Blaine's eyelids felt heavy, but he forced himself to open his eyes anyway. A quick glance at the clock on his bedside table told him it was three in the morning. There was a light coming from the hallway and noises from other parts of the apartment. Something was clearly wrong.

He still felt bad, a bit weak, and his head was fuzzy. This wasn't a good moment to deal with whatever was in the apartment (a thief? Robert tearing the couches apart because he hadn't taken him for a walk for an entire day?), but he knew he had to do something. So, with what little strength he had in his body, he stood up. The sweatpants he had been sleeping in clung low on his hips and his t-shirt was worn and wrinkled. He was sure his hair was horribly messy and sticking out in every direction. He felt sweaty and he wished he could just get in the shower and maybe sleep there under the water for a few hours. But instead, he walked out of his bedroom, following the sounds until they took him to the kitchen.

For a moment, he felt alarmed, until he recognized the man standing in his kitchen, his back turned to him, muttering under his breath as he searched through the cabinets. He was confused until a vague memory reminded him that Kurt had come the night before with medicines. For some reason, he was sure he had fallen asleep holding onto him.

Maybe it had been a dream.

A very good dream.

"Kurt?" He asked, quietly and, oh, his throat was really scratchy. Kurt jumped in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, God, Blaine, you scared the hell out of me," Kurt muttered, a hand on his chest, his breathing a bit too fast. "Don't do that again."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Blaine entered the kitchen, walking towards him slowly.

"How are you feeling?" Kurt instantly put his hand on Blaine's forehead and this time Blaine was conscious enough to feel a rush of adrenaline at the touch, his cheeks coloring up. "You're not so warm now. I think the fever is almost gone."

"I feel less like the walking dead," Blaine answered and had to hold back a whimper of disappointment when Kurt removed his hand. "What are you doing?"

Kurt looked around the kitchen, his eyes widening. "Oh my God, you don't think I'm stealing or anything, do you? Because I'm not, I swear. I was just looking for something to put the soup I brought you in, because I sort of only had one thermos and if I need it, I…"

"Kurt, relax, it's okay, I know you're not stealing," Blaine would've laughed if it wasn't because his head still hurt. "I meant, why are you in the kitchen in the middle of the night? If you wanted to sleep, you could've woken me up and I could've arranged my study. I have a sofa bed there, you could…"

"Oh, no, don't worry. I actually, uhm, I actually fell asleep with you for a little while, I just woke up a few minutes ago," Kurt blushed and looked at the wall behind Blaine as he said that. "But I need to go soon because I didn't get any baking done last night before coming here and the store will be empty when I open up in the morning if I don't leave now."

Blaine leaned against the counter, his legs a little shaky, his body still weak. "Oh, Kurt, you shouldn't have come here. I'm so sorry, I was…"

But Kurt interrupted him and shocked him at the same time when he moved closer to him and put a finger over his lips, effectively silencing him. "Blaine, don't. I wanted to come, I wanted to make sure you were fine. I don't care about anything else, okay? I didn't want you to be alone when you didn't feel good. You still don't feel good, and I want to help you. What can I do?"

Blaine had to resist the impulse to kiss Kurt's finger. Kurt, luckily, removed it before Blaine did anything crazy. "You've done more than enough. Thank you."

"Why are you up? Are you hungry? Do you want some soup now? Do you need to take more of your medicines?" Kurt looked seriously concerned and Blaine shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, not used to having someone showing concern for him.

"I heard a noise and wanted to see what it was," Blaine explained. He looked tired and he felt tired and he wondered why he had left his bed, where he was warm and cozy. "I think I'll have a bit of soup, though. I haven't eaten anything in forever. But you don't have to stay. Really, go home, rest a bit, Kurt. I'll eat, go to bed and get up in a few hours to go to work and…"

"Work?" Kurt's eyebrows shot up. "Blaine, you can't go to work, you're sick."

"I didn't go yesterday. I can't miss another day," he sighed, exhausted, massaging his temples, wishing the headache would just go away.

"Of course you can and you totally should. You have options, Blaine," Kurt said sweetly, giving him a reassuring squeeze on one arm.

Blaine blinked a few times, confused. "Okay, what the hell did I say last night?"

"Nothing. We're not talking about that right now," Kurt pushed him towards the table and forced him to sit down. "You're going to eat your soup and go back to bed. And don't you dare go to the office in the morning, Blaine Anderson."

Blaine groaned in frustration. He barely remember what had happened before he fell asleep next to Kurt, but he did remember being embarrassingly clingy. That couldn't be good.

As Blaine wallowed in self-pity, Kurt kept looking for something to warm up the soup until he finally found a sauce pan in one of the cabinets, with a little cry of victory. Ten minutes later, he was putting a steaming bowl of soup in front of Blaine that smelled so delicious that Blaine almost let his face fall into it.

"Don't you want to eat anything?" Blaine offered, hating that he had been such a bad host. "You must be starving."

"I'm fine, Blaine, the soup is for you to get better," Kurt smiled at him reassuringly.

"Please, Kurt, eat something," he nodded towards the refrigerator. "Make yourself at home. I'm sure you can find something in there that you like. Eat whatever you want."

Kurt finally accepted and made some coffee for himself and a couple of bagels with creamed cheese. Blaine devoured the soup and then was pushed back to his bedroom before he could wash the dishes. He settled back into bed, wondering why he was feeling so exhausted considering he had only walked to the kitchen to eat before walking back to bed. Kurt entered the bedroom a few minutes later, his coat and scarf on.

"I'm gonna go now," he announced, coming closer. "But I want you to call me if you need anything. At any time. I'll be up working, anyway, so don't be silly and call me." He gave Blaine a pointed look until the other man nodded his agreement. "Good. Now, you have all the meds I brought for you in your bedside table and there's still a bit more soup in the kitchen. Do you want me to take Robert home with me? I can walk him before I open the bakery, and even if I don't have time, I can take him out the back door for a few minutes so he can do what he needs to do. I'll bring him back here when I close the store."

"No, don't worry about Robert, Kurt," Blaine said, without being able to keep his eyes open for much longer. "I'll take care of him later. It'll be good for me to go out for a little while and have some fresh air."

Kurt didn't look convinced, but seemed pleased enough when Blaine didn't mention going to work. "Okay, fine. I'm still coming back after I close, so I'll call you to see if you need anything." He leaned down to place a kiss to Blaine's forehead. "Take care. And call me. I mean it."

"I will," Blaine mumbled against the pillows, a little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth because Kurt's lips had felt so nice against his skin. "Thank you so much…"

"No need to thank me," Kurt brushed his words off as he started walking out of the bedroom. "See you later!"

"See you later," Blaine said with another sigh. He heard Kurt leaving the apartment, the front door clicking shut. "I love you…" he added to the empty room, before he fell asleep again.

Kurt dropped down on the couch, letting his head fall against the back, sighing and closing his eyes. He was tired.

"Kurt… why don't you go home and sleep?" Blaine asked, with a sad smile, knowing he was the reason for Kurt's exhaustion. "I don't need you to babysit me. I'm fine. I'm better."

"You don't look all that much better," Kurt tilted his head to the side, frowning. He reached to touch Blaine's forehead, causing a shiver to run down the other man's spine. "But I think your fever is gone."

"I just have a bit of a cough and a sore throat. The rest is much better," Blaine nodded and he instantly missed Kurt's hand when he pulled away.

But there was something in Blaine's eyes that told Kurt that something was wrong, that he was lying, that he was far from being better.

"Blaine," he said softly, scooting a little closer. "What's going on?"

The way Blaine avoided looking at him spoke volumes. "Nothing."

"Hey, no. Don't put all those shields you keep around yourself up again," Kurt put a finger on his chin to force him to look at him. Blaine blushed a bit. "Talk to me."

"I think I've already talked enough," he said quietly. "Last night. And, God, Kurt, I don't remember everything I said, but I'm so, so sorry."

"Why would you be sorry?" Kurt replied, sweetly. "It's nice to see you sharing a bit of what you feel. I could tell you had everything bottled up. It's not good for you, you know."

"It's embarrassing, I just…" Blaine shook his head and closed his eyes, evidently upset with himself. "I just should learn to keep my mouth shut."

"No offense, sweetheart…" Kurt muttered and Blaine startled at the endearment, opening his eyes and looking as if he had never been called something like that in his whole life, "but you keep your mouthtoo shut. I like talking to you, I like to hear what you have to say. I want to help you, Blaine, but I can't do it if you don't let me."

"It's not your…" Blaine started saying, visibly uncomfortable, but the sound of his phone interrupted him. He sighed and reached for it. "Hello." There was a small pause. "Hi, Mom."

Kurt got up and gestured towards the kitchen, letting him know he was going to give him some privacy. Blaine just nodded with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Kurt decided to distract himself by making some tea, but as he waited for the water to boil, he couldn't help overhearing the half conversation going on in the living room. Blaine didn't sound happy but, again, when did he?

"I've been sick and in bed for the past two days, Mom," he was saying, a bit exasperated. "No, I've really been sick. Why would you think I'd fake it? I'm not! I'm not a child trying to skip school…" A second silence. Kurt leaned against the counter, waiting. "Mom, I know he's upset, but I've been working at home all day and I'll have those documents ready by the time I promised him I would."

Kurt clicked his tongue in disapproval. He thought about his own mother or about Carole and the way they would've treated him if he was the one sick, like Blaine had been the past two days. He couldn't understand Mrs. Anderson. Why had she had kids if she didn't want them? Or was her problem that Blaine wasn't the child she had been expecting? Kurt knew he would never get what was going on in that woman's head. Or her husband's for that matter.

The kettle whistled as Kurt took two mugs out of the cupboard and poured the water, after putting a tea bag into each cup.

"Yes, I know," Blaine was saying, still sounding stressed. It was the last thing he needed when he was still recovering from a high fever. Kurt fought the impulse to go into the living room, take the phone away from him and end the call. He sighed. Oh, how wonderful that would be. But he couldn't. It wasn't his place to do it and he didn't want to upset Blaine any more than his parents already had.

Kurt searched for a tray in the cabinets while the tea steeped. Once he found it, he put both mugs on it and sugar, too.

"I'll go in to the office tomorrow. I'm already better, I just have a bit of a…" Blaine paused, obviously because his mother had interrupted him to ask something. "Yes, tell him I'll bring the documents. They're ready. Yes."

Kurt walked back into the living room with the tray. He had to use all of his self-control not to stomp on Blaine's phone.

"I know it's this week. Yes, I always go, don't I?" Blaine did his best not to look at Kurt. Whatever his mother was saying was making him uncomfortable. "And I always go alone. No! No, you know I don't talk about it. Why would I?"

Kurt sat down on the couch and grabbed one of the mugs to give to Blaine who smiled at him gratefully, though he still looked deeply unhappy. He could hear the constant murmur of Mrs. Anderson's voice and even though he had no idea what she was talking about, Kurt could feel the pressure in her words.

Blaine gripped his mug a bit too forcefully. "Mom. I promise I won't say a word about my sexuality. I never do and I never will. I don't know why you sound so concerned about it. You know I keep it… uh, yeah, yeah, sure." Blaine sounded so defeated and hurt that Kurt almost shifted closer and enveloped him in his arms. "I'll see you on… yeah, right, goodbye."

Silence extended between them barely broken by the soft sound of Kurt sipping his tea carefully. Blaine put his cup down and put his face in his hands.

"Kurt, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to listen to any of that…" he finally said, mortified.

Kurt also put his cup down and moved closer, taking Blaine's hands in his. "Hey, it's okay. Don't apologize, at all."

Blaine watched the way their fingers intertwined, fitting perfectly together, and he felt the wave of warmth and caring extending from Kurt. "Her phone calls are always pointless."

"It sure sounded like it," Kurt said with half a bitter smirk. "You have a family thing this week?"

"Yeah, for Thanksgiving," Blaine nodded heavily.

"Oh! Right," Kurt rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. "I don't know where my head has been lately. Of course, it's Thanksgiving."

Blaine sighed and leaned back against the couch. "I hate Thanksgiving. And Christmas. And birthdays. And any other joyous occasion for which I have to go to my parents' house."

Despite how sad he sounded, Kurt was almost happy to hear Blaine talking. He was opening up again and this time without a high fever. He was doing it because he wanted to.

"Then don't go," Kurt shrugged as if what he had just said was the most obvious thing in the universe.

Blaine snorted.

"I mean it, Blaine. You're a grown man. You can choose what to do during the holidays," Kurt insisted.

"Believe me, I wish I could," Blaine closed his eyes. "It's funny because they hate to have me there with them, but at the same time, I know that if I didn't go, they would be furious."

Kurt squeezed his hand, an idea lighting up in his head. "Well, there's no point in gracing them with your presence when they don't appreciate it. There's plenty of people who would."

Blaine snorted again and Kurt almost smacked him in the head, frustrated. "Yeah, sure. Like who?"

"Me," Kurt answered simply, causing Blaine to look up at him with surprised eyes. "This is what we're going to do. On Wednesday night I'm gonna come over, you're gonna be waiting for me with a little overnight bag and Robert and you, Brownie and me are gonna go on a little road trip."

Blaine looked at him as if he was crazy. "What?"

"We're going away for the weekend. You'll be back by Sunday night, I promise," Kurt said and he could feel the enthusiasm growing. This was definitely a good plan. "People should enjoy the holidays. That's what they're for."

"Kurt…" Blaine sounded wary and Kurt could understand why. He felt he was obliged to suffer through crappy family traditions because it was what was expected from him. But Kurt couldn't let him go to a place where he was clearly miserable, where he had to hide who he was and pretend he was okay with the life he had when it was evident he wasn't.

"Blaine," Kurt moved a bit closer, his blue eyes fixed in his. "Please, come with me."

Blaine sighed. His parents were going to give him a lot of crap for this, but he couldn't say no to Kurt. Not when he looked so adorable, so beautiful. Not when he was so close, with his hands still in his. "Where are we going?"

The squeak of pure happiness that came out of Kurt made it all worth it, even if all hell would break loose on him.

On Wednesday night, Blaine arrived to his apartment after work, jumped in the shower and changed his clothes, anxious for Kurt to arrive. His overnight bag was on the couch, next to Robert's leash, pretty much since the night before. He was excited.

And sort of terrified, too.

He hadn't really told his parents he wasn't going to be at their place for Thanksgiving. He hadn't gathered enough courage to tell his father that day while they were working. Maybe calling his mother would be better. They were going to be upset either way, but when his father was upset and they were face to face, it was utterly unpleasant.

He forced the thought of his parents away from his mind. This weekend wasn't about that. Kurt had said it was a surprise and that he wouldn't tell him where they were going until they got there. He trusted Kurt like he had never trusted anyone before, which was almost ridiculous, because they had known each other for just a couple of months and Blaine didn't trust anyone easily.

Maybe love came with trust. Maybe it was part of the deal.

Blaine sat down on the couch, allowing himself a few minutes to relax after a particularly hard day at the office. He wasn't going to feel guilty for this. He wasn't going to let his parents ruin what he could have with Kurt for an entire weekend, whatever it was. He was going to forget about everything and be happy for once in his life, without caring about how his actions reflected on his parents.

It was hard, but he was willing to try.

A knock on the door interrupted his train of thought and he looked up with a big smile on his face. Robert was already at the door, wagging his tail in excitement, so it could only be Kurt. He had never seen his dog react that way to any other person's presence.

"Coming!" He exclaimed, as he hurried to open up. He paused for a second to make sure his clothes looked good. He was wearing a black polo shirt and jeans. His hair was neatly gelled as usual. Taking a deep breath to steady his pounding heart, he pulled the door open and found Kurt standing there, with a matching smile. "Hi!"

"Hey!" He said, rocking back and forth on his feet. "Sorry if I'm a little late, I had to stay at the store longer than I thought."

"It's fine," Blaine moved aside to let him in, as Robert kept bouncing around them in excitement. As Kurt walked into the apartment, Blaine allowed himself to really look at him. He was impeccable as usual, with his tight jeans and a red knee-length peacoat that hugged his curves perfectly. "So… you're still not telling me where we are going?"

Kurt turned to look at him, biting his bottom lip playfully. "Nope."

"That's unfair. How do I know you're not kidnapping me and planning to take me to the middle of nowhere to kill me or something?" Blaine asked, also playfully, as he went back into the living room. Kurt had leaned down to pet Robert, who looked ecstatic.

"Well, if you really want to come with me, you'll have to take the risk," he answered. Then he stood up again and clapped his hands together. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I am," Blaine put the leash on Robert and grabbed his overnight bag.

Blaine closed the apartment and then the three of them got into the elevator and went down to the lobby, where Blaine informed the doorman that he'd be gone for the weekend. Kurt's car was parked outside. They put Blaine's bag in the trunk and then Kurt opened the backseat door so Robert could climb up. Brownie was in her cat carrier bag and looked at the dog with narrowed eyes, but with one warning from Blaine, the dog simply curled up on the seat and stayed there. Brownie visibly relaxed.

Kurt started driving as he told Blaine about a few things that had happened in the bakery that day. Blaine listened as if Kurt was telling him the world's most interesting story. Kurt's intention was to help Blaine feel at ease and comfortable, so he told him to scan through the music he had on his iPod to see if he could find something he liked. Blaine spent quite a time distracted with that.

Once the music for the road trip was selected (Blaine had chosen one of the many Broadway playlists Kurt had), they kept chatting, mostly commenting on things they could see along the road. In the backseat, Robert shifted closer to Brownie and started whining, trying to nuzzle the sleeping cat with his nose.

They were enveloped in a pleasant silence as the last vestige of the sun sunk down on the horizon, when Kurt started singing softly to the song playing on his iPod. It was Without You from the Rent soundtrack. He started really softly, barely a murmur filling the car, and he didn't seem to realize he was singing. His voice grew a bit with the music and he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm.

Blaine was immediately enraptured, staring at him with wide eyes. Kurt's voice was beautiful, almost magical. It was as soothing as his smile and Blaine felt a wave of warmth and pure happiness flowing through his veins as he listened to him. He had no idea how after all the darkness and all the bitterness in his life, he was now within touching distance of something – someone – who was nothing but a ray of light and sweetness.

He was so in love with him…

During a pause in the song, Kurt turned his glance towards Blaine only to find him pretty much gaping back at him. Kurt blushed intensely.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't realize I was…"

"You're perfect," Blaine said before he could stop himself.

Kurt blushed even more. Blaine closed his eyes and swallowed. Why don't you just go ahead and tell him you love him, you moron?

"Thank you," Kurt answered in a very quiet voice.

"I didn't know you could sing like that," Blaine continued, because, apparently, he wasn't capable of shutting his mouth. "You're very talented, Kurt."

"Thanks," he said again, shrugging. "I was in my school's Glee club. For a little while I thought of being a Broadway star and then I realized I wanted something less… complicated. Something I could control."

"I'm starting to wonder if there's anything you can't do," Blaine replied, causing Kurt to giggle.

"Did I mention I can fix cars?"

"Shut up, now you're just messing with me!" Blaine laughed. Had his heart ever felt so light?

"I'm not! I really can fix cars. Remember I told you my dad has a garage?"

"Well, what else can you do?" Blaine shifted a bit in his seat so he was sitting almost facing Kurt, his back tilted towards the door.

"Mm," Kurt seemed thoughtful. "I can dance, a bit. I'm pretty good with the sewing machine. I have a natural gift for shopping," he glanced at Blaine, with a mischievous grin.

"I'm not sure that's a skill, but… okay," Blaine conceded. "What else?"

"Shopping is serious business, Blaine," Kurt muttered severely, but Blaine could see he was only joking. "And… I don't know what else. I think that's it. What about you?"

Blaine was silent for what it seemed a long minute. He didn't look at Kurt and something tangible changed in the atmosphere between them

"Nothing, I guess," he said, softly, nonchalantly, shrugging as if it wasn't important.

Kurt gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter. "I'm sure you're good at something. We all are."

Blaine kept avoiding his eyes. He wanted to open up to Kurt. He wanted to be different with him than he was with other people in his life. He wanted to be himself, to stop hiding, to have someone like him for who he was instead of… well, to just have someone like him. Because he wasn't sure he actually knew anyone who did.

Kurt sighed, almost inaudibly, probably giving up, knowing Blaine wouldn't say anything.

"Photography," he said then and Kurt snapped his head to look at him. "I… I think I told you about that, the other night. I can take quite decent pictures."

Kurt's smile was absolutely breathtaking. "I'd love to see some, if you'd like to share them with me."

I'd share everything with you. "Yeah, sure…"

"What else?" Kurt encouraged him, shifting in his seat to be more comfortable.

"I… I can sing, a bit, too," Blaine admitted. He hadn't talked about any of this in years. "I wanted to join my school's Glee club when I was at Dalton, but I never did."

The reasons were unspoken, because they didn't need to be said out loud. It was just one more thing that Blaine's parents had kept from him. One more way to keep him away from any sort of happiness.

"Can you play the piano?" Kurt tried. "I noticed you have one in your apartment."

"Yeah, I play," Blaine nodded. "My mother sent me to piano lessons when I was a kid, but when I started showing too much interest when I grew up a bit, my dad decided it wasn't good for me, so…"

Kurt sighed. If he could only change time, change the way things had been for Blaine… but he couldn't he could only make a change for him right now, right then. And he was going to, somehow.

Before either of them could say anything else to continue their conversation, Robert started whining in the backseat. He seemed unsettled.

"I think he needs a bathroom break," Blaine informed, reaching back to pet his head.

They were practically in the middle of nowhere. There were fields on both sides of the road and the houses were widely spaced. Kurt pulled over and they both got out of the car, Blaine opening the door so Robert could climb down. Brownie was still asleep, so Kurt left her in the backseat.

Kurt stretched his legs, following the dog a few steps. They hadn't been in the car for that long, but it was nice to be in such an open space. The sky was beautiful as he looked up. Millions of stars were shining above him. It was a moonless night. Kurt took a deep breath, feeling the air filling his lungs. Everything was silent except for Robert's paws rustling in the grass.

He turned back to the car and saw Blaine had opened the trunk and was rummaging through the contents of his bag. He seemed to find what he was looking for because he zipped it shut again and closed the trunk. Kurt had just looked down because Robert was nuzzling his hand when he heard a clicking noise. When he lifted his head again, he found Blaine had a camera in his hands and was pointing at him with it.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, covering his face, but feeling a thrill inside of him at seeing Blaine taking pictures. "Don't do that! You have to let people know before you start taking photographs of them!"

"I like it better when it's natural," Blaine answered and when Kurt peeked in between his fingers, he took another picture.

"Blaine! Stop it!" He laughed, covering himself up again as he walked to the car, Robert following behind him.

Blaine pointed the camera somewhere else and took a couple of pictures of the fields surrounding them under the stars and one of Robert when he sat down at his feet. Kurt looked at him from where he was leaning against the driver's door, feeling the smile tugging at his lips.

This was progress.

Blaine kept snapping pictures once they were back on the road, mostly, of Kurt. Kurt protested, but, deep down inside, he was happy seeing Blaine with a camera, so he eventually let him do what he wanted. They were about to reach their destination anyway, so there was no point in complaining.

The fields disappeared and they entered a small town. Blaine looked through the window with interest, knowing it wasn't worth it to ask Kurt where they were and if this was the place they were supposed to go to, so he didn't say anything. He just hoped they were close to arriving to wherever Kurt was taking him because he was seriously starving. He saw a diner a few streets away and was about to ask Kurt to stop there so he could buy dinner for both of them, but Kurt took a turn around a corner before he could open his mouth.

They were now driving through a quiet neighborhood. Blaine was starting to get confused. Where could they possibly be going? Then Kurt started slowing down and finally parked the car in a driveway. Blaine looked up at the house. It was a nice, two story home that looked really cozy from the outside. The lights were on in three of the windows at the front. Next to Kurt's car, there was an old pick-up truck.

"Where are we?" Blaine asked, incapable of holding back the curiosity anymore. "Whose house is this?"

Kurt was about to answer but the front door opened in that moment and a woman came out of the house. It was a little dark to see what she looked like. Blaine frowned, even more confused, until a man appeared in the doorway and everything clicked into place.

"Is that… is that your dad?" Blaine muttered, choking a bit. What were they doing there?

Kurt had thought this was an amazing idea until this very moment. Seeing Blaine's expression, he hesitated. "Yes, he is… Blaine, is this okay?" He questioned, nervously. "I just… I wanted you to have a real Thanksgiving, to be somewhere where you could be relaxed and not worry about what people think of you… I… did I screw this up? Because if I did, I can take you back to Columbus right now. You don't even need to get out of the car, I swear…"

Blaine instinctively reached out and grabbed the hand Kurt had rested between their seats. He squeezed. "It's fine, really. It was very nice of you. I just…" he swallowed, very aware of the couple watching them from the house. "I just don't want to be in the way of your family time."

"You won't," Kurt's smile was gorgeous and full of confidence. "They're going to love you Blaine. I wouldn't be surprised if Carole wanted to keep you here forever by the end of the weekend."

Blaine gulped as he saw Kurt unbuckling his seatbelt and he did the same. He didn't really know how this would go, but Kurt seemed so happy to be there and, for some weird reason that Blaine couldn't understand, he wanted Blaine there with him.

Opening the door, Kurt got out of the car and that seemed to be the sign Carole and Burt Hummel were waiting for, because both of them walked towards them to greet them.

"Hey guys!" Kurt said with another smile, immediately being enveloped by his father's arms in a fierce hug. "How are you?"

Awkwardly, Blaine got out of the car, too, but took his time opening the backseat door and getting Brownie's carrier bag and Robert out, so he could give Kurt some time to hug his parents. They looked so genuinely happy to see him and Blaine felt like he was already intruding.

"Come here, boy," he said to Robert quietly. The dog obliged, jumping out of the car, but staying next to him, closely eying the strangers as if he were evaluating them.

Kurt turned around and Blaine was suddenly breathless. The expression on Kurt's face, the huge smile on his lips, the way his eyes were shinning… how could he be so beautiful?

"Carole, Dad, this is Blaine," he extended a hand inviting Blaine to get closer and he was very tempted to grab it in his. "Blaine, this is Carole and this is my dad, Burt."

"Hi, it's very nice to meet you both," Blaine said, politely and when he was about to shake Carole's hand, she pulled him into a hug.

"Welcome, Blaine, dear," she exclaimed. "It's so nice to have you with us."

"We've heard a lot about you," Burt added as Carole finally let go. The man patted Blaine's back in a gesture that was more fatherly than any of the ones he could remember from his own dad.

"Only good things, I promise," Kurt intervened, nudging Blaine with his shoulder. "Let's get inside, it's cold."

Blaine cleared his throat, still a bit in awe of the situation. He extended the bag where Brownie was still sleeping and ignoring the rest of the world to Kurt, who thanked him, the smile still glued to his face. They opened the trunk and got their overnight bags, too. Blaine insisted in carrying both, needing something to do with his hands.

Burt was scratching Robert's ears, who seemed very pleased with the attention. They all went into the house and Blaine was instantly overwhelmed by how cozy and warm it was. The sense of home was immediate. It was so different from his parents' huge, cold house, where everything was put there so it would look good, instead of feel good.

"You have a beautiful house, Mrs. Hummel," he said as Kurt closed the door behind them.

"Thank you, Blaine," she smiled sweetly. "And it's Carole. Don't make me feel old, please."

"You can take Finn's old room, Blaine," Burt announced, as he watched Kurt let Brownie out of her carrier bag. "You'll be much more comfortable than in the guest room. We never really finished that room."

"And that haunts me every day, Dad," Kurt said, sighing. Blaine turned to look at him, needing to focus on him every few seconds, as if Kurt was his anchor to reality. "Come on, Blaine, I'll show you where it is."

"Don't take too long, boys," Carole told them, before they even took a step towards the stairs. "Dinner will be ready in five minutes."

"Sure, Carole," Kurt nodded and then Blaine and he started climbing up to the second floor.

There were family pictures everywhere, hanging on the walls, framed on top of shelves and tables. Blaine wanted to stop and look at each one, but Kurt didn't seem to notice his interest, because he kept walking. He told himself he would have plenty of time to take a look. He was going to be there all weekend.

"Luckily for you, this is much cleaner than it used to be when Finn lived here," Kurt said as he pushed a door on the left open. "There was a point when I honestly thought we would never be able to get rid of the smell of sweaty socks."

Blaine chuckled as he followed him inside. It was a typical teenage boy's room, but a lot less messy. There were posters of bands and football teams on the walls, a few old high school textbooks on a shelf, a desk under the window, a board right next to it with notes and pictures pinned to it.

"Finn isn't coming for the weekend?" He asked, as he put his bag on the bed.

"No, he lives a few streets down," Kurt answered. "He stayed here with our parents for another year after I left, saved some money, and then bought a little house so he could start being independent. But, of course, he didn't want to be too far away. He wouldn't be able to survive without Carole's cooking."

Blaine gently touched the edge of the wooden desk. "This is great."

Kurt tilted his head to the side. There was nothing special about the room to cause that look on Blaine's face. "Really?"

"Yeah. I imagine it was even better when your brother lived here and it was a bit messy," Blaine glanced around, trying to picture it. Then, he crinkled his nose. "Well, without the smell of the socks, at least."

Kurt giggled as he walked towards the bed, where he sat down. He looked up at Blaine. "What was your room like when you were growing up?"

Blaine was silent for a few seconds, as if he was trying to recall the memories. "Not like this. I didn't spend too much time at home when I was a teenager, I was boarding at Dalton almost all year. At Dalton, we had weekly inspections to make sure our rooms were clean and tidied up, so I never had anything out of place. And at my parents' house… well, my mom had it decorated for me. Once I tried to hang a poster and she almost had a heart attack and yelled at me because she said I ruined the wallpaper."

Kurt couldn't believe how much Blaine was opening up in just a few hours. Bringing him to Lima with him had been a great idea. "Well, you can leave your clothes on the floor and let Robert climb on the bed here. We're not going to stop you."

Blaine laughed and rolled his eyes. "That's good to know, but I don't think it'll be necessary."

He took his coat off and put it down on the bed, neatly, right next to where Kurt was sitting. Kurt felt his hand tingling, wanting to reach out and touch Blaine somehow, grab his hand, cup his face, kiss his lips, anything.

He cleared his throat. "I'll let you get comfortable. My room is the door across the hall, I'll just go drop my bag there, okay?"

Blaine nodded. "Okay."

Once Blaine was alone, he allowed himself to look around a little bit. The room wasn't that big, but there were details everywhere. Being there, Blaine noticed, was weird and not weird at all at the same time, and that didn't even make sense. How could he feel so comfortable at a stranger's house? He didn't know what it was that caused him to feel like that, but it wasn't an unwelcome feeling. Just foreign, very foreign.

"Boys!" Carole's voice came from downstairs. "Dinner's served!"

Blaine sighed and left the room at the same time Kurt left his. They smiled at each other without saying a word and went down to the kitchen, where Burt and Carole were already at the table.

"Oh, Carole, everything smells delicious," Kurt said as he took his seat, right next to the empty one for Blaine.

"Thank you, honey. I'm no Kurt Hummel, but I try," she giggled and passed the salad to Blaine.

The conversation centered first on Burt's tire shop. Kurt hadn't been around in a while and he wanted to know how everyone was doing. He had known most of his father's employees since he was a kid, as he told Blaine, filling him in so he wouldn't feel left out. Burt said that Finn was doing a great job, taking more and more responsibility every day and that he was confident it wouldn't be too long until he could retire and leave the shop to his step-son.

Carole wanted to know everything about Ellie's. She had only been there once right after the opening day but had been too busy to come back. Kurt told her about the new recipes he had been trying (Blaine nodding enthusiastically at the ones he had tried and approved himself) and some of the weird customers he had had.

Blaine particularly liked the way the Hummels included him in conversation without making him feel like he was a nuisance and without addressing uncomfortable topics, like his own family or his job. He supposed Kurt had mentioned something to them prior to their arrival but, instead of feeling annoyed, he felt grateful.

They kept talking long after the food disappeared from their plates, until Kurt yawned, exhausted after a long day at the bakery and the drive to Lima. Blaine was very tired, too and the thought of going to bed sounded more than appealing to him.

"Why don't you go to sleep, guys?" Burt said, as he stood up and helped Carole clear the dishes. "You both need it. Tomorrow will be a long day, too."

"I think that's a fantastic idea," Kurt yawned again. He turned to look at Blaine. "Blaine?"

"I agree," he answered and they both stood up. "Thanks so much for dinner. It was delicious."

"It was nothing," Caroled brushed his comment away with a smile. "I'm sure you're used to amazing meals now that you have Kurt around."

"I am, he's spoiling me," Blaine laughed, without being able to stop himself from glancing at Kurt affectionately.

"I'm just using him to experiment," Kurt shrugged, with a mischievous shine in his eyes. "Good night, Carole. Good night, Dad."

"Good night, boys," they answered and Kurt led Blaine upstairs, quietly.

They stopped in the middle of the hall, as if they didn't know what to do. Kurt pointed to a door on the right.

"That's my room," he said. "If you need anything…"

"Thanks," Blaine smiled softly.

"Sleep tight, Blaine," Kurt hesitated for a second, but then seemed to make a decision and leaned to kiss Blaine's cheek, sweetly.

Blaine held his breath while Kurt's lips were in contact with his skin. His hands ached to touch him and keep him close, but he didn't allow them to move, and finally, sadly, Kurt pulled away.

"Good night," Blaine whispered and Kurt gave him one last smile, his stunning blue eyes fixed on him, before he closed the door.