Getting back into the swing of classes after spending an entire week with nothing but Kurt and everything that came with him was hard. Blaine felt like there was a bit of weight lifted off his shoulders, though, having told his parents about him. He felt slightly guilty, because it wasn’t like he’d been trying to hide it or anything, he just hadn’t known how to get the words out. Not talking to his parents on a regular basis made it easy to avoid conversations. Considering that they lived so close, that was all surprising, but they were busy and so was he.

The biggest thing that got him through the week was that Kurt said that he had a surprise for him on Saturday night. He wouldn’t tell him anything about it, except that it was a surprise.

Which was annoying, because he knew just how much Blaine didn’t like surprises.

“You trust me, right?” Kurt had asked, and Blaine had grumbled out a response in the affirmative. “Well then there’s nothing to worry about. You’ll love it.”

That didn’t stop Blaine from asking again, though. They had dinner together every night that week, always at Blaine’s place – he realized he’d never actually been to Kurt’s dorm but he didn’t really mind because dorm rooms didn’t sound that great, and Kurt didn’t seem to mind always going to the house – and he asked at some point every time. Santana even joined them one night, and it was easily the most civil Blaine had ever heard her be to Kurt. Not that she said much to him, but when she did it wasn’t laced with her usual venom.

It was just like it had been before, too, with Kurt coming over and sitting there in Blaine’s room as they did their homework – separate but still together. Blaine almost forgot he was there some of the time, because Kurt would put in his headphones to study for his listening quiz and then there would just be silence from where he was sitting on the bed. That combined with Blaine being focused when he was writing, reading, working on assignments, could almost make him forget. Except then Kurt would crawl down to the end of the bed and slip his arms around Blaine from behind, dropping soft kisses against his neck, and he would be brought back to reality in the best way possible.

He’d written about Burt for his Relationships and Dialogues assignment. It had been easy. A week of being around him had been more than enough for Blaine to feel like he belonged there, like he was part of their family, and boy what a scary revelation that had been. That was an assignment that he had made sure to get done before Kurt came over to study, not sure if he felt comfortable with him potentially seeing what he was writing. His writing was personal, especially what he tended to write for that class, and it just felt strange that Kurt could possibly glance over his shoulder and see him writing about his dad.

Kurt stayed over a couple times, but not every night. Blaine was just glad for the times that he did. He had his insecurities, and there was no stopping or getting rid of them, but that didn’t stop him from loving having Kurt there. Waking wrapped up in his arms, breathing in and getting nothing but Kurt, it was all amazing. It helped that they both were insanely cuddly and extra affectionate when they were sleep, and doubly so when they were waking up in the morning. Waking up to light kisses and nuzzling and hands roaming to pull in closer, it was the best possible way to start the day.

Friday night he didn’t, though. There was something said about a group project he’d been neglecting, and how he needed to the final details ironed out for their date the next day (a statement which had made Blaine almost shiver both due to anticipation and nerves), and of course Blaine understood. Just because they tended to spend all their free time together didn’t mean there weren’t other people that could use some of their attention. Kurt’s other friends. Santana. They still had their goodnight phone call, though.

“So, about tomorrow,” Kurt said, and Blaine held the phone in closer to his ear. “Do you have a suit?”

“A suit? As in… to wear?”

“Yes, as in to wear.” Kurt sounded amused.

“I… yes?” Blaine rubbed his face, trying to think. He definitely didn’t have one there at the house, but he was sure he could find a way to get to his parents’ house before he needed to be ready. “Should I wear it?”

“It would probably be a good idea.”

“Kurt? Where are we going?” Blaine asked slowly, trying to think of possible options available there in the city that would require a suit.

“To dinner and then somewhere else.”

“Kurt.”

“Blaine,” Kurt replied. “It’s a surprise.”

“A suits-required surprise?”

“Not required so much as… preferred. You’ll be glad for it, once we’re there.”

That was how Blaine ended up at his parents’ house the next afternoon, Santana sprawled across the bed in his room as he rifled through his closet. He dressed nicer than most people on normal days, that much he knew, but that wasn’t suit nice. He did have them, though, and more than most people his age did. It wasn’t like his parents had parties and events like they had before, but they still had them and he was expected to look presentable. He sighed, fingers fumbling over fabric.

“Want some help?” Santana asked, not moving from where she was. All things considered, she had been remarkably nice about the whole driving him somewhere to get ready for a date with Kurt thing.

“I just don’t know which one.”

“Still don’t know where you’re going?” He shook his head, and she hopped down from the bed and brushed past him as she got to the closet. “Shit, these are nice.”

“Yeah,” he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was thinking maybe either the grey one or—”

“No. This one,” she interrupted, pulling the hanger off the rod. “You would look really good in this one.”

“Which one?”

“It’s black, the edges of the lapels are kind of shiny, there is a pocket square, oh God you have to wear this,” Santana said, pulling the doors of the closet closed. “There, done deal.”

That was all it had taken and they were gone almost as soon as they’d come. Blaine knew exactly what suit she’d gotten, could remember the last time he’d worn it – at a party his parents had thrown the previous winter around the holiday season. He’d spent most of it in the kitchen, trying to stay out of the way, and Cooper had snuck back with eggnog every so often to keep him company. And he was about to wear it to go to some surprise place with Kurt.

When they got back to their house and found Brittany waiting on the porch, he couldn’t even find it in himself to question what was going on. She’d hugged him as if it hadn’t been weeks since they’d seen each other, and Santana hadn’t sounded surprised or any different than usual. Maybe something had happened between them and that was why she was being so nice, but Blaine didn’t have the capacity to try and think about it. He would have to ask after everything was over, and Brittany wasn’t standing right there. It would be rude to ask Santana about her right in front of her, after all. It just made him wonder what all he had somehow missed after spending his whole week focused on Kurt.

He forwent the usual bowtie in favor of the skinny tie that Santana had grabbed from his closet and insisted he wear. There had been a threat about how she would burn all his bow ties if he tried to wear one, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it. He’d been more concerned about how invested she was in him getting ready, and the fact that Brittany hadn’t left the room when he’d started to change.

“I wanted to watch you turn into a penguin,” she lamented as he tugged her hand and guided her toward the door.

“You can see me after,” he said warily, face scrunching up when she pinched his cheek. He shut the door behind her and sighed, trying to rid his shoulders of the tension collected there before stripping off the rest of his clothes and carefully getting into the suit.

It fit him snugly, but in the way it was supposed to. Thankfully he hadn’t changed much in height or weight or anything since it had been tailored, but he found himself fiddling with the collar and cuffs all the same. After two attempts to get the tie done up right, both of which failed spectacularly, he yanked the door open and called for Santana to come back, making his way out into the living room.

“Well well,” she said with a low whistle, tugging at the lapels of his jacket and smoothing them down. “You clean up really nice, Anderson.”

“Please tell me you know how to tie a tie,” Blaine said, gesturing to the undone fabric around his neck. “Because there is a reason I wear bow ties all the time, and it is partially because I’m much better at tying them than these.”

“Of course I do,” Santana scoffed, and her fingers moved at a quick pace as she did up his tie, adjusting it once she was done and then stepping back. “There you go.”

“Oooo Blaine,” Brittany said softly as she joined them, reaching over and slipping her hand into his. “You’re a pretty penguin!”

“Yes, he’s a very pretty penguin,” Santana agreed, and he could practically hear her eyes rolling. Whether it was sarcasm or not, it didn’t matter because Blaine was blushing either way.

“Thanks,” he murmured, adjusting the tie self-consciously.

“Hey! I did it perfectly and you just messed with it,” Santana said sharply, batting his hands away and fixing it. “God, can’t leave you alone for two seconds…”

“No but, like, you’re really pretty, Blaine,” Brittany said, giving his hand a squeeze.

“As wonderful as this is to watch… do I get to have my boyfriend at some point or are you two just going to keep him to yourself all night?” Blaine’s head turned quickly toward the front door at the sound of Kurt’s voice, and Santana’s hands dropped from his tie. He hadn’t heard the door, and evidently neither had they. Brittany seemed nonplussed by it all, just swinging their hands back and forth between them.

“I think Kurt might be a prettier penguin than you,” she mused.

“I don’t doubt that at all,” Blaine said, pulling his hand away from her and rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll, um, be ready to go in a minute.” He backtracked to his room, managing to pocket his keys and wallet before Kurt’s arms slipped around from behind and his lips pressed lightly against his neck.

“I am definitely not a prettier penguin than you,” Kurt murmured. “Not when you look like that.”

“Well I’m still going to believe Brittany.” Blaine rocked back onto his heels, further into Kurt’s arms and back against his chest. “So do I get to know where we’re going now?”

“Nope.” Kurt untangled his arms from around him and gave Blaine the chance to turn around, which he did gladly. His hands smoothed up the front of Kurt’s jacket, thumbing at the lapels as he skimmed over them up to his shoulders. Kurt had nice, broad shoulders. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Blaine said with a nod, dropping his hands from him so he could get his phone and give Roscoe a pat on the head before grabbing his cane.

They ate dinner at a steakhouse downtown, and it was easily the most delicious meal Blaine had eaten in as long as he could remember. He did manage to accost their server while Kurt was in the bathroom to make sure he would get the check, a move that Kurt protested vehemently once he realized what was happening, but Blaine didn’t care. It was only fair, after all, considering that Kurt was taking him to some surprise place or event or something.

It was a short drive to wherever they were headed and once the car was parked, Kurt led him up a sidewalk and across the street before stopping, squeezing his hand. “Great, we’re right on time.”

“For what?” Blaine asked, and he felt like he had been asking that same question for an entire week with no answer, so he had to hope that he was at least going to get one then since they were there.

“Symphony concert,” Kurt replied. Blaine’s jaw dropped and his grip tightened on Kurt’s hand.

“Seriously?”

“Mhm. They were doing a piano concerto, so I thought—”

“Kurt…” Blaine interrupted, his free hand slipping up to rest on his chest as he leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before resting their foreheads together. He felt like he was going to cry. His family had gone to the symphony so often before – before everything had happened. Most of the time it was just him and his mom, but they’d still gone, ever since he was a little kid. He could remember back when he was younger, just a kid, and he would sit completely entranced by the conductor and how he seemed to draw the music out of everyone else on the stage. That magic never escaped him, even when he got older, but he hadn’t been since before the incident.

“So this was a good surprise, then?” Kurt whispered, his hand resting on Blaine’s waist and keeping him in close.

“Best surprise.” To the point that Blaine hadn’t even cared that they were standing somewhere on the street in downtown and he’d just kissed Kurt, out where anyone could see.

Their seats were in the first row of the mezzanine, right up against the balcony. Kurt had been right when he had said they were right on time, or maybe he should have said just in time, considering that the orchestra was practically done with warming up by the time they got in the theatre and up to their seats. It felt so familiar, so perfect, and after they got done applauding the concertmaster and conductor coming on the stage, Blaine slipped his hand into Kurt’s and held onto it tightly.

The opening chords got him to the edge of the seat, as if somehow leaning in closer would do something. Kurt let go of his hand, moving his own to rest on Blaine’s back, and by the time the entire orchestra joined in, Blaine had his elbows rested on the railing in front of them. He framed his face with his hands, unconscious of how his fingers were tapping against his cheeks, and just leaned there and listened.

It was different, hearing it all with the orchestra behind it. It wasn’t a piece that he’d played before, God if only he could play like that, but it was one he was familiar with. He had listened to recordings of it, but never fully with the entire orchestra. His heart felt like it was straining against his chest more and more with each wave of notes, and he could barely notice the way Kurt’s fingers traced along his back.

There was just so much feeling in the music, and he related to that more than words could express. It was all in the swells, the crescendos and decrescendos, the powerful rhythms backed by lilting strings that melted into a gentle flowing melody. Everything spoke, every single note, and it was all Blaine could do to sit there and take it in as best he could.

And that was just the first movement.

Sitting there listening to the concerto, he felt transported. It was like he was in a place where time stood still and it was just him and the music, and Kurt’s fingertips making patterns against the back of his suit jacket. It was different than it had been before, too. Before, whenever they went to see a pianist, they’d always gotten seats where they would have a good view of the keyboard and he would just stare and take in their fingers moving across the keys. How they interacted with the conductor, reacted to the rest of the orchestra, committed themselves fully to every note.

It was different then. He couldn’t watch, couldn’t see, but he could imagine, envision.

By the time it was over, the final chords sounded and ended and the audience thundered with applause, Blaine had tears slipping from the corners of his eyes after spending the past however-long trying to avoid them. Kurt’s hand left his back as he clapped along with everyone else, and Blaine brushed his knuckles across his face to try and get rid of the tears before he joined in as well. It was a fruitless effort, but he ignored them until the applause died down and Kurt pressed a light kiss to his cheek.

No words were exchanged as they made their way back down to the lobby of the theatre, and the crowd of people certainly didn’t help Blaine feel any less like his chest was going to explode – though that was more due to anxiety as opposed to pure emotion. He loved how Kurt knew when not to ask, when to just let him be until he was there with him again, because he couldn’t at all be considered there when he was still lost in himself like he got sometimes. It wasn’t until they were in the car, pulled out of the garage and making their way toward the highway, that Kurt spoke up.