When Kurt returned to the apartment after kissing Blaine goodnight, Brittany was gone and Santana was sitting in front of the TV. On the street, a new relationship had formed, but in his apartment was the reminder that Blaine had almost run away because of Santana's behavior. Instead of cuddling up with her like he usually did on Saturday nights when they were both home to watch the Real Housewives marathon, Kurt stalked off toward his room until Santana turned her attention away from the screen.

"Are you going to watch this with me?" Santana asked from the couch, stopping Kurt in his tracks. He turned and looked at her, eyes wide, jaw hanging. Was she kidding?

"Are you really going to pretend like you didn't do anything wrong?" Kurt bellowed furiously as he crossed his arms across his chest, "At least I managed to convince him not to let you chase him away."

"What a pity," Santana said flatly.

If Kurt had been shocked by Santana's behavior before, he was completely flabbergasted now. He stood silent staring at her ready to burst.

"Oh, come on, Kurt. Are you honestly angry with me over that? You know I could have done a lot worse."

"Yes, I'm angry, "Kurt said bluntly, his hands gesturing in front of him to punctuate his point, "I invited Blaine here to have dinner, and not so you could make him feel uncomfortable."

"Well then maybe you should have asked me before you brought the guy that left your ass because you wouldn't sleep with him to the dinner where you were supposed to be meeting my girlfriend."

"Don't make yourself out to be the victim Santana. I understand your reservations about Blaine, I do. I understand them and I appreciate you looking out for me. But you can't act like that towards Blaine because you feel like you're protecting me and expecting me to be okay with it. I like him Santana."

"I don't understand why," Santana said, her voice rising, "You don't know anything about him."

"Neither do you," Kurt countered, "And isn't that the point of dating? To learn things about a person in the attempt to find someone to fall in love with?"

"He was too quiet."

"You scared the shit out of him with all those wild stories; most of which weren't even true."

"You're too good for him."

"That is my call to make Santana," Kurt said.

"Fine," Santana huffed turning back towards the TV, "I don't want to talk to you if you can't appreciate our friendship."

"You know, for someone who wants me to be happy, you sure don't know how to let me be happy."

Santana ignored him and Kurt rolled his eyes, because really? Was Santana really going to act like she was the victim when she'd clearly been the one who made Blaine so uncomfortable and had almost chased Blaine away from him? Apparently she was because Kurt stood stunned for long enough to realize that Santana wasn't going to apologize to anyone and she certainly wasn't going to pay any more attention to Kurt for the rest of the night. So Kurt disappeared into his bedroom for the rest of the night. Once alone, the anger he'd felt out in the living room with Santana became to dissipate. Because he and Blaine had agreed to be something more than friends, something slow, something that could grow. He'd been looking for something—for someone—that made him feel like this for so long. And there was no way that he was going to let Santana rain on his parade.

But when Kurt and Blaine met for a coffee date a few days later, the tension between Kurt and Santana was still thick.

"I never meant to cause any tension between the two of you," Blaine said apologetically as he handed the girl behind the counter his debit card, brushing away Kurt's extended hand that held a twenty dollar bill.

"No," Kurt said leading them to a vacant table, "You didn't do anything. She just likes to cause trouble, no matter how it makes other people, or me, feel. She's the only one who owes anyone an apology."

"I just don't want to be the thing that comes between your friendship," Blaine said with a sad smile that made Kurt's heart ache.

"You aren't, and you won't be," Kurt said reaching out and putting his hand over Blaine's, "We've done this before and I'm certain we will do it again. So please don't worry about this."

Blaine turned his hand where it sat underneath Kurt's warm touch so that he could lace their fingers together, "Okay."

Taking things slow with Blaine was nice. To an outsider, namely Kurt's hot tempered roommate, it seemed like they'd started off on the wrong foot; it was something Kurt had once thought himself. Santana seemed more concerned about the fact that Blaine had left after Kurt refused to sleep with him, than the fact that every moment before than had been absolutely perfect. So they started on the right foot, just at some point they'd stumbled. Their first date had been perfect with a not to so great ending. Kurt had held on to every word that Blaine had said; intrigued by everything that the boy was offering about himself, and his life. The places he'd been, the people he'd met. After a couple of weeks of dating the same warmth that had bubbled inside him that first night was still there every time Blaine took his hand.

Since his apartment was off limits while Santana was home, Kurt and Blaine alternated between spending evenings at Blaine's incredibly nice, well decorated apartment, and going out dancing. It was more fun than the traditional dinner and movie dates and Kurt had explained to Blaine that when he wasn't working, he tried not to spend too much time in restaurants. He wasn't opposed to going out and letting someone else do all the cooking and cleaning, but most of the time he found that it was much more fun to cook everything himself and Blaine was willing to accept that.

But Kurt quickly noticed that Blaine insisted on paying for everything. Maybe in his most vivid daydreams, Kurt once wished for a man that could take care of all his financial woes. He'd also expected that man to be George Clooney. Yes, Kurt was barely staying above water with his student loan payments and rent, but there was enough left over to treat his boyfriend to a night, or at least coffee, and not land him out on the street. But every time Kurt went to pay for anything: coffee, drinks, ice cream, Blaine would either pay the cashier before Kurt could get his money out or would insist that he pay himself. It was never an argument, in fact, sometimes it was almost flirtatious, but in the end not a dime came out of Kurt's pocket. And it was beginning to bother him. Kurt didn't want Blaine to think that he was expecting him to pay for everything, that he couldn't. The worst part was he wanted to talk to Santana about it. Maybe she could help him find a way to approach Blaine without causing a fight. But every time Kurt tried to talk to Santana she ignored him. So for the time being, Kurt resigned himself to keeping his mouth shut.

It was early on a Thursday and Kurt was running around frantically making sure everything was ready for his audition later that morning while running through his vocal warm-ups and his audition piece at a volume that wouldn't disturb the neighbors or Santana. He knew the odds of him actually landing the role were slim, but he had to go for it anyway. The more times he auditioned and they said no, the closer he was to the elusive yes that he was certain would come; hopefully sometime soon. There was a knock on the door and Kurt's brow creased in confusion. Santana, and he was pretty sure Brittany, were asleep in bed and Blaine had work in a little while, so who could be at his door? He put the script he'd been looking over down on the coffee table and walked over to the door. When he opened he found a delivery guy from the florist down street holding nothing but a clipboard.

"Kurt Hummel?" the man asked, looking bored.

"Yes."

"Sign here," the man said thrusting the clipboard with an invoice into Kurt's hands.

He didn't bother to read over any of the information before he scribbled his name down on the line marked with an X. For all he knew he had just signed away his soul to some cult, but he gave the clipboard back to the delivery guy who tucked it underneath his arm. The delivery guy then bent down, toward something out of Kurt's view. When he stood back up, there was a giant arrangement of red and yellow roses, two dozen of them, in a very decorative vase. The delivery guy thrust the vase into Kurt's arms and then took of down the hallway without a farewell, or a tip.

Confused, Kurt turned back into the apartment, the vase of roses held with both hands as he closed the door with his foot and brought the arrangement into the kitchen placing it on the kitchen table. Kurt grabbed the tiny envelope from the holder and opened it. He smiled as he read the tiny card inside. For a guy who said he was no good at romance, he sure was learning fast.

Knock 'em dead. –Blaine

Kurt smiled as he leaned in to take in their scent. They were lovely. When he glanced at the clock, he realized that he needed to get going or he'd be late. He'd text Blaine a thank you on the way.

Kurt could see it in their eyes before they even give him the "we'll be in touch" that he wasn't what they were looking for. He'd been expecting it, but it still stung the tiniest bit. But like with everything else he kept his head up and carried on with his life. He was a Hummel, and no one put the Hummels down. So he stopped to get lunch at the little caf� around the corner from his apartment determined to put the entire thing behind him. He sent a text to Blaine while he was waiting in line.

Santana's staying at Brittany's tonight. Dinner and trashy reality TV at my place?

Absolutely. How'd the audition go?

Well, I won't be quitting the restaurant any time soon.

:( Do you need anything?

Just you ;) And maybe the carton of mint chocolate chip that's in my freezer.

By the time Kurt and Blaine were sitting side by side on the couch, Kurt's head on Blaine's shoulder as they watched The Bachelor, Kurt had forgotten all about his audition, and was happy to revel in the fact that he had a tiny apartment that he loved, a best friend who he loved, even though she seemed to hate him at the moment, and a boyfriend he could rely on to be there when he wasn't having a good day.

During a commercial break, Kurt turned his head on Blaine's shoulder and looked up at Blaine's face. The lights from the TV flickered in Blaine's eye until he turned to look at Kurt, his whole face lighting up as their eyes met. It made Kurt's inside's sing.

"What?" Blaine said laughing.

"Thank you," Kurt said just above a whisper so that even though there was no one else in the apartment, only Blaine could hear.

"For what?"

"For coming over," Kurt explained, "For letting me just sulk a little about my audition and being with me while I was sulking."

"It was my pleasure," Blaine said leaning in to place a kiss to Kurt's forehead," those casting people don't know what they're missing."

Blaine was learning. For someone who'd never seen a functional relationship in his life, it surprised him when he could do something as simple as kiss Kurt on the forehead and have it feel like the most natural thing in the world. Being with Kurt, having a boyfriend was turning out to be a lot less of a challenge then he'd thought it would be. He thought that he would get stuck, not knowing how to act or how to care for Kurt the way Kurt cared for him. The kissing and the touching he could do, but Kurt was looking for something different, something more. Kurt was looking for a shoulder he could rest his head on and feelings and to be trusted in a way that Blaine wasn't sure he could give to another person. He didn't know how to trust Kurt completely. But he was sure he wanted to be with Kurt. He'd meant it that night; that he'd never been more sure of anything in his life. But that didn't mean that he wasn't absolutely terrified. He wanted to hold his hand while they walked down the street after a movie and to kiss him goodnight outside the apartment so they didn't have to deal with Santana's angry glare. He wanted to be everything that Kurt wanted him to be, and he hoped the smile on Kurt's face meant that he was doing a good job. He was happy Kurt seemed happy. Maybe everything was finally clicking into place.

But then his phone vibrated on the coffee table in front of them, interrupting the moment that Blaine wanted to get lost in forever and in turn causing the bubble that he'd formed around them to burst. Because the name on the display read Mom, but it meant so much more than that. Blaine eyed Kurt who had looked back at the television. He could take the call in front of Kurt, but that would be rude. He could excuse himself and take the call in the hallway. Or he could ignore the call completely. He was leaning toward the last option. He was having a nice night with Kurt; his mother had no place in any of it.

"You should answer that," Kurt said, "I don't mind."

And then the choice was made for him. He hesitantly reached for his phone and hit the green button to greet his mother.

"Hi, mom," Blaine said.

"Blaine, honey. I haven't heard from you in a few weeks. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, mom," Blaine said, his voice awkward and he could tell by the look on Kurt's face and the next words out of his mother's mouth that he wasn't going to be able to cover up, "Just busy with work."

"Is something wrong, Blaine? You sound like you're in pain. Are you at home?"

"I'm fine, mom. And no, I'm not at home."

"Where are you? Are you with Wesley?"

"No, I'm at a friend's house," Blaine said his eyes flicking to Kurt as the regret washed over him because he could see the confusion in his eyes.

"Who?" Blaine's mom asked making Blaine feel like he was seventeen again and he had to alert his parents of every move he made.

Blaine never wished that his mother wasn't his mother more than he did in that moment, "His name's Kurt, mom."

"Does he work with you?"

"No, mom. We met at, uh-we met at a restaurant."

"Oh," Blaine's mom responded, "Well-"

"Hey, mom I've got to go. It's rude to be on the phone."

"Oh, ok, Blaine. Please call me soon, I miss you."

"I miss you too, mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Blaine," his mom said, "I love you."

"Bye mom," Blaine said before hanging up the phone, holding it loosely in his hand as he looked at Kurt, "I'm sorry. That was—I should have taken that somewhere else."

"You—you haven't told you're parents about me?"

"Did you tell your parents about me?" Blaine asked avoiding Kurt's question with one of his own.

"My dad knew about you before we were even dating," Kurt explained.

"Great, so he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Kurt said before bringing them back to the conversation at hand, "Blaine, are you—are you—is there a reason you didn't tell you mom about me?"

"Yes," Blaine said, "But it has nothing to do with you, I swear."

"Because if you don't want

"Hey, no. You're wonderful, and I want this, I'll tell you every day if I have to," Blaine said reaching over and grabbing a hold of Kurt's hand, holding it tightly between his own, afraid that if Kurt broke the connection right now, Blaine might shatter into so many pieces, "But-But she can't be disappointed in something she doesn't know about."

"Disappointed," Kurt repeated bewildered, "I thought you said you came out to them."

"They know," Blaine explained, "I'm not sure that they accept or understand it. There were always certain expectations that needed to be met in the Anderson household. Get good grades, date a nice girl. My brother barely got through high school and dated most the cheerleading squad. I got straight A's but wasn't interested in girls. For a while I think they blamed themselves. What had they done so terribly wrong with me that they didn't do with Cooper? So they didn't—they don't—approve, but they never kicked me out or told me I was filthy, so I guess I got it better than a lot of kids. But it's just turned into one of those things that weren't talked about. So as much as I'd like to tell my mother about my amazing boyfriend who completely threw my world off its axil, I can't."

Kurt smiled at Blaine for two reasons. The first was because Kurt needed to offer Blaine support. He knew that everyone wasn't lucky enough to have Burt Hummel as their father. Kurt knew his father's acceptance was a rare thing and it was clear that Blaine was missing that from his parents. He didn't even feel comfortable telling his parents that he was in a relationship because he knew the discontent it would cause for his family. He hated that Blaine had to go through that, and on some level he understood why Blaine chose to part of his life in secret. But Kurt had also smiled because it was the first time that Blaine had opened up to him like that. Kurt knew a lot about what Blaine had done with his life, sports, college, work, but he'd never before gotten this kind of glimpse into the things that made Blaine who he was; the things that explained the apprehension that Blaine had about relationships. It wasn't everything, Kurt knew that, but it was a start. And Kurt knew that if Blaine continued to be this open with him, nothing else mattered, and they'd be just fine.