Overstimulation.

That's a word, right? Blaine decided that yes, it was a word. A word that described exactly how he felt at the moment. Overstimulated. He couldn't remember a time when all 5 of his senses had been used so strongly all at once before.

He could hear birds chirping, kids playing, trees rustling.

He could smell the warm summer air surrounding them, the grass beneath where he and Kurt were laying, the flowers that formed the circle around their spot.

He could see the clear blue, cloudless sky above them, the leaves of the trees above them, the lake in front of them, Kurt beside him.

He could feel the warmness of Kurt's hand in his, Kurt's body heat, the summer breeze.

He could taste the sugar-free lemonade and fancy, gourmet cheese Kurt had packed for them as a snack—(not a picnic, because Kurt Hummel did not eat a full meal outdoors). Then, when Kurt unexpectedly rolled on top of him and started kissing him, Blaine was overwhelmed with the taste of Kurt.

Unfortunately, Kurt pulled away not even a minute later and smiled down at Blaine.

"Hi," Kurt whispered, smiling and taking one hand to trace his fingertips down the side of Blaine's face.

Blaine felt a matching smile creep its way onto his face. "Hi."

"How are you feeling? In this moment, right now?"

"Overstimulated," Blaine replied without even thinking.

Kurt threw him a confused expression and amused chuckle. "While I appreciate your vocabulary, do you think you could accompany that with an explanation?"

"I don't know," Blaine sighed, running his hands up Kurt's sides. He felt a little victory jolt in his heart watching Kurt shiver at his touch. "I feel like all of my senses have kicked into overdrive. Everything around us, all the sounds and sights and smells, they're all heightened. My body is hypersensitive to your touch—" As if on cue, Blaine felt his own body tremble as Kurt's fingertips glided lightly down his chest. When he spoke again, his voice was quivering and his breath was shaky. "And all I can taste now is you."

In lieu of a verbal response, Kurt swooped down and captured Blaine's lips again, slowly lowering himself to be completely on top of Blaine. Almost automatically, Blaine's legs slid apart, allowing Kurt to settle between them.

This was the closest they'd ever been, and if Kurt hadn't been the one to initiate it, Blaine would have been freaking out right now, wondering if maybe they were moving too fast.

Then again, they were exchanging "I love you" now. So maybe this wasn't that fast at all.

"Is this okay?" Kurt murmured, moving his mouth down the side of Blaine's neck. He found a spot he liked and latched on; Blaine's eyes rolled back and he tilted his head partially in pleasure and partially to give Kurt better access.

"Far more than okay—Kurt, God, do that again."

He could practically feel Kurt smirk against his neck as he nipped at the skin again. Involuntarily, Blaine moaned at the sensation. And not a normal, quiet moan. No, this was a porn star, make-it-extra-loud-for-the-camera moan. Good thing they were alone.

Blaine had thought that, for sure, the sound would make Kurt freak out at just how heated things were getting and back off. Instead, Kurt detached his mouth from Blaine's neck and collapsed his forehead onto Blaine's shoulder, pressing his hips down and—oh.

"Kurt," Blaine gasped, pushing against his boyfriend's chest, creating space between them. "Maybe we should stop."

It was half-hearted, and Kurt could tell. "Do you want to stop?"

He hesitated, but after a moment slid out from under Kurt and sat up, scooting a little to the side. "We need to cool down."

Kurt pouted a little, still lying down but on his back now, his head turned to the side to look at Blaine. "I wouldn't say we needed to; I quite liked where things were headed."

"Kurt. We should talk about it."

"Talk about it?"

"Yes."

"Are we lesbians now?"

Blaine chuckled. "No. But you're inexperienced. And that's not a bad thing, but I want to make sure that we go slowly enough for you, like you wanted. We've rushed everything else—not that that's a bad thing, or that I don't like it—I just want to take this part, the sexual part, at a more gradual pace."

Blaine's heart constricted at the sight of his boyfriend caving in on himself; he immediately knew where Kurt's train of thought was going, and he didn't like it one bit. "Is it because…because you're not attracted to me?"

"No, Kurt, stop." Blaine pulled Kurt up and into his lap, now calmed down enough to allow that. He wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and looked him straight in the eye, willing his nerves to go away. Talking to Kurt about this made him kind of comfortable; since these were thoughts he didn't share out loud to anyone, much less the object of them. "I don't know if you noticed, but not 2 minutes ago I was writhing under you while you sucked at my neck." He felt better when he saw a blush creep onto Kurt's cheeks, signifying that he wasn't alone in his discomfort. "Trust me when I say this: I am attracted to you. It's just…I'm a little too attracted to you, if that makes sense."

"It doesn't," Kurt laughed. "But go on. You may continue to tell me about how hot you think I am."

Blaine grinned. "You have no idea. But that's the problem. I can hardly control myself around you on a normal day, Kurt. I constantly have to remind myself that it would not be appropriate to break into your dressing room when we're clothes shopping and make out with you."

"I wouldn't mind. Just for future reference."

"But especially today," Blaine continued, ignoring Kurt's raging hormones speaking. "when I'm feeling…well…everything, I have no control. You have absolutely no idea what you were doing to me, Kurt."

"I think the noise you made was a pretty good indication."

"Could you stop with the commentary, please? I'm trying to have a real conversation with you right now."

Kurt nodded, pulling his lips into his mouth like he was trying not to smile. "Yes, I'm sorry. I'll stop."

"What's gotten into you today, anyway? You're not normally this…forward. Sexually."

Kurt averted his eyes from Blaine and bit his lip, toying with the fabric on the back of Blaine's shirt.

Blaine knew his boyfriend; he wasn't stupid. He could tell what that meant. Kurt was hiding something.

"Kurt?" Blaine said, drawing out the name. "What aren't you telling me?"

Soulmate sighed. "My dad may have…he wants you to come over again. Tonight."

Oh.

After the initial sleepover, Blaine had been so mortified from the panic attack at dinner and emotionally exploding all over Kurt's room after telling him the Trevor Incident that he hadn't found the courage to go back.

He closed his eyes, remembering that night and his conversation with Laurel when he'd come home the following afternoon.

…

July 15, 2012

"Well, well, well," Laurel said from her spot on the sofa, not looking up from the magazine in her hands. "Look who's home. How was dinner with the boyfriend's family?"

Blaine flinched at the thought of it. "Disastrous."

"Details in a moment. And the sleepover afterwards?"

"Equal parts disastrous and wonderful."

Laurel set down the magazine and patted the cushion next to her, looking up at her baby cousin in the doorway. "Come tell me all about it."

Really, Blaine was impressed. He knew how Laurel felt about Kurt, and about his relationship with him. He was surprised that she wasn't smiling at his pain or jumping up and down shouting "I told you so!" Then he mentally slapped himself for not giving his cousin more credit than that. He knew she had his best interests at heart. She was just protecting him.

"Blaine?"

Blaine shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts, and crossed the room, falling onto the couch next to Laurel. She placed a comforting hand on his knee, waiting for him to speak.

"I had a panic attack at dinner," he said finally, not bothering to try working up to it. "In front of his whole family."

"Seriously? You haven't had one in years. What brought that on?"

"Carole, Kurt's step-mother, is a pediatric nurse. She was talking about it, and it just brought back memories of the night Mom and Dad kicked me out."

"Oh, God. Please tell me they didn't freak out."

"No, no. They, uh…they've dealt with panic attacks before." He wanted to tell Laurel everything, but as always, he wasn't willing to reveal anything about Kurt, so he left it there, hoping she'd leave it alone.

"Okay." Blaine could tell she was suspicious and wanted to know more, but was thankful when, like he'd wanted, she left it. "So, then, what happened after? You were okay?"

"Yeah, Kurt helped me. Then we went upstairs, and talked." He purposefully left out the talk he'd had with Kurt's dad; it seemed like something special, only between Mr. Hummel and himself. He didn't want to ruin that bond they'd tentatively created.

"You…talked?"

"About Trevor."

The shift in atmosphere was palpable.

"Oh."

Blaine sighed. "Yeah."

She was quiet, and he gave her a moment for the information to sink in. Sure, she'd urged him to tell Kurt about Trevor before, but it was different now that he'd actually done it. Since she didn't know about all of the turmoil throughout Blaine and Trevor's relationship, Blaine knew that for her, the Trevor Incident was more about the aftermath of the break-up, and telling someone about a time in your life when you were so depressed you didn't get out of bed for weeks was a big deal.

"You told him…everything? All of it?"

More than you know. "Yeah. Everything."

Laurel nodded, mostly to herself. "How did he take it?"

"Really well, actually." This was the part Blaine enjoyed thinking about. Out of all of that horrible mess last night, Kurt loved him. "He told me he loves me."

"Really?" Laurel asked, not sounding surprised at all, which in turn surprised Blaine.

"Yes. You're not…I don't know…shocked?"

"No. You were?"

Blaine shrugged. "Kind of."

"Please. It was pretty obvious, Blaine. You two have been head over heels for each other since the day you met. I already knew it from your end, and then I saw it from his end when he spent the night over here. You two aren't exactly subtle. Hell, you called him Soulmate."

"That was before I knew his name!"

"That's my point!"

"Anyway," Blaine huffed, getting back on track. "He told me he loved me because I…I was telling him about what happened after I found Trev and Michael…you know…"

"Yes, I know all too well," Laurel said softly, squeezing Blaine's knee.

"He, um…He asked if I'd ever tried to…And you know I didn't but…that just opened up that whole discussion, and it got really intense…" Blaine hated himself for the water filling his eyes, falling in droplets, racing each other down his face. Laurel scooted closer, taking the hand on his knee and wrapping that arm around his shoulders, leaning her head on his shoulder. "It just brought up a lot of those feelings from that time, and it wasn't my best moment. I was in that place again, that place that I hate going to, you know I hate going there."

"I know."

"And I just couldn't help it. I was yelling and crying and freaking out and his whole family heard it—they didn't say anything to me but I know they did, Laur, and I'm so embarrassed. I'm not going back there. I can't. I can't even look them in the face now. It's humiliating. But Kurt, God, that beautiful, understanding boy just said all of these sweet things, things I never thought anyone would say to me, and he told me he loves me. He said those three words." Blaine rested his head on top of Laurel's and shut his eyes tight, trying desperately to at least control the crying, if the tears were for sure going to come now. "He said the three words I never thought I'd hear someone say again."

"Blaine," Laurel sighed, holding Blaine's waist tight in both arms, "Of course someone was going to say those words again. You are someone worth loving."

Despite everything, Blaine smiled. "That's what Kurt said."

"Well, he was right. You are. It was only a matter of time. And…I'm glad it was him. He seems…if he's stayed after all of this, everything you've told him and all the things I can only imagine you said to him during your fight and last night, then…I approve. I am finally letting go of that reluctance towards him. Kurt is obviously good for you. And you two are so in love it hurts me to look at you," Laurel laughed, giving Blaine an extra squeeze to communicate her teasing. "I'm done fighting against you guys. You're obviously…well…soulmates."

"Thank you," he murmured. "You'll never know how much your acceptance means to me."

"I'll always accept you, Blainers. I love you."

His heart swelled. "I know. I love you too, Laur."

…

July 26, 2012

"Oh, for the love of Vogue, I've broken you," Kurt was saying, his hands on Blaine's cheeks.

Now back to the present, Blaine laughed. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About how much you don't want to come over tonight?"

"No. About what happened last time I came over."

"Blaine, I already told you, no one cares. Carole and Finn are used to that kind of stuff, I haven't exactly had it easy either, remember? And my dad…he genuinely just wants to see you; he wants to make sure you're alright. He really, really likes you."

That made Blaine feel a little better, he'll admit it. He had a feeling that he'd never get used to how much Burt cared about him. It was strange, having a father-figure who actually wanted him around, and loved him for exactly who he was. It was a feeling foreign to Blaine, and he felt a sudden rush of bitterness at the thought that something as simple as having a parent care should not be so hard to accept.

"Okay," he found himself saying. "Yeah, I'll come over."

Kurt squealed in happiness and threw his arms around Blaine, kissing him on the cheek. "Good! Finn will be as annoying as ever, but Carole will be delighted, and Dad will be really happy, though don't be offended if you can't tell. He's not a super expressive person unless it's an extreme situation, like his marriage to Carole or me getting my acceptance letter to NYU."

Blaine nodded stiffly, forcing a smile as Kurt pulled back. "Yeah, no, it's okay. It'll be fun."

In reality, Blaine highly doubted that. It wasn't that he didn't like Kurt's family, because he did, it was just that he didn't know how he was going to show his face there again after what happened last time. He just really didn't want to repeat that.

At the same time, though, he craved that fatherly attention. After his parents kicked him out, Laurel became his mother, in a sense. But Laurel wasn't really one for relationships, so he'd never had a man around to take on the role of his father. Which wasn't out of the ordinary, lots of guys grew up with single mothers, but Blaine had already had a father; he just didn't want Blaine. That was what got to him.

A part of him was reveling in all of the attention he was getting from Burt Hummel; the other part of him was just waiting for Burt to find out who Blaine really was and throw him away, just like his real father had done.

…

It was silent in the Hudmel household—something Kurt had already told Blaine was almost unheard of—as the five of them sat at the table, eating dinner. It seemed like everyone wanted to say something, but no one wanted to be the one to break the silence. It was getting increasingly awkward with every passing moment, and Blaine longed for the minute when he and Kurt could go upstairs alone and cuddle.

After that afternoon, all Blaine wanted to do was cuddle. Making out would lead to something so much more, he was sure of it.

"So, are we, like, not talking in case Blaine freaks out again? Because this is a really awkward dinner."

"Finn!"

Blaine laid a hand on Kurt's thigh under the table before his boyfriend leapt across the table and strangled his step-brother.

"It's fine, Kurt. At least someone finally said something. I agree, it was getting kind of awkward."

Everyone fell quiet again, except it was even more awkward, now that the previous awkwardness had been acknowledged aloud.

"Okay," Burt started, laying his hands down on the table. "Blaine's right."

"I said it first!" Finn protested.

Burt ignored him, something Blaine had a feeling they all did a lot. "We didn't invite Blaine over to all sit here without speaking and stare at each other. Someone start a conversation."

"I found illegal pictures of Marc Jacobs' new line on the internet—"

"A conversation everyone can follow, Kurt."

Kurt sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Fine. Why don't we just let Blaine start, then? He is the guest, after all."

"Great idea, Kurt!" Carole exclaimed, smiling. "What would you like to talk about, Blaine?"

This whole thing was just getting more and more awkward, and Blaine was not having fun, like he'd said earlier. All four of the Hudmels' eyes were on him, and he suddenly felt like he was a Junior Warbler again, standing in the spotlight while everyone looked at him.

"Um…I found a guitar pick today."

The looks turned from expectant to confused, so Blaine rushed to explain.

"I collect guitar picks. I mean, I play guitar, so I have my own. But I like finding random ones out in the world. They each have their own story, you know? Every guitar pick has played something different, they've all been held by different musicians' hands. When I find them in random places, like in the parking lot at the Arboretum today, I pick them up and keep them. It's fun using other people's guitar picks. I feel like it connects me to their previous owner, and I can get some special music mojo from each and every one."

Everyone was still staring at him, not saying anything, so he shrugged and looked down, pushing the food around on his plate with his fork. "I don't know, now that I've said it out loud it probably sounds weird."

"No." Blaine looked up to meet Kurt's eyes, realizing that instead of staring at him like he was crazy, he was looking at him with a softness in his eyes. He knew he recognized the look, but couldn't quite place his finger on when he'd seen Kurt look at him like that before. "I am so in love with you right now."

Before Blaine could feel embarrassed about doing so in front of Kurt's family, Kurt leaned over and kissed him gently, breaking away after a few seconds.

Burt cleared his throat pointedly, so Blaine backed out of Kurt's personal space and returned to his plate.

"That's kind of gross, dude," Finn stated, shaking his head. "You don't know where those things have been, or where the hands that have been touching them have been. You could be touching a pick that touched some guy's hand after he jerked off or something."

"Inappropriate, Finn!" Carole shouted, reddening in the face.

Kurt scoffed, unphased by Finn's crassness, more focused on his overall point. "Please, Finn. This coming from the guy who went a whole week, 7 days, without taking a shower last month."

"It's summer! No one showers every day during the summer!"

"I do," Kurt said smoothly, taking a sip of his water.

"So do I," Blaine added.

"Me too," Burt offered.

"Same here," Carole finished. "Finn, honey, I have no idea where you learned that it was okay to go an entire week without bathing. I know I taught you better than that."

After that, dinner went smoothly for the most part. There were no panic attacks, no more awkward silences, no bad conversations. It was just a family sitting around the dinner table, eating and having fun conversing with each other. Blaine was thrown off by the thought that came to his head that he could get used to this quite easily. For the first time since his parents kicked him out, he felt like he could really be part of an actual family again, not just two people like him and Laurel. Sure, they were a family of their own, but this felt more normal, more like the type of family he'd always longed for. It was nice.

It was especially nice when they were all carrying their dishes in to the kitchen, Finn racing upstairs to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with Puck and Carole shooing everyone else out, insisting on cleaning the dishes on her own.

Burt kissed her on the cheek, Blaine deciding that he and Carole were the cutest adult couple he'd ever met, and then herded Kurt and Blaine to the living room, insisting they all three sit down and have a "talk." What this "talk" would entail was a mystery to Blaine, but if it was anything like Laurel's idea of a "talk," his previous relief was short-lived.

"Relax, kid, I'm not gonna ask about what you and Kurt do alone together; I've already got a pretty good idea," Burt said, sitting down on his armchair next to Blaine and Kurt on the couch.

"Okay, Dad, that's enough of that!" Kurt squeaked, jumping up and looking ready to flee the room.

"Hey, hold on a second, Kurt. Sit down. I still want to talk to the two of you."

Reluctantly, Kurt settled back down next to Blaine. Feeling bold in spite of the situation, Blaine reached over and held Kurt's hand in his own. The action was not missed by Burt, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Now, Blaine, what I said last time you were here still stands, you hear me? I don't know why you haven't been here since that first night, but you're always welcome here, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"I don't know what all that yellin' and cryin' was about, but that's between you and Kurt. I just need you to know that it doesn't change anything."

Kurt's eyes widened. "Dad, you said you wouldn't bring it up around Blaine."

"That was that day, Kurt, because you thought it would upset him. I figure time has passed and I can mention it again. Blaine's a big boy; he can handle himself, right, Blaine?"

"Yes, sir," Blaine repeated, nodding.

"I woulda had this talk with you alone, kid, but I also figured you'd probably just run up there and tell Kurt everything I said anyway."

He couldn't help it, he laughed at that, and felt himself relax a little. "Yeah. I would have."

"That's what I thought. Look, I don't wanna make this some big thing, I just wanna say that I'm on to the two of you."

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked, looking perplexed and offended at the same time.

"Kurt, you said you were in love with him and kissed him in front of me." Kurt's cheeks immediately burned red. "Exactly. I see you two. I'm not blind. I can tell you guys are serious. I just wanna make sure Blaine is equally as serious about you. I gave him the caring talk last time, because he looked like he needed to hear that; and I meant every word of it, Blaine. But now this goes beyond just sayin' you care about Kurt a lot. I'm lookin' out for my kid. You know where I'm comin' from, right, Blaine?"

"Absolutely, sir."

Because he did. This was exactly what Laurel wanted to do to Kurt. She wanted to grill him and make sure Kurt was just as serious about Blaine. At least, she did at first. Now she didn't need as much confirmation. Kurt's father, it seemed though, did. And Blaine was fine with that, really. It wasn't a big task to tell someone about how much he loved Kurt. He could go on and on about all the little things he loved about Kurt, but he had a feeling that wasn't what Burt was looking for. After all, Burt knew Kurt. Anything Blaine could say, Burt would already know. It wouldn't be impressive, it would be obvious. So Blaine was wracking his brain for something to say that could convince his boyfriend's dad just how serious he was, how serious he'd been since the very day he'd laid eyes on Kurt.

Wait a second…

That's it.

"Mr. Hummel, I know that I could ramble all night about everything I love about your son, but I have a feeling that wouldn't do much. Instead, I'm going to tell you something that even Kurt doesn't know."

Kurt turned to face Blaine, definitely hooked now that he was about to reveal something Kurt didn't know yet. Kurt probably assumed that after all Blaine had told him, there weren't any more secrets.

This one wasn't intense, though. Just potentially embarrassing.

"The first day I met him, I was completely thrown off. I'm just sitting in class, fully prepared for my summer to absolutely suck because I have to keep going to school, even though I just graduated and had finally escaped. Then, I drop my pen, and before I can even think to grab it, this beautiful boy snatches it right up and twirls it before holding it out to me." Blaine smiled to himself at the memory. "I was so taken by surprise by everything that is Kurt that I couldn't even speak. Which he teased me for, not even knowing my name yet. I didn't know his name either, at the time, and my brain was so consumed with thoughts of him that I had to have a way of referring to him before he finally told me his name. So I came up with a nickname."

He broke off, ducking his head out of the heated gaze of his boyfriend beside him. It was weird, reliving the day he'd seen Kurt with Kurt right beside him.

"What was it?" Kurt prompted.

Blaine hesitated, still smiling. He lifted his eyes and gazed right into Kurt's. "Soulmate."

Instead of laughing at him like Blaine had expected him to, Kurt's face broke out into that amazing smile he loved, his eyes taking on that emotion from earlier, the one he still couldn't place. "You called me your soulmate before you even knew my name?"

"Yeah. I had to have something to call you. You were so gorgeous, and clever, and perfect, that I was convinced from day one that we were made for each other." Before they could get carried away and just stare lovingly at each other for hours, or start making out right there on the couch, Blaine turned his attention back to Kurt's dad. "I love your son, Mr. Hummel. I think I have since the first day I met him, if love at first sight is actually real. You've already put it together yourself that I've gone through stuff, and sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, but ever since Kurt came into my life, it's like everything makes sense; as long as I have Kurt, I'm okay."

Kurt had that look in his eyes again, and Blaine decided that he really needed to ask Kurt what that was about when they were alone. Now, though, he was more worried about Burt Hummel, and what he would say after Blaine had just poured his heart out to prove that he was worthy of being with his son.

"Well, it was definitely different hearing that day from your point of view after hearing it from Kurt's."

Blaine smiled, turning to face Kurt, deciding that nothing was more important than finding out how his boyfriend had seen him that first day. "And how would that story go from the point of view from you, Kurt Hummel?"

Kurt smirked and bopped Blaine on the nose. "Nuh-uh. I'll never tell."

"What happened to no secrets?"

"I have to retain some sense of mystery. How else am I going to keep you around?"

"Oh, I can think of a few ways," Blaine murmured, leaning in.

Mr. Hummel cleared his throat, and Blaine almost had a heart attack. To be honest, he'd completely forgotten his boyfriend's dad was still in the room.

"Before this conversation takes a turn I really don't wanna witness," Burt interrupted, shutting his eyes for a second; he opened them again and leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Let's just agree that Blaine, you're not going to hurt my kid. It's obvious you two have something special, but if you ruin that, I'll hunt you down. You got that?"

He figured he was supposed to be scared, but for some reason, he wasn't. He knew that there was no chance of that happening. "Yes, sir. Absolutely."

"And Kurt, you're not going to hurt Blaine. The kid obviously thinks you're his sun and moon and entire freakin' world. You ruin that, and I'm going to hunt you down. Got it?"

Kurt nodded, lifting Blaine's arm and leaning against his side, wrapping the arm around himself and threading their fingers together. "Got it, Dad. We'll be good and stay together forever and send you a wedding invite next week. Okay?"

"Alright. I'll leave you two alone now."

With that, Burt pushed himself up and headed up the stairs to where Blaine assumed was his bedroom.

He felt Kurt snuggle deeper into his side the second his father left the room, and sighed dreamily.

"So a wedding, huh?" Blaine asked, giving Kurt's fingers a squeeze. "I better get a say in the planning."

"Not a chance. No one interferes with the wedding planning expertise of Kurt Hummel extraordinaire."

Blaine chuckled and rested his head on top of Kurt's, who'd allowed his head to fall on Blaine's shoulder a minute before. "Fine. But you better live up to the hype. I will not have a sub-par wedding."

"It wasn't too much, was it?" Kurt asked suddenly, voice shaky.

"What?"

"Me throwing in that comment about a wedding. I wasn't serious. It was just to appease my dad, you know?"

"I know." He pressed his lips to the top of Kurt's head. "But it's a nice thought. For the future."

"Right," Kurt whispered. "For the future."

Kurt tilted his head up to look Blaine in the eye, and there was that damn look again. Blaine was going to get to the bottom of this.

"What is that look for?"

Confusion spread across Kurt's features. "What look?"

Blaine thought back to all the times he'd seen that facial expression before. "That one time, in the coffee shop, right after you asked me out for the first time. The barista handed us our coffees and when we sat down and I looked over at you, you had this strange expression. Then, that time we were walking down the street and I put a $20 bill in a guy's guitar case while he was playing for tips. Tonight, at dinner, when I was talking about my guitar pick collection, and then when we were talking to your dad just now, when I mentioned that I call you Soulmate in my head. And now you're looking at me like that again. I've been trying to figure out what that look is since the first time I saw it."

Kurt's face completely melted, looking at Blaine with that same look he was asking after.

"There! That! Right there! What is that?"

Kurt leaned up and kissed him softly, then pulled back and whispered against his lips, "That's love, idiot."

Blaine was totally perplexed. If it was love, surely he'd have known. Blaine knew what love looked like; he certainly knew what love felt like, so why wouldn't he know what it looked like? Furthermore, why would he be looking at Blaine with love just for picking up his coffee?

"Wait, hold on. What do you mean?"

Soulmate rolled his eyes. "Blaine, all of those instances are reasons why I love you."

"Me picking up my coffee made you love me?"

"It wasn't because you picked up your coffee. It was because you leaned over the counter and read the barista's nametag and thanked her by name. No one else would have done that. You know, most people just take their coffee and go, completely ignoring the people who just made their coffee. They totally ignore when those hard-working people call out to them to 'Have a nice day!' and here you were making sure to thank the girl by name." Kurt shook his head, smiling softly. "That was the first time I knew I was falling for you. Apart from the first day I laid eyes on you."

"Which you're going to tell me about now, right?"

"Not a chance."

"That is so not fair. You heard my side of the story."

"I'm well aware, Soulmate."

Blaine laughed, leaning forward to nuzzle his face against Kurt's neck. "It doesn't work as well when you do it."

"Really? Because I quite liked it."

"Fine," he found a particularly beautiful spot right underneath the right side of Kurt's jaw and kissed it. "You can call me Soulmate, if that's how you want to play this game. Just be prepared for whatever ammo I pull out against you."

"No offense, but with you kissing my neck like that, I'm not very terrified," Kurt replied, his voice high and breathy. Score. I have him right where I want him.

In a few swift movements, Blaine had Kurt lying on his back on the sofa, Blaine hovering above him, grinning predatorily. "Then I'll just have to work harder, won't I, baby?"

The groan Blaine knew Kurt was about to let out was stopped short when Blaine dipped his head and started sucking on the part of Kurt's neck he'd just kissed. Of its own volition, Kurt's head tilted back against the sofa, allowing Blaine a full-access pass to his neck, which Blaine gladly took advantage of.

"Shit, Blaine. What is it with you and—oh—calling me 'baby' anyway? Geez, if you stop what you're doing, I swear I'll murder you."

"I don't know," Blaine admitted, dragging his mouth across every inch of skin he could find. "But I have a feeling you secretly like it."

"Oh, really?"

"Mmhmm."

"What makes you say that?"

Blaine brought his lips to Kurt's ear and practically growled, "I dunno, baby, why don't you tell me?"

As if on cue, the second the word 'baby' left Blaine's lips, Kurt shuddered beneath him, clawing at Blaine's back. Blaine laughed, breath hot in Kurt's ear, and nuzzled the side of Kurt's head.

"Stop nuzzling me like a damn dog and kiss me," Kurt ordered, raising a hand to grab Blaine's face and direct it towards his own.

Victory. In all honesty, it was a shot in the dark whether Kurt actually had a secret thing for being called 'baby' or not, but Blaine figured it was worth it to check. Even if it wasn't a turn-on for his boyfriend, he could just go back to kissing him anyway. Except, since he was right, Kurt seemed even more turned on, which served Blaine quite well.

Much to Blaine's excitement, no one walked in on them while they made out on Kurt's living room couch. Honestly, given their previous experiences, Blaine figured that Finn would inevitably walk in, or Carole would say something when she headed to her room after cleaning the kitchen, or Burt would appear in the doorway and clear his throat. But none of this happened. Instead, Blaine was allowed a full hour of uninterrupted make-out time with his boyfriend, which he was extremely grateful for.

This seemed like a sign, somehow, that everything was going to be okay. The universe was telling them that they were meant to be; they were allowed to have this nice physically intimate time as a couple in reprieve from all the grief they'd been given up until that moment. In spite of everything, they were still just a normal couple, who were allowed to have normal couple time.

It was nice. Everything was going well. Blaine sincerely hoped it stayed that way.