Kurt played it off as whatever. Blaine was probably too busy with work and his friends to stop by and annoy Kurt, though he was sure he'd come to see how the car was. Almost all the parts had arrived and the crew was beginning to put it back, piece by piece. Pretty soon, it would be back to normal.

Due to the lack of business and sheer boredom, Kurt texted Blaine.

/Cars lookin pretty good. Hope U can stop by n C it/

To his surprise, a response text came within a few minutes.

/Blaine A.

Cnt wait!/

So he can text, but he can't show his face? Kurt thought to himself. Seizing the moment, he texted back.

/Dad says the Coupe will B better than B4/

/Blaine A.

That's gr8! Cnt wait 2 have it bck on the road./

/If U want, U can come n chck it out. Tell us if there is nething U want done./

A few moments passed before another message came.

/Blaine A.

Yeah. Totes. I'll b there in a few./

/Great/, Kurt replied, biting his lip slightly.

A strange sensation was starting to bubble up in his stomach, though Kurt ignored it. Tossing his phone back into his pocket, Kurt went back to work.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was almost an hour and a half later when Kurt heard the knock on the door. He called for them to enter, and waited until he heard footsteps.

"Kurt?" It was Blaine's voice calling him. Popping up from the side of the car, Kurt turned to see Blaine slowly entering the garage.

Kurt did a double-take when he saw him, and gasped softly. The right side of his lip fat, while his cheek was slightly black and blue.

"Oh my," Kurt stopped himself. "What happened!"

Blaine winced as the taller boy rushed over. "It's nothing. The guys and I got into a little scuffle with some people at work."

"What? Angry fans?"

"Not exactly." Blaine said. "Pirates." Kurt cocked his head, confused. "You know the pirates that put on a show over in the water park?" Kurt replied with a nod. "Well, they're not exactly fond of the Dalton boys."

"Do you need anything?" Kurt asked.

Blaine waved him, telling him no. "It happened a couple days ago. I'm fine now. So, how's my baby doin?" Blaine turned towards his car, giving it the attention he came for. Kurt could see he didn't want to talk about what happened, and he above all people wasn't going to push for answers.

"Well, almost all the parts are in. As you can see, we already hooked on the new bumpers. We're just waiting on the hood, the windows, and the licenses plate to come in. We have all the doors, but we don't wanna put those on until we get the windows."

"Sweet! How long until you think it'll be finished and ready to drive?"

Kurt thought about it for a moment. "Hmm, I'd give it a week. Give or take a day or two. We would've been done sooner, but there were a lot of parts. To be perfectly honest, you would've been better off buying an entirely new car."

Blaine looked to the ground, kicking it slowly as a small, sad laugh came out from his lips. "That's not really possible." He stated. "You see, my grandfather brought me this car when I was eighteen. My dad refused to help me, and since I was fresh out of school, and getting ready to go to college, and had no job, good old grandpa stepped in."

Something in the way Blaine spoke about his grandfather made Kurt smile. "You were close?"

Blaine nodded slowly. "My dad and I didn't have the best relationship. I guess I was never good enough for him, ya know? But with my grandpa, I was always number one. No matter what I did. Whether it was rode a bike without training wheels or get into one of the top colleges in the entire country, he was proud of me."

"I'm glad you had someone like that."

Blaine coughed, running his hands through his hair. "Yeah, he was a great man. I mean, he was even there for me when I came out."

In an instant, Kurt's jaw dropped. "You . . . what?"

"Came out? You . . . You don't know? Kurt, I'm gay."

Before Kurt could give any sort of reply, Burt walked in, whistling carelessly as he whipped down his hands with an old, dirty rag.

"Oh, hey guys." He stopped for a moment, looking between the two. "I didn't interrupt on something, did I?"

"No!" Kurt said quickly. "Not at all." Unzipping his overalls, Kurt hurried towards the door. "I'm gonna head home a little early. I'm feeling lightheaded."

"Oh. Okay. I'll see you later!" Burt called, but he son was already out the door and heading the parking lot. Turning back, Burt shrugged, looking to Blaine. "Wonder what that was about."