"Blaine, we're worried about you," David said on Monday when he, Wes, Nick and Jeff gathered around Blaine's desk at the office. Their boss, Mr. Figgins, was gone on a business lunch and they weren't expecting him back for a few hours. It was have been intimidating had he not gone through college with both Wes and David and had met both Nick and Jeff when he joined the company a few years back and had grown pretty close to them all, "You haven't been out with us in weeks."

That was true. He hadn't been out with the guys in a while because he was spending most of his time with Kurt. But none of the guys knew that because he hadn't told any of them about Kurt save for a brief mention to Wes, because he wanted to keep Kurt to himself. These guys knew that he hadn't ever been a relationship kind of guy. But now the idea of going to a bar and drinking beer while he watched everyone else trying to pick up girls didn't sounds as appealing as cuddling up on Kurt's couch watching TV and just being together.

"I've been busy," Blaine lied.

"Doing what?" David asked.

"Does this have anything to do with, oh what was his name? Kurt?" Wes interjected.

"Who's Kurt?" Jeff asked.

"Blaine's not just once boy toy," Wes explained.

"Boyfriend," Blaine corrected with a surge of something, happiness, pride, a delicious mixture of the two, "He-He's my boyfriend."

"You're what?" Nick said flabbergasted, "Someone made Blaine Anderson make a commitment."

"This is exactly why I didn't tell any of you," Blaine said

"The sex must be phenomenal if he's got you coming back regularly," Wes joked.

"Oh my—can you please not talk about him like that?" Blaine begged.

"Do you have pictures? Is he on Facebook? Can I stalk him?" Nick asked pulling out his phone.

"What? No. Guys, really, If you stop for two seconds I'll tell you what you need to know," Blaine said.

All four men immediately closed their mouths, their eyes on Blaine burning holes of anticipation into Blaine's skin.

"His name is Kurt. We met at Minetta Tavern where he's a waiter. He lives with his crazy lesbian best friend who hates me and isn't talking to him because we're together. We haven't had sex yet and if even if we had, I'm not telling any of you anything. This isn't like the other guys. Kurt is special," Blaine said with a smile that he couldn't have fought if he tried.

"Holy crap, Blainers is in love," David said.

"I am not," Blaine said his eyes widening a bit in panic, "We've only been together like a month."

"Which for you is thirty days longer than normal," David said, "And if he got you to commit and he's not putting out I need to meet this man. I think he's God."

"You guys—"

"Anderson!" a voice boomed startling all five men to turn quickly to see their boss, Mr. Figgins, walking briskly through the door and in the direction of his office, "My office. Now!"

Suddenly Blaine would've given anything to have the boys continue to tease him about Kurt. But as Wes, David, Nick and Jeff silently went back to their desks, he knew the fun was over. He took a deep breath, trying to rack his brain for any reason that he could be in trouble, but couldn't come up with a single one. So he got up, heart beating furiously in his chest, and walked past the desks where Nick and David sat, their backs toward him, offering no support. As he hesitantly approached the threshold of Mr. Figgin's office, he took a deep breath and stood in the doorway waiting for Mr. Figgins to look up from the papers on his desk that he was scribbling furiously on.

"Get in here Anderson. And close the door," Mr. Figgins said without looking up.

Blaine did was he was told, feeling like a child about to be reprimanded by their parent or teacher, though he was almost certain that he'd done nothing wrong. He performed well and had gained three clients in the last month since the Mr. Dawson disaster, which he knew was more than he could say for all four of his friends.

"Sit down," Mr. Figgins said, again without looking up from his paperwork.

Blaine sat down in the nice chairs that Mr. Figgins kept across from his desk and his eyes focused on his hands that were clasped together in front of his on his lap. After a few more minutes of silence and scribbling, Mr. Figgins finally looked up at Blaine and when Blaine's eyes met his, he was relieved to not find any anger in his grey eyes.

"Anderson, I just got back from a very important meeting with the head of Cohen-Chang Pharmaceutical Partners and I think we've got a great opportunity. I need you to push CCPP to all your clients and make this mandatory with any new ones you get. I'm putting you in charge of making this happen for us. Which means making sure your little gang out there knows that this is important. If this goes well, this could mean good things for everyone in this building, especially you. We could be looking to move someone up once this really takes off."

Blaine nodded because this was what he'd been hoping for for the last six months. The opportunity to take himself to the next level and it was literally being handed to him as Mr. Figgins handed him a stack of information about CCPP across the desk and into Blaine's hands. And when he left the office and returned to his desk, he was buzzing with excitement. This was his chance and there was no way he was going to let it slip away.

Kurt was immersed in the latest issues of Vogue when his phone buzzed beside him on the couch. The apartment was empty since Santana was spending the night at Brittany's and Blaine had plans with some people from work. Kurt loved Santana and he was completely infatuated with Blaine, but it was nice to have some time to himself. Which was why he was slightly annoyed that his phone was ringing. But when Kurt looked and saw that it was Finn, he smiled slightly before answering the phone. It had been a while since he'd spoken to his brother.

"Little bro," Finn said on the other hand before Kurt could even manage to say hello.

"Finn," Kurt said, "It's good to hear

"Yeah, man, you too. I heard you've got a boyfriend now," Finn said, "Congratulations, dude."

Kurt never understood why people congratulated others for finding significant others. Were people that convinced that there was no one out there that could find both his body and his mind attractive for more than a night, that the fact that they were wrong warranted a celebration? But he held his tongue because he knew there was no use in explain the error in Finn's thinking. Especially after Finn moved on to talk about his new girlfriend, Rebecca, and how she was a preschool teacher and had moved to Lima to be close to her elderly aunt. And then Kurt did something that shocked both of them.

"Finn, can I ask you something?" Kurt asked turning to Finn for advice for probably the first time in his life.

"Uh, sure," Finn said hesitantly, and Kurt knew that he was just bewildered by Kurt's request as Kurt was.

This was a last resort. He didn't want to bother his dad with guy problems, and Carole would likely tell Burt if Kurt were to turn to her. And with Santana out of the question, Finn was the only other person Kurt could go to for things like this.

"Finn, do you let Rebecca pay for things?"

"Like—"

"Like, when you go out to dinner, or to a movie, or whatever it is that you do. Do you let her pay for things or do you insist on paying for everything?"

Once Kurt finally heard himself ask the question out loud, he realized how absolutely ridiculous it sounded. There were a thousand different things that could complicate a relationship, but Kurt was focused something so petty. Their relationship was new, but he knew that he and Blaine were on the same page in terms of where their feelings were, so why couldn't he let that be enough?

"I don't think it's like a conscious decision or whatever," Finn answered, "I just pay."

"But why?" Kurt asked him.

"I dunno," Finn responded, "I guess cause the dude is always supposed to pay."

And then Kurt realized exactly why Blaine paying for everything was bothering him so much: because it made them unequal. It made Blaine the supporter and Kurt the equivalent of a housewife. It wasn't like that and he certainly didn't want it to be like that. He didn't want Blaine to see him as someone who needed to be taken care of, financially or otherwise. He had plans to make a name for himself; to be completely self-sufficient. And maybe sometimes his dad would still have to transfer a little money over to pay rent, but supporting his financially wasn't Blaine's job and their relationship would surely tank if Blaine continued to feel the need to take care of Kurt.

"Kurt, bro, you still there," Finn said pulling Kurt from his thoughts.

"Hey, Finn? Can I call you back tomorrow? There's, uh, something I've got to do."

"Yeah, man," Finn said, "It was good catching up."

"Yeah, it was. I'll talk to you soon."

"Later."

Kurt hung up the phone with the beginnings of a plan beginning to form in his head. He'd promised Blaine he was going to show him what relationships were all about, and he knew just the way to show him how this one was going to work.

Everything was set for Friday night. Kurt had the entire day off of work, Santana was going to be at work all night and Kurt had even called Brittany and had her invite Santana to spend the time over at her place, which Santana thankfully accepted. With the entire day to execute his plan he spent the morning doing to things. The first thing he did when he woke up was clean the apartment. It reminded him of the way Santana cleaned up before their dinner the night he had met Brittany. Everything had to be perfect and in the right place. Once everything was spectacularly clean, Kurt showered and then spent the early part of the afternoon trying to figure out what to wear. When he finally decided on a pair of dark jeans, a white button down and his grey collar vest. All the while he and Blaine, who was stuck in meetings most of the day, were texting, Blaine sneaking in little replies and calling Kurt on his lunch break.

"It's just a long and exhausting day," Blaine had said.

"Are you sure you still want to come over tonight?" Kurt had asked, hopeful that Blaine would still want to come over, but understanding if he wanted to do something else.

"After a day like today," Blaine said with a tiny sigh, "There is nowhere else I'd rather be."

It was those words that kept the smile on Kurt's face as he made arrangements for dinner. He'd originally thought about cooking but then he remembered that Blaine had texted him earlier in the week about how much he wanted Chinese from the place a couple blocks away from Kurt's apartment that he'd fallen in love with on one of their dates. So he left the fajitas for another day and ordered the honey sesame chicken for Blaine and the spicy eggplant for himself, making sure that it would arrive just before Blaine so that it was still hot when they sat down to eat.

Satisfied with all that he'd accomplished, Kurt sat down on the couch to finish the article he'd started reading in Vogue until the food, and then Blaine, arrived. The apartment was hushed, but he could hear Santana getting ready for work in her bedroom. She was humming along to a song Kurt couldn't hear; she probably had headphones in. He still couldn't get Santana to talk to him about much more than the rent and the weather. It hurt and some days he wondered if he was really choosing Blaine over her. But when he reflected on the whole situation, it was clear that he had enough room in his life for both of them. And Santana would have to be okay with sharing Kurt if she ever wanted to see him truly happy. Kurt missed his best friend but he knew that eventually she'd realize how ridiculous she was being. He just had to wait.

"I better not hear the echoes of your whimpers and sighs when I get back or you're paying for my therapy," Santana shouted as she was walked out of her bedroom, purse and overnight bag on her shoulder, past him and straight out the door.

Yeah, they'd be just fine.

But tonight wasn't about sex. It wasn't really about physical intimacy at all. It was about emotions and the connection between them. Blaine to Kurt, Kurt to Blaine; both sides as strong and reliable as the other. It was about letting Blaine know they were in this relationship together. Equally.

But if he was being honest, the thought of moving his relationship with Blaine to that next level had been crossing Kurt's mind more and more recently. For Kurt, he wasn't waiting for a particular milestone in their relationship; he was just waiting for the moment to feel right. He and Blaine were like two teenagers, always on the cusp of more but afraid of pushing too far, too fast. They'd gone no farther than they had the night of their embarrassment of a first date. It was all hands over fabric and the slightest bit of skin, but it all caused the heat to begin to coil low in Kurt's belly. Kurt knew that he would know when the time was right' he just wished the moment would hurry up and get there.

Blaine arrived, bottle of wine in hand, just minutes after dinner had arrived. Kurt and Blaine sat close at the kitchen table, eating off each other's plates and talking light-heartedly. Blaine told Kurt about how he'd been put in charge of the CCPP project and then they laughed when Blaine told him the short version of the ambush he'd received Monday afternoon from his coworkers.

"They think you're a god," Blaine said as Kurt got up from the table, grabbing both of their empty plates and bringing them to the sink.

"Really now?"

"They want to meet you," Blaine said bashful.

"Really?" Kurt asked.

"Yes, but you really don't have to if you don't want to."

"I suppose they should at least meet the person who is keeping you from them all the time."

Kurt and Blaine laughed and Kurt agreed to accompany Blaine the next time they all went out. Everything was perfect. They were perfect. At least it was until Kurt spotted Blaine pulling his wallet out of the pocket of his jeans.

"Let me pay you back for this," Blaine said

"What? No," Kurt said, "This is my treat to you."

"You shouldn't have to—"

"You're my boyfriend and I want to."

"But—"

"Can you just let me do this for you?" Kurt barked and it startled himself as much as it had Blaine.

Blaine had never seen Kurt get mad outside with the exception of the night they met and how he spoke up to Mr. Dawson. And he certainly had never expected that Kurt would direct any frustration toward him. But he w

Blaine had never seen Kurt get angry save the night they met and it stunned him silent when Kurt' s voice thundered through the apartment, leaving behind it an uneasy silence and Blaine gaping at him, unsure of what to do next. They looked at each other, Kurt's eyes widened at the shock and guilt of his actions, Blaine's bewildered and cautious.

"Yeah, sure, okay," Blaine stammered putting his wallet back into the pocket of his jeans.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said quietly taking a step toward Blaine, "I shouldn't have snapped like that."

"Hey, no, it's okay. Let's just, uh, go watch a movie," Blaine said extending his hand, his eyes still cautious as if Kurt might reject him.

But Kurt took another step and extended his hand, placing it against Blaine's open palm, taking comfort in the warmth as Blaine closed his hand around Kurt's before leading them into the living room.

Kurt knew that he should talk to Blaine. He knew he should tell him about the things that were bothering him, the things that caused him to snap in the kitchen, ruining an otherwise perfect evening. But they both had swept Kurt's outburst under the rug and Kurt was currently cuddled into Blaine's left side, his head on Blaine's chest, his arm draped around Blaine's middle all while Blaine combed his fingers through Kurt's hair. The moment was unfairly perfect despite the end of their dinner and Kurt told himself that there was no need to ruin it. So he pushed the thoughts away, promising himself that he'd come back to them soon and gave into the feel of Blaine next to him, holding him. Because despite the issue of who was spending money, Blaine was good to him and Kurt was falling, and fast.

But it wasn't Kurt or Blaine who shattered the moment of serenity. It was Santana who came bustling through the door, slamming it behind her. She kept her head down as she rushed past the two men on the couch, but Kurt could tell from years of experience that Santana was crying. He could only watch, stunned, as she disappeared down the hallway and into her bedroom, the door closing with a thunderous boom that shook the pictures on the walls.

Kurt pushed himself into a sitting position, reluctant to leave the comfortable position he'd finally created for himself, but fully aware that he needed to go check on Santana.

"I should probably go see what's wrong," Kurt said before placing a quick kiss on Blaine's lips, "I'll be right back."

"I'll pause the movie," Blaine said with a smile that was immediately followed by a thank you from Kurt and another quick peck on the lips.

Kurt stood up and walked to Santana's bedroom door, knocking lightly against the door.

"San," Kurt called, "Can I come in?"

"No."

"Come on, Santana."

"Go away, Kurt."

"No," Kurt said firmly, "I know this door isn't locked so you can either tell me its okay to come in or I'm going to come in anyway."

"Fine," Santana groaned, "Just close the door behind you."

Kurt turned the knob and pushed the door open to find Santana sitting on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she continued to cry. He entered the room, closing the door behind him. The room was dark except for a tiny bit of moonlight that came through the curtains of the window. Kurt moved across the room to sit beside her on the bed, uncertain of how Santana would react. She was his best friend and despite the fact that they'd been going for so long without really speaking, he'd always be there for her at the drop of a hat. He wrapped a hesitant arm around Santana's shoulders, the only real comfort he could provide without knowing what was wrong, and was relieved when she immediately turned into him, pressing her head against his chest as she began to sob harder, her whole body shaking as she held tightly to the front of his Kurt's shirt like a lifeline. All Kurt could do was hold her tight against him and silently rub her back until she got everything out.

When she finally calmed down a little, her arms wrapped tightly around Kurt's middle, Kurt asked her in a whispered voice why she was so upset. When she'd left for work she'd been singing and smiling and teasing him even though they weren't speaking. Now, even though Kurt couldn't see her face, he knew that her mascara was all over her face, and probably his shirt, and that there wouldn't be a song tonight; at least not a happy once.

"Did something happy with Brittany?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

"No," Santana whispered, her voice a lifeless monotone.

"You want to tell me what did happen then?" Kurt asked trying to be supportive yet still push her to tell him what had happened.

"No."

"Santana," Kurt said moving so that he could look Santana in the eye as much as possible in the dark, reaching up to wipe away some of mixture of mascara and tears from her cheeks, "Come on."

"Fine," Santana said and Kurt could practically feel her eyes roll, "I got fired."

"Fired?" Kurt said shocked, "For what?"

Santana released her hold of Kurt and sat up straight, the passion back in her eyes as she told him the story, "This crazy bitch was getting frisky with Puckerman. And Puckerman was totally professional about it until she got behind the bar and then I went up to her and asked her to leave and she accused me of being jealous or something and I totally tried to keep my cool but then the bitch threw her drink in my face. Then I kind of went all Lima Heights on her."

"You didn't?" Kurt gasped.

"Oh, but I did. Bitch deserved it too. Unfortunately Trent only saw the part where I had a handful of the bitch's hair and kicked us both out of there. Told me to not come back."

"Santana, she could have called the cops. You could have been arrested."

"I'm aware," Santana said crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Kurt said putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Okay?" Santana said, "Kurt, things are far from okay. I don't have any money saved up. I've got what's in my account now, which isn't much since rent was due last week, and whatever my last check from Minetta is going to be. Kurt, I've got approximately a New York minute to find a new job or I'm on the first plane back to Lima to live with my parents."

"We'll figure something out," Kurt said.

"I love you and your unrealistic optimism," Santana said, the smallest twitch of a smile showing in the moonlight.

"I love you too, Santana," Kurt

"Good. Now can we please pull drink that wine we have so I can at least spend the rest of this evening intoxicated and pretending my problems don't exist."

"We were saving that for your birthday," Kurt said.

"Well then it's my wine and I want to drink it now."

"Fine," Kurt said, "but I'm only giving in to this because you've had a bad day."

"Good. And I want pizza. Are you hungry?"

"No, Blaine and I—"Kurt said, "Crap! Blaine is still here."

"Well get him out of here," Santana said sharply, "And before you say anything I really just don't want to see Mr. Money to see my puffy eyes or watch me stuff my face until I'm the size of Time Square."

"I'll go talk to him," Kurt said standing up and kissing Santana's forehead before and made his way toward the door.

"Hey, Kurt," Santana called after him.

"Yeah?" Kurt said turning around to look at his best friend.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Kurt left Santana alone and walked back into the living room, the light harsh after spending so long in the dark bedroom. He'd expected to see Blaine where he'd left him, but instead he found him by the door with his shoes and jacket on, placing his phone in his pocket.

"I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye, I swear," Blaine said coming to stand in front of Kurt, reaching out to hold his hand.

"How much of that did you hear?" Kurt said entwining their fingers together.

"What is Lima Heights?" Blaine asked.

"For everyone's sake, let's hope you never find out."

"She'll be alright?" Blaine asked.

"I honestly don't know," Kurt told him, "She's doesn't really have any money saved up and I can't cover rent for both of us. But we'll worry about that tomorrow once the hang over she's likely to have subsides. Until then, she'll be just fine."

"Is there anything I can do?" Blaine asked, "If you need me to lend some money."

"That's incredibly nice of you Blaine, but you don't need to do that."

"I'm offering," Blaine said, "Just until she finds something else."

"I don't think she'd go for that," Kurt said, "She doesn't like relying on other people."

"And she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you."

"Well, just consider it," Blaine said, "I'd hate for you to lose this place because of this."

"You're amazing," Kurt said pulling his hand free from Blaine's put wrapping both arms around Blaine's neck leaning in and kissing him slowly, "And thank you for not making me feel like I'm kicking you out."

"She's your best friend, Kurt," Blaine said, "I understand."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay," Blaine whispered, "Go take care of her. I'll see myself out."

Kurt leaned in and kissed Blaine again, slightly upset that he wasn't going to give him the proper goodbye that he'd planned. But grateful because Blaine had been completely understanding. As Blaine headed toward the door, Kurt headed back toward the hallway.

"I want you in the living room in your PJs in ten minutes Santana Lopez!" Kurt shouted as he walked into his room to change.

Suddenly, tomorrow wasn't as easy as yesterday. Kurt needed to talk to Blaine about money; Santana needed money; Blaine offering to give Santana money so that she didn't have to move back to Lima wasn't solving any of Kurt's problems even though they could help Santana. But Santana was giving herself one night to forget that there was some important things that needed to be figured out. And if she could take a night, so would Kurt.