Kurt hadn't thought much of it at first; it had been just one of the many mysteries surrounding Blaine Anderson. Now that the two of them were dating, however, Kurt was used to unravelling each and every one of those mysteries, and usually, Blaine let him, just like Kurt allowed Blaine to look past his mask and find out about the inner workings of Kurt Hummel. It would bring them closer together.

This, however, was something Kurt still hadn't worked out. Blaine refused to talk about it, and whenever Kurt brought it up, Blaine would ask him very urgently to just forget about it, because it was nothing, alright? He didn't need to worry.

Needless to say, that worried Kurt even more.

Once every month, Blaine disappeared for a night. He'd leave after class, and come back past midnight. Apparently, the staff at Dalton knew about this arrangement, as Blaine never got in trouble for it, but none of the students knew what was going on. Many of them didn't even notice that Blaine was gone in the first place, Kurt suspected.

Having read the Harry Potter books thoroughly as a child, Kurt knew what was the most likely cause of Blaine's monthly disappearances: his boyfriend was a werewolf.

That explanation was just so horrendously clichéd that Kurt wasn't sure what to do about it. He was glad he hadn't freaked out about it, as he later realised that Blaine didn't even disappear during full moon nights. Plus, he didn't even seem in pain before or after he disappeared. He did seem anxious, but Kurt didn't think that was odd, since his boyfriend didn't want to indulge anyone, not even him, in this secret. And if he didn't trust Kurt, who would he trust?

This week, Blaine was acting even more anxious than Kurt had ever seen him. He felt bad for his boyfriend, and he wanted to help, but he had no idea what to do. So instead, he tried to take Blaine's mind off of whatever he was about to do by suggesting something his dad had been bugging him about all week.

"Hey, Blaine?" he asked cautiously. Blaine just smiled at him, pretending there was nothing wrong with him. "According to my parents, there's supposed to be a circus in Lima next week. It's only one night, but Carole managed to get tickets anyway. Would you care to join us? I'm not really one for circuses, but it's supposed to be good fun."

Blaine paled at this. "Uh, no," he replied hastily, his eyes wider than Kurt had ever thought possible. "Sorry, I'm busy that night."

"I didn't even tell you which night it was," Kurt reminded him, starting to become suspicious.

Blaine opened and closed his mouth like a fish, before saying, "My parents mentioned it as well, so I do know when it's going to be. Are you really going to go? Circuses aren't even that special… and if it's not something you're really into…"

"I guess I am," Kurt responded, shrugging. "Especially since you're busy anyway, and it's a perfectly good excuse to spend some time with Finn and our parents. Carole told Finn to ask the other New Directions members if they wanted to come as well, so she could get them tickets too. It'll be fun; it's too bad you can't make it."

"Right," Blaine muttered, having paled even further at Kurt's mention of his family and friends. "Well, if I were you, Kurt, I'd reconsider. It's not that I don't want you to have fun without me, it's just… I don't think you'll enjoy this circus very much."

"Why don't you want me to go to that circus?" Kurt almost demanded. "What's wrong – "

"I just… don't think you should go, Kurt," Blaine told him seriously. "It would be better if you stayed away."

Before Kurt could ask for more of an explanation, it was time for class. Blaine fled away speedily, and after school, Kurt didn't see him either, so he just went home, as it was Friday.

He'd just tell his parents that Blaine wasn't coming, but he himself definitely was. He hadn't been very excited to go to a circus beforehand, but now that he'd witnessed Blaine's reaction to the it, he was quite curious to see what the fuss was all about.

o-o-o-o-o

The next few days, Blaine seemed a little out of it. He was staring off into space all the time (so it was actually a good thing that the Warblers hadn't advanced to Nationals), and he kept trying to persuade Kurt to not go to the circus with his family and friends.

If only he knew that those attempts actually had quite the opposite effect.

When the night of the show arrived, Kurt learned that Finn had managed to get all their friends to come – Rachel had practically forced them to after she'd gotten the strange idea in her head that maybe, they could learn some stuff from the circus artists. Some people, like Puck and Santana, looked like they'd rather be somewhere else. Only Mr Schue was absent – apparently, he had some sort of hot date with Ms Holliday. Kurt didn't ask.

Most other visitors were young families, so there were lots of little children running around. Kurt supposed that, if they, too, had just gone with the four of them, maybe they wouldn't have stuck out so much (though, you could never be too sure of that, seeing as Finn would still have been there, and well, Finn stuck out like a sore thumb among all these small kids). Now they looked like a group of rowdy teenagers with two grown-ups to try to keep them in check.

Which was pretty close to the truth, except for the fact that the two adults weren't trying to keep them in check. Rachel was doing that (and failing pretty miserably); luckily, most New Directions members settled down before the show started).

When the ringmaster came in and started talking to the audience, Kurt listened intently. Maybe there was something about this circus that Blaine disapproved of?

"What did he say?" Mercedes whispered, leaning towards Kurt as the ringmaster finished speaking and the first act (a couple of fire eaters) entered the ring. Apparently, she hadn't been paying much attention to the man's words.

"The circus mostly consists of one large, extended family," Kurt whispered back. "Everyone has their own specialty, so the fire eaters are pretty much one family – parents and kids – and the same goes for all the other acts. Most of these people have jobs, and lives, which is why there's only one circus performance every month, in different parts of Ohio."

Mercedes was, by now, paying more attention to the performers in the ring than to Kurt, so he concentrated on that too.

After a few more acts, the ringmaster announced the next one – "And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – please put your hands together for our next act, our trapeze artists… the Flying Andersons!"

Wait, what?

Kurt gaped at the ringmaster as he walked off, but as he looked around, none of his friends seemed to have noticed anything odd about what had just been said. Of course, there were many people named Anderson in the world, but… Blaine had always been very secretive of where he was going, and he'd tried so hard to make sure Kurt wouldn't go to the circus tonight. Was this –

The crowd gasped suddenly, and Kurt looked up. There were three people standing up there, two of whom Kurt had never seen before. Glancing at the third, however, he couldn't look away.

Oh God.

It was really his boyfriend up there.

So that would make the other two his parents, or what? This was not how Kurt had imagined the whole meeting-the-parents thing would go.

And now he had to sit here and watch Blaine do all sorts of dangerous stunts that could… no, he shouldn't think about that. Blaine was obviously skilled enough, if he had to believe the ringmaster, who'd said at the beginning that most of the people here had been performing their whole lives.

Funnily enough, both Blaine and who Kurt supposed was his mother were wearing almost identical outfits that looked like typical circus artists' outfits. His father was another story – his outfit was the plainest outfit Kurt had ever seen anyone wear in his entire life. As the man jumped from his platform, Kurt noticed that he was scowling. Well. It looked like someone didn't want to be here.

Soon after, his wife and son joined in, and Kurt all but ducked his head, not daring to look.

"Kurt?" Mercedes asked, looking confused. "What's wrong?"

Kurt just shook his head in response, trying to follow his boyfriend's movements as well as he could. The other performances had seemed to last for only a short time, but this one – oh, it seemed to go on forever. While Blaine's father just kept swinging backwards and forwards the whole time (the scowl never leaving his face), Blaine and his mother had some intricate tricks up their sleeves.

"Kurt? Is there any reason why you're so intent on stopping the blood circulation in my body?" Kurt looked at Rachel, who was sitting at his other side, and then down, only to see that he was, indeed, keeping her arm in a vice grip.

"Sorry," he muttered, letting go of her arm, and turning back towards the ring.

Suddenly, something occurred to him. If he and Blaine were to last, if this was not just some high school romance… would he have to perform in this circus one day as well? The thought alone made him nauseous already. He was not cut out for this, that much he knew.

"Kurt?" This time, it was his father, and Kurt turned around. His father, however, kept his eyes on the performers. "Why didn't you ever tell me that Blaine worked as a circus performer?"

Kurt shifted slightly. "I didn't know," he admitted. "I only just found out as well."

Whispers broke out around him, Mercedes and Rachel and whoever was sitting next to his father spreading the news that it was Blaine, yes, the Warbler, who else did they know with that name, up there, looking like he was flying. For the first time since the performance had started, Kurt allowed himself to smile. He would, of course, be asking his boyfriend for an explanation later, but it was like Blaine was almost at ease up there.

And, well… Kurt hadn't known that his boyfriend was so… flexible. But it was definitely information to be stored away for future… activities.

He instantly turned red because – what was he doing? Those thoughts were far from appropriate now, or at any time. He could not believe himself.

At last, the performance was over. The trapeze artists were lowered onto the ground, and before anyone knew what was happening, all twelve New Directions members were on their feet, applauding loudly and enthusiastically. Although the other audience members soon followed their lead, Kurt just knew that Blaine had noticed them, which had him cringing in embarrassment.

The remainder of the show passed in a blur. Yes, Kurt did enjoy himself, but his mind was almost constantly at least partly on Blaine. How could he keep this from Kurt? And why? Was he embarrassed? If so, couldn't he just quit? Well, given the fact that his father probably would've quit a long time ago if that was possible, Kurt guessed that it wasn't so easy.

After the show, everyone gradually moved out of the tent, and so did their group. Everybody around Kurt was chatting happily about what they'd just witnessed, and the sheer amazement they'd felt and –

Oh. There was Blaine, smiling sheepishly. He stood away from the crowd (for which Kurt couldn't blame him), and he wasn't moving, just staring, so Kurt walked up to him.

"So," Blaine started when he was within hearing range. "Now you know my secret."

Kurt nodded tentatively. Something about Blaine seemed… off. "Why didn't you ever tell me? You know nobody's going to think any less of you because you perform in a circus once a month."

Blaine was still eyeing him a little uncertainly, so Kurt ploughed on.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Blaine. If you must know, you were amazing up there."

That seemed to do the trick, at least partly. Blaine smiled a bit, and asked, "So does that mean you're not breaking up with me?"

Kurt stared for a moment. "Why – Blaine! How could you think I'd break up with you over something like this? As long as you don't get injured or I have to get up there myself, I'm perfectly fine with it."

Smile growing wider, Blaine told him, "You're right. I do get embarrassed about this – nobody else I know is part of a circus and… well, I suppose I just wanted to be as normal as possible." He frowned. "At my old school, some kids knew, and they constantly shoved it in my face. When I came out… well, those two things combined made me feel like an even bigger freak of nature."

Knowing fully well that Blaine was probably incredibly sweaty, Kurt reached out to hug him. "I thought kids loved the circus," he commented.

"Not when the biggest loser of the school is somehow involved," Blaine said bitterly.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Kurt spoke up again. "At least I now know why you're always jumping on furniture at every chance you get," he muttered, his face partially in Blaine's hair. "And why you never fall off…"

He felt Blaine chuckle. "It keeps me in shape," he joked. "I mean, it does require perfect timing and balance. You're aware of that, right?"

Letting go of his boyfriend, Kurt shook his head at him. "You know, if you would've just told us, we could've had some sort of amazing act at Regionals."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "There's always next year, right?"

"I suppose," Kurt replied. "Oh – those people up there with you – "

"My parents," Blaine confirmed Kurt's suspicions. "They've both been part of the circus almost their entire lives. My dad hates it, though, as I'm sure you must've noticed." When Kurt nodded, he continued. "He never wanted to do this, but he stays anyway. Still, that doesn't mean he actually practises with us. As for the outfit," he added, catching Kurt glancing at his, "he doesn't want to wear anything too bright. Says he doesn't want to look… gay."

"I'm sorry," Kurt muttered.

Blaine sighed. "It's alright. And, honestly, I'm glad you came, you know? Now at least someone knows. Which is good." Looking over his shoulder, he said, "I should go, though. I need to get out of this costume and shower and be back at Dalton at a somewhat reasonable time."

"Should I wait for you?" Kurt asked, not really knowing how stuff like this usually went.

"It's fine," Blaine assured him, pressing a small kiss on Kurt's mouth. "I'll see you in the morning, alright?"

Kurt nodded, staying where he was as he watched Blaine's retreating form for a moment. It was only then that he remembered that his family must be waiting for him (his friends had probably left already, as they'd driven here themselves), so he turned around to make his way to the parking lot.

Tomorrow would definitely be interesting.