Blaine Anderson first realized it at age ten, when he was playing on the playground at recess one day when he was in fifth grade. He had been sitting on top of the slide, enjoying the view from his perch high above everyone else, when a voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

“Are you going to go down the slide?”

Blaine looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand, to see a boy standing behind him. “What?”

“The slide,” the boy repeated. “Are you going down?”

“Oh! Yeah, sorry…” Blaine ducked his head sheepishly and slid down the slide. He quickly turned around once he reached the bottom, eager to watch the other boy slide down after him. He was about Blaine’s height, with sandy blonde hair and deep brown eyes.

“Thanks,” the boy said, giving him a small smile before running away to play on the monkey bars. Blaine’s eyes followed the boy as he climbed up and grabbed hold of the first bar, easily swinging to the next with a surprising amount of strength. Feeling a strange surge of adrenaline, Blaine was smitten instantly.

Since that day, Blaine’s feelings did not go away. On the contrary, they only strengthened. However, Blaine did nothing about them, knowing that boys were not meant to feel that way about other boys, and so he kept it to himself. But Blaine wanted to tell someone. He had to tell someone. He figured he would tell his parents first, but he wanted to wait until the right moment. He’d made the decision to do so one night when his parents came in to tuck him into bed. However, things didn’t exactly go as planned.

That evening, a year after that fateful afternoon on the playground at school, Blaine was finishing up his homework in his room when he heard shouting coming from downstairs. He was used to it by now, but the next words he heard made him drop his pencil in surprise and shock.

“You walk out of that door, young man, and you won’t be allowed back.”

Blaine ran to his door and pulled it open just enough to see through without being noticed. His father and his older brother, Cooper, were angrily arguing with each other while his mother silently watched from several feet away.

“Yeah? Well maybe I don’t want to come back,” Cooper retorted. “I’m eighteen now, which makes me an adult. I can get alone fine without you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” John Anderson laughed dryly. He took a step towards his son, and then stopped suddenly. He leaned closer, peering into Cooper’s face. “Your eyes are bloodshot. Why are your eyes bloodshot?” He inhaled through his nose. “Have you been smoking pot?”

Cooper didn’t respond, but he didn’t have to. His silence was all it took before John stormed upstairs. Blaine’s eyes widened and he quickly shut the door, but opened it again after he heard three sets of footsteps rush past.

“Dad, don’t-“ Cooper started. “Dad! Stop!”

Blaine opened the door a few inches wider until he could see into his brother’s room across the hall. His dad was frantically searching under the bed, in the closet, rooting through drawers, until he found what he was looking for.

“What the hell is this doing in my house?” John said, holding up a small sandwich bag filled with the dark leafy substance. Cooper swallowed hard but didn’t answer. “I asked you a question!” When his son still didn’t answer, John hit him hard across the face with the back of his hand.

“John!” his wife gasped. Before she could do or say another word, John turned to her and raised his arm threateningly. She backed down immediately, but looked from her husband to her son, terrified.

John turned back to his oldest son. “I want you to pack your things and get out of this house right now,” John said in a low growl. “I don’t care where you go, I just want you out.”

“But—“

“It’s been one thing after another with you. I’m fed up with it. You said it yourself; you are eighteen and a legal adult. You said you could get on fine without us.”

“Yeah, but…”

“You’re leaving this house tonight and that is final.” With that, his father turned and left the room.

“Mom,” Cooper said to her, a look of pleading in his eyes. “I didn’t mean what I said before about wanting to leave…you know how mad Dad gets me…please let me stay…”

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, John yelled up from the first floor. “Katherine!”

She turned to her son with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered before exiting the room.

Alone, Cooper sunk down to the floor, burying his head into his hands. Suddenly, he felt a small set of arms wrap around him. Sniffling, he opened his eyes only to be greeted by a mass of fluffy black curls. He returned the hug his little brother was giving him. “Hey, B.”

“Don’t go, Coop,” Blaine said, resting his head on his big brother’s shoulder. “I need you.”

Cooper’s heart broke at those words. “I’ll only be gone for a little while, buddy.” His voice cracked slightly at the term of endearment he used.

“But where will you go?”

Cooper smiled sadly and looked at his brother’s tear-streaked face. “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Maybe I’ll stay with Michael for a little while. His parents have this guest space above their garage that they hardly ever use. I could ask him if I could stay there, and his parents would never even know.”

Blaine was silent for a minute. “Before you go, I have something to tell you. Something I’ve never told anyone before.”

“What’s that?”

“I…um…a year ago, I realized…um…”

“You can tell me.” Cooper squeezed Blaine’s shoulder encouragingly.

“I like boys, Coop.” Blaine looked down at his lap, afraid to look at his brother.

“Hey,” Cooper said softly. “Blaine, look at me.” He put a finger underneath his brother’s chin and gently raised his head until their eyes met. “Thank you for telling me. I know that took a lot of courage. Courage I wish I had.”

“Cooper…”

“Shh. You’re a brave kid, Blaine. I admire that about you. You’re going to grow up into a real great guy. I just wish I could stick around to see that.”

“Promise me you’ll come back?” Blaine said, his eyes filling with tears again. r32;r32;Cooper smiled and ruffled his brother’s curls. “I promise, B.”

***

“Kurt, I should get going,” Blaine said, grabbing his backpack off the floor. “I have a lot of studying to do.”

“Okay, but don’t forget about our date tomorrow night,” Kurt responded. “You’re still picking me up at seven, right?”

“Of course I am,” Blaine smiled, hugging his boyfriend around the waist. “I would never forget about our date. I’ve been looking forward to it all week.”

“Good, me too.” Kurt grinned before kissing Blaine on the lips. “Okay. Go home. I don’t want you flunking your test tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” Blaine let go of Kurt to fish through his backpack for his car keys. “I’ll see you at school.”

“Can’t wait,” Kurt said. After one last kiss, Blaine was out the door and driving home.

As he turned into his driveway, he noticed an unfamiliar car parked there. “What the…?” Blaine muttered to himself. He parked his own car, got out, and walked up to the front door. The minute he opened it, his eyes instantly landed on a tall brunette man standing with his back to him. His mother was facing the man, wearing a shocked expression on her face.

“Mom?” Blaine said questioningly. At the sound of Blaine’s voice, the man turned around, locking eyes with him. Blaine’s eyes went wide. “Cooper?”

“Blaine?”

There was a moment of silence, and then both brothers ran toward each other simultaneously, gripping one another in a large hug.

“What are you doing here? You…I thought you were….where have you been?” Blaine sputtered, feeling like the wind had knocked out of him.

Cooper raised his eyes to look at his mother, who nodded towards the front porch. He glanced back down at his younger brother and smiled. “Come on.”

Once outside, Cooper shut the front door behind them and sat on the front steps beside his brother. “It’s been a while, huh?”

“More than a while Coop,” Blaine shook his head in disbelief. “Six years…what have you been doing this entire time?”

“Well, I lived with Michael for a while. Eventually got a part-time job, went to community college…I cleaned up, Blaine,” Cooper said. “I quit doing pot. I stopped drinking…I mean, none of this happened overnight of course, but I realized that I had to grow up. I have my own apartment now, a girlfriend and a steady job.”

“Wow,” Blaine said. “I’m proud of you.”

Cooper smiled. “Thanks. I guess getting kicked out of your house makes you realize how messed up you were.”

“I guess it does.”

“What about you, though? Do you still like…um…I mean, are you still…”

“Gay?” Blaine supplied, amusement evident on his face.

“Yeah,” Cooper said.

“Yeah, I am.” Blaine nodded. “I have a boyfriend…”

“You what?” Cooper’s jaw dropped. “That’s great! What’s his name?”

“Kurt,” Blaine replied. “He is the sweetest, smartest, most gorgeous guy in all of Lima. And he’s mine. I still can’t believe it.”

“I’m so happy for you, B.”

“Thanks. It’s good to hear you call me that again, Cooper.” Blaine smiled, clapping a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’ve really missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

Blaine pulled his brother in for another hug. When he let go, he asked, “So what made you come back?”

Cooper smiled and ruffled his brother’s hair. “I promised you I would, didn’t I?”