Kurt opened his eyes the following morning to the feeling of Blaine's arms still around him and he smiled. Being that they spent the night in a bed that was meant for only one person to sleep in, they spooned the entire night and Kurt got to feel the amazing sensation of Blaine's breath on his neck and arm and leg draped over him in adoring affection. Kurt's head rested on Blaine's other arm and he nuzzled the side of his face against Blaine's arm hair. He loved this. He loved the manliness of Blaine: his strong arms and legs, the hair on them, the one day growth of scruff on Blaine's face, and the scent of his clothes. Even his pajamas, a basic white undershirt and plaid pajama bottoms, smelled of a masculine scented fabric softener. He could suddenly see the appeal men had on straight girls and other gay men. If there was ever any doubt ever of his sexuality, there was zero doubt now. Although, he knew he wasn't attracted to all men, he was attracted to Blaine. Solely Blaine.

He felt Blaine awakening behind him. Blaine's body began fidgeting and stretching slightly. Kurt turned his head because it was the only thing he could turn to make him face Blaine. He was greeted with a kiss on the cheek and a very groggy "Good morning."

Kurt's legs lengthened and he stretched as well. "Good morning." Blaine moaned a non sexual, morning noise and wrapped his arms tighter around Kurt. Kurt turned his head back and happily let Blaine hold him.

"It is now that I woke up to you," Blaine added, burying his nose and mouth at the nape of Kurt's neck. He gave that spot on Kurt's neck a small kiss and nuzzled his face closer. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Better than I have in weeks, maybe ever."

Blaine made a small, short chuckling noise and kissed Kurt's neck again. "Good." A smile was playing at his lips.

"Hey, Blaine?" Kurt asked, a thought popping up into his head.

"What?"

"I'm not going to tell my Dad that we're together."

"Why not?" Blaine opened his eyes and stopped moving all together. He was shocked at Kurt's statement because his initial thought was how supportive Burt had been and how much he loves Kurt, despite him being gay. His nerves caught up with him and his immediate second thought was that Kurt didn't want to tell Burt about Blaine being his new boyfriend because Kurt's new boyfriend was Blaine. Does Burt not like me? Blaine thought.

Kurt, unbeknownst to Blaine's slight panic attack behind him, held onto Blaine's arms tighter and smiled. "I doubt he'll let me spend the night with my boyfriend, in his bed, in an unsupervised dorm room."

Blaine breathed again and sighed in relief. "Would he let me sleep in your bed if I spent weekends at your house?" Blaine wanted to make a compromise because he liked Burt and didn't want to deceive him. Not too mention that Burt would eventually find out and would be all over Blaine for taking advantage of his son.

"Does he let you sleep in my bed now?" Kurt asked with a grin.

Blaine laughed slightly. "Right… Finn can't have a girl spend the night in his bed, even if she's just a friend, and you can't have a guy spend the night in your bed, even if he's just a friend." He remembered spending countless nights on the pull out couch in their office or the two of them in sleeping bags in the living room. Kurt even got in trouble once because one night they tried to spend the entire night up watching an I Love Lucy marathon and ended up falling asleep on the couch together in the living room. They weren't even cuddling. Although Kurt's head was on Blaine's shoulder when Burt found them in the morning and they shared a blanket. "I don't know Kurt. I love this, but I don't want to lie to your father. He'll find out eventually and we'll both be in trouble for sleeping together when he doesn't approve."

"Please, Blaine? Just a couple more weeks. He thinks that you're still with Derek and if I suddenly tell him that you're not with Derek, but with me, he'll get suspicious and we won't be able to even sleep in the same building until I'm old enough to move out."

Blaine licked his lips and kissed Kurt's neck again. "Okay. A couple weeks, but maybe after Regional's would be a good time to properly introduce me as your boyfriend to your family."

"Deal." Kurt maneuvered his way in Blaine's arms to turn himself around and face Blaine so that they were nose to nose. They both parted their lips and melted into one another in a tamer kiss than they had the night before. It was sweet and romantic, not intense and dripping with sexual tension like the one last night.

They stayed like that for another hour before Blaine looked at the clock and asked Kurt if he wanted brunch. Seeing as how it was already ten o'clock and Kurt would need to be at his father's auto shop in a couple hours. Kurt groaned when he realized that he had to get out of bed and leave the comfort of Blaine's arms, but he dragged himself out of bed anyway.

Blaine excused himself and walked down the hall to the bathroom and Kurt changed his clothes while Blaine was gone. Blaine returned to the sight of Kurt in a pair of regular fitted jeans and a black t-shirt, sitting on the bed and tying the laces to a pair of oil stained work boots.

"What?" Kurt asked, seeing the stunned face of Blaine.

"You own clothes that aren't designer made? And, what are those, steel toed boots?"

Kurt shifted his eyes back and forth awkwardly. "Yeah. I've been helping my dad out at his shop for years. I'm not about to get one of my expensive outfits stained in oil or grease. I know John Travolta can make working on cars look glamorous, but it's not. It's dirty and it takes a lot of scrubbing in the shower to get the smell of broken car off of you."

"Wow." He coughed. "I guess I never thought about what you wore to your dad's shop. Maybe I just assumed you sat in his office and did his budgeting or ordering." Blaine's eyes were actually raking themselves over Kurt and how he looked so different when he was dressed like every other boy. Not bad different, but even Blaine had to admit that when Kurt lost his individuality, he lost some of his charm.

Then Kurt stood up and snapped his fingers. "I work a cover-all jumpsuit like it was meant for a runway in Milan."

Blaine smiled and thought, So much for losing his charm. Blaine met Kurt at the Lima Bean, which happened to be only about a mile from Burt's tire shop. Blaine and Kurt both ordered some form of breakfast wrap and shared half a grapefruit. Kurt ordered a regular, black coffee and another non-fat mocha before they left so he could bring them to work. Blaine walked Kurt to his car and hugged him tightly. "Love you," he said.

"Love you too," Kurt answered with a smile. "Do you have plans for the rest of the weekend?"

"No. Just homework. Not even Warbler practice, which is weird."

"Want to come over for dinner? I mean, I have to ask my dad and Carol, but if they say yes, do you want to? Maybe spend the night?"

"Yes. Definitely," Blaine answered immediately.

"Okay. I'll call you."

"Awesome." Blaine embraced Kurt and gave him a peck on the cheek after looking around first. "Have fun. Don't brake anything."

Kurt grinned and opened his car door. "Love you."

"I love you." Blaine shut the door for Kurt and Kurt gave a quick twiddle of his fingers to say goodbye.

Burt's auto and tire shop was running a sale on tire rotation and oil changes so he had asked both Finn and Kurt to help out around the shop. His yearly sale usually made a big dent in the shop's profit margin. Burt was a reliable mechanic and a honest one at that, so his shop was a popular one to do business with.

Finn was doing tire rotations with Burt while Kurt did all the oil changes and two other regular mechanics were working on cars that were already scheduled for work. The three men worked like a conveyer belt. They used three car lifts that were side by side and they would rotate based on what needed to be done. Burt would change the tires on one car while Finn changed the tires on another and who ever finished first would take the next car waiting. Kurt was so used to oil changes that he did all three at a time. There really was nothing to letting oil drain into a bucket. When the car was brought down from the lift, Kurt would finish by filling it the reservoir back up again with oil and changing out air filters. It was simple for him.

Kurt wore gloves when he worked in his father's shop because he didn't want to mess up his manicure or baby soft skin. He saw the calluses on his father's hands and swore that those would not be his. When things slowed down a little, Finn was sent to help the other two mechanics and Kurt was left with his father.

"Dad, can Blaine come over for dinner tonight?" he asked when they were alone.

"Sure. I don't see why not. I take it that you two patched things up?"

"Uh, yeah. We worked through a lot of issues that we had." That wasn't all together untrue because Blaine and Kurt did, in fact, work through their issues and then some.

"Well, that's good, Kurt. I'm glad. Blaine's a good guy and I'm glad that you have someone like him in your life."

"Like him as in another gay guy?"

Burt looked like he was trying not to make a facial expression when Kurt spoke so bluntly. "Yes. I'm glad you have someone else who's gay that you can talk to. It makes me feel better knowing that you have someone to talk to who understands what you're going through. Don't get me wrong. I like listening and I'm all for trying to help, but when I don't know what to say or how to fix your problems, it's nice knowing that you have someone who does."

"Thanks Dad."

"So did you guys just talk the whole time or what?"

"No. We talked and watched movies and then went for a walk and bought ice cream and magazines. Nothing big." We also made out A LOT and slept in the same bed.

"His boyfriend doesn't care that another dude is sleeping in his boyfriend's room?"

"Derek's never had a problem with Blaine and my relationship before. He used to encourage it actually." Kurt was surprised how quickly his nouns changed. What he should have said was 'Blaine and my friendship,' but what came out was 'relationship.' He'd have to be more careful about what he says if he wants to get away with this for the next couple weeks.

"Used to?" Burt asked before pressing the gun to the bolts that held the tire in place.

"Well, Blaine, I guess, was having a hard time with our separation and Derek got a little jealous that he was thinking about me all the time. Blaine tried telling him that we were just friends, but he finally just said that he was sorry that Derek was jealous, but that his relationship," There goes that word again, "with me was very important to him and it meant a lot to him to fix it." Kurt didn't know if any of that was true, but it sounded plausible enough to hand it off as truth to Burt. At least, this way, Kurt would be able to set up something in the next couple weeks to make it seem like Blaine left Derek for Kurt because of Derek's jealousy and Blaine's hidden love for Kurt. Kurt was proud of himself for thinking up all this on the spot and gave himself a mental high-five for making it sound convincing. Go me!

"These things are always hard. Harder when you're a teen I think, because everything is so dramatic, but friendships are important too. I'm glad Blaine sees that. Also, I like that he values you so much. I like that kid."

Kurt smiled up at the undercarriage of the car as he fastened the oil reservoir shut. Good, he thought. Then you'll love him when you find out that he's my boyfriend.

"So, what's going on with you and Zach? You spend a lot of time with him and I keep catching you two making out on the porch when he drops you off. Is he your boyfriend or something?" Burt fastened the last bolt on the last tire for the car they were working on.

Kurt thought for a second. "Um. No. Definitely not my boyfriend." Blaine is though. "We were dating for a bit, but we thought we'd be better off as friends."

"Why?"

Kurt thought again. He couldn't tell his dad the truth because it would negate the whole Derek and Blaine story. "We wanted different things."

"He wasn't pressuring you to… you know… do stuff was he?" Burt hesitated before he pressed the button on the wall to lower the lift down to the ground.

"Uhhh, no. No he wasn't pressuring me at all."

"You don't sound too convincing." He popped the hood on the car and Kurt immediately leaned himself over to unscrew the top of the oil reservoir. Burt started unscrewing the top off of the air filter cover.

"I swear. No pressuring. He's a great guy, but I just didn't have it for him. He liked me enough, I guess, but I wasn't really attracted." Kurt started pouring oil into a funnel.

"Kurt, can I ask you an honest question?" Kurt stopped what he was doing and looked up at Burt. "Have you ever- um- you didn't. Gosh, um. You've never-?"

"Oh god!" Kurt exclaimed quietly. "Dad, are you trying to ask me if I'm a virgin?"

Burt looked around, his face turned red. His wiped his forehead, realizing that he'd started sweating too. "Yeah." He drew the word out. "Yeah I am."

"The answer is no. I'm a virgin. The only thing I've ever done is kiss someone." Kurt rolled his eyes and looked back down at the funnel intently. His cheeks were blushed colored just like his dad's and also smeared with grease slightly. Burt looked like he was sighing in relief. "Why?"

Burt changed out the air filter and put the cover back on. He coughed. "I guess I wanted to know that you were being safe and not throwing yourself around."

"Throwing myself around?"

"Yeah, you know… hooking up with a lot of guys."

Kurt laughed nervously. "No worries, Dad. I'm not hooking up with any guys."

"Thank God."

"Would it matter to you if I were?" Kurt asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"I suppose it would," Burt answered honestly.

"Would it bother you if Finn was hooking up with a lot of girls?"

"Probably, but for different reasons. I would be worried about him impregnating someone. With you, I'm worried about lots of things, many of which I'm sure I'm misinformed about."

"Like what?"

Burt sighed and put the hood down on the finished car, thankful that this one was the last for a bit. "Kurt, when I was growing up. Things were so different. People say that back then, it was a simpler time, and maybe it was, but in reality, when I was your age, everything was all about conformity and shunning or hating that which was different. Now everything is all about being unique and different. People used to keep their personal life hidden and all their problems weren't spoken about unless it was behind closed doors and windows."

"Are you setting up a scene to give yourself an excuse for being a little ignorant?" Kurt finally cut in. He said it without bite. It was more of a curiosity.

Burt gulped. "I guess. Kurt, I love you, you're my son and you know how much I want you to be happy."

"But…?" Kurt said to help aid his father continue the sentence.

"But I just want to make sure that when you're ready to start fooling around or having sex that you'll promise to protect your self. If you decide to be with someone, whether you're in a committed relationship with them or not, I want you to promise me that if he refuses to wear protection before you're both positive that you're both clean, you'll kick him to the curb."

It was like a tidal wave had hit Kurt full force. He now knew what his father was worried about. "You're scared that I'm going to get AIDS." He said it simply with no inflection in his voice. Both men were serious.

Burt gulped again and finally looked Kurt in the eyes. "Yes. I'm afraid of you getting AIDS. I know that being gay doesn't mean that you'll automatically get it, but like I said before, I grew up in a different time. When I was young, I remember someone telling me something that I didn't really think much of as a kid, but now I only see the hate in it and it makes me sick."

"What was it?"

"I can't even say it."

"It's okay, Dad. Just tell me."

Burt hesitated before speaking. He knew what he was about to say was rude, offensive, disgusting, and the epitome of everything wrong with people who hated other's like Kurt. The memory made him sick and want to hit someone. "When I was young, someone told me that the cure for homosexuality was AIDS." There was silence between them. It was like time stopped. They stood staring at each other. Kurt didn't know what to say. He'd never heard that said before. He didn't like the way the sentence made him feel. It made him feel like less of a person; like he was a mutation of what was supposed to be a real human being that was meant to be extinguished. "I'm sorry Kurt. You didn't need to know that." Burt forced himself to move and he swept his son up in his arms. "I'm so sorry. I don't believe that, Kurt."

Kurt was blinking back tears. "I know, Dad."

"Before you were born, in the eighties, AIDS was an epidemic that too many people had and died from." He let Kurt go and looked him in the eyes again, serious. He was desperate to get Kurt to understand. "You remember making me sit through watching RENT?" Kurt nodded his head. "You know how most of the characters had it?" Kurt nodded again. "In the eighties, it was like that. Too many people got it. It seemed that everyone either knew someone or was related to someone who had it. Then everyone started dying and I know it's not a death sentence anymore, but that doesn't make being careless about sex with people okay."

"I know, Dad," Kurt said again.

"Just… Just please promise me that when you start being intimate with someone that you'll be safe." It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

"I promise."

"You swear?"

"I swear."

Burt took Kurt in his arms again. "I'm sorry about being so heavy with the sad talk, but I lost your mother and I can't lose you too. I can't."

"You won't. I promise." Kurt took himself out of his father's arms. Being seventeen, he knew about AIDS and the dangers it poised, but like everyone else he had the it won't happen to me mentality. His father bringing the topic into the open really brought it home to him. He wasn't invincible or immune to the disease and he knew, like his father said, that he had to be careful when it came to sex. "I'll be smart. I'll use protection, I'll get tested, I'll make whoever I'm with use protection, I won't throw myself around at everyone who'll have me, and I'll make sure whoever I'm with gets tested too."

I eased Burt's mind to hear Kurt say that and he trusted his son enough to believe Kurt would do right by that statement. There was silence again and another car drove up. Burt brought the car they just out of the garage and into the lot for pick-up.

Kurt put the new car on the lift and rose it up and started draining the old oil. He had the drill gun in his hand by the time his father returned and they worked on the car in silence. When the car was brought back down to the floor and the hood was popped, Kurt broke the silence. "So, it's cool if Blaine comes over for dinner?"

"Yes, he can come over."

"Can he spend the night?"

"You didn't get enough of each other last night?"

I'll never get enough of Blaine, Kurt thought. "We missed out on two weeks, Dad. Call it catching up. We used to spend more time together when I went to Dalton."

"Right."

"So can he? Spend the night?"

"I don't see why not."

"Awesome! Thank you!" Kurt could have flailed and hopped up and down, but didn't so he wouldn't give anything away.

Burt drove the car out into the lot and returned to Kurt texting Blaine.

K- Dad said yes to you coming over for dinner and staying the night.

B- Yay! Can we camp out in the living room with a marathon of something?

K- Just as long as we're in the sleeping bags and not under the same cover on the couch again.

B- Fine by me. Just as long as I get to wake up to you.

K- I'll text you again when I know what time I'm out of here and stuff.

Burt looked over at the clock on the wall. It was nearly four o'clock. "Hey, Kurt. If Blaine's coming over, why don't you head out? You can clean up and help Carol with dinner before Blaine comes over."

"Really?" Kurt smiled.

"Yeah. Get out of here." Burt smiled back.

"Thanks, Dad." Kurt left immediately. He dropped his cover all jumpsuit in the laundry bin and headed to the bathroom to wash his hands. They were relatively clean, since he wore gloves all day, but they still felt grimy.

K- I'm headed home to take a shower now. So you can come over anytime.

B- I'm going to take a shower too and then head over. I changed back into my pajamas when I got back from brunch with you.

K- Can't wait!

B- Me too. Love you xoxo

K- Love you too xoxo