When Mr. Figgins called Blaine into his office first thing Monday morning after he'd returned from the wedding, Blaine's stomach immediately began to knot. The weekend had been a mixture of highs and lows. The lowest of them definitely being the revelation that his father was dying and he'd left Los Angeles with the cloud of the situation hanging over him, threatening disaster at any moment. He'd talked to his mother before they'd left, Kurt faking the need to help Santana with something to give them time alone. She told Blaine that his father was fighting, but that it could all end in a moment's notice. And even so, she assured him that he should go back to New York and live life as he would have. Blaine was certain that was impossible.

But the highest moment, moments, really, were the ones he spent with Kurt. It had been a treat to fall asleep next to Kurt and wake up next to him before the wedding. It had been shockingly more amazing the morning after as they basked in the afterglow of the feel of the other, of declarations of love that went into the night, even after Santana called to check in. Kurt's body, warm under Blaine's fingertips as they made love, hard against his back when he woke up, had been a comfort he'd never had before and had no idea he'd been missing. It was love. And it was the greatest thing Blaine would ever experience. How had he gone so long without it? If this was what he'd been running from, he was a fool.

But now that they were back in New York and back to reality, it meant that Kurt had gone back to his apartment from airport and that Blaine had to go into the office where he was being summoned by his boss. Blaine stepped into Mr. Figgin's office and sat down without being told. He'd been meeting with Mr. Figgins on a weekly basis ever since Blaine began heading the CCPP project. Blaine sunk into the comfortable chair across from his boss's desk and watched as the man shifted through paperwork.

It was a few moments before Mr. Figgin's abandoned his paperwork and focused on Blaine, but from the moment his voice cut through the relatively silent office, Blaine could feel the shift in the universe. Suddenly, Mr. Figgins was speaking of achievement, expansion, opportunity.

"Anderson," Figgins said, "I've seen how dedicated you've been to the CCPP project. And were already beginning to see tremendous success from the plans you've made. The future is bright, Blaine. For this company and for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Figgins," Blaine said, "it's been a pleasure."

"Why is why I'm offering you a promotion, Blaine," Figgins said and Blaine's heart picked up speed as he continued, "to Associate Account Manager. That office on the other side of the floor has been vacant for far too long and I see no one else in this company who could possibly take on the responsibility of that position with the passion and determination that you have."

"Wow," Blaine said, "I don't know what to say.

"Say yes, Blaine," Figgins, "Otherwise I have to offer it to one of those fools out there and I don't think any of them are very qualified."

"I-yes," Blaine said forcing himself to focus, a wide, toothy smile on his face, "Yes. Thank you, Mr. Figgins."

"Show me you mean it by making us a lot of money. Give us a strong third quarter and a fantastic end of the year and you'll be unstoppable, Blaine."

"Absolutely, Mr. Figgins."

"Welcome to the big leagues, kid," Figgins said standing. Blaine mirrored him and when Mr. Figgins extended his hand, Blaine clasped it and shook it in a way that was appropriate for an Associate Account Manager, "Get yourself an assistant, Anderson. You're going to be getting phone calls every thirty seconds once your clients realize you're important. They're going to want to invest more and they're going to tell all their friends about you. You're going to need someone to tell them you're busy with other clients. So find someone; someone cute. But not too distracting, those boys have a hard time focusing as it is.

Blaine smiled as Mr. Figgins winked. He had the perfect person in mind.

Blaine found himself outside of Kurt's apartment immediately after work. He'd only exchanged a few texts with Kurt during the day and hadn't even told him that he was stopping by. He'd spent most of the day trying to begin the transition into his new position. He moved himself into his new office which was very barren except for his desk. He hadn't had a lot of personal items at his desk and suddenly being surrounded by four beige walls was making him feel unsettled. Maybe he'd ask Kurt to help him do some decorating. But aside from a change in location, business went on as usual. Blaine went to lunch to the guys and told them all about what had happened in Figgin's office.

"We need to go out and celebrate," Wes had announced, "Friday night. Bring that boyfriend of yours who we still haven't had the chance to meet. Are you sure he's real?"

Blaine laughed, "He's real. I'll ask him to come out if for no other reason than to prove to you that he does indeed exist. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of it."

Back outside Kurt's apartment Blaine knocked on the door and a moment later when Kurt opened the door, Blaine was startled by the sight. It was Kurt, his Kurt, but he was dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt that was at least two sizes too big. He'd never seen Kurt so...un-Kurt like. He was always impeccably put together. Not that he didn't look absolutely delicious this way. Blaine had to suppress the urge that had bubbled up violently inside him to reach out and touch and kiss every inch of flesh hidden beneath the cotton of Kurt's clothes. He couldn't help but stare, his mind reaching desperately for the memories of their first time together so that they could flash before Blaine's eyes, distracting him so terribly that he hadn't even heard Kurt say his name.

"You look—"

"Hideous? Completely unattractive?

"I was going to go with amazing," Blaine said reaching out for Kurt's hand, "I don't think you know how to pull of unattractive."

Kurt rolled his and swung their joined hands between them, "Not that I mind you stopping by and flattering me with compliments, but what do I owe this unplanned visit?"

"Actually," Blaine said, "I'm here to see Santana."

"Really," Kurt said removing his hand from Blaine's and crossing his arms across his chest, placing a smirk on his face, "One look at might in sweats and you've gone running towards girls."

"Very funny," Blaine said reaching from Kurt's hand but his boyfriend just shook his head, "are you going to let me in?"

Without a word, Kurt stepped aside so that Blaine could enter the apartment. But as Blaine passed by Kurt, he hooked his arm around his boyfriend's waist, pulling him flush against his body. They stood there, pressed together, for a moment until Blaine reached behind Kurt to shut the door before he gently pushed Kurt against it at the same moment he captured Kurt's mouth with his own.

"It's like before, all I had to do was worry about seeing one of your tongues down the other's throat," Santana said as she entered unceremoniously into the living room, causing the boys to only break contact at the lips "But now I have to worry about seeing one of your dicks in the other's ass."

"Don't worry about anyone's asses," Kurt said still pinned between Blaine and the door, "He's apparently here to see you."

"Really, now," Santana questioned, her hands on her hips.

Reluctantly, Blaine broke the contact between the rest of him and Kurt and turned to look directly at Santana, "I have a job offer for you."

Santana tightened her brow, "Really? Doing what?"

"Well," Blaine said taking a deep breath, "I've been promoted to Associate Account Manager."

"Oh my god, Blaine," Kurt said flinging himself into Blaine's arms, planting a loud kiss on his cheek, "That's fantastic."

"And where exactly do I fit into all of this," Santana questioned, apparently not as enthusiastic as Kurt.

"Well, I need to hire an assistant," Blaine explained, "Can you work a phone?"

"Of course I can work a phone. But seriously. You want me to work for you?"

"I don't see why not. I need an assistant and you need a job."

"There are a bunch of Barbies out there who you could hire who will probably be more qualified for this than I am."

"But I'm offering it to you," Blaine said, "If you can put up with me for eight more hours a day, then it's yours. If you don't want it I can put the job listing online. But I'm offering it to you first."

"You really want me to be your assistant?"

"I really want you to be my assistant, Santana."

Santana took a deep breath, "Yeah. Yeah, I'll do it."

"Fantastic," Blaine said clapping his hands in front of him, "Can you start tomorrow?"

"Are you kidding me? I'll be there with fucking bells on!"

"Then be there be at the office by eight-thirty tomorrow morning," Blaine said, "I'll give you the tour before the rest of the guys get there."

"Oh my god, I'm so excited," Santana said before letting out a shout of excitement and launching herself into Blaine's arms, her legs going up to wrap around his waist before she grabbed his face between her hands and gave him a great big kiss.

Blaine stood, stunned while Kurt looked on like he was watching a car wreck, frightened yet incredibly curious until he pulled himself back to reality and stepped forward to pry his best friend off of his boyfriend.

"Get off my boyfriend, Santana," Kurt said pushing her so that her feet were back on the ground. , "He's your boss now."

Santana removed herself from Blaine who immediately reached for Kurt and kissed him with everything he had. And in the same instant, Santana was completely forgotten.

"Ugh. I liked it better when you two weren't fucking," Santana said leaving the room to find an outfit to wear and to call Brittany.

"The only reason you two even get along is because you're paying her bills," Kurt said after removing his lips from Blaine's but keeping his arms around Blaine's neck, holding him close, "Do you think you can handle seeing her an extra eight hours every day?"

"We'll be fine," Blaine said kissing Kurt quickly, "We should go out to celebrate."

"I would love to," Kurt responded with a kiss of his own, "But my dad is coming in tomorrow morning and I have to clean this house."

"Your dad?"

"My dad."

"Did I know he was coming," Blaine asked with a look of pure bewilderment on his face, "Did you tell me this and I forgot?"

"No," Kurt said with a giggle, "I didn't know he was coming until this morning. Despite my weekend vacation, I've got a couple of days off so he decided he would take some time and come visit."

"That's great."

"Will you," Kurt started, "Will you come to dinner tomorrow night? It's lame but we're going to Minetta and I-I'd really like it if you met my dad."

"Really," Blaine questioned, "You want me to meet your dad?"

"Of course, silly."

Blaine tried his best not to let his panic show but he could tell by the way Kurt's smile was beginning to fall from his face that he wasn't doing a very good job. There had never been boyfriends so there had never been anyone's parents to meet. Hell, he only met Wes's parents because they surprised him one weekend in college and they had both been in their dorm room, hung over. But this was different. This was important. For Kurt, for his relationship with Kurt, and for himself. Doing this would make Kurt happy. And if there was anything that Blaine wanted in this world it was for Kurt to be happy. He needed to get that smile back on the face of the man he loved.

"I'll make you a deal," Blaine said with a smile that seemed to earn a twitch from the corners of Kurt's perfect lips, "I will join you for dinner tomorrow and meet your dad if you come out with me Friday night to meet the guys from work. They think I'm making you up."

Simultaneously, Kurt eyes beamed bright at Blaine while the smile that Blaine had been desperate for returned to his face. He'd succeeded.

"Yes, it's a deal," Kurt said, "I will go meet your friends if for no other reason than to prove to them you didn't make me up."

Dinner. It was just dinner. Blaine had had dinner before, lots of times actually. But never had dinner been such a scary concept. Because this dinner was different from all the rest. This was the dinner where Blaine was going to meet Burt Hummel, the father of the man he loved; which officially made him the scariest person he'd ever meet.

Kurt had told Blaine the reservation was for six, but there had been a hold up with a client and Blaine stayed back to help Nick remedy the situation. And in return he hadn't been able to get out of the office until well after five. Sending Santana away to Brittany's, Blaine rushed out of the office and into the first cab he could get. All while sending a text to Kurt apologizing profusely, but letting him know that he would be late.

When Blaine entered the restaurant (looking completely insane after having practically sprinting through the door from the cab) he stopped for just a moment to catch his breath, while his eyes searched the restaurant for Kurt. When his eyes landing on his boyfriend, he was laughing and Blaine's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't see the man that had made him burst with laughter, but he knew that he was Kurt's father and the most important person in Kurt's life. He had to make a good impression. So he took a deep breath, and centered himself before walking over to the table. He loved Kurt and Kurt loved him and if Kurt wanted Blaine to meet the most important person in his life, than Blaine would compose himself and everything would be just fine.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Blaine said as he approached the table.

Kurt stood and greeted Blaine with a kiss on the cheek, but the other man at the table remained seated, his eyes focused on Kurt and Blaine.

"Blaine," Kurt said looking over at his father, his arm around Blaine's waist, "This is my father, Burt Hummel. Dad, this is Blaine. My boyfriend."

Blaine extended his hand that wasn't hold Kurt out as Burt stood from the table. He was tall, like Kurt but he had a more menacing stance. That was, until he smiled and reached out to clasp Blaine's hand without a moment's hesitation.

"It's nice to meet you, Blaine," Burt said, "Kurt was just catching me up on some stuff that I'm sure you've heard about a hundred times. So now that you're here take a seat and we can order."

Blaine smiled, nodded and took a seat next to Kurt.

Dinner with Kurt's dad was nothing and everything like Blaine had imagined it would be. He'd expected that he would have to be mindful of his words, careful that he didn't swear too much or say something inappropriate. He made sure that he only sipped his wine and refused a second glass. He'd expected to talk about his work and for Kurt to beam with pride as he told his dad about Blaine's promotion. But what he hadn't expected was to find that he actually had things in common with Burt Hummel aside from a love for Kurt. Burt and Blaine bonded over football and their love for the Browns and Blaine surprised both Hummels when he was able to share Burt's admiration for a '57 Mustang someone had brought into his garage.

Everything was perfect until Kurt excuse himself to the bathroom and suddenly Blaine was pretty sure he heart was going to beat right out of his chest and run from the restaurant. There was a sudden silence at their table, not entirely comfortable. As if Kurt's presence was the only thing that had kept this dinner afloat.

"You takin' good care of my kid, Blaine," Burt asked seemingly not phased in the way Blaine was by Kurt's absence.

"Yes, sir."

"You like him," Burt said, not questioning.

"I love him," Blaine said though he wasn't sure if he was more shocked that he had admitted that to someone who wasn't Kurt or the idiotic smile that slide over his face.

"Love can be scary," Burt said, "Love can be hard. But I'm glad you decided to take a chance on Kurt. The boy deserves it."

Blaine nodded.

"Kurt tells me just about everything," Burt said, almost like a warning, "And what he doesn't, I can usually wiggle out of Santana."

Blaine remained silent.

"This is why I know you've been paying her bills."

"She has a job now," Blaine corrected.

"One that you gave her," Burt added, "You don't know her all too well and I can only guess that she hasn't been very nice to you. But you paid her bills and you gave her a job anyway so that she wouldn't have to move home and leave Kurt alone in this big city. So for that, I thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Mr. Hummel," Blaine said, "It's nothing."

"It's something," Burt corrected, "You love my son. You take care of him and his friends. Saying thank you is the least I can do."

"It's been my pleasure, sir," Blaine said just as he spotted Kurt over by the bar talking to Puck. Kurt smiled and winked at Blaine.

Burt turned the conversation back to sports and all the tension that had been building up inside Blaine since Kurt had left the table began to slide away. Maybe Burt Hummel wasn't the scariest man alive after all.

Blaine was just as nervous to introduce Kurt to his work friends as he was when he'd met Kurt's father. He was more nervous than he had been when Kurt had met his parents. Because after Cooper's wedding, Blaine was able to go back to New York, away from the judging eyes of his mother and father. But Blaine saw Nick, Jeff, Wes and David five, sometimes six, days a week. And they were relentless hecklers. Once, Jeff had brought a girl out with them who'd been incredibly clingy and wore way too much makeup. But the guys had teased him daily, even months after they'd broken up. It's not that Blaine thought they would have a reason to do the same with Kurt, he just wasn't sure he wanted to give them the chance.

"You're quiet," Kurt said rubbing his thumb over the back of Blaine's hand where they were linked between them as they walked to the bar.

"Just thinking."

"You think they'll hate me."

Blaine turned his head to stare at Kurt like he'd just began speaking in tongues, "What? No. Why would they hate you?"

"Because they're either going to love me or hate me. That just how these things go," Kurt explained, "I'm not exactly sure I fit in well with stock brokers who spend their Friday nights in bars."

"I'm a stock broker who used to hang out on Friday nights in bars," Blaine said.

"No, you're an Associate Account Manager who used to hang out in bars on Friday nights before you met you're amazing boyfriend," Kurt said with a smile.

"You are amazing," Blaine said shooting Kurt a smile in returned, "And David has already likened you to a god."

"There is something heavenly about me isn't there," Kurt said smirking.

"Come here," Blaine said as he stopped and pulled lightly on Kurt's hand which, as he wanted, brought Kurt directly into his arms, close enough so that he could kiss him soundly on the lips, "I love you."

As Kurt responded with another kiss, Blaine realized that whatever he had been worried about, it was pointless. Because Kurt Hummel might not be an actual god (though Blaine definitely worshiped him) he was definitely something else. Kurt had somehow broken down Blaine's walls and had made Blaine fall in love with him. If Kurt could do the seemingly impossible, then there was no way the guys weren't going to love him too. But definitely not the same way Blaine did.

And they did love him. Like a lot. Kurt may not have been able to talk sports or stocks, but there was one thing they had in common: Blaine. And though Nick, David, and Jeff had plenty of stories from the last year years, Wes had no qualms telling stories of a college aged Blaine who couldn't help but hang his head when Wes recalled the rather embarrassing tale of when Wes had brought a girl home only to find Blaine dancing around the dorm room in his underwear to S Club 7. Blaine was grateful when Kurt just laughed and reached out for Blaine's hand, linking their fingers together, instead of running in the other direction.

"I'm glad none of you knew me in high school," Blaine said, "I would never be able to live that down."

"Kurt, you must be so proud of Blaine getting his promotion," Nick said, "If he continues like this he'll be running the entire company in no time."

"And then the first thing I'd do is fire you," Blaine said laughing.

"I am proud," Kurt said, "I know that he worked hard to deserve the promotion

"Plus, you'll never have to worry about money while you two are together," Jeff said, "Blaine will be making a pretty penny once CCPP gets off the ground."

At Jeff's words, Kurt couldn't help put to flinch. He knew that Jeff hadn't meant any malice with his words, and he lucky missed the flash of panic on his face, but even after he'd washed it away from his face, Kurt felt it buzzing through him. Now that Santana had a job and Kurt and Blaine opted to stay home more, with Kurt cooking, the money issue had all but disappeared. But it really hadn't. At the end of the night, the tab would be closed on Blaine's card and Kurt would try to hand him money, but Blaine will roll his eyes and kiss him until they forgot about what they were doing before their lips touched each other's.

But he would talk to Blaine about this. He would simply tell him that he didn't want him to pay for everything. And he certainly didn't want Blaine to take care of Kurt for however long they were still together. If it was a week or forever, he wanted to be able to stand on his own two feet. He wasn't going to let it happen any other way. And their relationship was solid. They loved each other. And Kurt could approach the subject with Blaine like two people who were in a relationship.

They said goodbye to the guys who were staying for another round and exited onto the New York streets. Blaine came behind Kurt, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist.

"They liked you," Blaine said into Kurt's ear, "They really, really liked you."

Kurt stopped and turned around, still in Blaine's arm, "And you had your doubts."

"Oh, don't pretend you didn't have the same doubts," Blaine said with a smile, "Plus, there was never any doubt. You're impossible not to like."

"This is true," Kurt said before kissing Blaine, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Blaine said punctuating his declaration with a kiss, "Where's Santana tonight?"

"Brittany's."

"Perfect," Blaine said kissing him once more, "Take me home, Mr. Hummel."

And so he did.