That was the pleasant greeting Blaine received after spending the last few minutes wrestling with his sheets and comforter to grab the phone. He blinked sleepily, scooting up to rest against his headboard before glancing at his alarm clock. "Nick, isn't three in the morning a little too early to be throwing a fit?" Blaine asked grumpily, immediately regretting his words once a huff annoyance from the other Warbler managed to filter its way across the phone.

"Well I think it's always too early for the amount of oblivious you seem to possess." Nick snapped, adding a sigh after a brief pause.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Blaine asked as he leaned his back, blinking a few more times as he tried to clear the fog currently mucking up his thoughts.

"You. That's what wrong."

Blaine released a sigh of his own before reaching up to run a hand through his disheveled curls. "I don't understand what you are tal-"

"How could you just say that to Kurt?"

Blaine's hand froze as he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes as he remembered exactly what Nick was talking about. He himself had known it was a long shot to ask but he just had to. It was hard seeing other people interact with Kurt and it was even more frustrating when the junior smiled at the things they said or did. He knew it was probably pathetic that he was jealous when other boys got to witness how bright and beautiful Kurt's face lit up when he did instead of him, but he couldn't help it. "I…"

"What were you thinking?"

Blaine's mouth opened but nothing managed to actually came out for a few seconds. "How did you even find out?" he finally asked, reaching out to pull his comforter back over his legs.

"You seriously forgot Jeff was standing right there?" Nick snapped once again. "Tell me, would you have done it in front of anybody just standing around?"

Blaine licked his lips for a moment as his half-asleep state tried to process the junior's words. "I-"

"Do you even think before you speak?" Another pause followed where Blaine still couldn't form a sentence. "I can't imagine how upset he would have been if you just blurted it out in Warbler practice or something like that, did you even think about what it would do to him?"

"Okay, stop." Blaine said, finally finding words after Nick had the nerve to think he didn't think about Kurt because he did. He always did and how dare he even think he would hurt the other like that? "For one thing what gives you the right to call and tell me off?" he asked in a rough voice, mentally chastising himself for not grabbing a sip of the water he had on his nightstand before he started to tell the other off. "For another, it was sort of an accident." he explained, ignoring the disappointed sound on the other end of the phone.

"How could you accidentally say that, Blaine?"

"Look I don't know, okay?" Blaine said in a rush. "I just…I don't want anyone else to ask him first and it isn't like it worked." he continued in a mumble, rolling his eyes when a soft sigh responded to him.

"What do you mean?"

Blaine thought for a moment, finally fully awake as he scratched at his chin. "We haven't talked about it sense. We've texted a few times but we're both just pretending it didn't happen." he mumbled miserably, scratching at his bare chest absently mindedly.

"Oh."

Blaine smiled slightly and shook his head even though the other couldn't see him. "See, you went the over protective route for no reason." he said before sighing again. "He probably doesn't see me in that light. Maybe I'm better off just as a mentor after all…" Nick was silent for a few minutes and Blaine would of thought the other had hung up on him if he didn't hear the soft clicking of keys on a keyboard from the other side.

"I wouldn't say that." Nick finally said, voice distant and soft. "Just let him be the one to bring it up next time."

Blaine frowned before he began picking at the little balls of fuzz that clung to his comforter. "Do you….think he will?" he asked softly, tensing when he heard the typing in the back ground stop for a moment before it continued.

"I think so, one day." Nick said, his voice just as soft and hesitant as it had been before. "You have to have patience, Blaine. You can't push him or he'll just run in the other direction."

"But he took my hand, Nick." Blaine argued quietly, balling his fist up in one of his pillows as he thought. "Doesn't that mean something at least?"

"It means more than you know Blaine, trust me." Nick began, the background silent. "Just trust me on this and let him come to you. If you think he's showing you signs then it's only a matter of time."

"Alright." Blaine said with another heavy sigh before pushing his comforter off his legs and standing, stretching his arm above his head. His back gave a soft pop and he relaxed for a moment before walking towards his bedroom door. Maybe Nick was right and maybe he wasn't, but he wasn't going to wash the other's advice down the drain just yet. Unfortunately Nick seemed to be the person who was the closest to Kurt so it was possible the other junior knew what he was talking about.

"Hey, Blaine?"

Nick's voice pulled him out of his thoughts as he walked out of his room and down the hallway. "Yeah?" he yawned, holding onto the banister of the staircase as he walked down them.

"Sorry for…going off on you I was just-"

"Worried." Blaine finished, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I get it." he said, wincing when his feet hit the cold hardwood floor after the last step. "Why are you up this early anyways?"

"I was talking to Jeff. It's like he can't go eight hours without hearing my voice or something."

Blaine grinned before opening his mouth. "I think I remember you panicking those few days he was out of school to attend his grandfathers funeral, you were basically moping the whole three days."

"I was just worried about him because he loved his granddad so much and….okay so you've made your point." Nick said, a soft sound of frustrations leaving him. "I guess I'll let you go now."

"Bye." Blaine said, waiting for the other line to die before pressing the end button on his own phone. He yawned again as he padded towards the kitchen, stomach rumbling loudly as he got closer. When he turned the corner light shining from underneath the door confused him considering it was three something in the morning. Who else would be up this late? Pushing the door open he was surprised to see his father standing at the island as he dunk a chocolate chip cookie into a tall glass of milk.

"Blaine?"

"Hey dad." Blaine said, smiling when his father dipped another cookie into his milk. "What are you doing up?" he asked before walking further into the kitchen to grab himself a few cookies from the cookie jar that his mother always kept freshly stalked.

"Working on a new case." Jared said before turning around to grab another glass from the cabinet. He poured another glass of milk and slid it towards Blaine, offering his son another tired smile. "You?"

Blaine paused, his cookie halfway dipped into his milk. Although he and his father had come a long way from fixing a car in the man's attempt at getting his hands dirty to turn him straight, he still didn't think discussing boy issues with him was the greatest idea. "A friend needed help with something." he answered finally, face scrunching up when his cookie broke off and floated to the bottom of his glass.

"At three in the morning?" Jared asked surprised, holding in a laugh when Blaine stuck his fingers in his glass so he could attempt to scrape the soggy piece of cookie from the bottom.

"Yeah, it had been bothering him for a while." Blaine said with a shrug, glaring as crumbs began to float to the top of his milk. He eventually gave up and dunked a new cookie in, taking a bite when he looked back at his father.

"You helped him through it?" Jared asked, picking up the napkin beside him to wipe his mouth after he had finished off his milk.

"Mostly." Blaine said around another mouthful of cookie, watching his father turn from him to walk to sink and wash his glass out. He closed his eyes when his father ruffled his curls on his way past him.

"I'll see you in the morning." Jared said before removing his hand and continuing his walk out of the kitchen.

Blaine smiled, biting into another cookie. He was grateful that he and his dad had learned to get along and even more thankful for the fact that the man eventually accepted for who he was, gay and all. It had been hard at first with the unsure looks and degrading words he had sent him, but his father only had to take a little time to open his eyes. That and the fact that Blaine's mother, Marie, was practically breathing down his neck. She had been supportive from the moment her son had come out and had often played the negotiator and peace maker between her youngest son and husband.

So when Kurt had pulled his hand away so fast as his father's truck had approached, Blaine understood. Did the other's father hate the fact that he was gay? It sure didn't seem so with the way the bald man had smiled at Kurt. He knew though that appearances could be deceiving so did the junior have it rough at home like he did a few years ago? Was his father trying to make him be something that he wasn't? Kurt had said he had a stepmother, so was she also trying to shove the 'right' thing down his throat as well? Did Kurt ever see his other mother?

Sighing Blaine quickly drank the rest of his milk, washed his glass and grabbed another handful of cookies before walking out of the kitchen. Walking up the stairs to his bedroom he couldn't help but think about Kurt and his family. When they had first met Kurt, Nick had suspected abuse or something worse but they had quickly blamed the newest Warbler's skittish behavior on being bullied at his old school. Was there a possibility they were wrong though and Kurt really was getting abused or something like what Nick had went through after all?

Blaine's stomach dropped as he opened the door to his room. If Kurt was getting hurt, there would be no way of knowing. Wide awake and worrying he sat down in front of his computer desk, leaning back in his chair and ignoring the loud squeak it gave in return. He really wished he had an excuse to call Kurt at three in the morning, he really did. If he could only hear the other's voice maybe then he would be able to sleep, then again maybe not considering he only had about a hundred more questions about Kurt circling around his thoughts. Well, he was always thinking about him so wasn't he permanently screwed anyways?

Kurt smiled as Pavarotti tweeted next to him, hopping around the perch in his cage. The little bird hadn't caused any problems the night before, in fact he was pretty sure Carole had fallen in love with him with the way she had cooed and talked to him. Finn mainly ignored him, the only real interaction happening when he tried to feed the bird an old cheerio he had found in the couch. Kurt had stopped him of course thinking it really wasn't a good idea. Finn had given him a sheepish look before launching into another complaint about Rachel.

Kurt whistled along with his feathery friend as he continued to press the charcoal in his hand against a page in his sketchbook. A familiar smile was staring back at him from it, making his stomach flutter. He didn't even know how it was possible for a drawing of Blaine's smile to make that happen, but it did. Pausing in his sketch he looked towards Pavarotti who seemed to be watching him.

"Do you think he really meant it that way?" he whispered, smiling when the bird chirped softly in response. "What if he meant something else though?" the little bird only flapped his wings this time, causing a soft laugh to leave his owner. "I think I want it to…well I want it to mean something at least."

"Dude, not that I don't like to hear you talk and all but talking to yourself is the first sign that you're losing it right?" Finn asked from his spot in Kurt's open doorway. He smiled as his step brother's face lit up in embarrassment and held in a laugh when shorter teen quickly closed his sketchbook.

"I-I was talking to Pavarotti." Kurt said quickly, glancing towards the small cage when the bird let loose another chirp.

"Oh." Finn said before shooting the bird a confused look. "He didn't talk back, right?"

Kurt blinked a few times before shaking his head. "No." he said, tilting his head to the side as Finn grinned.

"Good." Finn said in a relieved voice, walking further into the room. "Anyways, Rachel has been bugging me about asking you if she and Mercedes could come over tomorrow?"

"Why are you asking me?" Kurt asked, reaching over and pulling a Kleenex from a box that was sitting on his desk next to Pavarotti. He began to wipe the charcoal residue from his hands as he waited for Finn to explain.

"Well uh…they didn't want to bother you." Finn said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. "I mean if you don't want them over it's cool, I'm sure they would understand b-"

"I thought they were coming over to see you?" Kurt said, throwing the used tissue away before standing up and walking towards his brother. "They actually want to see me?"

"Well yeah, they think you're awesome." Finn said happily, watching as Kurt walked around him and out of his door. He followed quickly, wanting to hear the other's voice more so he continued to speak. "How's Dalton?"

Kurt was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Mercedes and Rachel wanted to come see him as he walked down the stairs, Finn on his heels. Did that mean they had become good friends as well? Sure he got the usual text and call from them every few days but had that brought the other two closer to him? When his stepbrother's questions finally registered he was already in the kitchen, Finn giving him a pleading stare. "Oh. It's fine." Kurt said before opening the refrigerator door.

"So that hobbit isn't giving you any trouble then?" Finn asked, brow furrowing when Kurt tensed. "He is isn't he?" Finn said, hands balling up into fists as he stood there. "I swear I'm going to shave all that stupid curly hair off and use it to-"

"No!" Kurt said, twirling around to face Finn with a flushed face. "It's not like that!" he said quickly, closing the door before walking to the island in the middle of the kitchen. "He's been the perfect gentleman, they all have." he explained, finally looking up into the taller teen's face. "I was just surprised that you asked about him is all."

Finn watched Kurt fidget for a moment before sighing. He didn't really believe that explanation but what could he do when Blaine was currently two hours away? "Right." he said with a nod of his head, watching as Kurt went searing through the cabinets.

"What do you want for lunch?" Kurt asked since he knew Finn couldn't cook for himself. Carole had the day shift at the hospital that day and his father was currently at the garage so he was the only one left that could.

"You shouldn't have to cook on your days home." Finn said before grabbing his coat from the hook on the wall, throwing Kurt his. "Come on, I'll take you to Breadsticks." he said, holding up a hand when the other began to argue. "Think of it as an early Christmas gift."

"We haven't even made it to December yet." Kurt pointed out, slowly pushing his arms into the long blue coat. He buttoned all the buttons while Finn grabbed the keys to his truck.

"Well, it's extra early then." Finn said with a little smile and shrug before leading Kurt out of the house.

Lunch had been an interesting affair and Kurt had the feeling that Finn didn't enjoy sharing their table with Santana and Britney one bit. Britney had been friendly enough but she had insisted that she sat next to her 'unicorn' which meant Kurt for some unknown reason. He had always wondered if there had been something wrong with the girl or if she had been putting on an act when he was at McKinley. He quickly figured out that she really was as clueless as she seemed but it only made him see her as sweet and adorable as she went on about how her cat wouldn't stop smoking and reading her diary.

Santana on the other hand seemed a bit harsh compared to Britney. She was obviously sore about the fact that she and the other cheerio weren't sitting together and kept shooting Finn nasty looks. Surprisingly the dark-skinned girl didn't give Kurt anything but a few friendly smiles, which confused him to no end while she vocally terrorized his stepbrother.

Kurt had thought about trying to interrupt but Britney had leaned in closer to him to whisper that they did this all the time. Oddly that and the fact that Finn seemed to have enough insults for Santana relieved him enough to leave them alone. The blond then went on to say she wished she knew where the restaurant got their bread baking goblins from, along with the question as to why Kurt's hands were as soft as a baby's butt. Thankfully Finn had finished and announced that they had to get back home before he had to answer.

On the ride home Kurt had asked the question he had been wanting to ever since he had caught Santana's dark colored eyes staring into Britney's with something he thought he recognized. The other boy had only given him a confused look at first before his face lit up in realization, though Kurt never got an explanation. Finn was amused they had only spent an hour at the restaurant once he had checked the clock on the kitchen wall when they had arrived home.

Kurt immediately walked up the stairs to check on Pavarotti, smiling when the bird came into view. He seemed fine then, he was a little less vocal than normal but he still hopped around his cage for the remainder of the day. When night finally approached Kurt began to get nervous considering the little bird didn't look too perky anymore. He wasn't eating and wasn't even singing along to his whistles either. He also barely moved but the most disturbing thing was the fact that he kept loosing his feathers.

When dinner rolled around he managed to plaster a smile on his face, pretending everything was the way he said it was, fine. They didn't seem to catch on to the fact that his mind wasn't really with them in their conversation but with Pavarotti upstairs in his room. Sadly enough he had taken over washing dishes much to Carole's dismay so he wouldn't have to return to the bird as quickly as he actually wanted to. He was scared that his little friend would look worse when he returned, and unfortunately he had.

Kurt didn't get any sleep that night as he watched over Pavarotti, the only thing he managed to do was draw the little bird in the state it was in. He found himself wishing that he had brought his laptop along with him many times so he could at least look up what was wrong with him since the browser on his phone decided it wasn't going to load. When morning came along and Pavarotti looked even worse than the night before he made his decision.

After telling Carole and his father goodbye for the day he made sure Finn was still asleep before he called Blaine, knowing his voice sounded abnormally high and panicked as he quickly left his address with the other Warblers voicemail.

Kurt never got a call back from Blaine that morning, instead he got a knock on his door three hours later and a panicked looking Warbler on his front step. He noticed the other's stubble had grown over the few days they had been apart and that his curls weren't plastered down to his head, something of which Kurt would like to see more off.

"I got your call, what's wrong?" Blaine asked hurriedly, looking over the taller boy with worry. He followed Kurt into the house when the other walked off in the other direction, shutting the door behind him softly.

"It's Pavarotti, I think he's sick." Kurt began quickly walking over to the little coffee table in the middle of the living room where said bird and his cage rested. "I-I've taken good care of him, but he won't sing and he's loosing his feathers." he finished watching as Blaine knelt down to inspect their feathered mascot.

"Oh, he's just molting." Blaine said once he had calmed down from the fact that Kurt was alright. From the near hysterical message he had received he hadn't been expecting it to be about Pavarotti. "He's growing a new coat of feathers so his body has to shut down a little." he said, glancing at Kurt's relieved face before looking back towards the little bird.

Kurt let the large breath he had been holding for what seemed like days out quietly, closing his eyes as he relished in the fact that nothing was wrong with his small friend. He had been so scared that maybe he hadn't gotten him from Randal in time and they the bird really was sick and no one had noticed.

"Don't worry about." Blaine said, standing up and sitting next to Kurt on the couch. "He's got food and water." he trailed off, looking over the immaculate cage with a smile. "He seems to like his cage." he said with a little nod. "Just give it a little while, he'll be singing again in no time."

"I'm sorry I made you drive all the way out here for this." Kurt said softly, looking down at his knees as he felt his face flush. "I didn't have internet on my phone so I couldn't check and I forgot my lapt-"

"Hey, it's fine." Blaine said quickly, placing a hand on Kurt's knee before looking around the living room. "I had nothing else better to do anyways, besides I'll always come

when you call."

Familiar flutters began in Kurt's stomach as another smile found it's way across his face. Blaine really shouldn't say things like that if there could be a double meaning…or was he meaning the thing that Kurt wanted? Why was it always so confusing? "Thank you." he said, watching the other's head swivel as he took in the sights of his living room.

"No problem." Blaine said happily, his gaze pausing when he found a family picture that must have been recent for the fact that Finn, and he was guessing Kurt's step mother, was in it with Kurt and his father. Questions began to pop up in the back of his mind and he really couldn't stop himself. "You said that Carole is your stepmother right?" he asked, continuing when Kurt nodded. "Do you ever get to see your real mom?"

Kurt looked away quickly, his grip on his phone tightening. "Sometimes." he finally said, looking back to Blaine when the other made a sound of acknowledgement.

"It's complicated. I get it." Blaine said with a nod, smiling towards Kurt again.

Kurt felt himself smile once again as Blaine looked at him. The question he asked though brought up the fact that he hadn't visited his mother's grave in a long while. He knew he wouldn't be able to get his dad to take him and asking Finn would be too awkward. Normally he took his car but since it was currently unavailable to him he didn't have any way of going. Unless…but could he really ask that of Blaine?

"You must miss her a lot then." Blaine said, squeezing his hand around Kurt's knee as he waited for the other to answer.

"All the time." Kurt said before taking a small breath and sitting up. "Would you like to meet her?" he asked, his smile growing when an excited look crossed Blaine's face.

"She's here in Lima?" Blaine asked, holding back the urge to jump up when Kurt only nodded in return. "Sure, should I drive?"

"If it's alright with you, I mean I know you must have plans for the break I can't just expect you to drop-"

"No, it's fine." Blaine stated, standing from the couch. "I would be honored to finally meet your mother." He knew it wasn't the same as meeting Kurt's father, but at least the other Warbler was willing to let him meet one of his parents.

Kurt stood as well and walked towards the front door after telling Pavarotti bye, following Blaine out the door. "She'll love you." he said once he locked the door behind him.

Blaine grinned once again and nodded. "We'll have to stop by a florist on the way there." he said, explaining when Kurt shot him a confused look. "Well aren't you supposed to bring flowers to a woman when you visit them for the first time?"

Kurt felt his face fall for a moment before he made himself smile again. Was Blaine always going to be so sweet and perfect, or would he be angry when he figured exactly where his mother resided? "Of course."