Kurt Hummel sat in the quiet confines of his classroom; the only noises inside those four walls were coming from his flipping the pages of a book and the patter of rain drops as they fell on the roof and through the cracks. The old school building had stood for a good twenty years now and hadn’t had a new roof since. And now that it was starting to rain, the delicate drops of water fell through the worn wood and dripped into the class room. Kurt sighed and got up from behind his desk and went over to the shelf on against the wall to his left. He reached up to the second highest shelf and pulled the vase of flowers down. He then took the healthy looking yellow daisies out and frowned as he walked over to the door to the school and tossed the water out of the vase. Kurt then walked back to his desk and placed the now vacant vase under the leaky roof, effectively containing the water inside.

“Leaky roof?” a warm, velvety voice called from behind him. Kurt was surprised to hear someone else since school had been canceled for the day, but when he turned around he was greeted with beautiful honey colored eyes. Kurt smiled at those gorgeous eyes.

“Hello, Mr. Anderson,” he said mannerly and the man smiled back at him.

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Mr. Anderson asked softly. He ducked his head and took a few steps closer to Kurt. “Call me Blaine.” When he looked back up Kurt wondered if he’d intentionally drained all the oxygen from the room.

Kurt reached out a hand on his desk to steady himself before responding. “Blaine,” he said quietly, testing out the name and enjoying the way it felt as it fell from his lips. He looked over at the man and saw that he was still smiling at him. Kurt flushed.

“I can fix that for you- if you’d like,” Blaine said and Kurt furrowed a brow. The other man looked up and Kurt followed his gaze to the water stained ceiling.

“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to-”

“Kurt,” Blaine said, emphasizing the “t” and speaking in a voice that made his stomach knot. “I’m offering.” Kurt was dumbfounded. Why was Blaine proposing that he fix the roof? If he needed extra money, Kurt wasn’t the right person to go to.

“No thanks,” Kurt declined kindly but Blaine rose an eye at him, finishing off the look with a smirk.

“Are you sure?” he asked and pointed to a new forming leak. Kurt frowned at the spot and was about to look for something to collect the drops, but before he could move Blaine was walking over to the corner of the room by the door and grabbing a bucket. He placed it on top of the rectangular table just as a series of drops began cascading down from the roof. Blaine looked over at him and Kurt sighed.

“I can’t,” he began to stammer, “I can’t pay you,” he said and Blaine looked at him curiously.

“I never asked you to.” Kurt’s brow flew to his hair line. “And I promise it’ll be the best roof you’ve ever seen,” he added with a charming grin.

“Mr. Ander-” Blaine gave him a look, “Blaine, you’re a blacksmith. And albeit a good one, you’re not exactly a handyman.” Blaine snorted.

“I’m really good with my hands,” he said and Kurt felt all the blood in his body rush to his cheeks.

“It just wouldn’t feel right,” Kurt said when he finally found his voice. “I couldn’t let you do it for free.” Blaine softly tapped on the table beside his as he seemed to think.

“So, we’ll work something else out,” Blaine suggested when he looked up at Kurt again. Kurt’s brows knit together and Blaine grinned softly. “Like a trade,” he said. Kurt opened his mouth to inquire what it was that Blaine would want in return when there was a soft knock on the door frame. Both boys’ heads swiveled to the entry way to find an elderly woman standing there holding a dainty looking parasol over her head. Blaine sighed softly before walking over to the woman. “Ms. Mabel, what are you doing out here? You should be inside where it’s warm.” She looked past Blaine and over at Kurt.

“My little Katherine said there was no school today; I had to check for myself.” Kurt shook his head softly and smiled at the woman.

“Yes, Ms. Mabel, school has been canceled for the day. Now get back home before you catch a cold.” She nodded, the action causing her whole body to shudder along with her head. She really was getting very old. Blaine reached out and took her arm.

“Why don’t I walk you home?” Blaine suggested, but it was more of a statement. Before turning to leave with the woman, Blaine looked over at Kurt. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Kurt knew he wasn’t really asking though. They had unfinished business to attend to. Kurt simply nodded and Blaine smiled that brilliant smile again. The last thing he heard as the man left was him telling Ms. Mabel that she needed to start carrying around a sturdier umbrella.