The sun was shining, birds were singing, and Kurt was frantically running around the apartment in nothing but a pair of jeans. Normally he would never be so brazen, but Stephan had already moved out and he should have too. With only four guys left they were all moving into one suite, the one already occupied by Blaine and Harry.

Kurt had been in the middle of a last minute outfit change when he remembered that the night before he hadn't been able to find his favorite comb. He'd shrugged and off and decided to look for it in the morning but he'd completely forgotten. Now he was already late and close to tears because more than caring so much about the comb itself, Kurt hated losing things. It frustrated him to no end.

There was a small knock at door and then it was cracked open slightly. "Kurt?" Blaine's head was sticking in the room and his face seemed to have a bit more color to it than usual. He cleared his throat and then said, "Um, you know we were supposed to go like, 5 minutes ago right?"

"I know, I know," Kurt huffed, deciding to give up the search. He scanned the room in vain as he retreated to the bedroom to pull on his shirt- carefully of course as not to mess up his already slightly droopy hair- and get his bag. Blaine looked relieved when he came out so quickly and Kurt made a point to take one last look at the apartment, his home for the last couple weeks.

"So, that was nice view I was treated to back there," Blaine said causally once they were on their way. "Ow!" Blaine exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder.

"Oh don't be such a baby," Kurt said with a smile, bringing his hand back down to his side.

They walked briskly (Kurt refused to run) to the other apartment, dropped Kurt's stuff off, and then continued down to the lobby. Everyone was already there and obviously waiting for them to arrive.

"Well look who decided to show up. Hope you two had fun doing... whatever it is you were doing." A couple designers looked amused by Harry's comments but the production crew just looked happy they were there and Blaine apologized vocally more than once.

As soon as everything was set up and the cameras started rolling, Heidi began explaining the challenge. "Now as I'm sure you all know, lately there's been a sort of, unappetizing, trend in fashion."

Kurt's disgust and fear was mirrored on the faces of the people around him and he met Blaine's wide eyes for a moment. At the MTV awards just a few months ago, Lady Gaga was nominated for her comeback album, and she wore a revamped version of her infamous meat dress. It sparked a satirical trend of horrible food ensembles. If this was going anywhere near where Kurt thought it was he just might faint.

"Now before you all panic no, you will not be making anything out of real food-" thank god "however you will be designing something inspired by food. In the fashion world it's the designers jobs to take something uncool and make it cool, and that's what we'll be doing for this challenge."

Designs based on food, that wasn't so bad, and Kurt could hear the people at home groaning at them not using real food because as a fan himself, he knew those tough challenges were the most fun to watch.

&&&&&

"Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everything that's wonderful is what I feel- when we're together."

Blaine sang softly under his breath as he sewed, feeling a bit like a 50s housewife. He always sang when he was in a good mood and today had gone really well. His dress was coming along great; such an improvement from this time last challenge.

Then there was also the fact that he would be seeing a lot more of Kurt from now on. They would be living together, in the same apartment, in the same room. Now of course they wouldn't be alone so nothing could really change but still, just being around him improved his mood. Blaine knew it was all too fast and too much but why stop such a good thing? Boundaries and normal dating rules would apply after the contest, but for now they would just have to muddle along as best they could.

Mary Jane called out that there were five minutes left and Blaine looked up quickly, noting that it was in fact already 10:55. The machine gave one last whir before shutting down and Blaine carefully lifted his dress and brought it back to his station. He lied it on the table and moved to find Kurt but he was beat to it.

"Hey," Kurt greeted softly. Blaine gathered up his things, saddled his satchel across his body, and walked with him out of the building.

"Hey yourself. Rough day?"

"Eh, not so much, just extremely tired. I thought laying off the caffeine would be good for me but feeling like this cannot be healthy."

Blaine laughed and shook his head. Kurt's definition of laying off the caffeine was probably having two cups that day. Blaine loved his coffee but he didn't drink it like Kurt.

"Oh! I haven't even asked, what are you doing for your piece?"

"You mean you can't tell what food it's based on?" Blaine asked, feigning hurt. Actually his dress wasn't inspired by food but by an apron. It was made out of the same material and even looked kind of like one.

"Oh, uh, a banana?" Kurt tried.

Unable to contain himself, Blaine burst into giggles. Kurt's eyebrows shot up and he continued to look confused until Blaine explained it to him and then he just rolled his eyes.

"A banana? really?" Blaine asked, a grin his face.

"Shut up. You sounded like a kicked puppy and I thought someone was going to call animal control."

Snorting indelicately, Blaine continued the banter until they reached their apartment. He forgot his key in the room so they had to wait a few minutes for Harry. When he showed up Stephan was with him and the four of them went inside. Kurt immediately took his bag and began wheeling it towards Blaine's room but Stephan's voice stopped him.

"Oh no you don't. I don't want to room with him," he spat.

"I'm not too happy about it either princess, but do you really think those too are going to split up? And if they do you know they're going to be sneaking into each other's rooms to fuck and I don't know about you but that's not something I want to see or hear."

Blaine looked to Kurt who was silently fuming but he kept quiet and so did Blaine. Harry was vile but he was also on their side for once.

"Fine," Stephan sighed, and then practically stomped into the other room.

Sharing a small smile with Kurt, Blaine lead the way. Their nightly routines were surprisingly unaffected by one another, and they seemed to dance around each other as teeth were brushed and faces were washed.

The only hiccup was when it came time to change. Without thinking Blaine had started stripping and was only alerted to situation when Kurt gasped quietly. Blaine supposed it wasn't so much the nakedness but the intimacy level it suggested. Also the temptation. In the end Kurt took his clothes to the bathroom and changed there. Usually Blaine only wore boxers and he debated for a moment putting on sweats but in the end he didn't. Kurt also forwent pants although he did have a t-shirt on.

The two chatted a little bit but it was late and they were both exhausted so it wasn't long before they climbed into bed.

Blaine loved sleeping, literally sleeping, with other people. The warmth of their body, the steady sound of their breathing, it comforted him and put him right to sleep. He'd had a few boyfriends over the years (although none real serious) and having someone to cuddle with had always been one of his favorite parts of being in a relationship.

Now, as he stared at the ceiling, despite being extremely tired, he couldn't sleep. Not with the knowledge that Kurt was lying literally five feet from him. He tried to wait it out but then he realized if he waited too long Kurt would probably already be asleep.

"Kurt," he whispered. No answer came and Blaine deflated.

"Yeah?" Kurt finally responded, his voice slow and soft.

"Can I- would it be okay if I came over there?"

"To sleep? Sure."

Blaine got up and shuffled over, slipping under the covers which Kurt held up for him. He seemed a little more awake now but his eyes were beginning to droop.

"Goodnight," Blaine said, rolling over so his back was pressed to Kurt's chest.

Kurt's arm wrapped around his chest and pulled him snugly against him. "Goodnight."

The two were asleep within minutes.

&&&&&

Waking up with Blaine was sweet; snuggling into his body's warmth, rubbing a nose in his now ungelled hair, and hearing those adorable sleeping noises he made as he came to consciousness. Being up with Blaine was not so sweet.

Kurt didn't mind mornings, but until he could get his hands on some coffee, he was a bit of a drone. He wanted quiet and minimal movement which seemed to be the opposite of Blaine. It wasn't so bad when he was still in the shower, Kurt smiled at the singing which Blaine seemed to never stop doing, but after that it went all downhill. Blaine chattered on, flitting in and out of the bathroom, trying to inspire some sort of conversation. Eventually he gave up after all Kurt would give him was a few noncommittal grunts and one word answers.

On the way out the door Kurt grabbed a cup from the instant machine on the counter. At first he'd been disgusted by the stuff, but necessity ruled he drink it and now it didn't seem half bad. He'd be back to his grande nonfat mocha when he was done with this though. Oh, what he'd give for one of those right now.

The morning was warm but not unbearably sticky yet and with his caffeine in hand Kurt already felt a thousand times better. He picked up where one of his and Blaine's "conversations" left off that morning and Blaine returned eagerly but seemed amused.

"You know," he said after a moment, "coffee takes like, at least thirty minutes for the effects to kick in..."

"Quiet you," Kurt grumbled.

When the designers walked into the workroom they were met with a welcome surprise. In one of the side rooms there was an entire breakfast spread set up. There were fruits, bagels, pastries, and much more; it looked like heaven. Although it was bad for him Kurt often skipped breakfast and while he wasn't hungry when he first woke up, by this time, he usually was and regretting not eating. Everyone hesitated around the table, not wanting to be the first one to get something, until Tim came in and announced it was to go along with the food theme. That opened the floodgates for everyone to dig in and they did so quickly so they could get back to their work.

The two hours before the runway rushed by as it always did; between hair, makeup, and dressing the model, Kurt didn't understand how anyone actually got any work done. Still, there were always a few people who went into that last day with an unfinished garment and came out with something incredible.

Kurt had seen bits and pieces of the other garments but as always, he had tunnel vision for his own piece. This runway show was an interesting one because there were so many different directions to go. Blaine was on one end, doing an apron dress, and on the other was Alice with her dress that literally looked like a strawberry costume.

Kurt was on the more literal side with his piece, something that surprised himself as well as Blaine, since usually he found comfort in subtlety. It wasn't over the top like Alice's (he shuddered at the thought) but since the only thing on the otherwise plain white, cinched at the waist dress was a silhouette of a bunch of grapes, it wasn't cryptic about its food inspiration. The dress had softer lines and a lighter feel than the things Kurt usually did, and he hoped it would show the judges another side of him. The competition field had almost been cut in half already and with the trend being that four contestants went the finals, it wouldn't be long before all that was upon them.

When it came time to announce the top and bottom, that point was driven in harder by the fact that only three people left to go wait in the waiting room. Neither Kurt nor Blaine was one of them and as usual Kurt was confident he was in the top, and he felt the same for Blaine.

He was first to be reviewed and the critique went pretty much as expected. They were happy his piece was different from his normal style, Tom wasn't overly fond of the shape the dress had though, and they all loved the pattern of the green that extended through the eye makeup, the necklace, and the stem of the grapes. This was the part of the assessment they showed on TV, and it was the least helpful to him. The part they didn't show was when the judges talked about the finer details, like construction tips, that he could use to improve his skills.

Alice was deemed safe despite Kurt's inner protest and it seemed he didn't agree with the judges on most things this challenge. Chantelle's apple red, bumped out at the waist dress seemed nothing special to him, but the judges were practically drooling over it. They were split on Blaine's dress, Heidi and the guest judge Annie liked it, Nina was neutral, and Tom did not. He was ruled in the top three but there was no chance of a victory for him.

It was draining mentally and physically to stand on that stage and listen to the judges, and Kurt was relieved to be dismissed back to the waiting room. When he saw the excess camera crew there, he almost cried, thinking that their planned afternoon off had been canceled. As the protests started flying in however, Tim was quick to assure they were just here to ask a few questions while the judges made their decision.

Kurt rolled his eyes and crossed his arms but he had no choice but to comply. They probably just wanted them to say inflaming things about the other designers again. He was always cautious about that; he didn't want to seem like a jerk, but he also didn't want to seem like a pushover. It was a thin line. Although, the editors would manipulate footage and shows things out of context so it's hard to have any control at all.

In a surprising change, the interviewers were actually asking about who they got along with. At first Kurt found this a pleasant switch, but soon it became a struggle of just how much to say. "Emmy's great, she's an absolute riot and a great designer, and Mary Jane is like the mother of the group, I don't think it's possible to dislike her, and working with Blaine on the partner challenge was fun, he's a good friend." The interviewer poked and prodded a bit more but Kurt kept everything he said pretty generalized.

The whole thing only took five minutes and as Kurt went to sit down, Harry took his place with the interviewer. Kurt was busy watching Blaine's interview, trying to look casual and not like he was panicking over how much Blaine was saying, when he felt a shiver go up his back. He turned to find Harry, and the camera woman with him, both staring at him. They quickly looked away but the exchange was enough to get Kurt's heart pumping. What was Harry saying?

"Everything okay?" Blaine asked, giving Kurt's knee a little tap.

"Hmm," Kurt hummed, coming back to himself, "oh, yeah." There was no need to get Blaine worked up about it too. And, to be honest, Blaine never seemed as concerned about it as Kurt did.

When the results were announced disappointment came with it as Chantelle took the victory. Sam went home, which proved that you could be a great designer, but if you could only do one sort of thing, it wouldn't be enough. Kurt thought that despite her overuse black she was still more talented than some of the designers left.

The sun was high in the sky as the contestants made the trek back to their apartment building and Kurt dreamed of a cool shower. "It'll be nice not having to leave," Kurt said before he could lose his nerve. "To go to different apartments I mean."