The moment Kurt stepped back into the kitchen after seeing Blaine off and checking that the Doms in the living room were all right, Delia began bombarding him with questions.

"Who's the cutie? Where did you meet him? Did he Mark you? Oh, is he your soulmate? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Delia!" Grandma Mae scowled at her daughter. "You need to stop it." She might have been born a sub but her Dom of a daughter was quick to shut her mouth at Mae's tone, looking off innocently.

"Why don't you go watch the game with the other Doms?"

"What's the point, the Giants aren't playing."

"Where's Uncle Jason?" Kurt asked, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction before Delia could rile her mother up even more.

Delia leaned against the counter, picking at the cobbler Kurt had been working on before his family had shown up. "At home. Thomas woke up vomiting at three this morning, but Jason told me to come over anyway. Personally, I think he just wants the food instead of my company." She scowled as Kurt walked over and smacked her hand.

"I can't imagine why," he intoned dryly as he finished the desert.

"Yeah, me neither. Soooooo..."

"Delia Renee. Out. Now."

She shot Kurt a look that promised more harassing as she headed out of the kitchen, yelling something about the game as she walked into living room.

Mae opened the oven door and pulled out the turkey to check on it, but Kurt knew the discussion wasn't over. He briefly considered making a half-assed excuse and trying to make a run for it, but the idea was dismissed as quickly as it presented itself. Better to face the music now that incur wrath later.

"How long have you known Blaine?" she asked offhandedly as she basted the bird.

Kurt wasn't fooled. "We met at the beginning of the school year; he transferred over this year and our lockers are next to each other."

"Wonderful! Very lucky, on your part, to make a friend who is close by."

"Sam-"

"Is a very sweet boy, but he's not what you need," Mae chided, sliding one of the pies into the oven. "He's a good man, a good Dom for having taken you under his wing when you two were younger, but no... This Blaine, he's something else altogether."

He squirmed under his grandmother's intense gaze, fingers nervously picking at the leftover dough from the cobbler crust. "Yeah, Blaine's pretty amazing."

"Has your father talked to you about sex yet?"

Kurt was pretty sure his entire head was the same shade as a tomato as he carefully looked anywhere but at his tiny grandmother. "Yes."

Mae nodded approvingly. "Good."

Strong, weathered hands gripped his shoulders tight and led him over to the kitchen table, pressing him to sit in one of the chairs before Mae sat across from him. "Now, Burt may have told you about sex, but he only knows about a Dom's point of view and what he might have gleaned about subspace from pamphlets."

"Oh, god, please no, Grandma," Kurt groaned, his hands twitching as he longed to cover his ears and pretend this conversation never happened. "I'm not going to have sex with Blaine!"

She looked at him, astonished. "Kurt, this is about more than just sex! Being a Dominate or submissive has much more to do with intimacy than sex. Sure, some use it as a way to get rid of an itch, and as long as it's consensual, that's fine, but a relationship between a Dom and a sub is special, whether it's friendship or more. Sometimes even friends need each other, to submit or to Dominate, outside of a relationship."

"I know that, Grandma, but that's why I have Dad. He takes care of those kinds of issues for me whenever I have a panic attack."

"He will not always be around, you know. What are you going to do if you go off to college without having found your soulmate, hm? You'll still need a Dom to care for you in at least that way, if not sexually, and it is so, so important that you have a strong bond of trust with them." Mae sighed, reaching across the table to cover Kurt's hands with her own. "My sweet, sweet boy, I know you do not have many friends and I just don't want you to jump into a relationship once you're out on your own. It can have adverse effects on a sub if being Dominated goes badly, particularly at a young age."

His curiosity piqued, Kurt finally looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Kurt, sex is... different, for subs. It means different things for subs than it does for Doms, usually."

"That's what Dad said, but, um, I kinda didn't pay that much attention because it was pretty embarrassing."

"Well, you best pay better attention to me. Now, subs, it means a lot to us when we have sex, because we're giving up a big part of ourselves when we do. Control, Kurt," she elaborated when Kurt just looked confused. "We allow our Dom to take control and that is a big thing to give to someone. If you can't trust them with all that you are, it can make a bad experience for you and it can, and will, affect future scenes. I know that subs are inherently considered weaker, and maybe we are in some ways, but just like Doms, we have our strengths, too. I think that giving up control like we do is a big sign of strength."

Mae watched him process this for a minute. "You know, my first real scene was terrible."

"OH MY GOD, I'M NOT LISTENING TO THIS, LALALALALA!" Kurt stood up, stuffing his fingers in his ears as he hurried around the table. Mae caught the back of his shirt and he willingly stopped and backed up, not wanting the fabric to get stretched. He steadfastly refused to move his fingers, though, not even when his grandma shoved him back down in the chair.

Burt came in to view, grinning as he headed over to the fridge. Kurt unplugged his ears slightly.

"-tried to talk to him about sex, huh?"

"What did you say that scared him so badly?" Mae huffed.

"I didn't say anything!"

"Oh, no? Then why does your son refuse to talk about sex?"

"Hell if I know," Burt grumbled, popping open his retrieved can of soda and taking a large swallow. "I just sat him down with some pamphlets and you woulda thought I was putting him in front of a firing squad."

"Yes, well, I'm sure your presence isn't helping," Mae said, glancing at her grandson, whose eyes dropped back to the tabletop. "Now scoot while I try to undo whatever damage you caused."

"Hey now, why does it always have to be my fault?" Burt chuckled as he obediently left the kitchen.

"Because you're a Dom," Mae called after him, grinning when the Doms all jokingly complained. "Now, back to you, mister." She leveled Kurt with a look as she gently pried his fingers the rest of the way out of his ears.

"Please, Grandma, I don't want-"

"Kurt." Her voice was firm but kind and her eyes were sad. "Sweetheart, I know you think this is stupid, but it's so important for you to learn about these things, and from another sub. Doms can't understand what it's like for a sub anymore than a sub can for a Dom. I wish, more than anything, that my father had explained it to me before I had gone to college; perhaps then I wouldn't have had such a terrible first time."

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, what happened?"

Mae sighed, squeezing his hands gently. "He was my first Dom. I thought I trusted him, but I panicked and he didn't know how to Dominate properly. It was the worst thing that could have happened for someone's first time, a scene gone wrong and an ill prepared Dom. Trust, real trust like what you have with Blaine, is the key to having a happy and safe scene with anyone."

He sat there for a few minutes, digesting the words, the thoughts, the ideas, while Mae stood to check on the food. While the rest of his family arrived, exchanging kisses to the cheek and too tight hugs on autopilot as he considered everything. It wasn't until after dinner was done and everyone was either gone or half collapsed on the furniture in food comas that he sought out his grandmother.

"Can we talk?" he asked, eyes flicking around nervously at the stragglers.

Mae nodded. "Come on, we'll do the dishes."

The faucets had barely been turned on before Kurt blurted, "We're not going to the same state next year."

She turned to look at him, eyes wide in surprise, as Kurt's ears burned. "What?"

"Um, Blaine and I. We're not even going to be in the same state next year for school, so he can't be my Dom when I leave home."

"Well, that doesn't mean he can't be your Dom while you're still here. Better to try things now, with someone you know you trust, than to have it go badly."

"So, how would I approach him about this, then?" His face was a tomato, he knew it.

"By telling what you want, of course. Honesty is the best policy." Mae handed him a soapy dish he hadn't even realized she was washing. He quickly reached under the sink for his gloves and pulled them on before taking the plate and rinsing it.

"Just go up to him and say... that?" He whispered the last word, as though Blaine would hear him from across town.

"How else do you expect him to know?" another voice piped up from behind them.

They both jumped, sudsy water sloshing over the basin as they turned and saw Delia sitting at the table, fork stuck in a piece of pie. "What?"

"How long have you been sitting there?" Kurt asked.

"You walked right past me," Delia replied smugly.

Mae stared at her. "Well, I'll be... I didn't know you could shut up for longer than 30 seconds."

Delia glared playfully. "Well, now you know." She took a huge bite of pie and continued, "'ow, 'urtsee-"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Mae and Kurt scolded her simultaneously.

"'oil 'orts."

"Delia!"

She swallowed thickly. "Now, Kurtsie, you want Blaine to be your Dom? Ask him. If you're not upfront, how is he supposed to know that you're amicable to it?"

"How do you know he's even interested?"

"Please, astronauts in space can see that boy's heart eyes, and the fact that he was leaning towards you earlier? Big fucking indicator."

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way," Kurt grumbled.

"The stars were not in line for that kiss!"

"Delia," Kurt groaned, setting another dish on the drying rack.

"Just saying! Anyway, if you want to snag you a Dom, you have to be aggressive, at least to a certain extent. The whole dance of perpetual sexual tension is okay in the beginning, when you first meet someone, but most Doms won't make a move is a sub doesn't make it clear they want them to." She took another bite of pie.

"So I should just go up to him and say, 'Hey, Blaine, I know we're just friends, but would you mind Dominating me?' Yeah, not going to happen."

"Well, why not?"

"Because that's not how subs work, Delia," Mae piped up. "Kurt, you should tell him, but you don't have to go about it like that."

"Whatever, I'm just saying, as a Dom, when I was single? I loved it when subs would come right out and say something as opposed to just dancing around shit." She shoved the last bite in her mouth and stood. After placing her dirty plate with the rest of the dishes, she started walking towards the door. "Just, you know, think about what I said, Kurt."

Mae waited until she was gone. "Well, she's not wrong, but she's also not right. You have to do whatever makes you comfortable, sweetie."

Kurt nodded vaguely, thinking. He didn't think he could actually come out and say it to Blaine, but approaching him, having him care for Kurt when he was having a panic attack, was appealing. And he did trust Blaine, more than he was willing to admit.

For now, things would stay the same, but one day, maybe soon, he would ask Blaine what he thought about it.

888

Blaine watched Kurt watch him drive away, smiling to himself. He hadn't gone to Kurt's house with the intention of kissing him, not really. Fantasizing about something and intending on doing it are two totally different things, right? But Kurt had seemed like he was okay with it and that's all that really mattered to Blaine.

He had been into it, right? Oh, god, what if he hadn't been into it?

No, he had definitely been leaning forward at the same time as Blaine, which meant he wanted to kiss Blaine. But what if he was only leaning forward because Blaine had been?

Waves of worry and doubt crash over him, causing him to fret the whole way home. He never wanted to make a move that caused Kurt to doubt his honest intentions, to think he had designs on Kurt. Had he ruined it by moving in for a kiss? He didn't think so, but the thought that he could lose one of his only friends in this town had him on edge for the short drive to his house.

Several cars were parked in the long driveway of his parents' house, all shiny and expensive, all trying to one-up the rest. His family was always trying to prove they were better than the others; that's how he had gotten a BMW for his sixteenth birthday. Nothing but the best for the Anderson's.

He passed the other cars and pulled into his spot in the garage, next to the classic car he and his mom had rebuilt the summer before. They only used it for special occasions, his mother not wanting it to get messed up from too much casual use, but Blaine always felt a twisted sense of pride whenever he looked at him. He might have hated doing it, knowing that she had only cared about making him a tougher Dom, like getting his hands dirty would make more imposing, but he had helped fix that. There were few things Blaine loved more than fixing what broken; usually it wasn't even broken, when you looked close enough. A little bit of love, that's all most things needed.

His fingers dragged along the cherry red paint, not leaving a streak behind as he walked past it and entered the house. Like when he had left, the family subs were bustling around the kitchen, putting the final touches on the meal. They all were chatting happily, catching up, but as soon as he stepped into the room, they quieted down, eyes cast to the ground. His dad scurried over.

"Blaine, your mother was looking for you earlier," he murmured. He never spoke loudly, even when he was around other subs. "She looked a bit piqued that you weren't here; I think she's in the den with the others and I would suggest you find her as soon as possible."

"Of course." He smiled warmly at his father, whose lips twitched up into a smile before he shooed him away. Blaine paused outside the kitchen door until the noise picked back up, a ghost of a smile on his lips. He liked it better when the subs were able to talk more freely.

He walked slowly towards the den, glancing around before strolling in confidently. "Hello, Mother, Father said you were looking for me?"

And so it began; the obnoxious bragging about his grades, his car, his various clubs and duties he did for the community. Lead in the school play and one of the leads for glee, picking up trash off of the highway, and didn't you hear about Blaine's 4.3 GPA? He's just got to get that math grade up a little more. It was like the worst torture, pretending he cared about bragging, when really he cared about his accomplishments. But Blaine played his part as flawlessly as he had Tony, with one little hitch at the end.

"So, Blaine," Great Uncle Walter said, "I hear that Cooper has met his soulmate; have you had any luck with yours?"

"No, sir, not yet," he replied dutifully, though his mind automatically flickered to Kurt.

"Ah, but there is someone." Blaine cursed that stupid knowing twinkle in his uncle's eye.

"Uh, no, not really, sir, he's just a friend."

"Come, come, now! Just a friend?" Walter looked at him un-approvingly. "Surely you've at least Marked him by now. It's not proper for an unattached Dom and sub to just be friends."

"It's not-"

"Blaine, I need to speak with you in my office," his mother cut in, giving him a tight smile, set off by the hard look in her eyes.

"Yes, Mother. If you'll please excuse me, Uncle Walter?" At the older man's curt nod, Blaine stood and followed his mother out, feet quick but his heart heavy. As soon as the door snapped shut behind him, he started, "I-"

"No, I don't want to hear it," Bethany snapped. "I told you before, if you're going to be around that sub, you need to Mark him. Do you know how embarrassed I am right now?"

"But, Mother, nobody-"

His words were cut off this time by the slamming of a box on the mahogany desk between them. Her gaze was steely as their eyes locked. "You will Mark that boy, Blaine Anderson, and before Christmas so that I can preserve a little dignity in this family, do you understand me?"

Blaine nodded weakly, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth as Bethany composed herself and walked out, the hard click! of the door making him jump slightly. He tried his best to steady his hand as he reached out and flipped the lid on the box, though he already knew what was inside.

A thick black cuff, nestled on white tissue paper.