Kurt was going to Blaine’s house. Both boys were sitting in Kurt’s car and heading to the mysterious home.

It was the first time, even though they’d been dating for months now and been friends for even longer; Blaine was always avoiding conversation about his home.

Probably because he doesn’t like to brag, Kurt thought.

Kurt had already met Blaine’s family plenty of time before. They always came to Warblers Concerts and Kurt had been to one of Blaine’s sister Cassie’s cheerleading competition.

But Blaine nervousness about his family was ever present and Kurt didn’t know why. They were accepting and nice. Blaine’s father was still uneasy with the “being gay” thing but he had never, never been anything but kind to Kurt.

“Okay, turn left at the next traffic light.” Blaine said, nervously.

“Still this stressed tone... Is there something you need to tell me, Blaine?” Kurt asked, wondering maybe if Blaine’s parents had marijuana plants in their basements, or something.

“No... Well... Yeah! But don’t... Just don’t judge me, okay?” Blaine managed to say, stuttering

“Why would I judge you?” Kurt wondered. He seriously started to think that maybe Blaine was living with his family in a hippie commune.

“It’s just... Well... You’ll see.” Blaine let out a heavy breath.

Worrying, Kurt turned right on the street the curly haired boy directed him to.

They were clearly in a neighbourhood of apartment blocks. Maybe Blaine’s parents had a block and they were living in several apartments. Or maybe they bought a block and they made some renovations and now they lived in an awesome place full of staircases and balconies, just like Mia and her mom in The Princess Diaries.

“It’s – It’s the next block. The one with the red bricks.” Blaine said, his voice trembling.

It was a nice two stories building. Counting the balconies, Kurt saw that it could hold four apartments but that they would be quite tiny, unless some changes were made inside.

They got out of the car and Kurt noticed that Blaine was shaking. He followed his boyfriend inside and they climbed the stairs, holding hands. Blaine stopped in front of the top right door and started to remove his shoes silently. When Kurt leaned down, to remove his boots as well, he noticed that there were way too many pairs of shoes on the rack for Blaine to have his own space. There were some high heel shoes and steel-toe boots and the sport shoes of Cassie’s cheerleading squad.

“Oh!” Kurt thought

Blaine pulled out his key and opened the door as Kurt rose up. Kurt was shocked when he saw inside the apartment. Blaine rushed his boyfriend inside, not liking to stay in the corridor for long, as if the neighbours would not understand of their relationship.

As they entered, they found themselves in a little gap, stuck between the back of the couch and the wardrobe door. The principal room was open and it was both the kitchen – along with the dining table – and the living room.

Straight across them was another gap with three doors, one on each side. One of them was open and Kurt could see a tiny bathroom. He assumed that the two other closed door were bedrooms.

The place was small but it was full of warmth. The furniture was old and used and everything felt like that they’ve been living there for years now. The couch was full of patches, the TV was straight from the 90’s and a bookshelf was stack in the corner between the wall and the door to the balcony. There were a lot of pictures and paintings on the wall to hide the old and yellowish wallpaper. Fresh flowers were in a vase on the table. Stack in between was an old lacework tablecloth. The kitchen cabinets were worn out and the oven was old fashioned.

“So... This is the living room and the kitchen. This door, there, is my parent’s room and across it, is the room I share with my sister.” Blaine spoke so softly and so fast that Kurt barely understood what he said.

“It’s lovely.” Kurt responded, kissing his boyfriend’s temple.

“So, you’re not...” But Blaine stopped mid-sentence, blushing.

Kurt took his boyfriend’s hand and walked the three steps around the couch to sit on it, inviting Blaine to do the same.

“What am I not, Blaine?” Kurt asked, wondering why his boyfriend was so ashamed of living here.

“Because... I know you made assumptions about – about me...” Blaine said, intimating that Kurt always thought that Blaine was quite rich. “I’ve always lived here, with my parents and Cassie. It’s small but we can’t afford anything bigger...”

“You never denied the fact that you were rich Blaine... How could I think otherwise?” Kurt said patiently, not blaming Blaine for his white lie.

“I know... I mean... I was so ashamed, you know? Being at Dalton and – and – well, being the only poor guy there...” Blaine said, avoiding Kurt’s eyes.

“Speaking of Dalton... How did you manage to pay for a year and a half?” Kurt asked.  “Sorry – it’s not my place to ask.” he added when he saw Blaine’s eyes going wide as his breath stopped.

“No, no, it’s okay!” Blaine said “You remember those guys who beat me up at the Sadie Hawkins dance, years ago?” he asked, slowly, as if he was scared to tell more about himself.

“How could I forget those Neanderthals?” Kurt wondered.

“Well... We went to court... And we won... So we had money ...” Blaine said, without telling anything more.

“But you can’t possible have made enough money, though...” the chestnut haired boy said, trying to pulled answers out of Blaine.

“We also sold the ’59 Chevy my dad and I rebuilt to some rich collector guy.” Blaine explained “He said we did a great job with it. I also worked over the summer for my dad’s boss... That’s also why I have a cell phone. It’s a company phone. My father’s boss told me that I was a nice kid and that I could keep it for as long as I was in school. I’m glad I worked for him; I have money for myself during the school year. My parents don’t need to pay more for me than they already have. You know, I’m glad to go to McKinley. It’s great to be with you but to be honest my parents are less stressed now that I’m back in public school.” As he spoke, Blaine found out it was more easy than he thought. Then, he remembered he was talking to Kurt, his Kurt. Of course it was easy.

“Isn’t weird, sleeping in the same room as your sister?” Kurt asked, remembering how awkward it was sharing a room with Finn. Not that it was because Cassie was a girl, but two teenagers in the same room might sparks a bit.

“No! It’s okay! I mean, I – I can’t always do whatever I want in our room. But she can’t either. So it’s fair! We’ve always lived that way, it’s okay because I’ve never known otherwise!” Blaine said, his love for his younger sister more than obvious in his eyes.

“Last question... When you drove all the way from Dalton to McKinley, all these times, who’s Lexus was it?”

“It was Wes’ car... Actually, one of Wes’ cars... He let me borrow it any time I wanted it... It was practically mine. He paid also for the gas.”

“Wow! That was nice of him.”

“Before he moved from China, twelve years ago, his family was poor too. But his dad is some kind of math genius, so they worked their way up in society. He was glad to help me. I really was uncomfortable at the beginning but then I just accepted the help, you know?” Blaine said as the blue eyed boy nodded.

“And what about your clothes? You’re so fashionable!”  Kurt couldn’t help but ask.

“I thought you said that it was your last question?” the shorter boy chuckled.

“You know how fond I am of clothes... You can’t not tell me your secret! Come on! Spill it!”

Laughing, Blaine almost forgot how uncomfortable he was speaking of this with his boyfriend.

“Well,” the hazel eyed boy started “Let’s just say that my mom and I are brutes at shopping.”

Laughing, Kurt leaned to kiss his boyfriend tenderly on the lips. They kissed softly for a moment until Blaine pulled out, worrying.

“So you’re not angry?”

“No, I totally understand Blaine. You don’t have to be ashamed anymore. This home is lovely, it feels warm and welcoming.” Kurt said, smiling. “That’s the best thing you can have. There are so many houses, out there, big, awfully big, but empty - empty from warmth and love. I way prefer this.”

At this statement, Blaine immediately felt the fist around his heart unclench. Kurt really was compassionate and kind. He was so glad to finally let his heart open to that boy.

Lost in his thoughts, Blaine didn’t notice that Kurt was now off the couch and in front of his bedroom’s door, peeking in.

“God! Blaine! Is that bunk bed?!” Kurt asked, laughing “Please tell me you’re not still fighting with your sister every night for who’ll have the top bunk!”