It had now been nearly a week since the day that Blaine had word vomited and had shared all his feelings that he had for Kurt. Looking back, as good as it had felt to get his feelings out in the open at the time, he probably shouldn't have done it the way that he did. Kurt still came in for his daily caffeine fix, but it was different now. Kurt would come over to Blaine, some days not even making eye contact, and he would grab his ready-made coffee, pay Blaine and he would leave with only a 'thanks'. Everyday, though, it was returning more and more back to normal.

Everyday when Kurt walked through that front door Blaine's heart raced, that hadn't changed. To at least know that the other man knew exactly how he felt was a relief. Now all that was left to do was to show Kurt how much he meant to him.

Today was once again Thursday, which meant an Americano with the double shot, and it was meeting day for Kurt, and also his week to take the bagels to work. Kurt pushed the door to the shop open and Blaine's heart sank right into his stomach. Kurt was looking cute as ever. Not as usual though, he came in with his phone stuck to his ear. He didn't go right to his usual spot at the counter to meet Blaine. Instead he walked over to the area set up in the shop that had a bunch of couches and comfy chairs with small coffee tables. When Blaine thought he would take a seat in one of chairs, Kurt surprised him and just started to pace.

Kurt was just within enough earshot of Blaine that he could hear what Kurt was saying but far enough away to not be able to hear every word of it. Blaine was only ever able to pick up on the stuff that Kurt said if he was speaking louder. Whenever he took it down to a whisper, Blaine had to strain to hear it.

"Why?"

Pause

"Honey I-"

Pause

"Please can we just talk about this at home tonight?"

Pause

Blaine held up the coffee and bagels in Kurt's direction. He pointed to his watchless wrist and mouthed the words 'you're going to be late'. Kurt nodded his head and mouthed back 'One minute. I'm sorry' and went back to the conversation at hand.

"Babe, I-"

"I just don't understand that if you were this unhappy you didn't-"

Pause

"Erik..."

Pause

"Well I am not going to have this conversation over the phone. I will try to come home early tonight and we can discuss this further.

"Bye."

Kurt pulled the phone away from his ear and clicked 'end' with a sigh. He walked over to Blaine.

"Everything ok?" Blaine had a look of sympathy on his face. No matter how much he hated Kurt's boyfriend, he knew that Kurt cared about him and he didn't ever want to see the wounded expression that he was currently sporting.

"Yeah, it'll all be fine." Blaine wasn't buying it.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Kurt sighed. "Thanks but no thanks. Like I said, it'll all be fine. I just have to go home and talked to Erik. Then everything will be sorted out."

Blaine reached across the counter and placed his hand Kurt's shoulder. "Well if you need to talk to anyone, I'm here." Blaine gave a sincere smile.

"Thanks. You really are a good friend Blaine." Blaine could feel the knife in his heart twisting just a little bit more at the word...friend.

Blaine tried to hide the hurt that he was feeling

. "Any time." He handed over the bag of bagels and Kurt's personal coffee order. "I also put a new cream cheese spread that I made myself. It's light cucumber. Tell me what you think tomorrow. I want to try to sell it but I wanted to try it out on you first."

"Thanks Blaine, it sounds delicious but like you pointed out earlier I gotta get going. Thanks for everything again Blaine."

"No problem. I will see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Kurt put the money on the table, grabbed his items and walked out the door.

Was this the beginning of the end? Well there was one thing for sure, if it was, Blaine would be there to help pick up the pieces when Kurt needed a shoulder to cry on.

"Erik?" Kurt shut the front door to their apartment. He had been anticipating this talk all day. Harper asked him several times to ok the clothes for the 'Vintage is the New Chic' shoot that he had tomorrow but he kept forgetting to do it. All day he was completely consumed by what he would say to Erik and how he would handle the situation.

Kurt's boyfriend rounded the corner of their shared bedroom. He was carrying a duffel bag in his hand. "Hey, Kurt."

Kurt dropped his keys into the bowl by the door and hung up his coat on the rack. He looked back to his boyfriend. "So...I take it this is your decision." Erik didn't say anything. "I guess I can't say that I'm surprised. I just don't think that I wanted to admit it." Kurt started to fiddle with his blazer's buttons.

"I'm sorry that it had to end this way, Kurt. I really did love you...once. Now it just feels like we are two boats passing in the night."

"It's ships. Two ships passing in the night."

"Whatever. The point is, we use to be a couple but now we just aren't."

Kurt nodded. He didn't really understand what his boyfriend was saying but he just went with it. Over the past few years, after Erik had gotten his big break, his salary had gone up and he had showered Kurt with gifts, like the apartment and new clothes, like, all the time, but as the money went up, the brain cells went down. They were both wildly different people then they were when they had entered the relationship.

"I guess I just didn't want to believe that you would do something as horrible as cheating on me. Wow. I can't believe that I am so naïve to have ever thought that things could go back to the way that they were." Kurt huffed out a sigh trying to hold back a sob.

"I'm sorry you had to hear about Marco this way but he loves me and I love him and we are moving in together. You had to have known that I wasn't happy, Kurt. God. We haven't had sex in over two months." There was pregnant pause where neither one spoke. "I'll be by to pick up the rest of my stuff tomorrow while you are at work. The apartment is all yours. I will pay the rent for my half for another two months. That will give you enough time to figure out what you want to do with it." Erik slung the duffel bag over his shoulder and started to head towards the door.

"What am I suppose to do?" Kurt was worried no one would ever love him.

Erik and Kurt had met on a photo shoot and had got to talking which led to drinks, which led dinner, which led to a relationship. Kurt was unsure how it had happened but by the time they had both realized what was happening, it was too late to turn back. Looking back, Kurt now realized that it was probably the most unromantic way of starting a relationship.

Erik was the only man that had ever loved Kurt. He wasn't exactly the type everybody was going for. He didn't have a face that people swooned over every time they saw him. Erik was his first real and only boyfriend. What if he ended up alone? He didn't want that to happen.

"I don't know, Kurt. That coffee guy seemed to really be in to you." Erik spun back around. Still not facing Kurt he said, "I really am sorry...about everything. Have a nice life Kurt." Erik opened the door and slammed it shut.

That's when the tears started to flow from his eyes freely. Kurt didn't want to think about what had just happened. He needed to drown out his problems and there was only one way to do that. Lots of drinking and lots of dancing was a must.

He wanted a friend tonight though, someone to dance with, someone to let him cry. He opened up his phone and started to scroll through his contacts. Kurt looked at the clock. 8:46. His best friend Rachel would be in the middle of 'Defying Gravity' in Wicked. Finn was most likely a no. As much as he loved his stepbrother, he was not about to invite him out to a club with him. Besides he was probably waiting in the wings for Rachel to finish up now that they were finally back together. Mercedes was all the way out in LA. Santana was more than likely out with a...female companion. He was out of options. Then an idea popped into his head. He picked up his phone book, found the number he was looking for and dialed. He knew it would be a long shot that there would be an answer but it was worth the try.

Blaine was tired. It had been a long day here at 'Interval Café'. It was nearly 9pm and they were now closed but as owner he was sweeping the floors getting ready for yet another fun filled day tomorrow. He couldn't wait to get upstairs to his cozy apartment and snuggle under a soft blanket with a good cup of hot tea and his copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. He had lost track how many times he had read the beloved series somewhere around 15 but it never got old. Not only that but he had months of trashy reality TV stored on his DVR that has just been begging him to be watched.

Right when Blaine was about to put the broom away, the phone to the coffee shop rang. Blaine ignored the call. They could call back in the morning when the store was open. The phone stopped ringing as he was shutting off all the lights and started to ascend the stairs up to his cozy loft apartment where his night of relaxation awaited. Right around the third or fourth step the phone rang again. "Ugh." Blaine trudged down the stairs again and over to the phone sitting on the counter. He picked it up and hit the 'talk' button. "Interval Café. We are closed call back in the morning." Just as he was about to hang up he heard a voice on the other end.

"Wait no Blaine don't hang up. It's Kurt."

"Kurt? It's almost 9 o' clock at night. What's up? Are you ok?"

"9 o' clock? What are you, an 85-year-old man? Is it your bedtime? Yes, I'm fine." Kurt laughed on the other end.

Blaine mocked hurt. "I'll have you know I get up at 5am to have the shop open by 6 so you can have your coffee by 8:41 exactly." Blaine gave a nervous laugh. "But in all seriousness, of what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well I was actually wondering what you were doing right now."
"Right now?" Blaine thought for a minute. He tried to hold back a smile. "Nothing that can't wait. Why?"

"Well, you said that if I ever needed a friend that I could call so...I wanted to see if you would like to have a fun night out on the town. After the day I had I just need a night of heavy drinking and dirty dancing. I was thinking Babylon? 10 o' clock?"

"Is everything ok? And Babylon? I don't know if that's such a good idea. Isn't that the gay bar on 14th?"

"Yes Babylon. You are still gay, right? And me and Erik broke up and I just really wanted a friend to talk to tonight." Blaine's heart leapt with...hope?

Blaine laughed nervously now. "Oh yes, definitely still gay but I just haven't been to a gay bar since high school and I needed a fake ID to get in and I have to be up at the crack of dawn."

"Wow, Blaine Anderson and a fake ID. What a rebel." Kurt's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You have never been to a New York gay bar?"

"Well...I have never been to a New York nightclub period. It's kind of a job hazard having to be up at 5am every morning."

"Well then that settles it, you are definitely going, no ifs, ands, ors, or buts about it, Anderson. Call Wes, get him to open for you tomorrow, get dressed and get your ass down to Babylon because we are going to drink and have some fun. Get ready for the night of your life Blaine." Kurt hung up the phone. Knowing Kurt it was probably for dramatic effect but nonetheless Blaine was definitely going.

Blaine ascended the stairs to his loft above the shop and ran to his bedroom where his walk-in closet had more than it's fair share of suits and ties from his law practicing days. The racks were lined with Armani suits, Gucci shoes, beautiful silk ties, and only the finest of the Tom Ford collection. He had been so dapperly dressed back then. He had traded his slick gelled hair for the natural curls because he never had time to mess with it at 5 in the morning; He had traded the three-piece suits for a pair of ankle high kakis or jeans, an 'Interval Café' t-shirt and a tan apron. And once where only the finest of Italian leather touched his feet, now were replaced for the comfort of boat shoes. Not that it was a bad look for Blaine, just one that he had to get used to.

Blaine opened the closet doors to reveal an array of colors. After much deliberation, he had decided on a simple black polo shirt and some red ankle high skinny jeans. He turned around to his ties were a single bowtie hang, the only one that had survived the move to New York. He had loved them in high school but had abandon them sometime around the time he had started working for his father as he said it was not the aesthetic of his firm. He tied the red, black, white, and gray bowtie around his collar probably a dozen times before he had been satisfied with the results. He then looked down to locate the perfect pair of shoes. Ah, what the hell, Gucci leather wouldn't hurt to sport every once in a while. He moved to the bathroom where the abandon jar of purple goo lay on the counter. He gathered up a sufficient amount in his hand and started to slick down the unruly curls.

After he was satisfied with the overall look, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his best friend's number. "Hey Blainey."

"Hey Wes. I need you to do me a favor."

"Yeah anything for you bud."

"I need you to open up the shop tomorrow."
"Sure. Why?"

Blaine could feel the blush on his cheeks. "Kurt and I are going out."

"Ah, Blaine. Way to go. Hope you are brining an adequate amount of supplies if you know what I mean."

"Yes. I always know what you mean, Wes, but it's not like that."

"Well whatever, dude. You deserve a fun night out after all your hard work."

"Thanks Wes. I should be in by 8, I promise."

"Take all the time you need." Blaine could hear the suggestive tone in his friend's voice.

"I will talk to you later Wes."

"Go get him Blainey!" And with that, Blaine hung up and started the four-block walk to the club.

"Long Island and make it strong." Kurt had just gotten in the door and made an immediate B-line for the liquor.

"Make that two." Kurt heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned to meet the voice with a smile but was absolutely taken aback by the pure allure that was Blaine Anderson that night. Kurt had never noticed how that in the bright florescent strobe light that Blaine's eyes burned a crimson color instead of their usual hazel. He had also never noticed how built Blaine was as his skintight shirt left nothing to the imagination. "You made it." Kurt was grinning from ear to ear. It was good to see Blaine outside the shop.

"Yep."

"You look good tonight, by the way. Not the usual café attire."

"Thank you. This is more my style." They were both yelling over the bumping house music. "You look good too."

"Thanks." The bartender handed them their drinks and they both reached for their respective wallets.

"I got it." Blaine offered.

"No, no. I can pay for myself. I know you don't have the money to..."
"I'm not poor Kurt. If you haven't noticed the shop is doing very well. I can barely keep up with stock. I can pay. I'm not the same poor and broke chap that stood before you two years when you walked into the shop."

"Fine but the next one is on me."

"Fine." They both stood there just staring at each other. Kurt could see something in Blaine's eyes that he just couldn't pinpoint. "Wanna dance?"

Blaine gave a little half smirk. "Sure." Blaine led them out to the dance floor. Damn that ass in those pants.

The two of them danced together for several hours. They would alternate between dancing like fools and not caring what others thought to holding tight to one another, practically grinding on each other.

Blaine had only had the one drink but Kurt had an additional four. Kurt's inhibitions had gone out the window at least an hour ago, which meant now the tall man, was just three sheets to the wind. He staggered around talking nonsense chatting with anybody and not caring too much. He never did buy Blaine the drink but that was fine. Blaine was happy to buy all five of the drinks for his friend.

Blaine looked at his watch, 1:43am. "Kurt. I think we should go. We both have to work in the morning and you have that photo shoot."
Kurt whined, "No. I don't want to go. I love it here. All of these people are my friends." Kurt slung his arm around some blonde with a trashy sense of style.

"Sorry. He's a little wasted." Blaine apologized on Kurt's behalf. "Kurt, come on. My place is right around the corner from here. You can stay there for the night and then leave tomorrow morning being that you are in no condition to be giving directions to your apartment."
"Whatever you want, sugar butt. Haha that rhymes."

Blaine giggled along knowing full well it didn't. "Sure does." He slung Kurt's arm over his shoulder for support. "Come on let's get you in the confines of an apartment."

They walked a little ways in silence, Blaine just trying to remain focused on keeping his friend in an upright position. "Blaine, am I undesirable?" Blaine gulped. This is not a conversation he thought he would be having tonight. "Like am I unattractive in any way?"

"No Kurt, you're sexy in every way." Blaine would know. There were times tonight that Kurt was grinding on him and he had to will his hard on to go away. "And honestly any guy that thinks different is not worth your time."

"Erik cheated Blaine. He left and he told me that he is going to live with Marco," Kurt said in what Blaine thought was a fake Italian accent but came out sounding more like a slur, "the Hanes underwear model." Blaine was furious. If he knew where this Marco lived he would waltz right over there and beat the shit out of Erik and then probably Marco because he was probably just as much a pretentious asshole as Erik was.

"You didn't need him anyways, Kurt. He didn't treat you the way that you deserved to be treated. You deserve to be with someone that appreciates you and only wants to be with you." Someone like me.

"You're right Blaine. I don't need him." Kurt points a finger at Blaine. "You know, he was my first real boyfriend. I dated him because he was the only one to ever show interest in me. I think I loved him in the beginning but after he got more and more in demand, he started to change. He took steroids to bulk up and you know what?" Kurt leaned over towards Blaine and wiggled his pinky back and forth. "He had a little, bitty problem. Not only that but he couldn't keep it up long enough to ever get me to..."

"Ok, I think that's enough of that." They were still walking down the street and Kurt had been virtually yelling. Not to mention the fact that Blaine didn't even want to imagine the two of them in bed together. "Well I wouldn't worry too much. You will find someone that loves you as much as you love them that you will be proud to call your husband someday." Even if that someone isn't me. They strolled up to the front of the shop and Blaine slipped in his key easily.

"Nope. Not getting married. EVER!" Kurt was now actually shouting and throwing his hands in the air.

"Why not?" He guided Kurt to the stairs in the back that led straight to his apartment.

"Don't believe in it. Don't think that it would ever work out." Blaine heart felt heavy in his chest as he opened the front door and revealed a beautifully decorated two-story loft that led right into a cute but substantial size kitchen. "You know me and Erik never even talked about marriage. Guess neither of us wanted to be stuck with the other for the rest of our lives." Kurt was giggling like a fool.

Blaine set Kurt down on the couch and went to a closet and brought out some sheets and blankets. He quickly ran to his own bedroom, found an old Dalton Academy t-shirt and some sweatpants that read Harvard down the left leg. He also grabbed one of his own personal pillows and headed back downstairs to the couch where he had left Kurt. Blaine handed him the change of clothes and the pillow. He pointed down a hallway. "Bathroom is through there. Kitchen is right there. Please make yourself at home." Blaine ran to the kitchen retrieved a water bottle and an aspirin. "Here you will need this in the morning if you intend to be a functioning human being."

"Thanks."

Blaine started to walk toward the stairs to his own bed. "For what it's worth, I know you will at least find that one person that you can love and will love you right back for the rest of your life with just as much if not more vigor, even if you don't want to call them your husband someday. You deserve at least that." Blaine turned and continued his journey to his own bed.

"Blaine." He stopped on the fourth stair. "Did you really just mean that?" Kurt said very soberly.

"Every word."

Kurt got up off the couch and made his way over to where Blaine was standing on the stairs "Why can't every guy be like you, compassionate, humble, sweet, sexy?" Blaine jumped at the words. Kurt though he was sexy? But before Blaine could say anything or do anything to stop it, Kurt was kissing him. It was not deeply passionate or overly sensual but quite tender and sweet. The kiss lasted for what felt like an eternity to Blaine and yet when they parted it seems like it wasn't enough. "Thank you...you know for the comment earlier about how I do deserve to find someone that loves me."

"Your welcome." Blaine pulled Kurt into an embrace and put his lips right up to his ear so that even though they were the only ones in the loft, Kurt was the only one that could hear him. "Goodnight Kurt."

"Goodnight Blaine."

When they parted from a hug that seemed to last just slightly too long to be considered friendly, they both went their separate ways. Blaine crawled into bed with a grin so big that it could light up the New York skyline itself and drifted off to sleep with the last thought in his head being how Kurt's lips seemed to taste somehow like fresh vanilla and honey and how those lips had felt so unbelievably right pressed against his own.