The moment Cooper Anderson set foot in William McKinley High, he knew that he should have come up with a more elaborate disguise than just sunglasses.

It was just his luck that he arrived just as one class let out to lead to another.

He ducked his head and weaved his way through the crowd, trying not to draw too much attention. He was used to being recognized, but at a high school it would be overkill. His high school fans were always the worst. They screamed and touched and cried and it was a little too much to handle. Contrary to popular belief, he just wanted to do his job as an actor; the recognition, the fame, the praise, it was all lovely and great for his ego, but he could do without it.

Just before he made it to the classroom he was looking for, a boy with light brown hair and bright eyes came up to him.

"Oi! You're Cooper Anderson!" The Irish accent was hard to miss and almost spot-on; Cooper figured that the boy was probably in the Master Class for acting that he was about to teach.

The desire to strangle the kid for revealing his identity to everyone around him was overshadowed by how impressed he was with the accent. Instead of reprimanding him for calling the entire student body over to him, Cooper remarked, "That's a pretty good accent, kid. Almost perfect. Who's your speech coach?"

"I'm from Ireland originally. I'm a foreign exchange student, Mr. Anderson, sir. And may I just say, I love your work. You're a big hit over there. Could I take a picture with ya?"

"Sure," he replied, trying to sound happy about it.

The thing was, Cooper Anderson was an actor; and a damn good one, at that. He knew how to flash that bright smile and liven up those eyes and put on his best show face. He'd been doing it for years when he was growing up and living at home.

Students were flooding him, invading his personal space and snapping pictures with their iPhones and pointing, gasping. Oh my God, I've seen him on TV! He hadn't even been in that many things. A commercial here, a TV show there. Currently he was working on a new series that was slated to premiere in the fall, but no one here would know that.

As the crowd grew, Cooper heard the one voice he'd know anywhere. "Coop?"

"Blaine!" The smile was genuine now. The last person he'd thought he would see here would be his baby brother. "What are you doing here, man?"

Blaine's smile mirrored the fake one Cooper had been plastering just a moment ago, and if Cooper wasn't a talented actor he would have slipped character and frowned. Instead, he kept his winning smile and relaxed eyebrows, inwardly wondering why Blaine had to fake being happy to see his older brother.

"I transferred here at the beginning of the school year. I guess you didn't get my calls or voicemails after all."

"No, yeah, I changed my number. My assistant didn't contact you?"

He was vaguely aware of how haughty it sounded to ask if his assistant had contacted his own brother, but Cooper was busy. It was a stretch to be in Ohio for the week as it was, since he was supposed to be shooting in LA; he just didn't have time.

"No. I didn't even know you had an assistant. Is that for a new production you're working on?" The hurt and anger flashing in Blaine's eyes was only growing stronger, but there was nothing he could do about that now. Even though the crowd had dissipated since Blaine came up to him, they were still in a public setting.

"Yeah, a new TV show. It's going to air in the fall. We're shooting now."

"That's great, Coop. I'm happy for you."

Just as Blaine seemed like he was about to duck out, his eyes found something down the hall and lit up, forced smile turning into a genuine grin. Cooper would know that look anywhere.

His brother was in love.

He turned to find the object of his affections and spotted a tall, pale boy with light brown hair approaching. The boy looked from Cooper to Blaine and back and forth as he walked up.

No one said anything at first, so Cooper took the initiative. "Is this your boyfriend here?"

"Actually, yes, it is. Uh, Kurt, this is my brother—"

"Hi," Cooper said, shaking Kurt's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"—Cooper Anderson."

"Oh, my God," Kurt breathed; his voice was slightly high for a male but not in an alarming way, just in a way that made you take notice. "You're the guy from the Free-Credit-Rating-Today-Dot-Com commercial!"

"Guilty as charged," Cooper laughed, shaking his head. It was nice that Kurt was so excited to meet him, but he could see the way Blaine's jaw tensed.

To Kurt's credit, the second his eyes found his boyfriend's he realized something was wrong and collected himself. Cooper decided that if Kurt could read Blaine just as deeply as he could, then he approved of Kurt wholeheartedly.

"Well, um, we should be getting to class, shouldn't we, Blaine?" Kurt asked, still smiling brightly but now much more calm.

When Blaine didn't answer right away, Cooper turned his head to his brother and found him staring at him. The eye contact they made in that minute seemed to shake Blaine from whatever thoughts he was having and he returned his attention to his boyfriend. "Sure, yeah. Let's go."

Out of curiosity, Cooper asked, "What class are you guys going to?"

They halted in their steps and Blaine turned back around to face him fully. "Glee club."

His heart stopped. Crap. He could read it all over Blaine's face that he was already not enthused to see him, and now he was going to be coming to Blaine's class to teach.

For a moment, his face must have slipped and given his train of thought away to Blaine, who was now narrowing his eyes at him. "What are you doing here, Cooper?"

"I'm, uh—I'm teaching acting for the week. To glee club. A man named Will Schuester contacted me."

"How did Mr. Schue even have your number?"

Cooper shrugged. "I don't know." He really didn't. It had been bizarre the way he got this out-of-the-blue request to teach at a high school in a small town in Ohio. Sure, he'd grown up not far from there, but how did this Will guy even know about him?

"Mr. Anderson!"

A man with Velcro hair and a sweater vest came up to him, arm extended for a handshake. Cooper took the man's hand but kept flickering his eyes back and forth between him and Kurt and Blaine, who were now holding hands.

Very brave, Cooper thought.

"I'm Will Schuester, the glee teacher," the man was saying.

Oh. Right. "Hi, yes! Will. Thanks for inviting me to teach your glee club." My production team is just loving you right now for stunting filming for this. "We were actually just talking about you."

"Yeah, Mr. Schue, how did you get my brother's number?"

Will seemed to shrink a little bit; he coughed with a sheepish expression on his face. "I, uh…I was going through you guys' files for Regionals a few weeks ago and making sure all of the emergency contact information was up to date in case something happened. Blaine, your paperwork has Cooper listed as your emergency contact."

"It does?" Cooper asked. He didn't remember doing that.

"Yes, it does. I recognized your name, wondered if it was a coincidence that Blaine's brother had the same name as an actor, and come to find you're the same person! So I called you up to see if you were interested in helping out your little brother's glee club."

"Except you forgot to mention the part where it was my little brother's glee club."

Cooper hadn't realized that his smile had fallen and his voice had dropped to a monotone until he took in Will's face. He hastily laughed and clapped Blaine on the shoulder—he didn't miss the way Blaine tensed under his touch.

The bell rang and they all looked up like they'd find the source. Will clapped his hands together and grinned (kind of creepily). "Well! You know now, so let's head on to class and get the fun started, right?"

The other three smiled and nodded, letting Will go ahead of them before they started following. As they made their way into the classroom, Cooper picked up on a hushed conversation between Kurt and Blaine.

"Did you not know he was coming?"

"Not at all; he didn't even know I transferred here."

"How did he not know you switched schools?"

"He's kind of busy, you know, being a star and all."

"If he didn't even know you go here, how is he listed as your emergency contact?"

"They must have just gotten that information from Dalton. After the Sadie Hawkins' dance and the way our parents reacted after that, Cooper told them they had no right to be listed as his contact information and wrote himself down."

Ah, Cooper remembered that night well. It was the worst night of his life.

He quickly shook those thoughts from his head as he came into the classroom and stood by the piano, looking at his brother and his fellow students.

Will stood beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Guys, this is Cooper Anderson! He's going to teach us about acting today. I think some of you forget that show choir isn't just about the singing, it's about the emotion. If your face is dead, so is the song."

"That is so true, Mr. Schue," a petite girl with brunette pigtail braids on the front row stated, raising her hand like she was actually going to request permission before speaking. "Something that I like to do during my ballads that I learned from Barbra that I think everyone in this room would benefit from is—"

"Oh, shut your mouth, Pippy Longstockings. I believe Will invited Mr. Wanky over there to teach us a few things," a Latina in the back row said, winking at Cooper at the end.

Cooper shifted uncomfortably as Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Keep your eyes on your girlfriend, Santana," Blaine snapped.

Santana shot eye daggers at Blaine. "What's got your panties in a wad, Frodo?"

That was the one thing Cooper absolutely could not stand. When he teased his brother about his height, it was one thing. But no one else was allowed to do that. No one.

"Hey! You don't make fun of my brother, got it?"

The whole room fell silent and still. For a brief moment, no one moved. Then people started looking from Blaine to Cooper, back and forth, comparing their faces to see the resemblance.

The comments started slow and then they were all talking over each other.

"Blaine! Why didn't you tell us you had a brother?"

"Why didn't you tell us you had a famous brother?"

"Why didn't you tell us you had a famous and hot brother?"

"Okay!" Will exclaimed, clapping his hands again. The man loved to clap. "How about we just get started? I'm sure Mr. Anderson has lots to show us and we only have him for one week so let's give him our full attention, okay?"

"Please," Cooper said, waving a hand, "Cooper. Mr. Anderson is our father, right Blaine?" He threw Blaine a hopeful glance.

He was trying to establish a joking atmosphere with his brother. If they couldn't at least pretend to get along for this week things were about to get really awkward. Besides, he was an actor, and he knew Blaine was more than used to pretending things were alright when they weren't in the house they grew up in.

"Right," Blaine laughed, answering his plea.

But his real answer was right there in his eyes. Our father? Don't you mean your father? You've always been the favorite anyway, right?

He knew that's what his brother was thinking, but that wasn't fair. He didn't intentionally try to be the favorite. Cooper just loved acting, always had. He pursued a career in it, despite how much his parents advised him against it, and did well. Really, not too long ago, Cooper was in Blaine's exact situation, with their parents pushing him to be a doctor or lawyer or engineer or something practical that would make him a lot of money. But he rebelled; the second he graduated high school he left for LA and tried to make it in the industry.

He succeeded. Sure, he'd had to cut off his family in the process—and unfortunately that included Blaine—but it was worth it. He was in a city he could tolerate doing the work he loved and getting paid for it. Now that he was building more of a stable income for himself, he would be able to visit Blaine more. He just hadn't gotten to that point until recently.

Of course, now that he was making money and doing work his parents could actually see, they were much more supportive. In the worst way. Now, it was all they talked about. And somehow they always seemed to make it sound like they knew he could do it the whole time.

Sometimes he just really hated his parents.

Without thinking, he jumped into the "Master Class" as Will liked to call it. That was the thing about acting—you don't think. That's the first rule they teach you. Don't think, just do. If you take too long standing there thinking about your next move, it will show on your face; you'll have broken character to analyze the situation instead of just reacting as your character would.

Throughout the class, he demonstrated all kinds of things he'd learned along the road as a working actor. He slid into poses, conjured up facial expressions, taught movement and body language. It was really all just groundwork; he'd have 4 more hour-long classes to teach before he went back to LA.

By the end, the students all looked really excited for the rest of the week. They filed out as soon as the bell rang, which Cooper took to mean that that was the last class of the day—(no kid was that excited to go to biology or algebra).

He pulled Blaine aside at the door. "Can I talk to you?"

Blaine glanced at Kurt before looking back to his brother. "Sure." He returned his attention to Kurt. "I'll see you at your car, okay?"

"Alright. See you in a minute." Kurt kissed him on the cheek and left.

After Kurt had left and everyone else was gone, Cooper pulled Blaine back fully into the classroom and shut the door.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words formed. There was so much that he wanted to say and yet his brain had seemed to forget how to make sentences.

"How did you not tell me you were coming to Ohio?" Blaine asked him. He hated seeing the hurt in his baby brother's eyes and knowing that he put it there.

"I was going to come by the house and say hi," Cooper offered lamely.

Blaine eyed him. "You're not staying with Mom and Dad?"

"If you finally escaped, but you came back to visit, would you stay with Mom and Dad?" Blaine's face was all the answer he needed. "Exactly. I'm staying at a hotel here in Lima."

"So I'm still left alone with them. Great," Blaine muttered, looking at the ground.

God, Cooper could see it all over his brother's face, see it in his body language; his brother was miserable. What had been happening recently? More importantly, why hadn't they been in contact for him to offer advice?

"No, you're not. You're staying with me at my hotel."

Blaine's head shot up and met his brother's eyes, hopeful. "Really?"

"Sure. Your boyfriend—Kurt?—he lives around here, doesn't he?" Blaine nodded. "Good. You go hang out with him for a while and then I'll swing by his house, pick you both up, we'll go out to dinner together so I can get to know him, and then I'll drop him off and you and I can go catch up at the hotel."

"What about Mom and Dad?"

"Screw Mom and Dad. I'll send them a text telling them you're with me."

"I need clothes for school."

"Then while you're at Kurt's I'll swing by the house and pack you a bag and then check into the hotel. That way I can even tell them you're staying with me in person. It's better that way, I can flash them my winning smile and any argument will end there." He smiled to punctuate what he was saying.

Blaine only frowned and snorted. "Of course. Because you're the favorite. You get whatever you want."

Every time Blaine said that it hurt more and more. He took a step towards his brother and placed both hands on his shoulders, making sure he was looking him in the eye. "No. Because I'm not letting them keep you from me again."

The mention of the Sadie Hawkins' night brought both of them on the verge of tears, but Blaine quickly wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands and backed away. "Well, Kurt's waiting for me."

"Right, yeah," Cooper said. "Of course. Wouldn't want to keep the boyfriend waiting too long." When Blaine gave him a funny look, he immediately wondered if he'd inadvertently offended his brother. "What? What did I do?"

"Nothing. It's just…" Blaine shook his head, but there was the slight hint of a smile there. Cooper made a promise to himself that by the time he left that week, he'd get that hint of a smile to grow into a full grin. "It's just nice to hear someone in the family actually refer to Kurt as my boyfriend and want to meet him. Mom and Dad call him 'that boy' and said I wasn't to bring him in the house."

Cooper's heart broke. "Blaine…"

"It's okay. They go on enough business trips that I have Kurt over enough anyway. I'd better go, though. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Sure. I'll be at Kurt's at 7 o'clock. Text me his address."

"I don't have your new number, remember?"

"Oh. Right."

He slipped his new phone out of his pocket and dialed a number he'd known by heart for years. He watched his brother fish his own phone out of his pocket and chuckle, sliding his finger across the screen. "Hello?" Blaine answered.

"Now you have my number," Cooper said into the phone, smiling at Blaine.

Blaine shook his head as he hung up and started walking away to go meet Kurt, but Cooper could have sworn that that hint of a smile had turned into a small, toothless smile. And if he was progressing that quickly, maybe finally making his brother happy again wouldn't be so hard.

…

Four hours later, Cooper pulled up to the curb on the street outside Kurt's house and sent a quick text to Blaine letting him know he was there. Within the minute, Kurt and Blaine were coming out of the front door and heading down the walkway to the car. They both climbed into the backseat together—Cooper tried not to read too much into the fact that his brother would rather sit in the backseat than sit by him in the front.

He smiled at them in the rearview mirror. "Where are we going, boys?"

"Wherever you want is fine," Blaine answered. He didn't seem as closed off as he did earlier, but he didn't exactly look excited either. Still, it was progress.

"Nuh-uh, Squirtle. You gotta pick. Tonight is for you and your boyfriend."

"Don't call me that," Blaine sighed. "And I really don't care. Kurt?"

Kurt looked between Blaine next to him and Cooper in the front seat before smiling politely at Cooper's face in the rearview mirror. "It's up to you, Cooper."

Great. So they were going to play this game. Well, if this was how tonight was going to go, Cooper would rather not be in public where he'll be recognized and approached by fans, further aggravating his already frail relationship with his brother.

"How about we just go to my hotel room and we can order take-out and eat in?" Cooper suggested.

Kurt and Blaine shared a look (the one Cooper was coming to find meant they were having an entire conversation just with their eyes) and shrugged at each other before turning to Cooper.

"Sure," they answered in unison.

"Cool."

The hotel was only about 10 minutes away—it was Lima, Ohio, after all—and the second they entered the room, Kurt headed straight for one of the two double beds and sat on the edge delicately.

"Is this Blaine's bed?" Kurt asked.

Cooper shrugged. He really hadn't figured that out yet. He wanted to give Blaine his choice at the beds. "I hadn't picked a bed yet. I thought I'd let Blaine choose."

"It doesn't matter," Blaine said. "They're the exact same anyway, right?"

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Kurt piped up again. "Well, this one has your bag on it so I'm declaring it yours, Blaine. Actually, speaking of your bag, I need to go through and make sure you have appropriate outfits. Cooper, I'm assuming you folded the clothes before you packed them?"

Crap. Was he supposed to do that? "Um…"

Kurt's eyes bugged out of his head as he practically leapt off the bed and walked around to make a grab at the bag, unzipping it in horror. "Cooper! Who taught you to pack?"

"I did."

"This is appalling! Blaine, you're going to have to iron all of these clothes. Every single one of them."

Cooper shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Sorry. I was just packing as fast as I could. The less time in that house the better, you know?"

Blaine only nodded, because he did know, before moving over to his boyfriend and standing behind him, placing his arms on Kurt's forearms to stop them. He kissed the back of Kurt's neck and then rested his head on it. "That can wait, babe."

Cooper watched as Kurt sighed and turned around in his boyfriend's embrace, wrapping his own arms around Blaine's shoulders when Blaine's slipped to his waist. "Blaine. The wrinkles will only get worse if we leave them."

"They'll iron out the same way whether we do it now or later. You've been running around all day. Just relax, okay? I'll do it."

They leaned their foreheads together, having another silent conversation, before Kurt kissed him on the lips and backed out of Blaine's arms. "Okay."

"Thank you."

When Blaine's eyes flashed over to Cooper, he blushed like he'd forgotten Cooper was even in the room and cleared his throat. He picked up where Kurt left off in unpacking and laying his clothes out flat on the bed as Kurt climbed to the top and sat with his legs extended, right crossed over left, at the headboard against the pillows.

"So, what are we ordering?" Blaine asked. "Not to sound pushy. I'm just kind of hungry."

"You don't have to apologize, Blaine. Are you in the mood for anything in particular?"

"Whatever you want. I don't want to be picky."

Cooper snorted. "Since when have you worried about being picky?"

Blaine flashed him a dark look before turning his attention back to the clothes. "Since Mom and Dad pretty much just put whatever they want on the table and tell me if I don't like it I can go to bed hungry."

Anger flared through him at the way his parents were treating his brother, but he said nothing. He glanced over to Kurt to gauge his reaction, but Kurt just looked sad; like he was used to hearing this sort of thing.

What had his parents turned into in his absence?

"Well, tonight you can have whatever you want to eat, however much you want. You too, Kurt. I think you should be more worried at going to bed too full than hungry."

When Blaine showed no indication of commenting, Kurt smiled weakly at Cooper. "We can order Chinese. I know a place that has great egg rolls. And they deliver."

"Perfect," Cooper enthused, jumping at the lifeline his brother's boyfriend had thrown him. He was really beginning to like Kurt.

Once the order was placed and all of Blaine's clothes were laid out to avoid even more wrinkling, Cooper sat on one bed and Kurt and Blaine were on the other, wrapped up in each other. It was like they just naturally fit together. As soon as all of the clothes were out, Blaine crawled around them on the bed towards Kurt. Kurt already had his arm raised so Blaine just snuggled right up to his side and wrapped an arm around his waist, and Kurt laid his arm back down around Blaine's shoulders. There were no words exchanged, no awkward fumblings while they choreographed their cuddling, it was just automatic.

Again, when Blaine looked over to his brother he made like he was going to sit up, as if he'd completely forgotten his brother was even in the room, but Cooper quickly shot him a look that said, Don't even think about it.

Kurt wasn't the only one that could have a conversation with Blaine via eye contact.

They made small talk about the TV show Cooper was currently working on until the food arrived, at which point he answered the door and brought the food in. He dished it out then sat back down on his bed to eat. Both Kurt and Blaine's food went on Kurt's lap—(with a towel from the bathroom set over his pants under the food as a placemat)—so that Blaine wouldn't have to leave his place under Kurt's arm to eat.

"So, Kurt, enough about me. I want to get to know you," Cooper said, smiling at him before taking a bite of his chow mein.

Kurt looked surprised for a second before recovering. "What would you like to know?"

"Anything you want to tell me."

"Well, I'm in glee club with Blaine, which you already know because I was there today. I've applied to the New York Academy for the Dramatic Arts for this fall, which I'm a finalist for; I have my final audition in a few weeks."

Cooper grinned. "Got yourself an older man, Squirtle?"

Kurt smiled politely, but it was a tense kind of smile. "I'm not older. I'm just a year ahead."

That smile combined with the dark expression in Blaine's eyes and the way Kurt phrased it, Cooper knew that if the Sadie Hawkins' night had never happened, they'd be in the same grade. It made him furious to think about that night and everything that happened because of it, but he didn't say anything about it. It seemed like his relationship with Blaine was always about what was left unsaid.

"What's with the nickname?" Kurt spoke, breaking the silence and the sudden tension. "Squirtle? What is that?"

"It's a Pokemon," Cooper said. "Did you not play Pokemon when you were a kid, Kurt?"

"Oh, no. I was more of a tea party and dress up kind of a guy," Kurt answered.

Blaine tensed and glared at Cooper like he was just waiting for the comment that came with that. Cooper wondered if maybe that had come up in a conversation with his parents, and he wondered what they said to that.

Cooper cleared his throat and smiled. "Well, that explains your perfect manners and impeccable fashion sense."

While Kurt preened under the praise, Blaine was eyeing Cooper like he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the whole thing to shatter and Cooper to start yelling at them for being gay and kick them out. Really, given Blaine's experiences with their parents, Cooper couldn't blame him; but did he really think Cooper would do that to him? He'd always tried to be supportive of Blaine being gay. Had he not been clear enough in his unwavering love for his brother?

Or had it just been so long that his brother had forgotten?

"Thank you. But back to the nickname. It's a Pokemon?"

"Yeah, you at least know what Pokemon are, right?"

"Of course. My step-brother still plays Pokemon today."

"How old is he?"

"He's in my grade, a graduating senior."

Cooper laughed and shook his head. "How long has it been since we've played, Blaine?"

Blaine shrugged indifferently. "Years."

He tried to brush off his brother's apathy; they'd discuss it tonight.

"Anyway, Kurt, so when Blaine and I were younger, we'd play Pokemon. And for a while I called him Squirt, just because he was smaller than me since he was younger. Then, he chose Squirtle as his starter Pokemon in one of the games. He came up to me and was jumping up and down, super excited, shouting, 'Look, Coop! I picked Squirtle 'cause you call me Squirt!' So, naturally, I ruffled his hair and said, 'Nice going, Squirtle.' And I've just called him that ever since."

"You haven't called me that in years," Blaine pointed out.

Cooper frowned. "Well, we haven't really been around each other much in years."

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" Blaine shot back.

By now, they were done with their food and had set their empty containers to the side. Cooper pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Mine, I know," he muttered. He already felt awful for it. And now Blaine was finally calling him out on it, which was good, because at least Blaine was done pretending everything was okay.

Kurt coughed delicately and began to sit up, detaching himself from Blaine. "Maybe I should go…"

"You could stay here too, if you want, Kurt," Cooper offered without thinking. The couple on the other bed shared a look. "Right," he continued, "I can see how it would be awkward for you guys to share a bed with me in the room. I could book another room and you guys can stay in this one." Blaine raised an eyebrow while Kurt's shot all the way to his hairline. Cooper rushed to add, "Not like that! I definitely did not mean it like that." On second thought, he kept going. "Not that I'm not okay with that! Because you know, Blaine, you know I'm okay with you being gay, don't you? I'm totally okay with it. I love it, even. Embrace it. Kurt's great. You are, Kurt. I like you a lot. I'm glad you're Blaine's boyfriend. You guys are awesome. You're great together."

"Coop."

"Yeah?"

"Just stop talking."

"Okay," he sighed, relieved that his brother had let him off the hook after making an ass out of himself.

They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Blaine spoke again. "I appreciate the sentiment, Cooper, but I think we'll decline your offer to basically hand us a sex room. It is getting late, though, and Kurt has homework, so could I borrow your car to drive him home? I'll just drop him off and come right back."

"Sure, of course." Without thinking twice Cooper got up and snatched his keys and one of the hotel room keys from the table and crossed the room again to place them in Blaine's hand. "Just be back whenever. You can do homework together for a couple hours at his house or something. I'm not going to give you a curfew or anything."

"Sadly, my dad does have a curfew," Kurt informed him. "So it probably would be best if Blaine just dropped me off. Thank you for that, though, Cooper. I can honestly say you are the most supportive Anderson I've met yet. It's been a pleasure getting to know you."

"And not just because I sang you the Free-Credit-Rating-Today-Dot-Com jingle?" Cooper teased, winking at him.

"Not just because you did the jingle," Kurt laughed. "Thank you for dinner."

"You're very welcome. We'll have to do it again before I leave at the end of the week."

"We'll see," Kurt answered politely, shooting a glance at Blaine.

After a couple more minutes of awkward goodbye small talk, Kurt and Blaine left. Cooper looked around the room at a loss of what to do for a moment before spying all of Blaine's clothes laid out on the bed still. He grabbed the hotel ironing board and iron from the closet and set to work.

He'd gotten through 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants when Blaine finally returned, which was an unusually long amount of time given the distance.

"Did you go inside for a bit?" he asked as Blaine shut the door behind him.

Blaine flushed red. "No, we, uh—we got a little held up saying goodbye in the car."

Cooper smirked. "Ah. Nicely done, Squirtle. Just remember what I used to tell you: always leave them wanting more."

"Except for when you were telling me that, it was about a girl."

"It's the same thing, right?"

He didn't realize that was a big deal until Blaine looked at him with shining eyes. Crap. He'd gone and made his brother cry.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, setting the iron down on its base so it wouldn't catch fire.

Blaine shook his head. "It's dumb."

"It's not dumb if it's upsetting you, Blaine. Tell me."

"It's just…not everyone sees it that way."

"Sees what what way?"

"Not everyone sees me dating a boy as the same thing as me dating a girl. Just…you so casually saying it like that…you don't realize it, but that means a lot to me."

Well, shit. Now Cooper was getting choked up. "Blaine—"

"Don't, okay?" Blaine sighed, wiped at his eyes and looked straight at Cooper. "Just don't. Not tonight. We'll talk, just not tonight. I'm tired. Can I just go to bed?"

"Sure, yeah. Of course. I started ironing your clothes like Kurt said."

Blaine laughed despite the situation. "Yeah, Kurt treats clothes like they've been made by the gods. Which is ironic since he's an atheist."

"Kurt's an atheist?" Cooper asked. Not that that would change his opinion of the boy; he just wanted confirmation.

"Yeah."

"Oh. Cool."

Blaine narrowed his eyes at him. "Right. Well, I'm just gonna go to bed then."

"Go ahead. I think I've ironed at least one matching outfit worthy of Kurt's approval for tomorrow."

"Cool. Thanks."

He unplugged the iron and hung up all of Blaine's clothes in the closet, separating the one's he'd already ironed from the ones he didn't. Then, when the iron was cold again, he put it back in its place with the ironing board behind Blaine's clothes in the closet. He closed the doors and headed for his bed, taking off his shirt and pants and climbing in. He hadn't actually realized how tired he was until he'd gotten comfortable in the covers and pillows.

A few minutes later, just as he was drifting to sleep, Blaine emerged from the bathroom. Cooper's eyes were closed, but he heard Blaine placing things on the table and in the dresser drawers, just getting organized.

He heard a zipper and assumed it was Blaine taking off his pants to get into bed when Blaine suddenly said, "Oh, I have something for you."

Cracking open one eye, he asked, "What is it?"

"Sheet music. We have this thing in glee club where we have an assignment every week and we have to prepare and perform a song that matches the assignment. Since you're here, there isn't really one, but I thought you and I could do one."

"Really?"

To be honest, Cooper wasn't nearly the singer Blaine was; but if his brother was offering to sing with him, he wouldn't dare turn him down.

"Yeah. I'll leave the sheet music on the bedside table right here for you." Blaine set it down before climbing into bed and turning off his lamp, plunging the room into total darkness. "Goodnight, Cooper."

"Goodnight, Squirtle."

…

The next morning when Cooper awoke, he heard the shower running, and when he turned on his bedside lamp, he looked over to see Blaine's bed empty. How Blaine woke up earlier than him without an alarm was beyond his comprehension and it was too early for him to care, so instead he just groaned and threw a pillow over his head.

Cooper Anderson was not a morning person.

In fact, it wasn't until he heard the shower turn off and the bathroom door open that he even peeked out from under the pillow on his face.

To his delight, Blaine laughed a little bit. "Haven't changed a bit, I see."

"Neither has how early school starts. Do I really have to go?"

"You're the one who agreed to teach there for a week."

"Only for one class period."

"You don't even have to be there until the end of the day. Don't get up if you don't want to."

"But I want to take you to school." His statement was greeted with silence, so he took the pillow off of his head and looked at his brother. "If that's okay with you."

Blaine shrugged, back to his indifferent attitude. "If that's what you want to do. I could just have Kurt pick me up if you don't want to get out of bed."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea! Let's go get Kurt and we can all go get breakfast before school!"

"I don't have time for that, Cooper. School starts in half an hour."

His excitement deflated. "I could write you guys notes," he offered lamely. He already knew what the answer would be.

"No, that's okay. But thanks." Just like he thought.

What was it going to take to fix things between him and his brother? He hadn't even done anything, really. They just hadn't been in contact in a while. But Cooper had been busy, it was out of his control; he didn't imagine that losing touch with his brother for a few months would create this much of a divide between them. If he'd known this was going to happen, he would have just quit everything and come home.

Blaine would always be more important than his career.

"If you're going to take me, you should probably get up and take a shower. Otherwise let me know and I'll text Kurt."

He groaned. It was so obvious that Blaine was dreading having to be dropped off by his big brother at school. "Just text Kurt. I'll see you there."

"Okay."

Kurt came and picked him up 10 minutes before school started. For the remainder of the day until he'd have to go to the school, Cooper ironed the rest of Blaine's clothes and hung them back up. Then he unpacked his own messy suitcase and ironed all of his clothes, hanging them up next to Blaine's but leaving a space so they wouldn't mix their wardrobes.

Once he finished ironing, about an hour and a half later, his arm was sufficiently cramped and he was sufficiently bored. He looked around the room for something to do and his eyes lighted on the sheet music. He crossed the room and picked it up, reading the title of the song and not expecting to know it at all.

Except that he did know it. And the fact that Blaine picked this song to sing with him felt like a knife in his gut.

Nonetheless, he practiced. He went to his car and got the keyboard that his girlfriend—recently turned ex—got him for his birthday the previous month and brought it inside to rehearse with. A couple hours later, he decided he'd practiced enough for the day. He basically knew the song by heart already, he just needed to really nail his parts that Blaine had highlighted for him. If he was going to be singing with his extremely talented brother, he wanted to get as good as he possibly could; he refused to embarrass Blaine by failing at performing a song when he was teaching to a glee club.

After that, he mainly just lay in bed and watch TV until it was about a half hour until he was due at the school. He quickly showered, dressed, and headed out. He arrived just in time, entering the choir room as all of the kids were taking their seats and the bell was ringing.

"Alright, guys, let's pick up where we left off yesterday, alright?" he said, smiling at the group.

Most of them were attentive and did everything he directed, and even Blaine was smiling and laughing, but it was a show. It hurt Cooper's heart to know that his brother had to pretend to be happy in his presence.

Still, he taught the class. When it felt like they were getting stiff, he introduced the game of Zip-Zap-Zop. Blaine even came up and did a Duran Duran duet with him to demonstrate one of his lessons, but as choreographed and together they were, there was just something off. Then, the bell would ring, and they'd all go home.

The whole week went on much like that. Blaine was cold and distant, Kurt was pleasant and obviously making an effort, and all Cooper wanted was his brother back. What was that going to take?

But then Friday rolled around. His last chance. Tomorrow, he'd be going back to LA to continue filming, and who knew when the next time they'd see each other would be? On top of that, today was the day they were set to perform their song that Blaine had picked. At this point, Cooper was more than ready for this. And it was the perfect final lesson, as there was sure to be a lot of emotion in this performance; it just probably wouldn't be much acting.

"So, today before Cooper leaves, he's informed me that he and Blaine are going to do a little number," Will announced to the class. "Let's all go to the auditorium and watch them perform!"

"I thought they already did do a number," Mercedes asked. Cooper always remembered her name because it was like a car and Kurt had told the anecdote of when she threw a rock through his car's windshield.

"They've prepared another one. Lucky us, right?"

Cooper couldn't tell if that was genuine excitement or not, but he'd take it. They all filed into the auditorium and he and Blaine headed up the stage steps, going to opposite sides of the wings.

Once everyone was filed in their seats, Blaine nodded to the band and they started the instrumentals; after the correct time had passed, Blaine began to sing.

Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over

They joined in on the chorus, slowly making their way towards each other on the stage.

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make it like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

The words were like gunshots, just one after one, punctuating him until he felt like a block of Swiss cheese. Blaine's emotions were all over his face, and by this time in the song, they were both near tears; not just in sadness, but in anger.

Cooper began his verse.

Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
But I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know

They repeated the chorus together again, emphasizing words or phrases with an arm punch or hand gesture or a particularly scathing facial expression.

Cooper had felt bad this entire week, wondering how he could possibly make up whatever it was that he'd done to Blaine. He'd tried mending it, tried being nice, but he had no idea what he'd done. And he was just tired of trying so damn hard when Blaine wouldn't even talk to him and tell him what was going on. Throughout the song, Cooper just grew more and more angry.

The song ended and he heard nervous clapping from the students and intense clapping from one person—Will Schuester.

"Yeah! See, guys? That's how it's done! You could feel their emotion! That was great work, Andersons! Really great!"

He'd wanted to say something appropriate, like thank Will for being so kind and for letting him come teach this week, but he'd gotten so worked up from the song that all he could do was blurt out the words he'd been thinking all week.

"What the hell is your problem with me anyway?" he yelled at Blaine.

Blaine stood shocked for a second. He thought he heard that freakishly tall kid Finn mutter in the audience, "It runs in the family…" but he wasn't paying too much attention to him. He just wanted his brother back.

"I'm not going to do this with you in front of the entire glee club," Blaine retorted through gritted teeth, turning on his heel and heading off-stage.

"Well you would barely talk to me all week, no matter how hard I tried!" He shouted at his brother's retreating back. "If the only way to get you to have a conversation with me is to air our dirty laundry to all of your friends then that's what I'll do!"

His brother stopped in his tracks and slowly pivoted back around, jaw clenched and staring hard. "You really want to do this right now?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow, so yes. I'd prefer that you tell me what I did before I left so we can fix it."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just leave and not talk to me for months again?"

"Is that what this is about? I've been busy, Blaine. You know that my life is hectic right now."

"Too hectic to shoot your brother a quick text of, 'Hey, got a new number, here it is in case you need me'?" Cooper had been staring at the floor until he heard his brother's voice crack on the last few words. His head shot up to see Blaine with tears in his eyes, one spilling over and splashing on his cheek. "Because I needed you, Coop. I needed you and you weren't there."

He was speechless. He'd seen his brother cry lots of times, but never like this; and never because of something he'd done.

Before he even knew what was happening, Kurt was on the stage and tugging Blaine into his arms. And all Cooper could do was watch. Who was this person that could comfort him better than his own brother could?

"Maybe we should take this to a more private setting," Kurt suggested gently, flashing a look at the stunned New Directions.

Cooper only nodded and followed Kurt as he lead a crying Blaine and shocked Cooper to the choir room.

"Okay," Kurt said, rubbing Blaine's back. "Now talk."

"I—"

"Not you," Kurt cut Cooper off before he could even finish his thought. "Blaine."

Blaine finally lifted his face from his hands and looked straight at Cooper. "Have you spoken to Mom and Dad at all over these past few months?"

"No," Cooper replied, shaking his head. "If I had had time to talk to anybody, it would have been you, Blaine."

"So then you don't know what's been going on."

He shrugged, feeling helpless. "I don't know anything."

Blaine took a deep breath before starting, Kurt still rubbing his back and planting the occasional kiss on his shoulder. "I've been having trouble. I transferred here at the beginning of the school year, like the third day of classes, but I went to visit about a month afterward. There was this new guy that had transferred into Dalton named Sebastian. He was after me, trying to break me and Kurt up so he and I could be together. It didn't work, obviously, but somewhere along the line it stopped being about getting with me and just turned into him being a dick.

"He had a special slushie made with rock salt to throw in Kurt's face, only I pushed Kurt out of the way and it ended up hitting me. It scratched my cornea and I had to have surgery." The thought of Blaine having surgery because of a bully was an idea he knew all too well and wasn't any more happy with this time around. "Mom and Dad weren't happy about it. They said this wouldn't happen if I was gay. If I were straight, this boy wouldn't have gone after me and 'that boy I'm fooling around with.' I need to get my act together if I'm going to make it in the real world. Otherwise, I might as well just get used to this all the time.

"There are other little details, but those are the main ones. I just…I needed you, Cooper. I needed my big brother. And you weren't here. And you didn't answer my phone calls or my texts. Even a quick 'I'm here for you, bro.' or 'Love you, Squirtle' would have sufficed. But I got nothing. And it felt like we were nothing."

"You didn't have to treat me like a stranger the entire time I was here, Blaine. You could have talked to me about it. Shit, I wish you would have. If you had told me all of this was going on, I could have been there for you this week."

"Kurt's been a good support system," he said, resting his forehead against Kurt's temple for a moment.

Okay, Cooper needed a second to breathe. To process this.

Why hadn't his parents called him to let him know what had been going on? He would have dropped any project he was working on and been home in a heartbeat.

This situation was all too familiar. Like last time, when Blaine was in the hospital after the Sadie Hawkins' dance. That time, Cooper knew what was going on, but his parents wouldn't let him come home. They wouldn't pay for it. And without them paying for his ticket, he couldn't afford it. He was a starving artist, a struggling actor in LA; there was no way he could pay his own fare to get to Ohio from California.

Now it had happened all over again, except no one had told him. He hated his assistant for making him get a new phone and a new number without notifying his family. She was getting fired when he got back to LA.

"I'm sorry, Blaine," Cooper said. Because what else could he say? That was all he could think of. "I'm sorry I haven't been here for you. I'm sorry that I didn't know what was going on. I should've…I should've tried harder to talk to you, made time, been there. I should have visited to check up on you. I…I'm just sorry, Blaine."

Blaine strode out from under Kurt's hand and in seconds he was throwing himself in Cooper's arms, sobbing into his shirt. "That's all I wanted, Cooper. I just wanted you to say you were sorry."

"I'm sorry, Blaine. I'm so, so sorry. You have my new number now, though. You can call me or text me at anytime. Actually, I'm going to get a different phone with a different number that's just for you. It'll be the phone I only use to talk to you. And I'll keep it on my person at all times, and if I'm on-camera filming I'll put it on my chair and check it right after we're done filming that scene. Okay? And that stupidass assistant of mine is fired. She's fired, alright? I'll hire someone who will actually take care of the shit I ask her to take care of. I'll be there for you, Blaine, I swear. The second you say the words I will hop on a plane to see you. I will.

"And I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. Don't listen to anything Mom and Dad tell you, alright? You're so talented. You'll get into any school you want to go to, no problem, when the time comes. I'm so proud of who you are and what you've been doing here. I spoke to some of your teachers and they have nothing but good things to say about you. Just because Mom and Dad are idiots doesn't mean everyone is, okay? Every other adult in your life is proud of you. But more importantly, I am. You hear me?"

Blaine nodded against his chest, and Cooper just held him tighter. This was the embrace he was missing. This was the brotherly affection he'd been missing since he arrived. He made a vow that he wouldn't let it slip away again. Ever.

"I could go if you two want a moment alone," Kurt said softly, motioning to the door.

"Don't be ridiculous," Cooper chided, letting go of Blaine with one of his arms and holding it open to Kurt. "Get on in here."

Kurt looked unsure. "Oh, no, that's okay."

"Kurt. You've been taking care of my brother when I fell down on the job. Get your ass over here."

Blaine pulled away with one arm and kept the other around his brother's waist, mirroring the way Cooper was holding it out to him. "Come on, babe. You know you want to."

The small smile that played over Kurt's lips made Cooper's heart feel good because looking at it, he knew that that was a smile only Blaine could make happen. Kurt took the few steps over and joined the group hug.

The three of them stood in the middle of the choir room hugging for a minute, and when Blaine pulled away with a grin on his face—(despite the tearstained cheeks)—Cooper did an internal fist pump at achieving his promise to himself.

He and Blaine were going to be okay. They would need to talk a lot more, but they could do that tonight at the hotel before he had to fly back to LA in the morning. For now, though, he could enjoy one last sleepover with his brother.

And maybe, he thought looking at Kurt, in the near future he'd be gaining a brother-in-law.

"Love you, Squirtle."

"Love you, Coop."