tell,” Sofia said, “Now, let us go and start the project for the day.

Kurt walked up the stairs to Puck's bedroom. It was like walking into a different house. His walls were painted a bright blue faded from light to dark, modern art prints on the walls. There were game consoles and flatscreens along one wall, with guitars and a drum kit on the far side. They must have gotten bored with Call of Duty because Finn was at the drums, playing softly. Blaine and Puck were strumming two guitars while they sang a song. Kurt grinned, happy to see how Blaine had become such a part of this group.

“Grandma Sofia would like us to go downstairs, the project is ready. Noah, do you have any idea what this project is?” Kurt asked, but Puck just shook his head.

Downstairs, Sofia sat at the table. At each place were a pair of very small, sharp scissors, paper, and a pencil. She waved for everyone to sit and began her lesson.

“When I was a girl, we didn't run to the store whenever we wanted something, we had to either work for it or make it ourselves. We paid more attention to holidays back then, too, I think. Because we did not have the same means of communicating back then, no internet, no social network or cell phones, we had to write letters or go to a person's house to talk to them. I think it was a simpler time – not better, but simpler. I am Jewish, but we did celebrate St Valentine's Day, not as a religious holiday, but for the fun of it. One of the things we did for St Valentine's Day was to give the boy or girl we liked a present. This is a traditional present shared by the children of my youth: it is called Scherenschnitte.”

She brought out a box of paper, but not like the boys had ever seen before. The first one was brought out and all four boys stared. It was a piece of thin paper that had an entire scene cut out of it. Somewhat similar to cutting a paper snowflake, but it was a scene of a girl and boy kissing, each holding a heart behind their back. There were trees filled with leaves and little squirrels running along the branches; the flowers growing in the garden and a butterfly on the flower. It was intricate and beautiful. The box has about a dozen of the papers, each one cut from paper that was now over 70 years old. Some were just the cut picture, but some had been colored with either colored pencils or ink. Each one was a story unto itself: a forest of small animals and birds, a family with many children playing in the garden, two lovers dancing in the moonlight. A few were just the cut design, others were mounted on contrasting paper to bring out the design to better advantage.

“First you think of a scene, then draw it on a piece of paper. The hardest part is cutting so that you leave the picture. It takes practice and you will cut the paper in unintentional places, losing large parts of the picture, making you start over until it is right. Now, first draw the scene. Then, use the sharp scissors to cut it out.” Sofia showed them a little of one she was working on and they all began drawing.

The rest of the morning was spent with giggles, singing, and concentrated drawing and cutting the paper designs.

“Miss Sofia, did you make all the designs in your box or were those given to you?” Blaine asked.

“Ah, a few were my work and I gave them to my husband or to a friend. One I made for my brother. But my favorite is the one of Alice in Wonderland in the forest that my brother made for me his last year, when we were happy together,” Sofia said, smiling at the memory.

“That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard,” Finn smiled at her, taking her hand for a moment. “I hope this one will turn out even half as well, I want to give it to Rachel.”

Kurt giggled. Then Puck. Finn glared at them.

“Oh, and may I ask for whom are you making yours?” Finn said in a mocking way.

Both boys got red cheeks.

“Ah...for Lauren,” Puck admitted and Finn shoved him on his shoulder, smirking. They both turned to Kurt.

“I'm not at liberty to say,” Kurt answered, studiously not looking at Blaine. Blaine was doing the same.

“Oh, look at Finn's!” Puck said, leaning over Finn's work. “Hey, Dude, how did you get that so intricate with those big gorilla hands?”

Finn laughed. “Hey, did you think Rachel dates me because I'm the quarterback?”

Everyone dissolved in laughter, including Sofia. Upon hearing her laugh, Finn looked over – he had totally forgotten she was sitting there with them.

“Oh, Miss Sofia, I'm so sorry. That was rude of me...” Finn tried to apologize.

“No, no, my boy. Do not apologize, it was funny. I may be an old grandma, but I was young once and I would have rather had a sensitive boy who could do delicate work court me than one who was merely an athletic star,” Sofia winked.

By lunch time, all of the boys had finished their creations, some enhanced by either pastel pencils or bright ink, and they cleaned up the table, ready to eat. Paper designs were placed on contrasting paper to bring out the details and slid into envelopes to take home.

After lunch the boys took their leave.

“It was so nice to meet you, Miss Sofia,” Blaine said, once again kissing her hand before she gathered him in for a hug.

“Thank you for coming. Please don't be a stranger to my door,” she returned.

“I had a wonderful time, as always,” Finn told her, stooping his six foot four body down to her four foot eight for a kiss to her cheek.

“Goodbye, Miss Sofia, I had a lovely time and we hope to be back very soon,” Kurt said, giving her pretty pink cheek a little kiss as he hugged her tight.

“You come back soon, my sweet, and tell your daddy to visit me. I'll bake him some gingerbread with lemon curd,” she said, holding him in a hug for a few extra beats of her heart. She really loved this boy, as much as she did her own grandson.

They all waved as they got into the SUV and saw Puck, his arm around his grandmother, smiling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After a delicious dinner and dessert of raspberries and strawberries in cream, Kurt and Blaine went down to the bedroom to go to sleep. There were shy looks between them and little smiles when they came together to get into the bed, already dressed in their pajamas.

“I made my Valentine Scherenschnitte for you, Blaine,” Kurt said quietly as he handed the envelope to his boyfriend. Blaine smiled and handed his to Kurt.

“Me, too.”

Kurt's present to Blaine was a white heart with rick-rac edge, the center filled with a tree and in the tree were birds. The one Blaine made for Kurt was very similar, but it was a forest scene with deer, birds, and rabbits to remind him of the days they spent in Oregon together.

“Kurt, this is the kind of thing I think we'll keep forever, just like Miss Sofia did, but in a treasure chest - and when we're old and need our memories to warm our hearts, we can take out that box of treasures and live this all over again,” Blaine said to Kurt.

“That is why I love you, Blaine, and why we should never be parted.”

“Goodnight, Kurt, I love you.”

“And I love you, too, Blaine.”