Kurt smiled as he left his therapists building and came out into the warm sunshine.  He had decided that early June was his favorite time of year to be in New York City.  The temperature was perfect for strolling down the city streets, not too hot, but well past the rain and wind of April and May. And his ebullient mood had nothing whatsoever to do with a certain curly haired man that had just popped back into his life, no sir, nothing at all.  Tessa has practically chirped with excitement when he told her about their coffee date, and their lemonade date, and his plans for his next “date” with Blaine. 

It had only been a few days since they spent the evening together at Blaines apartment and Kurt was dying to see Blaine again.  The trouble was, he wanted this time to be a real date, and he wasnt sure how to ask Blaine.  Kurt was fairly confident that Blaine would say yes, but every time he thought about asking, he got nervous.  He could tell that Blaine was sort of shy around him.  The past few years had changed both of them, and Blaine was clearly a lot less confident than he had been back in high school.  But he still lit up like a Christmas tree when Kurt smiled at him, and reached out a hand in comfort when Kurt faltered.  Kurt may not know this Blaine as well as he had known the old Blaine, but he really wanted a chance to remedy that.  And he was pretty sure he could have that chance now, if he just didnt scare him away.

Kurt pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. 

From Kurt:  Hi there.  Are you free next Monday night?

Kurt was relieved when Blaine replied right away; he wanted to do this soon, before he lost his nerve.

From Blaine:  I think so.  Why do you ask?

From Kurt:  Because Id like to take you out to dinner.  And I cant do it before then, because Im going to visit my dad tomorrow and I wont be back until Sunday.  Otherwise it would be a proper weekend night date.

From Kurt:  And I dont want to wait until the next weekend.  Which I guess is implied.

From Kurt:  Blaine?

From Blaine:  When you say take me out to dinner, what do you mean?

From Kurt:  I mean a date.  A date date. If you want.  If you dont, it can just be dinner (defined in the usual manner).

In for a penny, in for a pound, Kurt thought.

From Blaine:  Yes.  Id love to go on a date with you.  (Im squealing a little bit, I seem to have upset a small dog and his grumpy owner with my startling squeal of joy).

From Kurt:  Where are you?

From Blaine:  On my way home from physical therapy. 

From Kurt:  Dont walk and text, I know how you get.

Kurt had watched Blaine walk into the side of the choir room door more times than he could count; he had never seemed to master the fine art of simultaneously walking and texting. 

From Blaine:  Im actually sitting down right now, dont worry. 

Kurt grimaced as he realized that it was probably physically impossible for Blaine to walk and text now, since he needed a hand for his cane.  He decided to ignore his faux pas, figuring that was better than drawing attention to it.  He'd just wind this up before he put his foot in his mouth again.

From Kurt:  So, Ill pick you up at seven on Monday? 

There was a pause, and just as Kurt was getting concerned, Blaine responded.

From Blaine:  Let me know the place, and Ill meet you there.

That was weird.  Why didnt Blaine want him to come to his apartment?  Maybe Blaine didnt want Sam to know?  That didnt make any sense, Sam had been genuinely friendly when he came over the other night.  He smiled, remembering Sams English butler impersonation, and the lavender shortbread cookies Sam had bought for them.  Sam had even laid the cookies out on a real plate.  Either Blaine's manners had rubbed off on Sam, or Sam was trying really hard to make a good impression.  He didn't think Blaine's comment had anything to do with Sam.

From Kurt:  I havent picked a restaurant yet, but my top two options are both near your place.  Are you going to be somewhere else, at class or something?  Tell me and Ill meet you there.

Kurt looked up as he rounded the corner, trying to avoid his own texting accident, when he saw Blaine.  He was seated cross legged at a metal table in front of a coffee shop, his tan skin practically glowing in the warm sun.  Blaine's boat shoes were abandoned under his chair, his ankles and feet bare below where his sweats were rolled up.  Kurts breath left him for a moment as he took in the sight, Blaines white short sleeved henley stretched appealingly across his shoulders, the back of his neck exposed.  Blaine was leaning forward over the table, his phone in front of him.

“Hey there,” Kurt said happily as he came up next to Blaine.

“Kurt!”  Blaine untangled his legs and jumped up, giving him an off balance kiss on the cheek.  “Hi!  Where did you come from?”

Kurt put a hand on Blaine's waist to steady him, smiling broadly at his excitement.  “My therapist moved her office, it's just a few blocks back that way,” he explained, pointing back in the other direction.  “I was just on my way back.  Put your shoes on, and I'll walk you home.”

Blaine pocketed his phone and slid his feet back into his shoes, then seemed to deflate.  “That's okay, you should go on without me.  I might get a coffee or something.”

“Blaine?”  Kurt peered around, trying to catch Blaine's eyes.  Something was off.  Maybe it had to do with the meeting at the restaurant thing?  But Blaine was still standing right next to him, and Kurt still had his hand on Blaine's waist, Blaine's skin appealingly warm underneath his light cotton shirt.  Blaine didn't actually seem to want to leave Kurt, to get a coffee or anything else.  Kurt's eyes flickered to the cane hooked over a neighboring chair, and took a guess.  “Do you not want to walk with me?”

There, that was it.  Kurt saw Blaine's face tighten when his question hit home.  Kurt waited, splaying his fingers on Blaine's side, slowly bringing his other hand to Blaine's arm and pulling him back towards Kurt.

Blaine let himself be turned, but kept his eyes on the ground.  “I'm not 100% yet,” Blaine said softly.  “I walk slowly.  Sometimes really slowly.”  His breath hitched.  “I have to stop a lot.”

“So we'll walk slowly,” Kurt said gently.

“It's not just that,” Blaine's voice cracked as he went on.  “People push past.  I'm in the way.  They give me these looks….”

 “You'll remember I have an excellent bitch look.” 

“How many people my age use a cane?  I'm ridiculous.”  Blaine's face was scrunching up as he tried not to cry.

“You are not ridiculous.”  Kurt bit his lip, wanting more than anything to make Blaine's pain go away.  But as always, that was easier said than done.  He took a deep breath, then pulled Blaine close to him, winding his arms around to his back.  “You're not ridiculous.  You're standing up, so strong after everything you've gone through.”  Kurt took a deep breath, pulling Blaine closer.  “I missed you,” Kurt whispered into his ear.  “I missed this so much.”  He stroked up and down, letting his hands press into Blaine from his waist up to his shoulders and back again.  Kurt waited until Blaine relaxed and his breath steadied, then pulled back to see his face. 

Blaine gazed directly at Kurt, his eyes wide and wet.  “I missed you too.  A lot.  But…”  Blaine moved out of Kurt's arms, and unhooked his cane from the back of the chair, setting it into place and shifting his weight off of his right leg.  “You shouldn't have to deal with all of this.  It's better now than before, obviously, but I still don't expect you to take this on, on top of everything else.”

Kurt felt as if he was falling, his stomach dropping out.    “But you said yes.  You said you would go on a date with me,” he protested. 

“Maybe it's a mistake,” Blaine said dejectedly.

“No, it's not a mistake,” Kurt insisted.  “It's not.”  He grabbed Blaine's free hand and squeezed it.  “Maybe we slipped into this a little too easily, maybe we need to talk about it more, but it's not a mistake.  You're right that there was a lot I couldn't deal with before, but things have changed for both of us.  We'll talk about it, we'll figure it out.”  He tugged on Blaine's hand, unwilling to let him slip away, scared of the despairing look on his face.  He wasn't going down without a fight, and he wasn't going to let Blaine run away from something he was pretty damn sure Blaine wanted just as much as he did.  “Tell me you don't want to be with me, and I'll let it go.  But I don't believe it for a minute, Blaine Anderson, and you've never been able to lie to me, so don't even try.”  Kurt held his breath as he watched Blaine's face, so tight and worried.

“Okay,” Blaine said finally.  “Okay.  You're right.”

“I am?”  Kurt finally caught Blaine's eyes.  He looked nervous, but he wasn't giving up either.

“Yeah.  I do want to be with you.  It's probably the most obvious thing on the planet.”  Blaine blushed and looked away.  “I never imagined having you see me like this, though, not after everything.  It's tough for me.”

Kurt touched Blaine's cheek and rested his forehead against Blaine's.  “I know, baby, and I'm so proud of you.  I can't imagine how hard you've worked to get so far.”  Blaine closed his eyes, and Kurt ran his hand into the damp curls on the back of Blaine's neck, rubbing softly.  “I think we can do this.  I believe in us.  Please, give me a chance to show you.”

Blaine lifted his head.  “You really think so?  And you don't mind that I'm still…?” he asked softly, waving vaguely at his leg.

“You're perfect,” Kurt said fervently.  “I don't care about your leg, I don't care if we have to walk slowly, or if I have to carry you, I really, really don't,” Kurt exhaled in relief as a small smile tugged at Blaine's mouth.  Kurt straightened up and offered his arm to Blaine.  “Well.  Here we are,” he said confidently.  “It's a gorgeous day, and I'm going to stroll down the streets of New York with my boy – uh – with my friend,” Kurt stammered out.  Shit, he thought, just when things were looking up, I had to go and put my foot in my mouth again.

But apparently Blaine was ready to move past the dramatic portion of the conversation as well, as he just laughed in response.  “You may change your mind when the senior citizens lap us, but until then, lead on.”