"I feel so guilty, though," Kurt said as he tucked his legs underneath himself as he got comfortable on his bed, his phone pressed against his ear.

"Kurt," Tobias started, his voice light. "You didn't even kiss the guy, it's okay."

Kurt hummed, fiddling with the edge of the decorative cushion that was sitting in his lap. A part of him knew that Tobias was right – that almost kissing a guy at the masquerade party was nothing to really fret about. It was just since he realised he was probably, most likely, almost sure that he was developing feelings for Mr Anderson (Blaine, his mind supplied), he felt like he was doing something wrong by almost kissing someone else. It was utterly ridiculous, he knew that but there was this spark between both himself and Blaine and himself and the white suit wearing angel from the masquerade ball the previous weekend.

"Well, I'm pretty sure my lip touched his..." Kurt muttered. "Shh, I know what you're going to say."

Tobias chuckled in his ear and Kurt wished that he was there with him so Tobias could give him a hug and tell him that it would all be okay. He missed having a guy to talk to with things about in person. Tobias was great to talk to over the phone but he was much better to talk with in person.

"Look, I just think it's great you've finally admitted that you like this Blaine guy," Tobias continued. "He's the first guy you've had... feelings for since me, isn't he?"

Kurt hummed his confirmation. "I don't even think he knows I exist. Not really. We've only spoken to each other a few times and most of them were awkward conversations or hurried conversations at a bar or me spilling my coffee on him..."

"Kurt, a guy would have to be blind not to know that you exist," Tobias said. "Besides, I am pretty sure he was looking at you the way you were looking at him."

"Liar," Kurt said fondly, smiling, even though he knew Tobias couldn't see him. "Thanks for listening to me."

"Any time, you know that," Tobias said. "Ask him out, Kurt. The worst that could happen is that he says no."

"That's not the worst thing that could happen, you know that," Kurt replied.

Tobias sighed. "You're a hard man to please, Hummel."

"Says you," Kurt teased.

"I have to go now, we have a sound check to finish before the gig tonight," Tobias said. "Call me, okay? I want to know if you get the courage up to talk to him."

"I will," Kurt replied. "Have a good night."

They said their good byes and hung up. Kurt stared at his phone for a few moments before leaning over to his bedside table to set it down.

Tobias was right, he knew it. It was just a scary thing to admit that he might be developing feelings for someone, especially someone who was so much older than he was. Kurt didn't mind the age difference at all. Or he wouldn't if he and Blaine actually became a couple. He wasn't sure that it would even happen – Blaine's attention could have been him just being nice for all he knew.

He needed a plan to figure it all out. He needed to talk to Blaine in a neutral setting, hopefully with nothing to interrupt them.

With that in mind, Kurt tried to formulate a plan to put into action to see Blaine so he could figure out if there were any romantic feelings for him on Blaine's behalf as well.

Kurt opened his schedule on his phone and scrolled through it, trying to find something that would help him decide what to do if he saw Blaine again. His gaze dropped to his after work yoga class and he remembered Blaine saying he taught a Tai Chi class. He bit his lip as his thumb hovered over the screen on his phone. Just do it, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Tobias said in his mind.

He pressed his thumb to the screen and created a new entry. Tai Chi – 6 pm.

With that set in his phone, Kurt tried to think of what he would say when face to face with Blaine. He wasn't sure if straight out asking him out would be a good idea, so he figured he'd see if Blaine would join him for coffee.

Kurt set the cushion in his lap aside and got off his bed. He glanced at his alarm clock on his bedside table and decided that a hot drink would be perfect.

There was no one else at home, so Kurt slipped his boots and coat on and headed out of the apartment for the coffee house that he frequented. It was close to the apartment. The evening air was a little chilly as Kurt walked. The wind nipped at his cheeks a little and he immediately regretted not wearing a scarf. He usually never left the apartment without one the moment the weather turned cooler but he had completely forgotten.

He reached the coffee house a few moments later and pushed the door open to go inside. He was immediately hit with a warm blast of air and his senses were filled with the smell of coffee, strong and a little spicy. He stood back a little, looking up at the printed coffee menus, wondering if this was a good night to try something different.

Once he settled on a drink, he placed his order and went to the other end of the counter to wait for it.

The bell above the door jingled every time a new customer came or left the shop and Kurt momentarily wondered if that ever got annoying or not.

A moment later, Kurt felt someone step close to him as they waited for their order and on instinct, he turned to look. He immediately recognised Blaine and his heart began to thud in his chest.

This was it. He could ask Blaine to join him for coffee and they could talk and he could find out if Blaine would ever be interested in him at all. It was a good plan, he thought.

"Kurt?"

Kurt turned to face Blaine a little more. "Mr Anderson, hi," he said easily, mentally wondering if he should be using 'Mr Anderson' or just 'Blaine' to address him.

"How are you?" Blaine asked, smiling.

"I'm good–"

"Order for Kurt!" a barista called out, despite the fact that the line was short.

"That's me," Kurt said, giving the barista his attention as he took his to go cup of coffee. He turned back to Blaine and mustered up as much courage as he could find within himself. "Are... Would you like to join me?"

Blaine grinned. "I'd love to," he replied.

Kurt couldn't help but smile back. "Okay," he said, talking a sip of his coffee and sighing when its warmth filled him.

Blaine's order got called out and he took the cup, along with two packets of sugar and a stirring stick, and the three biscotti he ordered. Kurt led them to a small table with two chairs and was about to set his coffee down when Blaine spoke.

"We should sit on a couch – much more comfortable."

Kurt nodded, not trusting his voice to produce actual words right then. He followed Blaine towards the back where there were many empty two-seater couches. Blaine set his plate and coffee on the table in front of the couch and sat down. Kurt couldn't help but watch Blaine stir in the sugar and then lick the wooden stirring stick before setting it aside.

"Biscotti?" Blaine offered, pushing the plate towards Kurt.

"Oh," Kurt replied. "Thank you."

He reached over and took one of the chocolate topped biscotti and carefully broke off a piece to eat, gently setting the rest on a napkin.

He was about to say something to Blaine but hesitated, not quite sure what to say. Blaine had the lid off his coffee as well and was dipping his biscotti into it before quickly putting the softened treat into his mouth and taking a large bite. Kurt was entranced by Blaine's mouth, watching as his tongue darted out and licked at the stray crumbs that had fallen onto his lips. He knew he was staring but he couldn't stop even if he had wanted to.

"Sorry," Blaine said, wiping at his mouth with a napkin. "Old habits die hard."

"No, no, you're fine," Kurt replied, tearing his gaze away so he could focus on finding his own cup, afraid he'd knock it over if he stared at Blaine for too much longer.

Blaine turned his whole body to face Kurt and he crossed one leg over the other, which made Kurt smile. "How have you been?" he asked.

Kurt smiled at the easiness of the conversation and he started off lightly, talking with Blaine about working at Vogue and how he was getting more fashion responsibilities – which he loved.

When Blaine started talking about his own life, Kurt was entranced. He felt like he could listen to Blaine all day long. His voice was like music to Kurt's ears and he didn't ever want to stop listening to him.

Kurt shifted to pick up his cup again while Blaine spoke and realised that it was empty. He gave it a frown, wondering when he had finished it and set it back down on the table again.

"Would you like me to buy you another drink?" Blaine asked a moment later.

Kurt looked up. "I'd love one," he replied. "Maybe not coffee this time, though, I don't want to be awake all night."

Blaine smiled softly at him. "How about a hot chocolate instead?"

"I'd love that, thank you," Kurt replied.

Blaine got up off the couch and headed back to the counter to order their drinks.

Kurt was definitely not watching the way Blaine's jeans clung to his butt as he walked away. Not at all.

Well, maybe a little bit.

~*~

It wasn't often that Blaine felt giddy. He was forty-three years old, it wasn't really becoming of him to be giddy. Especially over a possible, maybe crush.

The elation he was experiencing with Kurt was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time, despite the countless attempts of his friends and family to set him up with a random guy or two. With Kurt, things just felt like they were slipping into place. They could talk easily about anything and Blaine felt so connected to him despite only really knowing him for a short while.

There were things Blaine could picture himself doing with Kurt that he never thought he would ever picture himself doing after his break up with Dale. Kurt's easy, adorable smile and his infectious personality had entranced Blaine completely.

He glanced back over at Kurt, who was still sitting on the couch that Blaine had just vacated to get each of them another drink and he couldn't help but picture them doing this every day. Well, almost every day. More frequently than he currently was, at least.

He stepped up to the counter when his name was called to collect their order and he carefully carried the two mugs and the new plate of biscotti back to the couches. Kurt looked up when Blaine approached and he smiled as he said thank you.

"I got more biscotti," Blaine said, pushing the plate towards Kurt.

"Thank you," Kurt replied as he reached for a piece.

Blaine took a moment to just watch Kurt as he broke off a piece of one of the biscotti and popped it into his mouth. Blaine shook his head and tore his gaze away so he could focus on adding the sugars to his own hot chocolate, stirring it in with the little wooden stick.

"Am I allowed to ask how Hayley is?" Kurt asked.

Blaine set the stick aside and glanced up at him. "In general, she's fine, but anything other than that, I'm now allowed to say," he replied.

Kurt nodded. "I understand," he replied. "She's a good kid."

"She is," Blaine agreed. "So, you know her brother?" he asked, wondering just how close Kurt was to Hayley's brother.

That afternoon when Kurt and Tobias had picked Hayley up from school after her fight, he had overheard Hayley asking if Kurt and Tobias were getting back together. He hadn't heard anything else from that conversation as they had walked out of earshot. He had tried not to think about it too much; he had no right to be wondering about Kurt's private life at all. He was his own person and even though Blaine had the beginnings of a crush on him, he had no claim to need to know anything about Kurt.

It hadn't stopped him wondering what had happened, either previously or in present tense, between Tobias and Kurt. Tobias was quite a good looking guy, and Blaine was sure he had seen him somewhere before but New York was a big place, he could have seen thousands of guys that looked just like Tobias walking around the streets, or on the subway.

He had tried not to think about the fact that he had seen Tobias kiss Kurt so openly and so lovingly in public just before he was about to teach his Tai Chi class. Clearly they were together, and while Blaine was a little jealous, there was nothing that he could do about it. That had been one hell of a kiss and Blaine hadn't wanted to stick around to witness any other public displays of affection.

He had felt foolish, leaving so quickly and not even saying good bye but he had reasoned with himself that he would have been late to his own class if he hadn't left right then when he did.

"I do," Kurt replied. "We've known each other for a while, he's in a band, and we used to date."

"Oh."

Blaine paused. That certainly cleared up his curiosity.

"We broke up before he went on tour the first time," Kurt continued. "That was actually the first time in a year that I had seen him."

"Hayley said he's gone away again?"

Kurt nodded, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "He was only in town for a week – he's still on tour at the moment. The band is doing really well but it was nice to see an old friend."

Blaine smiled; that he could definitely relate to.

"Enough about that though," Kurt continued. "The last thing I want to do is bore you with tales of my ex-boyfriend."

"Better than me talking about mine," Blaine commented.

Kurt paused for a moment before tilting his head a little. "We can talk about it, if you'd like?"

Blaine shook his head. "Not today," he replied. "It's a fifteen year long story, and I've used up enough of your time tonight as it is."

"You haven't," Kurt said. "I've enjoyed myself."

Blaine glanced over at Kurt again and saw a look cross his face that he hadn't seen in a long time. It was gone before Blaine could process what it was. "Well, the short version is that I was with a guy for fifteen years and I found him in our bed with another guy he had picked up on one of his trips overseas."

Kurt gasped. "Oh, Blaine, I'm so sorry," he said.

The warm hand on his shoulder was unexpected but Blaine just shook his head. He had moved passed it a long time ago.

"It's been almost four years now," Blaine replied. "It hurt like hell at the time but I'm a lot happier now. Dale is too."

Kurt gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm glad you're happier now, though."

"Me too," Blaine agreed.

Kurt picked up his drink again and took a sip and Blaine copied him, taking a long sip of his hot chocolate, letting its warmth fill him.

The more he got to know Kurt, Blaine realised he wanted to spend more time with him. Kurt was like no one else that Blaine had ever met. He was a beacon of light in the somewhat dull horizon of Blaine's world lately. Sure, he still had work and friends but lately, he had been missing the companionship of a person he could spend his time with, wake up next to and just be with.

A large part of him hoped that Kurt would be that person.

"So, how did you get into being a counsellor?" Kurt asked as he set his paper cup back down on the coffee table.

Blaine settled back into the couch again as he gave Kurt the post-Dale version of how he became a school counsellor and briefly glossed over the fact that he wasn't happy with his previous job. He wasn't sure what made him keep the fact that he used to be a lawyer out of the conversation but in the past when he had brought it up with people, they had mostly had negative reactions to it, so he figured it was safer not to even bother. He understood that not many people understood exactly what lawyers did and that it was boring to them and he knew how tedious the topic could be. Plus, he felt like it would be awkward to explain to a guy that he was slowly becoming friends with that he had quit his extremely stable, family job at a law firm to be a high school counsellor.

"I think more schools could use someone like you," Kurt said after Blaine had finished talking. "I know that I could have used someone like you when I was in high school. Someone who cared, who actually gave a damn and paid attention, not just glossed over the things that were happening right in front of their faces."

Kurt stopped abruptly and Blaine could feel that there was more to that story than Kurt was letting on but he didn't want to push it. Kurt wasn't one of his students seeking help, he was a grown man and if he wanted to talk, Blaine would listen. He just didn't want to push Kurt into telling him the story.

"I wish we were mandatory for every school," Blaine replied. "There are so many students that I have helped and that still come to see me, even though they're doing better in their home and school lives, but there are so many more that could be helped across the country. Or the entire world, really."

It was something Blaine had brought up with Tina many, many times, and she agreed with him, but unless there were people to fill the role, things like mandatory school counsellors just weren't going to happen, much to Blaine's dismay.

"Maybe one day," Kurt said wistfully.

Blaine nodded his agreement and finished the rest of his drink off, despite the fact that it was almost cold and tasted a little weird in his mouth.

Kurt shifted in his spot and glanced down at his phone. "Shoot," he muttered. "I'd better go, I didn't realise how late it was already."

Blaine lifted his wrist to look at his watch and realised that it was nearing ten pm. He wasn't entirely sure how they had managed to spend three hours together talking. "Sorry for keeping you so long."

"It's not your fault," Kurt replied. "I lost track of time, not you." He stood and grabbed his coat from over the arm of the chair and slipped it on.

Blaine stood as well, putting his own on and buttoning it up. He slipped his scarf on next, knowing how cold it would be outside this late. He had just fastened it securely around his neck when Kurt had finished buttoning his coat.

They both left a tip for the wait staff and Blaine let Kurt lead the way out of the shop, into the New York night air.

"Oh, wow, it's cold," Kurt commented when they had exited the warmth of the coffee shop. He shivered a little and Blaine tried not to think it was adorable the way he did so. "Thanks again for keeping me company tonight."

"It was my pleasure," Blaine replied honestly. He saw Kurt shiver again and he unfastened the scarf from around his neck. "Here."

Kurt glanced at him and shook his head. "No, I couldn't."

"I'm offering," Blaine said with a smile. "I don't live too far from here, I'll be fine. Plus, my coat looks a lot thicker than yours."

"The price of fashion," Kurt commented.

Blaine stepped closer and lifted the scarf just enough so that Kurt would understand what he was doing. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was too weird but stamped that notion down. He slipped the scarf around Kurt's neck and gently pulled at the ends until it was snug, but not too tight, around Kurt's neck.

"There," Blaine said softly. "Now you won't catch a cold."

Kurt's lips parted and Blaine felt his gaze stay on them for a good three seconds before Kurt spoke. "Thank you," he breathed.

Blaine nodded and gently brushed his hand down Kurt's arm. "Have a good night, Kurt."

Blaine's gaze lingered on Kurt for a few moments later as Kurt returned the sentiment and he forced himself to turn and walk in the direction of his apartment before he did something stupid like run back and kiss Kurt as desperately as he wanted to.