Dinner time in the Hudson-Hummel household was considered sacred by the family members. Not that Kurt would have ever used that term, but in essence it was. It was over shared meal times that the two households really became one.

There were plans made, arguments fought, tears shed, along with silly jokes and all of it added up to the messy unpredictable experiences that spawns a devoted family. At some point the evening meal became a time when everyone openly shared and ultimately demonstrated their passionate acceptance of one another. Even if an occasional food fight broke out.

And because they were learning to open their arms to each other, they could open their arms to 'chosen' family as well. It wasn't all wine and roses, but Blaine was earning his way into all of their hearts, not just Kurt's.

Burt was currently struggling to adjust to his son's deepening relationship with Blaine. He had watched as his son went through many changes over their years together and the last few years had been particularly challenging. He wanted Kurt to be happy; he wanted him to love and be loved. And while Burt had intellectually understood for years that his son was gay, there was something frightening about watching Kurt fall in love in the last few months. And more so, fall in love with someone who was doing his level best to love Kurt back.

Burt wasn't happy with himself for feeling resentful, almost jealous, of Blaine. It was really kind of weird, as if Blaine was competition, and Kurt no longer needed Burt as much.

If Burt ever would ever utter as much to Kurt, Kurt would quickly reassure him that such was not the case. Father – boyfriend, two very different animals.

Once in a while Burt had wondered what kind of guy would be attractive to his son. Would he pick out someone who was like his father? Just the opposite? Or was this just too damn weird to be thinking about?

Kurt had had crushes, impossible crushes. That Burt knew. What did it mean that Kurt fell for the first gay guy his age that he ever met? Burt had to wonder what would happen as Kurt got out into the world and met other gay men. He didn't know if Blaine would continue to have the same appeal. And then he felt a little guilty for thinking about that, too.

Burt tried to watch himself and not let his mixed feelings color his behavior. The last thing he wanted to do was push Kurt away or hurt him.

So when Burt came home from work and deduced that Kurt and his boyfriend toweling off at the same time meant at the very least they had shared the same shower, and god knows what else prior to that, he had to have a stern talk—with himself. Then figure out what more he should do, if anything. But, first things first. Burt had gone to the refrigerator for a beer.

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Blaine and Burt prepared the grill and set the table on the deck while Carole and Kurt worked in the kitchen.

"How are things going for you at Six Flags?" Burt wanted to know.

"Okay, I guess," Blaine shrugged. "My parents weren't wild about the distance I'd have to drive and I'm beginning to understand why now that I have to commute four or five times a week. But the pay is decent and it's good experience. I'll stick with it until Labor day if I can."

"We haven't talked much about your parents…and I don't mean to pry, but I guess I'm curious. How do they feel about you having a boyfriend? That is assuming they know." Burt took a big gulp of his beer. How they could not know with Blaine spending so much time here?

"Oh, they know. My mom is good with it; she thinks Kurt is cute and she loves his voice." Blaine lit up with pride.

"Kurt hasn't said anything about meeting your parents."

"That's because they have not formally met yet. But mom saw a YouTube video the Warblers put up of Kurt and I singing a duet at Regionals, and she has seen the pictures of Kurt on my phone."

"And your dad?" Burt had a very clear recollection of the way Blaine talked about his father that day in the shop.

Blaine's eyes dropped. "Dad is dad. He's not really mean about it, but he doesn't want to know about it either. He makes me feel almost like I'm being mean to him if I talk about Kurt." He looked back up at Burt, his expression earnest. "I really want him to meet Kurt, because I think he would like Kurt-who wouldn't? But I'm not sure I want to put dad or Kurt through all that. Mom is trying to work her magic, but it has been slow going," Blaine sighed.

"So, no sex talks with your dad then? I mean, now that he knows you have a boyfriend."

Blaine's face reddened, but he kept his eyes on Burt's. He realized Burt's face was also rather flushed. Okay, so this was not what Blaine expected, but when he opened the door to Burt's shop a while back he had opened the door on this topic, hadn't he?

Blaine remembered the box of Trojans that had simply appeared on his dresser the weekend of Kurt's prom. He just shook his head, no.

Burt glanced in the kitchen window to see both Kurt and Carole standing at the counter talking animatedly.

"Blaine, did you ever tell Kurt that you stopped by the shop that day? That you and I had a talk about him?"

"Yeah, I told him a while ago. And he said you and he did talk about sex…and um, relationships."

Blaine took a deep breath and launched into something that had obviously bothered him for a while.

"Burt, it was important at the time, but I feel kind of embarrassed about it now, embarrassed about talking to you at work, I mean. I honestly was not thinking about Kurt in a sexual way when I came by the shop." Blaine's face was heating up again. "At least not that I realized at the time. But I can be kind of clueless… no, I can be really clueless, when it comes to my own feelings."

Burt smiled. He could recall his distraught son announcing, "It's Blaine. He's interested in Rachel!"

"Kurt's been asking me when I knew I had feelings for him… I mean, I did absolutely fall for him when he sang 'Blackbird' the day that Pavarotti died. At least that is when it all came crashing in on me."

Blaine shook his head in wonder and almost whispered, "I felt like Kurt woke me up that day and I'll never be the same again." He glanced shyly over at Burt then ducked his head; he was not sure he should have said that.

Burt felt quick hot tears in his eyes. The boy is smitten. He did not trust his voice, so he just softly touched Blaine on the shoulder.

"But sometimes when I think back, I know there were all kinds of signals that I missed or ignored, or times I was just too scared to deal with my feelings for Kurt. We have talked over a lot of things in the past few weeks, trying to understand what was happening with each other."

"So, the bottom line is I needed to tell him that I went to you because I do not want to keep secrets from my boyfriend, you know?" Blaine finally took a breath. "I guess he has not told you that he knows I came to see you?"

Burt shook his head. "Not yet. And I can't imagine he was too happy about you and I chatting behind his back, but maybe he'll let me off easy on this one."

Ouch. Blaine, too, had been on the receiving end of Kurt's bitchiness from time to time. And he had to grin because he knew exactly what Burt meant.

The sliding glass door rolled open and out stepped Kurt with everything that was going onto the grill closely followed by Carole balancing a big tossed salad and a pitcher of iced tea. Within fifteen minutes they were sitting down to dinner.

"Where's Finn?" Blaine was the first to ask.

"He's spending the evening with Puck," said Carole passing the bowl of salad.

"I hope there's a designated driver," offered Kurt.

"It had better be Finn," growled Burt.

"They are probably just playing video games." Okay, so Blaine was definitely going to play the role of peacemaker.

"So, how was work, boys?" Carole changed the subject. "What's new at the shop?"

Burt launched into a tirade about a messed up delivery of tires, and Kurt told a funny story about a confused customer that had come in that morning. Then Burt remembered something that he had wanted to tell Kurt.

"Paul Karofsky came in this afternoon for an estimate on some work on his Buick. I hadn't seen him since that day we were all in the principal's office before you went back to McKinley." Kurt looked up from his salad with interest.

"He asked about you. He heard that you were elected prom queen." One glance at Kurt told him that this was not anything his son wished to dwell on over dinner, but Burt persisted. "I think he was worried that Dave might have had something to do with it. Or that we might think that."

Burt paused. "I know this whole prom queen thing is a difficult topic, but we are all family here, right?" His eyes swept over everyone at the table.

Kurt and Carole nodded. Blaine tilted his head and a small smile crept onto his face.

Burt peered directly at his son. "Do you think Dave was behind you getting elected junior prom queen?"

Kurt and Blaine frowned at each other, completely baffled. It had never occurred to either one of them.

The boys had eventually talked over the details of that painful night with Burt and Carole. There had been very little mention of Karofsky, other than he had been elected King, and left the gym rather than dance with Kurt. No one really faulted him for his exit, not even Kurt. That might have been the time to bring up Dave's confusion over his sexual orientation to Burt and Carole, but Kurt didn't say anything, and Blaine followed his lead.

"No, dad, I don't think that at all." Kurt evenly replied. "You remember that Dave and one of my friends from glee club were running for prom king and queen, right? Well, Dave wouldn't have done anything to mess that up. He worked hard to get votes for Santana, not me."

Burt nodded thoughtfully and waved off a fly that threatened to settle on his plate. "That makes sense, son. Well, anyway, Paul will be back sometime tomorrow morning to drop off his car, so if he says anything to you, you won't be caught off guard."

"Okay, thanks dad. Dad? Did he say how Dave is doing?" The question was out before Kurt thought about how it would sound.

"No, and I didn't ask. Why, what is going on?"

"Oh, I don't know if anything is really going on." Kurt got busy cutting a piece of meat. "I was just curious about what Dave is doing this summer, I guess."

But Blaine could see Kurt's eyes sparkling and knew he was already plotting. Once Kurt got something in his head he would not let it rest.

The conversation moved from work to a number of other topics as they enjoyed each other's company and the coolness of the evening.

Finally Blaine elbowed Kurt.

"Hey, eat your dinner. I got your dad's permission to take you out for a yogurt ice cream cone," Blaine winked at Burt and Carole, "as long as we don't go parking on Lovers' Lane."

Kurt blushed. "Blaine, you are such a dork."

But he dug into the salad and grilled chicken on his plate and finished it in no time.

And later, Burt wondered out loud to Carole how Blaine, who had never lived in Lima, could possibly know about Lover's Lane. Carole just laughed.

-To Be Continued-