Kurt felt tempted to call Blaine throughout the weekend, but decided against it. His motives weren't even about the so called depression anymore. He just wanted someone who wasn't Rachel, Finn or Carole to talk to. Blaine intrigued him to say the least, the way he looked at him was just like the way an old friend would and that made him feel welcome to talk about anything with the man, he would not push his luck though. Instead, he decided he'd work in the garage with Finn. His brother was holding his father's business all alone. It had actually made him feel bad for Finn, he knew he didn't want to be a mechanic, he wanted to be a teacher, but for now they had to work in the Tire Shop so they could earn some money and not let their father's employees lose their jobs. It made Kurt very aware of his emotions though, he felt like he was replacing his dad and it made him think badly about himself, even the employees, who had known him since he was born now looked at him like he was the new Burt, and it pained him. Not only because he'd never be able to fill his father's shoes but because he felt like he had to too. The shop was slow that day, only a few customers coming in to check on their car statuses and buy products, that is, until a man with a mess of dark curly hair showed up. Blaine was wearing casual clothes, his glasses accommodated on the bridge of his nose and sockless shoes on. He made his way until the end of the shop, where Finn was working behind the counter.

"Good morning, um... My car is making some squeaky sounds and I thought it would be a good idea to bring it here so you can do a check-up." He told Finn, smiling easily.

"Oh, sure. I'll call one of the guys. What's your name, sir?" Finn asked, taking a small notepad and scribbling something before looking expectantly at Blaine.

"Blaine Anderson."

"Ok. Wait just a second..." Finn said and turned to his side. "Kurt!" He shouted. A brown haired guy covered in grease and oil looked up from the corner.That can't be him. Blaine thought.

"What, Finn?" Kurt yelled back, the shop was really loud so it was hard to communicate so Finn simply made a 'come here' gesture.

Blaine blushed because that wasn't the Kurt he was accustomed to, he was wearing a dirty tank top, with an overall tied around his slim waist and boots. He also looked sweaty, in Blaine's defense.

Kurt seemed to be startled by Blaine's sudden appearance in his Tire Shop, but recovered himself quickly by wiping his dirty hands on the overall and smiling at Blaine.

"Hey Blaine." He said.

"Hi Kurt." Blaine was mesmerized, he couldn't believe that even like this Kurt looked that beautiful. He quickly recovered himself as well and stopped drooling over the guy.

"You guys know each other?" Finn said, oblivious to the looks they were giving each other.

"Um, yeah..." Kurt started, looking at Finn and back to Blaine "He's my counselor at the community center."

"Oh, cool. I'll leave you two alone then, gotta get back to work!" the taller man said.

"Um, where's your car, Blaine?" Kurt asked awkwardly, looking everywhere but at the hazel eyed man.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you worked here, I just parked in the first shop I found." Blaine apologized, frowning a little "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Kurt snapped out of his thoughts "No! Not at all, sorry, I spaced out a little." he said, forcing a smile.

Blaine seemed to think a little "Ok, my car is outside."

"Let's see what's wrong then..." Kurt told him, exiting the shop and making his way towards the car.

"Would you like to go out with me?" Blaine asked, after Kurt was done with the car. Kurt's eyes widened.

"As friends, I mean." Blaine cleared his throat and blushed "You know, bros helping bros."fuck Blaine, I can't believe you said that.

Kurt paused. "When?" Blaine seemed to be surprised by Kurt's response.

"Uh, today?" he asked, smiling softly.

"Are you sure? I still have to take a shower and change and you don't have your car so you'll have to wait and..." Kurt started.

"Hey, hey... Don't worry, that's not a problem. Take all the time you want." Blaine shook his head a little, smiling at Kurt's adorableness.

"What would you like to order?" Blaine asked Kurt, who was scanning the menu skeptically.

"Um, the suk... sukiy..." he trailed off.

"You've never been to a Japanese restaurant, have you?" Blaine said, chuckling a little at the adorableness of Kurt's flushed face. The taller man shifted uncomfortably on his seat.

"Hey, hey... Don't feel embarrassed, when I first tried it, I brought shame to the part asian people." he laughed coyly. "How do you feel about sushi?"

"I think the idea of eating raw fish doesn't attract me in the least." Kurt sighed "Look Blaine, I know you're trying to be nice and I appreciate you but..."

"No buts, Hummel." he shook his head slightly with a soft smile "What about I order something which is not raw fish... Well, something like the sukiyaki dish you were talking about?"

Kurt's expression softened at the news and Blaine could feel the tension draining off him.

"Okay."

"This is delicious..." Kurt said, shoving a piece of tofu into his mouth with the help of chopsticks.

"I knew it would be a good idea to bring you here." Blaine laughed at the man, who was practically in love with his dish. Kurt seemed to stop in his tracks for a moment. "Why did you bring me here, really?" he asked, looking for some sign in Blaine's eyes and the dark haired man felt hipnotized by the blue eyes for a second before snapping out of his thoughts.

"Um, I don't know... You look like you might need a friend right now, Kurt." Blaine shrugged as if he had mentally prepared himself for this moment to flow so easily.

"So this is a pity party then." Kurt stated, looking him dead in the eye.

"No, no Kurt, not at all!" Blaine started "I... you seem like a guy I'd like to know and that's a huge thing for me to say."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have a lot of friends, Kurt. Don't get me wrong, I'm not using you just like I could, I don't know, drop my baggage on you or something. But when I look at you, I see the kind of guy I'd like to be friends with."maybe even more, Blaine adds in his head.

"Are you gay?" Kurt asks softly.

"I... yes."

Things got really weird after that, they shared the bill, hugged their respective goodbyes and Blaine ends up catching a cab home, as his car wasn't completely ready yet.

Why do you always screw things up, Blaine? Now he thinks you're a fucking pervert who's trying to get in his pants, way to go. I just need a beer.

Blaine opened the door to his tiny apartment just to find Cooper laying on his couch, watching something on Netflix.

"Cooper? What are you doing here?" he asked disbelievengly.

"Hi, lil' bro!" he looked up smiling so hard his face was almost splitting in half. "Missed me?" Cooper made his way to Blaine, hugging him tightly and ruffling his hair, silently thanking the Gods that his little brother had stopped using hairgel.

"Um, Coop...? Not that I'm not happy to see you but... why are you here? We were supposed to meet up in a couple weeks."

"I know!" Cooper was almost jumping with excitement. "But I have some good news and I didn't want to wait for a couple weeks!" Cooper took a deep breath so as to calm down. "I got promoted."

"You what?!" Blaine asked, smiling widely "Congrats Coop!" he hugged his brother one more time.

"Do you know what this means?" Cooper asked. "I'm gonna pay for your college shit and you're gonna fucking let me because I can afford it and I won't take no for an answer."

"Cooper..." Blaine started.

"No, no. Shut up and fucking listen just for once, please." Cooper cleared his throat. "Sarah and the kids have everything they need, I've talked to Sarah and she agreed with me that it's time for you to go back to college. She fully supports you.Wefully support you." Blaine sat down on the sofa, he knew this was going to be a long discussion.

"Now, before you start with your old little speech 'oh my God, my poor older brother, I'm a burden, I don't deserve to be happy' freaking listen to me, ok?" He said and Blaine nodded.

"You're 28 and you struggle to live every single day. You work in a community center for free because you love helping people so much you don't even care, even if your problems are bigger than theirs. Youdeserveto be happy, Blaine. And I'm gonna be the one who helps you reach this goal."

Blaine's adam's apple was throbbing as if he were holding on not to cry, Cooper chose to ignore it.

"Now, this is not gonna be like all the times I offered you money and you didn't take it. This time I'm sure you will, but I'll give you the right to think about it. I want the answer in two weeks." Cooper stated, making his way out of the apartment. "I'll crash on a friend's place so you can have some privacy, okay?"

"Hey... Coop?" Blaine whispered, feeling the tears threatening to fall.

"Yes, Blaine?" he asked, slightly turning away from the door.

"You're more of a father to me than anyone could ever be."

"I love you too."