Kurt invited Blaine inside to finish Thanksgiving dinner. Kurt’s family was surprised but accommodating- Carole got up to go find another chair while Finn set out another place setting. Blaine joined them and dinner resumed. Blaine, once again, was good at making conversation with everyone, including Kylie- but this time, he seemed lighter, less inhibited. Kurt grinned to himself the whole meal, and sometimes he and Blaine would catch eachother’s eyes across the table, and Kurt could feel himself blushing.

After dinner, Blaine excused himself temporarily and went outside to call his parents. Kurt watched through the kitchen window as he and Finn washed dishes, his eyes following Blaine’s figure as it paced in the driveway.

When Blaine came back inside, everyone but Kurt was settled in front of the TV to watch football. Kurt was leaning against the doorway, looking at Blaine. They met eyes and Kurt nodded in the direction of the stairs. Blaine smiled and followed Kurt upstairs to his room. Kurt shut the door behind them.

“So,” Kurt said, suddenly feeling apprehensive. “I think we should talk.”

Blaine sighed, walking over to the bed and sitting on it heavily. “I know,” he answered, staring at the wall. “I just really, really don’t feel like talking.”

Kurt sighed, but smiled slightly. “Okay,” he said quietly. “We don’t have to talk yet.”

Instead they lay on Kurt’s bed together, staring at the ceiling and listening to Kurt’s music. They were both flat on their backs, a couple inches apart. After a few songs which they spent in companionable silence, Kurt reached over and took Blaine’s hand in his, squeezing it. It took a moment, a nervous, held-breath moment, but then Blaine squeezed back.

Eventually it got late and Blaine decided it was time to go. Kurt gently kissed his cheek before they left his room, and then they walked out together.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” Kurt said as Blaine climbed into his car.

“Okay,” Blaine smiled. “Can’t wait.”

Kurt grinned, stepping back and waving as Blaine pulled out. He watched the taillights retreat into the distance before going back inside.

Later that night, someone tapped on Kurt’s door. It was late- he’d thought everyone was already in bed. “Come in,” he said softly.

Burt opened the door, leaning against the frame. “Hey, kiddo,” he greeted.

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Hey, Dad.”

Burt glanced back out to the hallway before speaking, seeming hesitant. “So, uh…this Blaine kid,” he began. “Is there…something going on between you two?”

Kurt sighed, leaning back against his headboard. “There’s something. Not quite sure what it is yet, though.”

Burt nodded, pursing his lips. “Wasn’t he, uh…in a relationship?”

Kurt blushed slightly, remembering the whole girlfriend fiasco. “Not anymore.”

Burt seemed to size up Kurt for a moment, and then nodded again. “Okay,” he said finally. “Goodnight, Kurt.”

“Night, Dad.”

Burt closed the door behind him, leaving Kurt to his thoughts.

When Blaine woke up the next morning, he had a new text. It was from Kurt.

Meet me at the Lima Bean at 11?

Blaine smiled softly as he affirmed the plan. He put his phone down and sat up, stretching and yawning. It was still before ten, so he had plenty of time.

After Blaine showered and got dressed he paused in front of his bathroom mirror, holding a bottle of hair gel in his hand. After a moment of deliberation, though, he set it back down and let his curls be.

Kurt was already at the coffee shop, sitting at a table and blowing gently on his drink. Blaine approached him. "You should have waited for me,” he said when he reached the table. “I would have bought your coffee.”

“You don’t know my order,” Kurt replied, smiling coyly.

“One of many things I need to start finding out,” Blaine said, grinning back.

Once Blaine had his own coffee and they were settled in across the table from eachother, Kurt took a deep breath. “So…what did your parents say when you called last night?”

Blaine didn’t comment on the lack of build-up to the question. He could understand why Kurt didn’t want to go through formalities. They’d been beating around the bush for weeks now. “I talked to my mom. They were angry, but I explained that I had something I really needed to do. She said she forgave me. I don’t know about my dad.”

Kurt seemed to hesitate, and then reached across the table and took Blaine’s hand in his. Blaine smiled, Kurt’s hand feeling very right around his own. “I’ll work it out with them.”

“Good,” Kurt said.

“Um…” Blaine felt his stomach tighten. Not wanting to go on, he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip from it, burning his mouth. Grimacing, he set it down and decided to just go for it. “You’re leaving on Sunday.”

“Yeah.”

“Back to New York.”

Kurt sighed. “Yep.”

Blaine stared at Kurt for a moment, examining his face. “What’re we gonna do?” he asked, his tone tinged with helplessness.

Kurt took a deep breath, seeming to steel himself for his answer. “I don’t want this to end,” he said, punctuating the sentence with a squeeze to Blaine’s hand. “We just got started.” Kurt smiled, and Blaine returned it.

Blaine, however, had to hesitantly ask, “Well, what exactly…are we?”

Kurt pursed his lips, still smiling, his face lit up. “I don’t know yet,” he said honestly. “But I’d really like to find out.”

Blaine felt that bubble-in-his-chest sensation again, reminiscent of what he’d experienced the previous day on Kurt’s front porch. Suddenly, he felt completely at ease. Kurt was leaving, but he wasn’t leaving Blaine behind. They would talk and text and get to know eachother further, to build on what they already had. They’d figure out exactly what they were going to do, and what they were going to be. Blaine was relieved, because he knew that he still needed time to figure out who he was. And this was going to be a great start, the beginning of something new and overwhelming and wonderful.

“Me too,” he told Kurt, so joyful that he could just say what he wanted, say what he meant.

Blaine grinned unabashedly across the table, feeling light and free and completely himself.

The two boys finished their coffee and then wandered aimlessly around town, walking up and down streets in the chilly air, glancing in the windows of shops and chatting. Every so often they would brush shoulders or hands and Blaine would feel a thrill go down his spine, his smile warming his whole face. Even though he at least knew what he was doing, Blaine still felt mixed-up inside. He was still quietly sad about Maia, giddily excited about Kurt, queasy and worried when he thought of his parents. But all of his internal confusion disappeared when he heard Kurt’s laugh, high and melodic, or felt the soft warm skin of Kurt’s hand brush against him. Blaine was confident that even if things were out-of-whack now, they wouldn’t stay that way. Things were going to work out. They might be scary, or foreign, or new, but everything would end up okay. And that was all Blaine needed to know.