Kurt pushes his way through the dense mass of people to find the booths he’s looking for.  He came to activity night for one reason only: to find every singing group that exists on campus and sign up for them.  He left his friends back a while ago; they were only slowing him down, determined to see what every single table has to offer.  Kurt isn’t interested in the lucid dreamers’ club, or intramural sports, or anything other than clubs that’ll give him a chance to sing.  If he has to be stuck at Ohio State, he can at least have this.

            He finally finds an all male a cappella group to sign up for, and goes to pick up the pen to write out his name and contact information.  Unfortunately, another hand gets in his way, their fingers bumping and foreheads almost knocking when they look up at each other.

            “Oh!  Sorry, please, you go first,” the other boy says, standing up straight and giving Kurt a genuine, ear-to-ear grin.

            Kurt would brush him off and take the opportunity to sign up and be on his way if the guy standing before him wasn’t so breathtakingly gorgeous.  He can do nothing but stare, his mouth slightly open, still kind of hunched over for the pen.

            “Or…not,” the guy mutters, his eyebrows furrowing in a mix of confusion and amusement, bringing his hand up to rub nervously at the back of his neck.  “Did I…um, I mean, rather…are you alright?”

            Kurt catches himself and blushes, averting his gaze and busying himself with filling out the requirements on the sign up sheet.

            “Yes, I’m fine, thank you,” he says, not looking up from the sheet until he finishes writing.  He stands back up and looks over at the shorter boy, shifting from foot to foot. 

“Your turn,” he teases, holding out the pen and offering him a slight smile, hoping that he hasn’t completely made a fool of himself.

“My turn,” the boy repeats, beaming again before hunching over to scribble his information down.  Kurt absolutely does not take the opportunity to check out his (really, really great) ass.

“Your handwriting is really nice, Kurt,” he says, straightening back up, his eager grin never failing to make Kurt’s stomach swoop.

“Oh, thanks…”

“Blaine,” he says, reaching out to shake Kurt’s hand.  Kurt takes it, feeling the slightly rougher skin connect with his, the grip perfect and exhilarating.

“Well, it was very nice to meet you, Kurt,” Blaine says, holding Kurt’s hand for a second longer than is probably strictly necessary.  “I hope I see you around.”

Kurt watches as Blaine makes his way through the crowd, glancing back his way every once and a while, and his mission to sign up for everything involving singing is abandoned in favor of finding his friends and melting into a puddle of goo.

Kurt is just settling into bed that night when his phone buzzes with a new text message.

(Unknown) [12:26]: Hey, Kurt!  It’s Blaine, from the activities fair.  So, this is sort of really creepy and…stalker-ish of me, but I may have memorized your number from the sign up sheet to make sure I could talk to you again.  Which I now realize might solidify you never wanting to speak to me again, because wow, who does that?  Okay, anyway, if you are by some miracle still willing to talk to me, I’d really love to get coffee with you sometime.  Assuming you like coffee.  Sorry, that was presumptuous.  You can totally get hot chocolate if you prefer.  And there I go again, assuming you’re going to say yes.  I’m rambling, is that even possible to do via text?  This is getting to be very long and you probably think I’m some stalker freak so I’ll just say good night now, and text me back if I haven’t scared you off yet and if you’d like to get coffee.  Okay.  Bye.

Kurt’s smile is so big his face hurts by the time he finishes reading the text.  He shoots off a quick reply before laying back against his pillows and grinning up at the ceiling.

(Kurt) [12:29]: I love coffee.  When and where?

The response is instantaneous.

(Blaine) [12:30]: I am totally not doing a happy dance right now.  Tomorrow, at the Starbucks on campus, around 2?

(Kurt) [12:31]: Perfect, see you then.  Goodnight, Blaine :)

(Blaine) [12:31]: Goodnight, Kurt :)!!!

Kurt turns onto his side, trying not to let his feet do a happy dance of their own as he slowly falls to sleep. 

Kurt spends most of his morning picking out the perfect outfit, knowing that he’ll be heading straight to Starbucks after his class lets out at 1:30.  He doesn’t care that he’ll be there early, he just wants to be there first.  When he finally gets his hair to sit perfectly, he sprays it and collects his things, walking briskly outside and taking deep breaths of fresh air.  He can’t seem to stop smiling; it’s a beautiful, wonderful day.

His human biology class doesn’t even bore him as much as it usually does.  He takes his notes and doodles in the margins and smiles.  He actually answers a question, which shocks the teacher as well as himself, and his smile and correct response inspire her to smile as well.  He can’t help but appreciate how infectious his good mood is.

He practically skips to Starbucks after class, humming quietly to himself.  He’s going on a date.  With a really cute boy, and the boy asked him, and he wears bowties, and…he got here first.  Damn it, Kurt thinks.  Blaine beat him there, and he’s sitting at a table for two, sipping his coffee, with another coffee cup across from him.  Ordering coffee for Blaine had been Kurt’s plan.  Damn perfect bastard ruined it.

Kurt stands by the door, suddenly unable to move.  He knows he should just get over it and go over to the table, but his feet are glued to the floor and he’s more nervous than excited now and he doesn’t—shit.  Blaine has spotted him, and he’s waving his arm in the air to get his attention.  Kurt tries to take a step forward but his damn feet almost trip over themselves, and then—

“KURT!!”

Kurt cringes.  At least half the café is now looking at him, amused, and Blaine is waving both arms in the air, practically raising out of his seat.  He beams when Kurt (finally, his stupid feet start working properly) starts to make his way over, then turns away from him, and if Kurt wasn’t already questioning his sanity he’d be sure that he sees Blaine looking embarrassed.

“Sorry, I was just…” Kurt starts to say as he sits down, but since he doesn’t really have a good end to the sentence, he lets it trail off and figures Blaine will make something up in his head that’s a better excuse than anything he’d come up with.

“No, no, it’s totally fine!  I’m just really, really glad you showed up, I mean…not that I think you’re a flake or anything, you definitely don’t seem like the kind of guy to stand up dates.  Not that I think you go on lots of dates, or anything!  But, I mean, there are probably tons of guys who are into you so, you know, I would be surprised if you’ve been on…some dates before, and so I just, you know.  Wanted to get here before you, and um…surprise you with coffee!  So, I ordered for you, it’s there in front of you, as you can see, and…shit, I didn’t even think about the fact that that is totally pretentious of me and I must seem like such an arrogant douche bag, just assuming that you’d like whatever I pick for you, and—oh no, I totally cursed, didn’t I?  I’m already screwing this up and you’re just so pretty and I—you’re laughing at me.“

“Sorry, sorry,” Kurt gasps out between giggles, trying to control his laughter, but it only grows at the incredulous look on Blaine’s face.  Eventually, Blaine’s mouth quirks up a bit and then he’s laughing too, a little breathless and slightly bemused.

Kurt finally manages to control his laughter and settle down, wiping away the slight bit of moisture at the edges of his eyes.

“There’s no need to…be so nervous, or anything.  Trust me, I’m just as nervous if not more so, and you don’t see me babbling or anything, do you?” Kurt says with a smirk, only just holding back the sudden impulse to add a wink.

“I was not babbling,” Blaine scoffs, but when this only sets Kurt off into another fit of giggles—albeit quieter and less intense—Blaine shakes his head and rolls his eyes in surrender.

They both quiet down, flashing small smiles and quick glances, and the silence is sort of awkward, so Kurt turns his attention to the drink Blaine got him.

“So, what is this?” he asks, wary of trying something he’s not positive he’s going to like.

“Just taste it,” Blaine encourages.  “C’mon, if you hate it I’ll buy you a new one, your choice this time.”

Kurt picks up the cup and takes a tentative sip.  It’s just hot coffee with milk, and seemingly a shot of mocha, but it’s surprisingly refreshing and, while not Kurt’s usual order, exactly what he’s in the mood for.

“Mmmm,” Kurt lets out, closing his eyes and gulping some more down, trying not to moan at how welcome the hot beverage is.  It’s unseasonably cold for a mid-September day, and the drink warms him from the inside out.

When he opens his eyes, he finds Blaine’s gaze fixed on his throat, which he clears, and Blaine’s eyes flick up to his, a blush spreading fast across his cheeks and a shy smile tugging up his lips.  Kurt scrunches up his nose; he finds Blaine so endearing, he doesn’t even know what to do with himself.

“So, Kurt Hummel,” Blaine starts, and it’s only because Kurt remembers that Blaine memorized his number, and therefore probably all his other information, from the signup sheet that he doesn’t ask how he knows his last name.  “What is it that you do?”

“Well, I’m a fashion design major—“ Kurt begins to say.

“Oh, my god that is so cool!  Tell me all about it, I love fashion, I’m just no good at designing.”

And then they’re off.  Kurt talks about all his classes, ranging from the design class that he loves, with the slightly manic teacher who scares him a bit, but is nonetheless a genius, to the art history class that bores him to tears, to the general education courses he’s taking to get out of the way.  It turns out that they share a few mutual classmates—“You know that kid too?  Michael whatever, with the weird hair?  I know, his mustache is so patchy!”—and that gets them talking about Blaine’s classes as a music education major, and how he actually likes almost all of his teachers, but one of them seems to really have it out for him and he’s worried it might be because he’s gay.  But from the way Blaine describes him, Kurt’s pretty sure the teacher is gay too, and reassures Blaine that he’s probably just jealous because Blaine is a hot new thing just starting out and is probably way more talented than he was as a student, and the teacher is bitter because Blaine’ll get to go on to do more than teach others how to be great.

They sit there and talk for almost an hour, each going through another cup of coffee (Kurt buys them this time around), and it isn’t until Blaine’s phone rings that they’re snapped out of their little perfect date bubble.

“Just give me one minute to take this,” Blaine says, standing and answering the phone as he steps out of the café.  Kurt watches him, chin in hand, dreamily sighing at how great this date is going.  He’d been on a few dates his senior year, but all those guys were just trying to get into his pants, and he’s not even sure they were all confirmed gay—some of them were probably just questioning.  But here Kurt has found himself a gorgeous boy who’s silly and funny and sweet and cute and polite and interesting and the list goes on, and Kurt can’t help but be excited at the prospect of a real boyfriend.  He’s never even had a crush on someone with whom he could actually have a good relationship.

He zones back in and focuses on Blaine on the phone, noticing the way Blaine tenses up a bit, his eyebrows furrowing and his mouth firing off what look like harsh, frenzied words.  When he hangs up, he hurries back into the café and begins to collect his things.

“Kurt, I’m so sorry about this, but something urgent has come up and I really need to get home.  I’ll call you, okay?”

“Sure, is everything alri—“ Kurt doesn’t even get to finish his question before Blaine is out the door, practically running to the parking area where his car must be.  And isn’t that a bit strange, a freshman living off campus?  Kurt starts to worry that his potentially perfect not-yet-boyfriend might not be so perfect after all, before realizing that he’s probably just overreacting.  Of course Blaine isn’t going to tell him everything about his life, they just met, and this is the first date, for heaven’s sake.  He reassures himself that in due time, Blaine will feel comfortable enough with him to let him in on whatever’s going on.

“I don’t know, Kurt, it sounds pretty fishy to me,” Rachel says.  They’re having their usual Thursday night Skype date, and Kurt just finished telling her all about the date.  “I mean, he seems really sweet and caring, but then he just ditches you with no explanation?  It just seems weird and sketchy.  You barely even know the guy, after all.”

“Well, I’m sure the next time I talk to him he’ll explain,” Kurt muses.  He’s not ready to write Blaine off, not after how wonderful their date was.  And he does genuinely believe that Blaine will have a good excuse, because he just seems like too nice a guy to blow Kurt off with something like that.

“I know you want to believe that, and I hope it’s true,” Rachel answers.  Kurt tries hard not to roll his eyes, but he can’t help but feel a bit invalidated.  If the same thing happened to Rachel, he knows he’d be expected to reassure her that everything will be just fine, so why can’t she just shut up with her damn opinions and do the same for him?  However, he knows she’s really just trying to watch out for him, even if he doesn’t really think he needs her to.

“Whatever.  We’ll see, whenever he decides to answer my text.  So what about you?  How are things with Brody?”

He lets Rachel talk at him for the next ten minutes, nodding and agreeing at all the right times, but his focus is mostly on his phone, waiting for Blaine to answer him.  All he wants is just one little text, letting him know that everything is fine.

“And just yesterday, he surprised me with breakfast, and oh, my god Kurt, it was so romantic!  You’d love him, I just know you would, and I can’t wait for you to visit and meet him and we can all—“

“Rachel!  He’s calling me!”

“Wait, Kurt, put him on speaker, I wanna—“

Kurt ends the Skype call without hesitation and answers his phone.

“Hey, Blaine,” he says a bit breathlessly.

“Kurt!  I’m so sorry for not answering your text, things have just been a little hectic.  The ah, reason I had to leave our date early was…well there was some flooding in the building and it was apparently coming from my apartment so I just…had to get back and you know, take care of that.  So I’m really sorry for running out on you and cutting our time together short.  But I’d love to go out with you again soon, if you’ll still have me.”

Kurt can practically hear the smile in his voice, and he’s tempted to swoon, but there’s no one to catch him.

“Sure, I’d love to!  What did you have in mind?”

“How about dinner?  And maybe a movie, if the mood strikes.”

“Sounds perfect.  Is tomorrow night too soon?  And if you don’t mind, I’d like to pick the restaurant, I know this fabulous pizza place in Columbus, and who doesn’t like pizza?”

“Great, that’s totally—shit, one second,” Blaine mumbles.  Kurt hears some rustling as Blaine, presumably, puts the phone down, and then some yelling and a slammed door, and footsteps, before Blaine picks the phone back up.

“Sorry about that…like I said, it’s a bit crazy here,” Blaine says distractedly.

“…oh, it’s okay.  Um…if you don’t mind me asking, I’m just…a little confused about something.  You live off campus?”

“Yeah, my parents wanted me to…I think it’s sort of a ‘because they can’ kind of thing.  Who knows, they like spending money I guess.”

“Wait, I didn’t think freshmen were allowed to live off campus.”

“Well, when you’re older than most of the freshman class, you kind of get your own set of rules.”  Blaine is starting to sound a bit uncomfortable, but Kurt can’t help it as his curiosity grows.

“How old are you?” he asks, and he’s almost nervous that Blaine is going to hang up with how long he takes to answer.

“…I’m 20.”

“Oh.”

They’re both silent for a moment, Kurt trying to process that Blaine is a 20-year-old freshman and how did that happen and more importantly will he ever get to find out, or has he officially scared off something that seemed like it could be the first really good thing in his life in a long time?

“It’s not…shit, it’s sort of a long story, okay?  I don’t mean to…hide things from you, it’s just.  Maybe we’re not quite there yet.  Does that make sense?  Is—is that okay?  Or have I completely fucked this up oh my god Blaine you seriously need to—“

“No, it’s fine!  I shouldn’t have pushed, your business is your business and I had no business trying to…learn about your business.  Wow.  I don’t think you have to worry about sounding like an idiot anymore, because I’m pretty sure I just took the cake.”

“Kurt, it’s alright,” Blaine says, and he’s laughing and Kurt is so, so glad they’re back on the right path.  “I think it’s adorable.”

Kurt blushes, and he’s glad Blaine can’t see him right now because it would just embarrass him even more, and he thinks they’re both done making complete fools out of themselves for the night.

“So, dinner.  How about you pick me up at Starbucks, since it’s common ground, around 6:30?”

“Sounds great.  See you then, Kurt.”

“Bye, Blaine!  Can’t wait!”

They hang up, and Kurt flops back on his bed and grins up at the ceiling.  He gets away with it for about three minutes before Rachel is calling him on Skype, and he knows she’s going to be angry, so he figures he owes it to her to fill her in.  He can’t hide his huge smile when their cameras show their faces.  Rachel immediately squeals.

“Tell.  Me.  Everything.”

The next evening finds Kurt on Skype with Rachel, showing her potential outfits and trying not to stress too much.  She finally approves of one that he can agree with her on, and she reluctantly lets him go to do his hair with the threat that if he doesn’t tell her everything as soon as he gets home, she will withhold his Christmas presents for a month.  The threat is pretty empty though, considering she knows he’s going to spill his guts once the date is over.

Once Kurt is positive his hair looks amazing and that everything is good with his outfit, he collects his wallet and phone and heads out.  It’s only just six o’clock, but he is determined to beat Blaine there this time, even if it means waiting for a while.

It turns out he only has to wait about ten minutes.  Blaine pulls his car into a half hour parking spot in front of Starbucks at exactly 6:11, and Kurt tries not to gape in amazement.  Seriously, this guy’s dedication to punctuality is a little ridiculous.  He ignores the voice in his head that tells him he made sure to get there half an hour early to be there before Blaine.

“Kurt, hey!  Looks like you beat me this time,” he says with a smile, although he almost looks disappointed, which sort of makes Kurt sad, and he resolves right then and there that on any future dates, he’ll make sure not to get there first.  Because they’ll probably have future dates, oh god.

“Well, what can I say?  I wanted to surprise you,” Kurt replies, giggling and rolling his eyes when Blaine actually opens the passenger door for him.  He gets into the car, immediately bending down to pull at the bar underneath the seat to push it back, giving his legs some room.  His fingers brush against something soft, and he sits back up straight after snagging whatever it is.

It turns out to be a battered old blanket, and he stares down at it a bit confused, thinking Blaine must have definitely not meant for him to see something so personal.  He doesn’t have time to contemplate re-hiding it before Blaine gets in the car and sees it.

“Oh!” Blaine reaches over to take the blanket from Kurt’s hands (and if Kurt’s heart jumps a little when their fingers touch, well, no one should blame him).  “I could’ve sworn I’d…thrown that out, I—“  He seems to catch himself and stops staring reverently at it, blushing and glancing up at Kurt.  “Sorry, um, I’ll just…”  He leans over to pop the glove compartment open to slide the blanket in, before pulling back and starting the car.  Kurt can sense Blaine’s discomfort and decides not to talk about it.

They listen to the radio in comfortable, if not slightly tense silence, Kurt breaking it every once in a while to give Blaine directions, and before long they’re pulling into the pizza place parking lot.  Kurt opens his own door this time, although Blaine does his best to jump out of the car and open it for him.  He does hold the door to the restaurant open for him, and Kurt holds back his teasing.  He doesn’t really mind Blaine’s gentlemanliness, after all.

They order their pizza and find a table to sit at, and it starts to get a bit awkward, just sitting there across from each other, so Kurt decides to say something.

“So, I was—“

“How was your—“

Apparently Blaine had the same idea.  They laugh at each other and the tension is broken, their conversation flowing more easily after that.  When their pizza arrives, the guy who sets it down smirks at them and winks at Blaine, causing both of them to giggle before digging in.  Kurt tries to be neat with his pizza, folding it in half like he knows they do in New York, but Blaine digs right in.  Kurt starts laughing uncontrollably when he sees the big blotch of red sauce on Blaine’s chin, and Blaine stares at him incredulously, asking what’s up over and over before Kurt controls his laughter long enough to swipe at Blaine’s chin with a napkin, holding it up for him to see, and then they’re both in hysterics and several people are starting to stare.  Neither of them cares, though.  Kurt even works up the courage to slide his ankle against Blaine’s while Blaine looks up movie times on his phone, causing Blaine to glance up at him with a teasing smile, which he returns.

“Okay, so there’s an 8:45 showing of Wreck It Ralph.  Have you seen it, it’s so good, I went with—well, my friends and I are kind of totally into animated movies, sorry if that sounds lame.  But maybe that’s not the best date night movie.”

“Maybe not,” Kurt flirts, trying to battle his shyness.  “What about that new Jennifer Lawrence movie?  With Bradley Cooper?  Um, Silver Lining’s Playbook?”

“Sure, there’s a 9 o’clock showing if that’s not too late.  After all, who wouldn’t want to spend a few hours watching Bradley Cooper?”

“I may not be religious, but amen to that,” Kurt responds, his chest warming at the way Blaine cracks up.  He’s never made a guy laugh so much before.  At least, not a guy who really mattered.

They clean up their trash and head out of the pizza place, Kurt opening the driver’s door for Blaine with a flourish, clearly mocking him and making him chuckle, before getting into the passenger’s seat himself.  They drive to the movie theater, and Kurt does his absolute best not to squeal when Blaine takes his hand as they walk inside, but he’s not sure he completely contains it.

He insists on buying the tickets, but Blaine sneaks away to buy them popcorn, and Kurt can’t find it in him to be annoyed.  They find their theater and settle in, just in time for the first preview.

Suddenly, all at once, Kurt is nervous.  He’s never been on a movie date before—hell, this is only his second date ever!  What is he expected to do?  Hold Blaine’s hand?  No, how would either of them eat the popcorn?  Oh, god, what if their hands brush while both reaching for some, like in the movies?  Or what if Blaine leans in for a kiss, and his breath smells like movie theater butter?  Kurt realizes too late that he has absolutely no idea what he’s doing here.  Fortunately, Blaine seems to sense that he’s tensed up, and pulls his arm up and around Kurt’s shoulder.

God, that feels nice, Kurt can’t help but think.  He has a guy’s arm around his shoulder, and they’re watching a movie, and they’re sharing popcorn, and he can do this, he can definitely do this without being a total, inexperienced freak about it.

Blaine sort of does lean in for a kiss at one point, whispering Kurt’s name.  Kurt feels his breath against his cheek, but he’s too engrossed in the movie to turn his head.

“Yeah?” he says, still staring ahead, and then he feels lips press firmly against his jaw, and abruptly turns his head, only to realize that their mouths are only about an inch apart and shit he is not ready for this.

“Blaine, wait,” he huffs out, and Blaine must be able to feel that, and that’s sort of hot, but he just doesn’t want their first kiss to be some dark, movie theater cliché, so he pulls back a bit.  “Not like this, okay?  Soon, but…just, not like this.”

Blaine lets out a long breath that he’d apparently been holding and nods, glancing down at Kurt’s lips once more before nodding and focusing his attention back on the movie, pulling Kurt in a bit more so that his head rests on his shoulder, and discreetly (except really not discreetly at all) kissing Kurt’s forehead quickly.

They enjoy the rest of the movie, although neither of them can fully concentrate after that, and they hold hands out their way out.  Blaine drives them back to campus, and before getting out of the car, Kurt grabs Blaine’s face and does kiss him, full on the lips, completely catching him by surprise, and wow, that feels wonderful.  He finally pulls back after what feels like forever, pressing one short kiss to the side of Blaine’s mouth before climbing out of the car.

“Goodnight, Blaine,” he whispers before shutting the door and getting out of the way, only to watch as Blaine sits in his car, dumbstruck, for a full minute before smiling so wide it must hurt and waving at Kurt enthusiastically, finally driving off.  Kurt smiles and practically skips back to his dorm, giddy and feeling high off the whole night.

His roommate is sleeping, so he tries to be as quiet as he can as he gets ready for bed, heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth, slipping into his pajamas and settling into bed.  Just before he drifts off, his phone buzzes with a new message that sends him off into beautiful, fluffy cloud dreams.

“Goodnight, Kurt <3”

 They keep going on dates after that, and each time they hang out they seem to find out a new thing about each other, as well as many, many shared interests.  On their third date they discover their mutual love for all things Broadway and their shared obsession with Patti Lupone.  On their fourth date, Kurt learns of Blaine’s secret boxing skills, and Blaine finds out about Kurt’s hidden talent of singing in French.  On their fifth date, they argue over vogue covers and fashion, which Kurt ultimately wins by pointing out the difference in their wardrobe.  Blaine does mumble something about how bowties will never go out of fashion as long as they remain adorable though, and Kurt doesn’t have the heart to disagree with him on that one, deciding to kiss it better instead.

They do a lot of that, too—kissing.  Blaine likes to lick into Kurt’s mouth and open him up, kissing him sensually until he’s breathless and (only in his mind, obviously) desperate for more.  Kurt likes to sneak attack with kisses, catching Blaine off guard and therefore giving him the upper hand to control it, teasing him with shorter kisses that definitely leave Blaine wanting more.

They’re boyfriends, and Kurt almost rolled around on the floor the first time he said it out loud to Rachel, who was shrieking forever before Kurt managed to shut her up so he could say it again.  He’s never had a boyfriend before, and he couldn’t be more excited at how perfect his first one is turning out to be.

 It isn’t until after their eleventh date (Blaine blindfolds Kurt and they end up in a bowling alley, and it takes a lot of convincing to get Kurt into the shoes, but he finally gets over it and has a blast, almost beating Blaine with a score of 112) that Kurt discovers that things aren’t always as perfect as they seem.  He’s looking around frantically for his wallet after his 9 AM yoga class, his only Monday class, and when he can’t find it for the life of him,  he realizes he must have left it in Blaine’s car.  He immediately pulls Blaine’s name up to call him—he really needs his wallet today, it’s his last chance to go Christmas shopping before he gets hit with a heavy workload from all of his classes.

“Hello?”  Blaine answers the phone sounding rather frantic himself, but Kurt, in his own state of desperation for his wallet, misses the odd tone.

“Blaine, thank god, can you swing by campus in the next hour or so?  I really need my wallet and I left it in your car, I have to go shopping today or I’ll never get it done and i—“

“Kurt?  Shit, this is a really bad time, I—I really can’t leave, I’m sorry.”

Kurt tries not to be annoyed, but he can’t help but feel unnecessarily dismissed.  He brushes it off, trying to reason with Blaine instead.

“Could I…stop by?  I just really need to get this shopping done, I don’t have to come up, if you don’t want me to, you can just come down and let me in your car.”

Blaine doesn’t answer for a while, which worries Kurt, but also sort of frustrates him.  This really shouldn’t be so complicated.

“Fuck, okay.  Can you give me fifteen minutes?  Be downstairs in fifteen and I’ll come down, just—no sooner, okay?”  he finally responds, hastily and a little harsh.  Kurt tries really hard not to take it personally, though he’s not sure how else to take it.

“Yeah, okay, see you then,” he says, but Blaine has already disconnected.  Kurt hates this sudden shift, and will definitely be demanding an explanation.  He starts to get ready to go, though, because it’s about a twelve-minute walk to Blaine’s apartment building and he isn’t even wearing real pants.

When he makes it to Blaine’s apartment about 20 minutes after their call ended, he finds Blaine’s name on the buzzer and presses it a few times.  A couple minutes pass and there’s no answer, so he tries calling Blaine.  When he still isn’t responding, after a few more calls (they go straight to voicemail) and quite a few more buzzes to the door, he’s starting to get pissed.  He looks at the other names, and selects one at random, a woman by the name of Hilda, who kindly lets him into the building.

He marches up the stairs two at a time, fortunate that the buzzer listed apartment numbers, otherwise he’d have no idea which one was Blaine’s.  He knocks angrily at the door, completely ready to bitch Blaine out, when the door swings open, Blaine already talking.

“Oh, my god, finally, you’re here, did you see Kurt downstairs and tell him I—shit.”

Kurt stares at Blaine, who stares back at him, standing in the doorway of his apartment…holding a young boy in his arms.

“Shit!” the kid parrots, looking happily up at Blaine.

“Scotty, don’t say that.  That’s an adult word,” Blaine chastises, but his eyes never leave Kurt’s.  They just stand there, staring, for who knows how long, before footsteps bounding towards the apartment startle them both out of it.

“Crap, he’s here already.  Blaine, I’m sorry, I tried so hard to get here but traffic and Bobby was asking questions and wouldn’t let me take the car until I answered him and—“

“Steph, please, just…take him and go into my room, please?”  Blaine is now avoiding Kurt’s gaze, handing over the boy to this woman, and Kurt is so confused, watching Blaine as he watches the woman take the boy (Scotty and Steph, his mind supplies, but who are they and who the fuck’s kid is that?).  The two of them are left alone, and suddenly, Kurt wishes he was anywhere but here, anywhere but standing right outside his boyfriend’s apartment, unraveling some secret that his (supposed to be perfect oh god what’s happening) boyfriend has been hiding from him.

“Fuck,” Blaine spits out, turning away from the door and falling onto the couch inside, leaning forward with his head in his hands.  He left the door open, so Kurt takes it as an invitation to come inside, although there are few things he’d want to do less right now.

He shuts the door behind him, standing awkwardly by it, looking around at the room he’s in.  He sees a pile of children’s books on the coffee table, toys strewn around the floor, a small table with chairs and an easel next to it.

“Blaine,” he starts, but then there’s loud crying, and Blaine is cursing again before standing up.  He glances at Kurt, and Kurt thinks his eyes are a bit red, before looking away again.

“Have a seat, please.  Just…sit down, I’ll be right back, I promise.”  And with that, Blaine picks up a blanket (the blanket, Kurt realizes, from the car, and suddenly things start to click) from a side table and makes his way to the back of the apartment.  He disappears into the room where the crying is, and Kurt can hear his soothing voice comforting Scotty.  He’s still just…so lost.

He doesn’t sit down.  He wanders a little, picking up the first book on the pile.  It’s The Hungry Caterpillar, and he wasn’t aware that books from his own childhood were still popular, but he supposes there’s the chance that Blaine just wanted to have memories from his childhood.  He looks at the pictures on the walls, of Blaine and the child, some of them much older, when the boy was an infant, snuggled in Blaine’s arms.  Blaine is looking down at him, as if this boy is sacred and holds the secrets of the universe.  Kurt doesn’t want to be, but he’s kind of jealous.

He spins around when he hears the door open, and finally takes a seat when Blaine gestures to the couch with his head.  They sit, not close enough to touch, but not all that far away either, mostly out of habit of gravitating towards each other.

“So.  I guess I have some…explaining to do,” Blaine begins, clearly uncomfortable and still not willing to meet Kurt’s eyes.  Kurt doesn’t answer, just waits for Blaine to continue.  When Blaine finally looks up at him, he almost wishes he hadn’t—his eyes are red, as if he’s desperately trying not to cry, and the look he’s giving him is so pleading that Kurt almost just wants to kiss him and tell him it’s all okay.  Except it really, really isn’t.  So he lets Blaine talk.

“I have a son.”  Kurt tries to stop his sharp inhale of breath, but he can’t.  He had assumed, of course, that that was the situation, but he was sort of hoping there was another magical, less confusing reason for all this.  That’d be way too easy, he guesses.

“I…had a girlfriend, when I was 15.  I think, deep down, I knew I was gay, but I was just…trying so hard to convince myself otherwise.  My parents—well, my dad—it’s complicated.  They love me, but…it’s hard for them.  So I faked it.  Only, she didn’t know that.  And when I turned 16, she thought a good birthday present would be sex.  It was pretty awful, and we broke up shortly after that, and I came out to my parents pretty much the next day.  Only…about month later, she comes to my door and says she’s pregnant.  She immediately reassured me that she wanted an abortion, so I didn’t have to worry about it besides the fact that she needed the money to pay for it.  Well, my parents heard that part of the conversation and dove in to stop her.  They told her they’d pay her anything she wanted not to get an abortion, knowing that this was the only way they’d ever get a biological grandchild from me.”  Blaine scoffs and sniffles, seemingly trying to hide it from Kurt, but Kurt isn’t stupid; they’ve been together long enough for him to know when Blaine is trying not to cry. 

“She agreed, under the condition that once it was born, she could sign away all parental rights to me and never have to see or think about it again.  I…didn’t really have a say in any of this, but I was always sort of on my parents’ side, albeit for completely different reasons—I couldn’t bear the thought of giving up my child.  I wanted to keep it too.  Unfortunately, once he, Scott, that’s his name, was born, taking care of him sucked up all of my time.  I had to drop out of school.  I got my GED instead, and stayed at home with him.  I really was happy, but it was hard, too, raising him more or less on my own.  My parents paid for everything, sure, but other than that, they weren’t too interested.  My mom loved to play with Scott when she had the chance, but.  They still weren’t too invested.  So I told them I wanted to move out, somewhere near OSU, so that when Scott was old enough for kindergarten, I could go to college, which is why I’m a 20-year-old freshman.  And…that’s basically it, I guess.”

Kurt didn’t know what to say, immediately.  They just sat there, in silence, Blaine trying to discreetly wipe away the few stray tears that had slipped out during his confession, while Kurt tried to wrap his head around all this new information.

“So.  Kindergarten.  He’s five, then?”

“Four.  He’s got a late birthday, so he started kindergarten young.  They have a daycare program that he stays at after school some days until I can pick him up.”  Blaine’s tone shifts.  “Look, I get it, okay?  We can give up the act.  You’re totally freaked out and you probably hate me because I lied to you and I have a fucking kid and…you should just, leave, okay?  Because it’s easier if you just walk away now and we both try to just get over it and—“

“Wait, fuck, stop!”  Kurt barks, immediately covering his mouth with his hand because he seriously shouldn’t be yelling.  But this is important, damn it.  “I’m not just going to leave, are you insane?”

“Why not?  I lied, about something huge, something I should’ve told you about the moment we became serious, but I didn’t because I suck and you clearly don’t deserve me and—“

“Blaine!”  Shit, Kurt really needs to stop raising his voice.  Although, how else is he going to get this idiot to listen?  “I’m not mad.  Okay, wait, I’m a little…I’m upset, because this is huge, but I’d think that by now you know me well enough to know that I’m not just going to walk out.  Not when I…like you, so much.  And you like me too, and this is crazy, but please don’t think I’m just going to leave you.”

“You should,” Blaine mumbles, dropping back down onto the couch, slumping completely and practically folding in on himself.  “Who would wanna be with someone who lied to them about their fucking child?”

“Blaine,” Kurt says firmly, finally getting him to meet his gaze.  “If you had told me on our third or fourth date that you had a kid, I definitely wouldn’t be here right now.  But I barely knew you then, and I definitely didn’t know how much I’d come to care for you.  And I do, I really, really care about you, and I think…I think I might love you, might…be falling in love with you.”  And shit, if that isn’t the scariest thing he’s ever said, but he doesn’t care because he has Blaine’s full attention right now, and he’s going to say his piece and hope that this isn’t the end for them, because he doesn’t think he can survive that easily.  He isn’t sure how the fuck he’s going to survive Blaine having a son, but at least he’ll still have Blaine.

“So, just…I’m not happy you lied.  But it was probably a good idea that I didn’t find out until now.  Or…whenever you planned on telling me.  You were planning on telling me eventually, right, because that’s definitely not a secret you could hide forever.”

And that gets a small chuckle out of Blaine, which lightens the atmosphere slightly, and Kurt’s chest feels a bit less leaden.  He can breathe now, and it seems like so can Blaine.

“Okay.  I get it.  And, just for the record, um…I think I might be, a little bit, falling in love with you too.”

And Blaine just looks so cute that Kurt can’t help but kiss him, and Blaine eagerly kisses him back and they have so much to discuss and figure out but in that moment, neither of them care, content to drown in each other and drift together, happy and loving and sweet.

They’re so caught up in each other that they don’t hear the bedroom door creak open, and they don’t break apart until Steph clears her throat loudly.

Kurt pulls away immediately, looking down, and Blaine looks at Steph sheepishly.  Kurt eyes Scott, who’s clutching Steph’s hand and making a disgusted face.

“Ewwww,” he moans, and all three adults chuckle.  It’s a bit awkward, but Kurt is determined to make Blaine feel better about the situation, even though he’s not entirely there yet himself.  He stands up and makes his way over to Scott carefully.

“Hi, Scotty, I’m Kurt, your dad’s boyfriend,” he says, trying not to overdo the little kid voice and reaching a hand out to shake.

“That’s Scott to you!”  the kid says before sticking his tongue out and hiding behind Steph’s legs.  Kurt straightens back up with a frown—great, Blaine’s son already hates him.

“He…picks up a lot of stuff from movies.  And me.  He says that to everyone, don’t be offended.”  Kurt tries to be comforted by Blaine’s words, but he can’t help but feel like it’s going to take some time for Scott to adjust to him—and for him to adjust to Scott.

“Well, Bobby and I have dinner plans, so I really should be going…” Steph says, tugging Scott behind her towards Blaine and handing him over.  “It was nice to meet you Kurt, I’ve heard a lot about you.”  She winks and Kurt tries not to giggle at the way Blaine groans and drops his head into his hands.  He’s surprised when Steph pulls him into a hug. 

“Hopefully next time we can meet under less…awkward circumstances.  I’d love to talk to the man who’s stolen Blaine’s heart,” she whispers warmly, loud enough only for him to hear, and Kurt’s own heart seems to jump in his chest at her words.  She pulls back and rests her hands on his shoulders, giving them a tight squeeze, a huge grin on her face.

When she leaves, the slight tension comes back and fills the room.  Blaine is avoiding Kurt’s eyes again, fidgeting on the couch with Scott in his lap, who seems bored with the drama and has closed his eyes, snuggling into Blaine for a nap.

“Maybe I should…go,” Kurt muses quietly, and almost startles when Blaine nearly jumps off the couch in protest, jostling Scott before laying him carefully on the couch and moving over towards Kurt.

“Please, please don’t, I know…well, I don’t know how you must be feeling right now but please, don’t leave, okay?  We can…just…talk, or cuddle, or…shit, just please don’t go, okay?”

“Blaine, stop worrying, I’m not…I didn’t mean like, I’m leaving you forever, okay?  Just…he looks really tired, and you should be with him right now, and I’ll call you tomorrow.  And we can go out for coffee and you can tell me about him and we’ll figure out where we go from there.  Does that sound good?”

“Yes, okay,” Blaine breathes out, pulling Kurt in for a tight hug.  Kurt holds him back just as fiercely.  “I love you.”

Kurt’s breath catches, and he squeezes Blaine even tighter, fighting the tears threatening to spill out.

“I love you too,” he whispers back, and he hears Blaine laugh and press a kiss to his head, and then they’re pulling apart just far enough to kiss for real, only stopping when they hear Scott shuffling on the couch.

As Kurt makes his way to the door, he turns back and smiles at the beautiful picture Blaine and his son make, Blaine with Scott in his arms, carrying him into another room, and Scott with his arms wrapped around Blaine’s neck.  Kurt leaves with a true sense of happiness, knowing that while he may not have expected this, he thinks that he’s fine with it, and it’ll only get easier from here.

Blaine starts bringing Scott along on some of their tamer dates, like walks in the park and bowling.  Kurt tries to get Scott to warm up to him, but it’s definitely a slow-going movement.  Occasionally he still hides behind Blaine when Kurt shows up at their door, not comfortable enough to greet him right away.  Kurt struggles with it, still trying to process this new aspect of his and Blaine’s relationship and incorporate the idea of Scott into his life.  But he loves Blaine, and Blaine looks at him like he hung the moon, and he’s never been happier, so he learns Scott’s favorite foods, and he buys him new books, and he watches Monster’s Inc. far too many times.  If he feels like jumping for joy the first time Scott lets Kurt take him to the bathroom with Blaine, instead of Kurt waiting outside for them, well…he doesn’t think anyone should blame him.

Several weeks later, Kurt and Scott stand in the kitchen, Scott on a step stool, mixing ingredients for cupcakes.

“Kurtie, please get me the chocolate chips!”

“He only ever has good manners when you’re around,” Blaine teases, passing Kurt the bag of chocolate chips to help Scott pour into the bowl.  Kurt giggles and moves over to Scott.

“Here you go, Scott,” he says, holding the bag and guiding Scott’s hands to pour the chips in.

“That’s Scotty to you!” Scott says, laughing as the chocolate chips all spill in, way too many for the batter.

Kurt and Blaine exchange a look.  It’s the first time Scott has truly seemed comfortable around Kurt, and Kurt can’t help but feel like he’s officially part of the family.  Scott laughs when Kurt dabs some frosting on Blaine’s nose, and soon they’re all shrieking and ducking as it because a semi-full on food fight.  Kurt has never felt more loved or accepted, and for the first time, he’s glad he got stuck in Ohio.