Chapter 17

Blaine: Bringing Kurt over for dinner. Put some pants on.

Cooper: Tell that to the girl I'm with…

Blaine: EW! THAT IS DIGUSTING!

Cooper: Lolololololol

         You're the one who brought it up.

Blaine: I DID NOT!

Cooper: xD

Blaine: Please get her out.

          NOW!

Cooper: Fine. Fine. Don't get your panties in a bunch.

      I'd tell her that but…

Blaine: Don't.

Cooper: She's not wearing those either.

Blaine: I SAID DON'T! JESUS!

Cooper: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL xDDDDDDDDDDD

Blaine pulled up to an intimidating large iron gate. He waited for a second, eyes focused on the road while the small code on his car was read, automatically making the gate slowly swing wide open. Blaine put his foot on the gas and began driving forwards; finally noticing the raised eyebrow Kurt had been giving for the last minute or so.

"What?"

Kurt held up a hand, words failing him as he simply gestured to the enormous, decadent houses surrounding them. Once again, Blaine looked at Kurt, completely confused.

"What!"

"Blaine! You live here? You live here?"

He shrugged his shoulders, brushing it off like it was nothing.

"Yeah."

Kurt slowly shook his head, almost unbelieving how casual Blaine was being about this. The people who lived in here lived a more extravagant lifestyle. They were privileged, money never the issue; the only real problem was choosing which car they wanted to drive that day. His boyfriend wore t-shirts and jeans every day, kept his hair messy and un-styled, nothing of what a 'privileged kid' would look like and yet it still somehow made sense that he lived in what was informally known as 'the rich part of Lima'.

He stared at Blaine's profile for a little longer, watching him as they drove through the neighborhood. He pulled into the driveway of what could be considered a miniature mansion, looking curiously at the cab sitting in front of his house.

He pulled the key out of the ignition and quickly turned to Kurt,

"Wait here."

"What? Blaine what are you doin-"

Kurt watched, smiling, as Blaine eagerly ran around to his side of the car, opening the door for him before he had the chance to do it himself, and excitedly held out a hand for him.

Kurt took it as he stepped out of the car, their clasped hands swinging back and forth as they walked towards the house.

Suddenly the front door swung wide open and the couple immediately stopped walking.

"What the-"

A bubble headed blonde stumbled out and tripped over the doorstep. She was wearing one silver stiletto, the other swinging loosely from her fingers as she giggled loudly. A cheetah print bra strap peeked out from behind the sluttiest and trashiest hot pink mini dress Kurt had ever seen in his life.

Kurt turned to Blaine, a horrified look on his face.

"Wh- Who is she?"

He slowly shook his head, unable to force any words out of his mouth.

She stumbled another step or two, a ditzy little "Whoa!" and a drunken hiccup escaping from her overly glossed mouth.

It was like watching a terrible train wreck that they wanted so hard to look away from. Kurt was about to say something about her repulsing outfit when a man appeared at the door.

Kurt was mesmerized.

He leaned up against the frame, shirtless and chiseled with a t-shirt carelessly tossed over his shoulder, exuding sexiness with every breath he took. His hair looked effortlessly styled, falling in just the right way without even trying. His captivating, clear cerulean eyes were sparkling as the light hit them; also making his cheek and jaw bones look even more stunning.

"I-is that…"

"Yep."

Blaine's response was unenthusiastic; he was far too used to people melting in the presence of his older brother, who was now holding out a well sculpted arm, dangling what looked like a lacey pink thong.

"Hey, Stacy! Did you forget something?"

The blonde turned around on her heel, head of messy curls swinging to the side as she tilted her head. A genuine look of remembrance spread across her ridiculously tan face.

"Ohmygod. I totally forgot. Thanks."

She grabbed the thong, giggling all the while and began to put it back on, flashing not only Kurt and Blaine, but probably the rest of the neighborhood as well.

"Oh god!"

Both of them shielded their eyes from the horrific sight in front of them. Cooper just laughed, waving a hand as the cab drove off.

"Bye Stacy!"

Blaine shook his head, dragging Kurt, who was once again awestruck by Cooper's abs, as he walked towards the front door; shouting towards his brother.

"Classy Coop. Real classy."

Cooper shrugged, an impossibly charming smile coming over his face and doing the unthinkable; making him look even more heartbreakingly gorgeous than he already was. Kurt could feel his brain turn to mush, almost positive that he just lost about fifty IQ points.

"I do what I can."

Cooper winked and Blaine raised a skeptical, yet somewhat amused eyebrow.

"You couldn't put on a shirt?"

The extremely attractive man pointed a finger at Blaine.

"You only told me to put on pants."

Blaine absentmindedly slid an arm around Kurt's waist and Kurt immediately leaned into him.

"At least you called her a cab."

Copper scoffed, his confident personality taking over.

"Please. I always call them a cab."

An almost unnoticeable whimper escaped Kurt's lips and Cooper turned his piercing gaze on him.

"Oh is this your boyfriend?"

Blaine held on to him tighter, though it was only to keep Kurt from falling.

"Uh, yep. This is Kurt. Kurt this is my brother Coo-"

"Cooper. Cooper Anderson."

He held out a hand for a handshake but Kurt just tilted his head to the side, mouth opening slightly as he stared at the beautiful man's perfect smile.

Cooper grinned a bit wider at Kurt's reaction as he waved the pair inside, Blaine nudging Kurt with his hip to get him moving again.

"So what's for dinner?"

Not knowing what would come out of Kurt's mouth if given the chance, Blaine quickly spoke up.

"Uh, not sure. Kurt picked out all the stuff at the store."

Cooper nodded, clapping Blaine on the arm.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go freshen up. I'm a little,"

He paused to look directly at Kurt.

"…sweaty."

Cooper turned and left the room, chuckling to himself as he heard yet another whimper escape from Kurt followed by a, "C'mon! Really, Coop?" from Blaine.

Kurt took a deep breath, standing up straight and smoothing out his clothes.

"No, no. I'm fine."

Blaine rolled his eyes and smiled, giving Kurt a kiss on the cheek,

"Mhmm, of course you are."

Kurt looked around the house for the first time, finally noticing the décor now that he wasn't so distracted.

The colors were a muted, refined palate, expertly chosen; whoever had decorated the room had lavish taste. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, a hand painted family portrait was right above the fireplace. The furniture looked as if it was antique, but very well maintained; classy and refined. Everything looked neat, clean and expensive. There was an enormous dining room large enough for twenty five, but everything was covered in plastic; as if the room was only used for very special occasions. The whole affect was akin to that of an upscale museum rather than a home. Very cold and distant, a bit unwelcoming and standoffish, but all the same it was very captivating.

Kurt spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"It's very…tasteful."

Blaine gently squeezed Kurt's hip where his hand was resting,

"Let's go get started on dinner."

Blaine led him down a short hall into the kitchen and Kurt's jaw dropped.

It was gigantic; long marble countertops, shiny stainless steel appliances and a massive island sitting in the middle with chairs on one side. The cabinetry looked spectacular and organized; there was even a small chandelier hanging above the island.

Blaine ran outside to grab the groceries and Kurt began exploring the kitchen, looking through drawers, running his hands along the smooth countertops; he was in cooking heaven.

Kurt clasped his hands together in excitement when Blaine came back in with all of the cooking supplies.

"Your kitchen…is amazing!"

Blaine grinned and began taking food out of the bags.

"Yeah, well, my mom is kind of a cooking fanatic."

Kurt practically skipped over to him, taking both of Blaine's hands into his own.

"Okay, so tonight we are making grilled chicken and pesto farfalle."

Blaine nodded like he knew what Kurt was talking about.

"Oh, yeah, that. Of course."

Kurt rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his mouth as he pointed to the package of chicken.

"Just go grill the chicken with some salt and pepper."

"Can do."

Blaine gave him a silly little two fingered salute before grabbing the package and pulling out a pan.

"You goof."

Kurt giggled at him and began getting everything he needed for the pesto pasta.

They fell into an easy rhythm, standing next to each other at the stove, adding this or stirring that, Kurt humming softly underneath his breath as the pair of them swayed back and forth, their hips in sync as they cooked. Blaine finished with the chicken, taking a step back as he leaned against the island, watching as Kurt finished with the pesto, adding a pinch of salt and then pouring it over the farfalle. Just as he turned off the last burners, he felt Blaine come up behind him and place his hands on his hips. Kurt smiled at the touch, still stirring the pasta.

Blaine had wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist now, and he could feel Blaine's breath coming in soft puffs against his neck as he spoke.

"Smells great."

"Thank you."

Kurt speared a piece of pasta with his fork and turned around in Blaine's arms, holding the fork up to his mouth.

"Here, try some. Be careful though, it's hot."

Blaine licked his lips and then gently blew on the bit of pasta, staring Kurt directly in the eyes as he did so. He grinned, a glint of mischief in his eyes as he ate the piece of pasta, licking the fork clean to make sure he got every last bit of the pesto.

"It's really good-"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence before Kurt was kissing him, taking a few steps forward until Blaine was pressed against the island. Kurt's arms wrapped around his neck, Blaine's tongue slowly making its way into his mouth; he tasted so good, the flavor of pesto still on his lips, but it wasn't just the pesto that made Kurt so…eager, it was the taste of Blaine intertwined with it. Kurt pulled closer so that Blaine's body tight against his. A soft moan slipped from Blaine's lips, liking Kurt's sudden aggression. His hands gripped Kurt's hips and his mouth started to trail downwards when a loud holler rang out.

"GET IT!"

Kurt immediately flushed a rosy shade of pink and untangled himself from Blaine, turning and pouring the pasta into a bowl to hide his blush and the small lick of his lips. Blaine glared at his brother with all the hate he could muster, slowly shaking his head.

"Really? Really? That was necessary?"

But Cooper just gave him an exaggerated wink and two thumbs up. With one last sneer, Blaine turned away from him and began setting out plates and silverware on the island, Kurt placing the bowl of pasta and chicken down right next to them. Cooper immediately sat down, Blaine taking the seat next to Kurt on the far side.

Cooper served himself, passed the bowl to Blaine, and then looked over to Kurt – who was still a bit flustered.

"Grilled chicken and pesto farfalle, right?"

Kurt leaned forwards, an astonished look on his face.

"Um, yeah, it is."

Cooper's face lit up, proud of himself for knowing.

"I can taste the fresh garlic!"

Blaine paused mid-serve to slowly turn his head and gape at Cooper, an extremely confused look on his face.

"Since when do you know what pesto far- far-"

Kurt finished for him,

"Farfalle."

"Yeah. Since when do you know what f-… that is, let alone whether the garlic is fresh or not?"

Cooper shrugged, a cocky smile playing on his lips as he took a bite of food.

"I like to cook."

Blaine raised an unconvinced eyebrow.

"Really?"

Cooper grinned roguishly

"The ladies love it."

Blaine nodded, finally getting the punch line he had been waiting for.

"There it is."

Dinner continued on like that for a while, Kurt getting more and more comfortable, Blaine continuously trying to keep Cooper in line; his mischievous and quite debonair attitude seeming to be the height of every conversation. They talked about everything, from football to fashion. It was amazing for Kurt, seeing Blaine just being himself. And Cooper was just…captivating. The three of them got along so well, all quick witted and fully engaged in what was being discussed. Kurt wasn't even sure how they got on the topic of show choir, but before he knew it he was talking about Rachel's insane need for solos and Mr. Shuester's too-nice attitude. He had just mentioned their win at Sectionals when Cooper spoke up.

"No kidding!"

Kurt nodded, a proud smile on his face.

"Yeah. We beat the Warblers, well, they did. I wasn't there for it."

Cooper looked extremely impressed.

"The Warblers? Really? Wow. I bet they would've won if Blaine had been there."

Blaine shot his brother a threatening glance, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Cooper..."

He shrugged,

"What? I'm serious."

He turned to Kurt, giving an explanation for what he was talking about.

"I'm a Dalton boy. Blainers used to visit me all the time and sneak into the rehearsals when he was younger. He loved it."

Kurt immediately turned to Blaine, who was currently avoiding any and all eye contact with him.

"Wait. I thought you said you can't sing."

Cooper spoke with an unbelieving tone.

"Blaine? Can't sing?"

He laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea.

"Are you kidding? Blaine's almost as good as I was. We used to have sing-offs all the time when we were kids."

Blaine seemed almost offended at what Cooper had said.

"Used to?"

Kurt latched himself onto Blaine's arm, like a small child begging his mom for a lollypop.

"Can I hear you? Please?"

He looked down at Kurt, trying to act like he had a choice in the matter, but he knew, deep down, that Kurt would eventually get his way – especially when he stared up at Blaine with those big, beautiful eyes.

"I don't know. I haven't sung in a while."

Cooper jumped in.

"You were nailing that Maroon 5 song yesterday."

Blaine shot Cooper a 'stop it' glare, and Kurt wiggled in his seat excitedly.

"Which one?"

Blaine waved a hand in the air.

"Nothing. Cooper's just-"

"Sunday Morning."

Cooper grinned, glad to have efficiently dug Blaine into a hole that he could not get out of.

Kurt held tighter onto Blaine's arm, becoming really giddy now that he was going to have a chance to hear him sing.

"I love that song! Please sing it? Pleeeeaaasssseee?"

Blaine took one last look at Kurt's eyes and sighed, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Fine."

Kurt sat up straight and folded his hands in his lap, staring Blaine with a gigantic smile on his face.

With a quick glare at Cooper and a nervous glance at Kurt, he took a deep breath in, closed his eyes, and then began to sing.

Blaine's notes were pure and clear as he belted out the chorus of the song, using all of the power in his throat to produce a rich, soothing sound, his voice filling the room with music. Kurt was practically swooning, and his smile growing brighter and brighter with every word. He watched Blaine as he sang, his face containing a look of pure joy. Blaine just looked so comfortable when he sang, so in his element, so at home.

The moment that the chorus was over silence replaced what had been previously filled with sound. Blaine's eyes blinked open and he looked over to Kurt with an uneasy smile, hoping for his approval.

"That was amazing!"

Kurt gushed and began clapping excitedly before cuddling up to a blushing, grinning Blaine.

"Yup, I definitely got the better Anderson."

Kurt glanced over at Cooper.

"No offense."

"None taken."

Cooper gave him a warm smile, genuinely glad that Blaine had found someone to make him this happy.

There was a small buzzing noise and Cooper reached into his pocket to grab his phone, watching out of the corner of his eye as Kurt turned back to Blaine, smiling when they intertwined their fingers and began whispering sweet nothings to each other.

But then Cooper saw the text and the smile fell from his face.

"Shit."

Both boys heard the tone of Cooper's voice and they immediately fell silent, Blaine whipping his head around to see what the problem was.

"What?"

Cooper looked him straight in the eye, the importance of his statement being lost on Kurt.

"It's dad. He'll be home in ten minutes."

"Crap! Here I'll-"

Blaine shot up from his seat, immediately reaching out to grab his and Kurt's now empty plates. Cooper placed a hand on Blaine's arm, his voice losing all of its charm and becoming very serious.

"No. You gotta get Kurt home. Now."

The worry in Blaine's eyes was unmistakable.

"But the mess. I can't leave you with it-"

His older brother was calm, taking a plate from Blaine's hand.

"I can handle it. Take Kurt home."

Blaine looked up at his brother, staring at him for a second before nodding and turning to Kurt.

"C'mon, we have to go."

Kurt was silent and a bit shocked by what had happened. He just stood up and Blaine clasped their hands together, Cooper patting him on the shoulder as they passed by and left the room.

"Nice meeting you, Kurt."

There was an odd tension during the drive home; the sound of raindrops pattering on metal was the only thing stopping the car ride from falling completely silent. Blaine's eyes were focused on the road, but his thoughts seemed elsewhere. Kurt stared at him, not too sure what to say. He mind was burning with curiosity and confusion, still a bit flustered by the abrupt ending to their dinner.

He bit down on his lip, finally mustering up the courage to say what had been circling around in his head.

"Blaine?"

"Hmm?"

Kurt's voice was quiet, barely audible over the rain, but it still rang clear in Blaine's ears.

"Why don't you want me to meet your dad?"

Blaine slammed on the breaks, just barely making the red light. Kurt was incredibly thankful for the absence of cars, even more so when Blaine decided to make a sharp right into an empty parking lot. Kurt let out an uneasy breath as Blaine parked the car, unsure of what to expect. He knew he had hit a sore spot.

Blaine took the keys out of the ignition and the car went dark. He stared at his hands sitting in his lap, just thinking of the right words to say. He had wanted so much to avoid this conversation.

"I-I don't wanna ruin our night."

Kurt turned towards him, examining his profile as he spoke; the rain tapping out a pattern on the car.

"Blaine, I really don't like it when you hide things from me."

He took a deep breath, exhaling as he ran his fingers through his messy curls.

"Kurt, you're relationship with your dad is…remarkable. You're love for each other is just…not all families have that and it's a beautiful thing."

Kurt reached out and took one of Blaine's hands in his own.

"Blaine, I get that not all dads are as accepting as mine. But you can't hide this just because you're afraid of how your dad will act."

The rain began to fall harder, now pounding on windows and making it so you couldn't see more than five feet in front of you.

"It's not that."

Blaine looked up at Kurt for a second, only to turn back to stare at the rain, all the while feeling the warmth of Kurt's hand in his own.

"My dad's very…reserved. He doesn't really…when I came out to him, he-he didn't really have a reaction, we just went on all these 'bonding' escapades. Rebuilt a car, went fishing, golfing, all this crazy stuff. He even tried to get me into woodworking."

Blaine let out a small chuckle. He spoke as if this was nothing, as if it wasn't something he thought about every day, as if this hadn't affected him at all. But it had– more than anyone would ever know; all those talks with Cooper just made him good at not showing it.

"When everything started happening at school, I'd come home covered in cuts and bruises. My dad didn't even look down from the paper. He-…Coop must have begged him a thousand times to transfer me to Dalton, they had a 'zero tolerance no bullying policy', but he wouldn't budge. Said there was 'no way in Hell' he'd send me to an all boys school…You know, he'll never admit to it, ever, but Coop and I think the only reason he kept me in that school was to toughen me out, make me straight. He's a business man, very strategic and cryptic, always has some sort of ulterior motive."

Blaine looked down at their hands, up at Kurt, then back out into the rain.

"He's…he's just not the kind of person I want you to meet."

Kurt brought his hand up to Blaine's face.

"Blaine…"

He took hold of the hand on his cheek, resting there for a second before letting go of both of Kurt's hands and putting his key back into the ignition.

"Look, it's cool. You know, whatever."

Kurt looked at Blaine, and he could feel his heart breaking as he stared at him and saw the unspoken pain buried deep beneath the surface. Kurt had always taken his relationship with his father for granted, but Blaine, he must have felt so alone. Even if he had Cooper, he didn't have his father, his dad. Kurt couldn't even imagine what his life would be like if he didn't have his dad fighting with him.

The rest of the ride home was driven in near silence; they had pulled up to a stoplight when Blaine spoke, his voice so soft Kurt almost missed it.

"I think that…he thought life would be a lot easier for him…if I was straight."