CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20

BLAINE

"That's a wrap for now, guys. We'll resume back on Monday after the holiday. Just please don't do anything dumb like break your arm in the next few days," Jeremy mused as the guys packed up their gear.

A lot had happened in the past week; we had recorded and finalized one track for the Atticus Finch album, I had dinner with Santana and Brittany at their place, David, Wes and I went to a karaoke bar and killed it, and Kurt and I had two dates with at least fiveveryheated make out sessions. All in all, a fantastic week.

It was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I was honestly thankful for the break. Cooper and my parents were coming into town tonight, so I offered to see Jeremy off to the airport so he could head back to Atlanta and, in the meantime, I could pick up my family from their flights. I was one of those strange people who liked to go to the airport – probably because everyone seemed so happy when they arrived from various cities across the globe – and that type of joy is infectious.

Clearly, I had watched Love Actually one too many times. Obviously Kurt was okay with this.

Each of the guys said their goodbyes as I helped clean up the coffee cups that were littered around the sound booth while Jeremy packed up his messenger bag.

"I can't believe how much coffee we go through in a day," I moaned as I picked up five discarded coffee cups off the table.

Jeremy laughed. "They're not used to being up before noon. It was bound to happen."

I grabbed one last Starbucks cup and saw something scrawled on the side.

Chris – 212-555-9630, with a heart over the i.

I chuckled as I flashed the side of the cup to Jeremy. "Looks like someone from the band already has a following."

Jeremy chuckled. "They better get used to it. They're relatively unknown now, but with Rialto at the helm, the fact that they're all good looking and fantastic musicians – they're definitely going to break out of the pack."

I smiled. The fact that Jeremy acknowledged that Atticus Finch was going to make it only assured me that my ability to find talent was right - at least this one time. I knew that the band was good when Jeremy signed on since he wouldn't have agreed to produce otherwise, but having him say it aloud meant something different entirely. I was just thankful to take a part in the journey and especially happy to be making some friends in the process.

Looks like we have at least one Romeo on our hands, I thought to myself as I chucked the cup into the trashcan. "You about ready?" I asked as I scanned the room one last time for any remaining trash.

"All set, let's roll out," Jeremy said as he grabbed his duffel and laptop bag.

...

"I'm glad we left early – this traffic is awful," Jeremy said as we sat in the back of the cab in a standstill with all of the cars working their way across the Queens Midtown Tunnel. I figured that traffic would be worse around this holiday since everyone seemed to travel both into and out of New York, but this was pretty ridiculous.

"One of the perks of the holidays," I joked. Jeremy jokingly rolled his eyes as my phone chirped in my coat pocket. I pulled it out and was pleasantly surprised at the text that I'd just received.

Packing is the worst thing ever. –K

I smiled at Kurt's groaning. He was leaving later tonight to go to Ohio for Thanksgiving and even though I was bummed that he and I wouldn't get to spend time together for the holiday, I was glad he would get to spend time at home. He loved traditions around the holidays – one thing I'd learned as his discussions of Christmas became more frequent these days – so I knew my boyfriend would return from Ohio a happy, content man. I was never going to say no to that.

Just pack a bunch of sweatpants for the Turkey Day and Post Turkey Day feasts. That's always my plan. –B

I chuckled internally at my text. I knew Kurt probably didn't own a ton of sweatpants, so I was sure his reply would be great. If Kurt was anything, it was hilariously pithy.

I resent the fact that you think I would do such a thing - although maybe I should get some just for the occasion. When in Rome, right? –K

I laughed aloud. Only Kurt would think of an "occasion" to own sweatpants - rather than most people who used a lazy Saturday as their excuse to wear loungewear in public.

"Something funny going on there?" Jeremy asked, nodding toward my phone.

"Uh, yeah," I stuttered. I realized I hadn't talked to Jeremy too much about my personal life and things could get fairly personal in a second - especially depending on his feelings about my... orientation. "It's my boyfriend." Jeremy sat there looking at me. There was no judgment coming from his stance or his eyes – it seemed like he just wanted me to elaborate. So I did. "He's packing to go to home for the holidays and he hates packing. Apparently my recommendation to pack sweatpants wasn't up to his standard."

He chuckled. "Not a sweatpants guy? That's a shame. For him, of course."

I snorted. "Not really. He doesn't think one has to look like a hobo if you want to look dressed down. He has very... finite opinions about such things. But he always looks like a million bucks, so I should probably listen to him," I said as I gestured down to my somewhat worn jeans and beat up boots. I didn't look like a slob, but I definitely didn't look like Kurt.

"Eh, looks fine to me," he stated without giving my clothes a second glance. "Tell me about him."

"Who? My boyfriend?"

"Yeah, who else? Tell me about him."

"Uh, sure. His name is Kurt, he's from Ohio like I am, he works at a Broadway theater helping out with costumes."

"He's not a performer?" Jeremy asked.

I shook my head. "Not now. He used to perform in high school but he found his calling with clothes."

"Ah, so the fact that he works with costumes probably fulfills his desire to perform and the whole clothing thing."

"I suppose," I shrugged.

"And how long have you been dating?"

"Two weeks. Give or take a few days."

"Ah, new budding romances. They're so fun in the early stages."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I mean, we've known each other for over a month or so and we actually have a lot of the same mutual friends." I laughed internally about how exactly we found out about our mutual friends, but that was something I didn't feel the need to elaborate on. "But it's going pretty good."

Jeremy nodded and looked out the window at the other cars eager to make their way across to Brooklyn. After a minute of silence, I thought I should probably ask him stuff too, since we're going to be spending a bunch of time together and stuff. "What about you? Anyone in your life?"

"Yeah," he said breathily. "Her name is Jess. She's a total sweetheart, but definitely knows how to keep me in line."

"How long have you been together?" I asked.

"Six years, but we've been friends since high school. So we've had a relationship of some sort for eighteen years."

"Wow," I uttered. "That's practically forever."

He laughed. "That's more than half your lifetime, youngin'."

I chuckled in reply. "So you've known each other for almost twenty years but together for three. It must be great to date someone you're such good friends with."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I think with Jess and I, there was always an underlying attraction but the timing just wasn't right. She was with someone when I first met her and we had this dance back and forth over the years of being really close friends but never getting together. Then, a few years ago, the timing was right and we've been together ever since."

"That's a great story," I thought aloud. "I'm a big believer in everything happens for a reason, and your story just proves that."

He giggled. "I couldn't agree more."

...

After the long ride in the taxi, Jeremy made it onto his flight but I still had time to kill before Cooper or my parents arrived. Thankfully none of their flights were delayed so I wouldn't end up spending the evening in the arrivals lobby at LaGuardia. It was small and there wasn't much to do, though the people watching proved fantastic as usual.

After 20 minutes of watching people pick up their friends and loved ones and a few rounds of Fruit Ninja, I was bored. I had left my headphones at my apartment and I was regretting that decision since I couldn't just lose myself in the lyrics of artists I admired. Instead, white noise, PA announcements and the occasional conversation in passing served as my soundtrack.

Instead of sitting restlessly for the next half hour before Cooper's flight came in from LAX, I decided to call the person who'd been on my mind.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kurt."

"Hey," Kurt said softly, my heart flickering with excitement at his change of tone. "You're lucky you're talking to me now instead of 30 minutes ago. I was not having any luck with this whole packing thing and I'm fairly certain I scarred Wes for life."

I chuckled. "Wes has seen worse things, I assure you."

"Either way, I think he forgot that I tend to get a little... tense before I go home since I haven't been here regularly for awhile. I'll just have to buy his affections with some killer cookies when I come back from Thanksgiving."

"I'm sure you know this since you've known Wes for awhile, but if you give him cookies, he'll treat you like royalty. The man has a soft spot for sweets."

"I know – I think the only reason we became roommates is because he wanted into my cookie jar."

"That's better than him wanting into your pants," I noted, not realizing what I had implied until it was out of my mouth. Well, I guess my crass side was bound to come out at some point.

"Who said that didn't happen already?" Kurt replied cheekily and I nearly dropped the phone in surprise. I would've thought that Kurt might be a bit embarrassed at my off-color comment, but the fact that he just replied like that kind of blew me away.

Anddamn, it was sexy.

"Uh, well, if that's how—"

I heard Kurt laugh heartily. "I was kidding, obviously Wes is straight as an arrow and he's also not my type on so many levels."

I laughed, slightly unsure of how to proceed. "Well, that's good to know." I paused for a second to try to collect myself mentally. "So now that you're done packing, when do you have to head to the airport to fly out?"

"My flight is out of JFK at 8, so I have quite a bit of time."

I glanced at my watch, noting that it was 4:00 now. "You certainly have time, but traffic was awful and that was to LaGuardia so plan accordingly."

Kurt groaned on the other end. "Great, just what I needed."

"Just don't forget your headphones like I did and you'll do just fine."

"As if I'd forget my headphones. They're necessary to watch Netflix on the plane home. Plus they inevitably help me drone out my stepbrother and dad's rantings about football over the next few days. There's only so much of that I'd be able to handle without my music keeping me sane."

I laughed. I could understand the need to have your own space – especially around the holidays since I had a feeling Cooper would be insufferable and my parents would be, well, parents. I loved all three of them, but with them in my city and hanging out in my space where I'd happily lived alone for a few years was going to be trying on my patience. "I'll keep that in mind."

"What time does your family get in?" I loved the way Kurt remembered the little things I'd told him. He swore up and down that his memory was awful, but I think he was bluffing.

"Cooper gets in around 4:30 and my parents sometime after 5. I'm already at the airport so I'm just biding my time until they get here."

"Wow, that was really nice of you to wait at the airport for them."

I shrugged but realized Kurt couldn't see. "I don't mind. I was dropping Jeremy off anyway so it was a two-birds-one-stone situation." I would've gone into detail about my affinity to people watch at the airport, but I was worried it would make me seem strange – even if it was mentioned in one of Kurt's favorite movies. "Anyway, so. Ohio. What are you most looking forward to this Thanksgiving? The Black Friday sales, perhaps?"

Kurt snorted. "Not especially. Midwestern women are ravenous about their sales and there's nothing there that I couldn't just get here anyway. I mean, how many duvet covers do I really need to buy at 60% off?" I chuckled as Kurt continued. "Definitely looking forward to seeing my dad and stepmom, and maybe my stepbrother. I'm excited for all the food. There's nothing better than turkey and stuffing covered in gravy; it's my one annual indulgence. But I'm also just glad that I'll have some time away from the crazy – and definitely will love not having the streets smell like rotten sewage."

I laughed. "That all sounds great to me."

"What about you? Since you're staying in New York, are you planning on seeing the parade?"

"Yeah, my dad has connections with some people that own a building near Central Park, so we'll probably spend the morning with his business associates watching the parade and do a traditional Chinese dinner later that night."

"You eat Chinese for Thanksgiving?" Kurt questioned, slight disappointment coming through his voice.

"Yeah. My kitchen doesn't really allow for a ton of cooking or anything and their hotel doesn't have a kitchenette, so we save our big, fancy family meal for Christmas when we're in Ohio."

"Oh," Kurt said.

"It was weird the first few years they came up here, but we got used to it after awhile. But we do make sure to have at least two pumpkin pies on hand – one for me, one for everyone else," I added with a giggle.

Kurt laughed melodically. "I can see that. I'll have to remember to bake you one of my pumpkin pies. You'll die."

"The fact that you can make a pumpkin pie makes me want to die. Are you sure you have to go to Ohio? Can't you stay here and bake me pies all weekend?" I joked.

"As if. I'm headed home and you can't stop me. Besides, it just gives you more of a reason to keep me around – with my promises of baking and all that."

"As if I needed more reasons to keep you around; you're incredible," I murmured but realized Kurt could probably hear me since the phone was so close to my face. Silence rang through from Kurt's end so I awkwardly cleared my throat. "Well, uh, I better let you get ready to leave and all that. I'm sure you have other things to do before you leave and stuff." Clearly I was very articulate in this moment.

"Uh, yeah. I do have a few more things I need to take care of." Kurt sighed. "But I'll text and call you while I'm in Ohio – I'll need someone to keep me sane in Buckeye Land."

I chuckled. "Sounds good. Have a great flight and we'll talk soon."

"Of course, enjoy your time with your family." Just as I was about to hang up, I heard Kurt on the other end. "And Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Just so you know, I think you're incredible too."

The air escaped my lungs and a smile glowed on my face. "Okay."

"Okay," he stated, laughing softly. "Bye Blaine."

"Bye Kurt."

I dropped the phone into my lap and victoriously thrust my fist into the air – then realized I looked like a total idiot when half of the people loitering around in baggage claim were now staring at me as if I had a second head. Well, they'd be pretty damn excited if one Kurt Hummel thought they were incredible too; they clearly were just jealous.

"You look like an idiot," a voice bellowed from a few feet in front of me. I looked over to see my brother leaning against a pole with his leather weekender bag slung over his shoulder. That asshole managed to look put together even after a five hour flight. Jerk.

"Hey Cooper," I said as I stood to greet him with a hug. "I didn't realize what time it was. I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"Nah, just walked over from the gate. Didn't check a bag this time so I didn't have to wait around." He motioned for us to take the seats I had been sitting in. I sat in the seat and Cooper dropped his bag in the seat next to mine but opted to stand – probably due to the long flight he'd just come off of. "What time do mom and dad get here?"

"Their flight arrives around 5, but I'm sure we won't get out of here until almost six since you know mom will stop at every vending kiosk on her way back and they will have checked too many bags to count."

Cooper chuckled. Even though my parents had been here multiple times – heck, we had a vacation house not far from Manhattan – my mom still managed to always go home with an assortment of New York-themed trinkets. She tended to do that no matter which cities she traveled to, but in her collection of knick-knacks most of them were from New York. "Then that gives us about 45 minutes to catch up before they get here," he said, looking to his watch to confirm the time. "So, what's got you going all Breakfast Club in the middle of the arrivals terminal? Is Brooks Brothers having a sale or something?"

I tried to kick him from my seat, but he moved away quick enough that I only nicked his pants. "You know I don't shop there anymore, I'm not at Dalton."

"Whatever. So it wasn't Brooks Brothers. Then what's got you all riled up?"

I didn't really want to talk to Cooper about Kurt yet. It wasn't because I wasn't sure about Kurt – I knew he and I were happy and were definitely going somewhere. But admitting it to Cooper meant opening up Pandora's box with the parents, who have been hoping that I'd find Mr. Right for years. In the past, I hadn't ever spoken to my parents about who I dated – it was very convenient that they only visited me in New York once a year and when we spoke we kept love life topics to a minimum. But I didn't want to lie to Cooper – or my parents – but I didn't want them to put any pressure on me or my relationship with Kurt yet either. I had been dating the guy for only a few weeks and they had gone great, but knowing them they'd start to allude to wedding colors and suitable neighborhoods for raising children if I talked about Kurt too much.

"I'm not sure I want to say..." I said.

Cooper glared at me. "Why not?" he whined.

"Because you'll give me a hard time then you'll tell mom and dad and I'll never hear the end of it."

"So it's a guy, isn't it?" I reddened at his realization. "Oh my god, it IS a guy! Tell me everything! I have to know!"

"Cooper, calm down. You're worse than Santana."

"I'm your brother – ofcourseI'm worse than Santana. I've known you longer."

"Whatever," I chided. I crossed my arms over my chest as a sign of my reluctance, but Cooper just stared at me expectantly with puppy dog eyes – an Anderson trait I was cursing at the moment because that jerk always knew how to make me crack.

"Fine," I breathed, clearly amusing my brother as he was practically giddy at this point. "But on one condition."

"Name it," he countered.

"You can't tell mom and dad."

"That's not fair!"

"Cooper, why would you want to tell them anyway?"

"Because it's so much fun when mom starts planning your wedding! She hasn't done that since you were a freshman in college so I'm sure she has some great plans for you and your man candy."

I rolled my eyes. "This is non-negotiable, Coop. I don't want to put any pressure on me or my relationship with them right now. It's really new and I don't need mom's nagging to wig me out in any way, shape or form. Just let me tell them in my own time, okay?"

My brother resigned himself. "Fine," he sighed. "But since you're making me keep this from mom and dad, you have to deal with me calling you regularly to talk about this guy. Someone's gotta keep tabs on you."

I agreed, knowing that my brother rarely remembered to call anyone so I figured his pestering wouldn't last too long. "The basics are, his name is Kurt, he works in costuming for a Broadway show, and he's from Ohio – which is where he's spending the holiday so don't even ask if you can meet him."

"Aw, man. I wanted to scare the little guy."

"He's not little," I interjected.

"Damn, B. Already getting into Kurt's pants? You're a quick one," he said with a wink.

"Oh my god, Coop!" I practically shouted. "Not like that! I meant; he's not small as inheight. He's taller than me. Jesus. Pervert."

"Whatever. You'll find out soon enough."

I rolled my eyes. "God, you really are worse than Santana."

"I try," he admitted. "So, he's from Ohio. Small world."

I laughed internally as I thought through the story I was about to tell Cooper – about how we met and our mutual friends. "Oh, you have no idea..."

KURT

I was practically bubbling with anticipation as the plane taxied into the gate at the Columbus airport. With all my traveling around the country touring with the show, I hadn't had much time to visit Dad and Carole due to work commitments. The last time I'd been home was earlier this year for Dad's birthday and July 4th, so to say I missed them was an understatement.

Plus with my dad closing out his final term in Congress – he had decided to retire after this term – he would finally be able to wind down with us and relax, something previous Thanksgivings hadn't allowed since he was usually busy working with his campaign staff or attending meals and gatherings hosted by his supporters in the district. We always managed to have the Thanksgiving meal together, but I knew he was thankful to get his life back on the normal side of things around the holidays.

As we pulled into the gate I extracted my phone from my pocket and brought it to life, shooting my dad a quick text.

I'm here! See you in baggage claim? Pull the car around, no need to wait inside. –K

I figured I wouldn't get a text back from him – the man was just as hopeless with technology now as he had been in high school – but he tried from time to time.

And apparently this was one of the times he was trying.

K

Burt Hummel, folks – technology wizard.

I chuckled as I pocketed my phone and stepped into the aisle. I had lucked upon a seat toward the front of the plane – primarily due to the fact that I'd arrived to the airport early thanks to Blaine's memo about the traffic – and discovered not many people had checked in yet. Thankfully, that meant getting placed in the aisle of the row directly behind first class, earning me the quickest exit.

As passengers shuffled behind me to collect their bags, I clutched my messenger bag on my shoulder and impatiently stuck my earbuds into my ears – eager to plow my way through the airport and make my way quickly to baggage claim to pick up my bag.

Unfortunately I had to check my bag since I was staying Tuesday night through Sunday morning so an overnight bag wouldn't suffice. Plus I was hoping to potentially grab one or two things for my apartment while I was here during the Black Friday sales – even if I had told Blaine otherwise.

As Phoenix filled my ears – a recommendation from Blaine – I made my way out into the terminal and practically jogged all the way to the baggage claim. The airport wasn't nearly the size of JFK, but it was still large enough that I found it slightly infuriating that the baggage claim wasn't right outside my gate. I mean, this isOhio– are there really that many people living here?

Another five minutes and constant stares at my phone to see if my dad would call, I finally saw my bag making its way on the conveyer belt and I quickly snatched it up and headed outside. The brisk wind hit my face once I left the confines of the heated indoors, but it didn't matter when I saw my dad's pick up truck in the passenger queue. I could feel the smile light on my face as I walked toward the truck and threw my bag in the flatbed, not really caring if the bag got a little scuffed during the journey. I opened the passenger door to see my dad with a smile on his face – the same toothless grin that I had; the only thing that really made my dad and I look alike.

"Hey buddy," he said as I threw my messenger bag on the floor. I reached across the console to give him a small hug.

"Hey dad," I replied as I inhaled his scent. It smelled like Old Spice and the faintest smell of motor oil but it was the smell I'd grown to know as Burt Hummel.

"I see you got my text," he said.

"Yeah, your one letter textreallylet me know where you were. Besides I was the one who told you to wait out here," I insisted.

He smiled, not giving any kind of snarky return. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, dad."

As Dad pulled out of the queue and made his way onto the highway back to Lima, I sat back and fidgeted with my phone, checking to see if Mercedes had texted since she was planning on coming to Ohio for the holiday as well.

"So how are things in New York these days? I know we haven't talked too much since you moved back there permanently, but are things going good?"

"Yeah," I replied. "The job is great, I actually work with Lauren from McKinley... do you remember her?"

"Name sounds familiar, but you had so many glee kids coming in and out of the house it was hard to keep tabs."

I chuckled. "Either way, she and I have become friends again and that's been really nice having her around."

"And how's that roommate of yours?"

"Still up to no good. And he's dating Lauren."

Dad laughed. "You're back for a month or two and you're already playing matchmaker for your roommate. He better appreciate it."

"Oh he does. He owes me."

As I was about to elaborate on how Wes was pining after my old friend, my phone rang in my pocket. I was surprised to see the name across the phone screen and I hesitated to answer the call.

"Go ahead," Dad said. "I don't mind – I know you're a busy guy with a lot of friends you want to catch up with."

I rolled my eyes – clearly my dad thought I was too cool for school, but whatever. "I'll keep it short."

"Hey," I said into the receiver.

"I'm already regretting having my family come here for Thanksgiving."

I giggled. "Oh please. What could they have possibly done already? They've been in town for maybe a few hours."

"They've done enough already. Cooper has been going through my stuff – again – and my mom keeps asking me if I'm eating enough and practically bought out the grocery store. And my dad keeps playing with my records and now they're all out of order and I think he broke my record player!"

I chuckled. I could imagine the scene somewhat now that I knew what his family looked like, but it was even more comical imagining where Blaine was at the moment since I could still hear people talking in the background and I knew the noise wasn't coming from the TV. "And where exactly are you calling me from?"

"The bathroom," he replied sheepishly. "I'm fairly certain it's soundproof since I haven't received any complaints from my neighbors about my shower concerts, so I figured it was safe in here."

"You could have texted me if you wanted to – I hate to think I'm bothering you," I joked. Clearly he was looking for someone to save him, so I figured it'd be worth the sacrifice.

"Please, youknowyou're not bothering me. But I am surprised to catch you, I wasn't sure if you had landed yet or anything. Plus it's late so I thought you would be busy or something."

"Yup, landed, picked up my bag and am already on my way back to Lima."

"Oh, am I distracting you from the drive? I'm sorr—"

"I'm not driving, Blaine. I'm with my dad," I replied. How would I have driven anyway? Apparently the time with his family made his logic go slightly amiss.

"Who's Blaine?" my dad asked next to me.

"Uh, my... friend?" I replied holding my hand over the receiver. I did not need my dad to find out about Blaine being my boyfriend while the guy in question was on the other end of the phone. "Remember, I told you about him. He works in music, from Ohio..."

"Again, too many friends," he retorted.

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry," I said as I removed my hand from the receiver. "My dad was... asking me a question."

"No problem," Blaine replied.

"Blaine what are you doing in there?" I could hear a voice ask on the other end of the phone. I heard Blaine try to muffle the sound, but it didn't work; I could hear everything.

"I'm on the phone, Cooper. God."

"Who are you on the phone with, B?" the voice – Cooper, apparently – asked, slight tease in his tone."I think I know who..."

"Just give me a minute, and I'll be right out."

"Blaine, dear, are you sure everything is okay? Should I have picked up vitamins from the store? Or... Blaine, please tell me you aren't doingthatin there. Couldn't you just wait until we left for the hotel to do that?"

"Oh dear Jesus," I heard Blaine utter and I stifled a laugh. "Mom I am fine! I am on the phone in here because it is too loud out there. I will be right out. I swear to GOD give me a minute of peace!" I heard Blaine take a few deep breaths before settling back into our conversation. "I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to put you on hold."

"So does Cooper really know who you're on the phone with?" I joked, earning a questioning look from my dad and a gasp on the phone from my boyfriend.

"Please tell me you didn't hear all that."

"I was always taught not to lie."

"Dear god, I am so incredibly embarrassed."

I chuckled. "Don't be. It's fine, though you sound like you have your hands full. I'm sorry I can't save you from your misery but I can call you again later and make sure you're still alive if that's okay."

"I'd like that, you're practically my knight in shining armor," he breathed. "And I really am sorry that my family is full of idiots."

"Isn't that their job?"

"I suppose," he replied. "Well, I guess I better go throw myself to the dogs. But I'm glad you made it home and I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course," I answered. "Try to have fun with your family and I'll call you soon."

"Okay, bye Kurt."

"Bye Blaine," I said as I ended the call.

"So, again. Who's Blaine?"

I sighed. Despite the fact that my dad was a fairly oblivious man – probably by choice – I knew I couldn't lie to him. "He's my boyfriend."

Dad just sat there, blank look on his face. It was the one Hummel trait aside from the smile that made me like my dad – we could be impossibly hard to read at times. So rather than dwell on the silence, I decided to just blurt it all out.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

"So, Blaine. He's around my age – a bit younger. Lives in New York but originally from outside of Columbus, oddly enough. He works for this record label and he loves his job. He discovers bands or something... sometimes I'm not quite sure how to explain what he does but he just really loves it and music. He already met Wes – well, he knew Wes, but that's a different story – and I really like spending time with him. He's charming and hilariously dorky but a total sweetheart. He's just... Blaine, I guess."

Dad let it seep for a moment. I couldn't believe I just said all of those things. I wasn't one to wax poetic about guys – especially not with my dad – but now that I was an adult, I felt like I needed him to know what was going on in my life. And Blaine was a part of that now, I guess. In a small way, I just wanted my dad to realize that even though I'd been through hell in Ohio, I was moving on and moving up in Manhattan... and I was going to live out my happily ever after.

"Oh," my dad said, cutting through the silence.

I peered over at him from my seat, shifting uncomfortably at his lack of words. "Oh? That's all you're going to say?"

He fumbled around for a moment but soon started speaking. "Look Kurt, I'm not going to pretend like you're still in high school and I have to act like some sort of Papa Bear with you. You're a grown, mature man who is managing his own life and I'm proud as hell of you for that." He sighed. "I'm glad you told me that you have a boyfriend and this Blaine guy seems like he's right up you're alley. And the fact that you mentioned him at all means something to you, I just know it. You haven't mentioned having a boyfriend in a while, so I just hope that he's treating you all right and that you're doing the same for him. Anything else you want to tell me, you can whenever you want to. You know that."

"He's really nice and I try to treat him with as much respect as possible – you've raised me well, dad. I haven't forgotten what you've said just because I don't live here anymore."

He smiled. "Well, the fact that you're in your mid-twenties and live on your own still makes me feel old."

I nudged him with my arm over the armrest between us. "You were already old, dad."

"Gee, thanks son. Nothing like making your dad feel ancient within the first twenty minutes of you being home."

"That's my job," I replied with a laugh, with Dad mirroring my laugh with his own. "But really, thanks for being such a good dad."

"That's my job," he parroted. "But you've certainly made me proud."

With that I let the silence steep as I thought about the relationship I had with my dad. We had been through a lot as a duo, but we still remained close. I didn't tell him about every detail of my life – lord knows it would've given him a second heart attack if I had – but we still maintained a close bond after all these years.

"So," he said interjecting the silence. "When am I going to meet this Blaine?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't push it, dad."