Kurt was nervous and excited all at the same time. There was something about Blaine that he just couldn't describe...a small voice in his head told him he was falling for him, but he shoved that away. He couldn't fall for Blaine, not when he couldn't even be upfront with who he really was.

He cursed as he banged his knuckle with the wrench he was using. "You alright there buddy?" his dad asked, wiping his hands on a towel as he walked over.

Kurt nodded, pulling himself out from under the car he was working on. "Yeah, my hand just slipped.

Burt nodded. "When's this friend of yours coming over?"

"Should be here any time now," Kurt replied. Burt smiled at him strangely. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just...it's nice. You making friends. I know it's hard for you..."

Kurt sighed. If he only knew. But that was the point; he didn't want his father to know, he shouldn't have to worry about stuff like that. "Blaine's different."

Burt clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm glad. You deserve to have a few good friends."

Kurt smiled wanly as a car pulled into the lot. "I think he's here."

*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

Burt smiled at the newcomers as they got out of their car. "Hi, I'm Burt Hummel, Kurt's dad," he introduced himself, offering his hand to both Blaine and his father. "Kurt's right inside, buddy, if you want to head in."

"Thank you, sir," Blaine mumbled shyly. "Bye Dad,"

Mr. Anderson nodded. "Goodbye. I'll pick you up from the Hummel's at nine o'clock sharp, alright?"

"Yes, dad,"

The boy ducked inside quickly. Burt couldn't help but smile after him. He turned back to Mr. Anderson, who shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. "You have our address, right? Are you sure you don't just want me to drop Blaine off? I'd be more than happy-"

Mr. Anderson shook his head. "No, it's no trouble. You're already doing enough taking him the entire day."

Burt looked at him strangely, but ignored the little twitch in his gut at those words. "It's our pleasure. It's nice to see Kurt finally making some friends."

A peculiar look crossed Mr. Anderson's face. "Is your son...you know, too?"

Burt frowned. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

Mr. Anderson looked mildly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and leaned in a little closer, whispering conspiratorially. "You know, out."

Burt shook his head. "You mean as in gay?" Mr. Anderson nodded. "My son's not gay."

"Of course, my apologies," Mr. Anderson backtracked.

"But so you're saying that Blaine is. Gay."

"Yes." Mr. Anderson stiffened. "Is that going to be a problem?"

Burt gave him what he hoped was his most reassuring smile. "Of course not."

"Good, good," Mr. Anderson muttered. "Well, I'd better get going. Have a nice day,"

"Wait," Burt stopped him. "Why did you think that Kurt was gay?" A knot formed in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't chase away.

"Mr. Hummel...can I call you Burt?"

"Sure thing,"

Mr. Anderson took a deep breath. "Look, since Blaine came out, his so called friends have been...less than supportive."

"Let me guess, they abandoned him."

The other man nodded. "More or less."

"I see,"

"I just...you know how kids can be. They're cruel. I guess I just assumed that Blaine found someone else like him who won't judge him."

"My son is a very compassionate young man, Mr. Anderson," Burt replied, an edge creeping into his voice for no apparent reason.

"Please, it's Mark. And I am sure he is, again, I am sorry for jumping to conclusions. I'm just glad Blaine has found a friend. He's smiled more this past week than I have seen him smile in a long time. I'll always be grateful to your son for that."

Burt nodded, feeling a sudden pang of pride towards Kurt. "It goes both ways, you know." Both men nodded with the mutual understanding. Burt held out his hand, which Mark shook firmly.

"Have a good day, Burt."

"You too," Burt replied, standing there until the car pulled away.

Mark Anderson's words swirled around his head. It wasn't as if he had never contemplated the possibility that Kurt might be gay. He and his wife had suspected it for years. It had been apparent early on that Kurt wasn't like the other boys. And as hard as it was to accept initially, Burt wouldn't have his son any other way.

He didn't care if Kurt was gay. Sure, he wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. The whole thing made him a little uncomfortable, he didn't know much about how those sort of things worked. But the one thing he did know was that he loved his son.

Which is why he had never asked him about it. He hoped that Kurt knew that he could talk to him about anything, even that. The last thing he wanted to do was to confront Kurt with erroneous assumptions which would alienate his son even further.

Shaking his head, Burt entered the shop. Blaine had put on an extra pair of coveralls, one of Kurt's it looked like. Even though Kurt wore a slightly smaller size, the cuffs of the pants were rolled at the bottom, slightly too long for the boy's short frame. He watched the two boys for a few moments from the doorway, unnoticed. Kurt was explaining all of the different tools to Blaine, who was nodding along in acknowledgement. There was a spark in Kurt's eyes that hadn't been there in ages. The last time it had been this strong was before his mother died. And his smile. It was so wide, so natural, so...carefree. Happy. Not until he saw that did he realize just how miserable Kurt had been lately. It felt like someone twisted a knife in his stomach. He was the dad, he should have been able to tell something was wrong. But Kurt kept things in, just like his mother. It didn't help that sometimes it felt like they were speaking an entirely different language altogether.

"How's it going so far?" he asked, finally deciding to break the spell. Kurt started, his face shifting ever so slightly, becoming a little more reserved. It broke his heart; his son shouldn't have to hide from him. He made a mental note to talk to Kurt later. Or at least give him an extra long hug.

"Pretty great!" Blaine said, beaming. "This is so cool! I can't believe Kurt knows how to do all this."

Burt chuckled, walking over and clapping Kurt on the shoulder proudly. "Well, he learned early. I think as soon as he could stand up straight I had him out here."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I learned how to walk trying to run away..." he mumbled.

Burt fake glared at him. "You know you had a blast." He turned towards Blaine. "I used to send Kurt's mother and him up on the car lifts. He loved it, never seen a kid that happy."

"Dad," Kurt groaned, clearly blushing.

Burt laughed. "Sorry, kiddo, I'm your dad. It's my job to embarrass you.

Kurt merely rolled his eyes, returning to his work. Burt clapped him on the shoulder and turned to Blaine. "It's good to have you here, kid. Let me know if you need anything."

Blaine smiled at him bashfully. "Thanks."

No, Blaine, Burt thought as he walked away. Thank you.