Author's Notes: Kurt breathed a sigh of relief as he exited the sanctuary. It wasn't that he couldn't appreciate a good sermon, even about something as insane as the so-called immaculate conception. To be perfectly honest, after he got over his initial prejudice, he actually kind of enjoyed the stories, and hearing the original story of Joseph had put Andrew Lloyd Webber's work in an entirely new light.

What he did not appreciate was feeling old Mrs Norris staring daggers at him during the service. They had started attending First English from almost the first weekend they got there that summer, after Brittany had called up Pastor Axel and asked him point-blank how he felt about same-sex love. To her delight--and Kurt's relief--the man had stated that love was love, and God didn't begrudge people their happiness, even if sometimes the society we lived in did.

Despite the pastor's surprisingly liberal viewpoint, however, not all the members shared it. Though the congregation was generally friendly, there were a few patrons--Mrs Norris included--who had made their distaste of their little family situation known. There was nothing overt in their treatments of him and his girls--one young lady who had made some pithy remarks after discovering the situation still hesitated to meet Kurt's gaze after the tongue lashing he gave her aftwerwards--but he could still feel judging eyes and contempt in their gaze, and after last night, he was not exactly up for it.

As he made his way over to the small community area near the entrance, he wondered if Brittany would be upset with him for skipping out like that. He had lasted through a few hymns, and Brittany was not as oblivious as people thought, so she might understand, but whether she had noticed the glares or not, he was at his limit. He sighed as he sat down near a window, the mid-morning winter sun shining behind him, and flickered his gaze toward the table next to him, wondering if there were any of those cinnamon cookies that one of the matrons sometimes made available today. Upon tasting the first one he had jokingly told Brittany that even if this were the most homophobe of churches, he would come back just for those cookies. She had only smiled and promised that she would make sure it wasn't that type before engaging one of the ladies in a discussion on whether it was a sin to break a diet or not, and if church cookies were holy and cancelled out calories or not.

Kurt smiled at the memory, and how the lady, a Mrs Bryce, he recalled, who was recently married and expecting a baby, had only paused for a second of the confusion that Brittany generally inspired before talking about how blessing food like they did every morning must make it healthy.

He debated standing again to check for those cinnamon creations when he heard the sound of singing, very softly, coming his way. Kurt sat up a little straighter, wondering who was going to interrupt his moment of peace and whether it would be worth it to just find his jacket and step outside so as to avoid more glares and judgment, when he caught the words being sung.

"Patience, now, frustration's in the air,
And people who don't care,
Well, it's gonna get you down..."

He started to grin, recognizing both the song and the voice it belonged to, though he tempered it to a more casual smile when Blaine came around the corner and met his gaze.

"Kurt. There you are."

"Sex and the City?"

"What?" He stopped in place just steps before him and frowned in confusion.

"That song," Kurt elaborated. "They play it in the Sex and the City movie."

"Oh." He paused and then offered hesitantly, "I've never seen that?"

Kurt gaped at him, and he flushed accordingly.

"Blasphemy."

"Sorry," he chuckled lightly, before moving to sit beside Kurt and then explained, "The Warblers sang that my senior year."

Kurt paused and his expression changed from shocked to considering.

"Huh. I can't imagine an a cappella arrangement."

"Yeah, when they played the original for me, I had my doubts, too," he shrugged before grinning as he continued, "But we won regionals with it, so I guess it worked."

"Really."

"Yeah. I'll make a copy of the recording for you; it was actually pretty cool."

"Huh."

Kurt frowned and Blaine started frowning in return.

"What?"

"I'm just trying to understand you."

Blaine cocked a brow at that.

"Oh, really?"

"Understand you musically, I mean. Though it's mind-boggling, I get the whole Disney thing. And then the Broadway/West End stuff, that makes sense, too. But your lack of knowledge on every other kind of music? You have to admit, it's kind of unbelievable."

"Well, I--"

"I mean you must have listened to something else. And not just for your glee club. Did you never borrow a CD from a friend, or listen to the radio?"

"My parents were big fans of NPR," he offered, blushing a little and Kurt sighed.

"So you know classical music. I guess I should have figured; you did say you were a music major, didn't you?"

"Cooper tried to get me into other stuff, these last few years. He played Duran Duran nonstop one weekend."

"Oh, please, no."

Blaine only grinned and shrugged.

"And my roommate Jake has been feeding my modern music needs with his mixed cds lately."

"Ah, yes. The introduction to Katy Perry."

"Maybe one of the greatest I've heard."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Kurt said drily, and Blaine grinned, clearly aware just how far-reaching his comment was, and Kurt changed the subject, "So what brought you out of the sanctuary? Did it start thundering or something in there?"

Blaine laughed at that and shook his head.

"No thunder or lightning in sight. No, ah, actually," he began, hesitating before plunging on, "Brittany said I should make sure that you weren't hurt by Mrs Norris." Kurt blinked in surprise; never let it be said that Brittany didn't notice things. "Is there a Harry Potter thing here I'm not getting?" Blaine asked when he didn't respond. "Because I never would have figured her for...well, maybe Luna, actually, now that I--"

"No, Blaine," Kurt shook his head, smiling despite himself. "This particular Mrs Norris is not a cat, just an old biddy with no great love for perverted souls."

"Perverted souls? That's a bit harsh."

"That was a direct quote," he shrugged. "That sweet-looking old lady with the flowers braided in her hair sitting behind us? Not a big fan of homosexuals."

"No kidding? She looked sweet as punch when I saw her."

"Sweet as punch, Blaine? Really?"

He blushed and began, "Well, I--"

"No, no, it's fine. Kinda cute." Kurt winced as the word left his mouth and sighed. He was losing his filter around Blaine, and that could only mean trouble. "Whatever. So, yeah, she's not my biggest fan. It's no big deal; you can't win 'em all, you know?"

"Uh, yeah. So are there a lot of people here who think like her?"

"A few. But they leave us be, mostly. Or ignore me because they absolutely adore Sunny."

"Of course," Blaine grinned at the thought, and Kurt couldn't help but reciprocate. Sunny had been a hit since day one, both with her fellow pre-schoolers and the ladies of the church. A bright-eyed angel with an eager mind and perfect pitch was hard to resist even outside of worship; inside, she was in high demand, and Kurt was starting to wonder if maybe he shouldn't give in and let her join the children's choir already. She would probably get a kick out of it, and as a few parents were still wary of playdates with him around, she would at least have more time with her peers, even if they were all five and up. She could match the older kids any day of the week, and he wouldn't put it past her to even surpass a few of them, once the opportunity arose.

"So why do you do it?"

He was jolted from his reverie by Blaine's question and he frowned.

"Why do I do what?"

"Come to church," he gestured around them as if to encompass the entire building, and Kurt's gaze was unfocused for a moment before he replied.

"I suppose it is kind of odd, my coming here," he conceded. "I'm obviously not in the most gay-friendly of places."

He smiled a little at the bad joke and then shrugged.

"Brittany likes church. She likes the hymns, the stories, though I've wondered more often than not if she completely understands them. She grew up in the church, and was adamant that Sunny would have the same experiences. Sunday school, vacation Bible school, youth group, overnight lock-ins, retreats...it's a pretty good social outlet, really. Since Sunny's not enrolled in any preschool, this is really the only interaction she has with children her own age. I couldn't begrudge her this time with her peers. And it's free, unlike so many other things, like dance or softball or what have you."

"I get that," Blaine nodded, though his brows were scrunched together in confusion, and he asked, "So why do you go with them, then? Why not send Brittany and Sunny by themselves? I mean, it's not like they're hurting without you."

Kurt frowned as he mulled over his reply before saying, "I have thought about leaving them to themselves. Though true, Brittany will pout at me if I don't, I know they can handle it. And even with the pouting, Britt will forget about me as soon as she gets here and sees the cookies Mrs Ritter brings --those cinnamon cookies? To die for."

"Really?" Blaine smiled. "Cinnamon is one of my favorite things."

"Even if it wasn't, I dare say it would be blasphemous if you didn't like those cookies," Kurt smiled in return before turning serious once more. "It's not so much about how I can send them alone, though. I've been coming to church with Brittany and Sunny since Sunny was still in the womb. It's kind of a ritual thing, one of those few times where you know, no matter how crazy our schedules are the rest of the week, we'll be together during this time. Even if I do still roll my eyes at some of the sermons."

"Totally," Blaine nodded. "I mean, seriously, immaculate conception? Props to Mary for thinking up something so radical, but really?"

"I know," Kurt laughed, and put his hand on Blaine's arm. "I knew it was a good idea to keep you around."

"Oh yeah?" Blaine grinned.

"You just get things. It's like we're meant to be." Blaine stilled and Kurt's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said. He started shaking his head as he pulled his hand back and added, "Friends. We're meant to be friends. I didn't mean to--I don't--it's not like--"

"Why, Kurt Hummel, are you babbling?"

Kurt flushed at the teasing grin on Blaine's face, and stood stiffly to walk across the room.

"I do not babble," he bit out quietly. "I am perfectly eloquent."

"Oh, of course," Blaine nodded congenially, rising as well. "And I think we were meant to be friends, too."

Kurt paused a moment before shifting a glance at Blaine's face. The teasing grin was gone, and he was just smiling gently, and Kurt felt a sense of calmness return to the situation.

"Yeah?" he asked shyly, and Blaine nodded.

"Absolutely," he replied, only to grin again as he added, "Though if you want to be more than friends, I wouldn't mind finding a secluded spot, and--"

"Blaine!" Kurt nearly screeched, blushing cherry-red as he faced him head on. "We are in a church!"

"And it's mid-service. I bet we could get into the pastor's office, even."

"Oh my god."

"Or maybe we should break into the pantry, see where they keep their communion wine. They do serve wine here, right?"

"Grape juice, actually, but what are you--you can't--Blaine," he scowled at him, and Blaine's grin grew wider.

"What?"

Kurt sighed and shook his head.

"Sometimes, you just...I can't keep up with you."

"But you'd like to?" Blaine asked, edging a few steps closer, and Kurt bit his lip.

That was the crux of the matter, wasn't it? Not being able to keep up, but wanting to, all the same. What was he doing? Inviting Blaine to Thanksgiving, to the Nutcracker, to church? It was like he'd already rolled out the red carpet and said, 'Welcome to the family, Blaine!' and he had known him for less than a month. What was he doing?

"That," he said after lightly clearing his throat, "is a matter of some debate."

"Aw, come on, what's to debate?" he smiled, and Kurt had the feeling he was giving him his best 'for the judges' smile. Little did the younger man know, he had already won Kurt over eons ago. "We already know I'm great company."

"Ha," he said drily, though he had to fight not to grin.

"And I'm totally sane." Kurt snorted out-right at that, and Blaine shrugged. "Okay, well, mostly. Plus, I'm spontaneous, so keeping up with me would never be boring."

"Though the base concept of 'keeping up with' someone or something generally brings up the idea of wearing one's self out trying to do so."

"I'll accept that," Blaine nodded, but continued, "Though sometimes wearing a body out is the fun part of keeping up."

Kurt took in a slow breath and walked over to the table and made a tower of cinnamon cookies on a paisley green napkin. If he was going to have to put up with this, he needed some sugar in his system, healthy or no.

"What? No response to that part?" Blaine asked from behind him, and Kurt debated replying before he walked back to the window seat and sat down. "Um, if I went too far, I'm sorry," Blaine went on, more hesitance in his voice now, and Kurt looked up into nervous, puppy dog eyes, and felt his whole world crash around him. "I wasn't really trying to--I mean--"

"Blaine," Kurt cut in before his rambling went full-tilt, and he smiled when the other boy stopped and stared at him. "It's fine. Just, somehow...somehow, you manage to be fantastically compelling and inappropriate at once." He paused, and laughed a little. "And wow, I've used that line before. Officially pathetic."

"Nah," Blaine said, grinning again, and sat down on the arm of the chair beside him. "So who did you say it to before?"

"My first love," he laughed again and shook his head. "We were paired together in glee club to sing a ballad, and he had a...moment, shall we say, and lashed out at me."

"Ouch."

"Well," Kurt shrugged. "As I said, fantastically compelling and inappropriate."

"I'll bet. So should I be flattered that you used the same line on me or offended?"

"Maybe a little of both," Kurt smiled, and Blaine laughed. "Would you like a cookie, Blaine?"

"Is this you keeping up with me or filling my mouth so I can't say anything else stupid?" he asked, as he moved to sit fully beside him, and Kurt shrugged and held out the treat.

"Maybe a little of both," he said again, and Blaine's lips pursed in a frown before he shrugged and took the proffered cookie.

"Okay. I can deal with that." He broke off a small piece a popped it in his mouth before asking, "So how long do we stay out here?" He swallowed another piece and added, "You were right on about these cookies, by the way. Cinnamon has reached a new plane of existence."

"Told you so," Kurt grinned, and said, "Another ten minutes or so ought to do it. The sermon should be wrapping up, and then we can sing again."

"And you'll be fine with the Harry Potter lady?"

"Mrs Norris," he corrected, though he couldn't help the laughter, "despite her biggoty ways, actually loves my voice."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is. She only manages to smile at me if she's being all fake and nice, so I could tell she meant the compliment by the sour look on her face."

"Man, she must hate that a 'perverted soul' has an angel's voice," Blaine grinned, and Kurt laughed again.

"Yes, yes, she does."

"Wanna make her day worse afterwards by letting her know there are two of us here today?"

"You're impossible," he sighed, and Blaine's grin got even wider.

"That's my middle name. Blaine Impossible Anderson."

"Ha," Kurt smirked, and started on his own cookie.

"So that's a no?"

"Would you like another cookie, Blaine?"

He laughed out loud; the ploy was obvious this time, but he nodded and took another cookie before the two of them settled into a comfortable, cinnamon-filled silence.