Jiggling his right leg nervously, Blaine stared down at the phone lying on the bed in front of him. He kept twitching a hand towards it, and then withdrawing it quickly as though it were some kind of untamed animal that could whip around and bite him at any moment. The napkin with Cooper's number inked on it rested on his still leg, the penned numbers catching his eye every few seconds as he worried at his bottom lip with his teeth and stared at the phone.

"You don't have to do this today, you know," Kurt reminded him for the fourth time in an hour. "It's already been an emotionally-trying day."

Blaine gave Kurt the same reply he'd given four times that hour: "I want to." Yet he still didn't pick up the phone. He kept preparing himself to do it, kept telling himself, ‘Right, I'm going to call him now,' but never did. He kept taking a deep breath and smoothing out the napkin resting on his thigh and reaching out for the phone, but he would always pull his hand back again as doubt crept into his mind. What if Cooper was homophobic? What if he just hung up as soon as he realised who was calling? What if he wanted nothing to do with him? What if the phone number wasn't even real - what was to say his mother hadn't given him a fake number? He kept reminding himself that if his mother hadn't wanted him to have Cooper's number she would have just ignored him and marched out the coffee shop with his father. He remembered her face when she gave him the number, when she told him that Cooper had been asking after him; her expression had been strangely guilty and she'd appeared to be on the verge of tears. Blaine had never seen her look that way before.

Blaine inhaled deeply and stretched a hand out yet again. For some reason, this was even harder than plucking up the courage to confront Karofsky and his friends.

Kurt scooped up the phone and placed it gently into his hand, curling Blaine's fingers around it. Blaine looked up at his boyfriend. Kurt gave him an encouraging smile. "The longer you put it off, the more you'll wind yourself up. You said you want to do it, so do it." He shrugged. "Call him."

Blaine ran his thumb over the buttons on the phone, heart thrumming wildly in his chest. It sounded so simple when Kurt said it like that and really, it was simple - it was only a phone call. If it all became too much he could hang up and it would be over, just like that.

Kurt watched him with concern. "Or I could call him if you wanted?" he suggested. "And if it goes well then you could talk to him."

Shaking his head, Blaine smoothed the napkin out again. "No, I can do this - I need to do this." He dialled the number with fingers shaking so badly it took him several attempts to enter the correct digits. When he had triple-checked to make sure he'd entered the correct number, he quickly hit the call button before he could talk himself out of it again.

Breathing shallowly, he lifted the phone to his ear and listened to the rings. It rang once, twice... five times. Just when he was about to give up, the sixth ring was cut short as someone picked up.

"Hello?"

The voice was male and, despite not having heard it in years, was instantly recognisable.

Cooper.

Blaine mouthed wordlessly into the phone, wide eyes fixed unseeingly on Kurt's concerned ones. He felt like all the air had been kicked out if his lungs, like a sharp blow to his chest that had forced the air out of his chest and left him gasping.

"Hello?" Cooper said again.

Kurt waved a hand at Blaine, encouraging him to say something.

Blaine inhaled shakily. "Um, h-hi." The phone shook in his hand and he clutched at it tighter. "Hi, Cooper."

The faint hum of the connection was deafening.

"Who- Who is this?" Cooper asked tentatively.

Blaine wasn't hurt that Cooper appeared not to recognise his voice; it had been years since they'd last spoken, after all, and his voice had matured and deepened since then.

He licked his dry lips. Now was the moment.

"It's Blaine," he said, mildly surprised at how calm his voice was - no stuttering. "Your brother."

The worry in Kurt's eyes heightened and he slid across the bed until he was sitting directly in front of him, their legs almost brushing. He reached for Blaine's hand, smiling softly when Blaine entwined their fingers eagerly, clutching at Kurt's hand as he waited for Cooper to respond, praying he didn't hang up.

Cooper's rapid breathing could be heard above the soft buzzing of the connection. "Blaine?" he echoed, half in wonder, half in shock. "How did you- Blaine?"

Blaine gripped Kurt's hand tighter. "Yeah, it's me."

Cooper exhaled shakily. "Blaine," he breathed. "How- How are you?"

"I'm- I'm good. It's been a rough year, but everything's fine now and the future looks promising," Blaine replied with a smile at Kurt.

"What do you mean it's been a rough year?" Cooper asked, sounding almost afraid of what Blaine's answer might be. "Have- Is it our parents?"

Blaine closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. Cooper knew nothing of what had happened over the last five years. He didn't know Blaine was gay or how he'd been treated by their parents because of it; he didn't know that Blaine had been homeless for six months. Cooper knew what their parents were like to an extent, but he'd never been subjected to the level of abuse that Blaine had. And now Blaine would have to tell him everything.

He honestly had no idea where to begin.

"Yes, it's because of our parents," Blaine began slowly without opening his eyes. He felt Kurt's thumb smooth over the tops of his knuckles.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds and Blaine took the time to try and gather his swirling thoughts.

Cooper sighed wearily. "I'd hoped they wouldn't be the same with you. I thought that after I left they would realise they needed to change their ways."

A small spark of annoyance flickered inside of Blaine and he tensed, opening his eyes. "Well, they didn't change. And you never bothered to check."

"I did check up on you!" Cooper protested, sounding more hurt than defensive. "I called every few months to check that you were doing alright - that's the only reason I kept in contact with our parents! If it hadn't been for you I would have cut them off completely."

Blaine frowned, desperately trying to hold back the tears that were prickling in his eyes. "How could you have known how I was doing if you never spoke to me?"

"You were always out whenever I called or were busy doing homework or something, but mom always assured me you were..." He trailed off, obviously realising something. "She was lying to me, wasn't she?" he said, speaking more to himself than Blaine and sounding both resigned and frustrated with himself.

"Surely you must have known?" Blaine retorted, letting a hint of his anger slip into his tone. "You can't have believed that I was unable to talk to you every time you called for the last five years. If you even called," he added in a low mutter.

"I did call, B! I swear to you that I did, but-" He broke off with a frustrated growl. "Fuck."

Blaine just set his jaw and waited for his brother to explain himself. He hadn't intended on getting this angry, but now that he was hearing all of this and beginning to realise that Cooper wasn't going to hang up on him, he couldn't help it; he supposed he should have expected it after the way Cooper had just walked out of his life.

"I've been an idiot," Cooper declared a moment later, exasperation with himself evident in his tone. "I've been a horrible and irresponsible brother. I should never have abandoned you like that and I shouldn't have accepted the lies mom told me every time I called." He sighed heavily again. "I've been selfish, Blaine," he confessed. "My life's been going great, and I let myself believe every lie mom told me about you so that I could have a clean conscience. What mom told me was what I wanted to hear, so I accepted it and I'm so sorry. You have every right to be angry with me."

Blaine heard Cooper swallowing thickly and wondered if his brother was crying. He couldn't imagine it; he didn't remember ever seeing Cooper crying before.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," Cooper repeated sincerely. Before Blaine could say anything in response, he continued in a more upbeat voice, "But I'm going to get you out of there; you can come live with me in California! You don't have to stay with our parents any longer."

Blaine's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as he stared almost pleadingly at Kurt, as if willing his boyfriend to somehow explain everything to Cooper so he wouldn't have to.

"I- I can't," he stammered.

"What do you mean you can't?" Blaine could almost hear Cooper's frown. "You want to move out, surely." A thought must have occurred to him because he suddenly added reassuringly, "You don't have to worry about them not letting you move out. You're almost eighteen, right? You can leave if you want to."

Blaine shifted his weight around on the bed a little. He tried to think of some way to break the truth to Cooper gently, but quickly realised that there was no way to do so. He would just have to come right out with it.

"I can't come to California to live with you because I don't live with our parents anymore," Blaine explained nervously. "I haven't for almost a year now."

The phone slipped a little in his sweaty grasp and he had to tighten his hold on it to keep it from falling. Kurt continued to watch him with wide, anxious eyes. They both knew the confession Blaine would have to make soon and the horrible story he would have to tell.

"You haven't- Blaine, what the hell is going on?" Cooper demanded. "You call me for the first time in years and I have no idea how you got my number since apparently our parents didn't want us in contact, and now you're telling me you don't live with them and you can't move to California?"

"I- I can't come to California because I can't leave here. Everything is finally going right for once and I don't want it to end, so I can't just- just take that risk and go to another state," Blaine explained. "And I don't want to leave Kurt," he added softly without thinking, his eyes on Kurt's face.

"Kurt? Who's Kurt?"

Blaine froze, realising what he'd just said. "He- He's-" He swallowed nervously; it was time to do it, time to come out to his brother and hope to hell that he wasn't the same type of person as their parents, that at least one person in his family would be accepting and supportive of who he was.

Though only hearing half of the conversation, Kurt understood what was happening. He rubbed soothingly across Blaine's fingers with his thumb, a little reminder that he would be there and would continue to love and support him no matter how Cooper reacted.

Blaine took a steadying breath. "Kurt is my boyfriend." Then, deciding he might as well be as clear as possible, added, "Cooper, I'm gay."

Three beats of his racing heart, one blink of Kurt's eyes, just enough time for him to become aware of the sweat prickling in his palms.

"Well, that explains a lot," Cooper said slowly.

"I- what?" That wasn't the response Blaine had been expecting.

"Your complete lack of interest in girls, liking Vogue, and I did notice you looking at other boys." Blaine could hear the smile in Cooper's voice.

"So..." Blaine began slowly, his stunned mind still trying to process Cooper's reaction. "So it doesn't bother you that I'm gay?" It just seemed too good to be true.

Cooper made a small noise of confusion. "Why would I care who you-?" He broke off and when he spoke again a second or two later his tone had changed completely. "This is why you don't live with our parents anymore, isn't it?" He wasn't really asking the question; he sounded wearily resigned and incredibly guilty. "I should never have left you. If I'd know that you would-" His voice broke and he fell silent except for his ragged breathing.

"I came out to them when I was fourteen," Blaine told him in a dead voice. "I thought it was the best thing to do - the right thing to do. They- They didn't take it very well."

Cooper let out a small, distressed groan. "Oh God... P-Please tell me they didn't hit you."

Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Blaine shook his head even though Cooper couldn't see him. "They didn't. It was a close call a few times, though."

"Blaine, I'm so sor-"

"Yeah, well, you just left me with them when you knew what they were like," Blaine pointed out bitterly, his anger flaring up again. "You found them so bad that you had to cut yourself off from them, yet you left me with them and didn't even bother to find out how I was really doing. Why even bother calling and asking about me if you didn't want to hear the truth?"

Cooper sighed shakily. "Because I'm not like you; I'm not selfless. I regret all of it; you've no idea how much I hate what I did," he finished in a choked voice.

Now that Blaine's anger had mounted again he couldn't let it go and his response came out sharp and spiteful.

"You regret it now, but if I hadn't called today how much longer would you have carried on without contacting me and settling with mother's lies? Would you have ever bothered to try and talk to me again?" Kurt was frowning at him now, his eyes and mouth tight from so much strain and worry that Blaine began to wish he'd agreed to be alone while he called Cooper. "Why did you leave so suddenly? Why did you never tell me anything or offer for me to come with you?"

It took several long seconds for Cooper to reply and Blaine began to worry that he wouldn't get an answer or that Cooper would finally hang up.

A heavy sigh came down the phone line. "Is it possible for us to meet? I think this is something better explained in person." When Blaine said nothing, he added, "I promise I'm not trying to avoid telling you; there's just a lot we need to talk about and I don't want to do it over the phone. I need to see you, Blaine... I need to see you and apologise properly for everything I've done."

Blaine found himself agreeing before he'd even thought about the request. "Ok," he said quietly.

"Ok?" Cooper repeated, his voice rising with hope. When Blaine confirmed it again, he made a broken noise of relief. "I'm going to come and see you as soon as I can. Where do you live? Are you still in Ohio?"

"Yeah, I'm still in Ohio," Blaine confirmed in a stunned voice. He couldn't believe this was happening. He'd worried so much about making this phone call and now Cooper was making plans to visit him. "I'm in Lima."

He could hear a slight rustling on the other end of the line and assumed Cooper was writing this down. "Lima?" he echoed, a note of recognition in his tone. "Did you say you live with your boyfriend?"

Blaine glanced up at Kurt and offered him a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I do." He rattled off Kurt's address and gave Cooper Kurt's phone number so he could let them know when he would be visiting. After one more apology from Cooper and a promise to be out to Ohio soon, the call was over and Blaine was pressing the button to hang up before letting the phone slip from his numb hands onto the bed.

His heart was still racing and his fingers continued to tremble as the remaining nerves and strain slowly drained from his body. He stared down at the phone, stunned over what had just happened. He'd hoped that his brother wouldn't have the same views as their parents, but he hadn't really expected him to be the almost complete opposite of them.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asked him quietly some time later - Blaine wasn't sure how long.

Blaine finally lifted his gaze, meeting the familiar sight of Kurt's concerned blue eyes. He nodded, feeling the last of his overwrought emotions that had built up during the call leave him. "I'm great - and relieved. That went better than I expected it to. And you were right," he added, affectionately stroking the side of Kurt's hand with his thumb, "I am glad that I called him."

"Good," Kurt replied with a warm smile. "So, is he coming over to visit or something?"

There was a small flutter in Blaine's stomach at the reminder, over so quickly he couldn't tell if it was nerves, excitement, or both. And there was still that tiny grain of doubt in his mind, irritating as a stone in his shoe, that didn't trust Cooper and didn't believe he would come like he promised.

"Yeah, he said he'd come as soon as he could." He tried to keep his tone light, but some of his unsettling emotions must have slipped into it since Kurt's eyebrows drew closer together and he bent towards him.

"And you're ready for that?" he asked. "You're happy to see him?"

Blaine thought back to what his brother had been like when he was younger, the admiration he'd had for him. He remembered the emotion in Cooper's voice as he apologised on the phone and his distress at how Blaine had been forced to leave home. He thought about his desire to learn why his brother had left and his need to have a member of his family care about him, to have his older brother back...

"Yes, I want to see him."

One of Kurt's biggest concerns after Cooper's phone call was that he wouldn't call Blaine back or come to Ohio like he had promised. Whenever the phone rang over the next couple of days he would run to answer it, hoping it would be Cooper and he wouldn't have to see Blaine's crushing disappointment and rejection if his brother never called.

The increasing anxiety and stress was palpable in the house by the third day. The rest of the family already knew about the call and Cooper's potential visit and even they were beginning to look worried, jumping every time the phone rang. Everyone was just desperate for Blaine to get his brother back, so much so that Burt didn't even argue when Blaine slept in Kurt's bed.

Kurt was listening to a tense Blaine play the piano when the phone rang.

The tune Blaine was playing cut off, his fingers hitting other keys as they slid into his lap. He stared with only the faintest glimmer of hope in his eyes as Kurt floundered around, his long legs waving in the air as he inelegantly rolled off his back and off the couch, landing in a low crouch. He hurried from the room, his socked feet slipping and skidding on the wooden floor, into the kitchen where the nearest phone was. It was still ringing when he snatched it out of its cradle and he could distantly hear the sound of Carole calling down the stairs for someone to answer it.

With a thumping heart and mentally braced for yet another disappointment, Kurt answered the phone.

"Hello?"

An unfamiliar male voice greeted him. "Hi, could I speak to Blaine Anderson, please?"

Kurt froze, his brow crinkling into a concerned frown as a small ball of nerves materialised in his stomach and settled with an uncomfortable weight. What if this was a police officer or some other kind of official wanting to try and force Blaine to return to live with his parents? What if the reason Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had left them alone was because they were planning to involve the legal system? Of course, this could be any number of other people calling - someone from the restaurant where Blaine played piano, someone from McKinley whose voice Kurt didn't recognise, it could even be Cooper - but Kurt couldn't help but jump to the worst case scenario.

He licked his dry lips nervously. "May I ask who's calling?"

"It's Cooper Anderson," the man replied. "I'm his older brother - I spoke to him a few days ago."

Kurt's heart leaped erratically in his chest and he snapped out of his rigid, tense state, dashing through to the music room, almost crashing to the floor as he slid on the polished wood.

"I'll just get him for you," he gasped into the phone, breathless in his relief and anticipation.

"Do you live with Blaine or...?" Cooper wondered as Kurt threw out his free hand to stop himself from smashing into a doorframe.

Kurt froze with his hand on the handle of the door to the music room. Blaine had started playing again, assuming the call wasn't for him. Kurt felt a little rude for not introducing himself. "Sorry," he apologised. "I'm Kurt, Blaine's boyfriend."

Cooper made a small noise of recognition. "You're Kurt? Oh, can I just thank you for being there for Blaine when I should have been? I mean, I'll thank you properly in person when I see you in a few days, but-"

"You're coming here?" Kurt interrupted, his excitement making his voice higher than normal.

Cooper sounded slightly perplexed. "Well, I promised Blaine-"

"Just talk to Blaine," Kurt told him, entering the music room and hurrying over to his boyfriend, who immediately stopped playing to look up at him curiously. "Here he is." He held the phone out to Blaine, his hand trembling in his relief and excitement. "It's your brother," he informed Blaine breathlessly.

Blaine's eyes widened with surprise, and he accepted the phone slowly, raising it to his ear.

"C-Cooper?" he breathed.

Kurt sunk down onto the couch he'd been sitting on earlier and listened to Blaine's half of the conversation with his brother, smiling at the way Blaine's face lit up as he listened to Cooper's plans to visit in two days' time. The thrilled smile didn't leave Blaine's face for the rest of the call, and when he said goodbye to Cooper a short while later his smile widened into an eye-crinkling beam and he set the phone aside on the piano bench before leaping to his feet and tackling Kurt in a hug. Kurt laughed as he held him, tucking his chin on Blaine's shoulder as Blaine relayed all of the details of Cooper's visit to him and thanked him again for encouraging him to get Cooper back in his life. Kurt was so relieved that Cooper was actually coming his body felt weak with it. Meeting up with Cooper was bound to make a huge difference to Blaine's mental health.

Cooper's flight landed in the early afternoon. It was a weekday, so he had to take a taxi from the airport to Lima, and Blaine chose a location for them to meet at. Kurt and Blaine headed there straight after school and if all went well they could return to the house together.

The spot Blaine chose was the small park where Kurt had found Blaine on Christmas Eve. Blaine had wanted somewhere quiet and private and this was the first place he'd thought of. It appeared deserted when Kurt parked his car on the street and he immediately began to panic, thinking Cooper had lied or backed out at the last minute. It disappeared, though, when they got out of the car, walked into the park, and found Cooper sitting on the same bench Blaine had occupied on Christmas Eve.

Blaine stumbled to a halt when he spotted his brother. "He really came," he breathed in stunned relief. He didn't show any signs of moving anytime soon, so Kurt took his hand and gently tugged him along. Although Blaine didn't resist, the closer they got to him the more he began to hang back. Kurt could only try to imagine what Blaine was feeling right now - anxiety and nerves, worry of what would happen after today, fear of rejection... And Kurt was pretty much helpless to stop any of Blaine's concerns manifesting; this was all in Cooper's hands and he could either help Blaine heal or create another painful wound inside of him. Kurt squeezed his hand in an offering of support.

Cooper looked up at the sound of their approach. He looked a little pale and Kurt could see similar nerves in his eyes.

"Blaine..." Cooper said softly, getting to his feet. "I-" He looked Blaine up and down. "You've changed. You look more mature and-" He broke off, shaking his head, a small frown line appearing between his eyebrows. "But of course you do, the last time I saw you you were barely thirteen."

Blaine didn't seem to know what to say. Before Kurt could think of something to break the awkward silence beginning to settle around them, Cooper turned his attention to him.

"You must be Kurt," he said, his brilliant blue eyes, so similar yet so different from those of his father, taking Kurt in from the tips of his meticulously styled hair to the toes of his new boots.

Kurt immediately felt mannerless. "Sorry," he apologised, extending his free hand towards Cooper. "I should have introduced myself. I'm Kurt Hummel, Blaine's-"

"Boyfriend," Cooper finished for him, taking his outstretched hand. A small, crooked grin appeared on his face as he glanced between Kurt and Blaine. "You two make quite a good-looking couple."

Blushing, Kurt exchanged a quick look with Blaine. "I-"

Cooper waved his response away. "I'm just messing with you. I'm the older brother, I'm pretty sure there's some sort of law stating I have to embarrass you guys - right Blaine?" His words were light and almost careless, yet his eyes when he looked at Blaine were wary and hopeful.

Blaine snapped out of the stunned trance he was in. "Wh- Oh, yeah." He cleared his throat and gave Cooper a small but genuine smile.

Encouraged by Blaine's response, Cooper took a step closer. "So are we going to talk? I promised I would tell you everything, and I want to hear what happened between you and our parents."

Blaine nodded and began to move towards the bench Cooper had just abandoned. "We can sit here and-"

Letting go of Blaine's hand, Kurt stepped away. "I'll let you two have some privacy."

Blaine turned back to him with a frown, his hand reaching for him. "Kurt, you don't have to-"

"Yes, I do. You haven't seen each other in years and it's better if I leave you alone." Seeing a quick flash of anxiety flicker across Blaine's eyes, Kurt smiled encouragingly at him and added, "I won't go far, I'll just walk around the park a bit."

Biting his lip, Blaine nodded and sat stiffly down on the bench next to Cooper, leaving a good foot of space between them. Kurt held Blaine's gaze for a moment, before he turned and walked away from the two brothers, heading around the small pond. He settled down on a bench on the opposite side and checked to see how the Anderson brothers were doing, squinting against the light bouncing off the water's surface to see them.

Cooper was in the middle of describing something, his expression serious, and he used his hands at certain points in his story for emphasis. Blaine was listening intently, his expression impossible to discern from this distance, but Kurt could tell from his body language he wasn't particularly angry or upset. Kurt hoped it would remain that way.

After a while he continued to wander aimlessly around the park, keeping his distance from Blaine and Cooper, trying not to stare in their direction. He attempted to distract himself thinking about the latest songs they were working on in Glee Club. He tried not to look too eager when Blaine called his name a while later, and he forced himself not to break into a run when he was waved over to re-join the Anderson brothers. Though he really wanted to know what Blaine and Cooper had been talking about, he knew it was really none of his business and it was up to Blaine if he wanted to discuss it with him.

"Is everything alright?" he asked carefully when he reached the bench. His eyes flickered between Blaine and Cooper, scrutinising their expressions and posture, trying to gauge how their conversation had gone. Blaine was smiling, his eyes bright with happiness, and he was sitting closer to Cooper than he had been earlier. A smile tugged at the corners of Kurt's lips at the sight.

"Everything's great," Blaine said. "I just thought it would be good if you and Cooper got to know each other a little better."

"I want to get to know the guy who turned Blaine's life around and made him the happiest he's been in years." Cooper's voice was both grateful and emotional. He met Kurt's gaze. "Seriously. Thank you for being there for him when I should have been, for helping him when he had nobody else." His smile was watery, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. "Blaine told me everything - how you found him in your attic and brought him food and cared for him. You didn't have to do any of that, but you did."

Kurt's throat closed up. "I could never have walked away from Blaine - not then, not ever," he proclaimed, voice cracking slightly around the first couple of words. He looked down when he felt Blaine's hand slide into his and smiled at his boyfriend. "I love your brother, Cooper," he said without looking away from Blaine. "He means the world to me."

"I know," Cooper replied. "And I understand now why he can't come to California with me. I can't ask him to leave what he has here." There was the faintest trace of sadness and regret in Cooper's tone. He let out a short, unamused bark of laughter. "I don't know why I still thought you would want to move, Blaine. If you were still living with our parents, or still homeless-" he choked up at the thought- "then things would be different, but I'm almost a stranger to you. Why would you want to come live with me?"

Kurt bit his lip as he watched Blaine turn to look at his brother with wide, shining eyes, brows drawn together. "You're still my brother, no matter how much time passes without seeing or hearing from each other. We'll never be strangers."

Cooper raised his arms slightly, hesitantly, a look of uncertainty on his face. At Blaine's nod he slid closer and pulled his younger brother into a hug. Kurt smiled as Blaine returned the embrace, his fingertips pressing into Cooper's back. Blaine sniffed quietly when they broke apart and his eyes immediately sought Kurt's. Kurt knew what he was thinking before he even opened his mouth.

"Why don't we all go back to our house?" he suggested. "Cooper, you can stay for dinner if you'd like and meet the rest of my family."

Cooper didn't respond straight away and Kurt could understand where his hesitancy was coming from, but all it took was one glance at Blaine and then Cooper was nodding and agreeing.

Everyone else was home when Kurt, Blaine, and Cooper arrived. Carole was already preparing dinner in the kitchen so Kurt scurried through to let her know that Cooper would be joining them, leaving Blaine to give Cooper some kind of pep talk in the entrance hall. When he returned he found Cooper looking more confident and less pale than he had done on the ride over from the park. Despite this, Kurt found it difficult to compare this Cooper to the bold, almost cheesily confident man in that musical credit rating commercial. Blaine was clearly one of the few things Cooper took seriously.

Blaine led the way through to the living room where Burt and Finn were watching TV. Burt looked up at the sound of their approach, his initial look of curiosity rapidly changing to one of understanding when his gaze landed on Cooper.

"How was your day, boys?" he greeted them as he always did.

Kurt remained quiet, letting Blaine respond.

"It was good. Great, actually," Blaine amended with a glance at his brother. "This is my brother, Cooper. Cooper, this is Kurt's dad, Burt Hummel."

"Pleased to meet you, sir." Cooper approached the armchair where Burt was sitting and held out his hand. "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for my brother."

Burt shook his hand. "I couldn't have kicked the kid out, especially not when Kurt was so attached to him. I'll admit I had my doubts at first, but I got to know him and saw how he was around Kurt and it didn't take me long to realise Blaine was a good kid who'd just gotten a shit deal in life."

"He shouldn't have needed your help in the first place," Cooper sighed. "I should have been here for him."

Burt dipped his head in a small nod. "Maybe, but I heard you had your own problems with your parents." When Cooper's expression didn't change, he added, "Don't beat yourself up for what happened. It's your parents who are at fault here."

Cooper nodded his head, but the guilt never left his eyes. He was saved from having to respond when Finn looked up from the TV and blinked in surprise at the stranger in his living room.

"You're Blaine's brother?" he asked, shifting on the couch to see him better. He squinted at Cooper. "You don't really look all that much like him."

"Uh, yeah, I'm his brother." Cooper eyed Finn curiously. "You don't look anything like Kurt."

"Oh, Finn's only my step-brother," Kurt explained. He looked over his shoulder at the sound of approaching footsteps. "And this is my step-mom, Carole."

Carole smiled warmly at Cooper. "It's lovely to meet you. I'm so glad Blaine has some family in his life again."

As Cooper thanked Carole for everything she'd done for Blaine, Kurt leaned against the arm of the couch and watched the small smile on Blaine's face widen as Cooper reached out to clap him on the shoulder with a grin.

"Does this mean Blaine is moving out?"

Kurt's gaze snapped down to Finn, who was also watching the scene before them. "Why would he be moving out?" Kurt asked, though he already knew the answer.

Finn looked up at him, surprised. "Well, he's found his brother, so shouldn't he go live with him? Shouldn't he be with his family?"

"He-" Kurt's reply of how Blaine didn't have to move if he didn't want to and how they hadn't spoken in years died in his throat. Cooper was Blaine's family, the only family he really had left. Maybe he being selfish, wanting Blaine to stay. He didn't want his boyfriend in another state. Family was one of the most important things there was and Blaine had thought he'd lost his completely, but now he had his brother back in his life and he shouldn't be risking that to be near Kurt. His relationship with Cooper was still fragile; Kurt couldn't risk letting them lose contact again.

"Kurt?" Finn was peering at him with some concern.

Realising he hadn't given Finn an answer, Kurt swallowed. "He'll probably go live with Cooper," he said flatly, his eyes on Blaine's bright smile. "It'd be the best thing for him."

Dinner was a struggle for Kurt. He did a good job of acting normal, delighted at having Cooper there with them. Nobody at the table noticed that he fought with the urge to run upstairs and sink into the corner of his room, sobbing, or that he would rather be alone and he thanked his natural talent at acting for being able to talk and laugh with the others as if everything was fine.

He kept it all together until Cooper left to go to his hotel around nine with the promise of having lunch with Blaine tomorrow, and he and Blaine went up to his bedroom. It was then, with Blaine lying next to him on the bed, their bodies pressed together and Blaine's fingers tracing random, goosebump-inducing patterns on the inside of Kurt's arm, that Kurt struggled for control. If Blaine moved to California they would no longer be able to do this whenever they wanted.

Just as he was about to bring the subject up, Blaine mentioned why Cooper had distanced himself from his family and Kurt forgot about everything else.

"So his reasons for what he did were understandable?" Kurt asked, turning his head on the pillow so he could see Blaine's face.

Blaine was staring up at the ceiling and Kurt was reminded of the night months ago when Blaine had first told him about Cooper. This time, though, Blaine was calm, his fingers continuing to skim and dance over the delicate skin of Kurt's inner arm.

"My parents were extremely controlling with Cooper - I never realised how bad it was, since I used to spend a lot of time shut in my room with my own problems," Blaine explained. "They told him what subjects to study at school, what extracurriculars to take, who he could and couldn't be friends with... They even tried to tell him what to study at college and which school he should attend. He wasn't allowed to make a single decision for himself. They had an image of how they wanted Cooper to be in their heads and they were determined to make sure he matched it. Cooper put up with it when he was younger, but our parents were demanding he go to an Ivy League school to study business or finance so he could return to Ohio to get a respectable job and marry a nice girl and uphold the Anderson family traditions, and after his graduation from high school he couldn't take it anymore and snapped. They fought, a lot of things were said, and then Cooper packed his bags and left for LA. He'd applied to schools there without telling them, and been accepted."

Kurt was silent for a moment as he let it all sink in. Then, "But that doesn't explain why he never bothered to keep in touch with you."

Blaine sighed. "He didn't want to risk learning that I was being treated the same, or worse, because it would mean he would have had to return to Ohio and face our parents again. He knows how selfish and heartless he was and he understands that I may never forgive him for it."

"And will you?" Kurt asked quietly.

Blaine turned his head to look at him, their faces now so close their noses were almost brushing. "I'm on my way."

Kurt held Blaine's gaze, before blurting out, "You should go live with Cooper in California."

Blaine's fingers froze on his arm, his eyes widening in surprise, and Kurt could see a trace of hurt in their warm, hazel depths. "You want me to move to California?" Blaine asked him slowly and uncertainly as if those words were foreign to him.

"I don't want you to," Kurt clarified. "But I think you should."

Blaine looked confused and his hurt was evident when he asked, "Why?"

Kurt moved the hand that wasn't resting on Blaine's belly up to cup Blaine's face. "Cooper is your family - the only family you have left - and if you stay here you'll risk losing him again! Your relationship is so fragile, and with the distance..."

Blaine's eyebrows drew together, his face crumpling slightly. "I'll be going to college in about six months and won't be able to stay in LA anyway, so what difference will moving make? If we want to stay close then we can make it work no matter where we're living - there're phone calls and Skype and we can visit each other..."

"You can't turn down living with your brother just to stay close to me," Kurt said, lowering his eyes to where Blaine's hand still rested on his arm.

"But it's not just that," Blaine insisted, placing a hand under Kurt's chin and tilting his head up so their eyes met again. "I'm happy and settled here with school and everything and I don't particularly want to uproot that by moving to another state. I know Cooper is my family and it's probably not right that I'm living with my boyfriend and his family rather than with him, but I don't want to move to California." He sounded like a small child when he said this last part and Kurt instinctively smoothed his cheek with his thumb. "Unless everyone really wants me to?" Blaine added quietly.

Kurt rubbed his hand on Blaine's stomach a little. "Oh, no, honey, it's not like that. Nobody is hoping that you go. They won't pressure you into going. If you want to stay here then that's fine. I just didn't want you to miss out on the chance to live with your brother because of us." Blaine shook his head, but before he could say anything, Kurt added quietly, "Depending on how college applications work out, we could be living in different states after graduation anyway."

Blaine stared at him, a flicker of something appearing and then disappearing in his eyes before Kurt could tell what it was. Blaine slid the hand resting on Kurt's arm down and tangled their fingers together.

"I don't want to think about that happening. It's childish, I know, but I'm hoping we'll be together in New York." He wriggled closer to Kurt. "But if that doesn't happen then it's all the more reason for me to stay here so we can spend as much time together as possible before our relationship becomes long-distance."

"You've given this enough thought?" Kurt asked, wanting to be sure. He searched Blaine's face for any sign of conflict.

"I have," Blaine assured him. "I'm not just staying here to be close to you. Besides," he added in a lighter tone, nuzzling his nose against Kurt's cheek, "I remember what Cooper is like to live with and I don't know if I could stand it."

Kurt grinned against Blaine's mouth. "And you don't mind living with me?"

"Your cuteness and nice arms and butt make up for all of your annoying habits," Blaine teased, trailing his hand down the curve of Kurt's back. He laughed at Kurt's indignant expression, tilting his head to capture Kurt's bottom lip in a kiss.

"Making sure none of my clothes get badly creased is not an annoying habit," Kurt protested, trying to sound firm but unable to help smiling into the kiss. He pressed closer to Blaine at the feeling of his boyfriend's hand smoothing over the curve of his ass. "But I'm glad my butt makes up for it."