Blaine bustles into the lobby of the office building with a box in his arms. He leads Henry to the elevators and presses the button, standing aside to let whoever would invariably be on their way down out. Henry, a quiet boy of seventeen, had been a sort of apprentice to Blaine for a year or so. He was the son of a previous employer who had taken to idolising Blaine in a way, and he had since become one of Blaine's closest friends. He acted as a mentor for Henry, which he knew was invaluable for him.

Once the pair is in the elevator, Blaine turns to Henry and says, "Thanks for this, by the way. I don't have that much stuff, I know, but it's all useful and you saved me an extra trip."

"Is it cool working here?" Henry asks, marvelling at even something as simple as the inside of the elevator.

"Yeah, it is. I've mostly been taking pictures for the site for when they release the new lines, but I'm still doing what I love to do." With the person I love, he stopped himself from saying. He tried not to bite his tongue too hard.

They arrive on the fifth floor and Blaine walks towards his new office, which was to the left of the elevators, in the opposite direction to Kurt's, with Henry in tow. Ava greets Blaine on his way in, and he stops by her station to ask about a semi-permanent visitors' pass for Henry. She writes it down on a post-it note and sticks it to a pile of folders in Quinn's in tray.

Blaine's office is depressingly empty, hardly more than a desk and a chair. Most of the offices on this side of the building were unoccupied, meaning that everything just felt lonely. He had a nameplate on the door and the room was officially his, though he spent very little time there. The second desk remained in Kurt's office, and that was where he spent the majority of his time that wasn't passed in the studio. After dumping the two boxes, filled with everything that was vaguely work related, they head back down the hallway past Ava's station again.

Kurt steps out of Quinn's office as they pass, and Blaine pauses, Henry quickly following suit. Kurt walks over to them and links arms with Blaine as they walk the short distance down the hallway to the office. "So this is Henry?" Kurt asks, and both Blaine and Henry nod, "Well, it's nice to finally meet you. We've been shooting today, which should keep you busy." Kurt leads them into the office, which feels so much more like home to Blaine than the office that was officially his own. Henry pulls Blaine back into the hall for a moment, saying, "That's Kurt?"

"Yeah," Blaine says, "he's pretty great."

"I don't see your problem."

"There isn't really a problem, he just wants to be friends for now and I respect that." Blaine walks into the office and smiles over at Kurt. "I'm going to take Henry up to the studio so we can pack down for the weekend. Are we still on for drinks tonight?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss spending a Friday with you and your charming friends, being harassed about our relationship."

"You know you love it." Blaine teases.

Kurt sighs. "The attention is kind of nice." Blaine takes Henry up to the studio and lets him look around for a while, as he begins to pack away what can't be left up for the night for whatever reasons. Henry asks questions which Blaine happily answers, each sliding back into their usual roles as their mentor-mentored relationship. That is, until Henry flips the roles.

"Is there a reason you can't just ask Kurt out?" Henry says, changing topics suddenly.

"What?" Blaine replies, showing that he was clearly surprised at the question.

"Just tell him that you like him, gosh. It isn't that difficult."

"But every time I think I might just have an opportunity, he calls me his friend again. Any chance he gets he affirms our friendship. I'm basically friendzoned, and I'm pretty sure that isn't meant to happen with your soulmate."

"Just give it time," Henry advises, "you've been soulmates this far, so why not keep being that way? Sooner or later the perfect chance will arise, I'm sure. It could be sooner than you think." Blaine agrees hesitantly, and then they head back to the office to grab their things before they leave. As much as it could feel odd taking advice like that from his seventeen year old friend, he trusts Henry's judgement.

They arrive back at the office to see Fabien, one of the other designers, leaving the office. Blaine can't help but feel jealous that anyone else had been in the office without him being there- he was cute enough, and Blaine couldn't stand to even imagine what he could have been up to with Kurt. He put on a smile and forced it to the back of his mind. It wouldn't be anything, would it?

Kurt links arms with Blaine again as they walk along the street back to Blaine's apartment. He lives close enough that it is within walking distance and it just feels silly to travel any other way. Henry walks with them as far as he can before splitting off, though he is quietly pleased that he isn't intruding any longer. Maybe, just maybe, Blaine would act on whatever it is that he feels.

"Hey, it's our baby Blainers and his boy toy!" Santana calls, as they walk into the apartment together. Both Kurt and Blaine blush violently as they strip their coats. Sebastian, Santana and Brittany are all there already. Sebastian is nursing a glass of scotch, while Santana sits on top of Brittany with an arm draped around her neck and proceeds to kiss her again after greeting Blaine and Kurt.

The pair walks into the room properly and Blaine offers Kurt a drink, and he accepts. Kurt sits next to Sebastian, although there had always been some kind of unspoken dislike between them. He was making an effort, to say the least. "Hey, Bas," Kurt greets, "how are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Sebastian says coldly.

"When are you heading off?"

"Once you and Blaine get painfully domestic and the dykes are more interested in each other than us," Sebastian says with a smirk, "so I'd give it until I've finished my drink."

"You don't have to run off just because I'm here," Kurt says, rolling his eyes, "I'll miss your witty banter."

"You could always come to the club with me. See if you can persuade Blaine to leave the apartment."

Blaine walks over and hands Kurt his drink before sitting down next to Kurt on the large couch. "Kurt and I were going to watch the ANTM finale," he explains turning to Kurt, "unless you want to..?" he shakes his head.

"I kind of like it when it's just us two." Kurt and Blaine share a smile. Sebastian mimes vomiting at them.

"Well thank you for causing me to throw up in my mouth," Sebastian says and downs the rest of his drink, "but there was the painful domesticity. If either of you say that you're just friends I may have to go kick a puppy." Santana breaks herself away from her girlfriend for long enough to offer him a smile, about the closest thing she can manage to support for him. Sebastian doesn't leave although he had just suggested that he planned to, but spends an awful lot of time muttering under his breath as he pours himself another scotch.

It doesn't take long for drinks to quickly deteriorate as it had so similarly nearly every Friday; Sebastian hangs around for an hour at the most before he leaves, ready to hit one of the clubs he frequented and find someone to take home for the night. Santana had taken to staying at Brittany's as often as she could, which meant there was a lot of empty space in the apartment which she didn't mind Kurt filling. She particularly didn't mind when it ended up with her receiving some leftover insanely delicious dessert that Kurt had made the night earlier.

With all their other friends gone from the apartment so early, Kurt produces a beautiful handwritten recipe book and sets it up in the kitchen. Blaine hovers and finds Kurt whatever it is that he needs, while Kurt gets baking. With a tray of late night cookies in the oven, they turn to the living room and sit down together. "Where did you learn to bake like this?" Blaine asks.

"The recipe book was my mother's, before she died. I used to help her out when I could, and then someone had to uphold the recipes and it was clear right away that it wouldn't be my dad. So it became my niche. It started with just Thanksgiving and such, when I would make the traditional pies that my dad needed so much while he vaguely supervised, but soon enough I had baked my way through the whole book. I don't really even need it anymore, but I need to keep it. Using it makes me feel like she's still around, like she is the one to give me the instructions again." Kurt smiles fondly at the memory and Blaine smiles fondly at Kurt's smile.

"She sounds like she was a pretty special woman."

"She was. I really miss her sometimes, but I have such an amazing family as it is. I don't feel like I'm missing out on life by not having her around. I miss her, but I'm not missing her, you know?" Blaine nods.

"I think so."

They sit in silence for a moment before Kurt says, "would you mind if we changed topics now? I don't much want to talk about my deceased mother right now."

"Not at all. What would you like to talk about?"

"Office gossip?" Kurt suggests, "Ava totally has eyes for Bryce, though he is so caught up in all that programming junk that he hasn't worked out that he's cute. And since they work in the two different teams, they don't talk to each other as often as they could."

Blaine nods. "I'd give it another two months before they have at least hooked up," he agrees, "What about Quinn? Do you think that she's set on anyone? She's kind of married to her job, isn't she?"

"It seems that way, definitely, but she hasn't always been like that."

"Oh?"

"She was married- to her soulmate- and he died a couple of months ago. She took a month off as bereavement leave, but then she came back. She had only been back for a few weeks when you were interviewed. She was keen to throw herself into another project."

"Oh," Blaine repeats, though his tone is significantly heavier, "is that why she always glares at the two of us?"

Kurt nods. "I think so. She's kind of sensitive to most soulmate related things."

"So you told her then?" Kurt nods again.

"Back on that first day when we met and had coffee; she got kind of annoyed at me and I just... snapped. I'm not sure if she ever put two and two together that you were the soulmate I told her about, but she certainly seems to have now."

"What about the other designers? I don't really know them very well, and I won't until I start shooting for their lines." Blaine asks.

"They're nice enough, but none of them are really my friends. I like Portia, and Cleo is nice when she isn't annoying," Blaine nods along, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What do you think about Fabien?" Blaine tries not to relive the feeling that he had when he saw Fabien leaving their office earlier that day.

"I don't really know him," Blaine says, "he dresses well."

"No kidding. He designs clothes for a living; I would probably strangle someone if people who worked for Mode D'Etoiles didn't dress well."

"Why do you ask?" Blaine says, fearful that he already knows the answer.

"Because he kind of asked me out today," Kurt says, "and I'm kind of thinking that I'm going to say yes. But I wanted to ask you first."

"I don't think you should do it. I don't really like him." Blaine says plainly.

"You literally just said that you don't know him."

"And? I just don't like him much. He was kind of rude at the meetings."

"So I can't go out with him because he was rude at a meeting?" Kurt clarifies.

"Technically you can, I don't think that you should."

"What gives you the right to dictate who I can and can't date?" Kurt says, his voice beginning to elevate in volume.

"You're my soulmate, not Fabien's! Why can't I be your first choice?" Blaine replies, and oh, now he was being jealous. He had figured that he wouldn't be able to keep the feelings at bay forever, but he had hoped that he could last a little bit longer at least, just until Kurt was ready and jealousy wasn't a problem anymore because Kurt would be his.

"I can't wait around forever, Blaine! Because you just aren't sure whether or not you're gay or straight or whether maybe you even like me like that. I can't be your back up plan!" Kurt stands, and Blaine stands to join him.

"Is that what I am to you? A back up plan?" Blaine says, although that wasn't what Kurt had said at all.

"God no, Blaine. I've spent weeks being your friend, hoping that you would come around, and yet here we are, platonic soulmates. Who even does that?"

"You keep saying that you can't handle a boyfriend right now! What makes Fabien so different?"

"I don't like Fabien, Blaine, god damn it! He just offered and it's becoming harder and harder to say no, because we aren't a couple, we aren't anything, we don't mean anything!" Kurt snaps. He paces away from where Blaine is standing.

"You mean everything to me, Kurt! Why can't you just listen to me?"

"Maybe if you stopped screaming at me for feeling desirable and wanted for a change we could have a proper conversation about this!"

"Don't put this all on me, Kurt, I'm not the one who asked my soulmate for their opinion on another guy! Why ask me if you don't want an answer?"

"Fuck you, Blaine; I can do whatever I want! I don't need your fucking approval!"

"What do you want me to say?" Blaine asks, "Why do you say that you don't think you can handle a boyfriend, and yet you turn around and think about the first guy who asks you out?"

"I just said that to make me feel better! I didn't mean it, I never meant it! I just thought that it would help, when I was so caught up in you and how ridiculously perfect you are! So just leave me alone!" Kurt bites his lip and turns away from Blaine ever so slightly.

"I love you!" Blaine yells. Kurt visibly softens, but Blaine misses it as he breaks eye contact, looking at his shoes which are now very, very interesting. Kurt crosses the room and cups Blaine's jaw in his hand, lifting Blaine's chin and forcing him to look at him. He searches Blaine's eyes for a moment, which were unfairly tearful, like Kurt's own. Silently, without any warning, Kurt presses their lips together, softly and delicately. It's Blaine, and it has to be perfect.

It takes Blaine a moment to react to what is happening before he melts into Kurt, bringing his hands to his waist. Kurt slides his arms around Blaine's neck, and slowly their kiss deepens.

And then the timer on the oven beeps, forcing them to break apart. Kurt pushes Blaine's hands from his waist lightly and walks to the kitchen wordlessly to retrieve the cookies from the oven, putting them onto an airing rack. Blaine sits back down on the couch to process everything that had just happened. Kurt places a few cookies onto a plate and carries it back through to the living room, holding it to Blaine as a silent peace offering. Blaine half smiles and accepts the plate, though he places it down on the coffee table without taking a cookie. Kurt sits next to him.

"I'm sorry," Kurt says, "can we forget about that argument?"

Blaine nods. "Yeah, but maybe not all of it. Could we talk about it like adults?"

"Okay. But we're going to need milk first." Blaine goes to the kitchen and returns with two glasses of milk and sits cross-legged on the floor, and Kurt joins him.

"This is clearly a very adult way to talk about things." Blaine says.

"Over milk and cookies? Of course. It's after ten, Blaine, far past my bedtime. That's the most grown up it gets." Kurt jokes. They begin to talk things out properly, starting at the beginning. Blaine explains his jealousy for Fabien, that he was trying to give Kurt space until he stopped calling them friends, that he had been waiting for the last few weeks for a chance to just tell him that he was ready. Kurt explains that he had been waiting similarly until Blaine would pick up on his flirts, which Blaine doesn't even notice as Kurt tells him.

"Kurt? I would like to dictate who you can date," Blaine says half-jokingly, "and I'd like for it to be me."

"I'd like that too," Kurt agrees, "soon."

"Can we go on a proper date? I have some things in mind."

"Of course. Can I introduce you as my boyfriend from now, though?"

"If you like. Can I go and eat another cookie?" Kurt laughs and gives him permission to take another so long as he puts them into an airtight container for him while he is up.

They talk for quite a while longer, as though nothing further has changed in their relationship, until Kurt announces that it's time for bed. They walk towards the two bedrooms together, and Blaine spins Kurt around and kisses him.

"Good night, boyfriend," he whispers, before letting Kurt retreat to Santana's room, each hiding a smile as best they can.