"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Kurt asked for the umpteenth time.

Blaine nodded tersely. "I'm going to meet them anyway, right? Today or tomorrow, it's going to happen. Might as well get it over with, especially since you'll be much busier tomorrow."

"And your friends didn't mind either?" Kurt asked as they walked through the school towards the auditorium. "That you're here now, I mean."

"I think I've got all the steps down," Blaine replied. "Wes didn't object to me coming here now, and besides, we always manage to get out of at least a few classes and a couple of homework assignments the week before the competition, and there's normal rehearsal time. And Sunday, of course. I think we're still on schedule."

Kurt looked impressed. "We could learn a thing or two from you," he admitted. "Then again… I suppose we're on schedule as well. In a way." He stopped walking and indicated the doors they were standing in front of. "Anyway, we're here. Are you ready to face the madness?"

"As ready as can be," Blaine replied. "What was the cover story again? Do we just stick with the close friends thing?"

"Yes," Kurt replied. "That and the fact that my dad asked me at one point if I'd already invited you."

"Does he… know?" Blaine could've sworn that Kurt's father had at least some sort of idea of what was going on. He remembered the morning when he and Kurt had gotten together all too clearly.

"I didn't tell him and he didn't ask," Kurt responded. "He probably has an idea of what's going on, though."

At that moment, the door to the auditorium was thrown open. "What took you so long?" a guy with a mohawk demanded. "We were about to go look for you in case Karofsky or Azimio were giving you trouble again!"

Okay. Right. This must be… Puck?

Without thinking, he said, "Sorry." That caught Puck's attention, and Blaine quickly tried to come up with a cover-up. "That was my fault. I was running a little late." He stood as still as possible while Puck assessed him.

"This him?" Puck then asked Kurt.

"Yes, Puck, this is him," Kurt replied. "Blaine, meet Puck. Puck, Blaine."

Blaine smiled politely. "Hi. It's nice to meet you."

The other boy just eyed him for a few more seconds before turning around to where the rest of the group was standing. Blaine hadn't even noticed them before. "They're here!" he called out rather unnecessarily.

"We can see that, Noah," a short brunette replied as she came storming up the stairs. "Hi, you must be Blaine. I'm Rachel Berry, star of this group. I'm sure Kurt has told you all about me already, though. I'm going to be on Broadway after I graduate, so remember my name. You like Broadway, right?" Blaine nodded. "Good. You're also the competition, though, which is not good. You are not allowed to interrogate any of us about our set list and other plans for Sectionals or try to blackmail or charm someone into giving you that information. Is that clear?"

Blaine blinked. "Yeah… of course. I wasn't going to – "

"And no hurting Kurt," the girl quickly added. "I know you're just friends, but friends can hurt each other as well, so don't you dare hurt him."

"You know that it would be much more helpful if you tried to get that through those Neanderthals' heads, Rachel," Kurt told her. "They're much more prone to hurt me than Blaine is."

"Good," Puck butted back into the conversation. "Let's keep it that way."

"Come on," Kurt said, grabbing Blaine's forearm. "Let's introduce you to the rest of the group."

o-o-o-o-o

Blaine hadn't known what exactly to prepare, so he'd just rehearsed a couple of songs for the wedding. After meeting the rest of New Directions, Rachel directed him to the stage and made him sing one of his songs, so she could make sure his voice was good enough for her standards.

"You're good," she grudgingly admitted after he was done. "Not as good as us, though, but I'm sure the Warblers will be happy with the second place, right?"

"This is not about Sectionals, Rachel." Kurt sounded annoyed. "And of course he's good."

After that, the group split up in smaller groups, all rehearsing various songs and dances at the last minute. It was definitely interesting to watch.

"Aren't you going to try to get Kurt to sing a duet with you?" someone suddenly asked, and Blaine glanced to his left. Two blondes – Blaine thought they'd been introduced as Quinn and Sam – were leaning against the seats one row behind him.

Looking from them to where Kurt was at that moment and back, he shrugged. "I'm planning on doing that," he replied. "I doubt Rachel's willing to let him go now, though. I'll have to ask him later."

"You know," Quinn said pensively, "I'm glad Kurt's got a friend like you. A gay friend, I mean. You must understand what he's going through much better than any of us ever could."

"Sadly, yes," Blaine agreed. "It's good that he has some friends at this school as well, though. So… thanks, I guess, for looking out for him."

"We should've acted much sooner," Sam spoke up. "None of us noticed anything until it got out of hand."

"Didn't you only transfer here at the start of the school year, though?" Blaine asked, vaguely remembering Kurt mentioning something about that.

Sam shrugged. "Yes, but… still."

"They're doing what they can," Quinn said, smiling at Sam. And Blaine believed her. It just sucked that Karofsky was crazy enough to threaten to kill them. That wasn't exactly something the other boys could do something about.

After Quinn and Sam left to practise one of their songs, Mercedes sat down next to Blaine. "You're not wearing your uniform," she said pointedly, and Blaine chuckled.

"No, I'm not," he said. "I figured it wouldn't matter, but Kurt told me to wear something casual or I wouldn't be allowed in."

Mercedes nodded in understanding. "Knowing Rachel, she would've thought you were actually here as a Warbler, not as Kurt's friend, if you'd worn the uniform."

Blaine glanced over at the stage, where Rachel was now talking to her boyfriend, if Blaine was correct. She looked angry about something. "Glad I listened to him, then."

"So how've you been?" she asked. She sounded casual enough, but Blaine couldn't help but wonder if this was her way of asking whether he'd already realised his feelings for Kurt.

"I've been good," he replied, "and you?"

The next few minutes, they talked about all kinds of things, but then, Rachel came storming up to them, saying that she and Mercedes had a duet to rehearse. Blaine was just glad that Kurt's prediction that Rachel would force him to duet with her hadn't come true so far.

He finally stood up from his seat and walked back down. He talked briefly to Mike, an Asian boy who was mostly walking around and helping people if they couldn't get this or that dance step down.

Then, Kurt found him. "How about we practise that duet?" he asked, and Blaine couldn't agree fast enough.

o-o-o-o-o

The next day, Blaine – who'd slept on the couch again – was awoken rather early by Kurt, who was making breakfast. Blaine groaned and rolled over, slowly opening his eyes. He didn't see Kurt, but he knew it had to be him, seeing as the footsteps had come from downstairs.

He grabbed his phone from the table and peered at the screen. It was six in the morning. Setting the phone back on the table, Blaine fell back against the pillow. Definitely too early.

Then again, he was at his boyfriend's house while said boyfriend's father was still upstairs – asleep or not. They only saw each other a few times a week, and today would, most likely, be extremely busy with no time for just the two of them. With that thought in the back of his head, Blaine crawled out from under the covers, even though his body didn't like that movement all too much.

He walked into the kitchen, where he leaned against the kitchen table for a moment, observing Kurt. "Hey," he said in the end, moving closer. "Good morning."

Kurt seemed surprised – though pleased – to see him. "Good morning," he replied, giving Blaine a quick peck on the lips and yeah, Blaine could get used to this. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"You did," Blaine responded, "but it's fine. I probably won't see or talk to you a lot today, will I?"

Kurt shot him an apologetic glance. "Sorry, on both accounts. I'll be around, of course, and I'll try to keep you company, but I can't promise anything."

"No, that's fine," Blaine try to reassure him, stepping a little closer and glancing at the food Kurt was preparing. "I've met your friends and… I don't know. I don't mind just watching people. You're the wedding planner, and it's your dad's wedding. Of course you have a lot to do and a lot of people to talk to."

"At least if we could just say that you're my boyfriend, I could drag you along when talking to all the relatives and family friends," Kurt remarked. "Because I bet that something they'll all want to know about."

"Should I be prepared for that question as well?" Blaine asked. He was sure that he wouldn't mind getting that question at all once they went public, but it was a little bittersweet now, people asking whether he and Kurt were dating, and having to deny it. "Any family members or friends I need to be warned about?"

Kurt turned off the stove now and turned to fully face Blaine, their hands intertwining. "People may ask you that question, yes," he said slowly. "Some may be more persistent than others, and a select few can be so blunt, especially after having consumed some alcohol, to tell you that you're an idiot for not dating me."

Blaine grinned. "It's true, though. I would really be an idiot." He paused. "Has this happened before?" It sounded scarily specific, after all.

Kurt, now letting go of Blaine's hands in order to wrap his arms around his shoulders and pull Blaine even closer, nodded distractedly. "Just once," he elaborated, his voice muffled. "Last summer, when we first took Carole and Finn to a family gathering. It was mortifying."

Blaine chuckled, wrapping his own arms around Kurt. "I can't wait."

Kurt hummed and pressed their lips together. They moved leisurely at first, but just when Blaine went to deepen the kiss, there was a loud cough behind them and they jumped apart instantly.

"Dad," Kurt breathed. "We – uh…"

"We'll talk about this later," Mr Hummel – Burt, as he'd told Blaine to call him, though Blaine wasn't sure if that offer still stood – said, giving them both a pointed look. "After the wedding. Blaine, come over for dinner some time next week. We can discuss this then. Not that I didn't already know anyway." With that, he moved past them, towards the stove, to see what Kurt had cooked up.

"I – okay," Kurt replied, seeming rather surprised. In all honesty, so was Blaine; he was also quite relieved that he'd no longer be invited to the wedding, or something. "I wasn't completely done with that, dad. Just go get ready first. No – wait. Blaine, you can use my bathroom downstairs, if that's okay? Dad'll need the one upstairs once he has eaten."

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, sure. No – no problem." He hastily dashed out of the room, before realising that he was actually going to be using Kurt's bathroom. That wasn't really a direction he wanted his thoughts to head into just yet, though.

o-o-o-o-o

Many, many hours later, Blaine was sitting in the venue, watching Finn make a speech. According to Kurt, Finn had insisted on doing this, especially since Kurt had planned the entire wedding.

Blaine had been allowed to sit with the New Directions members. He didn't know anyone else there, even if he didn't know these people very well either, so he was grateful for that. He was kind of glad, though, that they hadn't put him with Rachel. She had tried to corner him a couple of times that day, asking what the Warblers were doing. For someone who didn't want anyone to spy on their own group, she certainly didn't repay the favour.

Instead, he'd talked to Mercedes, tried to avoid Santana's sometimes rude remarks and Puck's hard stares, and become very confused because of Brittany's comments and questions. At some point, he'd started talking about video games with Artie, and Puck had quickly joined in. For once, Blaine was glad that his friends always pestered him into playing.

The service before had been simply and sweet, in Blaine's opinion. He'd enjoyed the Marry You performance quite a lot, too. The New Directions members certainly liked to dance, which, Blaine hoped, wouldn't cost the Warblers Sectionals next week.

By now, Finn was almost done with his speech, and Blaine was somewhat surprised to hear that the whole club had put together a number in Kurt's honour. He was glad that they'd done that, sure, but he hadn't seen it coming. And judging from the look on his face, neither had Kurt.

The other people at his table started harmonising, something Blaine could have expected. He'd seen their Journey medley, after all. Still, harmonising was the Warblers' thing, and if this group danced and harmonised (though not as well as the Warblers, of course), Blaine didn't know how great a shot the Warblers had at winning the competition.

This wasn't the time to think about that, though. This was a celebration, and Blaine should be able to go without thinking about his own show choir for a couple of hours, shouldn't he?

Puck and Artie were now behind Finn, and Sam and Mike had gotten up from their seats as well. Soon, Blaine noticed that the song wasn't actually just for Kurt – Finn also sang it to Rachel and Carole. Seconds later, the girls also got up to join the boys on the dance floor, and Blaine glanced at Kurt, who was watching the whole thing unfold with disbelief that slowly morphed into happiness. This was, quite possibly, the first time anyone had sung to him, Blaine realised. Then it would be up to Blaine to make sure this happened more often from now on.

After Kurt, Burt and Carole joined the group on the dance floor, and that seemed to be the sign for everyone else to start dancing as well. Blaine glanced around curiously; he hadn't even realised that there were so many people here. Then again, he didn't know whether or not the bride and groom were still in touch with their deceased spouses' families and if they'd been invited as well.

When Finn was done, Rachel immediately took the stage. She took the microphone and called out, "Blaine? Where are – come here."

His face burning, Blaine walked up to her. "What's wrong?" he asked, and Rachel indicated the space next to her.

"We're singing a duet," she told him; luckily, she didn't have the mic in her hand anymore right now. "As Finn's girlfriend and Kurt's… best gay friend, we'll probably see each other a lot from now on, so we might as well get on. Plus, no matter how hard it is for me to admit it, you're actually a pretty decent singer. Now come on."

For a few seconds, Blaine wondered why she hadn't asked him about this yesterday. It wasn't as if he was going to decline or anything. Suddenly, it hit him; she must be putting him on the spot on purpose, to see if he was really that good a performer. And hey, who was Blaine to step down from that challenge?

Thus, he got pulled into singing three or four songs with Rachel, for both their parents-in-law, of sorts (even if Rachel herself, and, Blaine figured, Carole, didn't know it). Then Santana snatched Rachel's microphone away from her, and Blaine quickly handed his to Mercedes. Rachel had disappeared by now, so Blaine made his way back to his table, only to be grabbed by the arms when he wasn't even halfway there.

"Hey, stranger," Kurt greeted him, smiling.

Blaine grinned back. "Hey. I can't say I've attended a lot of weddings, but you definitely did a great job planning it all. Especially considering you had less than a week to do it."

Kurt ducked his head. "Thanks," he said quietly. "Come on, dance with me."

Blaine didn't need to be told twice, and he let Kurt pull him onto the dance floor. Even though it wasn't a slow song at all, Kurt seemed to want to slow dance.

"Is it not too boring for you?" Kurt asked, his mouth dangerously close to Blaine's ear, and Blaine wondered how many people they were actually convincing that they weren't dating.

"Not at all," Blaine replied.

The rest of the dance was spent in silence, and when the song was over, Kurt said, "Come on. I haven't even introduced you to Carole yet."

"Won't she be pretty busy right now?" Blaine asked worriedly.

Kurt shrugged. "We'll see. Oh – Carole!"

Kurt's stepmother momentarily turned away from the people she was talking to, and she hugged Kurt tightly, muttering things Blaine couldn't quite hear. When she let go of Kurt, she turned to Blaine. "You must be Blaine," she said. "Kurt and Burt have told me all about you."

Blaine raised an eyebrow at Kurt, who just rolled his eyes playfully in response. "Yes, that's me," he replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs – "

"Just call me Carole, dear," she told him.

They talked for a couple of minutes, before Carole turned back to the relatives she'd been talking to prior to Kurt and Blaine interrupting them. Kurt had to go do some things for a short time, but when Blaine sat down at a table, he was soon joined by Artie, who'd brought along Sam and Mike this time. Their girlfriends were currently singing something that sounded suspiciously like the Spice Girls, but Blaine could be mistaken.

Once Blaine got to know the New Directions members a little better, time flew. He sang and danced some more, but he also talked to them a lot. Sometimes, another guest would ask him if he was dating Kurt, and once, what must be one of Finn's cousins tried to hit on him very obviously. It was quite an interesting experience, though not one Blaine desperately wanted to repeat.

Burt and Carole disappeared some time during the party – to Carole's house, Kurt had told him, so Finn would be staying at Puck's – and when Kurt told Blaine that he wanted to go home as well, Blaine was more than okay with that. He needed to get up early the next morning to be back at Dalton in time for rehearsal, after all.

"I'm sure half of them already knows we're not actually 'just friends'," Blaine commented as they walked to Kurt's car. When they'd said their goodbyes to Kurt's friends, some of them had given them very significant looks, and Blaine was sure that all the duets and dancing they'd done hadn't helped their case much.

"Let them think whatever they want," Kurt said, opening the car door for Blaine. "It's only one week until Sectionals, after all. I doubt it matters a whole lot now. At least they liked you."

Blaine nodded. "That doesn't mean that they also like the fact that we're dating," he pointed out, remembering what Wes had told him just a few days ago.

Kurt grabbed his hand briefly before turning back to the steering wheel. "As long as we like the fact that we're dating."