After yet another failed date, Kurt was about to give up on letting his friends set him up anymore. He appreciated their efforts but the guys they picked for him just weren't his type. He had been on five blind dates in less than a month and he was starting to feel awkward about it all.

He had let Sam set him up this time – against his better judgment. Sam had been certain that the girls in Kurt's life couldn't choose a guy for him because they weren't guys themselves. Kurt thought that he'd had a point until he met the guy Sam had chosen for him. His name was Axel and he was the most uninteresting person that Kurt had ever met. Kurt had no idea why on Earth Sam had thought they would be good together. Axel was a bit of an over confident jerk for the first half of their date and when he realised that it wasn't going to end well, he had left Kurt, claiming he needed the bathroom. After half an hour, Kurt paid the bill on their dinner and left the restaurant.

He was going to have terse words with Sam when he saw him next.

Kurt wanted to give up. He was sick of going on dates with all the wrong types of guys. He needed someone who had a bit of stability other than 'I run my own internet company' like Axel apparently had.

Kurt wondered where Sam had even met the guy.

Kurt descended the stairs to the subway and headed towards the platform that his train would arrive at. He straightened his outfit and had checked his phone for the time as he waited when he felt someone bump into him from behind. He was far used to people not caring where they walked since moving to New York but sometimes it startled him. Especially when the person actually apologised.

Kurt glanced up at the person apologising and he realised he was face to face with the guy he had spilled coffee on at the Vogue office a few weeks ago.

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed.

Blaine smiled widely. "Kurt," he returned. "Fancy bumping into you here."

Kurt smiled at him, glad for a friendly face after the evening he'd had. "You too."

"How are you? Coffee free today, I see."

Kurt flushed a little. "Thankfully – for your sake."

Blaine chuckled, the sound made Kurt's stomach tingle pleasantly. "Are you getting on this train?"

Kurt glanced over as the train pulled into the station. "I am," he replied. "Finally heading home."

They stepped onto the train together and for the first time, Kurt didn't mind having someone to sit next to.

Blaine let Kurt sit down first and then sat next to him. It was such a gentlemanly gesture but it made Kurt's stomach flutter all the same. Blaine's body was warm to the touch and Kurt, for the first time ever, was grateful for the tight space in the train. Sitting next to such an attractive guy who actually seemed nice and not completely fake, was a rarity for Kurt.

"You finished work late; I didn't know the Vogue staff worked you guys that hard? I thought they only did that to us lawyers. Well, not me anymore."

"I thought you were a model?" Kurt asked, confused.

"Oh," Blaine replied and he grinned widely. "That was for my niece, Audrey, who you briefly met. She wants to be a model and we were doing a portfolio for her. I used to work for Anderson and Sons, the law firm, and we have good connections at Vogue and were able to come in on the weekend to do the shoot."

"Oh," Kurt said, nodding. "That makes sense."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Blaine added, "if you were hoping I was a model?"

"Oh, god no," Kurt replied instantly. "I mean, not that there's anything against models, of course. I just know some of the models that work for us and let's just say they're not the most pleasant of people."

"I can imagine," Blaine agreed. "Aud seems to be really keen, even though she could do something amazing like... well, I guess she'll be an amazing model, and that makes her happy."

"You're a good uncle," Kurt said, shifting in his seat to face Blaine a little more.

He was wearing glasses today and Kurt thought they framed his face perfectly. Blaine had that sexy teacher look about him that made Kurt's stomach tingle just thinking about it.

"Thank you," Blaine replied. "I try. I only have Aud and her brothers, Grant, Charles and Eric, so I like to dote on them as much as possible. It's harder since the boys are all older. Aud is the only one young enough who still lets me get away with it."

"Let me guess, when they were kids, you would send them home on a sugar high?" Kurt teased.

"Oh, absolutely," Blaine replied, smiling. "It's like an uncle's rite of passage."

"I bet."

Kurt felt the train shudder to a stop and he glanced up, feeling disappointed. "This is my stop," he said. "It was good to see you again. Sans the coffee accident."

Blaine stood at the same time he did. "It was nice seeing you, too," he replied, holding out his hand. Kurt stared at it for a few moments and carefully shook it before exiting the train.

The entire rest of his walk home, Kurt couldn't help but think of how soft Blaine's hand felt in his own.

~*~

Meetings were something that Blaine couldn't seem to escape, no matter what job he had. As a lawyer, they had a weekly meeting of all of the staff every Wednesday morning before the firm's opening hours began and it was the same thing every time. As a senior partner at the firm, he had been required to attend every meeting, even if he didn't want to.

Meetings at the school were a lot more relaxed than the ones at his father's law firm, which he was thankful for. Most of the time, Blaine got to just sit back and observe the other staff members and occasionally input when he needed to.

The meeting he had at the end of his work day didn't last long, which Blaine was thankful for.

The school was empty when he headed to the staff parking lot for his car. He had a game of tennis with his best friend, Mike Chang, at five and Blaine couldn't wait to get out of there.

Mike had convinced him to take up tennis as a stress relieving sport after his break up and Blaine had found he liked it a lot.

At the firm, the sport of choice to watch was football and the one most of them liked to participate in was golf, so from an early age, Blaine had learned how to play golf. He remembered being in competitions in his early twenties and had done quite well for himself before he focused more on being a lawyer and having golf as a sport to play on the weekends when he had free time.

Mike was waiting for Blaine when he got to the tennis clubrooms. Blaine greeted him with a smile and a hug before following him out onto the court.

Occasionally they would play doubles, usually Mike and Tina against Blaine and Audrey, as she loved playing tennis with them. It was nice to have her there to distract him from the fact that he used to play with Dale.

Mike was a great player and the matches between them were vigorous and left Blaine not only wanting more but feeling absolutely exhausted at the same time.

Mike served first and Blaine was immediately responsive, whacking the tennis ball back over to Mike's side of the court. He focused on the game, letting all thoughts from work and his students leave his mind for the duration of the match. It was easy to let the worries creep back in but Blaine made sure to concentrate solely on the game so he wouldn't get distracted and mess up.

He found tennis to be a great stress reliever after a bad day. It was only too easy to bat away his frustrations with a game against Mike.

Mike had shared the sentiment on many occasions. He worked at a hospital as a surgeon and Blaine had been called up a few times to have a spur of the moment match so Mike could take out his frustrations and feelings on the game rather than bottling everything up. Whether it was from losing a patient or just a way to feel relief from a long day of surgery, it helped them both and Blaine enjoyed the time. There was no judgement between them if one called the other up out of the blue for a match.

Blaine missed his next shot by a hair and he took a deep breath, watching the ball bounce away, far out of his reach.

"Good game," Mike said, twirling his tennis racket in his hand as he crossed over to Blaine's side of the court.

Blaine smiled and shook his hand in congratulations. "You were on form today."

"And you weren't," Mike replied. "Stop thinking about life, Blaine, that's our number one rule when we come out here. Just focus on the game."

Blaine nodded again. "I know," he said. "It's just been a long week."

"You should come out for dinner with Tina and I," Mike suggested, putting the cap back on his bottle of water. "You look like you could use some time with friends."

"I don't want to impose on date night," Blaine replied, wiping down his brow with a towel before they headed back into the clubrooms to shower and change.

Mike shook his head. "It's not our date night," he said. "We promised Valerie that she could have the house tonight to cook for her girlfriend – it's their one year anniversary and Val didn't want to go out, she wanted to stay in."

"Aww, that's adorable." Blaine grinned. "Wow, a year already though?"

"I know," Mike said. "I feel old."

Blaine chuckled, switching the tap on his shower. "You don't even look a day over thirty."

"If only I weren't married..." Mike teased.

Blaine grinned at Mike from the next stall over. "If only," he agreed whimsically.

They fell silent as they showered and once he was finished, Blaine stepped out to put his day clothes back on, feeling them cling a little to his damp skin.

"We're going out for drinks first," Mike said as he exited the shower. "Just to loosen up a little and so we're not home too early."

Blaine nodded. "I'll just meet you both there," he replied.

Mike gave him the address of the bar they were going to first and after Blaine had finished combing his hair into place, he left the clubrooms for his apartment.

If there was one thing Blaine was glad about working at a high school but not being a teacher was the fact that he didn't have papers to grade or tests to prepare. He knew how it bogged Tina down at times but he was glad that he didn't have that task to complete weekly.

Blaine settled into his favourite armchair with a book while he waited for the time to pass before meeting Mike and Tina.

He got so lost in the story that he didn't realise how much time had passed and he only had half an hour to get ready and get to the bar.

Blaine got changed, pulling on a nice, deep blue button down shirt. He slipped on his favourite pair of black jeans, figuring just because he was older it didn't mean he didn't want to feel good. He knew it was unlikely that he would meet someone at the bar they were going to (and Blaine wasn't one for one night stands either) but he figured it didn't hurt to at least browse while he was out.

He walked into the semi-crowded bar ten minutes late and joined Tina and Mike at a table, an apology already spilling from his mouth the moment he sat down.

Tina waved it off and Mike stood to get them all drinks.

"So, this place is new," Blaine said to Tina.

Tina smiled at him, curling her hand over the top of Blaine's briefly, a gesture which she had developed over the years to give Blaine comfort in new places. "It's a karaoke bar," she said.

Blaine glanced over to where she was looking and he saw a stage off to the side, people already crowding around it, obviously eager to have their turn in the spotlight, even for four minutes.

"I can't believe Mike let you bring him here," Blaine said, surprised.

"Not only that but I made him promise that he had to sing with me before the night was out," Tina replied, throwing Blaine a wink.

Blaine smiled at her and Mike returned with their drinks and sat down next to Tina again. Blaine gratefully took his drink and had a long sip as he glanced around the semi-crowded room. There were people of all ages milling about, chatting with friends or standing by themselves, their phones in hand.

Blaine watched as a group of girls giggled excitedly, clearly gushing about what song they were going to sing first. He smiled to himself as he set his drink back down on the table and wondered if Tina would try and convince him to sing as well.

"We should just stay here tonight," Tina said after the first group of girls had sung. "We can order fries and just skip our reservations because these girls are amazing and I want to hear more."

Blaine nodded his agreement; he was more than happy to stay and just watch the eager karaoke-goers sing their hearts out.

"I'll just call the restaurant," Mike said, standing to make the call.

Tina smiled up at him and then downed the rest of her drink.

"I'll go get more drinks," Blaine said, standing up.

"Just the same again for me, please," Tina replied with a nod. "Mike too."

Blaine made his way over to the bar and leaned against it, waiting for one of the bartenders to serve him.

Someone brushed against his side and immediately a bartender came to serve them. Blaine felt put out. He looked up, ready to place his order once the other person had finished when he caught a glance at the person's profile.

It was Kurt from Vogue and Blaine couldn't help but think how handsome he looked in the dull light of the bar.

"Sorry," Kurt said as he turned towards Blaine, a tray of drinks in hand. "Oh, hi!"

Blaine felt his stomach tighten a little at Kurt's beaming smile. "Hi," he returned, giving Kurt a smile of his own.

"I... I'll be right back!" Kurt said, quickly crossing the room.

Blaine looked up at the bartender that had served Kurt, his eyebrow raised in Blaine's direction. Blaine placed his order of drinks, getting two of everything and two large orders of fries because Tina would kill him without ordering those as well.

A few moments later, Kurt reappeared, putting the empty tray back on the bar top and giving Blaine another smile.

"I haven't seen you here before," Kurt said, leaning on his elbow on the bar, fixing Blaine with a stare.

"Oh, it's my first time," Blaine replied, trying not to glance too obviously at the way Kurt was standing. "I'm here with a couple of friends."

Blaine gestured to where Tina and Mike were sitting together closely. Even after all of these years being married, they were still as in love as ever. It made Blaine happy.

"Me too," Kurt said. "The devil in the red dress just getting on stage is one of my room-mates, Santana." Blaine glanced over at the stage, watching as a Kurt's friend made her way onto the stage. "She has an amazing voice."

Blaine agreed within the first three seconds of hearing her sing. She belted out an Adele song like Blaine had never heard before and it gave him tingles. She was good.

"Wow," Blaine said, stunned, as she sang. "She's amazing."

Kurt nodded, a proud look on his face. "Don't tell her that, though, she has a big enough head as it is."

Blaine smiled despite himself. "Compliments are good for the soul."

"Oh, Santana knows she's good," Kurt said. "We come here at least once a week and people actually put in requests for her to sing."

"I can see why," Blaine replied, watching as Santana finished up her song, "What about you, do you sing?"

Kurt smiled and nodded. "I do," he said. "Santana and I are going to sing together a little later on, if you're still going to be here?"

"I..." Blaine nodded, feeling his cheeks heat up a little. "Yeah, I'm definitely going to be here later."

"Good," Kurt replied. "I'll see you later, looks like your order is here."

Kurt nodded towards the tray of drinks and fries that was being slid across the bar to him. He smiled at Blaine once more before leaving and Blaine turned to give his thanks to the bartender, taking the tray back to his table of friends.

"Who's the cute guy you were talking to?" Tina asked immediately. Blaine should have known better than to assume she wouldn't have noticed them.

"Oh, that's just Kurt," Blaine explained. "He works at Vogue and was there the other week when Audrey had her photoshoot."

"Yum," Tina said, giving Blaine a wink.

Blaine shook his head, purposefully ignoring her to focus on another girl who had taken the spotlight on stage.

Blaine watched the person singing but eventually found his gaze wandering throughout the room. He stopped at Kurt, who was sitting at a table with four other girls and a guy. Kurt threw his head back, laughing at something, and Blaine swore that he could hear it from over the crowded, noisy room.

He wasn't sure what it was that kept drawing him to Kurt but Kurt was enticing. Blaine found himself wondering what it would be like to actually spend some quality time getting to know Kurt. He knew it was a silly, hopeful thought. He was a lot older than Kurt, at least twenty years. There was a slim to none chance that Kurt would want to get to know Blaine like Blaine wanted to get to know Kurt.

Blaine tore his gaze away from that side of the room and picked up a couple of fries instead, forcing himself to focus on the conversation that Tina and Mike were having about the current karaoke singer.

"We should sing, Blaine!" Tina said giddily a while later. She and Mike had already sung together.

"I..." Blaine paused, watching as Kurt got up on stage with Santana.

"Ohh, that's the guy from before!" Tina pointed out. "I wonder if he's any good?"

Yes, he was, Blaine decided the second Kurt started to sing. He had a voice of an angel. It was clich� of him to think so, but Blaine couldn't find another description that would adequately fit the sounds coming from Kurt's mouth.

Santana was amazing as well, singing beautifully. Blaine felt chills go up his spine when Kurt hit a particularly high note and he couldn't have stopped the shiver if he tried. He watched Kurt, completely taken in by his performance.

Once the song was over, the entire bar filled with applause. Kurt gave a little bow and took Santana's hand, leading her off the stage.

"I don't think we could top that," Blaine said hoarsely. He reached for his drink, downing the last of it in one shot. He licked his lips, getting rid of the last drops that clung to his lips and he tried to clear his thoughts, hearing the song repeating over and over in his mind.

"I'm sure we'll do fine," Tina said. "I'll go pick a song!"

Blaine shook his head but Tina was already off to choose their song and he smiled, turning to Mike. "It's going to be a pop song, isn't it?"

Mike just smiled. "You both do pop songs so well though."

"Ten dollars says it's Katy Perry."

"You're on."

Tina came back a moment later, taking Blaine's hand in her own and led him back to the stage.

"We're up next," Tina said. "I hope you're in the mood to bring the house down, Blaine."

Blaine didn't even mind when the song that Tina had chosen was Katy Perry's Last Friday Night because it had been one of his favourites when it came out. Tina and he had sung it together for the glee club kids once and they had responded positively, which had been a lot of fun.

Tina stepped up onto the stage and Blaine followed closely behind, getting himself ready for the first notes of the song.

It was like he was transported back to the choir room the second he opened his mouth to sing. The familiar feeling of losing himself in the song overcame him and Blaine sang his heart out, dancing around with Tina on the stage, earning them applause from the crowd at their actions.

As the song went on, Blaine's gaze found Kurt's and he smiled through the song to Kurt before turning back to Tina. They finished the song to a round to another round of applause and Blaine stepped off the stage. He glanced back over to Kurt's direction, seeing Kurt smiling at him.

Blaine smiled back, giving him a small wave in return, an elated feeling settling inside of him.

~*~