The first time Burt Hummel meets Blaine Anderson is the day that Kurt moves into Dalton. Burt is stressed. He’s dealing with impending separation from his kid, the only thing that had mattered in his world for so many years. He’s also second guessing himself, something quite unusual for him. He thinks this is the right decision, but he clearly hasn’t been doing as good of a job as he thought of knowing what’s right for Kurt.

     So Burt is worried. He paces when Kurt speaks with the receptionist about the move in. Kurt texts Blaine, who appears so quickly that Burt legitimately wonders if Blaine had been waiting, just around the corner, waiting for his friend to arrive. The curly-haired boy immediately pulls Burt’s son into a friendly hug, the sort that he’s seen Finn give the guys on the football team all the time. The hug is super brief, and then Blaine is standing in front of Burt, his right hand extended.

     He says something, and Burt doesn’t really make out the words so much as the tone of politeness, almost covering up the boy’s excitement. Burt shakes his hand and nods, throwing in a small grunt of affirmation for good measure.

     Blaine moves back to Kurt, grabbing several of his bags at once, and starts up an analysis of the location of Kurt’s room, based on the merits of a certain floor and the proximity to the lounge. He seemed to have no problem with the bags, which impresses Burt, who realizes the kid must be quite strong for someone his size. He leads them off down a corridor, up some stairs and through another hallway.

     Burt notices the way that Kurt is looking at his new friend, hanging onto every word. Burt thinks that Blaine is trying to sound impressive, as if omniscient when it comes to the inner-workings of Dalton. It takes Burt a moment to realize that Kurt’s fascination is not entirely based in the content of Blaine’s ramblings, so much Blaine himself. Huh. Burt’s suddenly a lot less sure of his decision to let Kurt stay in the dorms.

     They arrive at Kurt’s new room, and Blaine unlocks and opens the door with a flourish. The room is tiny - a rectangle probably six feet by ten feet. There is a bed, a desk and a dresser. It’s not exactly luxurious accommodation and Burt can’t help but remember exactly what it is costing him. Blaine and Kurt set to work unpacking, chatting excitedly about some social event or other that is coming up. Burt busies himself setting up the refrigerator, taking an unnecessary amount of time, partially to let the boys chat, but also to give him a chance to listen to them.

     Burt can’t help but wonder what Blaine’s life is like here at Dalton, considering how eager he was to help Kurt move in and that the fact that he’s talking with an energy that suggests he’d not seen another person in years. Burt notices that they balance each other well, that the conversation flows naturally, and that neither one dominates the conversation. They go through several topics, over quite a large range of content, almost as if checking to see how far their opinions align.

     Occasionally Blaine glances over at Burt, as if to partially confirm his continued presence, but also to monitor Burt’s response to Blaine’s interaction with his son. Burt looks away quickly most times, not wanting to be caught staring, but tries to adjust his facial expression to be as non-threatening as possible. He’s not entirely sure he succeeds.

     Kurt excuses himself to go wash his hands – some bottle or other had burst in transport – and Blaine points him in the direction of the bathroom, but stays in the room.

     Burt straightens up, and looks at Blaine, who was watching him warily.

      “Sir, I –“ Blaine begins.

      “Burt.” The older man interrupts.

      “Oh, um, okay, Burt, I, well, I just wanted to say that I think Kurt will be happy here. I promise you he will be safe, and I will do everything I can to make sure he transitions well.”

     Burt nods, somewhat unsure as to how to reply to that. While this place sure did seem safe, it didn’t really seem like somewhere Kurt would be truly happy. Burt began to worry more.

      “Look, kid,” Burt says “I appreciate what you’re doing. It’s good for Kurt to have someone he can talk to about, well, it seems like pretty much everything.”

     Blaine lets out a low chuckle, seeming to relax at Burt’s positive words. Burt reaches into his pocket, pulls out a small card, and hands it to Blaine, who takes it, curiosity in his eyes.

      “This is my contact information. The school has it, of course, but I want you to have it, too. Anything happens, anything at all, and I want you to call me. I worry about Kurt, but he worries about me, too, and I’ve learned that I can’t always trust him to tell me when he’s got a problem. We Hummels are damn stubborn. I’m not asking you to rat on him or anything, but if something worries you, please let me know.”

     Burt takes a deep breath, surprised he’d said so much. Blaine is looking very carefully at the card, almost as if memorizing its content. 

      “I will, si – Burt. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on him.”

     Burt lets out a chuckle.

      “I’m sure you will, kid.”

     Burt notices the way the boy blushed, but doesn’t have long to think about it before Kurt returns. He looks at the two men suspiciously, but must decide not to ask what he had missed. Instead he turns to Blaine and asks him about the other boys on the floor.

     After a few hours, everything is unpacked and Kurt is settled in. Burt realizes that he can no longer delay his departure, and with a final glance at the tiny dorm room, he lets Kurt and Blaine guide him to the parking lot. Goodbyes are said, and when Kurt becomes tearful, it is all Burt can do to not just put him in the car and drive him home. But he doesn’t. He gives Blaine a handshake and a strong look in the eye, gives Kurt one last hug and “I love you” and drives away, armed with the promise of a Skype call that evening.

     Burt looks in his rear-view mirror and sees that Blaine has one arm wrapped around Kurt’s waist, saying something to him with a clever grin on his face. Right as they were becoming too far away to see, Burt sees Kurt throw his head back in a laugh, presumably at what Blaine had been saying. While Burt is curious to know what could have brought out such a strong response in his son, he is mostly glad that Kurt had met someone that could make him laugh. Maybe this was the right decision, after all.