They sat for a few minutes, sipping their coffee and nibbling on their biscotti. Kurt did all he could to avoid direct eye contact, nervously stirring his coffee, tapping the spoon on the edge of the cup and then stirring again. Finally released from the hold that Kurt's eyes had over him, Blaine used the opportunity to take in his other features. He really was one of the most beautiful men that Blaine had ever seen. His flawless porcelain skin, tinted now with a slight blush, was stretched tight over an angled jaw and delicate nose, while his lips were a soft pink and glistened as if he had just wet them. His chestnut hair fell softly against his forehead in a boyish style that almost had Blaine reaching across the table to brush it from his eyes.

Blaine was still cataloging his features when Kurt finally set his spoon down, linked his fingers together on top of the table and took a deep breath.

"I hope you were happy with the food I provided. I wasn't sure what you'd like."

"It was wonderful, thank you again. And I was very happy not to arrive to two feet of snow in the driveway, so thank you for that also." Blaine winced at his stilted response. He felt as if he was 15 years old again, trying hard to impress a colleague of his father's at a dinner party. He mentally shook himself and tried again. "I'm glad to hear that Peter wasn't alone at the end. How did you know him?"

"Oh, we met about a year ago. I think it wasn't long after you and he…well, not long after the last time you two spoke. He was travelling through Europe at the time, buying antiques in local street markets. We met and became good friends, so when he returned to the states I came with him. It was only about a month later that he found out he was sick, so that ended up being his last trip."

"I didn't realize he had been sick for so long. He never told me. I can't believe I let so much time go by without contacting him. If only I had…" Kurt put his hand on Blaine's arm to stop him.

"No, please don't feel guilty. Peter didn't want you to know. He knew that you were going through a tough time and didn't want to add to your problems. It was his choice. He knew how to get in contact with you, but you know how stubborn he was." Blaine could feel a warm heat radiating from the hand on his arm. The touch calmed him and slightly lifted his sorrow at not seeing his friend again before the end.

"Besides," Kurt continued, "He knew you would be coming here to close up the house, so that there would be time then."

"Time for what?"

"Oh. Well, I'm not sure. He wasn't making a lot of sense at the end. It probably didn't mean anything." Kurt's eyes slid away from Blaine's, returning back to the table top and he slowly retracted his hand, pulling it in to grasp the other again.

Blaine instantly regretted the loss of the physical contact and wondered what Kurt would do if he reached over to grasp his intertwined hands. "So you were here for almost a year? Didn't your family or friends mind that you were gone for so long?"

"No family, no friends," Kurt murmured sadly, "Just Peter. We were very happy though. We didn't need anyone else."

"And you lived here with him?" Blaine was starting to wonder at the nature of Kurt's relationship with Peter. He had never felt more drawn to another man in his life, but he began to pull himself back at Kurt's declaration. Peter had always been drawn to younger men, many of whom had only used him for his money and connections. Was Kurt one of those men? He was so beautiful it seemed unlikely that Peter would have wanted their relationship to remain platonic, even if he had been sick.

"Yes, I cooked and helped keep up the house, but mostly I was just company. I think Peter was lonely, even though his isolation was of his own making. He just started drawing back from people. I was the only one he could tolerate for more than a few minutes."

Guilt again pressed in on Blaine. He couldn't help but wonder how things might have been different if he had been able to get past his pride and contact Peter. There was no point in going down that road, though. What was done was done and dealing with Kurt was all that was left for him to do.

"It is about dinner time. Would you mind joining me?" Blaine asked.

"I'd love to, but only if you will allow me to cook. I have the perfect dish I've been wanting to try."

"Alright, but I will do the dishes. It's only fair. Plus, I'm not that great of a cook, so unless we want to dine on grilled cheese sandwiches it is probably best that I defer to you in this area."

Kurt smiled and disappeared into the kitchen telling Blaine that it wouldn't be long until dinner was served. Blaine made his way into the living room and turned on the sound system. He spent a few minutes studying Peter's record collection, trying to select the perfect music for the occasion. Finally he pulled an old Frank Sinatra record off of the shelf and placed it on the turntable. "Ah, Sinatra. Peter, you always had great taste."

"Did you say something?" Kurt pushed his way into the dining room from the kitchen, his hands occupied with a large serving platter.

"No, I was just talking to myself. Well, to Peter actually." Blaine followed Kurt back into the kitchen to help him bring the rest of the dishes out. "Wow! Dinner is ready this fast? You are amazing."

Kurt paled a little and set the final dishes on the table. "A lot of it was already prepared. I just had to put it all together."

As they sat down to eat, Blaine's eyes were drawn again to the gleaming samovar in the living room. "That is a beautiful piece," he commented, angling his head towards the object. "Do you know where Peter got it?"

"I believe he purchased it on his last trip to Europe. He never really said why he bought it. I guess it just called to him." Kurt looked uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation and busied himself by re-arranging the flower in the vase at the middle of the table.

They ate in silence for a few more minutes before Blaine could no longer contain his curiosity. "I just have one question. How did you know when I was coming?"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't tell anyone I was coming down this weekend. How did you know to get the house ready for me? The fire was ready, the fridge was stocked. And the electricity."

"Electricity?"

"Peter's lawyer told me that the power to the house had been turned off. How did you know to get it turned back on?"

"I…I didn't. I'm not sure what… He must have been mistaken."

Blaine decided to drop the subject, since it seemed to make Kurt more uncomfortable by the second, but he still wondered, especially about the car moving into the garage without the keys. How did Kurt pull that one off? "I noticed that the garden has been completely re-worked since the last time I was here. It looks great. Did Peter hire a landscaper?"

"No, no landscaper. When I arrived I made a comment about how overgrown the garden was and Peter gave me free reign to make changes. I am glad you like it." A delicate blush settled over Kurt's features, making the paleness of his skin even more evident. "I also took it upon myself to get the house painted and some other cosmetic changes. I hope that you don't mind."

"Absolutely not! I know Peter wasn't the best about that kind of stuff, so I'm glad you were around to help out."

The men finished up their meal and disposed of the dishes in the kitchen before heading back to sit by the fire in the living room. Blaine entertained Kurt by telling amusing stories about Peter and Camp Wenatchee. The evening grew late and he noticed that Kurt's eyes were beginning to droop a little.

"Kurt, where did you sleep last night? If you lived here with Peter did you move somewhere else after he died?"

Kurt shifted his eyes away, looking deep into the flickering flames. "Don't worry about me. I have a place to stay," he replied evasively.

"It sounds like this was as much your home as it was Peter's, so please, stay here tonight." When it looked like Kurt would object Blaine continued, "Please. I don't think I could sleep knowing that I displaced you from your home."

Kurt reluctantly agreed and Blaine watched as he started up the stairs to retire to the guest bedroom. Blaine reviewed the events of the day and acknowledged to himself that despite being captivated by Kurt he didn't feel comfortable in embracing his feelings. There were too many questions about Kurt and his relationship with Peter. Wearily he pushed himself up from the couch and made his way to his own room, determined to get more answers in the morning.

Kurt sat down on the edge of the bed in the guest bedroom and gazed at the closed door. The day had gone much better than he had expected. He had looked through pictures of Blaine in Peter's photo albums and had seen him sleeping the night before, but nothing could have prepared him for Blaine awake and flashing that heart-stopping grin. The other man practically vibrated with an energy and vitality that couldn't be described. Slim, but muscular, Blaine stood a few inches shorter than Kurt — which Kurt realized he kind of liked — and had thick dark curls that Kurt wanted to reach out and touch. He even smelled great. A clean, woodsy scent that was due in part to his expensive cologne and partially just Blaine himself. In all of his years, Kurt couldn't think of another person that he had met who had affected him so quickly and completely. He hadn't wanted the evening to end, even though he hadn't really been keeping up his end of the conversation. He had been too distracted by the gorgeous honey color of Blaine's eyes and his long, thick lashes that seemed almost too heavy for his eyelids to lift. Kurt found it easiest just to listen to Blaine and chuckle at the stories of his adventures with Peter. Now that he was alone, however, he was worried that there would be more questions tomorrow. Blaine did not seem as blindly accepting as Peter had been. He would not just let things go. Despite this knowledge, Kurt felt hope though. He could feel the pain that Blaine buried deep down inside, which echoed his own. It was calling to Kurt, coursing through his veins and making his skin tingle. He just didn't need to make this work, he wanted to make it work.

Blaine had once again neglected to close the curtains on his window, so the sun woke him up early again. Unable to get back to sleep, he took a leisurely shower and pulled on a pair of soft over-washed jeans and a red and white fisherman's sweater. He was almost to the head of the stairs when he decided to go back and make a quick check on Kurt to make sure everything was alright. He walked softly up to the guest room door and slowly cracked it open. His eyes found the bed right away, but Kurt was not there and the bed was neatly made, with no sign that anyone had slept in it the night before. Blaine's heartbeat picked up a notch, fearful that Kurt had left without telling him. What if he had been scared off by all the questions the day before? What if he was gone and Blaine never saw him again?

A quick trip down the stairs confirmed that Kurt was not sleeping on the couch and didn't seem to anywhere in the house. He was just about to open the front door and check outside when the samovar in the living room caught his eye. It seemed to be glowing even more than before and a tickle developed deep in Blaine's chest that was drawing him nearer to it. As he approached, the air above the samovar began to shimmer, like a mirage in a desert. Blaine watched in wonder as the shimmer expanded and the air seemed to thicken, then swirl and lengthen, until finally a form began to emerge; the form of a man. He had his back to Blaine and was slowly pulling a silky robe up over his bare shoulders. He wrapped the tie around his middle and made a bow before reaching his arms up over his head for a deep stretch that ended in him wiggling his toes. Toes that were hovering at least a foot above the floor.

Blaine gaped at the figure, unable to believe his eyes. Was he still asleep and dreaming in his bed? Had food poisoning caused him to hallucinate? Was he going insane? Maybe all of the gel he used in his hair back home had finally begun to affect his brain.

Kurt drifted slowly down to the ground and finally turned towards the kitchen. His movements came to an abrupt stop when he saw Blaine standing there, the shock evident on this face. They both froze in place, neither knowing what to do or say until finally Blaine asked "Who are you? What are you?"

"I'm Peter's friend."

"Yes, but that isn't the full story. Please, just tell me."

Kurt looked at him with a pleading expression, as if willing Blaine to take back the question. He closed his eyes and dipped his chin down towards his chest, which expanded with a very deep breath. He opened his eyes and met Blaine's gaze.

"I'm a genie."