Burt wasn't worried when Sam told him about the new boy. He teased Kurt about him but shrugged off any actual worry. Sam was quick to let him know if he caught anyone hurting his son and, last year's drama aside, Kurt was a big boy who could take care of himself. Burt was pretty at ease about everything.

But once Kurt, and then Sam, started hanging around the new boy, Blaine, he knew he needed to meet his son's newest friend. Sam had obviously been compromised and could no longer be relied on for information. He watched as his son hurried around the house one Saturday in mid November, collecting things in between getting ready for... something.

"Where's the fire, buddy?"

Kurt paused where he was pawing through his box of party supplies. "What? Oh, it's Sam and Mercedes ring ceremony today; I told you about that."

Burt grunted as Kurt continued to flit about, his eyes tracking his son's every movement. "Sam going to pick you up?"

This time Kurt didn't stop as he rushed downstairs to his room and yelled, "No, Blaine is. We're probably going to catch a movie after, but I'll be home in time for curfew." His voice grew louder as he came back up, this time wearing a white button up shirt, fingers deftly doing the buttons, and a dark blue tie wrapped around his neck and hanging loosely.

Burt just watched him for a moment, waiting until he was knotting the tie before saying, "I want to meet this kid."

Sure enough, Kurt's hand slipped before he could control himself. "W-What?"

Burt stood and moved in front of him, finishing up the work Kurt had started. "I've been waiting for you to bring him around so I could meet him without asking, but since you've been keeping him from me, I'm now telling you, I want to meet your friend. You talk about him all the time and the two of you are always hanging out when you're not with Sam or Mercedes. I don't see what the big deal is, Kurt."

Kurt's eyes shifted nervously as he tried to think of an excuse to get out of it, but Burt knew he had him cornered. He straightened Kurt's collar before stepping back. "Have him around for dinner one night this week, all right?" he added as he clasped his hand on Kurt's shoulder on his way to the living room.

888

He hadn't expected it to be that easy, but sure enough, the following Saturday night, he came home from the garage and called out for Kurt.

"I'm in my room, Dad!"

Burt thudded downstairs, saying, "Hey, I was thinking about getting some pizza tonight for di- Oh, hi."

A boy he had never seen before was standing beside his son's bed. His dark hair was slicked back severely and his clothes were fairly formal. He looked like the very picture of an upstanding young man.

Burt didn't trust him a lick.

"Hello, sir, my name is Blaine Anderson, it's a pleasure to meet you," the boy said easily, holding his hand out. Burt reached out slowly and grudgingly approved of the firm handshake he was given.

"Burt Hummel, Kurt's dad. Nice to finally see who my son is hanging around with all of the time."

Blaine laughed a little nervously. "Yes, sir, I agree. I've been anxious to meet the man Kurt speaks so highly of, but apparently he didn't think it was such a good idea."

"Only because I knew the two of you would gang up on me," Kurt grumbled mutinously from his perch on his bed. "Why do you always recruit my friends, Dad?"

"I've barely said two words to him!"

"Yeah, and soon he'll start acting like a watchdog, too."

Burt saw the boy watching as he and Kurt bickered good-naturedly with each other. He had a slight smile on his face, his eyes darting back and forth between them, and he seemed at ease with the whole thing.

"How about I just order some pizza," Burt interrupted himself. "Then we can all sit down and get to know each other?"

"Oh, um, Blaine and I were actually going to cook tonight; he brought some stuff," Kurt said, glancing at his friend nervously. "I mean, if you-"

"Kurt, I told you it's fine. If we can ever decide on what to make," he added with a significant look.

"Well, what are my options?" Burt asked.

"Homemade chicken parmigiana or vegetable soup," Kurt replied, pouting when Burt immediately voted for the chicken parmigiana. "I would have put some meat in there!"

"Should have put that in the pitch, because now my stomach is set on chicken," Burt told him, grinning a little wider when Blaine lets out a snort of laughter, though he was quick to compose his face when Kurt turned his glare on him. He held his hands up in surrender before motioning to the stairs.

"After you."

Burt wasn't surprised at the pink that dusted the top of his sons' cheeks and a goofy grin on his face as he gracefully made his way up, though he was surprised to see the look replicated on Blaine's face, shy and bashful as he glanced nervously at Burt before following Kurt. Burt went up last, listening to the sounds of their happy chatter as they set about working. The boy was obviously smitten with Kurt, his eyes lighting up with every laugh he drew from him, his movements seeming to tune to Kurt's naturally as the pair moved around the kitchen. He watched them from his seat at the kitchen table; Blaine, the patient teacher, and Kurt, his eager student. Kurt didn't even fuss when the stewed tomatoes they were crushing for the sauce squirted up his arm, instead laughing as Blaine showed him an easier way.

He had never seen his son so at ease with another person before, not even with him or Sam. Something about this new Dom made Kurt relaxed and Burt couldn't help but hope, as he watched them sneak glances at each other, that this boy was going to stick around for the long haul, soulmate or not.

888

Dinner was typically a quiet affair, just him and Kurt talking about their days and then finishing their meal in silence, but that night was full of noise as Blaine easily drew both of them into conversations, laughing and talking in a way that Burt had only ever hoped to see again at his table. He had had no idea how to carry a conversation after Elizabeth died and his own father had been the strong, silent type, so it didn't help when he wanted to connect with Kurt, but didn't know how to start. While he never wanted the pat-on-the-back-and-never-really-talk kind of relationship with his son, Burt knew that was how it was often.

But Blaine had opened a whole new door for them, leading the conversation without overtaking it and, for the first time in almost eight years, Burt wasn't fretting silently as he watched Kurt eat dinner across from him. He was laughing and smiling, his eyes crinkled in that way that you knew meant it was real.

Afterwards, Blaine volunteered to do the dishes and Kurt jumped up to help. Burt knew he shouldn't have been surprised at the boy's offer, not with how he had acted. He had proven to be different than most Doms already and doing something others considered sub work (not that Burt did, and the only reason he didn't help was because Kurt always came in behind him and did it all over again anyway) put Blaine even higher on his good list.

He was flipping through the channels, looking for a game or a good movie to put on, when Blaine joined him, standing somewhat awkwardly at the doorway until Burt motioned for him to sit on the couch.

"Kurt said he would be in here in a bit, just finishing up on the dessert," he told him with only a touch of nerves in his voice.

Burt grunted as he settled on ESPN Classic. Where Blaine had been talkative at dinner, he was silent now without the buffer of Kurt between them. Burt let the tension build, noticing the stiff way Blaine held himself, until finally, "You follow college football?"

Blaine jumped at his words but nodded. "Yes, sir, I'm a huge Buckeyes fan."

"You don't say?" He turned his full attention on his son's friend. Somehow the topic hadn't come up at dinner but now they fell into it, discussing games they had been to and which players were worth going pro. Kurt rolled his eyes as he passed around the slices of chocolate cheesecake he had made the night before and sat down next to Blaine to eat his piece. Immediately, Blaine pulled him into the conversation, changing the topic with such fluidity that Burt barely noticed.

What he did notice was the way Blaine's eyes were inexorably drawn to Kurt. Their movements often mirrored each other and neither was far from smiling. He held off until Kurt collected their plates, waving off Blaine's offer to help, and was in the kitchen to ask, "Are you gay?"

He saw Blaine twist his ring for a second before looking Burt straight in the eye. "Yes, sir."

Burt held him there, doing his best convey his thoughts; * I've been watching I'll keep watching you hurt him and I'll hurt you please don't do anything to hurt him more than he's already been. * Blaine seemed to understand, never wavering as he waited.

"I would ne-"

"All right, Dad, I hate to steal your conversation buddy," Kurt said as he swept into the room, "but Blaine and I have to practice our duet for Sectionals." He held out his hand to help Blaine up.

"You two are singing a duet?" Burt asked in surprise.

"Yeah, we won the duet competition," Blaine told him excitedly.

"I told you that," Kurt griped.

"Yeah, that, not that you were singing lead! Congrats!" Kurt flushed with pleasure and flapped his free towards his father. "No, no, this is a big deal!" Burt insisted.

"Whatever, we have to practice," Kurt muttered, still not letting go of Blaine's hand as he led him back to his room.

888

Sectionals were closing in rapidly and there was the usual scramble for them to pull together their set list and frantic dance rehearsals that were almost guaranteed to end in an argument. In the end, they gave Tina a solo and Mercedes the lead on a group number in addition to Kurt and Blaine's duet. The whole group worked tirelessly to perfect their songs and moves, despite Rachel's typical whining about not being lead for both numbers. On the third day before the competition, Blaine found Kurt sitting off to the side as the group took a break. He settled down next to him before nudging him with a bottle of water.

"Oh, thank you," Kurt said, eyes wide with surprise. He took a sip and offered it back to Blaine.

"No, I brought that over for you." He pushed the bottle back into Kurt's hand. "You looked like you could use something to drink."

"That's so sweet of you, thank you," Kurt murmured, tilting his head to rest on Blaine's shoulder briefly as he untwisted the cap again and took another, much larger, drink.

"Is your foot okay?" Blaine asked, noticing Kurt was still rotating his ankle in front of them.

"Mm, yeah, just messes with me sometimes," Kurt hummed. "You remember the accident I told you about? The one that killed my mom?" At Blaine's nod, he continued, his voice softening like it did when he talked about something upsetting. "Well, I was injured, more than just the concussion. The shoes I was wearing were just a little too big, enough so that they fell off easily. That day, I had been kicking my feet around and my left shoe flew off just before the wreck happened. Some metal cut my foot," he made a long slashing motion with his hand, "diagonally. It sliced up the muscles and stuff. It's all healed up and everything but it occasionally still hurts when I do a lot of walking, or, in this case, dancing."

"Well, here, let me see." Blaine scooted down until he was level with Kurt's feet and started untying his shoes.

"No, Blaine, you-"

He tried pulling his foot back but Blaine held on tight. "If this is about your sweaty feet, you can stop right there. Trust me, I've had to touch far worse." His nose wrinkled in distaste, making Kurt laugh. "Now, let me massage your sweaty feet, all right?"

After a long moment, Kurt nodded and Blaine grinned as he began unlacing his shoes. "This is nothing compared to Cooper's smelly feet," he said as his thumbs dug into the arch of Kurt's foot. "He used to make me massage his feet after his acting classes. He said it was practice for my future soulmate but I think he just wanted free foot massages."

Kurt sighed happily as warmth and contentment spread through his body, relaxing him in a way he never had been before. "Well, the next time you talk to Cooper, give him my thanks."

Blaine chuckled. "Good?"

"Very good."

"Well, if one part of Cooper's 'training' ended up being right, I'm glad it's this one."

"Me, too," Kurt laughed. It wasn't much longer before Mr. Schue called them all back to the stage. Blaine laced up his shoe and helped him up rubbing some hand sanitizer on as they joined the rest of the group. The feeling of contentment stayed with Kurt long into the night.

888

The day of Sectionals dawned cloudy, weak light peeking through the partially cracked fabric of Kurt's curtains. He had been nervous and jumpy the whole day prior and it had taken hours and many cups of warm milk before he had fallen asleep. Today, he was singing lead in a competition. Who cared if it was a dual lead? Blaine was one of his best friends and he couldn't have asked for a better duet partner.

He got up earlier than he wanted to and brushed his teeth before stumbling downstairs and cooking crepes for him and his dad. When Burt came thudding down not long after, Kurt handed him a cup of coffee and a knife, shooing him over to the fruit bowl with directions to chop some up. Afterwards, they both sat down with fresh cups of coffee.

"The show starts at five, right?" Burt asked, about halfway through their meal.

"Yeah, in Columbus. Do you think you'll be able to make it?"

"Should be, Jerry supposed to be closing the shop tonight."

Kurt didn't even try to keep the excited smile off of his face. His dad came to both of their shows last year and to all of his performances at the civic center, but this was the first time he was in lead and he couldn't wait to see the proud look on his dad's face, whether they won or lost.

They cleaned up the kitchen together before leaving, Burt to open his shop and Kurt to meet the rest of the New Directions for one last run through before they left for the show. Everything went smoothly, for once, and soon they were piling on the bus to head to the first competition of the show choir season.

Blaine sat next to him in the uncomfortable seats, offering his bag of trail mix and water as they chatted, going over their song and talking about past performances they had been in. Once they had arrived and eaten lunch, Mr. Schue set them free with a reminder to be back by three so that they could take their turn familiarizing themselves with the stage before the competition started. Everyone paired up or gathered on groups, heading out into the city to enjoy a little free time.

888

Kurt dragged the very willing Blaine to the botanical gardens to kill time. He had no problem with flowers, but he found himself staring at Kurt more than them. He had never seen him so excited, so alive, as he did following down the paved paths. He spoke excitedly about the flowers, pointing out his favorites, their scientific names rolling off his rogue with ease.

"Sorry, I should have warned you," Kurt said sheepishly as they left. "I love going to places like that and I kind of get sucked in."

"Don't even worry about it," Blaine waved off his concern. "I always like learning new things." Not to mention he got to hang out with Kurt, who was practically glowing. "Have you ever considered going into the floral business?"

Kurt looked at him like he was crazy. "No, why would I?"

"You just seem to know a lot about flowers," Blaine shrugged.

"Oh, that. Every summer, my parents used to take me to the botanical gardens or the arboretum. My dad and I haven't been in a couple of years, but those trips hold some of my best memories of the three of us. My mom liked to use their scientific names, so I learned them by that first."

"Ah," was his intelligent response. He was always nervous around Kurt these days, it seemed, tying up his tongue and making his stumble. He couldn't help but feel pleased every time Kurt shared a little more of himself with little stories like that.

They were the second to last group to make it back to the center, followed closely by Quinn and Santana, both who had wild hair and lopsided clothes. The group was rushed inside so they could do their final run through on the stage and then were ushered to the green room reserved for them to get ready.

"Are you nervous?" Blaine whispered as they stood on the sidelines while the previous group cleared the stage.

"A little," Kurt admitted. He glanced at Blaine. "Don't let me fall?"

Without a second thought, he leaned over and laced their fingers together. "Never."

When it was cleared for them to go on, they quickly moved to their places and then it was time, the lights flooding the stage as the twang of a guitar burst through the speakers and then-

Ooh, you make me live
Whatever this world can give to me

There was Kurt, his eyes trained on Blaine's as they danced. The others were twirling around them but Blaine watched him, holding him tight as he joined in.

It's you, you're all I see

And it was true and became truer every day. The lonely boy from the first day of school had become his best friend and if Blaine could, he would give this boy his whole heart. Something in him screamed at him to protect, to watch, to growl possessively at anyone who came close to Kurt.

Oh, you're the best friend that I've ever had

But Kurt was just a friend. That was it. Nothing else, no matter what Blaine's feelings were.

I'm happy at home
You're my best friend
Oh, you're my best friend
Ooh, you make me live
You, you're my best friend

Their voices faded as the song ended and the two of them rotated spots so that Tina was featured in the front. He never let go of Kurt as they moved seamlessly into the routine as Tina began singing.

Here comes the sun
Doo-to-do-do
Here comes the sun and I say
It's all right

The dancing was as lighthearted as the song and before Blaine knew it, it was Mercedes turn.

Dig if you will the picture
Of you and I engaged in a kiss

The song was fast, almost enough to be a tango, and Blaine could feel the sweat pouring off of him. He alternatively loved and hated this song, because it meant he was pressed in close to Kurt, but that part always made him think about lips and kisses and Kurt and it didn't help his confused feelings any.

By the time he pulled himself out of his downward spiral, Mercedes had finished and they were exiting the stage for the next group. Blaine was pleased when Kurt held tight to his hand the entire time they were backstage and then when the groups were called back out for the judging.

When the New Directions was declared the winner, there was a lot of shrieking and jumping and Kurt, unsurprisingly, ended up in his arms, shouting loudly in his ear as applause thundered through the center. His nose was filled with Kurt's scent and his arms were full of warm boy and he couldn't help himself. When Kurt pulled back to smile brightly at him, he cupped his face gently and softly pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"You were amazing," he whispered against the smooth skin before pulling back and smiling.

"I- You, um- Wow, I-" whatever else he was trying to say was drowned out when they were enveloped into a group hug and separated, though it wasn't long after the cheers died down and they were out in the pressing crowds looking for any family that had come that Kurt found him again.

He tugged Blaine down an aisle, saying excitedly, "Come on, I've gotta find my dad and go eat a celebratory dinner and I want to see if he'll let you come too."

"Oh, I don't know-"

"Blaine, there you are, I've been searching for you."

Icy fear clenched in his stomach at the clipped, disapproving tones. He stopped moving immediately, Kurt not realizing he had until his arm was yanked back.

"Blaine?"

But he couldn't look at him, couldn't turn to reassure him everything was okay as he stared at the woman in front of him and the man standing two feet behind her, his eyes flicking between Blaine and her back.

"Hello, Mother, Father, I didn't realize you were coming today."