Blaine Anderson's bedroom was his sanctuary. If he was home that's most likely where he was, and if his parents were home too then he was definitely there. It's not that he didn't like his parents, or that they didn't get along, but they didn't actually know each other. They ate dinner together most nights and went on family outings, but never did their conversations stray from the surface. He wanted to believe this was just the way it was destined to be, and not because he was gay, but he couldn't be sure.

His parents accepted his sexuality, if with mild discomfort, but his extended family was another story. He'd sat through enough of his grandpa's rants on the "homosexual agenda" to know that it was something he could never share with them. And his parents agreed with him on that because although they apologized profusely after each one, never did they suggest they stop going to family gatherings, like Aunt Linda had.

Linda was his mom's sister and she'd stopped showing up at family events long ago, but that didn't stop her from coming to visit Blaine every so often. She knew, she'd always known, but it was a non-issue. Most of the time he felt closer to her than to his actual mom

He almost missed the strange car parked in front of his house but he caught a glance of it in his rearview mirror and a smile spread across his face as he went inside.

"Hey," Aunt Linda said as she wrapped her bony arms around him and squeezed tight.

"Hi! I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow."

Linda pulled away and widened her eyes. "What, you not glad to see me?"

Blaine laughed and said, "Well my parents aren't going to be home from work for a few hours so..." He had planned on going over to Kurt's house to hang out but Kurt would understand if he rescheduled. Blaine already spent most days over there, or Kurt at his house, since they were both home alone during the summer and it got kind of boring.

"Well what do you do for fun around here?"

Fun. There wasn't much fun to be had in Ohio but there was one thing...

*****

"The Lima Bean?"

Blaine nodded, "Trust me, this place is great." He turned off the car and the two of them walked inside. Immediately they had to veer left to avoid a coffee puddle that an employee was mopping up. They got in line and Blaine glanced at the menu although he already knew what he was getting.

"Next!" the teen behind the counter called and Blaine looked to Linda who nodded that she was ready.

"Hi, I'll have a medium drip and..."

"I'll have a medium iced coffee with milk."

"I'm guessing you guys mean grande..." the girl grumbled as she went off to make the drinks.

"That'll be $7.75," said another employee who had come to ring them up.

Blaine started to take out his wallet but Linda scoffed and handed over her debit card before Blaine could protest. "No way bud."

After getting their drinks, they found a table and while Linda went off to grab another chair, Blaine went back to get some napkins so he could wipe away the mess of crumbs left behind by the previous customer. Once they were settled, Blaine took a sip of his drink and looked over at his aunt expectantly. "Well, what do you think?"

"Uhh," she responded, and Blaine's smile fell a bit. "I don't know, it just seems like a cheap Starbucks knock off to me..."

"I suppose everything's more exciting in San Francisco," he said with a chuckle, trying his hardest not to be disappointed. He loved this place, and he couldn't see why she didn't.

He'd started coming here a few months ago after he'd met Kurt. It was halfway in between Lima and Westerville so when Kurt was at McKinley it just made sense. Then, after he came to Dalton, they just kept going because it was their place.

Blaine remembered the first time they went, how everything had been stilted and awkward until they both laughed at how silly they were being and fell into easy conversation like they had that first day at Dalton. When he thought about the Lima Bean, he saw Kurt's face smiling from across the table, heard him criticizing the clothing of the other patrons, and smelt his "cologne" which Blaine knew was actually perfume but didn't care. Even when they were both silent, busying studying for school on the stiff couch in the corner, Kurt's presence was enough to make it memorable.

Blaine tried to look past those things, to find other reasons he liked the place so he could convince his aunt of it's worth, but he was drawing a blank. Then, like a bolt of lightening, it hit him, the feeling traveling from his chest outward.

"... hello, earth to Blaine," Linda said, jarring Blaine back to the present.

"Kurt..." he murmured, tasting his name on his tongue for the first time.

"What?"

"I never knew just what is was about this old coffee shop I love so much," he whispered to himself and his aunt pulled a face, looking genuinely worried.

"What in world-"

"We have to go," Blaine cut her off and stood quickly, not looking back as he headed to the car.

*****

It took a few days to get it all ready but Blaine wanted everything to be perfect. He sat at the piano and played scales to keep his nervous hands at bay as he waited for Kurt to arrive.

"Blaine?" Kurt called as he walked into the empty common area.

"Over here," he responded. "I-I want to play you something."

"Oh, okay," Kurt said, surprise in his face and voice. Blaine's text had said nothing but that he needed to talk to him.

Taking a deep breath, Blaine began.

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you
Yes there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you.
I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down
I want to come too

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you

No one understands me quite like you do
Through all of the shadowy corners of me

Blaine made sure to make eye contact during that last line because he wanted Kurt to know how true it was. He had a lot of friends, and speaking frankly he was popular at Dalton, but Kurt was more special than them all. There were things Kurt knew that none of the others did, about his family, about his his feelings, about how he ran from his problems, and he hadn't even blinked an eye at any of it. All those things Blaine had been afraid to tell for fear it would send the other person running only made him closer to Kurt.

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you
Yes there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you.
I've seen the waters that make your eyes shine
Now I'm shining too

Because oh because
I've fallen quite hard over you

It was too soon, Blaine knew that, but it didn't stop him from feeling that way.

If I didn't know you, I'd rather not know
If I couldn't have you, I'd rather be alone

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop
I love so much
All of the while I never knew
I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop
I love so much
All of the while, I never knew

All of the while, all of the while,
it was you

As the last notes rang out Blaine forced himself to look up at Kurt. He had the expression on his face as if he had just had the wind knocked out of him and Blaine smiled, beginning to feel like maybe it wasn't too late, and this was going to work out.

"I-I need you to make things really clear, because I've misinterpreted things before," Kurt said, his voice high and breathy. He moved slowly but eventually sat next to Blaine and the piano bench.

"Kurt," Blaine said, taking his hand, just like he'd practiced in his head for days. "There is a moment where you say to yourself, 'Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you forever.' This week, being at the Lima Bean, that was the moment for me- about you. You move me, Kurt, and I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to figure that out."

Then he kissed him. He kissed him and kissed him and Kurt kissed right back. They kissed until their lips were swollen, and their breathing was ragged. They kissed until Blaine had to leave to go to dinner, and he brought Kurt with him, because there was someone special he wanted to introduce his boyfriend to.