Hello! So, I said I was going to try and update this chapter before I went back to school, but there was a certain point I wanted to get to and it took longer than I thought. But I'm uploading it now which means you don't have to 'make it look like an accident' anymore (whoever that guest was, not gonna lie I wasn't sure whether to laugh or not when I read that). However, that does mean this chapter has slightly more content than the last few have had. This is mainly a Blaine-centric chapter, but it does have glimpses of Kurt in it to just break it up a little bit.

I hope you all enjoy it; I don't know when I'm next going to be able to upload because I have exams in about three weeks and that means I don't know when I'm going to be able to write. I hope this chapter will suffice though, as it goes a lot into Blaine's feelings on what's going on, as well as some Anderson sibling adorableness :)

For twenty-eight of her thirty-four years, Mia Conway-Anderson had watched her baby brother grow up and learn the ways of the world. She had been in the room when he'd taken his first steps, tottering towards their mother as their father stood by with the video camera, and had witnessed his many attempts at his first word. Back then, when he was just a baby and she was six years old, Mia was ashamed to admit that she despised Blaine; he took all of the attention she had gotten so used to and he couldn't even do anything. Babies, as far as Mia was concerned, were boring.

And then it happened. All of baby Blaine's attempts to form coherent words finally paid off one rainy Tuesday afternoon in one of Mia's school breaks. She was stuck inside as the rain tumbled down outside with no escape from her brother, who by now was crawling and had learnt how to follow people, especially Mia. No matter how much their parents tried to distract him, Blaine was obsessed with her. Fed-up and annoyed, Mia had given in and allowed Blaine to sit next to her on the sofa as their parents watched on proudly at the two of them getting along. Mia realised that Blaine could actually be quite adorable, with his little gurgling noises and adorable baby-giggle, and before long she was cuddling into him and pointing out all the different characters in her program, explaining which ones she liked and which ones she didn't. And just as the credits were rolling and Mia was explaining how the characters weren't actually real because those were the actors' names on the screen, and one day Blaine would see 'Mia Anderson' up on his screen because she was going to be an actress when she grew up, Blaine turned to her and, simply and proudly and clear as crystal, said "Mi Annerson" whilst pointing up at her.

And that was it. The bond between them was sealed and it had only grown stronger since. And now, twenty seven years later, it was still growing stronger every day. On the odd occasion, Blaine would look at his sister in a certain way and she would see him as the one year old whose first word was her name, and she was sure it would still happen well into their grey years. And so to see him this distressed, this… unsure of himself, for Mia was one of the worst forms of torture.

They were now sat in silence, Blaine's words still hanging in the air between them, with the distant sounds of Louise and Jonah upstairs as well as the muffled sound of the TV piercing the atmosphere. Only a few seconds had passed in reality but to Blaine it felt like it had almost been an hour. He suddenly felt completely overwhelmed, his blood rushing in his ears and his whole body beginning to shake as the silence conjured up the thousands of possible thoughts that could be running through his sister's mind. For Blaine, Mia was the one constant in his life; his parents were there but at a distance, never completely involved in his life, and even though he had Puck and Thad and a few other friends that had been in his life for years he knew that they could go as easily as they had come. No, Mia was his one constant, even when she was across the country in Washington or he had been around the world touring, they had always kept in touch and she was always the one he went to when he had news, good or bad.

And so the thought of losing her was absolutely terrifying.

"Blaine," she nearly whispered his name her voice was that quiet, and that was when Blaine started to fall apart: he couldn't lose his sister, he just couldn't. He held his breath, begging the tears that had started to sting at the corners of his eyes not to fall: once the first tear fell, the floodgates would be opened and the rest of them would not be stopped. "Oh Blaine," Mia hurried to the seat next to her brother and immediately wrapped her arms around him, hushing him and beginning to rock him back and forth. "Oh Blaine it's okay, honey. Talk to me, Blaine."

If Kurt Hummel ever allowed the three women in his kitchen to know anything about his love life ever again, he would let Finn buy him a new outfit.

On returning from their shopping trip, Rachel and Mercedes had taken up Kurt's offer to stay for coffee (an offer only made because Kurt had managed to distract Rachel by bringing up the new film she was set to star in). The three of them had been in a rather in-depth discussion about whether Rachel should allow the film company to colour her hair when Scarlett had called in to drop off the latest draft of Kurt's novel that she had finally finished reading. She hadn't expected Kurt and the girls to be there, and in all honesty when she had noticed she had planned on simply slipping in and out without disturbing them, but when Rachel and Mercedes had seen her they'd eagerly invited her to join them. They'd met a few times through functions and things in the past when Scarlett had been working with other clients, but Scarlett didn't know the two women all that well. Seeing how happy their friendship made Kurt, however, motivated her to change that.

"So, did you kids have fun shopping today?" Scarlett implored as Kurt re-joined the group at the table handing Scarlett the coffee he'd just made her. Kurt thought back over the morning's shopping they'd done; the girls trying on dresses, them spending time together, seeing Blaine again… Kurt's eyes widened and his eyes snapped towards Rachel and Mercedes, both of them smirking mischievously as they glanced towards each other and then turned to Scarlett. Rachel, being closest, spoke first.

"Well, you'll never believe who we saw today…"

"-and I just d-don't know what's- what's going on," Blaine hiccupped as he tried to keep back the gentle sobs that were pushing at his throat. He'd been trying to quietly explain to Mia why he was crying, but so far he'd only managed to say the same few things over and over: 'I don't know what's going on'; 'I don't know how to explain it'; 'I don't know what to do, Mia'; 'I don't want you to hate me', the last of which especially made the tear in Mia's heart rip just that little bit deeper.

"Blaine, you know I could never and would never, ever hate you," was the first thing Mia felt she had to say; she couldn't let her brother think there was ever the possibility that she could hate him. Blaine nodded weakly against her as she held him close, one of her arms around his shoulder whilst the other held both of his hands and rested in her lap. She kissed his curls on the top of his head before speaking softly again. "But I can't help you if I don't know why you're upset." Blaine sat back to look at her, his eyes already becoming red around their edges. Mia couldn't tell what the emotion on his face was; confusion, bewilderment, or fear.

"I'm-" Blaine started in a whisper before seemingly flinching and twisting to look at the door. He jumped up from the table, startling Mia, and hurried across the room to shut the door. He leant against it for a few seconds taking deep breaths before turning back into the room, looking incredibly unsure of himself and on the verge of tears.

"Blaine," Mia rose and walked over to her brother, pulling him into a hug where he stood. "Blaine, is this about the guy you met?" Blaine stayed still in her arms before nodding weakly against her shoulder. "Oh darling," Mia soothed, "there is nothing wrong with you liking a guy," she assured him, one hand stroking his hair softly while the other held him close. At hearing her words, Blaine could no longer keep the tears at bay and a few of them escaped down his cheeks, wetting the shoulder of Mia's shirt.

"Is there any chance we can change the subject?" Kurt groaned into the table, his head resting in his folded arms. His coffee cup lay cold and empty next to his arms: the girls had been discussing Kurt's crush on Blaine Anderson for a solid ten minutes before moving onto his love life in general, even debating how long they reckoned it'd had been since Kurt had last 'gotten any'. They were all on their third cups of coffee, but Kurt had forgone having another after his second.

"Sorry boo," Mercedes giggled, leaning across the table to place a hand on Kurt's arm comfortingly, "It's not fair of us to pry into your love life like that," Kurt raised his head and smiled gratefully at her, unfolding his arms to take hold of her hand and give it a thankful squeeze. "I think we should pry into Rachel's instead," she laughed and turned to stare at Rachel, who spluttered on her coffee.

"What?" she glanced around the table as her cheeks began to colour, "Why me?" Kurt, Mercedes and Scarlett all giggled at her scandalized expression.

"Because we barely know anything about yours," Kurt reminded her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Mercedes hasn't said anything about hers!" Rachel exclaimed, gesturing towards the singer who was sat next to her.

"Rachel, you know I have a boyfriend," Mercedes told her, "You've met him!" Rachel blushed an even deeper red, knowing that now she would have to divulge the details. "C'mon," Mercedes encouraged with a gentle nudge of her shoulder against Rachel's, "Spill, Berry." Rachel rolled her eyes with a sigh and took another sip of her coffee before putting the mug down on the table.

"Well, I haven't really been involved with anyone for a while," she revealed in a melancholy tone, "I broke up with my last boyfriend a while ago; Brody," Kurt nodded sympathetically; he'd read about Rachel's relationship with Brody Weston a few years ago. The relationship hadn't lasted long, but it had been rumoured that Rachel had been utterly enraptured with the Broadway actor. The relationship ended after five months, and Rachel had yet to be seen with another man on her arm. "I guess I'm just too busy now to find someone else," she sighed, "But I know I'll meet someone someday," she added with a small smile.

"Of course you will," Scarlett patted her arm with a comforting smile, "The right guy is just out there, waiting to sweep you off your feet."

"I wish he'd hurry up," Rachel remarked as she lifted her mug to her lips, giggling with the others when they did.

"What about you, Scarlett?" Kurt turned to his manager; they may have been working together for a few years now, and while Kurt occasionally teased her about Thad Harwood's advances, Kurt really didn't know much about Scarlett's life in terms of romantic attachments. He suddenly realised that she could have been through several relationships and break ups and he would've been none the wiser, and the thought made him feel incredibly guilty.

"Well," Scarlett started with a heavy sigh, bracing herself for the story she hadn't told in a long time, "I had just gotten my first big client and I was happily with my then-boyfriend, Jesse St. James. Jesse was a photographer for Vogue, and we met at the photo shoot for said client for the magazine. We'd been together for nearly a year, and friends of mine were starting to tease that an engagement ring was on the cards for me. However," the smiles that had been gracing Kurt's, Rachel's and Mercedes' faces fell slightly at the change in tone, "just a month before our one year anniversary, Jesse was caught out with a young, blonde model on a night out and both of them were followed back to a hotel," Kurt could feel his insides sink and go cold. If I ever meet this Jesse St. Jerk, Kurt thought to himself, I'll bitch-slap him into the next century for hurting Scarlett,"I confronted him and found out that Jesse had in fact been cheating with a string of models for several months, and I ended the relationship almost instantly. I haven't been with anyone since, and to be honest I'm not really rushing into another relationship quite yet," Scarlett shrugged with a small smile, glancing around the table. Kurt leant across and pulled her into a hug, making her laugh a little as she held back a few tears as Rachel and Mercedes tried to surreptitiously wipe away their own.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Kurt asked into her shoulder as he held her. Scarlett shrugged as best as she could when she had his arms around her.

"It was long over by the time you and I met," she offered as explanation, "And I didn't want to bore you with my sob stories." Kurt sat back and held her at arm's length, a gobsmacked expression on his face.

"Scarlett, this is not a sob story," he told her honestly, "And I know we're meant to have a professional relationship, but I consider you my friend and I care about you," he pulled her into a hug again, Scarlett smiling into his shoulder as she returned it. Kurt suddenly pulled back with a glint of curiosity in his blue eyes. "Is this why you won't admit you like that Thad Harwood?" Scarlett stared back at him, confused, but her cheeks blushed lightly and Kurt knew he was right. "You do like him don't you?"

"Who's Thad?" Mercedes asked across the table, her and Rachel's heads tilted to one side in intrigue.

"Blaine Anderson's manager," Scarlett told them, "He flirts with me every time we meet and doesn't hesitate to ask me out at least once a week," she rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance, "And Kurt is convinced that I requite his feelings." She turned to the author and raised a questioning eyebrow, as if to add 'but I have no idea why he would think that', but Kurt just grinned back at her.

"Tell me about him?" Mia enquired, seeing that her brother's tears had slowed down to only a few a minute and his breathing was far less erratic than it had been five minutes ago. They were sat back at the table, this time with Mia at the head of the table and Blaine in the chair to her left. Blaine looked up at her but said nothing, simply frowning back at her. "The guy you met?" she encouraged, "Would you tell me about him?"

"Why?" Blaine's voice was thick and rough from crying, but his defensive tone was clear nonetheless.

"Because I'd like to know about him," Mia stated, "Am I not allowed to be curious?" Blaine held her gaze as he calculated the pros and cons of telling Mia all about the author who had taken a pen to his life story and added a major plot twist before turning away.

"No," he said simply, "I don't- I don't think I want to talk about it anymore tonight." Mia shrugged and sat back in her chair, saying an 'okay' and letting the room fall to silence. Blaine stared at the surface of the table deep in thought, wondering if maybe it would be a good idea to tell Mia everything. Maybe that way she could help him to figure out if what he was feeling was everything he feared it was, or if it was, in fact, real. What would be the harm in telling her, when he thought of it that way? It wasn't scary; she could just help to clarify how he was feeling. And she was his sister, the girl who had always looked out for him in his hour of need and then some; if he couldn't tell her what he was going through, who could he tell? "Alright then," he sighed, running a hand through his curls as he turned back to Mia who had perked up when he spoke, "What do you want to know about him?" Mia grinned at his change of heart and leant forward on the table.

"Well, first of all, where did you meet him?" Blaine snorted at her question, staring at her incredulously afterwards with a smirk.

"Seriously?" he grinned, "That's you first question? Not 'what does he look like', but 'where did I meet him'?" Mia giggled and shrugged her shoulders, just happy to see Blaine smiling again. Blaine shook his head softly before continuing. "Okay, well, we met at Puck's party last week," Blaine felt a small smile creeping onto his lips as he remembered seeing Kurt strolling the lawns and going over to talk to him, and the utter breathlessness he had felt when the brunet had turned around. But when he remembered how he had reacted to Kurt not knowing who he was, he cringed and refrained from groaning as his head sunk into his hand. "But I was a complete ass to him. I did manage to patch things up a bit at the end of the party, but I wouldn't be surprised if he still thinks I'm an ass," Mia patted her brother's knee affectionately, returning the smile he offered her when she did so. "And then in the meeting we had he seemed okay… I mean, he's sassy as hell from what I can tell from the brief conversation we had before Thad and…" Blaine frowned as he tried to recall the name of Kurt's manager, but when he couldn't think of anything he simply settled for "his manager took over-"

"Wait," Mia cut him off, "Meeting?"

"Oh yeah," Blaine pulled a face, "That leads onto why this isn't exactly simple…" Blaine tailed off, so Mia stared at him until he continued. "Remember I told you about that film I'm going to cameo in?" Mia nodded; it had been one of the things Blaine had considered to be part of the 'not much' that had been going on in his life since he had last spoken to her, "Well, he wrote the book it's based on," Mia's eyes widened, and Blaine nodded in return as if to say 'yeah, I know; crazy, right?'

"Wow," was all Mia could say, trying to absorb all of this new information.

"Yeah," Blaine sighed, looking back to the table's surface again, "Which means that, if he's on set while I'm filming, I could possibly be spending a whole two weeks with him,"

"And that's a bad thing?" Mia asked, trying to understand her brother's thinking.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you're spending two weeks with this guy, you may be able to figure out if everything you're feeling is real or if it was just a bit of a one-off," Mia explained calmly.

"But what if it isn't a one-off?" Blaine asked, suddenly looking rather vulnerable, "I've never felt this way about anyone before, Mia. This guy... I've only met him three times and already he's having this effect on me,"

"Three times?" Mia tilted her head gently, reminding Blaine slightly of a confused puppy and he realised the trait must be a family thing.

"Yeah, I kind of... Saw him... Today," he bit his lip and averted his eyes from his sister's gaze.

"Today? When?"

"When I found Louise with him," Blaine explained with a heavy sigh; this whole conversation was really tiring him out, "And I've been thinking about him ever since."

"So…" Mia began, but trailed off and went silent. Whatever it was she had been intending to say she had obviously reconsidered, but it had piqued Blaine's curiosity and he wasn't about to let it slip; he wanted to make sure Mia understood how he was feeling so that she could maybe help him understand himself.

"What?" Mia looked at him and her cheeks coloured slightly, and she bit her lip before deciding to just ask anyway.

"What about all the women you've dated?" she asked quietly, hoping the question wouldn't set her brother off again. Blaine considered the question for a few seconds, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He couldn't deny that he'd been with a few girls over the years, more than a few in fact, and it was one of the main reasons why he was so confused: he'd always believed that he was attracted to women, that he found them sexy and attractive, but now that he reflected on his feelings he realised that he'd never been romantically attracted to a woman, and never particularly while he was sober. Sure, he'd had relationships with girls that had lasted up to several months, but the relationships had always started on a night out or at a party, normally after a significant amount of alcohol had been consumed. And as far as the relationships were concerned, they only really lasted as long as they did because Blaine appreciated the company, someone closer than a friend who you could just be with and have fun with, someone who wanted to be with you for who you were, every second of the day. The girls he had dated had been incredibly dedicated, whether it was to keep their faces in the public eye or to genuinely be with him he wasn't sure, but they'd always come to him when he called. He always went to them as well, but for him it felt more like going to visit a friend who he was just a little more cosy with, possibly spending the night. However much he tried to deny it, Blaine realised that he had essentially strung these women along under the illusion that they were in a loving relationship when all he'd really needed them for was a bit of a cuddle and some sexual release every now and again. He'd never really loved them, and the guilt that hit him at that moment was overwhelming.

"I never loved any of them," Blaine finally said, vocalising all of the thoughts that had just run through his head to his sister, "They were more like… friends who I slept with,"

"What about guys?" Mia asked with her voice still gentle, "Have you ever liked a guy before?" Blaine shook his head almost instantly.

"No; never liked a guy before. I've never looked at a guy that way," he replied honestly, "Until now, that is."

"So what makes this guy any different?"

The question stumped Blaine completely; what did make Kurt any different? What about Kurt had made Blaine completely question who he was? Was it that Blaine had felt a little more comfortable around this guy because he had no idea who he was; that there was no expectation over how Blaine was going to behave and that Blaine could just relax around him? A little. Or was it that bit of attitude he'd seen when Kurt had walked away from him that made him want to spend more time with this guy, playfully pushing to see how much he could get away with? There was something about Kurt that had intrigued him that night, and at the meeting he'd been yearning for Kurt to make some sort of conversation with him which meant he'd been disappointed when Kurt had stayed absorbed in his phone. However, the odd smile the author had flashed at him had given him shivers of the delicious variety. Or was it that Kurt had been the first person – man or woman – to completely take his breath away by appearance alone? Those blue eyes that had twinkled in the evening light, and the gentle blush that had graced his pale, flawless skin when Blaine had told him that yes, he had looked a little lonely walking the lawns by himself. And when he'd started to get defensive, Blaine had been able to detect a hint of toned shoulders underneath the material of his shirt as he'd tensed up slightly, and he had to admit that he'd had a little trouble keeping his eyes away.

The kitchen door suddenly opened and a bleary-eyed Thad appeared in the doorway, a hand covering his mouth as he yawned sleepily. Blaine tensed up slightly, cautious of if Thad had overheard anything, but relaxed again slightly when Mia put her hand over his with a gentle smile. "How long have I been asleep?" Thad asked drowsily, stumbling slightly as he took a few steps into the kitchen.

"Maybe an hour or two?" Mia suggested when she glanced up at the clock: it had been about an hour and a half since she had sent Louise up to bed, and it was only now that she realised everything had gone quiet upstairs.

"What were you two talking about?" Blaine turned to his sister and shook his head gently, thankful that Thad wasn't looking as he tried to silently tell his sister not to reveal anything they'd spoken about. Mia just smiled at him.

"Oh, nothing much," she told Thad, keeping her eyes on Blaine and seeing the relief wash over his face, "Just… sibling stuff." Blaine mouthed a 'thank you' to his sister and she just smiled and nodded in reply.

"Oh right," Thad replied unenthusiastically, "Well, I'm going to head home; the contract is all sorted now so there shouldn't be any emergencies, but I'll call you if anything comes up," he waved half-heartedly as he fished for his car keys in his pants pocket. Blaine returned the wave and told him he'd see Thad in a few days if nothing came up before then. Thad bid both Andersons goodnight and left, leaving them alone in the kitchen once more.

"Bedtime?" Mia asked as she stood from the table. Blaine glanced at the clock and nodded; it was gone eleven and after the panic they'd been through this morning and the emotional conversation he'd had with Mia this evening, he was pretty damn tired. They walked together upstairs, Mia with her arm around Blaine's shoulder and he leant into her sleepily in response. He was incredibly thankful that his sister had come back into his life, even if it hadn't been in the best of circumstances, and when they got to the top of the stairs he pulled her into a hug before they went different ways to their bedrooms, Mia having chosen the room nearest her children.

"Thank you," he mumbled into her shoulder, "For everything." She squeezed him tightly for a few seconds, the way she had always done when Blaine had been upset about something.

"Don't mention it," she murmured into his curls, "I'm always here for you, B,"

They pulled apart and Blaine smiled up at her, hesitating for a few seconds before turning away to his bedroom. Mia waited until his door shut, allowing her to witness his last glance back at her, before turning to her own bedroom. She checked on Louise and Jonah, smiling when she saw them tucked up in the same bed, cuddling each other and sleeping soundly. She kissed them both goodnight on their foreheads, careful not to wake them, before going into her own bedroom. Harvey stirred at her entrance, but she managed to soothe him before he started crying. As she sat on her bed and rocked her son, she thought back over everything Blaine had told her that night and was relieved when she still felt as calm as she had when he'd originally told her. Of course it hadn't been what she'd expected, but there was no panic or concern, just an adoration for her brother that he was able to be honest with her.

And she had laid Harvey back down and was crawling into bed herself, she realised that, even though she hadn't thought it was possible, she loved Blaine all the more for it.

So that's all I've got for now. I have plans for the next few chapters, it'll just be finding the time to write them.

Oh, and Lu? I love you. I don't say it enough so I'm saying it now. Loooovvveeee yyooouuuuuu :D Xxxx

Until next time, folks,

Amy Xxxx