The lights had been shut off and the curtain closed, leaving the room eerily dark.  He wasn’t used to it.  He was used to Katy Perry blaring from the speakers and the sun streaming in through the windows.  The rest of the house had been quiet as well, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.  It wasn’t like their parents spent that much time at home.  But Blaine’s room was never quiet.  It was never like this.  At the moment, the only thing recognizable in the room the Blaine sized lump under a giant pile of blankets in the middle of the bed…

“Blainey?” he cautiously called into the room.  The lump on the bed shifted ever so slightly but didn’t answer.  He huffed to himself and swiftly walked toward the windows.  Without looking over at the bed, he threw open the curtains, letting in the mid afternoon light.  Blaine groaned and tried to roll away from the brightness, but clearly didn’t realize he was so close to the edge of the bed.  He tumbled off the bed and landed with a muted thump in a pile of blankets on the floor.

“Cooper!” he groaned.  He moved his head away from the blankets and fixed Cooper with a shocked expression.  “Wait…C-Cooper?  What are you doing?  I thought-”

“Checking up on my baby brother.  What does it look like, squirt?”

Blaine didn’t bother correcting his brother’s use of the old nickname.  He just curled into himself on the floor a little and tried to ignore Cooper all together.

“Oh no you don’t, kid.”  Cooper skidded to a halt beside Blaine and started pulling the blankets off and away from his face.  “Are you trying to suffocate yourself?  Jesus, Blaine.”

Blaine threw up his arm and tried to knock Cooper’s hands away.  “Just go away.”

“No can do little brother.”  He tugged the blanket down and ruffled Blaine’s severely unruly curls.  It looked like he hadn’t used any gel in days by the sight of the frizzy mess.  Cooper cursed under his breath as the rest of Blaine’s head came into view.  His face was pale with dark circles marring the skin under his reddened eyes.  He hadn’t seen Blaine look this rough since the Sadie Hawkins disaster four years ago.  Back then, he had really hoped he never would see Blaine like that again…this was no different.

“Coop, please.”  Blaine’s voice cracked as he pleaded, making his voice sound even raspier.  Cooper wondered when Blaine had last spoken.

“Come on, buddy.  Let’s get you up.”  Cooper kept his voice much gentler this time.  “Can’t have you spending my whole visit on the floor!  Where’s the fun in that?”  

“I’m not in the mood for fun,” Blaine mumbled.

It broke Cooper’s heart, but he couldn’t let it show.  “Too bad, because I am and you only get to spend time with my awesomeness for a few days.”  He had to get to the bottom of this.  Something was seriously wrong and he was determined to know what it was before he went back to L.A.  “Get up!  Get dressed!  You are in serious need of a shower baby bro.  This place smells like something died!”

“Shut up,” Blaine croaked.  He pushed himself up and leaned against the side of his bed, pulling his knees up to his chest.  He looked so tiny like that, so very un-Blaine-like that Cooper wanted to scream.  Blaine scrubbed a hand over his face, but it didn’t help him much.  “What are you doing here anyway?”

“My schedule cleared up.  The Michael Bay thing didn’t really pan out so I’m in between auditions and on a hiatus from the credit score commercials.  Figured with Mom and Dad being out of town on that trip and Kurt moving,” Cooper didn’t miss the way Blaine flinched, “that you could use some time with moi to cheer you up.  But to do that, you need to get your ass off the floor and in the shower.”

“Cooper, I really don’t feel like doing anything.”  Blaine pulled the blankets more tightly around himself and started to settle back into his place on the floor.

Cooper sighed, hating what he was about to do, but he was running out of choices.  “Tough!  Come on!”  Cooper reached down and practically picked Blaine up and dragged him onto his feet.

“What the—STOP!  Coop!  Let me go!  I-“

“Blainey, this is for your own good.”  

Blaine continued to squirm and tried to shrug out of Cooper’s arms, but it was useless.  Blaine was exhausted and just wasn’t strong enough.  Cooper had the advantage and he used it for all it was worth.  He got Blaine to the bathroom and all but tossed him under the spray of hot water.  

“Take a shower.  I’ll grab you some clothes.”

“Cooper I-“

“I promise to pick out something Kurt would approve of since you are so determined to have him dress you,” Cooper teased.  He immediately wished he hadn’t as soon as he saw Blaine’s reaction.  The kid looked like he was ready to cry, so Cooper left him to shower and headed back into the bedroom.

Something was seriously wrong if Blaine couldn’t even handle being teased about Kurt.  Cooper knew that Kurt’s move to New York had to have been rough for Blaine.  Maybe he just had underestimated just how rough it was.

Looking around the bedroom only made his worry grow.  The room was a disaster zone now that he could see inside of it.  He was amazed he hadn’t tripped over the suitcase and clothes scattered across the floor.  With a sigh, he started picking things up for Blaine.  When he came to the blankets, he found something soft and squishy stuck in between the covers.  “Oh Blaine…”  It was that Margaret Thatcher dog Kurt had confiscated for Blaine.  

Upon further investigation, he found a couple of picture frames poking out between the soft blankets as well.  Now that he was looking, he noticed quite a few frames piled up on the nightstand.  Blaine had always had quite a few pictures of Kurt and him up, but they had been in various places around the room.  Now, it looked as if Blaine was hoarding them all in his blanket cocoon.  

“What the hell is going on?” Cooper whispered to himself.  He shifted the stuffed dog under his arm and carefully picked up the few frames that had fallen.  Once he had checked that there was no broken glass or anything, he arranged them back on the nightstand. 

“I thought you were going to bring some clothes in for me?” Blaine said, startling Cooper and causing him to drop the stuffed dog again.  He hadn’t realized Blaine had walked into the room, a towel secured around his waist.  His brother’s eyes were glued to the dog while he stood there frozen for a moment.  Cooper’s were glued to Blaine.

Blaine had changed in the few months since he had seen him.  There was still the muscle definition in his arms, but he was scrawnier…if that was even possible.  It looked like he had lost quite a bit of weight and Cooper didn’t like it at all.

After a few moments of standing there awkwardly, Blaine made his way over to the bed and picked up the toy.  He ran his fingers over its plush fur and set it gently on his nightstand.  He looked as if he was swallowing down emotions with the way his throat constricted.  Cooper didn’t comment; instead, he threw a pair of dark skinny jeans and a striped Henley at Blaine’s head to distract him.  

“Put those on and we’ll go.”

“Where’re we going?” Blaine asked disinterestedly as he walked over towards his dresser.  He slid a pair of boxer on, leaving the towel around him while doing so since Cooper refused to leave the room.

“You remember my buddy Mark?”

Blaine slipped his wet head through his shirt, sending his curling hair in various directions.  It reminded Cooper just how young his baby brother really was.  “Is he the one who tried to push me out of his tree house?” Blaine asked.

“Little brothers weren’t allowed up there!” Cooper argued.

Blaine ran a hand through his unruly curls, trying to straighten them out a little.  “I was five.”

“And yet you’re still bitter.”  Cooper couldn’t help but smile when Blaine lobbed a pillow at his head.  That smile quickly faded though as Blaine noticed the photos stacked up beside the bed.  His fingers skimmed over the glass covering Kurt’s face as he started to methodically place them around the nightstand so that they all faced his bed.  Warning bells started blaring in Cooper’s head at the sight.  “Hey,” he called over to Blaine.  “Get some pants on and we’ll go eat.  I was trying to tell you that Mark opened up this new restaurant in town and I said I’d go while I’m here.”

It shook Blaine out of his thoughts and finally got him to move away from the picture.  But instead of finishing getting dressed, he sat back down on the bed and pulled the stuffed dog onto his lap.  “I really don’t feel like going out, Coop.”  He kept his eyes glued to the toy and refused to meet his brother’s gaze.  

Cooper sighed to himself as he stepped towards the bed.  He sat down beside Blaine and put an arm across his shoulders.  “Maybe that’s why you should, buddy.”  

Blaine bit his lip and looked like he wanted to argue.  Instead, he stood silently and went about putting on his jeans and shoes.  His hair was now in an even worse state of disarray now that hit had dried some.  He painfully tugged a comb through the tangles and put in a little bit of gel.  It wasn’t nearly as much as he normally used, but it did tame the curls. 

It took a bit more convincing and prodding on Cooper’s part to get Blaine out the door and into his rental car.  However, they eventually made it to the restaurant and into a comfortable booth in the back.  Cooper had chosen the spot wisely, knowing Blaine wouldn’t feel comfortable talking with a crowd.  Hell, he was already going to have a hard time getting the kid to talk as it was.

A waiter soon came over to their table and Cooper launched into one of his accents.  He spoke in broken and incorrect French before speaking English with the very odd accent.  Throughout it all, Blaine didn’t even bother fussing.  Cooper had fully expected that one to earn him a kick under the table.  But nothing…

Something was definitely wrong and it looked like it had something to do with Kurt.  Had they fought when Blaine visited?  Or was Blaine just depressed that he had to come back home after spending a weekend with his boyfriend?  Either way, Cooper was determined to find out what the hell was happening.

“So,” Cooper said tentatively, “how’d your trip to see Kurt last weekend go?”  

Blaine’s gaze remained on the table and he started to play with his straw wrapper.  When he finally answered, it was a mumbled reply that was barely even audible over the clatter of dishes and silverware in the restaurant.  “Didn’t go.”

“You didn’t go?  I thought you already had the tickets and-“

“I’ve just…been busy I guess.  Sectionals and the play are coming up soon and I have stuff for student body government and tests and it just didn’t work out,” he replied in a rush.

“Woah, take a breath, Blaine.  I was just asking.”

Blaine bit his lip.  “And I was just answering.”

“Fine but-“

Before Cooper could continue, their waiter returned with their food.  For once, Cooper cursed the quick service but managed to mutter a thank you to the guy.  With a sigh, Cooper decided to let Blaine eat a little more before he continued accosting him with questions about Kurt.  The only problem was that Blaine didn’t seem to want to eat.  He had ordered one of the smallest items on the menu, a soup and sandwich combo.  Since the food had arrived, he had mainly moved the spoon around in the bowl and tore the bread into pieces.  It was almost painful for Cooper to watch.

“So how did Kurt take it?”

“What?” Blaine asked, dropping the spoon into the bowl and sending the soup splashing up a little.  His eyes were wide, but were finally focusing on Cooper for the first time since they had sat down.

“I said how did Kurt take it when you told him you couldn’t make it last weekend?” 

“Oh,” Blaine sighed in relief.  “Well…he’s been busy too.  He has Vogue.com and, well, and stuff.  He’s busy.”  The words were clipped and offered not further explanation.  But that didn’t stop Cooper from prying.

“That’s right!  He does have that new job!  I bet he’s loving it.  I mean, being in New York and working in fashion.  I mean, I may not like how he dresses you.” Cooper paused, hoping for an eye roll from his brother; it never came.  “But the kid does know his stuff.”  Blaine didn’t respond at all.  By this point, he’d normally go on a tirade about how wonderful his boyfriend was.  

The waiter came by again to refill their drinks.  “Is everything ok with your food?” he asked Blaine, noticing how little he had eaten.

“Hmm?  Oh, yeah, it’s fine.  I’m just not that hungry,” Blaine replied.

“Thank you,” Cooper dismissed the guy and turned back to Blaine.  “Seriously, you need to eat.  I get you want to look good for Kurt but this is a ridiculous, squirt.  I don’t think he’d want to see your ribs, which I totally could when you were getting dressed.  Unless he’s got you on some fad diet which I would-“

“Can we stop talking about Kurt?” Blaine snapped.  His fists were clenching where they rested on the table and his face had started to turn red.  

Cooper took it in stride.  “What happened with the two of you?”  Blaine flinched at the question and wouldn’t even look at Cooper.  “And don’t you dare say nothing!  I’m not blind.  I may not know everything about you, but I can tell something happened.”

For a few minutes, Cooper thought Blaine was going to ignore him.  But he was soon surprised when Blaine looked up at him with tears pooling in his eyes.  The kid took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, before he finally spoke.  “I-I th-think we broke up.”

“Excuse me?”

“I…I went to New York about a month ago.”

“And you broke up?”

Blaine nodded slowly as he sniffled and tried to stop the tears that obviously wanted to fall.  

“Shit, Blaine,” Cooper gasped.  “I…let me buy you a drink or something.  I mean, shit, that’s what brothers are for right?  Just let me grab the waiter and-“

“No, alcohol is what got me into this,” Blaine scoffed.  “So no thank you.”  His voice cracked a little on the words and he pushed his food away from him.  He looked like he wanted to be sick as he did so.  

Cooper felt like he was going to be sick as well.  “What do you mean by that, Blaine?”  Blaine didn’t answer him.  “Blaine?  I mean it, what the hell does that mean?  You’re kind of scaring me here.”  

Blaine ran a hand through his hair, freeing some of his curls from the gel.  “I…Kurt and I hadn’t been talking as much.”

“Ok…so you got drunk and left him a ton of messages?  Because that’s not cool but it isn’t any reason to break up and-“

“And I started talking to some guy on Facebook.”  

Cooper’s heart plummeted.  “You did what?”

“It was completely innocent at first but then…”

“Blaine?”

“He, Eli, started flirting and I just, I liked the attention.”

Cooper nodded slowly.  He knew Blaine had never gotten that much attention at home; he just hadn’t realized just how bad it had gotten.  “I see.”

“He invited me out that night.  So I went.”  Blaine chanced a glance up at Cooper but immediately looked back down at his hands on the table.  “He worked at one of the local hotels so we met up there.  He knew the bartender in the restaurant there.  So we started drinking.  It felt so nice at first; just to get out and not think about how Kurt wasn’t answering his phone or how he had forgotten to Skype.”

“Blainey…”

“I guess the drinks kept coming and I had more than I thought.  I wasn’t paying attention.”  Blaine bit his lip.  “Next thing I knew, I was waking up in one of the rooms upstairs.  My clothes were all over the floor and Eli was there and-“

“Blaine, please tell me you didn’t?”  Blaine didn’t answer and he didn’t look up.  “Jesus Blaine!  You know better than this!”

A couple of the other patrons stared over at them at the outburst but Cooper quickly shooed them away and turned his attention back to Blaine.  “So you cheated on Kurt?  You had sex with some random stranger you met on Facebook?  Blaine, do you have any idea how dangerous that was?  He could have been a serial killer or a rapist or—Oh God please tell me it was consensual?”

“Cooper I-“

“Was it safe sex?  Did you use a condom?  Blaine, you better have used a damn condom.”

“I don’t know,” Blaine snapped.  A few tears had leaked out from the corner of his eyes and had started to streak down his pale cheeks.  “I don’t remember.  I don’t remember anything.  I don’t know what we did.  I just don’t know!”  He hit his fist against the table top, earning a few glares from some of the nearby couples once again.  “I can’t do this here.”  Before Cooper could do anything, Blaine all but bolted from the table and out the front door.

“Shit,” Cooper cursed to himself.  He dug out his wallet and threw what he hoped was enough money onto the table so he could run after his brother.  He burst out the door, fully prepared to have to chase after the kid.  However, he nearly tripped over Blaine as soon as he stepped into the parking lot.  His brother was sitting on the nearby curb with his head his hands and his shoulders shaking. 

Cooper walked over towards him and sat down beside him.  “Come here.”  He put his arm around Blaine and pulled him towards him.  Blaine went easily, apparently not caring who saw.  Cooper held onto to him and let him cry into his chest.  Cooper knew Blaine needed his brother and he needed him now.  It didn’t matter if he was in the middle of a parking lot where everyone could see him.  He needed this.

After Blaine had cried for a few minutes, Cooper patted his back and gently pushed Blaine off of his chest.  “You want to go home?”

“Please,” Blaine rasped. 

The brothers stood and walked over to the car.  At first, Cooper remained quiet, but after a few minutes of driving he couldn’t keep stop himself from interrogating Blaine again.  “So you had so much alcohol you don’t remember anything about that night?”

“Pretty much,” Blaine scoffed as he looked out the window.

“How do you know you had sex then?”

Blaine twisted in his seat so quickly that Cooper was amazed he didn’t slam half his body into the dashboard.  “What?”

“How do you know if you had sex then?  If you don’t remember it?”

“What else could have happened?”

“Blaine, I know you’ve had a boyfriend for over a year now.  You know what all can happen that is not just sex.”  Blaine turned red again.  “Look, did you feel like you had sex?  Like, were you, um, sore?”

“Cooper!”

“I’m serious Blaine!  I don’t know if you top or bottom or-“

“Seriously Coop!  Stop!”

“I’m not saying I want to know the details but did you feel like you had sex?  Just answer the damn question so we can stop talking about it!”

Although he was obviously still embarrassed, Blaine finally answered.  “I didn’t hurt or anything but that could just mean I, well you know, was…you know.”  He waved his hands, praying Cooper would get what he meant and not ask anything else.  He already felt like crawling into a hole and dying.

“Ok,” Cooper relented.  “It’s ok.  We’ll figure this out.”  Cooper would figure this out, even if he had to hunt down this Eli bastard himself and interrogate him.  He needed answers.  And well, if he didn’t get the ones he wanted, at least he could put it on his resume.  Might just help him get on CSI like he had always wanted.

*******

In the end, it wasn’t all that hard to hunt Eli down.  All Cooper had to do was steal Blaine’s laptop while he was in the shower that evening and search his Facebook.  Eli’s page didn’t offer too much (a lighthouse profile picture?) but he did manage to send a message from Blaine’s account to Eli saying that he wanted to meet up again.  Eli responded before Blaine was finished in the bathroom, telling Cooper he would love to meet back up at the Westerville Plaza’s bar since it had been so much fun the last time.  Cooper felt sick as he replied but couldn’t dwell on it too long since the water had finally shut off in the shower.  

“What’re you doing?” Blaine asked as he came back into his room to find Cooper still sitting at his desk.  

Cooper eyed the sweats Blaine was all but drowning in for a moment before answering.  “Oh, I had to check some emails from my agent and my cell was dead.  Hope you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, fine,” Blaine shrugged.  He towel dried his hair as he walked back towards his bed.

“You going to try to get some sleep?”

“I guess.  I was hoping a shower would calm me down again.  Don’t think it worked.”

Cooper moved towards the bed and squeezed Blaine’s shoulder.  “Just try to get some sleep.  I’ve gotta head out for a few hours.  Will you be ok on your own?”

“Yeah,” Blaine sighed.  “I just want to sleep.”

“Ok,” Cooper sighed in relief.  The kid looked like he was about to pass out any minute now.  “If you need me you can call or text.”

“Thought you said your phone was dead?”

“Um, I’m going to put it on charge in the car.  You’ll be able to reach me, don’t worry.”  He ruffled Blaine’s hair and felt like screaming when his brother didn’t even bother swatting his hands away.  “I’ll be back later, Blainey.”

Blaine nodded, already crawling under the covers and curling into himself.  He started to pat around under the covers, searching for something.  Cooper sighed and grabbed the Margaret Thatcher dog from where he had left it on the desk.  He slid it into Blaine’s hands and squeezed his shoulder.  The kid looked so damn relieved that it nearly broke Cooper’s heart all over again.

Cooper pushed down the thoughts on the various ways to destroy this Eli guy.  He couldn’t go into the bar looking like he was ready to murder someone when he had to convince the guy to talk to him. 

He spent the car ride to the hotel trying to calm down and prepare for what he had to do.  He had no idea how Eli would react to seeing him, but he prayed that maybe he’d be recognized or something.  That was his best bet at getting Eli to talk to him.  

When he walked into the restaurant, he breathed a sigh of relief at how empty the place was.  There was no one else at the bar so he took a seat and ordered a weak drink.  He couldn’t get himself drunk, no matter how nice it would feel.  He had to do this for his baby brother.  

Sure enough, a few minutes later a tall skinny guy walked in and up to him.  “Oh my God!  You’re that guy from those commercials!”  

For once, Cooper didn’t relish at the recognition.  “Yeah, that would be me,” he replied with faked enthusiasm.  

“Wow!  Never thought I’d see a celebrity in this place.  I’m Eli by the way.”  He gave Cooper a once over, taking in the tight jeans and fitted leather jacket.  “Want another drink?  My treat?”  

Cooper wanted to laugh at the obvious flirting but he played along.  “Sounds good.  Why don’t you join me?”

Eli’s face lit up as he plopped down on the barstool next to Cooper.  The drinks started flowing and Eli started talking more and more.  None of it was about Blaine though; he had apparently forgotten all about meeting up with him.  Cooper had to remind himself multiple times that punching the bastard in the face in the middle of the bar would be counterproductive.  It could wait…

“So,” Eli slurred after a while, “want to take this somewhere more private.”

Cooper bit his tongue to prevent himself from reacting badly at first.  “Sure, why not.”  He downed the last of his drink and started to follow Eli to the elevator.  

“They’re remodeling some of the rooms on the sixth floor, so no one is up there.  But there are a couple rooms still intact.”

“Works for me,” Cooper replied with a large smile.  It was perfect.

Once they reached the room, Eli locked the door behind them.  “I never did catch your name.”

Cooper momentarily thought about giving a fake name but decided against it in the end.  “Cooper Anderson.”

“Anderson?” Eli gasped in recognition.  “Any relation to Blaine?”

“You know Blaine?  He’s my baby brother.  How do you know him?”

Eli rubbed the back of his neck.  “Um, we…we met up a few weeks ago.  Hung out downstairs and all.  But that doesn’t matter.  We can still, you know.”  Eli winked at Cooper and started coming towards him.  

Cooper suppressed the urge to gag and tried to remain in character.  “Wait!  Have you and my brother, done that?  There is no way I could do that with someone he’s been with!”  Cooper tried to brush past, but Eli grabbed his arm and stopped him.  “Well have you?”

“No!  Not with him!  We kissed, but he was too damn drunk!  He started rambling about his New York boyfriend and how he couldn’t do anything.  Really pissed me off.  We were going to have such a good—HMPH!”  

He never had the chance to finish the sentence.  Cooper didn’t let him.  He had punched him before he could say anything.  It hurt a lot more than he expected but it was totally worth it.  “Stay away from Blaine.  I see you on his phone or Facebook, I’m coming back here to do more than just punch you.  Got it”

“What the-“

“Do you understand me?” Cooper snapped.

“Fine!  God, whatever!  No need to go crazy on me.”  

Cooper rolled his eyes but didn’t bother responding.  He had more important things to do, like going back home and telling Blaine the truth.  So instead of sticking around, Cooper practically ran back to his car and broke every speed limit to get back to Blaine.  

He had only been gone a few hours, but he didn’t expect Blaine to actually be asleep.  He was right.  When he noisily entered the house, he found Blaine sitting in the darkened den with the TV droning in the background.

“Cooper?  You ok?”  Blaine pushed himself up on the couch so he could see his brother.  “What happened to your hand?  Is it bleeding?  Cooper?”

Cooper flopped down beside Blaine on the couch.  “I punched Eli across the jaw.”

“You did what?” Blaine yelled.  “How the hell did you even find him?!?”

“Oh Blainey, you gotta learn to use better passwords on your stuff.  They always involve Kurt or Katy Perry.”

“Wait, so when you were using my laptop earlier you were hacking into my Facebook?”

“Yeah…and a lighthouse, Blaine?  Really?” Cooper sighed.

“Shut up Cooper!”  Blaine sent a warning glare at his brother.

“Is he overcompensating or what?”

“Cooper!”

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t know since you didn’t actually sleep with him…”

Blaine’s eyes widened and all color drained from his face.  “Wh-what?”

“You didn’t sleep with him, kiddo.”

“But…my clothes and I was…”

Cooper rubbed at his shoulders.  “Eli said he wanted you and that he was planning on it, but you were too drunk to do anything.  You apparently started rambling about Kurt and wouldn’t let him do anything to you.  You must have passed out before you could get dressed and leave.”

“I didn’t sleep with Eli?”  Blaine sounded and looked all of five in that moment.  “Coop?”

“You didn’t sleep with him.”  He pulled Blaine against his chest.  “Looks like even when you’re drunk all you can think about is Kurt.”  

Blaine blinked back a few tears and swallowed.  “God!  But I told him I did and—Oh God!  I think I’m going to be sick.”  

Before Cooper could respond, Blaine had already stumbled from the couch and to the nearest bathroom.  Cooper hurried after him but didn’t reach him before he heard the sounds of Blaine retching in the bathroom.  “Blaine!  Calm down!”  He rushed to his brother and held him up before he could fall face first into the toilet.  

“But I screwed up and I don’t know how to fix it!  I can’t fix this!  I—Cooper what do I do?  How can I fix this?”  Blaine was so worked up that he was sobbing and retching all at the same time.  Cooper just held on to him and rubbed his back.

“Shh, just breathe Blaine.  We’ll figure this out.  Take it easy, squirt.” 

They spent the next hour on the cold bathroom floor while Blaine exhausted himself.  It wasn’t pretty, but Cooper refused to leave.  Once he was sure Blaine wasn’t going to be sick anymore, he dragged Blaine up the stairs and into his bedroom.  

“I’ll be right back.  I’m going to get you something to drink then you are going to get some sleep.”

“Don’t think I can sleep, Coop.”

“You can try.  I’ll be right back.”  Cooper ran back to the bathroom and dug around in the medicine cabinet until he found some sleeping pills their dad had used a few months ago tucked away in the corner.  “Yahtzee!”  He crushed up a few pills before going to the kitchen and grabbing a Gatorade.  He filled a cup the beverage and mixed in the medicine.  

“Here you go,” Cooper said upon returning to the room.  Blaine took the glass from him and gulped down the liquid, never noticing the medicine.  Cooper mentally fist pumped at the sight.  He needed Blaine asleep so that he could plan out everything.  

Because he was going to fix this.  He just had to book a flight first…

*********

Cooper stayed up tapping away on Blaine’s laptop, looking for the earliest flight to JFK that he could find.  Blaine slept, and Cooper didn’t regret drugging him to the gills to get him to sleep either.  Plus, it would make the rest of his plans that much easier.

With the tickets printed and safely stowed in his leather jacket, he set about packing a bag for Blaine for the weekend.  He made sure to find clothes he knew Kurt would approve of, even if he thought they were a little dorky for his taste.  This wasn’t about him.  This was about Blaine and Kurt, and he owed it to them both.  Without Kurt, who knew if Blaine would have opened up to him all those months ago!  He had to do this for them, even if Blaine would probably kill him once he became aware of what it was he was doing.

For now, Blaine was still feeling the effects of the sleeping pills.  Cooper was never more grateful for the fact that Blaine had always been a lightweight when it came to medications and alcohol.  Blaine never even stirred while Cooper went through his closet - not even when a couple of shirts accidentally landed on the bed.  

Their flight was scheduled to leave at seven that morning, so he woke Blaine hours ahead of time so they could make the drive to Dayton International.  Granted, he wasn’t too sure how awake Blaine really was…

“Coop?” Blaine yawned loudly.  “What’re ya doin’?”  His voice was slurred and he barely seemed to acknowledge that Cooper had nearly pushed him off the bed to get him somewhat awake.  

“Waking you up, squirt.”

“Oh…I’m awake?”

“Oh God,” Cooper mumbled to himself.  “I’m not too sure, Blaine.”

“Ok,” Blaine sighed.  He started to curl back into his pillow.

“Oh no you don’t!”  Cooper grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him up into a sitting position against the headboard.  Blaine nearly crumpled back down onto the mattress as soon as Cooper let him go.  “Seriously Blaine?”  Blaine didn’t respond, he just blinked up at him and held onto the stuffed dog.  “Fine, just…just stay awake for me.”  Blaine started to respond but Cooper interrupted him.  “Yes!  You’re awake!”  

Cooper took in the sweatpants and Buckeyes t-shirt Blaine had put on to go to bed.  He had forgone any gel after his shower as well, so his hair was sticking out in various directions and seriously frizzy.  If Blaine was coherent, there was no way he would want looking like that, but it would have to do.  Cooper wasn’t going to attempt to dress Blaine when he was in this type of condition.  Cooper did at least take the time to find a beanie to cover the curly mess on top of Blaine’s head.

Getting Blaine down the stairs and into the car was an adventure.  Blaine could barely walk without tripping over his feet and getting dizzy.  Cooper was still happy he had decided to drug him up and get him to sleep, but he really wished Blaine could walk.  The kid had definitely lost some weight, but he was still muscular and heavy.  Cooper’s back was not too thrilled at the way he ended up practically carrying Blaine down the stairs.  He silently vowed to hit the gym extra hard when he got back to L.A.

Once he was in the passenger seat of the car, Blaine all but passed out again.  Cooper just shook his head and reclined the seat for him.  He then ran back upstairs to grab a blanket…and the stuffed dog.  

After that, everything went fairly smoothly.  Blaine slept the rest of the way to the airport and Cooper just drove in silence.  It made the hour drive pass slower than he would have liked, but Blaine needed the sleep.  That was extremely obvious.  Cooper really didn’t want to know exactly how little his brother had slept since his night with Eli; it was undoubtedly way less than he needed.

At the airport, Cooper had to once again find a way to get Blaine upright and moving.  It was just as difficult as it had been at the house, except now he had the added fun of lots of people looking at him dragging his eighteen year old boyfriend around the terminal like he was a toddler throwing a tantrum.  

“Kid’s a nervous flyer,” he finally explained to the lady behind the counter as she handed them their boarding passes.  “Had to drug him just to get him through all of this without him spazzing out.”  He flashed his best smile and pulled Blaine a little closer to his side in hopes of getting him to stand a little straighter.  It worked…sort of.  Blaine wasn’t falling into a heap of limbs onto the middle of the floor at least.

Security wasn’t any better.  For a few minutes, he could have sworn that the guards were going to take Blaine into one of the rooms because of how doped up he was acting.  Thankfully, they all bought the nervous flyer story and helped Cooper through with the luggage and Blaine.  

By the time they reached the plane, Cooper was extremely relieved to finally be seated onboard and that Blaine was snoring softly in the seat next to him.  Blaine still had the dog clutched to his chest as he curled into the seat and leaned against Cooper.  For once, Cooper didn’t mind that Blaine was drooling on his shoulder.  He was glad that they had made it with Blaine had remaining blissfully unaware and would hopefully sleep through the flight.  Because Cooper was sure there would be hell to pay when the kid woke up…

Sure enough, Cooper was right.  Hours later, when the plane landed at JFK, the drugs had slowly but surely started to wear off.  As the wheels touched down on the runway, Blaine jerked awake, extremely confused but much more coherent than earlier.  He rubbed sluggishly at his eyes as he tried to take in his surroundings.

“Cooper?  Where-“

“Thank you for choosing American Airlines and enjoy your stay in New York City!” a stewardess called over the loudspeaker.  

“We’re in New York?” Blaine gasped.  He turned in his seat and glared at Cooper.  “What the hell are we doing in New York?”

Cooper smiled his megawatt smile at his brother.  “Well…”

“Cooper!”  Blaine sagged back into the seat and banged his head against the headrest.  

“Look,” Cooper started softly, “you need to talk to Kurt and I doubt he’ll answer his phone, so you’re going to go see him.”

“It won’t work,” Blaine sighed.

“You don’t know that.”

“I still cheated.  I flirted with Eli and met up with him knowing where it would lead and-“

“And you put a stop to things.”

“But I still did things I shouldn’t have, and Kurt deserves better than that.”  Blaine bit his lip and looked down at his lap.  “Better than me.”

“Look at me,” Cooper ordered sternly.  He waited until Blaine eventually complied.  “You screwed up, I’ll give you that.  But what you have with Kurt…it’s not something that either of you should throw away just because of that.  I’m not saying it will be easy and I’m not saying he’ll forgive you today.  But I think it’s worth trying.”  He reached over and squeezed Blaine’s shoulder.  “You have to give it a try, Blainey.”

Blaine hunkered down in his seat at first, and his jaw clenched as he thought it over.  Cooper had started to wonder if Blaine would ever answer but he finally nodded his head slowly and sniffled.  “Fine,” he muttered.  

“Come on, I think we’re about to be the last ones on board and I’m sure these lovely stewardesses would love to get off as well.”  Cooper clapped Blaine on the shoulder.  “Let’s head out and find a hotel so you can get dressed before going to Kurt’s.”

Blaine stood and was immediately hit by a dizzy spell that had him falling back into the seat and closing his eyes.  “Um, Coop?  Did you drug me?”

“Well…”

“What did you give me?” Blaine snapped, risking a glance at Cooper.  

“I might have slipped some of Dad’s old sleeping pills into your Gatorade last night.”

“How many pills exactly?”

“I don’t know, maybe three,” Cooper admitted.  

Blaine groaned and screwed his eyes shut.  “Oh you suck so much right now.”

“I get you a strong cup of coffee while you shower if you promise you won’t drown in it or anything.”

With Cooper’s help, Blaine managed to get off the plane without falling flat on his face.  However, he did get a massive migraine from the movements, which Cooper did feel a little bad for, but all this was for his own good in the end so Blaine would just have to deal with it for a little while.  

Once they were at a nearby hotel, it took a lot to get Blaine into the shower and not the bed.  Cooper’s offer of strong coffee managed to do the trick and Blaine emerged impeccably dressed and with gelled hair.  He still looked exhausted and his hands wouldn’t stop shaking, but Cooper had to admit that it was a slight improvement.  

“Give me your bowtie,” Cooper instructed.  “With the way you’re going it will be another week before you get it tied.”

“Maybe I should just wait until tomorrow or something.  That way whatever you gave me will be out of my system and I won’t-“

“No way.  You will chicken out and you know it.  Now hand me your damn tie and let’s do this!”

Blaine averted his eyes to the carpet as he handed it over.  “I can’t help it.”

“I know you can’t.”  Cooper didn’t even tease him about his affinity for the goofy bowties.  He simply slipped it around Blaine’s collar and fixed it as best as he could.  “There!  You look fine!  Now let’s go!”

“Wait, you’re coming?”

“Yes, because you obviously need my help, little brother.”

“But I-“

“Blaine, your hands haven’t stopped shaking and you’re still dizzy.  I’m not letting you out onto the streets of New York on your own!”

“And whose fault is it that I’m shaky and dizzy?”  Blaine raised his eyebrows at Cooper.

“Details, details!” Cooper scoffed. 

Blaine rolled his eyes but allowed Cooper to lead him down to a cab out on the street.  The ride was silent, aside from the sound of Blaine’s foot tapping nervously against the floor.  Nothing Cooper could say or do was going to calm him down, so he let him be.  It only became worse the closer they got to Kurt’s apartment.  

“He’s probably still at work,” Blaine said when the building came into view.  

“Then we’ll wait.”

“But-“

“Just get out of the damn car, Blaine,” Cooper huffed, nudging Blaine out of the taxi as he paid the driver.  

“Coop I-“

“Come on!”  Cooper grabbed Blaine by his shirt and pulled him towards the door.  An elderly lady was coming out and they grabbed the door before it could lock behind her.  “What floor?”

“Fifth,” Blaine mumbled.  He was shaking all over at this point, much to Cooper’s concern.  

They hurried up the stairs and came to a halt in front of Kurt and Rachel’s door.  Blaine just stood there staring at it as if it would magically open on its own.  “Oh for God’s sake, Blaine!”  Cooper reached around his brother and banged on the door.

“Cooper!  He’s probably not-“  Blaine’s sentence was cut short as Kurt opened the door.  

Kurt looked just as wrecked as Blaine, but was still dressed as nicely as ever.  “Blaine,” he greeted in shock.  His brow creased as he saw Cooper leaning against the wall.  “And Cooper?”

“Hey, Kurt,” Cooper replied when it became obvious that Blaine was too stunned to answer.  “Listen, don’t shut the door in his face just yet!  He really needs to talk to you.  And I know he’s been kind of an idiot but please let him in.”

Kurt looked at Blaine, visibly taking stock of the dark circles and pale skin, just as Cooper had yesterday, before nodding and moving so that they could come inside the apartment. 

“What are you doing here?” Kurt asked softly as he stared at Blaine.  He didn’t sound cold or as angry as Cooper had expected, but there was definitely hurt in his voice.  

Blaine stood there a moment, biting his lip and shaking, before Cooper finally pushed him forward towards Kurt.  “I-I need to talk to y-you.”

Kurt crossed his arms over his chest.  “So talk.”  

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” Kurt sighed.  “But that doesn’t excuse what you did.”

“I know it doesn’t.  I should never have gone out that night.”

“Why did you, then?”

For a few minutes, Cooper fully expected Blaine to clam up and not answer.  But the kid surprised him when he stepped towards Kurt and slowly started talking.  “I wasn’t handling things as well as I said I was.”

“That’s pretty obvious now,” Kurt scoffed.

“I just, after telling you to come here and follow your dreams, I couldn’t admit how much I hated you being here.  Hated that you had listened to me.”

“So you’re saying this was my fault?”  Kurt stepped back, his voice cracking on the words.

“God, no!  What I did was my fault, but you asked me why I did it so I’m explaining!  You were here doing amazing things with amazing people and you didn’t have the time for me anymore.  I should have said something to you but I didn’t want to sound like some kid who couldn’t handle being alone.  But you know what?  I was.  I couldn’t handle it.”

“You should have talked to me.”

“When?”  Blaine had tears in his eyes and Cooper was starting to wonder if had made a mistake.  “Kurt, you were so busy!”

Kurt took in a deep breath, obviously trying to control his own emotions.  “Did it help?  Did sleeping with him help?”

“I didn’t sleep with him,” Blaine choked out.

“What?” Kurt gasped.  “But you said-“

“I thought I had,” Blaine admitted.  “I was drunk.  So things were really hazy and I remembered kissing him and being there with him so I jumped to conclusions.”

“So you didn’t have sex?”

“I did not have sex with anyone.”

“But-“

“Apparently he’s still head over heels for you even when he’s blitzed,” Cooper spoke up, drawing both the boys’ attention to him and reminding them he was still in the room.

Kurt didn’t say anything at first, but he did eventually nod and look up at Blaine.  “You want to stay for dinner?  We could…talk?”

“Really?”  Cooper couldn’t help but notice that Blaine had nearly sagged to the ground in his relief.  

“You’re not forgiven…but we need to talk.”

“I’ll take that,” Blaine quickly agreed, smiling softly.  It was the first time Cooper had seen him do so since he had arrived the day before.  Cooper wanted to do a little dance right there in the middle of Kurt’s apartment but managed to stop himself when Kurt looked over at him a second later.

“Do you think you could leave?  So we can talk and-“

“I’ll head back to the hotel,” Cooper interrupted.  “Call me if you’re coming back to the hotel, Blaine.”  He pulled Blaine into a hug and leaned in close to his ear.  “But I doubt you’ll be coming back tonight.”  Blaine was blushing by the time Cooper released him but he mouthed a thank you at his brother nonetheless.  “I’ll see you around, Kurt,” Cooper called over to him, because he knew this wasn’t the end of the boys yet… Kurt sent him a small smile of thanks and walked him to the door.  

“You know he feels like shit over it all, don’t you?” Cooper said softly once they were away from Blaine.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Not saying it should, but since when have either of you ever done easy?”

“I guess,” Kurt scoffed.

“Oh, by the way, don’t be too hard on him.  I may have drugged him to get him here earlier.  And I’m pretty sure he’s still dizzy from it.  So…”

Kurt shook his head fondly at Cooper before closing the door behind him.  After a few seconds, Cooper leaned his ear against the door.  He couldn’t help but smile as both Kurt and Blaine’s voices drifted through.  

They still had a long way to go, and things might never be the same.  But they’d get through this.  Cooper would make sure of it; he knew he would.  He was just that awesome after all.