"I wanted you. It just took me a while to figure it out."

Kurt sighed. "Four months."

"I know, baby."

"I didn't think it was ever going to happen. I thought I was finally getting over you."

"I was afraid you already had. I was afraid that I was too late, that I'd been so stupid and selfish that you wouldn't want me anymore. Was I too late, Kurt? Are you going to be mad at me forever about those four months?"

"I'm not mad at you. I just...I don't want to pretend like those four months never happened. I'm the one who had to wait for you to come around, remember?" He tugged on Blaine's cardigan. "So I don't want to hear any more about how maybe I don't love you or maybe I'm not attracted to you. From the day we met there hasn't been anyone else for me but you."

"You said you were getting over me, though."

"I said I thought I was getting over you," Kurt said. "If I'd actually gotten over you, I wouldn't be lying on my bed with you right now, would I?"

"We're not lying on your bed," Blaine pointed out. "We're sitting."

"That's because you still have your shoes on." Kurt had managed to slip his shoes off while they were talking. He flopped backwards and pulled his feet up, shifting around until he was lying down the right way on the bed. Blaine quickly removed his own shoes and lay down next to Kurt. He wasn't sure exactly what Kurt had in mind, but he liked the direction things were going.

"C'mere," Kurt said, tapping himself on the chest. Blaine scooted closer and put his head down on Kurt's chest as instructed. Kurt began rubbing the back of Blaine's head, where his hair was short and ungelled. Blaine closed his eyes. This was nice. He would be happy to get back to kissing, but this was nice.

"I cried so much over you, Blaine," Kurt said softly. "I wasn't going to keep crying forever. But I couldn't just turn off how I felt about you either. I guess I would have moved on eventually, but I don't think I ever would have forgotten you. You always would have been the one that got away."

"Like the Pink song," Blaine murmured.

"Mmhmm."

"Or the Katy Perry song."

"No, the Pink song."

"Katy Perry has a song called 'The One That Got Away' too."

"That reminds me of another Pink song," Kurt said. "It's called 'So What'."

Blaine reached over and smacked Kurt lightly on the hip. "I'm the one who likes Pink anyway."

"We can both like Pink."

"You didn't even care which Pink song we did at Regionals."

"I didn't care enough to argue about it for four hours. That was the longest Warblers meeting ever!"

"It wasn't four hours. It was closer to three." Blaine looked up at Kurt. "You fell asleep, anyway."

"I did not!"

"You did. I saw you."

"Well, maybe I dozed off for a little while. I woke up for the important part."

Blaine grinned. "The part where I finally made my move."

According to Wes, the longest Warblers meeting ever was on February 10, 1964, when a debate about whether to include a Beatles number in an upcoming performance raged on until curfew. The last meeting before Regionals was, however, the longest Warblers meeting Blaine had personally attended. He had gone in thinking that their set list was pretty well set, but Wes moved to replace the Pink medley with a single Pink song.

"While a medley would provide more opportunity for Warbler Blaine to exhibit his vocal range, I feel that performing one song in its entirety would be a better demonstration of his interpretive ability."

This motion passed unanimously, but the question of which Pink song to do proved surprisingly controversial. Every song they had rehearsed for the medley was considered at length. "Get the Party Started", "Who Knew", and "Raise Your Glass" ultimately emerged as the top three contenders, but by that point Blaine had mostly stopped paying attention. His thoughts kept drifting back to Kurt.

He had in fact been up half the night thinking about Kurt. Blaine didn't know how to let Kurt know that he'd finally realized he wanted to be more than friends. Although it seemed natural to fall back on his only real talent, he definitely was not going to try surprising Kurt with a song. He wasn't going to risk a repeat of the Gap Attack disaster. Maybe someday he'd be able to serenade Kurt with a special song, but not until he was certain it would be a meaningful moment for both of them.

It wasn't a good time to be making romantic overtures anyway. Kurt was mourning Pavarotti. Everyone was keyed up about Regionals. He should wait. He'd known Kurt for four months, Blaine could wait a few more days. It wouldn't be easy, but he could wait. After Regionals he'd find a way to tell Kurt everything that was in his heart.

Unless it was too late by then. It might be too late already. This thought kept circling Blaine's mind, keeping him from sleep. He'd rejected Kurt before Valentine's Day. Kurt had since gotten over his crush on Blaine, that much was clear from his behavior. Would he be willing to give Blaine another chance?

Blaine had to believe there was still hope. Kurt felt things deeply. He had cried over the death of a bird, and had dedicated one of the most moving performances Blaine had ever heard to its memory. If he could care that much about Pavarotti, there must be a chance for Blaine. Maybe not now, but someday. After Regionals. After Blaine had proved that he was good enough to win. That he was good enough to be loved.

The next day Blaine did his best not to act any differently around Kurt. Kurt himself was quieter and more withdrawn than usual, barely saying a word at the Warblers meeting. He apparently hadn't had much sleep the night before either. He seemed to be having a hard time keeping his eyes open. As Trent continued his impassioned argument in favor of "Who Knew", Blaine watched Kurt drifting off. He looked so sweet with his head resting on his hand.

The debate continued around him, with little of it registering with Blaine except the repeated mentions of his own name. "Blah blah blah Blaine, blah blah Blaine, Blaine Blaine Blaine..." It occurred to him suddenly that Kurt had been right. The Warblers had essentially become Blaine's backup group, and they were expecting to win Regionals on the strength of his solos alone. But the Warblers had only managed to tie with New Directions in their last competition, and according to Kurt they had even stronger soloists than those featured at Sectionals. They'd also put on a hell of a halftime show at the football championship. Blaine felt confident that he could hold his own against any of the New Directions members in a one-on-one sing off, but this was a choir competition. He couldn't be better than all of them working together.

Fortunately, the solution was literally right in front of him. Kurt had a beautiful voice, with an upper range unmatched by anyone else in the Warblers. Yesterday he had proved that he also had a rare ability to express emotion in song. If he could sing that way in competition, the Warblers had a good shot at winning Regionals...and Blaine had a good shot at winning Kurt back. He'd hoped to impress Kurt by winning the competition, but it would be even better to win it together. Then Kurt would know what a great team they could be. With so little time left before Regionals, they'd have to devote most of their free time over the next few days to practicing together. Blaine could think of nothing he'd rather do than spend his time with Kurt.

The bang of the gavel brought Blaine's attention back to the meeting. He saw Kurt's eyes flicker open as well.

"I think Blaine's version of the song is actually better than the original," Thad said. Blaine wasn't even sure which song they were talking about now.

"But it's not in his natural key!" David protested.

Trent was aghast. "How dare you!"

The Warblers weren't acting like his backup singers, they were acting like his fan club. Blaine couldn't believe he'd been too oblivious, or too conceited, to notice this before. "Enough, I'm tired of this."

"I agree," said Thad. "I think we should just let you pick the song that you want to sing."

"No, I'm tired of the Warblers being all about me." Blaine knew this wouldn't be an easy sell, but he also knew he was right. He had to convince the other guys of this. "David, please make sure everything I'm about to say goes down in the official minutes." Now that he had the full attention of the Council and the other Warblers members, he dropped his bombshell. "We are going to lose at Regionals."

The others reacted with shock, as he'd expected. Blaine continued speaking, quickly regaining their attention. "From what Kurt has told me about New Directions, I just know I can't beat them on my own. Which is why I propose that we rearrange our 11 o'clock number and turn it into a duet." Several Warblers started to protest. Blaine had to raise his voice to add "To showcase other talent in this group!"

David threw his hands in the air. "What don't we just play it on kazoos?"

"Point of order, point of order!" Blaine called, leaping to his feet. The other Warblers settled down again. "Now, we all lost one of our own this week. Pavarotti's voice was silenced by death, and I don't want to silence any other voices in this group."

Wes took control of the meeting again. "All right, a vote," he said. "Who's in favor of Warbler Blaine's proposal, for a dual lead at Regionals?"

Blaine raised his own hand first. Others followed, with everyone but Trent and the three Council members finally voting in favor of a duet. Kurt leaned forward and, in a stage whisper to the Council, said "Can I get my name on that audition list?"

"No auditions," Blaine said. He knew he was breaking with tradition. The only way he was going to get away with this was if the other Warblers had been as moved by Kurt's performance of "Blackbird" as he was, or if they continued to show Blaine excessive favoritism. Well, what good was being the favorite if you couldn't get what you wanted once in a while? "I want to sing the duet with Kurt."

The only protest came from Kurt himself. He was adorably flustered by Blaine's request. "There are so many great voices here. Everyone deserves a shot at that honor."
Blaine knew Kurt wanted this solo, that he'd wanted a solo ever since he transferred to Dalton, but it was good that he'd thought of the group first. He didn't want to argue about this, so he called for a vote. "All in favor of Kurt being my duet partner at Regionals?"

Every hand went in the air, even Wes, Thad, and David's. "Decided," Wes said with a smile. He banged his gavel to formally end the discussion as the other guys applauded and congratulated Kurt. He looked so happy, happier than Blaine had seen him in days. That made Blaine happy too.

Wes banged the gavel again. "Blaine, Kurt, please have your choice of song in to the Council by tomorrow afternoon. Now, we do still need to settle the issue of the Pink number tonight."

Blaine was so ready to be done with this meeting. "After hearing everyone's arguments," he began, which was not technically a lie since he wasn't claiming to have listened or paid attention, "I feel 'Raise Your Glass' is the best choice. It's recent, it's upbeat, it's popular, and we've rehearsed most of it already."

"All in favor of 'Raise Your Glass'?" Wes asked. The majority agreed, and with that Wes ended the meeting.
As the other Warblers started to file out of the room, Kurt turned to Blaine and asked "So, what song are we going to do?"

Blaine hadn't thought that far ahead. "I don't know. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Not at the moment. I didn't expect to be doing a duet."

"Well, why don't I buy you dinner and we can talk about it?" Blaine didn't think this was too forward. They'd had dinner together before. It wouldn't be a date. Not exactly. Not yet.

"Oh, I'd love to, but I promised to give my stepmother a facial this evening. She has a big meeting at work tomorrow and she wants to look her best." Kurt pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and checked the time. "Sorry to run off, but I really need to get going."

"That's all right. I'll think about songs tonight and catch you tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay. See you tomorrow!" Kurt grabbed his bag and left.
Blaine passed Jeff on his way to the dorm. "Hey man, thanks for not waiting until after break!" Jeff said. "That's twenty bucks for me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I had a bet going with Nick." Jeff winked and slapped Blaine on the back. "Get 'im, tiger!"

"Um, thanks?" Blaine was pretty sure Jeff wasn't talking about the duet, but he decided it was best to maintain some plausible deniability. He also didn't want to jinx himself by pointing out that he wasn't actually involved with Kurt in a non-musical capacity, and didn't hope to be until after Regionals.

"Everybody's really happy for you guys. Especially me, because Nick has got to pay up!" Jeff grinned. "Hey, are you going to the dining hall?"

Blaine shook his head. "Nah, I've got to go over my music."

"Okay, catch you later!"

Blaine continued on to his dorm room. Tyler had already left for dinner. Blaine was getting hungry, but he could wait a little while. He wanted to have some time alone to think about things. He felt kind of bad about Jeff collecting twenty dollars from Nick when nothing had happened between Blaine and Kurt yet, but if everything went as Blaine hoped then he and Kurt really would be dating before spring break. He had a timeline worked out. First they'd rehearse, then they'd win Regionals, and then some time during the week between Regionals and spring break Blaine would tell Kurt how he felt. He just had to find the right words.

He had to find the right song first, though. Blaine opened iTunes on his laptop and started browsing through his music library. Kurt wouldn't be comfortable with anything too sexy. Blaine didn't want anything too lovey dovey either, because he didn't want it to seem like he was using Regionals as an opportunity to proposition Kurt. That would be unprofessional. The judges wouldn't like it, and Kurt probably wouldn't like it either. As Blaine had learned through his experience with Jeremiah, public declarations of desire could backfire horribly. He didn't want to come on too strong and risk scaring Kurt off.

A song that was slightly romantic would be best. Something that would give Kurt a subtle hint without making him too suspicious. Something emotional, because Kurt was so good at expressing emotion and because Blaine felt like he could be good at it now too. For this one performance, at least. He finally had something in his heart that was deep and real but that he wasn't afraid to share. It wouldn't be painful to put all his regret and longing into a song, because he could put in all his hope as well.

Choosing a song that fit his requirements wasn't easy, but Blaine finally found something he thought would work. A few days before he'd come across a song on YouTube that had the line "Looks like a solo tonight" in the chorus. He'd found this amusing because, although it was a break-up song and the line was about being alone, the word "solo" always made Blaine think of singing a solo. The song was called "Candles", by a group called Hey Monday. Blaine had thought it was pretty good and decided to purchase it on iTunes.

He played it again now, and it was a lovely, emotional song. There wasn't anything smutty in it, and since it was a break-up song he didn't think it would seem like a come on to Kurt. Some of the lyrics were a little darker and angrier than Blaine wanted, but they'd need to shorten the song to fit the competition time limits anyway so he could leave most of those out. Other lines really spoke to the way he was feeling now, even if the context was different. "Lost sight, couldn't see, when it was you and me." "I'm beginning to see the light." "You will get back everything you gave me."

Blaine found the lyrics to "Candles" online and printed them out to take to the dining hall with him. He'd work on memorizing them while he was eating. After dinner he'd need to spend a couple of hours on homework, and then he'd go to bed early. He wanted to be well rested for his practice session with Kurt.

The next day was St. Patrick's Day. After class most of the Dalton students loaded up on shamrock cookies in the dining hall and headed for the lacrosse game against the Hawken School Hawks. Blaine found Kurt alone in the study lounge, decorating a box to serve as a casket for Pavarotti.

Blaine knew he should feel sad about Pavarotti, he did feel sad about Pavarotti, but he was also excited to hear what Kurt thought of his song choice. "I have the perfect song for our number, and we should practice," he announced.

"Do tell," Kurt said with a smile.

Blaine's heart was pounding. He hadn't expected a little smile from Kurt to have such a big effect on him. He could barely look Kurt in the eye. What was wrong with him? They were just talking about their song. He could handle this. "'Candles', by Hey Monday," he said, in what he hoped was a reasonably normal sounding voice.

Kurt gave him another, even bigger smile. "I'm impressed. You're usually so Top 40."

"Well, I just wanted something a little more...emotional." He sat down next to Kurt, hoping he hadn't revealed too much already. This was harder than he'd thought. He stared down at the tiny rhinestone encrusted casket and tried to make himself focus on the song, on Regionals. He and Kurt both had enough to worry about right now without making things more complicated between them.

For a long moment Kurt didn't say anything. Then finally he asked "Why did you pick me to sing that song with?"

Blaine looked up and saw that Kurt was looking back at him with a wary expression. He looked like he wanted an answer but wasn't sure he'd like it. Blaine was tempted to offer some half-truth about Kurt's singing ability, but he was tired of half-truths. He knew it was smarter to wait until after Regionals, but he was tired of waiting. He was tired of hiding the way he felt. Kurt had asked him a direct question and Blaine was going to give him a full and honest answer.

He closed his eyes. He wasn't fully prepared for this, not yet, but he'd already been thinking about what he would say to Kurt. He could do this. He just had to make himself do it.

"Kurt, there is a moment..." Blaine opened his eyes again. Kurt had his head tilted to the side and a faint smile on his face. Or maybe not exactly a smile, but not not a smile, and that was encouragement enough. "When you say to yourself 'Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you forever.'"

Kurt blinked at him. Just blinked. What was that supposed to mean?

Maybe Blaine wasn't being clear enough. He scooted closer and put his hand on top of Kurt's. "Watching you do 'Blackbird' this week...that was a moment for me. About you," he said, not wanting to leave any room for doubt.

Kurt blinked at him again. Why wasn't he saying anything? Did he not get what Blaine was trying to tell him?

Blaine was in too far now to go back, even if he wanted to. He didn't want to. He needed Kurt to understand what he was trying to say. If Kurt rejected him then fine, he probably deserved it, but at least Kurt would know how he felt. There wouldn't be any more secrets between them.

"You move me, Kurt."

Blaine heard Kurt inhale sharply. Kurt was surprised. He was surprised but he wasn't angry or offended or horrified, because he'd say something if he were. Surely he'd say something, and he still wasn't saying anything. He was staring at Blaine with his beautiful blue-gray eyes, waiting for him to continue.

This was almost too much for Blaine. He had to look away, had to close his eyes again for a moment. He was going to finish saying what he had to say, though. He answered the question Kurt had asked in the simplest and most honest way he could. "This duet would just be an excuse to spend more time with you."

Kurt's expression finally changed. His mouth dropped open just a little, then he smiled just a little, but he was breathing so hard that Blaine knew this subdued reaction was because Kurt was fighting to control himself. Blaine was fighting to control himself too. Kurt was looking at him in amazement, and Blaine knew he must be looking at Kurt the same way, as if he couldn't quite believe something so wonderful was true.

Blaine had already strayed so far from his original plan that he went ahead and did something else he had not planned to do yet. He stood up, leaned over, and kissed Kurt.

He had spent a lot of time over the past few days imagining their first kiss. Their first kiss together and the first kiss that really counted for either of them. He'd thought it would happen after Regionals, maybe backstage right after they accepted their trophy, or maybe later in Blaine's car, or Kurt's car, or someplace at Dalton, maybe even here in the study lounge. Kurt would be surprised, but he'd want it as much as Blaine did. Their lips would fit together easily, like they were made for this. They would kiss deeply and passionately.

It was like that, only better.

It was better even though Blaine's nose wound up smashed into Kurt's face in an unexpected manner. It was better even though for a few confusing seconds Kurt didn't respond, causing Blaine to worry that maybe he wasn't doing a good job or maybe Kurt wasn't as into this as he was. It was better because it was really happening. Their lips were really pressed together, and Blaine felt it through his entire body like an electric shock. Blaine really had one hand on Kurt's cheek and the other on Kurt's thigh, partially for balance but mostly because he wanted to touch him. Kurt's hand was really grabbing Blaine's face to pull him closer. Kurt was really kissing him back so intensely that Blaine was afraid his legs were going to give out.

Then Kurt's face was tilting away from his. Kurt's hand slipped from Blaine's face and hit the table with a loud thump. Blaine pulled back slowly and sat down. Kurt looked like he was in shock. Blaine felt a little shocked himself. Things were happening a lot faster than he'd planned. Not that Blaine had any complaints, but maybe this was too fast for Kurt. Maybe they should have talked about this first. And weren't they supposed to be rehearsing for Regionals?

Blaine laughed nervously and covered his face with his hand. "We should...we should practice."

"I thought we were," Kurt said. He was breathing hard but he had the biggest smile on his face.

With that, the last of Blaine's doubts were gone. He leaned towards Kurt as Kurt was leaning towards him. Their lips came together fast and hard. Kurt's hand found Blaine's face again without any hesitation. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's back. Then Kurt was on his feet, bumping against the table and sending his chair scraping backwards on the marble floor. Blaine was able to stand up straight now and pull Kurt even closer to him. They continued kissing the whole time, neither wanting to break the connection.

This time it was Blaine who had to stop first. He turned his head and gasped for breath, still holding onto Kurt. He could hold on to Kurt forever. He also wasn't sure he could stand without support right now. He dropped his head down onto Kurt's shoulder. Kurt was stroking his back with one hand, up and down. Blaine breathed in deeply and felt the dizziness recede.

"Blaine," Kurt whispered in his ear. "Are we...are we dating now?"

"Oh yes," Blaine sighed. "If...if you want to, I mean."

Kurt put his hands on Blaine's shoulders and pushed him back slightly, so they were looking at each other. "I want to," he said firmly.

"I do too." Blaine smiled. He was still feeling a little lightheaded, so he said "Let's sit down. On the couch."

They curled up together on the velvet couch by the wall. Blaine had never appreciated Dalton's elegant furnishings as much as he did now. He felt like he was floating on a cloud, although that was perhaps due more to the beautiful boy wrapped in his arms than the quality of the couch.

"So, you're my boyfriend now," Kurt said, toying with the lapel of Blaine's blazer.

"I am."

"And I'm your boyfriend."

"That's how it usually works," Blaine agreed.

"And I can put on my Facebook that we're in a relationship."

Blaine squeezed him. "If you don't then I will."

They were both quiet for a long, lovely moment. Then Kurt sat up and asked "What time is it?"

Blaine fished his cellphone out of his pocket. "Um, about quarter to three."

"We need to work on our duet," Kurt said.

"Yeah."

Kurt took the cellphone from Blaine's hand and placed it on the end table beside the couch. "I think we should start at three."

"And what should we do until then?" Blaine asked innocently, leaning his head back against the arm of the couch.

Kurt looked down at him. "Practice," he purred.