"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Blaine asked, nervously wringing his hands.

"Blaine," Kurt huffed, rolling his eyes at him. "I don't know why you're so nervous. You're going to meet my dad, not the head of the Spanish Inquisition."

"But you said he knows about our... situation. What if he hates me? Oh my God, I'm going to make my future father-in-law hate me before we even started dating, won't I?" Blaine started shifting on his feet, throwing anxious glances at the door every now and then, thus missing Kurt's wide-eyes stare and open mouth.

"Did you just say future father-in-law?" he breathed, following Blaine's every movement with his eyes.

"I-" Blaine interrupted himself when his choice of words finally registered, biting his lip and clenching his fists. He threw Kurt a look that was equally nervous and worried, obviously expecting him to either get mad or run away screaming.

"You've thought about marrying me?" Kurt had a hard time keeping the obnoxious grin that wanted to break out on his face in check. Blaine looked at him as if he'd just stated the most obvious thing in the world.

"All the time," he whispered, a soft smile on his face as he pushed a strand of hair behind Kurt's left ear. These days it was getting easier for Kurt not to twitch or show any sign of physical discomfort when Blaine touched him. Not that he'd ever felt uncomfortable with Blaine's touch, but years of nothing but locker slams for physical interaction with anyone that wasn't his father had made Kurt incredibly skittish. The first time Blaine had reached out for Kurt without warning him beforehand, he'd literally hissed at him - an outright hiss, bared teeth and fur standing on end. He'd been so embarrassed it had taken Blaine the whole of two days to get him to stay long enough in his presence to listen to his apologies. Reassuring him that he had nothing to be ashamed of had taken even longer.

It had been hard, telling Blaine about the treatment he'd suffered at his old school . Blaine had already guessed at it though and been surprisingly understanding of the problem itself and Kurt's reluctance to be touched. It had baffled Kurt quite a bit but he hadn't dared to ask why Blaine looked like he understood exactly what Kurt had gone through when he was one of the most popular boys at a prestigious school that came closer to the definition of ‘safe haven' than any place Kurt had ever seen before.

Resolving that right before he was going to meet his father wasn't the ideal time to bring that topic up, though, Kurt swallowed his curiosity and leaned into Blaine's touch, offering him a soft smile that was immediately returned.

"I think about it, too," he whispered, cheeks turning scarlet but eyes staying on Blaine's. He could hear Blaine's breath hitch in his throat, they were so close. Their gazes locked and Kurt could have sworn that for a few seconds, Blaine's eyes dropped to his lips. Butterflies erupted in his stomach, his palms became sweaty, heart fluttering, tail swishing behind him. He knew his reaction to Blaine's closeness was embarrassingly visible but he was too transfixed by Blaine's soft-looking lips to even care.

For a moment, they both looked up and their gazes locked once more, seeking for permission. Blaine was already so close that Kurt could feel his breath on his lips. He looked hesitant at first but then he finally took the last step that closed the gap between them and softly brushed his lips against Kurt's, lingering on the barely there touch, just breathing him in. Kurt's heart was doing cartwheels in his chest and he reached out in desperate search for purchase. He'd expected to be met with the rough surface of the wall next to him but to his surprise and elation it was Blaine's hand that caught his, their fingers entwining as if they'd been practicing that move for years.

They stood like that for a few minutes that seemed like blissful eternity and at the same time entirely too short to Kurt before pulling back, their foreheads touching and their fingers still woven together between their bodies.

"I missed doing this," Blaine chuckled breathlessly after a while.

"Me too," Kurt murmured back, unable to suppress the smile spreading on his face. Blaine pulled back enough to look into his eyes, his free hand coming up to gently caress Kurt's cheek.

"We're silly, aren't we?"

"What do you mean specifically?" Kurt grinned, still exhilarated from their sort-of kiss, leaning into the touch without hesitation. He felt lose and open and so so happy, lips still tingling and heart singing.

"Here we are, admitting that we think about marrying each other, and yet we aren't even dating. We didn't even kiss more than twice. Tell me, Kurt Hummel, why am I already so enchanted by you?" Blaine whispered, a teasing smile on his face as his hand slipped to the back of Kurt's neck, pulling him closer and gently nudging their noses together. Kurt giggled quietly, bumping back before hesitantly pressing a soft kiss to Blaine's cheek. Blaine's breath was hitching in his throat and his eyes fluttered closed, almost missing Kurt's pleased smile when he pulled away.

"I don't think I have an answer for you," he smirked, disentangling his fingers and playfully bumping Blaine's shoulder when he passed him to ring the doorbell. "But I know I feel the same way," he said quietly when he turned back around, his smile losing its teasing edge. They shared another loving gaze, eyes sparkling and Kurt's tail flicking.

It was in that very moment that Burt opened the front door. He merely raised a skeptical eyebrow at the dopey grins they were exchanging.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, smirking when Blaine jumped upon hearing his voice.

"Dad!" Kurt hissed, blushing bright scarlet.

"What?" Burt gave back, attempting an innocent expression but failing miserably as his amusement clearly shone through. Kurt just glared at him.

"Oh you think you're funny, don't you?" he huffed, rolling his eyes.

"In fact, yes, I do," Burt laughed before taking a step forward and holding his hand out for Blaine to shake. "Burt Hummel, Kurt's Dad. I'm sure you know that. If you break my kid's heart I'll break your tiny legs, alright?"

Blaine just stared at him wide-eyed, looking a lot like an animal caught in headlights. He automatically shook the offered hand, swallowing convulsively to try and get the words to form in his throat.

"Blaine," he finally managed to squeak, his cheeks coloring immediately.

"Come on in, kiddo," Burt chuckled, very obviously amused by his success in intimidating Blaine. Well, until he turned around to head back inside and Blaine very clearly heard Kurt hiss something about removing his Christmas cookie privileges. Burt looked so heartbroken that Blaine had no idea how Kurt managed to still glare at him like that.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Blaine quickly followed the two Hummel men inside, closing the door behind him carefully. He took off his shoes, placing them neatly on the mat underneath the coat rack before hanging up his coat just as carefully. Burt was leaning against the doorway all the time, watching his every move.

"Jeez, you sure are a bit pedantic, kid," he murmured when Blaine bent down to rearrange his shoes, causing him to jump again in surprise, almost crashing into the dresser next to him. Blushing, he found his balance again, looking up at Burt sheepishly.

"Easy there, kid, I'm not going to bite. Unless you hurt my son, that is," Burt grinned, the color immediately draining from Blaine's face. Not that he planned on hurting Kurt, ever, but the threat seemed real enough when expressed by someone a few times his size.

"Dad!" Kurt called from the kitchen and Blaine could tell just by his tone that he was throwing a death glare in Burt's direction. The thought made Blaine smile. People might think Kurt was fragile due to his hybrid nature and beauty but Blaine knew much better and it made his chest swell with pride whenever Kurt stood up for himself or for Blaine. There hadn't been much need for it in Dalton and God forbid they'd ever go back to Kurt's old high school with Blaine's experiences at the back of his mind, still as fresh as if it had happened just yesterday. But even Kurt putting an end to Nick and Jeff's teasing made Blaine grin like an idiot.

When Blaine finally noticed that he was standing in a hallway grinning at nothing, he made to follow Kurt into the kitchen, barely able to suppress a shriek when Burt's huge hand closed around his shoulder.

"Oh don't be so skittish, kid, you're worse than Kurt," he mumbled, giving Blaine's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "But Kurt insisted on making dinner on his own, so I thought you could join me in the living room? There's a Buckeyes game on right now."

"I'd love to," Blaine muttered with a hesitant smile. " Are you sure Kurt won't mind preparing dinner on his own?"

"I'm sure, kiddo. He doesn't like people just sitting around uselessly in his kitchen, anyway." Blaine was about to protest that he wasn't completely useless in the kitchen but thought it better to let it slide for now. Knowing quite a bit about Kurt's standards by now he probably wouldn't even qualify for cutting vegetables, anyway. So he just nodded and followed Burt into the living room.

"So, kid," Burt started once they'd mad themselves comfortable, Burt in his favorite armchair and Blaine on the couch, feeling even smaller and more on show than before thanks to the empty seats next to him. "So what do you do besides that choir thingy and school? Tell me a bit about yourself."

Blaine couldn't help squirming a little in his seat, praying to everyone who would listen that this wasn't some sort of trick question where he'd get kicked out for the wrong answer.

"Well, I like musicals and Broadway. Music in general. I've been playing the piano since I was three. Uhm, I really like football, but I never really played myself. I'm on the fencing team though?" The last part came out more of a question and made Blaine want to sink even deeper into the cushions, until he could disappear and never be seen again.

Before he knew what was happening, Burt's booming laughter filled the room. "This isn't an interrogation, kid," he wheezed once he'd calmed down a bit. "Relax a bit. I'm not going to rip your head off or anything." Blaine tried to smile in response but he was sure it looked more like a grimace with how tense he still was. He was waiting for the blow and shortly after they'd turned their attention back on the game, it came.

"So, you and Kurt, huh?" Burt asked, eyes not leaving the screen in front of him.

"Uhm- uh- well...." Blaine stuttered, unsure of what to say. Kurt had said he'd explained it to his father, so why was he getting this question now?

"What did I tell you about relaxing, kid," Burt rolled his eyes at him in a very Kurt-like manner that helped Blaine calm down a bit. He was talking to the father of the most amazing human being he'd ever met. Kurt once told him with the brightest smile that in some ways, he was a lot like Burt, no matter how much they differed in everything else. And Blaine started to believe that this also applied the other way round.

"He told me you were playing it safe? Waiting until you know each other better?" Burt continued when Blaine's posture was still just as stiff as before. Blaine nodded, smiling softly as the memory of that perfect morning crossed his mind. His body was still tingling from their second kiss on the doorstep. If Burt Hummel wanted the truth about Blaine's feeling for his son, well, that was something he could do.

"I just don't want to hurry anything. Kurt told me about what happened at his old school and I understand completely that it made him a bit skittish and uncomfortable with others touching him. I never want him to feel like he can't just brush me off or tell me when I'm doing something he's not comfortable with. And I have a feeling that being in a relationship would make it harder for him to actually voice any discomfort than our friendship. I just want Kurt to be comfortable around me, to know that he can trust me. I want to know everything about him and I don't want the restrictions and the tensions of a first relationship between us for that," Blaine finished, taking a deep breath. He just hoped Burt would understand.

"Sounds very mature, kiddo." Burt smiled at him when Blaine finally dared to raise his head.

"But what I really want to know is, do you like my kid the same way he seems to be liking you?"

Out of the corner of his eye Blaine saw Kurt trying to subtly peek his head out behind the living room door, ears twitching forward to catch his answer. He turned around to face Kurt, the brightest smile lighting up his face when their gazes locked and Kurt stepped further into the room.

"Yes," he breathed. "Yes, I do."

They were so caught up in each other they didn't even notice the way Burt looked back and forth between their radiant faces until he leaned back in his armchair with a satisfied smile.

After a while of just standing there, staring at each other, Kurt averted his eyes with great difficulty, clearing his throat in the process. "Well, I came by because I wanted to tell you that dinner's ready," he announced, turning on his heel and disappearing back into the kitchen, cheeks bright red and tail swishing behind him, Burt and Blaine following closely behind.

Dinner wasn't half as tense as Blaine had expected it to be. Even though Burt was sometimes the only one who laughed at his own comments and there was a lot of eyerolling from Kurt and secretive glances both between Burt and Kurt and Kurt and Blaine. They laughed a lot and it turned out that Blaine's dad's attempts to make him more ‘manly' were actually sort of helpful for once because it meant he could join in on the conversations about Burt's garage for a bit. His insides twisted and heat crawled up his whole body at the image of Kurt in an overall, bent over the hood of a car to get at some part that was in need of repair. He should probably feel guilty for that kind of thought, especially since they were sharing an innocent dinner at Burt's table, but he couldn't really help putting it on his long list of mouth-drying mental images he reserved for the shower.

Aside from Blaine's mind deciding to become a gutter of yet unexplored depths and degrees of dirty (really, some of the things he came up with in the dark of the night surprised even him, though they were still very intriguing), everything went just fine. The awkward atmosphere from the beginning had lifted and they were having an actual, flowing conversation over the delicious food Blaine couldn't praise enough. He even dared scooting closer to Kurt as the evening went on, touching him as often as he usually would. Which was a lot because Blaine just was a very touchy-feely person and this was Kurt and he was just trying to get him used to friendly touches so he wouldn't be as uncomfortable with Jeff's hug attacks, right?

When it was time to do the dishes Blaine immediately jumped at his chance, standing so close to Kurt as they worked in tandem that their shoulders brushed and their noses almost touched whenever they turned to each other to share a soft, giddy smile. Blaine was sure he could see Burt out of the corner of his eye peeking his head in every now and then to check on them but apart from that they were alone, free to revel in the intimacy of the moment. Kurt even nudged his nose against Blaine's cheek before pressing a careful, fleeting kiss there as a thank you when they were done, Blaine's insides swooping and his heart fluttering. The thought that this was something they could do now, kisses, even nowhere but on a brightly flushed cheek, had him feel like he was floating. It brought back the picture he saw so very often when he closed his eyes at night, him and Kurt in their own house, years from now, rings gleaming on their fingers and everything bright and happy and wonderful and they exchanged soft kisses - to the cheek, lips, everywhere they could reach - in the morning while making breakfast together. It made him want to sing and dance and yell from the rooftops that he loved Kurt Hummel with all of his heart, even if neither of them was ready to utter or hear that exact wording just yet.

They spent the rest of the evening cuddled up together on the couch, unconsciously inching closer every few minutes until Kurt was practically curled into Blaine's side, Blaine's hand automatically coming up to gently slide up and down his back, cheek resting against the soft auburn hair. He could feel Kurt's ear twitch against his skin whenever something interesting happened on the screen - the game was long over and they'd put in Wall-E at Kurt's request (not that Blaine would ever protest against Disney films as evening activity) - and the little movement made him smile and sneak his arm fully around Kurt's waist, pulling him a bit closer and gently caressing his side instead. If either of them would have looked up they'd have seen Burt's huge smile and the way he rolled his eyes at their obliviousness every now and then.

It was getting close to the point where Blaine had to leave so he wouldn't miss the Dalton curfew when he first felt it. Kurt's eyes had been drooping for a while now, he'd become heavy and even warmer against Blaine's side. Blaine wasn't sure if it was due to the familiar surroundings and Burt's presence or maybe because he was so relieved everything had gone well that night, but for the first time Kurt relaxed entirely around Blaine, letting himself fall asleep on him. Blaine watched with a fond smile as Kurt tried to flutter his eyes open every now and then to keep from giving in completely, but the movement got slower and more sluggish every time and finally, his eyes stayed shut. Blaine nuzzled his cheek against Kurt's hair for a bit, smiling against his head, and that was when he felt it.

A purr. A low, soft purring sound. He could feel it vibrate against his side, the skin of his cheek, more than he actually heard it but it had him frozen in amazement. Ever since the incidence in the park the day they'd met and the night of their little celebration, Kurt had done everything humanely possible to keep his more cat-like sides from showing in front of Blaine. He couldn't really do anything about the telling tail-twitching or the movements of his ears, but apart from when he'd woken up in the middle of the night from a bad dream and Kurt had still been asleep, probably dreaming, Blaine had never heard him purr around him again. The same went for all their friends at Dalton. Blaine felt bad that Kurt obviously thought he couldn't be entirely himself around them but he wasn't about to push him. Things like that needed time, Blaine knew that much.

A content smile spreading on his face, Blaine cuddled closer still, careful not to disturb Kurt's sleep but completely forgetting about their surroundings. It wasn't until Burt cleared his throat rather loudly and looked pointedly at the clock that Blaine remembered where he was and that he should probably be gone by now. He panicked a little when the time on the display really registered. Even if he'd ignore every speed limit on his way he'd never get back before the school would be locked. He threw Burt a helpless look.

"Fine," Burt grumbled, rolling his eyes. "You can stay here for tonight, kid. But you're sleeping on the couch." Blaine wasn't sure if he imagined the fond undertone but imaginary or not, it still made him smile.

"Of course, Sir!" he nodded eagerly, already thinking about gentle ways to wake up Kurt and get him into bed.

"You can drop the Sir right there, Blaine," Burt murmured, giving him a short pat on the shoulder before he carefully lifted Kurt into his arms to carry him upstairs. "Sheets and blankets are in the cupboard down the hall through the door on the left."

"Thanks, S- I mean, Burt," Blaine choked out, hurrying in the indicated direction. He was already fluffing up his pillows, ready to snuggle into the blankets, when Burt came down with an armful of clothes.

"Here," he said, holding them out for Blaine to take. "They're probably going to be a bit long on you since they're Kurt's but I thought it's better than sleeping in that uniform of yours."

"Thanks, Burt." Blaine smiled, taking the pajamas out of his hands, carefully putting them down on the blankets. Burt just nodded, making to leave the room to give Blaine some privacy. Blaine was just about to take off his shirt when Burt poked his head through the door one last time.

"Oh, and before I forget it: Goodnight, Blaine."

"Goodnight, Burt. Thanks for letting me sleep on the couch," Blaine smiled.

"It's okay. Just don't make it a habit. And I think you thanked me enough for one night." They shared a smile before Burt turned around for good and headed up the stairs and Blaine just knew that soon enough he'd feel very at home in the Hummel household. And not just because the blankets were the softest things Blaine had ever touched besides Kurt's fur and skin.