That Friday was the last day of January, so when Kurt came in for his coffee that afternoon Blaine was sitting at a table with a pad in front of him, sketching out treats and sweats for the upcoming holiday. Besides chocolate shops and florists, bakeries like Blaine's got hit particularly hard by the Valentine's Day rush and Blaine was busy creating the latest treats that would help couples everywhere to celebrate.

He knew that his affinity for the holiday was unusual for a single adult man, but he couldn't help but love a holiday where people were encouraged to come out and say to someone how much they care. Not to mention, it was an amazing opportunity to shower your friends with love and affection. Blaine was famous amongst his friends for his lavish Valentines. He thought back to when he used to rant at his friends in college when they would complain about "single's awareness day."

"It's only single's awareness day because you've made it that!" He would say, barely taking a breath before continuing. "Yeah, I'm aware that I'm single, but I'm also aware that I have a group of amazing and caring friends who love me and who I love." He still felt that way, but he couldn't help the small hope that he might not be single by the time Valentines Day rolled around this year.

He was broken from his reverie by a familiar voice. "Whoa, I think there's smoke coming out of your ears." Kurt said, sitting down across from Blaine at the table. "What are you concentrating so hard on?"

Blaine's face broke into a huge smile at the sight of Kurt sipping on his coffee, "Valentine's day plans!" Blaine said, smile never leaving his face. "Heart shaped linzer tarts, little chocolate souffles, strawberry cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting, cupid shaped sugar cookies..."

Kurt cut him off sensing that Blaine could go on forever. "I guess your excited then?" Kurt asked chuckling at Blaine over his cup.

"It's the best time of year!" Blaine said dreamily and if it were a cartoon, Kurt swore Blaine would have had heart eyes.

"Isn't Valentine's day just one of those excuses for greeting card companies and jewelers to make money?" Kurt asked skeptically. "I don't know, but it's always seemed so tacky to me."

"That's not true!" Blaine said emphatically. "People have been celebrating Valentine's Day for centuries and call me a hopeless romantic, but it's my favorite holiday."

"Alright, Romeo, I believe you." Kurt conceded. "If it means you're making souffle, I guess I can't complain."

"Exactly!" Blaine said, absentmindedly drawing swirls onto his notepad, "So...what are you doing tonight? Do you want to come over and hang out? I'm thinking of making these little flourless chocolate cakes for two this year and I need a taste tester when I try them out later."

"Sounds delicious, but I'll have to take a raincheck." Kurt said, trying to pretend that his disappointment is only about the cake. "I..uh...actually have a date tonight." Blaine froze his doodling and stared open mouthed at Kurt. "Don't look so surprised!" Kurt said a bit defensively.

"No, no, that's not it at all," Blaine backtracked quickly, "I just didn't know you were seeing anyone. You never mentioned anyone," Blaine said, turning his wide brown eyes back down to the table.

Kurt wasn't sure how to react to the forlorn expression of Blaine's face, but he assumed that he was just upset that Kurt didn't share with him. "I'm not seeing him. I just met him the other day and he asked me to get dinner. It's not a big deal." Kurt said, finishing up his coffee and relaxing a little when Blaine's expression softened, "And besides, maybe if you snag that guy you've been crushing on we could double date some time. I should head out and get ready, but let me know how the cake turns out."

Kurt walked out and missed the shocked expression on Blaine's face.

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"I'm not saying that Katy Perry isn't a compelling performer. Quite the opposite, but she lacks the depth of someone like Lady Gaga" Chandler said, gesturing wildly over his food later that night.

"I know. That's exactly what I always say!" Kurt said. It was a few hours into their date and Kurt was having a great time, but he felt a bit like he was out to dinner with a sassy gay best friend and not a boyfriend. If he was honest he felt like he was on a date with his high school self turned up a few notches. "I'm mostly into her older stuff, though. Her new stuff is a little too techno for my taste."

"I can see that. Those tracks off the Born this Way album are timeless." There was a small silence while they ate their food and Kurt had to admit he was a bit relieved. Moments later, however, Chandler was back in full force. "Oh my god, have you read the new Bette Midler memoir? It was genius, pure genius."

The rest of the date went on much like that and by the end Kurt felt like he had made a new friend, but was ready to end their dating relationship as swiftly as possible. Kurt was about to let him down gently when the waitress came back over. "Can I get you guys some dessert or are you done for the night?"

"Just the check please," Chandler said swiftly, turning to Kurt. "I know this adorable little bakery downtown that I simply must take you to. They have the best coffee and pastries I've ever had."

Kurt sighed, but decided that the conversation could be had over coffee, and resigned himself to another hour with his chipper companion.

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Back at Bee's, Blaine was still moping around the kitchen. Gregory, his night baker, had tried to make him go home when his shift was over, but he insisted that there was too much to do before the holiday and that he couldn't afford to go home. They both knew it was a lie, but Gregory just ignored his sulking boss and did his job.

Blaine was just dusting powdered sugar over his practice cake when he heard the unmistakeable sounds of Cooper making an unnecessary scene in his shop. "Could I get a wee bit of coffee, m'dear." he said to the cashier in a horrific, fake Irish accent.

"Cooper, you better have a really good reason for being so loud." Blaine said, emerging from the back still holding the cake. "I'm in a bad mood already so please tell me you're not here to harass me further."

Cooper put on his best affronted face and took the cake out of Blaine's hands without asking, "I'm not here to harass you." he said, dipping his finger into the frosting and sticking it into his mouth. "Can't I just drop in on my brother to have a chat?" he said returning to his obnoxious, fake accent and winking at the cashier.

"Okay, first of all, how about you ask before dipping your grubby paws into my baked goods, and second of all, in twenty four years of life I don't think you've ever come to me just to have a 'little chat'." Blaine said, plopping down at one of the tables that had arm chairs instead of plastic ones. "What is it that you want?"

Cooper ignored Blaine's reprimand about the cake and plucked a fork from behind the counter before joining Blaine at the table, "No need to be so sassy, Blainey. I was just going to ask if you could whip me up one of your fancy creations. I have a date tomorrow night and I'd like to ask her up for dessert after if you know what I mean." he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I'm not really in the mood, so just tell Shelly I said to give you whatever you want from the case." Blaine was about to get up and go back to futzing around the kitchen for no reason, but Cooper's voice stopped him.

"Hey, kid, come on, what's eating you?" Cooper said in a protective, brotherly voice that Blaine very rarely heard from him. "You're usually squealing with excitement to make something new and now you look like someone killed your dog."

"I don't have a dog." Blaine said uselessly, staring down at his lap. Cooper gave him a few minutes and when he looked back up he leveled Blaine with a stare that told him he wasn't going to let it go until he told him what was wrong. "Okay, fine. Remember that guy that I told you I was crushing on? Well, I thought he was into me, but he's on a date with some other guy right now."

Despite what most people thought, Cooper was not a stupid man. He could admit to being sort of selfish and self centered, but two things we absolutely true. He was not an idiot and he loved his baby brother. He wasn't always the best at showing it, but he loved him and the look on his face right now was heartbreaking. For the first time in a while Cooper was speechless, "Hey, it's okay." Cooper said moving around so that he was perched on the armrest of the chair next to Blaine. "Look I know it seems bad right now, but it'll be okay. You'll see." Cooper said putting his arm around Blaine and letting him rest his head on his arm, "And hey, maybe now you'll finally give Kurt a chance." Cooper said, trying to insert some humor into the situation.

Blaine froze and stared up at Cooper, "What did you just say?" he said, brows furrowed and eyes wide, pointed like lasers at Cooper.

"Um...Kurt, you know the assistant I tried to set you up with the other day." Cooper said, looking at Blaine like he was nuts. "I told him you weren't interested, but now that your man is off with someone else..."

Suddenly Blaine was grabbing Cooper by the collar and practically shouting in his face. "Tell me, Cooper, that your PA isn't Kurt Hummel. Tell me that's not what's going on here."

"Um...I guess I could tell you that, but it wouldn't be the truth. He's been with me for about a year now. You might even recognize him I send him in here every morning to get me..."

"A medium, soy dirty chai and a blueberry muffin." Blaine said, disbelievingly slumping back into the chair, but a moment later he was back up again, grabbing at Cooper's shoulders. "You're going to fix this Cooper. You're going to fix this and it's all going to be okay again. You better fix this."

Cooper grabbed both of Blaine's shoulders back and looked right in Blaine's eyes to get him to shut up, "Blainey, I'll do whatever you want me too, but you're going to have to calm down first."

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Kurt allowed Chandler to link their arms as they walked out of the restaurant and towards the bakery. It didn't take long for Kurt to figure out that they were headed towards Bee's, but Kurt didn't mention it and was just grateful that Blaine didn't work on Friday nights.

They were just about to walk in when Chandler held him back and pointed emphatically through the window, "Oh my god," he said covering his mouth with his free hand. "Don't look now, but I think that's Cooper Anderson in there!"

Kurt fought the urge to roll his eyes, but like most people when someone said 'don't look now' his gaze was directed towards the inside of the shop where his boss was sitting propped on an arm chair with his arms around none other than Blaine. Kurt's heart stopped. This couldn't be happening. There was no way that the guy Blaine was crushing on was actually Kurt's boss. This was too screwed up for words. Cooper had just let him believe that it was some unknown random getting in the way of their relationship. Kurt knew it was rude and somewhere in the back of his mind he almost felt bad for Chandler, but at that moment all he could think of was getting away from that shop.

"I have to go." he said suddenly, wrenching his hand out of Chandler's grip and without a look back at his astonished date he was sprinting home.