Never Say Goodbye

The next morning Blaine was the first one downstairs.

Maybe I should make them all breakfast, Blaine smiled to himself, proud of his idea. To thank them for all that they've done for me.

He quietly made his way to the kitchen and, after about ten minutes of trying to find everything that he'd need, he set to work at making breakfast.

Half an hour later, Kurt was awoken from his slumber by the loud siren of the fire alarm going off. He was up the stairs in an instant, about to book it to the door when he noticed that the smoke was coming out of the kitchen, followed by loud cursing from a familiar voice.

"Blaine!" Kurt coughed as he walked into the kitchen, waving at the air in front of him, trying to clear a path that he could walk through. He quickly found Blaine, up on a chair, waving a towel in front of the smoke detector, trying to shut it off.

"Kurt!" his eyes widened as he noticed the other boy. There was a streak of what looked like some sort of batter on his cheek and his hair was covered with flecks of flour.

"What are you doing?!" Kurt exclaimed, quickly hurrying over to the window and pulling it open. He wafted the smoke outside before turning back to Blaine, who was still trying to turn the alarm off.

"Here, let me," Kurt said, taking Blaine's place on the chair. He quickly detached the alarm from the roof and turned it over, finding the off switch in a matter of seconds. Both boys breathed a sigh of relief as their ears were spared from the loud, torturous sound.

"What were you doing?!" Kurt demanded as he got down off the chair. Blaine blushed heavily, looking down to avoid Kurt's gaze.

"I was trying to make you guys breakfast to thank you for all that you've done for me," he replied quietly, almost bashfully. "Apparently, I can't cook." Kurt glanced at the stove behind Blaine where there was a plate of burnt bacon, burnt pancakes, and burnt eggs.

"That is actually something that even I didn't know about you," Kurt chuckled lightly. "And it was a nice gesture. How about I give you some help with breakfast?" Blaine looked up and smiled.

"That'd be great," he replied, his face lighting up. Kurt wasn't mad. If he had been at his own home, his father...

"Oh my gosh!" Blaine exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Your parents are going to kill me!"

"I think they'll understand," Kurt smiled, his eyes flickering slightly over to the doorway where he noticed his parents standing. Carole held a finger to her lips before quietly pulling Burt away, presumably back to their bedroom. The only person who had not made an appearance was Finn, but he was such a heavy sleeper that he could probably sleep through a nuclear war.

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked nervously as Kurt set the alarm down on the counter. He'd have to wait until all of the smoke cleared completely before he turned it back on and put it back up.

"Trust me, they won't be mad," Kurt smiled.

"Okay," Blaine replied softly.

"Well, first thing's first," Kurt laughed, walking over to the plates on the stove. "We need to throw out these... first attempts." He picked up the plates and took them over to where the garbage was under the sink. Once he was standing over the sink, he noticed the charred, still slightly smoking pieces of bread in the basin. He turned towards Blaine slightly and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Not even toast?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

"I really can't cook," Blaine shook his head, smirking sadly.

"I'll help you with that," Kurt replied encouragingly.

"I'd like that," Blaine grinned.

Once all of the burnt food was disposed of, Kurt set to work at preparing the new food.

"The trick with cooking is to use lots of Pam," Kurt explained as he sprayed the oil onto the frying pan. "That way, your pancakes won't get stuck to the pan."

"Oh, okay," Blaine nodded, watching Kurt attentively.

"And you don't want to leave them for too long or else they'll burn," Kurt continued. "And if it's not completely done yet when you flip it, you can always flip it back over and let it cook for a little bit longer. They really don't take that long to cook, so you have to keep an eye on them. Eggs are the same way. They don't take too long to make, but can burn very easily. Here, do you want to try flipping the pancakes?"

Blaine nodded eagerly, so Kurt handed him the spatula and stepped aside.

"Like this?" Blaine asked, trying to slide the spatula under one of the pancakes.

"Here, like this," Kurt said as he moved closer to Blaine. He stood slightly behind Blaine, so close that his stomach touched his back, and reached around him to place his hands over Blaine's, guiding him how to flip it properly.

"And like that!" Kurt smiled as Blaine succeeded in flipping the pancake, revealing a delightfully golden brown colour. "Perfect! I think you're starting to get the hang of it!"

Kurt started to move away, though feeling very reluctant to do so, but Blaine stop him.

"Umm, I think that I might, umm, need help with the next one too," Blaine said, blushing slightly. Kurt couldn't help but smile as he replaced his hands over Blaine's.

"Ease it under," he said as their hands moved together. "And flip! See, it's not that hard!"

"Not when I have such a good teacher," Blaine grinned, turning his head slightly to look at Kurt. Their eyes locked and Kurt felt his heart skip a beat. The way Blaine was looking at him reminded him of how Blaine used to look at him before... well, before what happened.

"Kurt, I-" Blaine started to say, letting go of the spatula and turning to face Kurt.

"Is that bacon?" a voice suddenly broke into the room, making Blaine jump. He quickly turned away from Kurt and picked up the spatula again, his focus falling back on the pancakes again as Kurt turned towards the doorway.

"Yes, Finn, we're making bacon," Kurt sighed. "And pancakes and eggs and toast. It won't be ready for another ten minutes, so why don't you go watch TV or something?"

"Nah, I'm fine right here," Finn grinned, entering the kitchen and plopping down on a chair by the table. "I wouldn't be able to focus on the TV with all the delicious smells coming from in here."

"Of course, he wakes up when the food smells good but not when it's burning," Kurt grumbled to himself as he turned back to the stove to set up another frying pan. "Well, you can at least make yourself useful then and put the toast on."

"Okay!" Finn grinned, hopping out of his chair and going over to the toaster. He was like a little eager puppy dog when it came to food.

"Remember, Finn, set the dial on the second notch, otherwise it will burn," Kurt reminded him as he started to crack the eggs over the frying pan.

"That explains it," he heard Blaine mumble under his breath. Kurt had to struggle to suppress a chuckle. Blaine was just too adorable.

But what had he been about to say? Kurt wondered, glancing over at Blaine beside him. His tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth, his brows knit together in concentration as he attempted to flip another pancake. The triumphant smile that spread across his lips when he was successful made Kurt's heart swell with pride.

"Smells good in here," Burt said, entering the kitchen with Carole. "Where's the bacon?"

"In the oven, dad," Kurt replied, rolling his eyes. "And remember, only two pieces."

"But-" Burt frowned.

"No, dad," Kurt shook his head. "You know what the Doctor said. You have to watch what you eat. You're lucky that I even let you have any bacon."

"Okay, you can go back to New York now," Burt joked as he sat down at the table, not noticing Blaine's alarmed reaction. Kurt did though and he immediately placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"He's teasing, Blaine," Kurt smiled. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you, okay? I promised that I would help you get through this and may Gaga curse me with bad fashion sense if I'm lying." That got a smile out of Blaine.

"Good," he grinned, turning back to the stove again. "And it's a good thing that you're not lying because I don't know if I could handle being seen with someone with no fashion sense." Kurt's jaw dropped at Blaine's light teasing.

"Be careful not to upset the fashion guru," Kurt warned playfully. "Or else you might end up having to wear mismatched socks!"

"Hey!" Blaine exclaimed. "Mismatched socks are cool!" Kurt gave Blaine an 'are you kidding me?' look, dropping his bottom lip slightly and raising one of his eyebrows.

"No, Blaine, honey, they're not," Kurt replied blatantly, not realizing that he had used a term of endearment. Blaine stiffened for a second, but relaxed again before Kurt could notice. Burt and Carole, however, did notice and exchanged a quick, worried glance. They couldn't even begin to understand what Blaine was going through, how he was feeling. He didn't even understand it himself.

But one thing that he did know was that he felt funny inside whenever Kurt said or did something really personal, which almost made him uncomfortable. Was this his body's way of reminding him about how he felt about Kurt? Did his body remember things that his brain didn't? It had almost felt so natural how easy Kurt had fit against his back when they were cooking. It felt... right. Like a missing piece of a puzzle was slotted into place. But even though it felt so right, Blaine couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about it.

If this happened because I was broken-hearted, he thought as he rubbed his hand over the sleeve covering the scar. Then how can I risk putting my heart out there again?

"Daydreaming?" Kurt chuckled, easing the spatula out of Blaine's hand and flipping the deeply browned pancake. "At least it didn't burn." Blaine knew that Kurt was teasing him, so he tried to put on a smile for him, even though his mind was still whirling with confusion.

I have so many questions that need answers, he realized. I feel so lost... I can feel something missing... but I just can't figure out what that is... and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to find it here...

"Okay, breakfast is ready!" Kurt announced, turning off the stove before grabbing the plate of pancakes from beside Blaine. Blaine blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his head before he turned and followed Kurt over to the table. Finn was already shoving a huge forkful of pancakes into his mouth. Though he had already seen the human vacuum in action, Blaine still sat in awe and amazement as he watched Finn shove forkful after forkful into his mouth. Finn ate as if there would be no tomorrow.

Where does it all go? Blaine wondered as Finn helped himself to three more pancakes and two more pieces of bacon.

"No, dad, I said only two!" Kurt scolded his father, smacking at his fingers that were making a move toward the plate of bacon. Blaine slowly nudged Burt with his foot then slid a piece of bacon off his plate and under the table, secretly passing it to him. Burt's lips spread into a sly smile as he took the bacon and, turning his head away from Kurt, quickly shoved it into his mouth.

"I saw that," Kurt snapped, making both of them jump with surprise. Kurt gave them both reprimanding glares, making Blaine blush and look down, while Burt just grinned triumphantly.

"One more piece won't hurt," he argued.

"And one less wouldn't hurt either," Kurt retorted, eyeing Burt's slightly bulging stomach.

"This is to help keep me warm during the winter," Burt grinned, patting his belly. Kurt just rolled his eyes before turning his attention back on Blaine.

"So, is there anything that you want to do today?" Kurt asked him. Blaine looked up in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. Blaine blinked a couple times as he thought over Kurt's question, his eyes suddenly falling of Finn. A smile slowly spread across his face.

"Actually, there is something that I would like to do," Blaine said.

"And what's that?" Kurt asked, eager to hear what Blaine wanted to do. Blaine's answer was the last thing that Kurt expected.

"I want to go to school."