Blaine stepped into the diner on a Sunday, about two weeks after his accident. His left hand was clutching tightly onto Kurt’s right.

“I am so nervous,” Blaine whispered and Kurt squeezed his hand in response. Today he would meet his father. Blaine really hoped he didn’t have the urge to punch the man when he saw him. His cast would probably do some damage. Kurt dropped his hand as they sat on stools at the counter. Harriet, who was working, bustled passed them with an order in her hands, stopping briefly to press a kiss to Blaine’s temple, then Kurt’s. Recently, it seemed Harriet couldn’t help but start to mother Kurt and while she could never replace his Mom, he appreciated the thought behind the simple actions. It was the same with Carol. Eddie appeared at the hatch in the kitchen.

“Hello you two,” he managed before bustling back to help pick up slack in the kitchen. It was a busy day. Another waitress placed drinks in front of the boys. They were both such common place features at the diner that they didn’t need to place an order, neither boy paid for what they consumed there either. Kurt had tried but he’d lost a staring match with Eddie which hand ended with him pocketing his money again.

They sat at the counter drinking their coffee, Blaine keeping his eyes dead forwards and not looking at any of the costumers walking into the diner. Kurt kept one hand on Blaine’s leg rubbing it comfortingly. Eventually Harriet came up to them, a hand resting on Blaine’s shoulder to get his attention.

“He’s here. Are you ready?” she asked. Blaine nodded slowly. Kurt squeezed his hand and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek to reassure him. Blaine gave a weak smile in return before following his Mom to a booth tucked in a quiet corner of the diner. The man who occupied it stood as they approached. Blaine’s first thought was he looked nothing like his father. Everyone told him how much like Harriet he looked but when he looked closely there were features of this man that Blaine had, his nose and jaw were two obvious features.

“Blaine, this is Nathaniel Holden, your father,” Harriet said when they stopped. Nathaniel held his hand out to Blaine, who after a pause took it a shook it. “I’ll leave you two,” Harriet added. Then she was gone and he was left alone with this man.

“Please sit,” Nathaniel said, offering him the seat across from him which, Blaine was pleased to note, was facing towards where Kurt sat next to Harriet who had settled in the stool Blaine had vacated. He sat down. Nathaniel was staring at him like he couldn’t quite believe Blaine existed. Blaine shifted uncomfortably.

“You look like your Mom,” he said, voice awed slightly.

“Yeah,” Blaine answered shortly.

“Gosh, I’m doing this wrong. I should apologise.”

“Might be nice,” Blaine bit out. Nathaniel looked shook slightly, the resigned. Blaine sighed. “Sorry,” he added.

“No, no. You have every right to be pissed at me. I get it. What I did, abandoning your Mom and you, that was wrong.”

“I get it. I’m angry yeah but I understand, you freaked and you had the chance to run away, so you did. I don’t like it but I get it,” Blaine shrugged, his hands finding the salt shaker on the table and he began to fiddle with it.

“I regretted it you know, later. All through college, I tried to tell myself that I’d done the right thing, that I wouldn’t be living this life if I’d stayed but then I’d catch myself wondering what you looked like, what you were called. Hell I didn’t even know if you were a boy or a girl.”

“Yet it still took you seventeen years to come find me?”

“Every time I wanted to I got scared, told myself it was to long, that I didn’t have any right.”

“So what changed? Why did you come back? You don’t need a kidney or something do you?” Blaine asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“What? No, no. It’s nothing like that. I got married and my wife’s just had our first baby. I held this precious little bundle in my arms and I was so happy but I couldn’t help wondering what it would have been like to hold you.”

“You missed that boat.”

“Yeah, I know but Molly, my wife, she told me I should reach out to you, that I’d always regret it if I didn’t. I realised, as well, that I couldn’t let you not know you had a half-brother, his name is Cole. Want to see a picture?” Blaine nodded Nathaniel slid his phone across this table. “That’s Cole with Molly.”

“So tell me about you Blaine,” Nathaniel said once Blaine had slid his phone back across the table.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything, everything.”

“Urm, well I go too William Mckinley High School, I’m in the Glee club there so obviously I like to sing. I want to learn to play the piano but Mom can’t afford the lessons. Kurt’s teaching me though. I like watching football but I hate playing it. I box at school sometimes though. Also I’m gay.” Blaine kept his eyes fixed on the table. The man across from him and been born and raised in Ohio, there was no way of knowing how he’d react to that piece of information. There was an uncomfortable silence.

“Wow, way to bury the lead,” Nathaniel finally said. Blaine looked up.

“So…?”

“It’s not what I was expecting, I will admit and I don’t get it and truthfully it’s not something I’d choose to be.”

“That’s just it, it’s not a choice. I didn’t choose to be gay. I physically can’t feel things for a woman the you do. I don’t care if you walk away from me right now and never come back. I managed seventeen years without you just fine but what if one day Cole turns to you and tells you he’s gay? What will you do?”

Nathaniel sat across from Blaine looking stunned.

“You know, I’ve never actually met anyone who’s gay before now. I never thought about it at all. I was taught it was wrong and we’d use words like gay and fag to mock kids when I was in school.”

“There was a man, just like you. He had a kid, a son. The boy’s Mom died when he was eight so it was just him and his Dad. When he came out, the boy was so scared about what his father would do. You know what he did? He told his kid that he knew all along and that he loved him. That’s what you do; you love your kids no matter what. You already screw up once, don’t do it again.”

“You’re a great kid Blaine. That man sounds great to, you know him?” Blaine looked down frowning.

“No, I never met him. He died before I could. His son is my boyfriend though.”

“You have a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, his name is Kurt.”

“The kid teaching you to play piano?” Blaine nodded, smiling a little to know that the man had been listening.  

“He’s sitting over there with Mom,” Blaine added. Nathaniel looked round but Kurt was mostly hidden behind Harriet. Though what Nathaniel didn’t know was Kurt had moved to shield himself when he’d begun to turn. Blaine wasn’t entirely sure why.

“So, what did you do to your arm?” Nathaniel asked, shifting the conversation away from areas he found uncomfortable. Blaine considered coming up with some story to make the man feel more uncomfortable but he decided not to.

“I feel off my bike. How I got these cuts as well,” he gestured too his face with his cast arm. Most the grazes had faded but some of the deeper cuts which had been taped were still visible. 

They talked some more, mostly about Blaine, before Nathaniel had to leave. He gave Blaine his number and address saying Blaine could contact him at any time. Blaine shook his hand as he left then slumped back into the booth. It didn’t take long before a familiar pair of arms were sliding round him. Blaine gently rested his head on Kurt’s shoulder and smiled when he felt a light kiss pressed against his hair. The pair sat like that before Blaine shifted.

“Come on, I want to go home,” he said. Kurt nodded and slid out of the booth holding out his hand for Blaine to take. After a quick kiss from Harriet and a wave at Eddie the pair left.

Kurt drove them back to the trailer and once there they set up a movie and lay on the sofa. Kurt half propped up on pillows and Blaine lay on top of him with his head pillowed on Kurt’s stomach. Kurt’s fingers were gently weaving through Blaine’s curls, stroking his scalp soothingly. Blaine drifted off.

He woke up briefly too Kurt sliding out from under him and tucking him into his bed with a kiss to the forehead.

*

Blaine was laying on his back on the sofa, Kurt on top, as the pair traded kisses. Neither knew how long they had been there when Harriet walked in, back from a date with Josh. Kurt scrambled up but it was obvious what they had been doing. Harriet, however, ignored them as she sank into a chair at the table and put her head in her hands.

“Mom?” Blaine asked walking over to her to see what was wrong. “Are you ok?” He knelt in front of her. Harriet sighed looking down at her son as she cupped his cheek.

“Josh asked us to move in with him,” Harriet said softly. Blaine’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

“What did you say?” he asked after a minute.

“That I had to think about it, that it wasn’t just my decision.”

“What do you want to do?”

“At first I was relieved when he asked because anything that could get us out of here is good and he said he’d convert the study into a bedroom for you, you’d have your own space again, how can I say no to that?”

“But you haven’t been dating that long. It’s kind of quick isn’t it?”

“Maybe but I’m not getting younger Blaine. I love Josh, he loves me and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

“If you’re happy, then I am happy and honestly having my own room would be nice.”

Harriet smiled and brushed her hand through his hair smiling before she dropped her hand and her face took on a more serious expression.

She looked over to Kurt, who had been sitting silently and somewhat awkwardly during the conversation, and gestured for him to come to them.

“It’s time I had a talk with you two,” she said seriously.

“Oh no, Mom, please don’t,” Blaine replied, his face set in horror even as he moved from his kneeling position into a chair. Kurt, face bright red, took a seat next to him.

The following conversation was mortifying for both of them and when Kurt left that night it was to a litany of apologies from Blaine.