Sunlight filtered in through the closed curtains, leaving a square of pale yellow on the striped wallpaper. Kurt's eyes opened slowly to a blurry view of Blaine's bedside table. He blinked and a picture of himself came into view. Without turning his head he could tell the door was open, sizzling sounds and the smell of pancakes drifting up from the kitchen. A few feet in front of his face, Kurt could see the lit up screen of his cell phone shining through the pocket of his jeans, crumpled up in the floor.

He reached forward, his arm leaving the cushion of warmth that had formed beneath the sheets, and extracted his phone.

We need to talk ASAP, Rachel x

He texted back, his fingers fumbling from his sleepiness.

Not right now, I'm busy x

A few seconds later she replied;

Kurt.

Kurt slid his phone onto the bedside table, crawled begrudgingly out of bed and got dressed. Blaine was whistling downstairs. Kurt tiptoed silently down the staircase, through the hallway, and stopped at the kitchen door, folding his arms and leaning against the frame.

Blaine was stood at the stove, facing away from Kurt, pouring another batch of pancake patter into a frying pan. His hair was wet from the shower, the curls just beginning to settle back in. After a while Kurt stepped forward, no longer keeping his footsteps quiet, and wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist.

"Do you always cook in your underwear?" He asked, resting his chin on Blaine's bare shoulder.

"Only when I'm alone."

Kurt smiled. He'd always believed that people were different versions of themselves depending on who they were with, and that they were only really 'themselves' when they were alone. One of the reasons he loved Blaine so much was that he truly believed Blaine was exactly the same alone as he was around Kurt. Kurt pressed his lips to the space just below Blaine's ear, then again a few inches further down his neck.

"I can't wait until we're living together." Blaine said quietly, his voice deep and soft.

"Me neither."

They stood together for a while, until Blaine flipped the pancake and said, "I didn't mean to wake you up. I was going to bring breakfast up to you."

"Oh, don't worry, you didn't. It wasn't you, Rachel texted me. She, uh… needs to see me. Urgently."

Blaine added the pancake to the pile and turned around to face Kurt, his expression a mixture of hurt and disappointment. Kurt said he'd stay with him all day. He'd planned everything. Then panic rose inside him. He couldn't let Kurt go, not yet. Not until he knew everything.

"I'll stay for breakfast," Kurt assured him quickly, moving his hands to Blaine's arms. "And I'll come back as soon as I'm done. I'll be an hour, tops. You won't even know I was gone. Do you mind?"

Blaine bit his lower lip. Okay, he thought, okay, I can make this work. I'll just tell him when he gets back, no big deal. Everything would be just as he'd anticipated, only an hour or so behind schedule. Kurt could survive another hour without knowing. It even gave Blaine a little more time to prepare. "Okay," he sighed.

Kurt tucked his finger under Blaine's chin and kissed him softly. "I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."

"This better be worth it, Miss Berry, because I just left my rather perfect and underdressed boyfriend to come and see you. So what is it?" Kurt sat on the bed, beside Rachel.

She sat up quickly. "Wait, you were just with Blaine?"

"Yeah, why?" Kurt asked, a frown creasing his porcelain forehead.

"Did he tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Rachel bit her lip and twisted her hands together. "Oh, maybe I shouldn't say anything. It's not really my place and maybe he's going to tell you soon. On the other hand maybe he isn't and you won't know until it's too late," she got to her feet and paced back and forth in front of Kurt. "And you should know, you definitely should know. And Blaine should be the one to tell you but if he won't do it then does it really matter if you hear it from me?" She stopped pacing and grabbed Kurt's hands. "It's just that Finn told me last night and I can't keep it in any-"

"Rachel, slow down," Kurt spoke over her, squeezing her hands. "What's going on with Blaine?"

Her eyes widened, for the first time she was seeing past the need to tell Kurt and thinking about what the news meant for him. But he had to know. He had to. "He's dying."

Rain slapped against the windscreen of Kurt's car. He was driving faster than he should have been, his need to leave Rachel's and get back to Blaine's drowning out his common sense. Tears stung in his eyes and sobs clutched at his throat, making it hard to breathe.

"Stupid," he whispered to himself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." He'd trusted Blaine. With everything. Never lied, never kept things from him. How could I be so naïve? He cursed himself, furious that he'd been so taken in. "'Blaine's completely honest with me, he doesn't pretend to be someone he's not.'" He said in a fake, self-mocking voice. "Idiot!" He smacked the steering wheel.

He pulled into Blaine's driveway, got out of the car and stormed into the house.

"Hey, Kurt," Blaine said as soon as he heard the front door open. He came out of the kitchen, into the hallway, pulling off a pair of oven mitts. "I made cookies. Well, one big cookie, but I-"

Kurt slammed the front door, cutting him off. Blaine froze, his face fallen, as Kurt surged forward and slapped him hard across the face.