"Dude, you totally look like crap this morning," Finn eyed Kurt warily as his step-brother walked into the kitchen, circles under his eyes and hair sticking up on end. Kurt was too tired to be irritated.

"Rough night. I was chasing down monsters," Kurt looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye.

Lately he had been growing tired of constantly hiding who he was. It was exhausting and he, at the very least, wanted his family to know the truth. He had been working less and less at covering his tracks and starting to make thinly veiled comments about what his night life was truly like. He was anxiously waiting to see if someone caught on. Unfortunately, Finn took him figuratively.

"Oh man, that sucks. I had horrible dreams last night too. Bieste was telling me that I wasn't a good enough quarterback and Mr. Shue was telling me I failed my Spanish quiz and Rachel was saying I didn't meet her standards anymore..." Finn shrugged, but Kurt watched his shoulders sink dejectedly. His heart went out to the other boy and he momentarily forgot his own troubles. He knew that his brother had a serious fear of rejection and his dreams were a manifestation of that. He went over and hugged the taller boy around the neck. Finn hugged him back appreciatively.

They had taken a little while to get to this point, but were now as close as two brothers could expect to be. Kurt had gotten over his mini crush in a hurry and Finn had grown up and accepted his brother for exactly who he was. Both would have defended the other to the death. Finn just had no idea that Kurt literally had the skill and strength to actually 'defend to the death.' For him it was more of a concept.

"Morning boys," Burt called as he walked in the kitchen door from the garage. Kurt broke away fom the hug and turned to greet his dad. Burt looked him over with a critical eye.

"You look like crap this morning, kiddo." Kurt rolled his eyes but before he could respond, Finn was speaking with a mouth full of cereal.

"'e was 'asing monsters all night."

Burt was much more discerning than Finn and raised his eyebrows curiously. Kurt gulped and used every bit of will power he had to hold his father's gaze. Burt's eyes moved to the top of Kurt's head and he slowly reached out to pull a twig from his son's hair.

"Monsters, huh?"

Kurt nodded silently. Burt just stared, not having a clue what to think.

"How about some father-son time tonight after dinner?"

Kurt only felt shock. He had been wanting this for the last six months. He had been desperately reaching out, hoping that someone would notice the differences in him. Now that it was happening he thought he might throw up.

He nodded again and Burt clapped him on the shoulder before grabbing some coffee and heading back out the door.

The slayer didn't have time to think any more. Finn was downing the rest of his cereal and telling his brother to put a move on or they'd be late. Kurt didn't tell him that he had no intention of going to school now today.

He gave up on breakfast and went to hop in the shower. His mind raced as he tried to think of what he was going to tell his father tonight. One thing was for sure, his Watcher was going to be pissed about this development.

Blaine hopped out of his car and walked into the Lima Bean with a satisfied sigh. He knew he should be in school but he just wasn't in the mood today. He was tired of his boring life. Tired of the same routine, every day. Tired of nothing happening, ever. He was going to be spontaneous. He was going to be rebellious. He was going to skip school. For him this was a pretty big deal.

He got his coffee and was staring intently at the display of muffins when a voice spoke in his ear.

"Are they really that interesting? I mean, yeah, that blueberry one looks a little suspicious I suppose. Personally I think that those berries are too evenly spaced apart. A real blueberry muffin would be a little lumpy and have berry clumps here and there. You're right, that one is too perfect. I bet it's a spy."

A smile slowly spread on his face. He knew that voice well, and no one else in the world had such a quirky sense of humor. He turned to the familiar blue eyes and smiled fully. They had been running in to each other on occassion at the coffee shop, always flirting and talking but never really making a move. He didn't even know much about the boy except that his name was Kurt, he was the most gorgeous boy Blaine had ever known and he never failed to make him laugh.

"Are you sure? Maybe it just happens to be a well-adjusted, perfect looking muffin."

"Nope, there's no such thing as perfect. There's definitely something wrong with it," Kurt grinned at him.

"I dunno, you seem pretty perfect to me," Blaine blurted out before blushing deeply.What the hell is wrong with me?!

"Hmm, well, appearances can be deceiving." Kurt seemed to grow uncharacteristically solemn for a moment. He quickly cleared his throat and threw back on his winning smile. "Do you mind if I go ahead while you're deciding? I'm starving." Blaine simply gestured for him to go ahead, still embarrassed from his earlier faux pas. Kurt turned to the barista behind the counter.

"I'll have a non-fat mocha and the very suspicious looking blueberry muffin." He turned to Blaine and winked. "Better to eat it before it can turn on us."

"So, why are you here at this time of day? You look too young to be out of school already," Blaine questioned. Kurt threw his head back and laughed.

"I think the better question is why are YOU here? While you could possibly pass for a high school grad, you are wearing a Dalton Academy blazer, which totally gives you away, darling." Blaine blushed brightly. He didn't know whether it was because he'd been caught or because he'd been called darling.

"Also," Kurt continued, "you have this adorable look in your eye that says you're enjoying doing something crazy and out of the norm, which, for you, I'm guessing is skipping school."

"How do you do that?" Blaine asked incredulously. Kurt smirked cockily.

"I've been trained to read people." He grabbed his muffin and coffee and moved to leave while calling over his shoulder.

"There is a particularly sneaky looking bran muffin off to the left that's pretending to be perfect too, if you're still trying to decide."

Blaine snorted a laugh and knew he probably looked ridiculously lovesick as he watched the boy walk out the door.

"Can I help you?" The barista interrupts his thoughts.

"Um, yeah. I'll take that bran muffin down on the left," he grinned. He snatched up the bag she handed him and ran out the door. To hell with his boring life. He going to continue being spontaneous.

"Hey!" Kurt turned around at the shout and grinned when he saw the curly haired boy chasing him down.

"Hey yourself," he retorted in amusement.

"Listen, I was thinking. Since we're both skipping out on school today, why don't we hang out? My mom's gone until tonight, we could go to my place. Like, as a date." Blaine eyed him nervously, feeling a little nauseous. He just now realized that the boy could easily say no. He hadn't thought that far ahead.

Kurt hesitated, he had been planning on spending the day figuring out what to say to his father tonight. The more time that had gone by though, the more conflicted he felt. Maybe he needed to distract himself for a bit. Maybe this was just what he needed. Maybe this boy was incredibly cute. Maybe he'd been crushing on him since the first day they'd talked at the coffee shop.

"Yeah, that sounds like... fun..." he trailed off when he saw a dark figure lurking in the alley just beyond them, careful to keep out of direct sunlight.

Shit.

"Hey, listen," Kurt said, eyeing the vampire darkly as it edged it's way back into the shadows. "I just noticed someone that I really need to talk to. Can I..." he stopped when he saw the dejected look on Blaine's face. In the same moment though, he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye and realized that the vamp had vanished comletely. He hopped on one foot in agitation before making a split second decision. He shoved his coffee and muffin into Blaine's hands and then grabbed the other boy's face, planting a firm but soft kiss on his lips. He pulled back to see Blaine staring at him in shock.

"I'm not blowing you off. I promise. Please wait here, I'll be right back."

He took off at a run, his adrenaline pumping for more than one reason.

Blaine stood there, momentarily paralyzed, clutching their coffees and muffins to his chest.

Wow. That just happened.

He couldn't have stopped the smile that spread across his face if he tried.

"I..." Kurt landed a well-timed roundhouse kick to the vampire's head.

"Am about to be on..." the slayer ducked a punch and rose back up with an uppercut to the jaw.

"The first date I've had in a year!" He pressed his forearm into the vamp's neck and shoved him against the side of the building.

"Do not mess with me today!" He raised his stake and was preparing to plunge it when the creature spoke. His dark eyes were full of amusement and for just a moment Kurt was thrown off.

"You don't even know, do you?" The vampire laughed almost maniacally. Kurt tightened his grip and shoved the vamp harder against the wall.

"Know what?" He pressed the stake so that it was just barely piercing the skin of his opponent's chest. The vampire looked at the slayer with amusement before leaning forward and whispering.

"He's going to die. You can't stop it." Kurt eyed him suspiciously.

"Who? Who is going to die?"

The vampire just smiled and then pushed himself forward on the stake. Kurt stood there in surprise, coughing at the unexpected cloud of dust as the stake pierced the vamp's heart.

"Well, that wasn't normal," he said out loud as he brushed himself off. He shrugged as he jogged back to Blaine. He'd talk it through with his Watcher when he patrolled tonight. Right now it was date time.

Chelsea Anderson walked into her house later that afternoon and set her bags aside. She was happy to see Blaine's car in the driveway. She hadn't seen him all weekend and knew she needed to work tonight. She was glad to be able to spend some time with her son, maybe they could go out to dinner and a movie. She smiled at the thought of surprising him.

She stopped abruptly, however, when she got to his mostly closed bedroom door, surprised to hear more than one voice. She hesitated, not really wanting to spy but more than a little curious. Music, laughter and some very flirtatious sounding mumbles wafted through the small crack. She battled with her conscience for a moment before peering into the crack. The only thing in her direct line of vision was Blaine, sitting on his bed, smiling and talking to someone. She leaned over slightly, to try and get a better view. She still couldn't see much but she could tell now that it was another boy.

Wait, Blaine's reaching over to hold his hand! He's leaning in... Oh my god, they're kissing!

She pulled back with a tiny gasp and fought the urge to barge in, demanding to know who this boy was and why he was in her son's bedroom when she wasn't home. She forced herself to just breathe. Blaine was a responsible boy, she knew she could trust him. She sighed and then smiled again, starting to feel a genuine happiness for her son. He had been so lonely. It wasn't easy being a gay teen in a state like Ohio. He didn't exactly have a ton of dating options. She put a hand on the door, before moving down the hall. She would give him a little more time before she demanded to meet the boy.

Speaking of dealing with teens. She had a call to make. She pulled out her cell and leaned against the wall, just outside Blaine's room.

Kurt pulled back from the kiss and smiled, feeling a tiny bit shy for the first time in... he didn't even know how long. Blaine was blushing and it was adorable. He was just about to lean forward and reciprocate with another kiss when he felt his phone go off in his pocket. He sighed when he heard the ringtone.

Damn! She could not have worse timing!

Blaine laughed, "That's an interesting ringtone. Is that someone who's stalking you or something?" Kurt snorted a small laugh.

"A less creepy version of stalking. Let's just say it's someone who has my best interests at heart... on an extremely annoying level." He hopped off the bed and headed to Blaine's door. "I'm sorry, I have to get this real quick. I'll be right back."

Chelsea's eyes widened when she heard the ringtone coming from Blaine's room. That annoying ringtone that irritated her to no end.

What the hell...

Kurt opened the door and started to answer his phone.

"Hey there, are you back..."

He stopped mid-sentence, staring in shock as his Watcher stood right in front of him. He lowered his phone to his side, looked down at it and then back up at her in confusion.

"What are you doing here, Kurt?" Chelsea hissed.

"Um, I'm on a date. I'm allowed to do that," Kurt snapped in a harsh whisper. "What are YOU doing here?"

Before she could respond Blaine poked his head out of his room.

"Oh, hey mom! You're home!" He smiled at his mother but it faded quickly when he saw the way she was glaring at Kurt. He looked to his date and saw that the boy had grown incredibly pale and actually looked nervous for the first time since he'd met him. Chelsea turned to Blaine and fixed a smile on her face.

"Hello, darling. Yes, I got an earlier flight. I would like to know though, why you felt that it would be acceptable to have a strange boy in the house while I'm out of town?" Blaine looked at his mother oddly. She had never talked to him like this before. He was just opening his mouth to respond when Kurt spoke up.

"Maybe he has really good instincts and knows when someone is trustworthy," Kurt said quietly, with a raised eyebrow. Blaine snapped his head to the side, not believing his date had just talked to his mother that way.

"Maybe I'm his mother and know what's best for him and certain other cheeky young boys should mind their own business." Blaine was looking warily between them now. Something was definitely off here.

"Maybe you should remember that he's seventeen, not a kid. Stop hovering." Kurt had stopped looking nervous and was now eyeing her irritably.

"I'm not hovering, I'm his mother! I will always worry about him, that's my job. And might I remind you that certain other 'not quite' seventeen-year-olds have gotten themselves into plenty of sticky situations no matter how well I've prepared them. You have no idea... Stop that!"

Kurt had rolled his eyes and put up his hand, flapping his fingers to imitate her talking again. He sighed and folded his hands in front of himself before looking at her innocently.

"Why must you do that? It's disrespectful!" Chelsea spat out, putting her hands on her hips.

"Why must you lecture about every little thing? I'm a teenager! Cut me some freaking slack sometimes!"

"It's not my job to 'cut you slack'! It's my job to..."

"STOP! Both of you!"

Chelsea and Kurt slowly closed their mouths and looked to Blaine guiltily. They had both momentarily forgotten where they were and that Blaine was taking in every word.

"Honey..." Chelsea started.

"No, stop. Don't say anything more." He put his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose and then stayed silent. Kurt and Chelsea put aside their argument almost immediately and glanced at each other nervously.

"Blaine..." Kurt said softly.

"Shh..." Blaine held his hand up in the air without looking at his date. Kurt bit his lip and looked at the floor.

"So, let me take a wild leap here." Blaine finally spoke, looking steadily at Kurt. "You are the slayer? My mother is your Watcher?" Kurt swallowed hard.

"Well, I didn't know that when..."

"Shh..." Blaine held up his hand one more time and Kurt snapped his mouth shut. Blaine turned to his mother.

"This is your charge? This is the one you've talked about and said 'thinks too much of himself and has no respect for tradition'?" She looked back at him, at a loss for words, ignoring Kurt's offended "Hey!"

"Okay, well, this should be interesting. Thank you, Kurt, for speaking for me. It's great to know that you think I'm incapable of defending myself to my own mother." Kurt blushed and kicked at the carpet in embarrassment.

"And thank you, mom," Blaine turned sharply to Chelsea, "for not trusting me. Kurt may have been out of line, speaking to you that way, but he was right. I've never given you reason to believe that I have poor judgment... and I'm not a kid. You have to trust me with stuff like this. Besides, he's not the only one you've trained. Even if he turned out to be a jackass you know full well that I can handle myself."

Kurt looked at him appraisingly, suddenly seeing him in a different light. Chelsea sighed and started to speak but Blaine interrupted her.

"No, look, I understand that this crazy mess isn't really anyone's fault, but I need to process this... by myself." He turned back to his room and grabbed his car keys from a side table. "I'll be back shortly. Maybe you two should take this time to figure out how to talk without fighting. It'd be really nice if I could bring my boyfriend home and not worry about whether he and my mom are going to kill each other."

He turned and stalked down the stairs without a backward glance. Kurt and Chelsea looked at each other. Kurt grinned.

"He called me his boyfriend."

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

"I really like him, Chelsea. Please don't forbid him to see me," Kurt said softly as he sat down at the kitchen table across from her. She smiled for the first time and rubbed her eyes with a tired sigh.

"I'm not going to do that, Kurt. I reacted badly and I'm sorry. You didn't help matters by immediately copping an attitude though." She looked at him pointedly and he had the grace to look a little guilty.

"I guess we both owe him an apology, huh?" The teen slouched in his chair. Chelsea laughed lightly and nodded.

"Kurt, I need to say this just once, and then I swear I'll drop it." He nodded solemnly, showing her that he would take her seriously. "Just being my son puts him in more danger than is fair. I've trained him well and he can take care of himself as well as any soldier. Dating you though, that will give him an even higher profile. He will be in even more danger." Kurt looked at her steadily and swallowed a lump in his throat. That part hadn't occurred to him yet. She sighed again and reached across the table to squeeze his hand.

"The protective mother in me wants to lock him away from any danger in the world, but I can't. Yes, more danger surrounds you than the average person... much more danger... but if you make him happy then who am I to deny him that? Who am I to deny YOUR happiness?" He looked at her carefully at those words. "I care about you too, much more than I should according to the 'Watcher guidelines'," she rolled her eyes and did air quotes at this.

Kurt cracked a smile. He loved it when his normally uptight guardian showed some attitude.

"I want you to be happy too, and from the little I observed, you guys seemed pretty happy together in his room." Kurt smiled and was immediately embarrassed by the fact that his eyes were watering up the tiniest bit. Even though neither had said so, they definitely viewed each other in a mother-son role. His eyes dried automatically though when he came to a realization.

"Wait a minute! How did you know how we seemed in the bedroom? Were you spying on us?!" She blushed immediately and cleared her throat.

"Let's move on, shall we? Tell me about your patrols while I've been gone."

He smirked and thought about egging her on, but decided that annoying the mother of the boy he was hoping to make out with later might not be the wisest choice. He thought for a moment before shrugging slightly.

"Well, there really wasn't much action Friday or Saturday night, and I already told you what happened last night when we talked." He sat up straighter and pointed a finger at her. "There was something odd that happened today though. I was with Blain outside the Lima Bean and I spotted this vamp off in an alley. I chased him down and when I caught him he said..." he grew pale and his hands started shaking as he trailed off.

"What, Kurt?" Chelsea noticed the sudden changes in her charge and sat up straight.

"He said... oh my god, it was Blaine... it was Blaine!" Kurt lept to his feet and scrambled to put his shoes on.

"What?! What about Blaine?!" Chelsea dove out of her chair and grabbed Kurt by the shoulders.

"He said... it didn't occur to me before... I didn't know he was your son then... I didn't know! How could I have known?!" Chelsea shook him roughly, shaking him out of his frantic rambling.

"You need to calm down and talk to me clearly so I know what's going on," she spoke in a low and trembling voice. Her tone brought Kurt back to the moment and he looked her in the eye.

"I was about to take out this random vamp downtown and just before he committed suicide on my stake he said that, 'he was going to die' and that there was nothing I could do to stop it. Blaine was right there. He was talking about Blaine. I-I didn't know who he was then so I didn't realize..." he stopped talking when her eyes widened and she whipped around, throwing open a closet door.

She banged her fist on an inside wall and a hidden compartment swung out. Kurt jumped to her side when he saw the array of weapons. She shoved a stake into his jacket pocket and flung a sword in the air, which he caught and immediately threw a practice swing. She slipped a pair of knives through two of her belt loops and slung a crossbow over her shoulder.

They barely even glanced at each other before they dashed out the front door.