Chapter 11: Only If For A Night

And I heard your voice, as clear as day
And you told me I should concentrate
It was all so strange, and so surreal
That a ghost should be so practical
Only if for a night

-Only If For A Night by Florence + the Machine

Hurriedly tugging his underwear back on, grabbing his clothes and then tailing it around to the front of the house where moments later the sound of an engine kick starting and then a motorcycle roaring off into the night: this was the last Blaine had seen of Kurt.

He didn't know what had happened. One moment they had been lying there contentedly on the concrete, Blaine's damp head of curls resting lightly on Kurt's chest when Kurt suddenly started. He arose in a panic and then, in mere moments he was hightailing it out of there.

Blaine had tried to stop him, had called his name and even begun chasing after him.

Where are you going?

Leave me alone Blaine!The voice that responded was full of so much hurt and anger that Blaine stopped short where he was, his feet planted to the ground. Within a few mere seconds, Kurt was gone. And Blaine was, it was safe to say, more confused than he had ever been in his whole life.

x-x-x-x-x-x

When Kurt finally got home, his dad and stepmother were, fortunately in bed. Kurt hated to let his mind wander to what events might havecausedthem to end up in bed, the dishes on the table from Carole's immaculate meal left uncharacteristically un-cleared, but he didn't dwell on it.

Instead, he headed downstairs to his room, not bothering to worry about not slamming the door, because who was paying attention to hear it after all?

And once he reached his bed, he flung himself face down across it with all of the drama of a fifteen-year-old girl and began to sob.

He tried to keep his tears quiet but as he let the sorrow overtake him, it became more and more impossible to hold it in. His long but slight frame was wracked with cries as he lay there shaking, consumed by his tears. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried like this. It wasn't his style. He preferred sex, booze and drugs as a problem-solver. But right now, his heart felt inexplicably crushed and he couldn't suppress the embarrassing weeping that had engulfed him.

He heard a light knocking on the door to his room that led to the outside then. At first it wasn't so easy to catch over the sound of his sobs and he simply ignored it. But it repeated itself, this time louder and more insistent. Ugh. Finn was probably just getting back from his girlfriend's house and didn't want to risk using the front door and getting caught with a hickey on his neck by their parents. He was always sneaking in late at night through Kurt's room, which could be incredibly awkward when Kurt invited the occasionalguestover for a late night booty call.

"Come in," he snuffled annoyedly. He might've tried to hide the fact that he'd been crying, had it been anyone other than Finn. But right now, he just felt so utterly broken up and devastated, for reasons he himself couldn't entirely pinpoint, that he didn't really care. He just buried his face in his pillow and hoped Finn would ignore him and leave quickly. Bad boy image be damned.

"Kurt," a voice said softly from the doorway and Kurt nearly leapt out of his skin when he recognized it as not Finn's dopey baritone but the light, seductive tenor of someone much different.

"God," Kurt groaned, not lifting his face from the pillow. He definitely wasn't willing to reveal this side of himself to Blaine.

"Kurt, talk to me. What happened back there?"

"You just need to fucking leave me alone. How many times do I have to say it Blaine?"

Kurt felt a weight depressing the edge of his mattress as Blaine sat down there. He had the urge to move further away, to curl himself up into a little ball and close his eyes, pretend his mother was here maybe, stroking his hair, making all of this go away. She'd understand. He could explain to her everything that had been going on, how confused he was. She would have an answer for him.

"Kurt, please." Blaine's voice was softer than Kurt had ever heard it, almost pleading. "You seemed to be into everything. You seemed fine. And then all of a sudden you were running. And youdrovehome, drunk! Do you realize how dangerous that was? You could've gotten yourself killed!" Blaine's voice was protective and angry now, and Kurt would've been turned on if he hadn't been so distraught.

"What's it to you? You can replace me in a heartbeat."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me Blaine!" Kurt sat up then, wiping his eyes on his pillowcase, a disgusting act he would never engage in under normal circumstances. "I've been around the block enough times to recognize when I'm being used. Don't you think I ever get sick of it? Tired of being some straight boy's experimental wet dream, you know, just until he 'gets it out of his system' or while he's 'horny and in between girlfriends'? Just good for a quick fuck until the guy chickens out again and remembers that he's supposed to be straight and runs back to his perfect little life with the girlfriend and the future with the white picket fence, 9-5 job, 2.5 kids and a golden retriever. I'mnevergoing to have any of that! Instead I just get to sit here, waiting for some little straight boy to come along and let himself get lost in indulging a twisted fantasy for a little bit before he goes back to reality. But I don't get to go back to reality. My reality is ending up alone in bed like a used-up condom, dirty and spent and feeling like nothing better than a cheap whore. And the worst part about it is that it's never going toend. This is my life. And you know what, I've accepted it. It might not sound like it, but I honestly have. I keep boys at an arm's length so no one gets to hurt me again. I pick guys who aren't going to try to worm their way into my life, my heart, before inevitably breaking all their promises to me and breaking my heart in the end. I protect myself. But every once in a while I get little fuckers like you who just won't listen when I tell them to stay away. Don't you get that it's in everyone's best interest?" Kurt was panting when he was done with his impromptu speech, his cheeks flushed and eyes still red and glistening not only from the tears before but also new ones that were now threatening to spill down.

"You've had your heart broken?" was all Blaine said as he looked at Kurt, chest heaving, hair a mess, sitting across the bed from him.

Kurt glared at the question. "Stop it. Stop playing with me."

"No I'm genuinely surprised. I would think you'd be the one to do all the heart breaking." Blaine said softly.

"I am, now. I've learned." Kurt said, his usual callousness having returned to his voice now.

Blaine looked at Kurt wide-eyed, blinking slowly once before asking what was clearly on his mind. "You don't think I'm going to break your heart, do you?"

"Don't flatter yourself Anderson," Kurt snorted, but it was half-hearted, and he wouldn't meet Blaine's eyes.

"Kurt, I'm in much more trouble here than you are."

"Right. Because you have so much to lose, your girlfriend, your popularity, your future as America's next golden boy of the decade."

"No," Blaine responded, bending his head forward so that his forehead rested against Kurt's in a surprisingly sentimental gesture. "Because I'm in this so much deeper than you are."

Kurt swallowed audibly. "Don't say that. You don't want to say that."

"It's true though," Blaine protested softly.

"No," Kurt shook his head but didn't stop Blaine from leaning forward to press his lips against Kurt's in a kiss more chaste, yet more tender and passionate than any Kurt could ever remember having.

"Don't do this," Kurt warned against Blaine's lips, but the olive-skinned boy, curls still damp from their earlier escapade in the pool, leaned in again to kiss Kurt, deepening it only slightly, temptingly, before pulling back again. This time, much to Blaine's delight, it was Kurt that leaned forward with a sigh of resignation and pressed his lips against Blaine's, his hand going up almost involuntarily to the curls he had come to adore so quickly. Blaine moaned softly and surrendered completely to Kurt's touch, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was nowhere in the world he would currently rather be than here in Kurt Hummel's arms.

The two boys kissed for a while, gently, slowly, exploring each other in ways they hadn't had a chance to do before. Their two previous experiences with each other had both been so frantic, so full of lust and desperation. Now they were kissing simply to kiss, to learn each other, to be close to each other and enjoy each other. Kurt had resigned himself to his own actions after a few minutes and was no longer shaking his head and murmuringnoorwe can't do thisevery time he paused to take a breath.

They finally stopped and fell into a comfortable silence, Kurt's head resting on Blaine's chest, his mind being lulled in a peaceful, drowsy state by the steady breathing.

"Kurt." Blaine broke the calm reverie.

"Mmm?" Kurt responded contentedly, even as a pang of a guilt shot through him, aware as he was that he shouldn't be allowing this to happen.

"It's getting kinda late and I- I actually kind of actually promised my mom I wouldn't come home tonight."

"You promised your mom youwouldn'tcome home?" Kurt propped himself up on one elbow, sharp surprise and concern laced in his tone.

Blaine flushed embarrassedly. "Yeah. That's why she gave me the car. She sorta...likes to entertain overnight guests sometimes. She doesn't like me around when she does that."

"What about your dad?" Kurt asked tactlessly.

Blaine shrugged. "On a business trip."

"So you just allow your mom to cheat on your dad regularly and don't say anything about it at all?"

Blaine looked truly uncomfortable now. Kurt was prying but sometimes he didn't realize his lack of etiquette until it was much too late.

"I, uh, I'm pretty sure my dad knows."

Kurt looked puzzled again but decided to stop grilling the poor kid.

"So you need somewhere to stay?"

"Well I hate to intrude but...yeah, sorta," Blaine admitted sheepishly.

Kurt huffed but stood up and went over to his dressers, bending over to tug open the bottom drawer. "This goes against likeallof my hookup rules. But I can't very well turn you out onto the streets now, can I?" He returned to the bed and tossed a neatly folded pair of pajamas Blaine's way. "Bathroom's that way," he instructed, gesturing with his thumb to the door in the far corner of the room. "I'll change out here."

Blaine wanted to point out that he had already seen Kurt naked once that night but decided that he was lucky enough Kurt was allowing him to stay and he had better not push it.

"And just so you're aware, when we get up in the morning, we are telling my dad that you are afriendwho came over to work on a school project with me and stayed so late that you were too tired to drive home. Also, Finn will likely be at breakfast, so good luck explaining that one. That's all you."

Blaine shrugged casually. "Finn's a pretty easy-going guy it seems. I don't think I have anything to worry about with him."

"Maybe so. But you'd be surprised how quickly rumors spread when you start hanging out with the school's token faggot." Kurt said somewhat bitterly, his eyes looking off in the distance, as if he were remembering something else, from another time, not present in the room with Blaine.

"Why do you always do that?" Blaine asked.

"What?" Kurt was pulled from his daydream back to reality, staring at Blaine blankly.

"Refer to yourself as a faggot. It's so derogatory."

"Calling myself a faggot stings a lot less than whentheycall me one," Kurt answered truthfully. "When I call myself a faggot, I'm taking back the word, you know? Showing them that they can't hurt me. They don't own me like that. When I say faggot, I diffuse the bomb. It has no power over me anymore." He looked at Blaine, a small light of confidence shining in his eyes that Blaine had never noticed before. But then, in just as quick of a moment, it was gone completely.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about."

Blaine said nothing.

"Right," Kurt said rather coldly. "Well go on then, get your pajamas on. I have to use the bathroom after you and my skincare routine alone takes a good forty-five minutes, so you better hustle." He paused for a moment. "Anddon'texpect this to become a regular thing."

Blaine nodded quickly, silently gathering the pajamas in his arms before taking the pile to the bathroom and changing quickly, unable, despite it all, to stop reveling in the fact that he was spending the night in Kurt Hummel's house, in hisbed.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Kurt awoke in the middle of the night, sweating from all the bedclothes and the person that was draped across his body...the person!His mind went into a slight panic, wondering who on earth was in his bed, how he had gotten there and how Kurt could get rid of him.

The person lounging across him sighed deeply then, shifting slightly to clutch more tightly at Kurt's undershirt. Kurt felt a sprig of curls brush at his chin.Blaine.

The realization suddenly hit him with full force. Blaine was in his bed.Blaine was in his bed. He had let him stay the night. That was something that he absolutely never, ever did, and yet he had made an exception for this foolish, annoyingly charming, incessant, naïve boy. This was dangerous, a dangerous move. Why had he allowed this to happen?

He bent his chin awkwardly to look down at the peacefully sleeping boy on his chest. Blaine was curled as close to him as he possibly could be, hands entwined in his wife beater, legs bent up in the fetal position and tangled with Kurt's legs. Kurt shifted again to try to adjust Blaine, maybe get the boy to move off of him a little, because it was hot in his room, and he was uncomfortable. But Blaine only moaned slightly in protest at Kurt's attempts and clung to him more tightly. Kurt sighed and resigned himself to his fate with Blaine as his human barnacle for the night.

Had it been anyone else, he would've shoved them roughly off, kindheartedness be damned, but Kurt couldn't help but feel like, if the way Blaine was holding onto him so desperately was any indication, the curly-haired boy needed this closeness, if only if for a night. And, though Kurt couldn't admit it to himself, it was nice, this closeness, nice in a way he hadn't expected. It reminded him of all those times when he was younger and naïve like Blaine, and he too had entertained dreams of true love and fantasies of romance. The days before life was just about sex but when it was also about the before and after of sex, the intimacy of sex, thefeelings. The needing to be near someone else and not alone. Kurt had wanted that once.

He decided then, to let himself indulge this one time, and wrapped his arm around Blaine, pulling the boy closer into his body, causing him to let out an unconscious sigh of contentment.Yes, this was sort of nice, Kurt thought. Even if it was only for a night.

x-x-x-x-x-x

When the sun finally came up in the morning, the boys were still wrapped up in each other in Kurt's bed. This time, Blaine woke before Kurt. He took a luxurious moment while Kurt was still asleep to survey his sleeping form. He looked nothing short of beautiful as he lay there sleeping, his perfect hair sexily tousled from sleep, his face arranged in an expression of peaceful relaxation that Blaine couldn't remember having really ever seen on Kurt before. He looked so lovely like this. Blaine wished he had access to this side of Kurt all the time, but he knew that even after last night, all of Kurt's walls were still up and it would be a long time, if ever, that Kurt would truly relax and let Blaine in. Blaine let his body slacken against Kurt's, fitting himself against the other boy like they were two pieces of the same puzzle. He couldn't help but enjoy this more than he knew he should.

Kurt began to stir then, eyelids fluttering in an endearing manner, making a slight moaning noise as he did.

"Oh," he said groggily when he opened his eyes fully and saw Blaine still wrapped up in him. "You're here still."

Blaine, who had pretended to be asleep as soon as he noticed Kurt waking up, now pretended to awaken as well, quickly pulling away from Kurt as if the snuggling had been entirely accidental. "Oh wow, sorry," he apologized awkwardly.

"'S fine," Kurt murmured with an uncomfortable shrug.

"Did you not want me to stay here?"

"What?" Kurt inquired, genuinely confused.

"It's just that you seemed surprised that I was still here when you woke up. Did you want me to leave?"

"No. I said you could stay the night, didn't I? I'm just not used to waking up with someone else in my bed. I forgot," Kurt explained, hoping this would quell Blaine's curiosity. It did, for the moment.

"Kay, well I better get out of here," Blaine said finally after a few moments of awkward silence. He pushed away the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, beginning to relieve himself of Kurt's clothes.

"Hey now, wait a minute. You can't leave. We're going to talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Blaine asked, an expression of genuine bewilderment spreading across his handsome features.

"Are you fucking kidding me Anderson? I do a body shot off of you, you suck me off in a pool and then spend the night in my bed and you don't think there's anything we need to talk about?"

Blaine's expression became a bit sheepish then as he realized that, when putting it that way, Kurt was rather right.

"Look, Kurt, I don't...really know what to say. I'm not-"

"Gay," Kurt cut in, knowing what Blaine was about to say. "I know, I know, I've heard it all before. Regardless of what you did last night, regardless of the fact that you have a girlfriend but you still sought out sex with a boy, regardless of the fact that you woke up clutching me like a frightened three-year-old with his teddy bear, you're straight. Whatever. I'm not here to help you figure out your sexuality issues. But we need to establish what our relationship is. I won't live without boundaries. Boundaries keep people safe." From the way Kurt spoke, so confidently and astutely, it was obvious to Blaine that the boyhadgiven the speech multiple times before and he couldn't help but feel a surprising twinge of jealousy strike in the pit of his stomach at Kurt's reference to his varied past hookups.

"Okay," he nodded slowly, trying to focus on Kurt's words and not his own unsettling feelings of possessiveness.

"So if we're going to do this, there have to be rules."

"Do this?" Blaine choked out, looking up to meet Kurt's hauntingly beautiful blue eyes, with shock and excitement mingling in his own.

Kurt had to bite back a slight smile at the boy's reaction, but realized at the same time that the eagerness with which Blaine was responding to his proposition was dangerous, for both of them.

"Yes. We can continue doing this, since you seem to be unwilling to take no for an answer. But you have to adherestrictlyto the guidelines I'm going to lay out, otherwise it's over."

"Sure, yes, whatever you want," Blaine nodded eagerly, embarrassed a little bit by his own enthusiasm, but too tantalized by the prospect of what was to come to care much. He didn't knowwhyhe wanted this so badly and the answer definitely wasn't something he was interested in exploring. All he knew was that he did want it, and that it made him feel better about things. And why would he want to put an end to that?

"Okay, here it is. But this willonlywork if you're honest with me. If you find that you can't agree to any of the things I say, then we're going to have call it quits, alright? "

"Fine," Blaine agreed impatiently. "Just tell me the rules already."

"Slow down Curly-Q," Kurt said, this time not bothering to hide the amused glint in his eyes. "Okay let me think. First thing, you tellnobodyabout this arrangement. And I mean absolutely nobody. No exceptions."

Blaine scoffed. "Like I'm the one you have to worry about telling people. Do you realize how much I have to lose-" He was silenced by a deathly glare from Kurt.

"That's rule number two. No undermining me, trying to make yourself feel better about what's going on by mocking me or humiliating me in public or in front of your friends. I don't take that kind of shit, especially from people I'm hooking up with. So be respectful. That doesn't mean we have to be friends in school. In fact, I'd really rather we weren't. But it does mean you have to treat me like a decent human being."

Blaine nodded. He knew how important that one was to Kurt, and it made him ache a little bit to think that it was even a necessary rule to lay out, but even as he thought about it, he realized with shame how likely he himself would be to sell Kurt out when he was in front of his popular friends.

"Okay, this rule kind of piggybacks on that one, but basically, we can't be friends."

Blaine sputtered a bit. "What are you talking about?"

"Situations like this have a tendency to get very messy and so, in order to protect both of us and make this as simple and fun as possible, we need to try to restrict our relationship to that which is purely sexual. Which means, no "hanging out". If we're not having sex, I don't want to see you. Don't come over just to chill or talk. No inside jokes, no terms of endearment, no affectionate gestures. No tender love-making. And definitely no more spending the night. This is about sex, about needs. Nothing else. I don't want to hold you, or let you cry on my shoulder, and I definitely don't want to hear about your personal life. Don't let the lines get blurred. You start to find yourself feeling confused, you tell me immediately and we end it. It's for your own good more than mine."

Kurt could see the hurt flash in Blaine's hazel eyes. "But- we- God, Kurt, I'm not just some piece of ass."

"Actually," Kurt said with a calculatedly cold look on his face, "That's exactly what you are. I have no interest in anything about you other than your ass. You start forgetting that and, like I said-"

"It's over. I get it," Blaine said, swallowing slightly. "But what about our community service project? We still have to get together to work on that," he interjected.

"Ah." It was obvious from Kurt's expression that he had forgotten completely about that. He thought for a moment. "Okay, so when we get together to work on our project, we meet in a neutral, preferably public place. We do not reference our extracurricular activities. We keep it strictly professional. The only times you are allowed to make any sort of mention of what we do outside of school is when we are arranging a time and place for meeting. And in order to do that, we will develop code words."

Blaine let out a hearty chuckle before realizing that Kurt wasn't joking. "This is a serious matter Blaine, and if you can't see that, then I'm afraid we're going to have to end this before it really even begins."

"No, no I get it," Blaine interjected. "What are the code words?"

"They should be related to the community service project so nobody gets suspicious. If one of us wants to initiate a hookup, we ask the other one to get together in order to discuss a new development for the GSA."

"GSA?"

"Gay Straight Alliance," Kurt answered with a smirk. "That is, after all, what this, isn't it?"

"Yeah but won't people be curious as to what that is?"

"Yeah and you tell them it's the name of the Gay Lesbian center we're teaming up with." Kurt looked at Blaine carefully, cocking an eyebrow accusatorily. "Don't tell me you're worried to tell people you're teaming up with a bunch of queers. It was your idea to help the center and try to raise awareness in the school, if I do recall."

"Yeah, I know," Blaine replied heavily. "I just hope my mom doesn't get wind of it."

Kurt noted the tension and worry in Blaine's voice when he mentioned his mother but he didn't ask, as much as he was tempted to. That would be breaking the rules before they even started yet.

"Shoulda thought of that before you suggested it," Kurt said nonchalantly, even as he felt his heart twinge slightly at the callousness of his comment. He shrugged it off and continued with his list.

"And I guess we'll have to come up with code words for our meeting places too, but we haven't even established what those are yet, so we can talk about that later."

"Fine," Blaine said shrugging. "But we should probably add something to our code phrase so that the other one knows that we're talking about a hook up and not actually about the project."

"Good point," Kurt said thoughtfully.

"How about Code Red?" Blaine suggested, a hopeful look on his face that Kurt couldn't help but find adorable.

"Yeah, yeah, not bad. I like that. Makes it sound really urgent. Which it is." He licked his lips slightly at the prospect, causing Blaine's stomach to curl a little bit. Oh God, he was excited about this arrangement.

"And last," Kurt said, "We need to really watch ourselves. For now, I don't want to put a limit on our time together, but everyone knows that you spend that much time being 'intimate', per se, with someone else, and feelings are bound to develop for at least one party. So if either of us feels things getting too intense, we take some space and back off."

Blaine nodded somberly.

"And nothing- boyfriendy, alright? I've had a lot of experience over the years learning to separate sex from emotions but some guys, especially ones who are new to this, have trouble making the distinction. So you need to be really careful. Train yourself. Train your emotions. Force yourself to detach."

"God," Blaine grumbled. "Leave it to you to turn hooking up into the most calculated, boring sounding thing ever."

Kurt raised an eyebrow in sudden interest at Blaine's words. Blaine saw a slight flash of something dark in Kurt's eyes; yes, the other boy looked a little bit dangerous, and it was hot.

"Did you just say hooking up with me was going to be boring and calculated?"

"N-no," Blaine stammered awkwardly. "That's not what I meant."

"Fuck yeah, that's not what you meant. You are in for some heavy surprises Blaine Anderson. I just hope you can handle it all. I'm not exactly your run-of-the-mill fuck buddy."

"I can handle it," Blaine said with more confidence than he felt, trying to impress Kurt, if that was even at all possible.

"If you say so. Oh- one more thing!"

"Seriously?" Blaine groaned. "What other stipulation could youpossiblyhave?"

"It's not a stipulation," Kurt said, sounding slightly affronted. "I just want to establish the fact that during this time, you can see whoever else you want. I know that girlfriend of yours probably has needs you're required to fulfill, though we all know actual fucking isn't one of them."

Blaine shook his head, deciding to ignore Kurt's dig about his sex life, and also deciding that he wouldn't tell Kurt about the half-sex he had engaged in with Quinn, and how it been a massive, embarrassing, uncomfortable failure and caused him to go running directly into Kurt's arms. No, Kurt didn't need to be aware of all that.

"Whatever," Blaine responded, skirting around the mention of Quinn. "I just hope you're careful. I don't want to get any diseases."

"That is a disgusting stereotype," Kurt practically spat. "Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I have STDs. In fact, I'm probably cleaner than the rest of you McKinley heteros combined. I take practicing safe sex very seriously."

Blaine swallowed slightly. "So, does that mean you're gonna keep sleeping with that other guy?"

"What other guy?" Kurt said, playing the dumb card.

"You know the one Kurt," Blaine answered in exasperation. "The guy that came over here that day we were working on our project. The guy that's always coming over."

Kurt waved his hand dismissively. "He's not something you need to worry about."

"I'd at least like to know who else you're swapping bodily fluids with. If we're going to be together, then it kind of becomes my business who else you're with at the same time."

"On the contrary." Kurt shook his head, a dark look in his eyes that warned Blaine not to push him. "I fuck who I want, you fuck who I want, we fuck each other when we want, for as long as we want, until we no longer want to. If you're going to get jealous and snoopy, then you might as well show yourself out now. Because let's get one thing straight right from the get go. And that is that you own no part of me Blaine Anderson. Nobody does and nobody ever will. I'm leaving at the end of this year to go to New York and I'm not looking back. You have no significant place in my life. Understood?"

Blaine just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He felt very small in that moment, and very uncertain, but also very turned on. It was the adrenaline rush you got before you went cliff diving or bungee jumping, before you stepped off that rock ledge or that wooden tower to go soaring through the air on a fragile zip line. Right now, Blaine's toes were just hanging off the edge and his body was sweating, his fingers tingling, as he prepared himself to take the leap. He knew it would be fun, exhilarating, and, he would even go so far as to say, the experience of a lifetime. But he had no idea what state he would find himself in once he reached the bottom.

x-x-x-x-x-x

As previously discussed, the boys showered quickly and separately, Blaine dressing in the same clothes he had worn the night before, before going upstairs to eat breakfast with Kurt's family.

"After this morning, I don't think it's a very good idea for you to have any more interaction with my family, besides Finn obviously," Kurt had warned as he was styling his hair in front of his vanity. "It's too much like something a boyfriend would do."

Blaine didn't really protest because not only did meeting Kurt's family make him nervous, but this also meant that Kurt wouldn't expect to meet Blaine's "family", and Blaine couldn't be more grateful for that.

When Kurt was finally done with his excessive morning routine, which Blaine was horrified to hear he had actuallyspedthrough this morning, and yet it had still taken him that long, they had gone upstairs only to be greeted immediately with the smell of French toast, eggs, bacon and sausages. A full, home cooked breakfast, the likes of which Blaine hadn't seen since visiting his grandparent's house, several years ago.

"Hi Sweetie," Carole said as she heard the footsteps behind her, and Blaine was rather shocked to hear this woman whom Kurt had made out to be such a monster referring to Kurt as "sweetie." It made him wonder what was going on underneath the surface, and more than that, it made him smile: to hear this sexy, badass, no-nonsense boy being called such a sweet motherly nickname. It was nothing if not endearing.

Blaine felt Kurt prickle next to him at her words, but only slightly. "Morning Carole," he answered, pulling out a chair. "I had a friend sleep over last night. I hope that's alright."

Blaine was even more shocked at this. Kurt, asking for permission from his stepmother? This was far from the interaction Blaine would have expected between stepmother and stepson. Needless to say, none of the other family members had entered the kitchen yet, so perhaps this was what inspired Kurt's polite behavior. Regardless, Blaine was intrigued.

Carole replied without even bothering to turn around and see who the mystery guest was. "Of course that's fine, Kurt, we never mind you having friends stay over. She layered a last stack of French toast onto a platter and then put her spatula down, wiping her hands on a dish towel and turning around to greet Blaine.

"Hi, I'm Carole. I don't believe we've met."

"No ma'am," Blaine answered, politely extending his hand to shake Carole's in return. "I'm Blaine Anderson. I've actually played football with Finn for a couple years now, but you probably wouldn't have heard of me."

Carole put her hands on her hips thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, you do look familiar. I'm sorry we haven't met before."

"Oh don't worry about it," Blaine said kindly. "Finn and I have rather different circles of friends I suppose."

"I see," Carole said, but not coldly. "Well perhaps since you're friends with Kurt, you and Finn can get to know each other a little bit too," she added hopefully.

Blaine was about to agree when Kurt cut in. "I sort of misspoke earlier, Carole. We're not really, uhm, friends. We're just doing a community service project together for a school assignment and Blaine was here working on it too late last night to go home. That's the only reason he stayed over. So we'll be around each other a bit till we finish the project but we're just partners. It's nothing else."

"Oh. Alright," Carole said, frowning slightly. It was strange that Kurt seemed so adamant about making it clear that he and Blaine werenotfriends. Strange enough to make Carole suspicious that there was something else going on that Kurt wasn't telling her about. She glanced at Blaine, who was biting his lip, saying nothing.

"I'm going to call your father and Finn. I assume you'd like to stay for breakfast Blaine?" She said, turning to the curly-haired boy. This time, Blaine glanced at Kurt before responding to Carole. Kurt shook his head, ever so slightly, instructing Blaine to deny the invitation.

"Oh thank you Mrs. Hummel, but that's really alright. I'm sure my mother will want me home."

"Nonsense," Carole interjected. She had noticed Kurt's gesture to Blaine and now sheknewsomething was up. "I'm sure your mother won't mind. I'll even call her if you like. You boys must have had a very long night, working on that project so hard. You stay the night in the Hummel-Hudson home, the least I can do is make sure you're properly fed."

Kurt glanced at Blaine with a look of pure annoyance on his face. Blaine felt embarrassed, since Kurt obviously didn't want him here, but at the same time, he felt his stomach growling at the scent of the delicious breakfast Carole had made. And no part of him was exactly eager to get back home to his own mother, who definitely wouldn't have kind words, or a hearty meal, waiting for him.

"I'd be happy to," he said with a warm smile, not caring that Kurt was practically glowering at him. Carole had invited him. It would be more suspicious to insist no.

"Wonderful," Carole said with a smile. She went into the living to call upstairs for the rest of her family to come to breakfast. Kurt moved to pour himself a cup of coffee while Blaine just stood there, looking awkward.

"I can't believe you," Kurt hissed under his breath as he began stirring in a teaspoon of non-fat creamer. "You're already breaking the rules!"

"I'm sorry," Blaine returned unapolgetically. "But what did you expect me to do?"

"Say no! Say your mother would be worried sick and you absolutely had to go home! Anything! God, you can be so dense!" Kurt looked furious.

Right at that moment, Carole walked back in, stifling any further discussion on the topic.

"The boys should be down any minute," she informed them, glancing at Kurt as he was taking his first sip of coffee.

"Kurt didn't you think to offer any to Blaine?"

"Blaine doesn't like coffee," Kurt said rudely before Blaine had a chance to answer.

"Actually, I've been starting to drink it recently," Blaine interjected, flashing a dazzling smile in response to the furious expression on Kurt's face. He knew he was pushing his luck but he wasn't going to be pushed around like some cheap whore. Two could play at this game and Blaine wasn't going to be as easy as Kurt seemed to think he was.

"Perfect, I've just brewed this fresh," Carole said, also seemingly aware of what Kurt was trying to do, and siding with Blaine. "Go on Kurt, pour your friend a cup," she prodded.

Kurt begrudgingly went to the cupboard where he got Blaine a mug and poured him a steaming cup of the heavenly-scented black liquid. He practically shoved the cup into Blaine's hands, almost spilling the hot coffee all over him as he did so. Blaine noticed with some mild amusement that the mug said, "I'm A Member of Sexy Moms Anonymous." He was certain Kurt had picked it purposefully out of spite. He chuckled and simply took a deep sip of the beverage, pissing Kurt off even more.

In that moment, Finn entered the room, the remnants of sleep still obviously clinging to him as he was wearing plaid boxers, a wrinkled t-shirt and had his hair sticking up on several different ends. He rubbed the sleep from his bleary eyes.

"Smells good," he mumbled, stumbling to his chair before noticing that there was a third person standing in the kitchen.

"Oh wow, hey, sorry, didn't realize Kurt had company," he said in embarrassment. He rubbed his eyes again and noticed who it was.Blaine. The guy he had pulled off of Kurt in the cafeteria not one week ago.

"Hey!" he said, anger suddenly flashing across his mild features. "What the hell areyoudoing here?"

"Finn Christopher Hudson! You apologize to our guest right now!"

"No way! Mom, this is the douche that beat up Kurt at school," Finn snapped, blatantly ignoring Kurt's wild gestures and Blaine's expression of worry.

Carole's face fell. "Is that true Kurt?"

"No," Kurt replied quickly. "Like I told you originally,Iwas the one to beat up him. And because of that, we got assigned a community service project. So now we're working together. And we're being civil. There's no need to bring up past indiscretions," he directed a poisonous look at Finn as he said this.

Carole looked confused but decided not to press it further. She could tell that Blaine wasn't a threat to Kurt. If anything, it was the other way around. And she still maintained that there was something more going on between the two boys that Kurt wasn't admitting. There was a certain energy between them; she wasn't blind. Burt certainly wouldn't appreciate it, but Carole didn't plan on telling him, at least not for a while. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on between the boys yet, but she hoped she'd be seeing a lot more of Blaine. Perhaps their "friendship" or whatever it was, had started out as a fight, but it was obviously much different now. And it seemed to her that this Blaine might be a good influence on her moody and broken stepson.

Finn, however, was still seething. "I can't believe you're defending this asshole."

"Language!" Carole exploded. She had never been more ashamed of her son until this moment, although she did have to admit that a small swell of motherly pride at her son's protectiveness towards his stepbrother was mixed in with her fury.

"Can I say something?" Everyone was a little bit startled to hear Blaine's smooth voice all of a sudden emerge in the thick of things. No one responded, so he just kept talking. "I understand why you don't like me Finn, I really do. I wasn't exactly incredibly kind to Kurt when I first met him. We had our differences for sure. But I promise you, none of that stemmed from any sort of homophobia. I never wanted to hurt Kurt. Things just got out of control that day and I couldn't be more sorry. I'm working right now to make reparations. And I'd like to make reparations with you too, if possible. I mean, we're on the same team after all."

Finn just grunted at this, but it was clear from his facial expression that his attitude toward Blaine had softened a little.

"That's incredibly kind of you Blaine," Carole said, ever the optimist. "Can I ask what you two are working on as your community service project?"

"Yes, actually, it's pretty cool stuff. We're working together with a Gay Lesbian Center that was trying to establish themselves in Lima but had to stop due to a lack of funds. We're trying to help with fundraising so that they can get going again, and at the same time, raise awareness about the center and the issues it deals with at our school. Kind of killing two birds with one stone. And hopefully, if we can raise enough money to get renovations going again, we can be part of the team helping to work on the building and get things running." Blaine spoke with such pride and confidence, Kurt was a little bit blown away. He still didn't know what the boy's game was, choosing the GLC as their community service project, but he had to admit, it was touching to hear Blaine speak so passionately about something that meant so much to Kurt. It was actually kinda hot.

Kurt chastised himself then, because Blaine's personality wasnotsomething Kurt was supposed to find himself attracted to. This was not at all going according to plan.

"That's such a great idea," Carole enthused. "Why didn't you tell us Kurt? We're so proud of you. Both of you. What a wonderful project."

Kurt shrugged awkwardly. "It's not really a big deal. Can we just eat please?" He pulled out the chair across from Finn and sat down, scarfing down some eggs the moment he could get them on his fork. Blaine watched awkwardly from the side before Carole came over and ushered him to a seat next to Kurt. "Please help yourself."

And Blaine did, despite the fact that Kurt was pointedly ignoring him and Finn was casting wary glances his direction every couple of minutes. Carole sat down with her own cup of coffee and made pleasant small talk, which Blaine responded to easily. They were soon chatting and laughing like old friends. Kurt was infuriated but he kept his thoughts to himself.

Kurt was hurrying through breakfast and trying to urge Blaine along too, hoping against hope that they could get Blaine out of there before his dad came down. Blaine, however, was eating at a painfully leisurely pace, and in the meantime completely charming Carole with his unusually good manners and devastating charisma. Even Finn was engaging in their conversation now, as Blaine skillfully swung the topic around to football, getting the other boy's attention immediately.

"Come on Blaine, we'd better go," Kurt urged, putting his fork down and pushing his chair back so fast it let out a painful scrape against the hardwood floors.

"Not so fast. I hear someone talking about football?" Burt Hummel entered the scene, freshly shaven in plaid and worn blue jeans, baseball cap already planted on his head. He went over to give his wife a sweet kiss on the cheek before regarding Blaine.

"Hi there. Name's Burt. I don't believe we've met."

"This is Blaine Anderson, Honey," Carole said smoothly, hoping to avoid the awkwardness of their earlier introductions. "He and Kurt are doing a community service project for school helping out the Gay Lesbian Center that's been struggling to set up in town. And he happens to be on the football team with Finn." Carole was positively beaming.

"That's great news," Burt said, sitting down in the seat reserved for him and dutifully loading his plate with food. "Was real disappointed to read in the newspaper about the center having to halt its progress. If you boys need any help with anything, you let me know." He addressed Kurt then. "How come you never mentioned anything about this before?"

Kurt was visibly less tough and much more forthright around his father. Blaine swore he could almost see Kurt shrinking in size. It wasn't that Kurt seemed to fear his father, but there was a tremendous amount of respect there that Blaine had never witnessed Kurt show toward any adult.

"It never really came up," Kurt told him with a slight shrug. "Anyway, it's kind of a new project. Me and Blaine haven't even really started working on it yet. We were just hammering out our game plan last night."

"I thought you were at a party last night," Burt said with some suspicion.

"I left early," Kurt said, which wasn't a total lie. It was true he hadn't stayed for the entire thing.

"And then you came home. To do schoolwork. On a Friday night." Burt's eyes narrowed.

"It's not really schoolwork; it's more like the stuff that I'm doing when I'm writing or working on my music, Dad. It's something I'm passionate about. It doesn't really feel like work to me."

Blaine looked at Kurt in shock.Writing or working on my music.Was there yet another fascinating side to the constantly changing Rubik's cube that was Kurt Hummel? For the life of him, Blaine could not figure Kurt out, but slowly, he was working his way in. So Kurt had all these crazy rules meant to keep them apart. Blaine wouldn't be deterred that easily.

Kurt must have sensed Blaine's surprise because he decided then and there that it wasofficiallytime to get Blaine out, no more distractions.

"Alright, well as pleasant as this has been, Blaine really has to go. His parents will worry." He stood up and grabbed Blaine by the arm.

"Wait," Blaine protested. "Shouldn't I help clear the dishes or something?"

"Nonsense Sweetie," Carole said, her face flushed at the surprisingly thoughtful offer. "You're a guest in our home."

"Well thank you," Blaine said. "Thank you for letting me stay and breakfast was delicious."

"You're welcome any time," Carole said with a smile, standing up to pour her husband some more coffee.

"Ok, alright, we get it, parting is such sweet sorrow, now let's get amoveon," Kurt urged snippily, dragging Blaine out of the kitchen.

Carole, however, followed them to the door of Kurt's room.

"Kurt," she said in a slightly hushed voice as the boys were about to descend the stairs, having left Blaine's coat and car keys down there.

"Yes?" Kurt replied in a clipped tone. Blaine could tell he was having all he could do not to explode in fury right then and there.

"I just wanted to say thank you, for making me over yesterday. I think your dad really appreciated it." She smiled shyly and then, impulsively, reached out and gave Kurt a quick hug.

Blaine saw from the look on Kurt's face that he had been caught completely off guard, but he didn't look angry. Instead, a soft expression had graced his features and he was leaning into the hug slightly, awkwardly, but still making an effort. He closed his eyes for a moment and when they broke the hug and Kurt opened his eyes again, they were glistening, ever so slightly.

Blaine felt his heart swelling. Here was Kurt, tough guy Kurt, fuck buddy Kurt, untouchable Kurt, who had not only sat at home yesterday and given a makeover to a stepmother that he couldn't stand, but was now tearing up at her display of gratitude and affection. It was all so unexpected, so touching. Blaine felt a little bit like welling up himself.

"Alright, well, I'll let you boys get to it," Carole said, walking away as she visibly wiped tears from her own eyes.

Kurt hurried down the stairs, eager to get out of Blaine's line of vision before he saw how emotional he had just gotten.

Blaine waited until they were downstairs with the door closed until he spoke. "Kurt that was- back there with your stepmother- I was so-"

"Did you not understandanythingthat we discussed earlier, less than one hour ago, right here in this room?" Kurt whirled on him, releasing a sudden flood of rage that he had been building up ever since they walked upstairs.

"Kurt, I was just being polite."

"Oh sure you were. Mooning and fawning over my family like some blushing son-in-law-to-be. You just broke nearly every one of our rules!" Kurt was pacing the room, practically spitting in fury.

"Honestly Kurt, I don't see why you're so upset. Better that your familynothate me, right? Won't that make it easier on you?"

"Those people aren't even my real family!" Kurt yelled, his face reddening as his anger reached a boiling point. "Mydadis my real family. The other two can go and fuck themselves!"

"Kurt, it seems like they actually really care about you..."

"Oh screw you Blaine! You're as bad as they are. You think because you spent one hour with these people, you understand my whole life now.Come on Kurt, just give them a chance. Kurt, people get remarried. They move on. You need to, too. You're being selfish Kurt. Just let them in.I get this bullshit from enough people but I don't have to take it from you too. You don't know anything!" Kurt hurled a pillow across the room, the gesture losing its power when it landed harmlessly against the wall and thumped lightly to the floor.

Kurt sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair, ruining the perfect coif and for once not seeming to care.

"You know what Blaine? This was a mistake. Letting you in, making this arrangement with you, all a huge mistake. I knew it would be, but I went against my better judgment with you anyway and you've already proven that I was right all along. You better just get out of here."

"No," Blaine said, planting his feet firmly a couple feet apart on Kurt's carpet to make his point.

"I'm not kidding Blaine. The deal's off. Leave."

"I'm not leaving."

"Are you fucking shitting me right now?" Kurt walked over to Blaine and tried to physically push the shorter boy toward the doorway. But Blaine, despite his being smaller in stature than Kurt, was still well-muscled. He stood his ground.

"Get...out...of here..." Kurt grunted as he continued trying to shove Blaine.

"Stop pushing me away." Blaine caught one of Kurt's wrists in his hand and put his other hand on Kurt's waist. "Don't fight it," he murmured, as Kurt was suddenly paralyzed by Blaine's gaze, the fight melted out of him the moment their eyes locked. Blaine took advantage of the situation then, and leaned forward to kiss Kurt deeply, warmly, with every ounce of passion he had in his body.

Kurt wanted to remain indifferent but it was impossible. Blaine's body did things to him. He responded in kind, tipping his head so that he could get a better angle on Blaine's lips. It was as if he had been set ablaze; he reached out to grab Blaine's hands from his waist and lifted them both above Blaine's head, pushing him into the wall and pinning his hands above him.

"This is much more like it," Kurt said. "You shouldn't be talking. You should always just be kissing me. That should be the only thing that you do."

He was rewarded momentarily by the capture of his mouth by Blaine's, Blaine's tongue flicking in and out of his lips rapidly, teasingly, his teeth gently tugging at Kurt's lower lip before he let his hand fall down to graze swiftly, but heavily, against Kurt's crotch. Kurt's cock responded instantly, protesting at the fabric it was swathed in, begging for further friction from Blaine. But Blaine pulled back and suddenly, Kurt was flipped around so that it was he who was pinned with his arms above his head against the wall, Blaine breathing heavily against his lips but refusing to meet them.

"Too bad," Blaine said and Kurt was confused momentarily until he realized Blaine was responding to his comment from earlier. "Because you might not want to be my friend or see me in public or have any sort ofmeaningfulrelationship with me. But you're never going to get me to shut up." Blaine grinned then and kissed Kurt hard, till he was too dizzy to form a sharp comeback.

"And as for your family," Blaine said in between tantalizing kisses. "They're really actually pretty lovely. I know you're pissed off because you feel like your mom got replaced and you weren't good enough for your dad on your own anymore. But you know that's not true. You actually got really lucky." He kissed Kurt again, making the boy groan involuntarily, much to his frustration. "Trust me. I know what it's like to have a family who doesn't care about you. At least yours does, whether you want them to or not." Blaine continued kissing Kurt, disorienting him, making him feel as though he were being dunked in and out of water, in a constant cycle of drowning and then coming up for air, everything becoming blurred and then slowly fixing back into focus.

"But I'll tell you something Kurt Hummel." Blaine was not only kissing down Kurt's neck now, but he was also teasing Kurt's erection with his thigh and knee, rendering Kurt virtually incapacitated for the time being. "I happen to know a little secret. Which is that you care about them just as much as they care about you." He saw the shock and anger flit across Kurt's face before he leaned in one last time and gave him the longest, most erotic kiss yet, this time slipping his hands into Kurt's tight pants and actually giving him a gentle squeeze through his briefs.

"I'll see you later," he breathed into Kurt's ear, sending tickling sensations all down the boy's spine and causing his erection to throb even more. Blaine walked out then and moments later was pulling out of the driveway, leaving Kurt slumped against the wall, breathless, confused and turned-on, certain that he had gotten himself in over his head, but still not willing to give this up.