"You look great, Blaine ... god, we've all grown up so much, and yet high school seemed like yesterday!" Rachel beamed across the table at Blaine, her eyes shining with happiness.

"Oh, don't talk to me about looking great - look at you, you're a goddess Rach!" Blaine grinned.

"You totally are." Michael gushed. "Did you never consider the nose-job though?"

"Michael!" Blaine gasped in shock, unable to hide his disappointment in the tactlessness of his boyfriend. Kurt held his napkin in front of his face, both appalled and amused in equal measure. Michael simply seemed oblivious as to what he could possibly have done wrong.

"That's OK, sweetie." Rachel smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes this time. "You're not the first to ask that, and I'm sure you won't be the last."

"So why didn't you?" Michael said again, shrugging to the entire table in general. Blaine put his head in his hands.

"Because my differences are what makes me special. And I don't need a perfect nose to know that I'm talented."

"... Or beautiful." Kurt chipped in, and Rachel gave his hand a squeeze.

"I guess." Michael continued on his tactless rampage. "But surely you're earning decent money nowadays - you could probably open yourself up to tons more work if you just got the procedure."

"Honey, a very wise young man once made me see that if my idol, one Ms Barbra Streisand, could make a name for herself without being this classically beautiful creature, then I could too. I thank him every day for helping me with that." Rachel squeezed Kurt's hand even tighter.

"Maybe he was just trying to be nice ..." Michael mumbled a little too loudly to himself.

"No, Michael - he wasn't." Blaine insisted through gritted teeth.

"And how would you know?" Michael shot back with angry eyes. "Was it you?!"

"No, no ..." Kurt chimed, sure that his tone would only piss Michael off all the more, but totally unfazed by this. "That was me."

"Figures." Michael huffed, more quietly this time, as the head waiter approached and took their orders.

The few minutes that followed as they waited for their entrees to arrive were torturously strained, and Blaine wished that the ground would open and swallow him up. He gratefully accepted a large glass of wine when it was poured for him, and thanked his lucky stars that his boyfriend chose to be way more civil while they ate.

Rachel was gracious and answered all of Michael's questions like a pro, even when they began to get more and more personal as he became more inebriated. He was also being his usual extremely-handsy self with Blaine, making inappropriate comments whenever possible and running his hands up and down any part of Blaine's body that he could reach from his chair.

"Could you guys excuse me for just a sec?" Blaine asked as he stood and nodded towards the bathrooms. Kurt and Rachel smiled gently and Michael reluctantly let go of the hand he'd been fondling for several minutes.

"I could come with you, babe.' Michael drawled with a wink.

"I'll be fine ... thanks." Blaine sighed with exasperation and walked away, rubbing his temples as he went.

***

A few minutes later, as Blaine washed his hands in the bathroom sink and splashed some water on his face to steel himself up before rejoining the group, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut.

"You OK?" Kurt's soft voice soothed behind him.

"Oh, thank god it's you." Blaine breathed, glancing up and meeting Kurt's gaze in the mirror in front of him. "Could you hand me a couple of towels?"

"Sure." Kurt said, pulling some paper sheets from the box on the wall and handing them over with a sympathetic smile. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure he didn't even realise I left the table."

"Jesus, Kurt - I'm so sorry. And now poor Rachel's stuck with him."

"You know Rachel - she can handle herself a thousand times better than anyone we know."

Blaine nodded and gave a derisive snort. "Even Gina? Oh god ... have they met?!"

"Gina and Rachel? Oh yeah - they got along like a house on fire." Kurt smirked.

"Seriously?" Blaine chuckled. "Wish I'd been there."

"So do I, actually." Kurt said quietly with a smile.

"Kurt, I -"

"Babe? You in here?" Michael interrupted him from somewhere near the door.

"Yeah." Blaine jumped where he stood and glanced around Kurt towards his boyfriend. "Right here, and just coming."

"Not without me, I hope." Michael looked between the two men and then smirked at Blaine as he wandered towards him.

Kurt shifted uneasily and moved from Blaine's side. "I should ... um ..."

"Go? Yeah ... unless you're into watching your ex doing kinky shit with a real man."

"Michael, stop!" Blaine yelled furiously, holding the man at arms length as he crowded in on him. "Seriously, why are you being such an asshole in front of my friends?"

"What I'm being is fun!" Michael sneered, glancing again between Blaine and Kurt, now stood by the door but seemingly afraid of leaving Blaine alone. "You all should try it some time."

"I think your idea of fun might be different from most people's, Michael." Kurt said in a low voice.

Michael turned to say something, but Blaine stopped him by wrapping his arms around his waist and squeezing tightly. Kurt recoiled slightly at the motion and Michael smirked at his discomfort.

"Kurt ... would you mind maybe ... uh ... giving us a minute?"

"I'm gonna need more than a minute, babe." Michael turned in Blaine's arms and slurred in his ear.

"We're not having sex in a public bathroom, Mikey." Blaine insisted, rubbing soothing circles into his boyfriend's back and glancing imploringly over at Kurt, who nodded with an unreadable expression and left the room.

As soon as the door was shut Blaine released his grip and tried to push Michael away by his shoulders, but the man had now clamped his own hands around Blaine's waist and refused to budge.

"Come on, baby ... please?" Michael whined with a mock pout, leaning his much larger frame into Blaine's and shoving him backwards, his lower back knocking hard against one of the sinks.

"Not here ... not now." Blaine winced as a tongue lapped over the side of his neck and the smell of one too many beers filled his nostrils. It was followed by a searing pain as Michael's teeth clamped down on his earlobe. "Ow - fuck!"

"You like that, baby?" Michael growled.

"No, actually ... it kinda hurt." Blaine huffed angrily, desperately trying to wriggle out of his boyfriend's grasp. Moments later the door opened and another man stepped into the room, his face full of confusion as he took in the scene. Blaine took this as his cue and finally wrenched himself from Michael's grip before dashing for the door. "All yours, man." He said to the stranger as he took off past him and out of the room, Michael following closely behind.

Blaine jogged back over to his seat and grabbed his jacket, taking his wallet from the pocket and removing two hundred dollars from it. His eyebrows knitted together as he looked sorrowfully between Rachel and Kurt, and he leaned in to give Rachel a hug where she sat.

"I am so sorry about tonight, Rach." He said softly as she embraced him tightly.

"It's alright, sweetie ... these things happen." She whispered before letting him pull away. "Oh, Blaine - you're bleeding!"

"Huh?" Blaine reached up to the ear that Rachel was staring at in alarm. "Oh ... I ... I just scratched myself in the bathroom."

"Looks more than just a scratch to me." Kurt hissed under his breath, shooting a dirty look in Michael's direction. Blaine was pleased that the man was blissfully unaware of this little exchange - he was too busy glaring at the money Blaine had placed on the table.

"That's way too much, babe." He gestured down at the notes.

"I'm treating my friends to some food, Michael." Blaine tried not to growl. "It's the least I can do."

"For what? They can afford it way more than we can!"

"He's right, Blaine ..." Kurt nodded, reaching into his own pocket for his wallet.

"No!" Blaine yelled, glancing around as he realised how much attention they were all suddenly getting. He looked imploringly to Kurt. "I mean ... please ... let me do this."

Kurt shrugged and Rachel looked down into her lap. Blaine grabbed hold of Michael's hand a little too tightly and gestured for them to leave, dragging him away before he wound up on Rachel's knee while saying goodbye to her.

"Sorry, guys ... g'night." Blaine frowned sadly as he left, a sulking boyfriend trudging along behind him.

"Well ..." Rachel puffed out.

"Yeah." Was all Kurt could reply.

"What does he see in that guy?!"

"Beats me." Kurt shrugged. They fell into silence for a minute or two.

"D'you think maybe he's abusive?" Rachel asked quietly to no-one in particular.

Kurt glanced quickly back at her and frowned with worry. "There's never really been any signs of it before."

"Blaine could be hiding it." Rachel mused sadly.

"God, I hope not." Kurt sighed, wringing his hands together and trying not to think about what could be hiding beneath Blaine's stoic exterior.

***