Blaine Anderson didn't do parties. He never had a chance to as a teenager since he was always busy with Rachel, but he didn't feel like he missed much out of these events. A bunch of kids running around drunk, making bad choices, and having nasty hangovers? None of that sounded appealing, even back then. Still, he was the one with a baby, so he wasn't exactly qualified to declare what constituted as a "bad choice".

                Saying "no" to Rachel was always hard. Because of the circumstances in which she was brought up by, Blaine felt that he cheated her out of something. Maybe he couldn't provide her with every possible opportunity, give her two loving parents instead of just one, or save her from the bullying he knew she endured at school. Saying "no" to something she really wanted made Blaine feel like he was just denying her more and more out of life.

                So when she asked to have a "small soiree" with her friends from Glee club, Blaine reluctantly agreed. Having one or two kids over was one thing, but having more than that could get precarious.

                He set the basic rules, such as no drinking, no smoking-nothing illegal. Also, no breaking things or making a mess, but he figured that those were more common sense sort of rules. Of course, once he realized that Puck and Santana would be coming over, he began to mentally prepare himself for the good possibility that one of these rules would be broken. He knew of these kids from an incident back in freshman year, when they slushied Rachel. Blaine went down to the school, prepared to raise all Hell, but was turned away and told that being "slushied" did not constitute as being bullied. He wanted to press the issue further, but Rachel begged him to let it go. After he made her promise to tell him if they ever did anything else to her, he was scared when she brought the two up again. This time though, it was to inform him that they joined Glee Club and were now all friends. Blaine was skeptical, very much so, but accepted it.

                Right now, he had a gut feeling that agreeing to stay out of their way as they partied in the basement was a bad decision. The music was growing louder with each passing song and "Like A G6" was starting to make his head pound. He sat in front of his desktop computer in his study, but honestly couldn't remember what he was supposed to be doing because the music was so distracting.

                The kids were practically screaming at each other, and one of the voices sounded like it was speaking in a different language entirely. Blaine ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. Rachel was his pride and joy and whatnot, but his curly, black hair would turn grey soon thanks to her.

                He got up to shut the door, not that it helped much, but it muffled the noise a bit. Whatever work he was supposed to be doing on the computer was a lost cause by now, so he decided to busy himself with a favorite hobby of his - music.

~*~

                "Rachel, don't you think the music it a bit..." Kurt's head was pounding and he had to grab Rachel by the shoulders to get her to stop and listen. "RACHEL, DON'T YOU THINK YOU SHOULD TURN DOWN THE MUSIC?" He yelled over the stereo sound.

                "YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA BE SICK?" Rachel squinted her eyes and stopped jumping around in her drunken haze of things. "OH, WELL YOU KNOW WHERE THE BATHROOM IS!" She waved him off and started spinning on her own, completely out of rhythm to the music.

                Kurt sighed and looked around, trying to find at least one other person here who wasn't completely trashed. Mercedes would normally be his go-to pal in situations like this, but she was in a corner with Tina, cackling obnoxiously at nothing. He looked to Quinn, but she was with Santana, yelling at the new guy, Sam. Mike looked decently sober, but Tina got to him before Kurt did and immediately attacked his face. Puck was being yelled at by Lauren, and Finn was standing next to him, going between an amused expression and a longing one as he looked at Rachel, who was getting on the stage.

                Rachel turned on the karaoke machine to a tune that Kurt vaguely recognized. Once she spun around and motioned him to get on the stage with her, Kurt decided that it was time for a bathroom break. Now.

                He fled upstairs, remembering where the bathroom was from last time. Really, he didn't need to use the restroom, but he couldn't stand it down there anymore. Drinking wasn't really his thing, and he really didn't want to get in trouble with either Blaine or his own father. He stood in front of the mirror for a few minutes, simply picking at his hair, trying to figure out what to do with his self. He could go to Rachel's room, find her iPod and try to drown out the noise from downstairs. Kurt decided to make an attempt.

                While on the way to Rachel's room, Kurt noticed something else to the music. Hidden in the sound somewhere was something mellower, something different. It sounded like...a piano? He paused, taking a second to make sure he heard correctly. He did. Not only was it a piano, but there was a soft, smooth voice laced with it. It was a male voice, but not one Kurt recognized from Glee club. Curiosity got the best of him. He decided to follow the music, partially because anything was better than the train wreck that was the Anderson's basement, and also because he was oddly intrigued by this.

                He was met with a door to a room adjacent to Blaine's. Kurt took a deep breathe, noting how creepy he was about to be, but still put his ear to the door. He was right; it was coming from this room. Now that he was closer, he could sort of make out the song. Blaine's voice was subdued due to the rest of the racket, but when Kurt heard "I might get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans...", he knew what song was being played.

                Kurt couldn't pull himself away. He felt weird, sitting like this now, ear to the door, listening to someone in the privacy of their own home. Except, it was worse because this wasn't just "someone". This was Rachel's dad. This was Rachel's heterosexual dad.

                Now that he was feeling properly disgusted with himself, Kurt positioned himself to sit up and stand. He would leave, giving Rachel an excuse of not feeling well, and not come back to this house. He wouldn't come back until he had a boyfriend of some sort, because wow, if he was seeing his friend's dad in this light, he must be really desperate.

                That's when the door opened.  

                Kurt was pushed back and hit in the nose, which prompted a high-pitched "Ow!"

                Blaine looked down at Kurt as the boy rubbed his sore nose, confusedly.

                "Kurt? Is everything okay?" He knelt down to examine his nose, but neither truly knew if the question was referring to his nose or to the party.

                "Everything's fine..." Kurt avoided the man's eyes. Blaine was dressed in a white V-neck with dark wash jeans. It shouldn't have been anything special, but Blaine made it look impossibly sexy.

                "Alright then...so, could I help you with something?" Blaine's lips twitched with the hint of a smirk, but also a touch of awkwardness. He didn't really play for an audience anymore, and the thought of someone having heard him on the piano made Blaine a bit self-conscious.

                Kurt flushed, not sure of how to explain himself. Blaine was now relaxing himself to sit down, Indian-style, across from him. Now he was staring, smiling, waiting for an answer.

                "I...I just heard you and I don't know...you're just really good..." Kurt turned red up to his ears. "You play beautifully, and...um, you have a nice voice." Suddenly, Kurt found the floor carpeting much more interesting to look at rather that Blaine's eyes.

                Blaine was kind of thankful for that, since he too was red-faced now.

                "Thanks..." There was an awkward silence. It wasn't awkward in the way that neither could figure out something to say, because both were ready to say something, anything. It was awkward in the way that neither seemed to be able to formulate these thoughts into sentences.

                "Do you play?" Blaine broke in with, gesturing towards to piano with a hopeful expression. Kurt nodded.

                "A bit. My mother did and she taught me a few things, but it's been a while. I can play the theme song to "Halloween" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" like nobody's business." Kurt stated firmly. Blaine giggled, shaking his head.

                "You've never taken lessons though?"

                "My mom was my instructor."

                "The lessons just ended when you grew older? When did they stop?"

                "When her heart did." Kurt refused to meet Blaine's eyes. Every time he told someone this, a small pity party took place. Kurt wasn't the type of person who enjoyed being looked down upon. Blaine inhaled deeply, unsure of how to respond to that. After a moment, he spoke up again.

                "Would you care for another lesson? I may not be as good a teacher, but I know some things about the piano myself." Blaine smiled gently as Kurt perked up.

                "Sure, Mr. Anderson." Kurt followed as Blaine led the way into the study, sitting himself on the seat to the grand piano.

                "It's Blaine, actually. Mr. Anderson is Rachel's grandfather." Blaine smiled.

                Right, Rachel. How would she feel if she were here to see her friend and her father skipping her party to play the piano upstairs, by their selves? Kurt decided not to think about that.

                "Blaine." Kurt repeated with a nod, sitting down beside him, trying to ignore the small shock he felt at he brushed arms with Blaine.

                "Say, why aren't you down there with your friends? It sounds like they're having fun." Blaine made a face that said that is most certainly did not sound fun, but was genuinely wondering why.

                "Parties aren't really my thing." Kurt shrugged. Blaine nodded in agreement.

                "Totally understandable. Hanging out with old people is way cooler." He grinned, elbowing Kurt slightly to tease him. Kurt rolled his eyes.

                "You're not that old." Kurt reminded him.

                "Mhm, tell my teenage daughter that." Both held their breath for a second after Blaine said that. Blaine had a teenage daughter, one that was Kurt's age. He was sixteen years older than this boy. Again, Kurt didn't want to think about Rachel.

                "So how do you play this exactly?" Kurt asked, hoping to relieve the tension. Blaine seemed to forget about the previous thought entirely and pointed to the keys and describing the pattern to play them in. Kurt nodded when he felt he was supposed to, but honestly had no clue what he was doing. Blaine sighed, not in frustration with Kurt, but with himself for being a bad teacher.

                "Here, would it be okay if..." He put his hands over Kurt's. They were cold, with long, graceful fingers. He placed them over the keys.

                "Just like this..." Blaine had to move closer to Kurt, and breathed out the words more so than actually speaking them. His breath was warmed against Kurt's neck, and caused the boy to shiver. Still, the younger nodded.

                "Just like this." Kurt repeated, letting Blaine's hands guide his. He noticed how the older man's hands had callouses, but didn't mind. His hands were gentle and nimble on the piano. Kurt kept his eyes on the keys, though it grew harder and harder to keep them open.

                They followed this type of instruction for a few minutes, Kurt trying to pay attention to what Blaine was saying, but was distracted by how his breath smelled like coffee and spearmint gum in the most delectable way imaginable. Abruptly, Blaine stopped.

                "And that's how the beginning goes. Got it?" Kurt nodded but was obviously not certain he understood. Blaine raised an eyebrow.

                "Want to try once more with my help?"

                "If you wouldn't mind..."

                "Of course not." Blaine put his hands back over Kurt's. The boy couldn't explain it, but that alone felt reassuring. It felt good. It felt right.

                "Maybe if we added the lyrics, you'd get it better." Blaine whispered, because again, he was as close as he needed to be. Wordlessly, Kurt nodded in affirmation.

                "You think I'm pretty without any make-up on" Blaine began, noticing Kurt's small smile, and deemed it endearing right away.

                "You think I'm funny when I tell the punch line wrong" Blaine's voice was velvety and surrounded Kurt, who couldn't get enough of the sound of it.

                "I know you get me, so I let my walls come down, down" Finally, Kurt allowed his eyes to shut and to immerse himself in the music.

"Before you met me, I was a wreck

But things were kinda heavy, you brought me to life

Now every February you'll be my valentine, valentine

Let's go all the way tonight

No regrets, just love

We can dance until we die

You and I, we'll be young forever"

                When Kurt opened his eyes, he was greeted by Blaine's hazel ones. Without realizing it, Kurt broke into a dopey grin, causing the older man to let out a breathy laugh. They didn't want to move from where they were, close, just touching, and not having to bring up how someone could see this as inappropriate. It was just a piano lesson, that's it. Blaine was just some adult, Rachel's dad in fact. To him, Kurt was just some kid. Nothing special. Kurt meant nothing to him. For a reason unbeknownst to Kurt, that thought made him feel ill.

                "I-I have to go..." Kurt stood up to leave, Blaine scrambling to get up as well, as if the seat they were just sitting on had caught fire.

                "Oh...okay. Curfew and all." This kid had a curfew. More importantly, this was a kid in general. Blaine shook any guilt he felt away. He didn't do anything and had no reason to feel guilty.

                "Right. I'm not feeling well either. Just...tell Rachel what happened tomorrow, okay? She's having fun now and doesn't need to worry about me." Kurt smoothed his pants and allowed Blaine to walk him to the door, though the man was more or less following him like a lost puppy.

                "I'll do that." He opened the door for Kurt, who looked to the floor as he walked out. Blaine couldn't help himself from watching as the boy sauntered off. He wasn't looking with sexual desire or anything like that. He was merely trying to make sense of what happened between the two of them with the piano. Blaine promised himself that he wouldn't let that boy in his study again, nor would he let his self near Kurt at all, if it was possible. Whatever was happening, which Blaine did not yet know what to call it, wasn't right.

                Blaine let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding as he watched Kurt drive off.

                "Bye Kurt."

                When Kurt adjusted his rearview mirror, he saw Blaine walking inside. He didn't know what to make of Rachel's dad. He was an interesting guy, fun to be around, and looked really good for his age. Honestly, he looked good for any age. That was a problem here though, because that was exactly the kind of thing that Kurt shouldn't even notice. He sighed.

                "Bye Blaine."