“Hey, squirt,” Cooper said, getting Blaine’s attention. Blaine had been staring out the window, watching as the rain (probably freezing rain, from the way it was pelting the glass) hit the window. “Why the long face?”

Blaine just shrugged and didn’t answer.

“You know, if you keep making that expression, your face’ll get stuck that way,” Cooper pointed out.
Blaine couldn’t help it, the corners of his mouth twitched. “That’s an old wives’ tale,” he replied quietly.

“How would I know? I don’t have any old wives.” Cooper said. “Do you need to do an Emotional Tornado? I can show you how.”

Blaine couldn’t hold in the chuckle that escaped. “I think I’m okay.”

“Then how about you tell me what’s wrong?”

Blaine sighed. “Where to begin?”

“I’ve heard the beginning is a good place.” Cooper smiled softly at him.

Blaine sighed and started talking.

“I had my dates this week,” he began, clasping his hands in his lap.

“Ah, so this is about who to choose?” Cooper asked. “Well, that’s what I’m here for. Lay it on me and I’ll help you figure it out.”

Blaine sighed. “Something like that.” He shifted a little.

“Well, tell me about each of the dates and I’ll tell you who you should pick.”

“Fine,” Blaine agreed after a moment. “Eli took me on a picnic lunch to a lighthouse.”

Cooper laughed and Blaine glared.

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there,” Cooper told him. “Please tell me you’re not seriously considering him. He’s not right for you. You have no real interests in common and if you go with him, your entire place will be decorated in lighthouses.”

“I know. When he wasn’t implying that he thought I’d be good in bed, lighthouses were all he talked about.” Blaine groaned. “I let him kiss me,” he half whispered after a moment. “There was just… nothing.”

“So let’s scratch him off the list then,” Cooper told him. “What about Adam?”

Blaine smiled. “He’s cute and funny and that accent…”

“But?”

“I don’t know. There just isn’t a… spark? I guess.”

“What did you guys do on your date?” Cooper asked.

“We stayed here – he cooked some of his favorite dishes from England and then we watched Downton Abbey.”

Cooper laughed. “Well that’s a little stereotypical.” He wriggled his eyebrows at Blaine. “Did you kiss him?”

“Yeah.”

“And?” Cooper pressed. Blaine shrugged. “Well that’s not a ringing endorsement.”

“Nope.”

“What about your date with Sebastian?”

Blaine smiled. “We went to a club. It was fun.”

“So basically it was like a mass orgy on the dance floor and there were lots of pretty beverages?”

“Something like that, minus the alcohol,” Blaine answered. “We had a good time. Sebastian might be a little rough around the edges but we go back a long way.”

“So do you think you could see something happen with him?”

“I don’t know… maybe?” Blaine frowned. The way he felt about Sebastian didn’t even compare to the way he felt just being in the same room as Kurt. “I don’t want to try and force something that’s not there and I don’t want to lose a good friend over it either.”

Cooper nodded. “Did you kiss him too?” Blaine blushed. “Did we do a little more than kissing then?”

“We almost…” Blaine trailed off, the implication clear. “But I couldn’t bring myself to go through with it.”

“Is it because you’re friends?”

Blaine shrugged and Cooper stared at him with inquisitive eyes.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not telling me something?” Cooper probed. Blaine tried not to, but he shifted uncomfortably on instinct. He hated confrontation, hated trying to hide things. He hated trying to hide his feelings for Kurt most of all.

“It’s nothing,” Blaine muttered. “I’ll just be glad when this whole show is over and I can go back to my normal life.”

Kurt chose that moment to step into the room, and Blaine nearly gasped. It’d been days since he’d seen Kurt up close – Kurt had chosen not to accompany them on any of the dates.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Kurt said, his voice cool. “I need Blaine.”

Blaine’s heart thumped for a half a second and he wished that Kurt words could be taken in a completely different context – but they wouldn’t be.

“Sure,” Blaine replied, getting up. “Thanks Cooper.”

“You’re welcome, little brother,” Cooper told him. Blaine could feel Cooper’s eyes on him and Kurt as they left the room.



The meeting with the producers ended with them all in agreement about who was going home and Blaine found himself once again in front of the roaring fire place, getting ready to hand out bowties.

Only this time, there were just two in the box. Blaine was going have to decide which of the final two he was going to propose to (or neither of them, but the producers had strongly encouraged that Blaine actually pick one of the men).

He took a deep breath as Cooper went through the introduction and explained what Blaine would be doing, and then the room fell silent, everyone looking to Blaine. He could see Kurt hovering in the back of the room, behind the camera and he took another breath. He told himself to get a grip and get it over with.

“I had a good time this week, going out with the three of you,” Blaine began, looking at Sebastian, Adam and Eli. They all smiled at him as he met their gazes. “Unfortunately, one of you still has to go home. It was a tough decision.

“Adam,” he continued. Adam stood up and approached him. Blaine picked up a bowtie from the tray and held it out. “Will you accept this bowtie?”

Adam nodded, smiling at him. Blaine put the bowtie on him and kissed him on the cheek. Adam went back to the sofa and sat down. Sebastian and Eli both stood, moving so they were in front of Blaine. “Sebastian. You and I go a long way back. I’ve been struggling this week with deciding if we’re just friends or if we could be something more.” He paused, looking toward Eli.

“Eli, getting to know you over the last few weeks has been great. You’re different and interesting.”

He paused again, going for dramatic effect this time.

“Eli, I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve got enough in common or the right kind of chemistry to make a life together work.”

Eli nodded as Blaine leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. Then Eli stepped back, leaving just Sebastian in front of Blaine. “Sebastian,” he said. “Will you accept this bowtie?”

“Of course,” Sebastian replied, moving in close so Blaine could fasten the bowtie around his neck. Blaine went to kiss him on the cheek but Sebastian turned his head at the last second, and their lips touched instead. Sebastian deepened the kiss, taking Blaine by surprise, before he finally pulled away.

Blaine searched Sebastian’s gaze, wondering if Sebastian had felt anything and had to smile when he saw the smirk cross Sebastian’s face.

“And there you have it folks. Blaine has narrowed his choice down to two – tune in next week for our live two hour finale and reunion show. We’ll relive all the great moments on the show and catch up with the other guys and see what they’re up to.” Cooper paused, smiling. “And if we’re really lucky, Blaine will pick one of the remaining guys to spend the rest of his life with.”

Blaine’s heart dropped at those words but he forced his smile into place until Bill called for them to cut.
He strode out of the room before anyone could stop him, unable to take it for one moment longer. He was glad that all of the filming was out of the way. He would be going home in the morning and wouldn’t have to come back here and have his heart repeatedly broken by Kurt for the next two months.

The show had been slated to start airing in March and Blaine knew that he’d be doing the finale at the beginning of May. He had until then to get over one Kurt Hummel.

He pushed open his bedroom door and flopped on the bed, his eyes closing.

“Are you sleeping with him?”

Blaine nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Kurt’s irate voice. He sat up and stared Kurt in shock. Kurt was… well, he was stunning. His eyes were open wide, looking bluer than ever. His cheeks were flushed and his hands were clenched and if Blaine didn’t know better, he’d think that Kurt was upset about him sleeping with another guy.

“I don’t see how that’s your business,” Blaine replied. “You’ve made it perfectly clear how you feel about me.”

“This show is my baby, it’s my career on the line, Blaine,” Kurt retorted, his eyes flashing.

“So you’ve said, repeatedly,” Blaine snapped, loosening his bowtie and jerking if off, tossing it to the bed. “I got the picture; you don’t need to draw me a map too.” He took off his jacket and hung it over the back of the arm chair near his bed. “It’s still not any business of yours if I’m fucking Sebastian.”

Kurt flinched at his language and Blaine just chuckled. He moved around Kurt and pulled his bedroom door open wide. “So why don’t you get the hell out?”

Kurt stared at him for a long moment, his eyes still wide, his breathing coming in rapid pants. What happened next was like something from a dream – because instead of turning and leaving like Blaine expected him to, Kurt turned and practically launched himself at Blaine.

Their lips met in a fierce kiss that Blaine felt all the way to his toes. The force of Kurt’s motion sent him backward into the door, slamming it shut. Blaine didn’t care, all that mattered was that Kurt’s lips were on his and Kurt’s body was pressing him up against the door in all the best ways and he couldn’t believe it because he’d been right about Kurt all along.

Blaine lifted Kurt up, their lips never parting. Kurt’s legs wrapped around Blaine’s waist as Blaine walked them the short distance to the bed. He lowered Kurt down onto the bed, Kurt tugging Blaine down on top of him insistently.

It was here, with Kurt, that Blaine knew what was missing between him and Sebastian the other night; the reason he hadn’t been able to commit to sex was because it hadn’t felt like this.

Then Kurt bit his lip and Blaine stopped thinking all together.