Blaine sat nervously down in the chair in front of his father's desk. The room felt dark and heavy on his shoulders, and he had a hard time resisting the urge to run away.

When Blaine had come home from work Ms. Johnson told him that his father wanted to see him in his office. That was a strange thing as Blaine usually wasn't even allowed in his father's office and as his father normally did his best to not converse with him. However, Blaine guessed that he might as well get it over with as postponing it would only make it more nerving, so he sat down and waited for his father to enter the room.

"It is November next week and I know that you are expecting to go to Dalton - but you are not. It is way too late for you to take up your senior year now, so I suggest you go out and get a job to keep yourself occupied," his father said. He had his eyes locked in the papers on the desk in front of him, and Blaine wanted to scream at him to keep his attention on the conversation.

"But, dad… I've already got a job. You know that. I work at the record store in to -"

"A real job. And get your hair cut. You're starting to look like a bum. Again. This is not up for discussion, Blaine. That was all, you can leave now. I have a lot of work to do." He still didn't look up, and Blaine stayed in the chair staring at him in disbelief with his mouth slightly ajar, before he got up and marched out of the room.

What did that even mean? Was he planning for Blaine to go back to Dalton next summer? Or didn't he want him to finish high school at all?

It was so frustrating that he couldn't just tell him what he had in mind - not to mention the way he talked about the record store. 'Not a real job' - baaah, Blaine thought to himself as he climbed the stairs to disappear to his room.

"There's no reason to read anymore into it than what he said. Just relax. I'm sure it'll all be okay," Kurt assured him when they were lying on Kurt's bed the next day.

"I know. It's just hard when I'm used to him pulling all kinds of schemes on me because he's so desperate to mold me into a psycho replica of himself -" Blaine sighed, and appreciated that Kurt wasn't panicking the way he was himself.

To him it was astounding how easy it came to Kurt take it lightly and wait for the future to present itself instead of instinctively fearing the worst.

"Thank you. For keeping my head cold," Blaine mumbled, and let his fingers tangle around the hem of Kurt's tunic. Kurt giggled as his cold fingers hit the delicate skin of his hip, before he jumped off the bed, making Blaine's heart twitch with the surprise.

"I made you something," he said excitedly and started fumbling around with the piles of paper that was spread around the desk.

Kurt turned around and presented Blaine with the most amazing piece of art he had ever seen. A sheet of A3 paper had been decorated with charcoal sketches of a guitar with a garland twirling around the neck, a white dove resting on the body, stars above it all and the word Stardust in big letters at the bottom of the paper, all finished with Kurt's artistic signature in the bottom right corner.

"I just noticed that you haven't really got anything on your walls, and your wallpaper is boring - so I guessed that you might want something to decorate with."

Blaine had no idea what to say. The drawing was truly impressive, and he could easily see that Kurt had put a great effort into creating it - just for him.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you. It's so beautiful," he spat out, in a desperate attempt to express how much he loved it, but he couldn't find anything appropriate. Words just wasn't enough.

"It's okay if you don't want to hang it on your wall or anything, I just thought -"

"I have the perfect spot for it. I think it's amazing. You're so talented," Blaine said and got off the bed to hug Kurt. Over Kurt's shoulder he noticed that there were a lot of crumpled up first drafts of the drawing spread over the table, but he didn't care. It could have looked like something a kindergartener could have made and he would have loved it anyway. Because Kurt had made it for him. Now he was just so lucky that Kurt was a crazy talented artist, and this was beautiful.

"I'm glad you like it. I don't know much about guitars or anything, so I just kinda drew it from my memory of yours. It was hard though… cause every time I tried picturing it I couldn't stop focusing on your face instead," Kurt smiled shy and turned to roll up the drawing with a rubber band.

"I love it. Thank you. You're way too sweet to me. And the details are so impressive," Blaine assured him and squeezed his hand when there was knock on the door and Puck stuck in his head.

"Wanna come hang with us? Finn and I are gonna watch football in the living room. Uhm… Burt and Carole aren't home so -" he said with a saying grin, and Blaine knew that he wanted Kurt to come hang with Finn with chaperones present.

"Sure. Let's… let's do that," Blaine stammered, feeling that it was pushing his limit, but wanting this for Kurt enough to put himself aside.

Kurt raised an eyebrow as if he was doubting that Blaine really meant it, but after having kept up a pokerface for a little more than half a minute he nodded at Puck and agreed that they'd be down soon.

"I thought you wasn't comfortable about… hanging, with people, like that," Kurt wondered out loud.

"I'm not, but… I wanna be better. Here, in your house, we can be… free. We don't have to worry, so… I should learn how to stop worrying. Besides - you miss Finn. I know you do. So I just thought we'd might as well… try it," Blaine stuttered himself away, trying to convince himself that it was a good plan.

Kurt stared back at him, eyes huge with wonder and amazement, and a smile started creeping out at the corners of his mouth.

"You have come such a long way. Let's go downstairs," Kurt eagered and grabbed Blaine's hand to lead him out of the room and down the stairs.

The TV was loud, and when they entered the living room Blaine could see that Finn was seated in Burt's chair, and Puck was on the couch. Kurt instinctively let go of his hand as they got closer to the couch, and Blaine felt ashamed of how much a relief it was.

Kurt led him around the group of furniture and made them sit down next to Puck. Kurt let his hand discretely find its way back to Blaine's securely hidden between their thighs, keeping them there to be safe from curious eyes. Even though Blaine was panicking on the inside he smiled appreciating at Kurt - it was nice and comforting to know that he wanted this to be done at Blaine's pace.

"I think… Blaine here is scared of you, man," Puck chuckled at Finn after they had sat in silence watching the game for a bit. Kurt sent him a lightning look; a look that Blaine was sure would be able to scare even the biggest and toughest guy, but he was completely freaking out himself. Why would Puck say such a thing? Why would he sell him out like that?

Betrayal at its finest.

No one said a word. All three of them were waiting for Finn to say something in response. He had turned his head to stare at them with a confounded expression painted over his face. Blaine didn't even dare as much as breathing and suddenly Kurt's hand felt burning in his, and he was sure that sweat was breaking out over his entire body.

"Is that true? You're afraid of me?" Finn asked, now complete focus on Blaine and it was impossible to figure out what he was thinking, and Blaine imagined himself run away screaming, Finn twice his natural size running after him

He's going to take advantage of it. I'll be his new toy, the new entertainment; that person he's going to make do and say all kinds of crazy stuff because even his raised eyebrow is terrifying, Blaine thought to himself.

He couldn't decide if his best move right now would be to let go of Kurt's hand or to simply hold on tighter, hoping for a bit of his strength to be contagious, but he never got a chance to make up his mind.

"Now that is just ridiculous, dude. I might be what… three times your size, but you seem cool," Finn said through a bark of laughter, and against what he had ever thought possible Blaine felt smaller than ever facing Finn, he could practically feel himself shrinking before their eyes as Finn, Puck and Kurt all looked to him - awaiting his reaction.

"Relax. If Kurt likes you, I like you - unless you break his heart, of course. Then I'll break your neck." Finn winked at him and left the chair to head for the kitchen.

Kurt turned in his seat to face Blaine and used his free hand to rub his knee with consoling eyes staring intensely at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, making Blaine feel like he was staring into his soul searching for answers.

"You did good. You really did. Don't worry - he likes you. And as you won't go breaking my heart, there's no need to think about his macho-muscle-flexing," Kurt calmed him, letting his thumb caress his thigh lightly.

"And you, Puckerman, I am pretty sure you shouldn't seem so cocky in your corner over there." The lightning was back in Kurt's eyes, and now that Finn wasn't in the room Blaine could really see how terrifying it was and how and he wished profoundly that he would never be at the receiving end of that.

Puck smirked provokingly at Kurt and leaned back in the corner of the couch. Finn returned to his chair and sent Blaine and Kurt a calm smile, and returned his focus to the game roaring on the screen.

Kurt looked to his side and caught Blaine's gaze, squeezed his hand that was still hidden between them - and lifted their locked hands together to lie on Blaine's thigh for everyone to see their entwined fingers.

Blaine's first impulse was to drag away in reflex - that was what he was used to, how it usually was; that they had to hide it - so now that it didn't have to be like that he couldn't stop sending their hands glares from the corner of his eye.

When the game ended the silence in the room felt awkward, like a thick coat pressing over them. Finn shut off the TV and turned the chair so he could face the others.

Blaine knew that he shouldn't worry about it, but he couldn't help noticing how heavy the chair was and yet Finn moved it lightly around like it had been made of paper. As much as he couldn't focusing on how he would break his neck - he could easily do that; with one arm even. A shudder ran through Blaine by the thought and he felt Kurt tighten his grip a little, which made him force his thoughts back to the living room.

What had Puck said Kurt's last name was again? Oh yeah, Hummel - his last name was Hummel.

"I should probably go home so my sisters aren't alone for too long," Puck declared, breaking the silence and got up from the couch.

For a second Blaine almost begged him not to go, to stay so he wouldn't have to actually act on Finn being in the room, but he restrained himself an forced a grimace that he hope would be interpreted as a smile.

Puck shook hands with Finn and Blaine, and Kurt crawled to his knees in the couch to hug him. Once Puck had left he sat back down, and stole himself to kiss Blaine's hand, sending alarms out to all of his muscles.

"I haven't really seen you in town before. What school did you go to?" Finn asked, clearly an awkward attempt on making conversation without knowing what to converse about.

Blaine told him about Dalton that was located in a town a bit away from Lima, and they casually moved on to talk about music, Blaine grateful as that was the one thing he could talk about forever without getting nervous or uncomfortable regardless of who he was talking to.

"Blaine's really talented. He's got a fantastic voice, and he's the best guitar player I ever met," Kurt told his brother, and Blaine was sure that he could sense pride in his voice. A warmth spread through his chest, and a smile started working over his lips.

Finn asked curiously about what music he played, and for how long he had been playing, regular and relaxed questions making the atmosphere a lot lighter and in the end Blaine actually didn't as put on spot, but more like a regular chit chat - before they realized it had become late.

"I think I need to leave," Blaine excused himself and started to get up. He politely said goodbye to Finn and headed upstairs to get his coat from Kurt's room. Once he was back down Kurt followed him closely to the front door.

"I don't want you to leave," he said in a surprisingly sad tone. The look in his eyes stung in Blaine's chest and he wished that he could say that he would stay. At least for a little longer. But he couldn't.

"It's okay. My dad leaves tomorrow remember - then you'll come to my place and we'll be together for three whole days. It's gonna be great," Blaine tired cheering him up, but it suddenly hit him that it was because Kurt didn't want to be alone with Finn.

"How bout this - I promise that I'll call you the second I get home, alright?" he let a hand brush over Kurt's cheek, feeling his skin go from cold to warm under his palm. Kurt nodded and looked like his mood had gone a little up by the thought. It would still be 30 minutes or so before he could actually call him, but it was all he had to offer.

He dragged Kurt closer to kiss him, his mouth so warm and soft that Blaine's head started spinning, and he knew that he went a little overboard when he deepened the kiss a little more than he usually would have in such a public space. When they broke apart he saw that Finn had been watching them from the kitchen and panicked.

"Talk to you later," Blaine rushed out before he turned his back on Kurt and disappeared out the door and down the driveway, knowing how unfair he was being. He wanted to go back and apologize, say that he knew that it wasn't fair of him to react that way - chances were that Kurt didn't even know Finn had been looking.

But he couldn't drop the uneasy feeling storming inside him. He felt like Finn might as well have walked in on them making out on the bed. It was such a private moment.

It was freezing cold outside, and when he was halfway home he already felt like his fingers and toes would never defrost. He kept hoping that the cold weather could clear his mind so he could give Kurt the apology he deserved as soon as he was home.

When he entered the hall at home he hurried upstairs to dump his coat before running back down so he could call Kurt as promised - but his father was in the living room.

Blaine knew that it was impossible to have a private conversation on the phone if anyone was in the kitchen or living room; so he couldn't call him. He didn't want to take the risk that he might say something… sensible to their situation, because his father could be listening. He wouldn't pass that he could easily be eavesdropping.

So he sighed heavily and faced that it would seem way too suspicious if he waited around. He returned to his room and put on a record so he could read a bit, but he kept losing focus - in the end he saw that it was purposeless to keep going over the same paragraph again and again, and went to bed instead.

He couldn't fall asleep though. He kept picturing Kurt's sad face when he said that he didn't want him to leave, and then the hurt expression when Blaine had pushed him away and left with that cold remark. He felt horrible about what he had done, and started considering calling Kurt once his father had gone to bed.

Only that could possibly turn out to be very late, and he couldn't call in the middle of the night like that. It wasn't an option. He shuddered by the thought of Burt or Finn to answer the phone if he called so late. Something he hoped he would never have to do.

When he fell asleep he dreamed of Kurt saying that he didn't want to see him anymore, that they couldn't be boyfriends because he was a douche, and Finn cracking his knuckles in the background. The scene faded out and changed and he found Kurt crying and screaming that he thought he was different, that he thought he was brave and a real man instead of a limp idiot who was ashamed to be with him.

Blaine's entire body was sore when he woke up in the morning. He could feel that the nightmares had made him tense during the night, and he mostly wanted to stay in bed all day. Instead he forced himself out the door so he could go to work.

The hours were slow and around 2 the store quickly filled with teenagers, a steady stream of people that continued throughout the day, and while he kept wishing that he could go home and relax before Kurt came, he had to stroll around helping teenagers, mothers, fathers and all kinds of people with that exact artist or song they heard on the radio, or that album they were looking to give away for Christmas.

Christmas.

After meeting Kurt, and coming back to Lima, and having Kurt back in his life again everything had gone so fast. The seasons had changed and drifted into a blur around him, and now he realized that December was right around the corner.

It would be his first Christmas with Kurt. His first Christmas alone with his father. His first Christmas without his mom.

He wanted so bad to let the happy idea of Kurt during Christmas time fill him, but instead all he focused on was his mom.

The sadness stayed with him over the day, and the soreness in his neck got worse. It annoyed him that he had to work on a Sunday, especially when he wasn't feeling well, so when he finally got to leave it felt like he had held his breath under water for hours and only now got to the surface.

Before he left the store he had called Kurt's house to tell him to meet him in town so they could go back to his place together. It had been Finn who had answered the phone, and said that Kurt wasn't home. When Blaine had asked when he would be back Finn had told him that he didn't know. Blaine left the store with a worry that Kurt didn't want to talk to him after what happened the night before, even though it didn't seem like Kurt at all to just ignore him.

As he walked through the town the cold November breeze was biting his cheeks and he couldn't help hoping for the winter to be over soon. The usual melancholia he always had during fall and winter welled in over him. He had actually expected it to stay away this year - now that he had Kurt to keep him occupied.

Two teenage girls walked by him, frustratingly yelling at the kids they were keeping an eye on, trying to get them to stay on the sidewalk. He realized how long it had been since he had even thought about girls, and he found it funny that he could have forgot it. It was like it was an assurance of how certain he was about Kurt. Girls had never held his interest even though he had tried every now and then - but now they simply didn't exist to him anymore.

When he entered the house he was happy that his father had left early, so he didn't have to worry about that. He wanted to go eat and shower before he would call Kurt again, hoping to get a hold of him and ask him to come over. He really needed to be with him.

He stayed in the kitchen and had some tea and toast before he walked upstairs. The entire house was dark and cold, and it suddenly struck him how incredibly lonely he felt. The maid had put a note on the counter that she had left dinner for him in the fridge, but he didn't feel like eating alone - all he wanted was for Kurt to come be with him.

The hall was so dark and he was sure that if he hadn't lived there for his whole life he wouldn't have been able to find his way to his bedroom, but he was too exhausted to turn on the light. He need a refuge.

He entered the room and let his coat drop in a pile on the floor next to the dresser, before he turned on the little green lamp on his desk - and found Kurt sleeping in his bed.

He looked like a sleeping child. He was completely curled up around under the covers in Blaine's side of the bed, with his fingers entangled in the corner of the pillowcase. So peaceful.

Blaine kicked off his shoes, and when he saw Kurt's clothes neatly folded on the chair he got off his jeans too and crawled into the bed. He wrapped his arm around Kurt who instantly shuffled closer to him, his forehead resting against his collarbone so he could hide his face against his chest.

Blaine had no idea how Kurt had got in, but he really didn't care. For the first time that day he could relax. The entire house was silent around them, and it was only around 5pm, but to them it might as well have been in the middle of the night, because there was no time at all around them.

Kurt's skin was hot, and it didn't take long for Blaine's cold body to reach a healthy temperature, and with the feeling of Kurt snuggled up in his arms he fell asleep with the sound of Kurt's hummed snoring in his ears.