In Kurt's eyes, dinner had been a complete disaster. The garlic bread was burnt beyond rescue, his ravioli pieces had exploded and become one big sloppy mess thanks to being left to boil for way too long, and his legendary tomato ragu had stuck to the bottom of the pan. Blaine insisted that he should still serve it rather than them ordering takeout as per Kurt's suggestion, but they ate in silence as Kurt mentally beat himself up for being such a bad host. Just halfway through the meal, Kurt had already had enough of his pushing his poor excuse for a dinner around his plate and looked over at Blaine with a sorry sigh.

'God, this is awful. I promise I'm a better cook than this.'

To his surprise, Blaine had almost cleared his own plate. 'What? Are you kidding me?! This is fantastic, Kurt.'

'Oh god Blaine, stop. Please don't eat any more, it'll probably make you sick again.'

'Too late.' Blaine smiled, and put the last fork-full of pasta into his mouth. He rolled his eyes as if in ecstasy, and Kurt didn't know whether to hit him or ravish him on the spot.

'You're insane.'

'It was good, Kurt. Sorry for eating it so quickly though - I guess I was hungrier than I thought!'

'Oh, don't worry about that. I'm just glad - though somewhat amazed - that you enjoyed it.' Kurt looked over at the counter and scowled at the pan of charred bread which he'd simply dumped there in disgust. 'And my garlic bread ... I swear it's usually really yummy.' He whined.

'I don't doubt it for a second.' Blaine replied with a smile. ' But if I'd eaten any, I guess I might've felt too self-conscious to be able to do this.' He leaned across the table and brushed his lips tenderly against Kurt's.

'Well, I hadn't even thought of that.' Kurt smiled. 'Remind me never to make garlic bread again.'

Kurt cleared the plates from the table and threw the leftovers and offending bread in the trash with a scowl, before topping up their wine glasses and sitting back down. 'At least there's dessert - I'll definitely redeem myself with that one.'

'Oooh, I'm intrigued.'

'You should be. It's pretty sweet if I say so myself.'

'Wait - do you mean sweet as in 'sweet' ...' Blaine licked his lips and rubbed his stomach, ' ... or sweet as in 'sweeeeet'!' and pulled an OTT rock-star pose.

Kurt almost spat out his wine. 'Ummm ... both?' He choked.

'Cool.' Blaine grinned, and Kurt felt his heart leap into his throat again.

'So, are you hungry for it now, or maybe later?'

Blaine gave a dirty laugh and then quickly looked away.

'The dessert, you big perv.' Kurt huffed, balling up a napkin and throwing it playfully at Blaine.

'Haha - sorry. Um ... now would be cool.'

Kurt nodded obediently and took two glass bowls from the freezer compartment of the refridgerator, displaying them lavishly to Blaine's wide eyes before setting them on the countertop.

'Limoncello sorbet. Might need a few minutes to thaw out a little though.'

'Yum. But whatever shall we do to pass the time?' Blaine said with a wicked smirk, his eyes shimmering in the soft light.

Kurt leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest sternly. 'Blaine Anderson, do you ever think about anything else?'

'Some things ...' Blaine pouted. ' ... when I absolutely have to.'

Kurt rolled his eyes and tried very hard to look grumpy, even though the thought of Blaine having constantly dirty images flying around his head of the two of them together was sending tiny shivers up and down his spine. He suddenly bounced and broke into a grin. 'Oooh, I know - sing for me!'

'Not quite what I had in mind, Kurt.'

'I know that. I'm just thinking of your health.'

'Yeah. So was I.' Blaine gave a little wink and smirked again, glancing around for his guitar. 'OK then, I guess I had this coming. Any requests?'

Kurt watched his gorgeous guest cross to the couch and bend down to unzip his fabric guitar case. Those jeans really were made for that sweet, perfectly-rounded little ...

'... Kurt?'

Kurt shuddered out of his trance and caught Blaine's eye as he stood up with his guitar. Blaine raised his eyebrows.

'Huh? Oh ... requests, right. Ummm ... what do you know?'

'Well, I'm a music teacher so, I dunno ... maybe four songs.'

Kurt stuck his tongue out and looked around for something to throw. 'Where's a napkin when I need one?' He scowled.

'Alright, alright. Should I just play something I think you might like?' Blaine smiled, gently strumming a random assortment of chords as he sat down on the arm of the couch. Kurt nodded enthusiastically.

'Hmmmm ... OK.' Blaine said, and took a deep breath as he decided what to play. 'Just please excuse the croaky voice.'. Kurt nodded again and instantly panicked that asking an unwell Blaine to sing for him might have seemed a little selfish. He needn't have worried though, because Blaine looked happy enough as he strummed a familiar intro and began to sing, softly and particularly beautifully.

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Blaine continued the song, shyly avoiding Kurt's eyes. Kurt was completely captivated, and gazed longingly at Blaine's lips, occasionally taking a few moments to watch his nimble fingers running up and down the neck of the guitar. He silently made a wish that when he died, he wanted to be reincarnated as that particular instrument.

As the song drew to a close, Blaine increased the intensity in his voice, and Kurt was so moved that he could feel tears welling up in his eyes yet again. He tried desperately not to let them fall, but Blaine had suddenly found the confidence to look him in the eye as he sang, and the raw emotion Kurt saw staring back at him was just too much.

'God, Blaine ... that was beautiful.' Kurt sniffed, grabbing the bowls of sorbet and the dessert spoons from the table. He walked over to the couch and handed one bowl to Blaine, rubbing his arm affectionately before slumping down into one of the cushions.

'Did I make you cry again?' Blaine looked down and tried to catch Kurt's eye.

'No ...' Kurt lied in a tiny voice.

Blaine laid his guitar on the floor and gave an over-exaggerated sigh, sliding down the arm of the couch so that he was squeezed up against Kurt.

'Well, I don't know ... I mean, maybe it's not good for you to be seeing a guy who makes you burst into tears at the drop of a hat.' He took a bite of the sharp sorbet and sucked in his cheeks, giving a little shudder which rippled right through to Kurt. 'Wow!'

'Good, huh?' Kurt grinned, grateful that he'd regained his composure and was able to actually look at Blaine again. Their two faces were very close, and Kurt was pleased that he'd chosen a cold dessert to bring his temperature down a little, although Blaine's moans of pleasure as he devoured the sorbet were just a tad distracting.

When their bowls were clean, Kurt took them to the sink before rejoining Blaine on the couch, putting slightly more distance between them so that he could get out what he wanted to say. 'Blaine?' He turned to face his friend.

'Yes, Kurt?' Blaine said in a deep, husky voice.

Oh, don't do that. Not now.

'I wanted to talk to you about something you said on the phone last night.'

Blaine screwed up his face and looked very worried all of a sudden. 'Oh god ... OK, I can take it. What did I say?'

'Don't worry.' Kurt reached over and gave Blaine's knee a soothing squeeze. 'It was nothing ... bad. Well, I didn't think so anyway ... I guess ... but if you do once you know what it is that you said, I'll completely understand ...'

'Kurt.'

'Yes, Blaine?'

'What did I say?'

'You said you were my boyfriend.' Kurt blurted the words before he could talk himself out of it.

Blaine frowned for a moment and looked away. Kurt could see that he was chewing the inside of his cheek.

Oh god. He thinks he's embarrassed me. He thinks I don't like the thought of him being my boyfriend.

Blaine turned back around and furrowed his brow. 'I'm really sorry, Kurt. I was just so tired.'

Kurt didn't quite know whether to be happy or sad. 'Hey, it's OK ... it had just been on my mind a little and I thought you might think it was weird if you knew what you'd said and I hadn't responded, and ... um ... that's it, I think.'

Blaine cocked his head to one side and smiled, letting out a tiny sigh. 'Only you could take some stupid comment I made when I was half asleep and worry about it so much.'

'I didn't think it was a stupid comment.' Kurt said in a quiet, dejected voice, distractedly playing with the hem of his sweater.

'Fuck ... I'm doing it again.' Blaine said, taking Kurt's hands in his own and pulling on them in an effort to get Kurt to look at him. Kurt raised his eyes warily. 'Would you like the honest truth, Kurt?'

Kurt nodded and took a deep breath.

'OK. Well I think I'm just about sober and awake and well enough to know what I'm trying to say, so here goes.' Blaine steeled himself up. 'I like you, Kurt. A lot. Like ... a really lot. I like spending time with you, and kissing you, and listening to your voice when we talk. I like the way you make me laugh and the fact that you worry about me, and that I spent an entire hour in the tub the other night just trying to count all the different colours I see when I look into your eyes ...'. Kurt blushed violently and gave a meek smile. '... and that when you smile like that I just want to wrap my arms around you and not let go. And I love your cooking!'

Kurt laughed. 'Again, I promise it gets better.'

'It doesn't need to. It's perfect.' Blaine tugged at Kurt's hands again. 'Look Kurt, all I know is that this type of stuff doesn't come all that easy to me, and I don't really tend to put myself out there as a result. I've been pretty unlucky in love so far, but I guess I'm just like everyone else ... I just want to find someone and mean something to them, and for them to mean something to me.'

'You definitely mean something to me.' Kurt whispered.

'Well good, because I think you're kind-of amazing.' Blaine squeezed Kurt's hands tightly, and pulled them towards him, planting a soft kiss on his knuckles before looking into his eyes. 'Now I'm not too sure what we should call ourselves at this point, but the 'B' word is already out there floating around in the ether ... and I guess what I'm rather hopelessly trying to say is that if you give me the chance, I'd like very much to try to make you see that you mean more to me than anyone has in a very long time, and I'd love the opportunity to get closer to you and spend lots more time with you. Heck, maybe even a lifetime.'

With that, Blaine jumped from the couch, startling Kurt. 'And fuck, now I've done it again! Why can't I just disengage my mouth when my brain thinks up something stupid to say?!'

'What was the stupid part that time?'

Blaine couldn't help but chuckle at the teasing tone of Kurt's voice, and he looked down at his feet as Kurt stood up and moved to face him. Kurt took Blaine's hands in his and squeezed them gently, ducking his head down to meet Blaine's gaze and forcing him to look up.

'The lifetime line was pretty ridiculous.' Blaine groaned miserably.

'Really? Cos I thought it was kind-of adorable. And certainly not something I hear very often, especially from people I happen to be sort-of crazy about.'

Blaine just stared into Kurt's eyes for a few seconds, blinking his beautiful lashes slowly and making Kurt feel lightheaded. Soon he was grinning like a Cheshire cat yet again, and Kurt was quick to follow.

'So we're OK? We're just gonna take it slow and see where this whole thing takes us?'

'Absolutely.' Kurt nodded, adding, ' ... but hopefully not too slow.'. He moved his hands down to Blaine's waist and pulled him closer until their bodies were completely flush against one another. Blaine rested his head against Kurt's shoulder and sighed contentedly.

'Blaine?'

'Mmm-hmmm?'

'Play me another song.'