'What the hell is this?' Sebastian said, eyeing the plate of food that Kurt had placed in front of him.

'Light tuna chunks with fat-free dressing,' Kurt replied, throwing the empty can in the trash. Sebastian made a face and looked up to the counter where Blaine was sitting, leaning against a red apple and stirring his freshly-made mug of coffee.

'Even his food choices are prissy,' Sebastian remarked smugly. Blaine took a sip of his coffee in silence. He had decided before the new year that he would not get into any arguments with Sebastian over Kurt, and that it was best that Kurt did not know what the family cat was saying about him.

'Fine,' Kurt sighed, turning back to the cupboard and retrieving the regular packaged cat food. 'But don't blame me when you get fat.'

'Not with all the exercise I'm getting,' Sebastian replied with a wink at Blaine, who responded with an undignified roll of his eyes towards the ceiling.

'Looks like we'll have to go to the store and buy more of this,' Kurt said, opening the can and tipping the contents on to a new plate. 'Fussy animal.'

'Snarky bitch,' Sebastian muttered under his breath.

Kurt whipped around to look at Blaine.

'He said something bad about me, didn't he? What'd he say?'

Blaine hadn't expected to find himself in such a precarious situation, but then Sebastian had been awfully chatty recently and Kurt a touch paranoid. His mind began working overtime to come up with something that would avoid adding more to the rift between the two or hurt Kurt's feelings.

Blaine cleared his throat. 'He says you're wonderful and he can't wait to cuddle with you this evening.'

Kurt stared at him incredulously; behind him, Sebastian shot an ill-concealed glare in Blaine's direction.

'Somehow I doubt that,' Kurt muttered. He removed the light tuna and replaced it with the new plate, placing it with a somewhat sarcastic flourish in front of Sebastian. Kurt eyed the cat for a moment before walking away to fix his own afternoon snack.

'For once in my nine lives, I mean this figuratively, but…screw you both,' Sebastian mumbled between bites.

Blaine put down his coffee mug on the counter and huffed in annoyance. When it involved both Kurt and Sebastian, he couldn't say or do anything right.

'Classes are starting up again at McKinley next week.'

Blaine looked up from his copy of The Great Gatsby. Kurt was lying down on his bed with his eyes to the ceiling, thumbs fidgeting in his clasped hands.

'Oh,' Blaine said, by way of reply. He placed the book in his lap, knowing that this conversation would have to happen. 'Dalton starts again in two weeks, but a lot of the guys start returning to the dormitories to organize themselves about a week before.'

Kurt didn't say anything again for a while and Blaine returned to reading his novel.

'That's…that's interesting,' Kurt finally said, and Blaine put his book down again and closed it.

'Have you decided to go back?' he asked, folding his hands over the book in his lap.

'No!' Kurt said quickly, then flushed as he sat up, mirroring Blaine's posture. 'I mean, I do need to go back some day. I'm just…I don't feel that I'm ready to do so just yet.'

'That's understandable, Kurt,' Blaine replied, and in his mind it was. Kurt had suffered a lot from his tormentors and Blaine believed there was no point in returning to the school if he was going to be harassed again. He was a little nervous in his next response. 'Do you still want me to stay here?'

He noticed the brief change in Kurt's expression as a flicker of fear passed through his blue eyes before it disappeared again.

'I want you to stay,' Kurt said quietly. 'But I can't be selfish and force you to stay if you want to go back.'

Blaine really did want to stay. He enjoyed Kurt's company and he didn't mind being tutored by Mrs Frederick. At the same time, he didn't want to outstay his welcome, but it wasn't for him or Kurt to decide that. He had grown accustomed to being a part of Kurt's family as much as he felt a part of his Dalton family of other orphaned boys.

'Would you be disappointed if I left?' Blaine asked him.

Kurt's voice was small when he answered Blaine.

'Yes.' Judging by his downcast state, Blaine thought Kurt had been preparing himself to be the receiver of bad news for quite some time.

'Then I'll stay,' he said. Kurt raised his head quickly and gaped at Blaine in shock.

'Are…are you sure?' Kurt replied after a long pause, his voice quivering slightly. 'I mean, I don't want to hold you back…'

'Positive. Besides, I like it here.' Blaine stood up. 'But I think we should let the owners of the house know I'll be staying on a little longer.'

Kurt held out his palm to him. 'I think my Dad's downstairs in the kitchen,' he said, standing up when Blaine was comfortably seated. He moved gracefully out of the bedroom and walked slowly down the stairs, sneaking glances at Blaine while biting his lip, as if concerned that Blaine would change his mind at any second. Blaine patted Kurt's palm in what he hoped Kurt could sense was a soothing gesture. Kurt's fingers curled up slightly, keeping Blaine close and that was all the acknowledgement Blaine needed.

Kurt hesitated on the last stair that lead into the kitchen area. 'I'm glad you're staying.'

'Me too,' Blaine replied, as the kitchen came into view. Burt was sitting at the table, examining a written document closely. He glanced up when the boys entered.

'Well, the bills are starting to come in,' Burt said, flicking the paper in front of him. 'I think we should get Finn in here and have a chat about our hot water consumption.'

'Dad, uh, before that,' Kurt said, sitting down and resting his palm on the table so that Blaine could slide off. 'Since I'm not going to be returning to McKinley for a little while longer, I was hoping that Blaine could stay with us, at least until then.' Blaine knew that "then" could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and he hoped that Burt wouldn't mind him extending his stay for that indefinite period.

Burt replied without a moment's hesitation.

'Of course.' Blaine felt the older man's eyes on him. 'But I don't blame you if you've gotten sick of this one already.' He gestured towards Kurt, who pushed at his father's arm in annoyance and caused Burt to bark out a short laugh.

'No, I haven't,' Blaine said, smiling. 'I just hope I'm not imposing on the family.'

'Blaine.' Burt's voice had transitioned to a more serious tone. He placed both elbows on the table and observed Blaine with a pointed look. 'You're one of the family now, kiddo. No matter where you end up staying, whether you like it or not, you've got a family here, too.'

Blaine was so taken aback by Burt's reply that he found it difficult to locate his voice. 'Thank-you,' he croaked, reaching out beside him for support. He felt his hand brush against Kurt's little finger and he placed the palm of his hand against it, resting it there. He felt Kurt stiffen slightly under the touch but he did not say a word.

'Don't mention it.' Burt dropped the bill on to the table. 'Besides, I don't think Kurt here would've let you go.'

Blaine took a moment to glance up at Kurt's face. He looked mortified.

'I mean, no, I wouldn't have,' Kurt began, cheeks reddening as he refused to look at his father or down at Blaine. 'But-'

'Don't look so embarrassed, kid,' Burt answered. He picked up a cookie from the plate in the center of the table. 'He's pretty special to us, too, so you've got no worries there.'

Kurt stood up from his seat so quickly that it nearly toppled over.

'I…uh…have to use the bathroom,' he replied before darting out of the kitchen. Burt shook his head while Blaine stared after Kurt, a little bewildered.

'That kid,' Burt muttered, taking a bite of the cookie.

Blaine continued gazing at the doorway where Kurt had left. 'So…Kurt think's I'm special?'

Burt considered him for a moment while chewing. 'Yep. That and a few other things. But you didn't hear it from me.' He finished off the cookie before reaching for another, snapping a small piece off the end. 'Here, have some. They're just plain oatmeal but if you close your eyes, they could pass as choc-chip.'

Blaine laughed as he received the piece from Burt's fingers. 'Thanks.'

He did feel kind of special.