That night, they (accidentally on purpose) fell asleep on Kurt's bed together, and Blaine was immensely grateful that Burt didn't return from Carole's place until he was already on his way back to Dalton.

He had just enough time to put his bag back in his room before he had to go to Warblers practice. Almost half of the group was already there when he arrived, and Wes looked surprised, although he seemed to be trying to hide it.

"Blaine," he greeted him, "you made it."

"Of course, Wes," Blaine replied. He wasn't going to bail out on the Warblers again, especially this close to Sectionals. Their biggest competition might still be procrastinating (which, in all honesty, made Blaine wonder why Rachel had been so adamant that he didn't question them about their set list), but the Warblers worked with a tight schedule. Blaine thought he might go crazy if he were to suddenly become a New Directions member. He hoped the change would be easier for Kurt.

"So… how was the wedding?" Wes asked, and Blaine sighed. Standing up from the chair he'd just sat down on, he walked over to the council table, where David and Thad were just setting everything up.

"It was fun," Blaine replied. "They were all nice enough once we got past the obvious 'you're the competition' stage. They're also great performers, every single one of them, and while I'm almost one hundred percent sure that they haven't started rehearsing for Sectionals yet, they can really put together some good performances in a short time."

"They haven't started rehearsing yet?" Thad looked like he was going to be ill.

"We should almost win just because we're obviously putting much more work and time in this than they are," David remarked.

"Sadly, that's not how it works." Wes frowned. "We'll just have to work even harder. This is the first time in years that we're not up against Vocal Adrenaline for Sectionals, and if we don't win now, we might as well give up."

"You're a senior, Wes," Blaine reminded him. "What the Warblers do or don't do next year doesn't really concern you."

Wes inclined his head in agreement, before saying, "You can sit back down, Blaine. I think everyone's here. We should really start rehearsing."

o-o-o-o-o

The next day, Blaine walked to breakfast with Jeff. Nick had, apparently, stayed up far too long and was now staying in bed until he had to go to class. Jeff, on the other hand, was wide awake. He skipped and danced and hummed on their way down, and Blaine mentally shook his head at his friend.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked eventually, when Jeff almost crashed into another freshman. "Did Amanda finally agree to set you up with that blond friend of hers?"

Jeff shook his head happily. "No, that's not it. I'm over her, Blaine. No, I'm just very excited to finally meet Kurt this Saturday."

Blaine blinked and eyed Jeff apprehensively. "Come again?"

Jeff gave him a confused look. "You know, your boyfriend Kurt? The one you're trying to keep a secret for the world? I can't wait to meet him at Sectionals this weekend."

"I know who Kurt is, Jeff," Blaine replied. "I just… didn't think you'd be this enthusiastic about meeting him. Saturday is still five days from now."

"He's your first boyfriend, Blaine," Jeff exclaimed, and Blaine quickly shushed him. He didn't need the entire hallway to figure that out; who knew how fast word got back to McKinley. "And the Warblers are all like brothers, aren't we? Of course we want to meet him." Before Blaine could reply, Jeff continued. "Besides, I heard through the grapevine that you've been gathering all kinds of pamphlets and information about scholarships, which led Nick and me to believe that that boyfriend of yours might be coming here at some point. So the sooner we get to know him, the better."

"Where did you hear that?" Blaine asked, alarmed.

"So it's true?" Jeff asked gleefully. "He's coming here? Awesome. And Nick saw some information bulletin about it in your bag, and David noticed you talking to the secretary a few days ago. Something about the tuition. We doubted it's for you, so…"

"He hasn't even discussed it with his dad yet," Blaine muttered.

"Oh." Jeff looked a little confused, but shook it off. "Well, then we'll just have to wait and see, right?"

o-o-o-o-o

Blaine was busier with his schoolwork than he would've liked, and he knew that the Warblers rehearsals were to blame. Even though they were already as perfect as they could be, Wes insisted on having multiple rehearsals a day, so that they often spent hours perfecting songs that couldn't get anymore perfect.

Tuesday evening, he finally had some spare time to Skype Kurt again. His boyfriend looked a lot more put together than Blaine felt, and when he voiced this thought, Kurt cracked a smile.

"I already told you that the McKinley curriculum isn't challenging in the least," he replied. "That might… take some time to get used to."

Blaine grinned back. "So you're definitely coming to Dalton, then?"

"If dad lets me," Kurt replied. "Which, of course, also depends on whether I can apply to a scholarship or not."

"You haven't talked to him yet, have you?" Blaine asked, leaning forward to adjust the camera a little before sitting back in his chair again.

Kurt shook his head minutely. "I was hoping we could discuss that when you come over for dinner," he admitted. "He promised that Carole and Finn won't be here that night, too."

Blaine mentally went over all the practices Wes had planned for them the next few days. "I could come tomorrow," he said. Some of the Warblers had complained about not being able to go home the past weekend, so the council had allowed them to do so on Wednesday after class, so there was no rehearsal then.

Kurt smiled. "I'll tell my dad."

Blaine almost didn't dare ask. "Has anyone given you any trouble at school?"

"Not… really," Kurt replied carefully. "Some name-calling, but whoever's with me at that moment makes sure nothing else happens." He sighed. "However, Rachel did tell Mr Schue exactly who you were and I don't believe he was very pleased with the explanation. He obviously heard you sing at the wedding and wondered where you'd hidden away all this time. When Rachel told him you were actually a Warbler, he wasn't happy." Kurt rolled his eyes. "He asked me why I invited you to the wedding, so I told him that I was free to invite whomever I wanted to my dad's wedding as long as my dad was okay with it."

"Sorry," Blaine said almost automatically. "I didn't want to get you in trouble."

"Nothing I can't handle," Kurt assured him. "Besides, most of the club seemed to like you, so that's good."

"Jeff can't wait to meet you," Blaine said. "And I doubt he's the only one."

Kurt's eyes grew wide. "Should I be scared?"

"It should be okay," Blaine replied. "They're not really intimidating or anything, just overly enthusiastic."

They continued talking for over an hour, before both boys had to work on their homework. Blaine already looked forward to seeing Kurt in person again the next day, even though they would probably be having a somewhat serious chat with Kurt's father.

o-o-o-o-o

"Come on in." Kurt held open the door for Blaine, who'd just arrived at the Hummel house. Blaine allowed himself to quickly kiss Kurt before looking around nervously.

"Is your dad here already?" he asked, and Kurt shook his head.

"He was still at the shop, last time I checked. He said he'd be here soon, though." He walked towards the kitchen, where, Blaine assumed, he'd been putting dinner together.

"Do you need help with anything?" Blaine asked as he, too, walked into the kitchen. When Kurt shook his head, he asked, "How do you want to do this? Your dad's probably going to interrogate us about… well, our relationship. But after that?"

Kurt was silent for a moment as he worked. "Maybe he'll bring it up himself. You know, ask about the bullying, or ask if the other Glee guys are staying true to their words. Especially Finn. Or perhaps he'll ask you how school is and you could mention the zero tolerance policy. There should be a way to bring it up, I think."

Blaine nodded pensively. He was itching to help Kurt out, but after a stern look from his boyfriend, he finally settled for slumping down at the table and just observing him.

Soon, Kurt's father came home. As soon as the front door opened, Blaine sat up straight, figuring that almost lying at the table might not be the best way to start off the evening. However, Mr Hummel didn't really pay attention to Blaine's way of sitting; instead, he sniffed once and glanced at what Kurt was making.

"Are you making us eat that healthy stuff again?" he asked.

Kurt gave him a pointed look. "Of course, dad. You need to eat healthy, remember?"

His father crossed his arms. "I thought you would make something more… festive since Blaine's here."

"This is festive," Kurt protested. "But it's healthy as well."

Blaine watched the scene in front of him with interest; it never ceased to amaze him how accepting Kurt's father was, and how easy their bickering was.

Once dinner was served, Blaine relaxed a little bit while conversation flowed freely. At first, Kurt's father did most of the talking – about the shop, and about the house he and Carole were thinking of buying. He must've noticed something was up, however, as he turned to Kurt and asked, "What's wrong? Normally, you'd be telling me off for even thinking of buying a house without showing it to you and Finn first."

Kurt gulped. "It's nothing, dad," he muttered, not catching Blaine's (or his father's) eye. "I'm fine. Sorry."

"No, you're not," his father said even before Blaine could say so. "Are they still giving you trouble at that school? I thought Finn said – "

"He did," Kurt hastily interrupted him. "And the guys are… there, most of the time."

Blaine almost choked on his food. "Most of the time?" he croaked out once he could speak again.

Kurt shrugged it off. "They can't always be there."

Blaine frowned. Kurt hadn't told him about this before. "Has anything happened?" Kurt's father asked suspiciously.

"Not… really," Kurt muttered. "Look, it's not important who did what. Just – Blaine's been looking into scholarships for me. For Dalton."

Blaine raised his eyebrows at Kurt, who suddenly seemed very interested in his food. "Blaine?" Mr Hummel asked.

"Yeah, I have," Blaine replied, finally looking away from Kurt. "Because Kurt's getting bullied at McKinley, and… Dalton would be much safer."

"So you want to transfer to Dalton," Mr Hummel said, and Kurt nodded – though it could've also been a shrug. "Okay. If Blaine can tell me a bit more about the scholarships, I'm all for it. But only if you tell me what these kids have been doing to you."

"Just… calling me names, shoving me around a bit," Kurt replied quietly. "Slushies. Stuff like that."

"Nothing else?" his father prompted, and Kurt shifted uncomfortably.

"There's one guy who's… worse than all the others," he admitted.

"Karofsky." It wasn't a question, but a statement, which Blaine only realised after he'd said it.

Again, Kurt nodded. "He likes to single me out and intimidate me, I guess. It's like he has a sixth sense for knowing when I'm on my own."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Blaine blurted out.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt's father echoed.

"It just didn't seem important," Kurt said. "He hasn't – never mind."

"Hasn't what?" Mr Hummel asked sharply.

"Just tell him, Kurt," Blaine said quietly.

"He threatened to kill us last week," Kurt said.

"'Us'?" Mr Hummel turned to Blaine. "Were you with him?"

Blaine nodded furtively, but didn't look away. As Kurt explained just why they hadn't said anything, Blaine couldn't help but feel relieved. At least they didn't have to ignore the issue anymore; someone else now knew what had happened.

"Okay," Kurt's father said in the end, after Kurt had repeatedly told him that they didn't want anyone, least of all his father, to worry about them. "So… you're not going back there. Not for school, at least. If I'm going to do something about this, though, I'm gonna need you to be there as well." He rubbed his forehead. "I just… need some time to progress this." He got up from the table. "We'll continue this conversation in an hour or so. In the meantime, no funny business."

When he was gone, Kurt let out a deep breath. "Okay," he echoed his father's words. "That went better than expected." He swallowed. "Let's – I'll clean up and then we can go downstairs or something, alright?"

"I'll help you." Blaine was out of his seat before he finished speaking, but Kurt shook his head firmly.

"You're a guest," he reminded Blaine.

"You already cooked," Blaine retorted. "Besides, I don't think I can just… sit there now."

Kurt observed him silently as he placed the dishes in the sink. "He's just a bit overwhelmed," he said quietly. "He'll – it'll be fine."

Blaine shot him a look. "Why didn't you tell me?" he repeated his earlier question. "I've asked you multiple times this week if Karofsky or someone else was bothering you, and you never mentioned – "

"I just didn't want you to worry about me," Kurt replied. "I can take care of myself, Blaine."

"I know," Blaine said. "But still – I worry about you anyway. I'm sure it was in the job description as your boyfriend." He sighed. "At least you're not going back there."

"At least I'm not going back there," Kurt agreed, sighing.

They cleaned up in silence, and only when they were downstairs, to Kurt's room, Kurt spoke again.

"I think some of my teammates are suspecting something, you know. Just like you suspected"

Blaine blinked up at him from where he was sitting on the bed. "Oh?"

"It's probably about the wedding," Kurt said. "We did dance and sing together an awful lot."

Blaine grinned. "We did."

Kurt smiled back before sitting down next to Blaine. "You know, we still have almost half an hour before the hour is up."

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "You have my attention."

Kurt laughed at that and bumped Blaine's shoulder with his own. "Come on," he said. "Let's lie down for a bit."

o-o-o-o-o

This time, they did get busted, but Kurt's dad didn't seem too angry. After all, they weren't really doing anything, except talking quietly with their heads a little closer together than would be strictly necessary.

They sat down in the living room, where Kurt was berated for not saying anything earlier. When Mr Hummel then asked them about Dalton and potential scholarships, Blaine excused himself for a moment to grab the information he'd gathered about the subject from his coat.

"I'll have a look at these later," Mr Hummel promised, then gave them both a steady look. "Now, about what I saw this weekend." Blaine swallowed, his heart racing. "When were you planning on telling me about that?"

"We didn't want to keep it a secret," Kurt hastily said. "Not – not from you. We've been trying not to let our friends know, but a handful of them already do anyway. Sorry, dad. I wasn't sure how you'd… react when you found out."

"Well, I'm glad you found someone, Kurt," his father replied. "And as long as you're safe… not just in that respect, I hope you're not doing that yet… It's your first relationship – right, Blaine? It won't be easy, and you probably will end up hurting each other somewhere along the way, whether intentionally or not. Just remember to… cherish each other and what you have together. Because you matter, both of you do."

"Thanks, sir," Blaine replied, no trusting himself to say more.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" Kurt's dad asked, and Blaine felt his face heat up.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Thanks, dad," Kurt said. "Can you… not tell Carole just yet, though? I don't want Finn finding out already. We'll tell them after the competition."

"Of course."

o-o-o-o-o

Blaine had had to leave shortly after that, and by the time he made it back to Dalton, he almost immediately went to bed. The next two days would be filled with rehearsals – Blaine began to think that Wes and the other council members had started taking advice from Vocal Adrenaline – and Blaine needed his sleep for that.

Maybe he could even convince them to let him serenade Kurt with one of their songs. Of course, no one in the audience would notice, most likely, but Kurt probably would. So would his friends, but that didn't matter a whole lot anymore. They'd be at Sectionals already, and after that, they'd no longer be competition, whoever won. Blaine fell asleep with a smile on his face. Yes, he was going to sing to Kurt whether his friends allowed him to do so or not. Kurt more than deserved it.