“So, we’re meeting at Rachel’s again tomorrow?” Blaine asked. Kurt nodded before remembering that his boyfriend couldn’t see him over the phone.

“That’s right. We’ll meet every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday until we’re ready to hold auditions.” Kurt said, looking out the window of the family’s extra television room on the second floor. It intended to be a home office, but since no one in the family needed one, it had become a room for the smaller of the two family televisions. Since Burt and Finn usually agreed on television programming, it had mostly fallen to Kurt’s use. He had a bookcase full of his books against one wall and three of magazines on the opposite. He was currently sitting in the bay window, a stack of 2008 copies of Vogue next to him as he went through them for costume ideas for the musical. He had set them aside when Blaine had called.

“I’d rather have them every day so I could have an excuse to see you.” Blaine admitted softly. Kurt sighed.

“Same. I’d especially like to see you on Thursday.” He stopped. It sounded like a whine.

“I’m going to come see you on Thursday no matter what.” Blaine said forcefully. “I’m not getting left out of your birthday, Mr. Hummel.”

“You’re already taking me out Friday night. You don’t have to come down on Thursday.” Kurt said, downcasting his eyes, feeling guilty for mentioning it.

“Kurt, stop. I want to see you on your birthday. And, if you have to know, Carole called me and asked me to come to your family birthday dinner. It was supposed to be a surprise.” Kurt’s face lit up.

“Well, in that case…” He said, resting his face against the cold glass, smiling.

“In that case, I’ll just have to find a new way to surprise you.” Blaine teased, making Kurt blush.

“You don’t have to surprise me.” Kurt said, fidgeting with the corner of one of the magazines.

“But I want to.” Blaine said, his voice low. Kurt’s pulse picked up.

“Stop it.” Kurt nearly whispered. Blaine giggled.

“What are you doing right now?” Blaine asked. Kurt sighed.

“I’m watching out the window for my cousin Annie. My dad went to the airport to pick her up a while ago, so they should be here any minute.” Kurt said, moving so he could see a little bit further around a tree in their neighbor’s front yard.

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Blaine said, and Kurt could tell he was hiding some disappointment in his voice. “You should bring her to our meeting tomorrow, I’d love to meet her.” Blaine said, his voice a little brighter.

“You think Rachel will be cool with that?” Kurt asked, thinking. He knew that if he took Annie with him to practice they’d have to take her to dinner with them, and he wanted time with Blaine alone.

“We can all go out to dinner together and then we could drop her off at your house and the two of us can go to the park alone.” Blaine said, demonstrating his ability to basically read Kurt’s mind. “I’m sure Rachel will be fine with her coming, didn’t you tell me that she wants to be an author?” Blaine asked.

“Yeah.” Kurt murmured.

“Well then she can help me out. I have a lot done, but I could use the help. I’m sure Rachel wouldn’t have a problem with Annie helping me.” Blaine said forcefully.

“I guess.” Kurt said.

“I will make up for making you let me meet your cousin at the park.” Blaine said, making Kurt smile.

“You better.” He said. “Sorry I’m being stupid, I’m just selfish.” He admitted.

“It’s okay as long as you’re selfish about me.” Blaine said, making Kurt smile more. “So what are you doing once she gets there?”

“Well, Finn’s at team camp at OSU and Carole’s chaperoning, so Dad and I are taking her out to dinner and then just basically letting her settle in.” Kurt said. “Kind of a quiet night.”

“Well call me before you go to bed, okay?” Blaine asked.

“I mean, Annie and I haven’t seen each other face-to-face in a few years, so we have a lot to catch up on. We might be up talking for a while.” Kurt said.

“I don’t mind waiting up unless you don’t want me to.” Blaine said quietly.

“No, no, of course I don’t!” Kurt said quickly. “I’m just warning you. Of course I want to talk to you tonight!”

“Okay. I just really miss you since I didn’t see you yesterday and don’t get to see you again today.” Blaine said quietly. Kurt sighed.

“I miss you, too. But once we get this musical put together we’ll have practices every day. And you’ll have me so much you’ll get sick of me.” Kurt chirped. There was movement behind the tree, and he crouched down so he could see what it was.

“I’m never going to get sick of you. It’s always something new with you, there’s nothing to get sick of.” Blaine said gently, making Kurt’s heart flutter. There it was, his father pulling into the driveway, his cousin in tow.

“I love you. They just go here, so I’m going to let you go, but I love you and I’ll talk to you tonight and see you tomorrow.” He said, standing up and starting quickly for the door.

“Love you too.” Blaine said, and Kurt hung the phone up quickly, putting it in his pocket as he ran down the stairs and out the door.

As he turned to the driveway he saw Annie, her bags in tow as she got out of Burt’s truck. She saw him immediately and smiled widely at him, her light brown curls bobbing around her face.

“Kurt!” She cried, dropping her bags and running to him. Kurt picked her up and spun her around before putting her back down and folding her into a hug as each kissed the other’s cheek. Burt stood by the truck laughing.

“Anna Elisa Shriver, where have you been all these years?” He said, pushing her back so he could look at her. She had gained a great deal of weight since he had last seen her, but he wasn’t concerned. She was still his beautiful cousin, with her perfect hair. He grabbed one of her curls and began to bounce it in his hand.

“How did you get your hair to stay like this on the plane ride? Not even Quinn Fabray can do that.” He said, loving the way her hair shone different colors in the light. In truth, their hair was the exact same color, texture and thickness, and he had always been envious of her for being able to grow it out and style it.

“Fine hold hairspray.” Annie giggled, reaching up and poking Kurt’s hair, which was styled up. “And how on earth do you do this?” She asked.

“The smallest bit of gel and that fine hold hairspray of which you speak.” Kurt said with a wink. “I see you haven’t grown an inch.” He said. Annie was as short as Rachel Berry, he realized. It was a particularly scary realization, especially since he knew that Annie could display just as much tenacity.

“And I see you’ve grown several.” She said, looking up at him. “Seriously, what’s your secret? I want to grow that much.” She said, pouting. Kurt grinned, taking her arm and walking back to the car.

“Fairy dust.” He said with a smirk.

“Well you have not shortage of that.” She said, sticking out his tongue. Kurt grinned devilishly.

“You have no idea.” He whispered.

“THAT’S RIGHT! YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND NOW!” Annie exclaimed, gripping his arm and making Kurt and Burt laugh even harder.

“Yeah, and it’s amazing that Kurt’s here to greet you instead of being with him.” Burt said, leaning over the truck. Kurt made a face at him before looking back down at Annie.

“Yes I do. His name is Blaine, and he suggested you come with me to our meeting tomorrow.” Kurt said. “We’re going to produce an original musical.” He explained at the puzzled look on Annie’s face.

“You and your boyfriend are producing a musical?” Annie asked as Kurt bent over and picked up her bags.

“Well, yeah, but with help from my friends Rachel and Mercedes. You remember Rachel Berry, right?” He asked, extending his arm to her again.

“Of course I do! We were really good friends back in elementary. Competitive friends, but still friends.” Anne mused. Kurt smiled.

“That’s how we are now. We’re in glee club together.” Kurt said, walking them into the house.

“Glee club? People still use that term anymore?” Annie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, glee club.” Kurt said with a smirk. “You know, show choir.” Annie rolled her eyes.

“Really, Kurt? Show choir? With the ugly outfits and the lame dance moves?” She asked, imitating a hand movement the choir Coach Sylvester directed might have used.

“No, not like that. At least ours isn’t. And that’s why we’re so good.” He said with a wink. Annie rolled her eyes.

“A good show choir. That’s something you’re going to have to prove for me to believe.” She said as Kurt led her into the guest room.

“I will. Artie Abrams is in it, too. Wasn’t he your neighbor?” Kurt asked, setting her bags down on the bed.

“Artie? But how could Artie be in a show choir?” Annie asked hesitantly. Kurt laughed.

“That just shows how awesome we are.” He said. “So, you’re going to be staying in here. The closet is around that corner, and it’s walk in so you can fit all the pretty clothes that I’m making you buy this summer.” He said, looking sadly at her small bags. Really, airlines were just cruel.

“I’m sure you will. Are you still aspiring to fashion design?” she asked, unzipping a bag.

“Of course I am.” He said, laying down across the bed. He could smell fabric softener he had used on the sheets; they had gone through an intensive cleaning process since he and Blaine had stayed the night. He pulled out his phone and typed a quick text to Blaine.

Annie’s staying in the guest room. Glad I washed the sheets so thoroughly… -Kurt.

“Is it still an author for you?” He asked. Annie nodded.

“Yup. Mom’s a little disappointed I chose English over journalism, but I feel so smothered by the concept of never being able to make a mistake."

Why would you tell me that? I’ll feel guilty meeting her knowing that. –Blaine. Kurt chuckled.

“Texting your boyfriend?” Annie asked, raising her eyebrows at Kurt. Kurt nodded. “I want to see a picture.” She said, moving her shoes into the closet floor as Kurt searched through his phone for a good picture of Blaine. Most of his pictures involved Blaine pretending to bite Kurt, so those wouldn’t work. Finally he found one he had taken of Blaine practicing for “Raise Your Glass”. He spun around to the base of the bed and turned the phone in Annie’s direction.

“Why is he on a sofa?” Annie asked, her brows furrowing.

“He just does that. He’s weird. All the other photos involved him pretending to eat me, so I thought this was best.” Kurt sighed, smiling.

“Cute.” Annie said, taking the phone and zooming in on Blaine’s face. “He’s attractive. I always knew you’d get a boyfriend before me.” She sighed, flopping down on the bed next to him.

Sorry I mentioned it ;) –Kurt.

“Nope. You know me, too fancy for the country boys and too fat for the jocks.” She said with a sigh.

“Shut up. You’re not fat. You’re just five feet tall.” Kurt said protectively. “Besides, you have like the biggest boobs ever. Those have to weigh like a ton.” He said, making her laugh.

“You are both gay and my cousin. You are the last person who is supposed to be noticing my boobs!” She said, swatting at his side.

You better plan on a full apology ;) –Blaine.

“Well excuse me, if I’m going to pick out your clothes, I have to have a thorough understanding of your body type.” Kurt said smartly.

“Is that the line you used on Blaine?” She asked, making him laugh.

“Actually, no, I cried over a dead canary.” He said, causing her to sit up and look at him as though he had lost his mind.

“I’m not kidding.” He said, laughing. “Blaine decided he liked me after watching me sing about the dead bird I was supposed to be taking care of.” Annie shook her head, laughing and turning herself around so that she was lying on her stomach next to Kurt, her head propped up on her crossed arms and her face looking into Kurt’s.

Which would help resolve the problem how? -Kurt.

“I want to hear the whole story.” She said, laughing. “I’m beginning to wonder about this guy.”

“The whole story or just the part about Pavarotti?” Kurt asked with a grin.

Put my mind on other matters. –Blaine

“Oh, all of it. I’m that curious.” Annie said with a giggle.

“Well, it’s a long story… hopefully we can get through it before Dad wants to head out.

“But I was having a bad time with a bully one time, which coincided with another member of my glee club suggesting I go spy on Dalton, this all-boys prep school that we would be competing against at sectionals. So I looked up their school online, mocked their uniform and went up there to do some spying.

“So I get to this school and it turns out basically be a castle, and I was completely lost and didn’t know what to do. So I see this cute guy holding a pocket watch and tap him on the shoulder and ask him for help.”

“Wait, is he Blaine?” Annie asked, smiling. Kurt nodded. “And he takes my hand and leads me down this hallway where they’re about to perform and then gets up and it turns out they’re an a capella choir and he’s their lead singer.” Kurt said. Annie gasped, clearly jealous.

“So after they sang I sat down with a few of them, including Blaine. They had clearly known I was a spy, but they thought that there must be a reason for me to spy. So I ended up talking to Blaine about being gay and the trouble I was having at school. And he told me about how he had come to Dalton because of it, but I should fight if I could. And he asked my number and started sending me texts that said ‘Courage,’ and we’d text a lot. But then I let the texts get to my head, and I decided to stand up to the guy who was giving me the most trouble… but when I did…” he trailed off, sighing.

Go ahead and tell me.” Annie said. “I’ll keep mum.”

“He kissed me. It was horrible. I was terrified.” Kurt said. Annie gasped and reached over and took one of Kurt’s hands in hers.

“Oh, Bugsy!” She said, using the nickname she had given him when they were children and giving his hand a squeeze. Kurt gave her a small smile.

“So I told Blaine, and he came. And he tried to talk to this guy… Karofsky. But then Karofsky tried to push Blaine, and I about lost it. So Blaine took me out for lunch. I stayed at McKinley a while longer, and they expelled him, but then they let him back in. So I ended up transferring to Dalton. I felt horrible because I was using Dad and Carole’s honeymoon money to go to the school, but I just couldn’t stay there.”

“Of course.” Annie said.

“So Blaine had me join the Warblers, their choir. And we started getting coffee after school on a regular basis and spending a lot of time together. We just… flirted all the time. And then we went home for Christmas and came back and we were just the best of friends. He started meeting my friends from New Directions…”

“That’s your show choir, right?” Annie interrupted.

“Right. And it just got really cozy. But then around Valentine’s Day he asked for my advice on asking a guy out, and whether a song would be over the top… and it turned out to be for another guy.” Annie frowned.

“You’re joking.” She said. Kurt shook his head.

“I was so confused. I thought we could be something, and he decided to have the entire choir help him stage a performance at The Gap where this guy worked. But he got shot down, and I ended up telling him that I had expected to be the one he asked out. And he told me that he cared about me, that he was clueless, and that he didn’t want to mess things up because he wasn’t good with romance. So we kept being friends."

“That sounds like a stalemate.” Annie said softly. “How’d you two break it?”

“I told you, I cried over a dead bird.” Kurt said, making Annie laugh. “I was supposed to take care of this bird as part of my initiation to the Warblers. They named him Pavarotti. I got used to having him around, he was fun. I made up stories about him and bought him fabulous things. And he died, so I decided to come into Warbler practice in all black instead of my uniform and I sang ‘Blackbird’.”

“You didn’t.” Annie said, giggling.

“Oh, yes I did. And I don’t know what type of morbid person my boyfriend is, but he says that’s what changed it for him. Being the fabulous bitch I am, I had been annoyed with him getting all the solos and told him.” Annie laughed. “So he went against the Warblers and asked to change one of our regionals numbers to a duet.”

“Oh?”

“And after some ridiculous discussion, they let him. But instead of putting it up for audition like normal protocol, he said I’d sing it with him. And the whole council voted it up unanimously.”

“Shut up!” Annie exclaimed, grinning so much she showed her gums. Kurt smiled proudly.

“So he walks in on me decorating Pavarotti’s casket one day and tells me that he’s picked out this super romantic duet for us to sing. So I just ask him. And he tells me that I moved him by singing in front of the council like that, and he realized that he had been looking for me forever, and that he wanted to spend more time with me. And he kissed me.” Kurt finished with a blush and a little inward bounce. Annie clapped her hands together and placed her chin on her linked fingers.

“Adorable. I like him already.” She said.

“Just wait until you meet him.” Kurt said with a little smile. Annie smiled even more.

“You’re head over heels, aren’t you?” She asked, and Kurt nodded. He liked being able to gush over Blaine again. Now that she was here, he was more than excited for them to meet.

Kurt heard heavy steps, and looked up at the door as his dad arrived in the doorway, his eyes falling on where they lay on the bed and smiling.

“You kids ready to go eat?” Burt asked. Kurt looked over at Annie.

“I’d say Annie needs to freshen up from the flight, but somehow she’s managed to come off flawless.”

“Yeah, I’m ready Uncle Burt.” Annie said, sitting up. Burt smiled.

“Good. Hop in the car and we’ll figure out where we’re going.” He said, and they headed out.

Kurt walked into his room at midnight after wishing his cousin goodnight and leaving the guest room. They had been in there for two hours chatting, catching up on each other. Kurt couldn’t help but be impressed with how Annie could be gone from his life for so long and come back into it so seamlessly. Their mothers were sisters, and had been the best of friends with near-identical habits. Annie reflected his mother’s phrasing, her style and her sophistication. She had only been at his house for a few hours, but Kurt felt like there had never been a gap between them. Happily, Kurt lay down on the bed and pulled out his phone.

Still awake? –Kurt.

Yep. Reading. –Blaine.

Can I call? –Kurt.

Of course you can. –Blaine

Kurt hit the call button and held the phone up to his ear, listening as it only let out half a ring before Blaine answered the phone.

“Hey.” Blaine said, his voice soft.

“Hey.” Kurt answered, equally soft, closing his eyes.

“So how’re things with Annie?” Blaine asked, and Kurt could hear him shutting a book. He liked the realization that he could now picture Blaine’s room and what he was doing. It made Blaine seem a lot closer, instead of being in some foreign land called Marion where parents were homophobes and sisters were angelic.

“Absolutely wonderful.” Kurt said quickly. “I can’t wait for you to meet her, she’s exactly like I remember. We had so much fun today, I’ve missed her so much.”

“So you’re feeling less selfish, I take it?” Blaine asked, a hint of a tease coming through his voice.

“Much less selfish. Though I miss you, too. Luckily I haven’t had to go three years without seeing you.”

“Perish the thought.” Blaine said, and Kurt could almost see how he was smiling, that sweet smile with his eyes slightly crinkled. “Mmm, I really want to stay on the phone with you, but I’m really tired from taking Jessie to the pool this afternoon.”

“I told you you’d be too tired to stay up to talk to me.” Kurt teased lightly, smiling.

“I’m never too sleepy for you. I’m just thinking of that old adage about how sleep makes the next day come quicker.” Blaine said, his words disproven by a light yawn, which Kurt returned.

“That’s not an adage, Blaine, that’s common sense.” Kurt said, standing up and making his way to his dresser to find his pajamas.

“Whatever, the sooner I go to sleep, the sooner I get to see you and meet this lovely cousin Annie of yours.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Kurt said, pulling out his pajamas and yawning again. “Goodnight, Blaine.”

“Sweet dreams, Kurt.” Blaine said, hanging up the phone and making Kurt smile at how such trivial words sounded so sincere coming from Blaine.

“So Rachel has two dads, right?” Annie asked, peering around a bush to where the Berry household loomed in front of them.

“Right. With me and Blaine in there, it’s basically the gayest place in Ohio.” Kurt said with a wink. Annie rolled her eyes.

“So we’re meeting this boyfriend of yours out here before we go in?” She asked, refraining from rolling her eyes at Kurt’s unnecessarily complicated plan for something that really didn’t need any planning. Kurt nodded without looking up from his phone.

“He should be pulling up here any minute.” He said, peeking his head up. Sure enough, three minutes later Annie saw a blue BMW pull up behind them, and through the rearview mirror Annie could see the dark haired boy from the picture Kurt had shown her smiling up toward the car. His smile was enchanting, she couldn’t help but realize, and she found herself smiling back even while knowing the smile wasn’t for her.

Kurt, however, clearly knew the smile was for him and climbed out the car hastily, walking back to the boy. He got out of the car and kissed Kurt hello over the door, smiling at Kurt as Annie’s cousin talked animatedly. Slowly, she climbed out of Kurt’s Escalade and walked around the back to where the two boys were standing, now holding coffees.

“And this,” Kurt said with a smile upon Annie’s reappearance, “is the marvelous Anna Elisa.” He said. The boy turned his smile in Annie’s direction and she couldn’t help but reciprocate again.

“I’m Blaine, Kurt’s boyfriend.” The boy said, reaching his hand out for her to shake. Annie took it.

“Annie. It’s so nice to meet you. Kurt’s told me a lot about you.” She said with a smile. Blaine pretended to wince.

“Tell me you haven’t.” He said to Kurt. Kurt rolled his eyes, his face the brightest Annie could remember.

“Of course I have.” He said proudly.

“Well, I’ve heard a lot about you, too, Annie.” Blaine said kindly. He was completely taken aback by the resemblance between his boyfriend and the girl before him. Their body types were entirely different, but their coloring and cleanly carved features were nearly identical. As he saw the girl smile he noticed that the only noticeable difference was that her lips were considerably smaller than Kurt’s, giving a pretty effect but not one that Blaine was willing to trade for. “I hear you’re a lit person?”

“That I am.” Annie said with a nod.

“Good, because maybe you can save this musical from if I write it myself.” Blaine said with a wink. “Here,” he said, picking up the coffee cup he had set down on the roof of the car behind him. “Kurt told me you’re a mocha person. Since he basically lives off the stuff, I didn’t challenge his opinion.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to!” Annie said happily, taking the coffee and grinning.

“Don’t fight him on it, Annie. Even before we started dating he wouldn’t let me pay for my coffee.” Kurt said with a smirk.

“He was spending time with me, I thought he needed compensation.” Blaine joked in Annie’s direction. She liked him more by the second, and it wasn’t just the coffee speaking. She couldn’t not like him after seeing how he made Kurt smile.

“Hello! Are you going to stand out there all day or are we going to start working on this play?” Came a voice from the door, making Annie jump and slosh a little coffee on her hand. Kurt and Blaine just looked up at the door, which Annie turned toward to see Rachel Berry standing in. She hadn’t seen Rachel in years, but she was still unmistakable, especially in that red beret and pigtails.

“Coming, Rachel.” The boys chanted, gesturing for Annie to come with them to the door.

Kurt watched as Rachel took in the sight of his cousin. He hadn’t bothered to warn Rachel of Annie’s presence, but he was a little afraid now that it was a faux pas on his part. But quickly the confused look on Rachel’s face passed and she smiled.

“Annie! I almost didn’t recognize you, the last time I saw you your hair was up to your chin!” Rachel said, reaching out her hands for Annie’s free hand. Annie grasped Rachel’s hands delicately.

“And last time I saw you, you were in a dance costume at school.” Annie said with a smile. “Kurt didn’t warn you I was coming? I’m living with them this summer, so he brought me along.”

“She’s going to help me write this, because trust me, you’re going to be glad she’s helping.” Blaine cut in. Rachel smiled up at him.

“Well that works, I’ve starred in an Annie Shriver production before, actually.” Rachel said, gesturing for them to come inside. Blaine looked at her, confused, and she smiled as she explained. “Annie wrote a play that our fifth grade class performed about the Greek goddess Artemis.”

“Yes, and Rachel demanded the part of Artemis, saying that only she was fit to play such a classical feminist role.” Annie added, making Kurt and Blaine laugh. Rachel merely shrugged, gesturing them all to sit around the coffee table again.

“Mercedes isn’t going to be here until later, she said she was having lunch with her dad.” Rachel said, pulling the notebooks out from under the table. Kurt and Blaine exchanged knowing glances. “Annie, we’re making color-coded notebooks. I have some more in my room, I’ll go get you one. Lavender?” Rachel asked, standing up.

“She can just use mine, Rachel. I don’t mind.” Blaine said, but Rachel tsked.

“She’ll have her own notebook. I’ll go get it.” Rachel said, running off. Annie looked at Kurt and Blaine, who, as she expected, looked unfazed.“I see she hasn’t changed at all.” Annie said, crossing her legs. Blaine laughed, but Kurt merely shook his head.

Rachel returned with a lavender notebook for Annie, having written her name on it and dotted the I with a gold start sticker. Annie took the matching lavender pen and copying what Kurt’s said.

“So, Blaine, what do you have for us?” Rachel asked expectantly. Blaine sighed.

“Well, I’m working with characters and plots so far. I have the story tied together by Rumpelstiltskin, and so far in terms of princesses I have Cinderella and Beauty. But I’d like to make a connection between princesses, and I’d like to have more.” Blaine said, flicking his pen.

“What do you mean, a connection?” Rachel asked, confused.

“Like, a relation or something. So there’s a reason for them to interact.”

“What about Snow White and Rose Red?” Annie asked, looking over the table at Blaine.

“Isn’t that a horror movie?” He asked, causing Kurt and Annie to giggle.

“Snow White and Rose Red, Blaine.” Kurt said, turning to him. “You know, the opposite sisters.”

“All I know about Snow White is the dwarves.” Blaine said, grimacing.

“Which we could totally cast some of the guys from the Warblers as.” Kurt said devilishly. “But Snow White and Rose Red were sisters. Snow White was pale and sweet and girlie, while Rose Red was darker skinned and feisty. And they make friends with a bear and defeat a dwarf and restore the bear to his proper state as a prince, and he marries Snow White and his brother marries Rose Red and it’s all wonderful.” Kurt said. Blaine clearly didn’t follow.

“I’ll look it up tonight.” He said, writing the names down under the characters.

“They could defeat Rumpelstiltskin instead of a dwarf,” Annie put in. “That would establish why Rumpelstiltskin was in the story. He could be causing trouble for all the different groups.”

“Genius!” Kurt exclaimed. “He can have bewitched the beast, too. I still want an evil stepmother, though, especially for Cinderella.”

“Maybe they’re having an affair?” Blaine joked, and all four of them started laughing.

“I like it.” Rachel said. “Let’s keep this up.”

An hour later the door opened and Mercedes walked in. She took her notebook from the middle of the table and sat down, her mind elsewhere, before noticing Annie on the other side of the table.

“Oh, hi.” Mercedes said, giving her a little smile, looking at the boys for an introduction.

“I’m Annie Shriver, Kurt’s cousin.” Annie said, reaching her hand across the table. Mercedes shook it with a small smile.

“Mercedes Jones, Kurt’s Bee-Eff-Eff.” Mercedes said brightly.

“How was lunch with your dad, Mercedes? Kurt asked, not looking up from his notebook.

“It was great, Kurt.” Mercedes said a little forcefully. Blaine smiled. “So when do I find out who I’m directing for this thing?”

“We’ll cast as soon as Blaine and Annie have it mostly written.” Rachel said.

“How are we going to do the casting?” Annie asked. Everyone paused.

“I don’t care, but I want to be Snow White.” Kurt said, breaking their thoughts. Blaine turned to Kurt, raising an eyebrow. “If we’re in charge of this play, I say we get to play with the gender and sexuality of the characters. Besides, where else are you going to get skin as pale as snow?” Kurt asked him. Blaine started to lean over toward Annie, but she put her hands up.

“Don’t look at me, I want to be Belle.” Annie said, smiling.

“It’s Beauty, not Belle. It’s only Belle in the movie.” Rachel corrected.

“Well saying I want to be Beauty sounds highly pretentious.” Annie said.

“What if we did it with an audition panel? But, like, we’re Mr. Schue: the four of us make the last choice.” Mercedes put in.

“If you’re modeling this after Jesse St. Jackass’s attempt to make us worship Rachel…”

“That’s not what he was doing, Kurt!” Rachel said, slamming her pen down.

“I’m not, I just think something like it would work for this. Say we put three people on the panel, and we make them people who aren’t biased.”

“Like who?” Kurt said skeptically.

“Mr. Schue, for one.” Mercedes said. “And maybe Coach Sylvester, and someone else.”

“What about your football coach?” Blaine asked. “She seems like a nice lady, and Finn was telling me that she’s a pretty fair person.”

“Coach Beiste would totally do it.” Mercedes agreed.

“Fine. But we do get the last say.” Kurt said.

“So it’s decided. I’ll make the calls tonight.” Rachel said, her hand looping along across her notebook.

“So, this is Breadstix.” Kurt said as they walked into the door a few hours later. Annie looked around, taking it in.

“We basically live here. Mercedes said with a smile, heading to their usual booth. Annie broke the usual girl-boy split by sitting next to Kurt, opening the menu.

“Is there a reason I’m the only one looking?” She asked, looking up and scanning her eyes around.

“Memorized.” The other four said at once, smiling at each other.

“Sheesh.” Annie murmured, looking back down at the menu.

“So, Annie, you play the guitar?” Blaine asked, leaning around Kurt to talk to her. Annie nodded, smiling at him.

“Not fabulously, but I play. Gives me better control of the song as a whole when I sing.”

“Well I can help you brush up if you want. A couple guys in New Directions play I think, but I’m the only one out of this crowd. It’ll be nice to have another guitar player around.” Blaine said.

“Blaine gets terribly offended that the rest of us have no idea what he’s talking about most of the time.” Mercedes said with a smirk. Rachel’s mouth fell open.

“I do!” She said, glaring at Mercedes.

“Okay, Rachel does. But that’s because she’s crazy.” Mercedes corrected.

“Don’t you have a guitar, Rachel?” Kurt asked.

“I do. I don’t know how to play it, though. My dads bought it for me to see if I took to it, but I was in a very strong dance phase at the time.” Rachel said.

A waitress came along and took their orders, Annie going last since she was the only one who didn’t know what she wanted.

“Don’t you usually get the spaghetti?” Kurt asked Mercedes after the waitress retreated.

“I had it for lunch.” She said, looking down at her menu.

“Your dad took you to lunch at Breadstix?” Rachel asked, surprised.

“We just wanted something quick and easy,” Mercedes lied. “I didn’t realize we were doing group dinner tonight.”

“Well that’s because we have a new addition.” Kurt said brightly, gesturing to his cousin. Annie blushed.

“I’m so glad I came here instead of Arizona.” She said, tossing one of her light brown curls over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t have a single person to talk to.”

“And now you’re going to get the full treatment.” Mercedes said with a smile. “This glee club is tight. You’re going to have a big family in Lima Ohio before you leave.”

“I still haven’t met all of my family in Lima, actually.” Annie said, stopping to thank the waitress as she arrived and started passing out their drinks. “I haven’t met Carole and Finn.” She clarified.

“Yeah, Finn will be back tomorrow, though. I can’t wait. I wonder if he has some dashing bruise or black eye or something.” Rachel said, taking a sip of her water. Annie looked at her, confusion written across her face.

“They’re dating.” Kurt clarified. He didn’t risk stating his opinion on the matter, especially with the way Rachel smiled when he said it.

“Really?!” Annie said, leaning diagonally toward Rachel. “How long have you been together?”

“This time just over a week. But we dated for a few months last year.” Rachel said. Annie nodded, turning to Kurt and Blaine.

“What about you two?”

“About two-and-a-half months.” Kurt said, fiddling with the straw in his soda.

“It’d be longer if I weren’t an idiot.” Blaine explained, making Kurt smile proudly.

“Anyone else in this club of yours dating?” Annie asked.

“Well we’ve basically all inter-dated.” Rachel said, rolling her eyes. “Let’s see, Noah is still with Lauren Zizes. Are Artie and Brittany still broken up?” She asked. Kurt shrugged.

“Artie has a girlfriend?” Annie asked brightly. Rachel nodded.

“Second one. He dated Tina earlier. Oh, she’s still with Mike Chang.”

“Right, I’ve barely seen her since they started dating.” Mercedes said, rolling her eyes. “Kind of like with you.” She said, glaring at Kurt.

“Hey, I transferred schools. You’ve had me since I’ve been back!” Kurt said, putting his hands up.

“Do you think Sam and Quinn will get back together?” Rachel asked quietly.

“No.” Kurt, Blaine and Mercedes all said at once. Rachel looked confused.

“Do you guys know something I don’t?” She asked. They all shook their heads and looked down at their drinks.

“Sounds like a lot of drama.” Annie said.

“It is.” Kurt clarified.

“Even Blaine tried dating Rachel.” Mercedes said slyly.

“Let’s not talk about that.” He and Rachel said at once.

“I’m the only one without a previous tie-up.” Kurt said proudly.

“Hold it, white boy, you were pretty attached to Brittany last year. At the mouth.” Mercedes cut in.

“Really?” Blaine asked, looking at him.

Their food arrived, interrupting their conversation and directing it to Rachel’s veganism, including a regaling tale of Jesse St. James’ egg shenanigans.

“So that was successful.” Kurt said as he and Blaine drove away from Kurt’s house after he dropped Annie off, told Burt where he was going and hopped into Blaine’s car. Blaine nodded.

“She’s fun, and smart. Plus she seems to get along with Rachel.”

“They were the two most competitive friends you’ve ever seen when we were younger.” Kurt said, taking out his breath mints and popping a few in his mouth.

“I think that’s what Rachel needs, you know?” Blaine said. “Like you. Just another girl. Besides, the happier Rachel is, the easier this project is going to be.”

“Well, if anyone’s the girl version of me, it’s Annie.” Kurt said with a smile. “Here, take some. I got the fruity kind this time.” He said, holding the canister up to Blaine. He stuck his palm out and Kurt shook a few mints onto it.

“Thanks.” He said, putting them in his mouth. “So what do you want to do once we get to the park?” He asked, turning off onto the road leading to the town’s largest park.

“Find a quiet place by the lake and cuddle?” Kurt asked quietly, looking up at Blaine through his lashes in that shy manner he adapted whenever he admitted wanting to do couple-y things. Blaine smiled and reached over for his hand.

They pulled into the park and Blaine drove over by the lake, parking just off the road. He went to his trunk and pulled out a blanket, spreading it out on the hillside.

“Why’s that in here?” Kurt asked, coming up behind him. Blaine smiled.

“I was hoping cuddling was on the agenda.” Blaine said, blushing. “I thought I’d take a note out of your book and be prepared.”

“Note well taken.” Kurt said, walking over to him and kissing him gently. Blaine kissed back excitedly, loving that he was able to finally kiss Kurt this way after two days apart and several hours of being in company.

It was the sex talking, Blaine told himself. He wasn’t this codependent that he had to be physical like this with Kurt all the time, or that two days felt like a lifetime. It was the fact that the last time he and Kurt had been together had involved a lot of touching and… sucking. Sucking and licking. Licking and… Blaine had to stop there.

“Are you alright?” Kurt asked as Blaine stopped kissing him.

“Just… worked up.” Blaine said, turning and sitting down on the blanket. Kurt sat, too, lower on the hill than Blaine so that he was looking up at him.

“Over what?” Kurt asked, resisting the urge to nervously pull his knees up under his chin.

“Am I crazy for missing you this much after just a couple days?” Blaine asked, biting his lip and at Kurt under worried, lowered eyebrows.

“Only if I’m crazy for missing you the same amount.” Kurt said quietly, reaching both of his hands out for Blaine’s. Blaine let him take them, and the touch helped.

“It’s like… like we’ve jumped into this. And I’m okay with it, really. I love it. I love you.” He said, emphasizing his feelings for Kurt. “But sometimes I step back and look at it all, and I realize just how deep I am, and it scares me. But it’s the idea of it that scares me, not the actuality of it.” Blaine rambled. Kurt nodded, though he wasn’t sure he understood.

“Are you saying you want to step it back a little bit?” Kurt asked, trying not to get worked up or to jump to too many conclusions.

“No.” Blaine said. “I’m fine where things are, I just need to get my bearings. Slow down, not step back.” Blaine said, looking up at Kurt. Kurt nodded.

“Slowing down’s okay.” He said honestly. Really he hadn’t expected to take the step he and Blaine had taken over the weekend for some time, so he was okay with slowing down for a while.

“Are you… are you cool with where things are? With what we’ve been doing?” Blaine asked. Kurt nodded again.

“I am. I like doing that stuff with you, Blaine.” Kurt said, rubbing the insides of his boyfriend’s palm. “Slowing down sounds like a good idea, though.”

“But not stopping.” Blaine clarified. Kurt smiled and nodded.

“Like hell I’d stop.” Kurt said with a smile, moving to his hands and knees and kissing Blaine softly before turning so that he was sitting next to him. They lay down gently, beginning to fulfill their plan of cuddling.

“Thanks for letting me talk it out.” Blaine said quietly, kissing the top of Kurt’s head.

“Oh my goodness, we’re going to be here for the sunset!” Kurt said, looking out in front of him. Blaine chuckled, his chest shaking beneath Kurt’s head.

“Yes.” He said gently.

“It’s romantic.” Kurt said, a soft catch to his voice that made Blaine’s heart swell.

“Yeah, it is.” Blaine said softly. Kurt turned his face up to Blaine’s, smiling, and Blaine kissed him again gently.