Blaine practically ran home after work to his apartment to clean up the mess before Kurt came by. He hurried about his apartment picking things up and putting them in their proper place. He vacuumed the floors, dusted, washed a few windows, and mopped in a panicked frenzy. His apartment was by no means messy or dirty but for whatever reason, Blaine felt like it had to be perfect for Kurt's visit, even if there was only a slim chance that Kurt would actually come inside and look around. He sprayed a floral air-freshener around his living room and flopped down on his couch, exhausted. The apartment was completely spotless and perfectly organized. Blaine's foot tapped nervously on the floor as he waited for Kurt to come over. He rose from his couch, unable to sit still.

Kurt hadn't said exactly when he would come by and it was getting pretty late. He glanced at the clock and sighed when it read 8:30 PM. Maybe Kurt wasn't going to stop in tonight. Maybe he and Glen had plans and he planned to just drop off his things at the coffee shop later in the week. An hour and a half of cleaning and freaking out was for nothing. Blaine kicked himself for actually caring what his apartment looked like to Kurt. He was equally disappointed that he had let himself look forward to having Kurt over his apartment. He sighed and fiddled with the vase of white roses Nate had given him that was set on the center island counter that doubled as his dining table in the kitchen. He glanced at the door to his apartment and back at the clock on the shelf under his television and heaved a heavy sigh. His anxiety quickly turned into melancholy and frustration with himself with a twinge of anger at Kurt for blowing him off.

Blaine glanced at the door once more in vain and headed deeper into his kitchen, suddenly craving something chocolate to ease his disappointment. He pulled out a mixing bowl and whipped up a small batch of walnut brownies and popped them into the oven. He licked the spoon and dropped it into the sink. The brownies had thirty minutes to bake so he decided to take a shower to kill time. He walked to his bathroom and stripped down, turning the water in his shower on as hot as it would go. Steam rose from the shower and he stepped in, relishing the hot burn of the water on his skin. The heat and the relaxing pressure of the water gave his attention something else to focus on other than his disappointment. He ran shampoo through his curls and massaged his scalp, trying to wash all thoughts of Kurt from his brain, though no amount of scrubbing could possibly accomplish that. Blaine slowly washed up, hoping his brownies would be done as he got out of the shower.

When his skin began to turn red and tingle from the heat of the shower, Blaine stepped out and slowly toweled off. He rubbed the towel across his head and ruffled his hair with it to dry it a bit so it wasn't dripping wet. He wrapped the towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door. Steam from his shower rushed from the bathroom and the cooler temperature of his apartment rose gooseflesh over his exposed skin. His whole apartment smelled of chocolate and flowers. He went over to the oven and turned on the light to see how his brownies were coming along. He hoped they would be ready by the time he finished his shower, but the timer on the oven still read just over ten minutes. Blaine sighed and trudged to his bedroom to get dressed for a lonely night of watching TV and eating warm brownies. He threw his towel into the hamper and grabbed a pair of boxers and plaid pajama pants and slipped into them, not bothering to find a shirt. His bare feet padded across the room and back to the kitchen where he stood in front of his oven, waiting impatiently for his brownies to finish cooking.

He reached up into the cabinet and pulled out a cooling rack for the brownies. He closed the door and went to put the rack on the counter but a loud banging sound froze him in place. The metal cooling rack slid from his fingers and hit the floor with a loud clang in the silence of the apartment. He glanced over at the door, unable to will himself to move. After a moment, there was another knocking at the door again and Blaine snapped himself around and hesitantly headed for the door. He rose up on tiptoe and peered through the peep-hole, but the hallway was too dark to make out the tall figure standing in front of his door. He reached out gripped the knob in his hand, his knuckles going white with the effort. He turned the knob and opened the door a crack to see who was there. A sliver of light escaped his apartment and flooded over the figure in the hall. Blaine's heart stopped.

"Hello Blaine, sorry I'm a little late," Kurt apologized with a smile. Blaine remained silent, his one eye peering through the two-inch gap in the doorway. Kurt quietly cleared his throat, "may I come in?" Blaine looked from Kurt down to his naked chest and grew a little red. He sighed and opened the door all the way. Kurt's eyes went from Blaine's face right down to his chest before he could stop himself.

"Sorry," Blaine mumbled feeling awkward standing half-naked in front of his ex, "it was late so I didn't think you'd be coming tonight. Come in." Blaine stood aside and gestured into his apartment. Kurt's eyes trailed slowly back up to Blaine's face before striding past him into the apartment. Blaine saw the pink hue color Kurt's cheeks and knew his own face was just as red.

He closed the door behind Kurt, "I'll be right back," Blaine mumbled, turning his back to Kurt and heading for his bedroom.

Blaine walked as fast as he could without running to his room to get a shirt, all the while feeling Kurt's eyes on him. He fumbled through his drawers snatching a red tee-shirt that matched his plaid pants and yanked it over his head as he left the room. He finished pulling it on as he came back into the kitchen where Kurt was watching him from the doorway in the living room.

Kurt lightly shook his head and put on a grin, "you're apartment seems very cozy," he inhaled deeply, "and it smells like heaven! Baking something?"

"Yeah, brownies," Blaine replied just as the timer to the oven chimed, signaling they were done baking. "Have a seat," Blaine offered gesturing to the stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"I really can't stay," Kurt sighed setting a paper shopping bag down next to the front door and clasping his hands together.

"But you just got here," Blaine muttered opening the oven and removing the pan of brownies from it. He picked the cooling rack off the floor and ran it under the sink water before setting the hot pan on it.

"I know, it's just that I didn't finish the dishes before leaving and Glen's home—"

"And Glen is incapable of doing dishes?" Blaine asked, allowing a little too much acid seep into his tone than he had intended. Kurt cast a quick glance at the door behind him before taking a seat on one of the stools at the center island. A smug smile touched Blaine's lips as he took out a knife and ran it through the brownies in straight lines, making a grid pattern across sheet. He threw the knife in the sink before taking out two plates and two glasses from the cupboard. He filled the glasses with milk and put a brownie on each plate before handing one of each to Kurt.

"Thanks," Kurt smiled raising the warm brownie to his mouth and taking a bite. "Mmmmmm…" he sighed, closing his eyes.

"Good?" Blaine asked, sinking his teeth into his own pastry.

"Delicious," Kurt replied taking a sip of his milk, "it's nice to have someone else bake for a change."

"Glen doesn't cook?"

Kurt laughed once, "no, not at all. I used to give him lessons but now he's just so busy with his law firm, he is exhausted when he gets off work and on the weekends we just don't have the time."

Blaine swallowed the last of his brownie before replying, "sounds like he's a bit of a workaholic."

"He can be at times," Kurt conceded, "but he's worked too hard to get to where he is now to just slack off."

"Right."

"But when he isn't working, he is a great guy," Kurt gushed.

"Well you've been with him for this long, so he must be something special," Blaine grumbled taking their empty dishes to the sink.

"You would like him."

I seriously doubt that, Blaine thought bitterly to himself.

"I have a fantastic idea!" Kurt squealed bouncing out of his seat.

"If it involves another monstrous fashion show, the answer is no," Blaine smirked.

"I won't make you endure that sort of torture again," Kurt giggled. "We should double date this weekend! I'd love to meet Nathanial and Glen has been asking to meet you."

He probably wants to rub it in that he got you and I didn't, Blaine thought. He put on a smile when he addressed Kurt, "sounds like a great idea," he chimed.

"How does Saturday night sound? We can go out to a bar and just have fun?" Kurt suggested.

"Sounds great," Blaine lied, already dreading having to watch Kurt hang all over Glen the whole night.

"Excellent, Glen and I can meet you in front of your apartment, there is a nice bar not far from here that Glen and I love. They play the best music."

"Awesome," Blaine replied, coloring his voice with the excitement he didn't feel.

"It's settled then," Kurt nodded with a grin before striding over to the couch and plopping himself down and elegantly crossing his legs. "So tell me a bit more about Nathanial. Does he live in the city?"

Blaine walked around the island and sat on the other side of the white couch. "Yeah, not too long of a cab ride from here actually," he replied.

"Why don't you live together?" Kurt asked arching an eyebrow, "does he have a commitment problem or something?"

Blaine glared at Kurt, "no," he replied calmly, feeling the need to defend the shot at Nate, "we have only been together for a little over a month and we are taking it slow."

Kurt nodded, "date anyone before Nate?" he asked.

Blaine shook his head, "not since you."

"Why not?" Kurt asked, refusing to just let the topic die.

Blaine clasped his hands together and stared down at his fingers. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, refusing to admit to Kurt that he had crushed his spirit the day he left him. He didn't want to admit that Kurt had snuffed out his spirit five years ago, extinguishing his fire and casting him into a dark abyss with no match to find his way out.

Kurt watched him intently, waiting for a response but he didn't get a verbal one, the answer was written all over Blaine's face. He rose from his seat and strode over to the entrance to the apartment where he picked up the paper shopping beg he had brought with him. He came back over to the couch and put the bag on Blaine's lap. Blaine opened the bag and looked inside. All of his clothes from the previous Friday were neatly folded in there, along with his shoes. They smelled of dryer sheets, Kurt had obviously washed them.

"Thanks Kurt," Blaine murmured rising from his seat and taking the bag into his bedroom. Kurt followed behind him and leaned in the doorway as Blaine set the bag on his bed and began putting the clothes away. He set his shoes in the closet and hung his button-down shirt in there as well. He returned to the bag and reached in for the last thing in the bag, his dark denim jeans. He neatly refolded the pants and hung those in the closet as well. He made his way back over to the bed and picked up the bag, but it felt heavier than it should. Puzzled, Blaine opened the bag again and glanced inside to make sure he got all of his things from it. The sight made his throat close and his lungs forget how to draw breath.

Resting at the bottom of the bag was a familiar article of clothing, but one which he had not worn the day he went shopping with Kurt. He looked from the bag and up at Kurt who had a small smile playing about the corners of his lips. Blaine reached into the bag and felt the soft cotton of the shirt, a shirt he had not seen for over five years. He lifted it from the bag and held it up, dumbstruck that it had made it back to him. It was a white shirt with thin, red, horizontal stripes he had let Kurt borrow when they first started dating in high school. He dropped his arms and looked back at Kurt who was still leaning against the door frame to his bedroom.

"Y-You still had this after everything that happened?" Blaine croaked.

Kurt smiled, "it wasn't mine to get rid of. It's yours."

Blaine looked down at the shirt in his hands, "I can't believe you kept it after all these years," he breathed.

"You're welcome."

Blaine walked over to Kurt and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, hugging him close, "thank you," he whispered against his neck. They held each other for a little while longer, standing in the doorway of Blaine's room, saying nothing. Blaine had missed this, having Kurt in his arms for longer than just a friendly hug. He missed the way his body fit with Kurt's just right. He missed the delicate smell of his pale skin. He missed being wrapped in his long and graceful arms. He missed feeling the angle of Kurt's jaw press against his temple. He missed Kurt.

Much too soon, Blaine felt Kurt lean away from him and he dropped his arms from Kurt's shoulders. "I should really get going," Kurt said, slowly making his way toward the front door.

"Thanks for stopping by Kurt, I-I really appreciate it," Blaine replied coming to a stop at the door to his apartment. He opened the door for Kurt.

"I look forward to Saturday night," Kurt replied stepping into the hall.

"Me too."

"Goodnight, Blaine."

"Night, Kurt." Kurt smiled and headed back down the hall the way he came.

Blaine slowly closed the door and quietly clicked the lock into place. He felt numb. He looked down at the shirt in his hands and ran his fingers across the fabric. It touched him that Kurt kept his shirt after all this time, and it hit him hard that such a small gesture made him so emotional. He brought the shirt up to his face and ran the soft fabric across his cheek, it smelled like Kurt. Tears were welling in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks as he looked down at the shirt again, unable to fathom that it had made its way back to him. Even though it was just a shirt, it was a piece of Blaine's relationship with Kurt that resurfaced and reconfirmed all the feelings he had for Kurt. Having Kurt in his arms again felt so right and so wrong because Kurt's heart belonged to someone else.

He slowly made his way to his bed and curled up under the blankets still clutching the shirt to his chest. Tears continued to fall and he began to audibly sob. His heart was aching from the new rift the innocent shirt had opened up, letting all the old heartache he had felt five years ago come spilling over his body. He clutched the shirt to him like a lifeline as he sobbed uncontrollably over the man he swore he'd never cry over again and for the first time in years, Blaine Anderson cried himself to sleep.