Flying back to New York was a lot less calm than flying to Ohio had been. On the flight to Ohio, Kurt had been comforted by Blaine and had relaxed rather easily and it had been… nice. Even with his fear of flying. The trip home, though… Well, it was chaos. But that should have been expected given that it involved Cooper.

It all started when they boarded the plane and Coop acted like some kind of known celebrity. Which he really, really wasn't. No matter how much he wished he was. Cooper was a commercial man. People didn't go crazy over commercial people. Kurt had barely restrained himself from hitting the man  he was convinced would someday be his brother-in-law as he worked on getting in the stewardess's pants. Skirt. Whatever.

“I am so sorry,” he and Blaine took turns muttering as they dragged the obnoxious man-child to their seats, strapping him in while he pouted at them both.

Coop whined. Openly whined at them then, making Kurt whine in embarrassment. It was a whole symphony of whining with Blaine in the middle trying to deal with it. “Would you both shut up?” he snapped, the plane starting to move and causing Kurt to whimper and cling to Blaine in fear. Which Cooper noticed, of course, and laughed at.

“Oh, shut up, Cooper. I can  make the time you spend at our apartment hell on earth. I'm not above it. You're pretty much my brother too by now-” he broke off when they lifted into the air and his ears started to hurt. Kurt was lost to them for the next fifteen minutes as they gained altitude and he fought with the cabin pressure and his vicious anxiety.

When Kurt came back around, Blaine was lovingly stroking his hair and Cooper was trying to snatch a bag of peanuts from Kurt's tray. “Why are all the peanuts over here?” he asked, earning himself a detailed explanation about how Coop had started throwing nuts at the stewardess and unsuspecting passengers. So Blaine took them away. Kurt looked at Cooper with intense judgement until the older male settled in his seat and pulled on headphones, watching a movie on his phone until they got to New York.

“I think he's secretly adopted. Just don't tell him. But there's no way I could actually be related to that, right?” Blaine whispered to Kurt, who laughed and agreed.

Kurt clung to Blaine once more when they landed, then kicked Cooper in the back of the knee for laughing at him. By the time they got to the apartment, Coop was limping and Kurt was ranting about how he was going to get rid of a brother before he even officially got him as one. Sebastian and Santana were gaping in confusion, to say the least.

____________________________________________________________________________

“So, wait, you're seriously kicking me out? Because of Cooper?” Santana questioned, hand on her hip. Sebastian was already working on moving her stuff out of his room and his stuff back in. He looked like a giddy child, which warmed Kurt's heart, honestly.

Santana looked pissed, though, which was frightening. “Sorry, Satan. You and Dani are good though, right? I mean, you can just… move in with her. Be together. Get your… lady loving on or whatever.” Kurt looked so awkward as he spoke that Blaine couldn't hold back his giggles, which earned a glare from the angry Latina. “Look, you knew you couldn't stay here forever, Santana. You need to move out and Blaine and I need our room back. Seriously. It's time.”

The fact that Cooper kept staring at her boobs definitely helped Santana get a move on. She ended up slapping him on her way out, because he asked if she was sure she was a full lesbian. Sebastian offered him an ice pack after high-fiving Santana and commanding that she bring her girlfriend to their New Years party. It was actually pretty smooth as far as kicking someone out could be.

“So, where do I get to crash then?” Coop asked, face still red with Santana's handprint. There was little chance that the New Years party could go by without something crazy happening, given that Cooper would be there, but there was little to do about that now.

Blaine grabbed a pillow and shoved it at his brother. “Couch,” he said simply, then wandered off to find some blankets, ignoring the older man's pout. “And don't bother Bas. Or us. Really, you should like… go wander today. Or something. Yeah. We'll do stuff tomorrow. But right now you should… go away.”

Sebastian had been giving them looks from the time they got back, like he really wanted to show them how much he missed them but… Cooper. Cooper didn't need to be in on that little bit of knowledge because families didn't need in on that and… yeah. It would just be easier if all that stayed between them and their New York friends. Rachel's lecture was enough. They didn't need hell from Cooper, too.

The message seemed to get through once Blaine suggested what places Coop needed to go, shoved him out the door, and locked him out of the apartment. He only pounded on the door for five minutes before giving up and wandering off to do as his younger brother said, which meant Bas, Blaine, and Kurt were finally, finally alone again.

“Missed you two,” Sebastian murmured, approaching them and wrapping an arm around each of their necks. He grinned before leaning in to kiss first Kurt, then Blaine. “Shouldn't go away like that again. At least not until I… figure something out…” They didnt' talk about Bas moving on and finding someone often, but it was always a side thought. A background idea. Someday, but not now. Not right away. Right now they all had what they needed, and that was each other.

Kurt grabbed Bas around the neck and pulled him forward, rocking their hips together and practically purring in delight. “Mmm, missed you too, Meerkat. Wanna go to our room and explore how much?” His eyes held a mischievous glint as he grabbed Sebastian's hand and tugged him toward the bedroom, Blaine following along happily. They didn't even bother to drag their luggage into the room yet. Unpacking could happen later. Right now, they needed to get reacquainted.

____________________________________________________________________________

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Come on, Blainers! Kurtsie! Mouse faced guy! Let me in!” The muffled whine of Cooper made Kurt groan and roll over in bed, shoving on Bas and Blaine to get one of them to go out and let the idiot in so he'd shut up. After the welcome home romp, the boys had fallen asleep naked and cuddled up together and now they were being interrupted. By the idiot Blaine called a brother.

The moaning from outside only got louder, and Kurt started to fear their neighbors calling the cops. “Go let your idiot brother in already, honey. He's going to get us in trouble,” he grumbled, curling up more in the covers and refusing to budge. If Coop came in and bothered him he'd just get an eye full of naked Kurt. That was how little the countertenor wanted to move at the moment. “Bas, you better go to your room. Don't wanna start a lecture…” Kurt yawned and rolled over away from the other two, ignoring the world.

With a combined eye roll, Blaine and Bas got out of bed and shrugged on some lounge pants, Blaine grabbing some of Sebastian's without really thinking and swimming in the length even more than he did in Kurt's. “Giant tree person…” he muttered at the taller man before stomping to the door and letting his brother in.

“Finally!” Cooper dramatically flailed into the apartment and pouted at Blaine like a kicked dog. “I thought you were gonna leave me out there forever, Blainers! It was traumatizing!”

Sebastian muttered “I wish he had,” as he stomped into his room and shut the door, making Kurt snicker from the main bedroom.

Giving Cooper a dirty look, Blaine shook his head and a sighed. “I couldn't risk the neighbors filing a noise complaint. You really are a problem child, Coop, you know that? I mean, if I'm not having some sort of crisis that requires you to actually be the older brother with the sage advice, you turn into an annoying man-child.”

He started to feel bad when Cooper got a look about him that screamed disappointment and just… sadness. What was going on with Coop anyway? He'd never been this obnoxious before, even when he was being ridiculous. “Coop? Is… is something wrong?” Blaine asked softly, sitting on the couch next to his brother.

“Uh… I mean… Everything's fine, Squirt. Really,” he tried before his voice cracked and his expression broke into one of utter defeat. Blaine rushed forward with a hug. Usually it was Cooper comforting him. He never thought his big brother would need him like this. “I just haven't really been getting anywhere in LA, I mean, I can pay the bills and still have enough left over but… I was supposed to be a star, you know? I was supposed to make you and mom and dad proud. I'm just a joke.”

The older man wiped at his eyes and Blaine shook his head, rubbing Cooper's back. He was sure Kurt at least could hear everything. Bas could probably hear as well, but they wouldn't interrupt. This was brother time. “You aren't a joke, Coop. You've always inspired me. I mean, it isn't like mom and dad were supporting my big dreams all this time, right?” He smiled at his brother, but Cooper still looked sad.

Clearing his throat, Coop looked around the apartment and smiled wistfully. “I always thought I'd settle in somewhere first. Meet someone. Bring her home and show her off. I just… I'm failing, Blaine, and it hurts. I don't have the things you have. I'm jealous, little brother. I mean, you and Kurt and New York… You have it all. Just… don't give it up for anything, okay?”

Blaine shook his head and hugged Cooper hard. “Hey, you'll get there, too. There's no due date on life, Coop. Things happen when they're meant to. Don't count yourself out yet.” This time, Cooper returned the smile more fully. “You do need to stop reverting to a child, though. I mean, you're better than that, Coop. At least be an annoying adult if you must be annoyi- Hey!”

The brothers were soon wrestling, falling off the couch while Cooper got Blaine in a headlock and Blaine pinched Coop's calves. They fought and laughed until Kurt and Bas came out and demanded dinner. The four of them got along much smoother for the next few days thanks to the brothers figuring out where they stood, and Kurt made sure to turn up Cooper's commercial whenever it was on the TV, just to make him smile.

______________________________________________________________________________

“How many people did you invite?!” Kurt yelled at Bas over the crowd in their apartment. It was New Years and the city in itself was loud enough. They had the Times Square celebration on the TV and their entire apartment was packed. Kurt had no idea who half the people there even were.

Bas shook his head and shrugged. “I didn't! I mean, I mentioned it to a few people and I guess word got around. Plus, Dani and Santana invited whoever. There are even people from NYADA! I don't know where the fuck they heard about it, since Rachel and Plastic are on the banned list…” Kurt murmured that it was probably through Elliot, since he had friends at the arts school, too.

A few minutes later, Blaine crashed into the two of them with a heavy groan. “Cooper is hooking up with some chick in our bedroom and I am pretty sure Santana just dragged Dani into yours. We should have locked the doors. This is not going to be fun…” he downed whatever concoction was in his plastic cup and made a face. “I need more alcohol to deal with these people. You guys coming?”

The three of them got to the kitchen just as a blonde guy was leaving it, drink in hand and a grin on his face. Sebastian was the one to question the guy, as he had the most voice left along with more sobriety. “Who the fuck  are you?” A sober Bas didn't mean a pleasant Bas, however, which Kurt and Blaine probably should have thought of before letting him speak first.

The stranger chuckled and spoke with an English accent. “Oh, I like you…” he grinned at Sebastian, offering a hand to shake. “Adam Crawford. NYADA junior. I take it you're the hosts of this celebration?” Kurt and Blaine shared a glance while Bas looked the blonde guy over.

“You would be correct. Sebastian Smythe, NYU freshman. Those two are my roommates. They also don't matter at the moment. Come. Chat,” he commanded, pulling Adam by the hand he'd been shaking and wandering through the crowd without sparing a second glance for Kurt or Blaine.

Kurt rolled his eyes and Blaine grabbed for some alcohol. “Yeah, definitely need to be more drunk for this shit. We're losing them all slowly but surely. I feel like we should be wandering off to a closet together or something at this rate.”

The countertenor laughed, but took the offered drink from his boyfriend. “You know I am not about to crawl back into the closet, sweetie. And honestly I don't know if there's a single private area left in this apartment right now. Let's just drink and watch the ball drop and kiss at midnight and then kick everybody the fuck out, okay? After that we can have all the… private moments… that we want…” He slid up to blaine, wrapping a leg around his hip and grinding against the shorter man, eliciting a throaty moan.

“Mmm, that sounds perfect,” Blaine muttered, only to growl when they were interrupted by Elliot.

Their friend laughed and shook his head at them. “Oh, don't let me stop you. Carry on. You two are hot. I just wanted you to know that it's about ten minutes til the ball drops and people are passing out on your floor, so we might want to be ready to call cabs or something. Eli offered to help earlier, but I'm pretty sure he's never actually been shitfaced before and he drank way too much, so he's kinda sleeping on the couch with some adorable girl hugging him like a teddy bear.”

The three of them made it to the living room with three minutes to spare, taking pictures of the scene on the couch so as to blackmail Eli later on. Kurt and Blaine were wrapped up in each other as the countdown started, and they noticed Bas wasn't even paying attention to the numbers as he made out with the man he'd met earlier.

“10… 9…” Kurt looked around and thought about how some of his favorite people were missing from this moment. “6… 5…” Finn was in Lima for some stupid reason, being pigheaded as usual, Rachel was with Brody, the plastic wonder… “3… 2… 1…” But Blaine was here with him, so it was okay.

He leaned in and kissed his boyfriend passionately, not worrying about anyone else but the man he loved and who loved him right back. It didn't matter that their bed was being soiled by Cooper and whoever he dragged in there. It didn't matter that something odd had happened with Santana and Brittany to lead her to them and New York and this new girl who seemed good for her. It didn't matter that Bas might have actually found someone to move on with and not need them anymore.

The crowd of people in their apartment didn't matter at all. The only things that mattered were Kurt and Blaine and the fact that they were welcoming another year together. That they'd welcome every year together, if Kurt had his way. “I love you,” he whispered amongst the many cheers for the new year.