'This dorm wasn't made to fit twenty-five people!' he shouted through the crowd that had formed at the door, curious to see what was happening inside. Jeff and Nick were hard at work, wrapping up tiny books, furniture and odds and ends. Blaine was folding his clothes and placing them neatly in an extra-small toiletry bag, along with his shoes, socks and hats. It wouldn't take the boys very long to pack up, because everything that Blaine had ever owned could fit in a small cardboard box.

He said goodbye to Mrs Frederick and the Headmaster, promising that he would be on his best behavior and not cause any trouble for Kurt's family. Trent and the other boys were about to take him down to the front entrance when Blaine stopped them.

'Wait a minute, I haven't said goodbye to Pavarotti yet!'

Nick, Jeff and Trent all shared an amused look, but still brought him to the senior common room where the bird was resting. Blaine promised he'd only be five minutes, and while the other boys waited out in the hallway, Blaine climbed up to the window sill in the empty room to speak to Pavarotti.

The canary chirped happily when he saw him. 'Off to spend some time with a family, little one?' Pavarotti said. 'A change of environment will do you a world of good!'

'I hope so,' Blaine said, the excitement and nerves he had been feeling in his stomach all weekend rushing back. 'Kurt is nice, as is his family. But I'm going to miss you.'

'Tosh tosh,' Pavarotti said, with a shake of his wing. 'You'll have plenty of company so you won't have time to miss me. Besides, if I'm not here I'll be in the dormitories, or the gardens, or wherever that new boy wants to take me. And in between, I can always dream.'

'Dream?' Blaine said, looking at Pavarotti curiously. 'What will you be dreaming of?'

Pavarotti sighed and raised his head to gaze through the window behind Blaine.

'Freedom, little one.'

Kurt was waiting for him in the foyer of the visitor's reception area, along with his father. Burt took the small box of Blaine's possessions from Nick while Trent passed Blaine over to Kurt.

'Keep him safe, okay?' Trent said to Kurt before joining the others to walk out the door.

'Wait, where are you going?' Kurt questioned, wondering why the boys were rushing outside.

'You'll see,' Jeff said with a wink before disappearing as well. His father tilted his head to indicate to follow them, and walked out the door. Kurt could hear his bark of laughter outside.

'Ready to leave?' Kurt asked, looking down at Blaine.

'All set,' Blaine replied, though Kurt could see from the movement of his tiny chest that he had let out a deep breath.

Kurt couldn't help but feel the corners of his mouth raise a little when he stepped outside.

The Warblers and quite a number of other students had formed a guard of honor of sorts down the walkway to the front gate. Two lines of boys stood with their arms raised in the air and clasping the hands of the boy opposite him. Nick, Jeff and Trent had joined the tail end of the guard beside the gate. Kurt heard Blaine laugh and clap his hands together in delight.

'I guess we're passing through?' Kurt said, looking through the sea of joined hands.

'We're going to run through,' Blaine said, and Kurt felt a light tapping of a tiny hand on his own palm. 'Go, Kurt!'

Kurt ducked down and made his way quickly through the makeshift tunnel, boys cheering on either side of him but the highlight for Kurt was sneaking a glance at Blaine and seeing the glow on his face for all those that had come to say goodbye. With promises of Speak to you soon and See you after Christmas from Trent, Nick and Jeff, they were already home by the time Kurt realized it.

Kurt took the box from his father and joined him in the kitchen. Carole was washing a handful of potatoes in the sink.

'Hi sweetheart,' Carole said, eyes directed at Blaine's level. 'Burt and I are eating with the neighbors tonight so we're making an early dinner for you boys.'

'We wouldn't want you boys to go hungry,' Burt added, retrieving a potato peeler from the cutlery drawer. 'You haven't seen what Kurt acts like when he's hungry, oh boy.'

Kurt threw an icy glare in his father's direction before ascending the stairs to his room.

'Make sure to keep an eye out for Sebastian!' Carole called after him, and Kurt heard his father snort, 'Yeah, as if that's going to be hard for him.' Kurt slammed the door shut on both their voices, and he felt Blaine jump in his hand.

'Sorry,' Kurt said, standing by the side of his bed. Blaine shook his head and assured him he didn't need to apologize.

He placed Blaine on his pillow without thinking and then put the box in the center of the bed. He was startled by a shriek; Blaine had begun sinking into the depths of the pillow.

'Oh my gosh, oh Blaine!' Kurt cried, snatching Blaine from the pillow and placing him on the bedspread. He was surprised to see Blaine trying to hide laughter behind his hand.

'Nothing that hasn't happened before,' Blaine said, suppressing a giggle. 'Your pillow is really soft, by the way.'

'Uh…thanks.' Kurt sat opposite Blaine on the bedspread and stared at the box. With permission from Blaine, he pulled it closer to him and began taking out all its contents. The largest item that Blaine owned happened to be at the top of the pile. It was a felt beret in the deepest of reds, and Kurt had never seen a more beautiful piece in his life.

'It was my mother's,' Blaine said, by way of explanation. Kurt placed the beret reverently on the bedspread and turned his attention to the other items, arranging everything neatly on the bed. Kurt learned quickly that the remainder of Blaine's possessions had been custom-made and meticulously crafted, from the tiny sheet set and pillow on Blaine's bed to the shoes and socks that Blaine wore on his feet. He began to unwrap newspaper from what looked like another wooden piece of furniture while Blaine busied himself with unpacking items of clothing and placing them in a previously uncovered chest of drawers.

'Are those…bowties?' Kurt asked, gazing down at the tiny patterned and dotted pieces of fabric.

'Yep,' Blaine said, picking one up and raising it closer to Kurt's eyes. 'I've amassed quite a collection. Only problem is I haven't had much of an opportunity to wear them, save for weekends.'

'Are-are you going to wear them now?'

'Every day,' Blaine answered with a grin.

Kurt had made space on his bedside table to fit Blaine's furniture and a small space in his closet for more of Blaine's items, but it wasn't needed. He apologized to Blaine for setting him up near his alarm clock, promising to keep it switched off but Blaine seemed more than happy with the arrangement. Blaine's bed was placed in the center of the table with his furniture surrounding it, and his mother's beret became a makeshift rug which carpeted the wooden floor underneath. Just as soon as they were finished, Kurt heard his father and Carole calling them down to dinner.

'I'm just going to quickly get changed, if that's all right,' Blaine said while in the process of removing his coat.

'Uh…' Kurt began, understanding that Blaine wanted to get a little more dressed up for dinner. 'Yes, of course. I'll-I'll just be waiting outside.'

'It's your room, Kurt,' Blaine said, as he began to unbutton his shirt. 'You can stay here.'

'No-no it's okay, I'll just be…just call out when you're done,' Kurt spluttered, before turning on his heel and walking out through the doorway, closing the door shut behind him. He placed a hand on his face and groaned, embarrassed at how warm his cheeks were. He knew that Blaine was used to seeing other boys in various states of undress, but Kurt wasn't, always choosing to hide away in a corner after gym class or by avoiding the school's male locker room altogether. Even so much as another look at a boy and he'd be accused by a loudmouth jock for being a pervert.

He suddenly felt foolish for running out of the room; with Blaine's size, he could have easily turned around or pretended to look out the window while Blaine was getting ready.

'All done!'

Still feeling somewhat ashamed by his actions, Kurt slowly opened his bedroom door and wandered over to the bedside table. Blaine was dressed in smart tweed pants and loafers, with a white shirt and navy bow tie underneath a burgundy cardigan. His hair looked shiner and neater with the addition of extra gel. Words slipped out of Kurt before he could stop them.

'So cute,' Kurt breathed, but in horror realized what he said and slapped a hand over his mouth. He averted his gaze until he heard a soft chuckle, and looked back to see the smaller boy smiling at him fondly.

'Yeah, I get that a lot,' Blaine said, clasping his hands behind his back and twirling one foot on the table.

Blaine yawned and stretched as he made the trip back from the bathroom to Kurt's (and now his) bedroom. He was delighted to find that Kurt's father had already set up his own private ensuite within the bathroom, complete with his own sized faucet and bathtub, just like it had been set up at Dalton. He did manage a good night's rest but all the packing and unpacking from yesterday had left him a little more tired than usual.

As he passed the landing near the staircase, he wondered what Kurt and his family would normally eat for breakfast. He began thinking about all the different combinations of breakfast foods and did not pay attention to where he was going, until he bumped into a patch of snowy white fur.

Blaine bounced back from the impact and was immediately amazed at how warm the fur was. Then he realized the fur was actually attached to a body, and whatever it was had now turned around to face him. Two bright green eyes stared down at him, and all Blaine could do was gulp. Blaine had never been so close to a cat before and since it had him surrounded, tail and all, he didn't have a choice.

'Hmm…' said the cat, peering at him closely, so near that its whiskers were only millimeters away. 'You don't look like a mouse; you don't have a tail or fur. You don't smell like a mouse either. And you're too small to be a human.' The cat thought for a moment. 'Unless you are a really small, absolutely tiny human. So what are you?'

'I'm human,' said Blaine, trying not to shake as he looked up at the cat. 'Are you-are you going to eat me?'

The cat threw back his head and laughed.

'Eat you? I don't eat humans. I just wondered why my dear owner was keeping me confined to the living room. Besides,' the cat continued, its green eyes glittering with amusement. 'If anyone wants to eat you up, I'll be the first in line, if you know what I mean.' Then it winked.

Blaine blinked in astonishment. Was the cat trying to flirt with him?

'Of course, that explains why they've been keeping an eye on me.' A sudden realization had dawned on him from the cat's musings.

'Oh,' said Blaine. He glanced up at the cat with a small smile. 'You must be Sebastian.'