Burt got the whole story out of Kurt easily. A little too easily actually. Kurt was itching to confide in someone about the whole thing and who better than his dad. He didn't offer too much in the way of advice, he mostly listened. He did, however, make one comment. "Well Kurt, here's what I know. You've told me more about Blaine, who you've known for a month, than you did about that Tyler bloke who you dated for a year. And quite frankly, I feel like I'm not getting the full story here."

When Kurt asked him to explain what he meant by the full story he just deflected which was extremely irritating. Kurt had told him everything, what did he mean by that? He continued to think it over and eventually some things fell into place and the truth, which was probably there all along, was brought to the surface.

Tyler had been a great boyfriend. He didn't forget anniversaries, he knew just how to cheer Kurt up on a bad day, and he, upon discovering Kurt was a virgin, never pressured him, and when they eventually did it he was sweet and caring the entire time. Kurt was still so insecure though, his past still haunting him, and Tyler didn't know how to deal with it. That wasn't the reason they broke up but it did put a bit of strain on their relationship.

Still, Kurt fell more and more in love with him each day. Under normal circumstances he would have gushed to everyone about it, and he did with Rachel and Santana, but with his dad he didn't. There was still some lingering uncertainty about how he would react, but beyond that there were other reasons. Kurt had the mentality during most of the relationship that he didn't deserve Tyler. He honestly could not see why Tyler had chosen him. To tell his dad, to have Tyler meet the family, it seemed too big an investment in someone Kurt was sure would eventually leave.

When they broke up it hit Kurt hard. Tyler hadn't cheated, he wasn't cruel about it, only honest. They had been growing apart. Their interests didn't overlap much at all, and with both of them getting busier, school and an internship for Kurt, medical school for Tyler, finding time to spend together was becoming more of a burden. Later Kurt could admit this, but at the time he saw nothing but Tyler leaving him.

Kurt had wanted to think he outgrew that and found confidence in himself, and he had in many ways, but as he examined his experience with Blaine he saw some scary parallels. The thought of Blaine leaving him had been so painful, so daunting, that Kurt had done it himself. He threw excuses at Blaine in the hopes that it would make them come true, but excuses is all they were. Deep down, it was his own insecurity that ruined this. This deep seated fear, that was planted in a small town in Ohio, that he would never be good enough.

&&&&&

The summer passed in fits of energy followed by slow, hot stretches. Kurt would get an idea and work for days on end from the time he got home from work to the time he fell into bed, leaving only the bare minimum for sleep. Other times he would go weeks without a solid idea or direction, spending days on a garment only to scrap it in a frustrated outburst at two in the morning.

He was more volatile than ever before and he knew why. It wasn't that he needed a man in his life, but the way things went down, and the thought of seeing him in just a month was wearing on him. Kurt wanted him back but he had no idea what to do.

The only boy he had ever actively pursued was Finn back in high school. After that he was much more cautious, and when he came to New York, where the boys was bolder, it was easier to just let them come to him. But now he couldn't sit back and relax.

For a long time Kurt was stuck on trying to figure out who had technically ended what he and Blaine had, but eventually he realized that wasn't the real problem. The problem was Kurt refused to start something. It wasn't about having to wait three months that bothered Blaine, it was that Kurt hadn't wanted to have a real relationship with him. For that reason Kurt would have to be the one to fix things, and he was ready to do that.

Kurt was debating telling Rachel his plan, or rather lack of one, the morning they walked into a little coffee shop in SoHo. Kurt was picking up some more fabric and Rachel had insisted she come with him, claiming they didn't spend enough time together anymore. The topic of Blaine had just come up again, because ever since Kurt had spilled to her she brought it up as often as she could, when he saw him.

"Shhh, shut up!" Kurt hissed, giving her a jab in the side. As soon as the lady with her three kids passed Kurt was able to see again and yup, that was definitely him. He was sitting with a smartly dressed asian guy who looked a few years older than him and Kurt tried to ignore the flame of hurt in his chest. They didn't look very cosy but even if that wasn't his boyfriend, Kurt had to assume at this point Blaine probably did have one.

"Who are you looking at?" Rachel asked as she tugged him forward to close the gap in the line.

Kurt turned to face forward and said, "No one," but Rachel wasn't fooled. It only took her a few seconds to follow his line and sight and gasp, and then to pull him away from the line and towards to table.

"That's him isn't it? Well let's go over there! You said you wanted to get him back didn't you?"

"No way," Kurt said, planting his feet. "Besides, I already have a plan."

She stopped. "Seriously! What is it?"

"Well uh, I haven't ironed out the details yet but..."

Rachel, hand on her hip, huffed and raised her eyebrows. "That's what I thought. Now after we get our coffee we're going over there, no arguments!"

As they waited for the few people in front of them to order Kurt fiddled with his ring and tried to stop himself from glancing over at their table every few seconds. If Blaine noticed him he hadn't looked over here yet. Soon they had their coffee in hand and Rachel, true to her word, practically corralled Kurt over to the table by the window. Blaine's back was to them as they approached so the asian man noticed them first and gave them a strange look.

"Hey, Blaine," Kurt said just as he swiveled around in his seat.

Blaine's eyes widened and Kurt saw his fist which was resting on the table clench and unclench a few times.

"Kurt, hi."

The silence that followed was excruciating but Kurt was determined to push past this; they were adults after all. And while this wasn't the time to get him back, Kurt could show him that he still cared. "I was just picking up some stuff for my collection," he said, raising his bag, "and I thought I'd say hi. How is yours going?"

"It's coming along, and I'm sure yours is already great." The complement seemed forced but it was better than nothing.

Rachel then jabbed Kurt in the side and made a tiny, agitated noise. "Oh right, this is my friend Rachel. Rachel, this is Blaine, a fellow contestant on Project Runway."

"It's so great to finally meet you," Rachel said, reaching forward to shake his hand with an almost manic smile. Kurt blushed at the insinuation and although he didn't comment, the slight quirk of Blaine's lips left Kurt cringing.

"This is my friend Wes," Blaine said, and Wes nodded slightly. Whether the piercing gaze was in response to something Blaine had told him about Kurt or just his normal expression Kurt didn't know, but it was making him uncomfortable.

"Okay well... it was nice seeing you..." Kurt said, ready to make an exit.

"Yeah, see you in a few weeks," Blaine said.

Once they were outside Kurt breathed a sigh of relief, but with it came regret. Maybe he should have tried to apologize- Blaine might be confused if he tries to get him back later when he didn't do anything now. But then he thought back to Rachel and Wes being there and he realized there was nothing he could have done.

"He's cute," Rachel said, linking her arm in his. "You two are going to make an extremely attractive couple. You know it's too bad your kid couldn't have both-"

"Rachel," he said with a sigh, "I messed things up remember? Please, just let me get him back before you start with all your insanity."

&&&&&

"So that's him," Wes said once the bell had rung to signal their exit.

Blaine nodded jerkily and looked down at his coffee which was now lukewarm. It was so unexpected that the entire time Blaine felt like he was grappling for how to act. Should he have been cold? Should he not have talked to him? Obviously not, but Blaine didn't know how to be around him anymore. He didn't know what Kurt wanted from him.

Then of course there was Rachel's comment about having heard about him. The little creature in the back of his mind whispered that Kurt had been making fun of him- telling Rachel all about how desperate and weird he was- but Blaine pushed it away. Kurt might not want to be with him, but he'd never act like that. Plus, there was a blush on his cheek as she said it so dare he hope maybe...

"Blaine, stop thinking," Wes commanded. "That guy has given you enough trouble this summer already." Blaine started to protest because really, he'd barely mentioned Kurt at all, but Wes continued, "Don't think I haven't noticed how down you are, or the fact that you keep rejecting the guys I try to set you up with."

"Lawyers are stuffy and boring," Blaine complained, all in good fun.

Wes wasn't having the mood change, though. "Seriously, be done with him. Focus on clothes. Go back to that competiton, win, and then never see him again."

Blaine frowned at the thought. Never seeing Kurt again... that just seemed so extreme. But maybe Wes was right, maybe Blaine was still in denial about all this. In his mind, Kurt had ended it. If he thought seeing each other only in secret constituted as any kind of healthy relationship he was wrong. And he didn't seem too upset with his decision judging from that short conversation, so he probably should just get over the guy.

"You know what, maybe I will give that guy Ben a call," Blaine said.

"Good man," Wes responded, taking out his phone to text him the number.

&&&&&

With only two weeks until competition time Tim came for his summer visit. Blaine was the last of the four designers to be visited and therefore he had the least time to make any changes. Albeit, he also had the most work to show Tim so there were definitely pros and cons.

To his embarrassment, nobody was with him when Tim came. Most designers had their families or friends there but it just hadn't worked out for Blaine. His parents politely declined his invitation and Cooper, who would usually be all up for any screen time, had an audition he simply couldn't miss. To his credit he really did sound sorry but it still hurt. Blaine had at least thought his roommate Josh would be there but his sister was getting married so not only would Blaine have to miss that, which he'd been looking forward to, but he'd also be alone. Wes had offered to come over but Blaine let him off the hook. He was a shy guy who knew nothing of fashion and Blaine knew it would just be uncomfortable for him.

If Tim was surprised when he opened the door to find only Blaine in a cramped apartment he didn't show it and Blaine welcomed him along with the camera crew inside. Things were social at first, Blaine served him some cheese and wine and since it wasn't too hot they sat on the small patio outside to talk. Blaine explained how he was living with a friend from college and Tim made jokes about the cleanliness of the apartment- something Blaine worked hard on the last couple days because while he was pretty neat, Josh absolutely wasn't- and the conversation was kept light.

A drizzle began to fall as they were finishing their wine and that was their cue to get back inside and start the real reason for the visit. Blaine's hands fiddled with the buttons on his shirt as he led Tim to the back room and once they stepped inside Blaine averted his gaze, still messing with his shirt.

Tim hummed quietly and walked the length of his clothes rack, sifting through the pieces on it. Blaine held his breath as Tim turned to him and then he sucked in quietly, realizing what Tim was waiting for. "Right, okay so, this is my collection. I was inspired by the city, New York that is, so the buildings are where all the geometric shapes come from."

"Ah, another one inspired by the city," Tim said quietly, shaking his head when Blaine asked him to repeat himself.

"I know I need to have at least one gown, and that's what I'm working on now," Blaine pointed to the near empty manikin, "but I'm having a little trouble."

"Well now, I don't like to think there are any requirements for fashion, but I think your collection would do well with a gown. Just make sure it fits in with the collection as it is, you have a very strong cohesive link at this point."

Blaine nodded, biting his lip as he watched Tim look over his clothes again. "I like it," he announced, turning to face Blaine.

A smile washed over Blaine face and he let out a sigh of relief. Now that he knew Tim was on the same page they could talk specifics. Many of the necklines and lengths of the dresses were similar, and Tim expressed his concern, but Blaine stayed strong. He wanted the geometric theme to be portrayed not just in patterns but in the overall shape of the garments too. He did agree to vary some elements though- Tim was the expert after all. Despite everything Tim still thought the collection was a bit too commercial, so Blaine promised to use the next two weeks to be more adventurous.

Tim was in the midst of adamantly warning Blaine, with hand motions and all, not to forget how important styling was for the final show when he tripped and almost banged his head against the wall. Blaine yelped and grabbed his arm to steady him. "Oh my god I'm so sorry are you okay?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine," Tim said with a slightly forced chuckle. The thing that had tripped him was a guitar and Blaine quickly moved it from where it was leaning against the wall to the very back corner. "You play?" Tim asked.

"Yeah," Blaine said, "this used to be my music room. My piano is at my friends and my keyboard is in that closet over there."

"You did win that music inspired challenge," Tim said with a warm smile.

The camera crew got a couple more shots of his house and of Tim and him together before the went out the front door. Blaine followed them to it, hugged Tim goodbye, and, with hesitation, asked, "So, how did all the other designers look?"

"Now, now, you know I can't say anything about that," Tim scolded lightly. "But he's doing well, and his collection is fantastic obviously."

"I- what?" Blaine stuttered out but Tim was already on the front porch. Surely that couldn't be a reference to who he thought it was...

"Goodbye Blaine," he called, giving him a last wink before turning and getting in the back of his car.

&&&&&

"You all set? Got everything you need?"

"Yes dad," Blaine huffed as he got his bag from the trunk. "Seriously, it's like five days, what could I have forgotten."

Wes gave him a look but didn't answer. He'd insisted on dropping him off and Blaine thought he knew why. Sure enough the speech came a moment later. "Now listen Blaine, Kurt's going to be here and I know-"

"Okay Okay I get-"

"No Blaine," Wes interrupted, "listen. I know seeing Kurt is going to be hard, and maybe, maybe you can figure this thing out afterward, but under no circumstance are you going to let him distract you right now. This is your big chance Blaine, don't let him take that from you."

"He wouldn't try to take anything-"

"Promise?" Wes asked as if he hadn't said anything.

"Promise," Blaine mumbled.

With a smug look on his face Wes drove away and Blaine looked up at the familiar Atlas building. Although he couldn't prove it, he just knew that Kurt was up in their suite waiting for him.