CHAPTER THIRTY

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3

KURT

At 3:45, I was nestled safely in the backseat of the cab on my way to Blaine's apartment. I had bought Santana and Brittany's gift while Santana and I had registered on Friday afternoon – while she was not looking, obviously – but it worked out that I wouldn't have to brave the Saturday crowds at the store and could spend that time at the gym.

I didn't consider myself to be a workout fiend but as a man who prided himself in always looking his best, it needed to include my physical appearance as well. I also wanted to keep up my cardio due to my dad's former health concerns and the fact that they were likely genetic, so it was really a two birds, one stone situation.

But that meant I was incredibly sore now that this morning's session had worn off. My trainer – Stephanie – was amazing and worth every penny but damn, I hated her for at least a day after each session.

The cab pulled up to Blaine's apartment and I paid the fare and grabbed the large gift bag from the backseat. I winced at the pain that shot up from my legs as I stretched them out on the sidewalk, but carefully made my way up the stairs of Blaine's building and pushed the buzzer.

After a few moments, Blaine still hadn't responded to my initial buzz so I tried buzzing him again. I swear, I thought to myself. If Blaine makes a habit out of not answering me or being late he is going to be in so much trouble...

"Kurt?" I heard the box scream. I jumped at the decibel of Blaine's voice as it exploded from the box, but I collected myself and pushed the reply button.

"Yes..."

"So sorry, I was just getting out of the shower. Come on up," he said before I heard the buzzer go off and the door click unlocked.

I remembered that he lived on the third floor and made my way to the elevator only to find it out of order. I cursed the situation and briskly walked up the stairs and avoided thinking about the pain sprouting through my legs. Once I was outside of his door, I knocked loudly on the door and waited a few seconds before Blaine answered; Blaine slightly out of breath and disheveled... and wearing only a fuzzy robe.

Ohgod.

I realized he had said he just got out of the shower, but I didn't expect that he'd answer the door in his bathrobe. It was tucked tight and covered his body from his neck to his knees, but my hormones seemed to ignore that fact and focus on the fact that Blaine was naked underneath that towel.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, waving his hand in front of my eyes. "Are you okay? You look like you shorted out or something."

I shook my head – trying to alleviate the thoughts of naked Blaine – before replying. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about the... party tonight." I've never been a great liar, so I hoped that he and I were still "new" enough that he wouldn't realize I was trying to save my own ass.

"I was just saying I'm sorry I didn't answer earlier. I heard it buzz in the shower but couldn't get to it quite quick enough. My run went a bit longer than I had realized and I ended up being behind. But I shouldn't be more than ten minutes tops. Is that okay?"

I nodded. "Of course. I'm early anyway. Is it okay if I wait out here?"

"Sure," he agreed. "Let me just grab my clothes real quick and I'll be right back. He grabbed the pile of clothes that had been lying on his neatly made bed and jetted to the bathroom. The last time I'd been in Blaine's apartment, the situation hadn't exactly been ideal. This time, it had been of our own accord and we didn't have to have some sort of awkward conversation while we were here.

Admittedly, I knew he and I would have to have some sort of conversation soon about what exactly we were, but I wasn't sure that the day of our friend's engagement party was the right venue for that. Any time people talk about relationships around weddings or engagements, it feels... weird; as if the only reason it's being discussed is because we're around other people in love who are committing themselves to each other. It wasn't that I didn't want to have more with Blaine or commit to him in some way, but perhaps having this kind of conversation today wasn't the best idea.

I alsomighthave chickened out a bit since our lunch date the other day and was procrastinating. So sue me.

While Blaine was getting dressed, I decided to look around his apartment a bit more. His decorating scheme was minimal – most guys were the same way – but he had an assortment of photos in corners of his apartment and I had been intrigued. I walked along the windows of his apartment and glanced at the first photo. It looked like a family photo primarily because he so strongly resembled the woman in the photo. I assumed it was a photo of him, his parents, and his brother. He had mentioned his brother, but he had failed to mention the fact that the entire Anderson family was full of knockouts.

His mom was gorgeous – her age was unidentifiable, though she looked quite relaxed and had a beautiful smile. His dad was also a looker with salt-and-pepper hair and he looked nearly identical to his brother, who Blaine had said his name was... Carl? Carson? Something with a C? I was never good with names. Hopefully he'd mention his name again so I wouldn't feel like an idiot when I couldn't remember his name the next time we commiserated about our brothers being idiots.

The next photo on the wall was of him and Santana. I still couldn't believe that he had become best friends with the girl from high school who had surprised me more than anyone else I graduated with. Santana went from being the cheerleader who got around a lot, to the out lesbian – something I still was horribly mad at Finn for doing to her, to fiery and feisty woman who never took anyone's shit.

She and I were a lot more alike than I realized at first but it really sank in our senior year when she struggled to be a lesbian in a school full of homophobia and zero potential girlfriends. It was during our senior year that she and I really stuck together since we didn't have anyone else and though our personalities caused us to clash a lot, we really had become great friends.

Freshman year of college along with the distance between us had caused us to fall apart and lose touch. Plus Santana was oddly against Facebook – something I didn't understand – so keeping up with her had been difficult.

I wished that I'd known that she was living in New York sooner because I'm sure she and I could have painted the city red by now, but I suppose everything does happen for a reason so I should just accept her coming back into my life now.

I laughed at the train of thought going through my mind. Clearly I've been hanging out with Blaine too much if I'm saying this "everything happens for a reason" business; not that I was complaining.

As I was about to observe the next photograph on the wall, Blaine came bursting out of the bathroom, humming a tune as straightened his tie. "I'm just about ready," he said as he slid around his apartment in his socks. "I just need to find my shoes."

I nodded and made my way back toward the gift bag I'd left by the door when I walked in. "Did you have your gift for the lovely couple?"

"Yup," he said as he grabbed the flat wrapped package lying on his bed. "It's a picture of Santana and Brittany that I took awhile back in one of the frames from their registry. I hope it's alright."

I smiled. It was a nice way to add something personal to something off of a list of items. "I'm sure they'll love it."

He smiled in return. "You ready?" he asked as he slipped on his black wingtips. He got one last look of his outfit in the mirror – and I glanced appreciatively at his choice of a gray suit with black skinny tie and black dress shoes – before making his way to the front door and holding it open expectantly for me.

I uttered my thanks as I passed through the threshold and made our way to the stairs. I held the door open for him and he slipped in front of me. I wanted to walk behind him primarily so I could grimace and internally moan at the pain in my legs from descending the staircase. But I suppose having Blaine walk in front of me for the view wouldn't hurt...

We quietly made our way to the lobby – even though I was practically groaning inside with each step as my bones and muscles screamed at me – and out on the street to flag down a cab. Blaine waved his arm and a cab practically screeched to a halt. He approached the driver and told him of our destination, but soon held open the back seat door to allow me in.

I slid in the backseat and Blaine popped in next to me. He placed his gift on the side closest to the window and I did the same, effectively positioning ourselves next to each other without the gifts between us.

"Sorry I wasn't ready when you got there," he said as the cab pulled away from the curb.

I shook my head dismissively. "It's totally fine Blaine. I was early anyway."

He gave a slight laugh. "I was worried you were going to think I had a habit of being late or not being ready for our proposed meet up times. I swear, the fact that I was late twice is already haunting me."

I chuckled. "It's okay. I know both times were out of your control – you had the worst morning of all mornings and the other day you were busy with work. I understand."

He looked sort of... off... when I mentioned Thursday's tardiness, but I didn't want to think too much about it. It's not like we'd been around each other enough to know each other's signals for when something was off, right? His face was still plagued with some emotion I hadn't quite figured out, but I instinctively grabbed for his hand that rested between us and soothingly rubbed my thumb over his fisted fingers as my digits clasped in the nook by his thumb.

The contact earned me a smile from Blaine and I couldn't help but feel slightly overjoyed at the fact that something so small could make him smile. "So, how was your Saturday morning?"

I groaned. "My personal trainer kicked my ass so I've been in recovery mode ever since. She is totally worth it, but I really hate her right now."

He chuckled. "You seem fine," he concluded.

I laughed. "I'm just really good at trying to hide the fact that my legs are practically planning a revolution with my kneecaps at the moment. I'm fairly sure that they're planning to dismember me and join someone else who is less crazy in order to get a break."

Blaine guffawed and flipped his hand to link our fingers together rather than have my thumb run over his hand. Once we were joined, he squeezed my hand gently. "Let me know if I need to start carrying you or something. You know - if your legs really do decide to book it."

"You'll be the first to know," I replied with a wink. "What about you?"

He sighed. "First I called my parents – Saturday tradition. My dad travels a lot with his business during the week, so the weekend is usually the best time to catch both of them at home."

"What does your dad do?"

"He does consulting for big companies – helping them figure out more fiscally responsible ways to spend and manage their money," he replied nonchalantly. "I only know that because that's how he describes it to people. It's all way too boring for my taste," he admitted with a chuckle.

"And your mom?"

"She used to be a CEO for a nonprofit in Columbus, but she retired last year. I think the only reason my dad still works is because he can choose his own schedule and he gets to travel a lot and bring my mom along. It really works for them, I guess," he replied.

"How often do you see them?" I asked. Blaine hadn't really opened up much about his family – then again, neither had I – so I was intrigued to know more about the people responsible for the man.

"A few times a year, I guess. It sucks for them since Cooper and I live on opposite sides of the country, but they make sure to come and see us at least once a year on our own. But we always make our way home to Ohio for Christmas. Usually, we do Thanksgiving here and Fourth of July in LA just to make sure each of us gets a holiday on our home turf."

Ah, Cooper, I thought to myself. Okay, how am I going to remember this? Cooper... copper. Blaine's eyes are the color of pennies, pennies are made of copper, copper is spelled similarly to Cooper – voila!

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, squeezing my hand again.

"Oh, sorry. What?"

He shook his head with a laugh. "I'm starting to get a complex since you aren't listening to my questions."

"I'm so sorry," I resigned. "I was just... embarrassed."

He looked at me, confused. "Embarrassed? About what?"

I sighed. "Earlier, I was looking at pictures in your apartment and I saw the one of you with your family and I remembered you telling me about your brother and I couldn't remember his name. You said it just now and I was trying to figure out how to remember it." I was praying that he wouldn't ask what I had thought of to remember his name because then I'd have to admit that I was thinking... actually, dreaming... about Blaine's eyes and that would seem so creepy.

Thankfully he didn't think much of it or he didn't want to ask. Instead, he chuckled. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about."

I snorted. "It is when you call your friend's girlfriend by the wrong name three different times."

Blaine's laughter was boisterous at my admission and even the cab driver looked a bit startled at the laughter erupting from his mouth. "I'm guessing that put your friend in the dog house a time or two."

I giggled. "Not really. I really am awful with remembering names and I admitted that to her and promised that my friend hadn't done anything ungentlemanly when she wasn't around him. I didn't want her to think he was bringing all of these women around and we just couldn't keep track of their names! I'm just really not great at remembering things – it's a bad habit."

"It's no big deal, Kurt," he shrugged. "I'm bad at remembering things myself - or listening. My parents used to always joke that I was deaf because they thought I never heard them when they spoke. Like one time, my mom kept telling me about this benefit that she was going to that I had to accompany her at when I was in sixth grade. The whole time she'd gone on about the gala and its inner workings and I remembered those details and the different people she'd wanted me to meet.

"But in the end, I couldn't remember what the gala was raising money for. I thought it was for bald beagles - you know, the dog, but it was raising money forbald eagles. I was so confused why they were talking about their need to soar above the rest and I asked my mom if we could get a flying bald puppy too."

I couldn't help but stifle back a laugh. I could imagine a young Blaine getting really passionate about the issue of helping bald beagles and wanting one himself and being so confused about what the adults were talking about but still trying to be as helpful as ever despite his confusion. It just seemed like something he would do... and it was endearing.

"I know, I know," he said with a laugh. "But I try to listen better now, but I'm still not great. It drives Santana nuts sometimes."

"Lots of things drive Santana nuts," I replied. I thought for a moment about the things I'd done in high school to piss off Santana before I remembered what had gotten us off on this tangent. "Oh, what was the question that you'd asked me earlier?"

"Oh," he said. "I was asking about your family. You said you have a stepbrother, Finn?" I nodded, somewhat irritated at myself that he'd remembered Finn's name when I couldn't remember his brother's name. But it was so typical for Blaine to be so damn thoughtful and cute. "What about your family? I know your dad means a lot to you."

"Definitely," I replied. "My dad has been my best friend for years. He was always in my corner in everything I tried. I swear, the man only knows how to look out for me. Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming, but I know he means the best by it."

"That's so great. It sounds like you and your dad have a great relationship. What about your mom?"

"Oh, she passed away when I was a kid."

"I'm so—" he started.

I waved my hand, dismissing the topic. "It happened a long time ago and it's okay. You don't need to apologize. The thing I learned from all of that is that my dad just became so important to me, and me to him. But once Carole and Finn joined the picture, it just made things a bit sweeter."

I proceeded to tell him the story of how my dad met Carole – leaving out the bit about my teensy crush on Finn – and talking about their wedding and the relationship between my stepbrother and I. As I was telling the story, Blaine's emotions ranged from touched, to joy, to laughter and to hope – the last bit emerging when I talked about my dad's previous health problems and how we conquered them as a family.

"Wow," he surmised. "You have a great family."

"It seems like you do too," I said as I tugged on our joined hands.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We weren't always that way though. I think growing up in a part of town where you're meant to "Keep Up With The Joneses", being a family with a gay kid and an actor made us stick out like sore thumbs. After awhile, my parents just realized that keeping up appearances didn't matter and they needed to be there for us. Even though they were high-powered people, they made time for us. It was something a lot of other kids from our neighborhood didn't get. Cooper and I were lucky because of it."

"Seems like we both had it pretty good," I said with another squeeze of the hands.

"Yeah," he agreed as he squeezed back.

I looked out the window and took in the information Blaine had shared with me but before long the cab pulled to a stop and the driver looked back at us, indicating that we'd reached the destination.

"Oh, we're here," I said as I stumbled with my pants to find my wallet to pay for the fare. Before I could get my wallet out of my back pocket, Blaine had given the cab driver cash and started to get out of the car. I followed suit and walked up to the curb, standing next to the balloons that had adorned the outside of the brownstone to designate that the party was here. I heard the heels of Blaine's shoes click against the pavement as he took his place next to me.

Huh, his place next to me.

"Shall we go?" he asked as he extended his elbow for me. I laughed at his behavior and looped my arm with his.

"Absolutely," I said as we ascended the stairs toward the party.

BLAINE

As soon as Kurt and I approached the front door, I decided against knocking and tentatively grabbed the doorknob to see if it was unlocked. It clicked open and I pushed the bright blue door in and alleviated my arm from Kurt's – slightly disappointed at the loss, but realizing that we couldn't fit through the door side-by-side.

"Blaine! Kurt!" Santana bellowed as soon as I'd turned to close the door behind us. "Thanks for coming," she said softly before hugging Kurt and then me.

"Of course," Kurt replied. "Now where is the lucky lady? I haven't had the privilege of meeting Brittany and I want to meet the woman who finally whisked you away."

Santana laughed. "Hey Britt," she yelled toward the kitchen behind her. Not a moment later, Brittany's blonde head poked out from behind the wall and Kurt stood back, seeming stunned. "Britt, you remember Blaine – that annoying guy I can't seem to ditch." I couldn't help but laugh at Santana's statement as I shot Brittany a small wave. "But this fabulous man with scraggly Blaine here is—"

"—Kurt," Brittany finished, extending her hand to shake Kurt's. I could tell Santana was as confused as I was.

"You two have met?" I asked.

Brittany nodded. "I met him at a diner a few weeks ago. He's friends with Lauren who used to work on Bring It On! with me. She said that she and Kurt worked together."

Santana's eyes bulged from her head. "Hold the damn phone! You work at Bring It On!? How did I not see you there before? Also, Lauren who? I swear, the fact that I only saw you perform a handful of times is clearly making me look like I don't know your friends."

Kurt shrugged. "I just started working there a few weeks ago. I had worked on their touring company for awhile but decided that I was over the constant traveling so I asked after a position with the company in New York and they had an opening, so I accepted."

"And what about Lauren?" Santana asked. Knowing my best friend, she was not only curious; she was also jealous.

"Lauren Zizes. Do you remember her?" Kurt asked.

Santana laughed, seeming somewhat relieved. "Of course I remember her! She was one bad ass bitch. She works at Bring It On! too?"

Brittany nodded. "She started the week before I left. Apparently Kurt started not too long after I left, which sucks because I bet he is the best hugger."

I wasn't sure how that point was relevant, but this was Brittany's logic. And she also wasn't wrong; Kurt was a great hugger.

Kurt laughed at Brittany's suggestion. "Yeah, well, she's a bit different now. But we can hang out sometime. I know we weren't all best friends in high school and you and I just reconnected again, so I wasn't sure you wanted to hang out with her."

"Of course I do!" Santana exclaimed. Normally Santana wasn't one to hang out with people from high school – she seemed to have hated her time there – but she'd made an exception for Kurt and I'm guessing since Lauren was in with Kurt, she wasn't going to say no to rekindling that friendship as well.

"Brittany? Santana?" a voice screeched from the kitchen.

"In here," Brittany shouted. A moment later, a woman joined their group, looking at Kurt and I expectantly.

"Hello," the woman said. "I'm Brittany's mom, Linda. And you are...?"

"This is Kurt, a friend of mine from high school," Santana said as Kurt moved forward to shake her hand. "And this is Blaine, a co-worker of mine."

"Who also has the title of Santana's best friend – aside from Brittany, of course," I said with the most charming smile I could muster. Santana rolled her eyes at my statement.

"Well it's nice to meet you both. I know this is mostly a family gathering on our side, but if Santana invited you, you're as good as family to us now," Linda said as she waved them toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was just to the right of the doorway we'd come through and as we turned into the room, the presence of the festivities was evident. The place was covered in balloons – bright colors like orange, teal, purple and pink dripping from the ceiling. There was also a piñata tucked into the corner, which caused me to look at Santana curiously. She followed my eye line and gave a small chuckle with a shrug at the piñata's presence; clearly it didn't phase her any and it was probably Brittany's idea anyway. Santana wouldn't counter Brittany even if she was 100% wrong – she loved that girl too much.

Once we'd spent a moment looking around, the attention of the room seemed to rest on we newcomers that had joined the party. Noticing that we were standing there somewhat awkwardly not sure where to start, Santana picked up.

"Everyone, this is Kurt and Blaine," each of us waving as our respective names were called. "They're friends of mine." The room gave their salutations briefly before going back to their conversations and the food on the plates in front of them.

Brittany took my hand into her left and Kurt's into her right as she led us to the first group of people. She introduced us to every person in the group and gave a little background about each of us before shuffling us along to the next group and following the same process. Twenty minutes and plenty of small talk later, Brittany had introduced us to practically everyone in her family tree and I was still reeling from all of the handshakes and questions.

Kurt clearly seemed unphased by the attention as he was currently wearing a small smile at his lips, one that made me want to kiss him but realized this probably wasn't the time or place for that. Hand holding in the cab, sure. But kissing at another couple's engagement party? Maybe not.

"Would you like something?" I asked Kurt as I looked longingly at the punch bowl that had been set on the counter. I was parched.

"Sure, punch would be great," he said softly. I nodded and grabbed us a cup each and also picked up a few cheese cubes that I shoved down before joining Kurt again, who was in conversation with Santana.

"Thanks for inviting us," I heard Kurt say as I handed him his punch. Kurt smiled in appreciation.

"Like I wasn't going to invite my two favorite gays," she retorted. "Besides, I don't have family here, so you guys are as close as I get. I mean, besides Brittany."

I nodded in understanding, as did Kurt. Being from another state was hard when it came to celebrations or holidays and we were all too familiar with the birthdays spent with only our friends and celebrations we wished we could share with our families. "Well, I'm honored to be your New York family," I said as I lightly nudged her shoulder.

"Same here," Kurt said excitedly as he took another sip from his cup. I smiled at him; he hadn't even been friends with this older, wiser Santana for very long but he was already thrilled with the presence of the boisterous Latina in his life again.

"Aww, shucks," she quipped. "Well, since my family couldn't be here today, you guys are going to have to pinch hit instead."

"Pinch hit?" Kurt asked.

"Sorry," Santana chuckled. "Forgot I'm talking to the guy who's allergic to sports."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You know that's not true." She looked at him pointedly and his resign let up a bit. "Okay, it's notentirelytrue."

"Either way," she said, "You guys might have to give an embarrassing speech on my behalf since my dad isn't here to do it for me. Hope you're okay with that."

"I'm sure between Kurt and I, we have plenty of ammo," I suggested, causing Kurt to flutter with laughter.

"Definitely," he agreed.

Santana sat back and the thankful expression in her eyes said more than her words could; she was genuinely glad we were there. She knew we would be there physically, but she was also thankful that we were her support system. Kurt had been during a time of her life where she seemed like she needed it most and I was there just as her life was changing for the better. Kurt and I were both lucky to have experienced Santana in these ways and now we could show her love in a new way – together.

"I'm going to go grab a snack, you want anything?" Kurt asked.

I shook my head. "Sorry, if I'd known you wanted something else I would have..."

"...I am perfectly capable," Kurt replied, slight tease to his voice. "Be right back," he said, turning away.

"Damn Anderson," Santana said, her voice full of innuendo.

"What?" I asked, truly puzzled.

"I didn't expect you or Hummel to put out that quickly."

The sip of drink I'd just taken was immediately spit back into my cup as I tried to collect myself after Santana's statement. "I – uh – what? Why? Huh," I said, clearly flustered.

"You don't have to play the virgin act with me, B. Kurt's walking funny, I'm guessing you had something to do with that," she said as she winked at me.

I groaned. "Dear god that is not what happened at all. We're not... not yet... well, we haven't..."

She laughed. "Okay, so it wasn't you - who was it?"

"His personal trainer," I answered nonchalantly. Her eyes had shock clearly displayed. "Who's a woman."

She chuckled again, this time less suggestion behind her laugh. "Ah. Well, sorry that my mind went to the gutter. You know me," she claimed, and I nodded in understanding. "So what have you and your boyfriend done?"

"He's not my... I don't know what he and I are," I said quietly, looking at my shoes in the process.

"Damn it Blaine," she replied, her voice rising a little.

"Santana, stop!" I exclaimed with a whisper. "Can we please not talk about this here?"

She tugged my arm and pulled us both into the hallway, not looking back to see if we'd caused any commotion in the process. "What is going on Blaine?" I didn't want to meet her eyes yet so I shrugged for the time being. "Look, I know you are trying to be cautious for some reason I don't fully understand, but is there a reason you and Kurt haven't talked about whatever you are? It's not like you have to be like 'we're boyfriends' or something, but have you at least talked about how he makes you feel?"

I shook my head. "I can't."

"Why not?" she asked softly.

I stood for a moment with my eyes clenched shut, hoping that I did not have to have this conversation at Santana's engagement party with Kurt in the other room. "I'm terrified."

Santana laughed lightly and my eyes flickered open and I shot her the most malicious glare I could gather. She patted me lightly on the shoulder. "It's okay to be scared, Blaine. You haven't been in a relationship in awhile and neither has Kurt from what I can gather. I bet he's just as scared as you."

"I'm not just scared that he'd be my first relationship in ages. It's that... I feel like he's embarrassed to be with me or something. Ever since we got here, he hasn't touched me or held my hand or anything." I started to fold within myself, embarrassed at my lack of confidence.

"B, he's never met these people before. And Kurt is just a guarded person – he's had to be because of being from backwards bumpkinland. You can relate to that," she said. I nodded in silent agreement. "But I know it isn't just this. You may be a cuddle whore, but you're not one to worry too much about one instance like this."

I sighed. I sometimes hated that Santana knew me so well that she could read me like a freaking book even when I didn't' want to talk about things. She just... knew. That bitch. "It kind of started the other day. When we went out for lunch. I suggested we meet at his apartment to meet up before coming here and he quickly said that he'd rather meet me at my place. He said he had to pick up your present on Saturday, but then he said he was going to register with you. Then when I met him today, he said he had gotten his present to you while you guys were together.

"It's like he doesn't want to be seen with me or something. Is he afraid to bring me back to meet his friends or something? Is he afraid I'll think less of him or something? I just don't understand."

Santana smiled and rubbed my shoulder in a comforting way. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think it has to do with his roommate. I've never met him, but Kurt talked about him a bit yesterday and said that he's taken on the role of being his protective older brother figure. He even said he was similar to his dad in the way he'd be a 'helicopter roommate' at times. And I've met Burt Hummel – the man is the epitome of overprotective. I can only assume his roommate is similar if he made the comparison."

A flash of fear was surely evident in my eyes, but Santana's smile calmed me a bit. "Kurt is a really independent guy, but I think even he wasn't immune to making bad relationship choices. I know he and his roommate have been friends for years and I'm sure he's seen Kurt stumble a time or two. Kurt might just be doing this to protect himself, but I'd bet he's also trying to protect you. It's kind of the same way you didn't tell me right away about Kurt – you wanted to be sure first. I think it's the same for him."

Even though Santana drove me crazy, she was right more often than I liked to admit. And she was probably right this time. I sighed. "I mean, that makes sense. But why didn't he tell me?"

"Why didn't you tell him how it made you feel?" My lack of reply caused her to laugh. "I definitely do not miss dating guys. You guys suck at talking sometimes."

"Whatever," I retorted. "But we're amazing at sucking other things," I joked, hoping to pull us out of this more serious conversation.

She laughed with a slight groan at my awful joke. "It's true," she acquiesced. "But maybe just talk to him about it. Kurt's a nice guy and he's a great listener. And besides, this is about both of you – you need to figure out what you want and he needs to do the same for himself. But give him some slack; neither of you are perfect."

I nodded. "I know he's not perfect, but he's pretty close."

She laughed. "You've got it bad."

"I do."

I do.

Being that I was at an engagement party, hearing that phrase wasn't new, but would I get to say it to a man someday? What if that man was Kurt?

"We're here!" a voice yelled from the front hall, effectively pulling me from the thoughts of Kurt being called my husband in casual conversation. I saw Santana's eyes flicker open and a bright smile graced her face as she directed her attention to the doorway. The sight that came bustling through was clearly a surprise – one Santana was thrilled with – and once I saw that it was her mom and dad, I knew my best friend was the happiest girl on the face of the planet in this very instance.

"Mom? Dad?" Santana asked, not believing who was in front of her.

"Surprise," I heard Brittany whisper as she came up behind Santana and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"You did this?" Santana questioned, and Brittany nodded.

"I knew you wanted them here so I got them to agree to come for the weekend," Brittany said with a smile.

"We're sorry we're late," her mom said as she crossed through the room to give her daughter a hug. "Our plane was delayed – otherwise we would have been here sooner."

"Considering I didn't know you were coming, you're just on time," Santana replied, still bewildered at her parents' presence in her fiancée's family's kitchen. She hugged them tightly and beamed back brightly at her fiancée.

They joined fingers and walked with Santana's parents back into the kitchen where Brittany's family welcomed them with open arms.

"They're really happy aren't they?" Kurt asked as he stood next to me.

"They are," I said as I watched the two women kiss and practically ooze affection as they took in each other in the presence of their families. I was content to watch them just be with each other before I felt Kurt's hand link with mine. I looked down to see our fingers locked before looking back up at Kurt and his sweet smile. He was still looking ahead at Brittany and Santana before turning back to me with that infectious smile of his.

I thought about the insecurity I'd had about Kurt. Santana was right; we really did need to talk. But this small act gave me a hope I hadn't realized I needed and the courage to do what I wanted to since I'd met him.

...

"Can I have your attention please," Santana's dad said as he clinked a spoon along the champagne flute in his hand. We were all seated around the large dining table in the formal dining room, crowded in together as we were waiting to eat dessert together. Dinner had been spectacular, but I was definitely eyeing the three-layered chocolate cake with strawberries that Ms. Pierce had brought out for us to enjoy.

As the room went quiet, Mr. Lopez began to speak. "I wanted to take a moment to thank the Pierce family for hosting this engagement party. And thank you for welcoming my wife and I into your home and family as quickly as you did with mi preciosa Santanita."

"Dad," Santana uttered at the nickname spouted from her dad's mouth.

"Okay, okay. I promised Santana I wouldn't embarrass her too much, but I wanted to offer a quick toast to the happy couple. If we could all raise a glass," he said and we all followed suit. "To Brittany and Santana. May your love be everlasting, true, honest, and pure."

"To Brittany and Santana!" we all chimed as we clinked our glasses with each other.

At this point, Brittany's mother stood at her spot next to Brittany's dad. "In the spirit of toasts – and I'll try to make this short so we can eat this cake," she said, we all chuckled at her statement. "Phil and I also wanted to wish our best to the couple. When we first met Santana, we weren't quite sure what to do with her." Linda laughed and Santana groaned, clearly bringing back a somewhat unfortunate memory as Brittany kissed her cheek lightly, assuring her that it was all right.

"But we knew Santana was special when we saw how she was with our little girl. The love that pours out between these two is something special and I'm so glad that Brittany found The One she was looking for."

Santana blushed at the compliment and Brittany whispered something into her ear. I smiled when I saw Santana lean in to kiss her fiancée on the lips.

"So, to Brittany and Santana – they've found The One."

"To Brittany and Santana!" we cheered again and took another swig of their glass. I turned to look at Kurt who was sitting next to me, finding him slightly teary eyed.

"Is everything okay?" I asked as I looped my arm around his back loosely.

"Yeah," he said with a watery smile. "I'm just... really happy for Santana."

He leaned into my side and I brushed a light kiss to his forehead. "Me too," I whispered.

"Ahem!" I heard a voice clatter from the other end of the table. I snapped up to see a devilish Santana smile, realizing she was the one calling our attention. "If you two boys are done macking, my father asked if you'd like to share a word or two on our behalf since you're the only unbiased people at the table."

I felt Kurt nod into my shoulder as he brought himself to his feet, standing to be sure he could be seen since we were at the very end of the long table. "I'd like to say something," he said as he looked down at me, silently asking if it was okay. I nodded – slightly curious about what he had to say and wondering why he needed my permission.

"I've known Santana since freshman year of high school and let me tell you, when they say high school is no picnic, it obviously happened to someone at McKinley High School." His statement earned a small laugh. "Santana and I were really there for each other in high school and I'm so thankful for her presence during those four years." He took a moment to collect himself and I took his hand into mine and lightly rubbed at his fingers. He looked at me appreciatively before continuing.

"But I'm even more overjoyed to see Santana meet the love of her life and find the happiness she and I dreamed about in high school. She was such a wonderful person then and her wonderfulness has only blossomed since she's been with Brittany. So, I'd like to propose a toast to them, and more specifically, to happiness."

He raised his glass and we all mimicked his motion. "To happiness," he said with a smile.

"To happiness!" we chorused. Kurt took his seat and I couldn't help but squeeze his hand at his speech.

"That was really...wow Kurt. You really have a way with words."

He smiled. "Thanks," he said, leaning in for a light kiss on the lips; a kiss I happily reciprocated.

"Ahem!" I heard Santana say again.

"What?" I asked harshly, causing the party to erupt in laughter.

"Geez Blaine, calm down. Do you have anything to add?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I think Kurt covered it," I said as I turned to see him smile. I could hear Santana muttering something about covering and Kurt before Brittany's mom started passing around the cake I had my eye on for most of the night.

"Thanks," Kurt whispered into my ear as I shuffled back into my seat and out of his personal space.

"For what?" I asked, turning to face him again.

"For just... being you," he said.

"Oh. You're welcome?" I said with a soft chuckle.

...

The rest of the party has passed quickly and soon we were on our way back to Manhattan, but not before being bombarded with hugs from nearly every person at the party. We had called a cab since finding one roaming the streets in the residential area wasn't likely and found ourselves back to our destination by just after eight.

"That was fun," Kurt sighed as he slunk into the backseat of the cab. I nodded in agreement as Kurt kept chatting. "And I hadn't seen Santana's parents in a long time. It was nice to catch up with them and see how things are." Not long after dessert had been cleared away, Kurt had sequestered himself with the Lopezes and they looked very animated as they chatted with Kurt for about twenty minutes. I remember watching them interact but keeping a keen eye on Kurt who couldn't help but smile and laugh every few minutes, causing my stomach to turn with butterflies at the sound of him laughing from across the room.

As we continued on the drive back, Kurt kept chattering about this thing that they'd said and the little things he'd noticed about the Pierce home, but I couldn't take it any more.

"What is this?" I asked, effectively causing Kurt to stop in his train of thought. I was already looking at his profile, but he whipped his neck so that we were facing each other.

"What's what?" he asked gently.

"This," I said, gesturing between us. Though it was dark, I could see the surprise in Kurt's eyes and I was eager to start backpedaling. Leave it to me to ruin something with my damn mouth. "It's just... I'm sorry; I don't know what I'm supposed to say when it comes to this kind of stuff. I haven't been with anyone in a long time and I don't know what proper decorum is."

Kurt still sat silently, so I continued. "But when you were making that speech about Santana finding happiness... I just. I just wanted you to find that happiness too, Kurt. It shouldn't be a dream for you or for me. It should be reality."

I sighed, knowing I was about to take a big step. "And for me, I'm finding a lot of happiness with you. I don't know what to call this," I said, gesturing between us again, "But I know you make me happy and I hope I do the same for you."

He was still quiet, so I was inclined to keep going, afraid of the silence and what it could mean. "The way you smile, the sound of you laughing, the way you want to get to know me... I want that all the time. I want to spend time with you all the time. And it scares the living hell out of me, but I know that you will make it worthwhile. I—"

Kurt interrupted my rambling and gingerly placed his forefinger on my lips. "Stop," he insisted.

I gulped.God, what have I done?

Rather than start yelling at me or asking the cab driver to stop the car, he launched forward and pressed his lips against mine, taking me by total surprise. I felt his lips move against mine in want and I responded with equal vigor. Our lips moved against each other's firmly but kept our tongues to ourselves. After a few light pecks to my lips, Kurt pulled away and I can't help but feel breathless by the whole event.

"Okay," he stated simply. I quirked my brows in confusion, but he continued. "Okay, I'm in this for as long as you are."

I couldn't help but squawk a bit at his revelation and I pulled him close to me, into a firm hug. Our chests were flush against each other and I was sure Kurt could feel how hard my heart was beating since it felt like it was practically bursting from my ribcage.

Kurt's arms found their way around my waist as I clutched longingly around his shoulders, his cheek against mine, his chin tucked into my back. It wasn't the most comfortable position for either of us in the backseat of a car, but it didn't matter.

"You make me happy, you know," he whispered. "Those things you said about me. I think them about you too."

I smiled and I could feel his smile against my cheek as well. "I'm so glad," I breathed. "That's all I want." I dipped my neck a bit lower and placed a soft kiss onto the skin of his neck where the collar of his shirt had slipped down. He sighed contentedly and I eased out of our hug, trying to regain some sort of normal posture in the backseat. He fidgeted along next to me and soon we were facing forward again, with his head nestled against my shoulder and my chin resting on his head, placing soft kisses into his hair.

"This is nice," he said softly and I hummed in agreement. "You do realize we'll have to tell Santana that we'retogethernow, right?"

I laughed. "I'm pretty sure she knew it was going to happen soon enough. But I'm sure the confirmation will make her happy." He giggled slightly then pulled out his phone, but pocketed it almost immediately after looking at the flashing screen. "Are you expecting someone to call you?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "Just seeing what day today was."

"It's November 3rd - why does that matter?"

"It's an important day, Blaine," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He looked up at me with a grin before explaining why. "It's our anniversary."

I couldn't help but radiate joy in that moment and placed a supple kiss to the tip of Kurt's nose. "That, it is."