"If you win, your cupcakes will be sold here for a month," Jeff read aloud. "We have to do this!"

"Agreed," David grinned.

"We'll split into four groups," Wes decided.

Kurt glanced at Blaine and was unsurprised to see him looking so interested. His boyfriend was like an excited puppy. Kurt sipped his coffee and listened as Wes split them up into groups. Kurt was pleased that Wes had put him with Blaine, Nick and Jeff.

"Kurt!" Blaine grinned, grabbing his hand. "This is perfect. You make the best cupcakes."

"Thank you," Kurt beamed at the praise. He looked at his watch and his eyes widened. "Damn, I promised Dad I would help him out in the shop today," Kurt bit his lip. "I have to go."

"Alright, I'll come by later tonight, alright?" Blaine told him. Kurt nodded, squeezing his hand and quickly said goodbye to their friends before heading to his car. Kurt jumped into his Navigator and drove to the garage. He parked and climbed out, heading inside.

He paused as he walked in and saw Burt talking to a woman. She was pretty but Kurt thought she needed a new haircut and she definitely needed to update her wardrobe. She was laughing at something Burt was saying and he ducked his head shyly, smiling. Kurt's eyes widened and he took a step backwards in surprise. His dad was flirting. It wasn't great flirting admittedly, but it was still flirting. And this woman – Kurt had never seen her before – was eating it up.

Kurt didn't know whether to go or stay. He stood in limbo for a few moments before his dad looked up and caught his eye.

"Alright, Carol," Burt said loudly, "your car should be ready in a few days."

"Thank you so much," Carol smiled.

"I'll call you a taxi," Burt smiled back and headed to the office to ring.

Carol gazed after him, biting her lip. Kurt internally shook his head and stepped into the garage, heading to the bathroom to change into his overalls. Kurt quickly hurried to the car Burt wanted him to work on. His father came back out and went straight to Carol.

"Taxi is on the way," Burt grinned, "should be about ten minutes."

"Thank you so much Burt," Carol smiled shyly.

"Come sit down," Burt said, putting his hand on the small of Carol's back and leading her to a chair. "I think we have some magazines."

Carol beamed, nodding her head and Burt quickly went to search of the magazines. Kurt was surprised to see that Burt stayed and talked to her until her taxi arrived and even walked her out and gave her money to pay for the cab – despite her protests – and he came back into work with an extra spring in his step.

Kurt continued to work on the car, though he was shocked. Kurt had never seen his father flirt with any woman or show any interest after his mother died. Of course he wanted his father to be happy but he had never seemed to be interested in moving on and dating.

"Hey Kurt," Burt said, coming up to Kurt a few hours later. "You can head home now."

"OK," Kurt nodded, dropping his tools back into his toolbox. "I think I'm going to visit mum."

Burt looked up sharply. "Sure. Everything OK?" He asked, a worried look on his face.

"Everything's fine," Kurt assured him.

"Alright," Burt nodded but still looked concerned.

Kurt cleaned himself up and changed his clothes and hurried back to his Navigator, heading straight to the cemetery. He parked and jumped out, buying the flowers as usual and made his way to his mother's grave.

"Hi Mum," Kurt greeted, settling on the grass and starting to make a daisy chain. "I've missed you. I'm good, Dad's good, Blaine's amazing, Dalton is amazing. The boys want to compete in a cupcake competition that's going on at the Lima Bean." Kurt continued to talk to his mother, filling her in on everything. "I love you and I miss you so much, Mum."

Kurt's phone rang and he dropped his daisy chain, fishing the phone out of his pocket. Blaine's name and picture was flashing on his screen and he answered it.

"Hi babe," Kurt answered softly.

"Hey, I'm at your house. Where are you?" Blaine asked, concern colouring his tone.

"With Mum," Kurt said softly, fiddling with the daisy chain with one hand.

"Everything OK?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah," Kurt sighed. "I'll be home soon."

"Do you need anything?" His boyfriend asked.

"Can you get the ingredients out for cupcakes?" Kurt replied. "You have a key, yeah?"

"Sure, no problem," Blaine said softly. "See you soon."

Kurt said goodbye and hung up, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He picked up the daisy chain and placed it over the headstone as he stood up. "Love you, Mum," Kurt whispered and made his way back to his car. He drove home slowly and when he got there only Blaine's car was parked, Burt was still at work. Kurt jumped out and headed inside. Blaine came out of the kitchen and pulled Kurt into a hug. Kurt nuzzled into his boyfriend's neck, inhaling his scent.

"Are you OK?" Blaine asked.

"I just want to bake," Kurt murmured and Blaine nodded, leading him into the kitchen. Kurt immediately dived right into baking, using his mother's recipe. Blaine just leaned against the bench, not wanting to get in his boyfriend's way. Kurt was a stress baker – but what he was stressed about, Blaine didn't know.

When Kurt put the cupcakes in the oven and set the timer, Blaine grabbed him by the shoulders and led him to the couch, sitting him down.

"What happened, Kurt?" He asked. Kurt tugged Blaine down and crawled into his lap, resting his head on Blaine's shoulder.

"I went to the garage and Dad was there, helping this woman," Kurt started, "and he was flirting with her. I've never seen him flirt with anyone before. Why hasn't he ever flirted before?" Blaine frowned and rubbed Kurt's back. "It's been nearly ten years since mum passed," Kurt continued. "Why has he never dated since then?"

"Maybe he wasn't ready," Blaine suggested quietly.

"Has he not been happy for all this time?" Kurt whispered.

"Is that what you've been worried about?" Blaine asked.

"Yes," Kurt sniffed and Blaine realized he was tearing up. "Why didn't I do something?"

"Oh babe, it's not your fault," Blaine soothed. "You both lost someone you loved and you both dealt with it in different ways. Maybe your dad wasn't ready to move on."

"But he's been unhappy," his boyfriend whispered.

"You don't know that," Blaine murmured, "Unless you ask him."

"I should ask him," Kurt nodded. "I have to know."

The timer went off and Kurt slid off Blaine's lap and hurried to get them out of the oven and onto the cooling rack. Kurt went back to his boyfriend and settled back in his lap. Blaine gently stroked his thumb over Kurt's cheekbones and he leaned into the touch.

"I just want my dad to be happy, Blaine," Kurt sighed. "He means everything to me."

"I know he does," Blaine soothed. "You should just talk to him."

"I love you," Kurt smiled softly.

"Love you too," Blaine replied, grinning.

Kurt leaned up and pulled Blaine into a kiss, which he returned happily. He pulled away and hummed happily. "Will you help me ice the cupcakes?" Kurt asked.

"You're going to let me help?" Blaine gasped and Kurt slapped his arm. "I'd love to help. Can we use this recipe for the competition?"

"Yeah, I don't think my mum would have minded," Kurt smiled and his boyfriend grinned.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick and Jeff bounded happily into the Hummel home, greeting Burt happily.

"I suck at baking," Jeff declared as he came into the kitchen to find Kurt and Blaine getting ingredients out.

"It's OK, so does Blaine," Kurt grinned and Blaine pouted.

"I'm not that bad," he protested.

"You nearly set fire to the oven the other day," Kurt reminded him and he flushed.

"It was an accident," his boyfriend pouted and Kurt placed a chaste kiss on his pouting lips.

"It's OK, Blaine," Jeff patted him on the back. "I served a raw chicken one time."

They all shuddered and Nick patted his back sympathetically. "You and Blaine can be on dishes," Nick told them and they nodded, thinking that it was probably a wise decision.

Kurt and Nick got into it quickly, whipping up the mixture in an instant. Nick scooped the mixture into the patty pans and when they were full Kurt passed the bowl to Jeff and Blaine who started to eat the left over mixture. Kurt rolled his eyes and put the cupcakes into the over and set the timer. Nick and Kurt watched as Blaine and Nick started the dishes.

"Kurt," Burt said, coming into the kitchen. "Do I get any of these?"

"What happened to last the batch I made?" Kurt asked.

"Well, Blaine took some to Annie and Edward and we ate the rest," Burt explained.

"Oh," Kurt frowned. "I guess you could have one. We have to submit three."

Burt grinned and the boys chuckled, Kurt rolling his eyes. The timer went off and Kurt took them out and placed them on the wire rack to cool. The boys talked in the lounge room while they waited for them to cool and finally they could start icing and decorating them.

Kurt made the icing quickly and divided it between them all. Kurt giggled as he watched Blaine ice his cupcakes, his tongue sticking out with concentration. He glanced at Kurt's cupcake, which was perfect as always. To be fair, Elizabeth had been the best at this and had taught Kurt all her secrets. Usually Blaine was too preoccupied with not getting on his clothes to pay that much attention to her tips.

"Damn Kurt, that's epic," Jeff breathed and everyone looked at Kurt, who blushed.

"I like baking," he shrugged.

"And cooking," Blaine added. "You have to taste the risotto he makes."

Kurt nudged Blaine with a blush and his boyfriend just grinned at him. When they were finished, Kurt grabbed them a plastic container and put them inside, ready to deliver them to the Lima Bean.

"We should get these over," Nick said and the boys agreed.

"We'll be back soon, Dad," Kurt called out.

"Drive safe," Burt replied and they headed out.

"We are so going to win this," Jeff grinned and Blaine beamed back at him.