"Morning, beautiful," Blaine greets his boyfriend, who is still curled up in his bed. Blaine had gotten up earlier and had no desire to wake Kurt, instead going about his morning routine as best as possible, smiling to himself every time he thought about how Kurt was there, real, and his. He had been so supportive in the last few weeks, especially the last few days. He had been hit on by Sebastian for him.

Kurt is still not quite awake and stirs gently, trying to suck the last few moments of rest from his closed eyelids. Blaine bends down and brushes his lips across Kurt's, being taken by surprise when Kurt kisses back with much more force. "I brought you coffee," Blaine mumbles, pleased he put the mug down on the nightstand as Kurt brings his hand up to cup Blaine's cheek. Soon Blaine is straddling Kurt, who has evidently woken up a lot more than he had before.

"You got dressed," Kurt says, as Blaine kisses and sucks his neck, placing his mouth carefully so any marks he leaves Kurt will be able to cover with a well chosen dress shirt.

"I did. I couldn't wake you, though. You're so beautiful when you're sleeping."

"You think I'm beautiful all the time." Kurt teases, though he says it with a lot of care and softness.

"That's true. But especially when you're naked and sleeping in my bed." Blaine kisses Kurt firmly, and Kurt reciprocates happily. Blaine pulls away and says, "You should get dressed, too. Breakfast in twenty?" Kurt nods. "Santana won't be up for a while yet. You can hazard not being dressed to go to the bathroom." Blaine winks at him as he climbs off Kurt and the bed, then watches as Kurt slides from the bed. Kurt blushes when he sees the way that Blaine is looking at him lustfully.

"I should have brought something with me to wear today." Kurt says, stifling his urges to cover himself up. It was nothing that Blaine hadn't seen before, after all.

"Do you want to go to your apartment before work, or..?"

"I hereby request freedom to borrow anything from your closet and hair product supply."

"Granted. Should breakfast be in thirty or forty, then?" Blaine teases.

"Twenty is fine. I can be slightly less fabulous than usual." Kurt pouts, and Blaine kisses him again before leaving the room as Kurt says, "only for you, Blaine."

True to his word, it's only twenty minutes before Kurt emerges from getting dressed for the day. He is wearing clothing articles that Blaine recognises as belonging to him, but Kurt has made them so completely his. Looking at Kurt, you would never guess that most of his outfit had been borrowed from his boyfriend. He had settled on wearing his boots and his own jeans from the day before, however, because the height difference between the two of them was just enough to throw everything out of balance. Blaine loved wearing Kurt's sweatpants because of it. Kurt wore a plain white shirt of Blaine's, along with a simple dark blue cardigan and a black skinny tie. His hair looked amazing, even when he was making do without all his usual products. Blaine is speechless for a second as he looks at Kurt, letting out a low whistle.

"You look... amazing. I don't know how you did that."

"Thanks, I think," Kurt says, "I have all these superpowers that you don't know about. I can look this great in twenty minutes with an unfamiliar wardrobe."

"I mean, really. I could never pull together an outfit like that the way you do."

"That's why I'm the designer and you are the humble photographer." Kurt teases, walking properly into the kitchen, where Blaine is leaning on the counter by the sink.

"Artistic director, thank you."

"That's not why you're coming to my launch party though, is it?" Kurt says, as he steps even closer to Blaine, as though it could be possible.

"No," Blaine says, winding his arms around Kurt's waist, "I get to be there as your boyfriend. I'm the plus one, even if you're allowed to invite everyone else, too."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, B." Blaine's mouth presses against Kurt's, and they are broken apart all too quickly as Santana clears her throat behind them.

"Can I get to the sink, guys? You can go back to all that in two seconds, promise." She asks, as Blaine and Kurt awkwardly separate and both move away from the sink. When Santana leaves they exchange smiles, before taking their breakfast (Blaine made French toast in an attempt to match Kurt's standard of breakfast food) and sitting on the couch, closer together than necessary.

"Wasn't I meant to make breakfast, in payment for sleeping in your bed?" Kurt asks.

"You were sleeping, so I cooked. Is that so terrible?"

"Not at all."

"I should be paying you to stay with me, not the other way around." Blaine says, smiling shyly at Kurt.

"Honey, that's prostitution. We're only talking breakfast foods here." Blaine laughs, and Kurt laughs softly too because he can't not, when Blaine's laugh is so contagious.

They walk with entwined hands to work, and arrive early, only proving that when they spend the night together they can, in fact, arrive together punctually. Not that it should be Quinn's problem anyway what happens after the work hours she technically supervises them for, but if what Sebastian claimed was true then they were best to keep on her good side for all things work related. If she is worried that their relationship was interfering with their work, then there isn't all that much they could do, but they have to at least make an effort to show they are valuable team members.

As they enter through the lobby doors, they see Quinn approaching from the elevator. Kurt leans closer to Blaine and whispers, "Kiss me." Blaine pauses for a moment in confusion, since Kurt usually enforces a no PDA in the office policy, and then kisses him chastely, quickly. "No, B," Kurt says, "Really kiss me. The way you did this morning." Blaine clicks with what Kurt must be planning, and cups his jaw lightly as he pours himself into the kiss, which, even with the audience, becomes one of Blaine's top favourite kisses. Of course, none of the kisses he shared with Kurt were excluded from the list, but this one seems to be so pure, with a kind of delicate edge to it. It's enough for Blaine to momentarily forget his surroundings, with one hand still holding Kurt's at his side. They break apart with enough time to see Quinn glaring at them, before they head to the back of the lobby and the elevators, their faces all smiles.

Ava knocks softly on the door to Kurt and Blaine's office before stepping inside. Both look up from their work, Blaine sitting at his computer and Kurt at his sewing machine. The room was near silent in the process, and it becomes evident to Ava that they were being perfectly productive. "Quinn sent me to collect both of you," she says, "good luck." She offers them a supportive half smile before retreating, and Kurt and Blaine exchange a worried look. They both stall, finishing up what they are doing. As they walk down the hall to Quinn's office, their fingertips brush but never anchor to one another, an unspoken symbol of support while they respect that they shouldn't flaunt their relationship. Now isn't the time.

Quinn is standing by the door to her office. "Coffee?" She asks with a smile. They nod and she trots off to the elevator.

"She's too nice," Kurt hisses to Blaine, "it's a trap." She stays two steps ahead of them, and they wordlessly follow her from the building to the nearby cafe where Kurt and Blaine had gone after their first meeting. They all order their drinks, and then sit at a table, Quinn on one side and Blaine and Kurt at the other.

"I thought I would just check up on you two," she says sweetly, "in all aspects. You're our young office lovebirds by night, our up and coming professionals by day. I just thought we should chat, catch up." Kurt is still sceptical about what could come from such a meeting, from sharing such things with his boss, who seemed to have it out for him. Blaine notices and speaks up first.

"I'm well, thank you. I'm very nearly finished with my most recent assignment; all the pictures should be ready by Friday." He says. Quinn nods and looks expectantly at Kurt.

"I'm doing okay. I'm really excited for the launch on Saturday, I'm so proud of my line. I've been working on some new designs, too, which I can show you whenever you like."

"Great, we'll get Ava to schedule you in when we get back to the office. So, tell us the real gossip. How are things between you two, relationship wise? I saw you coming in together this morning." She purses her lips in a tight smile.

Blaine smiles at Kurt. "Good," Kurt says, "You know that Blaine's my soulmate, and it really is so great to spend time with him at the moment. We're in a really good place, especially now everything with Sebastian has worked out." He forces a smile, and Quinn continues to smile back with equal force.

"Oh? What happened with your friend?" Quinn asks, playing dumb. Kurt drops his smile and scowls all too quickly.

"We know you know, Quinn. You can drop the act. Are we only here so you can pick at our relationship some more? Because it isn't working." He snaps.

"Sebastian apologised to us and explained everything," Blaine explains, trying to cover Kurt's tracks, "he wasn't too impressed with the way you have been treating us, in all honesty. I think what Kurt's trying to say is that we love each other and we're in a really stable placing right now."

"Love?" Quinn says, narrowing her eyes, "How long have you two been dating? A month? How do you think you know what love is? It's a figment of your imagination. You aren't in love, you're in lust. Love is just some faux emotion that was made up by the media and commercialised for Valentine's Day so they can sell you cheap junk. It isn't real. It won't last forever."

"We aren't going to break up for your convenience, Quinn, because you don't think love exists. Because I know it does. Between soulmates or not, love is real." Blaine says.

"I know that you know love. I saw how happy Daniel made you. You don't have to forget about him, but you can fall in love again. You don't need a number on your wrist to dictate who you can and can't love, have children with, marry. If you don't ever want to give yourself the chance to fall in love again, that's fine. Have you considered something else? Fostering children, or something? Quinn, I know we aren't friends, but we have worked together long enough for me to know what you're like, and you're the kind of person who needs someone to look after. And if you aren't comfortable with children, you can at least get like... a cat." Something about Kurt's words causes Quinn to soften, and she suddenly looks on the verge of tears. She excuses herself and begins to walk back to the office, leaving her coffee on the table. Blaine and Kurt stay. "Just give her a couple of minutes." Kurt advises, as Blaine looks worriedly out the window at her.

Kurt takes Quinn's coffee (being in a takeaway cup, it seems silly that she didn't take it herself) and they walk back to the offices. Kurt offloads his own coffee on Blaine as they pass by Quinn's office, and he smiles supportively in return as he leaves for their own office. Kurt stays and smiles at Ava. "Is it safe enough for me to attempt communication?" he asks. Ava shrugs.

"She looked pretty close to breaking, and god, Kurt, someone has to go in there. If you're volunteering, you are most welcome to try. I'm rescheduling all of her appointments from today as we speak." Ava says. Kurt takes the invitation to knock gently before entering the office. As he expected, Quinn is in tears. She sits on the floor by the huge window with a box of tissues at her side. She doesn't even flinch as Kurt sits down next to her. Kurt realises that this is the smallest Quinn has ever seemed to him. She is now without make up, though clearly because she removed it instead of letting her tears wipe it away.

"I brought your coffee," he says cautiously, placing it on the floor. He doesn't expect her to take it.

"Thanks," she says, and looks out the window again. Kurt stays there in companionable silence for a moment.

"I can go, if you want."

"No, Kurt. Stay. I really owe you; I've been so horrible to you... to everyone. I shouldn't have come back to work yet. And Christmas is coming up soon, and I'm going to be alone. It's hard. It's really hard. Why do bad things have to happen to such good people?"

"Hey, you may have had some bad luck, but you had a lot of good luck to have such a great relationship with Daniel. He was really great, Quinn."

"I just wish he had stayed in my life for longer. We were meant to grow old together. Have a family, together. Seeing you and Blaine... it was tough. It still is tough. But I know it will be so worth it in the long term, for you two, to put up with my shit. I'm sorry for what I said just before... you two are in it for the long haul, I know, and it shouldn't matter if you have been together for a month or a year or a decade. You're soulmates, and that means a lot when you let it." Kurt mouths a thank you, letting her continue. "Everything you said just really struck a certain chord with me. I'm pregnant, Kurt. And then Daniel got into that stupid crash and-" she takes a deep breath, "I'm not going to relive that just now. I'm going to have his baby soon enough, and then I don't know what I'll do."

Kurt, though surprised by her confession, takes it into his stride easily enough, saying, "You'll love them, Quinn. You will be watched over by Daniel for every day of your life, and your baby, too. That child is going to grow up a happy, driven individual, even if they never have a relationship with their father. Plenty of kids don't, and they turn out just fine. But your child will grow up knowing that you loved your husband, that Daniel was a great guy. They will love your memory of him. But above all else, they will love you. A time will come when you are their hero. You were brave enough to take them on alone."

Quinn turns to face Kurt. "Can I hug you now?" Kurt nods, and lets Quinn envelop him. "Kurt, I'm going to need someone to fill my position while I'm on maternity leave. We can officialise everything when I'm not crying, for starters, but you are most definitely in the running. If you're okay with that."

"Of course, Quinn. But we can worry about all that later, okay? For now, I think you should go home. Ava is rescheduling all your appointments. Will you be okay being alone tonight, do you think?"

"I'll be fine. I'm a big girl. My mom is visiting in a couple of weeks, for my ultrasound, and that will make things a lot better." Quinn gets to her feet with a final sniffle and walks over to her desk, wiping up the last of her tears with the tissues. She takes a makeup bag from one of her desk drawers and turns to the mirror on her wall to reapply everything. Kurt follows, awkwardly patting her shoulder with a supportive smile.

"I'm going to head back to work now, okay? If you need anything, just send Ava to get me. I don't mind."

"You're really a great person, Kurt," Quinn says, "I know we aren't friends, but that's always kind of annoyed me, if you ever want to change that. Blaine is a lucky guy."

"I know. I'll talk to you later." Kurt scribbles down his cell phone number on a sticky note, along with a text me any time message. He knows that Quinn must have access to all his contact details somewhere, but this is an invitation to have a casual chat with him. And this time, he feels like Quinn might be up for it.

"Do you want to come to my place for pie tonight?" Kurt asks Blaine as he enters the office, and Blaine looks up from his work.

"Is that an innuendo now or something?"

"No, I think I'm about to hit a wave of stress cooking and I need someone to eat some of it to stop me from eating it all." Blaine gets up from his desk and walks to Kurt, sliding his arms around Kurt's waist.

He lowers his voice as he says, "You know, there are other ways to relieve stress."

"I do..." Kurt manages, as Blaine presses a few kisses to his neck, "but that can wait. I think I've just cracked the Quinn case." Blaine and Kurt sit down in their makeshift living area as Kurt recounts the less personal details of his conversation with Quinn. When he's done, Blaine wraps his arms around him.

"I'm so proud of you. You did exactly the right thing."

"Thanks. I'm just glad everything seems to be working out, finally. We just get through the rest of the working week, go to the launch on Saturday night, and we're sorted. Speaking of which, I still have a few people who need inviting." Blaine returns to his work, and Kurt sits at his own desk with his cell phone at the ready and his finger poised over the dial button. He finally clicks it, and waits.

"Good afternoon, Mister Hummel," Sebastian answers formally.

"Hey, Bas. Are you at work?"

"Certainly. Can you hold, just a moment? Thanks." Kurt hears him apologise to someone about a client, and then some door noises. Finally Sebastian speaks again. "I hope you realised that I hadn't put you on hold. Also, I am in no rush to get back to that meeting."

"Great. I only really need you for a second. I still haven't invited you to my launch party, which is this Saturday. All of our other mutual friends are going, basically, and I had never really processed that I was yet to ask you directly. So, uh, you can come, if you want. There will be champagne and cute guys."

"Are you trying to make me interested in fashion by promising me a hook up? Because it's working." Kurt can practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Rachel is bringing a plus one, some guy that she went to college with, and apparently he's smart, and funny, and charming, and cute, and a whole host of other adjectives. She won't stop gushing about him since they bumped into each other the other day. And British! I'm told he has a cute accent."

Sebastian pauses. "...and this guy is gay?"

"Something like that."

"Kurt... when is this party of yours, again?"

"Saturday, starting at seven. I would expect you to turn up by a quarter to eight at the latest." Kurt reasons.

"Give me a moment to do some math." Kurt listens as Sebastian scrabbles around, with some scratching on a piece of paper audible. "I think you found me more than a hook up."

"Wait, you mean..." Kurt grins.

"Four days, four hours, eleven minutes and twenty-three seconds."