"Kurt, Blaine's here!" Finn Hudson yelled over his shoulder as Blaine stepped into the Hummel-Hudson household.

"Give me a minute!" Kurt's voice called back as Blaine closed the front door behind him. He could hear the sounds of a baseball game drifting in from the living room, the faint hiss of Burt opening a can of something.

"I thought you were supposed to be here a half hour ago." Finn said, frowning slightly.

"I-…" Oh why the hell not, Blaine thought, he already knows enough. "I got called into the hospital. They got my results back."

"And?"

Blaine had been called to a different hospital room from before. He'd sat in front of a desk, his parents on either side of him, his mom gripping his hand a little too hard, watching a doctor as he perched on the edge of his desk.

"Sorry to call you in on such short notice, but we just received the results from the lab and thought we'd give you the news right away. Now, some of it's good; some of it's bad." The doctor folded his hands together on his lap, his face blank. "I'm sorry, Mr Anderson, but it's cancer."

Finn's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "Oh, I… I'm sorry, dude."

"Actually, I think it's okay. They said it's really curable." Blaine said, nodding, trying to seem convinced. An image of his mom flashed into his mind – her hand clamped over her mouth; her eyes glazing over as she shook her head; her trembling shoulders; her tears staining her cheeks with mascara. He'd felt on the verge of tears for days, but when the news came he couldn't cry, because crying was weak, because as much as his mom wept on one side of him, his dad was sat at the other, face frozen into a steely expression.

He felt trapped, heavy, as though he could feel cancer in his veins, under his skin, in the backs of his eyes, weighing him down just like the sobs that he couldn't let out. Like his life supported the death that crept after it from his own body. He was too young. Parents weren't supposed to see their children die.

"There are three types of skin cancer," the doctor had explained. "The type you have is called Basal Cell Carcinoma, which is the most common and the most treatable. In fact, treatment is more than 90% effective. The cancer is very accessible, only on the surface of your skin, so we can just cut it straight out and you'll most likely be fine after that."

"I have an appointment on Sunday, to get it removed." Blaine told Finn, and at that moment Kurt bounded up the staircase, his hair perfectly coiffed.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" he asked, his voice light and cheerful. A fragment of a song popped into Blaine's head, so suddenly it almost slipped straight out of his mouth. A dark world aches for a splash in the sun.

"Nothing really, I was just wondering who was playing," Blaine said, gesturing towards the TV in the front room, pulling a warm smile onto his face. "You ready to go?"

"Yep, all set," Kurt tapped his satchel, stuffed with everything he thought he'd need for the night, and the two headed towards the front door.

Blaine glanced over his shoulder and caught just a glimpse of Finn's face, a mixture of sympathy and disappointment, before the door clicked shut.

"So, what's the plan?" Kurt asked, spinning around to face Blaine.

Blaine placed his hands either side of Kurt's face, leant forward and kissed him. Kurt kissed back, tightening his arms around Blaine, pulling him closer.

"What was that for?" Kurt asked when they broke apart, somewhat breathless, the corners of his mouth pulling up into a smile.

"I don't know," Blaine laughed gently. "I just… I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

Kurt could practically see the tiredness in Blaine's eyes being replaced with that lovesick look he so often wore.

"Anyway, I thought we could walk around a little bit, and then maybe go to Breadstix or somewhere before heading home." Blaine weaved his fingers through Kurt's, and together they headed off slowly along the road. Blaine looked at Kurt, at the outline of his face against the sky, the way his mouth moved when he spoke, and knew he couldn't keep Kurt out any longer.

Tonight. Tonight he'd tell him.