Immediately, Cooper's eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing as he propped himself up on one arm. "Of course."

Blaine sat up to mimic his position, hesitating a moment longer before saying, "I met the most amazing boy at school."

Cooper gaped at him for a moment before scooting closer. "Tell me more, tell me more, like, does he have a car?"

Blaine laughed loudly, unable to keep the grin off of his face. He had missed his brother so much since returning to Ohio. "Yeah, actually, a black Navigator. Special permission because his dad is sick," he explained when Cooper stared in shock.

"Oh yeah? That's pretty cool. What his name?"

"Kurt."

"Aaaand?"

"And..." Blaine sighed as his eyes grew dreamy. "And he's perfect, Coop. Smart and funny and so talented, I swear, he sounds like an angel with he sings. And he's so gorgeous, sometimes he takes my breath away."

"Sounds perfect," Cooper hummed. "Have you two..."

The tips of Blaine's ears burn. "No, no, we haven't exchanged Touches. I don't think he's my soulmate, anyway; I just really like him."

Cooper's brow furrowed. "Why not?"

"Because Touches are intimate! You can't ju-"

"No, why don't you think you're soulmates, you noob."

"Oh. One time I saw his debit card and his middle name starts with an E."

"Ah, and your Soulmark is K?H, right?" Cooper said, nodding knowingly.

"Right." Blaine huffed as he flopped onto his back. "It's just like before, with those other two; almost, but not quite. I'm tired of getting my hopes up."

"Well, what about his Soulmark? Maybe there's something you're missing and you actually are soulmates."

Blaine made a noncommittal noise. "Doubtful; surely he would have said something?"

"Maybe he's waiting for you to?"

Blaine shrugged. "I don't know, Coop." They both laid down again, staring at the ceiling in the quiet for long minutes.

"So are you going to pair up with him?"

"What? No. I don't think either of us could handle it if we found our soulmates while we were together. It's best to just let me pine in secret."

Cooper's face screwed up dubiously, but he didn't press his brother any more. "Why did you want me to keep him a secret, though? Because of Mom?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Blaine sighed. "Kurt... He's really headstrong, isn't afraid to speak his mind, especially about Doms, and you know how she is. She met him today, actually, after Sectionals."

"I'm really sorry I missed that, by the way, plane kept getting delayed; I wanted to surprise you."

Blaine flapped his hand between them. "I know you have a life out in Cali, it's okay."

"Yeah, but still."

"Coop, it's cool."

Cooper glanced at the door. "Speaking of life in Cali, I was going to see if you wanted to fly out during spring break, actually. I'll even pay for Kurt to come with you, if you want. I know you have to be missing it. Hell, I just got here and I already miss it."

"I hear that, and I'll definitely talk to Kurt and see if he wants to come; you already know my answer is yes."

Cooper grinned, bright white teeth shining. "Perfect! I'll deal with the finer points, like talking to the parentals, later. Now, tell me about Sectionals."

888

The week after the competition was Thanksgiving, which gave the students an entire week out of school for the holiday. Blaine had made plans to get together with Kurt over several of their free days, but that had been before he knew Cooper was coming to town and, thankfully, Kurt had been understanding, saying that he could always spend more time at the shop with his dad. They were only going to be here for a couple of more years, he reminded Blaine, and it would be worth getting to spend extra time with their families now before they left.

Blaine had agreed that the idea had its merits, but his family being the way they were, he wasn't too keen on spending any more time with them than he already had to. If it weren't for Cooper being home, he would be more than happy to just spend all his time with Kurt.

Sunday was quiet, his parents pleased to have their oldest (and less disappointing, Blaine thought) son back home. They crammed as much "family fun time" as they could in the day, since their mother would be returning to work the next day. Which both boys spent sleeping until two and then playfully fighting over video games.

Tuesday, Cooper dragged him to the mall, insisting he needed some new clothes, but after a half hearted attempt at looking at a store and three hours of people watching in the massage chairs located on the second floor, Blaine thought it was safe to assume the thin excuse was a ruse. Even when she wasn't there, their mothers presence hung in the air, thick and oppressive. They quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) mocked the outfits or hair styles and ate soft pretzels as the hard nubs of the chairs worked over their backs again and again, enjoying the day together without being at home.

A familiar laugh caught Blaine's ear and his head swiveled around to see Kurt riding the escalator up, on hand clutching a giant cookie as Tina held the other end, giggling as she broke it in half. His face was still guarded, but the smile that lit his face was soft and sweet, more willing to be open than before. And when he spotted Blaine, he seemed to glow, his eyes lighting up and the smile growing into one that had Blaine's stomach twisting. Tina spotted him just as he waved him over, watching as she grabbed Kurt's hand and tugged him along. There was a look of surprise on Kurt's face, his eyes darting to where their hands were clasped, but he went along with her. Blaine knew what the look was for: People don't normally touch Kurt voluntarily.

"Hey, Blaine," Tina said when they reached them. He noticed how she didn't let go of Kurt when they stopped.

"Hey, Tina, hey, Kurt, what are you guys doing here?"

"Well, we had a project together for Home Ec and we started talking about cookies and cookie recipes and Kurt thinks that the cookies here are the best, so we decided to settle the bet," Tina told him cheerfully, holding up her half of the cookie.

"And what's the verdict?" Cooper asked, looking between the three of them. Kurt jumped, his eyes finally moving away from Blaine to notice the man sitting next to him.

"Oh my god, you're Cooper Anderson," he breathed, his eyes growing wide as he tugged on Tina's hand. "Tina, that's Cooper Anderson."

"That's... great, Kurt." Tina stared at him for a moment, uncomprehending.

"I love your show," Kurt told Cooper, his words coming out in a rush as he stared, unabashed. "Dylan Rogers is so amazing and you play the part just right and I can't wait to find out if Caroline is pregnant with his baby or Victor's."

Cooper laughed, finally standing and offering his hand as he said, "Well, it's always great to meet a fan, especially one as cute as you." He winked.

Kurt quickly dropped Tina's hand and shook Cooper's and Blaine bit back a chuckle as she flexed her fingers, red from where Kurt had been squeezing them. He was blushing as he continued to stare wonderingly at Cooper, still pumping his head until Blaine cleared his throat, biting back a smile when Kurt let go of Cooper's hand like it burned him.

"So, about those cookies?"

888

Blaine quickly introduced them to his brother and the four of them sat at the mall for another two hours, taking up all of the chairs. Kurt was still a little star struck but Cooper was quick to ease him, laughing and joking and Kurt was so gonna get Blaine for not telling him that the star of All My Bold & Beautiful Children's General Passions was his freaking brother. He had gotten hooked on the show while recovering from mono three years ago, which he entirely blamed Sam for and which is why Sam was no longer allowed to drink from the same cup as Kurt, and had instantly liked Cooper's character. It turned out that Cooper was just as likable and a great deal funnier.

Tina had been a surprise, though, but a pleasant one. They had worked together before in class but it had never been as fun as it had the week before. He was sure it had something to do with Blaine coming into his life, encouraging him to open up to people, make friends with others, but whatever the reason, he found himself glad. Tina was sweet and quirky and was always quick to laugh.

And she seemed to have no problem touching him.

Most people shied away from contact, as though he was infectious, but both Blaine and Tina were quick to grab his hand or give him a hug. It was almost as if they could sense how touch starved he was, how much he craved human contact.

Also, it was nice to have someone to have a little girl talk with sometimes, if he were to be honest. His conversations with Tina over the weekend had been superficial, but so different than the ones he had with Sam or even Blaine.

After a while, Blaine suggested they go get some dinner and they all headed to Breadstix, Kurt and Blaine in Kurt's car while Tina rode with Cooper. They had devolved into an argument ("It's a discussion, Kurt!") about... something, Kurt wasn't even sure what it was about anymore, and neither was inclined to pause for the amount of time it would take to make it to the restaurant.

"I don't think I've ever seen Tina so animated," Blaine chuckled as he buckled up.

"Me either, except when she went off on Artie in the middle of the hallway one time," Kurt said. They drove out of the parking lot, Cooper following behind since he didn't know where they were going. As they sat at a red light, he glanced back to see Cooper waving his arms around, lit up by the headlights of the car behind him.

"Why did she go off on him?"

"Hm?" Kurt refocused on the road as the light switched to green. "Oh, he was being sexist when they were dating and she called him out on it."

"They dated?"

Kurt laughed, flicking on his turn signal. "For a few weeks, yeah. I don't know, they were pretty cute together."

"What happened, then?"

"Artie met his soulmate over the summer, some girl a couple of grades below us." He shrugged. "The usual."

"Ah." They arrived at the restaurant then, but Cooper's car was nowhere to be seen. They stood impatiently beside Kurt's Navigator for a minute, thinking they must have gotten caught at a light. Kurt bounced lightly on his toes, his stylish coat not doing enough to keep him warm in the late November wind. Blaine was fiddling with his phone, glancing between it and the road, when he suddenly looked over. "Oh, you're shivering! Come on, let's get inside."

Blaine hooked his arm through Kurt's and led the way, holding open the door for him before stepping up to the hostess stand.

"Hello!"

"Hi, table for four, please."

"Name?"

"Blaine."

The hostess ran her finger down the paper in front of her before gathering up some menus and taking a step back, smiling cheerfully. "Follow me." She led them through the maze of tables before seating them at a booth in the back. "Someone will be with you in a moment," she told them before walking away.

"I'm going to call Tina, see where they're at," Kurt said, wiggling around so he could get his phone out of his back pocket without standing, a feat that proved somewhat difficult since his pants were pretty tight.

He had just pulled Tina's name up on his Recent Calls list when Blaine nudged him. "Look, here they come. Holding... hands?"

The two of them stared as Cooper and Tina made their way over, both grinning goofily, their fingers intertwined between them.

"What the-"

"Squirt, you'll never guess what happened!" Cooper yelled excitedly as soon as they were spotted. "TNCC stands for Tina Noelle Cohen-Chang!"

Blaine blinked at him, uncomprehending. "What?"

Cooper let go of Tina's hand long enough to let her get seated before flopping down next to her and grabbing it back. "My Soulmark! You know how we both have weird ones? Mine's because of Tina's two last names!"

"H-how did this happen?" Kurt asked, looking between the two of them.

"We were talking in the car and suddenly Cooper asked about my Soulmark-"

"Cooper, you didn't," Blaine groaned. "That is so rude."

"No, it's not," Cooper insisted. "How else are you supposed to find out if someone is your soulmate if you don't ask?"

Tina elbowed him. "Hush. Anyway, when I told him it was CHA, he got really excited and when I told him my full name, he pulled over and we touched each others' Marks and felt the connection."

"Oh, wow..." Kurt looked at the couple across from them and then over to Blaine, who was still looking shocked. He gave him a hard nudge.

"What! Oh, yeah, hey, that's great, you guys, I'm happy for you," Blaine said, reaching over the table to pat their hands. "But, um, Tina, have you- what about Mike?"

"Oh, I called him right after it happened. We both went into it knowing it was possible, so he wasn't really heartbroken," Tina assured them. "I wouldn't keep him in the dark about something like this."

"Good, good."

Their waiter finally appeared then. "Hello, sorry for the wait tonight, what can I get for you to drink?"

They each rattled off their order and paused the conversation to look over the menu so that by the time he came back, they were ready with their food order. After their drinks were sat down and the waiter was gone, they all looked at each other again.

"You know, you didn't have to come here, you could have gone to celebrate," Blaine told them, "we wouldn't have minded."

"Celebrate with whom? You're the only one I care about, B," Cooper said. "Well, except this one here, now," he added, wrapping an arm around Tina and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Besides, we're both hungry; we can have some time alone later."

Kurt felt the tips of his ears burning at the thought of what the two of them would be doing. Despite his frequent sex dreams (always about Blaine), he was still pretty uncomfortable with even thinking about it when he was awake. He cleared his throat loudly, cheeks burning when Blaine looked over at him. "So, whose parents are you going to tell first?"

"Oh." Cooper blinked in shock before glancing at Tina. "Um, well, probably would be best if we told Tina's first, you know, uh, she's, um, and-"

"Because your mom is crazy as hell?" Kurt supplied helpfully, causing Cooper to glare at him.

He chuckled nervously as Tina looked at him curiously. "Well, yeah, there's that, but I was going to say because she's so much youn-"

"Wait, what?" Tina eyed him suspiciously.

"Look, I wasn't going to say anything yet," he sends another look at Kurt, "but my mom, she's kind of... strict."

"She's a subaphobic bitch," Kurt told Tina.

"Yeah, that," Cooper sighed. "I didn't really think about it when we were talking earlier."

"Told you so," Blaine singsonged.

"Shut up, Squirt." He turned back to Tina. "I wasn't hiding it from you, I promise, I was just so excited because we were connecting and it didn't even occur to me to warn you."

"Do I need to be warned?" Tina asked warily.

"Can we talk about this later? I promise, I'm not trying to discourage you from asking me stuff, but I really just want to enjoy tonight," Cooper said pleadingly, his bottom lip poking out adorably and his eyelashes fluttering. "I mean, we just found each other, we have a lifetime ahead of us." He pressed a kiss on each of her knuckles between words until Tina was smiling again.

"Of course." She leaned in for a kiss as Kurt rolled his eyes, Blaine suppressing his laughter as Kurt began mimicking vomiting.

"Oh, goody, food is here," he said loudly as the waiter approached.

When they still didn't break apart, he felt Blaine shift beside him and watched as Cooper jerked away from Tina.

"Jeez, what was that for?"

"For making me and Kurt feel awkward. And our food is here." Blaine smiled at his brother winningly before letting out a hiss of pain as his brother returned his kick.

"Sorry, Kurt," Tina whispered as her plate was sat in front of her. He smiled awkwardly back at her and hesitantly reached over to pat her hand.

"You can make it up to me by going shopping with me tomorrow, since we were distracted today." He nodded towards where the brothers were playfully arguing with each other.

She grinned. "I'll even buy the cookie."

888

his heart pounds, chest heaving with panting breaths as Blaine moves between his spread legs, his weight hot and comforting as he covers him, fingers caressing as he settles over Kurt, their cocks slotting together and it's so good, so hot, Blaine's forehead pressing against his, breath mixing between them as Blaine moves, his cock rubbing against Kurt's through the thin fabric of their underwear, it's so much, he cries out as Blaine pins his hands above his head, his muscles flexing right in front of Kurt's face, so warm, so safe, feels so good and he gasps at the drag, his long legs lifting to grip Blaine's hips, the angle is better, so much better, Blaine's free hand slides down his side, it's in his briefs, cupping his ass, fingers teasing his crack, moans tearing from his throat, his hips working hard, wanting more, needing more, gasping please and harder and Blaine's name falling from his lips like a prayer, it's so, he just, right there

Kurt woke up as come filled his briefs, soaking through onto his sheets as he lay there, panting, his eyes clenched closed in embarrassment.

Fuck everything.