CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26

KURT

"Kurt, are you sure you don't just want us to drop you off at the airport?" Finn bellowed from downstairs.

"How would the rental car get back if you drop me off, Finn?" I shouted as I hurriedly packed my bag. I didn't hear a response, but I imagined Finn finally realized why his plan wouldn't work.

After my first trip back to Ohio once I moved to New York, I had resigned myself to be carted around by my dad, Carole and Finn. That had gotten old quickly and ever since, I preferred to rent a car in order to have some semblance of freedom in the state that had kept me contained like a caged bird for so long.

Even though this trip had been a short one, the rental car had been incredibly helpful during my few days there. I was able to go last minute shopping when Finn realized he hadn't bought something for his mother – something that he seemed to "forget"every yearand would insist on me helping him out – and it also provided a way for me to surprise my boyfriend.

Blaine and I had agreed to meet at the airport, but I figured a surprise early rendezvous would be welcome. I didn't want to be overly sappy, but I'd missed him more than I would willingly admit aloud and figured picking him up would give me an excuse to see him sooner rather than later.

The convenience of picking Blaine up also let me formally meet his parents on their home turf. I admit, I was a nervous wreck thinking of meeting the parents for the first time – more so considering it would be the first time I wouldevermeet a boyfriend's parents – but if anyone would understand the benefit of meeting someone in a familiar environment, it was me. I was willing to let go of some of the awkwardness on my part if it meant making a good impression on Blaine's parents; it would be worth it.

I continued to shove things into my suitcase and had to sit on the suitcase in order to fit everything inside and get the zipper closed. I pulled harshly at the zipper until the sound of it closing successfully rang through my ears, then I rested triumphantly atop of the bag before pulling it upright and testing to make sure I could still lift it without any issues.

I wasn't normally an over packer – at least I wasn't as much as I used to be – but I should have considered that I would be going home with a few more things in my bag thanks to Christmas gifts from my friends and family. For the most part, I had received gift cards and I was thankful because they were usually better than the things Finn tried to buy for me and they also weren't a pain to lug onto the plane. Mercedes had also bought me a new sweater that I loved, but it added extra bulk to my already-full bag.

One thing that had also taken up a good bit of space was the new speaker set I had received from Dad and Carole. I probably could have shipped it to myself rather than bring it with me in my luggage, but considering I had gotten an iTunes gift card from Wes before I left for Ohio and I was already itching for some new music, I figured I could enjoy both new things at the same time.

There was one thing I was thankful I didn't have to make room for, and that was Blaine's present. Once I knew what I wanted my gift to him to involve, it took a fairly quick search online to find the right thing. I didn't have any expectations as to what specifically it would be, but I knew the right thing would jump out at me as soon as I saw it. And that's exactly what happened.

I had previously discounted the items I'd found on Etsy, but it netted me a beautiful result when I had typed in the song that had put a smile on my face early Christmas morning; "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."

It was the epitome of taking a sad song and making it better. The last time I had sung the song had been when I was a terrified teenager worried about losing the only family he had left in this world. Thankfully I hadn't lost my dad that day, but my life only got better after my dad's illness. I inherited new family in the form of Finn and Carole, had left to live my dream of being on Broadway – even if it wasn't necessarily on the stage - and now had found someone who made me want to sing the song as it was originally intended, as a love song.

Not only did I want to hold Blaine's hand and explain the way that his physical touch made me crazy, just as the song said. The lyrics from the song also talked about how they didn't want to hide their love anymore – and that was something I intended to do as well. I wanted to give Blaine his gift and tell him exactly how I felt; how I was in love with him.

The gift I'd found on Etsy had been perfect and I ordered the minute I found it. I paid for expedited shipping in order to make sure I'd have it before the New Year. We hadn't decided on a formal day to exchange gifts, but I knew I wanted to give it to him before the New Year; New Year, new promises, and a newfound – or newly professed – love. The box was going to arrive to my apartment in New York by the early part of next week and I tentatively thought through plans to have a romantic dinner at my place with plans of exchanging gifts and, hopefully, exchanging I love yous as well.

"Bud, you ready to go?" my dad called from the doorway.

I snapped my head up to meet the man standing in my room. "Yeah," I replied with a small smile. "Let me just grab my jacket and I'll be ready to go."

I pulled the suitcase off the floor, took my coat off the bed and lurched forward to take my bag by the handle before my dad could try to go and take the bag himself. I was slightly too late as my dad's hand clutched around the handle and he started pulling the bag toward the stairs.

"I had it, Dad. You're going to hurt yourself," I stated, watching my dad struggle a bit with the wheels as they caught on the rug in the hallway leading toward the stairs.

"I'm not an invalid, Kurt. I think I can manage to take your bag to your car. Even if it'syourbag, Mister I-pack-too-much," he responded cheekily.

"Whatever," I replied with an eye roll. The suitcase slunk down the stairs after my dad and the loud noise of the wheels hitting each step must have caught the attention of Carole, who met us at the base of their stairs.

"Are you sure you don't want us to send you off at the airport?" Carole asked, sending my father a disapproving look as she watched him struggle with the suitcase on the last few steps. "And Burt, next time, just let Kurt take his bag since I'm sure he insisted on bringing it down himself but you were too stubborn to let him."

I chuckled. I always knew I had Carole in my corner – something I was thankful for when my dad had a bout with cancer during my early years in college – but sometimes I forgot just how much she looked after and loved my dad until I saw it in the flesh. She would chide him and poke fun at him occasionally, but she always had his best interests in mind. And she didn't even fault him for being the most stubborn man in the history of mankind. The woman was a saint.

"I'll be fine," I said, dismissing Carole's notion that they all needed to caravan down to the airport just to wave at me as I boarded a plane.

"I don't see why you need to head down there so early, Kurt. You're going to be bored," Dad replied gruffly as he relinquished control of my suitcase.

I rolled my eyes. "You know I'm not going straight to the airport. We've gone over this."

"I know, I know. I don't see why you need to pick your boyfriend up from his house when you already planned to meet him later at the airport," he retorted.

"I already told you, I thought it would be nice to meet his parents and talk to them for more than five minutes before he and I board a plane. Wouldn't you prefer that method over talking to the guy I've been dating for two seconds before leaving and not being able to grill him sufficiently about his intentions?" I responded with a grin. As much as my dad recognized that I was a man and did not need to be treated like some sort of wilting flower in need of his protection with men that I dated, it didn't stop him from joking about it from time to time.

"You're damn right I'd want more time to talk to this Blaine kid. If he's dating my son, I'd want to talk to him for more than just a second to make sure he's worthy."

I groaned. "He's fine, Dad."

"Well I can't be sure since I'm not meeting the guy. Why couldn't he come and pick you up instead of the other way around?"

"Because he lives near the airport and because I'm trying to shield him from your interrogation until later to ensure he doesn't go running for the hills," I responded.

He grunted. "Fine. But next time you're both in Ohio; can you be sure to bring him by? I'd like to meet the guy who has transfixed my son. Don't think I didn't notice those goofy grins you had on your face when your phone would make that dinging noise."

"Dad! Geez," I replied, blushing at the thought that I'd been so obvious. "Sometimes it was Mercedes, you know."

"Uh-huh. Those werenotthe times that you looked like a cat that got the cream, Kurt. I know your looks – I have known you for almost 27 years ya know," he joked, clapping his hand on my shoulder. "And it's okay if you really like this guy. Just be careful, okay?"

I shrugged his hand away, rolling my eyes as lovingly as possible. "I will, okay? And next time we're both in Ohio – assuming we're dating still – I'll bring him around, all right?"

He smiled smugly, assuming he'd won. "Perfect, son. Alright, give me a hug," he said, extending his arms for one of his perfect, bone-crushing hugs. I let myself get lost in my dad's bear-like hug and inhaled deeply. Saying goodbye to my dad was always hard because I never knew when I'd have time to come back. Holidays were a given, but otherwise I only went home when I had the time and money to do so – both of which were hard to come by.

Carole swooped me into her arms once Dad had decided he'd hugged me enough. Carole's hugs were different than dad's – far less pressure and there wasn't a lingering smell of motor oil or aftershave – but the feeling of belonging was the same. Carole was a great companion for my dad and I knew my mom would be pleased to see Dad landed himself someone as wonderful as Carole in her absence.

"Be safe driving down and please call us when you and Blaine arrive at the airport, okay?" she asked.

I nodded. "Of course. Love you both," I said, taking my suitcase in hand and strolling out to the rental car parked in the driveway. I swiftly went to the trunk and threw the suitcase inside, waved goodbye to Dad and Carole – who were waiting to watch me leave from the front door – and started on the way toward Westerville.

I had managed to get Blaine's parent's address from Santana, who was becoming a very trusty co-conspirator since she seemed to thoroughly enjoy me surprising Blaine even though he said he despised surprises. He really didn't seem to mind them, especially once I kissed away the scowl on his face when he was surprised. He seemed to forget how much he disliked surprises once I did that.

The drive down to Westerville was both fast and slow. It felt like I made it there in record time but the knots in my stomach prevented me from feeling as if time was going quickly. It seemed strange that the first time I was ever meeting a boyfriend's parents was when I was a full-fledged adult, but then again I'd only dated one guy long enough for meeting the parents to even be a possibility. And we all knew howthathad gone.

I pulled into Blaine's subdivision – or what I assumed to be his subdivision according to my phone's GPS – and practically choked.

The neighborhood Blaine's parents lived in was a lot nicer than the modest one my dad and Carole lived in in Lima. The houses were more like estates than simple ranch-style homes. Each one was at least two stories and had pristinely manicured lawns and horseshoe-shaped driveways that perfectly framed the intricate flower display that seemed to sit in the middle of each semicircle at each house. The houses were fairly similar aside from the color of the exterior and the various flowers that littered the lawns. They were rather cookie-cutterish, but I couldn't deny that these houses were a lot nicer than the ones I was used to seeing.

I knew Blaine's parents were well off – his dad was in finance and his mom was lucky enough to have retired early in her life – but I wasn't sure what to expect. Now that I was seeing where Blaine had spent his childhood, I was worried that I wouldn't be enough for him or his family.

What if they were pretentious and abhorred the fact that Blaine was dating someone who came from a blue-collar family? How would they feel about their son dating someone who was like me, decidedly more of a gay stereotype than Blaine was?

I pulled into the house that matched the address Santana had provided and flipped down the driver's side visor and flicked open the mirror, inspecting myself for final approval. The winter had agreed with my skin and other than the slight redness to my nose from the cold, my face was even colored and clear. I looked at my eyes for a second and ignored the slight panic that had set in and moved up toward my hair. My hair style hadn't changed much since my later years of high school so I had its styling down to a science. On a day like today, I was thankful since it meant my hair still managed to look good even though I didn't labor over its appearance like I used to.

I opened the door and stood, brushing off any lint or wrinkles that might have set in during the two-hour drive. Once I was outside, I took a better look at Blaine's parent's house.

Though it was similar to the others, it seemed to have a personality of its own that differed from the houses surrounding it. The front door of the house was red as opposed to white like many of the others on his street, the Christmas lights that adorned the outside of the house weren't the immaculate white like the rest of the block but were colored. The garage door was open, revealing a Subaru Outback and a Nissan SUV, stark departures from the Audis, Mercedes and BMWs that were parked outside the other houses on the street. These few things set the Andersons apart from their neighbors and these small touches of normalcy and an absence of pretentiousness gave me a sliver of hope that I wouldn't be totally out of place with my boyfriend's family.

Checking over my reflection in the window on the rental car, I smoothed back my hair and took a deep breath. I pulled my phone from my pocket with shaky fingers with the intent to call Blaine, but decided that the best kind of surprise would be atruesurprise. And I really wanted to see Blaine's face when he saw me at his front door. If it would be what I hoped for, he'd smile at me with that giant, toothy grin that I had grown to love.

I shoved my phone back in my pocket and walked toward the front door. I was breathing deeper than normal, so by the time I got to the front door, I had willed my breath to slow and not sound as if I had run a marathon.

I rang the doorbell and held my breath, feeling my nerves shaking hesitantly under the chill that had set in due to the cold air. I could hear faint murmurs from behind the door, none of which sounded male, and waited patiently as the door opened.

I was greeted with the sight of who I knew to be Blaine's mom from the photos scattered around his apartment. She was just as beautiful in person as she appeared in the photos. She was dressed causally in dark wash jeans and an olive green sweater, giving off an even more welcoming presence than she probably realized.

"Can I help you?" she asked, questioning eyes looking at me up and down.

"Uh, yes. Hi, I'm Kurt Hummel," I replied, extending my hand for her to shake. She took it tentatively, still unsure about my presence. "I'm here to see Blaine."

"Blaine? Is he expecting you?" she questioned.

"No, it's kind of a surprise."

She looked at me up and down one more time. "Look, Blaine is in the shower right now so he can't come and speak to you for a little while."

"That's fine," I replied quietly, trying to assess the uneasy look on her face. I stood and stared at her for a while, waiting for her to let me in.

She continued to take in my presence before calling over her shoulder. "Honey, can you come here for a second?" She maintained her blockade of the door, her petite frame managing to shield the rest of the house from view. The sound of feet moving came up from behind her and soon I was met with the gaze of Blaine's father. He smiled down at his wife before turning his attention to me, confused by my presence.

"Oh. Hello. Can we help you?" he asked.

"He's here to see Blaine," his mother replied. I nodded in response before Blaine's father pulled the door fully open.

"Please, come inside. Blaine isn't available right now, but you can wait here until he's ready," he said, gesturing toward the foyer. I hesitantly stepped inside, passing Blaine's parents in the process who seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes as I uncomfortably slipped into the roomy hallway.

"So, you're here to see Blaine?" he questioned.

I hesitated to roll my eyes – how else would I know to ask for Blaine at his parent's house. "Yes, we live in New York together."

His mother's eyes bulged. "You live together? I didn't know Blaine had a..."

I flushed as I corrected my miswording. "Oh, no. I mean, we both live in New York. Not livetogether. No," I insisted, trying to ease his parent's mind. I didn't want them to think that he and his boyfriend were already shacking up.

"Oh, well that's nice," his mother replied with a sweet smile. I could tell she was still unsure about me being there, but her civility was reigning over her slight discomfort. "And how exactly do you know Blaine? He hasn't mentioned a Kurt before."

At her admission, I stopped – stunned. I could see the questioning in her eyes and my stomach started to churn, a painful memory settling in – one that I didn't want to think about in association with Blaine.

Immediately, my mind was flooded with the inquisitive look I'd seen on William's mother's face when I introduced myself – the same one that was on the face of the woman in front of me. Any flicker of who I was or what relation I would have with Blaine wasn't evident; she had no idea who I was or why I would be asking for their son. Blaine hadn't spoken with his parents about me and he didn't seem to have mentioned me in the slightest. Certainly not as his boyfriend, but not even as his friend.

The pain of Blaine's apparent denial stung and I willed my eyes to keep dry and try to put on a brave front. The memories of William and the pain I'd felt with him flooded my mind yet I somehow stayed calm on the outside. But I knew my resolve would crumble fast.

I needed to get out of there.

I nodded stiffly in response to Mrs. Anderson's question. "I'm a friend. But I realize I need to go. Please excuse me and I'm sorry for the intrusion," I said, quickly glancing at the door and eager for my feet to follow suit and flee.

"Well, Blaine should be out..." his mother called after me once I had reached the front door.

"Please, don't worry about it. Again, I'm sorry to have bothered you," I replied, harshly opening the door and closing it as softly as I could behind me. I really wanted to slam the door shut and run to the car and speed away, but I only got as far as the front door of the car before I lost all hope of composure and started sobbing.

I thought Blaine loved me. I thought he would have told people who I was, especially his parents who he said he talked to every week. Was I going to be a huge secret for every guy I dated? I knew he was out to his parents, but was he ashamed of me? Did he really love me like I thought he did or was he just trying to get me to have sex with him? Or had he just said it that one time under the influence of the medication I had pumped him with?

In that moment, I was angry. I was angry with Blaine for denying me and our relationship, but I was also angry with myself for letting someone else in. I had let Blaine in and fell in love with him, something I never thought I would happen for me. I wasn't sure I loved him for a while, but once I saw how Blaine's love shone through his personality, I knew it was real and I thought he wouldn't hurt me like I had been before. I thought Blaine would be different, but our relationship seemed to be nothing more than a farce. I was his lie, hissecret. And it hurt.

Blaine's denial fed on every insecurity I felt in relationships and he was the last person that I expected to make me feel that way. It was as if I would never truly be accepted or treated like someone's true partner – I would always be the secret, the guy who dated closet cases or the guy who dated guys out of his league who wanted to rebel against their parents.

I sat in the driver's seat and gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles lost their color. The clarity on my face was probably gone and replaced with a reddened hue saturated by fury, my eyes were certainly red-rimmed, and I was sure that the tears that were streaming down my face were drenching my white button up that had poked through under my coat.

I tried to calm myself down and succeeded after a few more thunderous cries at the situation I found myself in. I took in three deep breaths and turned on the engine of the car. I pulled my phone out of my coat pocket as I backed out of the driveway and called Information.

"411 Information, how can I help you?"

"Yes, hi. Can you please connect me with Delta Airlines customer service, please?" I requested, thankful that I had calmed myself down enough to sound somewhat normal on the phone.

The phone clicked and soon another ring came through. "Delta Airlines customer service hotline, how can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Kurt Hummel and I need to reschedule my flight for this afternoon."

"Certainly sir, I'm pulling up your information now." I heard the faint clicking as I pulled out of Blaine's neighborhood. "Mr. Hummel, I see that you're departing on a flight out of Columbus in three hours. When would you like to move your flight to?"

"Any flight that will get me out of Ohio and back to New York as soon as possible," I replied.

BLAINE

I emerged from my shower, feeling upbeat and hopeful. I was finally going to see Kurt again after nearly a week apart. I wouldn't say I was reliant on Kurt, but I had missed him a lot while I was in Ohio and I was eager to see his smiling face.

I grinned as I wrapped the towel around my waist and cleaned off the mirror in order to see my reflection. I smiled my biggest smile as I checked for any lingering food that might be caught and smiled at what I saw.Lookin' good, I thought to myself as I trudged out of the bathroom and into my childhood bedroom.

My old room had changed a bit over the years. Since I had taken most of my belongings with me to New York, the room felt a bit vacant as opposed to the years when I still lived at home. A few lingering pieces of childhood memorabilia lingered – a miniature Cincinnati Reds bat, a few old family photos, and a couple of trophies from my time on the Warblers – but it mostly was used as a guest bedroom.

My parent's house had 5 bedrooms and most were guest bedrooms now that Cooper and I didn't live here. They were happy to play host to the various members of our extended family, but with my dad's parents nearby and living in a house with 8 bedrooms – a home purchased with major financial contributions by my father and his siblings – family rarely stayed here for more than a night or so.

We ended up going over to grandma and grandpa's on Christmas morning and Uncle Alfred and his family decided to stay there for the remainder of their trip. I knew they liked staying with us, but our grandparents were getting up there in age and all the time we spent with them was precious. Plus, Uncle Alfred liked to help them around the house and Aunt Ashley loved to help my grandmother in the kitchen and learn all of our family recipes. My grandmother was an excellent cook and Aunt Ashley aspired to be a better cook – especially since she knew the way to her husband's heart was through his mother's recipe for chicken enchiladas.

Their absence from our house meant it was quiet again. I half expected my dad to be on the couch in the family room watching the game, my mom reading her Kindle on the sun porch and Cooper probably staring at himself in a mirror or something; our little family existing in a post-holiday calm and existing on our own little islands.

But when I went downstairs to grab something to snack on before I started packing, I was met with the sight of my parents quietly discussing something.

"Hey guys," I said, announcing my presence in case they were talking about something "adult." Even though I was an adult, my parents didn't like to have in-depth conversations about serious topics in front of me or Cooper. I respected their desire to keep their conversations sacred in their marriage, but didn't want to respect it so much that I couldn't grab a bowl of cereal just to let them talk in private.

"Oh, Blaine. We were just talking about you," Mom said.

I looked at her, confused. "And that would be because..."

"Someone stopped by to see you," she replied calmly, but I could tell she hoped I would elaborate.

"Uh okay? Was it someone from Dalton? You've seen those guys enough over the years, they can't have changed that much."

Dad shook his head. "No, he said he lived in New York. Kurt something, right honey?" She nodded in agreement and I nearly dropped the bowl I had just pulled from the cabinet.

"Kurt?" I questioned, eyes bulging.

"Yes. Your mom answered the door and since she didn't recognize him, she asked me to come over. He said he knew you," Dad responded, his unasked question obvious in the way he left the statement hanging.

"He does," I replied, not wanting to elaborate. But with the way my parents were staring at me, I knew it wouldn't be enough. "I guess the cat's out of the bag," I mumbled to myself before taking a deep breath and preparing for the onslaught of questions that were about to occur.

But before I could explain, I realized something. "Where is he?"

"Oh, he said he had to go. It was strange; he said he was your friend and had to go almost as soon as he walked in the door. He was quite apologetic and he assumed that he bothered us," my mom stated. "I hope we didn't scare him away, we just didn't know who he was. We told him he could wait for you to get out of the shower, but he decided to leave."

I sighed. I figured Kurt probably got spooked and since I wasn't there to vouch for him, he probably decided to just meet me at the airport instead. I had hoped that meeting my parents wouldn't be too awkward, but without me there it probably was his worst nightmare. "And you didn't ask him a bunch of questions, right?"

"Why would we, Blaine? He's your friend. I mean, we didn't exactly have the chance to ask too many questions since he left in such a hurry, but we promise we didn't do anything to embarrass you," Dad said.

I decided the wait was over. It would make more sense about why Kurt was there in the first place if they knew who he was and what our relationship was. I still think he was exceedingly brave to try and meet my parents at their home – something I was sure Santana had helped him with since I certainly hadn't given him our address – and it was one of those surprises that I was coming to appreciate from my thoughtful boyfriend. He wanted to take the effort and meet my mom and dad and it was really sweet.

Rather than dwell on how sweet Kurt was for taking the initiative to meet my parents at my childhood home, I took one last deep breath.

It was now or never.

"Kurt is more than my friend. He's my boyfriend," I admitted, not quite wanting to look at my parents in the eye. I couldn't hold steady on the ground for much longer, because my mom's excited squeal pulled my attention from the immaculately clean tile floor to her overly excited face.

"A boyfriend?!" she questioned, her voice going up at least three octaves.

My dad put a calming hand on her shoulder and her excitement seemed to deflate slightly as my dad's presence seemed to calm her down a bit. "What your mother means to say is, 'that's very exciting, please tell us about Kurt,'" he said serenely.

I had expected this kind of reaction, especially from my mom. I gestured to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair of my own and settled into the conversation that was sure to be somewhat awkward with my parents.

I had only briefly mentioned one guy that I "was seeing" as an adult – the high school crushes and budding romances didn't count in my mind – so I'm sure this was like bait to a shark since I was willingly admitting that I wasn't just having a casual fling, but it was someone I was in a relationship with. I was certain my parents understood the connotation that Kurt was more than that just by admitting he existed, so they knew I meant business.

"How'd you meet him?" Dad shot off.

I didn't want to admit that I had contacted him online – I was a little embarrassed to admit that I had to resort to online dating to find a boyfriend – so I told them the truth. "I met him at a concert."

"So he's in the music industry?" Mom questioned.

"No, he actually does costume design stuff for a Broadway show," I replied.

"That explains why he looked so fashionable," my mom mused. The woman knew labels when she saw them, but she also could appreciate a well-dressed man. I immediately beamed with pride at the thought that Kurt had made a good impression on my mom just based on his clothing.

"And he's from Ohio?" Dad asked.

I nodded. "He's from Lima. His dad owns an auto shop and his stepmom is a nurse. His dad was also a Congressman a few years ago."

"Ah, Hummel," Dad said, acknowledging the name. My dad was somewhat into politics, so I didn't doubt that he probably knew who Kurt's dad was. "I knew his last name sounded familiar."

"How long have you been together?" Mom questioned with a huge grin.

"Almost two months," I replied with a soft smile.Two of the best months of my life, I added internally.

"I think the big question I have is why didn't you tell us about him sooner? We don't want you to keep secrets from us, Blaine," Dad stated.

I knew he was probably a little confused about why I hadn't mentioned Kurt before. "I just... I didn't want you to meet him until I knew that we wouldn't break up after a month or so."

"How do you know you still won't break up?" he asked.

"Because... I just know," I responded. I looked over at my mom who had a telling grin on her face. I didn't have to say out loud that I loved Kurt she seemed to justknow. Moms are smart like that, I guess.

"Why didn't you tell us he was coming? We would have been more welcoming if we'd known your boyfriend was going to show up on our front doorstep," Dad asked.

"I didn't know he was coming. I was planning on introducing you to him at the airport. We're on the same flight back to New York."

"Oh, how sweet – the two of you traveling together," Mom beamed and I just rolled my eyes. She probably would think everything we did was sweet or adorable. I appreciated her enthusiasm, but I knew this would mean a lot of future phone calls with my mom asking about Kurt or asking to talk to him and get the scoop on what was happening with my life. "But you should have given us more than a few minutes to meet Kurt, you know," she stated. "I'd like to talk with him and get to know him for longer than a brief introduction at the airport."

I groaned as silently as possible. My dad laughed with understanding. He knew that my mom had the tendency to come off a bit... strong... when she met people for the first time – especially any significant others to me or Cooper – so I appreciated his help when he replied, "Honey, Blaine knows what's best for him and Kurt. He probably wanted to give you more time to talk with him if time had permitted, but he didn't want to ruin Kurt's travel plans."

He winked at me, understanding that he knew why I didn't want to have Kurt meet Mom because she would probably ask when we were going to get married, but seemed to silently say that he – and mom – would want to meet Kurt soon.

"Well, why don't you call him and have him come back so we can be introduced properly? I don't want him to think he needed to leave just because he decided to surprise you and threw us for a loop," Mom suggested.

I grinned at her recommendation and nodded before flying up the stairs to grab my phone. I hastily went to my favorites and selected Kurt's name, pressing my phone to my ear hoping to hear my boyfriend's voice on the other line.

I did hear his voice, but not in the way I was expecting. My call went straight to voicemail. I was surprised that he didn't have his phone on – we weren't expected to leave Ohio for hours and he always kept his phone on otherwise – but I left a message after the tone.

"Hey Kurt, it's Blaine. My parents said you stopped by, something I'm sure Santana helped you do," I said with a chuckle. "I hope they didn't scare you off or anything, they were just surprised. And they really want to meet you – meet my wonderful boyfriend that I just spent the last few minutes talking to them about. Call me back, they'd love for you to come by and stick around. Or if you have to do something with your parents, I'll plan on having them meet you at the airport. Either way, please give me a call. Okay, bye."

I put my phone back in my pocket and went downstairs to join my parents at the table. I was greeted with the sight of Cooper also at the table, hands flailing as he was in conversation with them about something. As I got closer, I realized he was talking about Kurt and me.

Great, just what I did not need to add fuel to the fire.

I looked at him with a disgruntled look before he smiled at me and winked.

Here we go, I thought and readied myself for Cooper's antics, Mom's questions, and – hopefully – Dad's abilities to save me from the two co-conspirators who were eager to know more about my love life.

...

"Do you have everything?" Mom asked as she pulled my suitcase out of the back of her Subaru.

"Yeah," I replied as I shuffled out of the backseat. The grin that was plastered on my face earlier in the day was replaced by a look of concern. Two hours had passed and I still hadn't heard from Kurt. It wasn't like him to not respond – whether by call or text – so his silence worried me. I hoped he wasn't too afraid of my parents – they really were harmless.

I wouldn't know for certain how he felt about my parents until he called me and I had the chance to talk to him. But I couldn't do that if he didn't call me back.

In the past two hours, I'd left him another two voicemails and a couple of text messages. I tried not to let my worry dwell two much and figured that even if he wasn't calling me back, that I would see him at the airport where we agreed to meet up for our flight.

I wheeled my bag behind me as my parents and I walked toward the departures area at the airport. Kurt and I were going to meet at the Delta check-in area and I was practically running to make it inside to see him. "Come on," I called over my shoulder, hoping my parents would hurry up.

They scurried behind me, probably equally as eager to get their hands on my boyfriend. Well, get their hands on him in a different way of course. The exhilaration I felt at the thought of kissing Kurt – even in front of my parents – caused the worry I had been holding to subside and for sheer joy to radiate through me. God, I had missed him.

I checked my phone, noting at that it was 6:30, and shoved it back in my pocket. Right on time, I thought.

We saddled up next to the first Delta ticket gate we could find and I was practically jumping to see over the heads of people to find that familiar head of hair I was eager to see.

After fifteen minutes and still no sign of Kurt, the sense of worry was back full-force. Kurt was never late to anything. Ever. In fact, if anything, he would be early. I looked at my parents who were holding their own conversation from a nearby bench as I frantically continued to look around for Kurt.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad rise from the bench and walk over. "Son, what time does your flight leave?"

"7:30," I replied monotonously. I turned to look at him, noting the concern on his face. "He'll be here."

He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and nodded, rejoining my mom on the bench. I saw both of them exchange a silent look before my mom called out. "Blaine, if he's not here soon, you need to go through security. You can't miss your flight."

"But what about Kurt?"

"He won't miss the flight either. Maybe he's running late and will catch up with you on the plane," Mom replied. Even though she was yearning to meet Kurt, she was still maintaining some form of logic – unlike myself.

I sighed and realized she was right. It was nearing 7:00 now and with the hustle and bustle of post-holiday air traffic, I needed to clear security and board my flight. I sighed as I hiked up my messenger bag on my shoulder and stuck my arms out to give my parents a hug. My dad was first, giving me one of his tight hugs, and I stepped back with a smile. My mom's hug was just as good, maybe even better. As we parted, she whispered in my ear, "I'm so happy for you Blaine." Her affirmation put a smile on my face despite my doubt. As usual, it was just what I needed.

"Call us when you get back to New York, won't you?" Dad asked.

"Of course," I said.

"And we can't wait to talk to Kurt," Mom added. I chuckled – my mom wasnotgoing to let it go – but added in a slight nod before turning toward the security checkpoint with my carry-on rolling behind me.

Security was a blur of people and procedures and I emerged successful on the other side with 30 minutes before my flight departed. Knowing that the door would close in 10 minutes, I hoped with all hopes that Kurt would be there waiting for me.

As I approached the gate, I looked around for the breathtaking man I had been thinking about all day, only to be let down. The only people remaining at the gate were the two ticket agents who seemed caught up in their pre-flight protocol.

"Now issuing last boarding call on flight 1345 with service to New York's LaGuardia airport departing from gate C49," the one agent said.

I strode over to the gate and held my ticket out to be scanned. The agent looked at me with a small smile. I thought to ask her if she'd seen someone matching Kurt's description at our gate, but I assumed that she probably had seen hundreds of people today and probably wouldn't remember one individual out of a crowd of hundreds.

I hurried down the walkway with the last hope that Kurt's smiling face would be on the plane, hopefully next to an empty seat that I could occupy during the short flight back to New York. I took a deep breath as I walked onto the plane and shot a smile at the flight attendant at the front before walking back toward my seat. I scanned every face on the way back to my seat in the middle of the plane and saw no sign of Kurt.

As I was reaching up to place my carry-on in the overhead compartment, all while sneaking looks around to see if I could find Kurt, my phone blared from my pocket.

Meekly, I pulled my phone from my pocket and didn't bother to look at the display. "Kurt?" I questioned.

"Hardly," Wes' voice resounded through my phone, his tone slightly cold. "What did you do?"

My face matched my confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What did you do to Kurt?" he questioned bitterly.

"Nothing! Did he call you? Is he going to make the flight?" I quizzed, hoping he knew where Kurt was and why he was running late for our flight. "Is everything okay? Is his dad—"

"He's back here already, Blaine."

I stood silently in the middle of the airplane aisle. Why would he go back already without telling me? What was going on? I slunk into my aisle seat, thankful that I wouldn't have to push through anyone to make my way to my seat, before buckling in and willing Wes to explain.

As if on cue, Wes started. "I don't know what happened, but I was watching TV on my couch before Kurt came running through our apartment, left his suitcase sitting just inside the door, and shut himself in his room. When I tried to get him to open up, he locked the door before he said something about you and then his voice just faded away," Wes responded. "He's crying in there Blaine. He won't come out and won't tell me anything and since he only says your name, I assume you have something to do with it."

"But I didn't..." I started before Wes cut me off.

"All I know is that - no, Blaine, Kurt won't be on your flight. And I hope you figure out what happened because even though you're one of my bros, if you hurt Kurt, our friendship will be on the rocks. Permanently," Wes snarled before ending the call.

I dropped the phone unceremoniously into my lap. All I could do was think through the day and wonder what happened. What had I done to upset him? Was I crowding him too much that he needed a break? But if that was the case, why would he be crying? And was it really enough for him to change his flight back to New York?

There was something I had to be missing and I didn't know what. I looked at the phone in my lap and turned it on to type out a quick text to Kurt. I was sure he wouldn't answer me, but I had to try to get through to him somehow.

Wes said that you already made it back to New York. I hope you're okay. Please Kurt, please call me soon – I'm really worried. I'm heading back now but I would like to know what's wrong when I get back. I've missed you. –B

Before I started to overanalyze things too much, I shot off one last text.

San, Kurt is really upset and I think he's upset at me for some reason. I don't know what I did wrong, but I would do anything to make it right. Can you help me? –B

The flight attendants made their rounds to ask people to turn off their cell phones and check our seatbelts. Just as the flight attendant was getting ready to tell me to turn off my phone, a new message came through from Santana.

I hope you didn't do something dumb, but consider me in. Call me when you get home. –S

Thankful to have my best friend on my side – the same best friend who knew Kurt fairly well – I shut my phone off, leaned my head back against the seat, and shut my eyes. All I could think of was Kurt and I prayed silently that he would forgive me for whatever I had done.