Blaine's set lasted for about a half an hour. He played 4 or 5 songs, including the one that he had sung in Lima on Christmas. Cooper only played backup for the first two, and then he got off the stage, letting Blaine do his thing now that the show had started and most of his nerves were gone.

There was still a very decent amount of people in the bar. Most of the tables were filled with customers laughing, talking, and listening to Blaine play.

After Blaine's set was done, Cooper went over to the bar to get us some drinks while Blaine was backstage. He came back with three beers in his hands, and he handed one to Jackie and I before scooting in close to his girlfriend. I slid away from Jackie in the circular booth. It would be kind of weird if the three of us sat hip to hip.

"So what did you guys think of the Anderson brothers' performance?" Cooper inquired with a prideful smile.

"You guys were the bees knees," Jackie answered with enthusiasm.

"That is the highest form of compliment, thank you." He nodded and clinked his beer with Jackie's. "And here is the big guy himself!"

Blaine came over to the table with a shy wave and sat down on Cooper's end of the booth. There was a short silence. I wanted to compliment him on his show, really, I did. But my throat went dry and suddenly I couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"You sounded really terrific, Blaine! We loved every second of it," Jackie encouraged. Well sheesh, why couldn't I think of that?

"Did you really?" Blaine replied with a smile, and a hint of amusement. He looked towards me. I nodded bashfully and fiddled awkwardly with the beer bottle in my hands. Jackie and Cooper began whispering to each other.

Well I guess all my self confidence has gone to shit.

The next thing I knew, Jackie and Cooper were sliding down in their seats until they were under the table.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Blaine asked, looking at them questionably.

"Well!" Cooper slid out from under the booth and stood next the table, reaching down to help Jackie up. "We were going to ask one of you to slide out of the seat so that we could leave, but we were afraid that you would end up leaving with us."

I looked at them bewilderedly.

"So you crawled under the table, of course. That seems like the most mature option," Blaine said sarcastically.

"I know I definitely remember doing that," I commented, looking back at Blaine thoughtfully, "when I was about five or six."

"They're practically the same age group," Blaine continued sympathetically.

"Aww look, Cooper. They're bonding by making fun of us," Jackie observed in a cutesy voice. "Let's leave them alone so we don't disrupt the love connection." I winced internally as she looped her arm around her boyfriend's and pushed him lightly towards the door.

"Have fun, boys." Cooper let Jackie lead him away. "Be safe!" he called behind his shoulder.

We both looked down uneasily at the table once the couple had left. I seemed to be embarrassed of my choice in friends and Blaine seemed to be embarrassed of his choice in siblings. There was a moment filled with awkward silence as we both tried to think of the best way to start the conversation.

"Never took you as a beer drinker."

"What?" I said, somehow surprised that dialogue was actually starting to happen.

"Beer," Blaine repeated, idly pointing to the bottle on the table. "I didn't think it was your type of drink."

"Oh," I finally understood, and looked down. "No, it's not, actually. Cooper got it for me. I didn't really argue." I hadn't even realized that the bottle was mine.

"Do you mind if I...?" Blaine reached his hand out slightly towards the bottle in question.

"Go ahead."

He slid the glass to his side of the table and lifted it up to his lips, taking a swig out of the slim bottle.

"You had wine at the restaurant, it's only fair," He stated blankly, though I could tell that he was just playing around.

"So this is something that you would need alcohol for?"

"Yes," he replied bluntly. I nodded and leaned back in the seat. There was another silence in between us, and I decided to look down at the hands in my lap. I could still feel Blaine's eyes on me, burning remnants into my features. "So I should probably apologize..."

I lifted my head quickly, eager to hear what he had to say.

"...for taking off so...suddenly." He idly flared his hands when he spoke, from where they rested on the table in front of him. I tilted my head to the side, taking my turn to study him. He took another drink from the bottle of beer.

"Do you regret it?" I asked.

Blaine stared past me for a long moment, his face subtly contorted with concentration. "I don't think I can," he finally answered, his voice soft.

Now I'm confused.

"You don't think you can?"

Blaine leaned forward. "I don't regret the emotions that I felt that night," he asserted confidently. "I regret the context, of course, but I don't regret my actions. I don't regret how I chose to feel about what happened."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "So you don't regret stealing a car and driving off in the middle of the night with no warning whatsoever?"

"I made a decision, Kurt. Albeit, a risky one, but it was a decision. And considering the fact that it all turned out okay in the end, and no one got hurt, it was pretty successful."

"I think we both know that that's not true," I said quietly, although deep inside I wanted to scream it at him. "Whether they would like to admit it or not, someone was definitely hurt."

"Yeah?" He asked remorsefully, looking into my eyes.

"Yeah." I confirmed softly, looking down at the table. "I-I didn't want you to leave, Blaine."

"Well, that's slightly obvious."

"That's not...you never gave me a chance. You just sprung everything on me in front of everyone. How was I supposed to know what you meant? How was I supposed to know what you were feeling?"

"But that's the thing, Kurt. It didn't make sense for you to say no if you really wanted to say yes. We were supposed to make it seem like we were in love. The only possible reason you wouldn't have said that you felt the same was if you genuinely didn't feel the same. I wasn't able to stay there any longer if everything that I felt inside was simply unrequited. I couldn't put myself through that kind of pain just for a plain business deal."

"So you decided to put me through the pain instead?" I divulged. "You decided to just simply leave all my feelings for shit and run off so that you could guard yours?"

Blaine leaned back in his seat again, looking a bit guilty as he looked down at the table.

"And don't you dare act like you thought that what you were feeling was completely one-sided. You knew that I felt something for you. Blaine, we cuddled, and kissed, and had freaking sex when no one was around. I know we never talked about what it meant, or why it happened, but there's no possible way that it could have meant nothing."

"Then why did you lie, Kurt? Why did you say that you didn't love me?"

"I was scared, okay? I was confused and I didn't understand whether or not there was a double meaning. I closed up." Suddenly all the things I were feeling on New Year's Eve came back, full force. "And you know what? I didn't think I was in love with you. I didn't know. You were always so cryptic and everything was always obscure. How was I supposed to know if I was in love with you if I didn't even know whether or not the person I knew was actually the real you?"

Blaine seemed to give up, and he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. "Why does this all have to be so complicated?" he whispered.

"We made it complicated."

"We're stupid," he replied with a slight chuckle.

"I know." I let myself smirk back.

Blaine took another sip of beer, and thought for a moment as we both sat in silence. "What happened after I left?" he asked, tilting his head inquisitively.

"Well, my dad found the keys in the mailbox the next morning." Blaine creased his lips tightly between his lips, looking more than a little guilty. "He knew that something was wrong and I told him everything."

Blaine's eyes went wide. "Everything?" he asked, fearfully.

I furrowed my brow a little. "Well, yeah, I mean he's my dad. He deserved to know...OH! No! Of course not...like...everything." I raised my hand to my forehead. "Jesus Christ, he probably would have had a heart attack if I told him every detail."

Blaine seemed to laugh it off and slumped back in the booth.

"So where did you go?" I asked.

"My dad's hotel," Blaine sighed. "Cooper was there. He made me return Jackie's car and then gave me a ride back with him."

I smiled a little. "It's crazy that they found each other."

"Cooper and Jackie?" Blaine confirmed. I nodded. "I know, oh my god. It's kind of creepy how well it all worked out."

"Did it all work out?" I asked quietly, almost sheepishly.

Blaine hesitated, looking down at the table before finishing off the last of the beer bottle. "We should get out of here," he finally said, gesturing towards the door.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll walk you home."

When Blaine said that he'd walk me home, he literally meant that he'd walk me home. We didn't take the subway. We didn't take a cab. We didn't take a bus. We ended up walking over 50 blocks together, talking the whole time. It took about an hour, before I knew it we were only a couple of blocks away from my apartment.

I had asked him what was going on in his life lately, he responded by telling me that he adopted a cat.

"You what?"

"Yeah, he's a little guy. He's about the size of a flip-flop. He's adorable...and he scratches." I laughed at that. "I named him Pippin."

Hmm...Pippin. "It's better than Hector," I decided. Blaine simply grinned and subtly shook his head. "This is all kind of terrible ironic because I adopted a chocolate lab about a month ago," I confessed. "Guess what I named him."

Blaine stopped walking. "You did not!" I put my hands in my cardigan's pockets and turned to look at him. "Hector's real?" he exclaimed.

I nodded, extremely humored by his enthusiasm.

"You're lying to me," he declared. "I don't believe you."

"He's six months old, his favorite toy is a blue spiked ball and he has hazel eyes."

Blaine beamed, and suddenly started full speed down the street.

"What are you doing?" I yelled, picking up my pace to follow him.

"I gotta see him!" Blaine explained, his voice cracking with anticipation.

Blaine ran for the final couple of blocks. I followed closely behind, half wondering why the hell he was so excited, and half laughing at the adorable enthusiasm.

I finally caught up with Blaine, only to find him waiting for me, and holding the door to my building open. "After you," he said politely, gesturing though the door.

"Ever the gentlemen."

His smile seemed to widen and I lead the way towards the elevator. Blaine's happiness was apparently contagious, because by the time the elevator doors closed, we were both beaming like idiots.

"Well you seem very smiley," he noted as we the elevator moved up.

Well damn it. I've been caught "As do you."

"I'm always smiley," He countered.

"Very true."

By the time we made it to my apartment, I was still grinning. I glanced at Blaine while fitting the key in the door. "Are you ready?" I asked, though I wasn't really sure why.

"Do you think he'll like me?" Blaine asked, suddenly skittish with anxiety. I laughed. Only Blaine would worry about whether or not a puppy liked him.

"Oh, he'll love you." I opened to the door. "Hector!" I cooed into the apartment in a high tone. "C'mere boy!" Barking sounded from the bedroom, and then the tiny dog came suddenly, scurrying into the room and across the floor, directly to me. "Hello my darling." I quickly put my bag down and picked him up, holding him in my face. "I left you alone for a while. Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" The dog simply replied by wagging his tail (and his little butt in the process) and letting his tongue stick out as he panted. "I'll take that as a yes," I murmured.

"Oh my god, Kurt, he's gorgeous." Blaine was next to me immediately, reaching his hand out to pet Hector and lightly scratch at his back, all while the dog was in my arms.

"Hector, I'd like you to meet Blaine." I held the dog out towards the slightly shorter man, watching him receive the animal in wonder.

"Hey Hector!" Blaine greeted in a cutesy, high pitched voice. He held him up so that their eyes met. "I know you probably don't believe this, but I'm the one who gave you that fantastic name of yours."

As if on cue, the dog surged forward, slathering Blaine's neck and face with a million kisses. "Yep, you were right," I proclaimed sarcastically. "He definitely hates you."

"Ugh, you are so cute!" Blaine walked into the living room holding Hector and laughing as the puppy licked at his neck. I watched them for a minute, noticing how Blaine had his eyes completely glued to the dog as he walked around the coffee table and to the couch. I was reminded of the fact that he was very familiar with my apartment, and that he'd stayed here for a week in December. It seemed like forever ago.

"Kurt, I might just have to steal your pet," Blaine said regretfully as he rubbed Hector's belly. I didn't exactly know how to respond, so I simply smiled and sat down on the other couch in the room. I watched as they got acquainted with each other, and my heart swelled with sweetness when I saw Blaine place a loving kiss on the top of Hector's head.

"I think Hector's found a new best friend," I observed. Blaine looked up at me with a satisfied smile. The dog had finally calmed down and snuggled next to his lap, his eyes were starting to drift closed. "Yeah, that is definitely a strong bond."

"I hope so," Blaine commented, looking down at the dog.

I got up from the couch and walked into the kitchenette. "Do you want anything to drink?"

When I turned around, Blaine was getting up carefully from his seat, trying not to disturb Hector. "I would love to, but um, I should really be getting home. I have a gig at this breakfast café near Grand Central and it starts pretty early." He rubbed at the back of his neck as he neared the counter.

I had gotten myself a glass of water, and I took a sip while Blaine stood at the other side of the kitchen. He was lingering, I could tell.

"I'm really proud of you, you know that?" I mentioned quietly.

Blaine's eyes looked up to meet mine, wide with wonder. I could feel my heartbeat start to quicken from his gaze.

"Y-you've come a long way from when I last saw you. Not a lot of people can get back on their feet like that. And the show tonight was amazing." I looked down at the glass for a second. "You're amazing," I added quietly.

He kept watching me and eventually I lifted my eyes back up, letting our eyes meet again. "Thank you, Kurt," he replied softly, not breaking the hushed tone that had seemed to fill the apartment. I had missed those looks somuch, and the need for Blaine to be back in my life was pushed to the front of my mind.

"Can I um..." C'mon, Kurt. You can do this. "Do you think I could possibly get your number? To...you know...so that we could like...keep in touch and all that."

Well that was definitely not as suave as I wanted to be.

"Oh goddamn it," Blaine cursed suddenly, squeezing his eyes shut and lifting a hand to his forehead.

My heart plummeted because...okay then...he definitely does not want to keep in touch.

"I keep on forgetting to get a damn phone."

Oh thank Jesus.

I chuckled nervously, watching Blaine pull at his hair a little in frustration.

"I-don't get me wrong Kurt. I would love nothing more than to keep in touch with you I just, goddamn it why haven't I bought a cell phone yet?"

"It's okay. Don't worry about it," I reassured, smiling and waving my hand in nonchalance. I'm sure Cooper and Jackie won't let us not keep in touch."

"Well yeah, I'm sure, but..." Blaine got up suddenly, walked to my side of the counter and grabbed the notepad that was on the fridge. "We have a landline at our apartment. I mean, I'm never home, but it's something." He quickly wrote down the number and slid the pad towards me. I looked down at it.

"You know..." I picked up the pen and started writing on the end of the notepad. "You can always just call me first." I tore off the end of the paper that had my number on it, and handed it to Blaine.

Blaine looked at the piece of paper, smiling before he looked back up to me. "Okay then." I could tell that he was trying to hide the most obnoxious grin.

"Okay then." I repeated for good measure.

"I should really get going," Blaine said as he looked at the watch on his wrist. I bounced on my heels a bit awkwardly, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly Blaine was reaching his arms out, offering a hug. I smiled and obliged the silent request, leaning in close and reveling in the warm feel of his chest against mine.

"Do you remember when we went out to coffee with your aunts?" Blaine said while his arms were still around me. I pulled back a little, so that he could see the confused look on my face. However, he stayed close and his hands remained at my sides. "When you came up with the story about our first date?"

I laughed a little as the memory came back to me, and hung my head down for a moment. "I said that you had walked me home, and that you asked me out on another date before you kissed me goodnight." My damned cheeks were turning pink at the mention of a kiss.

Blaine looked deep into my eyes as he smiled. "I would love to see you again," he said softly.

"Are you trying to get me to kiss you?" I flirted daringly, lifting an eyebrow as I stared back.

Blaine grinned wider. "I would just really, really love to see you again."

"You know, I had told Alice and Molly that it happened outside..." I countered teasingly.

"Oh, so you want me to go with you all the way down the elevator and out on the sidewalk just so I can ask you again?"

"I mean, if we're going for continuity here..."

"...because I totally will," he continued with a smile.

"I guess we'll be alright without that little detail," I said with a knowing smile.

Blaine was silent for a moment. "Are we alright?" he asked, slowly turning serious.

"Yeah," I whispered, glancing down at his lips. "We're alright."

The corner of Blaine's mouth tilted upwards and as he slowly leaned forward, allowing me time to change my mind before our lips touched. His kiss was feather light, and I unconsciously pushed myself into him slightly, closing my eyes. The hands on my sides slid up to the small of my back, and I lifted mine to sling lightly around his neck. Even though I was so, so scared of what could happen, kissing Blaine felt so right. It felt slightly different to me, like I was finally kissing the real him, the real Blaine Anderson. We both let go of the kiss at the same time. Even though it was completely chaste, I couldn't help but feel like I was left entirely vulnerable by it.

"It would be really great," I whispered with my eyes will closed, "if we could take this really slow."

Blaine leaned his forehead against mine. "Yeah?"

I opened my eyes to see that his were still closed as well. "Is that alright?"

"Of course it is." He drew me in close and wrapped his arms around me. I immediately accepted the hug, resting my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes again when I felt him press a kiss into my hair. "I missed you," Blaine whispered.

I smiled as we pulled apart. "I'm glad you'reback." He returned the grin and we made our way towards the door.

"So...slow?" he asked.

"Slow," I confirmed.

"I guess taking you home with me wouldn't exactly mean slow, I assume."

I chuckled a bit. "You assumed correct."

Blaine opened the door, turning around as he stepped into the doorway. "I really do want to see you again soon, you know."

I grinned (for the millionth time in the past ten minutes). "I know."

"When?" he asked.

"Call me."

"I will," he smiled. "Goodnight Kurt."

"Goodnight, Blaine."

I woke up the next morning to the annoying Spice Girls ringtone that Jackie had put on my phone. I reached for my iPhone lazily, opening my eyes just enough to be able to touch the 'answer' button.

"What?" I groaned sleepily.

"OPEN YOUR DOOR KURT."

I let out another annoyed sound and my head fell back onto the pillows. "Not now, Jackie."

"Yes, now!" The sound of urgent knocking came from the other room and I rolled my eyes. "I've been knocking for like ten minutes, get your ass over here!"

"You suck so much," I complained into the receiver as I reluctantly threw my covers off of me, and then hung up on her. Rubbing my eyes, I made my way out of my bedroom and to the front door.

"Took you long enough!" She said when I opened the door about thirty seconds later. "Your coffee is getting cold!"

I walked away from the doorway and rubbed my eyes as I collapsed down on the couch. "Just because you have caffeine doesn't mean I hate you any less for waking me up."

"But I also have fruit salad!" she said enthusiastically, sitting neatly on the other couch and setting the food on the coffee table.

"Why are you here?" I groaned with my eyes closed.

"To find out how last night went!"

I opened one eye to look at her curiously, and then closed it again. "It went fine."

"Ahhhh!" she squealed. "You're smirking! It was better than 'fine', I can tell!"

"Nope, nope, nope. Just fine...with a side of fulfillment." I could feel my smile spreading throughout my face.

"Spill your secrets, Hummel."

"Spill yours first!" I countered, sitting up to look at Jackie. "What has Blaine said since then?"

"What makes you think that I've seen Blaine?"

"You're dating his brother-slash-roommate."

"Okay fine," she confessed, reaching forward to grab one of the plastic cups filled with fruit salad. "I saw him for a brief moment after he got home."

"And..."

"And..." she smiled, "...he said that he doesn't kiss and tell."

"Ahh," I decreed, "which explains why you're here, now, with breakfast and coffee."

"Just tell me what happened," she begged, complete with little kicky feet.

"Sorry love, I don't kiss and tell."

"You lying dick." She took a bite of pineapple. "You texted me everythingwhen you were in Lima. You can't pull that shit with me, darling."

"Well I wasn't aware of the fact that it was a legitimate relationship in Lima, so that doesn't count."

"Oh, legitimate relationship my ass! Those rules so do not apply. Just fucking tell me!"

"You curse a lot when you're determined," I observed.

"Hummel!"

"Okay, okay, okay..." I said, with an amused smile.

Jackie was definitely worked up. "Yes, go on!"

"Well...we kissed."

"Yes, I assumed that. Where? When? How? Did you or did you not perform sexual acts afterwards?"

"Wow," I remarked, taking it all in. "Well for starters, it was in the kitchen."

"In the kitchen?" She was obviously turned off.

"What? It was nice."

"Yes, I'm sure. Did he wash your dishes too because that would seem-"

"No, he did not wash my dishes, you butt. He just...somehow it happened in the kitchen. I'm not really sure if I'm able to explain it."

"Wait, so, how did you two end up in your apartment?"

"He walked me home."

"Awww, that's so sweet," she exclaimed. "Although it could have been because he couldn't afford cab fare."

"He bought me seafood risotto, Jackie."

"Exactly."

"It was nice," I remarked. "We got the chance to catch up. And he wanted to see Hector so we came inside."

"Did he tell you about Pippin?"

"His cat, right?"

"Yep."

"Yes, he did."

"Blaine Anderson has another man in his life. You've got some competition."

"Yes, you're right. He has a fucking cat, who cares if he kissed me?" I said sarcastically. Jackie laughed and I sat up to grab my mocha. "You should make him get a cell phone."

"He doesn't have a cell phone yet?" I nodded. "How the hell has he gone four months in the working world without a cell phone?"

"He's an old fashioned guy, he likes talking face-to-face."

"You know who else is an old fashioned guy?" I raised my eyebrows. "My grandpa," she deadpanned. "And even he has a Nokia."

"You're preaching to the wrong choir, Jack." I took a sip from the cardboard cup. "Go tell him yourself."

Jackie crossed her arms. "Maybe I will."

"Well good, I asked you to." I grabbed a fruit cup from the table and speared a melon. As I sat back in the couch, I continued to think about the night before.

"You look very nostalgic right now, "Jackie noticed as she took a sip of her coffee. "What's the smile for?"

"He said he wants to see me again soon."

"Thank god," Jackie laughed. "That saves Cooper and I a lot of money."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, nothing."

I woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday to my phone ringing. Without looking to see who was calling me, I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi." The slightly familiar voice on the other end said.

"Who is this?"

"It's Blaine."

"Oh," I replied, suddenly waking up faster. "You sound different on the phone."

"Do I?"

I nodded, and then shook my head to myself as I realized that he couldn't see me. "It's two in the morning, dear."

"Yeah, I know, I um..." I could hear the excitement in his voice. I couldn't help but smirk because who else would be giddy in this situation.

"I hope this isn't a booty call."

"No, no no!" Blaine defended with a chuckle. "God, I just, um...I couldn't sleep, and I was laying in bed thinking about things and I started missing you and I was like hey I can call him now and...wow I really did not think this through."

"I'll say."

"So how are you, Kurt?"

"Well, I was sleeping, so I would say that I've been pretty calm."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I woke you up. I didn't think this through at all. I'm so inconsiderate, I'm so sorry Kurt."

"Blaine," I smiled, "it's fine. I probably missed you too."

"Probably?"

"It's kind of been a common theme for a while now, so I assume it still applies when I'm sleeping."

Blaine's end of the phone was silent for a moment.

"You still there?"

"Yeah I um...I was just thinking that we should really fix this whole missing each other thing. Soon."

I smiled unbelievably wide and let the tip of my head sink into the pillow. A blush crept on my cheeks. It was incredible that this was happening, especially since I had always doubted it. "That's a really good idea," I managed to squeak out in response.

"Are you free tomorrow morning?"

"Yes," I breathed out immediately. Oh, real smooth, Kurt. "I mean, nothing that comes to mind?"

"Well, I was thinking about it and we actually live pretty close to one another. The only thing in between our apartments is a couple of city blocks and Central Park. Maybe we could meet up there?'

"Sure, I'm always up for a good walk," I answered. "You know, if I don't have any other plans."

"Yes, I almost forgot about your ever demanding popularity." I breathed out a laugh, ducking my head again. "How does ten-thirty sound?"

"Ten-thirty sounds great."

"Meet me at Bow Bridge?"

"I will meet you at Bow Bridge," I confirmed.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"I um..." I blushed again. "Me too."