Kurt wandered down the vacant streets with panic rising in his chest.  The sun was starting to go down and he knew that his chance of finding someone to help him was growing smaller and smaller.  He tried to scream for help but he couldn't work past the lump in his throat.  A part of him found it ironic that after living in the small town of Lima for twelve years he was still capable of becoming completely lost, but he had been in such a frenzy this afternoon that he couldn't even begin to remember how he had run to this neighborhood.  He wasn't sure if his phone had died while he was curled up by the tree or if it was when he decided he needed to get up and walk around for a bit, either way he had no way of contacting his dad.  Kurt wasn't even sure if his dad knew he was missing yet; for all he knew his dad was working happily at the shop thinking he was at the Anderson's and the Anderson's thought he was home safely with his dad.  That thought brought on a whole new set of tears.

He remembered this one time when he was little and he was shopping with his mom and had gotten lost in the store.  It only took a few short minutes for Liz to find Kurt but she gave him a helpful tip for if it ever happened again, "If you can't find me go to one of the big aisles, okay? Those are easier for mommy to see you in."  Kurt wondered if it was the same concept now; get out of the little neighborhood streets and find a main road.  There would be more cars going by and one would surely stop to help the twelve year old boy wandering by himself crying.

In about ten minutes Kurt found himself wandering down 12th Ave.  He wasn't sure if he was heading toward home or further from it but at least there was a promise of someone finding him now.  Eventually his tears subsided and all that was left was Kurt's panic of getting home.  Some cars passed but never bothered to even slow down for him and each time that happened the knot in his stomach tightened a fraction more. 

Just as the lump began to form in his throat again he heard a car honk from behind him.  Kurt jumped on the sidewalk and turned to see his dad's truck pulling up to the curb and Burt quickly hopping out of the driver's seat.

"Kurt!"

"Daddy!"

Burt opened his arms as Kurt ran and jumped into them.  It had been years since Kurt had called Burt daddy and the term took Burt by surprise.  None the less, Kurt was safely back in Burt's arms and was crying onto his shoulder.

"Hey, bud." Burt set Kurt down on the sidewalk in front of him, and bent down placing his hands on Kurt's shoulders. "I was so worried about you. Why are you all the way out here? How come you ran away from the Andersons' like that?"

Kurt's eyes flashed down to his shoes.  He knew he would have to tell his dad eventually, especially after the phone call from Mr. Anderson that he knew was coming.

"Dad, I have something I have to talk to you about."

"Alright, bud. Get in the car and we'll talk."

Kurt took a deep breath before opening the passenger door and climbing up into his seat.  Burt placed his hand on Kurt's knee before pulling his truck away from the curb.  Kurt closed his eyes one last time before letting go of his biggest secret.

"Dad... I think... I may be... gay."

"Okay..."

"That's it? You're not mad or ashamed or anything?"

Burt stopped his truck at the red light and turned to face Kurt.  "I told you when you are little and I will tell you now: You can have a crush on, or like, or love anybody that you want; that's not going to change anything between us, bud.  I will be there to love and support you through all your firsts.  Your first date,  your first kiss, your first love, your first heart break... no matter what it is you will always be able to come home to your old man and I will be there with open arms."

Kurt felt tears well up in his eyes for the hundredth time that day, but these tears were different.  He wasn't scared, or alone, or feeling unwanted anymore; he was relieved.  No matter what happened here on out with Blaine, no matter what Dave and the other boys at school said he would always have his dad there for him, and that meant more than anything else in the entire world.

"Thanks, Dad."  That was all Kurt was able to choke out before the tears got the best of him.  Burt wiped a tear from Kurt's cheek and patted him on the shoulder.

"Anytime."  The light turned green and Burt started down the road again.  "Kurt, this whole thing still doesn't explain why you are way the hell out here.  You're supposed to be at Blaine's."

Kurt went silent again turning to face out his window.  The action didn't go unnoticed by Burt.

"Did something happen over there today?"

Kurt took a deep breath, but refused to turn back towards Burt, "His dad came back a day early."

Burt's eyes grew for a moment before he tried to bring himself back to be there for his son.  "And he wasn't too happy about seeing you again?"

"Well... it's more like he wasn't too happy to see me and Blaine kissing."

Burt's breath caught so quickly from Kurt's comment that he started coughing uncontrollably in his seat.  Kurt flinched and sunk lower in his seat too afraid to turn and face his dad.

"You- what?"  Burt managed to get his words out before getting his breath back.

"Dad, please don't be mad. I mean, I told you I think I might be gay but I'm not sure. How am I supposed to be sure? I'm only twelve. And I had never kissed anyone before.  And I guess well...." Kurt finally turned to face Burt with a serious look on his face, "What I'm about you tell you... you can't bring up.  Blaine would kill me if he knew that I told you this, okay?"

Burt nodded toward his son taking on the serious change of events.

"Well, Blaine is kind of struggling with the same thing.  He doesn't know if he's gay or not either.  So we both just sort of thought that... I guess we thought that if we were able to kiss someone, more specifically, kiss a boy then we would be able to know. You know?"  Kurt looked down at his lap trying to avoid Burt's eyes again.  "We kissed for just a few seconds before Mr. Anderson walked in and saw us.  He got so mad, Dad.  All of the sudden he was yelling at Blaine and I and telling me to get out of the house.  Blaine tried to defend me, but there was nothing to defend me against.  He saw what he saw."  Kurt didn't realize he was crying again until a tear dropped to his jeans.  Kurt ran his thumb over the wet spot before he continued.  "I ran out of the front door and I was going to call you to come pick me up until I heard Blaine and his dad yelling."  Kurt pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face.

"What were they saying, Kurt?"

"Blaine said the kiss didn't mean anything."  Kurt's voice was muffled against his jeans.  He brought his hand up to wipe the tears from his cheeks again still hiding from his dad's eyes.

"But it meant something to you?"

Kurt hesitated again before he spoke, "Well, ya, it did.  I mean, it was my first kiss, right? And it may not have been fireworks flying all over and Mr. Anderson may have walked in on it, but it was still special.  Up until he walked in it just felt... right. Is that crazy?"

Kurt finally met Burt's eyes as he pulled into the driveway and put the car in park.

"That's not crazy at all.  You and Blaine have a special connection; you always have."

"So, it's okay for me to have a crush on him?  Even if he doesn't feel the same way about me?"

"Honestly? I'd be surprised if you didn't."  Kurt crawled across the seat into his dad's lap and gave him a hug.  "Hey, bud?"

"Ya?"

"Don't write Blaine off just yet.  He may have said that but it doesn't mean that he meant it.  Sometimes, when we're in sticky situations like Blaine was with his dad they say things they don't mean.  Give him a chance, okay?"  Kurt nodded before wrapping his arms around his dad again.  "But at the same time, bud, don't force it.  You are one of the most confident people I have ever met.  You know who you are, and even when you don't you figure it out pretty quickly.  Not everyone is so lucky.  I think it's fantastic that you have figured yourself out. I am so proud of you for that, but it might not be as easy for Blaine."  Burt pulled Kurt back so he was looking in his eyes, "He may have a hard time with it.  His family might affect things and change things and we are just going to have to sit back and see what happens, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

"You promise, buddy?"

"I promise, Dad.  Besides, I don't think I'll be seeing Blaine for a while.  His dad seemed pretty angry."

"I wouldn't be so sure.  I need to go inside and call Tracy and tell her that I found you. Then Blaine should be over."

"Are you serious?" Kurt looked up at Burt with wide eyes.

"Ya, she said that her and Tom needed some time to talk about things so she was going to have him over here.  I guess I understand what they need to talk about now."

Burt opened his door and Kurt hopped out into the garage with Burt trailing closely behind him.

"Is everything going to be okay with his Dad?"

"I think so."  Burt hoped so at least, "It will take some time but I think he'll come around."

Kurt had never seen Blaine looking more nervous than he did when he was waiting on the front porch to be let into the Hummel's house.

"Hi." Blaine looked up shyly to Kurt.  Without a moment of hesitation Kurt flung his arms around Blaine and pulled his close.

"Are you okay? Did your dad do anything bad? What's going to happen?"  Kurt pushed Blaine to an arm's length away and was shaking him by his shoulders.  Burt walked up behind Kurt and put his hand on his arm.

"Whoa, don't break him.  Why don't you help him bring his stuff to your room and then you two can talk, alright?"  Blaine got a panicked look on his face and looked up to Burt, "Yes, Kurt told me about this afternoon. But relax, kid, I'm not mad."

"Oh," Blaine blinked a few times trying to let that settle, "Thanks, Burt."

Kurt let Blaine in and the two of them started walking up to Kurt's room.  Burt quickly grabbed Kurt before he got too far away, "Remember what I said.  Take it slow; let him get things figured out, okay?"

"Got it, Dad."

Burt watched the boys disappear into Kurt's bedroom before he turned and went back to the kitchen to cook dinner.

"So what happened after I left?"  Kurt sat cross legged across from Blaine on his bed.  They sat a little further than usual for fear of what the other might think if they closed the space.

"He was really mad, obviously.  He asked me why I did it."

"Did you tell him?"

"No.  I told him that..." Blaine couldn't decide between lying again or finally telling the truth, "I told him I did it to help you, but that it was entirely my idea.  I just couldn't tell him yet, Kurt. Please don't be mad."

"Hey," Kurt reached across the bed and placed his hand in Blaine's, "I'm not mad.  I wish you would have told him because I think he really could have helped you, but if you aren't ready to tell your parents then that's fine."

"But you told your dad? About... maybe being gay?"

"I did.  It wasn't easy to explain, but he actually seemed pretty cool with it.  Almost like he was expecting it."

"Really? Even after you told him about our kiss?"

"Ya. He was fine.  I mean, he wasn't jumping up and down and doing cartwheels about it but he seems supportive.  He said that he would love me no matter what."

"Wow."  Blaine went silent for a while just looking down at their intertwined fingers.  "That's awesome, Kurt."

They both sat there in silence for a few more minutes; Kurt wanted to give Blaine all the time he needed to process his day.  He was surprised when Blaine was the one to break the silence.

"Did it help you at all?"

"Did what help me? Telling my dad?"

"No, the kiss.  Did it help you figure anything out?"

Kurt was stuck.  He wanted to tell Blaine the truth that it really did help him figure things out but what if Blaine thought that was weird.  What if Blaine thought the kiss was gross or strange or it did nothing for him? Would he look at Kurt differently?

"That's okay if it didn't." Blaine said after growing nervous from Kurt's silence, "I was just curious I guess because it helped me."

"Really?"

"Ya."

"It helped me, too."  The silence grew again.

"What did you decide?"  Blaine looked hopefully into Kurt's eyes.

"Well, I mean.... Even though your dad walked in on us and it ended badly and it seemed a little strange and I guess I don't know what you thought but I guess maybe-"

"Kurt, you're rambling."

"Right, sorry."  Kurt took a deep breath before closing his eyes.  "There was something about it that just felt... right.  You know? So, I guess that makes me... gay."  Kurt whispered the last word thinking that maybe if he kept it quiet it wouldn't be true.

Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand forcing him to open his eyes and look at Blaine.  He wore a small smile on his face. "Me too.  Right before my dad walked in I really... liked kissing you.  I got all these butterflies and..."

"Really?"

"Ya. But, I'm not ready to tell my parents just yet.  I think I want to figure this whole thing out first.  So, can we keep this just between you and I?"

"And my dad? He basically already knows."

"He won't tell my parents, will he?"

"No. He's really good about that kind of stuff.  He'll understand."

"Then, ya.  He can know, too."

Later that night Burt got up to use the restroom when he noticed a light on in the kitchen downstairs.  When he went down to turn it off he was surprised to find Blaine sitting at the kitchen table crying.

"Hey, kiddo, what's wrong?"  Burt pulled out the chair next to Blaine and watched as he frantically tried to wipe the tears that ran down his cheeks.

"Nothing. Sorry I woke you."

"Hey. Cut the crap and tell me what's happening."

Blaine turned to look at Burt as a fresh set of tears pooled over.  "I'm just so scared.  I'm scared of my parents and what they will think of me.  I'm scared of the kids at school and the things they will say about me.  I'm scared of being different.  I just want to be normal."

"You are normal, Blaine, and don't ever let anyone tell you any different. You got that?"  Blaine nodded.  "Now you listen to me.  I don't talk to you dad much anymore but I do know your mom pretty well and I know that you could come home confessing your love for a pillow and she would stand behind your 100%.  She loves you, kiddo, for exactly who you are.  Whether you grow to be six foot ten or stay the size you are now, whether you decided to only eat Twinkies and gain hundreds of pounds, and whether you like girls or boys your mother is going to love you with all of her heart.  She is your mom and nothing you do is ever going to change that.  Your only job is to be who you are, okay?  And if things get rough at home then you come stay at my house.  I may not be your real father but you will always be like a son to me.  You are as much a part of my life and this family as Kurt is."

"Do you think I'm a coward, though? For not wanting to tell my parents just yet?"

"Of course not.  You need to do things on your own time.  Kurt just so happened to be ready to tell me about everything today, that doesn't mean you have to be.  You are your own person and I know this is a lot to take in and have going on as a twelve year old and that's why you need to know that Kurt and I will always be here.  We are your family."

Blaine smiled up and Burt before getting up and wrapping his arms around his neck.  "Thank you, Burt.  For everything.  Kurt's really lucky to have you for a dad."

"And Kurt's really lucky to have you for a friend.  Now go off to bed.  I have a feeling you're going to have a very long day tomorrow and you're going to need your sleep."

"Goodnight, Burt."

"Goonight, kiddo.  Sweet dreams."

And for the first time in a long time Blaine went to bed feeling that tomorrow might just be a little better than today.