Chapter 15

"Why are you upset?"

Blaine stared at the soft green painted ceiling in his little cousin's room before he found the energy to shake his head at the question. They both lay on Mikey's racecar bed incredibly wide awake at close to 5 in the morning. Blaine had reason, he believed. Everything that happened a few hours ago between him and Kurt was slowly but effectively eating at his insides. He'd gone between feeling slightly nauseous to having a headache that seemed to only affect one side of his head, and then right back to feeling nauseous.

What made Blaine really upset with himself was the fact that he left Kurt's place to begin with. He wanted to stay. He wanted to fix them. He wanted to hold Kurt and kiss him and just breathe him in. Most importantly, he wanted all of this to be a dream and to wake up as happy as they had gone to sleep earlier that night. But all of it happened and Blaine felt sick to his stomach.

It was the first time he'd ever seen his boyfriend cry. The sight damn near destroyed him. Just knowing that Kurt was crying because of something he'd done threatened to tear him apart. Blaine didn't even want to think about it. He remembered kissing Kurt and feeling his boyfriend's tears make contact with his skin. He remembered how once their lips touched, every ounce of pain and all of his insecurities began to dissipate, but once he heard Burt's voice and the panic sunk in, there was no other option but to leave. Everything came back and hit him at once. He didn't see himself staying when Kurt's phone continued to go off and his boyfriend apparently saw nothing wrong with that. And to bring up something totally irrelevant like Sami just to try and make Blaine feel like he was at fault was a low blow. Besides, Burt would've known something was up anyway, and one angry Hummel was enough.

Blaine sped home in his Lexus; his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. The place was so lonely when he got there. Just about everything in the beach house made him think of Kurt and he had only stepped into the living room. Diesel was asleep when he got there, but Blaine picked him up and headed back out to the car.

He'd been staring up at the ceiling in Mikey's room for hours, listening to the boy's soft breaths as he slept and replaying everything in his mind. There were about ten different times that Blaine picked up his cell phone to text Kurt like he said he would, but he didn't. He just didn't. Instead, he continued to look up at the ceiling.

Sleep was definitely out of the question tonight, it seemed.

Then there was Mikey, who about twenty minutes ago tossed in his sleep to find a heavy arm draped over him. He shook himself out of his slumber to discover the culprit was Blaine; his cousin laying there in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top as he toyed at the locket around his neck. Automatically, Mikey knew something was wrong. For starters, the only time his cousin came into his room like this was when Blaine was sad or didn't want to be alone. With Blaine moving to the beach house weeks ago, finding the teen cuddling him made him worry. Blaine was quick to reassure him, though.

"Once again Munchkin, I'm not upset. Go back to sleep." Blaine's voice was flat as if he didn't even want to bother trying to sound convincing. "You know Aunt Pam is taking you to start your soccer classes today and it won't be fun at all if you're sleepy."

Mikey played with the paw of one of his stuffed animals as he looked at his cousin. Blaine closed his eyes and his eyebrows furrowed, letting out a long, deep breath. For a moment he stayed like that, grabbing the toddler a bit closer because he knew the little boy wasn't listening. Mikey climbed on top of him and lay down on his chest, looking up at the scruffy faced, curly haired cousin he admired so much.

"Go to sleep, Mikey."

"I'm not sleepy," Mikey told him as Blaine's eyes opened to stare at the ceiling once more. He hated seeing him so sad. "I slept good, I promise you."

Blaine didn't even bother arguing with him. If they were quiet he knew the boy would drift to sleep again within a matter of minutes. If that didn't work, nothing was more successful than a song.

"The other times you came in here to sleep were because you were missing your dad. He's looking down on us, Blainey. Ariel is too. Mommy tells me all the time."

Blaine smiled as he played in the boy's curly hair, nodding his acknowledgment to his cousin. He could really use his dad right now, or even one of those sloppy kisses on the cheek from his little sister, but there was comfort from knowing they were with him always. "I know they are, Mike. I'm telling you I'm ok. Let's both get some shut eye, alright?"

After hesitating to answer, Mikey finally nodded his head yes. The boy grabbed his stuffed toy he named Brownie and made the teddy bear kiss Blaine on the cheek. He kissed it next and lay down on top of his cousin, finally closing his eyes.

"I love you."

Blaine kissed him in the hair, squeezing the little boy tighter. "I love you too, Munchkin."

Mikey hummed, getting comfortable. He knew Blaine would feel better later. "I think you should call Kurtie. He always makes you feel better."

Blaine smiled to himself as he rubbed up and down the boy's back. "I know he does. But it's very late right now."

"Hm," Mikey hummed and shifted a bit, and Blaine watched as the boy brought Brownie a little closer to him. "Maybe it is, but he'd answer. You both are always there for each other, aren't you?" he looked up to see Blaine and his cousin nodded.

"Yeah."

Mikey smiled and Blaine tried not to laugh at just how wide it was. The boy turned back and rested his head on his cousin's chest. "If that doesn't help, you can come out with us when we go on our Chuck E. Cheese's date. I'm gonna take Kurtie out one day this week." The toddler completely missed how his cousin's eyebrows rose at the statement, "I've been saving up my 'lowance money big time, Blainey."

"So you're taking Kurt out on a date to Chuck E. Cheese's? Is that what you're saying?"

Mikey didn't answer at first, but a light voice spoke after a moment. "And if it is?"

You little twerp. "I'm so on to you, Mikey."

"You should come with us. I'm going to win Kurtie a prize or two."

Such a little twerp.

"Why am I just now being invited?" Blaine asked with a teasing voice, knowing his little cousin could be just as smooth as him. "If I wasn't sad, you wouldn't have even told me huh?"

"So you are sad," the boy held his head up and his golden eyes looked directly into Blaine's. "Why?"

Blaine smiled and looked up at the ceiling again. "It's stupid grown up stuff, Mikey. And if I did tell you the whole neighborhood would know before the day was over."

Mikey sighed as he lay down again, closing his eyes. "Just come with whenever we go."

Blaine nodded though he didn't give a vocal response. He simply smiled and continued to rub the little boy's back, a little in disbelief at how much of a mack Mikey was, but then again when you spend five years getting dating tips from Cooper and Blaine there wasn't much to expect.

And the little boy had succeeded in making his cousin feel less like shit.

Blaine found himself staring up at the ceiling another five minutes later. Sleep was definitely out of the question. And now, his mind was back to running a mile a minute and he seriously felt sick.

Once more, he thought maybe he'd text Kurt, and once more, he didn't.

He would speak to him at a more appropriate hour.

….

"I can't believe I let you feed me this… stuff, kiddo. What part of a turkey does bacon come from?"

Kurt joined his father at the table and ignored him as his phone vibrated from a text message from someone he was sure wasn't Blaine—the same Blaine that promised to call him when he got in last night. "Eat your breakfast, dad. I'd hate for us to be late to the shop."

"That's not a viable answer," Burt took a bite of his scrambled eggs and looked down at the plate, "and I know it's because this ain't bacon. Fakin', definitely. Bacon, nuh uh."

"Dad," Kurt tiredly smiled up at him as he picked up his phone, "seriously. Eat it. You'll live… and that's kind of why I would like you to eat it."

"You eat it first."

Kurt rolled his eyes at him which garnered a 'don't roll your eyes at me, Kurt' and took a bite of the turkey bacon in front of his father. Burt watched him chew and Kurt tried not to laugh. "You see? I'm not trying to poison you. It's healthier than that junk you get from the deli next to the shop and if you want to see my wedding day like you insist you do, I think you'll eat the breakfast."

From Justin:

Mall today? I can't go alone with David. You know that.

"About that wedding day of yours," Burt swallowed some of his pancakes and glanced up at his son, "are we still sure it's going to be to Blaine? I don't know what I walked in on last night but it didn't look pretty."

Kurt looked away from his screen and up at his dad. "He hasn't called and I haven't called… I don't know if I should be the one who does when he told me that he would…" he shrugged, "I just never had a fight this serious with a boyfriend before. I'm not exactly the most experienced."

Burt nodded at his son before taking a stab at the bacon. The fork wouldn't even go through. "It sounds serious, Kurt."

Kurt decided to answer Justin later as he hummed acknowledgement to his dad. "Yeah, it was pretty serious. He's mad at me about something and I'm pretty mad at him about something else so it was like two fights at once."

"How do you feel about him now?" Burt asked sincerely. He watched for sincerity on Kurt's face as his son responded to him.

"I love him, dad, and that's not changing. I just want to understand what's going on with us right now."

Burt nodded.

"To be honest with you, we both have a right to be upset. Both of us," Kurt took another bite and thought about his next statement as he chewed, "I'm willing to work it out with him if he is actually willing to do the same. But I stayed up all night and he hasn't even called."

"You know he loves you, right son?"

Kurt put his fork down and nodded. That was something he didn't question. The boy tattooed his name on his chest and everything. "I know he does, but if I ever have to question if he's being honest with me… I don't know. I shouldn't jump to conclusions but I know that if I can't trust someone I'm with I don't want to be with them."

Kurt's face was serious enough to make Burt question just how bad things were between them. The man was expecting a little quarrel over something foolish. He didn't think it'd be anything other than that. "I don't blame you. Never lower those standards, Kurt. You hear me?"

Kurt nodded.

Burt tugged at his cap before finally deciding to take a bite of his 'fakin'. Kurt smiled as he watched him chew, and chew, and chew…

"It refuses to go down, kiddo."

"Just swallow it," Kurt smiled and shook his head, returning back to his meal. "You're ridiculous."

….

From Kurt:

I'm actually working at the shop with my dad for most of the day. What time are you guys going?

"I need those shoes like you need a haircut. And I'm going to buy this Gucci bag for school when it starts; I swear the university won't know what hit 'em!" David fixed his Polo and winked at himself in the mirror. Justin rolled his eyes.

To Kurt:

Like from now until your shift is over, I'm sure. Don't worry, though. I'll fake a sickness or something. Have a good day, bro. Love you.

"You're actually worse than all my old girlfriends combined, David," Justin stood up and stretched as David checked himself out one last time, "So are we going to get going or…"

"We're going," David turned around and grabbed his cell phone. "Are Nick and Jeff joining us? I know Blaine has the appointment with his mom."

From Kurt:

Love you too. And remember, you could always be going shopping with me, so be thankful.

"They're still not talking," Justin replied after smiling at the message. He made his way to the front door and stepped out, "Nick is still freaked out over it I guess."

David rolled his eyes as he locked the door behind him. "Nick's going to be the one that gets married and realizes he's in love with one of his best friends."

Justin shrugged. "They'll work it out, I'm sure."

David sighed as he walked towards his car. "I sure hope so."

….

"Ok. You're about 14 weeks along now, Mrs. Anderson. We're at about 160 beats per minute which is excellent," Blaine listened to the baby's heartbeat as Dr. Smith spoke; the older man moving the instrument over his mother's abdomen, "Of course you can't feel any movement just yet but things are looking pretty good. We can see his or her forehead right here," he gestured to the screen with a smile and Blaine looked at his mom, "and this is the nose, chin, here is the jaw bone, and the baby is sticking the right hand up right here."

The doctor turned off the heart monitor and smiled as he got better view of the baby. Blaine was in awe of the little life forming. He stared at the screen as Dr. Smith pointed out a few more things to the two of them; his mother lying back with a soft smile.

"So the thumb is here, right in front of the face, and here are the other fingers." he moved the tool to the left a bit and smiled, "he or she is a an active one, too. Look at those legs move."

"Bicycling does run in the family." Clarissa said with a smile. Blaine looked over at her and smiled too.

The idea of having another little brother or sister scared the hell out of Blaine. He didn't even bother lying to himself. Ariel meant the world to him, and losing her and his dad was the hardest thing he'd ever faced. Still, he remembered the excitement he had when his mother and father told him and Cooper that they had a little sister on the way, and the feeling he had that evening didn't match what he was experiencing now.

Now, it was more fear and anxiety than anything else.

Kurt was excited, as was Nick and the others. Even though they knew that the baby's father was Victor, they were happy for Clarissa and the family as a whole. But Blaine, he was pretty much scared.

Despite that, he agreed to come to the ultrasound with his mother when she asked. He put a smile on his face and pretended that everything was fine. It wasn't, of course, but he wouldn't tell her that.

"Would you like to see if we can figure out the sex of the baby now? It is early and the accuracy probably won't be 100%, but we can try if you'd like."

Clarissa smiled nervously while staring at the screen. "That's fine. I'd rather wait until I'm further along…" she took a deep breath and faced her doctor. "So…. No worries as of now?"

Dr. Smith studied the monitor a few more moments before glancing over at Blaine's mother. He gave her a confused expression as he tried to read her. "No worries, Mrs. Anderson. Why would there be?"

Blaine stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he looked around the doctor's office. He hated anything that resembled hospitals and had a rather embarrassing fear of needles. This time wasn't that easy either, being that he could sense his mother's uneasiness during this pregnancy. She probably had concerns too.

Clarissa exhaled a bit as her doctor awaited a response. She definitely had concerns, and the idea of going home without voicing them didn't seem like a wise choice. "I guess I'm a little fearful because of my age. I'm past 40. I know there are risks and to be completely honest, I am a little frightened."

Blaine switched his attention from his mother to Dr. Smith. Her words still lingered in his ear and he tensed; the thought of there being any complications honestly scared him. Clarissa did feel bad asking what she asked aloud, knowing her son was in the room with her and it'd probably frighten him as well, but asking him to leave would just make it even worse, she imagined. And in the case that something would happen, at least they'd be able to talk about it and face it together.

At least that was what Clarissa had hoped.

Blaine gulped as he awaited an answer. Thankfully, the doctor was calm as he responded. His relaxed nature put Blaine's anxieties at ease a bit.

"You have nothing to worry about, Mrs. Anderson. In fact," he turned to smile at her, "the last thing I want you to do is stress. Yes, sometimes there are difficulties during the pregnancy of an older mother that wouldn't typically occur with someone younger, but a lot of the time there's not. Do not stress yourself out. It isn't healthy. You're in good shape, you eat well, you're taking your folic acid and vitamins—everything is going well."

Clarissa took a deep breath; her attention switching from her doctor to the little baby forming in her womb on the monitor. "Ok."

Blaine turned his attention to the monitor as well.

"That's good to hear," she continued. "It's just that I…" as the woman trailed off, she glanced to her son who didn't seem to want to give her any acknowledgement at all. His eyes moved away to the posters on the walls and he stared at a few of the doctor's instruments-anything not to have to think about what his mother was about to say. She sighed and continued anyway. "I lost my daughter and husband a few years back. She was about to turn 3. The thought of losing another—"

"Don't finish that sentence." Dr. Smith removed the tool off the cool gel covering Clarissa's belly and Blaine finally looked up. "We are going to continue to do everything to make sure this little boy or girl is healthy and that you are as well, Mrs. Anderson. Now this was a successful checkup. I—"

"C-Can I have a picture?"

Both Dr. Smith and Clarissa glanced over to him; the doctor a little shocked because this was the first time he'd spoken since the two walked into the office-at least besides a mumbled hello after a firm but uncomfortable handshake. Clarissa smiled a bit as her doctor spoke.

"A sonogram picture?"

Blaine nodded to the older man and watched Dr. Smith click on some of the images they'd taken. "Yeah. For my boyfriend."

That made Clarissa smile. She turned to Dr. Smith who nodded and replied. "Sure, Blaine."

As the picture printed out, Blaine tuned out of the conversation his mother was having with her doctor. It seemed to be small talk and little things about what to expect and the other visits they'd have anyway, so if it was anything important he reckoned she'd mention it to him at some point. Instead, Blaine pulled out his cell phone and checked the time. It was a bit after noon, leaving him enough time to see the guys and maybe even Kurt. If he wanted to see him, that was.

If there was a time to see Kurt, it was definitely now. The week ahead would be busy. There were only 7 days until the championships and besides practice for that, there was rehearsal for their Pace audition and his entrance exam was on Wednesday. There was so much going on and now was the time they should be focused on each other, not arguing over the things they were upset about.

But Blaine couldn't deny that he was still upset.

He'd already contacted Dave on Facebook and told him there'd be consequences if he spoke to Kurt again. Dave responded that whenever Kurt got tired of speaking with him, he'd leave him alone, but he wasn't taking direction from Blaine.

Blaine said that he couldn't wait to meet him when he and Legacy went to Ohio in a couple weeks.

Blaine did regret contacting him because Kurt would probably be even more pissed, but he wasn't having it.

His mother and the obstetrician had finished speaking by now and the room was quiet. Dr. Smith smiled at the picture of the ultrasound before turning to look at Blaine. Clarissa sat up, ready to go until her next appointment, when she noticed how out of it her son looked. She called him a couple times and smiled, pushing curly locks out of her face as he snapped out of it.

"You okay, sweetie?"

Blaine nodded quickly as he accepted the sonogram from Dr. Smith. The man smiled at him. "I'm fine, was just thinking about something."

Clarissa grabbed her pocketbook as she observed her son. He looked down at the photo and stared for a while; eyes focused as his thumb trailed over the photo. She tried not to cry as she watched him, wondering if he was thinking about Ariel and if he had the same fears that she did.

Blaine was scared. He often thought 'what if' and scolded himself for it, but it was true. What if every time he looked at his little brother or sister, he saw Victor? What if he heard everything Victor said about Kurt that night? More importantly, what if he didn't even get to hold him or her because something went wrong? It frightened him, honestly. Just knowing that he was already falling in love with this baby and all he saw was this tiny picture, it scared him.

He just didn't want to lose again.

Clarissa thanked Dr. Smith once more, and he assured her it wasn't a problem. The man reached out his hand to shake Blaine's again, and Blaine looked up from the photo, nodding his thanks and taking the man's hand in return. As they left, Blaine held the door for his mother and followed after her, a sigh of relief leaving his chest with the thought that it was over.

Clarissa led the way to the lobby. She glanced back at her son who was sliding the sonogram picture into his wallet, and the wallet into the back pocket of his jeans. With a soft but obviously forced smile, he put his arm around his mother and kissed her cheek.

"I didn't really want to ask those questions with you in there, Blaine. I should've thought about that before I asked you to come."

Blaine listened, nodding his head. He didn't think he'd want to hear it but his mother's honesty with the situation did make him feel slightly better. "It's fine. Its reality and your concerns involving the baby are my concerns as well. That's my little brother or sister."

She nodded with a soft smile. As Blaine walked to the exit and pushed the door open for his mother, he spoke again. "Like the doctor said, you shouldn't stress yourself out."

"I'll try not to." she smiled hello to a nurse entering the building before walking up to her car. "I promise that much."

Blaine was parked directly behind her in front of the small hospital. He looked over at the woman and sighed, hoping he could work up that courage honestly and not have to put on a front. He really wanted to be strong for real and not have to pretend. As she dug for her keys, she turned to look at him with a smile. Blaine took his hands out of his pockets and smiled too.

"I love you, mom."

The woman held her arms out and Blaine laughed a little. "C'mere, sweetie."

They hugged goodbye tightly. Blaine held his mother close and took a deep breath, trying not to think too much about the whole situation. There was a lot on his plate right now and being in mom's arms felt too good.

As Clarissa pulled away, she leant up to kiss her son on the cheek. "I love you too, Blaine." They pulled away and she pushed the button to unlock her car. "I better get back home. Kiss Kurt for me, okay?"

He pulled up his hood. "We're—Of course." He remembered not to stress her out and quickly changed his words from 'we're fighting right now' to 'of course' before she could notice what had happened.

Blaine didn't move until his mother had gotten in the car and pulled off. As she drove out of vision, he let out a deep breath and pulled his cell phone out once again, going to get in his own car. He noticed a text from Nick once inside and replied that he'd be at his place shortly. There was so much to be done, but maybe he could get his thoughts in order for a little while.

….

From Farrah:

I told you my uncle wouldn't be on board with not giving Kurt an audition. What else do you have?

Peter sat his bike down in the yard and replied to the message.

To Farrah:

I'll take it from here, darling.

….

"I can't believe you still suck at this game, Blaine," Nick put some popcorn in his mouth as he pressed buttons on the controller; "I thought you would've gotten better by now."

"I have a lot on my mind," Blaine told him, "and unlike you, I think I'm going to deal with it instead of spending all weekend in the house to avoid it."

Nick continued to play the game. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, bro. I'm in the house because Don told us to take the day off."

Blaine selected a character as he nodded. "You could've gone out with David, Jus, and Jeff, yet you're in here with me—"

"Well why don't you go out with them now, B?"

Blaine shook his head. Now his friend was getting snappy. "I have problems of my own I need to fix. Just like you, actually." Diesel climbed onto Blaine's lap as they continued to play the video game. "You're always so quick to dish out the advice but now you're here being a punk. It's very disappointing to be honest with you."

Nick ignored him.

They continued to play in silence for another couple rounds and Blaine reached for his cell phone, checking the time. His best friend glanced over as he lounged back on the sofa. "If you have somewhere to be, don't let the disappointment hold you back, Blaine."

Blaine smirked and rolled his eyes. "Why haven't you told Naomi?"

"Blaine, I don't—"

"Why haven't you?" the rider turned to look at him, pausing the video game as Diesel's squeaky bark filled the room. "We all know you two love each other."

"And that's why," Nick answered in a small voice, "I love her, B. We've been together for years and she's not Victoria. She won't find this adorable or funny, or any of that. I cheated on my girlfriend and I can't deal with it."

"You do know that this wasn't purposely, right?"

"Blaine," Nick laughed a little and shook his head, "buddy, this happens every freaking time. I only remember one time because you dragged me out of his fucking lap when we were kissing. How do I explain that it just happens?"

Blaine shook his head and looked away. "I think she'd appreciate you telling her something happened rather than keeping silent about it. Nobody wants secrets kept from them in a relationship where there's supposed to be trust."

The door opened and one of Nick's little sisters walked in with her scooter. He turned away from her and looked at Blaine. "I'm starting to think this is about you and Kurt."

Blaine patted Diesel on the head as he shrugged. "This is something in general, Nicholas. If you hide it from her it makes you a cheater. And you don't want that."

Nick looked down.

A few more rounds of gaming and after Blaine lost again, he quit. Nick glanced over at him suspiciously as the younger teen put his feet up on the coffee table, turning his attention to Diesel as he held him to his face. "What's eating you, anyway?"

Blaine waited until his best friend put a movie on to reply. "Kurt and I had a fight because of Sami and this guy that goes to his old school."

The way Nick's eyebrow rose was a little comedic, but Blaine couldn't find the strength to laugh. "Why were you fighting over Sami? And this isn't Chandler we're talking about, right?"

Blaine shook his head. "That name doesn't ring a bell. But the kid's name is Dave Karofsky. He used to bully Kurt back in Ohio… and not the 'give me your lunch money' type of bully. He made his life fucking hell, Nick."

The brunette turned to face him as Blaine sat Diesel back down. "And I still don't know what happened because of Sami. I mean I have nothing to hide, bro. I just don't get it."

"When did you two argue?"

"I was staying at his place last night when everything blew up and… his dad came home and I don't know. I left."

Nick turned the volume down a little bit as he waited for more. More never came. Blaine just stared at the television along with him.

"Have you two spoken?"

Blaine shook his head no. "I'm thinking about going over to his place when he gets home. I would rather see him in person. But something tells me he's texting that asshole right now and it makes my blood boil, dude. You don't understand what he went through with that kid. It makes me fucking sick that he'd even be okay having a casual conversation with him."

"I know the name from somewhere," Nick thought aloud. Blaine turned to him curiously. "I think I've seen him talk to Justin on Facebook at some point."

"Karofsky?" Blaine questioned with skepticism.

Nick nodded. "I think that's the name, yeah. But I still don't get the big deal, B. Kurt would never cheat on you with a dude states away. That's the whole reason he broke up with his ex."

"I'm not saying he's cheating, Nick. But the fact that he knows that I can't stand this dude's guts, and the fact that I told him he wasn't supposed to speak to him and he's hiding text conversations with him now…"

"You just can't tell him not to talk to someone, man." Nick put his feet on the coffee table as well. His mother was at work so it'd be fine. "That's a bit controlling. He can make smart decisions for himself anyway."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Nick, this guy threatened his life after stealing his first kiss. He also spent years tormenting him for being gay. If I ask Kurt not to speak to him that shouldn't be a big deal."

Nick's face turned serious. "What?"

"You heard me." Blaine faced front again and shook his head. "This is the guy that Kurt's been texting behind my back."

"Can I ask what kind of messages they were? Like … are they flirting or something?"

"No," Blaine told him, "according to Kurt, he's forgiven him, and the guy just needs someone to talk to. He's gay and is having a hard time adjusting, or some bullshit."

Nick chuckled sarcastically. "That's not exactly bullshit, Blaine. Not everyone can just embrace cock like you have." he gestured to himself, "It may've been a walk in the park for you, but it's a big fucking deal for the rest of the world."

Blaine noticed Diesel was falling asleep as he took everything his friend said into account. He knew that he came to terms with his feelings for Kurt rather quickly. He also knew that not everyone else was able to just accept the fact that they liked or even loved someone of the same sex. None of that changed the fact that he despised Dave Karofsky with all of his being. "I understand that, Nick. I have nothing against him for it and I wish him the best. I'm sure he can get his shit together with someone who isn't my boyfriend, that's all."

Nick nodded as he turned to him. "You're selfish and maybe even a little heartless."

Blaine nodded too. "That's me."

"And your dad would probably tell Kurt the opposite of what you're telling me."

That struck a nerve. Blaine turned to face him and Nick didn't even look the least bit apologetic. "So, now about Sami."

"What about her?"

Nick reached for more of his snacks as he replied. "How did she react when you told her about you and Kurt?"

Blaine looked back to the television and hesitated with an answer. "I didn't tell her about me and Kurt."

That got Nick's attention. "Is there a reason that you didn't?"

"I just didn't," Blaine said defensively. "Our conversations have been brief. But when we meet up to catch up and all, I'll fill her in on everything."

Nick took another bite of popcorn as he nodded. It got quiet after that, and Blaine knew it was because his friend had something incredibly judgmental to say.

"What is it, Nick?"

"What's what, Blaine?"

Blaine sighed. "Just spit it out."

"Fine," the boy began, "Let's say Kurt has an ex that shows up out of the blue and he never talks about you. They start spending time together without you—"

"Don't even finish the thought, Nick—"

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because this is nothing like that. I have nothing to hide."

"Then you'll tell her."

Blaine scratched tiredly at his jaw. "I always intended to I just haven't yet."

Nick nodded.

Both friends watched whatever was on television for a while longer. Blaine actually pretended to watch, as he imagined his best friend was doing. They both had a lot on their plates at the moment, and Blaine didn't know what he would do if he didn't make things right with Kurt. He had to make things right with Kurt.

"I have to make things right with Naomi."

Blaine sadly faced his friend and patted him on the back. "Dude. It'll be fine."

Nick shook his head. "I don't know man."

"You love her, right?"

"With everything."

"And she loves you," Blaine said quickly. "You and Jeff were a mistake, according to you…" Blaine trailed off, "I haven't asked him how he feels about it yet."

"He'll just make some joke and change the conversation." Nick told him. "That's what he does all the time."

Blaine smirked. "And you just yell at everyone and change the conversation."

"Whatever, dude," Nick sank down on the sofa and stared at the television. "I'm not losing her. That's all I know."

Blaine let go of a long breath. "I suggest you and Jeff fix whatever it is between the two of you. Maybe you should stop getting drunk if it'll save your relationship… I guess that's the only time you find him attractive…"

"I don't find him attractive, Blaine. I… I don't know what the hell is going on."

Blaine looked down at his cell phone again and ignored it when it was only Santana. She could wait.

"I'll talk to her, and to Jeff," Nick took a deep breath, "but I just want to spend a bit of time not thinking about anything right now. I'd appreciate it if my best friend would keep me distracted for a little while."

Blaine smiled and looked up. "If you do the same for me."

"Deal."

….

Who would've thought that working on cars would be Kurt's sanity? Burt definitely didn't think so 10 years ago. Not when Kurt was painting his dad's nails and demanding they have tea parties with Quinn every other Saturday. Not that anything was wrong with it, because if he had another child right now who wanted to play dress up, he'd find his tiara… not that he had a tiara…. But here he was in his shop in Long Beach, and his son was totally engrossed in his work as he played around with the transmission of a Nissan Maxima.

It felt good knowing that they both had something they could go to as an escape. He didn't know the specifics of what his son was facing with his boyfriend, but as Burt explained to Blaine some time ago, there'd be bumps in the road. Whether or not they wanted to climb them together was the question.

Burt believed that they'd work it out.

As for now, seeing Kurt lost in his craft was a good thing. His hands were dirty; he had a smile on his face as he got to know the other guys in the shop; a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. This was good for him.

Burt found working on cars as an escape too. Whenever he and Elizabeth would argue, he'd go to the garage. When he'd lost her, he literally threw himself into his work. It was probably unhealthy and not all that great for Kurt, but it was therapeutic and it helped bring them closer together as the years went by. It took the stress away for certain.

Kurt hummed to himself as he slammed the hood of the car down. He winked at his dad and dusted his hand on a rag over his shoulders. "All done. Told you I'd beat you."

Burt smiled and looked back down at the engine he was replacing. "Well I started on that car last night so you honestly had help."

"Uh huh," Kurt grinned and walked over to his dad's side, looking over his work. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, old man."

"Why don't you go do an oil change or something?"

"Because I'm starving," Kurt wiped his hands once more for good measure as his dad considered telling him about the smudge of oil on his forehead. He just smiled instead. "Is there anywhere around here with something that would clog our arteries or should I just drive down to Layla's?"

"I brought you both something, actually." Blaine said, trying to smile when Kurt turned to face him but standing frozen in his spot. He felt immobilized when his boyfriend's eyes met his.

This was a dumb decision to come here.

Burt had the murder face on. He hadn't seen that since he and Kurt first got together.

Kurt was sort of frozen too. It was safe to say that he wasn't exactly expecting his boyfriend to show up at his father's shop, especially not with lunch and what looked like two coffees. He looked up to Blaine again and gave a small smile this time, trying to fight his loss for words. "Wow, Blaine. Um, thank you for that. You didn't have to…"

Blaine simply nodded but didn't move, and Burt rolled his eyes as he looked back down at the car he was working on. "Why don't you put everything over here instead of standing there, bud?"

Blaine's eyes were still fixed on Kurt, but once his brain caught up with what had been said, he nodded. "Y-Yeah, no problem."

Kurt looked back at his father's work as Blaine stepped over, walking around him and placing the food down. He put the tray of coffees next to it and took a deep breath before facing the Hummels. "I got a couple sandwiches and that Caesar salad you love," he looked at Kurt, "plus a couple coffees. I drove to a place that had non-at mochas and everything."

Kurt ignored Burt's smile as looked over to his boyfriend. "You really didn't have to do that, Blaine."

Blaine stood there for a moment and Kurt automatically knew what he was thinking as his eyes moved down Kurt's uniform and back up, not so subtly admiring the coveralls he was wearing. Kurt cleared his throat and Blaine glanced back up, licking his lips and looking away.

"Um, so—"

"Don't you two have something you need to talk about?" Burt cut Blaine off to ask his son the question. Kurt turned to him as he grabbed the rag again.

"Yeah," Blaine answered quickly. The sound of tools clanking in the background distracted him for a bit before he continued, "I came to talk to you if that's okay."

"It's perfectly fine," Burt turned to face and pulled at his cap, "take 10 outside for a bit. I need Kurt to come back in and eat so he can help me out a bit afterwards."

Blaine put his hands in his pockets as he nodded to him. "That's perfect." He turned to Kurt who had his arms crossed over his chest a little defensively before he led the way.

"Go," Burt told his son. "You want to, and you both need to. Just be back here so you can eat and start that oil change, you hear?"

Kurt turned without a word and followed after Blaine. The teen had gotten past the reception area and to the entrance of the building, glancing back to see if Kurt was actually coming. When he saw him, he waited a bit, and Kurt put his hands in the pockets of his coveralls as they walked.

Each boy was quiet until they got outside. Blaine went straight over to where he parked and leant against his vehicle, looking up and down the quiet block. Kurt found shade under a palm tree and leant against it, waiting for Blaine to speak. He figured he would speak first, at least.

That didn't happen, of course.

"I only have ten… well 8 now, minutes, so if you're not going to say anything, I may as well go back inside, Blaine."

Blaine continued to stare down at his sneakers. He could sense Kurt getting agitated and cleared his throat. "I want to talk."

"So talk, Blaine."

He looked to the opposite end of the block now and could see cars driving along the main road. "I want to fix us…"

"Why didn't you call?" Kurt's voice broke a little when he asked it and he hated that it did. He was so done with feeling weak. Blaine stood up a bit straighter and turned to look at him. "I was actually worried about you, Blaine."

"Well you see that I'm fine, right?"

Kurt stared at him for a while before nodding. "I'm glad that you're fine, Blaine. I stayed up all night waiting for a phone call but you're fine. That's great, actually."

"Baby," Blaine sighed and turned his body, "I did not come here to argue with you. That's the last thing I came here to do."

Kurt stood up and walked over to his father's building, leaning against the wall. They went back to being quiet again and Blaine watched him for a moment. He honestly wanted to talk things out but Kurt looked fucking delicious. It was obvious that God hated him today.

"Kurt?"

Kurt looked up from the ground. "Yes, Blaine?"

"Are you still talking to him?"

Blaine watched his face as he waited for an answer and Kurt confidently shook his head no. "I haven't answered him back being that you were so upset. I haven't even looked at the messages. I hope it makes you happy but it makes me feel like a terrible person."

"I think I had right to be upset though."

"Maybe you did." Kurt told him. "I know how you feel about him—"

"Yet you texted him behind my back…" Blaine said, still watching him. Kurt took a deep breath.

"Because he needed me, Blaine. He needed someone to talk to and you would not have been okay with that—"

"I have my reasons," Blaine shook his head and looked away. "And that someone doesn't have to be you."

Kurt shook his head, not even sure if he wanted to reply. He was exhausted and this could honestly go on forever. Blaine steadily stared at whatever his focus was drawn to now and Kurt looked off somewhere too.

"It doesn't have to be me, you're right. But it is."

Blaine nodded, still not moving. Kurt stared up at the sky and resumed. "If I had someone to talk to, I probably wouldn't have spent so many nights in tears. And I don't want anyone to face what I faced, whether it's him or not."

"You could've told me that, Kurt." Blaine said, looking up at him.

Kurt agreed. "Yes, and I should've, but I didn't because I didn't want last night to happen. For that, I was wrong. I'm sorry about that…and I'm not trying to be anyone's savior but I did forgive him for what he did and I've moved on. Maybe you should too."

Blaine stood and started to walk over to where Kurt was. "I don't want to. I don't have to, either." Kurt watched as he approached and sighed at his stubbornness. "C'mon, babe. He treated you like less than a human and I don't ever have to respect him if I don't want him, and I won't."

"Okay."

Blaine stopped in front of Kurt and wiped the smudge of grease off his head. "Okay?"

Kurt let his eyes open after Blaine touched him. "Fine. But now you know what's going on with him now and I expect you to trust me."

Blaine smiled and returned his hands to his pockets. "I trust you, but I don't want you talking to him."

"Well you don't get decide that." Kurt told him. He saw Blaine's face change and stood firm. "That's not your choice."

Blaine bit his cheek to stop from saying something he would definitely regret. He looked to his left and saw one of the guys from the shop step outside to take a smoke. Kurt leant back against the wall and watched his boyfriend's tension building all over again.

"I'm a big boy, honey. I've been telling you that since I met you. I may not be as rough as you but I can definitely handle myself."

"And I'm not saying you can't—"

"Well then you don't need to worry about my friends, then." Kurt told him softly. "Just trust me."

Blaine nodded though he disagreed with that completely. He didn't see himself getting on board with that. "Does that go both ways?"

Kurt shrugged as golden eyes found his again. "As long as you don't give me reason to doubt you, I don't see a problem."

"But you think I've given you reason to doubt me…" Blaine implied more than questioned. Kurt looked up again and took a deep breath.

"I have the hugest headache right now, Blaine."

Blaine nodded. "If you don't want to talk to me, then just say that."

Kurt let out a light laugh as another one of the employees stepped out, walking over to his car. "That's not what I'm saying. You're jumping to conclusions."

"Alright, Kurt." Blaine took a few steps back and looked down the block, his side facing his boyfriend. "Alright."

Kurt licked his lips and turned away. "I guess what I don't get is how you don't understand why this bothers me. If the shoe was on the other foot, you'd be hurt too, and it isn't fair."

Blaine nodded. "I don't understand how you can think I have something to hide, Kurt, but whatever."

"You're going to lunch with an ex of yours who has no idea that you have a boyfriend. She doesn't know you're with someone at all. Forgive me for thinking that was a little suspicious, Blaine."

They were both quiet for a moment and Blaine shook his head before pulling his car keys out of his pocket. "You know, you can't say you love me if you don't trust me."

Kurt knew that much was true. He looked at his boyfriend and stood up straight. "And you can't expect me to trust you if you hide me from random girls, Blaine. Whether you agree with me or not—"

"Kurt, I'm not hiding you from anyone…"the guys looked over as Blaine's voice rose and Kurt looked at them until they went back to whatever they were doing. Blaine calmed down a bit before resuming. "If you want to meet her just say that and stop trying to make me out to be some asshole!"

The sarcastic smile was back and Kurt shook his head in disbelief. "The fact that I'd have to ask you to introduce me to someone from your past that was clearly special to you makes me question a lot of things, Blaine. And I don't want to have to ask to be acknowledged in your life. If you wanted me to be there you would've invited me. I hope you enjoy yourself. My ten minutes is up, though."

Blaine's shoulders sagged in defeat and he watched his boyfriend prepare to walk away. "Kurt… please stop being like this and talk to me."

Kurt stopped short and turned to look at him. "I literally have nothing else to say about the topic. We both said what we have to say, right?"

"If you don't want me to see her then I won't." Blaine answered. "I'll let her know now."

"You've missed the whole point but I have to get back to work," he pointed back at the building as he back tracked. "Seriously, go out whenever you two planned to and have a great time. And thanks for lunch, again. Next time I'll get us something—"

"So that's it?" Blaine asked in disbelief.

Kurt sighed and stopped walking. "Blaine, I'm not sure what else you want me to do."

Blaine shook his head and turned to face his car. "Alright then. I guess we'll talk."

Kurt smiled a little sadly. "That means you won't call again. Okay."

Blaine walked over to the driver's side and looked back at his boyfriend. "Just call me when you're done for the day and we'll go out somewhere. I didn't sleep either so I'm going to get some rest."

Kurt nodded. "I'll talk to you later, Blaine."

Blaine looked at him in his uniform once more before getting in the car. Kurt about-faced and walked to his dad's shop, not waiting for Blaine to drive off. The guys stared at him as he stepped inside, someone whispering 'his boyfriend is Blaine Anderson?' before he was out of ear shot. Nothing out of the ordinary.

When Kurt was over to his father's station, the man was in his office with their food. Kurt already knew that he was expected in there so he stepped inside, closing the door and taking a seat.

Burt glanced up from his paperwork as he placed his coffee down. He took one look at his son and smiled. "Two stubborn people in a relationship. What a pairing."

Kurt took a drink of the non-fat mocha without even looking at his father, and holy hell it was delicious. He continued to ignore the man's eyes on him as reached for the salad and dressing.

"Would you like a relationship counselor? Your old man is a pretty smart man."

"No thank you."

Burt smiled before taking a bite of his turkey sandwich on rye. Kurt shook his head at the man as his phone vibrated.

"I bet that's him saying he loves you or something of the sort."

From Blaine:

I love you Kurt.

Kurt looked at the message and took a deep breath. "I think we both acknowledged where we were wrong, at least I did, but he just doesn't want to compromise with me on anything. It's always Blaine's way or the highway."

Still, he replied:

To Blaine:

I love you, too.

Burt nodded along to his son's words. "Well you have nothing but time to work out the kinks, Kurt. Every fight isn't going to be fixed with one conversation. It's a work in progress."

Kurt put his phone on the table and looked back to his lunch. "I get that."

"Lizzie's mother used to say that if it's meant to be, it'll all play out."

Kurt smiled. "I know, dad."

Burt smiled at him too. "I totally missed the opportunity to bring up the condom wrapper just to see his face…"

Kurt put his fork down and pushed the salad away.

"He left a sonogram here, too. I didn't know you got him pregnant. Maybe you'll get a new condom brand…"

"I'm going back to work, dad."

Burt smirked as his son grabbed his food and went outside. It was great being a dad.

….

Blaine woke up about 10 pm from a few missed calls and text messages from different people. His mother left a message about something regarding Pace admission, Cooper texted him 17 times about something that Blaine didn't care to check right now. Sami texted him about seeing Jus and David at the mall. She also said she couldn't wait to see him. Nick called three times but didn't leave a message, and Kurt called once and didn't leave on either.

Blaine sat up and scratched his head. He only called Kurt back but didn't get an answer. It made sense that he'd be asleep since it was no doubt a long day for the both of them.

He made his way to the shower and twenty minutes later made his way out. Diesel was demanding to go out and Blaine lazily got dressed, putting the purple leash on his Boxer and heading out the home.

His phone began to ring when he was close to the area his uncle's shop was in. Blaine reached for it to see Kurt's name and quickly answered, shushing Diesel who found the opportunity to bark at a stray cat.

"Hey."

"Hey," Kurt's voice sounded calmer at this point. "I'm sorry I missed your call, I was asleep."

"I figured so," Blaine nudged his puppy along as they walked back towards the beach. "I was too. Are you up to hang out tonight? If not tomorrow is fine."

Kurt hesitated a bit, Blaine noticed, but after a second or two he replied. "Tonight sounds good. We need to rehearse anyway because this week is going to get insane for the both of us, you know."

Blaine nodded his head as he held the phone to his ear. "You're right. So I'll come pick you up in maybe 15 minutes. I'm walking Deez right now."

"Okay. See you in 15, then."

"Bye." Blaine hung up the phone and put it in his pocket, wasting no time getting back to his place. A blue vehicle slowly drove by and he waited until it had past to cross the road.

….

From Eric Milton:

I'm having a dinner at my place during the week and I'd like for you and Blaine to join me.

Donald glanced at the message as his son ran his mouth.

"It was a duck that had big teeth and lasers; they were coming from his eyes papa. I saw them."

Don nodded as he replied to the message. "So I take it you don't like soccer, then."

Pam rolled her eyes at her son. "I was at soccer practice too and I didn't see any of that, Michael."

"I did." he told them adamantly.

To Eric Milton:

Blaine and I have a busy week. All of the kids do, actually. After the championships we can set something up.

"The worst part about all of this is he was really good at soccer. Like Blaine and Cooper good."

Mikey looked up from his coloring book. "They played soccer too?"

Pam smiled and nodded. "When you go spend the weekend with CJ, he'll show you a few tricks."

Mikey smiled.

From Eric Milton:

If you don't want the board to know about Blaine's and Peter's bet and how you were informed and didn't withdraw your nephew, you'll come. I'll text you back with a date and a time, old friend.

From Eric Milton:

You know what. I have nothing but time on my hands now. I'll be at your place in an hour.

….

Kurt had gone over to Blaine's place with the intention of talking things out some more and working on their song for their audition. There wasn't much talking or rehearsing right now.

They were at the piano. Their lips were attached. Blaine had awkwardly worked his way into Kurt's lap and had a fistful of his hair as their tongues touched. The last thing Kurt wanted was to get turned on and have this turn into make-up sex because he knew that there were things that they really needed to talk about, but Blaine didn't seem to have the same wishes.

At some point, his shirt touched the floor. Kurt let out a sharp breath as his skin made contact with the cool fabric of the sofa. Blaine settled between his legs and leant down to meet his lips. He was already hard and Kurt let a moan slip when he felt it touching his thigh. Before he could process how good it felt having Blaine grinding against him, he heard his boyfriend's ringtone going off.

Somehow, he automatically knew who it was.

"Ignore it," Blaine whispered, groaning as he thrust against Kurt's clothed cock. "Focus on me…"

Kurt closed his eyes as one of his hands dug into the sofa. "You know it's her, right…"

Blaine bit his lip as he slowly slid up and down. "I don't give a damn if it's Michelle Obama and you know how I feel about Michelle Obama…"

Kurt tried not to smile but failed, laughing a bit until it turned into a moan, "Baby…"

"You forgive me, right?" Blaine spread Kurt's legs and trailed his hand down to his crotch, palming him through the pants he wore. "I hate it when you're mad, beautiful."

Kurt thrust up and closed his eyes. The phone finally stopped ringing as he spoke. "I—I hate it when you're mad too… but we should probably talk—Blaine…"

Blaine smiled a little as he worked his hips. He came to a pause and leant down to kiss him. "Can we talk in the morning? Please… you looked amazing today and I had a nice dream about you bent over the Lexus and—"

Kurt kissed him for a moment before lying back down. "Did you really ask me to come over here because you were horny?"

Blaine kissed across Kurt's jaw and back to his lips, deepening it a minute later. Kurt didn't fight it this time, and as Blaine bit playfully on his bottom lip he sighed and thrust up.

They kissed a bit longer and Blaine sat up. He began to work on undoing Kurt's pants and pulling them down. "I didn't call you over because I was horny. I think we needed to see each other, don't you?"

Kurt watched Blaine toss his pants elsewhere as he nodded. "Definitely. I don't want us to fuck through all of our problems, though."

"And we're not, I swear," Blaine kissed him as he untied the string of his shorts, "If you don't want to do anything I'm not going to make you, baby."

Kurt didn't say anything as Blaine started to kiss down his chest. He stared up at the ceiling; lips parted as his boyfriend worked his lips lower and lower. "Blaine…"

And then someone was banging at his front door. Both boys jumped and Blaine began to pull his clothes up, quieting Diesel who started to go crazy. Kurt sat up quickly and pulled at his boxers. "Who the hell?"

"Hold on," Blaine tossed his boyfriend his clothes and walked to the door where the person was banging again. "Just a minute!"

Diesel was at the door going crazy and Blaine waited until Kurt was decent before opening the door. His uncle looked pretty displeased as he turned to face him, and Blaine gave him a confused look.

"Um. No disrespect Unc, because I love you. But you couldn't have called?"

"You couldn't have answered?" He answered monotonously. "Milton knows about you and Peter. He's threatened to tell the board. It's over, Blaine."