Rachel trailed close behind Blaine into the dining room. She looked around at everyone, smiling widely- until she met eyes with Finn. Her smile dropped a little, but she quickly regained herself, clearing her throat. Kurt couldn't help but stare down at his plate the whole time.

"Please, take a seat, Rach." Blaine offered as he pulled up a rolling computer chair from the den. Rachel laughed and accepted his suggestion of a glass of wine.

"So, how are things around here at the Hummel house?" Rachel inquired. Kurt pushed around the perfect square of lasagna still left on his plate. He didn't look up since Rachel walked in.

Burt was explaining how his business was going well. He told her that he was still fighting his cancer, while Carol was doing her best to help out. Finn gave Kurt darting looks every once in a while, usually whenever Rachel's laugh resounded through the room.

"So, Kurt." Rachel said finally. Kurt's head snapped up and he smiled nervously.

"Yes, Rachel?" Kurt answered in a hushed voice. He tried not to think about the heavy stare he was receiving from beside him.

"When am I going to see those heels I specifically claimed?" she laughed.

Kurt let go of all the air he was holding in his lungs, breathing normally now. He laughed to himself before saying, "Oh, believe me, you'll get them by the end of dinner. I swear it."

Really, he was just happy she didn't mention again the other half of the promise he made.

The whole family talked with Rachel, laughing at old stories and memories they had. So much had changed for everyone in the past few years. Finn didn't say much, but Kurt was being eaten up inside by all the unspoken words between them.

He knew he was in for it after dinner.

"Excuse me." Kurt whispered as he stood up quickly from his chair. He hastily walked into the guest bathroom right around the corner and locked the door. He looked at himself in the mirror, breathing in and out slowly.

"Kurt, you have to fix this mess." he told himself. He splashed a little cold water on his face, and just as he went to grab a towel, there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Kurt inquired.

"It's just me." Blaine's voice rang out from the other side of the door.

Kurt quickly unlocked the door to let Blaine come in, then sat down on the counter. Blaine closed the door behind him, and looked at Kurt with his, "I love you, but what's going on?" eyes.

"You know how I told you about meeting Rachel earlier today at Publix?" Kurt asked. "Well, now that it's been announced that I owe her a date, Finn has a hunch that it's him."

"And?" Blaine shrugged his shoulders, as if he was expecting something more threatening. He knew Kurt had grown emotionally stronger in the past few years, and that not much phased him.

"And..." Kurt started, "His hunch is dead on."

Blaine seemed taken aback by the statement, but he put that emotion away quickly, replacing it with a smile. "Baby, don't worry. Everything will work out just fine. Maybe Finn will just forget about it." he said.

Kurt swallowed back the tears that were forming and impairing in his vision. "But what if I really screwed up this time?" Kurt choked. "Finn barely comes around anymore because he knows Lima holds a lot of heavy memories. Ones of Rachel and all the pain their relationship brought him."

"Kurt, do you remember what I always told you in high school?" Blaine asked. "When you were being bullied by Krofsky, and practically everyone else at McKinley?" Kurt nodded. "Well, what was it?"

Kurt smiled and spoke softly, remembering the moment Blaine told him. "Courage. For me to have courage every day. To remember that things would get better, and to do what I had to do to get through things."

"Right." Blaine smiled back at Kurt, the man he loved. "So, what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'll… Just tell Rachel that the date won't happen. And that she'll get her shoes instead." Kurt laughed.

Blaine got closer to Kurt, and ran his hand across Kurt's cheek. "I love you." Blaine whispered. He kissed Kurt softly, their lips barely touching. Kurt's hands slid down to Blaine's waist, wrapping tightly around him, pulling their bodies closer together. Their lips moved in sync, along with breathing that could only be described as ragged. Kurt moved to position his body right up against Blaine, causing Blaine to release a small moan.

"Shhhh." Kurt whispered to Blaine. "Just wait for tonight." he said, trailing a finger down Blaine's stomach. Blaine laughed to himself, realizing that there were still people just a few feet away.

"Okay, okay. I guess we should get back to our guests before they thing we're doing something." Blaine said with a wink. He quickly fixed his shirt to lie back down without any crinkles as Kurt ran his hand through his hair, causing it to look normal again.

Walking over to the door, Blaine turned to Kurt and stated, "After you, my love. And remember what we discussed, okay?"

"Got it. Just tell her the truth about how my brother would rather skin a cat before going on a date with her again. Easy-peesy." Kurt sarcastically remarked. "Thank you." Kurt said before stepping out of the bathroom, slapping Blaine's butt as he passed by.

As soon as Kurt got into the dining room, he spotted Rachel sitting in the same spot as she was. She was on her phone, laughing at something on Twitter. He took in a deep breath, knowing what he was about to have to tell Rachel. "You can do this." whispered a voice inside his mind that belonged to the man he loved.

"Rachel, would you take a walk with me?"