“Cooper, why are you naked in my kitchen holding my boyfriend?”

Kurt squeaks, just a little, at the startling interruption of Blaine’s bemused voice, and he can feel the movement of Cooper’s chest as he huffs a laugh. Kurt wiggles free of Cooper’s hold and turns around, smoothing down his apron in the process. Blaine is standing in the living room with his arms folded across his chest and his hip cocked to the side as he leans his weight on one foot. He’s wearing the lovely maroon cardigan Kurt got him for Christmas and the cuffs of his jeans are turned up, exposing the thick socks he’s somehow still wearing. Blaine tends to take both his shoes and socks off as soon as he gets home, complaining that his feet get too warm, even though more often than not, Kurt wakes up with Blaine’s icy toes jammed under his calves.

Blaine looks a little irritated, or something close to it – his dark eyebrows are drawn together and his lips are pressed into a thin line. He’s staring straight across the room at Cooper, who’s grinning and wiggling his fingers in greeting at him. It’s not a look Kurt is used to seeing from his good-natured, if reserved, boyfriend. He can’t tell if Blaine is simply annoyed that his brother has apparently shown up unannounced, or if he’s irked that Cooper is basically naked with his arms around Kurt. Or both. Kurt knows he would be displeased if he walked in on Blaine in another man’s arms.

“Blaine!” Kurt exclaims. He wipes his hands on the edge of the apron as he crosses the short distance from the kitchen to the living room. Blaine’s arms unfold and his face softens as Kurt approaches, his attention shifting away completely from his brother to his boyfriend. Kurt is really kind of in love with the way Blaine’s eyes go especially whiskey-gold and his lips part just a bit whenever he looks at Kurt.

“You’re home,” Kurt ducks in to press a sweet, lingering kiss to Blaine’s cheek. His five o’clock shadow scratches his lips and Kurt can’t help but nuzzle against Blaine’s jaw, just briefly, and his eyes flutter shut for a moment. Blaine smells of the cold winter air, the stuffy dust of the practice room at Tisch, and just faintly of the deep earth of espresso that lingers on his skin even when he hasn’t worked for a few days. Kurt would curl his arms around Blaine’s shoulders and pull him against his body to greet him properly, but he can feel Cooper staring at the back of his head. He’s not against showing Blaine affection whenever and wherever he can (Blaine’s gone far, far too long without it), but he’s not putting on a show.

“So are you.” Blaine’s voice has gone fond and warm and he reaches out to take a hold of Kurt’s hand. Kurt shivers as Blaine’s fingers twine with his and Blaine’s thumb rubs against the thin, delicate skin of his wrist. He shifts to stand next to Blaine, and presses a quick kiss to his temple because he wants to, Cooper be damned.

“This was supposed to be a surprise for you,” Kurt says, and he doesn’t bother to conceal the slight pout in his voice. It’s not that Cooper’s ruined anything, per se, but Kurt had plans, and those plans did not include a third party.

“This is a surprise. I am surprised.” Blaine glances over Kurt’s shoulder at Cooper, who is leaning against the kitchen counter with utter nonchalance, idly stirring the boiling pasta, and smirking at them both.

“Hey, B,” Cooper says, and he waves the spaghetti server at them, undoubtedly flinging water around. “What’s up? Long time no see.”

“That’s not even remotely true.”

Cooper just grins wolfishly and scoops up some of the pasta to test. Kurt hopes the bread isn’t burning in the oven. Even if his dinner-for-two has suddenly become a table-for-three, he’s not going to let it go to ruin before his eyes.

“Coop, can you give us a minute. Alone. Please?” Blaine’s fingers tighten around Kurt’s, and Kurt squeezes back reassuringly. He leans closer into Blaine’s body, offering a bit of physical comfort.

“Sure,” Cooper turns around, presenting his back to them. Blaine sighs (the deep exhale of a man who’s been through this before, many times) and Kurt conceals his grin against Blaine’s shoulder.

“Cooper-” There’s a warning in Blaine’s voice, but it’s fond rather than annoyed, and Kurt has no doubts that Blaine is well versed in dealing with Cooper’s tomfoolery.

“Well it’s not like there’s anywhere else to go. Your place is tiny.” Cooper catches Kurt’s eye, and Kurt swears Cooper winks at him. He thinks about what they’re planning, not quite behind Blaine’s back, and he feels his cheeks pink a little with excitement and nerves. It’s a big step, huge, but like all the other steps along the way, he’s ready for it. He’s ready for everything with Blaine.

“Then wait outside.”

“But I’m not allowed to be naked in your hallway again. Remember? Because of the children.”

Kurt can hear Blaine’s eyeroll and he makes a mental note to ask Blaine about that. Given what he already knows of Cooper, and what he’s quickly learning, there must be quite the story. He can’t wait to hear it.

“Coop, please.” There’s a note in Blaine’s voice, quietly serious, that makes Cooper stand up straight and put the server down.

Kurt wonders what it’s like to have a brother. To have someone you grew up with, someone who’s seen every little facet, every nuance, of you up close and personal, and still loves you for them. He wonders what it’s like to have someone who shares your blood, and who knows your secrets and your dreams. Someone who knows the stories you’ll never tell another soul because they were right there with you. There’s an age gap between Blaine and Cooper, and not a small one, and Kurt wonders how that changed the dynamic of their relationship. He knows a bit of what Blaine’s father was like, how cold and distant he was, and how, after the divorce, Cooper took care of Blaine as best he could. And then later, when Cooper left for LA, Kurt knows how Blaine was shoved aside and forgotten. How he was neglected even more than he had already been by a father who didn’t want him. Kurt can’t begin to imagine what that was like, for either of them.

For as teasing as their relationship appears to be, there’s clearly a limit, and Cooper has apparently reached Blaine’s. But he knows when to back down - when to raise his hands and accept the truce.

Cooper turns off the stove and the oven before walking over to Blaine and Kurt. He pauses and rests a hand on Kurt’s shoulder, solid and reassuring. The gesture reminds Kurt so strongly of his own dad that his breath catches in his throat. Cooper doesn’t say anything, just looks deep into Kurt’s eyes (and damn are Cooper’s eyes bright and piercing) and smiles encouragingly. Kurt thinks he understands.

This is my little brother, Cooper’s face says. I’m trusting you to take care of him.

Kurt is going to do everything in his power to do just that.

Then Cooper reaches past Kurt and ruffles Blaine’s already messy hair, ducking nimbly out of the way as Blaine tries to swat at him.

“Put some damn clothes on, would you?” Blaine calls over his shoulder, and it’s met with a resounding no as the bedroom door closes behind Cooper.

Kurt immediately slides his arms around Blaine’s shoulders like he’s been wanting to since Blaine walked into the apartment and finds his mouth in a soft, sweet kiss. “Hi,” he murmurs against Blaine’s parted lips as Blaine’s hands come to settle on his hips. Blaine finally relaxes into him and takes a deep, calming breath. Kurt feels like the air is being pulled from his own lungs; he’ll share breath and strength with Blaine for as long as he’ll accept it.

“I’m sorry about this,” Blaine whispers, and he leans his forehead against Kurt’s jaw. Kurt shivers a little when Blaine’s fingers creep up under the hem of his shirt to find his skin.

“Don’t be. Your brother is - well he’s quite the character, isn’t he?”

“I should have told you, about him. I wanted to. I did. But I didn’t want it to be a - a thing. Because of who he is.” Blaine’s voice is so soft, but Kurt hears him perfectly.

Kurt can’t imagine what it’s like for Blaine to be the younger brother of a man like Cooper – Blaine, who is so quiet and so reserved, who seems the happiest when he’s lost deep in his music and his writing, or in Kurt.

“I don’t give a shit about who your brother is,” Kurt says with all the conviction in his bones. He needs Blaine to understand this. “I care about you. I want you. Only you. And if some famous actor comes with you, then so be it. Blaine,” Kurt pauses with Blaine’s name still sweet on his tongue.

“We should move in together,” Kurt says, and the world narrows to Blaine’s sharp, surprised inhalation and the sudden tensing of his shoulders under Kurt’s arms. Kurt doesn’t know where they come from, those words. But they’re there, and he means them; he can never regret them. He’s tired of holding back the things he wants to say to Blaine until some vague, mysterious appropriate time occurs.

“Kurt, we-”

Kurt draws back and cups Blaine’s face in his hands. Blaine’s eyes are so huge and so bright, shining a brilliant green-gold in the warm light of his apartment. Kurt thinks - he knows - he wants to wake up to those eyes, and go to sleep to them, for the rest of his life. He brushes his thumbs across Blaine’s cheekbones.

“I love you,” he breathes out, and it’s not a confession anymore. It just is. It’s the beat of his heart and the air in his lungs. Blaine swallows thickly, pupils going wide and dark, and Kurt leans in to press a tender kiss to his mouth. He relishes the low, aching sound Blaine makes against his lips. “It’s always going to be you.” And that is his soul in a few easy words.

“It’s only ever been you,” Blaine responds, and his nuzzles he cheek against Kurt’s palm. He’s looking at Kurt with everything, everything in his eyes. It’s all there. Every ounce of love and affection he holds for Kurt, and it makes Kurt’s heart clench painfully in his chest. He will never get over this, over Blaine. He will never get over how this sweet, wonderful, amazing man is his, and only his. Hopefully forever.

“Then what are we waiting for? Why are we going back and forth between our places? Your bathroom sink is too small and my bedroom is drafty. You almost can’t open your oven door if someone is in the kitchen and my stairwell is just really creepy. But we could find someplace between where we work and where you go to school. We could have something that’s ours.” Kurt can hardly breathe for the thought of it - of a place with Blaine, shared space for their shared lives. His blood is singing and happiness bubbles in his belly.

“We can’t afford-” The hope on Blaine’s face belies the worry in his voice. Kurt knows he’s thinking about his measly Starbucks paycheck, and how he’d never let Kurt pay more than his fair half.

“But what if we could?” Kurt interrupts. “What if we figured out a way? I mean, it might take a while, it might take a lot of searching, but what if we found something? What if there is a place just for us? Would you say yes?” He doesn’t mention Cooper’s offer. It’s not the time.

Please say yes, Kurt thinks, desperately.

Blaine’s shoulders release all their tension and he turns his face to press a kiss to Kurt’s palm. “I am so in love with you, Kurt.” He says, and he bites his lower lip. Every time he says the words – whispered in the hazy light of morning over a shared cup of coffee, panted against Kurt’s chest when they’re tangled together under the sheets – is like a revelation for him. Kurt can’t know what it means to Blaine to say it (how he pulls it from the depth of his soul), but he knows what it means to him to hear it.

Kurt grins tentatively, hopefully. He feels like he might just burst out of his skin. “So that’s a yes?”

“Yes,” Blaine smiles adoringly at him. “Yes, of course.”

Kurt surges in and finds Blaine’s waiting mouth in a long kiss as Blaine’s arms wrap tightly around him. He can taste the sweet crema of their future on Blaine’s tongue.

From Blaine’s bedroom comes a muffled, exuberant whoop.

***

The pasta is a little overcooked, and the garlic bread is extra crispy, but the meal is still delicious. Kurt sets the little table in the living room as though it’s the dining room, and even finds a bottle of wine in Blaine’s cabinet. It’s sort of a celebration after all. He would light a candle, but he’s not sure he trusts Cooper around fire.

At least Cooper found some clothes; when he emerged from Blaine’s bedroom, he was wearing a pair of dark, comfortable-looking pants and a grey long-sleeved Henley. They had to be his own clothes because the hems of the pants came down to the tops of his still-bare feet; if they were Blaine’s, they would have looked like capris. Kurt assumes Cooper brought an overnight bag or something with him, but he hasn’t seen it.

“I certainly hope you were wearing pants when Kurt let you in,” Blaine says after he’s served up pasta onto everyone’s plates. They’re sitting on the plush carpet, knees and legs tucked under the table, and it’s cozy and perfect in a way that makes Kurt’s heart flutter. This is his family now. He can’t wait to call his father and tell him the news. He can only imagine how excited his dad will be for them, and how he’ll demand to talk to Blaine himself. Blaine always gets so flustered when talking to Burt on the phone.

“Kurt didn’t let me in,” Cooper replies nonchalantly as he steals an extra slice of the bread from the serving plate.

“What?” Blaine freezes with a forkful of spaghetti halfway to his mouth.

“Yeah, no,” Kurt takes a sip of the wine. He doesn’t drink much, and it makes him flush pink almost immediately. “He was asleep on your couch when I got here. In his underwear no less. I almost ruined your dessert in my shock.” Kurt had assumed it was a somewhat frequent occurrence, but Blaine’s face says otherwise.

Blaine splutters. The spare key he has for Cooper is still hanging from the corkboard in the kitchen. “What? How did you…the key?”

“Oh that?” Cooper gestures towards the kitchen with his glass and the wine sloshes alarmingly. “I made a copy two years ago.”

“You stole my key?” Blaine’s voice rises with indignation.

“Stole? No no no, little brother. I borrowed. And had a copy made. Just in case.” Cooper winks at Kurt, who can’t stop smiling against the rim of his glass. This is love and happiness and family.

“In case of what?”

“In case I’m tired and you aren’t home. You know how I hate hotel beds. Do you know how many people have had sex in those beds? And I’m not going to walk into your Starbucks, in the middle of Times Square, to get the key from you. Can you even imagine how that’d go? Mr. I don’t want any part of your fame Anderson.” Cooper flicks his wrist dismissively and Blaine blushes.

Kurt can’t wait for the first Thanksgiving or Christmas with the four of them at his father’s house. It’s going to be fantastic, if this little impromptu dinner is any indication.

“So you stealing my key was for my own good.”

“I’m so glad you understand.”

Blaine just hums and takes a long drink of his wine. Kurt reaches under the table and squeezes at his knee.

***

The night is long and full of laughter.

Cooper regales them with stories of his movie shoots and all the insane, egotistical actors he’s had to work with. Kurt can’t imagine having to deal with all those personalities – the models and designers he’s already met are more than enough. Kurt tells Cooper all about Carrie Bradshaw and Anna Wintour, and he promises to take Cooper to work with him in the morning. (Cooper almost drops his glass when Kurt intimates that he can get Carrie to sign a book or two for him.) And Cooper can’t stop laughing when Blaine tells them about the customer the other day who refused to take a receipt from him, saying, “I don’t need a reminder of this interaction.”

And Blaine’s eyes go wide when Cooper tells him that Kurt is going to make a suit for him for an upcoming event.

“Coop, you-” Blaine starts to say, but Cooper cuts him off with a sharp look.

“Don’t even start with me, B. Your boyfriend is fucking talented and I would be honored to wear anything he made for me. Still have to figure how to get him to accept payment for it, though.”

“As if you could make Kurt do anything he doesn’t want to do.”

Kurt just rolls his eyes at them both and leans back against the couch. Blaine is warm next to him and he snuggles into Blaine’s side when he lifts his arm invitingly and curls it around Kurt’s shoulder, pulling him even closer. He’s had a few glasses of wine, his belly is full of food, and his heart is full of love and family.

Kurt closes his eyes and rests his cheek against Blaine’s shoulder. He lets the sounds of Cooper and Blaine bickering good-naturedly, the clatter of utensils and the clinking of glasses, and the patter of rain against the windows wash over him, lulling him to contented drowsiness. Swatches of color and drapes of fabric float lazily around his brain. He has all sorts of cuts and patterns he wants to get Cooper in – something dark, of course, classic, but maybe with a splash of color in the tie and the pocket square, or a subtle pattern in the fabric that catches the eye and makes him stand out. He’s not sure what kind of event this suit is going to be for, but he knows that Cooper will look good in almost anything.

He tries not to think about what doing this could mean for his career, and for his and Blaine’s future; it’s almost too overwhelming. This could mean everything for them. Cooper is family and he’s not going to take money from him for this. For now, he’s content to drift off, sitting on Blaine’s living room floor, curled into the perfect curve of his side as Blaine strokes idly at his arm, and let his imagination run free.

But later, when Kurt sees an extra $3,000 tacked onto his paycheck, he knows where it came from.