Kurt tried to carry on with his day as if it was any old Tuesday. He really did. But when Blaine Anderson tells you he's going to call you, that he's looking forward to talking to you, apparently all semblance of normality goes out the window.

At this point, Kurt has given up playing it cool, with himself at least. His reaction to his phone vibrating with an incoming text had blown that idea to smithereens – he'd heard his phone vibrating on the kitchen counter and had leapt out of his armchair to sprint across the room, only to find that the text was the rudimentary 'how are you doing' text from his dad. The seemed to be dragging by painfully slowly. Blaine had said that he would call that evening, so Kurt wasn't really expecting a call until at least six. After he'd puttered about the house, making lunch and reading a little, it was still only just gone three o'clock, so he had at least three hours to kill.

He spent half an hour cleaning his apartment, but he'd only lived there for a little over a week and he was naturally a very organized, tidy person so there wasn't very much house work that needed doing. He tried to read some more but his mind kept drifting, replaying broad grins and circles being rubbed onto his knee and warm breath on his skin and soon Kurt was left a little breathless and with a whole different problem. Normally he would have no problem slipping his hand into pants and relieving himself, but he knew whose face he would be seeing when he closed his eyes and whose name would be on his tongue, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold a conversation with Blaine knowing what he'd been imagining doing with him only hours before.

In an effort to fend off his growing arousal, Kurt decided to call Finn. He hadn't spoken to his Dad yet that day, but there was no way he could hold a conversation with his father with that going on in his pants, and he hadn't spoken to Finn since he'd moved, except for the occasional text. When he was sixteen, the idea of speaking to Finn would have probably had the opposite effect on his hormones, but in the years since their parents got married Kurt couldn't imagine feeling anything but brotherly affection for him, and despite a few problems in the early years the two were very close, usually forgetting the 'step' and treating each other as if they had been brothers all their lives.

As per usual, Finn didn't answer his phone until it was about to switch to voicemail – Kurt had always suspected that this was because he kept forgetting where he'd left his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Finn."

"Kurt! Hey, Bro!"

Kurt smiled. It was nice to know that some things never changed; Finn would always be the sweet, rather dopey boy that he was in high school. "How are you?"

"I'm great, Dude, everything's the same here as it was before you left. I miss you though."

Kurt's smile grew. "I miss you too. How's Carole?"

"She's doing okay, her and Burt obviously miss you though, too. She's been cooking a lot, tryin' to do the healthy stuff that you like. It's not as good as what you make, though."

There was a moment of silence, the two brothers just listening to the comforting, familiar sound of the other breathing down the phone, enjoying feeling close despite the distance.

"Well," Kurt broke the quiet, "I'll make you something for this weekend when you bring the rest of my things. And I'll cook some muffins to take back for Dad."

"That's be great, Bro. I'm looking forward to seeing you."

Kurt frowned. His brother sounded... a little off. There was an edge to his voice, as if he was preoccupied with something. "Finn? Are you alright, really? You sound a little-"

"Rachel called." Finn cut in, and Kurt immediately understood. "It's like every time I'm doing good, she appears again and everything goes to crap."

Kurt had to suppress a groan. Finn had been doing well. Really well. He'd been dating his girlfriend, Susan, for fourteen months with only one real problem thus far – a problem which had happened last Christmas, when Rachel had come back to Lima to visit her Dads and had decided to just 'pop in to say hello'. "You can't let her get to you, Finn."

"I know! I know. It's just... it's Rachel."

"I know." Boy did he. If anyone could knock things off balance with just their presence, it was Rachel Berry.

"She asked about you."

"Oh did she now?"

"Yeah. Wanted to know what you're up to now."

"I bet she did."

"I told her you're doing really great."

His heart swelled a little with Finn's words. His step-brother's support healed a little part of him every time. "Thank you, Finn."

"Just tellin' the truth, little brother."

Yeah, his brother's pretty great.

"Look, Kurt, I know you don't like her..."

"It doesn't matter what I think of her. All that matters is that you don't let her cause any problems with Susan. You're so sweet together, and she's completely in love with you."

"I love her too. But Rachel..."

"But Rachel, indeed."

When Finn spoke, he sounded a little choked. "I'm so confused, Kurt."

"I know Finn. Hang tight. I'll fix you up this weekend. My cookies can fix anything."

"You're the best, Kurt."

"I know."

The two brothers laughed together, and Kurt's heart lightened a little, and he could feel Finn's doing the same over in Lima.

"Oh! Oh, Kurt, I almost forgot!"

Kurt chuckled at Finn's enthusiasm. "What?"

"Karofsky came in to the garage yesterday."

Kurt froze where he stood, goose bumps erupting on his skin instantaneously. "Oh?" His voice sounded a little shaky.

"Yeah, and Kurt, guess what?"

"What?"

"Karofsky is gay! He bought his boyfriend with him!"

Kurt's breath caught in his throat. "What?" Yeah, his voice was definitely shaky.

"Yeah! I know Dude, I was totally shocked. Especially after he was such a douche to you in high school."

"So... what, he introduced you? He called the guy his boyfriend? Actually said the word?"

"Well, no, he looked a bit squiffy actually."

Kurt couldn't help spluttering out a laugh. "Squiffy? What is squiffy, Finn?"

"You know, like when you keep shifting around when you're standing because you don't want to be there but you're going to be there anyway, even when it makes your eyes go all big and you're face all red and you start to sweat everywhere and look like you're going to puke but you don't and you stand there anyway."

Kurt didn't reply. What do you say to that? Definitely getting Finn a thesaurus come Christmas.

"So yeah, anyway, they were holding hands while I was fixing up the car, and when they got back in the guy kissed him. Like, on the mouth."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

There was another silence, this one not as comfortable as the last. Kurt looked at the clock, and his eyes widened in a way that probably would have been comical if anyone were there to see. "Hey, Finn, I'm going to have to go. I'm expecting a phone call but I don't know what time he's going to ring, so I want to be ready in case it's soon. I don't want to miss him."

"...This some guy?" Finn's voice instantly had a protective edge to it, and Kurt rolled his eyes. He knew that Finn had been being extra protective of Kurt in the last couple of years, to make up for his mistakes in high school, but really.

"Oh my God, Finn."

"Sorry, but you're my little brother, it's my job to look after you."

"I'm older than you, dimwit."

"Age is just a number."

"Oh God."

"Who is he?"

Kurt sighed. Anything he said to Finn would be reported back to his Dad, no doubt. "It's just a guy I met, Finn. He works at a coffee shop I go to and he asked for my number. No big deal."

"If it's no big deal, then you won't mind telling me his name."

"Finn!"

"You're dating someone with the same name as me? That's a bit weird, Dude."

Kurt groaned. "Oh my god. His name is Blaine, if you must know. And I'm not dating him, it's just a phone call. It's not a big deal."

"But do you want it to be a big deal?"

"I'm not saying another word to you, Finn Hudson. I'm hanging up now."

"See you at the weekend, little brother. Say hi to Blaine for me." The last thing Kurt heard before he hung up was the sound of his brother chuckling down the phone.

To Kurt's surprise – and relief, he didn't think he'd be able to wait much longer whilst retaining grip on his sanity – his phone rang not even half an hour after he'd hung up from Finn. He reached his hand up to check his hair was presentable before he realised what he was doing – he can't even see you, get a grip, Hummel – and grabbed his phone with a shaking hand. "Hello?"

"Kurt."

"Blaine?"

"Ooh, well done, maybe you are a detective after all."

Kurt let himself grin; he was free to be as un-cool as he wanted if Blaine wasn't actually there to see him.

"So, can I take you out tonight?"

"Wow, Blaine, don't mince your words, get straight to the point."

"Sarcasm is unbecoming, Detective."

Kurt grinned, and he could just tell that Blaine was, too.

"Seriously though, Kurt," Kur...t. "I want to take you out. Are you free tonight? Seven o'clock?"

He looked at the clock on his microwave. That would give him about three hours to get ready, enough time. Just. "Sure."

"Great!" Blaine's enthusiasm was tangible and Kurt felt himself growing excited about the date too.

"Great."

"Great."

There was a moment of silence, where Kurt stood, looking out the window, smiling like a fool. "So. Shall I meet you somewhere, or...?"

"Oh!" Blaine sounded surprised, as if Kurt had startled him. "Right. No. I'll pick you up. I want to woo you, Kurt Hummel."

Oh. Oh. Kurt blinked rapidly, his cheeks turning pink. Nobody's ever said anything like that to me before. And he kind of loves it. "I'll text you my address then."

"Great."

"Great." There was another silence, before they both began to laugh at how awkward they were both behaving. "God, I feel like a pre-teen girl."

Blaine laughed again. "Oh don't you worry, Detective. I know you're all man." It would have sounded like such a line had he lowered his voice the way he had when he was flirting in the past, but Blaine kept his tone light – flirtatious still, but more teasing, and Kurt managed to keep his head rather than become flustered. Maybe because it's easier to think when you're not looking into Blaine's eyes.

"So I'll see you at seven then?"

"Yes, seven."

"What are we doing? I need to make sure I'm dressed appropriately."

"It's a surprise. If you're a decent Detective I suppose you'll be able to figure it out, but if not you'll just have to trust me to give you the best date of your life," Blaine paused before adding, "And you'll look stunning in whatever you wear."

Kurt flushed at the compliment. "The best date of my life? Awfully sure of yourself, aren't you, Mr. Anderson."

"Nothing wrong with a little confidence."

"I just hope you deliver, then."

"Don't you worry, Detective. I always deliver."

Kurt had never before been pleased that his date was running late, but it was almost seven thirty and his hair was being particularly stubborn and he'd just managed to hair-spray it into submission, Kurt had picked out the perfect outfit, if he did say so himself; Dark blue jeans that clung to his legs making them seem endlessly long and hugged his ass sinfully, a pale blue button up that accentuated the muscles in his arms and his toned chest, navy suspenders and tie and a grey cashmere cardigan that broadened his shoulders. He knew he looked good, now Blaine just had to arrive so that his aesthetics weren't wasted. Speaking of... The clock on his microwave was now showing 19:37 and Blaine was more than fashionably late. Best date of my life, my ass. Kurt was just beginning to entertain the possibility that he was being stood up, when his phone began to vibrate on the counter. He picked it up before the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

Silence.

"Are you phoning to cancel on me, or...?"

"Oh! Um, no. I'm here."

Another silence.

"Then shall I buzz you up?"

"Yes please."

Kurt hung up without another word, and pressed the button to let Blaine up. He was more than a little annoyed at this point; Not only had he arrive more than half an hour late, but he was so squiffy on the phone... Would it have been so hard to call and let me know he was running late? Just as he was letting his irritation build up, he heard a rapping on his door. He strode over and flung the door open with a frown firmly fixed on his face, but he immediately forgot his anger when he got a look at Blaine.

His hair was plastered to his head (and not in the cute hair-gelled way), droplets of rain water dripping down his face, a weak smile obviously being forced onto his lips. The nice white shirt he was wearing would have looked extremely nice had the rain not stuck it uncomfortably to his body (stop think squiffy, not think it, Hummel) and turning it slightly see-through (and no, Kurt did not look anymore than a fleeting glance. Absolutely not.) His fitted black jeans were stained darker with water in large patches over his legs, and he was clutching a truly miserable looking bunch of flowers that probably would have been beautiful were they not drooping under the rain. The only thing still in place was his bowtie, the cheery clue fabric – a perfect match to Kurt's shirt, what a nice coincidence – looked almost mocking on the drench man.

"Um. It's raining."

Blaine was in such a poor state, but Kurt couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitching up in amusement. "Yes, I can see that."

Blaine's cheeks flushed a little, and Kurt felt strangely pleased that he was more confident than Blaine for once, then instantly felt guilty when he took in how (not squiffy, not squiffy) uneasy he looked.

"Did the rain slow you down or are you forty minutes late for some other reason?" Kurt smiled softly to take the edge off his comment, but Blaine's eyes were fixed on his feet as he stumbled over his words.

"I, um. Yes. Well, I mean I was probably a little... but not that much, I just, um, I didn't..."

Kurt took pity on the usually confident man, and put a hand on his arm, squeezing lightly. "I was just teasing, Blaine."

Blaine finally looked up, and upon seeing the sincerity in his gaze, straightened up a little, lifting his chin, and held the flowers out. "I stopped on my way, to get you flowers, and the rain caught me as I was walking from the store." Blaine looked at the bouquet in his hand, and winced a little. "These are a bit ruined, but I'll be you some more another time. I just wanted to give you flowers."

Kurt smiled even wider and took the flowers from Blaine's hand. "Nonsense, you don't need to give me more, these are gorgeous. Come in while I find a vase."

Kurt ushered Blaine inside and shut the door behind him before walking into the kitchen and rummaging through a cupboard for his favourite vase. He made a pleased 'ah ha!' sound and set a pretty vase on the counter. "This will do nicely. It was my mother's and I've been meaning to get something to put in it since I moved here."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Kurt, no! Don't put those in a vase that obviously means something to you, they're a mess, let me get you some more, please!"

"These flowers are lovely Blaine, don't be silly. Besides, nobody's ever given me flowers before, so these mean something too."

Kurt looked up and smiled sweetly at Blaine, who smiled back, his expression a little awed. He blinked a few times, and Kurt could see the exact moment that Blaine's confidence returned. "A handsome guy like you, never received flowers? That's a travesty. You should be showered in them."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Well, try telling that to the men of Lima, Ohio, where I was the only out kid. Or perhaps to the gay men I met in gay bars in Columbus. I'm sure they're all about giving flowers."

"Well then, the men of Ohio obviously have no taste. Which obviously I would know. None of the guys I knew would have been good enough for you, either."

The two didn't stay long in Kurt's apartment, leaving again not long after Kurt had arranged his flowers to his satisfaction. Blaine seemed to be putting all his energy into making up for the bad start to their date, holding doors open with a flourish and leading a light hearted conversation about the trials of working as a barista. Kurt was laughing particularly hard at a story about an elderly woman who demanded whisky in her coffee as Blaine held the cab door open for him, and they both jogged, heads down from the rain and Blaine's hand on Kurt's lower back, into a small but elegant Italian restaurant in a quieter neighbourhood. Kurt looked around and made an appreciative sound at the restaurant's classy interior.

There were a number of people waiting to be seated, but Blaine walked confidently up to the Maitre D', "Anderson, for two."

The young girl looked down at the sheet on her podium and frowned slightly before looking up again. "I'm sorry, but we had to reallocate your table."

Kurt felt Blaine's arm stiffen against his side. "Excuse me?"

"Your table was booked for quarter past seven, and you're more than forty five minutes late. We had to give it to someone else that was actually here."

Blaine's jaw tightened and his neck and ears were turning a furious pink. Kurt knew that Blaine was embarrassed, but had to fight a giggle. This man had been so confident on the phone and in the coffee shop earlier that day, and now...

"If you want to wait, we should have another table for two in about forty minutes."

Blaine scowled, but Kurt's giggles were getting harder to stifle. A few escaped, and Blaine looked at him, an adorable confused expression on his face. "Maybe we'll be in time for this one."

Blaine's scowl deepened, but Kurt's lips were wobbling with the effort of keeping down his laughter, and before long Blaine was fighting laughter as well.

"Let's just go somewhere else, Blaine. We'll walk and just go to the first place we find, how's that?"

Blaine nodded, and linked his arm in Kurt's before turning and leaving the restaurant.

Finding somewhere else was easier said than done. They walked for about twenty minutes, just talking about their respective college careers, in the rain, before they came across another place to eat, an up-market restaurant that looked busy but dry and Kurt skipped a little where they were walking when he saw it. He started dragging Blaine over the road, but Blaine was resisting. "Blaine?"

Blaine was looking (not squiffy) edgy again, and didn't meet Kurt's eye when he responded "I can't afford it."

"Oh. That's okay, don't worry. I can pay for us. Anything to get out of the rain, right?"

Blaine shifted from foot to foot. "I, um. We can if you'd prefer, but I asked you out. I want to take you somewhere," he looked into Kurt's eyes finally, "I work two jobs and play gigs when I can so that I can afford college and my rent, and I've got decent savings this month and I'd really like to take you somewhere with them, but that restaurant isn't quite in my budget. And it's emasculating to admit, but it'd be more emasculating to let you pay for me. So, thank you, Kurt, but I'd really like to take you somewhere, please."

Kurt looked into his eyes for a moment, before smiling. "Okay. Lead the way." He tucked his arm back into the crook of Blaine's elbow and made him start walking back down the side of the road.

The next place they came across was not what Blaine had in mind when he planned to take Kurt to dinner, but at this point, with conversation flowing but both of them rain drenched and hungry, they just wanted to get inside somewhere and eat.

"It's not where I wanted to take you."

"It's fine Blaine; I don't care where we eat as long as we can spend time together and have a nice evening."

Kurt wasn't used to this Blaine, this nervous, easily embarrassed Blaine. He'd just adjusted to confident and slightly cocky Blaine, and this was a total change, but the more time they spent together, walking in the rain and just talking, the more Kurt liked both sides of Blaine – he wasn't really sure it was possible, but he was both incredible sexy and dapper, and adorable and endearing.

Maybe it wasn't the best meal either of them had ever eaten. The 'restaurant' they'd stumbled across was a family place and was filled with screaming children and waitresses that looked completely disinterested in their jobs. It was noisy, making it very difficult to hold a conversation, and when their food eventually arrived 30 minutes of giggling at the mothers trying to control their demon children later – Kurt, Kurt, I actually think she's going to throw the ketchup, she's actually going to do it! – Kurt was being given a bowl of chilli fries that he wouldn't order if he were held at gunpoint and Blaine was staring, horrified, at a burger that looked like it hadn't even seen an oven.

"Bon appetit?"

They finally left the restaurant still hungry (Kurt had nibbled at the salad from Blaine's burger and Blaine had eaten the fries that looked least likely to give him a disease), with Blaine looking sheepish but the conversation between the two thrilling them both. The rain was still pouring, but by this point neither of them was worried by it.

"I don't even want to know what my hair looks like; no amount of hair spray can save me now."

"At least you don't look like Medusa. My hair must be growing a life of its own."

"No, the rain's just melted all that gel. Every cloud."

"Hey! I like my gel."

"And you look very suave, but your hair needs to breathe, Blaine, you drown it."

"So I drown mine, and you gas yours, what a sadistic pair we are, eh Detective?"

"Just promise not to tell anybody that I went out in public looking like this."

"I promise. But you look gorgeous as ever."

Kurt blushed. "Nobody looks gorgeous when they're this soaked through." Even as he was saying it, he knew it was an outright lie. There was no other word for Blaine than gorgeous in this moment. Rain drops were clinging to his eye lashed, his skin was shining and he looked effervescent in the moonlight, his hair curling and his eyes sparkling.

"I have a feeling you're the exception to most rules though, Kurt." Blaine stopped at swung around to stand in front of Kurt. "Anyway, lots of people think that being in the rain is romantic."

"No, they say that dancing in the rain is romantic. Walking in the rain? Not so much."

Blaine got a strange look on his face, and Kurt knew what he was going to do but before he could say anything more than "don't you-" Blaine's hand was sliding round his waist and gripping his hand and they were swaying on the sidewalk, people walking around them and looking at them oddly before carrying on with their evenings.

"Blaine!"

"Shh. Just enjoy the moment, Detective."

They swayed in a circle together, and the moment was so much less than perfect but still so perfect that Kurt had to force his breathing to stay even. And when Blaine pulled him closer and began to sing-whisper in his ear "He's my kind of rain, like love in a drunken sky, he's confetti falling down all night, he's my kind of rain".

The moment was only brief, but the feelings didn't leave him for the rest of the night.

When they got back to Kurt's apartment, they both looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"How is it you still look beautiful even when you look like someone's drowned you?"

Kurt blushed, and bit his lip. "It's my natural Hummel charm."

Blaine smiled, and shuffled a step closer. "Thank you for letting me take you out tonight, Detective." He leaned forward, and Kurt would have sworn his heart stopped beating as Blaine's hand slipped into his, his thumb rubbing the back of his hand and his lips pressing sweetly on his cheek.

"You're more than welcome. Thank you for taking me out. I wish I could keep up with cliché and say I had a lovely time tonight, but..."

Blaine flushed and looked at the floor. "Right. It was a bit of a disaster."

"That it was. I thought you said something about the best night of my life?"

Blaine's cheeks tinted further, and he looked as if he wanted to melt into the floor and never return.

"I'm teasing again Blaine, stop looking so..." not squiffy, not squiffy, "squiffy." Oh God. I'm going to kill Finn.

Blaine was shocked right out of his embarrassment. "Squiffy? I look squiffy? What is squiffy?"

It was Kurt's turn to be embarrassed. "My twenty three year old brother still has the mind of a fifteen year old. And I guess he's a little contagious? I meant uncomfortable. Stop looking so uncomfortable."

Blaine grinned at the explanation before furrowing his eyebrows again clenching his jaw, his neck and ears pink.

"It wasn't the best date of my life. But it was the best, worst date of my life."

Blaine looked up, straight into Kurt's eyes, and grinned. "At least it was memorable."

"Oh, it's not a night I'll be forgetting in a while."

They grinned at each other, switching back into the mindset of two pre-teens on their first date.

"So when do I get a do-over?"

Blaine looked shocked. "You want a do-over?"

Kurt looked pensive as he replied. "Well, maybe not a do-over. I don't want to pretend this night didn't happen in any way. But maybe a more functional date? Where we can actually talk without being interrupted by screaming children or rained on."

"That would be fantastic."

"How's Friday for you?"

Blaine frowned. "I'd love to do Friday, but I have a gig. It's just a small cafe, but I play there every month and people are starting to come regularly just to see me... And then on Saturday night I have a gig as well, it's my first time at this bar on Pier 59 and it should be a good opportunity for me. If you won't be bored of me two nights in a row, I'm free tomorrow night?"

"I don't think it's easy to be bored of you, Blaine Anderson. Tomorrow's great."

"Great." There was another silence spent with the two men just watching each other, before Blaine laughed quietly and gave Kurt's hand one last squeeze before stepping away. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Detective."

"I look forward to it."

"Good night, Kurt."

"Good night, Blaine."

And Blaine walked backwards for as far as he could, eyes trained on Kurt's, before turning to walk down the stairs.

That night when Kurt closed his eyes to go to sleep, his mind was filled with rain drops clinging to eyelashes, soft lips on his cheeks, songs whispered in his ear and a sweet voice saying "I just wanted to give you flowers." He had never slept so soundly.