Time passes slowly after a tragedy, Burt has noticed. Even though they knew that both Quinn and Dave were expected to recover, the next few months were slow and strained. The boys come home one night from school, and Burt isn’t entirely surprised to see an upset looking Blaine, but Burt is surprised that Kurt is not equally upset. Far from upset, Kurt is beaming, he’s in his own little world until he’ll turn to Blaine and say “But why didn’t you tell me?”

     Blaine doesn’t answer, but Burt notices a tightness appear in his jaw. Something was not right. When Kurt goes to the bathroom later, Burt decides to ask.

     “So why’s Kurt so happy when you’re so…. not?”

     Blaine lets out a slight snort.

     “Did I ever tell you that I have a brother?” Blaine asks, a scowl on his face.

     It’s not an answer that Burt was anticipating.

     “Uh, no?” Burt answers, confusion creeping into his voice. “Not that I can remember, at least.”

     Blaine lets out a quiet snort, one that Burt’s noticed he reserves for when he’s really bitter.

     “Yeah, I don’t like to talk about him.”

     “Why not?” Burt asks, trying to keep Blaine talking.

     “Typical sibling drama. He’s quite a bit older than me, so growing up it was always ‘Why can’t you do this or that like Cooper?’ or ‘Cooper never got in trouble in school for doing things like that!’ I know that it’s normal to be compared to siblings and stuff, but I’ve just always really felt like the fact that they understood him better meant that they loved him more. I know it’s stupid, but I’ve always felt like that.”

     Blaine rests his head on in his hands as he speaks, massaging his forehead slightly. Burt doesn’t know what to say. On the one hand, he wants to tell Blaine that feelings are always important and respectable, even if you think they might be incorrect. But Blaine admitted to knowing that his response is irrational. So what more is there for Burt to say? Luckily, Blaine speaks again before Burt has the chance.

     “Kurt called him the ‘Handsomest Man in North America’ and that voice in my head just said ‘Look, it’s someone else who prefers Cooper to you!’”

     Burt cringes. He’s sure that Kurt didn’t mean it, that he didn’t know how the phrase would affect Blaine, but it was still a tasteless thing to say.

     “You gonna tell him?” Burt asks.

     “What part?” Blaine shoots back, the bitter chuckle resurfacing.

     “Any of it. All of it. He can’t understand what’s going on if you don’t tell him, bud. Your telepathy skills aren’t quite there yet.”

     Blaine fidgets a moment, picking at a spot on the couch.

     “Yeah, maybe.” He finally says.

     “Okay.” Burt agrees. He’s decided not to push the issue. Blaine’s gonna have to figure it all out for himself. The two men settle back into an easy silence as they watch the game together.

     The next time Burt sees Blaine, Kurt’s helping him into the kitchen. Blaine looks completely exhausted, and Burt can see that his knuckles are bloodied up on both hands.

     Burt rises silently and helps Blaine into a chair. Kurt goes to the freezer and comes back with an ice pack for Blaine.

     “What happened?” Burt asks, not sure he wants to hear the answer.

     Blaine doesn’t say anything for the longest time, so Burt turns to look at Kurt.

     “Cooper said some hurtful things, so Blaine needed to work out his anger. He got a little bit over-enthusiastic with his boxing. I stayed around while he was punching the bag, but he ended up picking a fight with a wall in the shower, too.”

     Burt cringes. He’d punched a wall in highschool once and broken some knuckles. He watches Kurt tenderly inspect Blaine’s hands, getting Blaine’s fingers to move in circles to check for any internal damage to match the scrapes. Blaine still hasn’t said anything.

     Kurt must decide that Blaine’s knuckles are okay, because he moves on to cleaning out the damaged skin with some rubbing alcohol, wincing along with Blaine when it stings.

     “You want to talk about this, bud?” Burt asks Blaine, watching him carefully.

     Blaine’s body language is speaking loudly. It’s aggression and defiance along with the exhaustion and vulnerability. He doesn’t reply for a moment, but clenches his jaw a few times.

     “I’d rather not.” Blaine finally says, still not looking Burt in the eye.

     Kurt makes a quiet noise of protest, and Burt notices a fleeting, apologetic look cross Blaine’s face. It’s gone in a heartbeat, replaced with more hostility.

     “Okay, then.” Burt agrees. “But if you change your mind, you come find me. Or if you feel worse.”

     Blaine gives a sharp nod.

     “Hey, just look at me for a second, okay?” Burt asks, trying to prevent Blaine from shutting him out entirely.

     It takes a few moments, but Blaine eventually angles his head to make eye contact with Burt. Burt immediately understands why Blaine hadn’t wanted to make eye contact: he was trying to close out his vulnerability. When Burt looks Blaine in the eyes, the hurt is all he can see.

     “We’re not going to leave you, bud. We are so proud of you and we love you. It’s that simple to us. Okay?”

     Blaine frowns slightly, then nods, a few tears appearing in his eyes. Kurt wraps around his boyfriend, and Burt is relieved to see Blaine hug Kurt back. Burt decides to leave the two alone, moving to the living room with his work. Blaine’s quiet for the rest of the night, but doesn’t shut everyone out as Burt had worried he would. Burt finds himself hoping that this situation can be resolved quickly.

      And suddenly, things are better. Blaine comes home laughing and joking with Kurt, trading tender touches and private smiles, no remnants of his earlier distress remaining. As much as Burt is relieved to see the boy happy, the drastic change concerns him. He brings it up during dinner.

     “So everything is better with Cooper now, Blaine?”

     Blaine’s hand freezes, his fork halfway to his mouth. He gives a small smile.

     “Yup. We talked some things through, and we’re gonna try to be friends.”

     Something about this still isn’t sounding right to Burt.

     “Did he apologize?” Burt asks.

     Blaine’s eyebrows narrow in concentration, almost as if he is trying to relive the conversation in his mind.

     “N-no, he didn’t.” Blaine says, finally. “But I’m sure he’s sorry. He was really nice to me.”

     And there it was. Burt hoped that he was just being too hard on the other man, but to him, anyone who hurt Blaine that much needed to make a very clear apology, preferably with some grovelling involved.

     He decides not to vocalize this thought. Hopefully, the brothers’ relationship will be improved enough that it won’t be an issue again. Maybe Cooper can even help bridge the gap between Blaine and their parents? It’s something to hope for, that’s for sure.

     Burt watches Blaine, who is now telling Carole about something that happened in Glee club, while Finn, Sam and Kurt laugh and interrupt. Burt suddenly wonders whether being a part of this hodge-podge family has come to mean more to Blaine than being part of his own. As much as Burt wants for Blaine to have that strong relationship with his parents, Burt can’t help but feel that Blaine belongs in this home more than in his own.